Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[koalayummies]

11 hours ago, Killian said:

 

There's always the Ninjago City Modular. I'd like to see someone MOC that to fit in better with the other modulars

https://shop.lego.com/en-GB/NINJAGO-City-70620

 

 

Challenge accepted! The race is on. Now I gotta go squeegee some car windows on the street corner to acquire it. 

[Lego Conductor]

I hope to get Ninjango City in a couple of weeks.  I too have plans to modify into a modular Chinatown type corner building.  Went online to Lego to get the building instruction and started a parts list.  My plan is to front the base level with a sidewalk that lines up with the official modulars.  Also will probably ditch the tower on top and remove the tree structure from the middle level.   That's all I got for now.....

[Bricksmith]

I'd love to see a modular Train Station, though it seems unlikely after they rejected the recent ideas project. All the same, i think one would make an excellent addition to any modular street.

[Hart New Bob]

If only it will be a museum with a lot of Easter eggs.

Edited September 18, 2017 by Hart New Bob
"be" instead of "with"

[Athos]

I would love a museum. Or a library. Or hospital. Or school. Or anything really...

Steve

[paupadros]

Let's not forget, it seems like very fall we remind this, but: Assembly Square's name was revealed by a post on Lego subreddit on September 29th. Speculation of plaza with inverted corners and trees until October 17th, offical press release. On the same October 17th, the leak with official images came some 2-3 hours before the official one.

Next modular is getting closer and closer. This time around I have absolutely no solid guesses or anything. Only hoping it will be in some unused colours such as Cool or Flame Yellow, Orange or Spring Yellowish Green. Maybe they could experiment with making the façade be a mosaic, see the right building in my Sweets & Co. modular for an example. Middle one in my signature.

Edited September 18, 2017 by paupadros

[AFOLguy1970]

4 hours ago, paupadros said:

Let's not forget, it seems like very fall we remind this, but: Assembly Square's name was revealed by a post on Lego subreddit on September 29th. Speculation of plaza with inverted corners and trees until October 17th, offical press release. On the same October 17th, the leak with official images came some 2-3 hours before the official one.

Next modular is getting closer and closer. This time around I have absolutely no solid guesses or anything. Only hoping it will be in some unused colours such as Cool or Flame Yellow, Orange or Spring Yellowish Green. Maybe they could experiment with making the façade be a mosaic, see the right building in my Sweets & Co. modular for an example. Middle one in my signature.

A colorful variety could work if done right.  It would also be interesting to possibly see a mural embedded into the side of a building with several different colors.  Each modular always brings something that has not yet been done, so the only thing I truly expect from the next one is that something new and unique will appear in the set.  

[Agent 86]

I'm hoping that the next Modular is a single commercial or governmental building (i.e. not a combination of two or more different businesses / enterprises like the Brick Bank and Laundry, the Detective's Office, Pub, Barber and Kitchen or Assembly Square with its many businesses).

I'd be happy to see a police station, hospital, museum, library, apartment building or school. I think they all, despite being a single building, offer "story" potential for Lego since that appears to be their new focus for the Modular series.

[Killian]

A university campus with lecture theatre, library, cafeteria and dorms would be cool. But perhaps too ambitious for a 32x32 baseplate.

 

An office building with reception desk, call centre, meeting rooms, post room etc could be interesting

[LegoSjaak]

I think it is a postoffice including delivery-van...

[ReplicaOfLife]

11 minutes ago, LegoSjaak said:

I think it is a postoffice including delivery-van...

That could be quite nice, actually, though for me they could just shove the delivery van and use the pieces for a bigger/better building.

I too would welcome it if the next modular was just ONE building again, instead of two or three crammed together as with the last three modulars.

[Agent 86]

1 hour ago, LegoSjaak said:

I think it is a postoffice including delivery-van...

I wouldn't mind a post office. I'm not crazy about the inclusion of a vehicle, but it does fit with the building.

The MOC Modular Post Office on this page looks pretty good: http://bricksetforum.com/discussion/21092/modular-building-revamp

Edited September 19, 2017 by Agent 86

[Elysiumfountain]

They haven't done a library yet have they? Or a large bookstore like Barnes and Noble! It would be really cool if they could give us a way to make better brick built bookshelves ;) Ah well, wishful thinking! 

[Blazej_Holen]

38 minutes ago, Elysiumfountain said:

They haven't done a library yet have they? Or a large bookstore like Barnes and Noble! It would be really cool if they could give us a way to make better brick built bookshelves ;) Ah well, wishful thinking! 

They didnt... But Library could be included in museum. So the main bussines will be that the whole building will be museum of Lego themes and there could be library as well... :)

 

Library on its own is not to much for modular (maybe if they do two modulars like Pet Shop)... Anyway I hope for either one big building (not several cramped buildings in one) with 2600+ pcs or two small detachable buildings on 32x16 footprint :) Lets hope that we will get some info soon.

[paupadros]

Wow, I hope I'm not the only one, but really genuinely love a thousand times more the multi-business multi-building streets than the dull Neoclassical boxes. Maybe not, but it seems around here you guys adored the older modulars and... dislike the current ones...? Loss of height is totally fine for me too. At least they now fit in my shelves. Actually, I want to buy Assembly Square and I'm usure its blue spire will fit. Let's hope so! No Pet Shop design! Please no! I don't know if you've tried building your own double modulars, but they use up a ton of pieces that you just don't see: walls, extra roofs, extra furnishing. In a bigger room, if a blank space is left, it really doesn't matter, but in a Pet Shop-style building it looks terrible totally empty.

I'm gonna be honest, I doubt they'll go back to the 2200-2400 realm, raising AS's piece count to 4002 also leaves a gateway for modulars to be around 2500-3000 pieces. I mean, when you've gotten used to the huge piece count AS has, then seeing 2000 is kind of... And that's it? Really? It's really a distractor to allow the "normal modulars" to be bigger. Again, my unlikely but hopeful bet: 2500+ pieces, brighly coloured walls - yellow or orange. Or even red! 

Edited September 21, 2017 by paupadros

[koalayummies]

2 hours ago, Elysiumfountain said:

Or a large bookstore like Barnes and Noble! 

One of the unmentionable knockoff brands stole an Ideas submission of a barnes and nobel modular so Lego probably won't touch that unfortunately. 

[AFOLguy1970]

1 hour ago, paupadros said:

Wow, I hope I'm not the only one, but really genuinely love a thousand times more the multi-business multu-building streets than the dull Neoclassical boxes. Maybe not, but it seems around here you guys adored the older modulars and... dislike the current ones...? Loss of height is totally fine for me too. At least they now fit in my shelves. Actually, I want to buy Assembly Square and I'm usure its blue spire will fit. Let's hope so! No Pet Shop design! Please no! I don't know if you've tried building your own double modulars, but they use up a ton of pieces that you just don't see: walls, extra roofs, extra furnishing. In a bigger room, if a blank space is left, it really doesn't matter, but in a Pet Shop-style building it looks terrible totally empty.

I'm gonna be honest, I doubt they'll go back to the 2200-2400 realm, raising AS's piece count to 4002 also leaves a gateway for modulars to be around 2500-3000 pieces. I mean, when you've gotten used to the huge piece count AS has, then seeing 2000 is kind of... And that's it? Really? It's really a distractor to allow the "normal modulars" to be bigger. Again, my unlikely but hopeful bet: 2500+ pieces, brighly coloured walls - yellow or orange. Or even red! 

Funny you mention the spire on Assembly Square.  I had to take off the highest piece in order for it to fit in the bookshelf.  I like most of the modulars well enough to make a purchase.  Would not really say there is a bad one.  Although, I do hope that the next one is back at the same price level as the ones before AS.  $280 is a lot of money, fine for a 10th anniversary set, but if that becomes the new normal, then it could negatively impact sales.  

[Elysiumfountain]

 

3 minutes ago, AFOLguy1970 said:

 $280 is a lot of money, fine for a 10th anniversary set, but if that becomes the new normal, then it could negatively impact sales.  

I envision a dark, apocalyptic future, where LEGO has become the commodity of billionaires due to extreme inflation, so that we all are left fighting over LEPIN sets and thinking about the days when we splurged on those wonderful high quality plastic bricks... ;)

Oops, sorry. I forgot the rule. Fighting over The Brand-That-Must-Not-Be-Named. 

[koalayummies]

Looking at Lego sets from the 90's and adjusting for inflation we're actually getting a much better deal now. Compare the prices of these classic large sets from two-decades ago to the prices of sets today. The modular buildings average ~2200 pieces for ~$160. Pretty amazing.

Besides billionaires throw away their money on stupid things like pretentious automobiles, gold plated toilets and $6,000 shower curtains, they generally lack the creativity to enjoy something like Lego. 

[ReplicaOfLife]

3 hours ago, paupadros said:

Wow, I hope I'm not the only one, but really genuinely love a thousand times more the multi-business multu-building streets than the dull Neoclassical boxes. Maybe not, but it seems around here you guys adored the older modulars and... dislike the current ones...? Loss of height is totally fine for me too. At least they now fit in my shelves. Actually, I want to buy Assembly Square and I'm usure its blue spire will fit. Let's hope so! No Pet Shop design! Please no! I don't know if you've tried building your own double modulars, but they use up a ton of pieces that you just don't see: walls, extra roofs, extra furnishing. In a bigger room, if a blank space is left, it really doesn't matter, but in a Pet Shop-style building it looks terrible totally empty.

I'm gonna be honest, I doubt they'll go back to the 2200-2400 realm, raising AS's piece count to 4002 also leaves a gateway for modulars to be around 2500-3000 pieces. I mean, when you've gotten used to the huge piece count AS has, then seeing 2000 is kind of... And that's it? Really? It's really a distractor to allow the "normal modulars" to be bigger. Again, my unlikely but hopeful bet: 2500+ pieces, brighly coloured walls - yellow or orange. Or even red! 

Of course they'll go back to the usual 2000-2400 piece size. Assembly Square was a one-off set for the tenth anniversary, which was the only reason for its vastly increased piece count.
I'd be curious on the sales of AS, though, I have a feeling that it's much more loved than Town Hall, which up to Assembly Square was the only one that was over 150€ (at least in Germany, I know some sets were a bit more expensive in other countries), and the widely accepted rumour about Town Hall's relatively short run is that it was retired early due to poor sales.

And, yeah, I think the older modulars in general were better than the new ones. Up to Pet Shop (and maybe PC, though it is considered the first of the 2nd gen), modulars were more realistic and believable as buildings. While I love the highly detailed interiors we get nowadays, I don't like the compromises that are being made to free up pieces for them. At all. I mean stuff like exterior staircases, walls not reaching the ceiling, stairs in one house leading to the upper floors of another, dwarfish floor heights etc.
And the idea of having multiple or extra 'buildings' that are mere facades and that offer no significant interior space at all, like in DO and Brick Bank, is a joke. I mean, look at the Blue Building of the DO: The upper floors have just about enough space to house a small restroom or a small kitchen. That's aboslutely ridiculous. No one would usually build a house like that, it would serve no meaningful purpose! Same goes for the 'laundromat' building, especially if you take into account that at one point it would have to have had an interior stair-case...

I would actually welcome it if they raised the average piece count of  modulars to 2800-3000 pieces, at 180€-200€, because then they could give us buildings that truly fit in with the grand sets of old (CC, GG, PS...) in terms of size while keeping the interior detailing at its current level, and maybe even adding some interior walls.

[Sir Stig]

Post office is a little outdated, isn't it?

What I hope for:

-Some kind of education facility. 

-Art shop/gallery.

 

I hope Lego adjust their approach to modulars:

- make them into 16x16 buildings with two or more alternate interior solutions. Combine two and get a 16x32. combine more for bigger buildings.

- It also lowers the entry level for collecting modular buildings, while making it more customizable. So each Lego city will be more unique, even if they are based on the same sets.

- If they make the sidewalk much more narrow, they can utilise the inside area, and it would fit the road baseplates better.

- It could even have open back as a 16x16. When you combine two, you simply move one side of each to the back to get an enclosed 16x32 modular with open solution inside. Add more for height, width or dual sided facades. As an added bonus open back also appeal to city collectors.

It takes a little more effort in designing the sets, but it opens up many possibilities. Windows could be 2 wide on 16 wide version, 4 on 32 wide version (maybe some 6 wide on upper floors). Using half arches where possible also increases options for customization. The instructions would be bigger though, with 2/3/4 alternate versions. Could have one alternate, with link to online instructions. Buying even more of the same set, replacing the facade bricks and moc interior is also an option.

[Wookiee]

I agree with a couple of posts above.Move to a larger Modular as per RogerSmith suggestion with a detailed interior, move the price up to allow for this. While Mid year release a 16 wide cheaper version but fits the modular standard as per Sir Stig. I disagree with the moving of footpaths or the open backs idea though.

 

This would allow more flexibility in price and selection and give an entry level to building a modular system. The timing of Mid year also means collectors are not waiting a year and we could have 6-8 buildings available at one time with the 3-4 year life cycle.

[ReplicaOfLife]

21 hours ago, Sir Stig said:

Post office is a little outdated, isn't it?

Not for the modular line, which, apart from the time traveling computer in the Town Hall, generally seems to portay scenes somewherein the time between the 30ies and 60ies.

 

21 hours ago, Sir Stig said:

I hope Lego adjust their approach to modulars:

- make them into 16x16 buildings with two or more alternate interior solutions. Combine two and get a 16x32. combine more for bigger buildings.

- It also lowers the entry level for collecting modular buildings, while making it more customizable. So each Lego city will be more unique, even if they are based on the same sets.

- If they make the sidewalk much more narrow, they can utilise the inside area, and it would fit the road baseplates better.

- It could even have open back as a 16x16. When you combine two, you simply move one side of each to the back to get an enclosed 16x32 modular with open solution inside. Add more for height, width or dual sided facades. As an added bonus open back also appeal to city collectors.

While not compatible with the modulars, that's pretty much what the smaller Creator buildings like Bike Shop & Cafe, Corner Cafe or Park Street Townhouse are there for. No need to further dilute the modular line.

[koalayummies]

2 minutes ago, RogerSmith said:

Not for the modular line, which, apart from the time traveling computer in the Town Hall, generally seems to portay scenes somewherein the time between the 30ies and 60ies.

 

Yeah and even without that apparent time-period restriction (for the argument sake of just saying the buildings themselves are old and not necessarily the scene) a post office is still quite relevant, my local USPS is always bustling with customers. On the flip side of outdated I've never seen a detectives office in my lifetime but that doesn't make it any less fantastic a subject matter or modular building set.

[BrickFit26]

A post office would be interesting. I can imagine a bookstore attached to it too.