Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[LegoModularFan]

2 hours ago, Bricked1980 said:

That's only 7 months though which sounds like an very short amount of time to design something as complex as a modular building.

That may be short amount of time to design a modular for Lego but that’s not really short IMO... There are many great MOCers making MOC Modulars in several weeks and they can look really stunning. 

[Faefrost]

13 hours ago, Bricked1980 said:

I would have thought this too but in the video Mike says that the work on DD started in September 2016 and was completed in March 2017. That's only 7 months though which sounds like an very short amount of time to design something as complex as a modular building.

That's design side. With a Jan 1 2018 release date that puts its cycle at about 18 months. Which is probably about right for a standalone "non theme" D2C set. Remember Design is only part of the process. Unless they are designing new molds and tooling 7 months should be more than enough design time for a single set. I suspect that due to their very core nature the Modulars don't require quite as much design time and validation. They are the designers putting their AFOL hats on and MOC'ing. They don't have a lot of play features to validate. The basic footprint is pretty well predetermined, etc. Not a lot of moving parts. 

[Bricked1980]

8 hours ago, Faefrost said:

That's design side. With a Jan 1 2018 release date that puts its cycle at about 18 months. Which is probably about right for a standalone "non theme" D2C set. Remember Design is only part of the process. Unless they are designing new molds and tooling 7 months should be more than enough design time for a single set. I suspect that due to their very core nature the Modulars don't require quite as much design time and validation. They are the designers putting their AFOL hats on and MOC'ing. They don't have a lot of play features to validate. The basic footprint is pretty well predetermined, etc. Not a lot of moving parts. 

Ah yes I see. Yes I suppose the Modulars or any set aimed at adults is probably not subjected to quite as much rigorous testing, market research, play testing etc, as say, a Lego City set or something aimed at children would have to be.

[ReplicaOfLife]

On 7.3.2018 at 4:20 PM, LegoModularFan said:

That may be short amount of time to design a modular for Lego but that’s not really short IMO... There are many great MOCers making MOC Modulars in several weeks and they can look really stunning. 

7 months is quite a lot, actually. Don't forget, they do that for a living. If we project 40h a week, you can get a LOT of design work done in seven months. I never tallied how long it takes me to design a MOC, but I guess it'd boil down to about two to three working weeks of work...about 60-100 hours, approximately.

Plus they have others they can consult.

Edited March 8, 2018 by RogerSmith

[Bricked1980]

I wonder if Mike will be the designer for the next modular again. My guess is he will as it would seem odd just to assign the job to him for one year. Also it seems that Jamie is now one of the designers for architecture so I can't imagine that would leave him much time to work on creator expert stuff as well.

[koalayummies]

2 hours ago, Bricked1980 said:

I wonder if Mike will be the designer for the next modular again. My guess is he will as it would seem odd just to assign the job to him for one year. Also it seems that Jamie is now one of the designers for architecture so I can't imagine that would leave him much time to work on creator expert stuff as well.

Mike's DD is amazing, one of the best so far but there's also Astrid (TH and PC) as well a number of other great designers at Lego who would probably do great things if given the opportunity to do one modular. Some fans have a sort of cult-like following that it has to be Jamie and that Jamie's designs are always the best and that '_____' would have been better if Jamie did it and so on. Just clicking on the designer video for the DD featuring Mike the very first comment is: "what happened to Jamie?". Yeah his work is awesome but seeing Astrid and Mike's work makes me want to see what other talented Lego designers can do with the modular theme. But after DD I would love to see another by Mike too.

[LegoModularFan]

9 hours ago, koalayummies said:

Mike's DD is amazing, one of the best so far but there's also Astrid (TH and PC) as well a number of other great designers at Lego who would probably do great things if given the opportunity to do one modular. Some fans have a sort of cult-like following that it has to be Jamie and that Jamie's designs are always the best and that '_____' would have been better if Jamie did it and so on. Just clicking on the designer video for the DD featuring Mike the very first comment is: "what happened to Jamie?". Yeah his work is awesome but seeing Astrid and Mike's work makes me want to see what other talented Lego designers can do with the modular theme. But after DD I would love to see another by Mike too.

Can’t agree more! I like every single modular (of course except the MS) even the PC, it’s limo, stickers and interior aren’t very important for me, only it’s exterior is important as I’ll put my modulars in my future city and it looks really impressive from the exterior IMO. The brick-built doors are one of the specialities of Astrid which I really like for example. I’m just very happy to see different great designers than only Jamie, and welcome for any changes like the non-smiley faces... 

[Bricked1980]

10 hours ago, koalayummies said:

Yeah his work is awesome but seeing Astrid and Mike's work makes me want to see what other talented Lego designers can do with the modular theme.

I completely agree. Jamie has designed some fantastic modulars and there is no doubt he is one of the best designers working for Lego. After 4 years working on back to back modulars though I think they did the right thing bringing in Mike as even the best designers will start to run out of ideas over time. Mike has breathed fresh air in to the series and introduced a different style and flavour with DD.

Changing the designers around from time to time helps to keep the series fresh.

[Jasper Joppe Geers]

Well, i'm a bit of a Jamie afficionado, simply because he started the whole Modular idea some ten years ago.
I think that's the main reason why some people get a bit extra axcited when a Jamie design is around the corner. 

Without any disrespect to all the other designers of course! 

[AFOLguy1970]

13 hours ago, koalayummies said:

Mike's DD is amazing, one of the best so far but there's also Astrid (TH and PC) as well a number of other great designers at Lego who would probably do great things if given the opportunity to do one modular. Some fans have a sort of cult-like following that it has to be Jamie and that Jamie's designs are always the best and that '_____' would have been better if Jamie did it and so on. Just clicking on the designer video for the DD featuring Mike the very first comment is: "what happened to Jamie?". Yeah his work is awesome but seeing Astrid and Mike's work makes me want to see what other talented Lego designers can do with the modular theme. But after DD I would love to see another by Mike too.

I must also agree.  Jamie has come out with some great modulars, including my favorite in the PR.  However, having multiple designers does seem to add more variety and techniques into the line compared to what you would get if there was only one sole designer.  When the DD photos first released, it was interesting to note that some people did not think that Jamie designed it, simply because there was just something different about it. 

One thing I do not miss is the forced storyline which we saw in DO and BB.  I would rather have the "story" designed around the buildings than have the buildings designed around the story.  Not that I am blaming this on Jamie as he avoided that in PR and AS.  We really do not know who ultimately made the decision to design them that way.   I felt like TLG was making a mistake in the way that someone felt there was a need for a storyline which required designing a building around it, which unfortunately resulted in a significant number of parts devoted to building Prohibition cookie kitchens and an entire laundromat into a bank to push the "money laundering" gag.  My guess is that most of the people would rather see the parts dedicated to exterior detail, because when on display, that is the part of the building you see.  Some people care about interiors and some dont, but I am fine either way.  However, I doubt that a needed storyline is front and center in priority for a vast majority of us.  I suppose having different designers will help prevent the line from becoming stale down the road.  

[paupadros]

2 hours ago, Bricked1980 said:

I completely agree. Jamie has designed some fantastic modulars and there is no doubt he is one of the best designers working for Lego. After 4 years working on back to back modulars though I think they did the right thing bringing in Mike as even the best designers will start to run out of ideas over time. Mike has breathed fresh air in to the series and introduced a different style and flavour with DD.

Changing the designers around from time to time helps to keep the series fresh.

DD definetly has a different flavour than the other modulars. First off, while (I believe) both Jamie and Mike are Americans, Jamie seems to have a slightly more european eye than Mike. The shaping, the colouring etc., whereas Mike's diner is a little bit all over the place; it has really nice areas, but also parts that are seriously lacking.

I'll admit (though a real Jamie fanboy) that Mike has put amazing techniques that Jamie would never drop in a modular. The snotted façade or the front archway to say two. I don't really like either of the two designs Astrid did, thay just lack... charisma?

16 minutes ago, AFOLguy1970 said:

I must also agree.  Jamie has come out with some great modulars, including my favorite in the PR.  However, having multiple designers does seem to add more variety and techniques into the line compared to what you would get if there was only one sole designer.  When the DD photos first released, it was interesting to note that some people did not think that Jamie designed it, simply because there was just something different about it. 

Oh, yeah. The top roof at first sight felt somewhat un-Jamieish. I mean... No chicken or parrots floating around!?

On 7/3/2018 at 4:20 PM, LegoModularFan said:

That may be short amount of time to design a modular for Lego but that’s not really short IMO... There are many great MOCers making MOC Modulars in several weeks and they can look really stunning. 

Designing only certain afternoons, from twice to four times a week you can have a modular TOTALLY done within 2-3 months. Besides, they can be working on two models at a time 

[Bricked1980]

9 hours ago, AFOLguy1970 said:

Prohibition cookie kitchens and an entire laundromat into a bank to push the "money laundering" gag. 

I actually like the laundromat in BB. I'm a big fan of the modulars that create the effect of multiple buildings all on one base plate like we see in AS, DD and BB.

I do agree with you though. If they want to include a storyline in the set it should be more of a subtle after thought. Unlike the cookie smuggling story which in my opinion was too deeply embedded in to the design of detectives office.

Edited March 9, 2018 by Bricked1980

[ReplicaOfLife]

20 hours ago, AFOLguy1970 said:

One thing I do not miss is the forced storyline which we saw in DO and BB.  I would rather have the "story" designed around the buildings than have the buildings designed around the story.  Not that I am blaming this on Jamie as he avoided that in PR and AS.  We really do not know who ultimately made the decision to design them that way.   I felt like TLG was making a mistake in the way that someone felt there was a need for a storyline which required designing a building around it, which unfortunately resulted in a significant number of parts devoted to building Prohibition cookie kitchens and an entire laundromat into a bank to push the "money laundering" gag.  My guess is that most of the people would rather see the parts dedicated to exterior detail, because when on display, that is the part of the building you see.  Some people care about interiors and some dont, but I am fine either way.  However, I doubt that a needed storyline is front and center in priority for a vast majority of us.  I suppose having different designers will help prevent the line from becoming stale down the road.  

Yep.

Those stories, and especially the awful design decisions they led to, are the low point of the entire modular series. DO was already pretty bad, with the blue/brown building being absolutely useless except for the ground floor, but that laundromat section of BB was even worse. The way it's tacked on there is so ridiculous it makes me cringe.

Luckily, they seem to have abandoned that with AS and DD.

[Maple]

Ironic, DO is one of my favorite modulars.

[LegoModularFan]

On 09/03/2018 at 12:53 AM, koalayummies said:

Yeah his work is awesome but seeing Astrid and Mike's work makes me want to see what other talented Lego designers can do with the modular theme.

 

On 09/03/2018 at 11:34 AM, Bricked1980 said:

Changing the designers around from time to time helps to keep the series fresh.

 

21 hours ago, AFOLguy1970 said:

However, having multiple designers does seem to add more variety and techniques into the line compared to what you would get if there was only one sole designer.

What about @marcosbessa for example? He made some brilliant modulars when he was an AFOL!

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 10, 2018 by LegoModularFan

[sebitsena]

1 hour ago, RogerSmith said:

Yep.

Those stories, and especially the awful design decisions they led to, are the low point of the entire modular series. DO was already pretty bad, with the blue/brown building being absolutely useless except for the ground floor, but that laundromat section of BB was even worse. The way it's tacked on there is so ridiculous it makes me cringe.

Luckily, they seem to have abandoned that with AS and DD.

I am glad to see we are back to a single building on the baseplate. If TLG wants to release two buildings in a 32x32 area, please come with a Pet Shop like set!

1 hour ago, LegoModularFan said:

 

 

What about @marcosbessa for example? He made some brilliant modulars when he was an AFOL!

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I did not know Marco’s work. His work on modulars is great! I especially love the museum and the villa ;)

[LegoModularFan]

2 hours ago, sebitsena said:

I am glad to see we are back to a single building on the baseplate. If TLG wants to release two buildings in a 32x32 area, please come with a Pet Shop like set!

I personally like several buildings put in 32x32 or 48x32 baseplate. They look different and unique IMO... Three great examples:

Old Town Pub by @lookl (instructions)

Spoiler

 

A Summer In Tuscany by @paupadros

Spoiler

 

Pedestrian Street by @Brickenberg (support on Ideas)

Spoiler

 

2 hours ago, sebitsena said:

I did not know Marco’s work. His work on modulars is great! I especially love the museum and the villa ;)

Which one of his villas is your favorite? Villa Maison or Lionheart Villa? My favorite modulars by him are his both villas!

Edited March 10, 2018 by LegoModularFan

[paupadros]

6 hours ago, LegoModularFan said:

What about @marcosbessa for example? He made some brilliant modulars when he was an AFOL!

Some (many many) pages ago, when BB was released, there was a rumour of it being designed by Marcos, due to the signature on the huge pay check saying something like "M...".

As of single of multiple buildings on a baseplate (thx for the mention @LegoModularFan!), I'm all for it. It spices up the cityscapes and gives a chance to idea that would otherwise be scrapped for full buildings.

Having multiple buildings also opens up the possiblity of squares, alleyways and different layering when it comes to buildings (one more slightly in front than another, for instance), so I see them as a 1. realistic and 2. fun way to make modulars better.

7 hours ago, RogerSmith said:

Yep.

Those stories, and especially the awful design decisions they led to, are the low point of the entire modular series. DO was already pretty bad, with the blue/brown building being absolutely useless except for the ground floor, but that laundromat section of BB was even worse. The way it's tackled on there is so ridiculous it makes me cringe.

Luckily, they seem to have abandoned that with AS and DD.

The flesh/nougat building is well sorted out, in my opinion. I'll accept the blue building does not have the greatest interiors, but hey, everybody seemed to complain about wasting so many pieces on interiors not so long ago, and now we're getting picky about the second and third floors. And while you mention AS. To get to the dentist having to walk through a bakery. Sure... Nevermind, Lego should be fun and modulars always are regardless of dumb storylines (just for the record, I love the exterior of the blue building on DO. One of my favourites from the series, if not the best)

[sebitsena]

3 hours ago, LegoModularFan said:

I personally like several buildings put in 32x32 or 48x32 baseplate. They look different and unique IMO... Three great examples:

Old Town Pub by @lookl (instructions)

  Reveal hidden contents

 

A Summer In Tuscany by @paupadros

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Pedestrian Street by @Brickenberg (support on Ideas)

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Which one of his villas is your favorite? Villa Maison or Lionheart Villa? My favorite modulars by him are his both villas!

The Old Town Pub is wonderful! ?

My favorite villa is the Lionheart ?

[Nexogeek]

Anyone else wonder what a modular style set with the budget of the UCS Falcon would look like? 

[koalayummies]

28 minutes ago, Nexogeek said:

Anyone else wonder what a modular style set with the budget of the UCS Falcon would look like? 

Interesting. Picturing the equivalent of four to six modulars all in one set, ~128 to ~192 studs worth of city street. And numerous fans eating bread crumbs for several months after, a few admitted to hospital for malnutrition. Maybe a few ended relationships. Lower credit scores etc. Don't do it Lego.

[ReplicaOfLife]

2 hours ago, paupadros said:

The flesh/nougat building is well sorted out, in my opinion. I'll accept the blue building does not have the greatest interiors, but hey, everybody seemed to complain about wasting so many pieces on interiors not so long ago, and now we're getting picky about the second and third floors. And while you mention AS. To get to the dentist having to walk through a bakery. Sure... Nevermind, Lego should be fun and modulars always are regardless of dumb storylines (just for the record, I love the exterior of the blue building on DO. One of my favourites from the series, if not the best)

Yeah, the flesh building part of DO is alright. The blue building basically is just a staircase with a toilet and a kitchen in it. Thing is, the set doesn't look at all bad from the outside. It's just that what it seems to be portraying, and what actually fits inside are two entirely different things.

As for AS, yeah, the upper-floor access through the bakery is propably its its weak point, along with the external staircase. But I can overlook that as the buildings themselves have a decent enough footprint, and the interiors are great. And iIt would be easy enough to mod the set to have an actual, separate and enclosed staircase for those two buildings, whereas DO would require a complete overhaul.

[Bricked1980]

6 hours ago, LegoModularFan said:

I personally like several buildings put in 32x32 or 48x32 baseplate.

 

3 hours ago, paupadros said:

Having multiple buildings also opens up the possiblity of squares, alleyways and different layering when it comes to buildings

I agree with both these comments. Single buildings are nice but I really like it when they create multiple buildings on a single base plate. When all the modulars are displayed side by side it looks more realistic to have lots of different sized buildings squashed together rather than a street filled with individual buildings where every one is exactly the same width.

6 hours ago, LegoModularFan said:

Old Town Pub by @lookl (instructions)

  Reveal hidden contents

 

A Summer In Tuscany by @paupadros

I love both these MOCs.  That pub is stunning. I'm off to have a pint. 

[Digger of Bricks]

12 hours ago, LegoModularFan said:

What about @marcosbessa for example? He made some brilliant modulars when he was an AFOL!

That Earth Blue/Light Bluish Grey Museum of his is probably my favorite! 

[Faefrost]

Getting back to our fun game of speculating what comes next? We just had a very very American style building and an eatery, so what comes next will be in contrast to that. And also want some differentiation from Assembly Square, Which has a lot of small retail plus a medical office. I’m thinking something Government or service oriented. A British or European styled Post Office would seem to be a good possibility. Classical style building with lots of trim. Lots of interior detail and play possibilities. A nice mail truck etc. Other thoughts would be a Modular Police Precinct House, once again with older style police car. Or perhaps a Mechanics Garage laid out not to unlike the FB with street facing bay and extra tall ground floor to allow for a lift. Give that one a tow truck and car to repair. 

Thoughts and speculation?