The Jersey Brick Guy

Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

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Hoping for a "classical" building, some kind of apartment or home. Maybe like the one in pet shop. We need a somewhat normal residential building in my opinion!

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Personally, the main thing I'm still hoping for is something more wheelchair-accessible than any of the past buildings have been. Now that there's a wheelchair piece it'd be nice to see a building with wheelchair accessibility in mind. And an access ramp in the front would be nice variety from the front steps and/or ground level front entrances that we're used to seeing in other Modular Building sets. Not to mention, in 2020 it will have been eight years since the Town Hall introduced the only elevator in a Creator Expert Modular Building set— and who knows how much better LEGO might be able to make an elevator today than they could back then?

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2 hours ago, LegoModularFan said:

Yes, so this topic is opened back... Let’s start discussing about the 2020 modular... :wink:

What could it be? In which architectural style it could be? How many pieces it can include? Who could be the designer? Plenty of things to discuss during a whole year...

I think they should go big with the next one, and put the price up to Assembly Square level. I would also love to see an apartment building, maybe with some type of business on the bottom floor. I'd also love to see an outdoor staircase, similar to the one that Ross had on Friends, where Joey and himself tried to climb down it. I think that would look really cool on a modular building, and give burglars access to higher levelled floors. 

In all honesty, I think Jamie should come back as a designer. I don't know if it's possible, or whether he's moved beyond designing sets or he just oversees them, but I think there's a lot of disappointment surrounding this year's announcement, and Jamie could win the AFOLs back over if he takes over for next years. I think it would be a great challenge for him, given the new direction of the modular buildings, and hopefully he could do something that's quite out of the ordinary for him too. 

I'm still all-in on a Police Station or Hospital... I'd love to have either of those, as well as a museum, but it would have to be grandiose in design, and look more like the Town Hall size with lots of extras on the interior. I know a lot of people have complained about the price bump, but the modulars are only around once per year, so if they went all out with 3,500 piece modulars, and sold them at £200-220, I personally wouldn't mind that at all. It's a once per year kinda thing, and £220 is about £4 per week saving, which I'd personally be happy to save in hope of the next modular... people spend the same every day on their coffee, which is nuts! In terms of a daily saving, the more expensive modular setup would only be 60p saving per day! 

I get that we want as many people to be able to afford them, but I think really purposefully built modulars that are perfectly designed would satisfy everyone if everyone could see just how much more you'd get... with so many people wanting so much from a £159 set, their expectations are invariably too high... so... I think a further price bump and an extra 1,000 pieces would be awesome! 

33 minutes ago, Aanchir said:

Who knows how much better LEGO might be able to make an elevator today than they could back then?

An elevator would be amazing - agreed! 

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1 hour ago, RuffDraft said:

I think they should go big with the next one, and put the price up to Assembly Square level.

While that would be an awesome building for sure, I think those kinds of huge price hikes are probably better to save for anniversary products like Town Hall and Assembly Square, particularly as it means less chance of there being more than one deluxe-sized building competing for people's attention at any given time. Besides, with the recent (smaller, but larger than anticipated) price increase on Corner Garage, it might not be a good idea to do anything that would create the impression that prices will just keep going up and up and up each year. A little more stability than that is probably in order for the time being.

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Well then,

after all the modulars we had so far, i think it's time for an accessoire set. Some set with additional things to live up your street of modulars.

And i'm not thinking minifigs, but lets say a modular park, with bins, additional trees, pavement etc. A phone booth? 
Howebout a paper stall? Or a food truck of some sort.. maybe a modular market?

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2 hours ago, Aanchir said:

While that would be an awesome building for sure, I think those kinds of huge price hikes are probably better to save for anniversary products like Town Hall and Assembly Square, particularly as it means less chance of there being more than one deluxe-sized building competing for people's attention at any given time. Besides, with the recent (smaller, but larger than anticipated) price increase on Corner Garage, it might not be a good idea to do anything that would create the impression that prices will just keep going up and up and up each year. A little more stability than that is probably in order for the time being.

Yeah, that's very true. I think you're right. I would just love to have buildings that were less restricted by parts numbers. I wouldn't mind if they were all the same size as say the Corner Garage, but just didn't have empty spaces or overlooked items etc. Super excited for next year's though... I think they'll come back with something that's really enticing next year - not another building that's on the outskirts of the city etc. but one that can really stand tall and be proud! 

On the other hand, if they continued with the 'outskirts' modulars, then at least you'd have a couple of buildings of the same DNA that are on the outskirts etc. 

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10 hours ago, Aanchir said:

Personally, the main thing I'm still hoping for is something more wheelchair-accessible than any of the past buildings have been. Now that there's a wheelchair piece it'd be nice to see a building with wheelchair accessibility in mind. And an access ramp in the front would be nice variety from the front steps and/or ground level front entrances that we're used to seeing in other Modular Building sets. Not to mention, in 2020 it will have been eight years since the Town Hall introduced the only elevator in a Creator Expert Modular Building set— and who knows how much better LEGO might be able to make an elevator today than they could back then?

The only downside is it kind of breaks the vague “period feel” to the buildings. You really didn’t start seeing ramps and wheelchair accessible buildings everywhere until the late 70’s - 80’s. Unless it was something like a Hospital. For an elevator to feel fully organic to these buildings it would almost need to be something like a hotel. Where it becomes an element of the story. Besides, and I’m not sure why, but I always think Jamie views elevators as cheating a little. He seemingly likes to design stairs such that you can stack the middle floors. 

7 hours ago, Jasper Joppe Geers said:

Well then,

after all the modulars we had so far, i think it's time for an accessoire set. Some set with additional things to live up your street of modulars.

And i'm not thinking minifigs, but lets say a modular park, with bins, additional trees, pavement etc. A phone booth? 
Howebout a paper stall? Or a food truck of some sort.. maybe a modular market?

There was a recent City Park set. Plus a number of The smaller Super Heroe sets have some accessories that work amazingly well with modulates. Street Signs, traffic lights, news stands and paper vending machines, etc. granted your city layout is almost always “Bleeker St.” Also some of the seasonal holiday sets were wonderful for fleshing out city streets. 

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I really liked how they did the Flower Cart polybag with Detective's Office, and am surprised they haven't done anything similar since. Maybe next year they can do an addition car to go with the garage?

11 hours ago, Jasper Joppe Geers said:

Well then,

after all the modulars we had so far, i think it's time for an accessoire set. Some set with additional things to live up your street of modulars.

And i'm not thinking minifigs, but lets say a modular park, with bins, additional trees, pavement etc. A phone booth? 
Howebout a paper stall? Or a food truck of some sort.. maybe a modular market?

Lego does the Xtra polybag series, which is similar to what you describe, there's a botanical one, bikes & skateboards, food, lamp posts and a traffic light one. They're really great, I got a few with spare VIP points back when it was free shipping a few weeks ago.

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13 hours ago, Faefrost said:

The only downside is it kind of breaks the vague “period feel” to the buildings. You really didn’t start seeing ramps and wheelchair accessible buildings everywhere until the late 70’s - 80’s. Unless it was something like a Hospital. For an elevator to feel fully organic to these buildings it would almost need to be something like a hotel. Where it becomes an element of the story. Besides, and I’m not sure why, but I always think Jamie views elevators as cheating a little. He seemingly likes to design stairs such that you can stack the middle floors. 

21 hours ago, Jasper Joppe Geers said:

A service lift in a hotel or a lift in a hospital (large enough to fit a trolley and porter) would be great.

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On 12/10/2018 at 10:55 AM, The_Nev said:

I really liked how they did the Flower Cart polybag with Detective's Office, and am surprised they haven't done anything similar since. Maybe next year they can do an addition car to go with the garage?

I'd been thinking exactly the same thing. The flower cart polybag was such a great little set and it would be great if they took this approach again and made a little car set to accompany the corner garage.

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54 minutes ago, Bricked1980 said:

I'd been thinking exactly the same thing. The flower cart polybag was such a great little set and it would be great if they took this approach again and made a little car set to accompany the corner garage.

You know what is so magical about that flower cart? It can make an AFOL buy a new modular on the month that it's released, despite his or her normal tendency to wait up to a two years for some sort of sale or VIP points incentive. But I'm kind of glad LEGO isn't following the common video game practice taking part of the finish game and selling it as DLC. "You want a tow-truck for your corner garage? We made the designer work over the holidays to come up with this baby. Totally unplanned <wink>."

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On 12/10/2018 at 5:55 AM, The_Nev said:

I really liked how they did the Flower Cart polybag with Detective's Office, and am surprised they haven't done anything similar since. Maybe next year they can do an addition car to go with the garage?

Well, it wasn't a polybag and wasn't launched the same month as the Brick Bank, but there was the Fountain gift with purchase from June 2016 that we can safely assume the designers expected AFOLs to add to their modular towns, since like the Flower Cart, it featured a minifig-scale town setting with a generic smiley-faced minifigure rather than a more expressive one like Creator 3-in-1 sets.

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So, I missed out on the Brick Bank and I really want. And the secondary markets are very brutal with their price increase. Any ideas on how to get a good deal at the same original price?

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8 hours ago, BrickFit26 said:

So, I missed out on the Brick Bank and I really want. And the secondary markets are very brutal with their price increase. Any ideas on how to get a good deal at the same original price?

Just set a price with yourself that you’re willing to pay, then have patience. Check eBay or whatever shopping site you frequent. I know it’s not much help.. :tongue: but it’s a start.

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On 12/15/2018 at 8:47 PM, Vindicare said:

Just set a price with yourself that you’re willing to pay, then have patience. Check eBay or whatever shopping site you frequent. I know it’s not much help.. :tongue: but it’s a start.

Ugh. It's tough out there.

On 12/16/2018 at 2:20 PM, AFOLguy1970 said:

I see some BB's listed on Bricklink close to retail.  There are not many, but they are there for now.  

Thanks for the tip.

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I think most of what I'm hoping for in a Modular is contrary to Lego's current design emphasis for the Modular line.

I would like a single-use building (i.e. not a combination of multiple businesses or business / residential). I would like something with an impressive scale, although it doesn't need to be physically bigger than the Town Hall. But, I would like the design to emphasize its impressiveness and grandeur. I would like to see a return to more grand, classical architectural details, that is, a building which is designed to look beautiful and to inspire wonder. I don't mind the Modulars which look like "ordinary" buildings (although the Detective's Office is my least favourite), but after a run of those, I would like some more majestic. A building which would be a point of interest and admiration in a "real" town.

There are a multitude of buildings which I would like to see, including: small / cottage hospital, school, library, museum, apartment building, court house, police station, etc.

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12 hours ago, Agent 86 said:

I think most of what I'm hoping for in a Modular is contrary to Lego's current design emphasis for the Modular line.

I would like a single-use building (i.e. not a combination of multiple businesses or business / residential). I would like something with an impressive scale, although it doesn't need to be physically bigger than the Town Hall. But, I would like the design to emphasize its impressiveness and grandeur. I would like to see a return to more grand, classical architectural details, that is, a building which is designed to look beautiful and to inspire wonder. I don't mind the Modulars which look like "ordinary" buildings (although the Detective's Office is my least favourite), but after a run of those, I would like some more majestic. A building which would be a point of interest and admiration in a "real" town.

There are a multitude of buildings which I would like to see, including: small / cottage hospital, school, library, museum, apartment building, court house, police station, etc.

Does the Brick Bank not count as grand? Granted, it shares a baseplate with a laundromat, but it still features some pretty gorgeous classical architecture.

Personally I tend to favor the more interesting layouts provided by businesses which share a baseplate, and see details like the ornate brick facade of the Corner Garage as being just as impressive as more "pure" classical architecture.

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14 hours ago, Agent 86 said:

I don't mind the Modulars which look like "ordinary" buildings (although the Detective's Office is my least favourite), but after a run of those, I would like some more majestic. A building which would be a point of interest and admiration in a "real" town.

I think you're underestimating how big a "point of interest and admiration" even more modern or "ordinary" buildings can be, whether in real life or in LEGO. In my hometown, one of our most beloved and famous landmarks that isn't a battlefield or monument is Carl's Ice Cream, a tiny, one-story building with no interior dining area founded in 1947. It's decidedly LESS impressive to look at than such sets as the Downtown Diner, but it speaks to a sense of comfort and nostalgia that people of all ages can relate to.

And anyhow, even a lot of the earliest Modular Buildings were not only "ordinary" buildings, but also mixed-use ones: Cafe Corner featured a downstairs coffeeshop and upstairs hotel; Market Street featured an outdoor farmer's market, downstairs bakery, and upstairs apartment; and Green Grocer featured a downstairs grocery store and upstairs apartment complex. In fact, Fire Brigade, Grand Emporium, Town Hall, and Palace Cinema are really the ONLY Modular Buildings that could be considered "single-use": every other set has included between two and eight commercial and/or residential properties. So it seems strange to characterize "ordinary", mixed-use buildings as LEGO's "current design emphasis" as though it's not the philosophy that characterized the series from the beginning.

But I agree that to maintain the overall sense of variety the series as a whole has always embraced, a more stately/ornate/majestic building would probably be a good follow-up to the more blue-collar Corner Garage. Your suggestions also seem like they could all have a lot of potential. As far as impressive scale goes, I don't see any need to worry about this if Corner Garage's price point turns out to be the new standard. After all, it's already got the second highest roof line and second largest floor plan of any of the sets since Town Hall.

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6 hours ago, Aanchir said:
21 hours ago, Agent 86 said:

I would like some more majestic. A building which would be a point of interest and admiration in a "real" town.

I think you're underestimating how big a "point of interest and admiration" even more modern or "ordinary" buildings can be, 

I get where Agent 86 is coming from - I don't think he was suggesting modern/ordinary buildings can't be focal points for interest/admiration, just that he'd like the next modular to be a large, majestic building that would be universally recognised as one. For example, had I been driving past Carl's without having the benefit of reading your post, chances are wouldnt have noticed it (ok, maybe I would, but because of the queues rather than the architecture!). But had I been passing say, The Ferry Farm or courthouse, it would have been a different story! (Just spent an enjoyable time mooching round Fredericksburg on Google street-view, looks like a very interesting place!)

9 hours ago, Lyichir said:

Does the Brick Bank not count as grand?

In my opinion the small proportions of the BB prevent it from being truly classed as 'grand' (although I think that's what they were going for, and I agree it's beautifully done).  Add a couple of extra floors on, and/or extend it sideways by half again, and I'd say yes.

My personal preference would be for a more European style building (or buildings) next time. The last couple have leaned towards American so a change would keep things fresh. Classical architecture would be great, but I'm open to anything really. Maybe something with a Mediterranean feel? Mixed use doesn't bother me because it generally doesn't detract from the outside of the buildings, which is what I spend most of the time looking at anyway.

Edited by BenA
Clumsy fingers - hadn't finished!

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Just a quick reply to the above posts - my thoughts were just my personal opinion. And it's not one that Lego is going to pay any attention to when designing future Modulars!

As for the Brick Bank, it just doesn't hit that "sweet spot" of being grand for me. The run-down Laundromat being part of it doesn't help. But, even ignoring the Laundromat ... something about it just doesn't work for me despite the classic architectural elements and details. Perhaps it's just too squat and too narrow (being a corner building)?

The point about mixed used buildings is fair. I should have been clearer - I quite like Café Corner and Green Grocer is easily one of my top two. I guess I differentiate them from something like Detective's Office, Brick Bank, Downtown Diner and even Corner Garage which appear to include a mix of architectural styles (e.g. the Downtown Diner appears to be an older, plain building which was "renovated" to include the more extreme art deco elements, including the arch and diner awning, at a later date). So, a single cohesive building which happens to have mixed uses is my preferred form. Rather than multiple smaller builds (with the exception of Pet Shop, which is another favourite as two distinct, although smaller builds) or trying to evoke the development / renovation of buildings over time. Once again, that's just a personal preference.

At the end of the day, I'm going to buy each and every Modular that Lego releases. And, if I had a bigger discretionary budget for Lego, then I'd buy multiples of some of the less favoured Modulars (e.g. Brick Bank) to up-scale them more to my personal liking.

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On 12/19/2018 at 9:15 PM, Agent 86 said:

I think most of what I'm hoping for in a Modular is contrary to Lego's current design emphasis for the Modular line.

I would like a single-use building (i.e. not a combination of multiple businesses or business / residential). I would like something with an impressive scale, although it doesn't need to be physically bigger than the Town Hall. But, I would like the design to emphasize its impressiveness and grandeur. I would like to see a return to more grand, classical architectural details, that is, a building which is designed to look beautiful and to inspire wonder. I don't mind the Modulars which look like "ordinary" buildings (although the Detective's Office is my least favourite), but after a run of those, I would like some more majestic. A building which would be a point of interest and admiration in a "real" town.

There are a multitude of buildings which I would like to see, including: small / cottage hospital, school, library, museum, apartment building, court house, police station, etc.

I would like a nice as you say “Grand” building. We’re overdue for a new Government Anchor building. Civil buildings seem the most likely to fit what you describe. For a European style building a Post Office would be perfect. While a Police Precinct would be an excellent American style. And am Ithe only one wishing that they would sneak a licensed building or two into the modular? A full blown Dr. Stranges brownstone from the comics or Avengers Central Park ?Mansion would be amazing. Or a Dailly Bugle building. 

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2 hours ago, Faefrost said:

I would like a nice as you say “Grand” building. We’re overdue for a new Government Anchor building. Civil buildings seem the most likely to fit what you describe. For a European style building a Post Office would be perfect. While a Police Precinct would be an excellent American style. And am Ithe only one wishing that they would sneak a licensed building or two into the modular? A full blown Dr. Stranges brownstone from the comics or Avengers Central Park ?Mansion would be amazing. Or a Dailly Bugle building. 

That would be awesome. A Wayne manor has been on people’s minds for quite some time. Plus, I don’t think having a themed building like that would alienate costumers because the only real deterrent would be some of the minifigs. Whether it be a Daily Bugle/Planet, Strange’s brownstone or what have you. The building would just be another Modular, more or less. 

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