Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[jonwil]

I think the best hope for buildings from Ideas is for things that are totally different to what LEGO is producing or might produce. Like the Old Fishing Store and the Blacksmith.

[Vilhelm22]

16 hours ago, Aanchir said:

For my part, I don't have much preference between sets with one property or multiple properties per "lot". I think which is suitable for a given set depends mostly on whether the contents of a particular type of property take up enough space to justify devoting the entire baseplate to it. And in fact, when one property IS able to justify an entire 32-stud-wide lot on its own, it's often because it's a property that is implicitly multi-purpose.

For example, the Fire Brigade set, like a real firehouse, includes both the living quarters for the firefighters AND the garage where their truck and other work equipment are kept. Likewise, the Grand Emporium is a department store, so it effectively functions as a clothing store, jeweler, toy store, and housewares store all in one! The Palace Cinema dedicates one floor to the movie theater itself, and another to smaller areas where business is conducted like the ticket window and concession stand. And of course, the Town Hall includes multiple offices, an auditorium, and a conference room.

There are certainly several possibilities we haven't seen as Modular Building sets yet that would genuinely be large enough, magnificent enough, and varied enough on their own to justify dedicating an entire 32-stud-wide lot to them — for example, a museum/library (though the latter might feel a bit repetitive so soon after the Bookshop), hospital, school, train station, opera house, embassy, or luxury hotel (as opposed to the smaller hotel in the Cafe Corner set). In fact, I'd go so far as to say it'd be hard to depict these sorts of subjects at a Modular Building standard of quality if they DIDN'T occupy a 32-stud-wide lot on their own.

At the same time, there are also loads of unexplored possibilities that would likely be more fitting as part of a shared lot with other properties (or as a subsection of another, larger property) — for instance, a hardware store, sporting goods store, record store, bike shop, antique shop, pawn shop, arcade, bowling alley, Chinese restaurant, Italian restaurant, ice cream parlor, deli, daycare center, post office, art gallery, or pharmacy. I feel like a lot of these options would end up feeling monotonous or repetitive compared to other Modular Building sets if they occupied two or three stories of an entire 32-stud-wide lot all on their own.

And honestly? I think I'd be pretty happy with future Modular Building sets that explore options from either of these categories, as long as they portray the subject matter in question with the level of cleverness, intricacy, and artfulness that we've come to expect.
 

On another note: I know some people's preference for "single-purpose" or "multi-purpose" Modular Building sets is more about aesthetics (for example, disliking structures with a narrow facade like the donut shop and police annex from this year's Police Station set) than about what actually goes on inside them. But I think it's important to recognize that as a separate distinction. After all, the Cafe Corner, Green Grocer, Corner Garage, and Parisian Restaurant are all multi-purpose buildings, but the properties are stacked on top of each other rather than arranged side-by-side, so the same design language appears across the entire width of their respective lots.

Likewise, even though the Brick Bank's neo-classical style is interrupted on the right side by the narrower building that includes the laundromat and bank manager's office, that still gives the main bank building about as much "frontage" as a building like the Fire Brigade that isn't built on a street corner. So I think there are a lot of ways for designers to give a Modular Building an imposing and visually consistent facade even if the lot in question IS divided into multiple properties. And likewise, there are plenty of ways for them to horizontally break up a single property's facade, such as the Police Station's annex, or the bay windows on the right side of the Green Grocer's upstairs apartments.

Thank you for your very in-depth analysis @Aanchir!  My issue is really that I have only been collecting modulars a few years now, and nearly all of mine are 'multi facade' - AS and DO being the prime examples.  Then my issue with CG is that the functions are all so completely different.  In terms of how united the different functions are, PC is by far the best of mine for that.

 

16 hours ago, Aanchir said:

Yeah, I think a corner building is probably a pretty safe bet. Even if we can't be sure that LEGO will always continue to follow a strict pattern with these releases, I don't think they'd want to risk creating a greater sense of repetition by making corner buildings LESS frequent.

I also don't think that the Spring Lantern Festival set or Daily Bugle set are any more likely to end up changing the plans for the main Modular Buildings Collection than the Ninjago City sets — which feature the same connections between buildings and between floors of each building, but also their own independent set of standards for the placement of sidewalks, elevated walkways, and canals.

True - I'd completely forgotten about the Ninjago ones, having no interest in them...  I agree that corners being less frequent would be seriously unpopular with many.

 

16 hours ago, Aanchir said:

That said, I don't think it'd be unlikely at all to continue seeing more Modular Building style sets from other themes like Super Heroes or the Chinese Festival sets in future years, especially now that LEGO has shown that they're willing to do so and not worried about those sets cannibalizing sales of the main collection.

Even Ideas projects in a Modular Building style (whether based on a pop-culture property, based on a real place, or wholly original) might have a better shot at approval these days than in the past… at least as long as they clearly stand out enough from the main collection to clearly be "their own thing" that happens to be compatible, rather than just a fan-made addition to the main collection like many of the Modular Building proposals that have been turned down in the past.

Agreed - they're appearing now and I reckon will continue to do so.  I'd be interested to know what other themes people would like to see modulars in.  On the Ideas front, I honestly don't expect any in the future really - but it should be noted that there are 5 rejected projects in the pipeline for the Bricklink Designer Program:  Train Station: Studgate, Retro Bowling Alley, Modular Lego Store, Venetian Houses, and Modular Construction Site.

 

[Undi3sss]

On 7/11/2021 at 10:55 PM, Vilhelm22 said:

Agreed - they're appearing now and I reckon will continue to do so.  I'd be interested to know what other themes people would like to see modulars in.  On the Ideas front, I honestly don't expect any in the future really - but it should be noted that there are 5 rejected projects in the pipeline for the Bricklink Designer Program:  Train Station: Studgate, Retro Bowling Alley, Modular Lego Store, Venetian Houses, and Modular Construction Site.

 

It might be too similar to NInjago but i'd love Monkie Kid to have a modular series - the little side buildings we got in some of the Monkie Kid sets were really nice. 

[Lyichir]

3 hours ago, Undi3sss said:

It might be too similar to NInjago but i'd love Monkie Kid to have a modular series - the little side buildings we got in some of the Monkie Kid sets were really nice. 

That would be awesome! Personally I'd even be happy with even a set like the various "City Center" sorts of sets in the City theme, with a variety of smaller buildings and urban vehicles in one box.
It's probably not like that we'll get either as actual sets, though, at least not soon. Spoilers for season 2 for anyone who cares about the story and hasn't caught up with the latest season:

Spoiler

Season 2 ends with the protagonists embarking on a literal "Journey to the West", suggesting that next year's story is more likely to take place well outside the main city where the first two seasons predominantly took place.

In the meantime, I wouldn't be opposed to trying to come up with something like that on my own, either, maybe expanding some of the buildings that exist in the sets so far into full modular-scale establishments. I think I've seen some people do that themselves already.
 

[Wesley D]

The Daily Bugle building looks quite impressive between the modular buildings. I'm amazed it doesn't even need the whole width of its baseplate to be a substantial tower building!

IMHO the contrast in colors and in height makes up for a nice visual effect, which makes the standard modulars really shine.

Does anyone plan to add the Daily Bugle to their collection or have you already done so?

I am quite interested, but since I'm not into licenced stuff, I would remplace the minifigures and adjust the signage. The biggest challenge however would be to add a working elevator. The lack hereoff and especially the fake elevator doors in the set are a big turn off for me. I suspect it would have been handled differently in a standard modular set.

I'm curious if there will be an elevator in a modular anytime soon, since the only one we have seen has been a while ago, in the Town Hall.

[Kalahari134]

If we ever get a hospital, an elevator would be a must.

[westracing01]

My kingdom to get an official hospital. 

[Vilhelm22]

On 8/2/2021 at 11:15 PM, Kalahari134 said:

If we ever get a hospital, an elevator would be a must.

Yes - you can’t get beds up staircases when there’s a person in them.

 

I’m also wondering - Fiat 500 is getting a recolour - could modulars get that too?  I’d like to see that on CC, GG, PS, and BS if it did, as the most realistic recolours in my opinion.

Edited August 5, 2021 by Vilhelm22

[RichardGoring]

3 hours ago, Vilhelm22 said:

Yes - you can’t get beds up staircases when there’s a person in them.

I don't think you're trying hard enough ;)

3 hours ago, Vilhelm22 said:

I’m also wondering - Fiat 500 is getting a recolour - could modulars get that too?  I’d like to see that on CC, GG, PS, and BS if it did, as the most realistic recolours in my opinion.

That would be pretty cool. I enjoy seeing people colour swap the Book Shop house to create a rainbow row. It's very pretty and I can see that being particularly successful.

[Wesley D]

4 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

 I enjoy seeing people colour swap the Book Shop house to create a rainbow row. It's very pretty and I can see that being particularly successful.

It looks great (better in real life than on my picture), but I don't think LEGO will release those in different colors.

I recommend everyone to start collecting the required parts and build a row of colored townhouses!

[RichardGoring]

1 hour ago, Wesley D said:

It looks great (better in real life than on my picture), but I don't think LEGO will release those in different colors.

I recommend everyone to start collecting the required parts and build a row of colored townhouses!

It really is lovely.

Did you get all the pieces separately, or buy four sets and use the other bookshops for parts? If all separately, how much, roughly was each townhouse?

Edited August 5, 2021 by RichardGoring

[Wesley D]

20 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

Did you get all the pieces separately, or buy four sets and use the other bookshops for parts? If all separately, how much, roughly was each townhouse?

I did get the original Bookshop and have bought the parts separately for the other rowhouses.

I'm sorry I can't say how much it costed me, I didn't keep track of my expenses. It also makes it easier to enjoy it, expensive as LEGO is!

Edited August 6, 2021 by Wesley D

[RichardGoring]

6 hours ago, Wesley D said:

I did get the original Bookshop an have bought the parts separately for the other rowhouses.

I'm sorry I can't say how much it costed me, I didn't keep track of my expenses. I also makes it easier to enjoy it, expensive as LEGO is!

Ha ha! Definitely fair. I need to stop looking at costs for my MOCs.

[MSY-MSP]

On 7/9/2021 at 8:23 AM, Vilhelm22 said:

Quite honestly, I really don't want that.  Brutalist makes me think of the Barbican in London, which I detest as a Londoner myself for a number of reasons (admittedly many of these, such as the dangers of being mugged and house prices, are not issues that would occur in LEGO!).  Either way, I think it's a generally quite plain and boring style, and frequently uses dull colours, so I think wouldn't fit in particularly well.

It might just be like the Barbican.  Have you seen the crime rate in Lego City lately?  Since they introduced a Police Station it might be a hint that they are going to do something that will need a police presence for.  

Though in all seriousness, I am thinking that next modular is going to have a food or drink theme to it.  Granted the Police Station had a donut shop in it, but it seems that about every 4 years they do something with a food theme to it as the major theme.  (not that it really can be counted on as a real guide).  Also as of right now there is no building with a food theme since PR and DD both have retired.  I also tend to agree that it will be a corner building.  (I think that it might have to do with you can get four modulars on an Ikea Lack shelf).

So with a food and drink theme in mind and a corner building, what comes to mind.  The first thing I can think of is a corner bakery. The second thing I can think of is a coffee shop.  A third idea might be a convenience store.

One other idea I could think of is a corner bar.  Now I know what you all are thinking, Lego won't do anything that promotes drinking in a modern setting.  However, I am wondering with the rebranding to 18+ they might consider a break from this hard and fast rule.  Bars/Pubs are found all over the world and are a common site in cities.  So having one wouldn't be out of place in this line.  It is considered socially acceptable for adults to go to a pub for a drink and/or eat (within moderation).  Most civilized countries have a drinking age of right around 18 (the US aside, and I won't comment on the issues with that) so the subject matter would be age appropriate.  If it were a pub, maybe include a taxi as vehicle.  Just an out there thought.  

[Vilhelm22]

48 minutes ago, MSY-MSP said:

Though in all seriousness, I am thinking that next modular is going to have a food or drink theme to it.  Granted the Police Station had a donut shop in it, but it seems that about every 4 years they do something with a food theme to it as the major theme.  (not that it really can be counted on as a real guide).  Also as of right now there is no building with a food theme since PR and DD both have retired.  I also tend to agree that it will be a corner building.  (I think that it might have to do with you can get four modulars on an Ikea Lack shelf).

So with a food and drink theme in mind and a corner building, what comes to mind.  The first thing I can think of is a corner bakery. The second thing I can think of is a coffee shop.  A third idea might be a convenience store.

One other idea I could think of is a corner bar.  Now I know what you all are thinking, Lego won't do anything that promotes drinking in a modern setting.  However, I am wondering with the rebranding to 18+ they might consider a break from this hard and fast rule.  Bars/Pubs are found all over the world and are a common site in cities.  So having one wouldn't be out of place in this line.  It is considered socially acceptable for adults to go to a pub for a drink and/or eat (within moderation).  Most civilized countries have a drinking age of right around 18 (the US aside, and I won't comment on the issues with that) so the subject matter would be age appropriate.  If it were a pub, maybe include a taxi as vehicle.  Just an out there thought.  

Yeah - plus both CG and BS have no food at all - AS has a cafe and bakery, while PS has the donut shop as you said.

 I think a corner bar is possible - the last thing even remotely like that was in DO.  Have we ever had a butchers or fish shop?  What about a delicatessen or general farm shop?

Also - Germany has a drinking age of 16...

Edited August 12, 2021 by Vilhelm22

[Lion King]

I would love to see a small-size museum with botanical garden.  Or at least a greenhouse!

I do no think we haven’t seen any trees in Modular Builidngs? Talking about “heat island” (nod to climate change). It would be cool to see an urban forest in this Modular Building line. 

[The Brick Boss]

Never been a modular guy. But how about some type of regular office? That's something I'd like to see. 🏢

[RichardGoring]

2 hours ago, DBlegonerd7 said:

I would love to see a small-size museum with botanical garden.  Or at least a greenhouse!

I do no think we haven’t seen any trees in Modular Builidngs? Talking about “heat island” (nod to climate change). It would be cool to see an urban forest in this Modular Building line. 

There's a small tree in Detectives Office and Brick Bank, but nothing substantial.

I've just placed my final order for the parts for this botanical gardens MOC, which can also turn into a park if you remove the structure.

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-26998/BrickPolis/botanical-garden/

There are quite a few modular compatible parks in Ideas and Rebrickable. The Chinese New Year Spring Lantern Festival also works well as a park.

 

[noahtheb]

3 hours ago, DBlegonerd7 said:

I would love to see a small-size museum with botanical garden.  Or at least a greenhouse!

There is something like this, but it is off-brand lego. I don't know if I am allowed to say it on this site, so here is the link to a youtube review of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HP_5DyWjyw

[RichardGoring]

4 minutes ago, noahtheb said:

There is something like this, but it is off-brand lego. I don't know if I am allowed to say it on this site, so here is the link to a youtube review of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HP_5DyWjyw

Ha! This is the very thing I linked to above with Rebrickable instructions. I have to say, it's much. much cheaper to get off-brand vs the genuine LEGO parts. Sigh.

[noahtheb]

 

48 minutes ago, RichardGoring said:

Ha! This is the very thing I linked to above with Rebrickable instructions. I have to say, it's much. much cheaper to get off-brand vs the genuine LEGO parts. Sigh.

Sadly, yes. However, I will still always prefer genuine LEGO parts over these off-brand bricks, because of how much better LEGO's quality is. I still have yet to see an off-brand make bricks that are identical in quality to LEGO bricks.

[RichardGoring]

1 hour ago, noahtheb said:

 

Sadly, yes. However, I will still always prefer genuine LEGO parts over these off-brand bricks, because of how much better LEGO's quality is. I still have yet to see an off-brand make bricks that are identical in quality to LEGO bricks.

Agreed. I've been gathering the pieces for this for almost a year now. Should be ready to build soon though.

[Lion King]

13 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

There's a small tree in Detectives Office and Brick Bank, but nothing substantial

 

Just a small tree? Well, the streets need some big trees!

[RichardGoring]

3 hours ago, DBlegonerd7 said:

Just a small tree? Well, the streets need some big trees!

You could get the Ideas treehouse for a really big tree that takes up the space of a building... ;)

You could incorporate the bonsai tree, the apple free from Medieval Blacksmith, or even something custom with the Winnie the Pooh set?

But yes, I agree. It would be nice to get a detailed scaled tree.

[Vilhelm22]

Bevins Bricks on YouTube has done a really nice transfer of the Bonsai Tree into a tree in his MILS shopping plaza.  It looks really good.

There have been several IDEAS models in the past of modular parks, sometimes with a big central tree - I wouldn’t like this to be THE modular but I’d like it to be a smaller one like 80107.