Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[Maple]

10 hours ago, CastleRail said:

And much of Europe is equally sick of the sets that USA gets that are cheaper on release than our prices. Pot, kettle.

Like what sets? Because AGAIN Europe has a 20%+ VAT tax. That means that 20% should come off the price for the Americas. A 50 Euro set should be 40Euro outside of Europe, that's $45. Instead in the USA that means $70-$80.

Pot. Kettle. Eyeroll.

[Wesley D]

How do you all feel about Marvel Sanctum Sanctorum (76218) as a modular building?

At first sight I think it's a nice building in style of most of the modular buildings, but when looking closer I think it lacks the refinement the regular sets have. The windows in the upper floor are very simple, and I'm not convinced by the two levels of windows on the middle floor, the scale is off to me.

I feel it would take me a lot of changing the build before I would be satisfied enough. I'm not sure I'm skilled and committed enough to handle it and if I'm ready to pay for the parts and minifigures I don't care for.

[RichardGoring]

3 hours ago, Wesley D said:

How do you all feel about Marvel Sanctum Sanctorum (76218) as a modular building?

At first sight I think it's a nice building in style of most of the modular buildings, but when looking closer I think it lacks the refinement the regular sets have. The windows in the upper floor are very simple, and I'm not convinced by the two levels of windows on the middle floor, the scale is off to me.

I feel it would take me a lot of changing the build before I would be satisfied enough. I'm not sure I'm skilled and committed enough to handle it and if I'm ready to pay for the parts and minifigures I don't care for.

I agree. It's too small. The scale is wrong and it probably needs to be 30-50% larger. The fact that it looks like a four storey building, but it's the same height as the three storey modular demonstrates that too. And by increasing the size, you'd get the detail.

That's an advantage of a modular vs a model if a 'real' place. You can do things to get the scale right, while at other times make it too small, but in ways you don't notice as much.

[Wesley D]

2 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

That's an advantage of a modular vs a model if a 'real' place. You can do things to get the scale right, while at other times make it too small, but in ways you don't notice as much.

You´re right. When designing a random modular there is freedom to use all creativity or adaptation of an inspiring building. Here had to be stayed true to the source, within reasonable budget and incorporating play functions.

[jus1973]

That’s food for thought, as I was going to pick this up for £25 off, but now I’m not so sure.  I think I need to hunt down some pictures of it in a modular row before pulling the trigger.

[FrkW]

1 hour ago, jus1973 said:

That’s food for thought, as I was going to pick this up for £25 off, but now I’m not so sure.  I think I need to hunt down some pictures of it in a modular row before pulling the trigger.

Please share if you find any good ones! 

[rebelpilot]

I thought about getting it and using it as a more generic modular building when images were first released but quickly had second thoughts when I discovered the price, being more expensive than a similar sized modular. 

Funnily enough, I like the interior the best. 

I'd mod it so the two trans clear dish pieces are removed from the front of the building and any trace of the trans orange "portals" (I'm not familiar with the source material). But in my opinion the windows are wrong, or too undersized, looking at the source material and the black 1x2 grille pieces are supposed to represent 'juliet balconies' on the upper floors. 

37 minutes ago, FrkW said:

Please share if you find any good ones! 

 

Not really "in a row" since it's a corner building, but all the same....

 

Edited August 7, 2022 by rebelpilot

[FrkW]

34 minutes ago, rebelpilot said:

Not really "in a row" since it's a corner building, but all the same....

Thank you! I actually think it looks pretty good, especially next to the bookshop. The extra row of windows doesn't bother me much, old towns aren't very symetrical.

Since I like the interior even thought I'm not a huge Marvel fan I think it might be back on my wish list. Every city needs a secret headquarter, after all. 

[RichardGoring]

The Brickset review has it next to the Boutique Hotel too - Modular Sanctum Sanctorum! It will look good on your city diorama! | Brickset: LEGO set guide and database

Definitely smacks of being too small a scale compared to the other modulars. The grill pieces as balconies are another good demonstration of this. But the windows on the Sanctum Santorum should probably be about the size as the ones on the Boutique Hotel to make it the same kind of scale. Which probably means increasing it by about 50%. Doubling it might be a bit too much though.

[Maple]

It looks great next to the book shop but not so great next to the hotel. I think it's the roofs being the same color and not lining up.

[rebelpilot]

2 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

The Brickset review has it next to the Boutique Hotel too - Modular Sanctum Sanctorum! It will look good on your city diorama! | Brickset: LEGO set guide and database

 

That's way too much sand green and medium nougat in close proximity.

[FrkW]

22 hours ago, Maple said:

It looks great next to the book shop but not so great next to the hotel. I think it's the roofs being the same color and not lining up.

Yeah, it really made a huge difference, quite fascinating actually. 

[icm]

22 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

Definitely smacks of being too small a scale compared to the other modulars. The grill pieces as balconies are another good demonstration of this. But the windows on the Sanctum Santorum should probably be about the size as the ones on the Boutique Hotel to make it the same kind of scale. Which probably means increasing it by about 50%. Doubling it might be a bit too much though.

Just think of the grill pieces as anti-burglary bars instead of balconies, I guess.  That brings them right back into minifig scale, even as the building itself is scaled down.

[Maple]

The grills are just iron work, maybe to keep pets in if the windows open. If you look at the movie building they aren't balconies.

[RichardGoring]

I think it's a great building/model, and I have one on the way. It will also display week next to a bunch of the modulars. I just don't think it's the same scale. I find the modular scale, and minifig scale in general, an interesting thing to observe. And how LEGO especially tend to give the impression of something, while, usually, minimizing the number of bricks or volume needed to achieve it. It's very elegant.

[rebelpilot]

3 hours ago, Maple said:

The grills are just iron work, maybe to keep pets in if the windows open. If you look at the movie building they aren't balconies.

I don't know if you're commenting on my post....

On 8/7/2022 at 8:36 PM, rebelpilot said:

...and the black 1x2 grille pieces are supposed to represent 'juliet balconies' on the upper floors. 

But having not seen the movies I had to look up the source material:

[Maple]

In the sand green section yes, you open the windows and smoke outside, but the third floor, those aren't really balconies. 

I think the set is fine being it was supposed to be $200. If it was a $250 before LEGO got greedy then I'd want it to be bigger.

[RichardGoring]

I agree that it's good for a $200/$250 set. It reflects the source material pretty accurately. But to achieve that, it's smaller than a 'true' minifigure scale version would be, with four full floors, and full sized windows. If you did that, it would have to be at least 50% larger, if not more, and that would probably double the cost. The gains that you would get from doubling the cost would be minimal, so I think they've got the balance right as a set. I just keep getting drawn to those different scales when next to the other modulars. One day, maybe, if I can, I'd like to try and combine two sets to make a modular/minifigure scale version.

[Maple]

I haven't built it. Mine is still on backorder from a Target pricing mistake. However I just see the set as three stories. I know it's supposed to be four, but I think it looks great for what it is. 

[RichardGoring]

30 minutes ago, Maple said:

I haven't built it. Mine is still on backorder from a Target pricing mistake. However I just see the set as three stories. I know it's supposed to be four, but I think it looks great for what it is. 

Mine too.

They've designed the middle floor to look like two storeys on the outside. Again, clever design, looks nice on it's own (and next to the Daily Bugle). Would still love to attempt to make it larger. But then, I don't really want a larger set, so quandaries. I shall enjoy building it per the instructions first and see how I feel when it's done.

[Maple]

59 minutes ago, RichardGoring said:

Mine too.

They've designed the middle floor to look like two storeys on the outside. Again, clever design, looks nice on it's own (and next to the Daily Bugle). Would still love to attempt to make it larger. But then, I don't really want a larger set, so quandaries. I shall enjoy building it per the instructions first and see how I feel when it's done.

To me the middle floor looks like one floor with just long narrow windows. I'm not at all a Marvel fan so as long as it's good next to the other modulars, and it is, I'm happy.

And don't forget to approve the new backorder delay from Target or they might cancel your order.

Edited August 9, 2022 by Maple

[RichardGoring]

15 minutes ago, Maple said:

To me the middle floor looks like one floor with just long narrow windows. I'm not at all a Marvel fan so as long as it's good next to the other modulars, and it is, I'm happy.

And don't forget to approve the new backorder delay from Target or they might cancel your order.

Thanks! Yes, I did it. I don't normally read those kinds of emails carefully. Glad I spotted it this morning.

[Agent Kallus]

I do wish they'd make more 16x32 modules. Like the 2 parts of the bookshop. Would be easier to fit on my display if they'd made a 16x32 corner module, I guess I'll have to MOC one.

[RichardGoring]

A 16x32 current would be a very thin building though, by the time you take into account the sidewalk and the walls. Maybe only 6-7 studs of space inside?

[Bainter-ban]

So the PS did not get a price increase, which I found very strange as both the BS and BH got one. Also, most of the high-end sets above € 200 got a price increase. Could this mean that the set is retiring this year? I remember that the BB was suprisingly retired when no one was expecting it to be…