Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[Vindicare]

 

13 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

Apparently Ashnflash has said in a video that one of the original concepts was a newspaper HQ, but they moved away from that due to a clash with the Daily Bugle. I wonder if they made concept sketches and whether those will ever come out, like the early ones for the Boutique Hotel.

That doesn’t make sense though. By the time this hits shelves the Bugle will have been out for what...a year & a half(give or take). I suppose the overlap could’ve been an issue, but I just don’t see it. 

12 hours ago, Maple said:

Funny I would have MUCH prefered if this was dark blue instead of red. That's much of my complaint, the dark red color. I think the set would be amazing in dark blue and I'm very curious to how the test group works. Is it just a LEGO test group or do they get random people in? 

I believe in the video you posted that he said other designers commented on the dark blue color & it was changed because of that. I wish I didn’t even know that dark blue was there first...

[Roebuck]

2 hours ago, jonahtron said:

Question:

Noticing that this set is coming out on the 4th January, is a bit of a shame- my usual New Year’s Day plans scuppered there- has this happened before?

I’m hoping if it’s just that some stores have inventory issues and they could have it in on the 1st after all…

It is for VIPs from the 1st 

[paupadros]

It's been interesting reading all of your comments and opinions. All in all, I think it's fine. My favourite bit is the 45-degree entrance assembly with the sign. The rest of the Jazz Club is decent, I quite like the window technique as well as the roof techniques. I do feel though that that techniques are more interesting than the result they produce. The blue ground floor is fine for me, sure it would have looked better in another colour, but I don't despise it. The Pizzeria is a big no-no. It looks like the Friends pizzeria but larger. I mean, it's fine for a more fantasy-oriented theme such as Friends, but not for this. Yellow can be well implemented but this isn't it. I like the overhanging plants though :) Overall, a 7 maybe.

[jonahtron]

2 minutes ago, Roebuck said:

It is for VIPs from the 1st 

Phew! Thanks for clarification Roebuck.

My yearly jan 1st plans are intact. I live in West London and walking distance to my Lego store so it's the usual mid-morning post over-eating walk!

Can't wait to start playing with it.

[BrickFit26]

There is another interview with Andy the designer. Really good one. And we finally get an answer as to why there wasn't a designer video for the Boutique Hotel. I see why the greenhouse roof is the way it is, it opens up. I really like the Jazz Club, seeing him explain the design explains a lot. It's look good. 

 

[DeanLearner]

Definitely feels like a bit of an ugly clash of colours at a few points. The worst example is on the ground floor, and the transition between the two buildings. 

The dark azure already clashes badly with the dark red and light yellow, but the addition of the lavender door/sign and the coral in the poster make for a bit of an eyesore.

I’ll be swapping out the dark azure for medium blue or light royal blue, and replacing the lavender door with a brown half-timbered door, so that the entrance to the Tailor’s is more obvious. I think the table and chairs at the front are also a bit ugly, so they will probably go too!

Overall it’s disappointing given that the colour blocking of modulars is generally really good, even when it’s quite colourful (as with the recent Bookshop and Police Station).

[PK82]

Ugh, I got motion-sickness while watching the video.

[PGBQW]

5 hours ago, jonahtron said:

5-would it be totally insane to use the jazz quartet as a kind of rooftop advertisement?

Yes, but in a good way

 

 

Also, you guys are just plain delusional if you think this is the worst modular so far, as if last year's doesn't exist.

Edited December 15, 2022 by PGBQW

[Kalahari134]

Oi! What's wrong with the hotel?

[westracing01]

All depends on the layout. I had the perfect spot for the BH, but everyone doesn't have a 45 degree angle baked into their layout. I believe the Jazz Club will slot in next between the Detectives Office and Police Station in my layout. Ideally I wanted to put it near the BH because I think the themes go together, but at the same time the Jazz Club next to a Pool Hall seems to make some sense. Birch Books and The Pet Store/Brown Stone will move next to the Town Hall and Grand Emporium and Green Grocer respectively. 

This is certainly not my favorite, but it's not terrifying. I stand by my "Eh" from earlier. I doesn't really matter though. Once you get locked into a collection like many of us have, where we have all of them (yes, even Market Street) you're going to buy this regardless. It would've had to have been something truly awful for me to not consider getting it. 

Is the Jan 1 for VIP's in-store or online only? Like others, I usually head down to the Lego Store on New Years Day to pick mine up.

 

Edited December 15, 2022 by westracing01

[Maple]

6 hours ago, jonahtron said:

I think I will be modding mine HEAVILY in this way as it is still a little… flat looking. I love getting 2 business’s, however I always feel it compromises both so the main excitement for me is modding them all.

1-I’ll probably try out black in the ground floor as my first choice (2nd choice dark green) as it’s quite Common for jazz clubs to have a black exterior. And add some more gold or perhaps try to make some more neon signage.

 

I wish LEGO would go back to one business every once and awhile. The Police station should have been the whole block. The Jazz Club should have been the whole block. Then LEGO could have made a split of the Donut shop and the Pizza Shop into it's own. However hindsight is 20/20 and that's not how LEGO does things.

My favorite movie theater is black, all black tiles. It was built in the 1920s and has that style and feel that blues clubs have. I think changing the color from dark blue will really lesson the JC in the future. Like you said LEGO could have kept it dark blue and added some gold.

 

Just noticed the lavender door on the first floor. What? Why? I don't get that. That's TERRIBLE!

Edited December 15, 2022 by Maple

[Lion King]

Are we expecting a Modular GWP, right?

[badbob001]

8 hours ago, Vindicare said:

That doesn’t make sense though. By the time this hits shelves the Bugle will have been out for what...a year & a half(give or take). I suppose the overlap could’ve been an issue, but I just don’t see it. 

It's a clash as long as the Bugle is still on the shelves.

[Silverhurst]

32 minutes ago, DBlegonerd7 said:

Are we expecting a Modular GWP, right?

Later, not at release. My guess is end of January or early February like last year's Vintage Taxi.

[BrickFit26]

3 hours ago, Maple said:

I wish LEGO would go back to one business every once and awhile. The Police station should have been the whole block. The Jazz Club should have been the whole block. Then LEGO could have made a split of the Donut shop and the Pizza Shop into it's own. However hindsight is 20/20 and that's not how LEGO does thin!

In the interview he says that going back to one business is possible and still talked about. It just has to be the "right" thing.

[westracing01]

1 hour ago, BrickFit26 said:

In the interview he says that going back to one business is possible and still talked about. It just has to be the "right" thing.

Hospital...

[Lion King]

2 hours ago, Silverhurst said:

Later, not at release. My guess is end of January or early February like last year's Vintage Taxi.

As long as Jazz Club is still in stock by the GWP is available. 

I am just curious what GWP would look like. 

[Lyichir]

1 hour ago, westracing01 said:

Hospital...

Yeah, something like a hospital or school would be the kinds of things where I think having the full baseplate would be essential. For those sorts of things you could easily fill the whole floor plan with content without having to rely on simply having more of the same standard features.

Though I'm quite fine with "mixed" lots like we've gotten in recent years—I feel like the varied sizes and shapes of buildings add visual interest and I love when they have the various buildings tied together in some way as with this set, the Police Station, or going back, things like the Brick Bank and Detective's Office. I think I've mentioned it before but those kinds of interactions between businesses/facilities spur storytelling and consequently help the street to feel "lived in". Things like the annex of the Police Station or the office above the laundromat in the Brick Bank imply a history that stretches beyond just when those buildings were first constructed.

[Silverhurst]

1 hour ago, DBlegonerd7 said:

As long as Jazz Club is still in stock by the GWP is available. 

I am just curious what GWP would look like. 

BH was out of stock when they ran the promo last year. I ended up getting something else to get it.

[Lion King]

1 hour ago, westracing01 said:

Hospital...

Or a natural history museum . Or an university. Or a lab center.

[Shiva]

Hospital, wouldn't that need 1,5 base plates?

[MJLJ]

 I like this modular the more I see it. So glad the greenhouse has glass in it and the stairs that link the rooms are good. Just wish the upper floors had tiled finishes. That easily sorted after purchase. I think its available on the 1st of Jan for VIPs. Does this mean I could pick it up at my local Lego store on that date being VIP?

Edited December 15, 2022 by MJLJ
Typo

[Yoggington]

I find it hilarious when people clamour for the leak, then make their mind up based on the leak, then double down because they've committed their opinions to the internet and god forbid they trot it back. Hold your damn horses people!

The only real flaw I see here is the choice of reddish brown corner tiles on dark red, that was .. a choice. Maybe the greenhouse roof coulda taken a bit more thought too? Outside of those minor (fixable) quibbles, this is as good as the Police Station was. I'll pick it up in April or so.

[jonwil]

I agree that dark blue would have looked good (although there is nothing wrong with dark red)

[Silverhurst]

Totally unrelated to the Jazz Club, I've been racking my brains out trying to remember if there was a dark red minifig that matched the bellhop and clerk in the BH. Thought it was a collectable minifig, but haven't been able to find it anywhere. Am I crazy, or does anyone know the fig I'm thinking of?