Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[Gnukan]

I’m confused by the interior pics… The walls behind the jazz band are brown, does that mean that the blue color doesn’t go all around the building? And the guy at the table looks like he’s using an old-school telephone???

[24nolf]

8 minutes ago, Ginger Ninja said:

I personally find the box image much more flattering than the front on view.

Agreed. Lego has photoshopped the hell out of some of the boxes lately. The new Hogwarts Express appears dark red on the box for example.

[Ginger Ninja]

8 minutes ago, DimiNi said:

Uff, really? I am here only since 2020 and I remember people were happy about the police station :D I also can't imagine people criticizing the Parisian Restaurant or the Brickbank :D

A lot of people thought the police station was really bland, and they strongly disliked the layout with a skinny building either side of the main building. Parisian restaurant will probably remain one of the best for several more years, as it deserves to. People thought the brick bank was too small and didn’t like the laundromat on the side. The point is these buildings really grow on you if you let them. It is true that these days they are smaller on average than they used to be, but they are also more complex and detailed, due to the wider array of pieces available. I like the jazz club and look forward to adding to my collection.

[24nolf]

52 minutes ago, Faefrost said:

We go through this every year. We get pages and pages of negativity and ranting on how much they dislike it and how much previous modulars were better. Until this time next year. when the Jazz Club will now be considered the pinnacle of modular design and pricing and the new one is the object of their ire. They ranted about the Police Precinct, about the Brick Bank, about the Corner Garage, about the Diner, about the Detectives Office, oh how they ranted about the Parisian Restaurant. on and on. Town Hall was derided as a Big Box of Air. Now it's the centerpiece of any Modular Display. Welcome to the Cycle of Life in the Lego world.  

(I only go back as far as the Diner) I mostly agree with your sentiment that reaction is always mixed but I feel the Diner was the only set where it was really bad. And while the Diner didn't deserve the criticism it was understandable given how hard Mike leaned into the Art Deco look (best modular ever). The flaws in the four after that remain and I haven't heard them downplayed. The bookstores interior is still a joke(1 book?!) and the front is still great. The Corner Garage 1st floor should still be tiled and the upstairs lacks the joy of the previous several sets. Rebrickable is full of Mocs for fixing the Hotel. The Police station has a bunch of great stuff but didn't achieve it's potential because of cost cutting (seriously no helipad, police car and one jail cell!?). 

Btw I laughed when you said the Town Hall is a Big Box of Air because that's the perfect description! Everyone who complains about the Brick Bank being too short is 100% correct! I saw one in person with an additional floor and it's such a big improvement that you can't unsee it.  

Edited December 12, 2022 by 24nolf

[Robert8]

Is this a jazz club without a single saxophone? 

[Lfm55]

Hum no, I am a big fan of the theme but this one, it’s not love at first sight like for the BH.

 

The front seems really blocky and uninspired. 

I guess it will be findable at great discount next year at the usual places.

In the meanwhile, i still have PS and Sancto Sanctorum to build.

[hikouki]

I collect all modulars so I'm definitely getting this one. I like it, but I do feel that it is a "wow" like the Boutique Hotel, or Assembly Square.

The photos show it beside the Bookshop, but I think it belongs more to the street that has the likes of the Town Hall, Boutique Hotel and Fire Station. I tend to imagine that the modulars can be grouped together where the aesthetics and business belong together. The Jazz Club is a commercial establishment, but the facade and build is a bit more 'muted' compared to the Town Hall (tall and imposing) and the Boutique Hotel (grand and ornate). This MOC would be a nice filler in between the Town Hall and Assembly Square.

I will continue to collect modulars for as long as it is still a "City" or "Town" theme. The day minidolls takeover, that will be the end of the line for me. Those minidolls seem to be getting more and more ubiquitous these days and for example have taken over the Princess line (some have speculated that TLG refuses to make Princess minifigs because there are minidolls.)

Edited December 12, 2022 by hikouki

[Faefrost]

1 hour ago, DimiNi said:

Uff, really? I am here only since 2020 and I remember people were happy about the police station :D I also can't imagine people criticizing the Parisian Restaurant or the Brickbank :D

But I must say: this one is a downstep. Its more expensive than ever, it really looks not special at all (okay we cant get every year like a crazy building, sometimes normal is also good), but the facade of the Jazz club really looks plain, boring, and simply build. Well lets see how it l ooks next year :D

The Parisian Restaurant was railed against because it was "much too small for the piece count and price! They are clearly fluffing the piece count using only very small pieces". I wish I was joking about this. The Brickbank was positively HATED. Hating on the newest Modular is a fun Holiday Tradition on AFOL forums for some odd reason. "I don't like it! It's not 100% what I imagined in my head when I first heard the rumor, so they've clearly done it wrong!" Yeah there is an internet thing called "Headcannon" and it's alive and well in the AFOL community. The truth is you kind of need to see the new building in your display to know if it works or not. I actually like this one. It calls back to the old Town Plan set and calls back a bit to the Fire Brigade. While not really being it. The facade is a little more complex than it seems at first glance. With a lot less red than you think. 

[DimiNi]

well anyway,the count of pieces did not increase high enough for the high price jump. This time is different:)))

[RichardGoring]

2 hours ago, hikouki said:

The photos show it beside the Bookshop, but I think it belongs more to the street that has the likes of the Town Hall, Boutique Hotel and Fire Station. I tend to imagine that the modulars can be grouped together where the aesthetics and business belong together. The Jazz Club is a commercial establishment, but the facade and build is a bit more 'muted' compared to the Town Hall (tall and imposing) and the Boutique Hotel (grand and ornate). This MOC would be a nice filler in between the Town Hall and Assembly Square.

I like to group them in a similar way. For me, it will fit well alongside Detective's Office, Petshop, Bookshop, and Corner Garage. It has that mid-level commercial feel to it. Not residential, not civic, not grand and ornate. Could put the Palace Cinema in there too, but it might conflict with it a bit too much.

[mo123567]

It looks OK to me. I'm not a fan of the greenhouse on the top of the pizza shop building but overall what I would expect from a Lego modular building. It's not like I would expect them to fit in a grand performance theater. This series has always been about giving thematic hints of their real world counterparts within a very limited space and this one seems to achieve that.

[Borex]

3 hours ago, Robert8 said:

Is this a jazz club without a single saxophone? 

I guess so. No trumpet either. Or piano. 

[RichardGoring]

I can't see them doing a music hall next year, with a jazz club now, so it's not as if Andy Sax will be making it into the line any time soon. What a shame to have missed not only a cool Easter egg, but also to include probably the most iconic jazz instruments (piano, trumpet, and sax).

Even more frustratingly, they include two saxophones in the Winter Wonderland fun & funky pack, but that's only available as a VIP reward, and not in the US at all.

Let's hope that does become available in February. Or that the associated GWP is a pizza delivery van taking the pizza to a hungry Andy Sax. Or both!

[hikouki]

1 hour ago, mo123567 said:

It looks OK to me. I'm not a fan of the greenhouse on the top of the pizza shop building but overall what I would expect from a Lego modular building. It's not like I would expect them to fit in a grand performance theater. This series has always been about giving thematic hints of their real world counterparts within a very limited space and this one seems to achieve that.

Agree completely.

I thought of MOC'ing some of them or even rebuilding them according to those modifications at Rebrickable. But then the changes are infinite. Either I build Lego modulars as is, or I build a MOC from Rebrickable that isn't based on an existing set.

Edited December 13, 2022 by hikouki

[BrickFit26]

What if the magic show disappeared Andy Sax and he reappeared with the GWP? 

Edited December 13, 2022 by BrickFit26

[Beasty_Boy0800]

I kinda always assumed Andy Sax was the owner of the music shop in Assembly Square (he does have a saxophone) and had an add that he would sometimes play at the Jazz club. That's how I saw the Easter Egg, a callback and a tease at the same time.

[Hippocampe]

I don’t have Andy Sax, but some kind of cousin from series 11…

[Ginger Ninja]

40 minutes ago, Beasty_Boy0800 said:

I kinda always assumed Andy Sax was the owner of the music shop in Assembly Square (he does have a saxophone) and had an add that he would sometimes play at the Jazz club. That's how I saw the Easter Egg, a callback and a tease at the same time.

That makes sense, and it looks like his hairpiece is the same as in the poster. A great little detail if that is the case.

[RichardGoring]

1 hour ago, Beasty_Boy0800 said:

I kinda always assumed Andy Sax was the owner of the music shop in Assembly Square (he does have a saxophone) and had an add that he would sometimes play at the Jazz club. That's how I saw the Easter Egg, a callback and a tease at the same time.

Good point.

[crowe-k]

7 hours ago, Ginger Ninja said:

A lot of people thought the police station was really bland, and they strongly disliked the layout with a skinny building either side of the main building. Parisian restaurant will probably remain one of the best for several more years, as it deserves to. People thought the brick bank was too small and didn’t like the laundromat on the side. The point is these buildings really grow on you if you let them. It is true that these days they are smaller on average than they used to be, but they are also more complex and detailed, due to the wider array of pieces available. I like the jazz club and look forward to adding to my collection.

I remember the heavy criticism that Brick Bank faced when it was released and now it is a highly sought after set in the aftermarket. Even the beloved Parisian Restaurant faced criticism with the stairs that went nowhere when the first images leaked. Every modular faces criticism and my response is simple,: if you don't like it, don't buy it. If you want to adjust the model to suit your needs, so be it. Regardless, I will be buying this set likely on day one....January 1st is a big day in my house!

 I feel the same as you, the builds include a wide array of pieces and the interiors are far more detailed than the original first few which were bare bones on the inside. The design of the jazz club seems to be linked closely to the original few modulars and that is fine by me.  

[hoppa]

I actually quite like the whole setup. The blue and red fits nicely and gives me a sort of low-rise inner-city vibe that could actually be seen in real life. The interior to, while blurry, looks nice from what is there to see. I am anxious to see official pictures, but this is looking good!

[Roebuck]

11 hours ago, Borex said:

and i secretly hoped for a pigeon cage on the roof (since magicians use pigeons too a lot)

I have been hoping for pigeons in my modular street for years, to me that is the single one thing that is missing the most, one day...

[Citromon]

10 hours ago, Faefrost said:

We go through this every year. We get pages and pages of negativity and ranting on how much they dislike it and how much previous modulars were better. Until this time next year. when the Jazz Club will now be considered the pinnacle of modular design and pricing and the new one is the object of their ire. They ranted about the Police Precinct, about the Brick Bank, about the Corner Garage, about the Diner, about the Detectives Office, oh how they ranted about the Parisian Restaurant. on and on. Town Hall was derided as a Big Box of Air. Now it's the centerpiece of any Modular Display. Welcome to the Cycle of Life in the Lego world.  

Well, I started my collection with Assembly Square, but for ex. PS is mu favourite, and BB is my second. I also love the Diner, but the interior of CG made me skip it.

About that interior - it's strange. One thing that I definitely don't like are empty walls in the pizzeria and an almost empty tailor shop. But after seeing this set from beside it kinda grew on me.

[MJLJ]

The wooden background used in the jazz club photos are very similar to the ones lego behind the police station modular. But the others tend to be on a plainer backdrop. 

[lelee]

I like it and can't wait for my annual new year's day trot out to the lego store in Leicester Square to get it. I think it has done a great job of balancing that line between playability and display, offering up a good suggestion of what a real world version may be like, firing the imagination for the stories in your head. I doubt many of the commenters have never even been in to a slightly suspect backstreet club, that has jazz on a monday, a magician on a tuesday and a stripper on .....something one would find in old soho before it went all gentrified, with that and a pizza place and a bespoke tailor shop it offers up great world building for your city. If these buildings were built to real world scale they would be massive and full of corridors, staircases,  empty voids and toilets.. so many toilets.  All of the comments i see people have made to every single one of the modular buildings before and you know what you can't please all of the people all of the time, if it's not for you then nobody is forcing you to get it, nobody.

7 hours ago, Beasty_Boy0800 said:

I kinda always assumed Andy Sax was the owner of the music shop in Assembly Square (he does have a saxophone) and had an add that he would sometimes play at the Jazz club. That's how I saw the Easter Egg, a callback and a tease at the same time.

Spot on, he owns the music shop and does a monday night spot at the jazz club, hes even made a CD that his gf yvonne sells in the foyer, its not a big turn out but he enjoys it, they pop next door for a pizza after, one day he will be a star!