Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[dhc6twinotter]

I'd like to see something like this:

I'd like to see two 16 wide buildings, one with an alley large enough for City vehicles and stairs to 2nd level, and another 16 wide building with the bar (if we really are getting a bar--I have a hard time seeing LEGO would make a bar, but maybe it's a coffee or juice bar).

A buidling with an alley is a great idea, and much needed for access to the rear of buildings once a block is complete.

[talos]

^ This was my idea too.

BTW I read somewhere else that the TH should be back in stock around mid October (13th is what they wrote). I figure it will go through the same on and off like GE has been doing.

[opn2]

Edited October 10, 2014 by opn2

[mconte85]

I think the best thing about Lego in general is that it is so easy to have customization. With the GE I loved having a clear plate to add my own shopping displays on the floors. With the PR (in the mail), I'm already planning to modify the two upper floors into one Apartment, while keeping the restaurant intact. If I don't like something in a modular, I can change it. It's really the perfect product in that regards.

[VintageLegoEra]

So any news about the 2015 modular?

[peter_m]

So any news about the 2015 modular?

It is 4:30 AM in Seattle - too early for that, unfortunately :) - and Mr. nesquik remained silent :)

[Gongoro73]

So any news about the 2015 modular?

We desperately need just2good to enlighten us. :)

[badbob001]

"An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, path, or passage way, often for pedestrians only, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in the older parts of towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path or walk in a park or garden. A covered alley or passageway, often with shops, may be called an arcade. The origin of the word alley is late Middle English: from Old French alee ‘walking or passage,’ from aler ‘go,’ from Latin ambulare ‘to walk’."

This is why I love the Green Grocer. It has an almost secret alleyway for public access to the interior of the block.

Market Street has an alleyway as well, but not as elegant.

If the new set involves some sort of crime, like a bank heist, then it would be ideal for the criminals to break-in covertly (ie: not from the front door). When I first heard about the alley, I thought perhaps they will break into the building from the sidewall of the alley (I know of an actual crime where they removed the array of mailboxes in the front hallway of an apartment complex, exposing the thin wall of the adjacent electronic store that they later robbed). I thought of the traditional alley, which is a tall vertical space between two buildings, like when you pull the two halves of the petshop set apart. But given the 32x32 restriction, even a 4 stud-wide alley would leave the buildings looking starved and be impossible to play with or even display.

But if the alley was designed like the one in the green grocer, where it's more like a passageway, then it makes much more sense. The criminals could use the alleyway to get to the back, where they can either breaking into the backdoor, break through the backwall, or climb up to the roof from the fire escape.

Another possibility is for the face of the building to appear as one piece and have a passageway in the middle. But in the rear half of the building, the middle section is a void and open, allowing for neighbors to spy on each other and for clotheslines to crisscross it. Something like the middle column of this photo:

Now, if it can also have a heart-string-pulling scene like this one, then it would be a monster hit:

Edited October 6, 2014 by badbob001

[Herky]

checked Lego FB, the last update was Oct 4 announcing the UCS Slave Ship, nothing new today yet...have it set to notify me so if I get that, will update.

[Faefrost]

I beg to differ. To me PR is the best modular in line, the most mature one - it maintains a perfect balance between the amount of details on the outside and inside of the building.

I do not mind that modulars tell stories, they are pretty generic and not invasive. I treat modulars as big vignettes. If you are a person that likes to get hands dirty, you are free to modify whatever you want (story, interior, building itself etc.). If you, on the other hand, just like to enjoy the set "as is" - then you have it all there.

If TLG was to start selling bare buildings they would probably draw off a significant number of potential buyers. We would all lose then - lower popularity means less money for future designs :)

I agree with this. I love the PR as it does feel like the most evolved and in many ways most complete of the modulars. While it does not have the shear scale of the TH, in it's compact frame it packs such a bevy of eye catching detail that it is easily the one that viewers to the shelf city in my office keep coming back to. I personally love the stories framed within the Modulars. It is a wonderful tool for adding depth and interest to the sets. If the wonderful FB has any flaw it is that it somewhat lacks this little thematic story compared to the newer offerings. But honestly its a fire house so the story kind of tells itself.

Jamie started a great tradition of having little character scenes in the sets. (I always loved the pantsless guy in the GE dressing room). Astrid broadened that out to center the stories around the overall nature of the buildings, from the wedding at Town Hall to the child star movie premier with the PC. The PR seemed to bring both styles together with that simple elegant wedding proposal at the nice French Restaurant.

[Off the wall]

We don't want bare buildings, but we also don't want a five year old girls doll house, aka the PR. If a building is done correctly I don't need to see Jamie's story telling ability (or lack of) demonstrated. The building itself should tell the story. Look at any architectural icon, or even the nicely designed house down the street, it doesn't need frills to tell its story. And that's what the PR is, frill piled upon frill piled upon frill.

If the building is done correctly, it doesn't need the designers often lame attempt at adding his story line.

[peter_m]

We don't want bare buildings, but we also don't want a five year old girls doll house, aka the PR. If a building is done correctly I don't need to see Jamie's story telling ability (or lack of) demonstrated. The building itself should tell the story. Look at any architectural icon, or even the nicely designed house down the street, it doesn't need frills to tell its story. And that's what the PR is, frill piled upon frill piled upon frill.

If the building is done correctly, it doesn't need the designers often lame attempt at adding his story line.

To me PR is done more than correctly - but that is a matter of personal taste. If you do not like particular set - you do not have to buy it - like I did with the cinema :)

I just do not know who do you mean by "we" :). We-AFOLs? We-PR opponents?

Edited October 6, 2014 by peter_m

[Rob1321]

I think the PR is awesome. I love that it has a story. If you want bare buildings without any life then just MOC your own, tbh.

[Herky]

I have waited to purchase PR just due to the things that everyone is saying for and against it...I like that it is a nice big set with a high piece count, but I don't like that many of those pieces are the frills so to speak. If you took away all the little things, the building would still be a restaurant, but I feel the issue to me is the size. It is a 2/3rd size building for a higher price, so you end up paying for the extra piece count not in building, but in the frills...I will get it at some point of course, but just not in a hurry. I do like the overall look of it, but just not a full size building for extra money is what is making me hesitate. I will state too, not fond of the building color, reminds me too much of lima beans but I do like the blue roof.

[merman]

What are the odds we get an announcement today? They already announced the Slave...

[Ann4lego]

I've noticed on the Dutch site http://www.brickshop.nl/lego/lego-creator-expert/lego-10246-detective-bureau.html

It reads 'New Out April 2015'

[merman]

I've noticed on the Dutch site http://www.brickshop.nl/lego/lego-creator-expert/lego-10246-detective-bureau.html

It reads 'New Out April 2015'

Same for the Slave. So that doesn't mean anything...

[ghostmind]

It also says that for Slave I on that site though.

[Ann4lego]

I'm glad to hear that :) I really don't want to wait that long.

[parksroad]

https://www.facebook.com/officialLEGOshop

So it looks like the announcement today is for the Slave I after all, even though that had already been revealed a few days ago...

[Off the wall]

To me PR is done more than correctly - but that is a matter of personal taste. If you do not like particular set - you do not have to buy it - like I did with the cinema :)

I just do not know who do you mean by "we" :). We-AFOLs? We-PR opponents?

Edited. I have enough frustration arguing with my relatives who buy Land Rovers.

Edited October 6, 2014 by Off the wall

[legojeroen]

I've noticed on the Dutch site http://www.brickshop.nl/lego/lego-creator-expert/lego-10246-detective-bureau.html

It reads 'New Out April 2015'

Don't worry, Brickshop always gets the Lego Exclusives way after the official release via shop@home and lego stores!

[badbob001]

Does anyone have some insight on how well the modulars sold in comparison to each other? If the PR sold really well, then that is the market telling LEGO what it likes.

And are there many interesting building archetypes left unexplored? If not, then LEGO designers may turn their focus on the other aspects of these sets, such as interior design, vignettes, building function (ie: hospital, police station, etc), or <gasp> play features.

[Rob1321]

Does anyone have some insight on how well the modulars sold in comparison to each other? If the PR sold really well, then that is the market telling LEGO what it likes.

And are there many interesting building archetypes left unexplored? If not, then LEGO designers may turn their focus on the other aspects of these sets, such as interior design, vignettes, building function (ie: hospital, police station, etc), or <gasp> play features.

I would like to see them tackle stand alone buildings. Maybe single level or 2 levels but wider than an average modular. Something like a post office or a bowling alley. An arcade maybe. Not all city buildings have to connect to each other you know.

[mapimi]

https://www.facebook...fficialLEGOshop

So it looks like the announcement today is for the Slave I after all, even though that had already been revealed a few days ago...

Oh that's a shame...was really hoping to see it today...guess the wait continues...on a plus note got myself a pet shop today