Bricklinking Modular Buildings

[Inzane]

but instead I opted for another solution that I haven't seen done by anyone else. See my pics on page 16 for my option using bars and skeleton legs.

Very interesting. I like. Two questions.

Are the skeleton legs just sitting flush against the wall or are they actually attached via a brick w/ side stud?

Which "bar" did you use, part # 4095 (6.6L umbrella stand) or 63965?

[stevkir]

Here is the bottom section of the GG I have been working on. As you can see I opted for the Dark Red for the awning and I had some 1x4 Red Brown with wood print I am trying for around the doors. I am trying to decide if I will get the viking print or stay with the wood look. I actually like the way the dark red looks.

At the moment I have not purchased any of the minifigs and when I do I am just going to find a seller that has them complete and buy them that way instead of sourcing out the individual parts. Right now I am perfectly fine with just the building and minifigs will come later.

MS: complete with the exception of the 2nd and 3rd storey balconies. option 1) I've got a couple of the curved fence piece (30056) in white on the way, to try out. I'll have to do some fiddling to see how best to use ONE curved fence per level. option 2) I also have some light grey hoses (but not enough grey arms to hold them). option 3) may still try and source some white hoses to retain the original look.

Other than that, I still need to try and go back and update my spreadsheets to tally final costs (just for curiosity sake, as dangerous as that sounds). And of course... .PICTURES.

I posted some LDD screen shots of my changes to the balconies with the curved black fences for the front of my MS and went with black droid arms and black light sabers for the top floor balcony. I didn't like the look of the railing for the top balcony on the side of the MS as it looked like something from a 6-11 age set from the 80's that I grew up with as a kid. I also added sconces to the front of the MS on the side of the top balcony. Just didn't get the point of those gray parts that were pushed inside the headlight pieces.

I am sure before I actually start ordering parts for the MS I will go through a few more changes to the LDD file. I still need to layout an interior and that might require me to move the stairs from the middle of each room. I also might open up the window spots on the back if they work with my interior design. Still debating on what exactly I want to do with the covered space. I am thinking of making it more patio space for the GG housing on the second floor and redo the 2nd floor of the GG as a kitchen/dining space with outside eating space. Then using the underneath part as more outdoor market space with produce and bakery.

[Inzane]

Here is the bottom section of the GG I have been working on. As you can see I opted for the Dark Red for the awning

That dark red on the awning looks really good! I think I like that better than medium blue.

At the moment I have not purchased any of the minifigs and when I do I am just going to find a seller that has them complete and buy them that way instead of sourcing out the individual parts.

minifigs will come later.

With the exception of a couple of the rarer hair pieces, most of the minifig parts are fairly standard, and available right from Lego (some via PAB, most via BnP). When you add the cost of the parts, I think it was < $3 per minifig for most of them, building them piece meal. I think when I looked at minifig listings on BL, you'll pay more if you're buying them as complete minifigs.

I posted some LDD screen shots of my changes to the balconies with the curved black fences for the front of my MS

Your LDD model looks good. But for those two front balconies, I think the round fences would work better as just one piece per floor vs. two (won't stick out as much). But since i'm not modelling like some of you guys, I won't know how well it will work or look until I have those parts in-hand.

[rollermonkey]

I'm starting to wish I had done BL orders instead of BnP / PAB for the parts in the first few steps... I didn't expect such great, QUICK service from BL, especially compared to TLG, but there you go. 253/311 lots in hand, and cannot start level 2 or 3, and can't proceed past step 2 on level one. :(

[stevkir]

I know the feeling on the wait for PAB orders as I had to wait a good 4 weeks for the ones I ordered to come in and that was 204 parts. took over a week just for them to send the order and about 2.5 weeks for delivery. I made an order request on BL from a guy in Denmark a week later and those came in a couple days before the PAB order did. 2 years ago I did a PAB order that took a month to deliver after being shipped. The only good part of that was the fact after 24 days of not getting it I called customer service and they ended up shipping out the order again. A week later I received the second order and then a few days later received the original order.

I too am not able to do level 2 or 3 but that is more of a $$ problem than waiting on parts to come in. I have only been able to complete the bottom level and the roof/balcony. I have about another 130 parts to be able to complete it and will cost me $44 for a BnP order to get them.

[elleana]

Dark Red for the awning matches the pram and the second floor curtains - I like!

I think I still like the Viking print for the door though, and they're not that steep on BL.

Edited April 1, 2014 by elleana

[JayCal]

Very interesting. I like. Two questions.

Are the skeleton legs just sitting flush against the wall or are they actually attached via a brick w/ side stud?

Which "bar" did you use, part # 4095 (6.6L umbrella stand) or 63965?

For the upper balcony i used 18274 (6 long bar with thick stop) and for the lower balcony i actually used part 87994 (2 pc side by side) in order for the skeleton legs not to end up in front of the windows. The skeleton feet are not connected to the wall. Although this way of constructing the balcony does not allow the doors to open completely, i felt it sure looked the part compared to the original.

[stevkir]

Dark Red for the awning matches the pram and the second floor curtains - I like!

I think I still like the Viking print for the door though, and they're not that steep on BL.

I went with the wood print because I had some from a Lone Ranger set that had some great parts that I had already scavenged parts from. Figured I would try them out and see if I liked it or not and possibly save a couple bucks in the process. In the end I too don't think I will stay with them as I can get them from the BnP site at the moment with the rest of the parts I need.

[rollermonkey]

Good, as I think the wood grained pieces make it look too much like there are windows that have been boarded up... Not sure that's a look you want, unless you have hooligans and/or thieves in your town?

[Inzane]

Dark Red for the awning matches the pram and the second floor curtains - I like!

I had to look up the word pram, although I was able to guess just based on what is dark red obviously. Is pram a British term? (like how they say boot & bonnet instead of trunk and hood for a car) I've never heard that term before in my life, and I'm a parent too. Here in north america those are typically always referred to as "baby carriages", and some variants are referred to as strollers.

For the upper balcony i used 18274 (6 long bar with thick stop)

It looks like that is the same part as 63965, just an alternate part #. (18274 doesn't even register in Bricklink).

The skeleton feet are not connected to the wall.

A closer look at your pics and I should've been able to figure that out. D'oh.

[Heppeng]

I suspect that pram may be a uniquely British term - shortened version of prambulator, and generally used for the older style of big wheeled baby carriages which were essentially mobile cots (Think opening scene of Ghostbusters 2) I think what you call strollers we call pushchairs.

Edited April 1, 2014 by Heppeng

[rollermonkey]

Nah, pram isn't exclusively British, as far as I know. I think it's just a word that isn't used very much any more like baby carriages or parasols. When I think of prams, I think old-fashioned, like baby Herman in Roger Rabbit or the ones seen in Tom and Jerry or Lady and the Tramp. Now everybody gets an umbrella stroller or one that the baby carrier clicks into the top, instead.

[TheLegoDr]

^Ha! Gotta love regional variances in terms used. Pushchair sounds too exact. A stroller allows you to stroll those wheels around and around, as you push this chair...

Anyway, I'm about done with my sand blue grocer. I finally received my BnP order. It was shipped out about a week later than what they told me on the phone, but I received it about 4 days sooner than the email predicted. So I guess that works.

I only need a handful of small pieces to finish. Mostly 1x1 sand blue bricks and 1x1 light bley plates oddly enough. But the front facade is complete. I will have to get some pictures taken when I have some time. I'd love to show it off to everyone. But maybe I should wait until it is 100% complete.

I like those modifications to the Market Street balcony. I don't know if I really need the doors to open anyway. I should just put windows there.

[drgordy]

Would anyone like to share their GG spreadsheet? You know share all your hard work of sourcing out buyers you used :-) thanks!

[elleana]

Would anyone like to share their GG spreadsheet? You know share all your hard work of sourcing out buyers you used :-) thanks!

Probably not relevant since stock levels across various BL sellers will change over time.

I've ever found a piece at a particular seller and not check out immediately, only to come back a day or two later to find it gone :( This has happened more than once..

[rollermonkey]

Yeah, I started by printing out the 3 pages from the instruction book that show the parts list, looking through my loose parts and crossing off anything I had enough parts on hand. Then, armed with that, and the knowledge which parts were considered rare, expensive, or difficult to source, ordered those parts, plus those lots were utilized in the first few steps between BL, BnP and PAB, and crossed those off. I hit my local LEGO stores next and raided the PAB walls and just the minimum minifig accessories needed. From there, I started adding parts to my wanted list on BL and using the 'by shops' function to order as many things from as few stores as possible.

[stevkir]

for a quick spreadsheet just go to the GG inventory list on Bricklink and click on the printer view option. Then copy the full list and paste it directly into Excel or Numbers if you use a Mac. From there you can adjust it as much as you want and its easy once all the items have been listed from the pasting.

Edited April 3, 2014 by stevkir

[rollermonkey]

Do you know how bad the resolution is for the GG instructions online at LEGO.com?

I ordered the wrong quantities of two different parts because I thought the black 1x1 plate was a tile and I thought the black 1x1 tile was a plate.

Yeesh.

I got three orders from TLG today, and was able to start assembling the ground floor, but I'm still missing lots of tiles, so I couldn't go too far.

I did finish my TH tonight, too. With three buildings, it's finally starting to look a bit like a street.

[Super Goblin]

Picked up the HH so I can start the GG. After looking at instruction I'm not sure if I want to build it anymore. It does seem a little too big. I'm thinking of making a sand green version of the apartment in the PS instead.

[Transparency for Effect]

Would anyone recommend this as a cost-effective way of getting one of these quite costly Modular Buildings?

[Wodanis]

Would anyone recommend this as a cost-effective way of getting one of these quite costly Modular Buildings?

YES! Having built the Cafe Corner and Green Grocer it is a very effective way of buying the sets. See the earlier parts of this thread for more in-depth detail.

[stevkir]

Bricklinking the GG, MS and CC is very much cost effective compared to buying one. The GG goes for $600+, MS is 1,200+ and not sure of the CC. You can save even more if you are not a purist and willing to modify your set a little to get away from the hard to find or expensive parts. For my GG I won't be spending more than $350-400 and that is including the multiple shipping charges using BL, PAB and BnP.

[TheLegoDr]

Super Goblin - I changed my Green Grocer into a Sand Blue Grocer using all of the pieces from the Pet Shop. And then I changed the Pet Shop into a Sand Green building. It looks really neat. I like the sand green and tan window combination. Although I loved the sand blue Pet Shop too. I'm going to change the sign to something else too.

The downside is I do think the GG is too tall compared all of the rest. For some reason one stud lower would be ideal to me. But I'm an odd one. I have it next to my Town Hall right now and it at least is smaller than that building.

[minjiet]

for the tube in balcony in market street....what can i replace? any alternative tube which is cheaper?

Edited April 6, 2014 by minjiet

[Roger_Smith]

I changed my Green Grocer into a Sand Blue Grocer using all of the pieces from the Pet Shop.

How did you do that? I guess you had to buy some more sand blue, right? I can't see the sand blue bricks of the small 16x32 Pet Shop being sufficient to build the sand green parts of the 32x32 Green Grocer.

Reason I'm asking is I recently bought a second (used) Pet Shop and have been thinking about wether or not to tackle the "Blue Grocer" once I finished building the other buildings.

Edited April 6, 2014 by Roger_Smith