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In the lego community, the modular buildings are held in awe. For most AFOLS, they represent a high point in all the sets TLG has released.

Rumors about the new modular building are eagerly followed by the fans.

These sets even made their (previously anonymous) designers into a sort of celebrities.

A couple of months ago my girlfriend and I moved to a new, bigger, apartment. When we were packing I decided to tear down my modulars in order to clean them from dust etc.

Now I’ve finally found the time to start cleaning and rebuilding.

And I’d like to use this opportunity to see if the modulars hold to their reputation. Hence this rebuilding project.

The sets I’m going to rebuild are:

10182 Café Corner

10190 Market Street

10185 Green Grocer

10197 Fire Brigade

10211 Grand Emporium

10218 Pet Shop

10224 Town Hall

Palace Cinema and Parisian Restaurant are not a part of this project for the simple reason that they I can’t be re-build them. I own Palace Cinema, but I never had the room to build it when we were living in our old apartment. The Parisian Restaurant was the first set I build when we moved to our new place.

I’m not going to use a fixed checklist for judging every set, but basically I’ll be judging the modulars on building techniques, esthetics and (lack of) repetitive building.

I’d like to point out that all this is just my personal opinion.

I realize that not everybody is going to agree with things I think of as beautiful or ugly, but as the old saying goes: de gustibus et coloribus non disputandum est.

This rebuilding project is not going to be is a series of reviews. There are excellent reviews of all the modulars in this rebuilding project, so I’m not going to rehash what is already written.

Also, I’m not going to focus on (rare) parts etc. Firstly because I’m not familiar with this and secondly because for me, rare parts or parts in special colours are no reason to buy the modulars. I like the buildings and the techniques, but special parts are not a selling point for me.

Again, this is just me and again, this rebuilding project is very subjective.

I'm not going to grade the modulars on a scale. I find it very hard to do, so you'll have to do with vague terms like "beautiful", "nice" "boring" etc.

Maybe (just maybe), I might give a ranking after rebuilding all my modulars.

1: Café Corner

2: Market Street

3: Green Grocer

4: Fire Brigade

5: Grand Emporium

I’ll try to post as regularly as possible, I hope to post at least once a week (if RL allows).

I hope you guys are going to enjoy my trip down memory lane!

Edited by Brick & Mortimer

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The question is, how are they graded? On a scale of 1 to 10, and if you're comparing Lego modulars with whatever else is on the market, then they just might be all tens. If they are competing against each other, then it will be interesting to see which one is at the bottom and which one is at the top and why.

To me, it's only meaningful if they are graded based on a modular v modular comparison. So, they can't all be nines and tens. It can't be like American public schools where everyone gets an 'A'. Except for me, that is. :-)

And, please give 10190 a break. It seems like many people want to rationalize it right out of the modular series. Glad to see you've included it. After all, Lego considers it part of the modular series as evident in the advertising materials dating back to when the first few modulars were released.

Thanks for your efforts and I look forward to the results!

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Café Corner

The best way to start is at the beginning. :wink:

Café Corner was the very first modular, the one who started the "craze".

It was a try-out to see if people would buy these (expensive) sets.

Café Corner was also my first modular and to me this set screams nostalgia.

Let's see if it's still as awesome as it was in january 2009 when I put the first of over 2.000 pieces together.

Bagged and ready to clean:

14632833538_c84348cfcd_o.jpg10182_001 by brick_mortimer

After cleaning:

14816381141_67d73a2c43_o.jpg10182_002 by brick_mortimer

Look at all that juicy plastic! :wub:

A thing we have come to take for granted in the modular houses is the pavement.

I remember building Café Corner for the first time and thinking how cool it was that this building has a pavement.

During rebuilding I had the feeling a veteran of modular sets will surely understand: "So many fracking tiles...".

But, you are rewarded with a nice easter egg after putting down 70 1x1 tiles and 10 1x1 plates:

14632919847_71fcddd2e7_o.jpg10182_003 by brick_mortimer

It's somewhat tiresome and a bit repetitive, but the easter egg is a nice reward.

The next surprise is the diagonal corner.

To me the technique was totally new and I loved it!

On the one hand it's so obvious how Jamie Berard did it, but it's the simplicity of the technique that adds to the beauty.

14632806759_ea0b7baae9_o.jpg10182_004 by brick_mortimer

Café Corner has no interior. But I don't think it would be fair to judge this set by the lack of an interior.

Remember, at that time Green Grocer didn't exist yet.

Jamie tried to mitigate this by giving Café Corner a colourful interior:

14819106622_e8bf9bd016_o.jpg10182_005 by brick_mortimer

When I look at the first floor, I still like the fact that the combination of a few well selected light bley and dark bley bricks give a nice realistic wall texture:

14839292573_48b3613189_o.jpg10182_006 by brick_mortimer

Selecting bricks that go well together is a nice design, but using those bricks in a new way is a cool technique:

14796473776_7618d05606_o.jpg10182_007 by brick_mortimer

It's a bit clumsy to put together (or is that just me :grin:), but the result is veeeeerry nice.

A few steps later Jamie gives us new way to use skis:

14816380681_de69922094_o.jpg10182_008 by brick_mortimer

I still love it!

The part of Café Corner that impressed me a lot the first time still amazes me now:

This bunch of bricks and plates

14816380561_7e22070de6_o.jpg10182_009 by brick_mortimer

turns into this:

14632806369_095f460aa5_o.jpg10182_010 by brick_mortimer.

The hotel sign is a true eyecatcher. People who visit us for the first time admire the sign. And when I tell them it's "handmade" from bricks they find it sometimes hard to believe :laugh:.

On the whole Café Corner is not a really repetitive build, except for this part:

14632764840_321cdc7d6b_o.jpg10182_011 by brick_mortimer

Having to connect 60 headlightbricks and 30 2x1 plates is repetitive and boring.

Café Corner show you what you can do with the "lowly" jumper plate:

14796473266_260b4062b9_o.jpg10182_012 by brick_mortimer

When I was rebuilding this set I really liked the design of the roof.

14816380311_a50ef7b972_o.jpg10182_013 by brick_mortimer

In combination with the windows, the roof has a Parisian feel to me:

14632806199_a170c1d624_o.jpg10182_014 by brick_mortimer

Conclusion

Café Corner holds up well after a rebuild.

The colours, the nice use of different bricks combine into a very beautiful overall design.

I still love building techniques like the hotel sign, the bricks above the side door and the diagonal corner.

All in all was the build was not really repetitive.

The finished set in all its glory:

14632806069_c27b86377b_o.jpg10182_015 by brick_mortimer

The question is, how are they graded? On a scale of 1 to 10, and if you're comparing Lego modulars with whatever else is on the market, then they just might be all tens. If they are competing against each other, then it will be interesting to see which one is at the bottom and which one is at the top and why.

To me, it's only meaningful if they are graded based on a modular v modular comparison. So, they can't all be nines and tens. It can't be like American public schools where everyone gets an 'A'. Except for me, that is. :-)

And, please give 10190 a break. It seems like many people want to rationalize it right out of the modular series. Glad to see you've included it. After all, Lego considers it part of the modular series as evident in the advertising materials dating back to when the first few modulars were released.

Thanks for your efforts and I look forward to the results!

I'm only going to compare "my" modulars to see if they hold up after a rebuild.

I wasn' really planning on grading them. I find it really hard to do :blush:.

Don't worry about Market Street, to me it's part of the modular houses and I plan on explaining why when I get to cleaning the set.

Thanks for your support and I'll edit the introduction so the (lack of) grading is clear.

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Looks great and fresh. Glad to see a building of this after I did mine couple of weeks back.

This is indeed a great set and I love it!..I do agree about the interior, the rating of this set has nothing to do with the interior cos I believe the idea of this set is to reflect the exterior look and I think it is easy to make ur own interior..interior Nd exterior are different when comes to judge.

Looking forward for your rest modulars.

Cheers

Edited by VintageLegoEra

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I remember putting together Cafe Corner in the summer of 2007. I was thrilled and excited to build it. I'm considering taking all of the modulars apart and cleaning them some time soon just like you did to give it a fresh new look. Plus, it would be fun to rebuild it.

And yes; I definitely like how the roof was done. I applied the same roof concept to my train station facade and roof.

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Thanks for the build. This does highlight other things not in reviews, so it is still worth a read. Plus, the modular line are so much fun to look at, I will still read this even though I've seen countless reviews.

It is interesting (not shocking anymore) to me to see how different some of your dark blues look. Lighting might be at play on some parts, but ultimately it looks like two different shades. And it seems LEGO has had that struggle with certain colors in the recent past because of the dye system they changed to.

Either way, that is one part of this building I never understood. The dark blue arched doorway. Why is there that huge air gap underneath the arch?? I'd think something should go there. Why have a door if someone could just grab a ladder and hop right in!

The roof is my favorite part (and the color helps). I don't love the reddish brown that close to dark red, but I haven't seen other colors that looks right either. The mish-mash of dark blue with reddish brown and tan and topped off with dark red is very odd to me. The building design is outstanding and I know the colors were probably pretty new at that time, but it does not look that great to me.

But I've rebuilt CC multiple times now as different structures and I think it looks the best as a corner building. I tried an inverted L corner, but it didn't fit into the same footprint as the rest of the line, so I couldn't display it. I've tried a straight 32 wide building, which looks "okay" but not as awe inspiring as the original corner design.

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Market Street

The second modular is a special case. It’s the only one that’s (mostly?) designed by a Lego fan.

The late Eric Brok, a Dutch AFOL, designed Market Street and sadly passed away shortly after it was released.

Eric Brok started one of the first ever Lego websites in 1996. Unfortunately his website is no longer online.

In my opinion, Market Street is without a single doubt part of the modular buildings.

I know some people disagree with me, but please, allow me to ‘make my case’.

Like a certain well known ventriloquist I’m going to argue with myself :wink:

* Market Street is a modular building because it’s built according to a modular building standards so it fits with all other modular buildings.

The floors are removable, just like every other modular building.

Yeah, Market Street is obviously not a modular: it says “factory” on the box.

* True, but “factory” is just a branding. Since Palace Cinema the modular houses are branded as “creator”, and nobody calls the regular creator houses modular.

Yeah, It’s not a whole building, it’s just two separate parts.

* What about the Pet Shop?...

Yeah, it’s not a modular building because it has so few pieces

* Well, if you’re going to include the number of pieces a part of the definition of a modular building, what’s going to be your ‘minimum’ amount of bricks?

2056, The number of bricks of Café Corner? If that’s the case, Pet Shop isn’t a modular either because it has 2032 pieces…

Yeah, it’s not a modular building because the minifigs don’t have the classic smiley face

* True, Market Street is the only modular building with no classic smiley faces ( :classic:). But we must remember that at the time Market Street was released only 50 % of the modular buildings came with a :classic: . I don’t think the tradition to use :classic: in modular buildings was established when (or before) Café Corner came out. Only after Green Grocer came out the use of the :classic: was confirmed.

Yeah, you can prove anything with statistics

* Well it’s part of Jamie’s mini modulars.

So to me, even with the lack of :classic: , Market Street is a modular building. Albeit a small one and often seen as the ugly duckling of the series.

On to the rebuilding:

Pre-cleaning picture

14930007992_779484a07c_o.jpg10190_001 by brick_mortimer

and after-cleaning picture

14927283141_6608cda7b1_o.jpg10190_002 by brick_mortimer

We start by building the ‘market’ and one of the things I still like is the fact that the pavement is a bit ‘livelier’ with the use of plates and tan tiles to create a cobbled effect.

14930381715_9d0c105c59_o.jpg10190_003 by brick_mortimer

I also like the use of the round tile with the grill pattern as a manhole cover. It’s a pity it’s not used in other modulars.

It may be hard to see in a picture, but I really like the combination of light tan and navy blue. Both colours really go well together.

14930007632_bfe339eb85_o.jpg10190_004 by brick_mortimer

14907382056_8661245c84_o.jpg10190_005 by brick_mortimer

On top of the gate we have a wrought iron ornament which I think is well done with the parts used.

I’m sure it’s possible to make a better wrought iron effect with other parts, but it’s still instantly recognizable.

14930381465_b14f4ee30f_o.jpg10190_006 by brick_mortimer

The chimney fan is also instantly recognizable, although I wonder what the chimney is connected to. This is sort of a redundant part of the ‘market’.

I know it makes the roof look less bland and boring, but I don’t see the point of the chimney.

I really like the detailing of the façade, even if part of it is hidden by the ornament

14743708970_680b151818_o.jpg10190_007 by brick_mortimer

Next up is a house and it starts off with a simple but cool way to build the stairs:

This

14930007362_64e029f082_o.jpg10190_008 by brick_mortimer

becomes this

14743806567_f25629991a_o.jpg10190_009 by brick_mortimer

The curved stairs are done in a simple but effective and sturdy way.

The general look of the building with the crow-stepped gable places Market Street almost anywhere in the Low Countries. The curved steps place it firmly in the Netherlands / Amsterdam.

Market Street has only one major design flaw: the awning.

It features a 5-wide awning in two parts:

14930007182_60803c1e4b_o.jpg10190_010 by brick_mortimer

Which is then attached to the building on two separate hinges which makes it very difficult to align the two parts of the awning:

14907381706_fa307a9527_o.jpg10190_011 by brick_mortimer

This can be resolved by connecting the two parts with plates. It’s not advanced modding, but it’s a shame one has to mod a set to offset a design flaw.

The next floor of the building provides another clue that origins of Market Street lie in the Netherlands. To me the rolled up awnings are typically Dutch, and it’s a nice touch.

14930381015_2e11af09b9_o.jpg10190_012 by brick_mortimer

14930380945_5fc6717b07_o.jpg10190_013 by brick_mortimer

This picture illustrates something that struck to me during this rebuilt. Compared to other modulars many steps in the manual consist of just stacking plain old bricks on top of each other.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. I mean, Lego is a construction toy and stacking bricks is part of the game.

But while I was building, I slowly came to realize I was looking forward to the steps that called out for nothing but a lot of plain old bricks.

I found a joy in these simple acts of stacking plastic bricks on one another: a return to childhood maybe?

Owkay…, on to the next thing of note.

14743762828_3c3b30dddf_o.jpg10190_014 by brick_mortimer

The illusion of wrought iron is created again with the design of the baluster. I like the inventive use of tubes / hozes.

14930006762_ff9ed13722_o.jpg10190_015 by brick_mortimer

The terrace hidden by the façade really feels like a private ‘retreat’ from the busy city life.

14907381276_bc340baa60_o.jpg10190_016 by brick_mortimer

When the set is completed most of the attention goes to the main building;

I really like the use of the lions head, it gives the building an authentic touch. Many medieval buildings had a name in order to identify them.

In times when most people were illiterate buildings had some sort of statue or symbol to show their name. So I guess you can call Market Street ‘House The Lion’.

It’s difficult to see if you just look at the pictures, but the colours go together very well in RL. The tan, the navy blue and the light blue mix really good.

Throw in some light bley accents where the paint peeled off and you get a nice whole.

14743707009_7a1b9d1d3c_o.jpg10190_017 by brick_mortimer

And now to show you the floors of Market Street are easily interchangeable:

14743707790_693042b0e9_o.jpg10190_018 by brick_mortimer

Switch the balcony, the flag and the croissant and you can switch both floors

14930380115_77658a2fc4_o.jpg10190_019 by brick_mortimer

Somehow I like it better with the dark blue floor in the middle.

Phew…, such a long post for such a small building...

Conclusion

Coming from a country where this kind of building style is quite common in older cities, I can say the design is rather realistic. The colour scheme is not quite realistic, but the chosen colours go together very well.

Market Street doesn’t use any advanced building techniques, apart from the curved stairs.

The design of the 5-wide awning is sloppy. It may be my fault, but I find it difficult to align both parts.

The building experience is not boring with no repetitive steps.

On the other hand, it’s not really exciting either. Stacking bricks may bring back childhood memories, but it’s a bit lacking for a modular building.

So, all in all to me the design is very nice, but Market Street is lacking in fancy building techniques and the building experience is not really exciting.

I want to finish by apologizing for keeping you waiting for this post. I’ve come to the realization that it’s not the cleaning or the building or even writing these posts is the most time consuming. It’s the drying that takes up a lot of time.

Because of the feline mistress of the house (all you cat ’owners’ know what I’m talking about) I have to lay out the bricks in locked up room and due to space constraints I can only lay out the wet bricks of a single building at a time.

On top of that, RL has been a female dog these last weeks. It’s incredibly busy at work and when I come home at night I hardly had the energy to fire up the laptop.

Thanks again for your patience, I’ll try to speed up this project.

Edited by Brick & Mortimer

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Some other thoughts on 10190 being part of the modular series. 10190 was featured between CC and GG when Lego was advertising the modular line. Just line you see TH, PC and PR together in current ads that you see at the end of Lego instruction books. If nothing else, 10190 was included by TLG in the mini modular release (like you said) and that's pretty definitive proof that it's in the modular series. I tried to rationalize it not being part of the modular line because I missed it and didn't want to pay a high price for one in the aftermarket. I finally stopped lying to myself and bought two used 10190s.

Edited by Off the wall

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I don't care if it is in the modular line or not, I just think it is ugly in comparison with the other modulars, and that's what makes it stand out. But that is just a personal opinion.

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Great MS..........me too enjoying building these modular according to their year of release and they are just AWESOME!

Now i am building the Pet Shop....4 remaining to complete the series ;)

Edited by VintageLegoEra

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Green Grocer

Green Grocer is easily one of the most beloved modulars.

How will this fan favourite stand up to a rebuilt?

warning: picture heavy post

Pre cleaning picture

15003778335_2d0883c459_o.jpg10185_001 by brick_mortimer

and post cleaning

14817128420_b170f6371a_o.jpg10185_002 by brick_mortimer

I immediately of noticed the huge pile of light bley (see minifig for reference). Which struck me as odd because if I think about the Green Grocer I, well, think of green instead of grey :wink:.

After the first few steps of the instruction you have tiled most of the baseplate. This is an easy job thanks to the now abundant brickseperators.

15000679801_c3fcb5f861_o.jpg10185_003 by brick_mortimer

It may seem tedious to lay down all these tiles, but in between 'tiling-steps' the instructions start out with the foundation of the walls.

The combination of colours in the tiling of the shop floor and the passageway is very beautiful.

Construction flows nicely and soon you have to build one of the first little gems that make up the shop:

14817253997_8c656c0fb2_o.jpg10185_004 by brick_mortimer

15000679661_df6a8e23fb_o.jpg10185_005 by brick_mortimer

The thing I like most is the fact that there’s detailing on the back side of the cash register, invisible if you look in the shop through the front windows.

Such attention to detail is something I like a lot.

15003777915_f059315ca0_o.jpg10185_006 by brick_mortimer

I absolutely love the big freezer / cooling unit. Even without stickers or printed tiles you can ‘identify’ some products.

On the bottom right shelf you have orange juice and grape juice (or maybe it’s milk?).

The bright red cans on the top left shelve might be coca cola and there’s Dr Pepper on the second left shelf.

On the other hand, it could easily be something else and I ‘see’ soft drinks because I’m thirsty right now...

* off to the fridge to get me a drink *

Anyway, whether it’s a freezer full of soft drinks or canned food or something else entirely, it’s an eye catcher and it’s fun to see the freezer come together with each step of the instruction.

Green Grocer does not suffer from 'headlight-brick-diarrhea'. You only need a big bunch of headlightbricks once, and that’s it!

14817073409_9e08d1fa27_o.jpg10185_007 by brick_mortimer

The finished shop is gorgeous!

I’ll walk you through:

14817168698_fa17447a55_o.jpg10185_008 by brick_mortimer

15000679441_24a7d13742_o.jpg10185_009 by brick_mortimer

14817127590_fbc056a9cb_o.jpg10185_010 by brick_mortimer

14817073109_e0d7744ba0_o.jpg10185_011 by brick_mortimer

The passageway to the back yard and the entrance to the apartment upstairs is done in a sober way. But, this doesn’t mean it’s bland.

14980785616_363bb7cff3_o.jpg10185_012 by brick_mortimer

The mailboxes are typical of an apartment hallway, although I wonder why there are four :wacko:

One for the store, one for the apartment upstairs is two. Maybe the two others are for neighbouring buildings...?

14817073009_8e4c3d20c8_o.jpg10185_013 by brick_mortimer

At night two lamps on each side of the hallway help you find your way. These lamps are built in a very original way.

If I’m not mistaken Jamie once said in a (designer) video that inventing new ways to make lamps is one of his’ hobbies.

He likes to keep a lot of small bricks and pieces in his desk to tinker with and create new lamps.

While a lot of attention goes to the front of the building, the backside also has some details like lamps, texture in the wall by using dark bley bricks, the climbing plant or the grille for the freezer.

15003777395_cc81d385d6_o.jpg10185_014 by brick_mortimer

15003777355_94c7c972e2_o.jpg10185_015 by brick_mortimer

14817168378_405a4f199b_o.jpg10185_016 by brick_mortimer

I like the way the awning is done. Just adding a plate to each blue brick creates a much more lively picture

15003777265_991e2d402e_o.jpg10185_017 by brick_mortimer

I’ll finish talking about the ground floor with a top down picture of the store.

14817168218_597e988981_o.jpg10185_018 by brick_mortimer

14817168148_5947910149_o.jpg10185_019 by brick_mortimer

What’s this? I wonder what the Lego Health Inspection Office would do if they discovered this unwanted guest.

14980785196_e278458a67_o.jpg10185_020 by brick_mortimer

The Green Grocers big bay window is striking feature that dominates the entire right hand side of the building.

The way it all fits together firmly in a system based on simple hinges shows Lego as an incredible versatile toy.

14817168058_a1c7f341a6_o.jpg10185_021 by brick_mortimer

I’ve taken this picture because it shows how the balusters of the first floor balconies reflect the style (or the architectural ‘feel’) of the entire building.

The combination of the ‘hard’ straight-edged tops and the ‘soft’ rounded bricks is something that comes back in other parts of the building.

Talking about balusters:

14817253247_24edd9247b_o.jpg10185_022 by brick_mortimer

using wineglasses as the ‘fence’: genius! :sweet:

14817253217_ae740c623d_o.jpg10185_023 by brick_mortimer

15003776985_6b16bcc217_o.jpg10185_024 by brick_mortimer

The first floor doesn’t have many interior details. But I must say that adding simple things like curtains and a fireplace give it at least some ‘substance’

Green Grocer wouldn’t be the legendary set it is now if it contained a fully, over-the-top furnished ground floor and two completely empty top floors.

The outside is not forgotten if we talk about nice detailing, but it never feels like it’s too much:

15003401612_15d40bcd60_o.jpg10185_025 by brick_mortimer

The fire escape

Let me start by answering an important question to which the answer is “yes”.

the question: “Is it possible to get excited about a fire escape?”

I wanted to cover Green Grocer floor by floor.

But when I was selecting the pictures I realized that it would do injustice to a feature that wowed me even before I had bought and built the set for the first time.

Therefore I present a short collection of pictures about the fire escape, a very realistic (re)creation in plastic of the real life object.

14817252997_04e573775a_o.jpg10185_026 by brick_mortimer

14980784926_fb0e36fb7e_o.jpg10185_027 by brick_mortimer

14817252957_1c7bb43f54_o.jpg10185_028 by brick_mortimer

14980784726_b216f7d53c_o.jpg10185_029 by brick_mortimer

15000678381_673d577955_o.jpg10185_030 by brick_mortimer

Okay, on to the second floor. Again we have the wineglass baluster:

14817167348_41a7247ce4_o.jpg10185_031 by brick_mortimer

The second floor has another realistic recreation:

the radiator is instantly recognizable. As with many things, it’s the simplicity of the design that makes it great.

15003401292_4693746b1e_o.jpg10185_032 by brick_mortimer

15003401282_a531c6f6af_o.jpg10185_033 by brick_mortimer

Apart from the radiator and the rug we have a grandfather clock.

You must imagine the glass door, but there is a pendulum; never imagined a paddle could be used as a pendulum…

15003776365_d20f8ddcbd_o.jpg10185_034 by brick_mortimer

Another hidden guest:

14980784466_0b70ec93ff_o.jpg10185_035 by brick_mortimer

Hurry and catch that mouse before the Health Inspection shows up!

14817252477_98c412a209_o.jpg10185_036 by brick_mortimer

The roof on top of the tower of Café Corner was done nicely. This is the next generation

Up until the release of Green Grocer we humble Lego ‘simpletons’ just saw the hammer as a tool.

Now we know it can be used as a railing. Yep, think outside the box.

14980784366_3fcb7d0469_o.jpg10185_037 by brick_mortimer

14817167078_d2a9dc4f8d_o.jpg10185_038 by brick_mortimer

To relax after a busy day you can use the roof terrace on the backside, nicely sheltered from the traffic and noises from the street.

14817126010_e3d3ba0cc1_o.jpg10185_039 by brick_mortimer

14817166958_29bf64ce94_o.jpg10185_040 by brick_mortimer

The bright red brick-built barbecue might be in contrast with the soft subdued colours used throughout the building, but again it makes it more realistic in my opinion.

Conclusion

The design of the building in general feels well rounded and balanced and is aesthetically very pleasing.

Every aspect of the Green Grocer fits together as a whole (even the design of the balconies) and nothing clashes, design-wise or colour-wise, unlike Café Corner where the floors are more distinguished from each other.

14980783986_f2b7279d90_o.jpg10185_041 by brick_mortimer

The presence of an interior of course, is the main difference with Café Corner and Market Street.

The shop is fully stocked, yet does not feel cramped. Putting together many brightly coloured bricks to create the store is very enjoyable and adds a level to the building experience.

Green Grocer has many innovative /advanced building techniques: the bay window, the fire escape, the pendulum of the grandfather clock, the use of hammers for a railing…

Nothing in the build felt repetitive. There's never a dull moment when you build the Green Grocer.

Set on the ‘evolutionary scale of modular buildings’, Green Grocer represents almost a quantum leap compared to the two previous sets.

If Café Corner and Market Street are the pioneering 'wire-and-fabric-contraptions' used by the Wright Brothers, Green Grocer almost feels like a jet plane.

I didn’t think it was possible, but building the Green Grocer a second time felt like more fun than the first time.

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, the general conclusion after rebuilding: tear down your copy of Green Grocer and start rebuilding, you won’t regret it! :grin:

14817125700_fe7b72f130_o.jpg10185_042 by brick_mortimer

Replies

...10190 being part of the modular series. 10190 was featured between CC and GG when Lego was advertising the modular line...

Indeed, now that you mention it. Market Street was advertised next to the other modulars, I totally forgot about this.

Anybody who wants to argue Market Street out of the modular series will have to come up with some solid arguments :devil:

...I just think it is ugly in comparison with the other modulars, and that's what makes it stand out. But that is just a personal opinion.

I don't know if you own Market Street or if you've just seen pictures of the set, because in RL it (or at least the colourcombination) looks much better.

But even if you own Market Street, you're not alone in your opinion about this set, and that's OK; like I said: de gustibus et coloribus...

Edited by Brick & Mortimer

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Thanks for this. I've yet to get any modulars, but just looking through this thread makes me want them. And gives me so many useful and interesting takes on how to build. I would guess the modulars are great for showing you how to use pieces you never thought of in ways you never imagined.

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Market Street :sick::laugh:

I am not a fan, but thanks for the detailed look. I've been slacking on this thread it seems.

MS had some interesting features for sure, but also a lot that doesn't make sense to me. I actually did not like the 2x2 round grill cover for the ground. I thought it looked too out of place. Along with that yellow plant holder thing? I also don't understand the side market area. Why are there two openings? There is the gated entryway and then an open entryway...even though nothing is really behind there? Again, it shows a fan built it compared to a master builder.

I realize that was in the early days of these creations, but it is interesting how vastly different it is from the rest of the series. There is a reason why so many people exclaim it is not part of the series. It just doesn't fit in as well.

I've considered bricklinking it to have it, but I would do some heavy modifcations..which then makes you wonder, would I really be bricklinking it? I don't think the Dutch architecture goes with the rest of the line either, so would it really fit in...plus I don't like medium blue. It is too easy for me to find things wrong with this.

And my guess as to why it was included in the mini Modulars. Not because it was included in the series, but they needed another build to make the set justifiable. I don't think it sold too well anyway, but having one fewer builds would probably not have sold any better.

As for Green Grocer, probably the best modular to date in terms of overall aesthetic. But I surprisingly really like Pet Shop and Town Hall and Parisian Restaurant...okay I like them all (minus MS).

Thanks for sharing!

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"And my guess as to why it was included in the mini Modulars. Not because it was included in the series, but they needed another build to make the set justifiable. I don't think it sold too well anyway, but having one fewer builds would probably not have sold any better."

Weak. :-)

I tell ya, some of y'all will do about anything to keep MS out of the modular series. Since it was advertised by Lego in modular advertising, I guess (like it or not) it's a modular. Granted, it may seem like the proverbial piece of whatever in the modular punch bowl, but it's a modular.

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True. Every theme has to have its weak link. It was smart of LEGO to get theirs out of the way so early on.

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This is a great thread! It's so much fun to relive the building of the modulars that I do have and to experience the ones that I don't. I am looking foward to seeing the rest of the modular series being rebuilt.

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Fire Brigade

Pre and post cleaning

14871405529_ab0f3fc832_o.jpg10197_001 by brick_mortimer

15058128235_415bd2c757_o.jpg10197_002 by brick_mortimer

Again we get a huge pile of light bley bricks, even more than Green Grocer (see minifig for reference).

We start by building the fire-engine.

Fire Brigade is the first modular with a vehicle. But then again, a fire station without a fire truck would be a bit ridiculous.

Building the truck starts off with putting plates on top of each other, but soon enough we get some interesting techniques:

To create the rear lights we put together a tile, a clip-plate and a round light

15055082431_e9ccce3fbe_o.jpg10197_003 by brick_mortimer

Which are clipped to the back of the truck like this

15055082471_a04df10f6a_o.jpg10197_004 by brick_mortimer

It might be complicated, but it fits with the style of an old-timer fire-engine.

15057775532_09fa3d313c_o.jpg10197_005 by brick_mortimer

Next we have the ladder made with two tiles and light saber hilts which again fits with the style of a 1930’s fire-engine

15055082181_dba9a55ded_o.jpg10197_006 by brick_mortimer

This is the end result:

14871468290_458e9af819_o.jpg10197_007 by brick_mortimer

Is this an accurate recreation of a 1930’s fire-engine?

According to your friendly local search engine it is.

(in case the link doesn't work, just search for pictures with 1930's fire engine as keywords (no quotation marks necessary))

Next we start with the actual building.

14871550658_526545c170_o.jpg10197_008 by brick_mortimer

Almost all Lego fire stations have 2 engine bays. And since Lego releases a new fire station like clockwork, almost everybody owns at least one.

On the pavement it says “3”, voila, your third engine bay :grin:

Other sources say that “3” is a reference to the fact that Fire Brigade is Jamie’s third modular :wink:.

Either way, it’s nice to see that no modular has a bland ‘tiles-only’ pavement.

The build is smooth with mostly bricks, but occasionally Jamie gives us a nice building technique:

14871468230_9c2ca6357c_o.jpg10197_009 by brick_mortimer

You put a frog on jumper plate, put the jumper plate on the wall and we have a nice rack to hang the fire helmets.

An engine bay might not be very exciting, but Fire Brigade solves this by putting tools on the left-hand side and the fire gear / dressing room on the right-hand side.

14871583517_5bc9cfb4d5_o.jpg10197_010 by brick_mortimer

15035123666_39c52e9dca_o.jpg10197_011 by brick_mortimer

The gate is very high (again see minifig for reference). I like the dark tan tiles that give texture to the front wall.

15057774832_bd6930da83_o.jpg10197_012 by brick_mortimer

Fire Brigade uses jumper plates to offset the front door and window.

14871550268_3834318306_o.jpg10197_013 by brick_mortimer

This results in a frame around the door and window for extra texture and extra realism.

14871404859_9f4825534c_o.jpg10197_014 by brick_mortimer

14871404809_e29bb0a77c_o.jpg10197_015 by brick_mortimer

(again, take a look at the dark tan tiles used to enhance the look of the front wall).

Fire Brigade continuous with more advanced building techniques to create the covering on top of the gate.

First we place these hooks:

14871467730_9d97913c63_o.jpg10197_016 by brick_mortimer

Then we built this:

14871404649_6c62595313_o.jpg10197_017 by brick_mortimer

Which we put upside down in the hooks

15058127255_70d5c7338d_o.jpg10197_018 by brick_mortimer

To end up with this:

14871467570_f32470659f_o.jpg10197_019 by brick_mortimer

Above the gate we mount an ordinary window sideways to create a window that is impossible to built in an ordinary way with ordinary windows.

14871467610_28a2f08f88_o.jpg10197_020 by brick_mortimer

To finish the façade we have the symbols of the fire department

15058127055_5d5f108e99_o.jpg10197_021 by brick_mortimer

The last thing to hang at the façade is a brick-built flag:

15057774382_214dc8789f_o.jpg10197_022 by brick_mortimer

I remember some people being upset about this flag because it looks suspiciously like the Stars and Stripes.

Therefore Fire Brigade would be the first modular to be ‘firmly’ placed in a certain country.

Personally I’m not bothered with the flag, basically because it’s brick-built and I like all things brick-built :sweet:

Okay, let’s finish the ground floor with a top-down look at the engine bay, the dressing room and off course the fireman’s pole.

14871467400_bde855937e_o.jpg10197_023 by brick_mortimer

The back side has an extension with a gate opening up on a courtyard.

14871467330_1cdcb54569_o.jpg10197_024 by brick_mortimer

The extension makes the back side a little bit more interesting

15035122816_a3e7e4ac7b_o.jpg10197_025 by brick_mortimer

At the front of the building we have a small and pitiful tree.

To me, this tree is a bit redundant and silly. I know firemen are supposed to get cats out of trees, but no cat is included in Fire Brigade.

One of the most recognisable parts of the Fire Brigade is the dark red façade with the big dark red “bricks”.

By putting these bricks together

15035122766_b54d0eeb13_o.jpg10197_026 by brick_mortimer

14871582627_dbe84cb49c_o.jpg10197_027 by brick_mortimer

You get this in the end

15055080881_eb94126f95_o.jpg10197_028 by brick_mortimer

Fire Brigade has a lot of furniture:

A cabinet:

14871467090_0deaa0c263_o.jpg10197_029 by brick_mortimer

A couch:

15035122476_e0fc42c7cd_o.jpg10197_030 by brick_mortimer

A really cool fridge (no pun intended :grin:):

15058126595_d0e117b067_o.jpg10197_031 by brick_mortimer

A ping pong table:

14871549378_b21d356caf_o.jpg10197_032 by brick_mortimer

And a small kitchen:

15057773772_17ca234d7d_o.jpg10197_033 by brick_mortimer

Again, Fire Brigade shows us an advanced building technique:

14871403969_7596d58f3b_o.jpg10197_034 by brick_mortimer

Which is then turned upside down to create the ornament above the windows:

14871582217_cec832cf04_o.jpg10197_035 by brick_mortimer

15058126215_cb7fd3c9b0_o.jpg10197_036 by brick_mortimer

I like the look of the windows at the back, it fits with the architectural, semi-industrial, style.

The same style of windows is also used in old school buildings.

Let’s finish this floor with a top down view of the living quarters

14871466670_0ef471559a_o.jpg10197_037 by brick_mortimer

The top part of the Fire Brigade is the roof with an elaborate cornice.

Jamie keeps showing us advanced techniques with the “1932” on top of the building

15057773432_c35292c998_o.jpg10197_038 by brick_mortimer

15055080131_986854a1c4_o.jpg10197_039 by brick_mortimer

1932 refers to the year when Lego company was founded by Ole Kirk Christiansen.

The corbels are also done in a clever way:

15035121906_9fa77be93a_o.jpg10197_040 by brick_mortimer

14871403519_a6a667229e_o.jpg10197_041 by brick_mortimer

I like the clever way to create the barrel on the roof with two washtubs.

14871403549_23fccc3aa2_o.jpg10197_042 by brick_mortimer

The bell in the tower is brickbuilt! :sweet:

14871581777_6b63eba336_o.jpg10197_043 by brick_mortimer

Conclusion

15057773052_341b09fd6d_o.jpg10197_044 by brick_mortimer

Fire Brigade is a boxlike building. But then again, a lot of RL buildings (especially civic buildings) are stone or concrete boxes.

I like the ‘straight’ symmetrical look of the building. The dark tan tiles on the front wall, the fire helmets and the big “bricks” give texture to the wall.

On top of that (literally), Fire Brigade has a beautiful cornice with nice corbels and off course the “1932”.

The bell tower gives it an almost delicate finishing touch.

I honestly like the ‘rugged’ beauty of the Fire Brigade (even with the silly little tree), maybe even more after building it a second time.

Another very nice part of the design is all the furniture, especially the fridge and the ping pong table :wub:

Most of what we call ‘advanced building techniques’ in the modulars are innovative ways to put bricks together in order to create a fancy feature (for example the bay window of Green Grocer), but the bricks are stacked together in the conventional way (i.e. with studs facing up).

A ‘truly’ advanced building technique is putting together bricks in an unexpected way to create marvelous (‘impossible’?) features and effects.

Fire Brigade is heaven if you love ‘truly’ advanced building techniques (If I would show how cleverly the fridge was built, this post would even be more picture heavy)

Fire Brigade didn’t feature any boring or repetitive steps (even the “brick” façade of the first floor is mostly put together in only three steps), but it was a bit tedious. The reason it was, was the fact there are only two floors.

The ground floor has a height of no less than 15 rows. Which means you’re still building the same ground floor by the time you’re normally building the first floor of another modular.

In the end I still had a lot of fun, especially with the advanced techniques that remained interesting.

If Green Grocer set the bar for architectural design and interior, Fire Brigade showed us the modular-as source-of-fancy-building-techniques (without cutting back on the design)

If you don’t like tall buildings: leave out a floor :wink:

14871581587_fdf03c9916_o.jpg10197_045 by brick_mortimer

Replies

Thanks for this detailed look into the GG. In my opinion, it may be the best modular.

Green Grocer probably is the best modular, but it's hard to say for sure with all the other beautiful buildings :tongue:

... gives me so many useful and interesting takes on how to build. I would guess the modulars are great for showing you how to use pieces you never thought of in ways you never imagined.

Indeed, see the post above :wink:

Market Street :sick::laugh:

I am not a fan, but thanks for the detailed look [...] it is interesting how vastly different it is from the rest of the series. There is a reason why so many people exclaim it is not part of the series. It just doesn't fit in as well [...]

As for Green Grocer, probably the best modular to date in terms of overall aesthetic. But I surprisingly really like Pet Shop and Town Hall and Parisian Restaurant [...]

Thanks for sharing!

The different look of Market Street makes it stand out against the other modulars (for good or worst), but I like the set a lot. Therefore I understand the people who aren't thrilled about Market Street.

Indeed, I believe the overall aesthetics are the 'secret' to the popularity of Green Grocer. Everything just 'fits' together.

Oh yeah, Pet Shop and Parisian Restaurant aren't the biggest modulars in terms of size, but they score big in terms of aesthetics. Hopefully I'll be looking at Pet Shop very soon :classic:

Anyway, this thread is not about Market Street alone, so I'm no longer going to 'defend' Market Street or react to posts about that set. I've made my 'case' in the post about Market Street, and you can't argue about taste.

Thanks for this detailed look at the old modulars. It's real fun to read this :)

This is a great thread! It's so much fun to relive the building of the modulars that I do have and to experience the ones that I don't. I am looking foward to seeing the rest of the modular series being rebuilt.

You're welcome! I'm glad people having fun reading this thread.

I'll try to keep up the tempo, and maybe I can finish building Grand Emporium tomorrow.

Writing the post will take some time, because I foresee busy days in RL

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I want trying to argue about market street. I ask more than okay not discussing that set. I just don't keep up with this post after every build so I put my comments when I did.

As for fire brigade, it was my first and probably my favorite because of it. The promotional material does have a cat in the tree (I assume the cat from gg). Interesting how they link them together.

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They aren't gonna get cheaper, so buy the Fire Brigade while the price is still humane.

Very true, I have my eye on a few right now :)

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I paid 200 euro for my copy from Bricklink a few weeks ago. It's not much more expensive than what the retail price was/is in Sweden for a modular.

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I paid 200 euro for my copy from Bricklink a few weeks ago. It's not much more expensive than what the retail price was/is in Sweden for a modular.

I have found a few around $200 (US) as well. I will likely pull the trigger when my monthly bonus check comes :)

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