Modular Rebuilding Project

[VintageLegoEra]

i am only left now with PC and PR....i dont want to build them then i will be left with no modular to built..:(....huuuh.......i enjoyed every piece building my modular from CC till TH....it is a very great experience especially when your back from Dag ages :)..

[eckarty]

Wow! You sure have a lot of time in your hands! I own all 9 modulars but i wouldn't want to re build them again. (For now). I loved that i learned a lot of techniques from the modulars but I enjoy more MOCing. Just sayin.

[Brick & Mortimer]

First of all, I would like to apologize for the loooooong wait.

I did not lose interest in this project. I want to see my modulars as buildings, not as bags of plastic bricks, stacked away in a box

RL hasn’t given me a lot of free time, not to build, and surely not to write a decent post after building.

“Not a lot of free time” is a slight understatement by the way… These last weeks have given me for various reasons barely a spare minute, not only to rebuild my modulars.

Anyway, I’ld like to continue this rebuilding project with

Grand Emporium

When I First heard the rumors that the fifth modular was going to be a department store, I really liked the idea.

Finally my minifigs had a greater choice of local businesses than a pizza restaurant and a gas station

Traditional pre- and post-cleaning shots

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The pattern on the sidewalk is sure to make you stop, and might get you to windowshop, and maybe even draw you in to buy stuff. Nice touch, and again no boring sidewalk.

The details continue with the changing room

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The shelves are nicely done, but I guess they are used only for display, because my minifigs have trouble reaching these shelves

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The Grand Emporium is a shop for well-to-do minifigs. Apart from the perfumes, the use of burgundy for the displays ‘shows’ the luxury. There’s even jewelry for sale under the cash register.

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The mannequins are made recognizable the easiest way possible: don’t show the faces. Genius!

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The awning is done very nicely, and again shows luxury

Design-wise, Grand Emporium is doing nice so far, but…

… it comes with a price:

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In this picture you see 68 fracking headlightbricks.

…

Yes that’s NOT a typo. I do mean 68 (!) headlightbricks, together with 64 bley ‘curved top’ bricks, 32 plates, 28 tiles, 4 jumper plates, 4 cheese bricks and 4 round lights.

These piles of assorted bricks are used to build the four columns next to the shop windows.

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I timed it and it takes almost 11 minutes to assemble, even with an efficient, structured ‘method’.

That’s not counting the time it takes to search and gather the 68 headlichtbricks, the 64 etc…

You may disagree, but to me this kind of ‘headlichtbrick-diarrhea’ is so fracking boring and repetitive…

Okay, off to more interesting things, like the revolving doors:

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Odd designer choice… can somebody explain to me why we use a 1x1 tile instead of a 1x1 plate?

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The escalator is instantly recognizable and in my opinion very beautifully designed.

It’s a pity there’s no second escalator going the other way, but this would have left very little room in the shop.

“Shop” sign,

brick-built,

nice ,

‘nuff said:

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This is what the ground floor looks like when it’s finished. It may look a bit bare, but more interior might be too much ‘clutter’

On to the first floor!

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I like the use of grilled bricks to give some texture and extra details to the walls. I’m a sucker for small touches like this

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The baluster with the glass bricks is very nice and fits with the art deco vibe I get from Grand Emporium.

This time we need 30 ‘log’ bricks to make 10 pilars of three bricks each. Not very exciting.

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Offsetting the windows behind the pillars gives a nice effect.

But building 19 identical windows is, again, not very exciting.

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Let’s finish with a top-down view of the first floor:

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Not very much to see really. But again, more will probably give a cluttered look

On to the second floor.

Which is basically the same as the first floor…

Not everything is the same. The chandelier above the escalator is very impressive

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And a top-down view of the second floor, which apparently is the toy department

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The roof features a very, very large skylight.

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The billboard is an eye catcher. As it should

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The classic Fabuland flower returns as an ornament

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The wide Prince of Persia arches as corbels are elegant and fit well with the rest of the building.

Conclusion

The overall design of the Grand Emporium is very beautiful.

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It’s a tall, impressive building and the billboard even makes it bigger.

The combination of sober and dignified look with subtle texture (like the ‘log’ bricks for the pillars and the corbels) gives the impression of an expensive store.

The backside on the other hand is not very impressive. But then again, what did you expect?

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This picture at ‘street level’ is in my opinion one of the nicest views of the Grand Emporium.

The interior seems bare, but I think a more full interior would be too cluttered.

Yet in its ‘minimalistic’ implementation it manages to contain things as a changing room and an impressive chandelier.

I can even understand the single escalator; Adding a second escalator going the other way would leave no room for the merchandize.

But…

Apart from the design, Grand Emporium is not very exciting:

It lacks special / advanced building techniques. With some effort, the revolving door can be considered as an advanced building technique. Although in my opinion the used techniques aren’t really special.

But, the biggest negative point of Grand Emporium is it’s repetitiveness.

Dear Lawd! are we talking about a boring built.

It starts with the 68 headlightbricks and friends (see picture 010). On the first floor we have our 30 ‘log’ bricks and 19 identical windows.

When the ground floor and the first floor are finally finished, you start building the second floor...

...

...Which is fracking identical(!) to the not so exciting first floor

All in all, Grand Emporium is the most disappointing modular so far in this rebuilding project.

Ironically, the only modular of which I have two copies is Grand Emporium. The main reason I bought two copies is to solve the one-way escalator

Again, my apologies for the long wait (I just realise that the last reply on this thread was over a month ago )

RL has hardly given me any spare time. On top of that, my copy of Ecto-1 arrived a couple of days ago, and I’m itching to start building it: Who you gonna call? (Ghostbusters!)

Therefore I won’t make any promises or predictions as to when I’ll post the rebuilding of Pet Shop.

I can only say I’ll do it A.Q.AP.

coo, coo?

As Quick As Possible!*

*The first to guess this obscure movie reference of the day ™ wins!

...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.

Fire Brigade always was a favourite of mine as well. (and still is after rebuilding it)

I did add the cat from GG so the firemen had something to do

This thread is great! It makes me wish I could afford the Green Grocer and Fire Brigade at their current prices.

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

I was very lucky to get out of my dark age at the time only Café Corner, Market Street and Green Grocer were released.

When I wanted to buy these expensive* sets my girlfriend was a little sceptic, (when she helped me with Café Corner, she was sold ), but I'm glad I bought them anyway.

* Café Corner was then about 130 EUR if I'm not mistaken. Today no one would think twice if they found a copy of CC for 130 EUR...

i am only left now with PC and PR....i dont want to build them then i will be left with no modular to built..:(....huuuh.......i enjoyed every piece building my modular from CC till TH....it is a very great experience especially when your back from Dag ages :)..

Well, you can always dismantle them, clean theam and start all over

Wow! You sure have a lot of time in your hands! I own all 9 modulars but i wouldn't want to re build them again. (For now). I loved that i learned a lot of techniques from the modulars but I enjoy more MOCing. Just sayin.

Evidently I don't have a lot of time on my hands, looking at the pace of this thread

Yep, the techniques used in the modulars (or at least most of them ) were an eye opener; I never realised you could do these things with LEGO

Rebuilding the modulars is indeed a daunting task. But I must say I'm really having fun.

Spending a spare afternoon with a modular, just you and your bricks, can be sooooo relaxing.

[Big-whoop-Guybrush]

Love threads like this. Great detailed photos but IT just makes me sad I missed out on GG. I'm not paying £600 from secondhand sellers and don't want to brick link it because I'm one of those weird people who love the physical box, bags and instructions that only come from a genuine set. It would be great if they released a collector reissue set or something of this with a slight difference - so that original owners would stil feel happy about owning the original but I doubt they will

[Roger_Smith]

But…

Apart from the design, Grand Emporium is not very exciting:

It lacks special / advanced building techniques. With some effort, the revolving door can be considered as an advanced building technique. Although in my opinion the used techniques aren’t really special.

But, the biggest negative point of Grand Emporium is it’s repetitiveness.

Dear Lawd! are we talking about a boring built.

It starts with the 68 headlightbricks and friends (see picture 010). On the first floor we have our 30 ‘log’ bricks and 19 identical windows.

When the ground floor and the first floor are finally finished, you start building the second floor...

...

...Which is fracking identical(!) to the not so exciting first floor

All in all, Grand Emporium is the most disappointing modular so far in this rebuilding project.

Ironically, the only modular of which I have two copies is Grand Emporium. The main reason I bought two copies is to solve the one-way escalator

This pretty much sums up my feelings about GE. It has kinda grown on me (at the beginning I really only got it so I wouldn't miss out on it), but it still is my least favorite of the modulars (have to add 'I already built' - still haven't built my Town Hall, which I have a feeling won't rank among my favorites aswell).

The ground floor of GE is ok, but the build still is less exciting than that of the ground floors of all the other modulars. And the top floors are just plain boring to build, for the exact reasons you posted.

At least the facade of the thing has grown on me, when I got it I didn't like that at all either.

[TheLegoDr]

It would be great if they released a collector reissue set or something of this with a slight difference - so that original owners would stil feel happy about owning the original but I doubt they will

They already tried that years ago with classic sets and they sold horribly. I doubt LEGO will be willing to try again. Some designers have even said they will not do it in the future solely for the reason of having new exciting products on the market instead of older products they already designed and sold. Which would sell better on a grander scale: a re-issue of something old or a brand new exciting set with new designs, figures, pieces, etc? As a whole, the new set will sell leaps and bounds better than the previous.

As far as GE, the repetitiveness can be boring, but I think the final result is worth it. It looks exactly like the source material they were going for. I actually really like Town Hall also. Even PC has grown on me. Market Street is the only one not worth it (in my opinion).

But if you don't like repetitiveness, don't build Tower Bridge...over 4000 pieces with two identical towers...haha