BrickRally217

I built this in Studio and put it on Rebrickable if anyone wants to build it! https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-164173/BrickRally217/antique-toy-store-modular-building/#details

That's a brilliant build! It adds a nice corner while making the overall footprint of the build an even 2 baseplates instead of 1.5. I also can't believe how much better the color scheme looks on that build compared to the museum. Maybe I'll have to see it in-person before coming to any negative conclusions.

Interesting find, in the context of this discussion! Maybe leave the ground floor as-is and MOC the second floor tan? And change the trim around the windows to olive green on both floors?

To me, having an eye for color isn't just deciding what color(s) to use, it's also about how the designer uses them and creates visual balance. You could reasonably say the main color for Parisian Restaurant is olive green too, but as its designer, Jamie was able to accent the green (which has a dark hue) on the facade with lots of whites and light greys. It's clear that a different approach was used with the facade of the museum, opting for large blocks of green and comparably less color accents, and the accents that are there are darker colors like brown and dark tan. To me the end result is not as attractive, but that's just my two cents!

The darn thing is hideous. Jamie Berard and his eye for color are sorely missed in the modular line. To the set's credit, I'm not sure how much changing the primary color (to something more muted with color accents?) would even help it. A modular-style museum is a pretty good idea but maybe in practice it isn't. To me it doesn't look great on the modular street. Something like this needs its own campus, surrounded on all four sides by patches of green and trees. Not that you couldn't modify it and do that yourself. The interior is really well done. The solar system display rips. And the technique for the stairs; what a great idea!

I don't know if the residents would be too happy with a patron of the toy store climbing their staircase and trying to enter their apartment. I would get a haul from the green grocer and show up as a grocery delivery person, that might work And yes! I did want the building to feel exciting and like a "toy" in itself, it's cool you noticed that. The classic yellow really evokes the "toy" (specifically classic Lego) aesthetic to me, so I knew it was the right choice for my toy store. Some Lego city builders like to incorporate the more industrial side of things, the roads, the offices, the bureaucracy and the like. To me that stuff is off somewhere else. I strive to make my Lego city the perfect relaxing weekend trip itinerary, all in one block... wake up at the hostel, get some breakfast, visit the bookshop, peek your head in the toy store, grab a bite from the market, and spend the rest of the day in the ragtag astronomy museum/curated library just learning and learning.

I've been holding on to that one for a while

It's an ingenious way to move furniture! I think the windows in my modular may be a bit small though, haha.

That's a great idea! Wish I would have thought of that before, I'm back to sorting now though and my build area is full of other stuff, so modifying it will have to come a bit later. I couldn't agree more. Even as one of the yearly modulars, like in lieu of a 32x32, a 16x32 would be amazing... more affordable and arguably packs just as big of a punch. Especially since we've gotten Assembly square, and now the rumored 2024 museum, which are 48x32. So a single 16x32 is needed sometimes to offset the difference since as most modulars are 32x32.

Hi everyone, This is my 16x32 modular MOC which I’m calling Antique Toy Store. The ground floor is the toy shop with a marble roller coaster displayed in the front window, and the upper floors are a two-story apartment with a working clothesline in the back. There is also a working “touw en blok,” or rope-and-pulley system for moving furniture, so there is a bit of a “moving rope” motif going on. Interiors: Since these are supposed to be antique/valubale toys, I got a bit meta and turned one of the display cases into a collection of the most valuable small Lego elements in my collection. Many are from 2011’s Queen Anne’s Revenge pirate ship, including the ultra-rare and expensive dark tan plume. I was going for a Christmas-y theme with the dark red and olive green for the toy shop, and I placed a pine tree in the back to solidify that theming more. The second level has a living area and kitchen. The third level has a bathroom with a removable wall for easy access, and a giant bed, which was the last thing I created for the build. I have no idea how the minifigs got it up there. The roof section is nothing too special, but it does feature a storage area for the furniture rope. Influences: These are the references which inspired the design I chose. The ground floor was influenced by this really vibrant building I saw on a street corner when I was in Amsterdam last year. The dark red color, irregular angle of the door, arches, and small statue were ideas garnered from this building. (first pic is mine) The upper levels were loosely based around these images but are mostly a product of my imagination. Lastly, here is the antique toy store with some other modulars. (Mmmm, color therapy) Thanks for checking out my build, I hope you liked it!

Seems I've posted my thoughts in the right discussion thread, then But you raise a good point, I think it would have come out much better if they were able to do a print around the borders of the window panes, to give it some color like in your example.

A couple of specific ones related to some recent modulars: The use of garage door elements for the bakery window in Assembly Square has to be the worst part usage in any modular set. I get what they were going for, but the amount of lines is too harsh and it gives a "barred-up storefront" look, which, in the setting of a lively town square, palpably de-livens it. The set has some redeeming qualities but this aspect (probably to an unreasonable degree) ruins it for me. I admire the ambition it took to design the Boutique Hotel, as they were working with some challenging geometry. But I think the angles got too unwieldy, resulting in a pretty shabby build overall. I'm sure tying the middle section to one side and having it converge with the other side, rather than making the middle section completely centered, was their attempt to minimize gaps and simplify the geometry, but to me it came out looking confusing and quite straining on the eye. I'm particularly thinking about the curved windows on the second level, which, from certain angles, don't appear to match up with the door frames on the first and third levels, even though they technically do.

Well, that's one of the most incredible Naboo fighter MOCs I've seen. Great use of the relatively new 3x3 cylinder! I was thinking of updating mine to utilize that piece as well. Even though it's midiscale, according to my calculations, a 28cm long Lego N-1 would be exactly minifig scale too. They are really small ships in-universe. I'll bet it would look great next to minifig scale sets like the ucs falcon, at-at, and some of the x-wings! You're a wizard with those angles on the razor crest too, wow.

It’s always delightful seeing what others do with the interior of this set. I love what you did with the table legs, the coffee table build, and the SNOTed bed sheets. The dark red floor really compliments the interior too. Thanks for sharing!

This is my ranking, using the popular "tier" method: The originals just really do it for me. Parisian restaurant and detective's office are pretty prefect too.