AirborneAFOL

I've thoroughly enjoyed the Friends line as well - "Friendszerizing" them into modular buildings. Your wife, however, is remarkably talented at it. Bravo!

I went to Lego Store as well today - Mall of America location. They claim to be the highest volume Lego Store in the US - and carry a massive inventory "in the back". No TH. Assistant Manager said it's not on their shelf plan so not getting going to be getting any to restock until at least December (if at all, I assume).

Cheers to that! And enjoy the Shopping Mall. Got it myself a couple weeks ago. Only about halfway done MOD'ing it into a modular design. Enjoy your build and be sure to post any MOD's if you go that route :)

Exceptional observation re: vehicles. The older 4-wide cars clearly point to Europe - whereas the more recent shift to larger, 6-wide vehicles supports the earlier suggestion Lego has increasingly evolved to US-centric designs. Since the modern 6-wides, I feel like there's a few with a non-centered steering wheel, and its on the left (or am I wrong on that?), so that rules out England in terms of the modern era.

That "rumors and discussion" thread is beyond annoying - endless string of baseless speculation. It'd be real nice to have a thread for CONFIRMED information on modular set availability. For those who want to share on update on set availability - based on Lego's officially listed status and not collective guesswork - I've love to have a clutter-free thread to see it. Heck, maybe I'll even go to the trouble of just editting this first post to list every current modular, release date, and current *official* status, them edit/update it accordingly as someone posts a heads up on an actual status change - so the first post of the thread constantly has the info we actually care about. Unless there's a good one-stop-shop for a sleek consolidated listing of the modulars we all love and their official availability status out there somewhere already?

I've read the last few pages of this thread, and have $0.02 to get off my chest on the issue: 1. In/out of stock means nothing - it could be a poor inventory calculation by Lego (sales exceeded expectations). We just finished October's double-points and a set like PS is a perfect example of one folks may have bought on suspicious it may be retired before next October. If something is out of stock it could just as easily mean Lego didn't produce enough to meet the unexpectedly high/sudden demand, or it could mean it's legitimately approachig retirement. It could be a sign of a set simply being a very good seller. Lego pretty routinely puts a "retiring soon" notice on sets, presumably when they've produced the last run and are looking to clear their inventory, which suggests to me it is more likely a demand > supply problem when it's "sold out". I'd also point out Lego's consistently questionable marketing maneuvers (sets selling out very quickly upon releases) means they are indeed fallible in this realm, and prone to under-production. 2. All the sales figures (best selling sets) may as well just include an asterik that says "this is based on a horribly flawed but pseudo-science basis". Amount of owners on brickset? Poll results on a website? Complete junk - that's a sample of a brutally narrow demographic - guys like us who are so hardcore Lego that we frequent websites like this, brickset, etc. In statistics speak - it's all based on a bias sample population, a flaw only professional organizations able to mass public polling can avoid. In any enterprise even a franction of Lego's size, the polling of the online "hardcore fan" communities is completely trumped by the general public. We could all eat up some particular set, and it doesn't move the needle an inch compared to the general public deciding "I wanna get a really big lego set for my kid's birthday - hmmm... This Pet Shop looks neat, it's got a pretty blue box". Unless it's a "good seller / bad seller" statement coming directly from someone who works in Lego's financials - it's 99% guesswork masquerading as an educated guess. 3. The sales figures don't matter, even if we did know them with strong confidence. Profitability matters. It's safe to assume not all sets have the precise same profit margin for Lego. If their profit margin is 20% higher on set X (cheaper production costs), but sales volume 10% lower than set Y (fewer sales) - set X is still the winner from Lego's perspective. 4. The most statistically reliable approach is *very likely* simply based on assuming traditional "lifespans" for a set. If most modular sets are sold for 3-yrs (or whatever), its probably a better reference point. Yes, there's outliers of a set being retired seemingly early, or hanging around a year longer, but trying to figure out if a set will be an exception to the norm runs headlong into all the problems referenced above. Ultimately, a product is maintained or discontinued based on a complex criteria - from profitability to production schedules to longterm marketing strategies (i.e., continuing to produce a poor performer because it is building a new niche of customers). Nobody here in the several pages I've read has any firsthand knowledge of superficial figures that drive a decision to discontinue production, let alone the complex decision making process that numbers are factored into. So if you want to know other people's complete guess at a set neing retired - be my guest. But don't mistake it for anything other than complete guesswork.

Cleve detective work and fun question. My boring answer is I always assumed Western Europe, where Lego is based and presumably still draws a majority of its marketing/design team staff, or United States, where I suspect Lego may make the most revenue in terms of a sales market. Both of those are merely educated guesses though - and as a Yank myself I'll readily admit that even if Lego sells more in the US, this site has me thoroughly convinced western Europe has vastly superior builders. You really need to break it down by subtheme though, since some lines seem to lean one way or another. I'd say the predominance of "row house" type modular buildings, abundance bike-related shops / mass transit, and lack of "Cheap Beer & Guns" stores, leans much more European than US. However, the (generally lame) <$50 sets do seem to have a slightly US slant to them given that most vehicles strike me as looking more like a shoddy Ford than a sleek BMW...

I'm a big fan of "small detail" building-interior items. Thanks for sharing!

LOVE the concept of this thread!

Started with the barn... And a pasture... And a fertilizer trailer... Interior birdseye - a few more interior can be found on my Flicker if you're interested. Barn by airborneafol, on Flickr

Too funny. I'd stumbled across yours about a week ago. Loved how you did the hayloft and saved a pic to of it as a conceptual basis for incorporating a similar one! The overall look is a bit more "European" than I'm shooting for, but alot of great detail ideas in there.

So I've spent weeks scouring Google, this site, and some lesser AFOL sites for inspiration on a traditional American farm. Suffice it to say, it's a surprisingly scarce realm for MOC's - the handful that do exist certainly don't seem to do well to showcase interior details and the like - such as many brilliant builders here routinely do. I'm familiar with Lego's brief farm series but frankly the tractors I'm not interested in, and the barn itself is more of an awning than a modular barn. I'm looking to build a farm MOC along the following parameters: * Not to exceed 48x48 base * Modular approach - probably a "free floating" roofthat's just "laid" over the top, rather than attached * Barn roughly 16x16 - 16x32 * Small "pasture" for livestock * Small field for some crops - not large enough to warrant a tractor * Possibly a small 16x16 house * Possibly a silo or weathervain/windmill (for churning a waterpump - not the large scale flour-making types * Possibly a small chicken coup and/or pig sty As a suburbanite, I know very little of farming. But basically a hobby farm size operation. Would be very interested in any of the following: 1. Any links/pics for works you've done or been impressed with. 2. Any ideas on "details" that would really make it pop 3. Any insights the general interior for a 2-3 animal livestock barn would be designed - I'm thinking a couple stalls and a hayloft? 4. Any key tools / functionality that would be expected on a hobby farm. Feel free to share anything you've seen in this realm - or simply toss some ideas out on what you'd do if you were to build one yourself! I'll eventually post pics of the development over the coming months, and do my best to credit anyone who helped spark ideas for any aspects of it.

Yes - duplicative thread. I believe the consensus in the other recent one was Pet Shop. Price point is reasonable, and the "two buildings" design of it makes it a good starter for a city layout. You have the option of separating the pet shop from the row house and splicing in MOC's. Plus, you get a few more insights in the differing aesthetics of the separate buildings, which can help dust off your "dark ages" and kindle some MOC ideas.

Grand Emporium is a great example of one that objectively looks better taller than wider. Thanks for sharing! And I totally agree it's subject to your layout, individual building in question, and overall look you're going for.

Always taller. But I have finite space for my city layout, so I'm forced to build "up", and am always trying to reduce a build's footprint.

The "cracked" windows is a hugely creative technique - I hope you take it as a compliment that I'm tempted to use it for my Factory MOC! Very nice work on the mountains as well - at first glance I thought they were actually the single-brick ones Lego makes. As usual, you set the bar for excellence. Thank you much for sharing, Sir, and providing an MOC rich in detail and techniques to provide inspiration to the rest of us!

Ah, I gotchya. A SNOT approach, or masking bottom studs with a finishing tile. Will definitely try a segment of each and see which looks best. Can't thank you enough for taking the time to illustrate/explain it!

Very much appreciate suggestions, thank you much for giving it a look and some critique! 2 rows of 4 windows indeed seems like it'd be an upgrade - I'm certainly going to do it when I have some time again here. I'm not quite sure what the 1 x N tiles to to disguise the bricks technique is though. Any chance you could articulate that a bit, or toss up a link to something it's been done on? Sounds very intruiging!

Kavland's mayor is proud to announce production has commenced within the Factory, after a lengthy rennovation to ensure the roof was up to code and the truckers union strike was quelled by adding some access doors for the shipments in and out. (Sidenote: Kavland's mayor also apologizes for having spent September knee deep in overseeing the rennovation work, and didn't invest in professional-grade photgraphy skills) "Front" Side 1 - note the hinged roof, a new technique for me Side 2 - admittedly the mayor is frustrated the two hinges for the double doors haven't yet arrived, but assures the residents of Kavland they will be shortly... Rear - sliding doors Interior - granted, not an excellent angle, but you get the idea. Generic assembly line, boiler (near left), etc. The catwalk was something I enjoyed crafting (and ultimately led to the hinged roof, as a modular roof had to be so high to clear the catwalk it made reaching inside difficult). Admittedly it's not spectacular by Eurobrick standards, but a few design elements I can claim are uniquely "original", and hopefully provide some inspiration for the truly gifted builders on this forum!

Finnbricker - nice LLD. I've been working on a modular Bakery-JuiceBar-Salon (Salon obviously when it's release) 3-story brick built modular. As a traditional modular city guy, I do find these Friends sets to present some great low-cost, interesting MOD potentials, which can compliment a city layout very well. Surprisingly, my searches of these forums reveal very, very few Friends MOD's. I'm hoping to have my Bakery-JuiceBar posted within the next week or two as I finish cleaning up some of the exterior aesthetics - thanks for sharing yours!

I'm a fan. Definitely like much of the interior. Do you intend to brick build it at some point? If so, I'd simply suggest tiling the upper floors as well. And perhaps a "private curtain" between the two beds on the third floor, as well as a "visitor chair" and end table for them (it appears you probably have plenty of space on that floor to incorporate that).

Apologies for the non-sequitir here, but this comment is remarkably inspiring and I just have to call it out. Having rediscovered Lego less than a year ago, and picked up the Cargo Train as my first forray into trains (I'm a City guy) less than 2 months ago - I've been tinkering with trains recently. You're one of a handful of guys I follow fairly closely on this forum, Redimus, as a truly gifted train expert. Suffice it to say my tinkering with a custom passenger car for my Cargo Train has been slow going and rife with frustrations - but this quote is amongst the most encouraging and inspiring I've come across. And it's so very true. Every time I spend an hour, only to scrap what I had started to build (no LLD for me), I do learn a tiny bit more than helps improve my next effort (or sends me to hunt down a particular brick or two I discover is needed). On behalf of what I assume is scores of "lurk often, post scarcely" novice builders, thank you Redimus for your mentoring insights - and thanks to guys like snowvictim who have the courage to break the ice and share their early builds!

Remarkably clever idea, and storyline woven in. The creativity demonstrated is truly inspiring.

I have not yet built a back for the museum yet - it's on my laundry list of "future projects", but I'm also considering basically "attaching" the museum to a larger art gallery/library type structure, on which case I may want the rear exposed to 'merge' the buildings. Indeed. Between a small pile of disposal income, a fair bit of time in the house with a sporadically-sleeping newborn through a cold Minnesota winter, and an obsessive "all or nothing" personality - it's 100% acquired since December 2013. Roughly an equal amount of bricks in various tubs of bricks underneath the display tables as well. Aside from a handful of purchased sets, most of the MOC and other various bricks have been acquired from large Ebay lots (i.e., 100+ elements at a time, negotiating with sellers to buy a $200 purchase for what would have otherwise been $350 based on the individual listing prices). The "compact" element - critiqued elsewhere - is something I struggle with. On one hand, I've deliberately limited myself to this two tables - lest I would ultimately end up with a 10-table display consuming my entire basement, and my wife just wouldn't tolerate that. And as critiqued earlier, I do want more "space" between buildings / open areas / etc, but unfortunately it requires sacrificing MOC's or sets, and it's very tough deciding what should go. I've recently started pruning it down a bit: MOD'ing the firehouse to make a smaller footprint, selling the International Jetport to free up space the runway consumed, etc. Over the comimg months and years, I assume I'll continue pruning, and hopefully end up with about 25% fewer buildings - but each of the remaining being MOC's I'm truly proud of or sets that are really impressive. Good point about more backsides of streets and angles - I'm hoping to continue to develop my very crude photography skills to increasingly post more and better pics of alot of those angles/features/etc that you suggest. Given the level of detail (you can get a sense from some of the interiors shown), I could easily do 1000+ pics just to capture it all, so hopefully I'll ultimately have a flickr with all the backsides and whatnot but it'll be a marathon of a process :) Back in January-March, it was almost entirely a city of purchased sets. But given the finite options available retail - combined with a couple vintage ones reacquired via EBay, I ended up getting a couple off the Friends line - Bakery and Heartlake High didn't seem to have non-Friends comparables. The Creator line remains the "Holy Grail" and longterm 'look' I'm going for. Over time I'll either acquire new sets within the Creator line, or continue to MOC/MOD in thay direction. Part of the reason I wanted to start this thread is so I can have an archive to "look back" at the early development of it, long before it eventually blossoms into a display that actually compares to some of the truly impressive builds/displays others have posted here (of which too many to properly cite have been my inspiration in many regards). My fantasy is that as my son grows into ages 5-13, it'll be a collaborative effort - he can play with the dozen bins of bricks off the table, but integrating things into the "display" will hold the same quality standards. Of course, given that I've probably spent $4000 making this fantasy a viable reality - and countless hours so he can grow up with the kind of "Legoland" I always dreamed of as a kid - he'll probably find Lego disinteresting and be a fan of video games ;) Anyhow, I appreciate the encouragement, and certainly welcome continued critiques! Honestly, many of the "have you considered doing X?" or "The way you did Y really doesn't suit my tastes" are very, very helpful for the ongoing refinement!

Not much in the way of BBC programs available here in the States, unfortunately. But I tend imagine the pub being filled with Frank McCourt types, wallowing away about Malachy and Oliver and Eugene ;)