craigslegostuff

My 5th Modular Building! I've been very busy this last year, working on three modular MOCs. First up is this, my Ice Cream Parlour. Dedicated (and claimed by) my young daughter - it's been a labour of love! Lots of details inside and out, this is my first 32x32" building... FIRST FLOOR: ICE CREAM PARLOUR / APARTMENT HALLWAY - 4 x seating booths - fully stocked kitchen/counter area, with ice cream maker, ice cream freezer, till, sink etc. - W/C with toilet, sink etc. - Front door on street leads to apartment hallway/stairs. SECOND FLOOR: APARTMENT KITCHEN / LOUNGE - Kitchen with sink, fridge, cupboards, counter, oven - Lounge features fireplace, coffee table, and 3 x large sofas THIRD FLOOR: APARTMENT BEDROOMS / BATHROOM / OFFICE - Main bedroom with bed, nightstands, wardrobe, gas cupboard(!), and ornamental floor rug. - Smaller kids bedroom, with bed, night stand, dresser and toy box - Home office, with desk, PC, shelving units etc. Hope you enjoy! Craig, June 2018 Jo, Jo & Mike's Ice Cream Parlour by Craig Brooks, on Flickr

Thanks - but what's 'form factor'? I'm guessing that's an architectural term?

Now that's a proper size cinema auditorium!

Haha! Thanks for comments, and yes I was looking for something to give it a more interesting look at the front. Similar idea with the back, where the storage room juts out into the alleyway.

Welcome! I'm pretty new to this site too.

Wow, thanks! I have been building with Lego since the late 70's but only recently got back into it, so I genuinely do feel like I'm starting from scratch with this Modular Building lark! I thought I knew Lego but some of the MOC creations I'm seeing out there really made me want to up my game bit. Still at the stage where I'm trying stuff out, so it's heartening to get such positive feedback. Thank you!

Yes definitely. The Parisian Restaurant's actually next on my list to buy...

That's very helpful - thanks!

Thank you!

Hi everyone. I've been away for a while, but have been very busy working on my second modular building. Please check the link above to see lots of pics. If this is your first visit to my Flickr, welcome and hi! I'm a 42 year AFOL who's just rediscovered the wonder of Lego building. Do let me know your thoughts on any of my builds, I am always very keen to hear your feedback. ****************************************************************************** "TROIS!" FRENCH WINE BAR ****************************************************************************** - my second modular building! I decided to spend a lot more time on this one... or more accurately: it's TAKEN me a long time! Anyway, I'm really pleased with the result. After my first attempt (see Al's Stars N' Stripes Grill on my Flickr), I decided I wanted to do something with a lot more detail on the outside. A bit more colour too, as well as a nicely packed interior design too. "Trois" is a snazzy wine bar. It includes three main floors/ sections (plus the roof!): 1ST FLOOR - MAIN BAR The main bar features include a bar, coffee machine, bottles of wine / spirits / confectionary display An angled door leads to a back room (with some kind of electrical unit) etc, which leads out onto the alley out back. 2ND FLOOR - LOUNGE BAR - An extension of the downstairs - just more space for sitting / sipping! Also leads out onto a small balcony with wooden decking. I am particularly pleased with this little corner - I really like the lamp and the rather ornate drainpipe. Also on this floor is a small landing that leads to.... an elevator! Not a working one unfortunately, but you get the idea - it takes people up to the bathroom on the top floor... 3RD FLOOR / W/C / UTILITY ROOM A simple unisex bathroom. Features two toilet cubicles (apologies for the bad lighting; I couldn't get my camera in there very well!) NB. Obviously the toilet cubicle doors should really be plain white, but I don't have any yet! The transparent doors could prove a little embarrassing for my minifigs! A small handbasin with faucet, and finally there's a small storage / utility room. Let me know what you think guys - always great to get feedback / suggestions etc. - Craig, April 2016 "Trois" French Wine Bar by Craig Brooks, on Flickr

Hi Deraven. Wasn't sure if I'd replied to this, but here's a catch-up. How many of the original Modulars do you have in your collection so far then? When did you start collecting and had some gone into retirement by then? My basic plan is to work from the earliest (i.e.. most likely to be retired/deleted) - but plan not going great so far as I have still only managed to afford the et Shop so far! Cinema next, then the parisien Restaurant, then Detectives Office I guess! Meanwhile I'm aiming to open a new savings account to save up some ridiculous amounts of cash to pay for the retired onces (gonna have to bite the bullet at some pint as I really can;t stand the idea of having missing sets!) Let me know your progress and your action plan! Craig, Hove, UK

Thanks for all the comments, I appreciate you all having a look, and this is all helpful and inspiring as I'm now going to move on and finally build my pet shop - the first of the modular buildings I've bought. Lots of catching up to do, but I'm so looking forward to lining it up with this one... gotta start somewhere!

Thanks lightningtiger. I appreciate that especially as I have spent a lot of time practicing photographing lego stuff - it's tricky, right? But I'm a believer in taking time over presentation, especially as photography usually doesn't do justice to great subjects! Thanks. Yep, I understand what you mean about the facade - it was a worry when I knew what bricks I was working with (mainly grey AT-At stuff, then I bought loads more grey to "go with it" (??!!)). In the end I suppose it represents some of the less attractive grey buildings found in the North of England where I grew up. Thanks Deraven. Yep, I understand what you mean about the facade - it was a worry when I knew what bricks I was working with (mainly grey AT-At stuff, then I bought loads more grey to "go with it" (??!!)). In the end I suppose it represents some of the less attractive grey buildings found in the North of England where I grew up.

Thanks for your comment Boomerang. I didn't realise the DO had one too, just had a look now! I thought was just another entrance to pub. The alleyway thing has really got me thinking about how to lay out my city, as usually we see pics of the modular buildings in a row (I guess for display purposes), but the possibilities are quite exciting once you start turning them around - alley ways facing shops, corner buildings turned sideways etc.... fun to be had!

https://flic.kr/s/aHskgQydqV Hi everyone. Welcome to ALF'S STARS 'N' STRIPES GRILL! My first MOC Modular Building. It's a three-story building, incorporating a fast food grill downstairs and a two-story apartment upstairs. It's taken me a couple of months on and off, and was designed as I went along - ie. no forward planning - so it's got quite a few faults here and there, and a few things I'm just not happy with. But I really ran out steam a bit and decided I'd post it as it is. I'd be very happy to hear from people with comments, tips and advice etc. A BIT ABOUT THE BUILDING It was built using a lot of parts from the first motorized AT-AT (10178), along with the BTTF Delorean (21103), the Titan X robot (4508) and a load of bits from Ebay. It has been a valuable lesson in planning ahead, and maybe designing first on LDD or something. But also the costs involved in getting hold of particular parts, does get frustrated when all you want to do is build! One bugbear is the staircase on the outside. It was originally around the back, but decided it was just taking too much space so I stuck it on the side and decided it would have to be a 32" stud layout. I wanted it to still be essentially a 16" stud building, plus I was low on parts, so I decided to just tile the whole thing, add some flowers and make it a wide alley. One thing I have noticed about the Lego Modular Buildings is that only the Market Street set incorporates anything resembling an alleyway, so if you don;t have that set there's no way of accessing the back alleys of the buildings other than through the front door (if that makes sense?!). So I'm looking forward to standing this next to another MB and see how the alley works. It does also work as a 32" corner building if you're happy having the stairs sticking out a bit. And maybe removing the flowers. I suppose that big gap could also be somewhere for an ice cream cart or even a little newspaper kiosk. 1ST FLOOR A's Stars 'N' Stripes Grill is a "American Style" British fast-food place - not exactly cordon bleu on the menu, just some tasty (and probably quite greasy) burgers, fries, kebabs and pizza. Features include counter, two grills, drinks machine, fridge, a pizza oven. There's a doorway out to the backyard / alley, which can also be accessed from the alley on the side of Al's. Backyard is pretty empty, apart from a dumpster. Steps lead up from the side alley to a two-story apartment. 2nd FLOOR There's a large living area on the second floor. I decided not to furnish it just because I wanted to get some pics up, plus I was getting low on suitable pieces. There's a modern staircase leading up to the bedroom / shower room. 3rd FLOOR The bedroom area. Note from the pics I have actually put the bedroom furniture in the 1st floor room instead. There's a door to a small shower room / toilet. And that's about it! It's been great fun doing this, has taken a lot of evenings playing around with ideas, building, rebuilding and then rebuilding again! I've learnt a lot as I've gone along, and it's got me inspired to do something much grander or more detailed next time.

I was actually in there yesterday, thinking about buying a couple of cheap sets just for parts. But resisted! And I missed the Lego doc - gonna have to try and catch up on that..

Hiya - welcome! I'm new this week too - and also got into Lego again in my later years (I'm 41). I'm discovering and entering with trepidation into the world of MOC cities! You're right: expensive addiction!

Hi Steve _ I'm new here too, and also from England. That's great to know about Tesco - I might have to actually start bothering to get my Tesco card out when shopping!

Thanks for the welcome guys. I'm looking forward to chatting with you all and seeing lots more of your creations! I do have a lot of questions that I'm sure you lot can help me with - especially to do with: - searching for and purchasing parts - storage ideas - exhibitions, fairs etc. All help will be appreciated - perhaps if you can point me in the direction of useful threads. I do have the Lego Neighbourhood book, also the Brick City book, and an on-going collection of great images for inspiration! - could someone tell me the best place to post my MOC work in progress pics? And I'm new to this site it would be good to know I'm not cluttering up the wrong threads! Yes, sounds like you're in similar place to me - apart from the fact I am ridiculously envious of that 21 kilos! I've been using a small bedside lamp lent to light my first MOC pics - which I'll post soon - and that seemed to work nicely, even with black.

HI evryone, My name's Craig, I guess I'll introduce myself first. I started playing with Lego when I was probably 5 or 6 and, like most AFOLs lost interest in my teens. I got interested again in my early 30's around the time of the first motorised Star Wars AT-AT and was hooked again for a few years. I got the Sail Barge, a couple of TIE fighters and an X Wings, A Wing, Slave II etc. and was well on the way to amassing a nice collection of bricks again. Until..., for some regrettable reason (I was basically downsizing my home).... I gave it away. Yes, gave it all away. Anyway, over the past two years I started taking notice again, and suddenly I stumbled upon the world of modular building, and the Cafe Corner Standard etc. This was when I realised what I'd been missing out on, especially now with a more adult approach to how clever Lego is and what can be achieved with a bit of creativity and know-how. This was when I REALLY started to regret getting rid of the stuff I did have, because I decided right then that I was going get all of the existing MB sets, come hell or high water. I spent a long time making the decision to start again, because I knew this time it was going to be a huge undertaking, - not to mention the strain on my pocket if I ever get hold of the Cafe Corner and other rare retired ones. I bought the pet shop last week. I am absolutely hooked again. CRAIG Hove, UK. ps. I have to say guys, some of the stuff I've seen on this and the many Lego modular sites out there has completely blown my mind. I'll be posting some work- in-progress pics of my first attempt at a modular MOC(!), because as soon as bought the pet shop I just had to buy a load of bricks and see what I could do..! Watch this space.