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DeanLearner

Eurobricks Citizen
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Everything posted by DeanLearner

  1. DeanLearner
    Ah yes, just had a bit of a look at the instructions today. Certainly wouldn’t be easy to replace that print (not that I’ll be bothering). Worked out the requirements for the mods I want to do and put my BrickLink orders in. All I need to do now is buy the set (and actually build the modded versions of both CG and BH that I planned and prepped but never actually got the chance to build!).
  2. DeanLearner
    The window styles differ quite significantly between the stained glass and the regular/printed panes, so I think it’s difficult to integrate them side by side. In terms of the ground floor windows, how easy would it be to replicate the method for the printed poster in the set (I assume a tile?) to incorporate other posters, such as a couple of the many Vidyo options?
  3. DeanLearner
    The townhouse in Pet Shop does. Simple design but works well. Still waiting on a modular Post Office (as mentioned higher up in the discussion) - seems like the perfect subject, and chance for a traditional 19thC shopfront, which the HP Diagon Alley set demonstrated can be done very well in Lego.
  4. DeanLearner
    Debatable to what extent this is 2023 news, but is anyone else very disappointed that the City Farm sub theme sets have been discontinued only 7 months after release?! Unfortunately overpriced (but what isn’t?), but there was a lot of promise, as well as new animal moulds. I can only assume they must have sold poorly, but it’s a real disappointment given that it felt a bit more educational than the endless stream of police and fire sets.
  5. DeanLearner
    Like the look of that! The darker colour on the ground floor definitely looks more appropriate for the subject matter. Would you be tempted to make it dark blue, rather than black, to tie in with the colour of the sign? (Assuming you wouldn’t try to replace it entirely). I like the idea of the staggered facade - maybe you could simplify the roofline on the “wings” either side, to emphasise the central sections? I might have worried there was a risk of repetition with the windows, but it actually looks a lot better than I might have expected. Sounds like quite a lot of work all told though. I ended up doing a not-dissimilar job with the Palace Cinema to revamp the colour scheme, make it a clearer Art Deco style, and give it a full interior. In the end there was very few of the original bricks retained!
  6. DeanLearner
    Having had a look at a few more photos of JC, including ones lining it up next to other modulars, here is my current list of planned mods: Street: Remove table/chairs (looks like it came straight out of a City polybag) Ground floor exterior: Swap dark azure to medium blue (less bright) Swap floor tiles at club entrance from dark red and dark orange to light tan and flame yellow (tie in colour from sign) Swap lilac door to brown with windows Swap dark green of awning stripes to “medium” green (I hate the bright red / dark green combination) Ground floor interior: Partition wall between club and pizzeria with narrow standing table for customers First/second floor exterior: Remove flowers and place next to greenhouse (completely meaningless - you wouldn’t be able to see them from inside, and the colours clash) Replace some/all of 1x1 reddish brown tiles on club facade with dark orange (I honestly don’t know what they’re supposed to represent - doesn’t look like an architectural feature; my best guess is a variation in brick colour, in which case dark orange is more realistic/pleasing) Replace medium nougat around pizzeria windows with light tan (less weird looking in the absence of pieces in light yellow)
  7. DeanLearner
    Definitely feels like a bit of an ugly clash of colours at a few points. The worst example is on the ground floor, and the transition between the two buildings. The dark azure already clashes badly with the dark red and light yellow, but the addition of the lavender door/sign and the coral in the poster make for a bit of an eyesore. I’ll be swapping out the dark azure for medium blue or light royal blue, and replacing the lavender door with a brown half-timbered door, so that the entrance to the Tailor’s is more obvious. I think the table and chairs at the front are also a bit ugly, so they will probably go too! Overall it’s disappointing given that the colour blocking of modulars is generally really good, even when it’s quite colourful (as with the recent Bookshop and Police Station).
  8. DeanLearner
    The official photos are obviously an improvement. I still don’t care for the bright blue on the ground floor of the Jazz Club; however it’s only a facade, made of simple pieces, so will be easy to swap out for another colour - probably a paler blue closer to the DO colour scheme.
  9. DeanLearner
    Thanks for the review! A fair assessment of the set’s pros and cons, and a fun bit of spicing it up with the humour.
  10. DeanLearner
    Looks great! Those nostalgic touches of British history are some of my favourite bits of your modular mocs. A slight shame that the top dish of the post box is only available in that size, but the phone box is absolutely perfect.
  11. DeanLearner
    Here’s the back corner in more detail as originally modified, so you can see how it’s done (somewhat precariously). As suggested, I’ve also had a crack at putting in a drain pipe. These are just screenshots using my “working” colours (to make it easier to order the excess parts required), so you’ll need to use your imagination a bit. Two alternatives are shown.
  12. DeanLearner
    Fantastic stuff - your builds always show a true artistic eye, and are genuinely inspiring. Given the stylistic accuracy, do you mind me asking what sort of things you use for research? From my own real-world interior design, inspired by Art Deco and later Mid Century Modern styles, that Pinterest can be pretty handy, and I’ve seen photos of very similar designs to yours here.
  13. DeanLearner
    Thanks, by chance I did actually initially do the roof with cheese slopes, though I thought that the rounded ends were maybe a little more consistent with the other rounded edges elsewhere on the roof. See what you think: I did manage to fill the weird gap at the level of the roof line (which you can just about see in one of the original photos) but didn’t try below that. There aren’t any great solutions (and mine wouldn’t have met official Lego standards for stability), but I think the roof was the worst of it so didn’t try on the lower level. A drain pipe sounds doable though. I’ll go back into Stud.io to get a render showing it in better detail when I get the chance.
  14. DeanLearner
    Yeah I figured that there would be enough BrickLink sellers parting out the set to be able to pick up the few light nougat and sand green pieces I needed. Almost all of the additional light nougat parts have simply come from the second floor or the largely unseen right-hand wall. Very kind, thank you! I haven’t actually bought the set myself yet as I still have another three modulars unbuilt, and a shortage of space to display even the Lego I have assembled.
  15. DeanLearner
    Here is an electronic version of a Boutique Hotel mod I’ve been working on. My objectives were: 1. Increase the overall building height to one more fitting with its function, and the height of other modulars 2. Maintain the overall feel and style of the original 3. Give a bit more warmth to the colder blue/azure tones of the gallery 4. Conceal some of the awkward gap on the left-hand side 5. Avoid having to buy an entire second set, with repurposing of as many parts as possible to keep the mod budget vaguely reasonable Modifications include the following: One brick extra height to the ground and second floors, and two brick extra height to the first floor; the total height is now one plate below the height of left-hand building in assembly square. Interior details (including stairs) are also amended. Additional detailing to try to avoid the extra height becoming too plain; this was ultimately reliant upon the slightly clichéd 1x1x1 scroll bricks. White was used on the second floor to provide a greater range of parts, while the extra light nougat was almost entirely sourced from the second floor or right- hand wall. A semi-legal (only one stud connection) was used to fill the gap with the roof) I’ve played around a bit with the other colours (including the flowers), though I’m not entirely sold on this. I’m aiming for a slightly Morrocan/Moorish style tiled look for the fountain. I had a go at changing the tree, but any other design ended up far too wide for the space. Any advice or feedback is appreciated. I also have mods of Assembly Square and Palace Cinema completed in bricks (the latter in a full Art Deco style). The LDD files were sadly lost though.
  16. DeanLearner
    Quite a bit to like there, though a few things that stand out as potential improvements / mods. I agree that the set doesn’t “look” like it should be 3000+ pieces given the footprint of the buildings, though I also think that there maybe isn’t much to be gained from complaining that the set doesn’t fill the baseplate, as it would surely have pushed the piece count up far higher. I think the windows on the “back” wall are probably also necessary for creating a more natural-looking layout for the rooms. I’ve seen various bits of grousing about there not being more toilets, but I think ultimately Lego does require some suspension of disbelief (none of my minifigures are anatomically correct anyway). That being said, I’m pretty sure the hotel doesn’t deserve the 5 stars indicated by the packaging… In terms of feasible changes that maintain the overall look, I’ve eyed up three main changes. 1. Raise the height of the building. Ideally by at least a couple of bricks. It should be possible at least to put a layer of bricks beneath the lowest nougat layer on the ground floor. It would be easy to raise the height of the main door step, and raising the window heights would be easy. The grey side steps already have a few irregularly shallow steps, so would be easy to increase their height up 3 plates worth. It would also improve the balance of the intervals between the nougat facade bricks and the band of dark orange plates. 2. Change out the (?) light azure details on the facade of the gallery. At present, the combination with the dark tan and bright blue makes for too many cool shades, and isn’t very pleasing to me. The printed blue sign has to stay, but I’d change the awning to alternating flame yellow and orange bow pieces (plus swap out the azure on the ground), to make the appearance warmer, and fit in more with the style of awnings seen on other buildings. 3. Use plant pieces to give the impression of a climbing plant to fill the ugly gap created by the (?)120 degree angle on the left side.
  17. DeanLearner
    Have you considered whether Modding the original design would resolve your issues with it? I also had a few problems with some areas (mainly the colour-blocking of the medium nougat building, and the somewhat unfinished nature of the roofs of the middle and right-hand buildings), and so made a series of modifications instead.
  18. DeanLearner
    Good to see you back! You’ve still got it! I love the milk float.
  19. DeanLearner
    Like it! Slightly troubled by what the minifig is doing in the bathroom without their trousers though...
  20. DeanLearner
    Yes I think that is likely to be the best combination. I saw a photo from a review on a French website with the DO-CG combination and it looked pretty good - better than DD-CG which looks awkward with two vertical faces of similar width immediately adjacent. Unfortunately I don’t have FB, but I suspect that might work well to the right of CG. Better than DD, which again would clash with the two protruding white sections both very similar and immediately adjacent.
  21. DeanLearner
    So.... has anyone bought and built this yet? I’m pretty sure we’ve had plenty of feedback by this time in previous years. I want to see what it looks like lined up with different combinations of the other modulars before committing to buying it (though I’ll probably wait until x2 or x3 VIP points anyway).
  22. DeanLearner
    Would love to see some parts from the Roller Coaster set. Sadly I think it’s unlikely we’ll get a version of the lemonade stand, but it’s not unreasonable to think we may get the pink beehive recolour for the candy floss / cotton candy.
  23. DeanLearner
    Totally agree! I know TLG often like to reserve the most sought after minifigs for the most expensive sets, but were they to do a “Laser Sword Crait Face Down” set in the $30 price bracket, including Luke, Leia, and Kylo Ren, then it would pretty much fly off the shelves.
  24. DeanLearner
    Great work! You’ve done well to avoid the temptation to overcomplicate things, and there is a good balance between realism and nice technique.
  25. DeanLearner
    Any chance they’re dealing in illegal cookies?
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