nesquik

What was the need to swear? A fan pitches an idea and you're response is unnecessarily abrasive. legonerd54321- If you are referring to a train station in the modular building sub theme of Creator, then I personally can't see it working well due to the size constraints. But if you're simply referring to the building techniques, then there's no reason why not

The lack of information can only be a positive thing. Taking into account just how many exclusives are released throughout a year, the majority are well hidden right up to release. Trains will always differ from other sub-themes as there is less hype surrounding them than a licensed product (S.W, S.H, Simpsons, etc). And as we've seen in the past, the company itself won't bask in such a release unless the demand is there, so store calendars shouldn't be used a guide for release dates. There are plenty of opportunities yet :o)

One factor yet to be mentioned is that TLG wanted to lower the suggested age group for their train sets. In hindsight this was a very positive move (We often forget that Town/City trains were targeted towards older children), but the reason it never happened earlier was precisely because of the 9V system. Safety guidelines prevented the company from marketing a metal track system towards younger children. Another stumbling block was the tooling process. Those track pieces underwent and slow and costly production in Switzerland that, by early 2000's, required an extraordinary amount of capital to upgrade for any future production. It would have made no sense to do so. We should of course be thankful that companies like 'ME Models' exist as they cater for an important but niche market. 9V will always be the standard for convention-scale layouts/projects. But for consumers who are non-hobbyists or own smaller layouts (such as families), PF is just far more efficient to manufacture and purchase, and has the scope of introducing different kinds of motors for different train bodies.

1st = Most favourite, 9th least favourite. I only refer to those that I own. 1. Pet Shop. It has everything; perfect scale, a beautiful architecture, six well planned rooms (all of which connect together accurately), lovely minifigures, relatable story, a green bicycle (!), animals and other great accessories. The build was also fun because of the constant change in situation. Like the VW Camper Van, I believe this to be one of the great LEGO sets because of it's universal appeal. 2. Green Grocer. The only thing preventing it from top spot is the lack of interior details - but honestly, there's fun to be had making your own! The architecture is stunningly beautiful and very efficient given how traditional the parts assortment is. 3. Parisian Restaurant. It must have the best selection of parts of any modular, and is about as straightforward as it comes when balancing a scenario with architecture. It's a little compact, though you can't help but marvel at how ingeniously the interior and exterior blend seamlessly. It's adorable. 4. Cafe Corner. This is the most expandable modular yet, as the building will continue to look good even when you add multiple floors. The architecture screams Italy to me, and I really love some of the building techniques on the ground floor. The interior is completely sparse however, so you need to give it some additional love to complete it. 5. Palace Cinema. It's completely original and that's what I like about it; it isn't trying to blend in seamlessly with the other buildings (which is the criticism that fans have). For me, it's the building that firmly suggests that these products are best appreciated as individual models rather than as a continuous street. The use of stickers is frustrating, and the scale is quite off, but you can still appreciate the beauty of the architecture. 6. Fire Brigade. In contrast, the scale of this building is excellent and it really strives for authenticity. The interior is sparse but feels designed to be that way, and it's effective. It wasn't the most challenging to assemble, though the great facade makes up for this. It also has the best vehicle. 7. Grand Emporium. It seems to be based on a Harrods (or similar), and manages to do so perfectly. However, the scale to me is a little off-putting as it needs just another floor to really make it as 'grand' as an actual department store. The first and second floors are also very repetitive, which although understandable, isn't as interesting as other buildings. 8. Detective's Office. I've been playing with it regularly as I work in brand retail, but have yet to warm to it. For me, this is the first building where the interior has taken priority over the exterior, and that's not a good sign for things to come. As interesting the playability is, this doesn't escape the fact that corners have been cut; for example, the use of masonry bricks rather than the Fire Brigade SNOT technique is, in my opinion, lazy for an Expert product. 9. Town Hall. Of all the modular buildings to date, I believe this has had the most squandered potential. Take away the minifigures and you have a very generic building that lacks originality and style. The interior makes hints towards authority, but so many ideas have been lost. Where is the grand central staircase? The office filled with records in filing cabinets? The statue outside? The price would also be forgiven if expectations were met, because the piece count was actually exceptional for the price.

Don't forget that Creator trains are Exclusives, which means that leaks will be much harder to come by. Other product categories are more widely available to retailers.

I can now confirm that HE has indeed been retired. Looks like I'll have to make do with two...

+1, I'm amazed the company hasn't released a single Creator 3-in-1 pack for anything track gauge. We're talking about just one product afterall with three unique and fun designs, including two different kinds of train and a carriage (like the Emerald Express), or vice-versa. While standard Creator is more traditional/simpler to the Expert line, my own store experience has proven that parents want more locos to display or play with their children. The City train products are almost always gifts for birthdays and the holidays, so it's natural to not want to purchase another complete set just for a different engine. It's quite frustrating. The incentive is there for customers to purchase more than one product, it would compatible with their existing train set-ups and need not be priced at any more than £35. The designers wouldn't even need to consider P.F - let the builder find a solution.

9v + Requires no interior space/building as all the train needs is the motor, which is built into the bogey like PF. + Simpler operation; no batteries or Infrared signal to worry about. + More powerful (from my own experience). - Now discontinued, so costs are only increasing. - Rail tracks have metal contacts, so aren't future proofed or compatible with current plastic tracks. PF + Very affordable + More possibilities for controlling different trains with a single remote. + Track can be replicated with the 3D printers and companies making their own versions. - Batteries... - Components take up more interior space, including battery box and infrared receiver. - Plastic track can be noisier.

With much respect, I believe you may be over-thinking the decision process of these products. While the majority of Exclusive trains have been inspired by U.S designs, what it all comes down to is the quality of the building experience. Creator products tend to balance cultural significance with more advanced building techniques - this is complicated further with trains by a requirement to add P.F support, and mandatory train base plates. From a business perspective, it also makes sense to generate variety with these niche products in order to maximise profit, because trains often form part of a builder's personal collection. Exploring different train classes creates a natural incentive to expand that collection. This is a polar opposite to the City line, were the playability is of primary concern and the train's appearance can be somewhat recycled for new generations of children. Returning to the original point, Emerald Night, Maersk and Horizon Express were produced under the Creator product line, which resulted in a different set of goals to, say, the 'My Own Train' et al. Taking this into account, they are each very different and original models. This is a great credit to the designer (Jamie B) for ensuring that older children and upwards enjoy these models as either display or play pieces, and so therefore I think we can assume that the next train will follow this trend. From a purely historical and challenging build, I think an A4 could fit the bill.

Although the product was a sale item, I would be somewhat surprised if it's being phased out already (just under two years). But the positive spin is that a replacement could be on the cards soon! *crosses fingers*

A big factor in how well the scenario plays out is scale. This is the reason, I believe, why PS and PR are two of the most iconic buildings to date. The compromise is the budget; the company has obviously found a sweet spot in the pricing that appeals to a broad audience, whilst maintaining a decent quantity and quality of bricks. Thinking of those two buildings, they both played out their narratives flawlessly. PS was able to skimp on interior details because the home on the left was being 'moved into', so it had a fun excuse to be bare. The shop however made good use of the space with a single small living area, and an attic-like sleeping area. PR, meanwhile, sacrificed scale for interior detail, but the balance is absolutely perfect. If it were a real building, you really can imagine it being just a small family run business, where you know you're going to get a warm welcome and a fantastic meal! And again, the narrative is well played out thanks to the beautiful details throughout all three floors. This brings the subject to an interesting debate, and that is relevance. The earliest modular buildings were bare for a variety of reasons, no less because of the budget involved and because there was an opportunity to sell the customisation; the builder gets to choose their own interior. But there is the issue - by doing this, you're limiting the audience. Expectations have rapidly evolved since those very first buildings (which were more an experiment than staple calendar event). The company has evolved, too, with more brand retail stores, a greater drive for online sales and as a result a broader audience. Suddenly, an empty building doesn't quite look as appealing to all the teenagers, parents or families and older folk who are revisiting (even discovering) the LEGO brand. They want a complete storytelling experience, and the only way to do that reasonably is to make sacrifices. The net product is more popular and, as has been evident, increases the likelihood for higher budgets in future products. The number of unique elements and colours that we've received over the past three buildings in particular has been startling. I disagree with 'Off The Walls' comments because of the sheer ignorance and elitism. It's important to at least contribute positively to a discussion, and to try to respect the designers intentions. The D.O isn't my favourite looking building, but as a product, it's undeniably superb.

Do you have a source for this information?... What an awful set of generalisations. As far as I'm aware, more recent modulars have had the opposite effect. The've introduced the Lego brand to a mature audience who may have otherwise only associated the company with products for children. In the store where I work, products like PR and PS have been a huge hit with those approaching retirement (as just one example), because the designs are not only relatable but also very adaptable for display. This particular line of products has established that scenarios can be integrated exceptionally well with attractive architecture, and it is this storytelling that makes the product a complete package. Sales and feedback have clearly proven that the market wants a complete building experience with a narrative. Your comments almost across as borderline elitist; it doesn't match your own expectations, therefore, everyone else must feel the same way as you.

Because it doesn't play a role in the story.

It's a Detective Agency and it's being officially announced within the next two weeks.

I should point out that when the S@H website states a product is 'Sold Out', this has no direct relation to its lifespan; it simply indicates that there are no units available to be shipped at the present time. The cause of this however is two fold, as it can mean either the product is in a new production cycle or it has indeed been retired. In the Town Hall's case, I can assure you it is the former as it continues to be a popular product. A lot of silly rumours swirl these forums. I recall many panicking that the DeLorean Time Machine, Ecto-1 and Research Lab "were limited to just 10,000 products!1!!", with absolutely no sources or evidence to back the assumption up, despite the fact that the company uses smaller production cycles for Ideas sets anyway.

With the greatest respect, I don't believe you're looking at the broader picture. Working within the company (retail at least) provides one with an incredible insight into the general operations - from concept to final product to sale. The market for LEGO products has changed drastically over the course of 10 years; so much so that store managers now actually have 'a' form of input into future product ideas and channels. This would have been unthinkable once, but the audience now is so broad that the company is under pressure to deliver new ideas every year, and the retail experience is becoming integral to that. Not only this, but social media over the past five years alone has changed the way the company delivers and communicates with its fans, so we're no reaching out to different to many different audiences across the world. This is why, if we take the Create Expert product line, sub-themes exist to cater for different markets. The very nature of branding this line 'Creator Expert' provides customers with an additional visual dimension that was, again years ago, never necessary, but is now important as a means for customers to gauge the differences between regular Creator and their more advanced counterparts. Before this, the merchandising was was a poor afterthought as the Exclusive products in question had little retail space. You are speaking as a hobbyist, or 'AFOL', and that is absolutely fine. I am one as well of course, just like many of the forum members. But, let's keep in mind that this term is so ambiguous, it is entirely wrong to label a series of products 'poor', 'toys' or childish just because the design ethos is different to previous iterations. For those lucky enough to visit LEGO brand retail stores or who are clued up about new products, the more recent modular buildings have become far more popular with customers who, often, have never purchased a LEGO product for themselves in the past, but were drawn to the idea that a particular model was not only a building with nice architecture, it contained a relatable scenario to match. And in short, this audience is far greater and more approachable than the hobbyist genre that was originally conceived, because the product today is a complete package with a story to tell. I can't tell you how great it is to hear from customers young and even elderly who loved being guided through a narrative. I just felt the need to step in there, because it's important to recognise that while many of us will be (and sometimes are) disappointed with a product, there are also many others who have nothing but praise. So please, let's try and remain positive. Yes. GE's end of life was early may, and because of a leak, sales have gone through the roof! As far as I'm aware, and from what I've seen, TH has been a steady seller. As I argued previously, we shouldn't narrow down what "kids want" based upon our own tastes. There are no rules for what these products should be, but mere guidelines to follow. I have seen many parents and "kids" purchase a modular building for themselves, so that as a family they can work on it together for a birthday/Christmas.

This is true, but keep in mind that the design objectives for the modular buildings are quite different today. When the series first launched, the company was in quite a different state of affairs to how it is today - profits had to be maximised wherever possible, yet the designers were handed restrictions on the elements they could use. Think of this as 'art through adversity'; limitations can make one more creative. So, the focus was on how advanced building techniques could be implemented into different styles of real-world architecture. That was the selling point, and it appealed directly to a mature hobbyist audience for the exact reason that there was limited playability out of the box. The builder had the opportunity to create their own scenario. The modular buildings today differ in that the scenario has become integral to the finished model. There are a number of reasons for this, but what it boils down to is the appeal to a broader audience. Today, many non-hobbyist customers are not only aware of when a new Exclusive like a modular building has been released, but they expect the building to tell a story. This can only be done if sacrifices are made within similar price ranges, and so while the scale of the buildings may fluctuate over time, more attention is being paid to the interior in order to produce a finished product. What I find fascinating - maybe even ironic - is that Creator has year over year become more popular for doing nothing more than being a traditional construction brand.

No problem! Unfortunately I don't as it was only a small image. Besides, you don't have long to wait now

LEGO Store managers, like others in brand retail, do not order stock for their store. Shipments are processed by another department in the company that calculates sales figures (via a cycle count) and availability; we have little other control than Pick a Brick elements. I have no idea where the rumours of the Town Hall's retirement have come from, but they are certainly not true for this year. Grand Emporium's final production run was early May, and since then stores have been receiving what's left over. Exclusive products generally have a minimum three-year lifecycle - and Town Hall has neither been "unpopular" nor popular, not that this would affect the company's decision to continue selling it. Production runs are scheduled well in advanced for Creator-Exclusive, a good example of this is the Landmark series, Tower Bridge. Before this product was released a store could receive as many as 50 units, but for my store it would take over one a half years for that stock to deplete. By the time a handful or so were left a new batch would be received, and in this product's case, the artwork and piece inventory were updated for the second run. This happens because it's the most cost effective way to sell a cost effective product. Modular buildings tend to come in smaller-but-more-frequent batches, but the point is that you simply cannot gauge a product's lifespan based upon a perceived notion of how popular something is. I can also confirm the Detective Agency rumours - alleyway down the middle and a bar.

We should learn to accept that everyone is going to have differing opinions. This is a product line that has matured greatly, and builders have come to expect quite different results each year. It is because of this maturity that the modular buildings have indeed become 'complete' products rather than a hobbyist line, and why the scenario of a building will become more important to its wide appeal.

The train station is simply incredible, as is the terrain around it. I can only dream of ever building or owning something like that. Thanks for sharing!

With regards to the detective agency speculation, what many of you forget is that the modular buildings work independently from one-another. Like other product lines, they are part of a system but not dependent for their completeness. The feature of being able to 'connect' these buildings is precisely that - a feature entirely for marketing purposes. There is therefore no reason to assume that the series needs a police station, a library, a dentist or any other specific service, as the models have original scenarios. If you were going to pinpoint the objective or purpose of this sub-theme, then you are looking at idyllic - even timeless - situations that a more mature audience can associate with, regardless of gender or background. A detective agency above a laundromat/diner neither sounds interesting to build, nor does it contain the 'cutesy' appeal of wonderful architecture that has been scaled down so accurately. Likely, the next modular building will either be a different take on a service that has already been represented, or a scenario that we have yet to consider. The only way a detective agency would work is if it was based on something as significant as Sherlock Holmes, where the architecture is unique.

Excellent picks! Particularly George Stephenson's "Rocket"... A difficult set of shapes to capture, but it has the potential to be one of the greatest LEGO products ever, let alone a great train. The historical significance is also present in the bucket loads, and often that's an important attribute for the Creator Expert/Exclusive products.

A4 Pacific Mallard

There are no rules set in stone for when products are released - only the market can determine this. Right now, there is a vast array of Exclusive products that continue to sell well (even as far as the Tower Bridge and VW Camper), despite their unprecedented shelf life. I would take an educated guess that the next modular will be released in Spring/early 2015, with a new (and due) Creator train arriving on Jan 1st. This would mirror the launch times of the Palace Cinema and Horizon Express in 2013.