nesquik

The station has decent playability, but at £49.99 it's a very expensive add-on to what are already expensive train sets. For 423 pieces, this should be £44.99 maximum. I'm not surprised that the price has been hiked up though, as the suits at TLG like to play on scale almost as much as a parts count these days. The station's three 'arches' make the model appear larger than what it is, especially on the box artwork. I wish I could say it's just sentimentality on my part. I remember when LEGO train stations were far more ambitious, and boasted grand designs with playability. For £50 though I would expect something a little more in-depth for children to enjoy, such as a luggage trolley and proper outdoor seating.

I think a sub-theme is certainly possible, although that obviously depends on the popularity of 10244. A carnival experience will certainly limit the scale of each product, though this has the potential to introduce some nice creativity, much in the same way that 10244 packs so much into a few vehicles. One of the key differences to the 'Grand Carousel' is that the latter was a fixed construction, and there was less focus on playability as the tradition and design of the carousel were the selling points. But there are many different stalls that I would expect to see in the sideshows; a rifle range (with the rifles and paddles/ducks for targets), coconut shy/skittles and ring toss. Then there are activities that we immediately associate with funfairs in general, such as a 'psychic' tent. My only reservation is that with this product (and any future ones) being placed under the 'Expert' band of Creator and priced so high, it may not reach as broader audience as the company would like. To me, 10244 seems to have been made an Exclusive purely based on the scale of the model rather than the challenge of the build or the techniques on offer.

In my humble opinion, this is a decent if not underwhelming product. As far as the model itself goes I really don't have any issues - it looks fun, bright, happy and very compatible. The main draw is that it can be integrated into a variety of different scenes for both teenagers and adults, and the truck-system makes it compact. But I feel this creates a the problem with the way in which it is categorised; it doesn't excel as an advanced build. Sure, there may be more complex build techniques on offer and the expected round of patience, but I'm finding it hard to see where the £120 price bracket comes into play. To put this into context, the Pet Shop and Palace Cinema each have almost 400 more pieces for the same price, and they each contain more exclusive parts. The P.R images reveal some nice elements, but the ways in which they are used look more akin to a standard Creator set. Also, the minifigure torsos seem a little too generic for the price. Of course I hate to be in the negative camp - I just really feel that the company could have pushed this set more for the price. Jamie should take no criticism as, from a technical p.o.v, the model is everything that we've come to expect from his abilities.

With regards to the points made in your email, I think it's important to take a step back and remind yourself of what a 'modular building' actually is. It's great to be enthusiastic, but the bottom-line is that these products make up just one of many sub-themes within the Creator Expert line; the purpose of which is to better merchandise the Exclusives range as advanced Creator products. Modular Buildings are not a product line, but a sub-theme of Exclusives. As the sales of the these products do not reach the same levels as the company's more evergreen themes, stricter boundaries are put into place so that profits, inventory and timing are worked out with greater focus towards a more mature audience. This has also changed significantly as brand retail (where I work) has become an important part of how the company presents its product range. Before the Creator Expert banner existed, customers had absolutely no idea that the Exclusive range was indeed a separate range, but now its starting to be made more clearer with graphics designed for shelf-space. I believe I mentioned in an earlier post that one of the primary seeds for an Creator Expert product is significance - not system-wide compatibility. The models are designed to be appreciated as individual stories. This is what allows Creator products to generally differ in scale and theme. For example, the upcoming 'Carnival' set is part of a sub-theme simply called 'Fairground', but it is not merchandised as such because the previous product, Grand Carousel, is no longer available. This would limit the customer's perception for how the said product could/could not be integrated with other LEGO products. So the chances of TLG releasing a 16x32 Modular Building are therefore slim-to-zero, because the only motivation to release such a design would be to please a minority of fans that demand very particular scale/compatibility over the narrative, which is what the design is honed around. The sub-theme works to a price point and this can only be met by offering a large-scale model that fans have now come to expect. Also, from a merchandising perspective, it would not break the tradition of releasing just one large-scale building a year, but as an individual model, it would be very difficult to promote. On the other hand, there is no reason why the company won't continue to produce products like the upcoming Bike Shop/Cafe in Creator, as we get a lot of parents and children asking for these in order to extend their City. Anyway, I didn't wish to burst your bubble, but it's just important to take in account how tightly organised product lines can be

'Modular' refers to a design technique rather than an actual product line. The carnival in question is actually from the same Fairground sub theme as the 'Grand Carousel' from a few years back, and similarly is built on an extra-large baseplate.

Anyway, back on topic.....

Well... do any of us have enough trains?

LEGO 'trains' were consolidated into World City/City because the theme - if you can call it that - was spiralling out of control. When LEGO products retained the 'System' branding on the packaging, 90% of the time you were required to use the photography to judge what theme that product was from. Many product lines did have additional branding, but what we now associate as 'City' or Town/Trains never did. Therefore, trains had no direct association with the town products, even though they are natural partners. I was an older child in the Nineties, and whenever I draw comparisons between the products then and now, I have no doubt that the train products are in a much better position today. True, there are fewer options, and as you point out we only really get train layouts and stations, but the focus today is entirely on playability and narrative within a large system. This is so important for children, because it gives the product a reason for being if it was purchased on its own, and then in entirely new ways if a different City product was bought to compliment it. What AFOLs see as 'flaws' or inconsistencies in design, naturally, are compromises to better suit children's play. That's why City is such an important theme to the company, because the boundaries are already set. For example, the train station that is being released this August features a Taxi (to take people to-and-from other areas of the City, e.g Town Square), and a LEGO Store (which the green Cargo Truck can replenish, and which also drives to the Cargo Terminal). Likewise, structuring a sub-theme for trains in the Creator line is a good way of focusing on the actual building process and the appreciation for display, whilst also providing the option to play with the model. So it's very easy to look back with rose tinted glasses, but the Nineties train products progressively became more and more disorganised - much to the point were not only did the products have little in common with each other, but the market was literally flooded. That wasn't good for retailers, and the company paid a penalty

You need to keep in mind that the featured trains are part of the City range. The lifecycle of these products tend to be much longer than other City products, and as a result, the chosen designs must have some longevity. Not only this, but the MOC's that you mention are the last thing on the companies mind when designing these trains. The target audience is children, and the products must fit in with the rest of the City range as a system. The design goals of City products also differ. For many, it's a case of simply refreshing/updating a model so that it appears different, and also survives economic inflation during its lifecycle.

I don't think any fan can have complaints about this product. We've been asking for more town-esque buildings to put in a typical Lego layout, and that is exactly what we've got. This won't be a one off either, it is surely a new sub-theme. To me the OOB model looks fine enough, but as with all Creator products, the design encourages a builder to use their own imagination and develop those ideas further. Sure enough, the buildings don't look as polished as those in City, but the whole point of Creator is to draw attention to building techniques and construction. Just imagine what you could build with two of these... Why were you anticipating a modular building style? That itself is a sub-theme in Creator Expert, where the higher piece count and advanced building techniques justify a larger, more expensive model. This particular model is targeted at a younger age bracket, and the designs themselves aren't inspired by iconic architecture. The scale is perfectly fine for a small town plan. Even the late-80's 'Legoland' Town buildings were smaller than these.

This brings me back to my original point though, which is how relatable architecture can be. The modular buildings exist for the simple reason that customers can associate with them in a very positive manner. The building is underpinned by a scene, which in turn evokes an iconic time and place. I'm fortunate enough to work in LEGO brand retail, and I can't tell you how overwhelming the response has been to the Parisian Restaurant. Parents genuinely find this product romantic and cutesy, and to create that kind of emotional feedback is very powerful. The Pet Shop has a similar effect, but the Exclusives range as a whole follows suit - the idyllic VW Camper Van, the legendary Sopwith Camel, the groundbreaking Maersk Triple-E... significance is the key word here. So then we come back to the many MOCs that appear on fan websites, and certainly no-one can deny that a service of some form - be it a police station, dentist or hospital - has the freedom to be miniaturised into a model. But, one should not automatically assume that "nice looking" architecture leads to a great product. Speculation always brings lots of ideas to the table, yet I believe the one key factor that fans forget to consider are the scene and narrative, which as I mentioned before, is today integral to the overall design of the product.

I think you've hit the nail on the head; the Fire Brigade was, if you like, the beginning of the current trend of modular buildings. Up to this point, they were almost certainly experiments. The fortunate thing with any Fire House of course is that the ground floor is purposefully open, so the designer could keep the brick-count low and still retain authenticity. With regards to vehicles though, they are nothing more than a plot device for the narrative. This is evident with the fire truck (for obvious reasons), the Palace Cinema's classic Buick (which prepares the movie actress for her grand entrance) and the Parisian Restaurant's 'Vespa' (because we're being told that the artist has a great sense of design and taste). It's hard to imagine a modular building hitting that low price point again though, because it's been proven that particular styles of architecture benefit from the increased piece-count, and I'm sure more people would (grudgingly) accept paying that little bit more for greater detail.

Without wanting to dampen anyone's spirit here, there are a lot of factors to take into consideration with regards to what kinds of building make the development stage. The best way to understand this is to look at the very product line that these models reside in. Looking at how model designs have altered during the course of time, what are the most immediate developments in the modular building sub-theme? I would suggest that they have 1. greater focus on a dynamic/clear narrative 2. improved scaling of the architecture 3. Improved interior decor. All these actions have been made in response to demand, because the value of the said product is then clearer throughout the entire model. When this series first began, it was targetted squarely at AFOLs and was made profitable by the fact that the parts used were already in production, and because the architecture was more important than the interior. However, to broaden the audience, each subsquent building has been more ambitious and refined, giving the model greater features throughout and making it more attractive to fans of all backgrounds. This is why parents can associate with more recent models in different ways to their children, because both the playability and advanced building techniques appeal to owners in different ways. Each of the above criteria works hand-in-hand to deliver a complete experience, and I believe the P.R / Pet Shop demonstrate this perhaps better than any modular building so far. In terms of economy, the Pet Shop may continue to steal the show as the piece-count was kept low with great humour (For example, the man is painting a bedroom so that it doesn't require any further bricks). The Creator Expert products work indepently to one-another as they are standalone models; despite the fact that the modular buildings 'can' be connected (which is simply a marketing trick). It's all very well saying that we "need" a dentist, we "need" a police station etc, but unless those services are typically associated with a specific and/or iconic architecture, they are not going to be developed. The Palace Cinema is a different scene to the Pet Shop, just as the Town Hall has no relation to the Green Grocer. Likewise, another perspective is to view each building in its intended homeland. Cafe Corner - French Green Grocer - European Grand Emporium - U.K (Harrods) Fire Brigade - U.S, N.Y Pet Shop - U.K Town Hall - European Palace Cinema - U.S (Chinese Theatre) Parisian R. - French Each has a distinct personality and can be associated to a time and place, which is the designer's objective in the first place. A dentist, police station (too large), and even a florist don't evoke any specific design cues that the average family/customer would make them want to display the model in their home, nor would spread an even amount of interesting and varied micro builds throughout the entire building. If I could take an educated guess as to what the next building will be, I would say that it's more likely going to be a shop of some kind, and possibly one for toys. The Grand Emporium is soon to be retired and the Pet Shop - so i've been told - isn't far behind, as the next modular building will be out before the end of this year. It would therefore make perfect sense that they are replaced with another retail effort; specifically one that does a more realistic job of selling goods within a small space. In that respect, the G.E is truly starting to show its age and the mindset of the designers when it was released. Anyway, we'll see later this year...

If I was yourself, I would invest in the modern rail track and just run your old trains on that :) There are long term benefits too, because depending where you buy it, it can be more affordable ('Pick a Brick') and easier to integrate into a larger set-up than any retro track. And yes, the trains should run on new track without modification as they're the same width. So win-win!

Now-now, let's not go pointing fingers here. "Everyone loved teal"? Your presumption is based upon the AFOL community alone. The company invests a lot of time into focus testing and research before any wave of products are released, and if children don't like teal-coloured pieces as much as others, then so be it.

Couldn't have put it better myself.

I've got to say that the company has dropped the ball on this one. Who on earth are they targeting? There are only so many AFOLs that would not only want a Lego Simpsons product, but would then pay triple-figure sums for one. To add to that, they're paying all that money and receiving the most awkward minifigures ever made. I doubt many families could justify the expenditure either. And boy that box art is deceiving. The house badly needs some form of baseplate included.

Bear in mind that the painting is supposed to look the way it does, since the restaurant is set in France. The lady artist has produced a cubist painting (a lá Pablo Picasso).

'Trains' is a sub-theme of City. Don't forget that all City products require a narrative, meaning that out of the box, the child understands how that particular model contributes to of a larger system. Profits aside, this is another reason why the company won't produce rolling stock in the City range, as the products would be incompatible if bought individually. Even the last Train Station had a taxi in it, which encourages a link between the passengers and other destinations in the Lego City. With advanced Creator models such as E.N, Maersk and H.E, the selling point is construction rather than playability. Therefore, if there is any chance of seeing some rolling stock and/or train add-ons in the future, they will almost certainly be in the Creator line. To add to that, I would make a further guess that they would be in 'regular' Creator rather than Creator Expert, as there can be little benefit to selling these models in an advanced set-up. On the topic of The Lego Movie, I would be very surprised if there wasn't some form of crazy looking train made available this year!

I'm sorry

I think the thing to bear in mind is that the designer aren't trying to create a completely identical replica, because as you suggest, this introduces unnecessary problems. But the likeness is there and there is no denying that the EN is easily the best Lego steam train to date. The interesting thing about the A4 Mallard is that it recently celebrated its 75th anniversary for breaking - what was then - the world speed record for a locomotive. Obviously TLG wouldn't reference this, but it's still another incentive to recreate this amazing train. Here is a concept for the box art layout. (I thought 'Thunderbolt' was quite a fitting name, given its speed )

Now that we're coming up to the first birthday for the Horizon Express, I thought it would be fun to speculate on what Creator Expert train we may see in 2015. Previous Creator/Exclusives... Emerald Night (Flying Scotsman) - 2009 Maersk Train (Licensed Replica) - 2011 Horizon Express (TGV) - 2013 I'm sure many of us have tried to spot trends in past releases, but I think we can agree (regrettably) that a Class A4 'Mallard' may not be coming any time soon. Afterall, what are the chances of two English steam locomotives being released in succession? I'm sure it's not out of the question, but it just seems unlikely that they would overlook designs from other countries. Then again, it all comes down to how iconic a train design is. There are of course a lot of factors to take into account; let's not also forget that, unlike City trains, playability is underpinned by the presentation and building process/parts. You could then divide the kinds of trains into categories, be that steam/electric or freight/passenger. And even then, it's so far been typical that the carriages/wagons are equally a part of how iconic the train design is. So i'll kick things off then by guessing the next train will be a steam one. This makes sense to me for a least a few reasons: 1. It's easy to build a Power Functions Battery Box into the tender, and thus allow the train engine to have a more forgiving and interesting design. The Emerald Night isn't perfect when powered, but at least you don't need to rip the engine apart to power it. And the gear system could surely be improved? 2. New trains wheels were introduced for the Emerald Night, so it seems only natural that these should be re-used at some point. 3. If the 'next' train is to be put on sale alongside the Horizon Express (which would be in its final year), then it would make little strategic sense to have two electrified train models out in the wild. The last overlap saw the Emerald Night and Maersk Train on sale. As for specifics, I won't even begin to image what steam train the designers would use. A part of me wants George Stephenson's 'Rocket', but I can't see this translating into an actual product. On the other hand, what if the 'Santa Fe' was updated?.... Enough from me anyway - share your thoughts!

Great work! It's always nice to do some DIY and to bask in the glory

The review is very detailed as usual (Thanks WhiteFang), but for this particular series, it all reads just a little too over celebratory. I imagine that less people will be purchasing a 'complete set', instead opting for fewer but more likeable characters.

No, it's not minifig scale or track gauge. It is just a small model of an old American green steam train, which is to say it has the oversized smoke funnel, large cabin and large wheels. The design is a little disappointing from an AFOL perspective, but since this is a very small Creator set for children, then it has its place. Creator Expert (Exclusive) trains are on a three year life cycle. The H.E won't be phased out until the end of 2015, and it's selling very well.