Some Guy With LEGO

It's funny you state this, as I've always considered 60271 Main Square perhaps the worst City set in ages, or even ever. I mean it's really subjective, but from a guy looking to build his town it was an instant 'no'. City always straddles the line between 'simple mini versions of real life' that could be used by young and old (LEGO tractor, ice cream truck) and sets that bear no resemblance to reality and are simply for kids to play with for fun like 60320. For a firehall, I ended up going for that winter firehall and de-holiday-izing it, as I couldn't get past the regular ones though as a kid I'd probably have no problem with them.

I've not seen any chatter about this set, or maybe I missed it CREATOR land rover defender for $18.99 CDN (maybe 14-15 USD). https://www.lego.com/en-ca/product/land-rover-classic-defender-40650

I was REALLY looking forward to this set, but now that it's revealed I'm really, really disappointed. I figured CREATOR buildings were on a roll again with the all enclosed Noodle Shop and the recent Cozy House which were fantastic, but this looks like a mash up of modern City and wanna-be Friends, as opposed to the charming attention to details that CREATOR mini-modulars have become known for (like the Cozy House). The colours arn't great but what I think is much worse is the lack of detail in the builds - I mean the Motel looks like a straight up building out of a City Main Street set, while the others remind me of recent baseplate included City sets. I may get it for the tower, but as this isn't a cheap set, I will have to carefully deliberate on the purchase...

thanks - that's sort of what I was thinking - some studs and some tiles - probably green at the outer edges as some of them would pop through. Just thought I'd ask if there was a better idea from those skilled more than I...

Quick question with the 90th A. castle - given the angles of the walls when closed, any ideas on how to connect it to a baseplate other than floating on top (on baseplate studs or tiles)? The medieval village if true, has perked my interest in buying this, to create a smaller medival 'city' scene on maybe 12-15 green baseplates, but I'm trying to wrap my head around how I'd make this fit. Any ideas?

Thanks for the comments - I ended up putting the tower back on, but still don't love it - here it is shortened (to fit in town) and with the back done up to be closed in (to make it a 360 building not a façade) with access to the tower. I still try to keep it as close to stock as possible, while fitting my needs....

I agree those older houses were very very cool, BUT one advantage of these more modern design is their smaller size which is important for those with less than 1000sq feet for a city, but yes those 'modular' homes of a few years back were dogs to be honest. lo love the new cozy home, love that it has hinges again (great trend with this building on the hinged Noodle Shop), like the other builds (I may also do the knocked down tower and hinge it). I'm really waiting however for that Summer Main Street set. I'm thinking it could be 3 buildings akin to the old bike shop and cafe, which would mean alternative builds, which means it's could be a real city builder with maybe 5-10 builds all in. Could be really cool....

thanks for the feedback!

looks amazing - great job!

Thanks for the reply! All feedback/criticism/comments are welcome, especially as I'm asking for it! Yes clock would go on the trackside. Sidewalk, stairs, details still to come. I also plan on building up the back (I like all my buildings 3D). Cafe will be enclosed so only way through the station to the tracks is through the ticket doors. Will probably provide some outside seating in the front to enjoy food from the cafe, and then some regular row seating on the track side along with standing room. Thanks!

Hi all, I try to keep sets pretty close to out of the box designs, only making changes to fit my city. Built the new 60335 Train Station (had to shorten it to make it fit) but the tower I thought looks goofy and never quite seen a modern station with a control tower. How does it look without the tower? I tried completely flat but looks plain - I like this but not sure. This has a touch of deco with the clean curved lines and white but I may restore the tower and put a a back on it. Any thoughts?

any idea when we will get leaked or formal photos of these summer 2023 sets? The urban center, apartment, or ice cream shop could be very cool (like the recent grocery store) or a partial train wreck like the school (imho...)

I'm hoping that 'main street' follows in the footsteps of 'mini-modulars' dating back to 31026 (bike shop and cafe) and most recently 31131 (noodle shop). I hope it doesn't go into something funky and 'new' like those 'modular homes' like 31069. Anyone have a good guess when we might get leaked photos or formal photos of these summer 2023 Creator sets?

thanks! I'll wait a bit to check it out...

Hi all, I'm in Canada, and for those with better understanding of LEGO sales patterns, will LEGO be offering any reasonable GWP over the next month or so? I'm wondering if I should hold off ordering gifts (to wait for the GWP) or just bite the bullet from Amazon or ToysRUs, etc... Thanks, C

60345 - I was hoping for a more traditional farm truck - flat bed with wood crate siding for hauling hay, but it looks like this will be like the ice cream truck with high cute factor. Corn is cool, and I'll still pick it up. 60344 - sounds good overall quad aside. Could get one or several. 60346 - this could be decent, not that great as a 4+, or an expensive animal parts pack. Really curious honestly.

Yes you are right. That was my bias based on 1) I was focusing on buildings that fit in urban area (shops and what not) and 2) it's so over styled and busy personally I don't feel it fits in with the other beach houses, petshop, etc...but as said that's my bias. The Safari tree house is a bit cleaner/less busy, but hard to integrate in any urban environment. I'll fix my post above.

I think the Toy shoppe was a very good set. In terms of CREATOR mini-modulars for towns and cities, we've got: 2021: Surfer Beach house 2020: toy shoppe (great but no back) 2019: petshop (great but no back), cabin (too small) 2018: skate house, winter vacation, sweep surprises (none of which were great for a city imho) 2017: townhouse & beachside vacation (last of the 3D closed back CREATOR buildings) and the 3 modular houses (which I passed on) 2016: Lighthouse, corner deli, lakeside lodge - all great enclosed sets. 2015: Changing Seasons, Toy Shop, Beach Hut - all good sets 2014: Bike Shop and Cafe - I think the best on this list. Also started the trend of Mini-figure scale mini-modular cit buildings as opposed to single family homes. My point is in 8 years we've received 6 city oriented mini-figure scale buildings (excluding cabins, lighthouses and beach huts), and so ANY city building is a rare breed and valuable. If the Noodle Shop is like the toy shop of 2020 I'll be thrilled, as City buildings tend to be overly simple even for the age range. Also, I should add because of 3-in-1 there are at least 14 reasonable city building designs of various sizes from the above bolded city oriented sets. Also, put be down as someone who loved the enclosed buildings with hinges!

. My predictions: 1. High Hopes for the 60345 Farmer's Market Van. Lego usually does these well. 2. High Hopes for the 60344 Hen House. At 101 pieces, it will probably be a cute or interesting build 3. Mid Hopes for 60346 Barn and Farm Animals. Not a ton of pieces. Boy I hope there's no roadplate highway running through the farm 4. Low Hopes for 60347 Grocery Store. I suspect it will follow the pattern of the school. Road plate + vehicle = tiny building. 5. Not sure about 60353 Rescue Missions. If it's a people pack I think it will be great. If it's a Safari/Friends sort of thing not so sure. Probably ok. Please note I hope my negative predictions are WRONG of course...

I think you'd have to buy two schools and hit up spares on bricklink to make it reasonable. Schools are usually large builds, and putting two of these schools together would give two rooms up top, an entrance way (with a custom bathroom?) and one classroom on the ground floor. If it were me, I'd then custom build the back, add stairs, and of course a roof (and tiles between floors for easy removal.).

I am always excited to see what's coming out from LEGO as it will determine what I'll be buying a year from now, or what older sets I may need to pick up before they get too expensive. This year, I'm planning to pick up: Picnic in the Park x 2 Town Center from 2021 Kids playground polybag Police Chase at the bank (for the bank, maybe the red truck to convert out of criminality, and sell the rest off) Maybe Lifeguard station and/or sardine factory - for the right price. I usually wait to buy the bigger sets at discount, even if that means a year. I try to hold off on the smaller sets too, in case I need to top up an order from LEGO to meet some price threshold, but sometimes I cave and buy something for fun earlier. I'll probably cave with Picnic and get at least one early. I don't want to buy too fast as I have limited room in my small town and I can't really physically expand any further.

Really, really good job. Inspirational. I particularly like the industrial buildings...

I don't disagree, but we've had a few fun City vehicles on the side as well - like the street sweeper, ice cream truck, tractor, tuning work shop and so on. This year we are getting the school and picnic in the park, so it seems every year we get 1 to 3 'non typical' set that's like a bone to a dog for kids and adults that want to build a semi-realistic city. Most are repetitive so I'll grant you that. A regular simple 1 ton cube van with different sticks (moving, produce, whatever), or produce truck (with wooden crate back full of farm fresh veggies) would be good too, as would a tour bus or city works vehicle. A road-rail maintenance pickup would be kind of cool too.

Noodle Shop and Viking Ship - c'mon LEGO, let those leaked images out...

How about 'normal' City stuff. I'd love to see a: grocery store/food market, another port, cargo ships, restaurants/food stands with different foods - sushi for example, a city works yard/department theatre - ie for plays or musicals parking enforcement truck/moped office building non-friends vet clinic car stealership library