datune

Not even 3 months ago I got back into lego after many, many years, more than I care to admit ;-) Sure, whenever I was in a toy store I always went to the lego section, but never got back into it. Until I was on a visit in Belgium, and noticed the Horizon Express. During the last 3 weeks I built the VW Camper, Haunted House, Fire Brigade, Grand Emporium and Pet Shop, along with the Technic 9398, but that was only to confirm that Technic really is not my kind of thing ;-) I have read lots of reviews regarding the modulars, but I am not sure I agree with all of them, so to add to the mix, I thought I would share my experience building them. Haunted House: Without a doubt, this was the most fun to build, including a few neat building techniques and the most detailed house of all of them. To me, this set oozes charme, and opening up the house is quite the "Ooooh!" moment for friends and family. I am not going to go into any details of the set, there is excellent reviews available for that (for example this one), but if you, the reader do not have any of the "big" sets yet, I promise you will not be dissapointed with this one. Personally I think this is one of the best sets available right now, and keep in mind, I am not really into monsters at all, that should say a lot! Fire Brigade: Another really fun build, with lots of nice techniques, reasonable interiour, a brilliant looking facade, and it even has a car! There is a very nice selection of dark red parts! Without a doubt, this is a safe buy with little chance of dissapointment. Grand Emporium: Despite the reviews, this was the most dissapointing and least fun to build. Overall the build is repetitive, and the interiour is very poor, compared to all the other buildings. The first floor is practically empty? To me, it felt like the interiour was more of an after thought, forced, like, we have to put in something...The spinning door is certainly nice, and there are some clever techniques to be learned here. Once it is finished, it is very impressive, no doubt about it. So to summarize, looks great on the outside, and "OKish" on the inside. Pet Shop: For reasons completely unknown to me, this appears to be the least popular of the modular series, but I completely dissagree with the general opinion. After the haunted house, these 2 little houses were the most fun to build, and has some very cool techniques (I mean, using 2 skis to decorate the front, how cool is that, the angled windows, very clever!...). I had a lot of fun building them, and I think they look great! If you completely dislike the haunted house, my recommendation would be to get this one first, it's lots of fun to build, the pet shop especially is really nice! VW Camper Although this set has nothing to do with houses or modulars, I wanted to share my experience with it anyway. This set is, simply put, incredible. If you like the T1 Camper, you'll certainly like this. The detail is amazing, the build will keep you busy and is never, not once, boring. Obviously ment for displaying, it delivers, boy does it deliver! I liked this set so much, I bought it 4 times! "Nuff said" I hope this helps someone just getting back into lego, if nothing else, it hopefully provides another POV to consider ;-)

Fantastic build, can't wait to see it finished! Would love to see the PDF as well once it's done...

Thanks eurotrash, your explanation makes perfect sense, although I am suprised to see that they employ such simplification techniques in a set ment to be for 16+...it does seem completely pointless...

Hello, I just opened my 10218 set and started to build the town house first. In step 3 of the instructions there is a black 1x4 tile along with a 1x1 plate placed between a grey 2 x 4 brick. What completely baffles me is that in step 12 three 8 x 8 plates are used to completely cover up what I think is supposed to represent a basement. Which basically means, there is no way anybody will ever get to see that tile and plate, so why put it there in the first place? Am I missing something obvious? Thanks for enlightning me ;-)

Too bad it costs so much, it would make a great gift for a friend of mine, not to mention that I wouldn't mind having this set as well. I'd be willing to pay in the range of 99 to maybe 130, but certainly not the obvious "you're a fanboy so we're going to make you pay, lots!" $ 250 price, good luck to them though.

Wow, this is simply amazing! Let me tell you, if Lego would sell such a set, I would buy it in an instant, just for the sheer level of creativity alone! Honestly, for me, you deserve an award for coming up with such a unique and incredible idea! You should really submit this to http://lego.cuusoo.com/. Seriously, congratulations! I was completely blown away when I watched your video!

Thanks everybody, I managed to resolve it, as mentioned, it was the 12t gear...

Wow, this is incredible! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks, much appreciated!

Thanks 1974! Today i found a part which I can't identify, since there is no ID anywhere, anybody perhaps knows what this part is for?

Well, to the best of my knowledge, I have followed the instructions to the T, incl. the dissasembling... What is a 12t gear?

Hello, I am currently assembling the 9398, and before moving on to the chassis figured I would test drive it. It seems that there is a problem, because it is impossible to steer straight, it always drags to the right, as can be seen in the video. Any ideas as to what the problem might be? Thanks a lot in advance for helping! http://youtu.be/OIFABgC2tD4

Excellent! Very curious what sets will be released...

@Kivi the upper boxes are duplicates and not ment to be accessed by customers. Personally I was dissappointed with this PAB wall, it is one of the smallest I have seen in all the stores I visited in Europe, but I guess it is better than no wall at all;-) Also, the store is not big at all compared to the usual size of Lego stores...

I have one more, perhaps somebody can identify it? Thanks a bunch in advance!

Wow, that was quick! Thanks a lot, much appreciated!

Does anybody happen to know from which set the following piece could be? I bought some used lego and am trying to rebuild as much as possible...Thanks a lot in advance!

This is only partly true and shows how even Lego employees don't know all the details. For one, in Belgium there is no brand store, BUT, there is a toy store chain named "Dreamland", who most certainly have some sort of agreement with TLG, because they sell Lego exclusives, like Tower Bridge or Fire Brigade, and I am sure will also sell Series 11. So belgians need not worry ;-) As for the other countries, I would suggest calling Lego and ask to be connected to some retail manager, forget the first level support, they don't have the details or knowledge of all distribution channels! If you call Lego and just ask "Where can I buy Lego Exlusives in Belgium", the answer they will give is "Only online through lego,com", which of course is utterly wrong! Hope this helps someone;-)

Wow, this is amazing! Looking at this really inspires me, so forgive me for keeping it short, but I need to get on sorting so I can start building ;-) Thanks for sharing btw.!

Thanks a lot charlieboy, much appreciated!

Hmm, what a huge dissapointment, this completely destroys any and all plans I had for a project... I read your blog, very nice! Since you seem to know your way around, do you know how I could find out in which colors said part is available?

Hi, I am trying to find out whether or not this item, 30357, exists in lime green or not? Does anybody know, if so, where can I buy it, cause it seems that the online PAB store does not have it... Thanks!

From what I could gather it seems that there is going to be another lego store opening in Vienna, sometime during the fall of 2013, apparently in Donauzentrum...woohoo! At least that's what the store manager in Köln told me! @ScotNicks I'm aware that every brand store has a pick a brick wall, but not all walls have the same size, which is why I was hoping for a BIG wall ;-) Once the doors are opened, we can meet at the wall ;-)

What a great registration present this was! I just signed up and after my first time logging in this is the news I get to see, woohoo! I just visited the Lego Store in Lille, France, due to a visit in Belgium, and was pondering why Vienna does not have a Lego Store. Let's hope for a big Pick a Brick wall ;-)