henrysunset

It was fun to rediscover this thread many years later - I have since created an interactive LEGO Parts Guide which includes an up-to-date list of the most common current parts, as well as the ability to see the most common parts of all-time... Links: CURRENT - Explore parts used in LEGO sets released in the past 5 years. ALL YEARS - Explore parts used in LEGO sets released in the past 70+ years. I'd love to know if people find this interesting and/or useful! ---Tom

Good idea - I will try to add a photo of that in the evening, time permitting :-)

They probably continue to sell well.

Fair point, but as a longtime collector of the theme I'd rather explore a completely new subject matter than rehash something that was covered already. Totally agree that this is a superior rendition, just wish it was less expensive. ---Tom

Trevi fountain reviews are live. I just posted mine, but you can also find reviews at Brothers Brick, HelloBricks (french), and AustrianBrickFan (video). (I'm sure more will be published soon...) I wanted to share some photos from my review and some high-level thoughts about the new set, especially how it compares to the original version. Box and completed set shown next to one another for scale. Even sets produced in Europe (Hungary) still have plastic bags for some reason... There are 15 numbered bags. The fountain has a nice gradient effect, but it is slightly spoiled by the use of tan elements along the edges. The true highlight of the set is re-creating intricate Baroque architectural detailing with a lot more fidelity and finesse than the smaller original set. Perhaps the most important photo for long-time fans of the LEGO Architecture series — You can really tell how much bigger (and more intricate) the new one is! I tried to line everything up to show that the proportions are reasonably accurate. I did appreciate that the windows match the triangular pediments on the lower floor, and round pediments on the second floor. Conclusions: It is a good set, but I do not want to spoil too much for people who are just casually reading this page - You will find my final rating of the set (and why) in my full review. (I think that some people will disagree with my decision to factor cost so strongly into the rating, but hopefully the thought process behind the rating makes sense!) Sincerely, — Tom Alphin. P.S. If you have any questions after reading the review, let me know!

While there are many examples that could be used to 'prove' your point, you are painting an awfully broad brush across the range of LEGO Fan Media outlets that are recognized under the LAN program. Some outlets are overly positive while others tend more critical. In the case of my own website (which is recognized under the LAN program), we work hard to distribute our ratings over a rough bell curve centered on a 3.5/5 star rating. To ensure it is reasonably well calibrated, I ranked every set in the LEGO Architecture series and applied the curve that is listed on our about page to ensure that our ratings are not overly generous. In the case of the most recent modular, #10326 Natural History Museum earned a 3/5 star rating. I don't think anyone would consider that overly generous nor needlessly critical. It is a 'good' set, but it is in a series where we have grown to expect excellence. Sincerely, —Tom

I've published my article showing how I motorized the train using only a small number of parts from my collection. Please excuse the brightly colored parts - I did this to make it easier to follow the instructions! If you want to see all of the steps, check out the whole article, but I've added pictures of some of the key steps below... The first thing you need to do is remove the trucks and the three 4×6 plates from the bottom. Then you need to carefully attach the battery box upside-down, and add the colored plates shown in this photo. Three sub-assemblies including a longer linkage in the front allow you to connect it to the Engine in front, and passenger car behind. It drives smoothly on curved track and can manage the transitions from curved to straight tracks well. LINK TO ARTICLE: https://brickarchitect.com/2023/motorizing-21344-lego-ideas-the-orient-express-train/ I am eager to see more advanced modifications like the one that @ToledoRails shared earlier, but am pleased to report that a simple modification is possible to help bring more people into the LEGO Train hobby. Sincerely, —Tom Alphin P.S. I am happy to answer any questions you might have about the set or this simple mod.

If I had more spare time this week I would give it a go... This looks like a more elegant solution than jamming everything into the hopper.

I was able to motorize the train by incorporating the standard Powered Up train motor and a city hub inside of the hopper. I am pleased to report that it only required about a dozen parts and is working well so far. I plan to share photos and instructions at brickarchitect.com later today.

The front isn't the problem... The sides and the back are almost completely devoid of interest. To be clear, it isn't a bad set, but rather some of the other recent sets were better.

I think we are getting stuck up on the difference between 'goes well with' and GWP's that were purpose-designed to complement a given year's Modular. By that definition only the Vintage car and the Moving Truck were GWP's specifically designed to extend a specific modular.

40448: Vintage Car was a LEGO Ideas submission. It looks great next to the Diner, but the release was not coordinated to the diner. It actually came out two years later - as a GWP on Jan 1 2021, which is when the Police Station was released. 40140: Flower Cart came out on a Jan 1 (2015), so it would have been a likely bonus when buying a modular. Stylistically it matches Assembly Square, but that set came out two years later in 2017

That is my understanding. Vintage car (Hotel), Moving Truck (jazz club), and a rumor based on the lifestyle images of a GWP hot dog truck for the Natural History museum (but no evidence that I am aware of). Four of the sets included vehicles inside the set itself: Corner Garage (tow truck), Palace Cinema (vintage car), Diner (pink car), and Fire Brigade (firetruck). Am I missing anything? ---tom

I had the distinct pleasure of building this set early through the LEGO Fan Media program. I love the Modular series and am familiar with the entire series - and have built the 6 most recent sets. Since I have the set-in hand, I would be happy to answer any questions you might have about the set! I think it looks best with the Police Station on the left, and the Boutique Hotel on the right. If you want to read the entire review, which includes a lot more analysis and photos, please visit: https://brickarchitect.com/2023/review-10326-lego-icons-modular-natural-history-museum/ It is the largest set in the modular series, and you will find a box within the box containing the first 14 bags. Highlights and Lowlights (spoilers below) I debuted a completely new metric to try to assess value: price-per-minute. (Only includes sets I built for fairness purposes, and the main discovery is that some sets are a lot faster to build that others, and part count alone doesn't predict this well since some sets are a lot easier to build than others. I am legitimately curious to hear what folks think of this metric.) The poor price-per-minute is easily explained by this photo - there aren't a lot of complex techniques to slow things down. In the review, I offered a bit more analysis of the architectural styles being used here, and while I don't prefer the Olive Green color, it is historically accurate to the French Second Empire architectural style. The pediment is cleverly built and nicely detailed. There has been a lot of discussion about the decision to release in December instead of January. My two theories are that: 1: They had a different AFOL set planned for this holiday, but something went wrong. 2: It is an intentional strategic change to capture more sales at the holidays by making the modular into a family tradition. (especially with changing global economic outlook.) The banner and instruction book are marked (c) 2024, indicating that the decision to change the release date was probably late in the year. I really wanted to love the set, especially given the wider format compared to every other set besides Assembly Square. I ended up giving it just a 3/5 rating, which I describe as 'Good' but we usually get great out of the Modular series. I ranked the last six modulars from best to worst. I wonder how close your ranking would be? (#1 Police Station, #2 Boutique Hotel, #3 Jazz Club, #4 Bookstore, #5 Natural History Museum, #6 Corner Garage.) Completed model posed the same way as the front of the box. Sincerely, — Tom Alphin

Fair enough, but this was not an aesthetic/design choice - it was a quality control problem!