Corner building
Revolving doors
Plants either side of the revolving doors
Letterbox on right side with minifig posting letter
Minifig walking out of entrance with packages
Minifig window displays
Style of the roof line

Of course there will always be similarities if 2 people build the same type of model so it’s not a criticism. I like both. If Dita_Svelte’s was an official model I’d buy it, along with The Grand Emporium. But I’m greedy like that.

I’m surprised by how many similarities there are to Dita_Svelte’s MOC on Flickr. Who saw whose I wonder?

@Melfice: the price differences are very annoying. In Australia we will no doubt be charged $299 for this which converts to around US$280. It’s probably because the sets need to be re-designed so they can be built upside Downunder ;-)

i really hope they keep expanding this. it would be neat if in a few years they come up with skyscrapers in full scale. that would be awesome!

The rosette is a nice architectural touch, too. Looks like the reverse side of a Bionicle “scoring” wheel? Doesn’t quite work for me as is, but that’s the kind of greebly stuff I would want to see in a future set.

@David4: I was very close to buying each set as it debuted. They’re all worthwhile in their own way. Wish I could afford 2x each and use the combined extra bricks to build my own.

OTOH I can see how these wouldn’t appeal to, e.g., a space-only builder.

Having said that, there is plenty of interior and environmental detail to get excited about. But Fire Brigade still wears the crown for this line, considering how much of the focus is on the building itself.

I’m still waiting for a highly ornate Beaux-Arts styled set with lots of greebly bits!

Josh:
Fair enough, fair enough.

“Last time I checked, there were no laws that said life had to be fair.” This, however, is such an overdone argument.
No, there are no laws for that. And I agree life is not fair. In most cases, “making” your life fair involves hard work, and sometimes despite the hard work it still won’t work out.
Something like this… can just be a smack in the face, because it’s not something you can work for to make it equal.
“Wha-!? How come they get it cheaper by x Euro than us, when it’s the same bloody thing!”

In light of silliness of the American way of “misleading” the customers by not mentioning tax, however (Please, nobody start… this is not meant seriously), I retract my former complaints and just state that this is a very good looking set, and as said before, no doubt worth the full bill.

It’s all about supply and demand. It has nothing to do with taxes. Lego in Europe is more expensive because there is more demand and apparently toys are also cheaper in the US in general. Basically they said you’re screwed if you’re European.