LEGO’s new Creator 3-in-1 31105 Toy Shop Town House and its predecessors remind me of a yearly recurring mini-modular theme for a younger target market. This yearly 3-in-1 tradition has always caught my eye in one way or another, simply because it’s a faint reminder of its bigger cousins the ever-popular Creator Expert Modulars, like the recently announced 10270 Bookshop, but without the hefty buy-in cost. This year we get a 554 piece Toy Shop Town House to explore. Let’s take a look at what’s in store for us. The set is expected to retail for 49.99€, and will be available in January.
The box and packaging
The set comes with 4 bags, an instruction booklet, two loose plates and no stickers.
The build experience
The build starts off with a perimeter of wall structures and a few printed tiles of LEGO boxes on the shelves.
It’s a nice surprise to see the printed tile, 2 x 3 with Cafe Corner Lego Set Box make its second appearance here. It first appeared in the LEGO 10255 Assembly Square Modular from 2017. The other printed tile with the City Dune Buggy Transporter isn’t quite as rare, but it’s still nice to see it make a comeback here.
The ground floor is finished with a decorative red and white awning, which seems to almost be a universally popular colour for them. If anyone has a reason or history behind it, we’d certainly like to know.
Various tiny advent calendar-style micro builds adorn both the outside and inside the store. Each of these builds does deserve a callout on their own for its ingenuity. The feeling of admiring how tiny bricks can take the imagination so far never grows old, and this is one of the reasons I continue to enjoy building sets like these.
Starting from the top left, clockwise I’ve identified the builds as a green train, a toy soldier, a lamppost, a candy machine, a truck, a propeller plane, a bus and a cash register. For any future bold fan practitioner or custom builder, new ideas await you with these. My personal favourites are the toy soldier and the green train.
The first floor is divided into two sections, where about one third is dedicated to an outdoor patio area.
The colour combination and intricate detailing of the window corning is simply delightful. It’s so simple yet brings so much out from an architectural point of view.
The detailing inside features a bed with pillows, a lamp and two flower vases.
The level is complete with a sidewall for the patio, a plant and a lamp post built into the corner.
The rooftop features a hint of victorian design and leaves a third of it untouched. A bird in microscale build is perched on the edge. I’m guessing from its bright red colour that a cardinal was the inspiration.
The three sections feature different colours and themes but do work out well.
The Minifigures
Before we stack the building, let’s take a quick look at the minifigures. This set features a female LEGO employee and a child. With this, I think we can officially say that by design, the ground floor is indeed a LEGO toy shop.
The child has an alternate worried faceprint whereas the LEGO employee sports a single expression.
With the three sections stacked together, the build comes alive. The finished build reminds me of the LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31050 Corner Deli from 2016. The blue hue and tan/brown colour themes and a bird perched on top all seem quite familiar. What differs here and gives the building a lot more character is the entrance, which has a corner build as opposed to side entrances from the various other mini-modular builds.
It’s also quite obvious that the winning formula from the Creator Expert Modular series is an inspiration towards the recipe for this tinier version.
The final side-build is somewhat of a surprise indeed. Something I wasn’t expecting in a tiny build.
The rocket ride has a simple mechanism that has a built-in rocking motion with the help of a manually manipulated gear system. I must say that this is really the icing on the cake with LEGO builds that keeps both kids and adult fans loyal. There’s always a surprise hidden and something new to enjoy with every set that is built. It also reminded me of the LEGO Ideas 40335 Space Rocket Ride.
Summary
This miniature modular is full of surprises with the little micro builds and wonderfully designed exterior and interiors. I wasn’t prepared nor expected to enjoy such a simple set, but it did bring out the best in the end. Now comes the big question: is this worthy of a purchase? I personally feel that if you’ve been following the custom creations featured on The Brothers Brick over the years, and are itching to learn a trick or two on designing your own creation, you’ll need to start somewhere. And as a 3-in-1 set, it also includes instructions to build two other models: a cake shop and a flower shop.
If buildings and architecture are your cup of tea, LEGO Creator sets such as these are great start to your journey. All budding builders have to begin somewhere, and these simpler designs from LEGO provide the fundamental steps towards building (pun intended) those skills.
The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Sending The Brothers Brick products for review does not guarantee coverage or a positive review.
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TLG didn’t use the correct propeller for the plane
“part 6265497: Propeller, W/ 1.5 Shaft, No. 1”
Would have liked to see a shot of this mixed in with the Expert Modular sets… this might be the set that gets me into those.
Also, let’s see the alternate builds, while you’ve got unlimited time and resources! /sarcasm