Tag Archives: Modular

LEGO released 10182 Cafe Corner in 2007, setting a new standard for large-scale modular buildings. Since then, LEGO has continued to release new structures in the modular building series — 10190 Market Street, 10185 Green Grocer, 10197 Fire Brigade, 10211 Grand Emporium, 10218 Pet Shop, and 10224 Town Hall as of 2012. Meanwhile, LEGO fans have adopted the “Cafe Corner standard” and built hundreds and hundreds of beautiful buildings that fit with the official sets. See some of the best here on The Brothers Brick.

DeRa celebrates Kitano Ijinkan-gai landmark Weathercock House with LEGO modular masterpiece

Japanese builder DeRa has created some of the most spectacular MOCs of recent years, such as this entrancing LEGO tiger and brick-built Godzilla. But while mecha and monsters have been the builder’s calling card, DeRa’s academic focus as a university student is architecture. For their latest build, DeRa brings an AFOL’s perspective to the iconic Weathercock House from Kobe Japan’s Kitano Ijinkan-gai, a neighborhood where foreign residents created magnificent manors of Western design in the early 20th century.

Sticking to LEGO modular conventions, DeRa builds atop a 32×32 and 16×32 stud plate while allowing between 4-6 studs for sidewalk space. This pushes the build into stylized space, with both exterior and interior designed around minifig scale. But DeRa’s design holds another secret.

Like an ornate puzzle box, this modular slides apart into 12 separate modules!

Read on for details on the build process and pictures of the interior

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Jen Feeny: On building community and bringing Pink City to life [Interview]

For builders of LEGO habitats, Jen Feeny is a familiar and beloved face. The Halloween Habitat challenges and other themed events she hosts throughout the year have become pillars of the online LEGO community that came together during the pandemic to connect with others through bricks. As an organizer with WMLUG, Jen’s latest project is a large-scale collaboration called Pink City that combines modulars, minidolls, whimsy, and a whole lot of pink bricks! We checked in with Jen to learn more about her journey and this latest delightful project.

Our interview with Jen and pics of Pink City come after the fold

MOCs of the LEGO Masters: Finding joy in friendship and colors

Have you ever tried following the instructions for an iconic LEGO set, only subbing in colors from your own collection? It’s a fun way to experience an iconic build while expressing your own artistic voice (and thanks to LEGO making instructions free to download, you can save money too!) That’s just what Marcella did with this alternate take on the Birch Books modular apartment unit. Marcella’s bright colors bring a funky San Francisco vibe and pair perfectly with the new artist resident. Marcella and her best friend Krista are bringing that free spirit to the new season of LEGO Masters. Best of luck, you two!

This is part of our series on MOCs of the Masters where we preview the work of the newest batch of LEGO Master contestants. Have a look at creations from other builders in the lineup.

This general store is an admirable build

Builder Andrew Tate has a knack for capturing bygone eras in brick form. His latest creation is an early 20th-century building housing a first-floor general store with apartments above. The structure is assembled in various shades of brown, with a few pops of muted greens in both the architecture and the well-manicured plant life, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere that has us wondering if there are any vacancies.

The interior is just as charming with goods and sundries to meet all your household needs. Inside, as out, Andrew’s build feels of a kind to official LEGO modulars, while smoothing away nearly every stud.

The Botanical Garden gets a modular makeover with charm to spare

LEGO releases one new modular set a year, but every so often there’s a set that is modular-adjacent that fans of the line wish could better integrate with their collection. The Chinese New Year restaurant, French Cafe, and especially 2023’s lovely Friends Botanical Garden (which predated the minifig scale Botanical Garden which is even more modular-adjacent). Modular builder Melanie found a solution to integrate the Friends garden into her city by turning the conservatory a two-story corner unit using a design by MingBrick. I adore the park bench and cherry blossom tree at the base of the stairs adding a parklet at street level that fits perfectly with the sidewalk aesthetic of other modulars.

Modular Market Street gets a marvelous Art Nouveau makeover

10190 Market Street is the black sheep of LEGO modulars. Part of the pre-Ideas “Factory” line, the set lacked the innovative techniques and attention to detail of its predecessor, Cafe Corner, and subsequent modulars, but it’s a significant part of LEGO’s evolving relationship with fan creations. Marcin Dski revisits the 18-year-old set with an update that reflects the colors and intent of the original while bringing in the advanced techniques of newer modulars like 10350 Tudor Corner. Marcin leans on Art Nouveau as an architectural influence, using arches and SNOT techniques for the round entrances. The market gets an impressive upgrade with added glass paneling replacing the original open air. Even the minifigs mix sees a glow up, including a fellow with a peg leg and hook who might have wandered in from one of Marcin’s other modulars.

Speaking of LEGO’s unique relationship with fan builds, in 2026 Marcin joins the esteemed list of creators joining the Bricklink Creator program with Adventure in Transylvania. Congratulations on an amazing 2024!

Pumpkin spice lattes are the only things steaming in this town

It may be winter where you are, but in the Imperial City of Ids de Jong‘s imagination, fall is still in the air. Ids LEGO scene captures a slice of steampunk life as the leaves turn. The steam-powered mulcher is a nice touch, showing how newfangled technologies are good for more than airships and gyrocars! I’m a huge fan of the steampunk accents on the brick buildings, like those rickety drainpipes, the corrugated metal bay window, and the chunky metal tubes for piping in steam.

Ids built this service station for the annual Wandering Skies competition in the Seasonal Bliss category.

Czech out this Art Nouveau modular of a Prague landmark

Few cities can compete with Prague in architectural beauty, where medieval apothecaries stand alongside gothic towers and modernist marvels. Czech builder poMOCník & dirigent found inspiration in the Prague Municipal Insurance Company building, turning it into a lovely LEGO modular. The building was constructed between 1899-1910 as part of the Art Nouveau and Neo-Baroque movements and features ornate arches, statues, and a colorful mosaic, all of which are captured here in brick. Bionicle and Robo Rider elements in “brick yellow” (better known as tan) are a clever solution for the organic curves of Art Nouveau. I especially like the gold and green used to create the patinaed gate on the ground floor.

Grab a bite or a drink at Cafe CoCo

A new modular from Andrew Tate is always a treat as this master of minifig-scale architecture has a knack for builds that sweep you away to a specific time or place. His latest model, Cafe CoCo, captures the timeless and unhurried aesthetic of a European old town street corner that could just as easily be in Paris, Vienna, or Prague, fifty years ago or today. I can practically taste the Aperol spritz. The dark-stained wooden facade on the ground floor provides warmth and old-world charm against the tan stone building. Andrew packs the model with fun details and techniques, like the lamps held aloft on black hot dogs, or the pot snaking plants made from actual rattlesnakes. For the stone sidewalks, Andrew uses masonry bricks laid flat, a great technique that conveys the texture of paving stones without visual noise to distract from the scene above.

Andrew “Snaillad” Tate says he builds at a snail’s pace, but over time he’s built an “>impressive body of LEGO creations that are always worth a revisit.

A modular slice of Cyberpunk

Although only one facet of a larger collaborative build, Bart Marable’s first foray into LEGO cyberpunk provides much of the requisite detail to identify it’s overall theme. While most modular buildings have such a great facade, we are left wanting when viewing the sides and backs of the building. Bart, in a relatively small build, has provided 360-degree detail with images to prove his effort.

Let’s call the ‘Fan-side’ the facade. The use of both vivid and understated colors creates a facade that seems to have evolved and been enhanced over time fulfilling the goal of portraying a cyberpunk realm, in my opinion.

Let us have a look at the full effort here.

From City of Lanterns to Shibuya Scramble

Inspired by his time in Shibuya, the latest modular from LEGO Masters Sweden finalist Olle Moquist captures the shuffle of old and new that one feels walking the busy backstreets of modern Tokyo. Olle picked an unusual seed part for the Lotus Hotel, beige DUPLO cushions, which give the building a distinctive stud-free texture. I’m also really struck by how perfectly the vintage Homemaker theme‘s maxifigure works as a Buddha with his compassionate long earlobes. While this city center is grounded in a more realistic setting, the modular wouldn’t look out of place next to Ninjago City, and after a busy day of shopping or a stay at the Lotus Hotel, visitors to this LEGO neighborhood can presumably take the tram to Monkie Kid’s City of Lanterns.

Mini modular LEGO Ramen shop is very tasty.

This cute build by Dutch Thriceman is packed with delicious LEGO details inspired by many sources, and it all comes together beautifully. From the stacked angled roofs to the utility pole and air-conditioning unit, to those two birds on the top, it feels like something right out of a Studio Ghibli movie. The wandering vine, and the clothes drying on a rack are also nice touches. And what a satellite dish!

But the fun details don’t stop with the outside…. This model features detailed interiors as well. Looks like this ramen shop is secretly serving Pigsy’s famous longest noodles from LEGO’s Monkie Kid. Pull up a stool if you like; I’m just about to tuck into a bowl.