Rebuilding Creator modular buildings in microscale presents LEGO builders with many challenges, from recreating key architectural details using completely different parts to matching colors that may not exist for the needed elements. Simon NH has created a stunning replica of one of my personal favorite modular building sets, 10243 Parisian Restaurant making good use of some new parts, including the 4×4 quarter circle tiles.
Royal palaces are normally buildings with amazing architecture, plush interiors and rich decoration, and this LEGO palace is no different. Built by Johan Keuterink, this huge modular palace has a few similarities to Buckingham Palace, not just in its Neoclassical architecture style, but also the two Royal Guards that the Queen has lent to protect the entrance! Although the Baroque details will not be to everyone’s taste, the aim is to impress visiting heads of state, and Johan’s palace should certainly achieve such an aim. I love intricate exterior street lights and the front door with some suitably impressive gold handles.
Johan has taken the time to ensure that his palace has a lavishly decorated interior — Donatella Versace would feel at home in this house! The throne room is an example of the extensive details inside the palace with vast chandelier, patterned floor, and more gold than Fort Knox.
When creating this digital LEGO model of three different buildings, Łukasz Libuszewski was inspired by the beautiful architecture of Prague. On the right, we have the pub on the ground floor and a museum showing the old town on the first floor. There is a handy cashpoint just outside the pub, so no excuses about running out of cash when it’s time to buy drinks. There is also a slightly abandoned looking tenement building on the left — it’s definitely in need of repair. Access to the lookout tower is via the central steps, but take care as those shadowy stairs look a little eerie to me.
A view from the rear shows some of the interior design with the old town layout in the museum and some cosy looking tables and chairs all set up in the pub below. I particularly like some of the architectural details such as the tan stonework around the window at the back of the pub and the use of the Elves keys in light blue grey within the look-out tower.
While this build is a digital build, it has been beautifully crafted and, although there a few elements that do not exist in LEGO’s official collection, it looks build-able ‘in the brick’
If this is home, I’m sure it’s always going to be where I’m going to spend most of my time. A three-storey modular with a single color tone of tan bricks, but with excellent build features bring out the best in this grand looking architectural build. The beauty of this home does not end there, as builder Vincent Kiew invites you to explore the heart of what makes a building a home. While most modular builds may feature the external facade, I have a soft spot for builds that take the extra effort to imagine what life would have been like for a minifigure family.
Click to see more of the inside of the home
The canal houses of Amsterdam are part of the United Nations World Heritage and are famous for their tall, slim stature and ornate façades and stylised gables. While Barrie Crossan has not given his building much of a gable, he has taken inspiration from those famous Dutch canal houses when designing his five-storey LEGO pizza house. If you look closely you will see some lovely decorative details on the façade and the back stairs on the bottom left, leading directly to the restaurant’s busy kitchen.
While the outside is attractive, it’s worth taking a look inside where Barry has made an effort to create a hugely detailed interior. The apartment on the upper floors has an impressive sitting room with a dining area behind the couch. The furniture is certainly not the average LEGO table and chairs: it looks like it has been supplied by an exclusive designer, with a price tag to match.
Builder Brandon wyc has put together a wonderful LEGO café — a tranquil oasis in the middle of a bustling city scene. The lighting adds to the atmosphere, but what’s most impressive are the details depicting everyday life both inside and outside. The café itself features a kitchen with a bakery, and pretty much everything you need for the business to run all day, including cosy corners for a quiet book read, or a simple dinner date for two. The pedestrian and vehicular traffic around the junction is all nicely-placed, giving the scene a real sense of activity.
Click here to see more details of this impressive model
What attracted me to this interesting looking mansion is its unique foundation built over a canal and seated at the edge of a small cliff. However, the striking front with full height windows overlooking the harbor is only a small part of this quaint looking home. What’s inside this build by morimoilego is just as beautiful and equally interesting, since the home has been partly converted into a quaint and cozy coffee shop.
click to see more details inside of the home
Feast your eyes on this crustacean-themed restaurant and hostel called the Osaka Crab, built by Ian Hoy. This modular building can be split to reveal the restaurant within the ground and first floors [that’s first and second floors for you Americans – Ed] and then a couple of bedrooms on the next floor up for those who have eaten too much crab and can’t make it home. A lot of character has been packed into the building both inside and out – as you can see from the fantastic red, brick-built crab.
See more of this crabby creation
Malaysian builder Shirley Yoong brings us this amazing Modular-style LEGO store. Built with a yellow and black theme, it features an almost classical Art Deco grand facade. It feels as though it were a residence, such as an apartment building, now transformed into a modern store with steps leading up to the front entrance. Consisting of approximately 3,000 bricks, it’s sized to be placed amongst the official LEGO Modular series like Assembly Square, and the builder says it took roughly a month to design.
It’s not just a pretty facade, though. The interior is packed from top to bottom with details.
Click to see more of the LEGO store
This lovely modular bar, created by Chinese builder Tony Toy, has a great deal of colour and style. Tony manages to pull the dark blue, red, green and gold together into an attractive modular-style building with some lovely architectural details. I especially like the red and orange lanterns hanging on the post outside the front of the building. The little white bridge over a pond is a nice touch and love the effect created by using transparent plates overlying green plates for the water.
Interestingly, it seems that Tony designed his creation digitally first using the free Lego Digital Designer application and then built it in ‘the brick’.
2017 is a year of anniversaries for LEGO: it marks 40 years for Technic, and the 10th year for LEGO’s Modular Buildings. These highly detailed sets clock in at over 2,000 pieces and are most definitely fan favorites. In October, LEGO announced 10255 Assembly Square to celebrate the decennial anniversary of the line. LEGO sent us an early copy, so today we’re pleased to bring you a full hands-on review. It’s packed full of Easter eggs celebrating 10 years of these fantastic sets, and is the largest modular yet with 4,002 pieces. 10255 Assembly Square is available now on The LEGO Shop for $279.99 USD.
So just how impressive is this set? Read on, because we’re going to tell you all about it.
Click to read the full review of Assembly Square!
It’s been 10 years since 10182 Cafe Corner released in 2006, and LEGO is celebrating in a big way by revealing the largest Modular Building yet, 10255 Assembly Square. LEGO has gone all-out with this set, fitting in two highly detailed buildings separated by an alley.
With 4,002 pieces, the three-story buildings are packed with detail, housing a bakery, florist’s shop, coffee shop, music store, dentist’s office, photo studio, dance studio, apartment, and a rooftop terrace. As fans of the line have come to expect, clever designs abound, with lots of great architectural details and unusual parts used in ingenious ways, including several brand-new pieces, such as 2×2 and 4×4 quarter circle tiles. See if you can spot Thor’s hammer or the Technic excavator buckets.
The set will retail for $279.99 USD, and will be available Jan. 1, 2017. (LEGO has told us that unlike many other large exclusive sets, there will not be VIP early access for this set.) Check out all the images and read the full press release below.
10255 Assembly Square fits alongside 10251 Brick Bank and 10264 Detective’s Office, the other two Modular Buildings currently available.
Click through to see all the photos of 10255 Assembly Square