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.

A place downtown to meet your Friends

I love seeing Friends colors and sets incorporated into awesome builds, and Allan Corbeil has done a magnificent job with that. He’s given us a lovely Cafe Corner modular building, based on 41035 Heartlake Juice Bar.

While I love the black and white old-timey pictures, I have to share the stand-alone shot, too. The Juice Bar looks just lovely built into the ground floor of this brick building. The detail for the top floor is quite lovely and very reminiscent of the details that LEGO puts into other modular sets, particularly 10243 Parisian Restaurant and 10251 Brick Bank.

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Fancy a stay at the Monochrome Motel?

This atmospheric building by Pete Strege is called the Monotone Motel and almost seems like a black and white image until you spot the coloured minifigures near the staircase. The neo-gothic inspired architecture has some great brickwork detail near the base using old dark grey tiles against the dark blueish grey bricks. I particularly love the use of Thor hammers across the central area to add texture and detail to the stonework. The mix of old greys and the newer blueish grey LEGO colours allow some contrast within the grey-scale colour scheme.

It’s worth taking a closer look at the clock to see the details and clever parts used, a foil, a short spear with Pin Hole and a sword blade with bar. The builder mentioned that he searched for weeks for just the right parts, I think it’s a great combination.

Flickr album.

New Modular: 10251 Brick Bank revealed! [News]

This morning at the Brick Korea fan event in South Korea, LEGO displayed the newest city modular, 10251 Brick Bank. With 2,380 pieces, it’s the third largest modular building yet, and looks just as detailed as its predecessors. It will be available from the LEGO Shop Online beginning in January for $169.99 USD. The full press release is below.

10251 Brick Bank
Ages 16+.
2,380 pieces.
US $169.99 – CA $219.99 – DE 149.99€ – UK £119.99 – DK 1399.00 DKK
*Euro pricing varies by country. Please visit shop.LEGO.com for regional pricing.

Make a safe deposit at the Brick Bank! Make a secure deposit at the highly respected Brick Bank, featuring an array of intricate details and hidden surprises. Easy-to-remove building sections provide access to the detailed interior, comprising a bank with an atrium foyer, tiled floor, arched windows, ornate chandelier, lockable vault and a transaction counter with security glass; a laundromat with printed window, tiled floor and 4 laundry machines; plus 2 second-floor offices with an array of detailed furniture, fixtures and accessories. The exterior of the building features a detailed sidewalk and an elaborate façade with carving and statue décor, decorative roofline, large arched windows, central balcony, clock and an accessible roof terrace featuring a large skylight.

• Includes 5 minifigures: a bank manager, secretary, teller, and a mom and child.
• The Brick Bank features a bank, secretary’s office, bank manager’s office, laundromat and a detailedfaçade and sidewalk.
• Bank features an atrium foyer with wide, arched entrance, triangular-patterned floor tiling, ornate chandelier, oxidized-copper colored skylight, transaction counter with hidden alarm buttons and security glass, and a bank vault with safe deposit boxes and a large round door.
• Laundromat features a printed window, tiled floor and 4 laundry machines.
• Secretary’s office features a wall clock, desk, typewriter, cabinet with opening drawers, fireplace and an espresso machine.
• Bank manager’s office features a large desk with banker’s lamp and approval stamp, leather-look chair, printed portrait, statue and a cabinet.
• Accessory elements include a mug, document, camera, candy, blank white paper, chrome-golden coins, 1 chrome- golden bar and banknotes.
• Remove the building sections to access the detailed interior.
• Unlock the bank vault to access the safe deposit boxes.
• Visit the laundromat for a spot of laundering.
• Stack coins with the coin counting machine.
• Special elements include a printed prize check, printed ground-floor windows, a special printed portrait in the bank manager’s office, plus rare, sand-blue and dark-green bricks, and sand-green window frames.
• Collect and build an entire town with the LEGO® Creator Expert Modular Building series 10243 Parisian Restaurant and 10246 Detective’s Office.
• Brick Bank measures over 10” (26cm) high, 10” (25cm) wide and 10” (25cm) deep.

Check out the rest of the photos of 10251 Brick Bank on flickr.

Collaborative displays rock

As nice as the individual models that we blog are, I think there’s often something really special about collaborative builds. The collaborative display by Pennlug at Brickfair, for instance, was one of my favourite things on show and Bricksboro Beach, built by members of Brickish, was probably the nicest display I have ever personally been involved with.

Last weekend, Legoworld took place in Utrecht in the Netherlands. Even though it is the public event closest to where I live and the largest LEGO-event in the Netherlands, I could not make it there myself. This is unfortunate for a variety of reasons, including because I would have loved to see the collaborative city display by lowlug-members Erik Smit (عʈ¡ – ʇıɯs ıʇə ʞıɹə), Tijger-San, Thomassio, Mockingbird, Arjan Oude Kotte (Konajra), Neverroads, Ruben Ras (workfromtheheart) and JeroenD (in random order).

The individual elements, such as the cafe-corner compatible buildings (such as the ones by Tijger-San pictured above) are nice, but the whole display is one of those ‘whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ kind of things. You could walk around this and would keep noticing new things. If you want to get an impression of what it must looked like to members of the audience, check out Erik’s video.

10232 Palace Cinema available now for VIP Program members [News]

The latest modular LEGO building isn’t officially out until next month, but if you’re a LEGO VIP Program member, you can order 10232 Palace Cinema today. Make sure you’re logged in over on LEGO.com before clicking through from here.

Photo above links to the page for US readers.

UK readers: 10232 Palace Cinema
Canadian readers: 10232 Palace Cinema

10232 Palace Cinema officially unveiled – new modular LEGO set [News]

The newest LEGO set in the modular building line, 10232 Palace Cinema is being officially unveiled this evening at BrickFair Alabama in Birmingham. Though LEGO’s official photos surfaced earlier this month, this is the first time we’ve gotten details about pricing and release date. 10232 Palace Cinema will return the line to its traditional price point of $150 USD for 2,194 pieces and 6 minifigs, with a release date in March.

Naturally, Palace Cinema connects to all the other modular buildings.

The set comes with an open-top stretch limo.

The interior includes seats, a projector & screen, and concession stand.

I’ve uploaded all the photos to a photoset on Flickr.

Here’s the official announcement from LEGO:

10232 Palace Cinema

Ages 16+. 2,194 pieces.
US $149.99 CA $199.99 DE 139,99€ UK 119.99 £ DK 1,099.00 DKK

Build a grand premiere at the Palace Cinema!

It’s premiere night at the Palace Cinema! Illuminate the night sky with the spotlights as the child star arrives in a fancy black limousine! Gather the crowd on the star-studded sidewalk, then head into the detailed lobby with a concession stand and ticket area! Take the grand staircase into the theater with a large screen, movie projector and reclining chairs for 6 minifigures. Introducing the latest addition to the LEGO® Modular Buildings series, the highly detailed, 2-story Palace Cinema corner building. This collectible model features a sidewalk of the stars, brick-built entrance doors, posters, sign frontage, a tower with spires and rooftop decorations. Includes 6 minifigures: child actress, chauffeur, female guest, male guest, photographer and cinema worker.

Includes 6 minifigures: child star, chauffeur, female guest, male guest, photographer and cinema worker

Features brick-built entrance doors, posters, sign frontage, tower with spires and rooftop decoration, lobby, concession stand, ticket area, staircase, big screen, projector and reclining seats for 6 minifigures

Vehicles include classic-style limousine

Hard-to-find elements include a red baseplate and dark tan, dark red, and gold pieces

Seat a 6-minifigure audience in the reclining seats!

Play on the star-studded sidewalk, in the detailed lobby or in the big-screen theater!

Collect and build an entire town with the LEGO® Modular Buildings collection: 10224 Town Hall, 10218 Pet Shop and 10211 Grand Emporium!

Palace Cinema measures 15″ (38cm) high, 10″ (25.5cm) wide, and 10″ (25.5cm) deep

Limousine measures 1.6″ (4cm) high, 5.9″ (15cm) long, and 1.9″ (5cm) wide

Available for sale directly through LEGO® beginning

March 2013 via shop.LEGO.com, LEGO® Stores or via phone

A house from Lille-Fives

I don’t often blog “modular houses” as I find them a little dime-a-dozen. However Richard “lafabrick” enticed me to break this habit as he has made such an impressive reproduction of a house in the Fives to Lille neighbourhood in France. This house is so cleverly made it’s probably the first (and likely the only) time I’ve ever allowed four examples of techniques from a single model into the LEGO Techniques group.

Anu puts brick bricks to good use

The 2012 LEGO City sets were the first to include the new “brick bricks” more than six months ago, but it’s only recently that LEGO builders have accumulated enough of the new element to build something substantial with them. Anu Pehrson treats us to a lovely modular building full of rich colors and wonderful details. The fluted columns on the second story are a great touch.

Home Insurance Building

My friend Gordan Grguric just finished his long term project – Home Insurance Building in Chicago. Built in 1884, it is considered to be the World’s first skyscraper – you can read more on the topic on Wikipedia. As the building was demolished, Gordan used old photographs and postcards to reproduce it in LEGO bricks.

Model counts more than 80.000 bricks, and is completely modular – separates into 60 segments for easier transportation. It will be displayed on Brickworld in Chicago for the first time, so if you’re near, be sure to visit.

10224 Town Hall officially unveiled – due out March 2012 [News]

It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly five years since 10182 Cafe Corner was released. The latest LEGO Exclusive addition to the modular building series takes the structure’s scale to a new level, with the 2,766-piece 10224 Town Hall, due out next month.

See all the photos in my photoset on Flickr.

10224 Town Hall

Ages 14+. 2,766 pieces.
US $199.99 CA $249.99 DE 179.99 € UK 149.99 £ DK 1499 DKK
Keep the wheels of commerce turning with the authentic Town Hall!

This classic 3-storey town hall building is the latest addition to the LEGO® Modular Buildings series. This highly-detailed model features large entrance-way columns and coat of arms, a tall bell tower with clock and a large skylight giving a view inside the building. On the ground floor, the large hall, tax office and auditorium are perfect for servicing the town’s citizens. Take the working elevator up to the secretary and mayor’s offices on the second floor, furnished eloquently with desks, chairs, paintings and even a frog sculpture. There’s even a balcony for addressing the town’s citizens. On the third floor, a spacious meeting room features a large conference table, chairs, globe and plants. Includes 8 minifigures: mayor, secretary, bride and groom, press woman, janitor and 2 children.

Includes 8 minifigures: mayor, secretary, bride and groom, press woman, janitor and 2 children

Features painting, desks, chairs, sculpture, lamp, conference table, globe, plants and bench

Functioning elevator with space for 2 minifigures and ladder access to roof

Bell tower features bench and maintenance ladder

Roof features skylight with view inside the building

Measures 10” (25.5 cm) wide and 20” (50 cm) high

Address the citizens from the balcony!

Combine with other LEGO® Modular buildings like the 10218 Pet Shop and 10211 Grand Emporium!

New modular building 10224 Town Hall revealed [News]

Official photos of the latest addition to the modular building line surfaced recently. At 2766 pieces with 8 minifigs, 10224 Town Hall appears to be the largest modular building to date.

Here it is with the other recent modular buildings:

Our contacts at LEGO promise to share details about pricing and availability closer to the official announcement, but enjoy the photos for now.

Art Nouveau inspired modular bank

The combination of exotic colors and shapes from nature in Dita Svelte‘s modular bank makes this a standout build among fan-made modular buildings. The different gradients of green and earth tones add a complex layer of texture on top of that formed by the bricks.