I'm thinking of buying a modular set and can't decide which one, any advice?

mattynicklin

I am looking at buying one of the modular sets and not sure which one.

I would like to play with the set with my daughter but i don't know which is the better one.

I wanted the fire brigade, but it looks like that is out.

Also which is the best one for value for money?

The sets i'm looking at are:

10224: Town Hall
10243: Parisian Restaurant
10185: Green Grocer
10232: Palace Cinema
10211: Grand Emporium
10182: Cafe Corner
10218: Pet Shop

mattynicklin

I'm guessing also Parisian Restaurant, green grocer and cafe corner are out too.

theLEGOman

The modulars have a cycle, once they are discontinued they start to get expensive.

If you like it, the Grand Emporium is most likely on its way out at the moment, so get one if you can. Cafe Corner and the Green Grocer are both retired and very expensive, the fire brigade is retired and circa 2x RRP at the moment.

The newer sets seem to have more detail packed in them, i liked the Palace Cinema i have and the Parisian Restaurant is packed with detail.

If you want to collect as many as you can start with the oldest still available GE, if you just want a one off go for the one you like the most, the colour scheme and detail of the Parisian Restaurant seems to be liked by alot of females, old and young.

CCC

I'd ask your daughter which one she likes the look of. If she is like most kids, if she doesn't like the one you've bought, then she is less likely to get much use out of it.

mountebank

Haunted House. #10228

Paperballpark

^ Haunted House is not a modular.

As @theLEGOman said, It really depends if you're intending to start collecting them. If so, go with Grand Emporium, as it'll be the next to retire. If not, then go with whichever you both like the look of most.

mattynicklin

If I was going to buy one and then open it build etc, I know it would hurt the resale value but say I did want to sell it later on, would i still be able to get a fair chunk of money back even if it is used etc when they discontinue the set?

Matthew

Probably, yes. If you take a look at the current rates for used copies of Fire Brigade it should give you an idea of what to expect.

msanders

I would ask yourself:

1) Do you just want ONE modular. If so I would go for the Parisian restaurant. Its such a lovely build and packed with loads of details. However, have you considered the Simpsons house or Haunted house? These are really good fun with lots of play features, although as pointed out these not strictly speaking modulars.

2) Do you want to buy your first modular in a series of purchase? If you're like many of us that started along the modular route, you will build it and want the others as well. Therefore, you may want to get the one that is retiring soon (Grand Emporium). I'm not too keen on GE to be honest. With so many modulars now, I may have to start choosing which ones to display and GE could be the first to go....

My son absolutely loves playing with the Fire brigade. Its such a lovely modular and in my opinion is worth more than the Town hall, so paying £150 for it wouldn't be so bad.....look out for one on the Marketplace thread.

paul_merton

If I were to buy only ONE modular, I think I'd probably choose a non-modular! Either the #10228 Haunted House, or 71006 The Simpsons House. Or at the more budget end of the spectrum, I'd go for 31026 Bike Shop & Cafe.

But really, the only possible answer for this is to buy whichever one you want.

mountebank

I'm glad to see that other sane voices have joined mine.

To be honest, my attention was caught by this:

I would like to play with the set with my daughter

"What shall we play today daughter, scary monsters in the haunted house or administrative functions exercised by public officials in the town hall?"

Paperballpark

^ Could also be 'do you want to play at shopping?'

mattynicklin

I do want to purchase more than one modular as i think they look fantastic and look to have a lot of detail, that was why i was asking on which one would most likely be the better option to purchase first.

I see that the GE was released in 2010 so it does look like it could be retiring soon, the only problem i have is the price is quite high compared to other sets and i do understand why when you look at the detail in the sets.

I feel that decided to now start purchasing lego this late has put me at a bit of a disadvantage, because i want to be get them all but not being able to all at once and with the sets not being around forever makes it a harder decision.

CCC

Why not accept that you won't get them all (unless you really are going to drop a lot of cash on them) and start collecting the current ones you like from now. Modulars are popular, I doubt they will stop doing them any time soon.

Schwallex

GE is a very repetitive, even outright boring, build throughout. PR is the exact opposite, and also the best value for money hands down.

I mean come on, 2186 parts/292 unique/28 colors vs. 2469 parts/382 unique/33 colors, for the exact same price? I wouldn't hesitate for a second.

But yeah, what everyone else said. Ask your daughter, and if you're getting just one then also consider HH and SH, and if you're getting several then consider the order in which they are retiring.

Matthew

I'll close this thread now in line with forum guidelines as you've had lots of good advice and at this point it really comes down to personal preference.