2017 Modular Building - "Celebrating Modular Buildings' 10th Anniversary!"

stlux

In case anybody is tempted to ship it from the UK to the US: apart from shipping you'll also have to pay import duty. So not sure you'll still come out ahead.
Getting it shipped from the UK to Continental Europe on the other hand... Only Germany will pay EUR 239.99  for #10255; elsewhere it'll be EUR 259.99. 169.99 GBP currently works out as approx EUR 190. Too bad Amazon UK does not stock modulars. (except for 3th party sellers)

ColoradoBricks

I bought several large sets from Amazon UK (Technic), at the time shipping was $7.95 and there is no import duty in the US.
On top of that, sets ordered on a Sunday were delivered on the Wednesday...

stlux

If US customs wave these through: lucky you :)
UK customs are not so nice (likely because they can tack on "handling charges"); Luxembourg customs wave most items through, but you can get unlucky for anything > 100 EUR.

Unfortunately Amazon UK does not have the modulars, so shipping will likely be more than $7.95 for this set. Might still be worthwhile.

Recce

First level of the right side building now complete :-)



Took me lots of tries to build & dismantle the front facade of the Bakery shop to improve on stability.

For some reason, the bakery shop entrance area took much more time to work on than the previous building. Maybe because now have to consider on the structure given it is modular, unlike the previous building which is one non-removable solid block (except the rooftop).

Anyone know which sets come with the single leave with clip? Can't seem to locate it on Brickset.

AllBrick

^^ Possible that part hasn't been made in green before. I feel like I've seen it in Chima in a trans guise.

Recce

AllBrick said:

^^ Possible that part hasn't been made in green before. I feel like I've seen it in Chima in a trans guise.

I thought I saw it in one of the Chima sets before, but can't remember which one.

AllBrick

Definitely some sort of weapon head or something. Having a quick scan........... Now...... Edit: This?......http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=16770#T=C

Recce

AllBrick said:

Definitely some sort of weapon head or something. Having a quick scan........... Now...... Edit: This?......http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=16770#T=C

Thanks! Looks like you're right, no green colour yet. Though after checking my collection I seem to have lots of the Trans-blue one.

dannyrww

madejp86 said:

wait 169.99 pounds is around 200 USD

But the actual US Price is $279. While agree it is a good price for what you get, that would be the most I have ever spent on a single set.

Jola

Recce said:

AllBrick said:

Definitely some sort of weapon head or something. Having a quick scan........... Now...... Edit: This?......http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=16770#T=C

Thanks! Looks like you're right, no green colour yet. Though after checking my collection I seem to have lots of the Trans-blue one.

Or tiger claws in #70222-1

pharmjod

I've ordered thousands of dollars worth of sets from amazon.UK back when you could and never had any import fees. I will definitely  look to importing this set if the price holds. 

TigerMoth

pharmjod said:

I've ordered thousands of dollars worth of sets from amazon.UK back when you could and never had any import fees. I will definitely  look to importing this set if the price holds. 

There's a threshold before they apply. I think it's $200. Perhaps somebody who has a vested interest would like to check.

Even if you're over it, I suspect there's a second, unofficial, threshold before they start arguing the toss.

It may also make a difference if you're looking at a single purchase over the limit (for which it's also easier to check the value) or multiple ones that have a similar total.

Venunder

I wonder what the prison sentence will be for smuggling this Modular into the USA? :)

TigerMoth

Venunder said:

I wonder what the prison sentence will be for smuggling this Modular into the USA? :)

20 years. They don't do things by halves over there, except when it comes to executions.

Venunder

Actually it seems like you get two punishments if you manage to get the Death Penalty.
But that is another discussion for elsewhere.
I think I'll just buy my own Modular and let the Americans visit London for a nice Cheap holiday after the Brexit vote crushed our currency. 
If they leave it a bit longer they might soon get £2 for each dollar.... and I wish I was joking.  

 

Pmh

I do like this set a lot at first sight but there are also a few things I don't like so much.

Best building I think is the building on the right,i do love the tilework on the walls outside,the tower is great and I also like the way they done the glass on the ground floor window. The whole building and accessories have nice shapes.

The middle building imo is the least good building. There are a lot of things I don't like about it. First the roof,it is similar in looks to the roof of the Parisian restaurant but where I love the Parisian restaurant roof I don't like this one. One reason is that it is constructed using just 2 big prefab elements. Another thing I don't like about it is that it is a non functional roof,there is no room below it and the roof is more like a windscreen. Another weak feature of the middle part of the set imo is the fountain. Why is there a fountain there? it makes no sense to me and it takes away some of the sight on the front of the building,the whole scene also becomes a bit to crowded. Maybe instead of a fountain just a simple bench or small tree/flower perk would have been better imo. Then there is the bucket with brooms, not a big fan of this either as it doesn't make much sense to have this at the front of the building. On the back it would have made more sense imo. Then the middle building is a little bit further back then the other 2. I think this gives a great effect on the front, creating a nice space but it does look a bit weird at the back alley with 1 building sticking out.

Then the building on the left I do like a lot,its nice overall and the alley is also a nice feature that I think works very well.

The whole set feels a bit like halve a set,it would be awesome to get 2 of these and double up every one of the 3 buildings to make 3 full seize single modulars. Specially the building on the right would look great when mirrored with 1 tower on each side. Maybe the roof of the middle building can be made functional as well.

Overall it looks like a great set though if you want to be nitpicky then there are a few things that could be better I think.

khmellymel

The front being crowded struck me at first too, but then I realised that all the minifigs in the set are outside and I generally don't display my modulars with the minifigs on the sidewalk.  The bird's eye photo of the first floor looks much less so.

Anonymous

I definitely want this one! Looks awesome :-)  Just need to make space for it next to my other modulars :-S

AllBrick

Pmh said:

The whole set feels a bit like halve a set,it would be awesome to get 2 of these and double up every one of the 3 buildings to make 3 full seize single modulars. Specially the building on the right would look great when mirrored with 1 tower on each side. Maybe the roof of the middle building can be made functional as well.

Could quite easily be the reason that this set is designed and priced the way it is.

Pmh

Hmm true, without all the minifigs it would be less crowded. I still don't like the fountain though,its not only the fact that there is a fountain but also the fountain itself. I think that makes it bad for me is the white color,white is the worst color for lego to have and the white fountain just looks a bit "cheap" ?

Another thing that would look much better in a different color and that has been bothering me with every modular set are the street lights, Black would have been a much better color I think.

Recce

Finally completed the right building! Though right now for interior only the 1st level of Flower shop and Bakery store are detailed, the upper floors all empty. Will have to slowly build up the furnitures for them.

May also redo the left building to make it modular and furnished, though I'm running out of large plates.

AllBrick

Bravo @Recce. 

Recce

AllBrick said:

Bravo @Recce. 

Thanks! 

AustinPowers

I love the Friends bunny instead of the rooster ;-)

And about the price. Really interesting the UK pricing with this. I might be lucky enough to be in England next year. This might be the perfect holiday souvenir - especially as the car won't be stuffed to the brim this time with prerecorded VHS tapes like in the olden days ;-)

TigerMoth

AustinPowers said:

I might be lucky enough to be in England next year.

So you've got your visa then?

graphite

Isn't Austin Powers from England?

chrisalddin

graphite said:

Isn't Austin Powers from England?

i can neither confirm, nor deny, that.

TigerMoth

graphite said:

Isn't Austin Powers from England?

That doesn't mean we have to let him back in; would you?

fourstud

Recce said:

Finally completed the right building! Though right now for interior only the 1st level of Flower shop and Bakery store are detailed, the upper floors all empty. Will have to slowly build up the furnitures for them.

May also redo the left building to make it modular and furnished, though I'm running out of large plates.

Is that building made of drawers?

Recce

AustinPowers said:

I love the Friends bunny instead of the rooster ;-)

I'm thinking of replacing it with a spider as it's more symmetrical :))

nhyone

@Recce, did you make this from your loose pieces?

Recreating a set from pictures is a skill I aspire to acquire. :-D I find that following the instruction booklet is like painting-by-number.

Ma1234

stlux said:

In case anybody is tempted to ship it from the UK to the US: apart from shipping you'll also have to pay import duty. So not sure you'll still come out ahead.
Getting it shipped from the UK to Continental Europe on the other hand... Only Germany will pay EUR 239.99  for #10255; elsewhere it'll be EUR 259.99. 169.99 GBP currently works out as approx EUR 190. Too bad Amazon UK does not stock modulars. (except for 3th party sellers)

Import duty on a $200 toy from UK to U.S. is $0. 

Recce

nhyone said:

@Recce, did you make this from your loose pieces?

Recreating a set from pictures is a skill I aspire to acquire. :-D I find that following the instruction booklet is like painting-by-number.

Yes, mostly built from my loose parts, though had to swap out parts from some of my other built up sets when needed.

I think the biggest challenge has to be recreating models that use official sets (i.e. alternate builds) just from looking at the photos. No mistake allowed as all parts have to be accounted for in the model, unlike free models such as this where you can choose to use any method or bricks to create the same look.

Recce

CM4S said:

Recce said:

Finally completed the right building! Though right now for interior only the 1st level of Flower shop and Bakery store are detailed, the upper floors all empty. Will have to slowly build up the furnitures for them.

May also redo the left building to make it modular and furnished, though I'm running out of large plates.

Is that building made of drawers?

LOL, to be fair, the official set already had quite a few drawers up front! :-)

I was thinking whether to replace it with Reddish Brown tiles but then it looked too contrasty with the orange cheese, so decided to go with below.

Recce

Just to add that I do have lots of 1x2 tiles ready at hand in Pink, Purple, Lime Green but it'd be too colourful.

AustinPowers

TigerMoth said:

graphite said:

Isn't Austin Powers from England?

That doesn't mean we have to let him back in; would you?

I am German. But we have many friends in England, and I was there on holiday for a month each year from 1979 to 1998, with only two exceptions. So forgive me if I feel a least partly like a Brit ;-)

After all, my favorite TV shows are Red Dwarf, Fawlty Towers, Keeping up Appearances, Men of the World and Blockbusters (the original with "can I have a P please" - Bob Holness of course), my favorite movies are Clockwise, Life of Brian, and The Full Monty, my favorite sweets are Rowntrees Fruit Pastilles, ...

And my favorite toy during those summer holidays were the Bayko bricks of one of our friends. Almost as much fun as Lego - but with the added thrill that you could poke your eyes out with those metal rods ;-))

TigerMoth

AustinPowers said:

TigerMoth said:

graphite said:

Isn't Austin Powers from England?

That doesn't mean we have to let him back in; would you?

I am German.

There's a space in there that makes a great deal of difference - you wouldn't want a space!

Briking

^ ??  Ok, I'll bite.  Why wouldn't he want a space?

TigerMoth

Briking said:

^ ??  Ok, I'll bite.  Why wouldn't he want a space?

Because he'd then be Austin Powers - and as I said, would you let him in? @AustinPowers is different but it's possible he might soon require a visa.

AdeelZubair

I just noticed the price for #10255 - Assembly Square has increased from £169.99 to £179.99, they are being very sneaky...

Press Release: http://brickset.com/article/24033/10255-assembly-square-press-release

Product Page: https://shop.lego.com/en-GB/Assembly-Square-10255

It's exactly what I feared :/

Bumblepants

Typical. Same thing happened with the F40 going from $89 in the press release to $99. Still a decent price but sloppy PR like this is discouraging.

AdeelZubair

^^Yup, another example is #10228 - Haunted House from £119.99 to £149.99.

khmellymel

I kind of expected it actually, I'm just relieved it's only a tenner...it could easily have been another HH methinks!

Briking

That was the first tenner.  Plenty of time for them to turn the handle again.

AdeelZubair

£119.99 (32x32) - £120 / 2 = £60
£179.99 (32x48) - £180 / 3 = £60

£179.99 is totally fair; I'll take it!

JudgeChuck

^Yup, I'm still okay with the pricing. Just don't increase it any more, TLG!

Venunder

I will not argue with a set that is fairly priced. £55 for each building was.
£60 for each building is beginning to be a ripoff.
Anymore, is just profiteering.

tallblocktoo

Strange that a company like TLG can't get their pricing right the first time.  Doesn't look so good.  Set a price and stick with it!

SithLord196

Luckily no increase for the U.S. it appears. 

I remember that mess with the Ferrari too. It actually soured me on buying it right away.

asrfarinha

And the sterling is rising as well... Looks like it might not be as big a steal as it could be for us in the rest of Europe.
More than a month to go though... things might still change.