2018 Modular Rumours

Humdrum

Adzbadboy said:

Surprised we still haven't even got a single hint of the name or type of building.

Last year was a winner though, they dropped 'assembly square' and people still didn't know what to expect :p I don't think they can repeat that with a more straightforward concept like a school, hospital, library,...

Speedman29

Brikkyy13 said:

There'd be riots in the streets

Really tiny riots though, that took place on streets where every building plot is exactly 32 studs wide, apart form the last place in the street!

gmonkey76

Brikkyy13 said:

Mr_Hobbles said:

Maybe there’s no 2018 modular? Maybe TLG went “k, that’s it. 10 years is enough. We’re done now.”? :p

There'd be riots in the streets

As long as it's not in front of Market Street will be fine.

MrJackson

gmonkey76 said:

As long as it's not in front of Market Street will be fine.

I've never understood the hate for Market Street. It's certainly not up to the level of the newer ones (Grand Emporium forward in my opinion) but I don't see why it experiences the level of disdain that it does. I think conceptually it's a cool idea with the two half baseplates and while you could make the point that the left half seems useless I would argue that it goes better than any of the other buildings sitting on the right of the Parisian Restaurant. This way the diners on the balcony aren't staring directly into a wall. Also, regarding of the use of the term "modular", Market Street actually IS modular in the sense that the various subsections ("modules") can be recombined in a number of different ways. Despite flaws in execution, the newer creator 3-in-1s like #31068 Modular Modern Home also use the term correctly. Strictly speaking, what we think of modulars aren't really modulars at all other than the various ways you can combine them, or spend more money on duplicates and make extra floors. 

Also, honorable mention for Ninjago City being a part of the Modular Line. 

madforLEGO

Mr_Hobbles said:

Maybe there’s no 2018 modular? Maybe TLG went “k, that’s it. 10 years is enough. We’re done now.”? :p

I have to admit, my wallet would not be heartbroken by this.

Mr_Cross

How about a modular modular? A terraced house, half or a third of the regular width? £59 - £69 per set, comes with three coloured doors (maybe?) to choose from and extra parts and instructions to modify each house if you buy multiples. Maybe even a kind of 3in1 element where you can build two slightly different houses or an almost mirror image house...

sonsofsceva

I would like a modular which contains a neighborhood garage with enough room for a hydraulic lift (a pit would be awesome, but not remotely practical for building).

SumoLego

MrJackson said:
I've never understood the hate for Market Street.

Also, honorable mention for Ninjago City being a part of the Modular Line. 

You've almost hit the trifecta of AFOL modular hot-buttons.  You forgot to mention that if you Bricklink a modular, you don't really 'own' a modular.

So, for all of of the modular building collectors out there - Market Street is a modular building, but has marked design flaws and clearly didn't have the same consortium of design talent that the rest of the line enjoys.  (Including access to 'rare' or new pieces.)

Ninjago City is of modular scale, but not part of the delineated modular building line.  (Like the GBHQ, Fishing Shop, Simpson buildings, and fairground Creator sets.)  And anything with friction pins.

CaptainRogers

@SumoLego such wisdom... You too, like the Special Emmet,  must have met 'the man upstairs'. 

FollowsClosely

I would not be surprised if the next new modular is a late spring/early summer release.

Aanchir

SumoLego said:

MrJackson said:
I've never understood the hate for Market Street.

Also, honorable mention for Ninjago City being a part of the Modular Line. 

You've almost hit the trifecta of AFOL modular hot-buttons.  You forgot to mention that if you Bricklink a modular, you don't really 'own' a modular.

So, for all of of the modular building collectors out there - Market Street is a modular building, but has marked design flaws and clearly didn't have the same consortium of design talent that the rest of the line enjoys.  (Including access to 'rare' or new pieces.)

Ninjago City is of modular scale, but not part of the delineated modular building line.  (Like the GBHQ, Fishing Shop, Simpson buildings, and fairground Creator sets.)  And anything with friction pins.

I don't think it's quite fair to treat Ninjago City as equivalent to all those other buildings. It's at least designed to be compatible with the Modular Buildings series, which can't be said for any of those others.

I know the idea that "friction pins=modular building" is sort of a running joke here, but having friction pins at specific points along the sides is one of the few rules of modular buildings established way back in 2007. It's never just been a matter of being a big pretty building designed for teens and adults, which is really the only argument anybody could make for including sets like Firehouse Headquarters, Temple of Airjitzu, or Old Fishing Store.

I think it probably makes the most sense to say that Ninjago City is a modular building, but not specifically a part of the Modular Buildings series. Same as how there are fairground-type sets out there that are not a part of the Fairgrounds series.

SumoLego

Strictly speaking,  it's not under the Creator banner, but we all know that doesn't mean it won't show up in the '20 years of LEGO modular city' design video in 2026.

And even though it is of modular scale, it's clearly too big as a conventional modular.  (Considering it dwarfs the Town Hall, which dwarfs the rest of the line.)

I really would like to see 'more' of the Ninjago City - but I doubt there's a strong market for multiple Ninjago City sets.  (But it would have been genius to have four different builds for the set.  I would have been first in line to buy one per build...)

Aanchir

SumoLego said:

Strictly speaking,  it's not under the Creator banner, but we all know that doesn't mean it won't show up in the '20 years of LEGO modular city' design video in 2026.

And even though it is of modular scale, it's clearly too big as a conventional modular.  (Considering it dwarfs the Town Hall, which dwarfs the rest of the line.)

I really would like to see 'more' of the Ninjago City - but I doubt there's a strong market for multiple Ninjago City sets.  (But it would have been genius to have four different builds for the set.  I would have been first in line to buy one per build...)

Part of me wonders if Ninjago City might pave the way for other theme-specific modular buildings in the future. I mean, a Nexo Knights or Elves modular building might be too "out there" given how they don't have particularly urban settings, but I could certainly envision modular buildings for, say, Super Heroes, or The LEGO Movie Sequel, or whatever the next secret agent theme winds up being.

Overall, though, I feel like the Ninjago City set's colossal 3-tier design and vaguely cyberpunk aesthetic feel like more of an invitation for MOCists to continue the city themselves than a sign of things to come in future sets.

Paperballpark

Someone should build a Galidor Modular Building. @iainy73?

SumoLego

Maybe we'll get a three-tier Space Police headquarters?  That would be most excellent.

piratemania7

What about a law firm? We have the DO. Why not...

tallblocktoo

@SumoLego  Sign me up for more Ninjago city!  That set was most excellent and would be awesome if there were other sets of similar architecture to connect it to.  I realize this is unlikely but a guy can dream. 

SumoLego

tallblocktoo said:

@SumoLego  Sign me up for more Ninjago city!  That set was most excellent and would be awesome if there were other sets of similar architecture to connect it to.  I realize this is unlikely but a guy can dream. 

I was just looking for three alternative build instructions.  But I'll take one or two unique sets that tie-in to this one!

And I definitely want the school bus from the movie.  That is just begging for a wave 3 release...

MeganL

>>Part of me wonders if Ninjago City might pave the way for other theme-specific modular buildings in the future.

Almost this exact question was asked at Skaerbaek Fan Weekend yesterday.  The answer is - maybe, if it makes sense.  Jamie Berard answered the question saying that they were flattered that the Ninjago designers decided to make NC compatible with the modulars, and that they'd considered making other sets compatible, such as Haunted House, but that didn't make sense.  What I heard is that they wouldn't rule it out if it seemed logical.

The question if Market Street is a modular was also asked, but I'll save the answer for when I write a summary of the weekend in the next several days.  :-)

Paperballpark

piratemania7 said:

What about a law firm? We have the DO. Why not...

Welcome to the new Lego Law Firm Modular! With lots of play features, including:

• Law Firm on the top floor, with safe, massive desk and mahogany-panelled walls.
• Court building on the bottom floor includes dock, jury box and public gallery.
• Fleece your customers with eye-watering hourly rates!
• Get the intern to do all the paperwork while you enjoy a 3-hour lunch!
• Watch the Junior Lawyer lose the court case, but collect the fees anyway!
• Includes Top Lawyer (with new 'pinstripe suit' print), Junior Lawyer, Intern, Judge, plaintiff, knitting juror, reading juror, and chav juror.

Lyichir

Paperballpark said:

piratemania7 said:

What about a law firm? We have the DO. Why not...

Welcome to the new Lego Law Firm Modular! With lots of play features, including:

• Law Firm on the top floor, with safe, massive desk and mahogany-panelled walls.
• Court building on the bottom floor includes dock, jury box and public gallery.
• Fleece your customers with eye-watering hourly rates!
• Get the intern to do all the paperwork while you enjoy a 3-hour lunch!
• Watch the Junior Lawyer lose the court case, but collect the fees anyway!
• Includes Top Lawyer (with new 'pinstripe suit' print), Junior Lawyer, Intern, Judge, plaintiff, knitting juror, reading juror, and chav juror.

We might be unlikely to see any sort of set revolving around a courtroom (outside of maybe if one shows up as a scene in Super Heroes or some similar license) since both the visual and structural trappings of the legal system can vary quite dramatically from country to country.

SumoLego

^^ You forgot 'Sleeping Juror' and 'Judge checking his/her e-mail or Fantasy Football team'.

sklamb

Lyichir said:

We might be unlikely to see any sort of set revolving around a courtroom (outside of maybe if one shows up as a scene in Super Heroes or some similar license) since both the visual and structural trappings of the legal system can vary quite dramatically from country to country.

True, but given all the plays, movies, and TV shows centered around trials in Britain, I think most people would be very comfortable and happy to use the British system as a model for that of Legoland, especially given its massive layers of pomp and circumstance.

Maybe I should come up with a Rumpole-centric contribution to Ideas?  ;-)

CCC

Ninjago City does have friction pins, they are just in the wrong place.

mustang69

MeganL said:

>>Part of me wonders if Ninjago City might pave the way for other theme-specific modular buildings in the future.

Almost this exact question was asked at Skaerbaek Fan Weekend yesterday.  The answer is - maybe, if it makes sense.  Jamie Berard answered the question saying that they were flattered that the Ninjago designers decided to make NC compatible with the modulars, and that they'd considered making other sets compatible, such as Haunted House, but that didn't make sense.  What I heard is that they wouldn't rule it out if it seemed logical.

Personally I think this was a missed opportunity with the Lego movies. I love the look of Ninjago City (which I did purchase), even though I am not in to the Ninjago theme. I think it would have been awesome if we had gotten something similar related to both the The LEGO Movie as well as The LEGO Batman Movie. TLBM came out this year so I suppose its still possible they could do a set for it (not holding my breath though) but it's been a couple years since TLM so I think the time for that one has passed.  Hopefully going forward they will see the success of #70620 and make similar sets for future movies.

CaptainRogers

^Agreed 100%. It could really change the early 50s Americana downtown look if one wanted. I think making it compatible with modulars but not releasing it under the Modular Building heading is the best option.

Aanchir

CCC said:

Ninjago City does have friction pins, they are just in the wrong place.

Wrong place how, exactly? They're on Technic bricks 9 studs in from the edge of the base, same as all the other Modular Buildings. It does differ from the other buildings in the design and placement of its walkways, but that doesn't have anything to do with the Technic pins that connect it to other buildings.

CCC

Aanchir said:

CCC said:

Ninjago City does have friction pins, they are just in the wrong place.

Wrong place how, exactly? They're on Technic bricks 9 studs in from the edge of the base, same as all the other Modular Buildings. It does differ from the other buildings in the design and placement of its walkways, but that doesn't have anything to do with the Technic pins that connect it to other buildings.

It was a joke. There is the line it is not a modular if it doesn't have pins. Ninjago City has loads of them.

SumoLego

There's no joking about misplacing friction pins.  It can make for some uncomfortable intersections.  This is serious business.

Pmh

Hope they wont go to heAvy on the multi builds. Detective office was greAt,brick bank was good and assembly square was meh, it was first modular i didnt buy.
ninjago city is great,assembly square is not. ITS difficult to tell why lots of Tiny stuff does work for Ninjago but does not work for assembly,

what to make i dont know,i do know what i dont wAnt see though.
no assembly square with 8 Tiny rooms just to put in as many buildings/functions as possible
no hospital
no police station
no train station

Scogali

Paperballpark said:

• Fleece your customers with eye-watering hourly rates!

Hey pay attention, they said they wanted a law firm not a Lego store... :P

Lyichir

Scogali said:

Paperballpark said:

• Fleece your customers with eye-watering hourly rates!

Hey pay attention, they said they wanted a law firm not a Lego store... :P

What Lego stores are you going to where they charge by the hour? o_O

Addicted2Oxygen

@Lyichir Ones in the red brick district

Scogali

Lyichir said:

Scogali said:

Paperballpark said:

• Fleece your customers with eye-watering hourly rates!

Hey pay attention, they said they wanted a law firm not a Lego store... :P

What Lego stores are you going to where they charge by the hour? o_O

Mate I'd pay by the minute if it meant there was more than 1 in all of Australia (or if I weren't 883km from the only one there is...)

legobigbloke

Could be real news soon (hopefully!). Both the Detectives Office and Assembly Square were announced in October. (I think the Brick Bank held out till November).

My only wish is slightly more building and slightly less interior detail. I rarely open up my modulars once built, so all those bits inside are wasted (although they do make the build more interesting I suppose).

MAGNINOMINISUMBRA

^ Don't stress too much mate. Despite the hype, the Dreamworld store ISN'T a LEGO brand store, It's a LEGO certified store.  They don't have VIP points (sale or redemption), they DO have the eye watering OTT Aussie RRP's and unless you're a keychain or tat fan, it's unlikely you'll find anything there to blow your mind. The PAB wall and build a minifig stations are there but fairly exorbitantly priced.  It is pretty cool to see all the flagship sets assembled together though...
EDIT - they also don't get every exclusive,  nor every kids build event.  They don't have any
adult specific events either.  This may have changed in the last few months - despite the fact it's only a 20 minute drive for me (and I expected to live there), I've only ever bothered on a Handfull of occasions.

PapaBear

I would be super surprised if it's not a corner considering we've had 4 years now without one.  What I REALLY want to see is some sort of deli or apartment building or hotel that could be designed as an inward corner so I can line the modulars along the walls of a room.

Paperballpark

^ Brick Bank was a corner last year...

wardm

I’ll be surprised if it IS a corner! 

PapaBear

^^Wow, I'm surprised that I never noticed that.  I still want an inverted one though.

HugeYellowBrick

I'd also like an inward corner. My attempts to MOC a Grand Emporium or Assembly Square corner looked fine at ground level but never gave me the enthusiasm to continue.

MattPetersen

Aanchir said:

SumoLego said:

Strictly speaking,  it's not under the Creator banner, but we all know that doesn't mean it won't show up in the '20 years of LEGO modular city' design video in 2026.

And even though it is of modular scale, it's clearly too big as a conventional modular.  (Considering it dwarfs the Town Hall, which dwarfs the rest of the line.)

I really would like to see 'more' of the Ninjago City - but I doubt there's a strong market for multiple Ninjago City sets.  (But it would have been genius to have four different builds for the set.  I would have been first in line to buy one per build...)

Part of me wonders if Ninjago City might pave the way for other theme-specific modular buildings in the future. I mean, a Nexo Knights or Elves modular building might be too "out there" given how they don't have particularly urban settings, but I could certainly envision modular buildings for, say, Super Heroes, or The LEGO Movie Sequel, or whatever the next secret agent theme winds up being.

Overall, though, I feel like the Ninjago City set's colossal 3-tier design and vaguely cyberpunk aesthetic feel like more of an invitation for MOCists to continue the city themselves than a sign of things to come in future sets.

I'd honestly be ok with that (other lines getting a modular).
If I got a modular DAILY PLANET (for DC superheroes) I'd be super happy! 

VictorLovesToys

I like the idea of a Daily Planet. The sign on top could be pretty awesome but I don't like Marvel being left out. How about a Sanctum Sanctorum?

Fauch

there is one. not modular sized, but the level of details is on par with modulars. my favourite set for this price point.

TheBigLegoski

I would like another Modular set similar to the Petshop set #10218 with two separate buildings on 16x32 base-plates. With shops on the ground-floor and above it at least two storey apartments (above the ground-floor for you Americans ;-P ) with enough room for several minifigs to live together. The apartment above the pet-shop is so tiny, only one minifig can live there, and that apartment/loft does not even have a toilet/bathroom.
Anyway, I would like to see them do a butcher-shop with lots of T-bone steaks like that one piece included with the CMF butcher from series 6, sausages, chicken/turkey legs, a pig etc. The other shop could be a small boutique with women or/and men's clothing, a tailor, or perhaps a record store, a jeweller, a (comic)book store, or an art gallery. Or a tiny hamburger joint (so they can include some of those round 2x2 sesame seed covered buns). Seems like there is still plenty of stuff to include in the modulars before they have done it all. A smartphone store would also be nice.
The designers might even be able to do it in such a way so that you can swap certain items from the apartments (brick build furniture, minifig utensils etc.) with those from the shops/boutiques, and that way transform / rebuild the modular set with some minor tweaks with an alternative build included in the instructions (a little bit similar to the 3 in 1 creator sets) depending on what type of shops you like to have at ground-floor, also with the lettering alongside the facade above the shop window(s), or printed tile pieces included in the set (or stickers; though I prefer printed pieces).

Paperballpark

The main problem with a modular that has two separate buildings is that you have to build the internal walls twice, so you need twice the number of bricks to do that. That inevitably takes away from the amount of bricks you can use for the interior, as demonstrated with one of the Pet Shop houses being completely empty.

TheBigLegoski

@Paperballpark    
You mean the adjoining exterior walls of the two buildings from #10218 when you mentioned the 'internal walls'. Well I have to disagree, and think that is not necessarily true. Compare the following two modular sets:
#10218              2032 pieces
#10246              2262 pieces
Detective's Office has more pieces than Pet Shop, yet both PS and DO at ground-level are two separate buildings. The first floor/storey (second floor for you Americans, and Canadians etc.) of DO utilizes plenty of bricks in internal walls that could/can (with some modifications) function as external walls. Of course if you separate the barbershop from the pool-hall, you will have to redesign the first and second storeys quite extensively (n.b. the pool hall building only has two floors, that is to say no second floor according to British convention), as well as add a staircase to the pool-hall on the ground floor in order to get to the upper-floor etc. but if TLG will design a new modular with two separate buildings like the PS they just might have to up the brick-count with 200 up to 500 pieces. Does not seem like much of a problem to me. Mind you, the Town Hall #10224 has a brick-count of 2766 pieces, another modular set build on a 32x32 baseplate. I am 100% sure that with only the bricks from that particular set you should be able to build two separate two storey (so three floors in total for both) buildings on two 16x32 base plates.

Paperballpark

TheBigLegoski said:

Of course if you separate the barbershop from the pool-hall, you will have to redesign the first and second storeys quite extensively (n.b. the pool hall building only has two floors, that is to say no second floor according to British convention), as well as add a staircase to the pool-hall on the ground floor in order to get to the upper-floor etc.

And therefore use more bricks doing so, which was my point.

TheBigLegoski

@Paperballpark   
But you stated: "you need twice the number of bricks" and that is simply not true, which is why I elaborated on it in my previous comment, comparing several modular sets with each other and accounting for their total piece count as part of my argument; why you do not need twice the number of bricks. DO only contains one black staircase piece, PS contains two staircase elements (a black and a brown one) all the other stairs in the buildings are constructed out of many different small Lego bricks, plates, and tiles, and still PS has 230 less pieces compared to the total piece count of DO. DO has much more interior detail than PS, but with a few hundred more pieces PS equalling that of DO would or rather could have had just as much interior detail as the DO has.
ps.
Anyway, I hope you don't take what I wrote as combative or worse as hostile. I just like the idea of another 2 building modular.

Paperballpark

I thought it was clear from the context that I meant you need twice the number of internal wall bricks...