2022 Modular speculation

bmwlego

The top left hand roof section isn’t properly attached to the last floor. You can see the gap between both sections. I hope there isn’t a quality issue with the elements and that it is just an oversight by the photography/marketing team.

bmwlego

I hope the gap in the upper left hand side of the roof and the floor below it is a result of shoddy attention to detail and not the result of poor quality elements.

Brickchap

@Fizyx Good point. I HATE GWPs though because I ALWAYS miss out on them! Here in Australia we are never sent enough stock, and some Lego Stores don't even get any GWPs.

It's a real shame that all the negativity killed vehicles in modular sets, after all, both police station and this hotel didn't have vehicles, but still feel a tad lacking in detail in my opinion.

I think the parts wasted on the art gallery would have made a lot more sense either on a fountain or more plants in the reception area, and/or a taxi which would have really helped with the story. That's one of my many problems with the newer modulars, they have no stories in them.

Yes, I know its adult based set and all and I don't expect play features, but the little stories like the dating couple in PR, bank robbery and money laundering in BB, the whole sweet Prohibition and Ace Brickman in DO, even Minnie Figure in PC. What does the Hotel have? Why is the older lady so special, is she a movie star, politician?? Who owns the hotel? It always makes modulars more fun having the little details and stories throughout.

I don't think we should have to rely on GWPs to get vintage vehicles, after all, I would completely understand it if people got sick of an old car GWP every year to go with the latest modular building.

I really hope we get a line of sets like Nostalgia Champions (subtheme of Speed Champions) for example with lots of different old cars.

What would be really cool would be some Modular Xtra packs with white street lamps, little typewriter and telephone builds, maybe some potted plants and old fashioned furniture, as well as larger expansion packs with old cars and side builds like a modular park with an old car; that sort of thing. I reckon these would be a hit for adults and modular collectors in general, as well as anyone building a city or just people who like vintage cars!

SumoLego

Perhaps LEGO is doing some sort of forced-perspective experiment on AFOLs.

Slowly decreasing the size of modulars...

Brickfan50

^^ “ What would be really cool would be some Modular Xtra packs”.
This!

PDelahanty

bmwlego said:

Agreed @Fizyx

Modular add on vehicle sets would be great! GWPs sets are well done but can be hard to come by. Make a $12-$25 set that includes a classic automobile or 2 and the adults LEGO is “welcoming” will snap these up too!

Some sets NEED a vehicle.  I couldn't imagine doing a fire station without a fire truck...or a garage without a tow truck or car, but that 50s car in Downtown Diner was unnecessary.  I'm surprised the police station didn't have a car, but really didn't mind.  I prefer my officers to walk their beat so they can better interact with the citizens of my city.  Also, I keep my police budget under control.  ;)

Brickchap

@PDelahanty not sure where bmwlego's reply went but I agree completely! Add on vehicle sets, sold as stand alone sets but 'modular compatible' as 18+ adult sets with more detail than regular City or Creator vehicles.

You are very right in pointing out that some sets need a vehicle. I'm not saying every single modular should have a vehicle, but fire stations should have fire engines, police stations have cars (or at least motorcycles), ambulances for a hospital, and some form of vehicle for the posties whether it be a motorcyle or delivery van, amongst others.

I get what you mean with the DD car, although I like it when Lego adds regular cars here and there (rather than vehicles with a specific purpose like a tow truck or fire truck).

Good idea with the police; to be honest I'm open to 'defunding the police' in Lego City XD, as long as it means more funding for regular civilian sets, hospitals, restaurants etc. haha.

Speaking of civilian sets, what happened to the City People Packs??? I thought they were really popular and they just died. They were great for kids and AFOLs alike.

I'd love a Modular People pack (18+ People Pack might sound a bit weird). I really wish Lego would do more people with era appropriate clothing, hats and hairstyles. We really need more suits and dresses (and not just medieval or super formal stuff either).

Give us the Captain Carter hair in different colours, some fabric skirt pieces, minifigs with aprons (i.e shopkeepers), old fashioned nurses, firemen, policemen, construction workers etc. etc. Some new lady's hat pieces would be really nice too!

MattDawson

@Brickchap
My sentiments exactly. LEGO seem to want to ignore anything between the Medieval period and the modern day (50s onwards) outside of GWP - this hotel could've been good, but instantly the lime green suitcase and modern clothing mean a good chunk of the figures are wasted; again, the art gallery is nice but the Modulars originally seemed to want to appeal to that 1930s-1950s era.

GWP vehicles (or perhaps a line of retro-esque vehicles) would go down well; however, almost all of my needs have now been met by JohnniD's instructions via Rebrickable, and TBH I don't think LEGO CAN design good "old school" vehicles.

Perhaps this would be a good time for the prohibition theme be returned, but as the prohibition of cookies (as per the story in Detective's Office?) 

Brickchap

@MattDawson Glad to finally meet someone with the same thoughts on this matter!

You are very correct to point out the lets say 1492-1970 gap (I dont think Lego really cares or does much for the 1950s or 1960s either).

Interestingly, I have found the same problem with history courses in general (at least here in Australia), where there is a vague 'castles and knights and Crusades' overview of the Middle Ages then a bit on the slave trade and colonialism then WW1 (which apparently was just Gallipoli and the Western Front...it wasn't until late high school when I took Modern History I learnt just how much of the Western Front was held by the French) and that's it. (there were a few other topics but you get the point).

We completely ignore things like The Enlightenment, The Renaissance, The Thirty Years War, 1 Hundred Years War, Treaty of Westphalia, French and American Revolutions, American Civil War, Unification of Germany and Italy etc. etc.

To return to Lego, Just2Good did a video on some themes that were never made, including a really cool 18th century one I think it was called Europa? It had Imperials style soldiers, Dutch type buildings, ladies with those big Georgian hairstyles etc. There was also a sort of Elizabethan era one which was basically Castle theme but more civilian based and my personal favourite, a Prohibition theme!

It had lots of 1920s cars (awesome), gangsters, a motor yacht, barber shop, possibly  a post office? Basically Town but with old cars and gangsters.

I completely agree that the Prohibition era modulars would be a good era, especially if they included a 1920s van/truck with illegal sweets hidden inside. It would also be really cool each modular having a secret passage or hiding area to smuggle the illegal sweets in. We still need a vintage police car... and the police uniform introduced in Police Station would go quite well for a U.S prohibition modular.

Very happy that I'm not the only one who cringed at that modern suitcase. There's absolutely nothing wrong with the traditional suitcase piece (especially since they already used it for the businessman) and particularly as the suitcase works best with the luggage trolley. But if you were going to go to the trouble of doing 1930's lamps, a typewriter, rotary telephone, 1950s television, why ruin it with a modern suitcase? It's not as though a traditional port (not sure if its just us Aussies who call them ports) is a rare or really old piece.

Modern clothing really annoys me with the modulars.

The gallery owner is way too modern though (even her glasses and as someone who wears glasses I would know haha). It would have been really cool to get another 'cat's eyes' type glasses print like the Diner Waitress CMF had. These could also be used in a modern setting as 1950s dresses and glasses are still popular with young women. (young and middle aged I should say).

The backpacker was also too modern, but even if the hotel had been modern, I've never heard of a backpacker staying at a boutique hotel. Backpackers stay at youth hostels, B&Bs or hotels like the one in Cafe Corner. Boutique Hotel (especially given the staff uniforms) looks more like the Savoy, Ritz type hotel so it makes no sense in any era to have a backpacker.

I would have liked to have seen a older Minnie Figure with either 'teenage' legs (introduced in Harry Potter) or regular 'adult' legs, as the one staying in the most expensive suite since that would give the hotel a story, and make a much clearer connection to past modulars then some random post it board.

Police Station is a good example of where Lego has got it wrong, they went to the effort of making new 1940's US police uniforms, the donut lady was fine I guess but then the donut thief had a modern jacket! All they needed to do was use a more era appropriate shirt and it would have been fine.

Palace Cinema and Detective's Office were both good as each minifigure in those sets had era appropriate clothing. It's not that hard to chuck in a suit or nice blouse/dress.

Even the businessman's 'suit' in the hotel wasn't right, it is a modern waistcoat he's wearing. A new business suit print would have been great (and still perfectly useful for a modern set), or they could have at least reused prints like in Brick Bank; there was even a suit piece in a Overwatch set they could have used.

I'm also very disappointed that despite creating a whole new dress piece, it has never been used in a modular set. In the 1930s-1950s, women wore dresses! Or skirts. (and many women still do wear dresses or skirts) Some did wear 'slacks' and I don't worry too much about them using regular Lego leg pieces, but it would be really nice to see some fabric skirt pieces included (they did so for Minnie and Daisy Duck), the hard plastic 1950s skirt piece (also used for Minnie Mouse, Alice in Wonderland etc.) or a new print for the dress piece. I thought the use of the sailor hat for a pillbox was a great idea in that Fantastic Beasts set, why couldn't that idea be reused in the modulars??

A line of vintage, retro and classic vehicles would be very popular since you have people like us who want to populate our modulars and wider cities with old cars, people who just like old cars, people who like all cars (they might be a big Ford fan or Mercedes or whatever it is), or any number of reasons (eg here's a ute like my grandfather has etc.). Sure, it wouldn't be Lego's most popular theme but Lego clearly doesn't mind catering towards specific or niche markets so I dont know why they haven't done a theme like this yet.

Side note: A 1930's racetrack playset with 'Monopoly car'/W25 Silver Arrow etc. type race cars would be super cool. Get some nice old camera builds in there, maybe a vintage tow truck, some retro bowsers (petrol pumps), some printed or stickered tiles with 'hand written' messages for the drivers (slow down, over take etc.)

I'm a little all over the shop here but I agree about the art gallery. Too modern once again. And like the backpacker, it doesn't make any sense in any era. Here's a big expensive Ritz hotel...and a random tiny gallery jammed on the side. They would have been much better off with a small cafe and some seating outside as well as the seating upstairs, or better still, left off that section of the build entirely and allowed more space for the entire building. In fact I'd have rather them used the gallery parts for a vintage taxi or saloon car build. This weird inclusion also means that those who wanted a modular art gallery will probably never get one now as it has already been done.

What would be cool is a new theme sort of like Fabuland or Winter Village, with old fashioned houses, vehicles, clothing etc. Create Your Own Vintage Village or something. In general I wish Lego would do more things from the 20th century, especially pre 1960.

Phoenixio

I don't want to necessarily cut this discussion short as there probably is room for it, but do remember one thing: LEGO bricks are toys with kids as the main audience.  Kids like medieval stuff, police and firefighters, and ponies.  Those are the things that will sell the most for them.

Now there are lines for adults (kids at heart really), but that doesn't mean they'll go beyond being a toys company to make super accurate models of the 1920s-1970s. Those aren't years with a whole lot of stereotypes that kids can play around with, unfortunately.  "Play as a coal miner, struggling with his life, organizing the first worker's unions."   Nah, they'll give us Rock Raiders again instead.

As for the modulars, I see all of them as period pieces, but in a modern setup.  They are somewhat meant to fit with the City stuff I'd say.  Most of them have era-independent minifigs, and the couple that have that vintage look are meant to as a disguise/gimmick for the store/restaurant to attract clients.  I don't think any of them are hard-set into their olden days. 

And then anyways you'd have all the clashing styles that were never all present in a single city.

I love the new modular, I think it brings a lot to the line, and it's a style you might not be used to in Europe or Australia, but it screams American city in its design.  Older American cities cramped together a lot of buildings when the cities grew, it's not unusual to see buildings with weird shapes, and then newer smaller buildings in the holes so as to not waste downtown space.  Go walk down old Montreal and see how many art galleries there are, always fairly small, always filling up empty space.

Brickchap

@Phoenixio Some fair points here!

I would strongly disagree with your description of the 1920s-1970s though. There's lots of fun stuff kids could do whether it be gangsters, rock n rollers, Cold War/Space Race, inter war adventuring (i.e Adventurers/Indiana Jones) (those are all just examples) or just general life in a different time. There's nothing wrong with a vintage fire engine or a steam shovel or 1950s airliner to give something different then the same old same old modern City designs.

Not sure I agree with the period pieces/modern set up thing. Some modulars like Bookstore are generic, but many like Police Station, Palace Cinema, Fire Brigade, Corner Garage, Downtown Diner, Assembly Square, Detective's Office for example are clearly a specific era and it doesn't make sense having it as modern, let alone half modern like Town Hall (computer at reception but journalist using 1930's camera), Brick Bank (secretary using typewriter next to a modern espresso machine, very traditional office and vintage bank manager, modern glass but then old vault and counting machine), or even Boutique Hotel (the whole hotel itself is basically 1930s-1950s with typewriter, 1930s lamp, rotary telephone, 1950s television etc., but then a modern gallery).

Lego should pick an era and stick to it. I personally like to build within the 1930s-1950s time frame, and will stick to that timeframe. If I'm building something modern, then I won't add random old stuff that doesn't fit. Detective's Office for example was obviously Prohibition so 1920s/1930s America. I think the designers did a great job of that, whether it be the old ceiling fan, the 1930s desk lamp, the clothing, water tower etc.

Corner Garage on the other hand was 1950s so we had a great television (should have been thicker but I understand them needing to fit it in the 45 degree space), retro petrol pump, 1940s/50s tow truck; all good. The Vespa scooter was also within reason for the era.

If Lego and fans go to the trouble of doing certain architectural styles, like Parisian or Streamline Moderne for example, then I really don't see why the same effort can't be put into keeping to a specific era? If they want to make the modulars modern, fine, do modern. Don't give us old cars and old furniture and old minifigs and then turn around and be like 'Oh by the way its also modern/present day'.

As for the hotel being American, yeah I can see that. Personally I prefer European buildings but that's just me.

I don't think American city designs should be an excuse for the gallery though, we could have had a decent sized art gallery modular with some larger exhibits (and not just Cubist art), and left the hotel to be a hotel.

Usually I'm all for multiple businesses; Detective's Office and Assembly Square were great. The donut store in Police Station was a little 'forced' (didn't look natural), but the idea of a donut store right next to an American police station is fun.

Hotel and random, tiny art gallery though? Nope. As I said, a cafe would have made more sense (multiple cafes is fine for a city, even in my small ish Australian town the main street would be at least 50% of businesses are cafes)

Astrobricks

Time to switch to 2023 speculation and wish lists. 2022 has been decided.

Paperballpark

I do think there's a fair amount of overthinking going on here.

I mean, who made buildings out of plastic in the 1920s?! The buildings are therefore inaccurate and the sets should have stone and brick elements in them rather than plastic.

560Heliport

I never had the impression that the modulars were supposed to be set in some past time- rather, there are buildings of various ages in a city.

TheOriginalSimonB

^I agree - even the few vehicles included could equally be preserved/historic.  Just because there are only "old" ones to date doesn't stop modern ones appearing later.

Brickchap

@560Heliport @TheOriginalSimonB

The buildings themselves can be of various ages (plenty of cities have older buildings). However, if Lego is going to specify an era by the furniture, clothing of the minifigs and vehicles, then they should stick to that, at least for that particular modular.

Look at palace cinema, it has a black and white movie playing and an 'exposed' projector (normally they are hidden in a room). Only very early films like Edwardian times used projectors completely exposed to the audience. The clothing was also clearly old fashioned. The designers even said it was based on 1930's Hollywood.

Look at Assembly Square. When is the last time you saw a photographer use a camera like that? Or a lady pushing a pram like that? Or look at town hall, I've never seen news reporters using 1930s cameras thesedays...

You are correct to say that the modulars can be any era, after all we have had some in the 1920s (if you want to get technical about Prohibition), a couple in the 50s, some in the 1930s etc.

But if Lego goes and makes the interior of a modular clearly all a specific time period, like in Hotel, then it only makes sense for them to make the scene to that era.

What kind of a hotel thesedays has a working 1950s television (and nothing else), a rotary phone at reception which is still used, a typewriter provided for businessmen (which takes up nearly the whole desk so it would be silly if its just there for 'show').

Yes, vintage cars could just be old ones driving around in the present day, but the 1940s/50s tow truck and the 1930s/40s fire truck in Fire Brigade are both still clearly in use (as is the retro petrol pump in Corner Garage).

Have you seen any petrol stations using retro petrol pumps recently? Or when you call the NRMA, AA, whatever your breakdown service is, do they turn up in a truck from 60 or 70 years ago???

If Lego wants to make a modern modular, and let us say they include a modern vehicle, fine, they can do that. But as I've said before if you go to the trouble of making all this old stuff why only do half a job?

It's like making a Japanese restaurant but then 3/4 of the roof and all the walls are German architecture and the foodstuffs served are bread, hot dogs and cream pies. Now in this case a Japanese restaurant could have those things, but it should have proper Japanese architecture (even if it is just a little bit for one section of a 'regular' building, and you would expect it to have at least some Japanese food.

You wouldn't make a modern hospital but then have patients delivered in a 1920s ambulance and have some nurses in cap and gowns and others in scrubs and modern uniforms. It just doesn't make sense.

Astrobricks

Overthink much?

Brickchap

@Astrobricks How am I overthinking it? This is a perfectly reasonable concern having half old, half new for no reason.

People can disagree with me if they want but please explain how my opinion is 'overthinking it' but those arguing against me aren't 'overthinking it'?

Phoenixio

Brickchap said:

People can disagree with me if they want but please explain how my opinion is 'overthinking it' but those arguing against me aren't 'overthinking it'?

Probably because it took you multiple posts of lengthy paragraphs, whereas most of us just go with "they're antique places in a modern setting" and just accept the premise.

Not that there's anything wrong with your wishes, but I've seen cops dressed old-fashioned, I've seen firefighters in a parade with old trucs, I've seen old garages that didn't update, I've seen those hipster old-school film projectors, etc.  If it works, and attracts an audience, why change it?  So that's what the modulars are to me, a nod to the old, fitting in a modern city.

Brickchap

@Phoenixio well I shouldn't have to just 'accept the premise' since that's only your opinion, and by lengthy paragraphs I was merely arguing my point (rather then just dumping one sentence opinions out there and expecting everyone else to accept it as fact).

You raise some good points about why historic things might be in a supposedly contemporary setting, but I would like to know from all those arguing against my points, what on earth is wrong with keeping to a historical time period?

(by historical time period I refer to whatever era that modular is supposed to be, like 1930s for palace cinema for example)

Clearly Lego is capable of making modulars that are all within the time period, like palace cinema and detective's office, so why not the others?

As I've said previously, if Lego has gone to the trouble of designing a new 1940's police uniform, as well as making 1940s furnishings, then why not finish the job by adding a torso for the newspaper man that is appropriate for the 1940s as well? It's not that hard.

Does every modular have to be old? Of course not. Bookstore, Grand Emporium and Pet Store for example are more or less generic. But if you make something predominantly old then it should be all old, after all that makes the set more fun.

Phoenixio

It's because it's a series, meant to make one big town together.  And people go from that to make the assumption it's historical pieces in a modern setting.  Because otherwise there's a lot of time travelling from one piece of sidewalk to the next.  If they really had intended for them to be historical pieces, they certainly wouldn't have pushed the connectivity between sets, and instead would have released each of them like Architecture sets or Ideas sets, like the Fishing Store.

And again, you're more than welcomed to think it's more "fun" when it's historically precise, but that's extremely subjective and your opinion only (so far on this thread).  I just don't think that fits Lego's modus operandi, they're not historical detail oriented at all.  And of all the 1920-1970 themes you mentioned earlier, the only one they ever touched was Indiana Jones / Johnny Thunder, because that's the only one which will work with kids.

Let's remember that despite the modulars being marketed towards adults nowadays, they're also 15 years old or so, and the company's policy towards adult wasn't as extant then as it is today.  It's a toys company, it boils back down to that a lot.  They could have done some prohibition stuff, but instead went for cookie thieves in Detective's Office, and that's a mid-line set, not one from the early years.  That shows how much it's oriented towards kids and family-oriented stuff rather than adults and precise reproduction of details.  Maybe it'll change in the future, there are a lot of Ideas sets that are getting really accurate, but by now the theme of the modular line is already more than obvious and there's no "fixing" or "changing" it with 15 sets out.

Astrobricks

It’s toys. Constantly complaining that they don’t meet your standards of historical accuracy is just torturing yourself (and us a little).

LegoStevieG

Does this set come with connecting pins, since the police station was the first modular not to. Personally I do not connect my buildings with the pins however it occurred to me if it doesn't and somebody to own just this set and the police station they could be misled by image of joining the two with pins.  Also if lego are dropping pins why not drop the holes they go into from the buildings?

Also I find it odd the ironwork around the roof is missing from one side, i know you could say that side should buts up against another building but what if that building was shorter?

AS for the historical side of things remember the Town Hall contained a computer 

Huw

Yes it does come with a pair of pins.

Cymbeline

@LegoStevieG #10278 came with 2 pins.

LegoStevieG

#10278 did come with pins but were used elsewhere in build, see forum thread 

Modular Police Station 10278 – Connecting Pins

Speedman29

Astrobricks said:

It’s toys. Constantly complaining that they don’t meet your standards of historical accuracy is just torturing yourself (and us a little).

/\ this! If we were allowed memes there would be a Toy Story one "you are a toy" but edited to say "it is...."

Aanchir

Brickchap said:

As I've said previously, if Lego has gone to the trouble of designing a new 1940's police uniform, as well as making 1940s furnishings, then why not finish the job by adding a torso for the newspaper man that is appropriate for the 1940s as well? It's not that hard.

You keep bringing up that jacket being anachronistic, but is that even true in the first place? A Google search for "1940s varsity jacket" brings up a LOT of jackets that look almost exactly like the newspaper salesman's jacket, albeit in varying colors, and often a little worse for the wear 'cuz of their increasing age.

Brickchap said:

You raise some good points about why historic things might be in a supposedly contemporary setting, but I would like to know from all those arguing against my points, what on earth is wrong with keeping to a historical time period?

(by historical time period I refer to whatever era that modular is supposed to be, like 1930s for palace cinema for example)

Clearly Lego is capable of making modulars that are all within the time period, like palace cinema and detective's office, so why not the others?

What about the posters for "Mystery on the Monorail" and "The Brick Separator" that depicts a fairly modern monorail and a movie resembling a 1950s "creature feature"? Or the stars on the Palace Cinema's pavement which are blatantly based on the  "Hollywood Walk of Fame", which wasn't created until the 1950s? Or the newspaper "honor boxes" from the Detective's Office's curbside, which weren't invented until long after Prohibition?

Honestly, I'm not convinced that ANY of the Modular Buildings would meet the sort of strict standards for "period accuracy" that you're describing. Even Jamie Berard, who created the series, has generally seemed more interested in capturing a rough impression of the lifestyles and aesthetics of the early 20th century than in strict adherence to any specific setting within that broader range.

Case in point: just look at his final set in the series, Assembly Square. That set maintains the quaint nostalgic touches of the series as a whole through some of its details, like the photographer's old-timey camera. But conversely, it contains an AFOL apartment furnished with various microscale LEGO Creator Expert models. Even if you ignore that all the specific sets depicted are from the 2000s and 2010s, it's harder to get around the fact that LEGO bricks themselves did not exist in any form until 1949!

Paperballpark

Maybe the next modular should have a blue police box outside, so that the modular street inhabitants can go back and forth in time as they wish... ;)

Fizyx

Paperballpark said:

Maybe the next modular should have a blue police box outside, so that the modular street inhabitants can go back and forth in time as they wish... ;)

It WOULD be really nice to use those bigger on the inside pieces for my MOCs...