Posted by
Dan
at
11:43 PM
| Name of Model: Galaxy Diner and Empire Theater |
| Created by: sonicstarlight |
| Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26864031@N00/sets/72157626344290071/ |
Details:  In a bit of a retro/deco-ish feel, this pair of Cafe Corner-standard buildings gives us something we don't see enough in this modular style. It's easy to get wrapped up in the time period that we see in the official sets, but these feel a bit more 1950's or 1960's. Many of the techniques used are what you'd expect (the cinema in particular seems to borrow a bit from set 10184 Town Plan), but there are some great surprises. Plates with rails give the diner a surprisingly convincing impression of texture. The mix of three different styles of mosaic-based lettering gives a realistic feel, breaking up the impression that you're looking at something whipped up based on one person's preferences - the combination of blocky letters for the "Galaxy" sign and curvy letters on the "Empire" sign is a brilliant touch. |
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Posted by
Dan
at
11:39 PM
| Name of Model: Little Grand Emporium |
| Created by: Puddleglum |
| Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthew_raehl/sets/72157626302398766/ |
Details:  I've previously covered half-size versions of the Fire Brigade and Cafe Corner, but now two new installments have been added to the series: the Green Grocer and the Grand Emporium. Both do a stunning job of capturing the look and feel of the original.
The interesting thing about going for half-size instead of just a generic "microscale", is that there's actually a scale factor involved to dictate what some parts should be. In both of these, you can see how 2x2 tiles on the sidewalk become 1x1 tiles to create the same mosaic-style patterns. A pair of skeleton legs on the grocer becomes one 1x1 tile with a clip on top. Doors and windows can be tricky, since LEGO hasn't made windows in some of these sizes. You're still required to fill some details in in an impressionistic manner, but not everyone can pull that off and still have things end up looking fairly accurate. | | Yes, we're sneaking in a double-header again - these are Tuesday and Wednesday's models of the day. |
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Posted by
Dan
at
11:34 PM
| Name of Model: Lego: Fancy Bookstore |
| Created by: cimddwc |
| Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24588874@N08/sets/72157624132729033/with/5038875332/ |
Details:
 
Usually, when I see a model inspired by the Cafe Corner set or following the modular build standard established by that kit, I write about it at Brick Town Talk instead of here (if it hasn't been blogged there already). As I was prepping a post about this model for BTT earlier, more details started to stick out to me - enough to make me realize I should feature it here as well. While this isn't quite a reproduction of the original building that inspired it (shown above right), this conjures up all the right details from the original and fits it into a layout-ready 24 studs (sure, 16- and 32-stud measurements are more common, but it's easy to fit in any multiple of 8 studs as a building width). The gargoyle-esque bits on either side of the top window are Bionicle krana in white. I don't believe we've ever seen them used in a model for minifigs before. Above that same window, we also see a ball joint element and a tooth with axle hole used as architectural details. Spires are made from 1x6 curved slopes, and border detailing makes use of many 2 x 2 curved slope pieces. All those clever bits come in before you even get to the gorgeous detailing at the windows!
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Posted by
Dan
at
11:49 AM
| Name of Model: Bowling Alley |
| Created by: (cindrealig) |
| Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/49471419@N05/sets/72157624637998683/with/4908203455/ |
Details:  There aren't enough people willing to try making mosaics for minifig-scale creations. This model goes a ways towards fixing that - there are mosaics in brick-built (sidways) floors, and on the inner and outer walls. I don't think I've seen a minifig-scale bowling alley before, but this one will be tough to beat. The roof is removable - tiles were used to make that lift off the same way the "modular building" sets have their floors lift up. This is perfectly in scale for those buildings too!
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Posted by
Brickapolis
at
6:33 PM
| Name of Model: Modular Market Square |
| Created by: Cole Brickman |
| Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/colebrickman/4590645414/in/photostream/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/colebrickman/4590025357/in/set-72157623945360158/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/colebrickman/4590025357/in/set-72157623945360158/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/colebrickman/4591718909/in/set-72157623945360158/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/colebrickman/4592340006/in/set-72157623945360158/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/colebrickman/4591719381/in/set-72157623945360158/ (this is why you should use tags or sets to organize your photos...) |
 Details: When the 6242 Soldiers' Fort set came out, it introduced a new building standard for modular minifig-scale models. That standard, known as the "Soldier's Fort" standard or the "Three and Ten" standard, was hailed, documented, and supported by LEGO Pirate fan sites, but sadly did not catch on. While having LEGO kits that follow a standard can help that standard gain popularity (note the Cafe Corner standard, which started with one set and is now used for other sets and nearly every original creation blogged at Brick Town Talk), not all official standards really catch on. Even some great modular systems, like the old Blacktron spaceship modularity, often just don't stick. While the fort standard seems to be destined for the unsorted-parts bin of history, this model matches the standard and fits in with the style of the Prince of Persia sets. Putting a rocky surface where the dock/water line was originally works surprisingly well to make this standard work away from water.
Perhaps this will inspire more people to try building small modules in this standard that can be part of a larger fort layout.
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and 
. Naturally, I love the little versions as well. These are at half the scale of the originals, fitting on 16 x 16 (or 5 inches square) baseplates instead of 32 x 32 (or 10 inches square). Considering how much has to be sacrificed due to size, it's amazing how many of the original techniques still work and how much of the original look still shows through.
