By Rakesh Gosai (SAFOLs Brick Deputy)
Released on 01 January 2020, this is the last instalment of the LEGO® Creator Expert Modular Buildings. Do not be alarmed, LEGO® will still be making the Creator Expert Modular Buildings but I suspect that this range will change to be in line with the 18+ Range, aimed at us Adult Collectors. I am keen to see what the new designs would be! This set is slightly cheaper than previous modular buildings.
This is the 14th year of the modular buildings from the Creator Expert team and should be an exciting build. The set is split on two 16×32 baseplates and is split into 8 numbered bags. I like that with this Modular Building, you can build the two buildings separately but therein lies the catch. There is an extra wall in each building, with extra items to decorate the walls. These extras bring the part count higher.
They can be displayed separately or together and fits well within a city setup. I did find that this set was very detailed in front, but not much attention was given to the interior and back of them. The “Birch” Tree is awesomely designed in the Bookshop section and the Townhouse bricks are an amazing teal colour.
The Bookshop “Birch Books” occupies the left ground floor and mid-level. The apartment takes up the top left side. I found the interior to be lacking in both the bookshop and apartment. I built the Corner Garage last year and I was expecting similar detail but, was sadly disappointed.
On the right-hand side is the Townhouse. I enjoyed building the dining room because it has some great details like, a dinner table and fireplace. Upstairs is a small bedroom with access to the balcony. The Townhouse has some nice details but sadly it is incomplete, there is no kitchen and bathroom. I wish the designers paid more attention to the details that where included in the interior of this whole set.
The Bookshop comes with 5 minifigures, which is less than the previous sets in this range. Corner Garage came with 6 minifigures, Downtown Diner 6 and Assembly Square 8 minifigures. An Adult Collector would definitely add this to his collection despite the shortcomings, the high expectations where set by the previous Modular Buildings.
The building profile is lower and should you buy another set, you could increase the height. Should us Modular fans add this to our collection? YES, because the exterior has some really fun details, the colour scheme is on point and provides us with some interesting building techniques even though the Modular Building feels less substantial next to its predecessors.
Overall, this is a good build but falls short of its predecessors like the Corner Garage, and the Assembly Square. After building those, I expected the same detail in this set. I would rate this set 6/10 because of the interior lacking many details that we have become accustomed to.
