Integrating the Spring Lantern Festival into your modular street
Posted by Huw,
In yesterday's review of 80107 Spring Lantern Festival I mentioned that it is modular-building compatible: the pavements and connecting points line up with those in the buildings.
A few of you then asked for a photo of it flanked by some of the buildings, so here you go: a Chinese garden nestled between 10270 Bookshop and 10278 Police Station.
The pavement round the garden is 5 studs wide so there are pinch-points either end of it, which in the arrangement below, are blocked by a tree and lamp post. You'd probably want to rearrange things a bit to prevent that.
If you were to remove the lanterns from the garden, you'd have the perfect year-round urban Chinese garden, like the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden in Vancouver.
In its default arrangement the 32x48 garden is a corner unit but it can be re-configured to be straight, although in this configuration one of the paths on it is terminated by the side of the adjoining building on the right.
The pavement to the left of the garden forms a small alley-way between it and the police station, which I quite like.
Hopefully this has given you some idea of the possibilities.
Thanks to LEGO for providing the sets for this article. All opinions expressed are my own.
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37 comments on this article
That looks really, really good!
Personally I’ve got my eye on this set to integrate it with Ninjago City/docks (and gardens!!!!)
Thanks for putting these photos on the site.
Nice to have not as built up an area in the modular street for once
If your town layout uses a strict 32x32 baseplate grid and Assembly Square's 48x32 footprint has made that difficult, this set should help.
So good, I’m going to convert the palace cinema into a Chinese restaurant and have it next to this.
Looks great, kind of breaks the saturation and busyness of modular buildings in a good way: a resting place for the eyes (and minifigures!). Thanks!
Thanks for the pics! I feel like I'd want to shrink the park area a little bit and expand the sidewalk area is it isn't as cramped.
I wish I had money and room enough to gather the modular line along with actual SW and Ninjago collection. Those buildings are so beautiful! Detailed, so filled with Lego life. And the Chinese sets are among the most beautiful I have ever seen. Lego in its best experience and expression IMO.
I wonder how just the pagoda would look wedged between two modulars.
Thanks so much for this post! I wasn't all that interested in the festival as a stand-alone set, but seeing it in the context of some modular buildings, I now seriously consider the purchase!
Nah, does not look good to me. Perhaps adjacent to the cinema would be an okayish sort of look.
Probably looks best next to the short outside staircases of the Parisian and the Diner
@Slave2lego said:
"That looks really, really good!
Personally I’ve got my eye on this set to integrate it with Ninjago City/docks (and gardens!!!!)"
Exactly! There's such a vibrant series of decorative building styles between all the Ninjago sets. I can't wait to see what people do.
wow, i had no interest in the festival set until you showed this! very creative, Bravo!
Still not interested in the modulars, but this looks great :)
@Rimefang said:
" @Slave2lego said:
"That looks really, really good!
Personally I’ve got my eye on this set to integrate it with Ninjago City/docks (and gardens!!!!)"
Exactly! There's such a vibrant series of
decorative building styles between all the Ninjago sets. I can't wait to see what people do."
Great to see some more people are excited for the gardens. Can wait for the reveal, Lego is taking their time though. Does any one have any new news?
So when does the argument about whether this set is a modular begin?
Could we also see a Diagon Alley integration? It seems that there is a possibility that it will go well with modular buildings.
@thatsaltyninja said:
" @Rimefang said:
" @Slave2lego said:
"That looks really, really good!
Personally I’ve got my eye on this set to integrate it with Ninjago City/docks (and gardens!!!!)"
Exactly! There's such a vibrant series of
decorative building styles between all the Ninjago sets. I can't wait to see what people do."
Great to see some more people are excited for the gardens. Can wait for the reveal, Lego is taking their time though. Does any one have any new news?
"
There's a leak floating around... (Looks great, tall design, leaning more toward Ninjago City style, rather than Ninjago City Docks. Can't wait the reveal!)
@HandPositions said:
"Could we also see a Diagon Alley integration? It seems that there is a possibility that it will go well with modular buildings."
I'm glad Diagon Alley is compatible, but I haven't joined it with my modular buildings because they're in two different locations and I think it might look a bit strange given Diagon Alley's cobblestone street. I'd love to see images of the set connected, though!
I think this set looks great with the modular buildings! My planned town layout won't have room for it but I'm regretting that now...
Absolute lovely, I think the bookshop splitting works really well here too
This is great.
It works...and it doesn’t. The sidewalk area is the biggest problem. If you just bought that new book you’ve been waiting for & not paying too close attention....BAM! Right into a tree. Or a statue on the other end. Sacrificing sidewalk for more garden is more than welcome though.
Put it next to Green Grocer, it looks good there
I think this looks gorgeous as a modular. And I think it is cool that in Huw’s specific configuration, it helps you see the Soaps and Suds billboard that could’ve otherwise been hidden away.
@aztecwarrior said:
"Wow, that's cool. Can someone tell me whether that red bull is just a statue or some sort of idol?"
The bull is one of the many lanterns in the garden, it includes a light brick to boot.
Doesn't really work for me. Not sure where the Spring Lantern Festivals fits in for me... possibly a good idea to get rid of all the lanterns and just do an asian garden. Still, doesn't really fit into the urban vibe of the Cafe Corner buildings.
Looks really good! I dont think it works particularly well with the 'Western' modulars however I have put an old Ninjago set (temple of fire or golden dragon or something) on a blue baseplate with a similar water based garden in front, the temple having been converted to a Chinese restaurant.
I intend putting these gardens next to that, which will also go well with the street lantern sign thing from a lego ninjago movie set.
However, I would really like to also see a European garden specifically designed to go with the modulars. Likely a French garden with neat plots of flowers, hedges (likely made in some ingenious way), a fountain and possibly small cafe (an actual traditional park cafe not these espresso places)
I think its great making this set modular standard although it is rather out of place without a Chinese restaurant, tea room or martial arts building in the offical modular line. I am puzzled as to why CNY sets are 'allowed' be modularised but sets which would 'work' with the modulars more are not. Why cant Lego release an official 18+ Modular Garden? A European garden with the white lampost and all that. Now if this years modular had been a Chinese resturant or something else relating to that culture, then this set would work perfectly.
Now I am aware that some cities will have a seemingly 'random' Chinese garden however a 'regular garden/park' (the 'Western' idea of a garden or park can often be found in a wide variety of countries including those in Asia) would be more useful. Im not saying get rid of this set
or that it shouldnt have been 'Chinese style' , its great offering another culture or setting to the modular line but we need an 'offical' modular garden set too!
I'm in absolute love with this configuration - it reminds me SO MUCH of home (which you called out in your write up, @Huw!). I also lived in Shanghai for a time and it has similar vibes - this has sealed it, I've really just got to find some room to display a whole street! Thanks for the write up, it's made me a tad sentimental :)
@HokieJoe99 said:
"So when does the argument about whether this set is a modular begin?"
Well, in the DESIGNER interview, the DESIGNER states that it is a “Modular Compatible Build”...
@Brickwright said:
"If your town layout uses a strict 32x32 baseplate grid and Assembly Square's 48x32 footprint has made that difficult, this set should help."
I left out the lower half of Market Street and that evened things out. But that is a good idea as well.
At first I thought okay I was probably gonna pick up the police station as my next modular building, but then realized this spring festival is also a "modular". I guess I would pick this up instead of the police station since it looks way better imo and of course much cheaper as well. It's nice to see a break from all those "same old" buildings and have some green park instead. Every town needs a park. Curious to see if people can come up a way to integrate the modulars into the new roadplates system. If not then Lego is going two different directions at the same time in terms of town layout lol
@Brickwright said:
"If your town layout uses a strict 32x32 baseplate grid and Assembly Square's 48x32 footprint has made that difficult, this set should help."
This is one of the main reasons it appeals to me. I won't put it right next to assembly square, but it will finally mean I don't have a 16x32 vacant lot (used for parking) next to something.
Personally think it looks out of place, especially the right side. If not an authentic generic Chinese city at least I think more architecture that you might find in many Chinatown areas might match a little better.
I never thought of this, I am even more excited to get it now! Thanks.
Thanks for doing articles like this - seeing sets in a display context really is the best form of advertisement. I think you just convinced me to add this to my wish-list... :)
Placing the Spring Lantern Festival next to the Police Station solves a lot of the challenges presented by the recessed building slither.
BUT
It really needs a wall to be built up to the left of the pagoda to give it that enclosed feeling that is usually present with inner city Chinese gardens.