Review: 910009 Modular LEGO Store

I'm very pleased from my Modular Construction Site and and I have yet to build a 1950s Diner.

"Bags 1
The floor tiles and the footprint of the Modular LEGO Store start to appear in the build from Bags 1."

Shouldn't it be 'bag 1' and '...from Bag 1'?

it was interesting to see the height of this building, it would not take much to make it the same height as the others.

It was good to see the construction set next to them as well, I had no idea it was that tall, it seems too tall compared to the corner garage, but then some of the others are taller than that. It would be nice to see how it compares to the others height wise. Its on my list to get, when I find an affordable one, along with the train station and observatory, but by the looks of it, I might have to modify it so it does not look too tall compared to the others.

Hmmm, might be worth looking into.

Hm. A modular. How original.

It's a nice effort and looks like a fun build, but comparing it to official modulars just shows how amazing Lego's in-house products are when given the time and effort from a team of professional Lego designers. They are simply next level.

I think the interior could be better,so I'm planning a custom one.

It's a little disappointing they didn't include any set stickers like they do with smaller sets.

@miskox said:
""Bags 1
The floor tiles and the footprint of the Modular LEGO Store start to appear in the build from Bags 1."

Shouldn't it be 'bag 1' and '...from Bag 1'?"

No, because there are multiple bags labeled "Bag 1"... hence, "Bags 1." Same way that the plural of "governor general" is "governors general," not "governor generals."

I’d like to talk about the new store opening. Looks like a very nice store. I like the layout and displays along the Hard to Find wall. The PAB wall looks very big.

I was surprised to see that in a new LEGO store the PAB containers are still the cups. I thought it was announced that the new containers were rectangular paper boxes.

I really appreciate reviews that show the build in progress!

This set is kind of underwhelming by itself, but I think it looks really good nested between two other modulars!

I'll stick with my LEGO Store that looks like a giant red 2x4 brick that lights up, thankyouverymuch.

@FlagsNZ:
The black print on the clear stickers is enough to render the standard LEGO set tape tamper-proof, but the box itself is not. I don't see how the holographic sticker improves upon this any, other than eliciting an "ooh, shiny!" response.

It's kind of odd to see a model designed in 2016 make it out to the public in 2023. Not a bad looking set at all (though it feels much emptier than the small official LEGO Store models) but it feels a bit dated because it is!

Thanks for the nice review.
This is a set that really doesn't interest me and that's rare for Lego!
Personnaly, I don't like these meta Lego within Lego sets.
Sure, I smiled when I built Assembly Square - the little apartment with the train set and the foldable bed was funny.
Once is OK, but don't exaggerate.
I got some of these GWP lego stores, but never built them.
Having said, good review, thanks.

Thanks for this nice review. Thanks also for pointing at the designer interview. It was interesting.

I like the look of this set very much. Mine is still unopened but because of you :) I think I will begin to build it right now!

I feel the facade is very plain and boring. I think it has a lot to do with the proportions. It looks very squat and the big windows don't help. A lot of it is the source material as well.
You can tell the Lego in-house designers are that good , that you nearly always go: "That's a believable building at first glance."

l have this one and the building experience was pretty poor. It looks fine but l hate how it's one floor.

The height of the inside of the store is just too high for my liking

The one woman to five men proportion gives this away as an unofficial set. I don’t intend to say anything on the matter of gender proportioning in LEGO sets but this is something that caught my eye immediately. Cool set, also substantially larger than almost any LEGO Store I’ve been in (the LegoLand California one has a different design so the Disneyland Downtown Disney one is closest to this). I don’t buy expensive sets in general but as cool as this is, I just can’t relate to it since the one I usually go to isn’t as tall and doesn’t have an intricate interior so it’s better represented by the 2018(?) LEGO Store set (if you take off the second story and MOC it into extra space for the lower one).

On that note, the $20 one has a second story and the $180 one doesn’t?

@sjr60:
The glass doors at the local LEGO Store are at least 8' tall, so a good 33% taller than a normal adult. The solid wood doors at the Charles T. Fisher mansion in Detroit are around 12' tall, and open easily without mechanical assistance. If there are adequate hinges, they're installed properly, and they're maintained, the door should swing open and closed relatively easily. Anyone attempting to put their foot in the door to prevent it from closing _will_ regret it, since inertia still works normally.

@miskox:
Sometimes you get a large bag and a small bag that have the same number. Possibly due to confusion when people don't catch this fact, I've seen sets that had you open 2-3 bags in sequence before you start building the next section. This format does limit each number to a single bag.

@CCC:
It's called a vaulted ceiling. A member of my LUG has a living room that's two stories tall. The rest of the house is split into two normal floors. I don't get up there much, but I think our LEGOLAND Discovery Center has a PAB bank that's all reachable, but the local LEGO Store has bins that go to the ceiling. The top few rows have carboard inserts with images that make them look like they're full of parts.

@LuvsLEGO_Cool_J:
They're trialing that in one or two stores only. Everywhere else is using the standard cups.

I actually bricklink’d this set. Personally I think the entire build, but significantly the doors are massively out of scale, almost like it was built as one thing and the minifigs added after. And you can really tell the build sequence and techniques are slightly I’ll considered. As with everything it really comes down to personal preference but this set felt a little style over substance when I’d finished it

@FlagsNZ:
Ooh, minor correction:

"A second official LEGO store is opening..."

If it's a LEGO Certified Store, it's not an _official_ LEGO Store. It's independently owned, but has a formal relationship with LEGO Brand Retail, which includes the use of LEGO branding. It also doesn't offer the full perks of a real LEGO Store (important to know, since that often seems to exclude the local population from having access to the VIP program in general).

That might actually explain one question I had regarding the store interior shots. Every LEGO Store I've been to had PAB walls that consisted of white draws with clear round bins (which is what this set attempts to recreate). They look kinda like the tops of white 1x2 bricks, but with clear studs. I've never seen a PAB wall, in person or in photos, that looks like the one shown in these LCS images, but they may have had to source their own interior features, rather than being able to order them from LBR.

@FlagsNZ said:
"Thanks, everyone for your supportive and inciteful comments.

As many of you have commented, Pick-A-Brick walls often have pseudo bins, or bins with duplicated parts that can be found in lower down bins, placed up high.

I didn't want to go into suggested modifications as part of the review as I felt that would detract from the review's intention.

These are the modifications that I am considering for this modular building:

The height of the doors and celling height of the store itself would lend itself to having an intermediate mezzanine floor (and perhaps split the Pick-A-Brick Wall into two).

I own 60216 Downtown Fire Brigade and I always intended to re-purpose the two CONSOLE W/ LION parts into a modular MOC. This LEGO store would suit that purpose. I've included commentary and an image as an edit to this review.

I also own a 40359 LEGO Store Picture Frame. Most of the LEGO store features in that set will be added to this store layout.

I plan to move the bike rack to the street front and add some jumper plates to the floor tiles in the store and on the pavement.

I have many Brick 4/3, 16X16 W/ 4.85 HOLE parts and I am slowly transitioning my modulars to these MILS alternative base plates. https://brickset.com/parts/6301768/brick-4-3-16x16-w-4-85-hole
"

I'd love to see your final version once you are done with the above!

It's a nice enough set, but IMHO its style just doesn't fit with the official modular buildings. And by the wat, @FlagsNZ, thanks for the links! I had to stop reading the one one Lego colors and get back to this review.

The money should be due when these sets are ordered, like traditional Kickstarter campaigns.

Just sayin’.

I have a three sets (different ones than this), but almost didn’t. My card didn’t have enough when the bill came due suddenly. I scrambled and managed it but nearly did not.

I am not up to date with Bricklink, but do I understand correctly that this set is already sold out forever and I have missed it? I don't mind so much, I didn't really want this particular one anyway, but then I know there's no point putting it on my Wishlist. But maybe in the future I would have to keep an eye for sets that I do like, to not miss them.

@legofan:
This is part of a program where rejected Ideas projects get a second chance through Bricklink. While I believe they are packaged at a LEGO factory, you'll get different opinions on whether or not these qualify as _real_ LEGO sets.

Anyways, they go up for preorder in waves. Quantities are limited, and several have sold out within a matter of hours. The total quantity available has been adjusted upwards at least twice now, but it's not clear yet how many they need to offer to really sate the market. One complication is that, compared to a retail LEGO set, these are _way_ overpriced, and have been called out for certain design issues that you would probably not see in a retail set on release.

Yeah, just like a lot of other comments, the scale is completely off. Looks quite nice as a stand-alone building. But is my Modular Collection complete without it? Absolutely!!

@PurpleDave said:
" @legofan:
This is part of a program where rejected Ideas projects get a second chance through Bricklink. While I believe they are packaged at a LEGO factory, you'll get different opinions on whether or not these qualify as _real_ LEGO sets.

Anyways, they go up for preorder in waves. Quantities are limited, and several have sold out within a matter of hours. The total quantity available has been adjusted upwards at least twice now, but it's not clear yet how many they need to offer to really sate the market. One complication is that, compared to a retail LEGO set, these are _way_ overpriced, and have been called out for certain design issues that you would probably not see in a retail set on release."
Some sold out in minutes…

For the 2021 invitational, they committed to build up to 5,000 max per set which then got bumped to 10,000 to make up for a LEGO glitch. For new series, they are committing to build up to 20,000.

I bought 9 of the 15 Invitational sets and have so far built the Safe, Bowling Alley, and Train Station. I absolutely adore each of these.

As for the builds and per Bricklink, “BrickLink Designer Program sets are designed by LEGO fans, for experienced builders. We’re giving LEGO fans the opportunity to be the Fan Designer of their own set from start to finish. Therefore we provide detailed Submission Guidelines.

LEGO sets from the standard assortment are designed by LEGO designers following our own extensive internal design processes.

This means the sets fans purchase will have a building experience much closer to how the fan designer originally intended it, where LEGO IDEAS sets for instance are fan ideas re-imagined by LEGO designers. For this reason, BDP sets can be more challenging as we do not apply LEGO design standards as rigorously to the design and the building instruction steps.”

@yellowcastle:
Or, as appears to have happened with the Safe, the fan designer will purposefully bork the design to skirt the approval process, and have a fancy graphic detailing how you should use a blatantly illegal technique to "fix" the problem.

@PurpleDave said:
" @yellowcastle:
Or, as appears to have happened with the Safe, the fan designer will purposefully bork the design to skirt the approval process, and have a fancy graphic detailing how you should use a blatantly illegal technique to "fix" the problem."
I didn’t notice an issue with either of tge technic pin solutions. What did I miss?

@yellowcastle:
I haven't built it, but reviews claimed that the safe function didn't work as intended if you build it according to the instructions, because the pin that's used is too long. The fix involved placing a shorter pin in a manner where the cleft tip is attached like a stud, which leaves the tip permanently compressed if you display it in this manner long enough. That's an illegal technique. And the fan designer didn't just post a text explanation for how to sub the part. There was a full graphic that was posted right after the first complaints rolled in. Given the short timeframe, and the complexity of the graphic, it seems likely that it had been prepared well in advance.

@legofan said:
"I know there's no point putting it on my Wishlist."
I've got sets on my Wanted list that I know I have next to no chance of ever acquiring. 6471930, for instance. Doesn't mean I don't want them, though!