Review: 10278 Police Station
Posted by Huw,
The 2923-piece 10278 Police Station, the 16th in the modular building series, will be released on January 1st.
It's been designed by newcomer to the Creator Expert team Chris McVeigh, who joined LEGO in 2019, so this must have been one of his first assignments. Given the reverence with which the series is held, it must have been a daunting task to be given, but also a very exciting one.
As is befitting for such a highly anticipated set, this is a long review, so make yourself comfortable...
The completed model
10278 Police Station is unlike other modular buildings in that it incorporates three architectural styles within its 32-stud width.
The eponymous police station is flanked by narrow buildings on either side: an 8-wide cake shop on the left and a 6-wide one on the right, which internally is an extension of the police station.
A small newsstand kiosk sits in front of the two-storey sand green building on the right. A billboard on the side of the police station pays homage to the launderette in 10251 Brick Bank, Soap 'n' Suds.
The two-story building on the left houses a cake shop on the ground floor. It has flat roof with a water tank on the top. It's the first time medium lavender has featured so prominently in a modular building: it adds a welcome splash of vibrant colour to what would otherwise be a fairly drab building.
The climbing plant up the side is something we haven't seen before, either, and it too adds colour and interest.
The rear, as is always the case, is fairly plain: there's a back door to the police station and a ladder to access the roof. The ladder is also the only way to get into the first floor above the cake shop.
Notice the crack in the wall at the bottom of the police station: more on that later!
Minifigures
Five figures are provided to bring the model to life and the set's instructions offer fun facts about them.
The police station is manned by three personnel. From left to right: the fresh-faced constable, 'a recent graduate from the academy', the chief inspector who 'knows every brick of the police station and wants to take a bite out of crime', and the veteran police officer who's 'ready to solve any crime that come his way'.
The chief's torso was new this year, in 60246 Police Station and the officers' torsos are new in this set.
The cake shop is operated by a 'good-natured shop owner'. Her torso was first used in 2019.
Finally, there's the shifty-looking newsstand operator who's 'full of big ideas and tall tales'. He buys his clothes from the same shop as the main protagonist in Hidden Side, Jack Davids: he's wearing an identical jacket.
Ground floor
Although the exterior of the building implies three separate sections, it's actually partitioned into just two. The cake shop on the right has an 8-wide frontage which widens to 10 at the back to allow more detail to be fitted into it. There's no internal door between it and the police station.
The floor of the police station is raised by two bricks which has necessitated steps to its entrance at the front and also from the back door to the foyer.
The sand green extension to the building houses a detention cell on this floor. Remember that crack in the back wall? It turns out there's a tunnel under the cell, excavated using a spoon, leading to it! Perhaps the next occupant will break through the wall and escape to freedom...
The bench is hinged to provide access to a hole underneath. The remainder of the tunnel is covered by a floor section that's fitted at the end of the build.
The cake shop is fully stocked with sweet treats, doughnuts, cookies, cup cakes and other unidentified delicacies. There's also a coffee machine, and a till on the counter. I wonder if Chris took inspiration from the Canadian institution Tim Hortons?
The way the shelves have been attached to the back wall is interesting, using the angled handle No. 1 first seen in the DC collectable minifigures.
The ground floor of the main part of the police station is fairly empty, with just a reception desk and a very cool (pun intended) water cooler occupying what is quite a large space.
The internal wall between the shop and station is dropped by a couple of bricks and this prompted some comments when the set was revealed. It was probably done partly for cost-cutting, but it does also allow large hands to access to the narrow cake shop more easily. The curved piece at the ends of the wall is new. I'll look at it more closely in a minute.
The staircase is worthy of mention: it's built using 5x5 and 3x3 facet bricks which are attached to studs on the walls. There's no handrail, though, so it doesn't look very safe!
'Splat gears', new in green, have been used for the bushes at the front and I think they look excellent.
The newsstand sells flowers and a couple of papers: News and The Daily Brick. The headline of the latter is 'Donut thief still hungry'. I'll excuse the incorrect spelling of the word...
There are some interesting building techniques used for the station frontage but I'll leave them for you to discover for yourself.
This new piece appears in tan and light grey in the set. The tan ones are used where the internal dividing walls have been lowered.
What's special and different about it is that it's been designed to interface with adjacent tiles. The normal slope and the older curved slope do not match neatly, but this one does.
First floor
The first floor is divided into two areas. Above the cake shop there's a 'studio flat' and within the police station there's an office area and a small photographic studio for taking mugshots in the alcove.
The flat is sparsely furnished. There's a record player at one end, a bed in the middle and a kitchenette at the front by the window.
There's an unfortunate error in the design of the record player: the arm was on the left of the turntable! Records are rotated clockwise so it's always on the right. I'm surprised such an oversight passed design review: surely someone in LEGO is old enough to remember such machines! Of course, it's easily remedied as I've done here.
The bed is hinged to reveal a hole in the floor which is directly above the cake shop, through which the thief mentioned in the front page headlines steals the doughnuts!
The kitchenette comprises a cupboard, sink and cooker with hob. The room is accessible only via the ladder outside at the back so all groceries and everything else has to be carried up them.
Other than the kitchen sink, there is nowhere for the occupant to toilet (to use the old-fashioned formal meaning of the word which I rather like).
Two desks occupy the office. One has an analogue telephone, the other an analogue typewriter, both of which include nicely printed pieces. A noticeboard on the wall holds scraps of paper (tiles) underneath an elastic band. You can't see it in the photo, but there's also a small bench under the front window of the sand green section.
The stairs to the second floor are constructed in the same way as those on the ground floor.
Like the ground floor, the facade contains some interesting building techniques for you to discover.
Second floor
The two-storey cake shop building is finished off with a flat roof and an attractive finial at the front. The water tank is added at the end of the build.
Three rooms occupy the top floor of the police station area: an interview room on the left, a toilet on the right and, in the attic of the sand green annexe, a storage area, most likely filled with evidence retrieved from crime scenes.
The front and roof lifts off to provide access to this area.
An old-fashioned reel-to-reel tape recorder made from a handful of pieces sits on top of a sideboard in the interview room.
A table and two chairs occupy the remainder of that room; the one next to it houses a toilet, but no wash basin.
1x2 plates with 'ladder', more commonly used on train underframes, are used to good effect for venetian blinds behind the windows, and an air conditioning unit sits on a shelf outside the toilet window.
A blue bird is perched on the windowsill nibbling a doughnut. Perhaps it's a blue jay: a bird common in Chris McVeigh's native Canada.
Roof
I am convinced that there must be some sort of competition among designers of modular buildings to see who can use the most obscure pieces in the parapet. In addition to ten of the new 1x3 inverted curves, this one utilises four grey Minecraft heads upside down which, I have to admit, do provide an interesting texture.
The last feature to discuss, which is also the last thing constructed, is the billboard that hangs on the side of the police station. It's beautifully printed on two 6x6 tiles. It's sort of a homage to the laundrette in 10251 Brick Bank, but that was called Soap 'n' Suds and this is advertising a product called Soap Suds.
Verdict
Having different designers work on the modular buildings over the years has helped ensure that almost every one has introduced something new and interesting to the series, and this one is no exception.
It would have been easy just to make a 32-wide police station in the same style as the one in this set and it would no doubt have been very imposing and impressive. But, instead, by leaving just a few studs either side of it for different styles of buildings, a whole new level of interest has been added, and not really at the expense of the impressiveness of the main structure.
Externally, I cannot fault it. It has colour, detail, new features, and novel building techniques: everything a modular building should have. I also appreciate that there are no odd patches of colour on the side walls, which is often the case.
Inside, the cake shop is delightful and there's everything you'd expect to find in the police station: reception area, office, interview room, detention cell, store room, studio for mugshots and of course a toilet!
However, despite that, I thought it to be a bit sparse, particularly compared to, say, the Parisian Restaurant. What is inside is very well executed indeed, particularly the water cooler, tape recorder, phones, typewriter and especially the staircases, but there's not a lot more, other than desks and chairs, in it. I suppose that's all you'd typically find in a police station anyway.
Like some previous modulars, this one has a built-in narrative that I've not mentioned fully, which Chris explains in the instruction manual. Apparently, business is slow at the newsstand, so the proprietor takes up petty crime (stealing doughnuts via the hole in the room above the shop) to create headlines and thus sell papers, while the police investigate the crimes.
I don't know about you, but once I've built the model I simply sit and admire it rather than play out scenarios, or indeed look inside it much, either. So while the inside details and a narrative are nice-to-have in a modular building, they are not that important to me.
What is important is that they are innovative, fun and interesting to build, introduce new construction techniques using the latest pieces, and look stunning on display. 10278 Police Station meets all those requirements, particularly the last and most important one.
It met my expectations and I suspect it will meet yours too. Good job, Chris!
10278 Police Station will be available on 1st January from LEGO.com, priced at €179.99 / £169.99 / $199.99 / AU$299.99 / CA$269.99.
Later today I'll post a few photos of it alongside other recent modular buildings.
Thanks to LEGO for providing the set for this review in a very timely manner. All opinions expressed are my own.
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89 comments on this article
Excellent review although I'm a bit confused on the spelling error you mentioned?
You would be :)
https://time.com/2837756/donut-or-doughnut/
Can't wait to get this one. It looks so good. And while I do also prefer to look at the outside, I really like the decorated inside... I know that behind that window is a dentist's office, or that it's an hair salon, or that there's a lot of thievery going on in the cat lady's apartment... It really gives life to the model, despite not being fully visible!
^
^
Probably meant "doughnut" instead of "donut".
Agreed that the interior is a little bit disappointing. The police station has three storeys. There's so much potential for internal detail, but the ground floor is wasted on nothing more than a front desk (quick question. Why is there a golden egg underneath the stairs?), and did the top floor really need a toilet? Was that something that kids have been asking for, in their police stations?
You're right in that the exterior is gorgeous. It's a beautiful set to look at. Still a little puzzled by the interior, tho.
Another excellent review, and I'd say this is the most impressive modular building in a long time! I've never really cared for the interiors of the modulars, feeling they detract from the piece count available for the exterior. But this interior is pretty adequate: two toilets in a single building isn't too shabby! Can't wait to see this in a modular street alongside the bookstore and the brickbank.
Another fantastic review, Huw! I absolutely love this model - can't wait to pick it up. You've also made some great points about the interior.
When you post pictures of the Police Station with recent modulars, is there any chance we could see it with the Downtown Diner attached to its left? That's going to be my set-up - it's the only recent modular I have! :)
It's a nice enough model externally, but there's not much inside to justify such a high price—and it's the interior details that really make sets like these exceptional. It's also why I passed on the bookshop; lovely to look at, but in dire need of more stuff inside. Plus, it's kind of a weird subject matter for a modular building; there's nothing in it that Lego haven't already made in abundance. I think they executed it about as well as they could, but it's still not terribly interesting or unique.
So, yeah; not a set I would ever consider buying, especially since I already have the highly impressive 60141 for my police needs.
Thanks for the review Huw! As always can't wait for January 1st and covid-allowing my yearly pilgrimage to the lego store. I do agree with others this will be a welcome addition to the modular street!
Just curious: In the designer video they mention a nod to a current show on TV (From the subject matter I'm assuming Brooklyn 99), anything in the set that stood out in that regard?
@manmythic , my diner is still in its box I'm afraid but I will post some photos of it with other recent modulars later on today.
Still toying with the idea of buying two to make the station one and the other buildings another. Its odd, the individual floors make it look quite spacious, but as a whole set it looks rather squashed.
In the designer video, the lead designer mentioned that the Evidence Room had references to other LEGO sets (modulars?). Except for the cookies (Detective's Office) and the red wrench (?) (Corner Garage?), I can't think of any other references. Does anyone know what the other pieces of evidence refer to?
I wouldn't go a far as to call "donut" incorrect. It's just an alternate spelling that became widely accepted. It may have started incorrect, but there’s no point fighting it now.
@mapimi said:
"Thanks for the review Huw! As always can't wait for January 1st and covid-allowing my yearly pilgrimage to the lego store. I do agree with others this will be a welcome addition to the modular street!
Just curious: In the designer video they mention a nod to a current show on TV (From the subject matter I'm assuming Brooklyn 99), anything in the set that stood out in that regard? "
I am not absolutely certain but would be inclined towards the jars originating from Brooklyn Nine-Nine, making reference to the mason jars scene.
^ probably donut? Everything looks fine tbh
There is a real confectionary crime wave in the creator series! First a cookie smuggling ring ( 10246 ), now a Donut thief!
At this point, I am a little surprised there wasn't a cake in the Brick Bank. Definitely adding some pastries into one of my safe deposit boxes now!
Do you guys think I can get Lego to give me a "thematically fitting" discount if I offer to put it up in a police break room? ;-)
"Other than the kitchen sink, there is nowhere for the occupant to toilet."
Maybe he steals the donuts in hope that the police will catch him and let him use the one in the jail cell.
Love this modular, Any news on the new ninjago one? I’ve heard nothing about it and we still haven’t had a reveale.
Can't wait for January 2. Hopefully we don't get full lockdown in Hamburg.... If we have, and it looks like we get one, I will place my order at 0:01 o'clock. On January 1st. Of course I will.
Thanks for this review!
Another 2021 set I'm curious about is the Car Transporter https://brickset.com/sets/60305-1/Car-Transporter mostly want to know if it will fit the Speed Champions cars released prior to them shifting to 8-stud width. Will the 6-stud width cars fit on this transporter?
I'd imagine they'll sell quite a few more of them if they do fit 6-wide SC cars.
Thanks.
@manmythic said:
"Another fantastic review, Huw! I absolutely love this model - can't wait to pick it up. You've also made some great points about the interior.
When you post pictures of the Police Station with recent modulars, is there any chance we could see it with the Downtown Diner attached to its left? That's going to be my set-up - it's the only recent modular I have! :)"
Here's a photo of it beside the Diner from the review on The Brothers Brick. https://www.brothers-brick.com/2020/12/10/lego-modular-buildings-collection-10278-police-station-review/lego-modulars-10278-police-station-tbb-review-rf6a5-66/
^ We haven't been offered that one to review, but I suspect they'll fit: the one supplied is 6-wide after all.
Alright, I'm definitely using that facet brick staircase technique, I don't build castle MOCs so I have no other use for the ones I got from some of my LEGO Classic sets.
As before, even though I won't be getting this set, I'm just so thrilled seeing my two favorite LEGO colors medium lavender and sand green together in a Modular Building.
@Tc99m said:
"In the designer video, the lead designer mentioned that the Evidence Room had references to other LEGO sets (modulars?). Except for the cookies (Detective's Office) and the red wrench (?) (Corner Garage?), I can't think of any other references. Does anyone know what the other pieces of evidence refer to? "
Here's what I think:
Red gem - Grand Emporium (display case)
Cookies - Detective's Office
Frying pan - Parisian Restaurant
Knit cap - Brick Bank (lady thief)
Red crowbar - Corner Garage
@manmythic said:
"...When you post pictures of the Police Station with recent modulars, is there any chance we could see it with the Downtown Diner attached to its left? That's going to be my set-up - it's the only recent modular I have! :)"
This is what I was thinking as well. The pink donut shop will transition nicely with with Diner's color themes. This lessens the jarring nature of the Diner to other buildings, and will feel more cohesive.
@8BrickMario said:
"I wouldn't go a far as to call "donut" incorrect. It's just an alternate spelling that became widely accepted. It may have started incorrect, but there’s no point fighting it now. "
Amen.
Looking forward to this, but personally would have preferred the station to be the full 32 width - generally police stations are bigger buildings and I think they should have had a garage and a car - but I still love this one
I really like the look of this, and it'll definitely look imposing with the rest!
I seem to be in a bit of a minority in that I absolutely love the Bookshop modular from last year. It's up there as one of my top two or three modulars.
No Thank you!
Thanks for the review.
As far as I saw pictures of the typewriter and phone ( why no pictures here?) they look like the old stickers frome the homemaker/toy house sets (2xx line) I would've loved to see more building techniques which are described but not pictured.
@yacoub said:
"Thanks for this review!
Another 2021 set I'm curious about is the Car Transporter https://brickset.com/sets/60305-1/Car-Transporter mostly want to know if it will fit the Speed Champions cars released prior to them shifting to 8-stud width. Will the 6-stud width cars fit on this transporter?
I'd imagine they'll sell quite a few more of them if they do fit 6-wide SC cars.
Thanks."
The car that comes with it is 6 wide.
The building looks ok. The new inverted slope part is awesome, I'll pick those up on B&P.
The newsstand guy reminds me of the Romanian one in Captain America - Civil War when Bucky is in Bucharest.
@heikoloogi said:
"Thanks for the review.
As far as I saw pictures of the typewriter and phone ( why no pictures here?) they look like the old stickers frome the homemaker/toy house sets (2xx line) I would've loved to see more building techniques which are described but not pictured. "
It's a fine line between revealing everything and leaving some things for you to discover when building it. I decided on the side of the latter on this occasion.
You don't want me to totally spoil it for you!
Makes you realise what good value Assembly Square is when it's only a tenner more.
I really like the modulars with little details and a story, it just seems more fun to me :-)
I passed on the corner garage and bookshop (haven't made up my mind for certain on the bookshop) but will definitely be getting this one.
And @Huw I think you definitely strike the right balance between review and reveal!
Great review. Combining 2 of these and deleting the 2 side buildings will make an excellent Library in my city. The architecture of this (at least to me) is nothing like a police station. It does look very much like library or museum...
I’ll just have to MOC my own city Police Station.
Thank you for the review!
I'm still on the fence about this set. For a long time I have been thinking a lot about building a police station for my city, in which I aim for a slightly more realistic feel with larger buildings than those of the modular sets. So, on one hand, this set would help somewhat, but on the other, 18 studs would be way too little for a more-or-less realistic functional police station (to say nothing of its side buildings!), and I'd have to seek extra parts to expand it. I'm definitely not prepared to buy two. I would have much preferred it if the set was either 48 studs wide or included only one side building.
Also I still don't understand why they keep putting play features in these sets that they market as 16+ or 18+.
hashtag teamdonut
Thanks for this excellent review, and I look forward on getting my hands on this and adding it to my growing Modular collection. Couple nitpicks though, it's a shame all of that nice rock work for the tunneling under the jail cell gets all covered up, except for a tiny sliver. Also, no bathroom in an apt. and no sink for the police dept. bathroom? Are they "dirty cops?"
This modular is definitely a big step up from last years BookShop IMHO. And I think the bubbles in the sign spells the "'n'" in Soap 'n' Suds. As in same brand, genious. Looking forward to get this one for sure!! Too bad we have to wait until january 1st tho, it feels like an eternity right now.
I don't understand why the interiors are being considered a minus on this one. It is great to see a set that is toning it down a bit when it comes to fiddly interiors. A big plus in my book.
Hello Huw, thanks for this review of the new modular set, this will be my first proper modular after both Ninjago City and Old Fishing Store. We need a school.
Great review!
Yeah, I absolutely love this modular. The building techniques on the main facade, the plant vine crawling all the way up, the particular different colours (lavender & sand green) chosen for the seemingly three adjacent buildings blended into one build. The way the two shrubs/plants/tiny trees on either side of the main entrance are made look good and innovative. The building technique for the staircase is really cool! I suppose you can always change the interior walls and make them flush with all other walls in height.
The tiny flat/apartment is really tiny, and hilarious in a Lego sort of way. I am glad I am not a minifig having to shack in that shanty domicile. No toilet, no shower, no fridge, no proper stairs, then again, this modular has more toilets than any other modular set. You can always refurbish it, put a door in the wall between it and the office on the first floor, and make it part of the police station. Or eventually buy a second police station, make it twice as tall, give the tiny flat a make over too, with an extra floor with separate bedroom, toilet, shower etc.
I find the inclusion of interiors inside modulars very appealing, so I guess that makes me disagree somewhat, and say they are important, even if you don't reach out to get your modulars from where you display them to open them up. The fact that you spent time and energy building the interior and possibly modifying them adds to my enjoyment when I look at a modular I built.
That is e.g. why I think the DownTown Diner is such an awesome set. The diner not only looks great, the two floors on top of it with a gym/dojo (with boxing ring), and recording studio are fantastic. The interior of this Police Station just begs to be tweaked a little, even though it already looks wonderful as is. I imagine this latest modular will look great, with its donutshop snugly fit between Diner and Police Station. I already bought a second DD to make it taller, I contemplate eventually doing the same with the police station. Contrary to the Corner Garage IMO, this new modular is a total must have!
ps.
This building can easily be repurposed as something else too, such as a hotel etc.
Excellent review of an excellent set. The interior seems to be a bit on the spartan side, but what's there is well done.
I’m really starting to hate LEGO for giving away these sets to reviewers almost a month before the official release. First of all it makes me extremely jealous you get these sets before anyone else and secondly it kinda numbs the enthusiasm before the sets is even released reading about positives and negatives on a set.
Maybe it’s just that I’m just jealous and I shouldn’t read or view these reviews (good luck with the latter when LEGO ships sets to all popular reviewers), but I just think it really sucks.
@Huw Pretty sure it's spelled Douwknuught
Great review, but all in all disappointing set. I like the interior but for me the exterior is the major let down. I don't know how to put it in words, but it feels like a good MOC more than a great official set. Not that MOCs can't be amazing, but there's that extra "thing" with official "Expert" sets that this one doesn't. This can't stand next to the Detective's Office, Parisian Restaurant or the Bank.
Am I the only one who would like to see a Modular Park, bigger than the Spring Lantern Festival?
@Lukasz64 said:
"Am I the only one who would like to see a Modular Park, bigger than the Spring Lantern Festival?"
I was kind of forced to create a modular park due to the layout of my mini-city. It's on a table in a T-street layout and I didn't want two rows of buildings (blocked views, backsides of buildings on display, etc). I've never MOCed before so I "stole" micro builds and architectural cues from all the modular buildings. Worked out pretty well for a first time attempt. It's 6 plates wide (2 for a main "square", 1 pond, 3 park).
Great review and an instant buy for me :)
@Mr_Hankey said:
"I’m really starting to hate LEGO for giving away these sets to reviewers almost a month before the official release. First of all it makes me extremely jealous you get these sets before anyone else and secondly it kinda numbs the enthusiasm before the sets is even released reading about positives and negatives on a set.
Maybe it’s just that I’m just jealous and I shouldn’t read or view these reviews (good luck with the latter when LEGO ships sets to all popular reviewers), but I just think it really sucks."
It's better than blowing $200 on a set you end up not liking
@Mr_Hankey said:
"I’m really starting to hate LEGO for giving away these sets to reviewers almost a month before the official release. First of all it makes me extremely jealous you get these sets before anyone else and secondly it kinda numbs the enthusiasm before the sets is even released reading about positives and negatives on a set.
Maybe it’s just that I’m just jealous and I shouldn’t read or view these reviews (good luck with the latter when LEGO ships sets to all popular reviewers), but I just think it really sucks."
I can totally understand where you are coming from.
We have no control over when LEGO says we can publish our reviews so while we could have waited until the 1st Jan, all the other sites would have gone ahead and published today anyway so people might wonder why we haven't done so too and it would be 'old news' by next year.
I also understand and appreciate that we are in a privileged position and fortunate that LEGO finds it worthwhile to work with 'influencers' like us to promote their products, just like many other companies do nowadays.
Good review! I'm not sure I share the same disappointment with the interior that you express. Not only are there quite a lot of nice features included (probably more than I might've been able to come up with for a police station on a 32x32 footprint, at any rate), but a lot of the furnishings that DO show up demonstrate a great deal of the sort of creativity that Chris McVeigh has long been known for in his various furniture and appliance builds.
I'm glad you made sure to call attention to some of those details in the photos and/or text of this review. But a few that I was especially delighted to see include the construction of the record player (in spite of the incorrect needle placement) the SNOT-based design of the kitchenette and its appliances, the rough surfaces of the incomplete escape tunnel, the tiled floors of the lobby, the tape recorder and sideboard in the interrogation room, and the chunky, old-fashioned looking design of the water cooler.
Overall, considering stuff that's been going on in the world as of late, I felt a bit weird learning that a police station would be the next Modular Building, but the designers seem to have done a great job emphasizing the same sort of retro charm, aesthetics, and humor which have long contributed to the Modular Buildings Collection's positive and playful atmosphere, even in sets like this one which present more conflict-driven narratives in addition to more peaceful slice-of-life scenarios. The end result makes for quite a lovely addition to the series, and fills a niche that many AFOLs have long clamored for in as satisfying a manner as I could have imagined!
@Baldarek said:
"Thank you for the review!
I'm still on the fence about this set. For a long time I have been thinking a lot about building a police station for my city, in which I aim for a slightly more realistic feel with larger buildings than those of the modular sets. So, on one hand, this set would help somewhat, but on the other, 18 studs would be way too little for a more-or-less realistic functional police station (to say nothing of its side buildings!), and I'd have to seek extra parts to expand it. I'm definitely not prepared to buy two. I would have much preferred it if the set was either 48 studs wide or included only one side building.
Also I still don't understand why they keep putting play features in these sets that they market as 16+ or 18+."
It seems like this police department decided at some point that this station was too small for their needs as well, considering that they added an annex to house the jail and evidence lockup. Perhaps further back in this city's history, there was less crime, and thus less need for a police station this size? In any case, the station as a whole is effectively 24 studs wide, in spite of the facades varying between the older station building and the newer annex. I'm sure a larger station would also be really interesting to see, though!
And as for the play features… believe it or not, a lot of adults DO greatly enjoy it when sets include those. It's not as though as soon as you turn sixteen or eighteen, you abruptly lose interest in every aspect of a set besides how it looks sitting untouched on a shelf. I also know that some adults allow their younger family members play with their modular building sets, as long as they're willing to do so carefully and responsibly.
@Zordboy said:
"Agreed that the interior is a little bit disappointing. The police station has three storeys. There's so much potential for internal detail, but the ground floor is wasted on nothing more than a front desk (quick question. Why is there a golden egg underneath the stairs?), and did the top floor really need a toilet? Was that something that kids have been asking for, in their police stations?"
Out of curiosity, what sort of stuff do you think should have gone in the "lobby" besides the reception desk and water cooler? I feel like this set already did a pretty good job covering the other essential police station features on the other floors and/or the annex.
Plus, this approach seems to be a pretty effective way of ensuring that interactions with public visitors (like people reporting crimes, visiting detainees at the jail, or providing information and/or evidence that they think might be relevant to an ongoing case) are kept separate from the police detectives' more behind-the-scenes work upstairs.
That certainly seems preferable to adding a wall to separate the private and public areas of the police station, considering that would only cut down further on the floor space and the accessibility of the interior. Furthermore, having a big, open reception area with a tiled floor and grand staircase helps the station interior feel a little more grand, in accordance with the stately design of the facade.
I assume the gold piece at the bottom of the stairwell may be intended to represent a crown (like its earliest appearances) rather than an egg. It could be at least partly intended as another potential theft for the police to investigate, but by hiding it under the police station's staircase it could also be yet another Brooklyn Nine-Nine reference. Specifically, one of the show's Halloween episodes split the department into two teams for a "capture the flag" type challenge, with each team attempting to steal a plastic crown from the interrogation room and hide it somewhere to keep the other team from finding it and stealing it back by the end of the night.
I think toilets are a feature that a lot of kids and adults alike enjoy seeing in sets. I certainly always feel like they're a welcome addition in the Modular Buildings, considering how few the series as a whole has than you'd expect in real life, as well as how neat it is to see expert-level designers show off different ways of building them.
In this particular set, it also presents a bit of narrative potential. For example, a suspect who's brought in for interrogation might ask for a bathroom break first as an opportunity to "flush away" some incriminating evidence. Alternatively, if an officer during an interrogation feels particularly ruthless, they can refuse to let their suspect use the bathroom without first answering some questions. Or an especially nefarious crook could clog the toilet with toilet paper to keep the officer on duty busy while they break into the evidence locker. It's all for fun, ya know?
@Snazzy_Bricks said:
"It's better than blowing $200 on a set you end up not liking"
I think the greater benefit to the fan community of reviewers getting sets for free is ensuring that sets don't only get reviewed by people who knew they were going to have only good things to say about them in the first place, and that their perspectives aren't clouded by internal pressure to feel validated their own purchasing decisions!
That said, it sounds like @Mr_Hankey was more bothered by reviewers getting the sets SOONER than other fans than by them getting them for free. And that is definitely a decision that tends to be driven more by LEGO's marketing interests (e.g. ensuring sets are already widely discussed and anticipated by the time of their release, and giving popular/influential reviewers a special incentive for focusing on LEGO rather than other brands) than the interests of t
@Aanchir said:
"That said, it sounds like @Mr_Hankey was more bothered by reviewers getting the sets SOONER than other fans than by them getting them for free. And that is definitely a decision that tends to be driven more by LEGO's marketing interests (e.g. ensuring sets are already widely discussed and anticipated by the time of their release, and giving popular/influential reviewers a special incentive for focusing on LEGO rather than other brands) than the interests of the fan community on a broader level."
This is a rare recent occasion when LEGO has sent the set out so far ahead of release and set the embargo date so early: if you look back at the timing of our other D2C set reviews this year, most are published a few days before, or even after, their release.
For us europeans, buildings that have rooms/floors across mulyiple facades are fairly common, at least... here in the netherlands they are. Slanted/diagonal walls between buildings aren't that uncommon either. I love the colours/colors and love the design and vibe. Not too pumped about the story, but I don't care. Day 1 purchase for me! For the love and my completion of the modulars :)
@Mr_Hankey said:
"I’m really starting to hate LEGO for giving away these sets to reviewers almost a month before the official release."
I’m the opposite. I love reading reviews of upcoming sets I’m interested in, even if they are (less than a month) away. It informs a purchase or not, and gets me a little more hyped for things to come.
I like this modular because it looks like a modular from years-years ago (green grocer, cafe corner fire station etcetc). In the last few years every modular was kinda unique and different from other which was ok, but resulted interesting stuff like diner... I mean diner is ok, but c'mon...
But this one is brings back the good old "retro modular feeling" or how should I say it and I'm absolutely loving it.
@JayCal said:
"For us europeans, buildings that have rooms/floors across mulyiple facades are fairly common, at least... here in the netherlands they are. Slanted/diagonal walls between buildings aren't that uncommon either. I love the colours/colors and love the design and vibe. Not too pumped about the story, but I don't care. Day 1 purchase for me! For the love and my completion of the modulars :) "
As an American, I think that can be the case in many older, densely built cities. If a business or public building occupies a good downtown location but starts to outgrow its initial floor plan, converting all or part of a neighboring building into an extension can often be a more effective (and cheaper!) way to expand than having to rebuild or relocate entirely. My hometown in Virginia has a lot of examples of that, where smaller historic buildings have been linked together to allow for more business without the cost and social stigma of completely demolishing a historic property.
Great review.
I am curious what prompts the decision to have a female specific torso on some female minifigures but not other female minifigures? It’s strange on some of them to not have the black shapes on the sides.
Lovely review, I don't honestly mind a sparser interior as it gives you room to populate it with characters, builds or stories of your own! The palace cinema is a good example of that too. Presently I think the bookshop will be next purchase, if it ever is restocked at lego.shop, I think the color would contrast good with Persian restaurant
Huw, thank you for the thorough review and for the spelling tips. Alas, it's an americanized (americanised, sorry) world we live in.
My overall impression about this new modular is very positive, and I believe it will be a first-day buy for me. Modulars have come a long way since the glorious Coffee Shop set was released. Detailed interiors are bringing a whole new feel to the build.
Also, the interplay between the designer's building creativity and his narrative effort is actually very interesting. It is a breath of fresh air in an AFOL-oriented market segment such as the modular theme. This might help draw our kids' attention more towards modular buildings, and that is of course if we ever allow them to even get close to OUR modular street.
@Snazzy_Bricks said:
" @Mr_Hankey said:
"I’m really starting to hate LEGO for giving away these sets to reviewers almost a month before the official release. First of all it makes me extremely jealous you get these sets before anyone else and secondly it kinda numbs the enthusiasm before the sets is even released reading about positives and negatives on a set.
Maybe it’s just that I’m just jealous and I shouldn’t read or view these reviews (good luck with the latter when LEGO ships sets to all popular reviewers), but I just think it really sucks."
It's better than blowing $200 on a set you end up not liking"
I don't think that people are actually using these reviews to decide if a set is good or not, it's just to get more pictures and read a non PR description of the set. It's a Lego set, you either want it or not. Only exception is major faults that the reviewer finds, like with the HP castle bridge or that plane that got cancelled.
It's sadly quite clear that the modular buildings no longer are intended for those of us who really appreciate detailed interiors - we better get sets such as 21324 123 Sesame Street and 21318 Tree House.
The exterior is great though (love details such as the ivy, bushes and billboard), except the unsightly grey and white stripes that mark each floor of the main building - surely there's got to be a large enough variety of tiles and plates in tan to avoid that?
Chris may be Canadian and more familiar with Tim Horton's, but that's clearly a color scheme on that doughnut shop that's more similar to Dunkin' Donuts which is also known for its coffee, particularly around the northeastern US...and the newspaper just confirms it. It's TOTALLY a Dunkin' Donuts (which is currently being re-branded as simply "Dunkin'".) I'm totally going to put a branded sign on the outside of that shop.
I doughn't understand why people struggle with the correct spelling of doughnut.
It looks pretty good. Except I feel that the focus should have stayed with a police station in the footprint, not shared with a newsstand and donut shop. As-is, it's a little crammed. With most modulars, we get a period-correct car. The complete lack of a police car is a glaring omission.
I am the minority here by saying I am not a fan of this police station. There are others that look better. It looks odd to have 2 narrow buildings sandwiched the police station. Rather to have just 1 or 2 buildings instead of 3 within a 32x32 footprint. 32x32 is just too small for that. And the 3 buildings starts to look similar to older modulars, guess this is bound to happen as more and more modulars are released.
ayy lmao you really censored my comment, absolute madlads
no but seriously I wanted to see how long that would stay on. I promise to be more subtle in the future.
@BrickWeed same. But you can, let's say, add some nice decorations or creatively rework the building.
Very nice set that I will certainly get. My only disappointment, no vehicle ?? The dinner, the cinema, the fire station had vehicles, but the police station didn't ?? I wonder about this choice. At 270 $CA which is 70 $ more than last year's model and the price of a corner model (garage) I would have liked to have a vehicle, which would have, for me, justified the high price of the model of this year.
@Huw:
Eh, you guys "pay" for these sets by running the sites that review them. I've been on the other side of the screen, at a time when they very rarely offered review copies, and it's a massive time suck to make sure new content is posted regularly, keep up with site correspondence, and so forth. It's hard to get time away from a fan site unless you have a large staff that can cover in your absence, at which point you'll need to share the same amount of review sets between a larger pool of people. I got burnt out after three years, and would much rather spend my time doing public events where I can choose my level of participation on a case-by-case basis.
Is it possible to get some modulars displayed alongside the strangely compatible Diagon Alley? I know the modulars will dwarf it, but it seems to be an interesting concept.
@elangab said:
"Great review, but all in all disappointing set. I like the interior but for me the exterior is the major let down. I don't know how to put it in words, but it feels like a good MOC more than a great official set. Not that MOCs can't be amazing, but there's that extra "thing" with official "Expert" sets that this one doesn't. This can't stand next to the Detective's Office, Parisian Restaurant or the Bank."
FINALLY! Someone who feels EXACTLY like I do. I've looked at this new modular multiple times and , for whatever reason, it just doesn't feel like a modular to me. It may be the 'tacked on' side buildings but it seems to have such little presence. I'm looking forward to seeing it next to a line of previous modulars as I expect this suspicion will be confirmed. Add to this the fact that a couple of design decisions are entirely nonsensical and feel like the kind of things we regularly see in the standard city line - ladders to enter a one room apartment? If they were built like a US centric fire escape, perhaps, but this way is just ridiculous. Don't get me started that the window RAC (while an EXCELLENT idea) services the buildings toilet! WHAT THE!
I haven't done a PPP comparison with previous modulars but I look at the price of this compared to Assembly square and there seems like such little 'bang for your buck'. As for those who love it compared to the Book Shop? This REALLY shows how there's different strokes for different folks as compared to the Book Shop I find the Police Station entirely underwhelming.
@DavidBrick:
Say you occupy a specific building, and one day you realize you need to expand your square footage. You've got three choices. You can move to a bigger location, you can build an extension, or you can knock down walls to an adjacent building. What you generally can't do, especially with quarried stone, is get an exact match if you opt to build a new extension. It's easier to make a complementary addition than to make one that looks original. Periodically you may get one larger space that, on the outside, is split up to look like multiple smaller buildings as an original design choice, as it helps a really big building blend in with surrounding smaller buildings. Disney does this a _lot_ with their theme parks. In the Great Lakes region, Meijer is the original chain department store that companies like Walmart emulated, and some of their newer storefronts have a multi-building facade across the front so they look more welcoming than a giant box.
@blogzilly:
Some will be designed to be female-only, like swimsuits (for obvious reasons), but this is a case where the torso was actually designed for a male police chief in 60246 (Police Chief Wheeler has stubble). Rather than design a completely new torso, they simply took advantage of the fact that many male torsos are gender-neutral.
@elangab:
Some people are swayed one way or the other. For many who don't plan to buy it, it's an opportunity to get a peek at the design without having to crawl through the PDF instructions. For others, it's a chance to get a better look at upcoming new/rare elements.
@cody6268:
You got cars with _four_ Modulars. That's it.
@Strymon said:
"I doughn't understand why people struggle with the correct spelling of doughnut. "
We should ask The Simpsons why.
@vzarmo said:
"We should ask The Simpsons why. "
I d'ohn't know if they'd have the answer.
@silentguy said:
"Do you guys think I can get Lego to give me a "thematically fitting" discount if I offer to put it up in a police break room? ;-)"
lmao. idk who is gonna belive you
@gold682 said:
"Makes you realise what good value Assembly Square is when it's only a tenner more."
I'm flabbergasted. Where I live, Assembly Square is a whopping 60% more expensive than Police Station (SGD 450 vs SGD 280). That GBP 180 of AS comes up to only about SGD 320!
Just love it! One of the best in my opinion.
I got lucky to find The town square on a big sale and bought it with $200. But now I'm disappointed that I don't have The Bank with that Soap store.
@Chilis_no said:
"This modular is definitely a big step up from last years BookShop IMHO. And I think the bubbles in the sign spells the "'n'" in Soap 'n' Suds. As in same brand, genious. Looking forward to get this one for sure!! Too bad we have to wait until january 1st tho, it feels like an eternity right now."
1st Jan is 3 weeks away!
Unless you are 5 years old, waiting 3 weeks shouldn’t be a problem
@Slave2lego said:
"Looking forward to this, but personally would have preferred the station to be the full 32 width - generally police stations are bigger buildings and I think they should have had a garage and a car - but I still love this one"
Agreed. I think the incorporation of a garage, similar to the fire station, would have been a better choice than a donut shop.
Dear Huw, thanks for the great review, as usually. I have same feeling about this building: at the first view I love it.. but going more deeply it seems something is missing.. not completely “perfect” as the Parisien Restaurant or the Brick Bank! And again Lego has lost the chance to add a vehicle: a police car (or a police van) would have been the best!... what a pity.
As much as I like the inclusion of a narrative into the builds, the modular design doesn't always make for the best playability due to the fact that the interior spaces are cramped, and the floors must be removed constantly. I think the bank is worst offender in this regard. If the designers wish to continue to include a storyline the necessarily goes from floor to floor, perhaps they should consider a design feature that allows the back of the model to open up, exposing all floors at once. This way, for example, you could drop the robbers down the banks vent shaft, and actually play with them in the bank vault, rather than dropping them down the shaft, pulling the rope back up, removing the floors, and then putting them in the vault.
Likewise, for this set, it would be more fun to have the ability to view both of the donut shop floors together in order to better play with the secret entrance beneath the bed.
@Strymon said:
"I doughn't understand why people struggle with the correct spelling of doughnut. "
"Donut" has been an accepted spelling since the 19th century and in many places it's the most commonly used spelling.
"What is important is that they are innovative, fun and interesting to build, introduce new construction techniques using the latest pieces, and look stunning on display."
I can't agree more to it. I don't care for an half-empty interior. The exterior is the most important on. It must look brilliant on a shelf.
Olde to the years of "cool" modulars...Lego continues to disappoint with the boring pastel colored modulars...not impressed, but then again its been a lame 2 years in a row.
I'd have to build it myself, but the exterior back is really lacking for me. Some of the modulars have shown how that angle can be interesting as well, but the back does nothing much for me on this Police Station. I also appreciate when modulars have consideration for livable space, even though it's LEGO (bathrooms in apartments; with sinks!). I might be nitpicking, but I think the consumer should expect a lot from these, seeing as they are only once per year.