Random set of the day: City House
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 8403 City House, released during 2010. It's one of 37 City sets produced that year. It contains 383 pieces and 3 minifigs, and its retail price was US$39.99/£29.99.
It's owned by 3,680 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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47 comments on this article
Now that’s something you don’t see much these days
I highly doubt it. There's not enough room in a city for yards. That man should be barbecuing on the roof! I suppose this could be someone just on the edge of the city and the suburbs, the sub-suburbs?
I love this set. I think this is also the last appearance of the round "fruit tree."
It's always nice to have a civilian building in a city full of police stations and fire stations.
Although not quite as complete as some of the Creator houses, it's still a pretty nice set. One of my personal highlights are the solar panels, which are among the few stickers that I have applied to my bricks. The tree is also a nice touch, as it's somewhat rare. I never really understood the arch though.
Too bad the 2021 house was plagued from the road plates making it more expensive.......
Hope the next one in 2032 will be better. (lol)
I don't remember this one, but looking at it, I wish I'd gotten it. I like the color scheme, I like the lounger, I like the kid's tree fort... There's a lot to like here.
@Norikins: That tree and the fact that the set has a baseplate definitely bring the nostalgia.
Should we be discussing the gateway in the fence that seems to lead into the eternal abyss?
@MCLegoboy:
That depends on the city. There isn’t a city in Michigan that doesn’t have houses with yards. Detroit’s Boston Edison district has some rather gargantuan mansions with impressively large yards (for a city). Much of residential Detroit is nothing but empty yards now, as many houses have been scrapped after fires or general disrepair following prolonged lapses in occupancy. I’ve visited people in Queens, NYC, and the yards probably occupy less space than the houses within them, but they _do_ have yards. Manhattan, not so much.
@Bricknave:
Some residential architectural styles have courtyards, like a small yard in the middle of the house. Arches like that may be included as a way to enter the courtyard directly, as they allow the two sections of wall to be tied together rather than having freestanding ends that may shift in relation to each other over time.
I've always liked this set: I'm a sucker for random civilian sets in a city dominated by police and fire. That said, the Creator houses are often much better options.
A city set that isn't a police helicopter or a fire boat? Take me back to 2010 already.
@Norikins said:
"I love this set. I think this is also the last appearance of the round "fruit tree.""
2013 10660 had it last appearance but that was in lime.
This is one of the few sets I have from this era. It's actually quite good, though the house falls off its foundations easily.
What defines a "modular"? In this set, the roof and 2nd floor are detachable like the Creator Expert modulars. Does modular just mean the connection between different buildings?
What are the first examples of Lego using this "stacking" technique in the modern City era? (2006+)?
This is a very nice set and I think it's still has a chance today. What I remember from old days, "8000" series were reserved for Technic sets before 2K. The obsessive person inside me is always bothered by such inconsistencies.
The idea is good, but the execution is a little too plain in my opinion. I like the amount of stuff that you get here and the completeness but on the whole it just feels kind of drab.
Call it Star Wars House and mark it $79
LEGO, please bring back these charmingly simple yet characterful house sets, if you don't then my trail of tears extends to the infinite.
:*(***********************************************--->
@Be_hapi said:
"Should we be discussing the gateway in the fence that seems to lead into the eternal abyss?"
"Son, come inside for dinner!"
"You can't tell me what to do!"
[Lego boy yeets himself through the fence gate and into the void forever]
The treehouse is kinda cute thought I can’t help but feel ‘tree’ is stretching it a bit
These are going for $90–100 in my currency where I live, which isn't terrible considering it's only $10–20 more than 60291 (which thankfully I got a used copy of for half price so I can part it out and hopefully do something more useful with its road plate).
@TransNeonOrangeSpaceman said:
"The idea is good, but the execution is a little too plain in my opinion. I like the amount of stuff that you get here and the completeness but on the whole it just feels kind of drab."
I'm of two minds about it. On one hand, I agree with you. On the other hand, this shows kids that you can build a really good-looking house with very basic pieces. As long as you have them in the right colors anyway. It's very plain, but it still looks good enough to not feel out of place unless you deliberately surround it with Creator Expert buildings.
I have a copy I got at an antique store for $28. Unfortunately, the solar panel stickers are crooked. It would be nice if they did a more urban house more often.
Not bad...not bad at all; kinda' reminds me of my grandparents' house growing up: two-stories, bit of a yard (which I mowwed when there), tree (though theirs was a 'weeping willow', and was HUGE...and 'swingable':)).
Look at that: a City building not made almost entirely of glass panels!
Ah, I kind of love-hate this set. Love, because it's the first lived-in residential building in City in forever, possibly since the start if the theme. In fact, it's modular and compatible with the empty shop of 7633 Construction Site and the pizzaria of 7641 / 60031 City Corner.
It was also notable for being one of the first City sets with a classic green baseplate in forever, maybe ever. The bowl cut hairpiece was also rare at the time, and as stated before, that tree was increasingly getting more uncommon.
Did we even get a residential set until the one with the new road plate from 2021? Perhaps, but the fact that I'm even not sure is really telling, isn't it?
Hate, because it wasn't even available here! As far as I know this one was either not sold in the Netherlands or at the very least was super limited edition. Way to shoot yourself in the foot, Lego! Come on, why must you restrict such a ubiquitous set even further down here!
Also, I remember the price being around 50 euro converted from Swedish Kroner on vacation. Which wasn't exactly a sweet deal. I didn't have that much to spend at that one moment because I was caught by surprise. And thus I was completely unable to buy the set. Ever, outside from buying online from abroad. For a City residential building. Thanks.
@MCLegoboy , @Purpledave there's more cities than just ones from the US. From my own experience I can say this wouldn't be out of place in some more modern Dutch cities. Maybe not exactly in the middle of the city center amidst the shopping streets but certainly within walking distance from one.
Not a bad set, just a shame the building is so narrow, as another 200 brick pieces could have turned it into a fantastic house, but I guess they were told to keep it to below £30.
Not bad, it took LEGO 11 years to make another house under the City theme with 60291 : Family House , and I suppose if you want a tree there's 60326 : Picnic in the Park to get a similar scene.
Creator 3-in-1 made a whole bunch of houses, I especially liked 2017 31069 : Modular Family Villa despite being part of the flimsy module system , it could easily make some wacky builds with the other 2017-2018 sets using that system.
31065 : Park Street Townhouse , also from 2017 has a more professional look to it however.
This is one of those sets that got away from me somehow. I was planning to get it, if for no other reason that the molded tree, of which I only have one. I don't remember how I managed to not get it :(
I really wanted this set when it first came out for a lot of the same reasons that others have mentioned. However, it seemed the set was only on the shelves for about 10 minutes and then it was gone. The resale price is to much for me, so this will be one that got away.
@Binnekamp:
Oh, I’m well aware, but I can’t really speak for any that I don’t have personal experience with. I’ve even been to Chicago several times, but never to any residential areas within the city proper, so I have no idea if there are any residential yards in that city (heck, there might even be a few scattered around Manhattan, for all I know). But I don’t need an exhaustive list to disprove a false statement. NYC is the largest city in North America, and even there you’ll find yards. In fact, the only “city” I can say with certainty has no private residential yards is Whittier, Alaska. It’s a tiny speck of a port town that only exists so cruise ships that dwarf the entire town have a place to dock (ironically) near Anchorage. All permanent residents live year round in the old Army barracks, and seasonal help spends the summer living in the “new” Army barracks. There isn’t a single single-family home to be seen in any direction.
@PurpleDave said:
" @Bricknave:
Some residential architectural styles have courtyards, like a small yard in the middle of the house. Arches like that may be included as a way to enter the courtyard directly, as they allow the two sections of wall to be tied together rather than having freestanding ends that may shift in relation to each other over time."
Huh, interesting. Thank you.
I built this (got it used) with one of my sons when he was 4-5. We still have it mostly intact. It was one of our first builds together and I was so eager to do it I didn’t check if it was complete first, like I always do. It did have some missing pieces but turns out that that taught the young man life isn’t perfect. So, great set for me.
@GBP_Chris said:
[[ @Be_hapi said:
[[Should we be discussing the gateway in the fence that seems to lead into the eternal abyss?]]
"Son, come inside for dinner!"
"You can't tell me what to do!"
[Lego boy yeets himself through the fence gate and into the void forever]]]
"You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind; a journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead—your next stop, the Twilight Zone."
Somehow I've never seen this set before even though I've been looking back at all the nice Creator houses that came out during my 2nd Dark Age around this time. (The fact it was exclusive probably has something to do with why I've never seen it before.) I like this a lot. It's a simple home. Really, we need more simple homes for our minifigures.
Whoops, I goofed. Who knew that Sitka, Alaska was 10x the size of NYC? Or that the four largest cities in just the US were all in Alaska. NYC ranks 18th in the US, and I can’t even find a list that ranks by area for all of North America. Mexico City does have NYC beat, so maybe NYC gets bumped down into the 20’s.
@PurpleDave said:
"Whoops, I goofed. Who knew that Sitka, Alaska was 10x the size of NYC? Or that the four largest cities in just the US were all in Alaska. NYC ranks 18th in the US, and I can’t even find a list that ranks by area for all of North America. Mexico City does have NYC beat, so maybe NYC gets bumped down into the 20’s."
If we're talking actual ground coverage, maybe Alaska. As for population density, Alaska is one of the fewest populated states. How many people live inside Sitka city limits vs NYC? I doubt it even comes near NYC!
@MCLegoboy said:
"I highly doubt it. There's not enough room in a city for yards. That man should be barbecuing on the roof! I suppose this could be someone just on the edge of the city and the suburbs, the sub-suburbs?"
Grew up in Brooklyn NY, we had front and back yards all through the neighborhood. Right in the heart of the city.
Live in Queens now, have a front and back yard. The whole neighborhood does.
There's large apartments in between but we have an equal amount of regular homes with front and back yards. Some big, some small.
Even parts of Manhattan have back yards, especially some of the brownstones.
@PurpleDave said:
"Whoops, I goofed. Who knew that Sitka, Alaska was 10x the size of NYC? Or that the four largest cities in just the US were all in Alaska. NYC ranks 18th in the US, and I can’t even find a list that ranks by area for all of North America. Mexico City does have NYC beat, so maybe NYC gets bumped down into the 20’s."
Was looking it up, definitely NYC has the most population at 8.4million people (all 5 boroughs-Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island), but was surprised to see Anchorage, Alaska as largest land area in the USA at 1,700 square miles compared to NYC's 300+ square miles.
That's why we're packed in over here ;)
@Bricknave said:
"It's always nice to have a civilian building in a city full of police stations and fire stations.
Although not quite as complete as some of the Creator houses, it's still a pretty nice set. One of my personal highlights are the solar panels, which are among the few stickers that I have applied to my bricks. The tree is also a nice touch, as it's somewhat rare. I never really understood the arch though."
The arch feels a bit like a throwback to 6374.
@PurpleDave
Looked up largest cities North America,
They have Houston, Mexico City, L.A. and Dallas ahead of NYC in area in North America (city proper).
The numbers get too screwy when they include Metropolitan area vs. City proper vs. Urban area.
And they sometimes do and don't count the water too.
Like NYC is 300 sq. miles of land, but they sometime add in the water to make it 470sq miles.
@Murdoch17:
Geographic area, water inclusive. The entire state of Alaska has less twice the population of Staten Island. Yards are more related to geographic size than total population. When we visited Anchorage five years ago, it looked like a sprawling semi-rural community, and someone we met there told us a lot of the residents have been complaining about feeling like it’s too crowded.
@legoDad42:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_cities_by_area
Anchorage is _fourth_ largest in just the US, by area. Sitka has over 1100 more square miles of turf, and almost as much water as Anchorage has water and land combined.
I want those tri-panelled windows in blue so bad. Would make it much easier to build LEGO Island.
@Mr__Thrawn said:
"Now that’s something you don’t see much these days"
YOU LITTERALY GET SET LIKE THIS 1 years ago, its still in shops
@lordofdragonss said:
" @Mr__Thrawn said:
"Now that’s something you don’t see much these days"
YOU LITTERALY GET SET LIKE THIS 1 years ago, its still in shops"
I think you missed the point. It 'only' took them between this set in 2010 and 2021 to produce another family home in the City line. Those two were the only two from the start of City in 2005 up to 2022.
Sure, there was one in 2021. But you still don't see it that much, especially if your 'these days' is 5 years. 10 years. 15 years...
One of the rare house in the City line from this era. A complete set, with everything you need : house, garden, treehouse, a complete family, letterbox, trash bin, lamppost and even a pavement and a loggia.
It captures the spirit of the 80's houses : 6370 6372 6374
Finally, it looks like a 2010 update of the house with garden 376-2 from 1978, especially with the arch.
Wow, just randomly opened the website and found one of my favorite sets as a kid as the set of the day :)
@legoDad42:
So here’s a few more crazy facts. The Anchorage metropolitan area is home to over half of the entire state’s human population, and Anchorage proper is about 40% of the total population. Anchorage proper is larger than Rhode Island. If you removed Anchorage proper, you could lop off a chunk the size of Texas, then lop off a second chunk the size of Texas, a third chunk the size of New Mexico, and split what’s left into two Delawares. I don’t know for sure if it’d work on a globe, but I’ve seen maps of the contiguous 48+DC with Alaska overlaid and touching all four borders (main section touching Canada, the panhandle hitting the SE Atlantic coast, and the Aleutians swinging along the Mexican border before tapping the Pacific coast). Juneau, the state capital, not accessible except by air or sea, has more bald eagles than humans.
Anchorage is roughly the same distance from NYC, Tokyo, and Frankfurt, and within 10 hours by air from 90% of the industrialized world. A _lot_ of international cargo flights stop there to refuel. It also encompasses a joint US Air Force/US Army base, which is huge, and mostly unpopulated.
@subaru_69 said:
"One of the rare house in the City line from this era. A complete set, with everything you need : house, garden, treehouse, a complete family, letterbox, trash bin, lamppost and even a pavement and a loggia.
It captures the spirit of the 80's houses : 6370 6372 6374
Finally, it looks like a 2010 update of the house with garden 376-2 from 1978, especially with the arch."
I wasn't even around for these sets and yet they fill me with nostalgia.