MOC: Police Station – Level 3

To navigate to other articles in this series:

• Level 1 – The Garage
• Level 2 – The Cell Block
• Level 3 – Reception (you are currently reading this article)
• Level 4 – Offices
• Level 5 – CSI Lab
• Level 6 – Rooftop

Welcome back to another look at my custom LEGO® police station. This time, we will take a look at the third floor. If you are new to this series, you can use the links above to navigate to articles concerning other levels. The third level is the main reception for my police station. You might be saying: “Wait a minute, why is reception on the third floor?” Well, dear reader, the third floor was built to line up exactly with the shopping promenade in my city. So far, the promenade only features the LEGO® Store. But, it will gradually grow to include more retail space and public services. The light rail that will eventually service the whole promenade stops right outside the police station. So, it is really the ideal place for reception to be located. There are stairs on either side of the promenade that lead down to street level as well.

The look of the promenade outside of the police station is currently preliminary. I think it will change as I build more buildings around it. I have not decided what will face the police station yet, so the little square is still a bit bland. But, it is from there that you will find an inset doorway that leads into the main reception area.

As you enter the station, you will find the main reception desk that also features the main dispatch and surveillance station. There is a waiting area, as well as a secure, keypad entry door leading to the cell block below.

The design of this level, and the ones above it, is a marked color change from the cold grey of the lower levels. The third floor, and above, are the more traditional blue and white of the LEGO® City theme police stations. The idea here was that the lower levels would represent an older building, with the upper levels having been built above it later. So, the upper levels have a more modern look.

The third floor is also the first to be serviced by the elevator. In fact, there are no stairs leading up from this level, just the elevator. There is a ladder fire escape leading down in the alley behind the building though (have to keep it real after all). The elevator went through many different iterations. It started off as a string and winch system, but that did not allow me to go high enough and snagged a lot. Then I started to develop it as a rack and pinion system, like the one in Ninjago City. However, I did not have enough rack pieces to reach the top floor. I ended up with a the current design that is essentially an empty shaft with a separate elevator build that fits inside. The elevator moves by lifting or lowering it using a knob that juts out of the elevator shaft a little on the exterior of the building. I built a track that runs through each floor to accommodate this knob.

As with the previous levels, I also wanted a little story to exist on this floor. The two first floors featured the jail break play feature and sewer escape. This floor is a little less elaborate, but provided a place for a Minifigure from my collection. The Yuppie from series 17 always struck me as a kind of sleazy looking private investigator from some lame ’90s TV show. So, here he fills that roll as he tries to get some information in reception to help him with his case.

That’s it for this week’s MOC entry. Stay tuned next week for a look at level four. As always, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments field below. If you are enjoying this series on my latest MOC, I would love it if you followed me here on WordPress (click the “follow” option in the menu to your right), on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter for regular updates.

Until next time,

-Tom

Overhead view of level 3 of my police station.

Ovehead view of level 3 of my police station.