The Creator Expert modular buildings are for sure one of my favorite themes from the LEGO® Group. I really look forward to each year’s new release, and avidly check for news updates throughout the fall as I wait for news of the next year’s release. So, this week, I thought we would take a look at the top 10 biggest Creator Expert buildings!
1. Assembly Square
SET #: 10255
# OF BRICKS: 4002
PRICE: $339.99 CAD
MINIFIGURES: 9
RELEASED: January 2, 2017
COST/BRICK: $0.08
NOTES: Assembly Square was released to commemorate 10 years of LEGO® modular buildings. At the time that it was released, it also made the top 10 list of the largest LEGO® sets ever made. While it has since been bumped out of that ranking, it still remains the largest modular building ever. You can click here to read my review.
Town Hall official product image. © LEGO Group.
2. Town Hall
SET #: 10224
# OF BRICKS: 2766
PRICE: $249.99 CAD
MINIFIGURES: 8
RELEASED: March 3, 2012
COST/BRICK: $0.09
NOTES: Sadly, I missed out on this set. It was still on store shelves when I returned to LEGO® building as an adult. However, I focused on older modular sets that I was worried would be retired first, like the Grande Emporium and Pet Shop. This one slipped through my fingers in the process.
3. Corner Garage
SET #: 10264
# OF BRICKS: 2569
PRICE: $269.99 CAD
MINIFIGURES: 6
RELEASED: January 2, 2019
COST/BRICK: $0.11
NOTES: At the time of this writing, this is the most recent set in the Creator Expert building series. It features quite a number of interesting build techniques, and realistic details. It is also one of the few to have a working play feature (a functioning “hydraulic” lift) and not just detailed spaces. You can click here to read my review.
4. Downtown Diner
SET #: 10260
# OF BRICKS: 2480
PRICE: $219.99 CAD
MINIFIGURES: 6
RELEASED: January 1, 2018
COST/BRICK: $0.09
NOTES: I was really happy to get a gym in my LEGO® city through this set. The diner is also great fun, as is the recording studio. This set was also the first time that the modular buildings came with more expressive Minifigures. Prior to the Downtown Diner, all Minifigures in these sets came with generic smiley faces. You can click here for my review.
5. Parisian Restaurant
SET #: 10243
# OF BRICKS: 2469
PRICE: $189.99 CAD
MINIFIGURES: 5
RELEASED: January 1, 2014
COST/BRICK: $0.09
NOTES: To date, the Parisian Restaurant has been the least expensive modular building set in terms of overall price. I actually bought mine at the LEGO® Store in Times Square, New York back when the exchange rate was really good, and purchasing sets in the USA actually saved Canadians money. I acquired this early on in my AFOL experience, before True North Bricks was a thing. So, I have never reviewed it. I have not rebuilt it yet since I moved, so who knows, maybe a review will come…
6. Brick Bank
SET #: 10251
# OF BRICKS: 2380
PRICE: $219.99 CAD
MINIFIGURES: 5
RELEASED: January 2, 2016
COST/BRICK: $0.09
NOTES: This is another of the modular buildings that actually has play features. There is a locking vault door, but criminals can actually enter the vault though a duct that leads up to a chimney on the roof of the building. There is also a secret compartment in the vault that opens into the laundry machine in the laundromat next door for a little money laundering. This has certainly been one of my favorite sets. It came out just before I started True North Bricks, and subsequently never got reviewed. Again, maybe one will come now that I have to re-build this kit.
Green Grocer official product image. © LEGO Group.
7. Green Grocer
SET #: 10185
# OF BRICKS: 2352
PRICE: $199.99 CAD
MINIFIGURES: 4
RELEASED: March 5, 2008
COST/BRICK: $0.09
NOTES: The Green Grocer is high on my want list of the LEGO® sets. However, it was released during my “dark ages”, before I began to identify as an AFOL. The exorbitant prices being charged for the Green Grocer on the secondary market will likely prevent me from ever adding this set to my collecting, but who can say for sure? The LEGO® Group has re-released popular sets in the past, and I have gotten lucky once or twice by just happening to come across retired sets are regular (and sometimes discount) price years after they have gone.
8. Detective’s Office
SET #: 10246
# OF BRICKS: 2262
PRICE: $199.99 CAD
MINIFIGURES: 6
RELEASED: January 1, 2015
COST/BRICK: $0.09
NOTES: The Detective’s Office is another set that came with a play features, but unlike other modular buildings, it came with a story too. I really liked that little addition to this set, and kind of wish it would have continued in the theme. The building was designed with a prohibition era look, but instead of smuggling alcohol, there was a much more child-friendly cookie-smuggling ring going on. This set was also released before True North Bricks, so I don’t have a review yet.
9. Fire Brigade
SET #: 10197
# OF BRICKS: 2226
PRICE: $199.99 CAD
MINIFIGURES: 4
RELEASED: September 12, 2008
COST/BRICK: $0.09
NOTES: Another set from my “dark ages”…
10. Palace Cinema
SET #: 10232
# OF BRICKS: 2196
PRICE: $199.99 CAD
MINIFIGURES: 6
RELEASED: March 1, 2013
COST/BRICK: $0.09
NOTES: This is one of my favorite modular buildings. It was one of the first that I had to get. Compared to later modular buildings, it lacks a little internal detail, but I still love it. Again, it came before True North Bricks began, but I have some big plans for this set and my Ninjago quartier in my city… stay tuned.
How do the other modulars compare?
11. Grand Emporium
SET #: 10211
# OF BRICKS: 2182
PRICE: $199.99 CAD
MINIFIGURES: 7
RELEASED: March 3, 2010
COST/BRICK: $0.09
NOTES: This is another set that I really love. Like the Palace Cinema, it is a little scant on inside details, but the space can be easily customized. The outside of the building just looks great and is featured in a lot of my photography projects.
12. Cafe Corner
SET #: 10182
# OF BRICKS: 2058
PRICE: $199.99 CAD
MINIFIGURES: 3
RELEASED: October 24, 2007
COST/BRICK: $0.10
NOTES: I don’t have this set, but it sure looks great…
13. Pet Shop
SET #: 10218
# OF BRICKS: 2032
PRICE: $199.99 CAD
MINIFIGURES: 4
RELEASED: May 12, 2011
COST/BRICK: $0.10
NOTES: This was the first modular that I ever got! I have not review it yet, but it is full of awesome details. The townhouse is where my sigfig currently calls home in my LEGO® city.
Well, there you have it, the Creator Expert modular buildings ranked from biggest to smallest. I had planned to pick a favorite by the end of this article, but looking over the list, I am hard pressed to select just one. Do you have a favorite? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
Until next time,
-Tom
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