LEGO 10190 Market Street

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Modular to me does not mean: small version. Modular can also mean inter-exchangeable. So modular building, using building as a verb. As Huw has shown in his great review (thanks!) the floors can be rearranged. I think this is the core meaning of building modular. Using units of same shape en sizes. Thank you for the explanation, although I am with @Huw that this both makes sense, and also it makes no sense. Why not just include the windows in the first place? Is there a story there? Maybe something to do with "parts budgets" or the like?

The looks en feel of the main building is definitely original Amsterdam buildings. A couple of streets still to this day hold a daily market. As years passed some of the venders (marketeers?) replaced their temporary stands for permanent ones. Most of them live at the building behind, next or on top of the stand. Why rebuild every day if you can have a permanent stand?The first section built is the little one story garden/gated area. This has some interesting architectural components as see in the photo below: even if you don't want to build a bakery specifically, it still gives a pretty clear illustration of the floor space available. It makes it look like there's room for a couple small builds per floor. If anything, the features that set it apart the most from other Modular Buildings Collection sets are the many ways it was thoughtfully tailored to allow builders dissatisfied with the base model to modify it to their liking! No other Modular Buildings have never been designed with as many deliberate "workarounds" for architectural or decorative features that may be divisive among AFOLs. And to think that those considerations were made for a set introduced long before there were even grounds for making any sort of generalizations about what does or doesn't fit with the series' historical or geographic setting! The attic room seems to be an office of some sort, with a tiny desk under the window featuring a computer keyboard and futuristic single-pane-of-glass monitor!

Good review! This set is definitely very impressive, not just in terms of piece count and builds but also in terms of sheer variety of building techniques and architectural styles. And I agree with you that the furnishings are quite impressive as well, despite each room's limited floor area. The set also continues the neat recent trend of mixing and matching minifigure parts to create different characters for each of the three models. The third building is taller still, with three storeys, albeit one under the eaves of the roof. The ground floor is a vibrant pink and blue music shop, with excellent awnings above the floor-to-ceiling window and door, and a piano sign running up the storefront.

An orange reception desk sits to one side of the door on the ground floor, with an arm chair and table beneath a large lamp on the other. My biggest complaint is the diminutive size of the interiors, with some rooms only measuring a few studs in either direction. The designers get as creative as they can with such a small space, but it does all start to feel like a rehash of previous designs. Although I am sure I would have thought it to be a great set when it was released, I'm not so keen on it now, especially when comparing it with other modulars. When considered in isolation it's fine, but I don't think it's aged well, and it doesn't really match the architectural style or design of the café or subsequent buildings. Of course, it made sense at the time to make it compatible with the café, to help establish the standard and encourage builders to add their own designs to their street, but I think it's best left out of it now. A great set. Caf� Corner sets the standard and it is hard to live up to it. However, this is a very nice complimentary set and has some great design features. The light and dark blue is a nice change of pace as well. The minifigs are nice, but somewhat similar to Caf� Corner (two of the hairpieces between the sets are exactly the same.) It would be nice to get a little more creative on the minifigs. There's some very ornate ironwork above the entrance to the garage which utilises an owl and minifig whips. It adds interest and height, but looks out of place to me. Perhaps such things are common in the Netherlands.

There had been a few LEGO Factory sets before this one, but Market Street in particular was clearly meant to encourage LEGO fans to create their own MOCs expanding on the modular street — after all, in that first year, that was really the only way to turn Cafe Corner and Market Street into a larger neighborhood! Unfortunately, Eric passed away in June 2007 so never got to see it on the shelves, but his legacy lives on in this set. I don't see anything wrong with that — Friends sets often have gorgeous color schemes, and it's not as though real cities would be devoid of bright colors like pink, orange, and teal in real life. Plus, Creator buildings with vivid color schemes are nothing new — 7346 and 31109 came out over a decade ago, and we've seen lots of other brightly-colored sets like 31035, 31050, 31077, and 31105 in the intervening years. Also note that the designer has maintained the consistency of Caf� Corner and when put together, the sets look great together:I�ve also noticed some issues with the consistency of the colors in this set, especially with the light tan. As you might recall, this was a major complaint with the Caf� Corner set. However, the few clear doors that we get do not show the bubbles that almost all did in the Caf� Corner. As well as being modular building compatible it's also modular within itself. The two halves of the building have a 16x16 footprint, so sections can be moved around, as you will see later. Don't like the bright colors in these newer city and creator sets, looks like a combination of City and Friends." The second building is two storeys high, with a coffee and doughnut shop on the ground floor next to a small alleyway. I particularly like the tree growing up through the alley, and the basic coffee cup sign is very effective. A pair of chairs with a small round table sit on the narrow pavement in front of the shop window.