Book Review: The LEGO Neighborhood Book
If you are someone who likes the modular buildings theme, if you are one of those who wonder what would happen if you decide to make your own modular building, or who thinks LEGO should do this or that building, even if you are someone who thinks the interior of modular buildings is poor, this is your book!!
Brian and Jason Lyles have decided to publish this book dedicated to the world of modular buildings, but more importantly, dedicated to the amateur people to lose the fear of making their own designs. It is a 200 pages book in landscape format, softcover, full of what every LEGO fan wants, images, therefore it’s not a dense book, in contrast, is very easy to use, as the index already guides the reader directly to the point that you'd be interested in.
It is structured in six episodes, starting with the basics and ending with what everyone wants, the building instructions. The first three chapters introduce the reader to the world of modular buildings, explaining the standard used by LEGO to design them, such as the pattern used for sidewalks. Then it gets into the design process, as it can be the choice of color, or the building style, etc. And finally talks about the pieces, which pieces to use, how you get them, etc…and the most important thing, to imagine the world around us made of parts and display it, it shows several examples of everyday elements and the astonishing resemblance that is achieved by using the right parts.
After the more general part, the book focuses on the details, and interiors. For the most eager of you, yes, there are some building instructions in this part. What to say about the details section, is not left any detail to be commented and contribute with ideas, from rooftops and cornices to lampposts and traffic lights (there are instructions of a traffic light model), going with plants, newspaper dispensers and even scaffolds.
From the point of view of the interior, the chapter is divided into the different parts of the house, the living room, kitchen, dining room, bedroom, bathroom, etc…Here are several tips and assembly instructions, being the chapter finished with the details and interiors of commercial buildings, as they can be a restaurant or a bank.
The next chapter is the one dedicated to what, for many, is the importance of the book, building instructions, but first, a small gallery of several buildings assembled by the authors, and a little reminder to minimodulars. The building instructions show two structures, the first is a drugstore with an included loading dock for deals. On the ground floor is the drugstore itself, and the first and second floor are the apartment of the owner of the drugstore. The second building instructions are a great idea, especially for those little lazy ones, for fans who want to show their modular buildings or for those who simply want to fill their diorama with several different buildings but do not care so much about the inside. In these instructions a standard, general and simple structure is built, without any details, and then the instructions of three façades of different style are shown, which are added to the standard building resulting in totally different buildings. As said, it’s great to have lots of choices quickly.
Definitely, a great book that every modular buildings fan or those who want to start in this world should have. Book made of high quality, both paper and structuring and image. And do not forget, lose the fear and build your own city!!
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