Set Review ➟ 10246 Detective’s Office
Set: 10246 Detective’s Office
Pieces: 2262
Minifigs: 6
From the very day I saw the first modular LEGO building I fell in love with the concept. The size and level detail of that building, and all subsequent ones, the stories they tell, the fact that they are all such different styles and yet fit together perfectly—it felt like an AFOLs dream come true. And yet, till this very Detective’s Office I never built (or owned) a single modular building. Why? The answer is easy, and if you know anything about me you can probably guess at least some of the reasons.
For starters, I am primarily a Technic/MINDSTORMS builder. My roots are in LEGO City and Space, but MINDSTORMS shook me out of my dark ages and that is where I have stayed… until I had kids. Our LEGO Friends city is steadily growing, but there is a marked separation between “My LEGO” and “their LEGO” (at least in that area).
Even so, the modular concept was extremely appealing and it took some considerable time before I finally convinced myself I shouldn’t get onto this bandwagon. The price of these sets, although high, shouldn’t really be the final and insurmountable obstacle: the part count is equally high and over time I have learned that as a general rule, the bigger the set is the more enjoyment I tend to get out of it and I would almost say that the set size and enjoyment curve is an exponential one.
The final factor that made me decide against collecting these sets was space. I live in a small apartment and I am married to a Non-AFOL (she’s sympathetic of my hobby, but everything has limits) and owning these set makes no sense (to me) unless they can be on some kind of display. One might be feasible, two hard to arrange, but a whole street would simply be impossible. And so I turned my back on the modular buildings and didn’t look around for fear I might be tempted to buy one.
Well, that time has come. I am now the proud owner of the 10246 Detective’s Office and the collector and LEGO City fan in me is rearing its head…
I suppose if is a common factor among all builders that there are certain expectations before you start on the construction of any set. In this case my expectations were pretty high. I had seen many pictures of other official and non-official modular buildings and I love the way the concept of separating floors has been applied to a number of Friends sets I have built with my daughters. When I started building the Detective’s Office I was quite certain I knew what I was going to encounter and how I would feel about it, and I organised my building sessions in such a way that my darling little helpers wouldn’t interfere and take over, effectively making the set theirs :D Boy was I in for a surprise!
Maybe the sets I have built with my daughters were all very simple, or maybe was more concentrated on letting them enjoy the build than on experiencing it myself. Maybe I just don’t build with “standard” LEGO enough. Whatever the case, I was surprised by a barrage of little details at every turn of the construction process, and a construction that was more about a story than about a building. It is hard to know where to start now that the construction is finished… In contrast to the relatively large size of the building, the most enjoyable parts to me tend to be a large number of little details: the barber chair and the wash basin, the pool table and the fan overhead, and, staying on the ground floor, the mosaic that spells the barber shop’s name: Al’s; a delicate little construction that snugly fits atop the awning and is accentuated by a pair of scissors. And these are just small the details—the delightful story that unfolds is one of contraband that is passed into the barber shop and into the pool room through secret passage ways.
Moving onto the second floor it is again the combination of little details and the overall story that makes for a compelling narrative: the lamp on the detective’s table, the fan and the letter hidden behind a painting, the hat on the stand. The detail in the toilet cubicle is amazing, including the roll of toilet paper on the floor. And then there is the working fire escape on the balcony! All of this accompanies the beautiful textures of the walls of every room in the building: always different, but creating a harmonious whole that really works well together.
The top floor isn’t “just” a roof. The architectural details are a delight to the eyes and seeing them some together makes the build thoroughly enjoyable. The little kitchen on the top floor keeps the narrative going and includes other nice details like the rolling pin in the kitchen block or the water reservoir outside, which possibly is my favourite element and decidedly one of the most ingenious.
So what’s my final verdict? I’m seriously considering getting another modular building! I’m still deciding if that is something good or bad. :D Unfortunately prices for previous buildings (at least those that LEGO no longer markets) are very high, but that may work in my favour—that way it is easier to decide which one to buy next. Now all I need to do is convince my wife we need a place to permanently display this (and future) sets. I know I have two strong allies now (their Friends have already taken over the top floor) so that’s one step in the right direction.
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