How to Take Your LEGO Modular Building Collection to a New Level

One of the great things about LEGO is you can get as creative as you want! Follow along with the instructions and the result is display worthy but add your own spin to any kit and suddenly you have something unique. One of the best collections to start experimenting with your own flavour and style is LEGO’s Modular Buildings.

What Are LEGO’s Modular Buildings?

Since 2007, LEGO has been releasing a new set annually as part of their Modular Building series. These sets take the traditional appeal of LEGO and scale it up for more advanced builders, including teens and adults. As the name suggests, each set is a new building, with a restaurant, pet shop, cinema and even a mechanic’s garage featured over the years.

The LEGO Modular Building series showcases clever construction techniques, as each building has multiple levels that are put together separately. They can then be connected for display and easily separated out once more for play. This is the modular element, something that is less common in traditional LEGO sets which are usually built as a single piece. As a result, these LEGO sets are considered modular building design and present many opportunities for enhanced user creativity.

Want to Get Creative With LEGO’s Modular Buildings?

If you are itching to make something different with LEGO’s Modular Buildings but need a little inspiration, we have five simple but effective ways to do just that and get your creative juices flowing.

1. Expand the Modular Sets With Duplicates or Your Own Creations

If you are looking to scale up your Modular Building sets to create more impact, it’s easy! Thanks to the modularity of each building, you can easily add more levels or add more square footage simply by combining two of the same sets together. Alternatively, if you are looking to create something quirky, try merging two different sets together.

However, if you are feeling adventurous, you can even try constructing your own additional modular levels. Does the detective’s office need another floor for the sleuth to stay in? Or does your restaurant need a flower shop for young romantics to purchase the perfect bouquet for their beau? If you are stuck for ideas, think about the stories you would like to talk about the people in the set. What are they wishing they had access to?

2. Transform Your Sets Into a Town

The modularity of the LEGO Modular Building series isn’t isolated within the kits themselves. In fact, you can assemble all the kits from the series and connect them together to create a town with a layout of your own choosing. Of course, you can get more creative than this though!

After getting the hang of the modular building techniques, why not create a modular building of your own? A vet clinic to complement the pet shop. What about a clock tower to keep all your citizens on time? There could even be a mysterious stranger hiding in the top. The possibilities are as endless as your imagination!

You can also create other city elements to breathe more life into your LEGO town. Create a town square or park for your inhabitants to meet up and relax. Try designing some vehicles to help them get from place to place. You can even create a landscape for your town to be established in, from towering trees to monumental mountains.

3. Bring In Other Sets

Did you know that there have been over 15,000 LEGO sets released? This includes small sets with just 13 pieces to enormous kits with more than 10,000 pieces! Chances are, if you own a LEGO Modular Building set, you have another LEGO set or two. And this is your opportunity to get creative!

See how you can unite your modular buildings with other sets, from the fantastic like sets of Pirates and Elves to Star Wars and Atlantis kits! This may be as simple as creating a town layout with a spooky haunted castle overlooking the town, or building a magical Harry Potter world, where owls perch on rooftops and spellcasters duel in the street. You could even merge multiple sets together to create a unique and imaginative world, like a homage to everyone’s favourite film: The LEGO Movie!

4. Create a Space for Storytelling

If you want to give your other sets the leading role, your LEGO Modular Buildings can easily become the backdrop for the action. You can leave the buildings as they are and bring in other kits, complete with mini figures to be the stars of the show.

Alternatively, you can deconstruct or alter your modular buildings to set the scene. For instance, imagine the Avengers have had an epic battle on the roof of your building. Would Thor’s hammer have caused the facade to crack and fall away? Perhaps Iron Man’s projectiles have accidentally started a fire inside. Is Spiderman nowhere to be seen but his webs are everywhere?

Using your modular buildings this way can help expand the stories you can tell with your favourite sets. You can even get extra creative and film your own brickfilms using stop-motion techniques.

5. Add Lights & Sound for Special Effects

To make your LEGO Modular Buildings feel alive, why not try adding lights and a soundscape? You can find specially designed LEGO lighting sets with LEDs made to fit certain kits, or you can DIY and light up the areas you want to. Then, add some sounds using a sound effects board or even by creating a loop on your smartphone. Suddenly, it’s like your LEGO figures are really living their own little lives.

Bonus Tip!

Try a mix of some or all the above suggestions to really take things to the next level. Imagine a haunted house looming over your quaint little town, thunder crashes in the background as the lights in the house flicker. Don’t you get chills just thinking about it? What about creating a sunken town akin to Atlantis, with green seaweed growing over your crumbling modular buildings and flickering blue light washing over the town, accompanied by the gentle sound of whale song? What are you excited to create?

Take Your LEGO Modular Building to New Heights

If you are ready to start exploring your creativity with LEGO sets old and new, plus plenty of lighting and sound options. With rare and new LEGO kits for sale right now, along with lighting kits with easy-to-follow instructions, there has never been a better time to get creative with LEGO!