UPDATE: The LEGO Shop site now has a page up for 10211 Grand Emporium
with a scheduled release date of
February 20, 2010 March 1, 2010.
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The next addition to the Cafe Corner line of modular buildings is 10211 Grand Emporium, a great set to round out another corner of your expanding LEGO city. From the info on Eurobricks, this 2182-piece set will cost $149.99 in the US, £97.85 in the UK, and €149.99 in Germany.
Like the 10197 Fire Brigade, Grand Emporium has a full interior with some great details to get excited about like the escalator and chandelier seen through the nice dark green windows.
Via Eurobricks
In!
Holy crappers, that’s nice looking. I’ve been mulling over if I want to drop 150 on the fire station, but i might just hold out and grab this. This whole line is really terrific. A little pricey but easily worth it.
This one looks like a no-brainer. The billboard is pretty funny and the details are sweet. On top of the escalator, it looks like there’s a revolving door at the entrance. :D
“$149.99 in the US, £97.85 in the UK, and €149.99 in Germany”
So, Britain pays €109.66.
The US pays €103.30.
And mainland Europe’s shafted with 150 bucks?
Does NOT seem very fair, does it?
I mean, the set looks to be worth 150 Euro, but why do the other two areas get it for 40 bucks less?
Jamie Berard has done it again! These are the best building experiences from LEGO in my opinion. Each Modular Town set brings with it tons of bricks in non primary colors, cool shaped bricks, and inventive/new building techniques. These sets offer this and a several hours long building experience so I can understand the very high price point on these sets. I would not miss a single set from this line. If you are undecided because you don’t think the sets are worth the money, they are not only worth the money, they are worth the time you will need to build these sets and they are worth the shelf space in your LEGO display area!
TBB Bloggers: Any idea how many more sets will be in this line? Thanks!
Honestly, If I had only $150 to spend each year on LEGO, it would be on these modular sets.
@Melfice. There are other factors besides this, but I believe your
“There are other factors besides this, but I believe your[…?]”
Oh, I am well aware there are various factors for the price-difference.
Various taxes within the European Union, and whatnot. It still does not seem very fair.
It’s like… you and your neighbour having bought the exact same house, exact same gardens; except he got it for €200.000 less than you, because his land just happens to lie outside the city-boundaries, or some other crazy (more appropriate) reason.
And you believe my? That’s so kind of you to say. :P
@Melfice – The issue of price differences comes up everytime a new, high-priced set comes out. No, its not fair, but there are reasons for it, as you already stated. Last time I checked, there were no laws that said life had to be fair. I’m sure that Lego products are not the only item that is more expensive for you.
As for the example of the neighboring houses….that happens too. My neighbors across the street are inside the city limits and I am not. They pay more in taxes because of that. I have no vote in city elections because I live outside the city and I’m not covered by city services. That’s life.
@Melfice, sorry, I started to reply to the price issue, then decided not to. But apparently I forgot to delete my comment!! :-) Anyways, I was going to say that for starters, I believe the German Euro prices includes VAT (19%?), whereas the US price does not include any tax.
I actually emailed Lego about the price differences. And they answered.
It’s all about supply and demand. It has nothing to do with taxes. Lego in Europe is more expensive because there is more demand and apparently toys are also cheaper in the US in general. Basically they said you’re screwed if you’re European.
^ That is something to consider. While the retail price in the US may be US$149.99, the state local sales tax where I am is 8.8%, so I end up paying well over $160. Some places it’s higher, and some lucky few (like the entire bloody state of Oregon to the south of us) have no sales tax at all.
Puddleglum:
If that is true, I suppose it does make up for a big part of the difference.
Josh:
Fair enough, fair enough.
“Last time I checked, there were no laws that said life had to be fair.” This, however, is such an overdone argument.
No, there are no laws for that. And I agree life is not fair. In most cases, “making” your life fair involves hard work, and sometimes despite the hard work it still won’t work out.
Something like this… can just be a smack in the face, because it’s not something you can work for to make it equal.
“Wha-!? How come they get it cheaper by x Euro than us, when it’s the same bloody thing!”
In light of silliness of the American way of “misleading” the customers by not mentioning tax, however (Please, nobody start… this is not meant seriously), I retract my former complaints and just state that this is a very good looking set, and as said before, no doubt worth the full bill.
Architecturally, this set is pretty bland. Perhaps some more elaborate cornice detail and less repetition on the upper two floors of windows could have made it more visually appealing. Might be realistic, but it leaves me wanting more detail.
Having said that, there is plenty of interior and environmental detail to get excited about. But Fire Brigade still wears the crown for this line, considering how much of the focus is on the building itself.
I’m still waiting for a highly ornate Beaux-Arts styled set with lots of greebly bits!
Along the cornice line, that’s a new inverse slope, yes? And 2 of those together would make a super hot ornate arch, yes?
And the price here in Switzerland will be even higher then the rest of main land Europe again. The Fire Brigade set currently sells for about $250 USD here, So I suppose this will be in the same price range
I haven’t ever collected this series, I just can’t spend $150 on a set that will just sit around. However this is the best set in the series, truly beautiful. Great use of new and old pieces and I love the new arches that they are using that are also in the PoP sets.
@David4: “Just sit around”?? These are the best parts packs LEGO makes! Buy it, build it, tear it down, there’s no better source of unusually colored bricks & plates, tiles of all sizes, cheese, windows, food, etc than these modular buildings.
OTOH I can see how these wouldn’t appeal to, e.g., a space-only builder.
@Kevoh: I noticed those, too. White ones along the roof line and tan ones framing the green windows. And it does expand the possibilities.
The rosette is a nice architectural touch, too. Looks like the reverse side of a Bionicle “scoring” wheel? Doesn’t quite work for me as is, but that’s the kind of greebly stuff I would want to see in a future set.
@David4: I was very close to buying each set as it debuted. They’re all worthwhile in their own way. Wish I could afford 2x each and use the combined extra bricks to build my own.
i cant wait to get this. i missed out on the cafe corner but this more than makes up for it!
i really hope they keep expanding this. it would be neat if in a few years they come up with skyscrapers in full scale. that would be awesome!
It looks like a great set and I bet it looks even better in real life.
I’m surprised by how many similarities there are to Dita_Svelte’s MOC on Flickr. Who saw whose I wonder?
@Melfice: the price differences are very annoying. In Australia we will no doubt be charged $299 for this which converts to around US$280. It’s probably because the sets need to be re-designed so they can be built upside Downunder ;-)
@sselkirk: Actually I don’t see that many similarities? Anyways, that MOC was posted Nov 2, and the creator says he started on it before there were even rumors of the set. Going the other way, there’s no way LEGO can steal an idea and get it to market in 4 months.
@Puddleglum: Was only joking about who saw whose and not suggesting either stole the other’s ideas, but these are the similarities I see:
Corner building
Revolving doors
Plants either side of the revolving doors
Letterbox on right side with minifig posting letter
Minifig walking out of entrance with packages
Minifig window displays
Style of the roof line
Of course there will always be similarities if 2 people build the same type of model so it’s not a criticism. I like both. If Dita_Svelte’s was an official model I’d buy it, along with The Grand Emporium. But I’m greedy like that.
Sorry, my internet joke meter has been broken lately. :-)
Wow I am always anticipating the next modular set and after seeing the 10211 Grand Emporium, what a perfect addition to the Green Grocier, Cafe Corner, Market Street, and the Fire Brigade. At this rate, LEGO will let all of us create the most beautiful city. Keep them coming LEGO, we all love it!