Lego Review 2010 Grand Emporium 10211

The next instalment of the intricately detailed LEGO Modular Buildings has arrived with set 10211 Grand Emporium. The set follows on from other models in this series including Market Street, Cafe Corner, Green Grocer and Fire Brigade which all join together to create an amazing city street diorama.

The detail in these models is amazing and sets them apart from regular models, as does the average recommended building age. At 14+ these models are more in the league of adult collectors who enjoy the attention to detail and design and the intricate build.

This set is a model of a three storey department store and its sidewalk entrance area. There are escalators, mannequins in the window, revolving doors, clothing department complete with a cash register and fitting room, a glassware department on the second floor and a toy department on the top floor.  Outside window shoppers can send letters and buy an ice cream and gaze up at the window washer suspended from the top floor. A chandelier graces the ceiling inside while a billboard and skylight sit atop the roof.

The set has an amazing 2182 pieces which will give you an idea of how many small embellishments are in the model. Out of all the modular buildings Lego has made so far, this set has the most attention paid to the inside. It is almost as if Lego initially envisaged this series as being display-only models but then decided half way through to focus on the inside as well, to make them more interactive.  There are many small pieces which add a sense of character to the set and give it a sense of being part of a real “lived-in” Lego city.

The model comes with 7 mini figures which isn’t a lot for a set this size, but as mentioned earlier the main focus of theses sets is the buildings. The Grand Emporium building measures 15″ (38 cm) high and 10″ (25 cm) wide and slots nicely alongside any of the other modular sets making an impressive interactive diorama.