rich_jacko

I've finally got around to finishing my latest modular building project, which I've been working on intermittently for about a year. So here it is:

The Museum is 1,700 pieces in four sections. Unlike certain other museums, this one has a dinosaur skeleton in the entrance hall - the T. Rex from the Research Institute set. The ground floor is devoted to natural history and geology, the first floor to various historical artefacts, and the second floor to maps, exploration and astronomy, with the telescope from the Research Institute gazing out through a suspiciously TIE Fighter-esque window at the top of the building. The roofline to this neo-gothic building incorporates castle flags and some elements from Hogwarts.

The Toy Shop sits beside it, again in four sections, containing 1,840 bricks. I built this one partly to make up for not owning the Grand Emporium set, and partly to contain the minifig-scale toys that I've acquired with various Christmas sets over the years. The first floor has viewing windows to watch the model train above the entrance spin around (yes, it moves!). Naturally the top floor is a Lego shop, mashing together elements from two official sets, plus others I added. Livening up the roofline are big models of a hot air balloon, a rocket ship and an aeroplane.

Here are some close-up views inside, to help give you a feel for the interiors:

...and some more views of the outside. I've added flower beds, a rainbow bench and various other bits of street furniture to round off the set. These make up 180 pieces, bringing the total build to 3,720 pieces (or 3,860 once you include all the minifigures). No wonder it took a while!