JimBricks

REVIEW - 10264 - CORNER GARAGE

INTRODUCTION

A bit late to the party, but my car broke down during the review. I would love to have my car repaired so I can finish my review of the latest addition to the modular family. If only I could find a decent garage :wink: Well, whaddayaknow, LEGO City city has just welcomed a new 10264 - Corner Garage. Here's what TLG has to say about it:

Drop by the LEGO® Creator Expert 10264 Corner Garage, where you’ll discover a world of fun and surprises! This amazing model comes with removable building sections for easy access to the highly detailed interior and comprises 3 stories. On the ground level there’s a 1950s-style gas station with fuel pump, kiosk and a vehicle workshop complete with a roll-up door, vehicle lift and tire mounter. At the mid-level animal clinic you’ll find an examination table, fish tank, and a waiting area with sofa, while on the upper level you’ll discover a well-equipped apartment with kitchen, TV, sofa, bed and a staircase that leads to a rooftop terrace with sun lounger, parasol and flower garden. The exterior of the building features a classic 1950s facade with signage, detailed windows and a decorative roofline, plus a sidewalk area with a tree and an ornate streetlamp. This charming addition to the Modular Buildings series has been designed to provide a challenging and rewarding building experience, full of nostalgia. Also includes a scooter, tow truck and 6 minifigures, plus parrot, bunny, dog, frog and fish figures.

Reading the press release I somehow get a deja-vu. Let's rewind to the press release of the 10260 - Downtown Diner.

This impressive model features removable building sections for easy access to the detailed interior, which comprises a ground-level 1950s-style diner with a large curved front window, red bar stools, jukebox, counter and an open-plan kitchen.

Apparently, the ground level of new Corner Garage is supposed to match the Downtown Diner, since they are both dating back to the 1950's, at least their style is. They also both contain 6 minifigures and roughly the same part count and price. Later in this review we will find out if the ground levels actually match. For now, let's meet Jo and his newly built garage.

PICTURES
Pictures can be clicked to view hi-res versions. More pictures can be found in my Flickr album.

DISCLAIMER
This set has been provided by the CEE Team of TLG. It's not my goal to promote this set. It's my goal to give you an honest opinion about it. Therefore, the opinion in this review is my own and is in no way linked to TLG.

SET INFORMATION

Number: 10264
Title: Corner Garage
Theme: Creator Expert
Released: 2019
Part Count: 2569
Box Weight: 3 kg (approx)
Box Dimensions: 57.7 x 47.4 x 8.6 cm
Set Price (RRP): £ 159.99 / $ 199.99 / € 179.99
Price per Part: £ 0.062 / $ 0.077 / € 0.070
Links: Brickset, Bricklink

THE BOX

sds

I wonder what TLG's policy for box sizes is, since the dimensions of the Downtown Diner box are totally different, as you can see below.

At first glance there are only five minigures, but the vet is feeding the parrot on the second floor (a.k.a. mid-level). The right of the box shows the floor plan with the garage on ground-level, the animal clinic mid-level and the apartment on the upper-level. There's is even a rooftop terrace with a sun lounger and parasol.

The back of the box shows some scenes going on in and around the Garage. The left side shows top views of the different levels. There's even a composition showing the Corner Garage in the same street as the Downtown Diner and the Assembly Square. Unfortunately, I just took the Assembly Square apart, so I can't reproduce this image entirely.

CONTENTS OF THE BOX

The box contains:

1x Sealed booklet
1x Tan 32x32 baseplate
2x Light bluish grey 16x6 plate
20x Numbered bag

BOOKLET

BASEPLATE
The 32 x 32 baseplate is Tan colored, which isn't a real surprise. It has been used quite frequently the last couple of years. Admittedly, the Assembly Square had green baseplates, but the most recent modulars and the Old Fishing Store all had tan baseplates.

PLATES
The set comes with two 16 x 6 plates.

BAGS

2 x 6
5 x 5
4 x 4
3 x 3
3 x 2
3 x 1

PART LIST

The complete bill of material fills a whopping four pages. You'd expect more than 2569 parts, which indicates that there is a high diversity of different parts.

MINIFIGURES

The set includes 6 minifigures:

Mechanic
Gas station owner
Vet
Man
Woman
Girl

Additionally you get a bunny, parrot, dog, frog and fish figures.

GROUND-LEVEL

Meet Jo, and his dog. Jo has just started building his new Corner Garage. His trusted four-legged companion is overseeing the build.

Why wait with balancing the tires until the ground-level has been completed?! The car lift is operational too, so bring in the new customers.

Click on the image to operate the car lift. The mechanism to operate the lift is quite ingenious. That's what I love about modular sets. They can surprise you in more than one way.

Details like these make the modular building so attractive. The toolkit is both simple and amazing. I does remind me of one of the best MOCs ever, @Norton74's Service and Repair Shop, which takes these details to the next level.

Next door, Jim is building his new Downtown Diner. Like Jo, he has already started his business, before construction has been completed.

The diagonally positioned facade is built in a special way. Using the 1x2 Rounded Plates gives you the option to make diagonal connections. The combination with the 1x1 Round Brick is perfect. The rounded plate has been introduced in 2018, but it has been used in 79 sets already, which indicates its versatility.

Another cool detail is how the garage door is operated. The garage door elements date back to the eighties, so they are not innovative. The mechanism to operate the door steels the show though. Usually you simply move the garage door, but now you can turn the wheel on the outside and the door goes up or down. You can click the images to operate the door.

The ground-level has been completed, now has it?! Scooter girl needs fuel, but the gas station hasn't been built yet.

Maybe she can get some food at Jim's, while Jo finishes the gas station. Jim hasn't been sitting on his hands either. Like the Garage, the Diner is taking shape as well.

Here's a top view of the interior of the Garage. I would have loved to see the interior floor decorated with tiles. For me, this is more than a minor gripe. Throw in a bunch of extra tiles and design a proper floor. It adds so much more value, especially since the garage door opens up. The phrase cutting corners could not be more appropriate, given the name of this set.

MID-LEVEL

On the mid-level floor you will find the veterinarian's office. Not the most logical thing to have on a higher floor, since walking stairs isn't particularly convenient, or healthy, for dogs. But sometimes budget is limited, even for a doctor.

Doc is working his magic on the little rabit. Only thing missing for real magic is a high hat and a wand :wink:

The waiting area has a chair and a couch and it even sports a parrot of some sorts. Get comfortable and get yourself a cup of coffee while your cat or dog sets his beef with the parrot.

UPPER-LEVEL

The upper level floor, or penthouse if you will, shows a tenant a making a meal. It's almost a quarter past six, so he must be hungry.

Don't forget to season your steak with some salt and pepper.

Apart from the smaller center windows, the facade of the penthouse matches the one of the mid-level floor.

His bathroom is rather compact, but at least it has proper ventilation. Still working on that steak?! He must be fan of well-done.

ROOFTOP TERRACE

After a day of hard work, the tenant can chillax in the sun lounger. And if it gets too hot, there's always the parasol.

The sun lounger could have used a red 2x2 tile and possibly a small side-table with a wine glass on it. Not sure if it's comfortable, chilling on four studs. Other than that, I like these rooftop details.

COMPLETED MODEL

Say cheeeeeeese, for the grand opening of Jo's Garage.

With a new garage comes a new tow truck. The hoist can be operated by turning the gear, which is cool. The style of the truck matches the fifties style of the garage itself.

Jo has even been able to come up with a nice payoff: By accident we meet.

In the meanwhile, Dr. Jones is getting some fresh air. Ohh, and to be clear...no snakes allowed! It would be fun if the set had a hidden snake somewhere.

Jim has finished his Diner as well, so here's the fifties ensemble. This review is not about the diner, but I would like to mention that I really love that set. Amazing details. And the ground floor is amazing. Easily one of my favorites. Granted, I have a love for diners, so loving this one is easy.