Modular Buildings

Corner Garage

A charming 1950s filling station that quietly split the modular crowd.

4.1/5

Set 10264 · 2019

Pieces2,569

Minifigs6

Year2019

Set number10264

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The verdict

If you're building a modular street and love the retro service-station look, this one earns its spot on the block.

It's the more divisive entry in the line, so go in knowing the interior is lighter on detail than the fan favourites. Buy it for the dark orange facade, the tow truck, and the working car lift, not for a stuffed-full dollhouse. For most modular collectors it's a solid yes, just not the first one you'd hand a newcomer.

Best for: Modular Buildings collectors completing the street who love a retro service-station aesthetic

The full review

What it is

Say hello to the Corner Garage, the 2019 addition to LEGO's Modular Buildings line and a proper love letter to the old-school neighbourhood service station. This LEGO® set gives you a three-storey corner plot with a 1950s petrol station and car workshop on the ground floor, a little animal care clinic upstairs, a cosy apartment above that, and a rooftop terrace to finish. The whole thing wears a bold dark orange coat that ties it beautifully to 2018's Downtown Diner, so if you already own that one, these two sit next to each other like old friends. At 2,569 pieces it's a chunky weekend build, and the retro vibe is exactly the sort of thing that makes modular fans go a bit misty-eyed.

The catch

Now for the honest bit, because your mate deserves the truth before dropping this kind of money. This is the modular that split the room. The most common gripe is that the building itself only takes up roughly 40% of the baseplate, so compared to the packed-to-the-rafters likes of Assembly Square or the Parisian Restaurant, it can feel a touch empty. The interiors are on the plain side, the garage annoyingly doesn't come with a car to park in it, and that roll-up garage door has a habit of snagging on the ceiling and jamming when you raise it by the handle. Longtime builders also missed the playful oddball part usage the series is known for. None of these are dealbreakers, but they're the reasons this one lands a notch below the classics for a lot of people. Price-wise the original 199.99 dollars was fair for the piece count, though it retired in December 2021 and now trades well above that on the secondary market.

Who it's for

So who should grab it? If you're collecting the modular street and want that retro garage energy, or you just adore the dark orange colour scheme and the play features, this is an easy recommend and you'll enjoy every stud of it. It's also great if you like a build with actual moving bits to fiddle with afterwards. Who should skip it? If you're new to modulars and can only get one, start with Assembly Square or the Diner instead, because they pack more wow per pound. And if you're chasing dense, detail-crammed interiors, this may leave you a little cool. For everyone else, it's a warm, characterful corner of the town that's well worth a look, and the Brickset community score of around 4.1 out of 5 backs that up: well liked, just not universally adored.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The build breaks down the classic modular way, one floor per section, and it moves at a nice steady clip. The ground floor is the star to assemble: you work through the petrol station forecourt, the workshop, and the standout moment, the angled corner wall that gives the whole model its shape. Instead of the usual plate or brick hinges, the corner is turned using 2018's rounded 1x2 plates, whose rounded ends let the wall pivot without fouling neighbouring studs. It's a genuinely neat technique and fun to watch come together. From there the animal clinic and apartment floors go up quickly, and while there's a fair bit of straightforward brick-stacking in the walls, the column work and the rooftop cornice keep your hands busy with the good stuff.

On the parts front, the big story is dark orange. The set brings a new dark orange 2x2 tile with a 45-degree cut plus a batch of returning dark orange elements, mostly worked into the clinic and apartment walls, so it's a small treasure trove if that colour is on your MOC wish list. There's also a fresh mould, the 2x2 tile with a 1x2 vertical plate in dark bluish grey, a properly useful SNOT piece. Six minifigures come along too: two garage workers, a scooter rider, an apartment tenant, a vet, and a young girl, plus five animals including a new blue-and-yellow parrot, a dog, a rabbit, a frog, and a fish. For 2,569 pieces at its old 200 dollar RRP, the part-count value was reasonable, and the dark orange haul alone makes it a builder's parts pack in disguise.

Fun facts

01The Corner Garage is the 13th building in LEGO's Modular Buildings series, released in January 2019 to sit alongside the 1950s styling of 2018's Downtown Diner.
02Its angled corner walls are built using rounded 1x2 plates rather than traditional hinges, a construction trick that parts blog New Elementary singled out as clever.
03The upstairs animal clinic ships with five creatures, including a brand new parrot in blue-and-yellow plumage, plus a dog, rabbit, frog, and fish.
04It retired in December 2021 after about three years on shelves, and new sealed copies now change hands for well over its original 199.99 dollar price.