I’ve slowly been constructing my city since installing custom tables at the beginning of the year. Progress has been slow and steady, with growth limited by time and part constraints. However, city building should be an ever-evolving long-term project. I also want to savor the process.

So, here is what I have: nothing is custom except my MILS road plates. I love how it’s coming together, though!

Top tables:

As you would expect, my city started with the sets from the modular series, as it’s the gateway line to city building. Apart from the Jazz Club, I have the builds on the shelves (Assembly Square, Police Station, Bookshop, and The Boutique Hotel). I built them in chronological order, and they are displayed the same way. Due to their cost, I’m not overly interested in collecting the retired sets. I am delighted with how these easily for a downtown core to build the rest of the city around.

I have yet to do much with this area besides adding a few minifigures and vehicles to bring the street to life. I have mixed several themes – Marvel, DC, CMF, and Star Wars. This is a multiverse city. It doesn’t always need to make sense; just be fun.

Tying the modulars together are MILS road plates, which are based on those made by Bricksie (YouTube), and he had a great tutorial that I followed to make my plates. The only difference is how I went about tiling off the tops. He switched all his streets to light grey tile, but I don’t want to do that as the modulars come with dark grey and a light grey outline. Instead, I used a staggered color pattern to save parts to widen the crosswalk and give the road a curb.

At the end of the modulars, I have the Daily Bugle that I still need to transfer onto a MILS. I hope the rumors of a sizeable Avengers Tower releasing on Black Friday are true, and that will go next to the Daily Bugle. I must also acquire the Sanctum Sanctorum to complete the Avengers area. Forgive the slightly chaotic moped stand – it happens when the cats sneak into the Lego room.

I finished the Haunted House recently, which now temporarily resides next to the Daily Bugle. I want it to be part of the transition to the green space with a pumpkin patch. Of course, the Hocus Pocus house will go beautifully in this area too.

Next to the downtown area right now is the couple of campground/lake buildings that I have – the Tree House and the A-Frame Cabin. I started transferring the Tree House to a MILS, so it’s broken in places. I’ll fix it! I adore the A-frame Cabin and like the idea of having a wonderful green area for my city folk to visit. After all, we all need escapism from the life-and-death battle the Avengers enter.

Down from that green space is the Lion Knights’ Castle. I would love a medieval area – setting up battles, animals, and buildings of that style appeal to me. Having so many discrete areas needs space that I don’t have, so the transitions might not be realistic. It’s totally fine that a working castle is a few streets away from the Avengers Tower.

Lower tables:

Underneath I have a simple plan, but one I think will take a lot of work to execute well. At the far end, I will have a beach area with a few fairground rides (I need more space for a full-blown amusement park, so this is my compromise). The beach will lead to water, where my boats and an underwater area will reside. I have two ideas on how to do this. I can have the boats suspended with fishing line with coral etc, underneath. Or I may go simpler and have boats at one side and coral work at the other. It’s a scene that will evolve depending on the sets and parts I acquire.

The water will then transition to ice, using the minifigure Elsa from the Disney movie Frozen. This will connect to an arctic area that I will fill with polar bears and the new city arctic sets released in August 2023. This will then lead to my winter village at the far end, which looks like a Lego gravesite right now. I took it apart as I want to MILS plate it, and I needed the baseplates in a pinch earlier this year. Again, MILS will make rearrangements easier when new sets come out and modifications are required.

It’s an ambitious plan for my table, and it might look crowded. I will have to see how things evolve, but this would hit all the major areas I want for my city and Lego mini dioramas.

Next week:

I spent the weekend (around 20 hours) sorting pieces. I bought three more of the 24-drawer units I use to do a better sort refinement. I had many VIP packs, PAB cups, and orders to part out. I’m glad I took the time, as I will start building Rebrickable models and modularizing sets like the noodle shop.

This week I and finally going to build the Central Park & Friends Apartment MOC designed by Brick Artisan. I have the Friends sets, and I’d rather have this building than put both sets on the shelf.

When my skills improve, I will add a floor where my Sig Fig can live with my cats. I’ll even build a Lego room. I have Bro Thor’s set, so I could make that the penthouse, which Brick Artisan also has instructions for. I really should do that, as I don’t know what else I would use this set for (I wanted Bro Thor minifigure and got this set on a super sale).

The MOC will require parting out three sets plus the purchased extra parts, so it will likely take the entire week to construct. It will be my first time using electronic instructions too! It’s a massive build with around 4600 pieces, so I’m looking forward to it.

With a tidy Lego room and a healthy part inventory, I aim to add something to my city each week. Stay tuned to see it’s progress!