[MOC] Modular: Metropolitan Courthouse

[koalayummies]

With so many Lego police out catching criminals the next step in the justice system is arraignment, trial and sentencing. Unfortunately minifigures find out that justice isn't blind, nor is it black and white but more often than not it is green.

The building was built with influences from Italian, neoclassical and baroque architectural styling but inside the classic exterior lies corruption, incompetence and indifference to sworn duties.

 

 

 

Minifigures left to right: Judge, Prosecutor, Defense Attorney, Entertainment Industry Assaulter, Career Criminal, Bailiff, Crime Journalist, Court Stenographer, Groundskeeper.

The town's sculptor has arrived bringing with him the newly finished statue of Lady Justice to adorn the top of the courthouse dome.

The building's levels:

Here we see the smug prosecutor, a total mess and completely disorganized. She's more focused on maintaining a high conviction rate through the use of plea bargains with criminals than obtaining justice for victims or deterring crime.

The judge, who has a virtually assured lifetime position, has relegated his position of power to personal amusement.

The criminal defense attorney has lived the good life off of representing the worst in society. He wins cases by plea bargaining out to lesser charges ensuring a victory for his client while keeping the prosecutor happy that she doesn't have to do any work. The entertainment industry assaulter looking quite confident in his choice of legal representation.

There's no such thing as bad press for the defense attorney who never shies away from talking to crime reporters.

The judge has a secret slot outside his office which which plaintiffs and defendants can submit envelopes with incentives to try and sway judgement in their case, highest bidder wins.

This is why the judge had the glass door replaced with a non-transparent version.

Judge's luxurious private bathroom.

The prosecutor spends most of her non-trial time just sitting around and reading about her cases in the paper rather than preparing to fight on behalf of the people she represents. With plea bargaining there is no need to build a case.

The prosecutor's office closet is packed full of cases and victim statements, of which she has read not a single page.

The groundskeeper at work:

The judge is about to read a verdict in an appeal from the career criminal.

The court stenographer regularly loses her composure at the blatant perpetual perversion of justice:

With some other modulars:

Edited September 30, 2018 by koalayummies
Photo changes

[chezzymann]

Gotta say at first i thought this was gonna be justice league related lol

The texture on this is great! Its hard to make a mostly monotone build look striking, but the way you greebled this up and made it look ornate is superb. I love the interior layout as well. All the little details on the desks take it to the next level. And I like how you gave the minifigs a story. 

Edited September 27, 2018 by chezzymann

[Agent 86]

That is beautiful. So very beautiful The black and white colour scheme works wonderfully. And the interior is also excellent.

I must admit, I thought I was going to see a DC Comics Hall of Justice with Wonder Woman, Superman and Batman when opening this thread. Although initially a little disappointed, I was quickly won over by the design of this Hall of Justice and the amusing captions for each of the photos.

[koalayummies]

Thanks @chezzymann and @Agent 86! I also appriciate the input on the naming; I was using an outdated term for a courthouse and don't want to disappoint DC fans so it has been renamed. Thanks and sorry for the confusion!

Edited September 27, 2018 by koalayummies

[bricksboy]

I really like your model. The building technic is very great. Good job!

[Marinho]

I love it! The exterior is very nice, and the interior is packed with many clever details. Also, when you see the photos, It's like seeing an history folding in front of your eyes. Good job!

[carebear]

O My!!!

this this Looks Amazing!!!

- the pilars on the front of the building are looking very sharp

and i realy love how you made the toilet

( you also made very good pictures )

You made my day!!!!

Thanks for this!!!

Greetings!

[kodlovag]

I like it, looks fine. The faces completely fit to the characters. However I think the building is a bit small compared to other modulars, and should be scaled up.

[AntiZombie]

1 hour ago, kodlovag said:

However I think the building is a bit small compared to other modulars, and should be scaled up.

That was also my first thought. I think another floor would make the building look even better.
Otherwise very nice building and a very detailed and loving interior! Good job!

[SassQueen]

YES THIS EXACTLY.

Love the detailing.

Your photography is amazing.

Perfect interiors - the chain pull on the lav! Courtroom! Gavel!

[koalayummies]

11 hours ago, bricksboy said:

I really like your model. The building technic is very great. Good job!

Thanks bricksboy.

8 hours ago, Marinho said:

I love it! The exterior is very nice, and the interior is packed with many clever details. Also, when you see the photos, It's like seeing an history folding in front of your eyes. Good job!

Thanks Marinho. In some ways the photography is the most challenging part.

8 hours ago, carebear said:

O My!!!

this this Looks Amazing!!!

- the pilars on the front of the building are looking very sharp

and i realy love how you made the toilet

( you also made very good pictures )

You made my day!!!!

Thanks for this!!!

Greetings!

Thanks Carebear! I'm always glad when you enjoy one of my builds.

2 hours ago, kodlovag said:

I like it, looks fine. The faces completely fit to the characters. However I think the building is a bit small compared to other modulars, and should be scaled up.

 

59 minutes ago, AntiZombie said:

That was also my first thought. I think another floor would make the building look even better.
Otherwise very nice building and a very detailed and loving interior! Good job!

Its actually in-scale with the other modulars being that the levels are 7-bricks high from floor to ceiling just without a third occupiable floor. In addition it was all freely-built on the go, no design programs with the self-imposed restriction of using bricks on-hand no special orders resulting in the use of almost every white brick I have. In fact that's why there are areas of the build with 1x2 and 1x1 bricks right next to each other (build etiquette/tolerance accumulation); completely ran out of white 1x3s.

Also felt that even if I had the bricks making it 3 full floors would result in the Town Hall-effect due to the roof design and raised first floor, that is a building that physically imposes on all the others the way TH stands out in sheer size compared to all the others which was one of the criticisms of that official modular. A balancing of size in both directions as its easy to go too big as well.

36 minutes ago, SassQueen said:

YES THIS EXACTLY.

Love the detailing.

Your photography is amazing.

Perfect interiors - the chain pull on the lav! Courtroom! Gavel!

Hah thanks SassQueen!

Edited September 27, 2018 by koalayummies

[paupadros]

Great model @koalayummies! At first I was going to comment about how it feels a bit short, but at a second glance, it looks more balanced. The exterior is not at all my style, but I can appreciate when something is well done. The texturing of the windows and the columns is great and neatly topped off with a dome. The interior pulled a couple laughs out of me.  Judges bribed, prosecutors doing nothing at all! This is really great. I must say I adore the little slot for the judge. I wonder how he knows from whom each incentive is coming from, as 100$ Lego bills don't fit into 1x2 envelopes .

Overall a very nice build that perfectly captures politics and judges nowadays. Love it!

[Bricked1980]

I really like how you've used a limited pallet of colours on the facade. I think when designing modulars there is often a temptation to try and jam in as many colours as possible but your model looks really classy and the details and textures stand out very nicely in white. Really love all the detailing around windows and around the roof edge. The little bird box on the back of the building is a neat touch too. 

As usual you've brought the model to life with your comical minifigs and top notch photography. 

 

[koalayummies]

On 9/27/2018 at 11:36 AM, paupadros said:

Great model @koalayummies! At first I was going to comment about how it feels a bit short, but at a second glance, it looks more balanced. The exterior is not at all my style, but I can appreciate when something is well done. The texturing of the windows and the columns is great and neatly topped off with a dome. The interior pulled a couple laughs out of me.  Judges bribed, prosecutors doing nothing at all! This is really great. I must say I adore the little slot for the judge. I wonder how he knows from whom each incentive is coming from, as 100$ Lego bills don't fit into 1x2 envelopes .

Overall a very nice build that perfectly captures politics and judges nowadays. Love it!

Thanks Paupadros! I can appriciate the desire for different styles and I'm glad you think its true to the architectural inspiration even if its not as appealing to you; as its been a style I've wanted to build in modular for a long time. And lol at the envelope/bribe identification joke, some things in Lego are just easy pickings for some humor. Living in the US and building a courthouse resulted in certain things about the justice system that just had to be prodded and mocked.

On 9/28/2018 at 4:28 AM, Bricked1980 said:

I really like how you've used a limited pallet of colours on the facade. I think when designing modulars there is often a temptation to try and jam in as many colours as possible but your model looks really classy and the details and textures stand out very nicely in white. Really love all the detailing around windows and around the roof edge. The little bird box on the back of the building is a neat touch too. 

As usual you've brought the model to life with your comical minifigs and top notch photography. 

 

Thanks Bricked1980. I agree completely about use of color and using a plethora of colors is something I have done personally with other builds so it was a fun challenge to dramatically reduce the exterior color palette and focus more on getting detail through the use of depth and the resulting shadows. Thanks.

Edited September 30, 2018 by koalayummies

[peedeejay]

I dont think I need to say again that I envy the quality of your photos all the time. Flawless!

The building looks cool and has some very interesting architectural details. The interior details are great again. However I also think the building should be a bit taller. Not with extra floors but rather higher walls on existing floors.

[koalayummies]

Thanks!

I wanted to build on-the-fly using only parts-on-hand again. Unfortunately budget doesn't allow for the acquisition of additional 1x6/8/10 bricks necessary for the buildup of wall height and I wanted the challenge of working with what I have. Until bricks grow on trees or I win the lottery sometimes have to work with what one has and since TH, PS, GE, DO, DD, PR and AS all have some floors that are 6-7 bricks high with the ground floor being a little taller this build using 7 bricks per level from floor to ceiling with the first level being 9 bricks from the ground to the ceiling is still in-line with the precedent set by the official modulars. Some complain that the official modulars are getting smaller and smaller so even though I don't agree that's necessarily a bad thing this is still in keeping with official modular heights.

[Zed_43]

I really like your building. It is really clean, well detailed. The little tower on the roof is just what a courthouse need! And the use of the rounded fence is really appropriate. I also appreciate the interior, you managed to recreate the atmosphere of a judgment! The judge from cmf serie 9 would fit perfectly into this!

[Klaus-Dieter]

This is not only an amazing building with a great interior, but you even wrote a nice, amusing, partly sadly realistic story behind it, @koalayummies!

[LegoModularFan]

Great work as always @koalayummies, I just love all the detailing on the façade, the color scheme, shaping of the dome and the photography! The interior is amazing as well, I really enjoyed the story and the expressions of the minifigures...  I’m not totally sure about heights of the floors: I think they will look just right if you add a height of two bricks to the each floor... Anyway, keep up the great work! 

[mona_maomao]

Great work. The photo of the toilet is my favorite.