The release of a new modular building has become a much anticipated event over the last few years. On 1st January, 10246 Detective's Office will be available, a year after the release of the last one, 10243 Parisian Restaurant.

Rumours that the next modular would be a 'detective's agency' were circulating in the summer and many speculated that it might be based on 221b Baker Street but when images were leaked following the set being sent to brand stores to construct ahead of the Good Friday shopping events, it was clear that this wasn't the case. The press release published shortly afterwards provided more information about it together with a designer video featuring Jamie Berard. It's worth taking a look at that if you haven't already because some of the features of the building are explained in it.

The LEGO CEE team has kindly sent us one to review, so read on to see if it should be on your wanted list. In response to criticism levelled at my multi-part reviews, I've posted it as one long one, so make yourself comfortable...

Box and contents

Pictures of the box were the first images of the set that we saw back in November but it's worth adding them here to remind you how it's packaged. The box is smaller than those of most modulars, such as the Pet Shop, Cinema and Town Hall, although I don't have the Parisian's Restaurant box to hand to compare it with. That's not necessarily a bad thing of course. Note the new 'Expert' logo in the corner.

The parts are in bags numbered 1 to 4. The 174-page perfect-bound instruction manual is sealed in a bag, but without a piece of card in with them. There seems to be a move towards one thick perfect bound manual rather than mutiple thinner, stapled ones in recent large sets; presumably it's a cost cutting exercise.

I believe this is the first time a 32x32 baseplate has appeared in brown. Does it need to be brown? As you'll see, probably not. Dark grey would have been more appropriate but nevertheless it was great of Jamie to provide us with a baseplate in a useful new colour.

Construction - ground floor

Bags numbered one provide parts for the pool room. There are a few notable parts in them, which in hindsight would have been better photographed on a darker background.

When I opened the instructions I was expecting to find a sticker sheet but I am very pleased to tell you that there isn't one: all windows and tiles are printed, as you can see below. The dart board print is new. The other tile has appeared before but is uncommon.

There are only a couple of brand new parts in the set although there are plenty of old parts in new colours. One of the new parts is a 2x2 round tile with stud in the middle, in white. I am sure this will have a lot of uses, like the 2x2 round tile with hole that was introduced last year does. The 4x4 domes are not new but are uncommon and are new in dark green.

As has become customary in recent modular buildings, the ground floor of the building has a tiled floor. In the pool room, it's a dark green/tan/blue carpet.

I'm not entirely convinced by the pool table, particularly the pockets, but it's a good effort and, knowing Jamie, I suspect it's the best that could be done at this scale.

The light and ceiling fan, which uses minifig snow shoes for the fans, is a neat feature of the room. It can be twisted out of the way to gain access to the table below. The new 2x2 round tile is used for the table top in the corner of the room.

Here's the other side of the room showing the dart board and trophy cabinet. I reckon actually playing pool would be a bit of a challenge given the clearance between the table and the walls...

The front of 'The Highlander' looks excellent and the pillars constructed from Technic axle joiners with ball joints at either end add a lot of interest to the design.

Bags numbered two contain parts for Al's hair salon. It is in these that are presented with the second new part in the set: scissors. I believe this is the first set that silver cup cakes/finials have appeared in.

Mid-way through construction the salon is taking shape, complete with chair and sink.

Another interesting part, which I didn't notice at first, is the mirror. I didn't notice it because it has a protective layer of paper on it which has to peeled off to reveal the mirror. It's the same size as the panes that fit 1x4x6 window frames at the front of the salon and is held in place using plates with rail top and bottom and 1x1 bricks with vertical handle at the sides. It was difficult to photograph in-situ but you can just about see it reflecting the chair and floor in the picture below.

The stairs are hinged to provide access to the salon below.

The SNOT-work for AL'S shop sign is very cleverly done. I'll let you discover how when you build it.

I can't say I've ever seen wigs on display in the windows of salons round my way but they look quite cool.

One thing I haven't mentioned about the ground floor is the secret passageway used to smuggle cookies into the pool room, apparently. Take a look at the designer video to find out the reasoning behind it!

At this point, I'll mention something that I've not noticed before about the instructions: the parts added in the step are outlined in red. I presume this is new for 2015 although looking at PDFs of other 2015 sets it doesn't seem to have been done in others. I'm not sure if I like it to be honest, although if you're like me and pick the parts you need based on what's being added rather than from the call-out parts list, I guess it will be useful.

Construction - first floor

Bags numbered three provide parts for the first floor, which houses the detective's office and toilet. The appearance of paint roller handles in black has caused much excitement among MOCers.

The toilet is built first using two shades of light blue and looks excellent. The paint rollers are used for the outside lights.

With a toilet, wall mounted cistern and sink, it's bit of a squeeze in the bathroom.

Next, the central corridor section is added before moving on to the left-hand side of the first floor, the detective's office.

With front wall yet to be added the details in the room can be appreciated: desk, two chairs, filing cabinet with fan on top, safe (at the front), hat stand and, behind the ship picture, a secret compartment that's accessed by rotating the picture. The floor is not tiled which is a shame, and given the small surface area, surely would not have pushed the price and piece count up by much.

Here's the completed first floor:

The first floor sits neatly onto the ground floor, as you'd expect. There is no way to access the balcony area other than through the window. I think it's supposed to be the fire escape, rather than a balcony because it doesn't have a proper floor and there's a ladder on the left hand side which can be dropped down.

Here's a view of the back, which retains the same impressive level of detail as the front of the building.

Construction - second floor and roof

Finally, bags numbered 4 contain parts for the second floor and the roof. There are some interesting parts among them: dark grey Unikitty tails, a red inverted 2x2 dome and plenty of black 1x1 plates with hole. It's good to see the proliferation of this useful part. I had heard that it was to be restricted to use in Games sets (for eyes) because it doesn't have a LEGO logo on it, but clearly common sense has prevailed.

Construction begins on the right side of the building again, which on this floor is a kitchen area.

There's a lot of detail in the kitchen although I'm not exactly sure what it's all supposed to be. Presumably the brown thing on the wall is a (very large) rolling pin and the red dome a mixing bowl. Another 2x2 round tile with one stud is used for the table top.

A wall cupboard finishes it off and the corridor section, similar to that on the first floor, completes the enclosed space of the second floor.

Half-stud offset techniques are used extensively here which adds interest to the design.

The roof top area is very cleverly constructed and features Hero Factory fists to provide the eaves with some great detail. The water tank is also very ingeniously made but I'll leave its construction as a surprise for you.

There's a skylight window in the roof, above the detective's office, which is used for a specific purpose as explained in the designer video.

Finally, a roof is added to the right-hand end of the second floor. Once again is has some great detailing, this time courtesy of Unkitty's tail.

The minifigures

Unlike Star Wars and Super Heroes sets, you don't buy modular buildings for the minifigures but nevertheless they are an important part of the set because they bring it to life. As is always the case in modulars, they all have classic smiley faces and all bar one, come with an accessory. The set comes with 6 figures.

From left to right: female police officer with hat; Ace Brickman, private detective; criminal with crowbar?; Al the barber with scissors; a female, either Ace's or Al's client, presumably; and finally a male with what might be a quill pen. There are some great general purpose torsos among them.

[Update: turns out the tan 4L bar is a cue and the feathery thing is a dart. Perhaps the shady looking character 3rd from the left isn't a criminal after all...]

The completed model

Once the main structure of the building has been completed, details are added here and there, including the 'POOL' sign which uses 2x2 tiles with hole and the new 2x2 corner tiles to great effect, the newspaper vending machine, tree and lamp-post.

Here's how it compares in size with other modulars, the greengrocer on the left and Parisian restaurant on the right, housed in one half of my Ikea wall cabinet which looks as if it's purpose made for displaying modular buildings.

Verdict

I can summarise my review with four words: 'small but perfectly formed'. It's a really well designed and interesting building that features some excellent construction techniques, a great selection of parts used in unusual ways and wonderful details inside. But, it's a bit small particularly when compared to the Greengrocer in the picture above.

With 2262-parts, it's certainly not lacking in quantity of pieces so I guess its smaller physical size must be due to more being used to provide a higher level of detail than seen in older modulars, particularly the interior. One solution to improve its appearance would be to buy two and repeat the first floor.

I have to admit that after building it I was slightly underwhelmed, but I'm not entirely sure why. I think it's because I've become accustomed to the modulars getting better and better and perhaps it wasn't the step-change that I was anticipating. It's definitely up there with the best of them but perhaps does not surpass the Parisian Restaurant which, after all, does take some beating.

Marks out of 5:

Parts - 5 - No stickers, lots of parts in new and useful colours and a few brand new parts.

Building experience - 5 - Plenty of interesting techniques ensure it's never boring or laboured.

Playability - 3 - More than most modulars thanks to the secret passage but still not much, but then you don't expect there to be.

Value for money - 4 - About what you'd expect, at $159.99 / £132.99.

Overall - 4 - One of the best modulars yet, but perhaps not the best.

Although it's a must-have for all modular building aficionados who are unlikely to be disappointed with it, if you don't have any of the previous ones yet I think I'd buy the Parisian Restaurant ahead of this.

The reducing stature of modular buildings is a worrying trend: how much smaller will they get in future?