This is an easy one to answer yourself if you know where to look... However, the answer will vary depending on when you do the research. The price will increase as time goes by, they aren't making any more Cafe Corners, Green Grocers or Market StreetsBrickLink is going to have better prices than eBay,.. (catalog listing for all the (modulars)Then go to the catalog entry for each one, for example 10182 Cafe CornerBrickLink Reference Catalog - Set 10182-1 and then view the lots for saleBrickLink Search Results (filter by new if you want)Repeat for all the modulars... For those in production, buy direct from LEGO when they have free shipping (such as now, 30 November 2012)I didn't actually do this but I think, right now, (late 2012) if you want new copies of each, you are looking at around 3500-4000 USD, plus or minus. (Quick check, the cheapest new, MISB Cafe Corner is 1300ish, Green Grocer about 500ish and Market Street around 1300 as well... the others are less since they are still in production, yoiu can probably get all 4 for less than a grand...)
So what does this mean? If you see a LEGO set you like, buy it. Don't wait and pay aftermarket prices! (although I love it when you do, some of those modulars for sale on BL are mine. Think of it as enabling my habit)If you're interested in collecting all the modular buildings I would recommend starting by purchasing all the ones that are available in store today. As of today (11/2013) this includesFire Brigade ($150)Grand Emporium ($150)Pet Shop ($150)Town Hall ($200)Palace Cinema ($150)The Fire Brigade just moved to discontinued status, so if you can find one on the shelves I'd recommend purchasing it now. On my last visit to the Lego store the employees said they won't be getting anymore in stock.The hardest part about the collection is obtaining the buildings that are discontinued. Most sets are discontinued 2-3 years after they are released. I was in a similar situation trying to obtain the Green Grocer and Market Street (already owned Cafe Corner). For both of these sets I used Brick Link to purchase each individual part and assemble the buildings.
It's a lot of work, but the Green Grocer set is now my favorite mainly due to the amount of effort I put into creating it. Here's my recommended process for getting a discontinued set:1) Use Brick Store to create a part list for each building. The part list is sourced from Brick Link and is fairly accurate.2) Use Brick Rake (brickrake) to obtain obtain a store list and price list for the parts in the building.3) If possible, use gurobi [1] (The overall fastest and best supported solver available) to solve the optimization problem of finding the least number of stores with the lowest prices for all the parts you need. Without gurobi you'll have to do a greedy approach (more expensive) or brute force (takes forever) method to solve the optimization problem.4) Use the output parts list to order from the sellers on Brick Link. A sellers inventory changes day to day, so it's best to order from all the sellers as soon as you have the list.You may have to make some substitutes to the parts because some of the listed parts are very specific to the set.
Using this method I was able to build the Green Grocer for ~$400 and Market Street for ~$200. The set is a lot of fun to build and each release seems to get slightly more intricate than the last building. [1] Gurobi has a free academic license if you access it from a .edu domainJohn B Keane's The S...La La LandThis Lime Tree BowerFrankeen Stein & Sha...Ger Carey LiveTrio Dali And Nathan... Tull MacAdoo needs your vote to be The Successful TDAuditionsIrish Memory Orchestra Seeks ApplicationsDruid's 2017 Programme AnnouncementTemporary Arts Officer Welcome to the Town Hall Theatre Galway Website Welcome to the Town Hall Theatre Galway, incorporating the state of the art 400-seater Main Auditorium and the 52-seater Studio Space at Courthouse Square, and the nearby, multi-purpose Black Box performance space on Dyke Road where we present an extensive and eclectic mix of theatre, concerts, musicals, dance, film, comedy and family shows year-round. Our three venues are open 362 days a year and 15 hours a day on average and attract audiences in excess of 100,000 annually (close to 2 million since we officially re-opened on 1st February 1996) making us the most successful theatres of our size in Ireland.
Pick the building and detail styles that you like, and then furnish the interior. Parts lists are included, and you can visit their website for a digital version (hopefully forthcoming). If one of the step-by-step buildings doesn’t appeal to you, the book is filled with dozens of quality photographs of other building styles, which you can recreate with some effort, or they can inspire you to invent your own. Many work from a similar base building style, only changing the facade. While the Lego kits for these types of buildings are gorgeous and well done, this book may be all you need to inspire your particular Lego neighborhood that you can create in your own style. What will I do with it? I thought I would pilfer my Lego brick supplies to see what I could build in the book with what I already have, but, in reality, that would tie up too many of my bricks. If I built the structures in this book, I wouldn’t want to just take them apart again right away. So I’ll need to put a bucket of bricks on my wish list.