Things to Build out of LEGO Parts

I recently came across this post that I started writing last March, and I thought I would go ahead and share it today. I should probably make a longer and more complete list, but this is interesting enough on its own.

It's been a while since I've made one of these lists and I'm finding that inspiration has struck me repeatedly and violently tonight. I've toyed around with the idea of doing some sort of CAD-related contest for some of these to gather up ideas on how I want mine to look (but never actually figured out how I'd make that work).

• Oil rig (the tall tower kind - I never did get to it)


• Large hospital (possibly based on the 1987 Emergency Treatment Center kit, but with more realistic scale)


• Aquarium (1x4x3 trans-light-blue panels to separate visitors from underwater vignettes)


• Soda Shoppe (already started even though I really don't have time - never mind the tiles for a proper checked floor, or the correct minifigs for soda jerks...)


• suburban restaurant (buffet?) with enclosed patio (or two)


• suburban American houses in colors that a homeowner's association would actually allow (for inspiration, use Street View for this subdivision in Apex, NC) - bought specially-colored parts from Cary for this, but will probably have to be clever for roofing


• suburban American landscaping (there is no such thing as a cul-de-sac roadplate piece)


• Parking lot or parking garage (where the heck do people park when they go to the Cafe Corner?) - side thought - parking spaces on road plates?


• Large urban bank


• Town Plan buildings upsized to Cafe Corner scale (restyled?)


• Great Ball Contraption town - factory buildings dump balls onto motorized cars/trucks/train, train/cars unload balls themselves back into other factory buildings, chutes and machinery maneuver balls withing factory buildings.


• Jewelry store (to use the "Diamonds" brick from a Spiderman set)


• Girly clothing store (for realistic variety and cool sideways use of DUPLO roof piece)


• A few buildings that minifigs walk around (done using hockey sports pieces)


• Cathedral (in bley)

I've been a bit inspired by the thought of building some Americana lately. All these plans are for naught, though, because my big bag 'o' minifigs is MIA. Perhaps it's time for me to build miniland-scale instead (but where to start?)