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LEGO GAF |OT2|: Building Dreams. Demolishing Wallets

3 hun'ed and change nice! Felt good din'nit?

Well, with Winter Village being discounted and then using $20 in VIP points, it was $275 :)

And this week has been super, super shitty at work and in general. So splurging on that on my day off at least gives me one good day this week.
 
Here we go! Sloane is pretty excited too.

PR6PTRWl.jpg
 
Son of a bitch. Someone bought all the "Like New" LOTR Weathertops from Amazon. There were like 10 to 15 available yesterday, now it's disappeared from my cart!
 

golem

Member
Something about the integrity of the UCS line and that TLG should not be selling out by making a rehash.

Personally, I want remakes. I want a UCS Falcon!

Yep theyre just mad because their valuation got fucked up or they're not in some kind of exclusive club anymore. Let everyone have a chance I say, if they really expected Lego to NEVER make another UCS X-wing they are delusional.
 
Yep theyre just mad because their valuation got fucked up or they're not in some kind of exclusive club anymore. Let everyone have a chance I say, if they really expected Lego to NEVER make another UCS X-wing they are delusional.
Here here. I am glad we are getting remakes, mainly because it has been a decade or so since that one came out.

But Lego is screwed either way. The super hardcore and annoying fans will be unhappy no matter what it seems.
 
Screw the resellers. Ton of UCS's were being sold at Celebration at 3-5x their true value. I laugh at them now.

Nope, the nose is just about right if you look at the top-down shot. The nose is a bit too thick between the cockpit and the tip, but it's by far the best-proportioned LEGO X-Wing ever made.

Yup, it's much closer to the real film model than previous attempts, and the scale of the R2 and whole back of the X-wing is proper length finally
 

ruxtpin

Banned
All the Palace love! I stopped by my local store and snagged a discounted Winter Cottage as well, along with a large and small PAB cup.

Still holding out until the end of March to get the Palace and Pet Shop at the same time. Just did my taxes, may seriously consider ordering a Green Grocer in the next month or so. I'd like to find a good used one for sale, maybe save a little bit on it.
 
Something about the integrity of the UCS line and that TLG should not be selling out by making a rehash.

Personally, I want remakes. I want a UCS Falcon!

Yep theyre just mad because their valuation got fucked up or they're not in some kind of exclusive club anymore. Let everyone have a chance I say, if they really expected Lego to NEVER make another UCS X-wing they are delusional.

Here here. I am glad we are getting remakes, mainly because it has been a decade or so since that one came out.

But Lego is screwed either way. The super hardcore and annoying fans will be unhappy no matter what it seems.

The remakes are great because LEGO is advancing their building techniques and adding more detail. Just look at the four minifig scale X-wings from 1999 through 2012.
 
The remakes are great because LEGO is advancing their building techniques and adding more detail. Just look at the four minifig scale X-wings from 1999 through 2012.
Exactly. Things are being improved and refined. Those old sets still hold collectible value, and the new sets let others get super detailed models. It's not like the old models cease to exist.

The only issue I have with the new UCS X-Wing is that it has been barely a year since we got a regular model of it that was very, very good, while there is no TIE Interceptor or Star Destroyer that is currently in print. Those are two UCS that could use revisions.
 

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
Palace Cinema: Final Thoughts



+The doors are reminiscent of the Town Hall, but different enough to work.
+The Roof. The roof was neat to see come together, as was the front Palace Cinema sign and showtimes section. There are a few downsides to the roof.
+Least the sidewalk stars are printed.
+Apperance. Thing is very pretty

- The Limo. It's like a cheap $10 city set, and lacks all the neat parts of the fire engine. The engine block is built alright, bit it only serves to highlight how lame the rest of it is.
-Roof access. Repeat of the Fire Brigaide roof access. Don't think it could have been helped, but it's nothing new.
-No backside to tower element. Only three sides, nothing on the back side to try and make it look natural. Seems like it could have easily been covered with a few extra pieces.
-The stickers. The floodgates are open, and I fear we'll never see a stickerless modular again. They should have gone the extra mile and printed pieces. There's no excuse for the showtime stickers, but I can at least understand a little bit about why the movie posters are stickers.
They are placed on both sides of a clear window piece. This allows the posters to appear slightly illuminated from the inside.
-That stupid limo...

In the end, the set was a bit of a letdown. I am glad I got it though. It looks beautiful. There certainly could have been more original techniques in the first two floors. I'd place it above the Town Hall, but only slightly, and based almost entirely on the enjoyment of the sign section of the Cinema.
 

ghostmind

Member
Now that they've crossed the sticker line with the modulars, why not cross some more lines. I would like to see minifigs with more than just the single blank smiling expression, for one.
 

ghostmind

Member
Yep theyre just mad because their valuation got fucked up or they're not in some kind of exclusive club anymore. Let everyone have a chance I say, if they really expected Lego to NEVER make another UCS X-wing they are delusional.


I am playing this in response to their lamentations.

ne9cNXH.jpg
 

wetwired

Member
Partway through the first floor, and a pretty cool build so far. You can tell it is the same designer as Town Hall though. The way she uses more 1x1 and 1x8 bricks to achieve things where Jamie would use corner bricks and 1x6 more often

I think actually comes down to production costs than designer, it's often times cheaper for production, sorting and packaging to have more 1x2s for example than have 1x2s, 1x4s and 1x6s. It comes down to what pieces in those colours are already in production for other sets, and the cost to part ratio where the the cost of the production line going through the process of picking out 2 individual larger pieces where it might be more cost efficient to just have more of a smaller part.
 
Kitty! <3 Hope you're having a blast with the set! :D

It's good times. We love having some drinks, building a set and having a movie playing in the background. Already finished Jurassic Park, now on Fifth Element. Got to keep an eye on the kitties though. They love stealing pieces.

Nor do I. Effenciency all the way!

And almost done with first floor. The interior is quite nice, but the outside is so luxurious looking. And I love how simple and effective the corner door is achieved.

I love how the slot at the ticket window is just the perfect size for a money tile to slide through.
 
You know what part I really, really want LEGO to make? Clear windows to fit these frames:

We have the grated style, why no clear pieces? Too brittle? Too expensive?
 
Am I crazy that while looking at possibly ordering the Pet Shop or Fire Brigade this coming week that I would rather have Pet Shop? I know the Fire Brigade gets a lot of love around here but I, personally like the looks of the pet shop especially coupled with the Grand Emporium I have.
 
Am I crazy that while looking at possibly ordering the Pet Shop or Fire Brigade this coming week that I would rather have Pet Shop? I know the Fire Brigade gets a lot of love around here but I, personally like the looks of the pet shop especially coupled with the Grand Emporium I have.

Pet Shop > FB. IMO
 

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
You know what part I really, really want LEGO to make? Clear windows to fit these frames:

We have the grated style, why no clear pieces? Too brittle? Too expensive?

There are holes in the thing to fit windows, it was another annoyance of the Palace Cinema, but I decided not to put it on the list, since the part does not exist.
 
There are holes in the thing to fit windows, it was another annoyance of the Palace Cinema, but I decided not to put it on the list, since the part does not exist.

The thing is that many sets have the grated window pieces to fit into there, but I have never seen the clear pieces. It is annoyance I have with nearly every single set that uses these window frames.

And I finished the second floor, and my opinion so far is exactly the same as yours. Some really neat and cool techniques, but overall just meh on the construction. The main saving grace is that the outside of the set is so damn good looking. It really does look super classy so far. But for every classy and cool thing you do, there is a part that is "less than." Much like Town Hall.

But it does already look better than Town Hall. I shall finish the roof tomorrow.
 
And I finished the second floor, and my opinion so far is exactly the same as yours. Some really neat and cool techniques, but overall just meh on the construction. The main saving grace is that the outside of the set is so damn good looking. It really does look super classy so far. But for every classy and cool thing you do, there is a part that is "less than." Much like Town Hall.

I didn't want to comment before the early adopters started building it, but the set was pretty underwhelming in person. There's a degree of elegance with Fire Brigade, Grand Emporium & (yes) Town Hall. With the Palace Cinema build that only appears to be reflected in the "PALACE" sign. The rest of the model looks pretty bland. As someone else commented, there are no rear exits. The only details on the back of the building are the patterned bricks (not sure what they are officially called).

Of course, none of this changes the fact that I will absolutely buy it after I've bought and built Pet Shop. The only question is do I wait for the double VIP sale in march or get them now?
 
I didn't want to comment before the early adopters started building it, but the set was pretty underwhelming in person. There's a degree of elegance with Fire Brigade, Grand Emporium & (yes) Town Hall. With the Palace Cinema build that only appears to be reflected in the "PALACE" sign. The rest of the model looks pretty bland. As someone else commented, there are no rear exits. The only details on the back of the building are the patterned bricks (not sure what they are officially called).

Of course, none of this changes the fact that I will absolutely buy it after I've bought and built Pet Shop. The only question is do I wait for the double VIP sale in march or get them now?

The no rear exits does not bother me at all. In fact, I am glad to finally have a building without one. Use that space for more interior details! Of course, there is not much going on inside Palace Cinema back there...

But the exterior really is awesome looking, even if the build itself is merely ok.
 
But the exterior really is awesome looking, even if the build itself is merely ok.

I do like the tertiary elements like the spotlights & the car. I don't actually think the car is such a terrible model. It's nothing like the FB truck, but that thing was incredible.

I suspect part of the problem was that the set was displayed very poorly in the LEGO store I went to. The building itself was elevated within the "glass" cube, but everything tenuous had fallen off. It looked like an unloved stepchild.
 
I do like the tertiary elements like the spotlights & the car. I don't actually think the car is such a terrible model. It's nothing like the FB truck, but that thing was incredible.

I suspect part of the problem was that the set was displayed very poorly in the LEGO store I went to. The building itself was elevated within the "glass" cube, but everything tenuous had fallen off. It looked like an unloved stepchild.

I only briefly glanced at it when at the store. The clerk asked me a few times as I was at the PAB wall if I looked at the model. I told him I was intentionally avoiding it so I could see it in all its glory once I built it.
 

DrForester

Kills Photobucket
The car just looks unfinished. The front is OF, but with the middle and back only being 1 brick high, the thing feels more like a parade float than a car.
 

Fowler

Member
Even though it's not the rumored Trench Rub diorama (which would have been insanely unique), I am SO hyped for the new UCS X-Wing. My favourite Sci-Fi ship of them all.
 
The car just looks unfinished. The front is OF, but with the middle and back only being 1 brick high, the thing feels more like a parade float than a car.

Good way to put it. The hood SNOT work was nice once you got to it, but it just ended with it. It just felt like they abandoned it halfway through.

Knowing this was designed by an intern (cant remember his name. A few pages ago someone linked to a video of him) made me think about something. That guy is insanely talented. His MOCs in the video that was posted were fantastic and he deserved to get a job at LEGO. But I wonder if people that are used to doing nutso MOC work have trouble adapting their technique and style to sets that have to meet a certain price/difficulty criteria. I wouldn't say they need to "dumb down" their techniques, but more "refine" them to use less pieces but still get the detail needed.
 

ghostmind

Member
IT'S ALIVE!


Even though it's not the rumored Trench Rub diorama (which would have been insanely unique), I am SO hyped for the new UCS X-Wing. My favourite Sci-Fi ship of them all.


I'm hyped too... best looking version of this iconic ship that LEGO has released to date. And once you look at the dimensions, you realize how much larger it is compared to the standard one released last year. Can't wait!


And I think a "Trench Rub" would put a bit too much "A" in AFOL for LEGO's standards. ;)
 

BGBW

Maturity, bitches.
I see people either sort out the pieces or go all the way of mixing the bags. Doesn't anyone else just do the simplest method of making each bag its own little pile of bricks? Semi sorted, semi mixed.
 
So a lot of people over at Brickset seem to be up in arms about the X-Wing remake. What do you guys think?

I can see the thought behind being upset but it was inevitable. TLG is a nice company but at the end of the day they are there to make money. Nothing about the UCS line says it will never be repeated and with another 9 years of the contract it would be foolish to think they would not re-visit iconic ships. Just look at their business model, how many X-wings, Falcons and Tie Fighters have there been?

The new UCS is different to the original and an improvement so it's pointless getting upset.

I'm looking forward to grabbing one and sitting it next to my 7191 and the other plus is we may end up with more of those wonderful cockpit windows on BL for less than £20 or whatever it goes for now.
 
I see people either sort out the pieces or go all the way of mixing the bags. Doesn't anyone else just do the simplest method of making each bag its own little pile of bricks? Semi sorted, semi mixed.

I like to mix the bags, then sort them all out before building. ;)

J/K, I do exactly what you stated. I rip open 1st bag then start building and open bags only when needed for larger sets. For smaller sets, i rip them all open and put in separate piles then start building right away.
 
I see people either sort out the pieces or go all the way of mixing the bags. Doesn't anyone else just do the simplest method of making each bag its own little pile of bricks? Semi sorted, semi mixed.

I did this with my recent build, except dumping the tiniest parts into a container. That way the same bricks are generally together, and they also had 1x2 and 1x3 bricks in different bags so they're easier to spot. This was two sets that didn't have numbered bags, though.
 

Fowler

Member
And I think a "Trench Rub" would put a bit too much "A" in AFOL for LEGO's standards. ;)

Bwahaha. Fail!

One observation on the Palace Cinema from someone who's yet to buy or build a modular...

It strikes me that the beauty of the other modulars is how they accurately represent very ordinary looking buildings -- a department store, a pet shop, etc. Every time I see a modular in a store I always gape at the lovely little details that just make these sets stand out so far above and beyond everything else Lego does. Which, again, is amazing -- this isn't a starfighter, or a pirate ship, or a castle, or a supervillain's lair, these are ordinary everyday buildings that somehow look even more fantastic than those imaginary things.

But the more I look at the Palace Cinema, the more it feels like it doesn't fit. Being based not on the generic look of a cinema, but on one particular (and justifiably iconic) cinema makes it feel like it belongs to Lego's other lines. Owners of the Palace Cinema or other modulars, feel free to disagree, but it looks to me like the striking and distinctive design rather disguises the fact that it's lacking in the small details that really gave the other modulars their charm.
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Yep theyre just mad because their valuation got fucked up or they're not in some kind of exclusive club anymore. Let everyone have a chance I say, if they really expected Lego to NEVER make another UCS X-wing they are delusional.

You could also argue that earlier models couldn't take advantage of modern pieces and building techniques. Seems a shame to have such iconic ships limited like that
 

Fowler

Member
You could also argue that earlier models couldn't take advantage of modern pieces and building techniques. Seems a shame to have such iconic ships limited like that

Yeah, I find the original X-Wing UCS to be a bit fugly. Mind you, we'll probably find this one to be weird-looking in a few years...
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
Fowler, good points about the cinema. It looks like it belongs in LA, whereas almost all of the rest of the modulate have more of an older, European style to them (perhaps a spot of New York for the FB)

At the same time, what are Lego trying to achieve? Do they want models that give you enjoyment as you build (FB, VW camper), or that are great to look at afterwards (TIE fighter, maybe town hall)

Sometimes you get both but not always
 

mrklaw

MrArseFace
UCS Tie-Fighter....

I'm thinking I should sell my UCS Falcon ASAP....

Do you think they could improve it? Older sets like the x-wing weren't great, but the falcon is pretty much perfect. I can't see them doing another 5,000 piece monstrosity, as much as I'd like one


Lego, if you are listening - I will buy every UCS OT SW ship you release.
 

BGBW

Maturity, bitches.
Going to the Lego store to fill up my free PAB from Christmas. 31st March is the deadline remember in case anyone forgot about it (I almost did).
 

leng jai

Member
To me I use modulars as a display piece so the importance priority for me is exterior -> interior -> building process. Interiors are cool and everything but 99% of the time I'm not looking at it.
 
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