I added some custom googles to make my Dark Knight Rises Catwoman
Hrm... it needs to be thinner in the middle to match the cat ear silhouette from the movie...
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LEGO |OT 3| Build Hard. Buy Fast. No Mercy.
- Thread starter PhoncipleBone
- Start date
Hrm... it needs to be thinner in the middle to match the cat ear silhouette from the movie...
ah not those goggles, they're just regular lego goggles, not sure if I'll even use those. I meant the ones on her face
peteykirch
Member
Went to a mall that had a TRU Express and found these
PalaceBrother
Member
I think they look awesome. The face is instantly recognizable.
SiegfriedFM
Member
From my review of Town Hall:
Finally, it’s completed. The biggest of the modular buildings so far and my biggest set in terms of parts count (although Orthanc and Imperial Flagship dwarf it in stature). Town Hall was the first of the modulars to not be designed by Jamie Berard, if you’re not counting Market Street. Instead the honour went to Astrid Graabæk, who usually designs Friends sets. And I’m not happy to say that it shows. While Town Hall is a striking building, mostly due to its size, it’s very lacking in exciting builds and clever details. Even most Friends sets, with their cheaper prices and simpler layouts, often have more interesting solutions. I don’t know who designed Heartlake Shopping Mall but even at half the price and less than half the parts count, it has many more neat flourishes.
As a thematical centerpiece to the modular street, the Town Hall certainly looks the part. It’s a strict, almost severe building, complete with a faux-classical pillared entrance. But aside from that, there’s very little going on. There are eleven main windows and a small balcony. There’s the same number on the back, along with a back door and an unsightly gap in the wall to allow for the manual elevator action crossing between floors. Inside there is a little office (apparently to pay taxes), waiting areas (which are as exciting as they sound) and the elevator to reach the second and third floors, housing the mayor’s office and a meeting room, respectively. There is obviously some detail here and some nice colours used including some dark green, but apart from the special cabinet pieces there’s little to excite. The main feature of the inside area is the auditorium, where a single minifig can address any who would listen. The upper floors have a balcony railing to look down into the auditorium which is cool in theory, although since the building is already rather cramped, it’s more of a shaft for suicides if the meetings upstairs take a shocking turn. I’m also not a fan of how the bottom floor has a huge chunk taken out of the inner walls. It’s obviously to make it possible to reach into the lower rooms even with high walls, but it leaves an ugly gap.
During the build itself, there was very little to make it exciting. The pillars outside are clever, I supposed, but other than that it’s layer upon layer of stacked walls, and the 66 (count them!) window panes get annoying to find and place. There are tons of bags for the first booklet and there is an annoying tendency to mix parts of the same type across multiple bags. Normally you get all of one kind in one pile after opening everything. It’s just not a very pleasant build.
Until you get up to the roof, the second part of the third booklet. It’s said that Jamie assisted with the roof, although I’m not sure if he did it all or just specific details. Either way, suddenly there are smart solutions worthy of a Lego modular building. One detail is very hard to even discover: the curved slopes underneath the crest of the building. They are placed upside town in holders, which are then placed THROUGH small castle windows to put the slope on the outside. After the boring main structure, this almost comes as a shock. Then there’s the roof windows, which are created out of garage doors, which are draped across curved pieces and held in place by the very corner of round tiles. It’s rock solid and an example of the same sub-Lego-unit precision Jamie showed with the corner facade of Café Corner. And then finally there’s the clock tower, with another Fire Brigade/Pet Shop style of tiled text and the outlines on the clock which somehow fit perfectly inside very ordinary Lego dimensions.
The roof makes for a very happy end to this otherwise unremarkable build, and even if you’re not going to buy this set it’s worth checking out the instructions to learn new stuff. But aside from that… I’m not really happy with it. It’s oversized and won’t fit in my shelves. I could take off the entire clock and just barely squeeze it in, but that would kind of defeat the purpose of it. I might look around for another display solution, but in either case Town Hall won’t stay around for long.
With 2766 pieces, many of them in very useful colours, Town Hall is a great parts pack. The idea is to break it down very soon and start building a custom modular of my own. With the pieces already included and a bunch of new stuff I’m going to add, it should be possible to build something really special. For others with more room, the Town Hall is obviously a good set along with the other modulars, but it should be low on your priorities. It will probably stick around for a bit longer as Grand Emporium is the next to go out of print, but I wouldn’t bet on seeing it around longer than Pet Shop, which is the better set in every respect.
Size comparison with other high modulars:
The crazy build that has to be a Jamie thing:
Finally, it’s completed. The biggest of the modular buildings so far and my biggest set in terms of parts count (although Orthanc and Imperial Flagship dwarf it in stature). Town Hall was the first of the modulars to not be designed by Jamie Berard, if you’re not counting Market Street. Instead the honour went to Astrid Graabæk, who usually designs Friends sets. And I’m not happy to say that it shows. While Town Hall is a striking building, mostly due to its size, it’s very lacking in exciting builds and clever details. Even most Friends sets, with their cheaper prices and simpler layouts, often have more interesting solutions. I don’t know who designed Heartlake Shopping Mall but even at half the price and less than half the parts count, it has many more neat flourishes.
As a thematical centerpiece to the modular street, the Town Hall certainly looks the part. It’s a strict, almost severe building, complete with a faux-classical pillared entrance. But aside from that, there’s very little going on. There are eleven main windows and a small balcony. There’s the same number on the back, along with a back door and an unsightly gap in the wall to allow for the manual elevator action crossing between floors. Inside there is a little office (apparently to pay taxes), waiting areas (which are as exciting as they sound) and the elevator to reach the second and third floors, housing the mayor’s office and a meeting room, respectively. There is obviously some detail here and some nice colours used including some dark green, but apart from the special cabinet pieces there’s little to excite. The main feature of the inside area is the auditorium, where a single minifig can address any who would listen. The upper floors have a balcony railing to look down into the auditorium which is cool in theory, although since the building is already rather cramped, it’s more of a shaft for suicides if the meetings upstairs take a shocking turn. I’m also not a fan of how the bottom floor has a huge chunk taken out of the inner walls. It’s obviously to make it possible to reach into the lower rooms even with high walls, but it leaves an ugly gap.
During the build itself, there was very little to make it exciting. The pillars outside are clever, I supposed, but other than that it’s layer upon layer of stacked walls, and the 66 (count them!) window panes get annoying to find and place. There are tons of bags for the first booklet and there is an annoying tendency to mix parts of the same type across multiple bags. Normally you get all of one kind in one pile after opening everything. It’s just not a very pleasant build.
Until you get up to the roof, the second part of the third booklet. It’s said that Jamie assisted with the roof, although I’m not sure if he did it all or just specific details. Either way, suddenly there are smart solutions worthy of a Lego modular building. One detail is very hard to even discover: the curved slopes underneath the crest of the building. They are placed upside town in holders, which are then placed THROUGH small castle windows to put the slope on the outside. After the boring main structure, this almost comes as a shock. Then there’s the roof windows, which are created out of garage doors, which are draped across curved pieces and held in place by the very corner of round tiles. It’s rock solid and an example of the same sub-Lego-unit precision Jamie showed with the corner facade of Café Corner. And then finally there’s the clock tower, with another Fire Brigade/Pet Shop style of tiled text and the outlines on the clock which somehow fit perfectly inside very ordinary Lego dimensions.
The roof makes for a very happy end to this otherwise unremarkable build, and even if you’re not going to buy this set it’s worth checking out the instructions to learn new stuff. But aside from that… I’m not really happy with it. It’s oversized and won’t fit in my shelves. I could take off the entire clock and just barely squeeze it in, but that would kind of defeat the purpose of it. I might look around for another display solution, but in either case Town Hall won’t stay around for long.
With 2766 pieces, many of them in very useful colours, Town Hall is a great parts pack. The idea is to break it down very soon and start building a custom modular of my own. With the pieces already included and a bunch of new stuff I’m going to add, it should be possible to build something really special. For others with more room, the Town Hall is obviously a good set along with the other modulars, but it should be low on your priorities. It will probably stick around for a bit longer as Grand Emporium is the next to go out of print, but I wouldn’t bet on seeing it around longer than Pet Shop, which is the better set in every respect.
Size comparison with other high modulars:
The crazy build that has to be a Jamie thing:
Excellent review, and very spot-on with this set's shortcomings. With soooooo many identical windows and brick after brick of that light brown color, the build really felt monotonous until I hit that roof, and then it was like I was building an entirely different set. As I understand it, the roof is either all, or mostly Jamie, and does it ever show.
I'm happy with the completed set, as the center to my modular buildings, but I never want to build it again.
I enjoyed the first floor and the roof. In-between felt like a chore. It is a great looking display piece though when finished.
PalaceBrother
Member
peteykirch
Member
Well that was a disappointment.
Started building one of my Mixels and it appears they put two wrong pieces in the bag instead of what I needed.
I got 2 Grey 1x1 bricks instead of the eyeballs.
Started building one of my Mixels and it appears they put two wrong pieces in the bag instead of what I needed.
I got 2 Grey 1x1 bricks instead of the eyeballs.
SiegfriedFM
Member
To me Town Hall combines the worst parts of the Fire Brigade and Grand Emporium builds. Huge grey walls with only a window or two to break up the tedium, not really anything in there, and then two floors consisting mostly of windows.
I think the main problem is that you never use any fancy techniques for making a cool front wall. It's just stacking. No snot tiles or even any alternating round bricks along the corners. Only Market Street is this plain, which is why I also don't like it. All the others have something going on, even if it's just grooved or palisade bricks.
Okay, so it might be unfair to compare to Parisian Restaurant which is a masterpiece, but that building has ONE single row of plain horizontal bricks along the front wall, and it's pretty well hidden. Everything else is some sort of composite, or sideways build, or crazy decoration.
I think the main problem is that you never use any fancy techniques for making a cool front wall. It's just stacking. No snot tiles or even any alternating round bricks along the corners. Only Market Street is this plain, which is why I also don't like it. All the others have something going on, even if it's just grooved or palisade bricks.
Okay, so it might be unfair to compare to Parisian Restaurant which is a masterpiece, but that building has ONE single row of plain horizontal bricks along the front wall, and it's pretty well hidden. Everything else is some sort of composite, or sideways build, or crazy decoration.
Interesting notes on the Town Hall, I started building it not too long ago and I loved the build of the first floor. I need to finish it, I also just bought the Pet Shop, and still need to buy the Palace Cinema, and the Parisian Cafe.
Are the Pet Shop & Palace Cinema worth building? I really just want to complete the set, but space is always an issue.
Are the Pet Shop & Palace Cinema worth building? I really just want to complete the set, but space is always an issue.
What a weird mix up. You going to contact LEGO?
RyanardoDaVinci
Member
Picked up 2 Space Miners from Walgreens. 
I tried the phone light trick but the bags are different from the mixel ones so no light gets through; had to feel for the actual drill part which was easy enough. There were only 6 bags out and 3 of them were Space Miners, I would have got one of the other 3 but they had a dozen of the Clone Troopers vs Droidekas set for only $4, so I got one of those instead.
I'll go again next week in search of Piggy and a couple more of the sets for parts.
I tried the phone light trick but the bags are different from the mixel ones so no light gets through; had to feel for the actual drill part which was easy enough. There were only 6 bags out and 3 of them were Space Miners, I would have got one of the other 3 but they had a dozen of the Clone Troopers vs Droidekas set for only $4, so I got one of those instead.
I'll go again next week in search of Piggy and a couple more of the sets for parts.
PalaceBrother
Member
I can't speak to the long out of print "original three", but pet shop is easily my favorite. You will find a lot of love for the set here.
BentBricks
Member
Wow. That's is very strange. Call LEGO customer support. They have one of the best customer service. I have had no problems replacing missing or faulty parts (granted I only used it 3 times). Just don't abuse their replacement policy.
peteykirch
Member
Wow. That's is very strange. Call LEGO customer support. They have one of the best customer service. I have had no problems replacing missing or faulty parts (granted I only used it 3 times). Just don't abuse their replacement policy.
I have no idea, I mean it can't hurt if they are really good. I know people try to abuse them for certain rare parts and what not, but this was legitimately a WTF moment for me.
Tore up my room around my desk thinking maybe the eyeball pieces fell and got lost, but all I could find were those two grey 1x1 bricks.
SiegfriedFM
Member
Updated ranking:
1) Green Grocer
2) Parisian Restaurant
3) Pet Shop
4) Café Corner
5) Fire Brigade
6) Grand Emporium
7) Town Hall
8) Market Street
Pet Shop is awesome, build it now! Then buy PR, which is by far the best one available right now.
I'm an unabashed pet shop hater, I'd take the town hall any day. Pet shop for me is just green grocer redux with very similar facades and the interior of the 2nd building noticeably devoid of furnishings under the guise of it being under renovation.
For me there was considerably more interesting build techniques in the town hall than the pet shop, I am struggling to even remember anything that stood out from the pet shop. Town hall stands as my 3rd favourite modular after the Parisian restaurant and the green grocer
For me there was considerably more interesting build techniques in the town hall than the pet shop, I am struggling to even remember anything that stood out from the pet shop. Town hall stands as my 3rd favourite modular after the Parisian restaurant and the green grocer
PalaceBrother
Member
While I disagree Wet, let's just share a JPEG and call it a day.
RyanardoDaVinci
Member
"Ready to commence drilling of Uranus."
"Uranus is a gas giant..."
"... Shut up, Phil.
"Uranus is a gas giant..."
"... Shut up, Phil.
RyanardoDaVinci
Member
I came across that shiny drill when looking through my box of old pieces and was all, "It must be done!"
RyanardoDaVinci
Member
If you have the Lego Digital Designer, I could send you a file or two to see how I do it.
Whimsical Phil
Ninja School will help you
Mechto-1?
PhoncipleBone
Banned
Do it reverse then. Build some arms and legs, then figure out a kick ass body to attach to them. That is how I figured out my yeti. I had no idea how to do the body, but figuring out something to attach to the appendages helped free my mind.
Eklipsis
Member
Yeah its like a mental block lol
No I dont have the LDD...is there somewhere to download it?
PhoncipleBone
Banned
Available to download here.
I personally can't use LDD. I just have to feel the bricks and play around and experiment. It is the tactile sensation that helps drive me. I want to learn LDD and get better at it, but I just cant.
RyanardoDaVinci
Member
I prefer building with actual bricks as it's easier for me to "see" what I want to build, but due to my limited assortment, I was kinda forced to learn it. The biggest problem is trying to find certain pieces, the current interface is pretty clunky.
I wonder why they cancelled the Designed byME service where you could order the models you build using LDD. They cite that it struggled to live up to the quality they wanted as a service. I never got a chance to use it, but that seems strange to me. I'd like to know the full story.
Maybe it was gaining more popularity than they foresaw and they were worried that people ordering their own models could eat into retail set sales? Or they decided to focus on LEGO Ideas instead so they could mass produce the best models people create.
It may simply have been that as the parts (and their various color combinations) available in LDD grew, they could not realistically maintain stock on all of it and still focus on their retail set part stock as well.
It's easy to see how people could abuse the system too by building 'models' that consist of a bunch of parts that are rare, expensive or difficult to find by other means.
Regardless, it's sad that they decided to abandon the idea. What a cool feeling it must be to build your own digital model and have LEGO ship you all the parts to build it at a reasonable price.
Maybe it was gaining more popularity than they foresaw and they were worried that people ordering their own models could eat into retail set sales? Or they decided to focus on LEGO Ideas instead so they could mass produce the best models people create.
It may simply have been that as the parts (and their various color combinations) available in LDD grew, they could not realistically maintain stock on all of it and still focus on their retail set part stock as well.
It's easy to see how people could abuse the system too by building 'models' that consist of a bunch of parts that are rare, expensive or difficult to find by other means.
Regardless, it's sad that they decided to abandon the idea. What a cool feeling it must be to build your own digital model and have LEGO ship you all the parts to build it at a reasonable price.
anonymous_abc
Member
I doubt they were worried about it cutting into profits, as it was a very expensive service!
I have a limited budget for the rest of the year, what should I buy of the big sets?
Pet Shop, Cinema, Town Hall
Death Star, Orthanc
VW Camper, Sea Cow, Orthanc
+Winter set
Which ones will go out of print soonest (I know where to find three Campers, so that's not a priority)?
Pet Shop, Cinema, Town Hall
Death Star, Orthanc
VW Camper, Sea Cow, Orthanc
+Winter set
Which ones will go out of print soonest (I know where to find three Campers, so that's not a priority)?
Dunkelgrau
Member
I am 33 and want to start with LEGO but don’t know how. Never played with it as a child.
I love the games, the movie and the look of the small figures. Manly I am interested in the Superheroes- and the Star Wars- Series. I actually do not have a lot of money but want something difficult to built because I am thinking, when I am done building up a set, I have a set on my table – nothing less, nothing more. The only function then is too look good in my living room.
What should I buy?
I love the games, the movie and the look of the small figures. Manly I am interested in the Superheroes- and the Star Wars- Series. I actually do not have a lot of money but want something difficult to built because I am thinking, when I am done building up a set, I have a set on my table – nothing less, nothing more. The only function then is too look good in my living room.
What should I buy?
]blacky[;131289611 said:
If you can afford it get R2D2 (10225). That set is worth every penny, it's a great display piece, a good build and an iconic Star Wars character. It's hands down one of the best LEGO sets ever created.
If you're looking for something cheaper try 9493 (X-Wing). Great model, great build.
Or the current AT-AT - great to display but rather tedious build (75054).
For Superheroes you're always doing it right with Lex' Power Armor (6862).
A budget would be helpful... If you want a display piece you're looking at the ~$200 range roughly, though it depends on what your idea of one is. You can go smaller.
If you like Boba Fett maybe wait for the UCS Slave I which will be $199 (or maybe $249). It will be a quite nice looking thing to set in your room. I mention this one because it's got some nice minifigures and you said you like the figures.
Here is that R2-D2 set. It's a bit cheaper at $179. There's also the Sand Crawler, Millennium Falcon, lots of options really.
For Superheroes if you like Guardians of the Galaxy you can get the Milano ship.
If you like Boba Fett maybe wait for the UCS Slave I which will be $199 (or maybe $249). It will be a quite nice looking thing to set in your room. I mention this one because it's got some nice minifigures and you said you like the figures.
Here is that R2-D2 set. It's a bit cheaper at $179. There's also the Sand Crawler, Millennium Falcon, lots of options really.
For Superheroes if you like Guardians of the Galaxy you can get the Milano ship.
Dunkelgrau
Member
I want to spent 50 Bucks, but as I can see this seems to be a very small budget for LEGO.
Maybe I should try eBay? But maybe there will be missing some bricks. :S
battousai11
Member
Lolno, it was not a reasonable price. I did a few test ones and the calculated prices went to the thousands of dollars some bricks averaged a dollar or more each. Even at that time, everything could be bricklinked for much much cheaper. Basically each bricks had like a 100% dBm tax on top of its normal shop @ home pab price which is already higher than same stuff on bricklink.
]blacky[;131294126 said:
These are not all star wars or super heroes but maybe it will give you some ideas:
http://amzn.com/B00JRCB3HQ/
http://amzn.com/B005VPRG3S/
http://amzn.com/B00IMIGWD6/
http://amzn.com/B00J4S97BM/
I thought I'd try some different hair for TDK Catwoman, opinions?
I also finally got around to finally making those extra ghostbusters characters a reality
Walter Peck, Dana Barrett/The Gatekeeper, Louis Tully/The Keymaster.
Dana still need some work, I need to do her skirt/dress thing. I need to redo Louis Tully's shirt decal too as it's flaked off a bit :/
I also finally got around to finally making those extra ghostbusters characters a reality
Walter Peck, Dana Barrett/The Gatekeeper, Louis Tully/The Keymaster.
Dana still need some work, I need to do her skirt/dress thing. I need to redo Louis Tully's shirt decal too as it's flaked off a bit :/
anonymous_abc
Member
By release date:
2008-06 - Death Star - tremendous stying power, unprecedented, could leave any moment, could also stay another 5 years. No idea.
2011-05 - Pet Shop - in it's last few months 4 year cycle is almost done
2011-09 - VW Camper - Unknown, Unlikely to survive too long with the MINI as a semi successor.
2012-03 - Town Hall - Could possibly leave before it's 4 years are up. Rumours have been saying so for a while.
2013-03 - Cinema - Should have a bit of shelf life left.
2013-07 - Orthanc - Unlikely to have the shelf life of the Modulars, I'd give it 2 years in total.
2014-03 - Sea Cow - Unlikely to have the shelf life of the Modulars, I'd give it no more than 2 years in total.
*no responsibility is taken for the correctness of this information
battousai11
Member
]blacky[;131294126 said:
My vote would be the Ecto-1. Fun build, easily recognizable, too
SillyEskimo
Member
]blacky[;131294126 said:
Ghostbusters is an easy choice. Great build, 4 minifigs, and it looks great on display. The set also scales well with any city sets you may want to add to the collection, from modulars to vehicles.
PalaceBrother
Member
This is the oldest set currently on my "want" list, so I had to bite on the deal last week where S@H offered both the Spaceman and the mini camper as a bonus. I gave my first Spaceman away as a bday gift so I'm glad this one was in the box!
I really don't think the Camper will be around much longer like Flix said....the new Mini will likely take its place after stock clears out, imo.
21st century cowboy
Member
Something like this perhaps?
I second this. The steamroller is amazing and with all the colours looks great as a display piece and is fun to build. Some people don't like the bat but since I've had it on display has really grown on me due to the unique shape are strong yellow and black colours. Plus it's about in your duvet if you can get it on discount.
oneknightr
Member
]blacky[;131294126 said:
Ghostbusters Ecto-1. Hands down the best set out there for $50 right now...maybe ever. Do it and you won't regret it.