The LEGO Thread

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nicoga3000 said:
Elaboration (I was on iPad trying to type and play Tiger Woods, haha). It's not that the new sets don't interest me, it's more that rather than building a curved section, Lego molded a piece.
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They can definitely go too far at times. It seems like in the late 90s/early 00s there were a lot of giant molded pieces that seemed out of place, but I think they've struck a better balance now. There are a lot of new(ish) pieces that weren't around when I was a kid, but most of them are smaller and much more versatile, but still provide a lot of unique detail. I think I've mentioned my love of the cheese slope in this thread -- all of my recent sets have used that piece and it can add a lot (it pretty much defines the Tower Bridge, haha) even though it's a very simple piece.

PhoncipleBone said:
The modulars are the best of both worlds. There are a select few odd an unique pieces in them, but most of the set is just standard blocks that have been around forever but using off the wall techniques to achieve the look.
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Yeah, and that's specifically the look I love, where pieces are recognizable but used in creative ways to get a distinct look. But I think that would be a lot harder to achieve if you only had rectangular blocks to work with, which is why I'm less of a fan of the Nanoblocks style. I like to see sets that take full advantage of SNOT techniques and the like.

I guess to sum up my opinion:
-Widget made out of one or two specialized "widget" pieces = bad
-Widget made out of a bunch of standard rectangular pieces = better
-Widget made out of a mix of standard blocks, small "detail" pieces, and SNOT = awesome!
 
rohlfinator said:
They can definitely go too far at times. It seems like in the late 90s/early 00s there were a lot of giant molded pieces that seemed out of place, but I think they've struck a better balance now. There are a lot of new(ish) pieces that weren't around when I was a kid, but most of them are smaller and much more versatile, but still provide a lot of unique detail. I think I've mentioned my love of the cheese slope in this thread -- all of my recent sets have used that piece and it can add a lot (it pretty much defines the Tower Bridge, haha) even though it's a very simple piece.


Yeah, and that's specifically the look I love, where pieces are recognizable but used in creative ways to get a distinct look. But I think that would be a lot harder to achieve if you only had rectangular blocks to work with, which is why I'm less of a fan of the Nanoblocks style. I like to see sets that take full advantage of SNOT techniques and the like.

I guess to sum up my opinion:
-Widget made out of one or two specialized "widget" pieces = bad
-Widget made out of a bunch of standard rectangular pieces = better
-Widget made out of a mix of standard blocks, small "detail" pieces, and SNOT = awesome!
Click to expand...

I both love and loathe the cheese slopes. I love them because it can add so much cool detail to a set. I hate it when you have to use 40+ of them in a single step in something like Tower Bridge, then repeat that step multiple times during the build.

To me, the coolest pieces out there that are so simple yet incredibly versatile are the cheese slopes (1x1 and 2x1), the jumper plates (the 2x1 plates with single stud in the middle), and any bricks that have studs on the sides as well as the top. Those three styles not only allow cool detail, but allow really neat, offset angles to the build which add character. Fire Brigade and Tower Bridge used those to stunning effect. The windows on the ground floor of Fire Brigade are very cool because of the jumper plates. They are recessed just slightly from the rest of the wall, which creates a very neat and unique look.
 
isny said:
My mini version of your photo.

oqcPpl.jpg


I just picked up the lighthouse today for $3.xx at a local TRU that was clearing them out. The smaller Brickley I've had sitting in it's polybag for awhile and had yet to build it. (I was waiting on a lighthouse or some sort of water themed item to pair him with)
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Heh, that's awesome. Going to see if I can replicate that with pieces we already have. Do you have the model number for mini Brickley?
 
PhoncipleBone said:
I both love and loathe the cheese slopes. I love them because it can add so much cool detail to a set. I hate it when you have to use 40+ of them in a single step in something like Tower Bridge, then repeat that step multiple times during the build.

To me, the coolest pieces out there that are so simple yet incredibly versatile are the cheese slopes (1x1 and 2x1), the jumper plates (the 2x1 plates with single stud in the middle), and any bricks that have studs on the sides as well as the top. Those three styles not only allow cool detail, but allow really neat, offset angles to the build which add character. Fire Brigade and Tower Bridge used those to stunning effect. The windows on the ground floor of Fire Brigade are very cool because of the jumper plates. They are recessed just slightly from the rest of the wall, which creates a very neat and unique look.
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Same. I wonder why they don't have a piece with studs on all sides though? The most seems to be the 1x1 with studs on five sides
 
Amazon have Apple Tree house, hillside house, lighthouse and the x-wing all with £10 off (lighthouse is only £28.99 compared to £40.99 retail)
 
PhoncipleBone said:
To me, the coolest pieces out there that are so simple yet incredibly versatile are the cheese slopes (1x1 and 2x1), the jumper plates (the 2x1 plates with single stud in the middle), and any bricks that have studs on the sides as well as the top. Those three styles not only allow cool detail, but allow really neat, offset angles to the build which add character. Fire Brigade and Tower Bridge used those to stunning effect. The windows on the ground floor of Fire Brigade are very cool because of the jumper plates. They are recessed just slightly from the rest of the wall, which creates a very neat and unique look.
Click to expand...

This is the only piece I miss in the Nanoblock world. Cheese slopes are superb pieces. :)
 
Managed to pick up both Star Wars Midi-sized sets (Millennium Falcon and Star Destroyer) from a guy off Craigslist for $30 total. He brought them assembled so I got to fiddle with them a bit after I got them home, before I took them apart to do a piece inventory - both seem like really nice little sets, and I can't argue with the price. Very much looking forward to putting them back together tomorrow on my day off. Only downside is that I now see why people specifically state "smoke-free home" in eBay posts - these obviously were not.
 
jtkauff said:
Managed to pick up both Star Wars Midi-sized sets (Millennium Falcon and Star Destroyer) from a guy off Craigslist for $30 total. He brought them assembled so I got to fiddle with them a bit after I got them home, before I took them apart to do a piece inventory - both seem like really nice little sets, and I can't argue with the price. Very much looking forward to putting them back together tomorrow on my day off. Only downside is that I now see why people specifically state "smoke-free home" in eBay posts - these obviously were not.
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Does the stench stick with the pieces???
 
Ok this is the greatest thread ever. I had many sets when I was young but these two were my favorites:

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Seeing all the star wars sets has broken my will. Unfortunately here in Peru LEGO sets are scarse and very expensive(before taxes). I've been reading that you can buy the pieces in sites like bricklink but I can't navigate that site properly :( Help me please! If I wanted to build a UCS Millennium Falcon, approximately how much would I have to pay for the pieces in bricklink? And what about the SSD? Keep in mind that I don't care about stickers/minifigs...

Thanks in advance!
 
nicoga3000 said:
Does the stench stick with the pieces???
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The models weren't too bad when assembled and now that I took them apart they seem to be better. Probably still going to wash the pieces before I put them back together - apparently a bit of vinegar when washing helps with smoke smell on plastic. The books reeked though.
 
gutabo said:
Ok this is the greatest thread ever. I had many sets when I was young but these two were my favorites:

6929.jpeg
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I built this last month (minus a couple of pieces). I have a bunch of pieces left over so there must be some small sets I don't remember having. Need to dig through Bricklink to figure it out.

IMG_5879.jpg
 
gutabo said:
Help me please! If I wanted to build a UCS Millennium Falcon, approximately how much would I have to pay for the pieces in bricklink? And what about the SSD? Keep in mind that I don't care about stickers/minifigs...
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If you use rebrickable you can have it tell you exactly what parts you don't have to build those sets and (I think) give you a link to order whatever is possible to order? Or at least give you links to parts needed so you can figure that out on your own...
 
PalaceBrother said:
I built this last month (minus a couple of pieces). I have a bunch of pieces left over so there must be some small sets I don't remember having. Need to dig through Bricklink to figure it out.

IMG_5879.jpg
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*cries*

That red minifig was a big part of my childhood!

*cries again*

Crazymoogle said:
If you use rebrickable you can have it tell you exactly what parts you don't have to build those sets and (I think) give you a link to order whatever is possible to order? Or at least give you links to parts needed so you can figure that out on your own...
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Thanks, I'll check rebrickable, but I have not even ONE piece right now!
 
NOT MY PICTURE
GEDC0017.jpg


Last weekend I tried to piece together this set from the old buckets I had. Didn't work out so well. I was missing quite a few wall and corner wall pieces. I tried replacing them with random colored bricks but it didn't look very good. Two hours down the tubes, and it stinks because it's a really good looking castle! At least now I have tons of grey and black bricks.
 
Minifigures question. Got an app on Android which displays the dot codes for the various series (and barcodes for the early ones). How accurate are the dot codes for series 6, has anyone tried this method? They're faint marks on the back of the wrapper, at the bottom for those who don't know.
 
Little Old Man said:
Minifigures question. Got an app on Android which displays the dot codes for the various series (and barcodes for the early ones). How accurate are the dot codes for series 6, has anyone tried this method? They're faint marks on the back of the wrapper, at the bottom for those who don't know.
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They are not accurate at all. I have the iPhone app. No good.
 
jtkauff said:
The models weren't too bad when assembled and now that I took them apart they seem to be better. Probably still going to wash the pieces before I put them back together - apparently a bit of vinegar when washing helps with smoke smell on plastic. The books reeked though.
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Lego cleaning, ahoy! Hope it turns out well. The books smelling is sort of a loss, though.
 
Tedesco! said:
They are not accurate at all. I have the iPhone app. No good.
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Yeah, the problem with the dot codes is that there are so many now for each figure - last I had read up on it they were doing a different set of dot codes for each manufacturing batch and were doing them flipped and reversed as well (so a single batch would have like 4 codes per figure, and then however many manufacturing batches they did). It was hard enough telling some of them apart when there was only 1 code per figure like in series 4 - some of the dots are pretty hard to see as they don't stamp them all that hard.

It's much easier to feel the bags and feel for specific parts. If anything you can easily use this to eliminate certain figures (the most obvious part is a dress instead of legs - I was able to find the Statue of Liberty and the Flamenco Dancer in series 6 within a matter of minutes since the dress piece is really easy to feel for). It can take a bit to get the hang of but it's great once you do.
 
ghostmind said:
Heads-up, all the Alien Conquest sets are up for sale on the LEGO site. Looks like that line is going OOP soon.
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Are there any good sets in that series? The only series I'm really interested in are the pricier modulars, Star Wars, and some pirate/castle related stuff. But even with the pirate/castle and Star Wars sets, I feel like there's a lot of sets where there's not a lot of substance - and what I mean by that is, I don't feel like I'm doing as much "building" as I should. It seems that there are bigger pieces now, that do what multiple pieces together did in the past. So you end up paying a higher price because of a Star Wars (or PotC) license and you get less pieces, making for a shorter build.
 
ruxtpin said:
Are there any good sets in that series? The only series I'm really interested in are the pricier modulars, Star Wars, and some pirate/castle related stuff. But even with the pirate/castle and Star Wars sets, I feel like there's a lot of sets where there's not a lot of substance - and what I mean by that is, I don't feel like I'm doing as much "building" as I should. It seems that there are bigger pieces now, that do what multiple pieces together did in the past. So you end up paying a higher price because of a Star Wars (or PotC) license and you get less pieces, making for a shorter build.
Click to expand...

The Earth Defense HQ and the Alien Walker/Tripod thing are very cool sets. The Tripod is hilarious because it has a funny 50's alien abduction vibe to me, and the HQ is just an all around neat build. There are a few larger pieces in both, however.
 
My favorites in the series are the Earth Defense HQ and the Tripod Invader. However, the Alien Mothership's minifigs are worth about $20 to $25 together.
 
ruxtpin said:
Are there any good sets in that series?
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I'm a fan of both UFO Abduction and Tripod Invader for the 50s sci-fi feel. I've actually got both currently attacking my modular buildings. Only thing missing from the UFO Abduction set is that it doesn't come with a cow, which is just wrong given the theme and the fact that the ship is designed to lower down onto figures and grab them.
 
Whew, haven't been by the thread in a while so there was a bit to catch up on. That TC-14 minifig looks pretty rad, and I was already thinking about picking up the UCS R2-D2... :P

ruxtpin said:
Are there any good sets in that series?
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I picked up the HQ set mainly for the Vic Viper but it's an overall fun set in my opinion with a good piece count/value.
 
Folks mentioned before with problems with magnets in the UCS ISD kit? What exactly was this about? If these magnets go bad, does it really have any major affect of the displayability of the set?
 
BattleMonkey said:
Folks mentioned before with problems with magnets in the UCS ISD kit? What exactly was this about? If these magnets go bad, does it really have any major affect of the displayability of the set?
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The magnets hold the 4 huge wedge-shaped plates onto the frame (so, the bulk of the set really ). If they go bad or lose their strength the plates start drooping or falling off. Work-around is to rearrange the magnets so the strongest magnets are on the bottom and the weaker ones on top - it's really the two bottom plates you have to worry about since the top is basically resting on the frame and the magnets just hold it in place, where the bottom half the magnets are keeping the entire plates up so they support a lot more weight.
 
jtkauff said:
The magnets hold the 4 huge wedge-shaped plates onto the frame (so, the bulk of the set really ). If they go bad or lose their strength the plates start drooping or falling off. Work-around is to rearrange the magnets so the strongest magnets are on the bottom and the weaker ones on top - it's really the two bottom plates you have to worry about since the top is basically resting on the frame and the magnets just hold it in place, where the bottom half the magnets are keeping the entire plates up so they support a lot more weight.
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Yes, and even if they don't weaken they put a lot of strain on the frame of the set and will even when new sometimes disconnect at the slightest touch. Also during the build this setup is problematic as you build the frame and then have to mount the bottom plates one by one. But it cannot balance with only one plate so iirc during the build that got to be a proper pain in the arse. You'd want to ignore the instructions and build both plates and build both plates and then hold the frame upright with a few books while mounting the second plate. (issue repeats itself on the top set of plates too)
Edit:
The Lamonster said:
It sounds so poorly designed.

And it's a real shame because that is one of the coolest looking and most iconic Star Wars ships ever.
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It's really not as terrible as I make it sound, yes it's fairly poorly thought out but I would argue that most the UCS sets are fairly fragile so if you can get through the build without problems then you can pretty much leave and forget it unless you ever need to move it. (I feel sorry for you if you do) As a display piece, it really is gorgeous so it all evens out somehow.
 
I was browsing Barnes & Noble's website and saw they still had the Wampa Cave (8098) set in stock for MSRP (39.99). I checked if any stores around me had them and sure enough the closest one had plenty in stock. This set is really awesome. The Snowspeeder is a great build that I would like more of so I can keep building my Hoth battle. It has a few stickers but they aren't too bad. The cave itself is a so-so build but it has some really neat features like the skeleton, the rib cage, Luke hanging from the ceiling as well as a light saber stuck in the snow that launches! Here are some photos of it all finished.

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My work in progress Hoth Battle
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I also recently picked up some minifigs. After seeing some of the pictures of the new space marine from series 7, I decided I wanted to get some of the other space related minifigs to create some cool scenes with. I picked up the Intergalactic Girl, Clockwork Robot and Classic Alien from series 6 at my local LEGO store. Next door to the LEGO store is a random toy store that still happened to have Series 3 in stock so I picked up the Space Villain and and Space Alien. Here are some pics that I shot and filtered with Instagram:

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Houston, we have a problem...
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I could see collecting the minifigs as a fun thing to do but I'm trying to stay away from getting them all. We'll see if I can resist...
 
bjb said:
I gotta say that Hoth battle looks really cool. Well played sir.
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Thanks! I obviously need more stuff I'm just trying to decide what and how big I want to make it. What you see is only 3 sets; two battle packs and the Wampa Cave. I think my next set for this will be the Echo Base the LEGO store is currently carrying.
 
Got a little further on the UCS falcon by finishing the legs and engine section. The curved engine section was interesting, but the landing feet were pretty repetitive since it required 7 of them.

I got the two boat rigging pieces that cover the engine in black, and it really does stand out. I'm thinking to combat this, I'm going to put blue led lights in the back. I see some people have already done this a number of different ways, so that should be fun seeing which one works best.
 
nicoga3000 said:
Steps 1-3 of the Neuschwanstein Deluxe

6adae5bc7dd011e18cf91231380fd29b_7.jpg


Figured I'd add something exciting, haha.
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Do you mind telling me your Instagram username? I'd like to add you. Mine is dperschonok if anyone else wants to add me as well. I mostly post pics of LEGO and my dogs :)
 
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