Capt. Thomas Foolery

I don't know if this is the proper location for this topic, so I apologize if I made an error. I was simply hoping to get a general sense from other LEGO fans about the LEGO VIP Program and to see if they are having as many problems as I am. I have now suffered multiple instances of LEGO shortchanging the amount of points that are due to me after making purchases at LEGOshop.com and belonging to the LEGO VIP Program. Lucky for me, I checked my Points History (as I would suggest all of you do, if you are a member) and noticed that I was not receiving the full amount of points due to me. The odd thing is, the amount of points missing have no rhyme or reason. Sometimes, it's as simple as a point or two, others as many as 7 points (actually, 14 as it was during the October double points promotion). After contacting LEGO, I eventually received a polite reply and a credit. But by the time I had actually received that reply, I noticed my most recent purchase had the exact same problem (short by 16 points this time!). When I pointed this out, I was essentially accused of miscalculating because I must have thought sales tax counted and that I should fax my receipts. Just to set the record straight, I've never made the mistake of believing they would give credit for sales tax, shipping, or even round up to the next point when all their prices end in .99. This has really irritated me because LEGO is usually so good about customer service and I can't believe they're making such ridiculous errors in calculation (e.g. Purchase Price of an item is $54.99 and I end up with only 47 points for some reason). Have any of you had similar errors? What have been your results with customer service? Why do you think something as simple as a point system isn't working?

Ahoy Devils, Black Sheep, Really Bad Eggs, Beggars, Blighters, Ne'er-do-well Cads, and Me 'Earties, the Esteemed Red Coats: In the depths that follow, please find my humble presentation for the second round. And, since the first round's post closed before I got a chance to do so, please permit me this opportunity to graciously thank all the kind members of this community who participated and voted for my first submission. I feared that as a newcomer, I wouldn't really stand a chance of getting into the next round since the members who have been on here for years already have such a well-established camaraderie and rapport. That clearly wasn't the case and I am truly appreciative of how welcome you've made me feel in this great community. Okay, enough pandering - put those hankies away. Pull up a hammock, pour yourself a grog ration, and put on your reading monocle...tis time for The Ballad of the Nine Sacred Trials, A Red Coat Production directed by Capt. Thomas Foolery. If you managed to wade through such verbosity, I commend and thank you! But I can't be held responsible for any loss of eyesight as a result of the extensive reading that was required. Fair winds and following seas, lads! Yours very truly, Capt. Thomas Foolery

Great review! I built this set myself this past Sunday and was giddy as a school girl throughout the process (except for during the sticker application, which is odd they didn't bother printing these when one considers both the sign and ship painting of the London Escape set are printed). How anyone could rate this as poor is beyond me. If I ran into such a scurvy scallywagg, I'd promptly send him off a plank into a kindly waiting party of sharks. While there are some shortcomings - no door or wall from the ship to the captain's quarters and a few mentioned in the review, the overall build far outweighs these. I, for one, absolutely love how deliciously macabre this whole ship is. There's nearly an entire score of skulls on this ship! NINETEEN! I swear it's as if LEGO just quadrupled their entire skull production in the history of their company for this set alone. And it's exactly all these skulls and the bone railings that make it such a unique addition to the world of LEGO ships. I love it. It really taps into that childish sense of pirate adventure for me. Plus, even though there is no deck, it does appears as if they've designed the build in such a way as to easily add a deck, thereby increasing the realism a bit. Overall, a fantastic set and I didn't even need to wax adoringly on about the minifigs (which I'm now trying to pass a law in my state to be allowed to legally marry them since I love them so).

As much as it goes against my Red Coat nature to fraternize with the enemy, I'll allow the holiday spirit to possess me for you, Dan. Looking forward to seeing the finished product! Happiest of holidays to all!

You can apply that $20 credit to your next purchase. There should be a section for it when you checkout. And while I can understand LEGO wanting to make sure people aren't taking advantage and trying to get free points, the amount of time it takes for them to respond should be more than enough to determine something is wrong with their calculations when I only get 47 points for an item (before tax and shipping) that is $54.99. Just can't figure out why it's happening, and then why they can't correct it.

Three cheers for the Red Coats and our commanding victory over the sniveling, inferior Blue Coats! Huzzah! Huzzah! Huzzah! The Red Coats orchestrated a sound victory, despite the complete lack of a Red Coat entry on the front page during the voting period for the second round (I smell Blue Coat conspiracy and I'm looking at you, Big Cam ). No matter, the Red Coats prevailed! Congratulations to all the winners, especially you Fugazi - that was one hilarious and well-constructed comic you put together! And once more, a giant treasure chest overflowing with gratitude to the incomparable Commodore Hornbricker as well as all the other moderators and staff who made this possible. It was the first LEGO-based contest I've ever entered and I had a great time meeting (and battling) the fine gentlemen (and mostly, scurvy bilgerats) on Classic Pirates. Now cue the Red Coat victory hymn...

Brilliant! I love this idea. It would certainly lend to an all-out free-for-all tournament. Would be a great idea for next time. Of course, I understand why it has typically been Red versus Blue as most of people's avatars tend to fall into one of those categories and that in turn, lends to more individual participation and chances to humiliate particular individuals. But then, as an Islander or a pirate, you could attack almost anyone on here. I'm really liking that idea!

Just kind of curious as from a cursory glance, I think it would create considerably different prize awarding scenarios, but does the top 6 vote getters apply only to the second round of the tournament or the top six vote getters in overall votes (the totals of both rounds combined)? I had assumed it was just from the second round, but it was a little ambiguous so I thought I would ask. Thanks, and hope you had (or are currently having) a great vacation Commodore!

Oooooooooooh, mystery! I love it! I do hope that it is what I've been thinking, which you may or may not have already done (as a relative newcomer, I'm still learning the ropes on here). I thought it would be great fun to do a Pirates versus Coats Tournament. Why? Well, though I may identify with Red Coats for TOR, I am, deep down in my cold, black, dead heart, a pirate through and through. Plus, a Pirates versus Coats could heal the emotional scars and mend the wounds that this last Coat versus Coat tournament inflicted on this fine community. You know, bring both Red and Blue together for a common cause - unite them as one great power (only to be defeated by pirates, of course). For there is no greater way to put aside animosity than to discover a common enemy. And, because I haven't said it before...Commodore Hornbricker, I doff my tricorn in respect and honor for your brilliant hosting of the tournament. You are a true gentleman, a scholar, and a military genius. Your comics are also always hilarious and well constructed. A thousand kegs of gratitude to you, my friend! Three huzzahs for Commodore Hornbricker! HUZZAH! HUZZAH! HUZZAH!

I don't get on here as often as I'd like and since I'm only now discovering this, it's pretty obvious I am behind the times, but... Holy Scurvy-Infested Ceremonial Gold-Plated Monkey Head on a Tribal Platter, Batman!!! This is absolutely incredible! It just completely blows me away. I knew you were talented from your TOR II entries, but I am just bamboozled and befuddled by the sheer awesomeness of this. The simple compilation of parts needed to undertake such a project is baffling to me, much less the skill and talent to make it a reality. I am in utter awe, Z. And I humbly bow before your genius. Thanks for sharing such an awe-inspiring project and also for taking my pathetic dreams and aspirations for a fort by comparison and shattering them to pitiable, laughable little pieces. Fair winds and followings seas, Z, Master of Imperial Forts! (I really need to explore this whole MOC forum better - I am shocked at the level of expertise and skill by so many of you guys!)

It pleases me to no end to receive such praise from you, Commodore. Many thanks!

Yeah, wasn't the deadline yesterday?!? Where are you at, Oky? We've been itching to see what girlish adventures the Blue "Avenger" is up to now. Don't deny us that!

Aye, tis true, matey! Great Red Coat minds think alike and you, good sir, certainly have a great mind. I fear that my verbosity will no doubt do me in and I don't stand a chance to place in the top six. It's really too much to read for this kind of format. But I really enjoyed writing it. Best of luck in the tournament, my friend!

What is this? A Blue Coat besmirching the outrageously witty, clever, and honorable puns of a Red Coat? I will not stand for such besmirching, you...uh...besmircher! I challenge you to a duel! Of words! But as a Blue Coat, we can simply assume that it went exactly like the Sixth Sacred Trial in my entry did and save us both the trouble.

Yet another great entry! And easily, the most "unique" usage of a LEGO banana I've seen in a long time. Even when the Special Edition comes out, we'll all know you shot first. That's the way it should be.

Huzzah, General Redwater, for another great entry and a commanding Red Coat victory! Best of luck in the final round, my friend!

(Sniffles. Wipes tears from eyes.) I appeared in my first comic today. (Sniffles) What a momentous day. I'm overcome with emotion. I feel like part of...a family. And, despite the fact that you leave me with a cutlass in my gut, I'm very appreciative of the humorous entry. Now my only question is: Who told you about my love of pink? What? I'm not ashamed. Real men can like pink. Good read! And, good luck in the next round, you villainous knave! May scurvy plague your rotten head! :) Yours very truly, Capt. Thomas Foolery

Good entry, Admiral! And a clever way to make Reds turn on themselves. My sincerest gratitude for not including me in the murder and mayhem.

Aye, lad! Tis a hilarious and well-written submission ye've made for ye'self! The last line is brilliant. Best of luck to you, my fellow Red, in the final round! Yours very truly, Capt. Thomas Foolery

Wow, evildead, this is absolutely fantastic! I've always had a soft spot for the Islanders theme and we really don't see enough MOCs on here that tackle the subject. Thank you for changing that! I LOVE the waterfall, the banana trees, and even though it is relatively simple in terms of components, that hut is fantastic and just gives a great Island feel! Reminds me of the videogame Monkey Island for some reason. Which is definitely a plus! Keep up the great work and I hope to see more of this theme from you!

Greetings, fine gentlemen. And you too, Blue Coats. For the second round of the TOR, please feel free to abuse my avatar as you see fit. Though I often prefer to don pirate garb, you may portray me in a Red Coat so long as you retain my handsome face, my shiny, gold epaulets, and a tri-corn cap. Fair winds and following seas, lads. Capt. Thomas Foolery

This was far more difficult than I had expected. So many of the entries were outstanding and I wish we had more points to distribute. I ended up voting for those entries (Red or Blue) that made me laugh the most with their absurdity or impressed me with their writing. 1 Point - KingoftheZempk: Monty Pythonesque fish-slapping?!? Got to love that! Plus, anything that belittles Jar Jar Binks is great in my book. 1 Point - Brig. Brick: I found the writing very clever. In particular, I like how he worked the differences in plastic into the entry. 1 Point - Fugazi: Just a very funny entry with great layout and production. Very impressive. 1 Point - Skalldyr: The dialogue gave me a good laugh and it was right up my alley in terms of silliness and absurdity. 1 Point - Oky Wan Kenobi: Loved the idea of a vigilante superhero Coat. Great feel to the whole entry and very clever usage of elements (particularly the red bush blowing up a head). 1 Point - ZCerberus: The whole Helen of Toy idea was very clever and well written. Love to see literary references sneak into here. 1 Point - Captain Blue Hair: Thought the idea of a Redlympics was very clever and enjoyed all the silly dialogue. Wow, is that seven points already? I really wish there were more as there were at least a half dozen more entries I wanted to vote for too. Best of luck and may the best Coats win (obviously, Red Coats). Fair winds and following seas, lads.

Ahoy, me fellow rascals, scoundrels, villains, and knaves! I humbly present, for thy ocular enjoyment...Capt. Thomas Foolery's Scintillatingly Scurvy History of the Coats! [serialized for your pleasure.] An aaarrrrrty thanks for reading, ye' scurvy dog! Yours very truly, Capt. Thomas Foolery

The photography and build on the first two panels are superb! Great tone to set. As mentioned before, the usage of a red shrub to achieve a cannon-exploded head is simply genius. I'm jealous I'd never thought of it before myself. Great entry and interesting vigilante superhero approach.

Well written story. I really enjoyed the approach of finding a use for that useless flag.