Trent

When I was little, we didn't have the space to keep the boxes, but I have a collection of alternate builds from the boxes which we cut out and kept. Since coming out of my dark ages, I've been keeping the boxes...but only because space isn't really an issue at the moment.

This build is amazing. It's one of those which has many elements to it - and had you built an MOC with one of those elements, we'd be impressed...but to have several in one...it's just great. I love the waterfall more than anything, and I now absolutely want to steal the idea! Incredible.

Yeah, top job - that's exactly what both buses look like! It's funny, the First bus does look a bit odd when you point out the paint job, but I've never even thought about it before. (Although I've usually been too preoccupied with trying to catch one!)

I'm not sold on Friends as a toy theme, but I think the forums look excellent - it feels really calm and serene...and summery! Big thumbs up.

Yeah, I've got a small collection waiting to be built as well - Imperial Flagship, Cargo Train, London Escape, Marina. I bought my Town Hall several months ago and only just built it this last week (and ditto with Apple Tree House, which I built the week before). I do it partly because I buy sets when they're a good offer, not particularly when I can afford them - so if I buy them in April but I've used August's budgeted Lego money, I wait until August to build them. As other people have said, there's something nice about knowing that it's there waiting to be built...so if you've had a bad day, you can decide to come home and crack open a big set to cheer yourself up, or you can make yourself do a bunch of chores and then reward yourself with Lego at the end. The only problem I have got is that the more I sit on Imperial Flagship, the more I wonder about the price going up. I've never sold a Lego set before and this is the first time I've been tempted...

The façades are truly wonderful - excellent work. Thanks for showing your working as well...sometimes I get put off from building things because I figure I haven't got enough of the right brick, whereas you've shown that you can give the impression of a full house without having the exact colours. I shouldn't get so hung up on the little things! I really can't decide which house is my favourite, as they all have unique details which add greatly to them. I think maybe the blue edges it, with the balcony over the door. I love how the top windows complement the building style as well (for instance, the pink house has diamonds next to the window and is "blockier" in its window structure and flatter over the door) - fantastic touches.

Yes, I thought exactly the same - this is a very clever move by Lego. They've made a set that crosses boundaries. If you're an AFOL and interested in the modular houses, it's highly likely that you'll be interested in this model. Sure, it's no modular house, but it's quirky and would complement any existing collection...I've already seen a few comments online about buying a few to make a neighbourhood on the dark side of the tracks to complement the modular buildings! Alternatively, you could always buy a model and either renovate it into a modular, or convert it back into its former glory (so pre-Monster inhabitation!) or both. If you buy it and love it, you're going to be more open to buying the other sets (and we all know how AFOLs can be completists), which you might not have considered before. As for children, they've got a great 'Monster dolls house'. It's a great target price for a BIG present and something for children to clamour for at Christmas/birthdays if they get the smaller sets on the line. I also suspect that if children (particularly older ones, 10+) build the house and enjoy it, they'll look for other similar builds...and the modular line fits in wonderfully, opening up a whole new set of customers there too. Clever. And the set is marvellous; can't wait to get one.

It saddens me that some people feel that collectors have 'brought this on themselves'. It shouldn't matter what people value most in a community (whether it's figs, or bricks, or instructions, or whatever) - the problem is with the dishonest thieves who are out for a quick profit; not your average punter who's spending a fortune on their hobby.

Yeah, the Trafford Centre one is a bit of a misnomer...it's purely there to utilise the pester power that must be immense when children come out of the experience. It's a bit like the one at Legoland (and as you say, not owned by Lego themselves) - you might as well go to WHSmiths! I'm very pleased that it's ended up in the Arndale, as I don't drive, so trips to the Trafford Centre are rare. However, I've always loved going for days out to Manchester City Centre and this is the icing on the cake!

I can't wait for this. I hope they have a good sized PAB.

^ Damn you, that's awesome!

I think I'm getting to the point where creations on here are so incredible, I can't think of any adjectives that fully describe how breathtaking these models are. This is incredible.

Brilliant hauls! I am ridiculously jealous of the green plant pieces and the tan log bricks!

I was sad that I couldn't make AFOLCON but I'm chuffed that I am going to be able to make it to Monday's show. I'm not looking at any one else's pics just yet so that everything is a surprise, but thanks for all of the pictures - it's great to share for those who can't make it and I'll look forward to reading through them next week.

I got the Winter Village Toy Shop at Christmas and it's been built once, never played with and just been on display ever since. I noticed today that 5 of the white cheese slopes have all got a crack up them. I'm a bit nervous about going and checking my Tower Bridge (which has been built once, never played with and just been on display...but has been standing for a year). Gutted.

Wonderful work - great architecture, and I love the topic you've done it on. It all looks really smooth.

Thanks for elaborating. :)

Out of interest, what's your thinking behind this? Is it a case that you think the product should be on the shelves for other people to buy, even though it's not necessarily your own taste or..?

I lucked out and got a 10% off voucher on the back of one of my Lego catalogues (for the first time ever, but so well timed!) - so if you don't need Town Hall urgently, it might be worth waiting to see if you get lucky with one of those? It knocked my purchase down to £135, which was a great saving. Otherwise, the other modulars have appeared on international Amazon sites for cheaper than the official stores; perhaps it's worth waiting to see if Town Hall pops up on those? Or, if you can hold out, wait until the official store has a double points promotion, which would net you 300 points...so £15 off your next purchase. Not quite as good as 10% off, but it's a fair bit of compensation! If you can't wait, I'd just go with Lego themselves - 150 points aren't to be sniffed at.

Very clever, wonderful work - I love the pillars and the clouds (on both sides) in particular. Two very striking images which are offset perfectly by the tree/judgement area. Excellent.

This looks and sounds like an absolutely epic project - I will be bookmarking this thread for sure! Thanks for posting the price of the project so far...it's really interesting to see that sort of breakdown and what amount / type of bricks spending such an amount of money comes to. If you don't mind me asking, where did this bag come from - was it a set, or a direct pab purchase from Lego? Did you have any parts to begin with, or have you purchased everything recently? Have you found any parts more useful than others?

Great work - I love the detail in the chemistry lab, and the toilet scene is a crack up...definitely the perfect face to have chosen for the poor lad!

Absolutely wonderful work.

This might seem like an odd question, but last year I read Jonathan Bender's LEGO: A Love Story. I thought it was an interesting enough book, and he gained access to a lot of important and significant people in the world of Lego. ...but once I'd read the book, I couldn't help but shake the feeling that he maybe wasn't all that invested in the hobby - and that either he was a journalist who came up with a great idea for a book and got caught up in the topic whilst he was researching it, or it was a new hobby to him and he went all guns blazing at it (like most people do) and once the book was done and dusted, he lost interest. I just wondered if he was still out there in the Lego community, and whether or not he was still building?

Hiya guys, I was wondering how melike was going on with the Lego club - is it growing in popularity? How did your set purchases go?