olliewills

Eurobricks Vassals
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Everything posted by olliewills

  1. Hello all! Hoping someone can help my newbie-self understand how BrickLink works! I've got a wishlist for a MOC which includes 193 unique lots. I've run it through BL with my country settings etc and it comes back saying it has found 190 of the 193. The thing I'm struggling with is knowning what is missing as there seems to be no way to know except by creating the carts and going through each one, checking off against the wishlist... I'm sure there must be a better way, or maybe I'm doing something wrong? My interest is because it's entirely possible that those 3 lots are things I could live without or source manually later, but without knowing what they are, I can't really commit to this MOC... I hope that make sense! Thanks all! Ollie
  2. olliewills

    Making sand red 1x2 plates

    On closer inspection I guess it's true that it is a very particular colour! I second the plastic polishing paste idea. You'd be able to get an almost perfect finish going even up to say 3000 grit sandpaper and then finishing with a compound. Lucky for me being a car detailer I have a huge range of sandpaper and polishing compounds in my garage should I ever need to try this!
  3. olliewills

    Making sand red 1x2 plates

    I'm in two minds about this! I give you points for creativity for sure! Thank being said, a few thoughts come to mind... How badly do you need 1x2 plates of a 15-year discontinued colour, such that you need to murder other pieces in that same, irreplacable colour? (this isn't a moan, just a curiosity! ) You'd probably have got a better finish by going through a few different grades of sandpaper. The one you used looks a little too coarse As mentioned, you might have got a better finish or had less hassle by using a fine point soldering iron or blade to remove the handles I'm no expect on Lego colours, but looking at it, I feel like there are some existing colours close enough to 'sand red' such that they could be made sand red though use of bleach and a UV lamp, or similar approach (would be a bit of trial an error for sure!) Thanks for sharing the approach anyway!
  4. Wow that helps a lot, thanks very much both! I had been using the "buy all / auto-select" mode but I hadn't discovered the 'wanted items' tab! I'd been making do by cross-comparing searches on BL and BrickOwl, plus setting things as new/used and a lot of 'best guess'! This makes things much easier!
  5. olliewills

    What did you BUILD today?

    Built this 1986 Aliens Power Loader from a Brent Waller MOC on Rebrickable...
  6. olliewills

    The what I did today thread ......

    Today We took our boys to Nantes to see the giant mechanical elephant! The Machines of Nantes
  7. olliewills

    Occupation thread

    HOLY THREAD REVIVAL BATMAN! Sorry to add to the stereotype but I'm another engineer! I was a software engineer in my younger days but now I focus on user interface design, ergonomics, web accessibility, user research etc etc... I have at various stages in my life also worked in a deli, delivered mail and moved furniture!
  8. Much like Cloud above, I was brought back to Lego by my now 6 and 3 year old sons who started with Duplo and are now moving onto more complex sets. Some time ago a couple of bits of their #60215 Fire Station got damaged so I went looking online to see if I could buy just the broken bits... Well, of course I discovered BrickLink, BrickOwl, Rebrickable, MOCs, alternate builds and so on, and my life was changed forever!
  9. olliewills

    Your First LEGO Set

    I'm honestly not sure what my first Lego set was but the one I have the earliest and most vivid memories of was the Blacktron Invader #6894 from about 1987... I'm honestly not sure if I owned this set or my brother, maybe a friend, but I recall thinking it was awesome. Strangley enough, I remember it having a transparent green canopy but it seems it was yellow...
  10. olliewills

    Members on the map

    Cholet, FRANCE for me!
  11. olliewills

    Hobbies

    For me it's either... Drawing... Mostly with fineliners or alcohol markers. I'm no Picasso but I can make what I draw usually look at least vaguely 'real' Cleaning my car... I don't do shows or anything like that and it's just for me as a I love the process behind it. It works as a form of meditation for me as I can just turn my brain off and go through the steps. I can happily spend quite a bit of money on both of these things so adding Lego into the mix is probably not a smart plan! I'll just decide now that I won't get too into Lego, that should be fine right?
  12. olliewills

    Overreacting? It's _just_ a MOC...

    I'm wondering, from your nanny-cam footage, if you can clearly see the cleaner and assistant both being totally aware of what the Lego was before it met its end... If your cleaner wasn't there when the accident happened and just saw parts on the floor then sure she might have just seen parts and put them in your daughters box. If the assistant had already cleaned up some then the cleaner might not have known the difference. I suppose, benefit of the doubt here, it's also possible that the assistant was totally unaware of what Lego is and how it works, and simply assumed it was permanently broke and so cleaned up the pieces... Ultimately I would still expect your cleaner to have let you know if something was broken, wether it be Lego, a TV or a simple drinking water glass/photo frame. I think you need to have a calm conversation with your cleaner to find out why the decision was made to put Lego in the trash, and why no one told you about the breakage. If the explanation you receive is not satisfactory then you can decide how much further to take it from there. You have to at least have the conversation (and thereby make them aware you have nannycams!).
  13. olliewills

    Greetings from a new member in France!

    Thanks both, happy to be back on the path! I'm currently in a sea of DBG pieces waiting for my birthday so I can start building my first MOC, a 1986 Aliens M577 APC! In the meantime I'm learning how to use BL Studio...
  14. Hey there everyone! I'm Ollie, originally from the UK but now living in France. Like many on here I expect, I grew up with a giant box of random Lego sets. Life moved on as it does and I eventually left the Lego behind in persuit of other hobbies. Now I find myself as an adult whose two children are beginning to discover Lego for themselves and it has rekindled the fire! I don't anticipate becoming a serious Lego addict (lol, said every AFOL ever!) as I already have other hobbies I enjoy, but I do think it would be cool to bring a little Lego back into my life. I love the idea of building a small selection of MOCs that highlight some childhood memories however. My first foray into MOCs is currently set to be the APC from the 1986 sci-fi classic Aliens. I've chosen my MOC and am in the process of picking up parts. I'm a pretty big geek so I'm already looking into how I can modify exsting mocks and I'm learning to use the Studio app. When I'm not doing Lego, I'm usually spending time with the family, drawing, cleaning my car or out running. Of course I also have a day job as a software interface designer. Anyway, I look forward to getting as involved in the community as I can be and maybe helping some people out once I learn a little more and get back in the groove! See you all around the forums! All the best, Ollie
  15. I'm in the same boat and just starting to reconnect with Lego. Seeing this makes me think I probably need some RoE's too! It's not much of a 'limiter' but for now my aim/intention is to build MOC's that fulfil the following criteria: They will be built once and for display purposes They represent something from my childhood/youth when Lego was still part of my life They are a maximum of 2000 pieces (at the extreme end!) They are 'Sci-Fi' in nature They are something that, to my eye, display a true air of creativity and artistic vision
  16. olliewills

    Greetings from a new member in France!

    Thanks! Certainly can't let my boys have all the fun that's for sure!