SlyOwl

Enchanted Island 6278 Pictorial Review Original price: $66 Pieces: 412 Figures: 7 This 1994 set marked the beginning of a new era for Lego Pirates - it became a theme more centralised around playability and not so much grand ol' ships. 6278 Enchanted Island was the flagship set of the Islanders subtheme, heavily based around Polynesian and Native American concepts (In fact, TLC was successfully sued by a number of tribes for using bastardised Maori names, such as Kahuka). It was released as a Legend set in 2001, but due to poor sales was discontinued again. The largest of the Islander sets, Enchanted Island is a portion of an island with a river running through. The left hand side features some sturdy buildings built into a tree-like structure on a rocky outcrop, whilst the left hand side features a tower built out of "wooden" posts and a large tribal statue. The box cover shows all the details; it does, however, differ from the instructions' finished product in that it has been more aesthetically arranged - bushes e.t.c. have been moved to fill in gaps and to not obscure other things. The sides of the box show nothing particularly special, although in one scene it depicts the Islander Canoe chasing the Pirate boat with the treasure; just one way to play with the set. The back of the box, however, is superb, featuring a large number of alternative models: a toothy statue, a Pirate tree (think Wolfpack) with an Islander base, Kahuka's throne, a fire-breathing statue and a souped-up boat for the pirates. These, and many more, can be easily made because of the large diversity of pieces. The set has a huge number of minifigures for its size, the third highest number in the Pirate range (The SES and the BSB being first and second, respectively) - a whopping 7! 5 Islanders, including the all-too-common King Kahuka, the elusive Islander babe and 3 standard warriors - this set alone will never leave you short of enemies! 2 pirates, Ironhook in his standard attire with a scurvy dog at his side attack the island, although they are only moderately armed - 2 cutlasses and a pistol between them; a musket would've been nice. The Islanders, on the other hand, have 4 shields, a bow and quiver and 6 spears, not to mention the big pokey thing with horns on top (Weapon? Idol? Staff?). A monkey, parrot and crocodile provide the obvious creature features, with a fair amount of gold to finish off. In the instructions, the goblet does not have the lid, although it does on the box; it's a nice touch anyway - adding a little more diversity to the monotonous treasure stashes. The pirates' boat is a nice 2 sail vessel, with oars for when the wind stops and a treasure map. The sails are similar to those in Lagoon Lockup, but with an extra front sail. It's an awesome little boat, better for raids than a rowing boat, but not too big that it can't sail up rivers. It can comfortably fit 2 men and, at a squeeze, 5. The sails are expensive if you buy them seperately; normally this won't be a problem, but they can cost aroun $5 each. The Islanders' boat is a canoe with a sail and an outrigger to stabilise it. The sail is beautifully done, with 2 spars taughtening it. There is a clip for the rower to leave his weapon when at se and the mast can turn to get as much wind as possible. It's quite a top-heavy boat, but it doesn't look hideous and without the mast/sail it looks great. 3 Islanders can fit in it, and more if they sit on the outrigger. The markings on the canoe are stickers, but they look fine and are probably more robust than markings for their job. Furthermore, they're waterproof! *sing* Kahuka's throne can be carried by 2 loyal subjects... ...Or strapped to his pet crocodile! The clips on the side can be used to rest his weaponry, or hold spears for battle. The throne looks nice, although I'm not too sure about the blue against the red - I'd have prefered white as it would clash less... An overview of the island; it is built in 2 halves - left then right and then joined together loosley, so it can be seperated for transporting. Around the back to the left and right, there are large open spaces that are great for battles - this set isn't so much about a large solid build, but creating a "village" - smaller structures linked by bridges. And the back... To the far left is a platform built onto the rock, with access from the river via a ladder. There's the standard Islander drum with the lovely zebra-skin part (Where did they get that?!). I've never understood the white flag - I was under the impression it was used for surrender... Further along the rocky bank, there are some hinged palm leaves that swing upwards to reveal... ...The treasure! It's an OK hiding place; not the best place to hide it, right where the pirates sail past, but it feels fabulous; it fits right in. Above it on the rocky bank is the main structure. It looks very disjointed when you build it (bricks all over the place), but once it's done it looks nice and rural, with leaves everywhere and the "balcony" where Kahuka is standing. You get a nice roof made from 2 large palm leaves tilting down. Around the back there's a slight shelter, a table for picnics and a ladder to access the upstairs. I was rather annoyed that it is so open, but the set is designed from just one perspective... To the left is the bridge to the other building... A nice, one piece bridge made of the softer plastic used for muskets and the post-1991 cutlasses. It looks good, but be warned! It tilts when you pull a pin, sending the pirates flying! This contraption is a good idea, but it is very stiff and so doesn't swing, even when burdened by a minifigure - you'll want to modify this bit if you get it. The other building looks like it is made out of posts and beams. They are all red; brown would have been better, but it would have added too many colours to the range, just like the use of black for trees in some forestmen sets. There are 3 clips for spare weapons; only 2 of these will ever be used when all the Islanders are armed, but it gives the pirates scope once they've been disarmed...There's another nice palm tree roof on top. 2 ladders give access...there's a total of 4 in this set - worth getting, eh? Although they're 5p on Bricklink, for a KABOB, they're like gold! At the top there's another hidey hole; the palm leaves lift up on hinges to show the treasure or hiding Islander. It can be seen from behind, but this set is designed from one perspective only. Nice cattlehorns too...alongside the slats you can see in the floor - 5 years later and it would've been a solid plate... The big statue is one of the main selling point of this set, alongside the tilting bridge - they're the action features shown in every catalogue at the time, but it is not really special, just original. The statue fits in with the theme perfectly - Kahuka's mask, his shield and this statue all depict the same deity, which is a nice "collectible" idea. The back is rather plain, except the angled 1x1 bricks - a good touch. I'm not sure why there's a black brick in the back of the head, but this is easily remedied; it could even be done with a brick from this same set, just swapping the two over... Aside from the head turning, the back can open to store sacred objects, or, in my opinion, prisoners, hence the gaps for breathing. Either way, it's a lovely piece of architecture and deservedly a flagship element of the set. There's your standard cooking pot floating around, although a 1x1 yellow stud as human flesh (remember, minifigs are yellow, no matter what the licensed themes say!) is a superb finish. This set is a stunning set for both kids and AFOLs who are just getting back into Lego/Pirates - it is a great army builder and, due to its release as a Legend, is extremely cheap on eBay - you should be able to pick one up for £18, or £15 if you're lucky. For that you get a lifetime's supply of Islanders, 4 ladders, some wall panels, 2 baseplates (one raised and both with rivers and printed vegetation around the edge), a ton of weapons, a fair quantity of standard bricks, but most of all, a heap of vegetation: This is an easy to buy set, with normally around 5 on eBay at any time, and is well worth it, for the parts, the play and the nostalgia! It can be easily modified; when used in conjunction with any other outpost, a much larger fortress can be made, especially if more rope bridges are used. if you pick 2 of this fine set off eBay (It'll still be less than the original price!), a huge complex can be constructed, giving you an instantaneous village for around £35. Other Information Lugnet rating: 79/100 Brickset rating: 4.3/5 Bricklink price: New - $100 Used - $54

96b To be honest, I don't get it. I spent many weeks on Aslan's How, yet I spent a couple of days on this one, and it's bigger! Just a classic invasion scene. :pir-skull:

You don't need to read this bit - Over half-term, my family and I did a house-swap to York. I quickly discovered their Lego box, and after removing the majority of the plastic soldiers, K'Nex, Jenga, bits of paper, crayons, military vehicles, some random sparkly stuff, miscellaneous... found a large infestation of clone brands (mostly Megablocks, but some Tyco). I discarded most of it into another pile, but some parts seemed useful. This is the important(ish) bit - Some of the clone brand parts I found could actually be useful in MOCs, as Lego doesn't produce the same parts in any form. The first one is Megablocks - a double sided 2x2 plate. The studs are hollow on one side, and solid on the other. The middle is the same height as a normal plate. The next is Tyco - an inverted version of the above. However, it is 1.5 plates high (it has to be, as studs - even Lego ones - are just over half a plate high, so they wouldn't fit in the middle of a 1 plate high version); therefore, when with a single plate attached, it has a depth of 1 brick. In the right-foreground you've got a regular Lego tile next to a Tyco plate, which is 1.5 plates high, for comparison. The design of the part reminded me of the bottom of a Lego 2x2 turntable... Liquorice All-Sorts, anyone? I'd be interested to know if you would use these in your MOCs if you had them, as they fill a niche that Lego doesn't. I would use them, especially if the double-sided plate was in 1x1 form. The inverted one is less useful at 1.5 plates high (except for complex SNOT, where it could be very useful), but I'd use it at 2 plates high, especially in 1x1 form.

Review: The Lego Build-It Book Book Information Name: The Lego Build-It Book: Amazing Vehicles Author: Nathanael Kuipers, Mattia Zamboni Publisher: No Starch Press Release: July 2013 Pages: 136 ISBN: 9781593275037 Price: US $19.95 | US $15.95 (E-Book) Links: Amazon ~ No Starch Press ~ 5867 - Super Speedster The Book To put it bluntly, the book is a glorified alternate-model instruction book. But it's good at what it does. It gives instructions for 10 different models, all created using the same parts, which are listed at the beginning. These all come from the Creator set 5867 - a red car - so, inevitably, all the models are red wheeled vehicles! It goes to show the versatility of the bricks and the designers' imaginations. One author, Nathanael, is a former Lego Technic designer - and the other, Mattia, is a graphic designer - and have collaborated extremely well to produce this excellent-looking book. The graphics are genuinely flawless. I'm not sure what program the instruction images were created in; some of the parts don't seem entirely right on closer inspection (missing friction ridges etc - nothing major at all!). I really struggled to work out whether the pictures were renders or photos; though I'm leaning towards excellent renders. The book is as high quality as I've come to expect from No-Starch-Press. The cover is matt, soft-backed - and is showing a few signs of wear and tear after having it in my rucksack for a week's holiday... just like the BrickGun book - don't know what it is with me and doing that! The book is very clear throughout, mainly white text on a blue background with "blueprints" of the model watermarked on. There's a brief introduction to the book, followed by a set of helpful building tips. A bit is about the basics of being creative with parts - the whole range of things you could use a 1x1 round brick for, for example. It then goes on to introduce SNOT techniques, why certain pieces have been designed like they have; and there is another section on "advanced" building techniques in the middle of the book - reinforcement, some more SNOT, hinges and so on. There's nothing ground-breaking here for an AFOL, but it is a very good basis if you're new to higher level building. There is also a parts list for 5867 - I found I had 90% of the parts straight away (being Creator, it's mainly bricks, plates and slopes) - and could improvise the rest. It's largely red, with black filler and grey/white trim. The rest of the book is simply ten sets of instructions for the models: Off-Roader Go-Kart Muscle Car Stroller Multi-Purpose Truck Historic Racer Classic Car Wheel-Loader Street Rod Rescue Truck Each is introduced with a cover page showing a variety of angles/details, a wireframe/blueprint view, and a brief info box containing dimensions, features, design notes etc. There is also a rating box (similar to in a computer game) for Complexity, Functions and Pieces, 1-3; it looks nice, but I didn't pay any attention to it when picking which models to build! The Instructions These are very clear, and similar to official Lego instructions (as you'd expect). The graphics are slightly more jazzy - it has a nice header and shadows on the parts-call-out boxes. I had some issues distinguishing between tan and white, though - particularly as some of the same parts are used in both colours. There is no individual parts list for each model; so I picked out all the parts at the front and went from there. The Build I built the Multi-Purpose Truck first, and then the Classic Car. They came together much as you'd expect from a Lego set - though as the techniques were considerably more advanced (the whole underside of the Classic Car is built upside down!), you need to concentrate a bit more. One thing I didn't like - which is a result of using a limited parts selection - was that it felt parts were being used to fill gaps - or weren't the best solution. I fully understand why they chose to use just the parts from one set, but it made me a bit frustrated when building, as you couldn't always work out what you were building at that moment/what it was going to attach to. It also made the models quite physically weak, I felt - parts are cantilevered no end, bits fall off - there's no heft to the models. But given some more bricks, I'm sure they'd be fine. Judge for yourself; but I think the models do look really good. And I am very impressed with the broad range of vehicles at different scales (some are roughly minifig scale, others much larger, others slightly smaller) - the designers did a good job. Whatsmore, there's a sequel coming out - 10 more models, using the same parts! Multi-Purpose Truck Where better to start than a meaty truck; what sold me to start with was the "logo" on the front grill. The back tips up; it's a fairly sturdy joint. This pic probably expresses my thoughts on the book best: there's some nice detail going on in the cab and under the tipper, but it feels a bit unrefined and slap-dash. Classic Car The stripe down the middle is built sideways, with the top and bottom sandwiching it neatly - so the bottom is built upside down! It's quite squidgy if you press down on it, and I've found the wheels tend to rub rather. But it looks very good. Doors open, neat continuation of the stripe through them. Note the cleverly-built-but-a-bit-too-tight arches. The seat backs sit on Technic pins, so tend to flop around a bit! Final Thoughts... This is a book I would have enjoyed as a kid - sure, I'd have been frustrated with not having the right parts, but the way it gradually teaches the techniques is great. I think if you own the set 5867, it would be great to have - something to take on holiday, say. Unfortunately, 5867 is no longer produced (and, it seems, not hugely available online either) - so it'll be a case of make-do. Idea for the future? Get official endorsement and sell similar books alongside the set. Not sure this would ever happen! The book, presentation and instructions are all top notch - kudos to No Starch Press. Barney

Looks like DLuders pipped me to this, but hey-ho. Review: The BrickGun Book Book Information Name: The BrickGun Book: Build the World's Most Realistic LEGO Handguns Author: Jeff Boen Publisher: No Starch Press Release: May 2013 Pages: 232 ISBN: 9781593274900 Price: US $29.95 | US $23.95 (E-Book) Links: Amazon ~ No Starch Press ~ Brickgun.com BrickGun The author Jeff Boen's first Lego pistol went viral when he posted it on LUGNET in 1999 - and since then has created his own website, selling CAD instructions (and even kits) for various Lego guns. He claims they are "the world's most realistic Lego handguns" - and they invariably feature functional triggers, hammers and so forth. BrickGun has now published its first book, in collaboration with No Starch Press, well known for their geek-books, including an ever expanding range of Lego titles. The BrickGun Book contains instructions for five of Jeff's most popular models. Given the controversial nature of the book's content, it's worth the caveat I'm reviewing this from a builder's perspective, not a gun aficionado's. I'm not entirely comfortable building realistic guns - but at the same time, my mates thought they were cool (and very... playable) when they saw them. I was expecting the guns to actually fire (bricks or rubber bands) when I first saw the book - so was a bit disappointed that they don't, but actually rather liked it in the end. The Book The book is as high quality as I've come to expect from No-Starch-Press. The cover is matt, soft-backed - and is showing a few signs of wear and tear after having it in my rucksack for a week's holiday... The book is very clear throughout, black text on white/grey pages, with the majority of images created in LDRaw. It begins with a warning about the dangers of functional weapons (the only one here which actually fires is the MAC-11 rubber-band gun) and not to take them out in public without attaching an orange tip to the muzzle. Which is very sensible. There's a brief introduction to the book, followed by a set of helpful building tips. Some are insultingly simple ("ensure that pieces are completely and firmly attached"), others more useful ("use a pencil tip to attach rubber bands"). There's also tips on how to read the instructions - which may be useful for people not familiar with Lego. Finally, there's some useful websites recommended (Bricklink, MOCpages, LUGNET, LDraw) - and a history of Jeff's development of the five BrickGuns in the book, along with some design considerations. The rest of the book is simply five sets of instructions for the different guns: BG22 with magazine (22-series pistol) 92FS (Beretta pistol) Desert Eagle 1911 (M1911 pistol) MAC-11 rubber-band (machine pistol) (at least that's what I can work them out to be - Jeff seems to have his own naming system, BG presumably standing for BrickGun) The Instructions These follow the same format for each gun. Written parts list - quantity, part #, colour, description - I imagine this is for buying parts if necessary Pictorial parts list - very clear, I used this for picking out the parts needed Set of instructions, typically lasting 80 steps or so, using 200-300 parts. They follow a logical format, nearly identical to official Lego instructions, with similar arrows, parts-boxes, call-outs, sub-assemblies etc. A demonstration of the functions of the gun. I found this quite confusing, as I didn't know what each part was supposed to represent - some text here would have really helped. The Build I built the Desert Eagle and MAC-11. The MAC-11 is significantly different from the rest in terms of design and function, but the other four seem relatively similar. The build typically follows a handle-mechanism-barrel-details pattern, with various large sub-assemblies coming together around 2/3 of the way through the build. The techniques used are generally straightforward - there is some SNOT, offset building and Technic in there, but nothing at all complicated. Each gun mainly consists of bricks and plates, with a handful of Technic parts and a fair few slopes/tiles/decorative parts, almost entirely in black and grey. I found I had 95% of the parts in the right colours, but was able to easily sub in a few parts when I didn't have the right ones. The parts feel very 90's (especially the Technic parts) - they're all well established parts. Both finger and click hinges are used, though I subbed out the latter as I didn't have them. Desert Eagle I built this first, as it was the only gun I'd actually heard of: " And the fact that you've got "Replica" written on the side of your guns. And the fact that I've got "Desert Eagle .50" written on the side of mine, should precipitate your balls into shrinking, along with your presence. Now f*** off!" As above, it's mainly bricks and plates. I swapped in some light grey for black so I had the right parts. Apparently these guns come in all sorts of colours, so I felt free to chop and change. First, we build the handle, nothing fancy here. The mechanism comes together easily, and is sturdy from the off. Et voila. Took about 30 minutes to build once I had the parts in front of me. It looks fairly good, fits in the hand well. The grey stripe down the side is my own addition. Compared to an actual Desert Eagle, it doesn't entirely live up to its claim of being "the world's most realistic handgun" - I'm sure I could do better given a bit of time - though the techniques and parts would get more complicated... This part slides back, and the Technic beam flips up to lock it in place. I imagine this is some kind of magazine... The hammer at the back can be pulled back, which will be released by pulling the trigger. It makes an unsatisfactory click - perhaps I needed stronger rubber bands? The safety catch at the top prevents the trigger being pulled. Final thoughts on this build? It was fairly fun, looks passable and the parts move realistically, I'm sure. It's a bit on the fragile side - the macaroni brick section and back of the hammer tend to fall off - as does the handle under moderate shaking. So not for playing with in a bellicose manner. MAC-11 Rubber Band Gun I chose to build this as it was very different from the other guns in the book. I also have made semi-automatic rubber band guns in the past, and was interested to see how this would compare. The build is again fairly straightforward, though it feels more like a 90's Technic model than a gun at times. There's some neat stuff going on in the handle using brackets, to allow the magazine to slot in. I think it would probably look better all in black - again, I had to swap some grey bits in. It doesn't feel as cleanly finished as the other builds - mainly as the top is built upside-down! The magazine is held in by friction - it slides in and out very satisfyingly. The bullets are a nice little detail. It takes up to five rubber bands easily - though I tried it with eight and it just about managed. They don't shoot all that far or with that much power compared to others I have built - but then again, they are not stretched over a very long distance over the barrel. It works with a simple escapement mechanism - though one would probably need to add another band or two to the trigger restoring part, as it tends to stick in place when loading. The mechanism seems strong, and was pleasantly surprising to see it all slot together so neatly: I didn't have particularly high hopes. View mid-load. It can be a bit fiddly to get the rubber bands onto the rotating bar at the back. Final thoughts? I enjoyed building this, it works fairly well - the magazine in particular is great. I was impressed. Final Thoughts... This isn't a book I would have bought: I'm not into guns, I like to build my own thing - and it's not all that cheap. That said, if you're looking to build realistic Lego handguns, this is a good starting point - they'd be easy to modify to look better (tile the tops...). I think it would make a good present for the right friend - or as a handy way of filling up an hour or two on a rainy day. The book, presentation and instructions are all top notch - kudos to No Starch Press. Barney

It's been a while since I built castle... two years to the day!

[pid][/pid] Last full MOC before I enter the Pirate contest... *sweet* And, of course, the Islanders (and monkeys) are winning and thir vanquished foes will meet a culinary end :-D I have finally decided that Achu is now a member of the tribe, and the wizard/mage/wise-man/Amazonian-priest at that! :-) The first photomograph doesn't show this, but the beach curves upwards... Enjoy! :-P

+2 for Whitefang (one extremely belated!) - thanks mate!

I'm afraid I don't have a great picture of it, but I had a go at a longboat here - It's pretty similar, with the two top SNOT layers with curved bricks in them, with some sort of base on it (mine had a curvier bottom).

Simply, a pirate ship attacking an English merchant... Flickr ~ Brickshelf Cheers

There's two nice tutorials on making sails here - 1 ~ 2. Simply, find some suitable material - I've used old tshirt stuff in the past, but anything that's tightly woven and the right thickness should work. Paint it with a mix of 5 parts water to 1 part PVA glue and let it dry (this stops it fraying, stiffens it, makes it easier to cut and draw on). I use a hole punch to punch out the holes to attach the sails to the masts - and trim the holes with nail scissors. Shoving a soldering iron through the cloth also works. As for the printed stripes, I think the easiest way is to either find some appropriate cloth (which could be quite hard) - or paint/colour them on yourself. It'd be easier to do this before you cut the sails out. It's possible to run pva-d cloth through a printer and get good results - though it does tend to clog everything up and go wrong an awful lot! Hope this was helpful.

Thanks guys! The photography was a happy accident - a mix of it raining outside and being lazy and just blurring and smudging the wrinkles in the sheet behind it out - but it turned out quite overcast and stormy. I made the waves fit the ships I built the ship hulls first, then roughed out the sea in grey, just roughly building around the outside of the hulls. I then filled in all the gaps with white plates - it doesn't fit exactly, but near enough. Thanks for the blog! It is, thanks! And thanks for all the ship inspiration there. It's coming to STEAM, definitely. Pirates at STEAM 2014?! If you've still got ships built up, we could extend this one for this year. Not too long - a few hours (although as it was repetitive I was watching tv). It's a mix of bley and grey. Probably not, I'm afraid! It does look much better in person - it's just very hard to photograph between the sails and masts and stuff! - Maybe when I'm not in a rush I'll add some better pics.

'Pologies for the photos - stupid winter

Maybe try battle droid arms between the layers of flex tubing?

(is this the right forum? I feel a bit out of touch! - I reckon it feels more historical than sci-fi-y!) The Last Evacuee There's some sort of vague backstory about a city that broke up into chunks and started floating around, but I couldn't really make anything fit! I was trying to make Steampunk a bit more realistic (as in, a more probable alternate reality), hence the more subtle steampunkishness on the stagecoach and relatively normal house. The pics are a bit big, so here's the galleries: Flickr Brickshelf Cheers

Cheers guys, glad you like it There's a great big hole in the bottom of the rock (it would have been too complicated/unnecessary to fill it up with all the different angles), with a technic shaft coming out of it, which is attached to the mainframe. I just clamped this in a vice when I was building it - and also taking photos! I might need to build a stand if I'm going to display it more permanently... I wasn't too sure about that section - it seemed to deviate too much from the rectangular streetplan on the rock!

Thanks guys I'll be around a little this week - there's a MOC in the pipeline. Josh... I have no idea who that person is!

Four pages? I did about 30!

SOLD Hey all, I've got a spare set of The Sun Lego promotional sets from this week. See the sets here. I'm afraid I didn't manage to get the Ninjago Ninja Training set, but other than that, all the other sets are there. I'm willing to sell them at cost price - £2.40 for the lot, plus p&p. Should be less than £5 to ship to US/Aus etc. First come, first served - I'd prefer to sell them internationally, to give non-Brits a chance of getting them. Drop me a PM if you're interested.

Just going to put it out there, any of you who've bought the Sun, pages 42 and 43 are worth a look too...

I'm heading off in 20 minutes

183C Pip pip! It's for the Iron Builder Contest - making use of the random part, the yellow train sign.

Thanks all - and for the blog, Big Cam I used an old style skeleton arm (as in the original style), which fits into the bottomo of each arch, and holds it together quite well, without leaving a gap. (it's essentially the same technique as here)

This was a go I had a while back at doing instructions - link. I built it in MLCAD, and then proceeded to gradually delete the parts, taking screenshots at each point and editing them together in photoshop. It's not pretty, but it does the job (it'd have helped if I'd spent more time on it and if I'd realised that I had accidentally used black, not brown; stupid colour defective vision!).

Ach, I'm away this Sunday... September is much better for me. How about a meetup sometime in the new Stratford store, when it opens? It opens on the 12th September (I think) - but the grand opening (if there is one) will presumably be later. I'll probably be at uni by then, though. Are you guys heading to STEAM this year?