ZeeK

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Everything posted by ZeeK

  1. ZeeK

    2014 City Sets - Rumours and Discussion

    Actually they did produce the front part of the vehicle next to the arctic plane in orange - it's set 4652 from 4+ line (the part had prints though). I've seen this set on the shelf once, but at that time i thought it was too expensive, since the parts i was looking for were a couple of big chrome silver fuel tanks in this set... Really love the plane. It's really nice to have mid-size piston-engine cargo plane!!!
  2. ZeeK

    MOC: Fuel Truck

    What a lovely 4-wide utility vehicle!!! Love it, absolutely love it, even though i see it as sweeping vehicle like this:
  3. At least now I can tell what "third world" means - if your contry is not on LEGO Customer Service list, then it's not as developed as one thinks it is... Sad joke, btw
  4. ZeeK

    NEWS 2014 trains!

    Does that mean the new high-speed train will have two cars and a motor car (like HE does)?
  5. My country is alo one of those that have been thrown out of this option. I've checked with retailer and i have received the following instructions - "If a part is missing/damaged the set is to be returned to the place whereit has been bought and the set - the complete set - will be replaced with a new one". I can understand the process if you buy something from the retailer you know, but i'm not sure what will happen if you buy something online or at the shopping center - will they accept the faulty set or just tell you "go and look for the piece at your home"... I can undrstang LEGO's position (if i put LEGO employee/manager hat on) but with my local LEGO buyer hat it's something i can't understand at all.
  6. Got myself a boll box of the series last Saturday. Using the "feel method" opened a full 16-figure range... The thing i like most is the coffe-cup - now it's time to build Starbucks! An interesting fact: i got the full box packed inthe cardborad box with sticker "DO NOT PUT ON SHELF before January 1st, 2014"
  7. ZeeK

    Here he is!

    Probably one of possible Mr. Gold application is being a copy of Moist von Lupwig of Terry Pratchett's "Going Postal" And, looking at the aftermarket, people are still interested in getting this 161st figure to complete their collections - probably the only reason Mr. Gold exists.
  8. ZeeK

    Here he is!

    Sorry for "resurrecting" of kind of old topic, but... Probably many of us saw Jason's video at BrickShowTV about a person who managedto collect two "super rare" Mr. Gold figures... However i've never heard of a person acquired three of this kind before, so... ...So, i think i'm the first to manage to find three Mr. Gold figures, only one of them is opened so far.
  9. Being lucky to have the similar opportunity (though i've used "feel method") i can confirm the distribution figures. As for "figures by rows" my box had completely different order. I think this is due to the fact local LEGO subsidiary is putting its own sticker on each individual package with some info in Russian. I think this is made manually and workers put the packages in ith box changing the initial order...
  10. Less talks - more MOCs!

    1. Mr Gold

      Mr Gold

      Здравствуйте!

  11. ZeeK

    REVIEW - 4437 Police Pursuit

    This is my MOD of the truck from this set:
  12. ZeeK

    REVIEW - 4437 Police Pursuit

    Being the resident of the country where roads are pretty much as they were in XIX century, i'm familiar with off-road tuning in general, as far as so-called "lifting" (installing bigger wheels and tires, modification of the axles and suspension etc.). However i still think that 30*14 tires are much too large even for "lifted" truck. The 24*12 tires i've used is better, imo. However, since "minifig-scale" is very doubtful question, i can agree that it's possible that some people like using moster trucks in their regular (criminal? :)) life.
  13. ZeeK

    REVIEW - 4437 Police Pursuit

    Thank you for the review! This set was one of the presents i gave to my son on the New Year (yeah, local tradition). When the set was built, may worst expectations came true - the truck's wheels are way too large. I know that F-150 or Tundra are big, but the one from the set is absolutely out of scale, compared with other City vehicles. The next thing i was not happy with was the back of the truck - imo its too short. So i had to rebuilt the truck with the following modifications: 1) I've added 1 1*1 plates under the steering wheel - now one can see the wheel clearly. 2) I've moved both steering wheel and the driver's seat i stud to the left (one stud right - to match the UK/Australia style) 3) I've used "new" part and wheel holders 4) I've extended the rear of the truck by 1 stud, slightly modified the trunk cover and increased the height of the sides by 1 plate. I can't say i'm happy with the result, but it looks more "real" now and i do not understand the reason LEGO has not done the same with the model: using 30*14 tires in this case is the juniorization i can't support.
  14. ZeeK

    Review: 4205 Off-Road Command Centre

    Many thanks, Klaus-Dieter, for sharing the review! 100% agree on the fact the truck is way too large. When image of the sets appeared i've built the truck from #4208 for myself and i've instantly realized LEGO has started to make vehicles even larger than before. These 30*14 wheels are definitely wrong. And, as far as i can see from 2012 City range, this off-scale is quite common. Moreover, the front of the boxes are designed to hide this fact - the figs are shown bigger (or the vehicles smaller). Local russian LEGO prices have risen overcoming real overcome real inflation rate, which is approx 15% in Russia: the $20 sets were priced 729-799 RUB in 2011, now the $20 sets are 999 RUB (it's 25-30% increase), so i have to admit that almost every set is overpriced... The tires used in #4441 are bigger than the ones used before - i do not understand why - even the older ones used in the vans/trucks are quite big as compared to the height of the minifig. Using the standard tires for smaller cars is not the good practice, IMO. The old small tires/wheels were fine and the cars looked like those one can see in the street. In 4440 LEGO has used the new big tires for quad bike - it's not even funny to have the quad bike with man-height wheels...
  15. ZeeK

    2012 City sets

    Because it's US, of course. And I think the rest of the world will pay much more for the sets when they will be availabla in late Dec/Jan 2012. Also it looks like LEGO has decided to start holiday season VERY EARLY this year... probably to show better sales figures... I wonder why not selling "2012" things in e.g. September...
  16. ZeeK

    MOC - Rafael

    IMO, it's possible to perform this redesign by yourself, simply by making the "neck" place larger. I've already suggested to exchange these ones :) The offer is still valid, btw.And now back to the MOC! I really like the vessel, though i think it's possible to make the schooner larger to match the minifigure scale. Thank you for the inspiration - now i have some ideas on building my own fishing fleet.
  17. 7414 - Elephant Caravan Year 2003 Parts 102 (including 3 minifigs и 5 playing cards) MSRP 20$ Description at Brickset Inventory at Peeron Invetory at BrickLink Let's begin review as a typical - but we're not typical - customer: take a look at the box. The face of the box is ordinary - the set in action, Orient Expedition logo and Johny Thunder's shadow on the adventurer's map. LEGO's tradition: the box is LARGER than the set itself. The back of the box has pictures of "alternatives". Stop. Have you ever seen an alternative elephant? Neither have I. So It's just an IDEAS of parts implementation. Also you can see the orient map and a goal of the expedition - Scorpion Palace (7418) The book has a small 4-pages comic story As usual the good has won (thanks to the driver and the elephant) and the expedition's on its way to the palace. "Easy building" - that' the word! You can enjoy the full set after ten minutes of combining pieces together. Let's imitate the front of the box - the caravan is on its way, the car is chasing them! The Caravan Let's take a closer look at the coupling device. It's unusual but reliable. The elephant's back is covered with the cloth, the "driver's seat" is made of wood. I wonder how comfortable is it? The dark grey elephant is exclusive figure!!! The cart is VERY simple, but it has angled sides and - once again - a "wooden" container with all kinds of stuff. The Lord's Car A small but neat old-fashioned car. Is this Jeep's grandfather? The wheels, the cabin, The radiator, the windscreen are VERY useful, especially if YOU know HOW to use them :) The trunk is packed with demolition-set. Is the driver going to blow everything up? The driver has taken his place The whell is on the right (LEGO think that it should be on the left) - otherwise the driver'd have to shoot through the windscreen. Now he can use hook to steer the car. No wipers, no dust on the glass, no cracks on the glass... Why? Just left the carwash? There are three minifigs From left to right: Babloo, driver Pippin Reed, adventurer Sam Sinister, lord Accessories: Two containers, scimitar, camera, whip (Indi, where art thou?). The showel and the pickaxe are more common, AFAIK. The cloth is also an exclusive deetail ;) Those who plays table games - check playing cards images at BrickLink Extra parts are OK The gun, the round studs and the T-bar are useful too. Fun with Babloo and the Elephant Maybe one day LEGO will make circus theme in System... But we CAN do it right now! Allez! On your legs! Allez! On your arms! And let the tamer sit on the trunk! The elephant is the key of the set! Conclusion: The set is ordinary as long as we do not pay attention to the elephant :) Since only TWO TYPES of elephants were produced - the dark grey here and the light grey in the Palace, the set is accounted as "useful". PROS The elephant, the red turban, accessories CONS A very ordinary set, except the things mentioned as "pros"
  18. These pics are not using "public" photoservices, so there's no reason for them to disappear. PM me if you still have troubles - can provide you direct links, email the pics etc. So do I.And here's my two cents on the "elephant question": i think that dark gray elephant should be less expensive than the light gray one, since the set 7414 in much cheaper than the 7418 Scorpion Palace... Btw, here's the link to the review of set #7418 at local Russian forum (i think the pics are of better quality, that EB's reviews)
  19. Lucky you! Three years ago you wished you had one, btwIt's REALLY nice to know that the review has encouraged other people.
  20. Being very far from production site of LEGO Collectible Minifigures, it's hard to expect early reviews in Russia. However this time I was lucky to obtain (in a certain way) 3 of 16 minifigures about 2 months before the launch of the Series 5. So, let's get down to business... #6 Lizardman (I'm pretty sure LEGO will not use "Godzilla" as official name of the minifigure) Being used to opening the "blind packages" with bare hands I had no issues with the brand-new azure pack, revealing i was lucky to get the Lizardman! Once again, the torso printing is unique - the lizard's belly print is nicely detailed, with no major faults. There's no printing on the back however. The hands color slightly differ from the color of the arms/torso. Different kinds of plastic are used for hands and the rest of the figure? The fist unique piece is the new minifigure headgear - lizard's headmask! "Godzilla was here" - it's obvious LEGO designers were inspired by the monster. Now we have thousands of 4-cm tall Godzillas! The printing/painting is quite nice, especially the dark green on the back of the head. The next (and the last!) unique part is minifigure's body wear in shape of lizard's back and tail. Very nice part, not sure if LEGO ever used body wear in this way. Once again the painting is flawless. The head of the man in the lizard's suit is quite ordinary, however I'm sure there are hundreds of ways to use it in all kinds of MOCs and MODs. New facial expressions are always welcome! Fully assembled minifigure is slightly taller than ordinary one. I wonder why LEGO does not make the bigger place for the lower part of the head. Haven't seen any so far... The shot from the side shows very nice line form of the back. Such a cute figure! It's always a pleasure to see new things in 30-year old minifigure! The view from the back shows the most interesting and unique back covered with dark-green painted triangular plates. Looks like this is the most "animated" shot I've managed to make (pretty close to WhiteFang's one though... What I like about this minifigure: - New color of legs/torso/hands - Unique headgear and body wear with very nice and precise prints/painting - Nice printing on the torso What i'm not sure of: - How one can use more than one Lizardman? Two Godzillas at the same time? It's absurd! #12 Dwarf Once again i had no issues with opening the bag and I was surprised to see the parts to build the Dwarf! I'd have to add the amount of parts is quite high - we have 3 pieces for the weapon and the shied. Usually accessory has two pieces. Those who familiar with "Fantasy Era" sub-theme of the famous "Castle" may notice no new parts - the helmet and the beard have already been used by LEGO before. However the parts of this Dwarf are very cool - nice printing on the torso and new color of the helmet! There's no printing on the back of the torso once again... Let's take a closer look at the Dwarf's severe face. Does it look familiar? let me see... Wow! Any idea why Captain Blackbeard has been turned into dwarf? Comparing the heads, one can still see several differences, including - OMG - the fact collectibles' printing is of better quality! (I can provide 100% crop - one can clearly see the difference there!). Why Broadway's printing is more accurate than European? The ordinary buckler has unique gragon printing! Nice and scary! I think there should be dwarf without long beards! At least it's possible that some dwarfs do not have long beards all their life! Here's one of these dwarfs. Actually I just don't want to cover the magnificent torso with black beard... However when they get older... Fully assembled and equipped war Dwarf! I think new Kingdoms' weapons would fit this figure, though the battle axe is still dangerous weapon in Dwarf's hands! Come on, you filthy orcs!!! Overall I wish i had dozens of 'em!!! #15 Gangster I've mastered my skills in determining the content of the packages, so i knew the last package was filed with the parts to build... ...the Gangster!!! I was not surprised with no additional pistol inside - I've quite a few from the cowboys of Collectible Series 1. However, I'd expect not revolver, but "real" automatic pistol part... OK, those who really into it will chose BrickArms anyway. The one of two major updates - the new torso printing - is very nice. The black striped jacket is much better than all-black suits of the "Shanghai Chase" It has become a very good tradition to put new unique-printed face into the package. Do you have idea which can the Ganster belongs to? The "indiana Jones" s type of hat tops the figure. Those who missed black hats of "Shanghai Chase" will have second chance! The pistol is usual attribute for 20s in US. Once fully assembled, the gangster is ready for whatever! After thorough examination of the minifigure and 50% of its accessories, we switch to the final half of Gangster's tools. The violin case is the absolutely new part in LEGO range! One can access the inside of the case by unlocking two small plastic locks on top of the case near the handle bar to reveal the fact... ...the case is copyrighted in 2010! One can easily fit the revolver pistol inside the case. Most likely this is the only LEGO weapon to fit into this case. One upon a time in America... Summary: + nice torso, one can use to create LEGO city mafia + black hat for those who missed "Indiana Jones" sets + very interesting violin case - one can feel these are black and white photos Conclusion: One of the best minifigures in the series! LEGO Police better start perepoei
  21. Gangster's review has been added!
  22. I think there might be some additional ideas - so i think i'll make custom-session in two or three days. With black, trans-red etc heads and something people find interesting.
  23. I meant "long beards" (edited now). Should be much less now - spell checker went off - too many incorrect words there.
  24. I've tried to do my best in terms of taking pictures and photoediting. Thank you very much, Big Cam!
  25. ZeeK

    MOC: muscle car

    Let's go surfin' now Everybody's learnin' how Come on and safari with me... The only association is Beach Boys' "Surfin' Safari". Excellent!!!