drdavewatford
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Everything posted by drdavewatford
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I also pledged - I love the idea of illuminating my models but the thought of all those wires (and specifically accommodating/hiding them) has always put me off. I'd agree that at the current rate of progress the project will struggle to get funded, but I guess all we can do is pledge, publicise (https://goo.gl/d91wTv) and hope for the best.... Cheers, Dr. D.
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Yep - it can be tricky to get the head right. My blog posting here may be helpful. Good luck! Dr. D.
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SBrick General Discussion
drdavewatford replied to Nofer89's topic in LEGO Technic, Mindstorms, Model Team and Scale Modeling
Many congratulations to the SBrick team for hitting your primary Kickstarter target - some richly deserved success for an innovative and well thought-out proposal. So now on to the stretch goals..... Sorry if I missed it in the 12 pages of discussion, but I'm not clear why the stepped design is seen as being desirable. From a purely selfish perspective, and as a backer, I prefer the more compact flat design and personally don't see the appeal of the stepped version. It seems to me that the extra £40K could be used for much more interesting enhancements than just making the SBrick bigger. So please help me understand why you feel that stepped is best. Cheers, D. [EDIT] Having just reviewed the poll, I note that only 5% of voters seem to be most enthusiastic about the stepped design, so do the majority of backers even want it ? -
SBrick General Discussion
drdavewatford replied to Nofer89's topic in LEGO Technic, Mindstorms, Model Team and Scale Modeling
Presumably the system doesn't require line of sight since the SBrick can be hidden inside a MOC; for me that's a big advantage over LEGO's IR system right there. Kudos to the SBrick team for developing such an interesting and affordable product - great job ! I've supported; only the £29 option so far, but now I'm seriously tempted to go for the Volvo as well.... Fingers crossed the goal is reached - spread the word, people ! D. -
Review Review: 70816 Benny's Spaceship, Spaceship, SPACESHIP!
drdavewatford replied to Rufus's topic in Special LEGO Themes
Superb review as ever, Rufus - obviously not Classic Space, but nice to see so many nods to the original sets, not to mention the printed slopes. Why do I get the feeling that LEGO will shift a few of these sets....? :-) D. -
OK, here's one for all you train wizards out there. Has anyone devised a way of joining the new DkStone track with the old blue track so that a train can run from one onto the other without derailing ? Clearly the different types of track aren't designed to fit together, but I wondered if anyone had found a decent workaround using jumper plates or anything else to bring the two types of track sufficiently close together that trains can cross the gap. Thanks, Dr. D.
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Some of the parts are pretty much identical to their LEGO counterparts, and the clutch is pretty good; those parts could easily be used to MOC. Also, one of the reasons for the bizarre shapes of some of the elements is the need to generate the camouflage pattern. On a model without the camouflage pattern the pieces might be more generic. And incidentally, if I want scale models I'd go for Airfix rather than Revell or Tamiya (definitely the poor relations when I was a kid, although I can't speak for the current situation) ! My theory is that Airfix are just testing the water with these 6 Quick Build models; if they sell I guess there's no reason why they couldn't expand the range - bigger planes, tanks, warships etc.. LEGO won't give us these (Sopwith Camel and a couple of others apart) so there is I think a niche.... Dr. D.
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Oh go on - you know you want to ! It only took me 11 months.... ;-) Dr. D.
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Oh man - reading your account brings back memories ! Not the most exciting build ever, but an ingenious design, and the finished model looked a lot better than I expected. It's also surprisingly robust - if you take the inverted dish off the top you can grab the top of the Technic frame and carry the model around quite easily with one hand. Well done Robin for a good read ! Cheers, Dr. D.
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[MOC] UCS Nebulon B - Medical Frigate 'Redemption'
drdavewatford replied to mortesv's topic in LEGO Star Wars
That's your first Star Wars UCS MOC, Morten ?! Holy Mackerel - amazing ! The attention to detail is stunning - top quality greebling - and you've captured the essence of the ship brilliantly. I am a bit nervous about that stand, though - looks great, but don't let anyone breathe on it or there will be tears....! I really can't wait to see this in the flesh. Absolutely superb job. What do we have to look forward to next ? D. -
Review Review: 10237 The Tower of Orthanc
drdavewatford replied to Rufus's topic in LEGO Historic Themes
A magnificent review, Rufus - you've really outdone yourself with this one ! Another cracking, must-have 2013 set - LEGO must be hated by bank managers the world over. LEGO do seem to have struck a slightly uneasy balance between display piece and playset with this one, but I suspect that it's only because it IS a playset that it was ever given the green light for release in the first place. Given this, I echo the early comments about the lack of minifigures - I'd definitely have expected more of them in this set. Can't wait to build it.... D. -
Have to say I'm delighted to see all the positive comments about this set, on this thread and also on other forums. Hopefully this will translate into strong sales of the set once released, and LEGO will be encouraged to give us more brave, bold, creative Star Wars sets like this rather than 'safe' remakes. I'm still amazed at the level of detail - awesome ! As others have said, all that's missing is a nice AT-ST..... D.
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What a great job the designers have done with this - nice to see such an interesting, original design. Can't wait for this one ! D.
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Review Review: 10240 Red Five X-Wing Starfighter
drdavewatford replied to Rufus's topic in LEGO Star Wars
Fantastic review of a fantastic set, Rufus - great job ! A must-buy set. If I have a criticism it's the teeny R2-D2 behind the cockpit.... A UCS Jedi Starfighter-style printed dome would have looked better IMHO. D. -
:-) "Have a great April" indeed.....! D.
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Delicious ! I can't resist a mech, and the Titan also looks great. In fact, they all look great ! Having said that, I shouldn't get ahead of myself; even being able to get my hands on the first wave of sets would be nice - come on, LEGO - let's be having them in the UK please..... D.
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LDD 4.3.6 is out
drdavewatford replied to Tontus's topic in Digital LEGO: Tools, Techniques, and Projects
Oh, thank the maker ! The loss of brick outlines on my Mac since the last OS update has been driving me crazy, but now I have them back - wonderful. Thanks to LEGO for the bug fix, thanks to Superkalle for posting about the LDD update, and thanks to vynsane for highlighting the fix. Cheers, Dr. D. -
Utterly stunning - that is beautiful ! I'm sure I won't be the only one carefully examining your pictures to get some tips for my own MOCs.... Great job. D.
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A typically excellent review, Rufus - thank you ! I think LEGO have done an excellent job on the City trucks last year and this; the Tanker Truck is lovely, although I do slightly prefer 3180. Neither of them are a patch on 671, however, which was one of my favourite sets as a kid.... Now we need a nice petrol station to go with the truck... About time we got something to rival the gems from the past, e.g. : How about it, LEGO ? D.
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Nice one, Grogall - another must-buy for me.... Some lovely parts and colours in there, and the model looks great !
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Opening sealed antique sets - wonderful or painful ?
drdavewatford posted a topic in General LEGO Discussion
I have a sealed 7191 UCS X-wing set. I bought it almost 10 years ago in a sale, put it away, forgot I had it, and recently rediscovered it at the top of a wardrobe. Thing is, while I'd now like to build it, I'm sweating at the thought of breaking the seals on a mint "antique" set ! My wife says I should keep it sealed as a collectors item and go buy another (unboxed) set on eBay and build that instead, but this seems a bit extreme...... Am I alone in feeling pain at the prospect of opening a sealed old set ? :-) Dr. D. -
Opening sealed antique sets - wonderful or painful ?
drdavewatford replied to drdavewatford's topic in General LEGO Discussion
Please don't - you're giving me indigestion ! I've sent you a PM through the Eurobricks messaging system, Gary, so keep an eye out for it. Cheers, D. -
LDD 4.3.5 bugs
drdavewatford replied to Superkalle's topic in Digital LEGO: Tools, Techniques, and Projects
Glad to see Eurobricks back up again ! I've recently 'upgraded' to the latest iMac OS (Mountain Lion I think) and now I can't see the outlines on the pieces when I use LDD, and the option to switch this feature on is greyed out in the menu. Is there a fix ? Thanks, D. -
Review: 10228 Haunted House
drdavewatford replied to mostlytechnic's topic in LEGO Action and Adventure Themes
Excellent review, mostlytechnic - thanks ! I'm absolutely delighted that LEGO have released this set, but I'm also a little surprised. It's hard to clearly see the target audience. On the one hand the attention to detail, parts count and price puts it up there with the modulars and suggests a set for AFOLs, but on the other hand the cartoony feel (largely driven by the minifigures, admittedly) and association with the Monster Fighters theme suggests a younger, less affluent audience and might act as a deterrent to some AFOLs. So it might fall between two groups. I think it's a wonderful set, and can't wait to get one, but I fear that once the initial buzz has died down sales might be sluggish. I very much hope I'm wrong, though, and we get other quirky sets like this in future.... Dr. D. -
REVIEW: 8833 LEGO Collectable Minifigures Series 8
drdavewatford replied to WhiteFang's topic in Special LEGO Themes
Another magnificent review, WhiteFang. Honestly, your reviews of these successive series of collectable minifigures are a superb resource, and I come back to them often so please keep 'em coming ! While I don't think that Series 8 is the best so far, it's still pretty good, and there's no sign of LEGO allowing the standard to drop. It must be a significant challenge to keep coming up with novel designs, but in the most part they seem to be managing it admirably. If you'd told me at the time of the Series 1 release that after 9 series (including the Team GB minifigs) I'd still be looking forward to seeing what LEGO would come up with next I admit I'd have been sceptical.... Thanks, again ! D.