WaysofSorting

My regrets are all the money I've spent on other hobbies instead of LEGO. Partially it's a matter of the dark ages, but there's other overlapping factors as well - regardless, a 20 video game is gone in a few months, that same little lego set is forever. Also - not publishing my "LEGO Game" I made up in the 90s, in the 90s. There were so many terrible ones out there, war games and the like - even though mine was terrible, it would have fit nicely in that niche of Lego Fandom history. Also - Not joining the online community until much later than I should have. I lurked a long time. A long time. But things are slowly happening! Thanks to all the other fans out there!

I, too, somewhat prefer the older pieces. They give some real character to a build, I think. What is the star wars aesthetic - a world used, aged and built from the ashes of another? Something basically like that... Think Army Surplus in space. Worn-in Sci Fi instead of super clean sterile Sci fi. Then there's the question of quality. Here's a little anecdotal evidence from me (obviously biased) so take it with a grain of salt - but I argue that old bricks are better quality: 1) When sorting out of my piles of brick, I generally identify Clone Bricks by feel first - there's something just off enough that, when I find one amongst my bajillion of Vintage bricks, I "stop" and see what's going on. Usually it's a PVC vs ABS issue - so that's a no brainer. Now that I have "new bricks" mixed in with my vintage...I sometimes get that same hang up on them. 2) I "perceive" that newer bricks scratch easier. Plates bend and deform more with the newer elements. (however - they also don't just snap in half, and they usually deform back...so maybe that's okay in the long run). I also feel like the newer bricks interact differently with light - they aren't as opaque as older bricks. I think this has to do with the way they do the dyes. Like I said - no real science, just my thoughts. To answer your question - I'd save the energy sorting and selling the old and just go for new stuff. It accumulates faster than you think...

I just want to point out that I don't think TLG really knew what it was doing in 2001/2002.* They were stretching out. Think about it...the company was very different back then, and it's goals were somewhat unrealistic. Call it overly ambitious, or totally oblivious of the market, they didn't make sound decisions and almost killed the company. This was about the time they first decided they wanted to be among the top 5 children's brands, globally. Starwars helped them, Harry Potter Helped them (then almost sank them a few years later). This was all back in the day when TLG was slower to adapt and not as adept with its licensing or management of its own creative property. Galidor, I think, represented a total mis-handling of a property. (Of course, it's easy to say that from my couch, and in hindsight...but I thought it back then, too) My thoughts - Bionicle was released 2000/2001. Galidor had to be already in development _then_ to start the ball rolling for the 2002 release. There wouldn't have been time to say "Wow, bionicle is so good, let's keep this one up." Everything for both lines was already set in motion, strategically. Galidor just happened to fail, while Bionicle succeeded beyond anyone's expectations. This is like in my old poetry-days when I exposed my ignorance by comparing William Carlos William's, Patterson to William Stafford's, Note. Like comparing a battleship to a toy paper boat. Both float. But that's about where it ends....Bionicle wins in every conceivable fashion. * two words: Jack Stone. Also, financially they suffered until about 2005/2006. Since then though...new Golden Age!

You should totally rename this thread to indicate it is, indeed, a roller skate hot-rod. I think it turned out great and would like to see more big vehicles themed this way. Were there any other notable entries for your LEGO group's contest?

I'm yet to build a big town modular - but these are great. I'm a big fan of the Smokestack Coffee shop also - not much more that can be said there, and the hardware store is great. But there's something in all of these I really enjoy. Could be all the little details that seem to tell a story that is greater than the sum of their parts - In the Menswear shop, for example, the air conditioners on the roof are great, and the sidewalk really tells a story of where this building would be - Same with the comedy shop - It's like the whole neighborhood is spoken for through these single buildings. Great job all around. Highly inspiring.

The roof is great. Are those large black tiles you used actually dusty and dirty? I'm not complaining - I think it looks great (And besides, a large portion of my plates would look like that). I just can't tell if it's actual dust or the camera angle... Anyway, great detail and "translation" of the prose to the brick.

Yes - I see Bricklink has a maintenance message dating November 21 on their front page. I guess something they changed yesterday has interrupted whatever queries this software was making? I hadn't heard of this program until now, but I think there's a great potential here. Hopefully it's just a matter now of remapping the queries for the software, and not a case where BrickLink has permanently locked them out of the database.

Wow. Super cool. Is the chassis mainly hollow, or is it pretty much a solid build? Just wondering. Not because I want to stick my foot in there, but It would be great to see a bunch of these. Does it curve in on the other side? Or is this for either foot? That seems like many skates I rent...they never fit right. Reminds me of Richard Scarry illustrations. Very cool. Could envision a "roller derby" race of many of these cars. Why did you choose this size? (As opposed to say, a go-kart?) Did you do any pre-builds or digital design first?

Wow. I am very impressed. I always loved the Bomber as a kid (I think I first saw it in a Marvel Comic book, and then enjoyed playing it in the old Xwing/Tie Fighter PC Series) - this is an excellent** rendition. I am kicking myself for every minute I saw this thread and didn't click on it - I was instantly rewarded when I did. It really makes me think of the old Kenner vehicles - great physicality and form and detail. The best.

So nothing on the other side? Or just his arms were flipped over? I've had misprints on the heads - but if I've received any with the wrong side printed on the torso, I haven't yet noticed! Seems pretty significant.

Hi drclark - thanks for sharing here. I've been a long time lurker of the community (very long) and seem to remember seeing some of these on brickshelf way back. I could be mistaken...but the Vampire and your Galaxy Defender rebuild seem like I've absolutely seen them before. Regardless - welcome to the forums!

My answers - 1) Haven't played on EB Forums, but have played this in real life. 2) I am available to play. I visit the forums daily (and certainly every 72 hours). 3) Sigyn has always hit a nerve for her complexity (Loki's wife). But I'm also digging the idea of Snotra. Besides sounding like an awesome Godzilla/Kaiju rival, she is sort of a minor-goddess of wisdom. (or goddess of minor-wisdom). If there's still a spot, I'd like to play. If accepted, I will totally load an avatar to suit the game.

My daughter just turned two. She likes the Rancor to hang out with her Friends as well! When it was apparent that she liked to play with them, and could manipulate them without eating them I was surprised at my own reaction. All of a sudden, this collection I'd been guarding for so many years became wide open. She can do whatever she wants. I have my buildings and vehicles, but if she wants to play in them she can. She has a couple environments that are home to "her" people - but I'm not picky as to what she uses or doesn't use. I won't deny her Fabuland because it's vintage. It's all hers, if she'll have it. (To that effect she has her grandmother's dollhouse, and all my and her uncle's old star wars figures to boot. She's got it made, toywise). A highlight that will forever be in my memory was seeing her grab one of my old space-fighter creations, promptly trade the Space-Police Pilot for one of the Friends, drop the wings into attack position, and run around the house making swoosh noises.

I am really enjoying it as well. Does a minifig sit in the cockpit, or is it unmanned, or is this a different scale altogether? I am excited by the idea that some poor pilot has to climb underneath to fly the thing. All my scout ships just got a bit more suicidal. I mean, economical in parts usage. I second the inspiration via color combo - it looks great!

Hi Ritsz! Welcome back from the Dark Ages and to the forums - I'm mostly new here myself. But I've been enjoying leaving comments and feedback. It didn't take long to become a citizen. Here's a helpful link that outlines the structure of the labels here: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=33335 It's highly recommended/required you set up an outside image hosting account (Many people use Flickr or Google+) since even once image uploading is allowed, it's a very small amount - suitable more for avatar or signature files. Another great resource to start looking at all that is the "Index of Tutorials" they've set up: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=19193 Can't wait to see what you are building -

Sweet build. The windscreen is excellent and the whole thing is very evocative and cohesive. It really makes me curious as to the "culture" of the builders of such a ship. I was surprised it fit a pilot, and more surprised (in hindsight, I shouldn't have been) that it was a droid. Superb - The length of the ship and its unflinching brutal symmetry really disturb me, but I think that's absolutely intentional. So: Awesome.

I don't do microscale much, but I think this is a great way to present the models and hope to see more of them (Backgrounds and ships both). On one hand, the front seems a bit plain (The best part, to me, of the background is the rear corner. There there's all the detail and the added bonus of the window "studs" creating an extra level of depth). But on the other hand, it's a hangar and the idea is that we're looking at the ship, not it. To that effect, I may suggest experiment with the color of the other elements in the Hangar. The red cylinders tend to be another visual focal point...sometimes distracting from the ship itself. I like best the second ship labelled "Hangar 27" - not only for the ship, but I like how that angle caused the foreground to be a bit less in-focus. I don't know your plans for making more Hangar Modules or doing a larger modular build - so I don't know the limitations you've set for yourself in terms of height/dimensions - but maybe one extra "plate" layer on the base would allow for a bit more detail, without sacrificing the ship at the center. Or replacing one of the wall bricks with 3 plates. I would be curious, too, how it looked in another grey. Everything looks like it's part of a larger plan, however - so brick on. This is promising!

Nice! Can't wait to see the whole thing at that scale. Nice mix of curved and angled slopes. I also enjoy the cockpit design and the interior v. exterior spaces.

My greatest Lego Horror was an ebay purchase. Totally my mistake all around but it went a little like this: o Got a whole bunch of friends totally excited about LEGO and revisiting their childhoods. They all wanted to buy some LEGO and do what I was doing. I told them I could set them up for 20 bucks: o Made a huge bulk order off Ebay. One of those searches that went "LEGO LOT LBS" and saw what came up. o I think it was like in the magnitude of $400 for 80 lbs or something and came in a large appliance size box (like for a dishwasher or something). o Spent a bajillion years (okay, about two weeks out of a summer) sorting on the living-room floor by piece type. o About three or four pounds was fake lego. Not too much, but a real annoyance to sort out. Plus some instructions counted as the weight and maybe the box, too. o Suffered - but once everything was sorted by piece-type, I divided each lot of parts evenly amongst 20 bags...so that each bag had a similar variety of parts and would be $20 dollars. A good deal - lots of minifigs, cockpits, tires, trans pieces, baseplates - ended out a little more than 3lbs per bag....that's a lot, I thought! Nobody bought them. They were all like "LEGO? Meh." or "This is all you get for 20 bucks?!" I sold like 5 bags, more because I forced them or they felt pity on me. I think one person was really happy with it. Needless to say, my collection expanded considerably. Moral of the story - Drunken graduate students do not a new LUG make.

I am yet to try these myself, but friends who have them really speak highly. They don't use them for LEGO (nor for video) so I am curious as to their usefulness. For still shots, I think they would be great. I'm linking to the whole store, but point you to the first category, the Macro lenses: http://photojojo.com/store/ It's all "Gadgets" made for smartphone/tablet photography (with a strong preference for the iphone market).

Oh joy. Post 100! I'm a real boy! I don't know about rarest, but I know some pieces that I've found that have made me happiest when I got them, scraped from the bottom of some weird bucket found secondhand from golly-knows-where. I am sure I have some "rarer" things - (I have some misprinted minifig heads) When I was a kid I got a couple of the Old Castle Armor Shops (1986 http://brickset.com/detail/?set=6041-1) - and the minifig sword (it was black and I believe only came in this set) became the most deadly of weapons in my Lego World. I'm happy to say I have a few of these black swords now (Though I don't necessarily know where they are! a quest!) Also the matching pair of these Space Screens - (Decorated 1x6x5 Bricks with Vintage Space Scenes) http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=3754p01 http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=3754pb01 I think what I feel is most special to me, now that I have a toddler-child, is that I have all the pieces to this Fabuland set, including the Fridge and all its food tiles - she loves playing with this... http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=3646-1 - Catherine Cat in her Kitchen.

Great job. I like the space available in this environment - indeed for you to work in and tell stories. Open and playable, room for lots of details to be added and to flesh out the space as the stories evolve. Enjoyed the blog - I'd seen on flickr some of your FigBarfs and enjoy all the backstories - glad to see some of those characters made their way into this location. For whatever it's worth - (I hope you'll take it as a compliment!) this reminds me of some of the late 70's/early 80's fisher price "little people" play sets. The open backs and modestly detailed interiors let kids play without dictating too much - the kids could still inform much of the play with their own imaginations. Here's a Buzzfeed list that has some of them. http://www.buzzfeed.com/briangalindo/22-awesome-fisher-price-little-people-playsets-you-wish-you I was specifically thinking of the Sesame Street set when I commented above - it's on the list at number 9.

And a well-placed/timely article before the Holiday buying season. A good read, for certain, thanks. edit - Also wanted to say I enjoyed that they informed the applicants to the "practicalities of relocating to Billund." And that they hired a large percentage of the pool, in my mind -

I've been looking for these books at the thrift stores lately. My daughter loves to delve into pictures with minute details... But if I did that, then I would definitely need to create one of these for the "big lego house" she plays with. (It's Jabba's palace, so he'd fit right in.) Had no idea he was Wally on your side of the water....

These are nice - I like the design of the cars. I never end up buying city sets, however - unless they are on some extreme sale - but I have to say I'm very happy with the design of these this year. I may pick up some of the cheaper crook/cop chase sets.