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Model of a New Flyer XD40 transit bus in MTA livery. The model has roughly 3800 pieces. Features motorized drive, steering with working steering wheel, passenger doors, and a removable Cummins engine model with moving pistons. Functions/features: Drive Steering with working steering wheel Remotely controlled doors Removable Cummins engine model with moving pistons Instructions available on Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-153565/JLiu15/2015-new-flyer-xd40-mta-bus/#details Because my NJ Transit New Flyer XD60 model was a huge success, I decided to reuse my design and make another Xcelsior model - this time a XD40 in MTA colors. Unlike my NJT XD60 model which has the livery done entirely using stickers, the blue stripe livery MTA used prior to 2016 is easy to design with blue LEGO pieces. As a result, the model is recognizable as a MTA bus even without stickers, which is why I specifically included "MTA Bus" in the name. The model is not simply my XD60 model cut shorter. The chassis is redesigned from scratch. The front and rear axles are placed at a half-stud offset to allow for smaller wheel arches. The XL motor for drive is placed in front of the rear axle instead of behind it to allow space for the Cummins engine model. The battery is placed much higher and is accessible by removing the upper rear body panel. I added a switch on the roof to allow the battery to be turned on without removing the body panel, so it only needs to be removed for charging. There are also no supports in the chassis for the rear door as the rear door on MTA Xcelsiors open outwards, and the front of the chassis is redesigned to accommodate both the mini linear actuator for the front door and the connection from the steering wheel to the Servo motor for a working steering wheel. Lastly, the chassis is also designed to specifically accommodate for MTA's seating layout, most notably with only a single seat per row on one side in the low floor section. Like my XD60 model, there is also a roof frame that holds both motors for the doors as well as the rear door mechanism (which uses the same general principle as the inward-opening front door despite opening outwards). The roof frame is attached to the chassis using beams, making for a robust "skeleton" that the body is built around. The bodywork has also been redesigned in several places. The wheel arches are now smaller due to the half stud offset of the front and rear axles, although I had to use inverted slope pieces instead of arch pieces to allow the blue stripe to be built entirely in LEGO. This means the wheel arches are not perfectly curved here, but I found it to be a fair compromise for making the entire blue stripe in LEGO. The front lower body panel is one stud higher here compared to my XD60 model, although it kind of makes it look like the front of a MTA Orion VII NG (MTA Xcelsiors in the blue stripe livery have the bottom edge of the front windshield curve downward slightly, and such a curve would be very difficult to model in LEGO at this scale. The rear body panels use a simpler and more robust design, the front roofline curves are angled slightly outward (the space between them was increased by 2 studs), and the side body panels are attached to the chassis/roof frame using white 1x1 Technic bricks with axle hole and part 27940 in white. This allows for a seamless body without pins showing; part 27940 in white was not yet available while my XD60 model was being built. The roof is primarily built using 6x6 tiles this time instead of 5x11 Technic panels - because MTA's 2015 XD40s do not feature a full roofline, the transition from the side body panels to the roof is much more noticeable here which is why I went with the tiles. The model's functions all worked well. The single XL motor was more than enough to power the model, especially considering this model is lighter than my XD60 model. Although the moving pistons on the Cummins engine model are not easily visible (there's one piston visible under the last row of seats), I am happy that I was able to add some additional functionality to this model. And because the pistons are made using half bushes, the engine makes a nice sound while the drive motor is running. While designing my XD60 model I thought there was too little space in the front to incorporate a working steering wheel without compromising the rigidity of the chassis, but I was able to connect the steering wheel to the Servo motor just fine here. There is less reinforcement immediately in front of the front wheels so they don't collide with anything when steering, but the side body panels keep everything robust. I did not test the rear door mechanism before installing it on the model so I was concerned how well it will perform, but it is usually able to open the rear door fully with each door panel rotating 90 degrees. Sometimes the mechanism gets stuck while opening the door, but reinforcing the pieces a little usually solves the problem. While at first glance this MOC looks like my XD60 model shortened and without an articulation joint, it was really a new MOC from scratch. The chassis is completely redesigned and has little resemblance to the chassis of my XD60 model even without accounting for the lack of the articulation joint and a third axle. The bodywork was also improved in several places. All of the functions performed as expected, and the finished model is easily recognizable as a MTA XD40 even without stickers. Speaking of which, I decided to make my model bus 7225 operating out of Grand Avenue Depot in Brooklyn signed for route B62. Overall I am very satisfied with how my second bus MOC turned out, and I plan to continue making bus MOCs in the future, with one already in progress. Video: Photos: Brickworld Chicago Photos: -
[WIP] 2015 New Flyer XD40 MTA Bus
JLiu15 posted a topic in LEGO Technic, Mindstorms, Model Team and Scale Modeling
Following the success of my New Flyer XD60 model, I decided to take the existing design and remake it into an XD40 in Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) livery. I am doing the 2015 model since newer ones have the new blue livery which will be much harder to build in LEGO due to the availability of dark blue pieces. The design uses my previous XD60 model as a base, but this model is more than simply my XD60 model cut down by 20 scaled feet. The chassis is redesigned from scratch, with the front and rear axles at a half-stud offset to allow for smaller and thus more realistically sized wheel arches. The body panels are also attached to the chassis using white Technic bricks with axle hole connected to a white Technic piece with axle, allowing for a seamless finish with no visible pins. A number of details have been polished up since my XD60 model, but perhaps the biggest difference is that the livery won't be sticker-dependent on this model. The simple blue stripe livery means I can easily model it with LEGO pieces, and stickers will only be used for the bus numbers/lettering. I've only modeled it in Stud.io so far, but I largely know what to expect since my XD60 model so the actually building process should be pretty straightforward once the model is finished in Stud.io. Photos: -
Do you remember when Mega Bloks had a Universal license from five years ago? They've released the station wagon from 'Minions' back in 2015. I recreated this using actual LEGO! Now with the new LEGO Minions sets, this car would make a great addition! Download Link: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/TheScooterGuy/Stud-io/Station-Wagon/minions_station_wagon_studio.io
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CURRENT BATCH: BATCH 19! Hi all! After the Best 2016 LEGO Star Wars Minifigure game, many wanted a 2015 one. So here it is Batch after batch will be shown and people will vote, and only one will survive, I wonder who it will be... As 2015 has less new Star Wars figures than 2016, each batch will have four figures only. Batch 1: Admiral Yularen - 18 votes - @Sir Gareth @Hokierespect @RetroInferno @ChristopherLee @Tariq j @scoiltreasa @JACKATTACKS @Error404 @DarthTwoShedsJackson @LOBOT-OMY @Kevii23 @Covi @starwars4ever @Gusseteer @LEGORACER1 @Sir Brickalot @JDbricks @PickleManDan Clone Pilot - 11 votes - @VaderFan2187 @Knight of Ren @FishW @KevinYoung @Ultron @JekPorkchops @jamiejme @eliminator @AgentKallus of Hydra @xSilent-Commando @Sheharan First Order Crew Member - 1 vote - @Japanbuilder Han Solo I vote for the Clone Pilot because of the helmet print. This seems rather weak. Vote below in a comment!
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Technic Product Range 2015-2017
bitbamboo posted a topic in LEGO Technic, Mindstorms, Model Team and Scale Modeling
Hi As I am a visual person I put together this image. Prices are in euros and images are not at scale. If you spot any error just say it, please At a first glance, I am frankly surprised to see so little "old" yelow, red and blue around. The main motivation was the people complaining in the 2017 thread about a dissapointing year for Technic and I wanted to see the full picture. I had the feeling that there were less sets at the mid-range price, but it is not the case. I think that people just dislike each of this year's sets over 80 € because looking twice, the overall offer looks good. A point I dislike is that we are getting more sets in the expensive side than before -
I made some much needed improvements since the original post. So I figured it warranted a new topic for them. So without further ado here they are Gali http://www.brickshel...5/Toa/gali1.jpg http://www.brickshel...5/Toa/gali5.jpg (With Kivoda and Gold Mask on stand) http://www.brickshel...5/Toa/gali6.jpg (Wearing Gold Mask and secondary weapon function) http://www.brickshel...5/Toa/gali7.jpg (Vs Skull Strika) Kopaka http://www.brickshel...Toa/kopaka1.jpg http://www.brickshel...Toa/kopaka5.jpg (With Izotor and Gold Mask on stand) http://www.brickshel...Toa/kopaka6.jpg (Wearing Gold Mask and secondary weapon function) http://www.brickshel...Toa/kopaka7.jpg (Vs Skull Warrior) Lewa http://www.brickshel.../Toa/lewa01.jpg http://www.brickshel.../Toa/lewa05.jpg (With Vizuna and Gold Mask on stand) http://www.brickshel.../Toa/lewa06.jpg (Wearing Gold Mask and secondary weapon function) http://www.brickshel.../Toa/lewa07.jpg (Vs Skull Slicer) Onua http://www.brickshel.../Toa/onua01.jpg http://www.brickshel.../Toa/onua05.jpg (With Korgot and Gold Mask on stand) http://www.brickshel.../Toa/onua06.jpg (Wearing Gold Mask and secondary weapon function) http://www.brickshel.../Toa/onua07.jpg (Vs Skull Basher) Pohatu http://www.brickshel...Toa/pohatu1.jpg http://www.brickshel...Toa/pohatu5.jpg (With Nilkuu and Gold Mask on stand) http://www.brickshel...Toa/pohatu6.jpg (Wearing Gold Mask and secondary weapon function) http://www.brickshel...Toa/pohatu7.jpg (Vs Skull Scorpio) Tahu http://www.brickshel...5/Toa/tahu1.jpg http://www.brickshel...ahu5.jpg (With Narmoto and Gold Mask on stand) http://www.brickshel...5/Toa/tahu6.jpg (Wearing Gold Mask and secondary weapon function) http://www.brickshel...5/Toa/tahu7.jpg (Vs Kulta fighting alongside Protector Mask Ekimu) Group Shot http://www.brickshel...015/Toa/toa.jpg More pictures in the gallery http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=564494
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Bit late to the party but I needed the parts of the 2016 winter sets to finish these mods. So here are my mods of the Skull Villains. (I've already made a topic for Skull Scorpio so it won't be posted here. But to make up for it. I made a Skull villain for Gali to fight All of the mods save for Skull Grinder have the trans orange removed. I just didn't like it on the others. That's just my opinion Gallery- http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=564493 First off is Skull Warrior. Not many changes to him but I did rebuild the bow so the firing gimmick doesn't turn the whole bow. http://www.brickshel...llwarrior01.jpg http://www.brickshel...llwarrior02.jpg http://www.brickshel...llwarrior03.jpg http://www.brickshel...llwarrior04.jpg http://www.brickshel...llwarrior05.jpg (Weapons stored & holding Kopaka's gold mask) http://www.brickshel...llwarrior06.jpg http://www.brickshel...llwarrior07.jpg Next is Skull Slicer. Main changes are getting rid of the chain weapon to give him a fourth sword. And armor on the trans green bones. http://www.brickshel...ullslicer01.jpg http://www.brickshel...ullslicer02.jpg http://www.brickshel...ullslicer03.jpg http://www.brickshel...ullslicer04.jpg http://www.brickshel...ullslicer05.jpg (Weapons stored & holding Lewa's gold mask) http://www.brickshel...ullslicer06.jpg Next is Skull Basher. Main changes are making the gimmick less lose. It can't swing both arms together but still allows side to side movement. I also gave him a tail and hooves to emphasize the bull aspect a bit more. He has solid purple armor so his horns don't stick out as much. http://www.brickshel...ullbasher01.jpg http://www.brickshel...ullbasher02.jpg http://www.brickshel...ullbasher03.jpg http://www.brickshel...ullbasher04.jpg http://www.brickshel...ullbasher05.jpg (Weapons stored & holding Onua's gold mask) http://www.brickshel...kullbasher6.jpg Next is the villain I made for Gail. I call her Skull Strika. She's based on Aanchir's Skull ripper design but doesn't have any trans light blue parts. Only trans dark blue. She has no legs but instead a large tail with a skull sword for stealing masks. To compensate I built her a stand. Storywise she would be a species like Skull Scorpio and attack the group when there on the way to Ekimu's forge http://www.brickshel...ullstrika01.jpg http://www.brickshel...ullstrika02.jpg http://www.brickshel...ullstrika03.jpg http://www.brickshel...ullstrika04.jpg http://www.brickshel...ullstrika05.jpg (Holding Gali's gold mask) http://www.brickshel...ullstrika06.jpg (Stand build) http://www.brickshel...ullstrika07.jpg Next is Kulta the Skull Grinder. His changes are filling in his torso a bit more. Replacing his black bones with dark grey ones. And removing the small sword he had. He never used it in the animations or book anyways. http://www.brickshel...llgrinder01.jpg http://www.brickshel...llgrinder02.jpg http://www.brickshel...llgrinder03.jpg http://www.brickshel...llgrinder04.jpg http://www.brickshel...llgrinder05.jpg (Weapon stored & holding Tahu's gold mask) http://www.brickshel...llgrinder06.jpg (Weapon stored & putting on the Mask of Creation) http://www.brickshel...llgrinder07.jpg (Posed wearing the Mask of Creation) Finally a group shot including my modded Skull Scorpio http://www.brickshel...ullvillains.jpg Comments and criticism appreciated
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I've yet to see an accurate moc of Chen's Chair from Ninjago Masters of Spinjitzu. So using the show model and the one from Lego Dimensions as my basis. I went and made my own in LDD Pictures http://www.brickshel...ens_chair_1.png (Used Keyboard prints for the many buttons on the chair) http://www.brickshel...ens_chair_2.png (Tried to get it to look as accurate to the show model as possible) http://www.brickshel...ens_chair_3.png (Harpoon has to be there so the round part in the middle of the chair can stay in place) http://www.brickshel...ens_chair_4.png (Fits the Chen figure though he has to lean forward a little bit. Caped version should fit as well but LDD capes are not flexible
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Top 5 Themes *In no particular order Top 5 Sets #5 - Heartlake Grand Hotel #4 - Mindstorms EV3 #3 - City Police Station #2 - Millennium Falcon And the best selling LEGO product in 2015 was..... #1 - Elsa’a Sparkling Ice Castle It seems Star Wars and Frozen are the most profitable LEGO licenses right now Surprisingly, the Superheroes theme is not in the TOP 5
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Something inspired by the old Castle Ninja, specifically set #6093 Flying Ninja Fortress. I used Ninjago minifigures because I actually don't own any of the old Ninja sets, yet.
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These are my mods of the Protectors. They are mostly inspired by TheDesuComplex First off is Narmoto Protector of Fire. His changes are 1. Arms are more like the ones from the animations and the feet are changed to red 2. Weapons are changed to Fire Tonfas using the fire pieces from Chima 3. Shoulder cannon is changed so it can fold onto the back http://www.brickshel...rs/narmoto1.jpg http://www.brickshel...rs/narmoto2.jpg http://www.brickshel...rs/narmoto3.jpg http://www.brickshel...rs/narmoto4.jpg http://www.brickshel...rs/narmoto5.jpg Next of is Korgot Protector of Earth. Her mods are 1. More filled out chest and studs for blaster are changed to trans purple 2. Modified arm construction so its closer to body 3. Weapon changed to Star Mace http://www.brickshel...ors/korgot1.jpg http://www.brickshel...ors/korgot2.jpg http://www.brickshel...ors/korgot3.jpg Next up is Kivoda Protector of Water. His changes are 1. Changed up weapon to feature lights so He can see while underwater 2. Turbines mounted to back and on hinges to move around 3. Chest uses the same 5M shell like Gali has http://www.brickshel...ors/kivoda1.jpg http://www.brickshel...ors/kivoda2.jpg http://www.brickshel...ors/kivoda3.jpg Next up is Nilkuu Protector of Stone. His changes are 1. More armored and more Dark Orange pieces. 2. Weapon is modified to be held more naturally. 3. White spikes replaced with silver http://www.brickshel...ors/nilkuu1.jpg http://www.brickshel...ors/nilkuu2.jpg http://www.brickshel...ors/nilkuu3.jpg Next up is Vizuna Protector of Jungle. His changes are 1. Transparent bones and green armor like Lewa 2. Smaller one handed crossbow and Katana for weapons 3. Long tail inspired from the 2 books. http://www.brickshel...ors/vizuna1.jpg http://www.brickshel...ors/vizuna2.jpg http://www.brickshel...ors/vizuna3.jpg Last up is Izotor Protector of Ice. His changes are 1. Weapons are an Ice Sword. Ice Saw shield and handheld blaster. Ice Saw shield can move for cutting and blocking 2. White feet and more compact torso. 3. Light Azure upper arms and legs. http://www.brickshel...ors/izotor1.jpg http://www.brickshel...ors/izotor2.jpg http://www.brickshel...ors/izotor3.jpg http://www.brickshel...ors/izotor4.jpg http://www.brickshel...ors/izotor5.jpg Last picture is a group shot http://www.brickshel.../protectors.jpg Comments and criticism appreciated
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I didn't get many Bionicle sets last year, but I am planning to get more in 2016. Is it worth it to get the 2015 Toa or should I just skip them? I'm going to get the Mask Maker vs. Skull Grinder, mainly for the small version of Ekimu and the Mask of Creation in pearl/gold. Are there any other 2015 sets I should get before I get on with 2016?
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What Ninjago Set Should I Buy?
Chilly_Productions posted a topic in LEGO Action and Adventure Themes
I'm going to try to get back into Ninjago, but I need to catch up with the 2015 summer wave, here are the sets I am interested in. Final Flight of Destiny's Bounty Attack of the Morro Dragon Chain Cycle Ambush Should I get all of these sets? And are there other summer 2015 sets you would recommend? I will probably get a lot of the Skybound sets once I catch up with 2015, I might even buy a few small ones before I'm done with all the Possession sets. -
Tips For Getting Back Into Ninjago
Chilly_Productions posted a topic in LEGO Action and Adventure Themes
I've decided that I want to get back into Ninjago, but I would like some tips on what sets to get or anything in-between. Also here's my experience with the theme so far. 2011: At first I hated Ninjago, but one day I was browsing the internet and stumbled upon the Fire Temple set for half price, I thought "why not, it's cheap!", little did I know what this would turn into. 2012: I'm now into Ninjago, and I'm buying sets frequently. I went to my aunt's house in England, which had a LEGO store close to it (this was before the LEGO store in Scotland opened), I had saved up a very large amount of money, and then spent most of it on Ninjago... I wasn't good with money back then. 2013: I knew that these weren't the final sets. That's all I can say, this year wasn't very interesting apart from that, at least I got two sets. 2014: After the missing summer wave of 2013, I lost interest in Ninjago due to how long it was since a new wave, so I didn't buy any, mainly because I sort of forgot about it. There were three sets I regretted not picking up. 2015 Wave 1: I tried to get back into the series, but I bought an eight pound set to use as my judgement, i know it's not a very good representation of Ninjago. I might come back and buy some of these if I can actually find them any more. 2015 Wave 2: This is the main reason I want to come back to Ninjago. I think the designs are a lot better than Rebooted or the Tournament of Elements. 2016 Wave 1: I don't think it looks as good as the Possession sets, but I think it's better than the Tournament of Elements sets, that's to be expected, because Wave two sets are usually better than wave one sets. -
So now that the year has ended, it is time to look back and think of all the good things that happened. And, boy, was it a good year for movies! There were several blockbusters that shattered box office records in 2015 and were praised by movie goers and critics alike! But there were also plenty of people that were unimpressed by these movies, especially after the hype for them had died down. Not only that, but the most successful movies were all sequels/remakes of older movies. So do these films deserve all the praise and money they received or are they just overhyped, unoriginal trash? Well, let me share my thoughts on some of the movies I've seen this year in the order in which they were released. Don't worry, I'll keep it spoiler-free. Kingsman: The Secret Service - The year started with a bang with this spy action comedy based on a comic! As the movie likes to point out itself, this is not a traditional spy movie. There are lots of ultra-violent, super-fun, stylish action scenes and lots of great humor which make for a unique, enjoyable flick. Chappie - Did you like that part in Short Circuit 2 where Johnny 5 joins a gang? Well, then you will probably like this movie, too, because that's the entire movie. I was honestly expecting a bit more from this one, but the lovable protagonist made it enjoyable enough. Cinderella - This is the second film in the long line of live-action remakes of Disney classics which seem to exist only to make money. Admittedly, it was a fairly close adaption of the animated version and expanded on the story a little bit, but it was not much more than that and actually managed to make the titular character even less interesting somehow. While Maleficent was worse, at least it tried to tell the story from a different perspective. This was basically the same movie, just in live-action. Furious 7 - This is the seventh entry in a franchise about heists in souped-up cars with lots of over-the-top action. It was pretty good, but it probably would have only been just another decent entry in the series if it wasn't for that heartbreaking tribute to Paul Walker at the end. Avengers: Age of Ultron - The highly anticipated sequel to Marvel's Avengers gave us exactly what we wanted: More of the Avengers fighting bad guys, working off of each other, and just hanging out together, plus a cool new villain and more heroes to join their team. Unfortunately, there wasn't much more to it than that. Much like in the first one, the story was very basic and didn't make a lot of sense sometimes, and there wasn't much new in this film. It was just kind of more of the same, which is fine since that's what we expected, but it could have been better. Mad Max: Fury Road - I saw the fourth installment in the Mad Max series a few weeks after everyone had been touting it as the "greatest action film in years" and while I did enjoy it, I felt that it was a bit overhyped. It was basically just one big car chase with very little story. Which is fine for an action movie of course, I was just expecting a little more based on the rave reviews. The action and visuals were fantastic, though, so I can't complain. Tomorrowland - Being a fan of Brad Bird's previous works, I was very excited for this one. It had a lot of promise, but it ended up being disappointing. While it does have some nice moments, it was just too corny and too all over the place. Terminator Genisys - I didn't hate this one as much as many other people did. I thought it was at least better than Salvation, although that's not saying much. It definitely has its flaws. Aside from Arnold who was a delight to see again, every character seemed miscast, the story was a mess, and some of the effects were pretty bad, but it had some decent humor and action. I think they just need to put this franchise to rest. Minions - It's usually never a good idea to make a film centered around the comic relief of a movie, and this is no exception. While the minions are still adorable and hilarious, they're not really interesting enough to carry a movie, so while this film was amusing, it wasn't nearly as good as the Despicable Me films. Jurassic World - Being the highest grossing movie of the year and the third highest of all time, you'd think this movie was one of the best produced, best written, and best acted films ever, right? Well, it's not. It's just Jurassic Park again, but with fake CG dinosaurs, less interesting characters, and a stupid plot. Sure, it was better than Jurassic Park 3, and if you just want to see Chris Pratt and some dinosaurs, you'll probably like it fine, but it is not so good that it deserves being this successful. The only thing that makes it worth watching is the climax which is admittedly pretty awesome. Inside Out - This was easily my favorite movie of the year and one of (if not the) best Pixar films! It's one of the most original and most brilliant films I've ever seen. People often like to compare it to other things like Osmosis Jones or Herman's Head, but this is the first film that does the concept of showing the inside of the mind right and really shows the importance of certain emotions and of growing up. It has lots of funny moments as well as sad moments and the usual excellent Pixar animation. Just a wonderful film. Ant-Man - Much like Guardians of the Galaxy, this could have easily been a flop, but the talented people at Marvel turned one of the most laughable superheroes into a fun, fresh mix of a superhero and a heist movie. It doesn't take itself too seriously and does some fun new things with the shrinking concept. The story is basically the same as Iron Man and the villain is fairly forgettable, but that's the case with most Marvel villains. Is it the best Marvel movie? No, but it's a lot more entertaining than you'd expect. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation - I loved Ghost Protocol which was directed by Brad Bird, and this one was just as good! Simon Pegg is hilarious as always, Tom Cruise continues impress us with his insane stunts, and Rebecca Ferguson makes for a great female lead. There are lots of great, heart-pounding action scenes and interesting plot twists as you would expect from a good M:I film. It's probably my second favorite of the year. The Marian - One of the most entertaining and most realistic space movies I've seen in a long time. I didn't really like Nolan's Interstellar since it was more fiction than science, and while Gravity was suspenseful, it didn't have much of a plot. Based on a book, this one was a lot more of an old-fashioned, realistic story about a man trying to survive on Mars while NASA tries to "bring him home". It has a lot of good humor as well as suspense. Spectre - Wow, there sure were a lot of spy movies this year! This is the fourth Bond film starring Daniel Craig and while it may not be as good as Skyfall or Casino Royale, it was still a fun 007 flick that was a lot more reminiscent of the classic Bond films in its tone. Christoph Waltz was great as always and considering that this was the first Bond film not based on one of Ian Fleming's stories, the plot was pretty good. The Peanuts Movie - I was never a huge fan of the Peanuts. I never read the comics and the old animated specials were all kind of boring to me. But this movie was very enjoyable. It had a bit more energy and a very interesting CG animated style that mimicked the old animation style. The story is nothing special as it's just about Charlie Brown having a crush on the new girl and trying to muster up the courage to talk to her while Snoopy is being Snoopy. It's very quaint and charming in its simplicity and has a lot of humorous moments. If I had to describe the movie in one word, it would be cute. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 - The final installment in the series of movies based on one of the most successful young adult novels is a bit slow, especially in the beginning, but ultimately serves as a satisfying conclusion to the series. I really wish they wouldn't have split this book into two parts, but oh well. The Good Dinosaur - It's no secret that I'm a huge Pixar fan, so I was very excited that this was the first year that we got two Pixar films in one year! But not even I can deny that The Good Dinosaur was disappointing, especially coming out so shortly after Inside Out. It's every "dinosaur gets lost" and "a boy and his dog" story you've ever seen and they hardly do anything with the premise of the meteor missing the Earth. Plus the stylized dinos don't seem to fit into the photo-realistic environments (which were gorgeous!). It's not a bad movie, it's just nothing special. Star Wars: The Force Awakens - The most anticipated movie since Phantom Menace has finally been released, and I am happy to say that it is much better than Episode I! However, it is not without its flaws. Many complain that it's too similar to A New Hope, but it's still a fun movie and makes the next two films promising. The Hateful Eight - The year ends with Quentin Tarantino's second Western and it's as great as I had hoped it would be! Of course it has his signature amount of gore, but it's very intense with lots of great lines from Samuel L. Jackson. I think I still like Django Unchained better, but this was just as good. There were plenty other movies that had very good reviews, but these are just some that I have seen. So was it a great year for movies? Yes, there were definitely a lot of entertaining films to watch. However, it is also true that many of them were not very original. A lot of them are the 4th, 5th, or even 7th installment in their respective franchises and more or less just repeat the plot from the original in order to capitalize on nostalgia. This is a clear sign that Hollywood is trying more and more to play it safe, and seeing how successful these sequels/remakes have been this year, I don't see this trend dying anytime soon. However, just because something doesn't have an original plot doesn't mean it's bad. As movies like Fury Road, The Force Awakens, and Ant-Man have shown, you can still make a very entertaining movie even with an old formula if you put some effort into it. And entertainment is what movies are all about. So what do you think? What were your favorite movies of 2015 and what do you think about all these sequels/remakes?
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View the whole Flickr album It's the latest addition to the Winter Village series, the historic Winter Covered Bridge! Build the covered bridge and drive the truck through to cross the icy river (*river not included). There is something for everyone along the country road by the historic covered bridge. Help the two city workers get ready for the holidays as they decorate by hanging wreaths and strings of lights, and by changing the lampposts to festive colors! Join the kids in an epic snowball fight! Or spend time with the romantic couple as they share a walk through the trees and enjoy a box of tasty chocolates! Drive the vintage truck up and down through the covered bridge. Set includes 6 minifigures including two workers, two kids, and romantic couple. Set includes unique lamppost with different color bulbs, park bench, and two different brick-built pine trees. Accessories include a toolbox, box of chocolates, four wreaths, ladder, and a string of Christmas lights. See more by rodiziorobs on Flickr Thanks for looking, comments and criticism welcome! Good luck to all contest entrants!
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There were many great MOCs during 2015. To celebrate some of Thirdwigg's favorite MOCs of the year, I present The Top 15 of 2015. Find out who won the 2015 Thirdwiggy award (someday I'll make a trophy). Enjoy, and feel free to let me know about your vehement objections to the list. Sorry for not including some great ones.
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Best LEGO sets of the year 2015: Jamie Berard, Jan Beyer & others
Zusammengebaut posted a topic in General LEGO Discussion
Hello, I have asked the LEGO community: Which has been your favorite set of the year 2015 – and why? So here are the answers of Jamie Berard (Design Specialist for LEGO Creator Expert), Jan Beyer (Community Manager LEGO Group), Huw Millington (Founder of brickset.com), Justin (just2good) and many others. Thank you all so much! Part 1 is in English Part 2 is in German And what is your favorite set of the year? Mine: Jamies Ferris Wheel - what a fantastic build. Happy holidays! Best wishes Andres -
Brash, brazen, brutal.
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I was just wondering if gen 1 of Bionicle (Mata Nui) is canon anymore?
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I have noticed that when I visited LEGO's shop@home to buy the Phantom set, it was discontinued, then I looked at a set released later on, the Wookiee Gunship, also discontinued. Is lego discontinuing sets early now?.
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Skull Scorpio is an underrated set in my opinion. Sure it has its flaws but I really liked it. So I've come up with a few alternate designs that you can use to improve your Skull Scorpio set. Gallery when public: http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=560545 Here is an Lxf file of all the different builds. I will update with 2015 bionicle parts if/when LDD Updates. For now I just use replacements in the LDD version. http://www.brickshel...scorpio_mod.lxf First are two different leg designs. One is more like the original and one is similar to LOSS. Both sets of legs have posability. These pictures also show off the new torso I made for Skull Scorpio. http://www.brickshel...rpio_legs_1.jpg http://www.brickshel...rpio_legs_2.jpg http://www.brickshel...rpio_legs_3.jpg http://www.brickshel...rpio_legs_4.jpg http://www.brickshel...pio_legs_5.jpg. http://www.brickshel...rpio_legs_6.jpg http://www.brickshel...rpio_legs_7.jpg http://www.brickshel...rpio_legs_8.jpg http://www.brickshel...rpio_legs_9.jpg http://www.brickshel...pio_legs_10.jpg Next are 3 different claw designs. One of them being the original just without the transparent orange. The third one was slightly inspired by TheDesuComplex http://www.brickshel...pio_claws_1.jpg http://www.brickshel...pio_claws_2.jpg http://www.brickshel...pio_claws_3.jpg Next is two different shoulder designs. One with the arms out and one that brings the arms in close like the original set http://www.brickshel...rpio_arms_1.jpg http://www.brickshel...rpio_arms_2.jpg Last up is the tail. I had a few alternate designs in mind until I came up with these four. The first one is the original just modified to be a bit smaller. http://www.brickshel...rpio_tail_1.jpg The second one was inspired by LoganMcOwen's one http://www.brickshel...rpio_tail_2.jpg The third one is just a standard scorpion tail using the skull villain sword http://www.brickshel...rpio_tail_3.jpg The last one is my favorite. Its a slightly modified version of the one TheScorpionStrike did. Here is his video of how the tail function works And the picture of my version http://www.brickshel...rpio_tail_4.jpg The final pic is how I have my Skull Scorpion displayed just without Pohutu's drained mask . I added that in for effect http://www.brickshel...scorpio_mod.jpg
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Morning all, This is my first ever review, and I picked a tiny set for it! 5003082 is a promotional pirates set, with 24 pieces, one minifigure and a nice instruction booklet with a postcard. I bought this for a fiver on eBay, which seems to be the going rate. It's also available on Bricklink for a similar price. The box is sealed with a sellotape disk, and a tray slides out containing the bricks, instructions and bonus postcard. There is a nice little graphic on the box of Lego Pirates through the ages, which is shown in more detail later on. Unlike most other sets, the bag holding the bricks is glues down rather than vacuum sealed. Underneath the bricks and instructions is the postcard. The theme of this little set seems to be reflecting on the past, and it looks like they have split the theme into 1989-1993, 1994-1997, 2009-2010 and 2015. The skeleton is from the 2015 Pirates Juniors set I believe. The dotted line on the map-like background is a recurring theme in these instructions. Each of the pirates is a sticker, but I'll be keeping them on their backing for now. Finally, on the bottom of the tray is this pirate, again, I believe he is from the 2015 Pirates Junior set. Arrrrr! The instructions have the same cover design as the box, but with an old looking Lego System banner. I don't recall which era this was used in, but I feel it was before my time. There are three steps for the pirate in his barrel, two for the shark and six for the deserted island. The dotted line runs throughout the pages. But hang on, we've reached the end of the instructions, but we aren't even halfway through the booklet yet! More on that later! It wasn't until I got to this image that I realised how bad the lighting was! There are no unique parts here, except for the Pirate's torso. There are no spare pieces in this set, but you get a nice selection of piratey bits. The printed shark is nice, and is making it's Pirate theme debut, although I think it now might be included in the Pirates Junior set. It now has printed eyes and gills. Most other sets it has been included in have been expensive, so it's a nice way to get hold of one cheaply. The barrels and tan parts are always useful for MOCs, and the pirate flag is only available in this set and the aforementioned Juniors one. It's more child-like than the other versions, but has a certain charm. The chrome gold bar and coins make a welcome replacement for the pearl gold ones, and are in their own separate bag. And here is the complete assembly. The palm tree is similar, but smaller in design than the one that appears in 70412 Soldier's Fort, and suffers from the same problem with a grey hook holding it up, when either a tan or brown one would be better, and the palm tree top is in black, rather than either green or brown. Other than that, the set is very neat and useful for expanding 70411 Treasure Island, your pirate army and sea creatures. There are no play features, unless you count spinning the palm tree round and round, but a few good scenarios can be found with so few pieces: Pirate colonising new island Pirate finds treasure on new island Pirate gets drunk on rum after finding treasure on new island Shark attacks Pirate drunk on rum after finding treasure on new island Shark eats Pirate drunk on rum after finding treasure on new island Shark comes back for treasure. Here is the pirate in question. He comes with one of the new style hats and a clear bottle, which as far as I can make out are less common than green or black ones, which is nice. His torso was the main reason that lead me to getting this set though, as I do like variation in my ranks. The belt detailing is fantastic on the front, with a nice skull buckle across the chest. The back has a pouch, a letter and a coin purse. By the looks of it he has been robbed before. And that's the set! However, I promised you the rest of the instruction booklet, so here it is. A rather sweet trip down memory lane, a tribute to the Pirate theme. It's interesting to see the 4+ and Lego Movie sets included! It's lovely the way the dotted line chronologically connects the sets. In conclusion, this little set is great for the minifigure and animal, as well as pirate themed elements. It also has some sort of memorabilia or collectable status with the booklet. The only downside is the poor choice of colour on the hook and the palm tree top. It's hard to say whether it's worth the money as it's a promotional set, but for £5 this is a great little set.
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Some time ago I rebuild him, and now I changed few things, mostly he is now shorter. I think this is one of my the best MOC. Gallery: http://imgur.com/a/yzNCy
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Entry in the miscellaneous small creation category of CCC XIII This may end up being part of a series were I make a small MOC featuring a part of each of the four Guilds.
