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Found 13 results

  1. I noticed recently that there's been no topic for future landmark buildings (mods please merge/delete if I'm wrong) so I thought I'd better make one. There have been 6 landmark building sets made by TLG so far: 3450 Statue of Liberty (2000) 10181 Eiffel Tower (2007) 10189 Taj Mahal (2008) 10214 Tower Bridge (2010) 10234 Sydney Opera House (2013) 10253 Big Ben (2016) The Statue of Liberty is technically not part of this line but of the 'Sculptures' line that also includes 3723 LEGO Mini-Figure and 3724 LEGO Dragon, but I have included it here as the only Creator Expert set not officially of the 'Buildings' line that is a building known worldwide. The Taj Mahal was rereleased in 2018 as 10256. But the big question is.... what next? The building has to be something that can be sold and recognised globally, and would be a very large set (the smallest so far is the Statue of Liberty with 2882 pieces). It would also probably need to be something of architectural interest - not just a big glass skyscraper (the Burj Khalifa falls into this category). Towers are possible, but as the last one was a tower, I think it's unlikely. 10253 also had a large extension to the side which made it far more interesting. If you ignore the Taj Mahal entirely (or at least the rerelease) there have been buildings in 2007, 10, 13, and 16, so it would make sense to have one in 2019. The Taj Mahal rerelease is now the only one available, as Big Ben and Tower Bridge have both just been retired from LEGO’s range. It would therefore make sense to have one this year, with no others available apart from the Taj Mahal. So what is it? Share your thoughts in the comments below - but please no 'I want' or similar.
  2. I designed and build this LEGO Store inspired by the largest LEGO Store in the world at Leicester square in London as I thought it was about time to add a LEGO Store to my modular collection of 22. Ground floor: Technic, City and on sale product shelves Tube train photo opportunity with Royal Guard, William Shakespeare and the Queen Tube train with tram driver and Charlie the Conductor Two story high Big Ben with Constable, Detective and Judge Brickley the Dragon Welcoming by Lester Counter with register and Lester polybags 1st floor Friends, Duplo and other product shelves Phone Box photo opportunity Pick and Build wall Play Table Stair case with LEGO Logo history View on the Big Ben and Brickley the Dragon, 2nd floor Overall the modular has been designed to keep the amount of bricks as low as possible through the use of panels and large bricks. The 2nd floor is not a fully utilized floor to keep the brick count below the 3000 maximum. It is designed to have optimal light conditions in the store through the use of more glass and contributes to the already open inside structure of the building. The roof has four studs on it so the store can easily be recognized as a LEGO store on satellite map images :) If the brick count restriction would not apply I imagine the top floor could well be a shop for tea/coffee with cupcakes and a terrace to enjoy. If it reaches 10.000 votes on LEGO Ideas but is not approved by LEGO I will publish a free building instruction and parts list. I have a Studio design and as you can see it can be build in real bricks. So please vote if you like it :) LEGO Ideas: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/e015f9c8-3faf-4308-b8ed-b5e09c6ebcef High resolution Flick album: https://www.flickr.com/photos/r53/albums/72157690132930563 A picture overview: Free building instructions, decal sheet and parts list on Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-54534/BrickPolis/the-lego-store-leicester-square/
  3. It's wonderful to see that The LEGO Group's confidence in the Architecture Series has increased enough for worldwide landmarks to appear! In what might seem opportunistic timing, with the fast approaching 2012 Olympics being held in London, TLG has revealed that its latest Architecture set will model what is probably London's most iconic landmark: the clock tower of Big Ben. As has been pointed out innumerable times, Big Ben is actually the name of the huge bell which resides within the tower, itself forming the north-west corner of the Palace of Westminster; the tower itself is known simply as the Clock Tower. But if you say 'Big Ben', I imagine people from around the world will immediately picture this famous tower. This review is a team effort by Pandora and myself (with a little extra help from a certain someone at a crucial point ). The opinions presented here are ours; fortunately we agreed on pretty much everything so there was little need for discussion! Anyway, with further ado, Pandora and Rufus are proud to present.... Review: 21013 Big Ben Set Information Name: Big Ben Number: 21013 Theme: Architecture (Landmark Series) Release: 1 June 2012 Parts: 341 (our count) Price: US $29.99 | EUR 29.99 | CAD $39.99 Links ... Brickset ... LEGO Architecture We'll update the price information, links and the official set description as they become available. The Box The smart but rather austere box livery of the Architecture range continues with this set. I see no reason to change it! Big Ben sits atop a technical drawing which may well represent architectural plans of the Palace of Westminster, but who's checking. The eagle-eyed among you might note that this latest addition to the Architecture range is designed not by Adam Reed Tucker, but instead by Rok Zgalin Kobe, a Slovenian architect. The back of the box is more colourful, sporting a scale render of the model, with some pictures of the real building in atypical English weather: The text is a language lesson describing the enclosed booklet, which is in English, and mentions the two Architects of the tower, Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin. The narrow sides are well suited to a tall, narrow model, and allow the boxes to be stacked on shelves vertically. The left side features a beautiful low-down shot of the tower: ... while the right side, which forms the flap of the box lid, shows an interesting 'exploded' render of the model beside the 'Choking Hazard' warning in a vast array of international languages. A very small part-rendered picture graces the top of the box, and the bottom reveals that parts were sourced in DENMARK, HUNGARY, MEXICO, and the CZECH REPUBLIC. We suspect this represents different manufacturing sources for different regions. Interestingly, this set - despite being considerably larger - comes in a box no bigger than those of the smallest sets in the range. It is of identical size to 21002 Empire State Building, or 21000 Willis (formerly Sears) Tower, Chicago, pictured here: It is, as you might imagine, considerably heavier, and clearly requires two extra years of building experience to build it. Contents We love these Architecture boxes! There's a certain sense of nostalgia for the days of intricate packaging which heightened the whole LEGO experience. Admittedly these don't have the (expensive, we've no doubt) plastic inserts and lifting lids of the 80s, but it's clear that TLG have gone to some pains to make the box as collectable as the set. You can even flatpack the box for longevity without tearing or cutting! The box is almost as smart on the inside: This one is remarkably full, which helps to preserve the instruction manual. You are instructed clearly to 'Enjoy your building experience.' as you open the lid. It's a really nice touch, and emphasises the lengths TLG has gone to to maximise the ... um ... building experience. Out of the box are pulled four polybags, and two loose plates. As Siegfried/Sinner mentioned in the Sydney Opera House review, it's a shame that not all of the parts are bagged, but we can't really blame LEGO for this in this case. It's only two pieces, and would probably require much larger bags, which might in turn necessitate a larger box to allow automated packing. Looking at this picture, you immediately get a sense of the rather small parts variety - there are only 33 different pieces in the set, including different colours of the same part. Instructions Some serious thought has gone into this instruction manual. It is quite thick, and beautifully presented, being printed on high quality paper, like all the sets in the Architecture range. Aside from the difference in orientation, the cover is similar to the box front, but does reference the Architecture website. The rear cover of the manual features an alternative view of the tower from behind: but is otherwise rather plain. Most of the interest is contained inside the manual, where can be found ten pages of facts about the tower and its construction, an example of which is shown here: The text is superbly written. It is a potted history, packed with facts and interesting to read, without being a daunting mass of text. We learned quite a lot ourselves! Following the tower facts comes a double-paged biography of the architects: The pictures here are reprints of oil portraits of the long-departed designers of the tower. Again, kudos to LEGO for going the extra mile to add interest and value. The instructions themselves are clear, and nicely paced to avoid confusion without being patronising. About every eight or nine pages is a little inset depicting further little factoids about the building: It's easy to miss these, if you are concentrating on the building. We'd recommend taking your time when building, and enjoying these little tidbits of information when you encounter them! They are a really nice touch. Otherwise, there are some parts in similar colours (particularly black and dark bluish grey), which could cause confusion; however, if you follow the build order then there shouldn't be any problems. You would notice if you used a dark bluish grey 1x2 tile on the base, for instance (unless you're building in the dark ). Towards the rear of the manual is the now-standard parts inventory: Again, the small variety of parts is readily apparent, and belies the size of the set. Finally, we are treated to a discourse from the Artist himself, and an intriguing look at Architecture in the early days of LEGO (including the invention of the plate!) We're pleased to note that Rok Zgalin Kobe refers to SNOT (Studs Not On Top), implying it's the acronym used by LEGO designers themselves! We're easily pleased. The Parts But enough about paper, what about the plastic? We've arranged the parts according to the polybag they came in, which is roughly dictated by size. The largest bag contains the large tiles, including the unique printed 'Big Ben' piece, and a sea of tan. Most of these parts are commonplace; even the 2x2 clock face is often found at the Pick-a-Brick wall. Of note are the dark bluish grey 'Slope 45 1x2 Double', found in two other sets, and the 'Slope 75 2x2x2 Quadruple Convex' in DBG and the two earth green 2x3 Plates, each found only in one other set. Not rare, though useful, are the nine 1x1 bricks with four studs ('dalek pieces', as we've heard them called). Generally, part variety is small but quantity high: We're certainly not complaining about the 57 round bricks and 32 grille tiles in tan, useful for architectural MOCs. 2x1 tan plates were at the PaB wall recently, so we're not short of those... ... but jumper plates are always useful. Finally, we have the ubiquitous round 1x1 plates, and 1x1 tiles in tan are most welcome. Not a cheese wedge in sight! Overall, it's a part selection that won't get too many people excited, with only a small number of rare elements, although the quantity of some of the parts might make this useful as a parts pack. The Build Let's put these plastic blocks together! As you might expect, we start with the familiar Architecture base: Immediately, you can see by the jumper plates that the model uses a half-stud offset for the entire structure. This is presumably to centre the model, which is an odd number of studs in length. The jumpers make a surprisingly strong connection, meaning you can build the model whilst holding it, rather than on a flat surface, although it's worth noting that the two black plates at the base are only connnected via three tiles, giving them a tendency to separate slightly if you do do this. The 'trick' behind the SNOT wall detail is revealed in this shot: SNOT bricks - with 1 (white), 2 (light bluish grey) and 4 (black) studs on sides are used to attach 1x2 plate-grille tile pieces to give the sides their ridged detail. The 'gap' that remains under the grilles is filled with 1x1 tiles. This technique is a little fiddly, but surprisingly strong and effective, and is used throughout the model. For the second layer, rinse, and repeat... well, nearly. Here you can see that only black 'dalek' pieces have been used to add SNOT to the sides, rather than the two-sided stud pieces. Although this might at first glance seem odd - it prevents adding 1x1 bricks in between, which might weaken the structure - there are two reasons for this. One is that the side-facing studs are also used in some places - to hold SNOT tiling at the side, and the mysterious upward-pointing dark bluish grey tile you can see here - and the second is that the 'open stud' on the top of the dalek pieces is required to attach the roof at a half stud offset (similar to the use of technic 1x1 bricks in the White House, or Empire State Building) With the roof-pieces attached, the odd DBG tile fills a gap caused by the half-stud offset : As we add height to the tower, things get a little repetitive, with three identical layers to construct. As we approach the top of the tower, four single-stud SNOT pieces are added which will hold the clock faces: And here we can have a nice look at the rear of the building . Finally, the rather intricate roof is built: And we're done! The build takes about 30 minutes if you're rushing, or an hour if you're leisurely (and read the history while you're at it). It's a little fiddly in places (making sure the 1x1 tiles sit squarely is a pain, but this is always a problem), and gets a bit repetitive, but being a smallish model this is counteracted by the feeling of the tower taking shape. Some of the SNOT techniques, especially the roof, are a nice surprise. The Complete Set Now let's take a look at the finished article. Big Ben stands proud and erect in all his slightly phallic glory: This angle shows clearly how effective the half-stud offset is at centering the tower. We like the use of the SNOT grille-tiles for adding the ridged detail which is crucial for adding realism, and the differentiation between the various levels of the building is brought about quite neatly and simply by the use of 1x1 bricks or round bricks at various points. It's highly effective. Now, let's get this out of the way: the major flaw of this set is the clock faces, which stand proud of the tower by two plates, unlike the real clocks which are if anything slightly recessed. This is a product of the designer's decision to make the entire building three studs wide, which is necessary to make the building affordable, keep consistency with the rest of the Landmark Series, and itself makes the build more interesting in places. Moreover, the design of the 2x2 round tile on which the clock sits - with a cross in the centre of the underside, rather than an anti-stud - necessitates the use of the extra 2x2 plate, therefore exacerbating the problem. A possible solution to this would be to build the clock section of the tower in four-studs wide, at a half-stud offset. One day we'll try this. Maybe the designer did, but chose this method in the end. Now that's out of the way, let's continue enjoying the view. Here's the rear: The tower (obviously) looks the same from every angle, but here you get a view of the snippet of the rest of Palace of Westminster. It's 'cut off' from the rest of the building; the blank tiles/bricks indicate where the building would continue: here, and on the left side. Note the 1x1 round plates instead of cones at the rear: this approximates to a real feature of the building, which doesn't have spires on the inward facing parapets. Side views (left and right respectively): The left side features a little dark green, representing a small lawn area in front of the tower where politicians and press gather from time to time. Note again the cut-off where the building would continue to the river edge. The right side faces Parliament Square, where the tower sits flush with the edge of the Palace. Finally, a shot representing the most common view of the tower: Another slight niggle, and again due to the use of the three-wide scale, is that the lower part of the roof doesn't slope particularly gracefully, but the use of round studs is probably the best compromise the designer could achieve. Comparison Now lets compare the set to the real thing. Being rather camera-shy, Pandora and I grabbed an unsuspecting random American tourist to help with these shots. The model is rather small (as is the LEGO set ) making direct comparison difficult. It's approximately 1:350 scale, after all. Still, you can see that the overall impression of the model is pretty accurate, which we think is as good as could be achieved at this scale. Getting both the tower and the model in focus together was nigh-on impossible. This is about the best we could do: The blocky roof isn't so noticeable here; unfortunately, the sticky-outy clock faces are. But the time is uncannily correct. Our contract with the Random American Tourist demanded more than just one picture: He made himself useful, and got us into the London Eye for some aerial views: Well, we'd love a massive Architecture set of the entire Palace of Westminster, but that isn't going to happen anytime soon... ... so here's a shot focused on Big Ben himself, from a similar angle as the last set picture: We should mention here an interesting observation. On the way out of the London Eye is a gift shop filled with souvenirs (many relating to the forthcoming Olympics). This (and many other souvenir shops around the area) would be an ideal place to sell this set - it'll appeal to chance customers who wouldn't normally even consider buying LEGO. The set makes a great souvenir - it is instantly recognisable, despite its flaws, and this market would perhaps be rather more forgiving than the average AFOL. We hope TLG have already thought of this. Conclusion Bus and Grenadier Guard not supplied with set. We were a little disappointed when we saw the preliminary pictures, but having seen the set 'in the flesh', as it were, we think this is actually rather a nice set. Sure, the protruding clock-faces aren't ideal, but they're certainly better than stickers, and the flaw is balanced by the level of detailing which is astonishing for such a small scale. Moreover, if the preliminary prices are correct, this set represents far better value than most of the smaller Architecture sets, and perhaps hints that the line is firmly hitting the mainstream. The Big Ben set, together with its attractive packaging and informative manual, makes a wonderful collectors' item, and indeed potentially a lucrative souvenir piece (if TLG takes our advice on this ). I'm sure they've already thought of this, as the timing of its release with the 2012 Olympics hints. A larger-scale model might allow more detail, solve the clock problem, and enable perhaps a bit of gold decoration on the tower; but would restrict the target market to the die-hard LEGO fans. Perhaps TLG have deliberately decided to accept the smaller scale compromise; we think that, overall, the set is pretty good for the scale. Design 8 Were it not for the clock faces, we'd give this 10. It's remarkably detailed for the scale. Build 9 A pleasing build, sometimes a little repetitive, but with some interesting features along the way. If you follow the manual carefully, it is an enjoyable experience. Parts 7 It's not really a set for rare part hunters, but might appeal as a parts pack if you need tan grille tiles or round bricks. Value 8 We haven't seen the UK price yet, but going by the US and European pricing, this does seem to be better value than many of the smaller Architecture sets. Overall 8/10 Big Ben might not appeal to die-hard sticklers for accuracy, but it's a detailed and recognisable rendition of what is perhaps London's most iconic landmark. We were rather pleasantly surprised. Thanks for reading! We hope you enjoyed the review. Many thanks to CopMike for making this possible, TLG for allowing us an early look at the set, and Hinckley for being such a good model! Pandora and Rufus. More pictures on flickr.
  4. Have you ever wondered how to end a row of modulars in a natural way? One of the available options is to introduce a water feature, be it a beach, lake or a river and then use that for a nice natural progression. In this case, I took the Big Ben set and rebuilt it as a 32w modular that's meant to sit at the end of your street and transition into a beach, bay or a similar feature. I wanted it to evoke the placement often found at beach resorts with a walkway "onto" the sea. It's kind of a faux corner building, as it has 2 adjacent sides of the facade exposed, but only one pavement. Since 10253 doesn't contain a baseplate, it sits on standard plates included in the set, making it slightly higher than other modulars. You can easily solve it by putting everything on a 32x32 baseplate and adjusting the pieces slightly to allow for modular connections. If you like it, you can get instructions here: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-14123/Huaojozu/the-lounge-10253-big-ben-alternate-model-modular/ Since there are no doors in the set, I solved it by making a sliding door as commonly seen in malls for example. That also determined what kind of building it's going to be - a store, hotel, casino or a similar high-end establishment would fit best with such pronounced doors. The Big Ben ski pole decorations also serve well to give the appearence of rich-ness. It was a bit of a struggle to make the interior, as the 10253 set contains an awful lot of tan bricks and not much else. But in the end I am happy with how it turned out. There was only enough plates to make floors for two sections, so the roof is just that - a roof. I've at least made the statue on the second floor a bit higher to justify the space. It was a lot of fun to do this and I am already looking forward to my next project, which will be an alternate model for the Sydney Opera House 10234. It's going to be interesting to see how so many curved white pieces can be used. And since it also has lots of blue, it will make a nice complement to The Lounge - sitting opposite of it and ending with the sea as well.
  5. First of all, apologies for the quality of the photos below, but this is what I've been working on for the past 5 months. I'm also not sure this is the right forum to post it in (I'm sure it'll get moved if it isn't), but it's the closest I could find. Almost as soon as the Big Ben set was released, I knew that the full Palace of Westminster needed to be done to the same scale. So I decided to do it. As it's now finished, I wanted to show it off. It will be on public display for the first time at Bricktastic in Manchester, UK, on Sat 1 - Sun 2 July. It took me a total of 234 hours to build (yes, I kept track), and about 20-30 hours beforehand to plan it out. In total, it uses approximately 50,000 pieces. I opened a total of 10 Big Ben sets to build it (not including the set used for the Big Ben part of it), and I also placed 70 Bricklink orders to get extra pieces - over 11,000 extra pieces! That's in addition to using an estimated 6000 pieces from my own collection. I did have a lot of spare pieces left over from the Big Ben sets though. The model itself splits into 6 main sections for transport, and you'll probably be able to spot the joins if you look closely, as my kitchen floor is not very level. It measures 177.6cm (70in) wide, by 100cm (39in) deep, by 70cm (27.5in) high. More photos are available on my Flickr. If you want to see it 'in the brick', as it were, it will be at Bricktastic in Manchester, UK, on Sat 1 - Sun 2 July. As the show is organised by the charity Fairy Bricks, all proceeds from the show will go to them. I'd also like to say a big thank you to Kev from Fairy Bricks for his encouragement and support during the planning and building of this project. If you have any questions I haven't covered above, just ask.
  6. Paperballpark

    [MOC] Palace of Westminster

    I originally posted this in the Scale Models forum, where it was promptly ignored - it seems that wasn't the correct forum, despite this being pretty much a scale model... Anyway. this is what I've been working on for the past 5 months. Almost as soon as the Big Ben set was released, I knew that the full Palace of Westminster needed to be done to the same scale. So I decided to do it. As it's now finished, I wanted to show it off. It will be on public display for the first time at Bricktastic in Manchester, UK, on Sat 1 - Sun 2 July. It took me a total of 234 hours to build (yes, I kept track), and about 20-30 hours beforehand to plan it out. In total, it uses approximately 50,000 pieces. I opened a total of 10 Big Ben sets to build it (not including the set used for the Big Ben part of it), and I also placed 70 Bricklink orders to get extra pieces - over 11,000 extra pieces! That's in addition to using an estimated 6000 pieces from my own collection. I did have a lot of spare pieces left over from the Big Ben sets though. The model itself splits into 6 main sections for transport, and you'll probably be able to spot the joins if you look closely, as my kitchen floor is not very level. It measures 177.6cm (70in) wide, by 100cm (39in) deep, by 70cm (27.5in) high. More photos are available on my Flickr. If you want to see it 'in the brick', as it were, it will be at Bricktastic in Manchester, UK, on Sat 1 - Sun 2 July. As the show is organised by the charity Fairy Bricks, all proceeds from the show will go to them. I'd also like to say a big thank you to Kev from Fairy Bricks for his encouragement and support during the planning and building of this project. If you have any questions I haven't covered above, just ask.
  7. I was curious to know what the old LEGO Architecture Big Ben set (21013) would look like with the new roman numeral clock faces introduced in Disney Castle (71040), so I placed a Bricklink order. For the curious, here is the result: One could certainly wish for a more appropriate base color than reddish brown, but on the whole I think it's an improvement!
  8. 10253 Big Ben Ages 16+. 4,163 pieces. US $249.99 - CA $299.99 - DE 219.99€ - UK £169.99 - DK 1999.00 DKK *Euro pricing varies by country. Please visit shop.LEGO.com for regional pricing. Build the world’s best-known clock tower! Get up close to Big Ben! The clock was first started on May 31st 1859, and Big Ben’s first chime rang from the 96-meter Elizabeth Tower on July 11th of the same year. This over 23” (60cm) high LEGO® interpretation of the iconic structure is a tribute to its engineering and architecture. It features a detailed facade with statues, shields and windows, and a clock tower with 4 adjustable clock dials and a removable roof allowing access to the belfry, plus buildable exterior elements including a sidewalk, lawn and a tree depicting the building’s location. This model makes a great display piece for the home or office. • Big Ben features a detailed section of the Westminster Palace and the adjoining Elizabeth Tower, 4 detailed clock dials with movable hour and minutes hands, and a sidewalk, tree and grass area depicting the building’s location. • Remove the top of the tower to access the Big Ben bell. • Put your LEGO® building skills to the test! • Special elements include 4 printed clock faces. • Rare elements include ski poles, flowers and corner plates in molded gold color, and tinted-translucent elements. • This set includes over 4,000 LEGO® pieces. • This set offers an age-appropriate building experience for ages 16+. • Big Ben measures over 23” (60cm) high, 17” (44cm) wide and 7” (20cm) deep. Available for sale directly through LEGO® beginning July 1, 2016. Available for sale directly through LEGO® beginning July 1, 2016 via shop.LEGO.com, LEGO® Stores or via phone: US Contact Center 1-800-453-4652 CA (English) Contact Center 1-800-453-4652 CA (French) Contact Center 1-877-518-5346 European Contact Center 00-800-5346-1111
  9. Zusammengebaut

    [VIDEO] Big Ben Review (10253)

    Hello, this is my rievew of the new LEGO Creator Expert Big Ben (10253) - with sunny images. Such an awesome build with so many details! Have a nice day Andres
  10. Brickington

    Review: 21013 Big Ben

    This is my first review ever and I hope all of you enjoy it! Big Ben is one of history's most recognized landmark in the World. And now, it's in a LEGO set. Now you don't have to go all the way to London, England to feel the majesty elegance of Big Ben! The LEGO Big Ben set is full of detail and will put you in all at every brick you place on the set. This build is a must get for those interested in the LEGO Architecture series and/or detailed LEGO sets. Basic Information: Set Name: Big Ben Set Number: 21013 Number of Pieces: 346 Price: $29.99 USD / 29.99 Euro Theme: Architecture (Landmark Series) Year Released: 2012 Resources: Brickset LEGO Shop@Home BrickLink The Review: The Box The Front: The typical LEGO Architecture box. I am starting to love the design of it. It is modern, simple, and just lovely. Side: Another typical Architecture set picture. However, I always love seeing these sets in this view. The one thing I do not like is the tape on the top of the box. Back: The back of the box just shows an overview of this set and facts of Big Ben. The back also shows us that this set is 7.7in. tall. Instructions Front: Here's another typical Lego Architecture picture. Just a simple photo, nothing to it. In the instructions there are quite a few pages about the history of the actual Big Ben. These little pages are quite informative and interesting. Also, throughout the instructions you will notice random little clips of the history of this great landmark. Overall, the actual build instructions were pretty easy to follow, in a very step-by-step way. However, I can see a a child having a little difficulty building this alone, due to the type of techniques that are used. But a piece of cake for your average AFOL. Back: Just a nice little picture of this set. Contents: Mostly contains tan pieces. Which isn't a bad thing, is it? I personally like all of the tan pieces. Printed Pieces: ​ Now here is the printed pieces. You have the usual name of the set, obviously here it is Big Ben. And there is the four clock pieces. I think that they are quite ugly. The Big Ben Build The Base: And I present to you the base of Big Ben (in LEGO version at least)! Here there is just some (LEGO) green grass and some (LEGO) concrete. And then of course, the Big Ben title. Stage 1: Just a bird's eye view of the first part of this build. Pretty simple. Stage 1 (with roof): Pretty picture, but as far as the build goes, pretty plain. 1x1 Pieces: For some reason, these 1x1 pieces have always intrigued me. Probably because these 1x1 are quite useful, but it takes a difficult technique to use them. Stage 2: Here's stage 2. It looks like the exact same build as stage 1, but as you will notice in the next picture, you can't always judge a book by it's cover. Also, here's where you can see the ingenuity of the LEGO designers. I never thought of using those 2x1's as windows. Amazing work. Stage 2 (top view): Do you see? Not the same as stage 1, is it? I think TLG did a good job here. The LEGO Big Ben set is a good example of a SNOT technique in the windows. You can see that in this photo. Roof: And now you have the roof. I believe TLG has remarkable job here. It looks very good with the rest of the set. The double-slooped roof pieces are attached to a half-stud offset. TLG had some ingenuity with this part of the build. First Part of the Tower: I like to consider this as the first part of the tower. Three more copies of this piece will be made after this. I like the use of the pieces and simplicity of this part. Clock Stage: Here's clock tower piece, without the clocks. All I can think is "Man is this such a great set!" You are building with the great SNOT technique and just the ingenuity of the window pieces. This set is instantly recognized in a room. Start of the Steeple: Here's the base of the Steeple. Steeple Stage 2: Another simple picture of the Steeple build. Steeple: And the steeple in all it's glory! Simple, yet majestic. Steeple with the set: A picture of the steeple with the set. The Instructions say to put the clocks on after this, so that's what I did. Pictures of the Final Product Full View: ​ * drum-roll* And we are finally done! I just wanted to show you some pictures that show you the true beauty of this set. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Bottom View: I love this image. It shows how talents the LEGO designers are at using simple LEGO bricks and making them into masterpieces. Tower View: Another view of this awesome set. Clock View: The actual (LEGO) clock in all of it's glory (well sorta). Here is where the complaining starts. I think TLG could have made a way better clock, after all it's printed in the first place. Back View: I love this view. I'll just let the picture speak for themselves. Real Big Ben Photo: I just wanted to post a picture of the actual building for everyone to compare to set to the real Big Ben. I believe the LEGO Big Ben set greatly represents the actual building. As I said above, it is instantly recognized in a room. I'll like to thankHoteles Y Alojamiento for the photo. Totals: Design: 10/10 The LEGO Architecture sets never seize to amaze me. I love the design of Big Ben. The designers did good here. The way LEGO made simple bricks into this, is just incredible. Thus, this set should be no more than 10 out of 10 in design. Parts: 8/10 Personally there are not really any rare parts. However, there is numerous of tan bricks. Which is a great plus. But besides that, not really any great pieces, as I said. Build: 10/10 Big Ben is one of those perfect builds. It is not a hard build, but just a little challenging were it is fun to build. Another 10 out of 10. Price: 7/10 At $30, this is a pretty good buy, but not great. At 7 cents per brick, not bad.However, I think this set could cheaper. I believe this set could easily be five to ten dollars/ euros cheaper. Overall: 35/ 40 Overall, this is a very good set. I enjoyed every single brick I put on this amazing set. I think everyone should go out and buy this set, and have as much fun as I had building it. This is such a great build and there is not enough words to describe how great this set is.
  11. Hi everyone. I have just returned from a trip to London, and I was going to buy the Architecture Big Ben until I saw that it had ugly clocks on all sides which stuck too far out. Upon returning home, I got bored and decided to build it in Lego Digital Designer. Then boredom also took me to new levels and I ended up extending the model to incorporate some more of Parliament with it. So without further ado here is my Westminster MOC. I have tried my best to maintain the style of the designer's original model as much as possible whilst also giving my own version a different feel. I swapped the ugly clock faces for some plain white tiles which could be printed onto should the builder so wish, giving a much more accurate looking clock. I hope I have done this justice as it's my first try at an architecture model. I hope you like it The LDD File is available on request.
  12. I have just finished building 10214, the huge Tower Bridge . That reminded me of a MOC I made some time ago. Maybe I wanted a more manageable version of the tower bridge, or maybe I wanted to give the Architecture Big Ben a companion. In other words: I wanted to build a mini Tower Bridge Since my collection of bricks is pretty limited and outdated, I decided to make it in LDD. It didn't take too long and I was quite satisfied with the result. Satisfied enough to render it using LDD2POV-RAY (thanks, hrontos! ). After about two hours, this picture came out: So there you have it: an Architecture-style Tower Bridge that uses similar techniques to the Big Ben, but offers a play feature as well ! Yes, the bridge opens, hurrah! I hope you liked it, and here is the link to my Flickr, although there's not much to see there... yet. http://www.flickr.co...s/98281410@N07/ UPDATE: Find the LDD file here PS: now I'm possessed with the reversed feeling: I'm building a Big Ben in scale to the giant Tower Bridge. Still a WIP though...
  13. So... what's going on? Big Ben's Page is dated from January, 2013: "Please check back for further updates in the coming months." Is 11 of them enough to wait to nag? And then ME Models just ran out and hasn't made any more available. I understand they run up against QC issues, which is understandable... but frankly, those ME Model rails worked great for me, I don't understand what the problems could be. Were there any other alternatives out there? Anybody with any news about Big Ben and ME?