Solitary Dark

Thank you White fang for the very comprehensive and always amusing review. My favourite for this series has always been the Diver, and today I found 4 untouched boxes and picked out 2 divers, 1 Conquistador, 1 Businessman and a Football Player for a friend (No need to panic buy anymore - Legoland Windsor has Series 5,6 + 7 still on the shelves and some local toystores still have series 3 and 4!) One question - I found my Conquistador's Helmet to be very loose - how are the ones you have here? Do I have a boadly molded piece or is the mold 'Loose' for clutching power? The diving helmet glass is fantastic, this is one of favourite CMF's ever. '20,000 Leagues under the Sea' Diorama's here we come!

Well done all 18 L@go - 1 15 Oky - 1 10 Legojalex - 1 5 Caparica - 1 6 Lego_legis_legere - 1

Some amazing builds here, so a 5 way split for my points 2 cimddwc 1 23 Redhead1982 1 27 Myko 1 37 Jirikone 1 28 Trainee 1 I would have happily given points to everyone. Well done

My normal strategy to achieve something similar to what ACPin has done here is as follows. Offer both my children a BAMF pack. Go and half fill a PAB cup. Assist the children in building their Minifigs - My daughter almost always picks out Cheerleader parts, whilst my son goes for Pharoah's (Cant explain why?) Whilst sifting through the bins anything good in terms of parts can be added to the PAB cup. Once finished at the BAMF station, go complete filling the PAB cup. I've found the staff in the U.K stores incredibly helpful, and have even gone out back to find more of certain items that I've then popped straight in the PAB cup. I've never taken more than 3 or 4 of any part and always go for accessories and hairpieces/hats.

I didnt know about the PAB selection at John Lewis on Oxford Street. I will say that of the three London Brand stores the Westfield Shepherd's Bush One is probably the best stocked in terms's of 'Good' PAB parts (Of course that's just my opinion) I've been to all 3 over the last few months and only bought small cups at Bluewater and Stratford, but found lots at Westfield, and regularly find Grab bags there, but not at the other two. All three are very good stores though, well stocked with great staff - Brand stores are made great by the staff. If you dobnt see what you are after ask, cos they will try and get it for you. There is also a Toys'R'Us and a John Lewis at Brent Cross - Both have good selections, at standard RRP, so if you're just looking for standard sets, not exclusives, you could head to Brent Cross. There is also 'The Entertainer' there, but most of the time the prices are inflated there, although the often have clearance items also. Just further out of London there are plenty of big shopping Centres but one of the best is Kingston-upon-Thames - there used to be a Brand store here (It's also very close to my home - I was very sad when it closed ) There is a John Lewis and a Bentalls. bentalls is often the first store to get new CMF's and in big numbers - They had nearly 20 boxes of series 7 on day 1, making it a great place to great set. Just my 2 penneth.

Between my son and I we have about 400+ kits and most of them are now bagged with the instructions and in storage.(Including a bunch of Bionicle's + Racers Tiny Turbos + Polybags) That way when he wants to build he gets a set out and builds, then disassembles and puts back into storage. The only sets on display are his AT-TE, Motorized At-AT and my 2005 Turbo Tank. I then have 2 stack boxes full of MOC's that I have decided will never come apart - The biggest is a train that is 8 wide 20 long 12 high, so the whole box does not take up much room. Everything else I build gets built, photographed, then dismantled. Just dont have room for it, despite it all being in my Potter-like cupborad under the stairs.

Of the PAB walls I have been too lately I have seen Dark Red 2X1 in both the Brighton, United Kingdom (2 weeks ago) and Dallas Texas Discovery centre (March - Loads) 2x1 in trans black were also bountiful in Dallas - I know I bought lots of both. I live in England however and was there on business so if anyone is nearby and can help Angeli you may be able to score yourself a Shirtless Darth Maul. The Discovery centre didnt have cups, they had bags - full bag $12 - absolute bargain.

I've just got back from the Brighton Store. The build a minifig station was filled with parts from Minifigure series 1-4 but noticeably only certain figures, and not complete sets. You could for example build a musketeer, but there were no rapiers, Ice skaters but no skates, S4 Skateboarders but no skateboards and so on.... No sign of Hazmat gut, Elf, Fisherman or many others from Series 4. Lots of parts mixed in from earlier series, including plenty of parts still from series 1 including Specemen helmets. They had the VIP Minifigure set on sale, and a display set that was brick based (With a Blue spacemen Minifig) that I've not seen before. My son made a whole BAM box of Pharoah leg and Torso's but with different heads - they are the Pharoah's slaves. I snuck some parts into by PAB cup and none of the folks in the store minded, which was great, as there were some nice pieces in the accesories box of the BAM.

Wow that brought some memories back - I definitely had the first book with the Castle/Space crossover. Thanks for sharing.

9570 as i type this - over 1000 votes in a week - Mods - is it a time for a frontpage boost again, because this is surely going to hit 10,000 in a matter of days. Marshall, fingers crossed - I'm saving my pennies already.

Well done everyone - I couldnt get around to anything for this category so I salute you! 1 point each to: 5) Battle plans (Celtic Warrior) Entry (Build by kciR) 11) The Fisherman's Surprise (Clockwork Robot) Entry (Build by JackJonespaw) 7) Art Deco (Flamenco Dancer) Entry (Build by lisqr) Battle Plans was my favourite - Sitting playing Heroica with the Kids right now - love the scale of this one.

Wow, so hard (as always) to choose, but here we go 1 point each to: 23) Mechanic Entry (Build by Darkblane) 25) Alien Entry (Build by Dan Church) 31) Sleepyhead Entry (Build by watersnap) The last one by watersnap was my favourite - I love the positioning of the bed, and I wish I'd built it. Need I say more...

Thanks WhiteFang, I've added an image which shows the construction of the base on top of 2 4x8 baseplates - there is a small overhang of the outer steps on either side. The front step is then on the eigth stud out from the back I'll amend the model if you feel this breaks the rule. I would be able to do that and happily keep the character of the model.

Hi WhiteFang, Would you mind checking my entry in case you feel it would be disqualified? At certain 'Times' the clock would exceed the 2-stud overhang rule - I've checked the rest of the model and the base fits on an 8x8 with minimal overhang, and the rest of the model is within 2-studs, but if the 'Big hand' would disqualify me I can amend the model. Thanks

Oh man this was tough. 1 point each to the folowing 3 13 23 31 38 41 42 I cannot pick an absolute favourite, but I would happily buy both 3 Cinderella's castle and 42 The Vehicle Assembly Building. Two buildings I love, and have been too. Great additions to the line. Well done to all.

The Mechanical House Minifigure - Clockwork Robot Theme - Steampunk The Clockwork robot had always dreamed of building himself his own home. Once free of the maniacle toymaker he set to work, taking whatever scrap he could find. He fashioned it into a large mechanical clock, so that the whirring cogs and gears would sound like his own body. Clockwork man 1 by The Solitary Dark, on Flickr This was heavily inspired by Steampunk, and the fact that I just loved this minifigure. You can see the mechamism in action here: Sorry its lopsided, it looks too small with the camera the other way. If you want to see the clockwork robot on the steps then look here: This just fits on an 8x8 baseplate! I'm on the very boundary of the 2 stud overhang limit, depending on where the 'Big hand' of the clock is. At 9'o'clock I'm over but at 6'o'clock i'm fine! I hope that does not disqualify me? Here is an image of the model with 2 4x8 baseplate below - you can see what overhangs. 8x8 base by The Solitary Dark, on Flickr I've measured the model - if the two studs at the centre back of the clock sit on the middle studs at the rear of the plates then the step at the front has a tiny overhang, the brown gear at the side has a 2 stud oberhang, and the ball at the very front of the clock mechanism is also exactly two studs out. I really did not want to stick to a standard 8x8 square here! Thanks, hope you enjoy.

Great review, Yes? Nice to know someone has read a Deadpool comic book too. Some lovely shots of the models and minifigs. I like the Helicopter as a model - playable. I'm hoping for a next wave of X-men sets. Thanks Oky!

I cannot wait to see how Lego handles this - It's a fantastic MOC, presented brilliantly - and I really cannot see how it fits with many of the positions that the company has taken over the years regarding weapons and Violence. The fact that we had a zombie as a CMF and various other properties make me hope they do this right - and that means means as close as possible to the original design as is practical. Well done Yatkuu - Major achievement.

Nice! Love the door mechanism - As a bus traveller I very much appreciate the accuracy of this creation. Well done!

Congratulations on the job KimT - You will be missed on these pages, but your influence has been great. All the best for the future.

Great review Oky - Just want this set a lot now - Going to the DFW Legoland Discovery centre in 2 weeks - may treat myself....

I now really want this set more than before - My daughter bought her first Friends sets 2 days ago - Now I want my Superman! Great Comic Book KDM - Very well put together!!

I picked one of these up in December at the Glendale California store for my Son - It's a great set with some nice green pieces. What my son likes most of all though is being able to pose Brickley in almost any position, just as you have in your review, SilentMode. His Brickley regularly fights Gladiators, Vikings and Spartans!

Marvellous - Does the building have an interior or access to it? The outside has a wionderful texture and details to it, and I'd love a look at the inside if it does?