fyrmedhatt

Congrats on acquiring the dream! The Metroliner is my favorite Lego passenger train (with the 7740 being second), and it's one set I've wanted for a very long time, in fact I remember drooling over the set as a four year old when it just came out, and again I remember seeing it during my dark ages without having the guts to get it. It's surprisingly affordable as a set despite it's status as a classic, so I really should pick it up! Anyways, enjoy building the set and living the childhood dream!

Great question! This is a tricky choice, and I don't think you can go wrong with either one of those. The reasons to buy the Mearsk Train is the parts, many of which may not be seen in a very long time once the set retires due to the unique Maersk blue color of the set. Old Maersk blue parts have gone for over $100 each in the past, and the old Maersk sets usually cost from hundreds to thousands of dollars for that reason. Now combine that with a great train design that fits with the Burlington Northern Santa Fe and the Super Chief and you have a investment object that is about as sure a winner as you can get. The Grand Emporium is also a great design that has some rare parts (not as many as the Maersk train) and extremely high collectibility. All the Modulars have increased in price, and there is not any reason why this one won't, although I expect a lot of people will pick up some extra copies for resale, meaning that it probably won't increase in price like the Cafe Corner and Market Street has done. Personally, strictly from an investment standpoint, I'd say the Maersk Train, although if you decide you like the GE better and buy that set you are not going to lose money either.

Picked up my very first PaB cup at the Houston galleria Lego store yesterday. I probably spent about an hour packing the cup while talking to the guys working there, including the guy stocking the wall who seemed to be an avid afol and was extremely helpful. They graciously let me get some elements from the back that were not currently on the wall, so I have to say I'm impressed by their customer service. PAB Cup 1/26-12 by fyrmedhatt, on Flickr This is the cup, it was not taped down, just sealed with the normal PaB cup stickers, so it broke apart on the way home. My apologies for the mess in the background, I just cleared some space on the dining room table to part it out. PAB Cup 1/26-12 by fyrmedhatt After spending about an hour sorting out everthing, this is what I got: 1x4 Rbrown Tile 203 1x4 Rbrown Brick 19 1x2 Rbrown Brick 38 1x3 Dk Bgray Brick 70 4x4 Dk Bgray Plate 7 4x4 Tan Plate 10 1x2 Trans-Black Brick 4 1x1 Dk Bgray Brick 46 1x2 Rbrown Plate 24 2x2 Tan Corner Plate 8 1x2 White Tile Grill 7 1x4 Tan Plate 41 1x2 Lgray Plate modified 1 1x2 Black Plate 1 1x2 White Brick Hinge Assembly 4 1x1 Lgray Brick Modified 5 1x2x3 Rbrown Window Curved w/Prl Gold 4 Plant Green Bamboo 77 Plant Green Grass 16 1x2 Rbrown Brick Palisade 1 Lgray w/Black Lever 43 1x1 Dk Trans Blue Round plate 236 1x1 Lt Trans Blue Plate 127 1x1 Clear Trans Plate 1 Total: 993 I'm quite happy with that total, just wish I'd fit an additional 7 parts in there ;). Many small parts I know, however, I think they will all come in useful in some kind of castle creation once I actually have time to build an MOC. Now for the value: using average sales price from Bricklink gives a value of $ 54.08, while using the minimum sales price I still come out ahead at $16.24. If I had been to order this off of the online PaB it would cost me no less than $ 120.21, so obviously I'm pleased with my score. I'm really looking forward to doing this again next week, I'll remember to bring my two Holiday PaB boxes, but I'm sure I'll get myself another big cup as well.

The Green Grocer is the perfect modular, it's simply an awesome design with both a great interior and exterior, and the sand green color makes it look realistic, yet distinct. It was also my first modular and my first non-Star Wars set after getting out of my dark ages. The one set that I I'm the most proud of is the Cafe Corner, it was truly awesome to see it take shape after spending several months getting it piece by piece off Bricklink. I never saw it coming when I built it, but it turned out to look great.

I really hope that they are not Clone Wars style, as it would be a HUGE disappointment. I've been a huge fan of the KOTOR games, so getting a few of the figures and ships would be awesome, but I don't touch Clone Wars stuff. It's almost like part of me wants the sets to be CW style so that I'll have to buy less Lego, but I was really looking forward to these two sets. I don't understand why they would be CW style, as previous EU sets have been classic Lego SW style, and the visual style of the TOR games is certainly not very cartoonish.

Same here! I really didn't understand why EVERY single Harry Potter set had a Harry Potter figure, I could understand having at least one of the three main characters, but not in every single set. This approach is great, the only figures we are getting lots of multiples of are the army building minifigures, and we are getting many of them. I'm ecstatic for this line, it has great figures, and by looking at Huw Millington's photos, I'd say the sets look great, and I love that they are modular. I'm definitely collecting every single set, I just need to save up as this will be expensive together with my Star Wars collection.

I really like how well this building fits with the rest of the modulars, it really looks like it's part of the rest of the modular line, with similar aesthetics and parts usage. Great job!

I don't know if I should be regretting getting any of the themes that came out during my dark ages, but I certainly regret not getting any of the divers and the early Star Wars sets that both came out as I was 10-12 years old and starting to get too old for Lego apart from an occasional Technic set. I remember really wanting to get the Podracer set with the money from my first job, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy such a childish toy, silly me! I also saw a few of the Legends sets during my Dark Ages and pondered to get some of them, but of course I missed them. Lastly, Harry Potter from PoA to OotP are sets I'd really like to have, as well as some of the good City sets from 2007-2009, and of course the large scale buildings and Town Plan.

I'm for the HP troll, even if it's far from perfect. Trolls are supposed to be big, dumb, awkward and scary. The fantasy troll simply looks too muscular and athletic. The HP troll has that awkwardness I'd expect from a troll, even if the head is too tiny, it's menacing due too it's sheer size and not his Mr. Olympia like body. I grew up with trolls in fairytales and the were constantly outmaneuvered by witty and agile heroes, and I think the fantasy troll seems too smart and athletic for that to happen. For good reference on Trolls I'd recommend watching the Troll Hunter, which is a great move, or read the fairytales by Asbjørnsen and Moe.

This looks great in my eyes! I can only assume you've taken the above posters' suggestions, as I do not see any of the faults they mentioned in the model. You've created something that could easily be Flitwick's classroom. Awesome!

This has been said before on this thread, but the pricing of the Falcon now is just supply and demand, if people sold their falcons for cheap, then we would just see whoever bought those sets sell them again for market price. Price gouging can happen with Lego, but typically with high demand parts like those found in the Falcon. This would happen if one seller bought out other sellers stock of said high demand part and created a monopoly where they can charge whatever they want. I have seen this happen on Bricklink. As for lego, I doubt they are too concerned with the resellers as the resellers say that they are, the fraction of the market cornered by the resellers is tiny compared to casual and regular Afol buyers who think the value of their sets is neat, but they are not going to be upset if Lego gives other people the chance to buy a great set at the expense of a temporary dip in value. Lego would re-release or redesign the Millennium Falcon if or when it makes financial sense to them. When that will be no-one knows, but the re-release probably won't be identical to the old set as Lego's parts palette constantly changes and by twisting the design they would encourage buyers of the previous UCS MF to buy the new set as well.

I like how empty it is, it truly shows the 50 years of lonely existence for Moaning Myrtle the ghost. The stained glass windows are excellent, and you've pulled off some great angles in the build as well.

Lego has translated the look of each character into minifigures, and they have been highly successful in doing so. Some of the Star Wars minifigures are nearly as iconic as the characters they are supposed to represent, like the stormtrooper, Darth Vader and Boba Fett minifigures. I've seen images of those on a lot of t-shirts worn by non-afols. The success of the Star wars minifigure is obvious when you see the prices of some figures, and there are plenty of collectors out there that primarily collect the figures and not the sets. It's like a good caricature, it's not supposed to be photorealistic, but recognizable and distinct, which I think Lego has done well.

I think they used their remaining supply on the Pet Shop, and when they were spent they started using the new style 2x3 panels. I tried ordering the old style panels at the same time as I ordered the dark red 1x2x3 slopes right after the Pet Shop was released, and they sent me the new style panels saying they were the new equivalent parts. I really have to say Jaime Berard did us a huge service by including these parts in the Pet Shop, as it made my life so much easier when it came to buying the parts for these sets.

What a cool series of vignettes! You've captured Umbridge like I've imagined her as I read the books, with the pink office full of cat pictures. I usually don't like excessive use of decals, but you've done so in a way that is right with the spirit of the Harry Potter sets.

I think this is just awesome! You've managed to create a lively scene in a great environment, and in doing so you've filled the gap left by standard sets that are often static and somewhat unnatural.

I really don't see why a Chinese mold for the ring is that unrealistic, provided how central it is to the story. I'd think the size could make it a little fragile and not rigid enough though. Using a printed clear round 1x1 tile could also be good, especially if the sides of the tiles are printed, and this would take care for the rigidity problem of a tiny ring. At least I won't be let down like with the compass tile, which was so inferior to the old compass piece.

Lego does not want to make light of modern armed conflicts by providing little kids with toys that simulate them. In my eyes it's an honorable stance that I respect, kids that want to play wars with their Lego can do so, without the Lego Group coming out and essentially endorsing warfare by producing such toys. It's the same with Lego's insistence of not using guns in the City theme, they do not want to promote violence in the themes that are closest to a kids everyday situation (by the way, in many countries in Europe, police officers do not carry guns and gun violence is less common then in the US.) The position comes form a more European attitude against war, where it's not nearly as romanticized as it is in the US. My experience here in the US is that kids are brought up with the notion of patriotism and that our soldiers protect us and our freedoms through wars. Growing up in Europe, people had a negative attitude towards warfare even if the recognized war as a necessary evil. War has had more of an impact on the civilian population on Europe, where many of the kids have grandparents and great grandparents that actually experienced occupation during WW2, in Germany violence and war is to an extent taboo due their history, and in eastern Europe more recent conflicts come to mind as well. Just look at the movie rating system, where violent movies can get PG-13 ratings in the US and often a 15 or 18 year limit in Europe. I agree that the lines have been obscured when certain action and licensed themes have items that are very close to modern military equipment, but I steel feel there is quite a gap between a few close to modern weapons included in certain sets and the production of a full military theme with soldiers and military equipment. They have a reasonably clear line where violent themes are either licensed or has some sort of science fiction/ fantasy/ historical feel to them that provides enough disconnect between the theme and modern warfare.

I've done this for both the Cafe Corner and the Market Street, and beware that cost is still pretty high for both as they contain rare expensive pieces. I'd estimate I spent between $300-500 for each while trying to replicate them as faithfully as possible. Here are a couple of threads where many members have described their experiences of doing this in more detail: Cafe Corner Market Street

The Fire Brigade is still available, but will most likely disappear soon, and when it does prices will most likely increase quite a bit, though not nearly as astronomical as the Cafe Corner or Market Street, and probably not as much as the Green Grocer. Many more people have been buying this set with hopes of selling it when it's discontinued, but our hobby is growing rapidly and people will want to complete their modular lines as best they can when they get the new ones. I don't see the Grand Emporium to discontinue until at least the end of the year, it's included in the art for the new Town Hall. When that set goes, I'd say it will increase in value as well, but be aware that it will probably be 1.5-2 years before we see any significant appreciation.

That's the correct way to do it if they include the stand and accessories.

If these figures were not all series 3 minifigures, I'd buy that the figures chosen were the popular choice of kfols. It appears that at least the mummy is a substitution made by Lego, where the mummy is thought to be "similar enough" to the zombie to pass for one, disregarding that the mummy is such a plain and boring figure. I personally like the space villain as I'm a big fan of the Blacktron 2 theme, and I understand why the fisherman was chosen as it probably eluded many with it's two-per-box distribution. The elf is pretty much a given, it might be the best of all the collectible minifigures. I wouldn't be surprised if gorilla suit guy is popular with the kiddos as well. It's sad we missed an opportunity to get at least one or two of the first and second series minifigures, as especially the first series had a limited distribution in the US and many people missed those figures. I could believe some of the molds are retired/on hiatus, but is there no way to make a few of those older figures?

Looking at the used prices on Bricklink, they are very different than the prices you quoted: 600 dollars as a minimum for the Eiffel Tower and $750 for the Statue of Liberty, and I believe you can get new sets for much lower prices as well. Both of these prices are in the US, but European prices are almost that low. I would have no qualms about buying the Eiffel Tower set used, as the set is bluish gray in color and thus has relatively few problems with discoloration. I also think buying it in individual parts is possible, I'm not sure if there are any rare pieces inflating the price though, and in all honesty I think you'll be hard pressed to get below $600. As for the Statue of Liberty I'd inquire for pictures before buying as the the sand green color it's made of is notable for its discoloration. Buying it in pieces is also very difficult as it is made of some elements only find in this set, such as the 2x2 round corner in sand green, which goes for $50 each if you can even find them.

The shower won't be a problem, but make sure you secure the drain before you wash the model so that you don't lose any small parts. Generally washing a model in dish soap and water is OK, but make sure the water doesn't go over 40C/100F, aka lukewarm but never hot. There are many threads on washing Lego on the board with much more detailed how-tos, a search will help you find them.

Of the three I would say MMV, as I think it could disappear at any time. It seems Lego has not put these sets (FB, MMV) on sale because they know they'll sell out in due time at full price. It's also a great set. The GE probably won't disappear for a year, so I think it can wait. It should go after the Fire Brigade. The mini modulars I'm honestly not sure about, it's a VIP exclusive, but Lego has said nothing of it being limited. Anyways, it's not even available online yet, and it has normal exclusive packaging, so it should continue for a while more. It's arguable the worst value as well, I personally am going to wait for this one.