jonwil

Nice truck, looks great.

I have seen several people suggest that TLG should release some train rolling stock (e.g. freight cars) and other train items via LDD (in the same way as the Space Skulls or Star Justice were released). What parts is PaB/LDD missing that would be required for the kinds of train rolling stock and other models that people want to see?

I suspect that there is a fixed cost for every SKU LEGO produces regardless of how many parts it has or how much/little investment has been put into the set. Remember that there is a physical limit to how many parts they can produce in a given amount of time, as well as how many sets the packaging machine can pack. I like the idea of making more "train" parts (i.e. parts seen in train sets and/or usefull for train designs) available on LDD/PaB and then making a handful of train type products (ala how they did the Star Justice, Space Skulls etc) available.

Pitty they dont have the Empire State Building, I would so buy one of those if they had it :)

I suspect that the shortage in the US is due to a number of factors: 1.Many retailers electing not to stock the figs (due to the idea being unproven and the retailers not wanting unsold stock) 2.TLG deciding not to import large quantities into the US (again due to the idea being unproven and previous reluctance of retailers to stock fig packs, impulse sets, advent calendars etc) 3.Retailers like TRU that ARE stocking the figs being unable to get supplies in fast enough And also 4.The fact that people in the US are buying whole boxes (either for themselves to ensure they get the ones they want or to resell on Bricklink one by one or as a sealed box). The fact that LEGO (Shop @ Home and LEGO stores) had a quantity limit whilst TRU (the only major LEGO retailer to actually carry them IIRC) did not meant that they sold out even faster at TRU. If Series 2 is available from more retailers (Wal-Mart, Target etc) and if TLG both produces more supply and allocates more of that supply to the American market, some of these problems wont happen. Retailers limiting the number you can buy at any one time would also help stop the scalpers. Although I cant see the likes of TRU, Target or Wal-Mart limiting the quantity.

I am SO glad I bought this set, looks GREAT (and once I finally take it to bits, I get a pile of nifty parts to use in my MOCs, like the exhaust pipes, the 2 x 2 tile with stud in blue and others)

I can confirm the extra 10% off at MYER Perth CBD. Plenty of Fire Brigades (if you want the fire brigade, its unlikely to ever be this cheap again) One cargo train left as well as one Lamborghini. No other train that I saw (level crossing, emerald night, train station) No flagships left. Plenty of Space Police (base, lunar limo, undercover craft) I did however notice a few copies of the RC train straight+curved track box sitting on a stockroom cart with a bunch of other toys so if you are looking for any, ask at your local MYER in case they have them.

The others were meant to be representative of older vehicles (which were often more square shaped than the nice smooth cars of today). Think about say a 1970s station wagon and how square they were. As for the hot hatch, I have just come up with a way to shorten the wheelbase by one stud and still work (a trick I will use for a small hatch for my Holden Dealer MOC, something like a Holden Barina)

Where did you get that guitar from?

When it was on the recent train layout, there were people watching it.

If the 1 x 1 round brick or 1 x 1 brick existed in trans-smoke, I would have put the windscreen dead center and 1 x 1 round bricks (or 1 x 1 bricks) on the sides. As for the cheese idea, it would be hard to get things to line up and look good (I just tested it myself quickly with various cheese slopes and other parts I had available) Plus, I dont own enough trans-black cheese to do it, not for 2 copies of the bus :)

The CSI 4 x 4 is based on the Horse Trailer 4 x 4 but its several studs longer and has all that cool CSI gear in the back (rolls of yellow crime scene tape, magnifying glass, shovel, flashlight & UV light for detecting all the stuff you dont see with normal light. There is also space where the equipment (camera etc) being used by the CSI guy at the crime scene goes. I modified the existing 4 x 4 because I thought it looked just like the typical American SUV (the kind I see the CSI guys driving) :) Oh and if anyone has any tips on how to make the undercover cop car look more like a Holden Commodore, please do say so (as I will be building something similar for my Holden Dealer MOC that I am planning to work on)

If I made it longer, it would look too long for the width so I would need to make it 10 wide (which would look out of place on our layout) BTW, the second bus in one of the pictures is a second copy I am working on for the layout (and dont have all the bits for yet)

Here is a MOC I made of the fictional Mikoyan Gurevich MiG-47 of the Soviet Federation Space forces, Western Alliance reporting name "Spearhead" http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/mig1.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/mig2.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/mig3.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/mig4.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/mig5.jpg It features laser cannons and Space-Space missiles for taking out WAAF (Western Alliance Air Force) Grumman Orbital F-51A Starhawk space fighters. (a MOC I intend to build at some point in the future). The "Soviet Federation" was formed by the Russians to counter increasing ties between former soviet states such as the Ukraine and the western powers and brings together a number of former soviet states along with friendly states like Iran. The "Western Alliance" was formed as the successor to NATO after the formation of the "Soviet Federation" by the Russians and is led by the USA. The name "Spearhead" comes from the NATO practice of assigning "NATO reporting names" to communist (soviet/chinese/etc) military equipment so everyone can easily identify it. Fighter jets used names starting with an F (hence names like the Fishbed, Fulcrum etc) and in my fictional universe, S is used for space fighters (hence "Spearhead") "Grumman Orbital" is a company formed from a fictional merger of Northrop Grumman Aerospace and Orbital Sciences Corporation (and because I think the name sounds cool)

Here is the latest version of my Mercedes Benz OC500LE bus in Transperth colors: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/bus1.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/bus2.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/bus3.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/bus4.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/bus5.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/bus6.jpg I have changed the air conditioning unit on the top, the front and side destination signs, the number plates, the black bits at the rear sides (including the grills) and the front lights at the top corners. I still have plans for decals in the future but I havent come up with suitable decals yet (plus my printer wont print 100% yellow for some reason, making the destination signs difficult)

Some go-karts I made: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/carts.jpg A magician, with "sawing a woman in half" trick, handcuff escape, cards, coins, magic wand, top hat and cups-and-ball trick: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/magic1.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/magic2.jpg Balloon pop sideshow, throw darts at the balloons to win a prize: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/baloon.jpg Basketball sideshow, shoot baskets to win a prize: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/basketball.jpg 2-lane Bowling alley attraction, complete with score computer and balls (just visible in the picture behind the score computer): http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/bowling.jpg

Here is a MOC I made of a private jet based on the new Passenger Plane set: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/jet1.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/jet2.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/jet3.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/jet4.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/jet5.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/jet6.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/jet7.jpg It has 2 pilots (one of which is currently looking after the CEO who is flying in the plane), a table for eating food and drinking coffee on, comfortable seats and a luggage rack in the back. Currently flying in the airplane is the CEO of a major company (watching important business news on the airplane's inbuilt TV set) along with his personal assistant.

A station wagon: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/wagon1.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/wagon2.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/wagon3.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/wagon4.jpg A 4 x 4 farm UTE http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/ute1.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/ute2.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/ute3.jpg A convertible version of the "small car" http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/smart1.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/smart2.jpg A "hot hatch" (similar to Subaru WRX or Honda Type-R) http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/hatch1.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/hatch2.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/hatch3.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/hatch4.jpg A Ferrari http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/ferrari1.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/ferrari2.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/ferrari3.jpg A Ferrari convertible http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/convert1.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/convert2.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/convert3.jpg

Here are some police items I produced: A CSI car (with crime scene) http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/crime.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/csi1.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/csi2.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/csi3.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/csi4.jpg A dog squad van http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/dog1.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/dog2.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/dog3.jpg A Holden Colorado based prisoner transport vehicle (modeled after the ones the Western Australian police service uses) http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/ptv1.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/ptv2.jpg An Holden Commodore undercover cop car http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/undercover1.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/undercover2.jpg http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jonwil/mocs/undercover3.jpg

I think that the Mars Mission alien qualifies for the title of the ugliest LEGO piece ever made.

No sign of any clearance product at the Big W in Belmont Forum. Only one pig farm left (not buying it at that price though) All in all, I think K-Mart did a better job of their sale (toy product all either in the toy section or the large sale section up the front of the store) than Big W who put toys everywhere and made them harder to find.

Ice Planet 2002. Definitly.

Better yet, "Electric, Sound Brick 2 x 4 x 2 with Light Bluish Gray Top and Vuvuzela Noise" :)

Great car, looks just like it came out of The Flintstones.

Wont matter since all K-Mart stores in Perth are closed at 6pm on a Wednesday (thankfully our politicians have finally agreed to allow extended trading to 9pm on weeknights once the new laws are passed)