Retro

Is the correct answer! I've tried snippets of all the 're-booted' doctors and it's just not the same show as before. They're all good actors (well maybe not Matt Smith) but it's lacking in subtlety and atmosphere. (Ok, I liked Human Nature/Family of Blood.) It's hard to see how it could ever recover. The current version is dreadful. Jodie Whittaker is fine but the writing is terrible. It's like CBBC but with monsters that are too scary for children.

These are fine. Y-Wing and all are classics. But it would be nice if Lucasfilm/Disney could eventually move on to some new designs. I like the Sequels as films but I miss the originality of the Prequels as far as costumes and ships are concerned.

Well, according to Wiki (since I didn't want to go out and count), Dublin has; City: 555,000 Urban: 1,173,000 Metro Area: 1,347,000 Greater Dublin: 1,905,000 So, big enough. But being an island has its quirks of logistics and economics I suppose. I think it's a really nice place to live. Expensive though, yes. But my only luxury is Lego, which is, indeed, expensive. Of course, sometimes it washes up on the shore. Last week I was beach-combing and I found Tantive IV, only slightly damp and nibbled by a crab.

Well, my nearest Lego store is 439km away and you'd have to cross the sea to get there. And I work 5 mins away from the European Headquarters of Google, Facebook and Air B&B (I think). So I'm not in the boonies.

Those (and indeed Star Wars, which is 40 years old) are all American though, and I think had more global reach. I'm a bit surprised Dr Who Lego ever got made at all. Out of interest, when do you think Dr Who was last 'good'? At it's heart, it is a great concept. One unique, humanoid alien in his ship. You can start the story afresh any time. But I haven't really enjoyed it since the 1980s... and, like superheroes, it doesn't really lend itself to Lego because it's about people and aliens, not so much spaceships and buildings...

Boring conversation anyway. LUKE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE COMPANY!

Thanks folks. Well, since that was so much fun, I turned to the other set I brought with me (!), 75258, and using only parts from that I made another alternative build thing. I had one more day of the Pink Table before going home, so I took a few pictures of what I'm calling a Geonosian Creature. He also hopped onto the roof our car.

When I buy a set, I build it. Except very occasionally when I've bought something small just for the parts. I keep a few sets, like Ninjago City, intact, because they are too nice to mess with and also because due to the complexity of it, I'd never get it back together if I took it apart. My Millennium Falcon is half the original and half my own tinkering. Then about 75% of my sets are taken apart and sorted into loose bricks because; a) I want bricks for MOCs. b) If you fill your house with built sets it looks like Willy Wonka lives there. c) Built sets gather dust terribly and there's only so many glass display cases you can have.

Version 2. Having interpreted two of the suggestions made by@BEAVeR, I moved the fin pieces to the front to make a smoother (Clone Wars-ish?) transition between cockpit and body, and also shortened the nacelles. Still only using Quadjumper pieces. I may get around to a Version 3...

@ShaydDeGrai I loved your post. It reminded me of that story in the news recently about the girl using her fridge to tweet. As for Disney, I don't see the slightest attraction in the characters. I love popular culture as much as the next person. Winnie The Pooh (not the Disney version), Bagpuss, The Wombles. I have no problem with Frozen, Teen Titans...I've even watched Barney and Paw Patrol. But Mickey and Goofy and all leave me cold...

I'm not the biggest expert on the source material but I know enough Potter to say that this is brilliant and perfect.

This is great. It's beautiful and really bonkers. And the pilot is adorable.

Wow, I never thought I would qualify for an official BEAVeR review! It's like finding yourself appearing in the New York Times. Thank you for the time and effort you took to praise little details that no-one else in their right mind would have spotted. And thank you for your insightful suggestions. When I was growing up in the 80s, I only liked glossy photos from the films (ROTJ being 'my' film). Now that I'm older, I appreciate more the great quirky models and paintings done behind the scenes by Cantwell and McQuarrie et al, so thanks for making that comparison even though it was not consciously intended on my part! One of my main inspirations for doing an alternative build was the fantastic house church that Alan Boar made using all the parts from 31026 (and which I did my best to reverse engineer once upon a time). Initially I therefore hoped to re-use all the parts from 75178 in one model. Buy as the y-wing materialised, I thought I would end up compromising the aesthetic by trying to shoe-horn all the parts in. But that's partly why the nacelles ended up so long - from initially trying to use as many parts as possible! The patterns I made using the sloping parts were deliberate, yes. And it was also nice to find the parts to make the offset engine intakes work. I will see what I can do about making the orange on the nacelles line up with the body! As for the connection between the cockpit and the body, I did wonder at length could I get some kind of extra transition to work, but I thought I might not have enough parts. Now that I have made one finished version that I like, you have inspired me to tinker again and see if I can come up with something new there. If I succeed, I will post it. Also, thanks for checking out the figs. I'm not sure what the grey globe on the lady's head is doing ...perhaps it is a bun like Aunt Flo in Bod.

Thanks for your kind words. I'll try to use a less depressing title next time. But thanks for your appreciation, Kit.

When you go on holiday, it's nice to take Lego with you to tinker with. So I packed 75178 to see what else could be made out of it. A Y-Wing jumped out at me and here it is, on a suitably vacation coloured background.

Ninjago City is a specific set, 70620, age 16+. It is, I think, the fourth largest set ever released. The techniques used are some of the most unusual you will find in an official Lego set. You don't have to have any interest in Ninjago to appreciate it. The feeling is quite Japanese and somewhat science fiction, like Blade Runner. The Lower levels are less sci-fi and more naturalistic.

The Diner (which I have) is nice, and the Garage (which I don't) is probably nice. But if you have the slightest interest in something a bit different, and you can afford it, I would recommend Ninjago City as the ultimate 'modular' building experience. I can't recommend it highly enough. Just great fun to build, from start to finish. Constant 'wow' moments.

I will try to answer this. I will preface my thoughts by saying that both your photographs are lovely and this discussion is all just a matter of opinion! There is a big difference between your photographs in as much as the wagon in the 'real' image had to come from somewhere, whereas the computer image just came from a computer (using your technical skill). In the same way, I would rather see a photograph of a real flower that you fed and watered than a computer generated photo of a flower produced by Lucasfilm (although I love Star Wars). To me, Lego is a hobby of using bricks to see what you can build. One of the most fun things my son and I did recently was taking part in helping Fairy Bricks to build a massive mosaic at the Brick Féile. Everyone got a key plan, a base plate and a basket of the right coloured bricks, and then you filled in your base plate to contribute to the final picture. Just the fun of everyone getting a different pattern to do, comparing what your neighbour was doing, and so on. The feel of the purple bricks. (And yes, I know a computer was involved in the planning!) Conversely, some large Lego models you see online that have been planned on a computer then assembled from the 1000s of pieces ordered online leave me a bit cold because it's almost an industrial process. It's like seeing a new Toyota Corolla. It's a brilliant piece of engineering, but I don't feel the need to comment on it because I know that Toyota have spend countless man hours ruthlessly assembling it. Going back to the photographs, it makes me think of the difference between Jack Vettriano and Edward Hopper. Their style is superficially similar but Hopper is the greater artist because his paintings make me want to think and consider. In the same way I prefer your 'real' photograph because it makes me wonder where you got the lovely blue bricks, what country was it taken in, how beautiful the blue is... This is probably not logically consistent, but it's the way I feel.

I think I would have taken the rugby player down a more stylised route. Used one of the crazy Stade Francais type of strips with a yellow Ninjago Kai hair or something. Nice series, though. And nice to have rugby in it.

They are 1.6m tall. All of them. But I fear I have led you astray with my quip about Ireland. I believe this excellent DIY project is happening in the UK.

I think it varies by country. This may be just my personal experience, but it seems to me that in Ireland, where I live, children are mostly interested only in licenced themes, or Lego's own brand of licenced themes, like Ninjago. Even when I was a child and I got set 375, I turned it into spaceships fairly quickly. However, I visit Germany a lot, where it seems that traditional themes for toys, like pirates, wild west and knights are still a thing.

I think that where I live Lego is now quite normalised as a hobby for grown ups. I know a dentist and a doctor who have large sets at home. My immediate family members are all interested in Lego. I have no problem if someone at work asks me what I was doing at the weekend to say I was building a spaceship out of Lego. At the same time, I don't have much need or inclination to talk to people about Lego. It's the same with any hobby. I love Bach and Schumann but I don't go out of my way to talk to people about it. I don't expect other people to be fascinated by my interests. Tolerant, yes. Unfortunately, everything is harder when you are young and your peers can want to pick on anything that makes you seem different.

B&Q is a sophisticated version of Woodies. (But I suppose you'd have to be from Ireland to understand that reference!)

I wasn't going to play because of the premise of the original post, but there have been so many great suggestions that I couldn't resist. This is probably the correct answer. Even more so if you add the Rancor Pit and the figs from the Sail Barge. Lovely display ship. This is the one set I regret missing out on when it was in the shops. Building this at the moment and it's great. I like the modern quirks in the parts use for the greebling. Also the intelligence at work in the use of sand blue and yellow flecks to break up the symmetry and homogeneity.

From left to right; 1. The old Central Bank 2. GPO 3. The Spire 4. Buses 5. Liberty Hall 6. Customs House 7. DART train 8. Pepper Cannister Church 9. Samuel Beckett Bridge 10. Convention Centre 11. Bord Gais Theatre 12. Marker Hotel 13. Luas Tram 14. Google Montevetro 15. Aviva Stadium 16. Poolbeg Incinerator 17. Poolbeg Chimneys