notaromantic

Soapy water.

You want some inside pics of a decayed house? Funny. I like the steps downward to the back-side door... Which means your ground level must be at least a few plates to a few bricks higher than your base is - I'm going through a similar process now, myself: Building somewhat downward from ground. And I'm realizing I'm going to have to construct a base to accommodate that downward hight, but that is also sturdy enough to be moved around for display, exhibit, whatnot. And your layout seems to be expanding. So, I'm wondering how you are dealing with that challenge... Like, is your own base built in sections, or rather, as an entire base; and then, are structures somewhat separate, and lifted out for transport; or, is everything sectioned, and then slid together? Perhaps, I'll start a thread regarding base construction in the Historic Forums. I see some very very large castle dioramas there, with great bases, and I know those guys aren't shy about exhibiting, and thus moving things from convention to convention is pretty normal for them. Anyway, nice as always. I find it fascinating to see personal building styles that ferment and evolve. You definitely have your own, now recognizable, approach. I'm curious to see, with time, in which direction you take it.

Yes. They're like bars, I believe, measured in Lego "width", or "length", vs. "hight" - thus, 3L, 4L, etc....

I know, a touchy subject. Always has been. And one definitely in need of a different perspective. And so, I told myself I would look at it this way: "Are clones of Me bad for Me?" And I'll have to get back to you as its a pretty complicated idea right now. But in my gut, something just does not sit right... That primal fear, to wit every sci-fi-horror story/movie speaks, that whispers to us that, ultimately, in the end, any clones will be dangerous to us, probably should be listened to: Clone(s) = Not Good(^x). But does that pertain to LEGO? I'm not sure. But I believe the question of it basicically does: Does their charity outweigh their malevolence? I think in the beginning it could've been argued that it did - that companies, by making things LEGO does not, are actually benefitting the hobbyist/ hobby. - But more recently, it seems, companies are instead, mostly via online auctions, flooding the market with direct, very blatant rip-offs of many things LEGO. Which, I believe changes the nature of the answer to that argument. But really, now speaking to the question of cloning myself, and this too, is there really any other evolution to it that turns out positive? I mean, human intelligence will always find its way to trip itself up. A clone will just be able to do it with less empathy.

I bought, and buy it as a spiritual investment. And let me tell you, I have never had a net more positive than it is right now.

I've forever loathed the Lego Golds, especially Pearl Gold - until this very moment, anyway. And who'da thunk - with Tan.... Thank you. Its beautiful; and I absolutely adore anyone's work that forces me to rethink my own. And the truth, unbeknownst to most, is that a limited palette of color actually opens up the world of texture and shape. I'm learning to keep that more in mind these days in my own work. It works here beautifully.

"Ok. Ok... with the break over, now, if you will please turn to page 47 of your provided manual: Retiring From The Empire and Graduating Back Into Civilian Life, we will go over section 11, dash 4, the one subtitled: Why Appearing Less Threatening Is Important To Making Positive Acquaintances... And, please, once again, feel completely comfortable in lowering your blasters and removing your helmets, should you wish to do so... Also, I have been asked to relay the following messages before we began: Bus to the picnic lunch and gardens leaves at 12:15; the bar does not serve until 4:00pm; Bob, call your wife regarding the motor-home loan; and, car keys found in the men's restroom, with the Jewelry Television keychain, have still not been claimed. So, where were we? Yes... here: Why Smiling Is Not So Difficult And Can Be A Good Thing. And, it looks like you will need to find a partner for the exercise that follows..." Seriously though, I am impressed at the flushness you achieved with the diameter of the angled windows against the curvature of the wall up to and around it. Was it carefully planned, or as the LEGO gods sometimes do grant in their clandestine mathematics, did it just work out that way as you went along?

X-mas gift cards, man. Its whole 'nother shopping season to expect, those two weeks that follow. And I think, generally, New Year's seems to be a time when people feel it justifiable to shop for themselves... And think about, most AFOL's don't get LEGO for Christmas. They want LEGO for Christmas, but in actuality, will get things that adults feel comfortable buying for other adults. They'll buy LEGO for gifts, though. But around New Year's, those same AFOL's, now armed with a few gift cards and that handful of returned-item cash or credit, WILL go out and splurge on the LEGO they coveted, but that they weren't gifted, all for themselves. I'll gander that a lot more high-end sets are bought post Christmas because of this than we'd first imagine.

Don't you find that 'somewhat' hypocritical? ... I mean, you publicly post a picture of LEGO part that has not been officially released, from a LEGO set that has not been officially released, and so we can assume also, the photograph itself has also not been officially provided nor released by LEGO, and you accuse him of stealing from you. I don't get it.

Necessity be the mother of invention - 'tis true. I never seem to have enough bricks around to do things the way I'd like, as I only really ever order what I plan to use in whatever the next step of my work may be. But sometimes, an idea just refuses to wait, so I'll too use what I have in order to accomplish something, and the result is usually that I'm surprised by the result I did not expect. I like the effect of the Dark Tan plates behind the Tan tiles, and it seems like one of things - that someone would not consciously do when building - and as you've admitted, it was because you used whatever you had. It looks good, a new technique born. I'm going to want to try it. And the black in the awning = nice. Perhaps adding some more hints of black, here and there, would tie it all together.

So he's been in space for a few months, and he's developed a scowl and gotten a hold of a ray-gun. And he hasn't seen a check from The City in a while now. I guess I never really thought too much about it... But I digress, and in some ways I may even agree. You see, I'm also one who would argue that the Tiger Woman doesn't belong grouped in with the "costumed" characters. I don't perceive her as a woman in a suit, not a furry, but rather, as a 60's character, much in the same manner as you do the astron-, eer, I mean, spaceman.

Looks to me like the Satyr does have a tail. If you open up the hi-res version of that last group shot, and zoom it in, it appears that there is something of a tail's tip to be seen jutting from his back at the rear of the plate-stand. The series feels like an even mixture, between new, original characters that needed to be finally made, and then those fig designs left-over from different departments over the years that, for whatever reason, never really made it into production, in a set or individually, but that were still favorites of their respective design teams. Like, "Hey guys, we only have half of the slots filled for the next CMF series, so, if you got a fig mock-up that never made the cut, submit it now or let it RIP..." And with the astronaut represented again, it does seem to maybe be a signal for the ending of a certain CMF "era", and the transition into a new one. A house-cleaning... 16 might be the magic number.

Well, I'm a renaissance-man, or so I've been told. Its all hands on, one step at a time, no net.... Actually, I've been contemplating LDD for some time, but what I fear is spending too much time building digitally what I could never afford to build in person; so, the thought of living without it, while concentrating upon a few intimate and ever-growing builds, something I can touch, one step at a time, I really don't mind at all if I never move too forward. Plus, I really don't want for the plethora of my creative fruits to exist in file formats only. Maybe I should take up actual masonry. Olmec heads, maybe. To construct things that cannot be so easily misplaced, or deconstructed... or that require a certain technology to access them. I have old Paint program files, on floppies somewhere, that I know I'll probably never see again. Should've just painted for real. So you see, my dilemma. I'm the one guy left in the world still looking for a public pay-phone. And, let me tell you, there are none to found out there. One day, they were just gone. That's the dark side of a renaissance, man. So, the wait is killing me. Post an image, or tell me how you managed to build the clock with existing parts. There's not much room between the faces and the bars on the sides...

Exactly: 5 plates high < 2 bricks high. And: 5 plates high = 2 studs wide. Which was my thoughts about the clock. That width needed to place the (2)1x2 rail plates flush with one another as the face, thus allowing for the 2x2 area of SNOT to attach the round clock tile. The new piece you imaged, would now allow one to tile with consistency upon a wall, (just as those bullion bars are used here in the Brick Brank), without concern for those odd spaces between tiles that we now contend with when attaching a number of tiles in a SNOT fashion to a vertical surface. Right? Sorry, my system won't open your lxf file. But, I'm curious to know.

Slug Island Château... Sounds like a great name for a mellow jazz tune. Mind if I use it? Happy sea monsters - the world needs more of them. Thanks for posting another cool build.

I tend to think that it is not so much that the "themes are declining", but rather, that there really is no room for original themes when we are talking about a market that is entirely steered by a dominating popular culture. Our toy market is just an arm these days for the juggernaut that is popular, business-initiated culture and its advertising conglomerate. When each new blockbuster movie or blockbuster trend has to have an accompanying set, or now, wave of sets, and now too, successive waves of sets although no new films are being produced, this really leaves no room for what we might call "original" LEGO themes. Yea, its demand. But that demand is largely business driven, to wit the want is translated to the consumer. We don't want what we want, because we inherently want it - we want what we want because we are led to want it. There's just no room left in the aisle, and therefore, at the design and production levels, for ideas that are not the bourgeois ideas of the moment. A company has to be pretty bold, and pretty independent, to veer, and to succeed veering, from that juggernaut of the global market. I would say that the Friends line has been able to though, but perhaps that is because the feminine business juggernauts are to be found more in the fashion and accessories worlds, whereas the toy market and movie/ comic markets are predominantly male driven. Superheroes and Star Wars, man... I have to weed them both out my searches, whether in BL or the Bay, when searching. Otherwise, they make up more than 80% percent of my results. Now mostly a builder, I recently decided to remove all of, or most of, the licensed figures from my displayed collection. So my collection would actually reflect LEGO. And let me tell you, it was difficult to do. Some great figs. But it made me realize exactly where LEGO has invested its resources, especially in the last 15 years. The CMF's too, were an exception to this rule. But, even they are now too, because of their own success, being sucked into the economic monster. I wouldn't doubt if, given more time, the CMF releases will also reflect this, with maybe one original wave sandwiched in between two or three licensed waves. Am I cynical? No, not really. But there is no other way of explaining what is apparent. If it sounds "seedy", then it is. I don't much like it either. But I am an ant, not the honey. And I'm trying to eat more vegetables...

To put it simply - the adult world wasn't really all that it was cracked up to be. Its pretty sad and disgusting, actually. I knew all of my answers before ever I got involved into it, and should have stayed true to who that smaller person was. I went back and found him, and have been able to move forward more honestly ever since. Don't listen to those people who tell you to "... grow up". Its a trap, designed for the allowance of their own snide laughter, when your wing, too, is caught upon the fly paper. Your 9 year-old self will not lie to you... Mine told me to find a red Classic Space-man, and to piece him together a Space Buggy, #886. And so I did. And so here I am - some 200 or so BrickLink orders later, and a much more balanced being now that my analytical and imaginative self has been restored to pre-sheep form.

Try BrickLinking a large set over many months time - and then we'll talk... Seriously though, waiting weeks between orders, and thus often weeks between building sessions, is some of the most delectable self-torture that there must be.

It would actually defeat the purpose of LEGO, whose beauty lay in its builder's, whether child's or adult's, approach. For instance, I can build my city however I wish; as can you. If I choose it to be a Fabuland City, or a Modular-esque City, or a Classic Style City, or a mixture of whatever, wherever that floats my fancy, I can build as it as I envision it, and then flip it all around at my whim, if I like, as well. To restrict the ways in which we build, i.e. by pre-determining what connects to what, seems to be antithesis to what LEGO is known and liked for. And everything is already out there, and available, to 'connect' one's city. Its not a new idea at all. But if you mean that LEGO, themselves, should release city sets, or a series of them, with a certain plan in mind, or still yet, release an official series of town or suburb plans that comprise a mixture of sets old and new, to create neighborhoods, well, I don't know - there are people who would enjoy that, especially if it involved small, polybag types of scene or scenic complimenting sets, as well as new offerings of road and base plates... If it just allowed for a better selection of doors and windows, I'd be for it. And, I don't what exactly is out there, but even to develop a software that allows one to mix and match LEGO sets upon a landscape, without much difficulty, and to build within that environment, would be really interesting. One can probably do it already, but I imagine the time involved in importing things would be phenomenal.

Ooh, the White Goat and the Crow Pilot - two of my faves. Coincidence, I was just placing that White Goat on display yesterday, after having it in storage for about a year after I had aquired it. And, while I have a couple crows, I yet to get a good example of the plane pieced together. Your Fabuland figs look so mint. I know how difficult that can be, to find good, clean examples of the characters. I don't think America ever really warmed to the Fabuland sets, or else, they just weren't really available here. I'd like to know more, but in regards to Fabuland, I've only ever dipped a toe into it every now and then. Thanks for the post.

I don't get this. Please, explain...

This is cool. A regular minifig head in tan would work just as well; with the angle, it would appear as if it was hanging down.

Reminds me of a river-side district, where the buildings always have that industrial, tankish, but natural feel to them. And it doesn't resemble the million modular streets out there; it definitely has its own feel, its own character. I love the dark-blue and purple rug.

Yea, like a nice black car with a primer door. I'll just park it so the offensive side is hidden. Which, really, is what people are already resorting to here. - How do I display it, and yet hide the back wall. And it does seem also to be a flagrant proof to all those who accuse LEGO of sacrificing exterior for interior. Yup... I agree, when it comes to what is essentially a toy, playability will always somewhat take priority over aesthetics (Although, with modern toys, I really question whether thats true at all anymore.), truth be told between us all: There are not many children with $350 just laying around, nor are many of them GhostBusters fans to begin with, nor do I hear the playgrounds awry with talk of the Ghostbusters LEGO set that is coming. And if there are kids with $350 to blow for X-Mas, chances are 95 of them are headed straight for the electronics section, and perhaps three are virtuous enough to use that to buy gifts for others, and maybe 2 will set it aside for the NEW GBHQ set. When the movie comes out, there may be a resurgence of those young consumers for the GBHQ, but it really isn't a set reflective of the reboot, is it, therefore, whose to say... By then, the set will be around $600 on the aftermarket. But these are things we all perceive and know. LEGO knows this too. The pulse of their market is more important to them than it is to us, so there is no way they cannot know. So, although I've already admitted that I'm not it, there is a target audience here. There is. And any LEGO representative should've known that that rear wall would most likely be offensive to that audience. And it obviously is.

^ You know, you may be on to something. I adored the clock as soon as I saw it, and then, settling with a design in my mind, that built around (4) 47905's - Brick, Modified 1 x 1 with Studs on 2 Sides - I realized that it would not work, because the nature of the snot bricks, when used for tiling with tiles, leaves that space between what is height and what is width in LEGO (That same little space that constitutes the bottom bar of a headlight brick... ); i.e the round clock tile, 2x2 in width, will of course not align with stacked snots, 2x2 in height. If this is a new piece, as you suggest, then: It wouldn't exactly be 2 high would it? - As placing two tiles in this manner above one another, assuming that the gold-bar tiles are the same width as normal tiles, would equal to something less than 2 high.... And: Making this part in black would be a way to make the clock as well - (2) bumped next to one another, yet inverted. But as I mentioned in another thread, it was a long and taxing day, so perhaps I am missing something obvious and this post makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.... * But, any other suggestions as to how to build the pit of the clock? After my initial design failed, I have yet to return to it.