notaromantic

I like this, but it also kinda' disturbs me... It's my new desktop.

Spot on. I, too, love that floor.

Ok. Ok. I give. As I explained to LegoSjaak already, as a very artistic/ creative child, I also happened to be blessed by a family who thought such past-times were not only a waste of time, but also a waste of any resource, and who also were not hesitant to tell one so in ways that were obvious, and not so obvious - and often veiled beneath humor. They are the kinds of people who once were, in another time, part of very spiritual and expressive societies, but who, generationally, bought into the messages sold them - they became the working middle class of industrialized nations, who like most who did, then began to spout that same mentality to their children: It is employment, marriage, children, making money and being a societal success that is most important. One's creativity, and thus individuality, has no place in that realm. And anything artistic is sure to lead down a road of ruin. Now, many of us are adults who have a hobby that is not exactly "constructive", (albeit it is entirely), in many people's minds. Many of us, if we did not already know how that feels, do now. I am saavy and sensitive to comments such as that, and as an adult now, I absolutely refuse to tolerate it - which does alienate me from my family, who has not, and will not change. When I hear it, I call it out. And so I did... Injustice and inequality just really gets under my skin. I do apologize if I read into something that was not there for some of you. But sometimes humor can be more wounding than anything else can be, and albeit, I too do not believe lightningtiger's comment was "meant" to wound, but its the kind of thing that, if waived around indiscreetly, can. "Stop playing with that gun!!!" - was my attitude when I posted. If it came across as harsh, I do also apologize for that. It was reactionary, and perhaps not written with patience. But - Please: Don't play with guns like that... ok? Now, carry on.

Here. Here. **The sound of glasses being raised** I think of it in terms of the psychological concept of "Flow", in which one's skill level is taken in relation to the task before them. If the task is beyond one's skill level, the result is an experience of frustration, and therefore we must increase our skills, or else abandon the task. But if one's skill level is, or has become, adept to their task, they experience elation, as in being "in the zone" = Flow. However, if our skill level has surpassed the task before us, we experience boredom, and therefore must increase the demands of our task... Like a stairway that one can either ascend or descend. Now, LEGO is not exactly a toy - it is a task, and one that requires skill. So, I think, really, LEGO has been what it always has been. And LEGO will continue to be what they always have been. It is "we", the AFOL community at-large, who have in many ways, surpassed with our own skills, those "official" tasks before us and are faced now with having to find ways in which to challenge ourselves.

I would've cut open those bags already. Just keep their contents separate...

Oh, I wasn't mad at all. It's an ambivalent statement. It just is... Try it out with anyone passionate about what they do when they are naked with their own work and assess the reaction you get.

Isn't this the kind of sarcasm that AFOL's are used to hearing from non-AFOL's? I'm sorry, but I just don't think your sense of humor there is funny at all. I would, personally, never say a thing like that to you while appreciating the photos of your own city. It comes across as something other than humor, beneath its funny veil and 'wink'. We each make our investments, and we each make our sacrifices - do we not? This is our place of refuge, and it is not so much a locale, as it is a gathering of people - and mutual respect is vital to the health of that. And if you think I have taken this too far out of context, you should consider the ways in which the ambiguity of your statement could be perceived before you lob it out there without legs or feet.

They are from Australia, you are from Australia. Perhaps it was a term of endearment. Is it representative of a general Australian Post Office, something that someone from Australia would find instantly familiar? I don't know... I did want to say though, that Port Belair is quickly becoming a place that exists in my Lego consciousness, and thus, I imagine it is now also a place that rests on my Lego world map somewhere. If I was a minifig I would definitely pay it a visit... ^ Looks like warsch beat me to the punch.

So much ingenuity packed into this little scene... The levers are my fave.

I think there's a tad bit of Reddish Brown in there, if I'm not mistaken.. lol. This is great. Welder working on a Sunday or a holiday... It needs its own, proper base, I think; but everything else about it works very well together. The sideway logs used to make the coal cart are wonderful - and I generally abhor 'outside' stickering in MOC's, but you've made it look really good here. Achieving that 'rust' color that you must've imagined in your head must feel good, and pairing it with that dark green - very nice. I, too, like to play around with the silver colors for accent. This is first for me, seeing the dark green hose, which I didn't know existed (But I do know that green hose is very hard to come by...) Thank you for sharing this. It drew me into the Train Tech forums. Seems that modulars hugely overshadow both Trains and Historic builds in terms of interest, and that a lot of 'Townies' rarely venture out of Town, but I've run across some of THE best builders in both Train dioramas and in Medieval scenes - both of which also always emphasize landscaping and overall feel of presentation. This certainly, likewise, has both. You should place some of those pics directly into the thread here, so as more people will actually see this without having to worry about following a blind Flickr link - I know some are too hesitant, or lazy, to do so.

This. Exactly. None of you seem to have considered this very important factor before comparing one apple to another apple - the effort taken to procure each apple. Point being: Become informed, before you unholster that weapon of opinion. It seems he, versus us, would be more in the know. We only have the apples to look at. He's seen the trees...

Yea, I recently went through a similar debate with myself myself regarding a project. And finally, I too had to stop thinking in terms of 'baseplates', but rather, plates instead. A baseplate is very limiting. With one side of a plate gone, there is really only direction one can build - upward. Sure, sideways can be achieved, with Technic pins or with subtle connections between baseplates, but building downward is nil. If I wanted to, say, expand my modular city in a netherly direction, with a canal, or a coast, or just a hill that traveled to a lower section of the city, I'd pretty much have to pretty much just "sit it", baseplate and all, within a frame, right - or brace it from the top, but even then, the thickness of a baseplate is much less than a standard plate... So the latest build is old school, built on regular plates - first time for me - but it allows me the choice of adding downward, should I ever want.

I don't know if I'd sell one either after my flesh had grown back. But think of it this way, instead: What would it cost you/ motivate you to recreate that particular MOC for someone? I would do that - with a bottom line of cost of bricks; and of course, a very realistic budget for Tanqueray, tonic water, lemons, and jazz music. For that alone, I'm there... You may be different, though. Seriously though, the initial build is very hard to estimate in terms of value - simply because there is so much blood, sweat, and tears involved with those builds that are near and dear to us. However, building it again, second time around, it'd be much easier to think in terms of actual cost/ profit and the effort involved. I'd be more objective in re-building, and it would really ease that feeling of having "sold a child", so to speak... because it'd be a clone I was bartering away.

Yes, to me, MOC'ing is worth it. You - will have to find out for yourself. Its called a "leap of faith" - you either live with the risk of failure, or with the regret of never trying at all. Get your feet wet, and then decide. And then get your feet wet again, and then reconsider... And, it does seem that there are places to procure Lego in India. There a few internet articles regarding the Yellow Giraffe toy store chain, as well as some others who were importing more and more Lego. And, from the sounds of your post, if you get to England every now and then, your access to Lego is exponentially better than someone who never chances to leave India at all. And, really, the cost of shipping isn't what you might expect: Many sellers ship international for as much or less than you might pay to ship only regional. Get on Bricklink and began comparison shopping - Who has what, from where, and what will it cost to get it to me? If you must, purchase by the set, considering what will provide you the most of the type of building materials you'd prefer, or buy in bulk from an auction site. If you are not experienced at all - become experienced. There is no other way around it. Not many people "have the space" either, and many, many more certainly do not have the Lego "studios" that others have - Lego finds it way into closets, beneath beds, in unused shower stalls, in things stacked here and there and everywhere they probably shouldn't be, and I'll bet some of us never even clean our kitchen tables off in order to properly eat, because they are littered with "this or that project". Ideas are abound in the world all around you and within you. And, you certainly don't need to "build big MOC's" in order to validate your endeavor. Building is a skill that must be nurtured, like logic or love, or strength, over time, and with perseverance, one small step after another. Brick by brick by brick. The majority of builders will tell you that they gleaned the most satisfaction in making a certain connection work, rather than in parading a monstrosity. And, I'll bet if you polled every member here, the ratio of those who've never been to a Lego convention would probably outnumber a great deal the number of those who have.... So in short, LEGO-ing, really, is a process - like exercise, or knowledge, or music, or enlightenment itself. And you'll have to learn to love the process itself, rather then the benefits of the process, to assess whether or not it is worth it to you. However, like the rest of those "processes", once you began to experience a control over it, or at least find a symbiosis with it, it is one of those things that is translatable across life - patience, problem-solving, discipline, etc..., etc... Efficacy. That is the sweeter side of failure. Failure allows you to recoup and to reattempt, yet to do so a little more savvy. And that is an invaluable habit to nurture. And I would argue elsewhere, that perhaps it, procuring efficacy, is our only reason for existing in this realm, but I digress. The world would be a much better place if we'd all find a satisfaction and pride in building on a small scale - before we unleashed our minds and hands and machines out upon its terrain of living places and living people. So... Don't become a frustrated dictator - FIND YOURSELF SOME LEGO.

From the Haunted House set, I believe. I did my Green Grocer in Dark Blue, and it came out great. This may be the only other building I've run across in Dark Blue, and it really works here also. Great build. The only problem I have is the Blue bay doors in contrast with the Dark Blue. The Dark Blue is a powerful, royal, regal kind of color which usually is complimented by other shades of blue, but because this other shade, here, is separate from it, it seems to clash. My own opinion; I think the doors, and thus the building, would look much better with gray or silver doors perhaps, or a white ones if not. But I'm not savvy on these kinds of doors so I'm unaware as to what's available - which of course, may be why you chose these. Because of availability. Still, very nice.

This is just beautiful - deceptive too; because it blends so wonderfully, as good art should, that one would think it simple, almost effortless - and yet, it is nothing simple: Great techniques abound, and evidence of a mind that searches and spots out alternatives. I've never thought "genius" was about intelligences, as much as it is about associations... Either way. I love the scabbard, the protruding knife handle is really, really cool... The cobblestone ground - again, it looks simple, but underneath it all, I can't imagine the effort to arrange those jumper plates. But it works. It'd be really neat to do a floor that way, but to make the ridges high enough so as the floor appears flush and flat across... The beard. The eyes and eyebrows... All lovely. And I would only add that: Here is the proper place for the use of barrels as forearms.

I'm waiting for someone to make a proper pub out of that first floor...

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. I'm so glad I already have all four of those figs. Those who don't are going to go looking for 'em now. They were made for that scene. Cue the gypsy jazz, please.

Dark Red seems the most obvious in terms of inconsistency to me. However, I seem to enjoy that - as it adds a realism to builds, that I prefer. I don't know that I'd personally want the colors to be too homogenous. Slight shade differences add depth. I also see it in the black slopes I am using now for a roof; but the bleys seem to be always on point with one another. And I wish there were more inconsistency in the bleys. It seems many builders mix their bleys with their old grays in order to achieve shade.

Find your part, in the color you want, and then click the link to the "lots for sale" page. When that page opens, pay special attention to the "Search Within Results" bar: At its rightmost side is a "sort by" field, which by default is usually set to the "Best Price" specification. Change this using the drop-down to "Highest Qty" instead. Then, hit "Go"... That should give you what you need. From there, I usually just browse until I find that seller with the most of what I need, at the most reasonable price. In reality, this often involves at least 2-3 separate sellers. A seller with hundreds of a certain kind of part in a certain kind of color, in my own experience, will also have a selection of hundreds of others in sister parts/ colors as well. I generally though, begin searching with my most expectedly expensive or hardest-to-find part first, or those in which I need the most quantity. Very hands on, sometimes time consuming, but its always worked for me.

Hey, hey now. This could start a conspiracy theory you know.

Could you run a bar, say a 4L, through the four of them in order to add some stability? Anyway, I like the design. I've seen others made with using rubber-bands before, but this has that nice, industrial sort of heavy feel to it that it should.

Did you see this one?: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=103322

It's cool and everything; however... I just don't personally agree with the use of user-printed materials in MOC's. I think its as a legitimate concern as clone-blocks, or any other non-Lego element being used. I guess because it takes it, aesthetically, to whole other level that makes one question whether or not the composition could survive on its own without it. Of course, I believe it could here - many people would, without the stickers, recognize it, and appreciate it, as a payphone - and it would look great that way, even better in my own eyes; but we know that, without the use of the printing, it would not be what it is... otherwise, you would've went without it. The printing adds a "wow" factor that is integral to the presentation, and is no longer just complimentary of it. So I don't know, I think the stickering mars what it is, and it is our own imposition of too much detail into Lego, whose beauty lies in its blockiness rather than in its sharpness. It's Lego. It takes the middleman of imagination out of the equation - and that seems a necessary part of what Lego should be about. And I'll confess that I am guilty of cutting Lego - trimming down bars to fit certain lengths, or in taking a blade to a baseplate because I wanted a custom length and width - and I know that I could be lynched in certain circles for doing even that - but adding to Lego with outside elements seems somewhat even more taboo than does many other things we do as creators with it. My own .02 cents, and what I was thinking as I read this...

Here's a link to Bricklink's "Modular" page. Browse through and pay special attention to the "Inventory" pages of each. In a short while, depending upon how OCD you are about such things, you'll be more than familiar with the colors, and parts, and etc..., etc..., etc... http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?catType=S&catString=710 For instance, here's the inventory page for the Parisian Restaurant: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemInv.asp?S=10243-1 You'll be scooting along in no time.