splatman

Or start one. IdaLUG? SpudLUG? TaterLUG?

Years ago, when I built something that featured a pool, I used this: Of course, this doesn't really look like a pool. I just thought I'd deposit my 2 bricks.

You sure she wasn't just trying to take on the Empire?

The corners are 90 degrees. There are half curves, though one end will fit only the curved branch of the points. 2 left or 2 right 1/2 curves can be mated to make an S-bend. A left and right 1/2-curve makes a 90 curve. S-bends, however, will throw off the alignment of other pieces, as they "break the grid". This is a great way to plan a Monorail layout, and here you can learn what I mean about the S-bends. As you probably already know by now, the track pieces are joined with a 1x4 plate on each side. 1x4 tiles would probably look better. if you do tiles, you'll need Old light gray tiles, so they'll match the track. or you can use an other color for effect, such as blue or yellow for a Classic Space theme.

They poop Bricks!

Sounds like you need one of these.

Instead of a middle pillar, add a 1x7 liftarm piece on the top inside of the bridge trusses, with a pin in every available hole (6 per). Then it can function just like a real Truss Bridge.

Wouldn't that result in LEGO brick-shaped mouse turds? Mice poopin' bricks? Brick-shaped eewww! Yes this! This does seem quite a load of work, but you deal with this the same way you eat a whole watermelon: One slice at a time. Do a few 100 bricks now, do a few 100 more later. Give it a hot, soapy Splat!

Use the old tracks only in the hidden parts of the layout. Then it'll look good, and you'll save a bit of deniro.

I've built and displayed a 4954 Model Town House for a year or 2, and while it sat on the shelf, it got as dusty as you would expect. Then I wanted to take it apart and put it away, so first, I took it to the bathtub, put a mesh strainer in the drain, to avoid losing any pieces, then sprayed the house inside and out with the handheld showerhead, on the setting that provides the most force, to blast off all the dust. Then I disassembled it and laid the pieces on a towel, for them to dry.

If that were so, then why has been no issues with anything built of transparent bricks? The only difference is trans bricks, particularly any w/o side supports, tend to fit tighter, due to their sides curving inward, causing them to have a stronger grip. Things built of trans bricks are just a bit harder to take apart than things built of the same shape ABS bricks. Though that does not say much about the tightness of a rod-in-tube connection, such a minifig hand in arm.

Before taking pix, I put 1x of each dark-colored piece balanced atop their respective bins. Now, I have one piece against a white background. Or you can take closeup shots of the "offending" bins. I've done that, too.

I just take pix when I'm done. 12 bins per pic. Some shapes may run out when I'm picking bricks, and get replaced with others, so I wait till the end. By taking pix, I also can update the Brickbuildr database in the correct order.

Where have I found LEGO pieces? Let's see... In Spring '94, I was exploring the woods around my place, and found a rotting old Ford pickup. Found off road dead. In the back, I found enough pieces to fill a Spam can, including a few I found some time later when digging thru all the trash that was in the back of said truck, specifically to find out if there was any more pieces. Those pieces are still in said Spam can, sitting in a metal cabinet in the garage. They're quite weathered. A year or 2 later, when cleaning a spot in the woods, not far from the Ford, I found a blue 2x2 plate under the vegetation. It looked like-new. On a power-line road south of my place, I found a handful of pieces in a couch, and a few miles East, another handful in a box of solvent-smelling trash. The bricks had that smell, which went away after a few weeks. Then a few Duplo bricks near the site of the first find. Cleaned them up, and gave them to my niece, who was a tot at the time. I used to frequent said power-line road looking for metal and things like dead appliances, for the metal. Probably made a few 100 bucks on the power-line road metal alone, from '96 to '01. Last few times I was thru there, there was not much illegal dumping going on anymore, so no more free metal. I found a blue Duplo 2x4 brick on Sunset Blvd in LA in Fall '04. I'll use the edit function when I recall more.

Just what I was gonna say. Though, about LEGO stores, not stores in general. Basically using infrastructure that's already in place, with some adjustment. Bricklink could set up a similar program for those that live too far from a LEGO store. Example: I buy from a BL seller that lives, say, in Montana, and he sends me his sprues and broken bricks along with my order, especially if it won't tip the package cost into the next shipping bracket, and then I take along said sprues and broken bricks next time I shop at the Bellevue Square LEGO Store, and deposit in their sprue/broken brick bin. When their bin is full, it gets sent to TLG. I totally second the plain box idea concerning S@H orders. Perhaps, pack the sets in bags, made of tough bioplastic, instead. Just make sure the shipping box won't spill its contents. Not shure how the plain-box idea would work in stores. Though it has potential to change the times. Other comps may follow. Not just toymakers, either. The same way cargo containers revolutionized the shipping industry. LEGO stores could have a debox option, so customers don't have to lug home those oversize boxes. That might throw their return policy for a loop. Customers can even take empty LEGO boxes to the LEGO stores for recycling. If they're still in good condition, they could be sent back to TLG for reuse. The cases the sets come in can also be reused. Got this idea from Frito-Lay. I also second the on-line .pdf instructions. If sent on a CD, the .pdf, even for a large set, would probably fit on a 3" CD. It just don't make sense to put on a 5" CD, what will fit on a 3-incher.

LEGO: Something between Leh-Go and Lay-Go. AFOL: AFF-full. Awful does sound awful. MOC: Mock. Vignette: Vig (rhymes with Big) -Net. Vig-Net. Ninjago: I did not realize it was like Ninja-Go, so I always pronounced it Nin-JAY-Go. KFOL: Kh-Foll. Edit to add this: Reading the discussion, it shows I've been mispronouncing Vignette. It's one of many words I've learned by reading. I seldom look up a word unless I don't know its meaning. Technic: Tek-Nik. WIP: Whip, like in Whip it up. Bionicle: bi-ON-ik-ul. CUUSOO: Koo-Soo. Decal: Dee-Kal I'll throw in a few non-LEGO acronyms: html: Hit-mull. WWW: Dub-Dub-Dub. Http: Hit-tip. Say that fast. Add an S for https. I'll use the edit function when I have more.

Age: 32 Age you started building: 2 or 3 Country: USA Occupation: None at this time, though sometimes I recycle scrap metal for a few extra bucks. Married: Nope Children: 0 Do you have close friends who build: No. Do you regularly attend Lego conventions: Not at all. I hope that changes soon. How much money do you spend on Lego product a year: $1000+ How much time do you spend building/playing a day: ? Sometimes I'll build something, but it averages out to a minute or less per day. Hoping that will change. Favored themes: M:Tron, Monorail, PaB, and Bricks, bricks, bricks, oh and more Bricks! Do you primarily collect retail sets, build MOCs, or both? Mostly MOCin'. Did you experience a "dark age": Yes. If yes, what age did you enter your "dark age" About 9.3 yrs.Thought I was getting too old for LEGO What age did you exit your "dark age": 9.7 yrs, thanks to my sister. By age 12, I learned to disregard the "This set for ages X thru Y" thing, and just get what I like. Other hobbies: Working with wood/metal/glass/whatever can be made into things. In your own words what makes Lego bricks so special: Do I have to put this into words? That's the hardest way to express something. Using words to describe something is like trying to put a house in an envelope and mailing it First Class. Give it a Splat!

Others have suggested this to TLC before, but why have they not made them? Part name: Double-sided Pate. (or Double-Male Plate) Description: A plate with studs on both top and bottom. Usage: Build studs-down as well as studs-up. Make in sizes from 1x1 - 1x4, 2x2 - 2x4, 1x1- and 2x2 Round, and 2x2 Corner. This would reduce (if not eliminate) the need for most inverted items. To invert a slope, or anything else, just use a Double-Sided Plate.

If LEGO decides to do a completely different system, similar to that pictured in the previous message, do the track like this: 2w, square cross-section, smooth on all sides. To get the idea, stack a bunch of 2x2 bricks, and lay the stack horizontal, then build a train that rides on it. The track sections can alternately be used as columns and beams in buildings, with the possibility of multi-way connectors to connect the track pieces when using them as framing members in a building, along the lines of Construx. The track pieces would have stud sockets on the bottom on the ends, to allow them to be snapped onto the monorail stanchions, and technic pin sockets in the ends, so they can be pinned together. In short, the idea is a monorail system of pieces that can also be used in non-monorail creations, the same way other LEGO pieces can used to build anything, and then some. Edit: I realized the track pieces cannot have stud sockets on the bottom and have Technic holes in the ends. So, instead of having stud sockets at all, have 2w cube connectors that have built-in Technic pins on the 2 sides and sockets on the bottom, allowing the connector to be snapped onto a monorail support, and track pieces would be pinned onto either end. The connector cubes would have only 2 pins, and 2 holes on each end, because 4 pins would be too difficult to separate. The user can add 1 or 2 pins per connection, if a stronger joint is needed. No stud sockets on the track pieces also means a curve piece can be rotated 90 degrees about a horizontal axis, to make a ramp. Giving more thought to the idea of using the track pieces in buildings, have a lengthwise groove on each side, sort of like this, so panels can be used. The connectors would have matching grooves on their smooth sides. Maybe TLG should also make a 1x2 brick with a ridge, the opposite of this (and a 1x1 version), so brick-built panels can be made to stay in place. The monorail trains would have special profile-matched tires that "grip" the track by meshing with the grooves.

What's up with the double post in one post?

It is now. If it's not a word, what it it? I opened a Basebrick account today, and started cataloging my collection; got miles to go. Now, if only it would let me sort colors by any way I would define, instead of alphabetic or last updated. I'll have to send suggestions to the site admin(s). If I could add pieces in more than one color at a time, that would speed things up 40x.

Quantum mechanics and LEGO bricks: Never thought of those 2 together before. Maybe this explains it: Many-worlds interpretation

Has TLG put out any sets that contain both Duplo and System bricks? A set containing a mixture of D and S bricks, and a few printed or detail pieces, may make a great transition set. It would also show both kids and parents that D and S bricks can be used together. Until then, a few PaB cups or BrickLink orders of basic brick would probably do it. Or buy a few tubs or buckets, and take out the smaller pieces, and give those to the kid(s) later, when (s)he is old enough.

Minifigs lost at sea... Are you talking about that big trashy floating island that is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? First things first, ABS is denser than water, according to personal experience. I did not check whether it will sink in salt water, tho. If ABS is denser that ocean water, then you'll find lost minifigs at the bottom of the ocean, not among the flotsam. I have a few years ago entertained the possibility of a shipment of LEGO sets, lying at the bottom of the Atlantic, having fallen overboard during a squall. Deep Sea Diving Mission: Searching for a submarine sunken during the Cold War. 0800 local time. Sub crew: "All systems go. Taking her down. Periscope under." 0927 Sub reaches ocean bottom. 0932 Sub crew calls captain on surface: "Captain, We've spotted a box-like object. Moving in closer to check it out." 0934 "We've got a better look at the object. It's pretty clear it's a cargo container. We've marked the location, so we can come back to it later." 1614 "We have not found the sunken sub yet." Captain: "We'll search in the other rumored location tomorrow." Sub crew: "On our way to checking out the container again." 1645 "Captain, do you think we could haul the container to the surface?" Captain studies images of container sent to him. "Let's give it a go." Sub crew uses the sub's mechanical arms to tie ropes around the container and attach inflatable buoys. 1812 "Captain, We're ready to float the container. The buoys are being inflated" 1837 "The container is lifting off. Following it to the surface." 2010 "Captain, we are halfway to the surface. Container is holding up good." 2352 Captain sees sub break surface. and calls "I see you. Deck hands are preparing cranes" 2358 Sub crew calls "Towing container into position" Deck hands lift container onto ship's deck. Sub is lifted and docked on ship. 2421 "So, what's in the container?" Deck hand attempts to open container. "This thing's sure is rusted shut. Where's the saw?" Another deckhand brings an electric saw. Zing zing, saw slices thru the rusted steel. Door swings open; thousands of blue, gray and transparent yellow bits of plastic, as well as gobs of dissolved cardboard and paper, spills out across the ship's deck, illuminated by the ship's floodlights. "Is there anyone onboard that can identify these plastic bits?" An engine crew man comes on deck, sees the mess, picks up some of the colorful plastic pieces. "They're clearly made by a Danish toymaker." Engine man has a flashback to his childhood, when he was swooshing his Galaxy Explorer around the house on Christmas morning, also remembering that set was unavailable during the summer before...

I got my 6399 AS at the TRU in Federal Way, Wa, and it was in the LEGO isle. So were the LEGO train sets. The price of the AS was about US $170, in 1991. It's likely that each store chooses on their own, where to stock what. Or it was an experiment involving select stores. My sister wanted the 6990, but never got it. Like I said earlier, TLG never sold the monorails as mix-n-match sets. Trains were always sold with or w/o track, and little else. The stations, level crossings, etc. were always sold separately. That allowed more people to afford trains, as they did not have to save up to buy a train, 2 stations, and a bunch of track in one box. If TLG would have done Monorail the same way, it would probably still be actively produced and sold. That's where I think TLG have dropped the ball. The expansion sets probably helped little. If extra track was sold in separate packs of straights, curves, etc., they probably would have had more sales on that alone. TLG might still be assuming we want all-in-one monorail sets, so when we ask TLG, we'll have to specifically ask for mix-n-match monorail sets. A Star Wars Monorail would certainly be cool, though I don't recall seeing one in any of the movies. I'll have to pay more attention to the Coruscant scenes next time I watch SW. Scott.