Ronan Dragonov

Great review of an outstanding set and I can confirm its accolades first hand as I own it. Back in '92 I used the dock baseplates to build a flight deck for a rather absurd aircraft carrier featuring a wood (Pirate) hull.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Aanchir, I tend to agree with your point on the of the side view. Brickster, I love the background edit. I'm thinking about a Black Ops version which see the yellow replaced with gray (probably dark) and would be armed.

The D.4 design first flew though the skies... Then ventured into space... The sea finally awaited... As for any changes in dimensions or departure from the base design, the rigors of the sea and its pressures place special demands on a vehicle.

Some of my regulars include... The Thin Man (and sequels) The Fountainhead A Slight Case of Murder Dinner at Eight The Man Who Came to Dinner The Awful Truth Libeled Lady The Bad and the Beautiful The Wings of Eagles The Great Escape The Guns of Navarone Ice Station Zebra The Hunt for Red October Master and Commander The Aviator Iron Man

...you think in LEGO [bricks]

The set's parts (including minifigs) are the deciding factor for me.

My world is called the Brickipelago - the location of some of the LEGO® Overseas Territories and analogous to the Caribbean. Islands include Highblock, home of the Dragonov Brick Works and Isle d'Brick. The general feel is dieselpunk - alternate 1920s-30s with some inexplicable visits from Space and other more modern MOCs. I should also add I based this world and named its places in homage of one of my favorite computer games - Sea Dogs. I always wondered what a few hundred years would have done to that game's world.

I have to go with 1 hour a day with the bricks - a very rough average. My MOC speed is usually painfully slow (weeks for a small aircraft to months on larger builds) as I must often meditate and reflect on the placement of each brick.

Back in spring '97 I worked late into the night on the submarine alternate model of the 8480 [Technic] Space Shuttle. I don't think I ever put so much effort into an official build. I got something wrong because the bow doors never opened right and I just gave up on figuring out why. I later built the Space Shuttle - fully functional - a couple of times and it never seemed as difficult.

I usually go studless. Before I began buying the modular buildings sets (Cafe Corner, etc.) I didn't have the tiles.

I'm a MOCer. Any set I buy is first and foremost for the MOCing possibilities its parts offer. That the official set might be a good design - as many are - is a bonus. Nevertheless, the first thing I do is assemble the official set to get to know its parts better and maybe pick up a thing or two from the pros at TLG.

That colossus of grays, the UCS Millennium Falcon.

It all began back in 1985 with the 520 Basic Building Set, 5+...

The D.4 Ultra Sea Dragon converted for space as a Space Police III Interceptor prototype. Here's the inspiration...

An amazing scene. It reminds me of the pirate RPG Sea Dogs.

$4,000+ according to my incomplete/inaccurate Brickset export to Peeron.

I bought a few Atlantis sets this morning - regrettably no day after Christmas bargains - 8057 Wreck Raider, 8058 Guardian of the Deep, 8060 Typhoon Turbo Sub, & 8072 Sea Jet.

Amazing work! Ditto on the idea of using it for an aircraft engine.

Great work on a couple of nice tight scenes. "'Egyptian Mail' morning edition. Run."

You might look into CAD - LDraw. It's free, you'll have unlimited bricks, and there are some animation tutorials available.

Amen, brother. I've also found time to be the critical issue. As much as I want to turn out MOCs as seemingly fast as some do the building process is slow and at times even agonizing. I'll hit a dead end and the MOC will sit idle, maybe for weeks. I'll contemplate scrapping it when the bricks come together in my head and I can proceed. Keep expanding your collection. A wider "palette" never hurt a builder.

I'd scrap everything - more parts for MOCing.

1989 all the the way. I grew up on Pirates I - built, rebuilt, MODed and MOCed for many years. I was so unenthused by 2009 Pirates I haven't bought any yet. Echoing others, 6242 Soldiers' Fort is no 6276 Eldorado Fortress and 6243 Brickbeard's Bounty (great name though) is no 6285 Black Seas Barracuda.

Ah, my old therapist Dr. Lecter... "As your mother tells you, and my mother certainly told me, it is important, she always used to say, always to try new things." - Hannibal

I agree completely and I like guns as much as the next guy. When I see another one on MOCpages I want to give it a 0 (no smiley face) rating.