Cloveapple

Thank you for all those images. I should recognize the torso you used for the bonus picture minifig... but I just can't place it.

I had been told acetone worked well for removing print when diluted about 1 to 20 with water. (I can't remember what Lego board I saw that on.) However, I've no desire to soften up my Lego. That's Bad Cop's job! I'll see if I can find the old Brasso. Can anybody tell me what color the regular od Brasso's label is? An eraser might be easier for the detail work I have in mind. There'd be less danger of slipping and taking off the wrong printed detail. Dimming the shine might be a bigger issue. I'm thinking I'll look for some kind of acrylic seal if that happens.

Ooooh, shiny! I'll probably just get the minifigures, but I'm excited about Thelma. Heck, I'm excited about all the minifigures. That's a new hair piece on Shaggy, isn't it?

A couple Harry Potter photos from a little illustrated ficlet I did for some HP friends. (The story took place in an alternate universe in which they both survived the war.) The top picture is a nightmare Severus Snape is having. If you've read the books, you might remember that when they were both boys Remus Lupin came very close to killing Severus during a full moon. In reality James saved Severus' life, but in Severus' dream he is back in the tunnel with the werewolf and things don't end so well. The next picture is Remus having a quiet, sleepy moment.

It looks like you built step-style bleachers or risers for them to stand on. Nice idea and impressive collection.

My macro lens is the Canon EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Compact Macro. That might be the same one as yours. My camera is a Canon Eos Rebel SL1. I was lucky in that I got them both refurbished, plus on sale, on Cyber Monday. I'd used a manual SLR years ago when I took a class in the days of film, and I liked it, but I'm finding myself a bit befuddled by the digital experience. They seem to bury the real controls under so much auto fanciness, that I'm actually finding this camera more confusing than the bare bones one I used when I was a young teen. Have you been using yours for awhile?

We have a bunch of Lego where I work and the biggest thing I've learned is that no matter what we do, we will slowly but steadily lose pieces, so you either need to start out with more than you plan to end with or else you need to plan to add more at various points during the year. It might be worth it to keep an extra bin of restocking bricks somewhere.

Oh, that makes sense. I can't imagine building something without wanting to at least tweak it.

I went to Amazon looking for Brasso. (I wanted to try defacing fixing a minifig head by removing a couple small details.) The thing is, many of the American customers were complaining that the Brasso formula has been changed and that it's not as strong. According to the reviews, the old formula is still for sale in the UK, but can't be sold in the US. Has anybody bought the new US formula? And was it any good for removing Lego printing? If Brasso isn't an option I have some acetone I can dilute and try.

This amuses me greatly. Suddenly I want this set.

I spent time looking through torsos on Brick Owl, looking for outfits for making minifigs. I'm happy because I found a bright purple one that will be perfect for making a Luna Lovegood (from Harry Potter) if I can find some bright crazy legs to clash with go with it.

One approach is that when pieces fall off you celebrate because you get to build a whole new thing. That means that you can't do it wrong. If it stays together it's a win. If it falls apart, then you have fun destroying it and building something new. (Of course you might need to say that separate rules apply to your own sets!)

Thanks, adventurer1. I see you're a member of the gals' forum. I'll have to check that out. Thank you. I'll be sure to post some pictures. Luckily, the minifigs are very patient about holding their poses while I wrestle with the camera. I plan to! Thanks. :-) Thanks for the welcome. It does seem like a friendly place.

Thanks Balbo. I intend to! :-) Thanks. I'll have to post my next set. (I know what a MOC is. Now I have took up what an MOD is so I can make one. :-)

I'm not an expert or a lawyer, but the people who scolded you are not experts either if they are talking about copyrighted capes. You can copyright a poem, a play, a novel, a painting... but a cape? I don't think you can "copyright" a cape. (Someone might be able to trademark a cape if it was a unique looking symbol for your company, or maybe patent it if there was something truly unique about it's physical construction.) I wouldn't take what they said all that seriously.

Oooh! Interesting line up. I really liked Black Widow in Cap 2. I'm looking forward to seeing where they take her in 3.

Hi, I'm Cloveapple. As a kid and teen I played with 70's era Lego stuff. Now, many years later the newer, smaller minifigs have crept into my life. I've started modifying the little fellows in small ways and experimenting on the poor dears. Add in a new DSLR camera with a macro lens and it's becoming a serious addiction. I'm still learning though. There have been lots of camera issues (and lots of threatening to burn my camera manual) and more than a few minifigure costumes gone wrong, but this is definitely fun. I haven't done much with actual official Lego set builds. Mostly, my minifigs have been running around in the great outdoors or exploring non-Lego universes.

I've seen some very nice third party religious (or cultural/historical) Lego-type items for sale. eclipsegrafx sometimes carries some custom Christian-oriented things. They make old-testament style robes for minifigs and have a Jesus minifig (out of stock right now). Sidan toys makes minifig accessories that reflect Japanese culture and has items to outfit little Buddhist monks. So yes, it can be done. I'm also sure there is a market. As for what I'd like to see offered, I'm not Christian, so I'm not your target audience. However, I still have an interest in culture, architecture, history, and traditions connected with Christianity. Also I enjoy creating minifigs with all sorts of backgrounds. So if you ever offered minifig accessories, I'd certainly take a look at them. (Things like choir robes or angel wings would make me very happy.) Things I think other people would buy include, an Advent calendar, a Nativity scene, a small rustic little church or chapel, Lego-style angel keychains. I also wonder if there are any sorts of wedding favors that could be done with Lego? Cake-top bride-and-groom sets are already popular, so there ought to be other wedding possibilities. I agree that sets would be a big drawing point. You might also consider reselling some other people's work alongside your own creations. If I was looking for Lego-compatable religious themed-things, I would pay a little more for the convenience of finding them all in one place instead of having to order from 5 different places. Good luck with your plans.

Thank you. I hadn't noticed that they listed the materials items are made from. Unfortunately, they seem to list some of the rubber hair as ABS. I checked about 5 that I knew were rubber and 2 were listed as ABS. (It lists Gandalf's one-piece long hair and beard as ABS, when it's thin rubber. And same for Tonto's hair. I haven't seen it myself, but a review of the Stagecoach Escape said that Tonto's hair is rubber while Brick Owl says ABS.) Thank you. I didn't realize that was rubber. *goes to look it up*

Does anybody know of a list anywhere of the hair pieces which are made of thin rubber (like Gandalf) or thick rubber (like many of the Friends hairstyles) instead of the more traditional ABS? I'm especially curious whether there are any more thin rubber hair pieces besides the ones for Gandalf and Saruman.