Zeya

Nice! TLG heard our cry and brought back larger house sets. I was afraid they'd be going small from here on. The new "Family House" is a definite buy for me. It looks like a very fun build.

I haven't been to my local Lego store PAB in a while, but they used to commonly have white horses on there. (The old kind with stiff legs.) You could maybe try and get your local store to sell to you by the box. Of course then the problem becomes horse clothes.... :)

<SNIP, ignore me please>

Hi Sarah! Welcome! I collect the Creator houses too. They used to be larger, and have shrunk down in the past couple years. I started with the Beach House, and that's part of how I got hooked again on Lego. The Creator line is covered by this subforum: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showforum=92 And if you want to read reviews on other creator houses, look here at the index: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=28863#entry479195

This special polybag fig just popped up on Brickset. Looks like a limited run polybag for a chain of stores in Europe. He's got a torso perfect for a redcoat, and maybe the legs too: http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=5001121-1

Shady! I like it. :)

This thread seems like the place for my current situation. I got a nice light shed and lights for Lego "tabletop" photography. I have a review pending for a small polybag set. But for this review, I used the best I had on hand which was a telephoto zoom, the Nikkor 55-300mm. Let's just say I now realize why people buy macro lenses! I need closer minimum focusing, and a less tweaky zoom ring would be nice. So I'm looking into lenses. I've narrowed down my choices quite a bit. I hit up websites like lenshero, dxomark, and a nice article on macro lenses. My camera body is a Nikon d5100, which has a crop sensor (multiplier of 1.5). I'm looking at these 3 lenses: Nikon 105mm f/2.8G AF-S IF-ED VR Micro Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro Tamron 90mm f/2.8 SP AF Di Macro They seem to have pretty comparable optics. The Nikon and Sigma have stabilization, but the Tamron doesn't. I hear macro shots (esp with tripod) that's not a big concern. The Sigma has a nice feature for autofocus tuning, but that's just gravy I think. But I think I'm leaning toward the Tamron. A new version of this lens just came out, and it seems people are dumping their old copies on eBay, or so I assume. I can barely find the Sigma up on eBay. And the Nikon even used seems close enough to full price as to be not worth it. But that Tamron I can get a used copy off eBay for around $330 USD or so. The regular new prices would be $880/$770/$500, respectively. Would the lack of stabilization kill the Tamron for other uses like portrait photography (handheld)? Is there some other reason to get that Nikon or Sigma that I'm not thinking of?

I have no idea whether to be happy or worried about the rapid firing of movies. More SW is better than no SW, I guess. When I was a kid, there wasn't any hint of more SW movies or video. From 1983 (or so?) until 1999, not barely anything to hang your hat on. Just merchandise, comics, and really mediocre novels (I know I read a few lol).

Well that's a decent custom, and it sold for $35 roughly. Not exactly a hoax. The seller isn't trying to pass it off as genuine either.

I used my new light shed setup for the first time this weekend. I snapped some photos of a few pirate minifigs close at hand, just to practice. I've also cut out the backgrounds (and other post processing). I uploaded them to flickr. There are 6 of them total. Here's the link to them all: But I believe the instructions say only to show three, so here are the 3 I would choose: DSC_0026 - 2013-04-14 at 18-20-38 by ZeyaV, on Flickr DSC_0029 - 2013-04-14 at 18-24-49 by ZeyaV, on Flickr DSC_0031 - 2013-04-14 at 18-28-11 by ZeyaV, on Flickr Keep in mind the ones linked here are scaled down to 800px wide. And flickr only allows up to a certain size, I think (without going pro version anyway). I have the full sized ones here at home. If you guys want the full sized images, let me know. Thanks.

I'm working on a review of polybag set 1492 "Battle Cove". It's got a pirate that is almost identical to Rummy (see first page). But this set has black legs instead of light gray. I was wondering if this guy happens to have an official name?

I'm just curious... what's inside the suitcase? :) This is really awesome.

@Only Sinner - You might have a web browser issue, or the BL server is being slow. (They have had slowness issues during the past week or so.) But I followed your steps, and when I do it, that big box does get populated with all the SW minifigs. If you're set on this method, I would recommend trying a different browser. I'm on Safari on a Mac, fyi. I usually use a different method when adding parts to a wanted list. I think what you'll want to do is go to a catalog page for a particular item (in your case a particular minifig). And then click the link that say "Add To My Wanted List". That link takes you to a form that is mostly filled out for you. In the case of bricks, you might change the color, and you can also change the notification settings and min quantity for this item. You can select which wanted list to put it in, and then hit the button to add it. Hope that made sense to you. I use wanted lists all the time and highly recommend them. You still have the issue of finding a shop that has most of what you want at a reasonable price, but they make it easier to organize what you're after. For instance, I have one list for elements of medium/low priority (like tree leaves and green plates), and then another list for elements I "need" (high priority) to complete some old sets I want to make whole. Then another wanted list for cool minifigs.

About my mystery red plates, I think they are indeed that hinge part. It's odd because the end toward the hinge doesn't seem to be broken. Maybe the break was just so clean. But I asked on BL too, and people can only think of that hinge part. Also I have a set those hinge parts were in, so it's a good chance that must be it. Thanks everyone.

That's correct. I don't want to show just anybody where exactly I live. Anybody can see this page from the internet. The location I gave is just a freeway off-ramp leading into my general neighborhood. I think that would be better suited as its own map. I was thinking of it more as a utility to find shops nearby where I live, in an attempt to save on shipping costs if the seller is willing to hand off packages. (Maybe even pay cash, knowhatimean? :) I'm loving the country flags.

I finally got around to seeing Django Unchained. I wish I had caught this one in the theater sooner.

Maybe that's where I picked it up from. I played Lego Star Wars on Xbox 360, the one from like 3-4 years ago (seemed to be original trilogy, I think maybe a compilation).

I can't for the life of me figure out how to add a pin to this map. Can someone add the following link for my location? I just used a nearby freeway entrance that leads into my neighborhood. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=37.282645,-121.811192&num=1&t=m&z=18 Hey I live down the bay from you! This is fun. Sidebar: I wish there was a map like this for BL stores. It would be nice to save on shipping costs by picking up orders in-person. Although I realize that might be a security concern for sellers, I guess.

Thinks He's a Stud - I can't find the thread, but the topic was basically "what type of Lego element are you?" I responded saying that I'm a stud. I'm not sure who gave me this title as a result. I think this was in early 2012, but I can't remember exactly. Oh, and I changed my avatar image in response. I refer to 1x1 round plates as "studs", not sure if that's widespread or not.

You can buy them on Bricklink. Looks like the average price on each piece of sail goes for something like $10-$12 USD. http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=sailbb05 http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=sailbb04 http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=sailbb23 Bricklink has a bit of a learning curve. What you'll want to do is make an account, and then for each of those sails, add it to a "wanted list". Then you can view your wanted list "by shop" to hopefully find a shop that carries all 3 at a reasonable price. Another option would be to print out paper sails on a printer and cut them out. I see that mentioned on the forums every now and then, but I don't have a link.

And then one more time, I just want to double check if any of these are Lego. I don't think anything is. The doors almost could be, if not for the studs being too high. All studs in this photo are too tall to be Lego, I think. No Lego markings. The tires say "DIA BLOCK", which sounds like a clone brand. In fact I googled, and it does seem to be a clone brand (http://www.diablock.co.jp). Must be a clone brand with staying power, because all these parts are from 1975ish to 1994 at the latest. DSC_0127 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

Here are some better photos of the mysterious modified 2x4 plates, if anybody has ideas on what they are. Thanks. EDIT: I thought to look at the pieces under a loupe (magnifying glass). They have writing in the stud hollows on the underside. There are 3 hollow studs on each. The first one has: "3", "Pat Pend.", "10" in each hollow. The second one has: "6.", "Pat Pend.", "10" in each hollow. I'm not sure what to make of that; I rarely look at markings on bricks. DSC_0121 by ZeyaV, on Flickr DSC_0123 by ZeyaV, on Flickr DSC_0125 by ZeyaV, on Flickr DSC_0124 by ZeyaV, on Flickr DSC_0122 by ZeyaV, on Flickr

Thanks Aanchir/Antp. I must have a misunderstanding. I've been parting together a couple dozen sets from my childhood and sometimes I run into head-scratching issues like this. I do have a bundle of the metal axle wheel things, so hopefully it's in there. Thanks guys. P.S. I don't like some of these older parts with metal. Rubs me the wrong way. Can't swap out wheels and such.

Thank you very much. I'll take a closer look later on. I didn't think those strange plates are snapped, and there are two of them...I think I would have noticed. I'll see if I can take some better photos of it to share. I do have another question. Wheels are really annoying to me, and I'm trying to complete an older set. I think I need just the red wheel hubs from this assembly, but I can't figure out how to find it on BL: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=122c01 ...or is that thing not meant to come apart (like a metal rod sort of thing)?

I'm getting close to almost being done with "parting together" my childhood sets. Here are a few pieces that I don't recognize. These would be from '70s or '80s sets, maybe in the Basic or Legoland branded sets. DSC_0120 by ZeyaV, on Flickr Note the tiny hole through the red 2x4 plates (modified). Also they have a contour on the near end, I guess to fit your thumbnail in. The two gray thing are probably technic, maybe from a early 80s space set. I'm curious what the little people are... Thanks.