DaddyWhale

Oh shucks! I guess I'll pass on it. I love Roman history. It's a shame that they don't do something that shows both what the building looks like now AND allows one to "fix it up" to look and work like it would have 2000 years ago.

Does anyone know if the Colosseum has mechanical parts - for example, lifts to get animals from the dungeons onto the circus floor - or internal structures - e.g. holding cells below floor level? I'm looking for anything that would suggest playability rather than an accurate representation of the building as it stand NOW.

Apart from Town Hall, I have a hard time seeing any of the modulars in a small town setting. I believe that FB was modelled on a specific New York City fire station, PS is a pair of townhouses, which tend to be more common in larger cities, GE looks like a London department store (my wife thinks it looks like a dreary Debenhams we used to pass by in Clapham Junction), and both CC and GG look like urban buildings to me. The Palace Cinema seems to continue that tradition.

I (native American English) speaker would definitely go with A.

I wonder if it's because each building in Pet Shop is only 16 wide. There are a lot of small details that may be hard to capture in 4-wide minis. Market Street also has a 16 wide building, but LEGO got around that by building a 5 wide mini. The alley is only 3 wide.

MOC = My Own Creation!

This list might help you: http://www.brickset.com/list/?MostPieces Also most people love the modular building series. Look out for Fire Brigade, Grand Emporium, Pet Shop and soon to be released Town Hall. These are all large detailed sets, with 2000+ pieces

If I were building, I would also choose a cathedral. Perhaps the OP could think about what caused the town to develop in the first place. Often they are centered on higher ground, which is easier to defend. Or the bend of a river. An Old West town might be centered around stage coach stop or train station...

There's a nice phone in the townhouse (red building) in 10218, Pet Shop. See step 19 in this pdf: http://cache.lego.com/bigdownloads/buildinginstructions/4646616.pdf

I've got all of them except MS, and honestly my favorite is Pet Shop. I like its scale and detail: the loft bedroom, the cellar door in the back, the bathroom, the windows in front. Its shorter height and the fact that it is actually two narrow buildings makes the scale more believable for me when put next to FB, GE, CC. I guess it's not as technically innovative as GG, but it works as a whole and as if a part of a real town. Next come GG, CC, FB and GE, more or less in that order.

Thanks a lot for the confirmation and info about the XL motor!

Hi, I've got a small question about the 8258 (Crane Truck) B-model: I've noticed during the build of the pickup truck that the rear axles are two studs lower than the front. As a consequence the truck slopes a bit downwards (front is lower than the back). Is this how it's supposed to be? Have I made a mistake in my build? By the way, I really like the build so far. It's simpler than the Crane Truck. But I like the look and functionality, though much less complex, a lot. Will write more when I've finished in Blakbird's 8258 B model thread. Thanks! DaddyWhale

A quick update. I got home and checked these parts on my Pet Shop. You guys are absolutely right. It's not the same part as in Cafe Corner! Thank you for the info! I agree. Even as a new set, straight from LEGO, this would cost a pretty penny. I'm guessing $250 or more. But it's worth every cent!

I'm convinced that you (two) are right about this! I took another look at the PaB flash rendition of this element. Sure enough, it has small side supports. Even if my Pet Shop uses the original design, I guess my ordered parts will not. Ultimately not a huge deal for me as I've bought CC to complete my collection rather than as an 'investment'.

Great job!! Frankly your Green Grocer looks nicer to me than the original

Thanks again. I'll take a look at the part on Pet Shop when I get home. Perhaps bricklink's inventory information is incorrect in this instance. When I looked up 87544 on bl, it claims that it's an alternative part in Pet Shop. It's not listed as a Pet Shop regular item.

That's interesting! According to bricklink, this part is exactly the same in Pet Shop: 2362b, White Panel 1 x 2 x 3 - Hollow Studs. I'll let you know if it comes with the supporting walls! Yes! That's the part I ordered from PaB. With respect to the 1x4x3 you bought. As already mentioned, they are used as window frames. If this is not sacrilege, you might consider sawing them in half?

Thanks for the background information on Fire Brigade! We live in NYC (in Manhattan). On a recent walk my six-year-old pointed to a Manhattan fire station and remarked how much it looked like Fire Brigade. We thought it was mostly a coincidence. But now I know it is not! By the way, some people have criticized 10197 for being too small. But when you look at the real thing, you realize that the scale is quite good!

I recently bought a Cafe Corner with the white 1x2x3 panels missing (I bought knowing this). I completely agree that it's hard to find these exact panels in quantity at a reasonable price on bricklink. But I noticed that this part is also in Pet Shop. So giving it a shot I went to LEGO online pick a brick to look for it. LEGO has it in stock for 20 cents (US) each. Bought 20 of them. So, my suggestion would be, if you can't find a piece on BL, see if it's in some current set (you can do this in BL). If so, you might be able to get it on pick a brick. Hope this helps someone.

Great point about FB

My view is if your schedule is so busy, all the more reason to shift gears and build leisurely. In my case, I get home from work and have to focus on the family. When the kids have been put to bed and we've finished house chores, I have time to unwind, smell the roses, savor the moment... Or maybe that's how I rationalize being a damn slow builder! It took me about 7 nights to build 8110. Total time of about 10 hours I imagine.

A couple of years ago my then-4 year old was particularly caught up in anything to do with the ocean. He would imagine that he was a shark (as was his little brother), his mommy a dolphin and his dad a whale. So I use the DaddyWhale handle for anything that's fun and lighthearted.

I'm glad you found it interesting! LEGO is so special. It's good to see it reach a wide audience. It's prompted my wife to even suggest we go to LEGO Land in Florida this winter!

I can't take credit for finding this (see http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/2110/great-afol-article-in-wall-street-journal#Item_3). But I think the community here might find it interesting. Let me know if you need a subscription to view the entire article. I'll copy and paste here (if it's not against the rules).

I've got two boys, 6 and 3. They have their sets, which they've chosen, and I have my sets. Generally, their sets end up as a heap of bricks, which is usually not a problem as they like making their own things. I let them play with my sets including a limited amount of creative destruction, but only when I'm supervising them. They boys can do an enormous amount of damage in very little time. Before I decided to supervise them, they'd destroyed my Grand Carousel, Imperial Flagship and Emerald Night, which all took a while to rebuild. A few things I've noticed. 1. One young child with lego does much less damage than two young children. The boys can get worked up about sharing and deciding what kind of games they want to play, which sometimes leads to meltdowns. 2. I'm pretty tolerant of them taking apart sets. But I make sure that they do this in a place where it's relatively easy to ensure that elements don't go missing. For instance, I let them take my IFS into the tub for bath time, where it's easy to keep track of pieces. 3. Trains are great because their focus often shifts to building track layouts and stations, etc. I.e. less damage to the trains themselves. 4. It's good to have a positive attitude about the chaos children create. It gives me a chance to rebuild things, which saves on money I would spend on new sets 5. When assisted, children learn about respecting other people's things, sharing, organizing, etc. But you've got to give them some freedom. Otherwise they don't have fun.