Lawngnome

Naturally the copyright law varies from country to country, but for example the U.S. law says this: Copyright infringement occurs when someone violates one of the exclusive rights listed in 17 USC 106 [subject to sections 107 through 122, the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize ... derivative works based upon the copyrighted work]. Commonly, this involves someone creating or distributing a "copy" of a protected work that is "substantially similar" to the original version. Note that this applies even if nothing is being sold, though there are "fair use" clauses and whatnot that I won't delve into. The point is regardless, selling instructions to create a variant (i.e. derivative) of an existing licensed set is not only a problem with TLG's intellectual property (their design for the set, which arguably is the lesser evil due to the very nature of the medium), but also, and likely more importantly, the licensor's rights to the likeness depicted. The entire reason TLG needs to acquire licenses to begin with is so that they can legally portray likenesses under rights owned by someone else. Nobody presumes TLG to just start manufacturing building instructions for Star Wars or Ghostbusters or whatever and make money off them without paying appropriate fees to the licensors, yet somehow fandoms tend to have this belief that it's perfectly fine when they do the exact same thing. (It's not something unique to Lego community by any means... a lot of, say, fan artists get up in arms when their work gets distributed without permission, completely ignoring the fact they never had any right to the subject material in the first place, let alone profit from it.) But I shouldn't really derail the topic any further. I'm also not a lawyer, so I reserve the right to be inaccurate. Really just applying common sense here.

Just to be clear, avoiding attention still doesn't make it legal; doesn't matter if they only ever sold one piece. Even selling custom instructions for licensed products (or TLG's own IPs) is technically a copyright violation, as it's making money off someone else's intellectual property without paying licensing fees. The fan base is especially bad at this, because unlike knock-off companies, fans tend to not even bother filing the serial numbers off.

Here's one possible way to cover the entire top of the saucer near-seamlessly: The grey parts can be left as is, and the arrangement should work exactly the same with the original model (so feel free to ignore the extra greebles). Because of LDD limitations, this is definitely not the optimal layout, but still a decent and easy to figure out starting point. I'll still need to swap a couple of the 3x12s around in order to widen two of the "holes" in the plating, for example, but I'll only do that when I get back to the physical model. Not going to waste any more time micromanaging hundreths of a degree with the angle of each individual wedge in LDD... Edit: Come to think of it, the pieces to the right of the cockpit passageway might need adjusting with the original, but it should be possible to simply mirror the left side as it sits at a 45-degree angle. Also, there's obviously support needed for most of the smaller pieces, but expanding the single layer of plates already underneath and/or adding some greebling on top ought to take care of that.

Oooh, nice, I'll have to try that! Much more elegant than just trying to cram random stuff in between the 3x12s. Cheers, khatmorg, I appreciate the tip. Good thing I didn't place an order for the smaller wing plates just yet.

Thanks for the replies! I'd be happy to share the lxf, but I'm not sure if brickshelf allows putting it on there. I can always send it via PM or whatnot though. In the meantime, here's a closer look at the landing gear. The greebling on them is rather limited, but there's only so much you can do when all you have is one plate of height and not much more sideways. At least the "toes" on the skids were easy to add. The rear skids cheat in that the columns are not quite centered. I did have a version where they moved independently, but that was a) not really necessary b) required rearranging the structure they're attached to, or c) folded partially rearward so they were hanging off the back (and prevented rounding off the bottom in order to make room for them, not good). The long Technic bricks are in their original place, while the red 1x2 brick on the forward skid is not actually red, it's just pointing out where one is added for stability for the 3m pin. You could also have the 3m pin centered on the L-beam and support it on both sides with small bricks, but I elected to make sure the whole setup wouldn't fall off. And then added plates on it anyway. Oh well.

Much as I was happy finally getting a Millennium Falcon (not counting Microfighter or Advent Calendar versions ), I had already started working on LDD modifications the day the 75105 instructions were released. While still very much a work in progress, I figured I'd share some details in case anyone else is interested in doing something similar. The guiding principle here was to keep as much of the original design as possible, and to maintain structural integrity. This was particularly challenging with the cockpit, not least because some of the things allowed in LDD turned out to be physically impossible due to ever-so-slight clipping and some of the actual molded detail flat-out missing in places... luckily, I still managed to fit most of what I wanted in there. The real model does in turn allow for some positioning LDD doesn't, but to my knowledge I've only done that where the official instructions have called for it. Which is to say, no illegal techniques used. A quick rundown on some of the current and eventual changes: Seats in the cockpit (not quite side by side, but close enough to give the illusion; Chewie can fit in the copilot seat, but that requires assembling the canopy around him) Correct number of "retractable" (i.e. folding) landing gear, including the double ones at the rear Partial overhaul of the interior, including a proper cockpit passageway (not quite tall enough to fit a fig in there though, but close enough... originally I just added a fake interior on each side of the turntable, but the lack of physical access annoyed me too much to leave it at that) Hidden storage compartment to interchangeably store an OT or FA style radar dish (also works without modifications: just stick the unused radar to the bottom and you're done) Newly designed sublight engine exhaust, including slight change to the thrust vector plates (yeah, I had to google that stuff) Larger mandibles (granted, this along with yet-to-come cockpit repositioning technically makes the ship less accurate in proportion, but I consider it a good trade-off for more detail) Rearranged color for the 3x12 wing plates to represent the soot around the heat vents (the best part about that -- doesn't cost a thing) Added greebling (and probably some other details I already forgot) And finally, a couple of pics of the ongoing physical build and the current "finished" look in LDD:

Little to no discernible benefit (seriously, let's not kid ourselves here) for what would've likely been a 20-25% increase in cost over not just the piece count, but the logistics of moving all that extra weight as well, the answer is fairly obvious. Even if they had gone with the Swiss HQ idea instead of -- and I'll take their word for it -- internal project, the changes necessary to make the former more cost-efficient would in all likelihood have badly gutted the end result, or required a complete overhaul anyway (I don't pretend to have any inside information on the process, just applying common sense). As for the Ideas concept suffering a PR loss over this, or the similar situation with the Helicarrier? If anything, it's a long-overdue lesson to be learned... for the fan community. The ridiculously oversized projects people are submitting are certainly cool mocs and a good way to get a day in the spotlight and some bragging rights, but there's virtually no thought given to any commercial feasibility in a vast majority of them. I can understand people being upset over their high hopes getting shattered, but if those people refuse to accept or understand the risk of wasting time and money on something that only gets "considered" because the rules necessitate it, they are indeed better off steering clear of the whole thing. Not trying to be rude, but I'm not going to sugarcoat it either. With that said, Sergio's arguments or TLG's responses to them are really none of my business, so I shouldn't dwell on the matter any further. I'll just stick to marveling at the fact we are getting insane things like the Firehouse, and kissing my money goodbye.

The 2015 AC is easily one of, if not the best so far minifig-wise. Apart from the regular figs, I scavenged the legs off 3PO and all of R2 to add more detail to their Ewok village counterparts, seeing how the advent calendar versions as such are not so much display pieces as they are funny little joke items. I caved in and got the 75103 First Order Transporter... damn you Lego for including so many figs in an otherwise so-and-so set. I do like the heavily WWII-inspired aesthetic, a fun build for the most part, and it's actually much sleeker in person than the pictures would have you believe, especially viewed from the top. It just wasn't a must buy item by any means... if it weren't for Phasma and the 2+2 troopers, and then they even tossed in a couple of random good guys.

Finally afforded 75105, can't wait to get to modding it! When I can afford to do that, that is, because the LDD touches have nearly doubled the piece count by now and I've yet to buy most of the physical parts. But I'm so excited just to have a Falcon at long last!

Bricklink or similar specialized marketplace (I prefer BrickOwl myself due to more user-friendly browsing and payment options, but a lot of the same sellers can be found in both anyway). Common parts you can easily get for next to nothing as long as you can find a seller in the same economy zone to avoid excess shipping and handling costs, as overseas shipping and customs fees in particular can add up quickly and amount for a lot. I wouldn't know any particular store to recommend without knowing the details, but I doubt in this case you'll have much trouble finding the handful of parts you need in just about any of them. You could also see if you can get the pieces directly from Lego, but that is unlikely to be any cheaper, and the pick-a-brick selection is rather limited to begin with.

While it's a little rough around the edges, I absolutely love the concept of portraying daily life on Coruscant and that tower alone is, well, towering!

LDD accepts the ring on the neck, but no head on top of it (or another ring for that matter). Also be aware that the physical ring can be a very tight fit because of that spot of paint on the neck to give it more friction, so you may end up damaging something despite it technically being a legal connection. Not that it would be hard to fix, but I still wouldn't try it on any rare torso pieces.

The ladder pieces should be grey, so at the very least you can be sure it's missing two of the most rare and expensive pieces. The set is not "complete" with those pieces in brown by any stretch of the word.

Nah, you're not alone, irispen... toy or not, having no exterior aside from the superlaser dish really detracts from the looks, and it doesn't help that the minifigs are mostly old-style. A lot of other big sets I've reluctantly had to pass, but the DS never had any pull to me at all, even when I could've gotten one at 20% off retail price. Really, all I wanted from the set was Tarkin, more specifically his torso. And maybe the black protocol droid, but everything else is only good for spare parts as far as I'm concerned. (Can't wait for the Doctor Who hairpieces to come out in the aftermarket, those are a perfect replacement for Tarkin's rather bland default hair.)

Stickers were already peeling off the sheet itself in my copy of Imperial V-Wing (7915... a very nice set, by the way) that I got this summer, and while they did stick on the pieces, the sides of the stickers are very loosely attached and start to peel at the slightest touch. First time that's happened with any of my sets, but I expect it not be the last when it comes to buying sets from a few years back, even if the box is unopened. Humidity, temperature, exposure to sunlight and such is certainly going to play a factor in how well the glue on the stickers lasts. The good news is, with the way a lot of collectors don't like applying stickers in the first place, getting replacement sheets as needed from Bricklink or whatever is fairly inexpensive or even cheap. Anyway, as for recent acquisitions of my own, got the T-16 and the 2015 advent calendar ought to arrive sometime next week. Not too fond of the Skyhopper, either the build or the overall aesthetic, but I wanted the Tusken Raider, and since it's technically an OT ship that was enough of a justification. (And to go with the theme of this post, when readjusting a badly placed sticker the glue decided to stay behind... luckily the actual paper still attached to it after a few choice curse words.)

Okay, I'm genuinely confused here. It's a cheap set with the figs and the build all fairly accurate to the source material (within the usual limitations of the medium), and actually having representation from opposing sides makes it a lot more dynamic than most other battlepacks these days. So... what exactly makes this particular one the "worst set ever"?

That's about what its original European retail price was I believe, but I'd say it's worth a 100€ tops. Still, it's a cute little build, the minifig lineup (that lovely Jabba included) is quite nice, and the figs go for a fair bit of cash by themselves, so if you're after those you might as well get the whole thing. I would still look for a less expensive offer, though.

The Ghost is by no means a bad set; the main drawback is the lack of interior space, but it's got fairly complicated build techniques and quite a bit of bulk going for it. If you can find one under $60 somewhere and it being in the Rebels theme is no issue to you, I don't think you'd be disappointed. That said, you can probably find the B-Wing dirt cheap in a clearance sale, so as a starting point it probably has the best value per piece for an iconic ship right now (even though I'd easily rate the Ghost the better set out of the two). The Advanced Prototype is not a bad choice either... really, the biggest challenge is deciding where to stop.

Got me Rey's Speeder and the constraction General Grievous from a local toy store, and also ordered the Flash Speeder and Vulture Droid microfighter from Lego for the current bunch of freebies. Hoo boy that Grievous is big. Granted, his legs make up roughly 2/3 of the height (especially when he's "properly" hunched) but he's absolutely massive all the same. Heck, I'm so impressed with him that I might just pick up some of the others in the line later on too (Vader comes to mind). And when it comes to Rey's Speeder? Great. Loved the build and the aesthetic! Funnily enough, the shape and color made me think it's almost like it was something built out of the wreckage of Sebulba's podracer, like one of those engine block things recycled into a speeder... just a random thought that occurred to me while building it, but it really is an evocative and all-around nice set, highly recommend it.

There are various tutorials on YouTube and such on removing the pin from keychain minifigs, which should also give you an idea of what it looks like. The hole left behind is quite obvious, and keychain figs also have their legs glued on at the hip. They do retain all the normal range of motion, though.

Almost any dedicated toystore (and really, even supermarkets) should have more than enough sets of various pricepoints to get started, and especially if cost is a concern I would initially stick to buying stuff in a physical store as postal fees tend to add up very quickly. You might also get some pointers from the staff. BrickLink is nice and all (though personally I prefer BrickOwl as it has a much more buyer-friendly interface even if the selection is not as great) but it's not something I would recommend to anyone only getting familiar with Lego in general. Online marketplaces are great for finding out-of-production sets and spare parts, but it's hardly necessary when you're only starting your collection. Honestly, BrickLink could even seem a little intimidating at first.

Couldn't help myself upon spotting 75053 The Ghost at 30% off in a local toy store. Sure it pushed back my plans for other bigger purchases in the coming months, but I'm quite happy with the set, aside from some minor frustration with the build. It's an odd mix of very sturdy, bulky skeleton, with some really delicate angled pieces added on top that would fall off if you looked at them the wrong way...

I never got any of the old Falcons, so the new one is a definite must-buy! The X-Wing... meh, I'll rather hunt down a 9493. The figs are nice though.

Finally got my hands on Darth Revan a couple of weeks ago (for a relatively fair price), I'd been kicking myself on the head ever since missing out on it last year. Other than that, I got the 75092 Naboo starfighter for 20% off. Since I never had any of the previous versions and I'd had 7877 in my sights for a while now, getting an updated design instead with a virtually identical minifig selection for less money seemed like a no-brainer. The only real downside is that it takes up a good deal more space than I expected, even without the accessories.

LotR Theoden could work (he's the only one with similar facial hair I can think of), but you'd need to erase one of the faces.