mrklaw

I would guess that compatibility with their normal set schedules doesn't matter. These are limited run special editions, and I expect they run parallel to the main lines. Perhaps there would be an element of scheduling if there are a bunch of sets that get approved close to each other, but that's about it.

A 4x4 plate will sit on top of a 3x3 quite happily. I just made a quick 4x4 clock face and it doesn't look too bad. Total width is less than the current model I think (10 plates vs 11.5?) and the slight extra width isn't as negatively noticeable as the bulging clock faces IMO. Edit: please forgive the quality of photos and build, I was just playing Perhaps better with round corners to soften it a little.

A 2x2 tan tile with printed clock face would have been great. They could have added a bit more 'big Ben' detail to the clock then, rather than being so general. And removed the second hand.. Or a 2x2 round printed tile with hollow centre

Uh-oh, I have that one ready to go but haven't opened it yet :/ I guess when there are so many of a similar part, then sorting bags by part type/colour makes sense too, so hopefully Tower Bridge won't be too bad. Imperial Shuttle got like that after a while - you learn what pieces are in which bags so it isn't a random search. Still takes up lots of space though

Great review. If you wanted to expand and build more of the palace, do you think it'd be cheaper to buy multiple sets, or bulk order tan bricks from bricklink? Think this will be my first architecture set.

Simplest thing for these kinds of questions is to have a look on bricklink for prices to get a feel for what you could sell yours for. Then you could also factor in whether you want to sell quickly (so price a little cheaper)

There is 'looking for pieces' and then there is 'aaargh where is that damn 1x1 round piece!?' In playsets with modular designs like the police stations etc, which are aimed at a fairly young audience, numbered bags makes sense to focus building on one area at a time In a simple creator set I don't think you need numbered bags, but as the piece count goes up, the amount of time searching vs building also goes up. By the time you get to things like e super star destroyer or death star, I think numbering makes sense. I built the Imperial shuttle recently and that was painful. I don't have a huge amount of dedicated build space - I use the dining table in the evening. That had me open nearly all of the 20+ bags within a few pages. There was some logic to the sorting, but that still takes up a lot of space and just gets unwieldy. So I think it has it's place. And if you don't like it, nothing stopping you from putting everything into a bucket and doing it that way.

Hi, What do you guys use for reference material for MOCs? Other than the movies - are there books that show the relative scale of different ships, or that have enough measurements to figure it out?

can't you make a simple bus stop by just building out the pavement and then having wedge plates make a cut-in for the bus stop?

I love how it works as a system. That they've been able to expand the range of pieces and still maintain the interoperability between pieces is fantastic

same. Looks like it'd be fairly straightforward to buy a few of these and make a full Houses of Parliament

there already is somewhere - link, and a thread in general discussion about pick a brick walls

its nice, but i'm not entirely sold yet. Looks like it still has parallel wings which is a shame - would have been fairly simple to have a dihedral, we've seen lots of cool hinge work with recent SW sets for instance. And the control cables seem a step too far. Its cool that they work, but from those limited pics, it looks like its using one of the bracing cables to double up as aileron cables - in the original they'd be hidden in the structure of the wing. The way the cables go over the top of the wing and the way they're attached at the rear looks a bit clunky. I'd almost have preferred them to leave them off. Tail controls seem nicely worked into the model though

My first ever PaB at the Lego store in Cardiff. They had 1x4 tiles which would be good for floorboards. But tiles are really tricky to pack neatly, they have no way of holding together is stack and just make spaghetti at the bottom. Got two horses though which as good

How about we look beyond the pink (there really isn't that much pink, but it's a cheap hook for naysayers), and consider other things about the friends line. It's not all baking and hairdressers, there is a vet (good career), inventor and other themes. Mainly though, I think the open back, modular layout lends itself better to detailed role play, which young girls are Interested in. They are also have fully furnished interiors and lots of accessories to play with. They put some of the full size modulars to shame in that regard and i'm going to steal a ton if ideas from friends sets. The slightly more realistic friends figures will also help with role play. All of this is basic understanding of how children - and girls in particular - play. Reducing it to 'its just a pink hairdresser' is almost insultingly simplifying things.

Love it. Take a pic in a sandpit :) Do you have any pics during the build? This is something I'd like to challenge my son with

The big city sets have a lot more plastic in them. Lego themselves talk about keeping things affordable in that core range, hence the use of cheaper panels rather than bricks. But you can't get away from the physical size of the large playsets, and large baseplates

My most recent additions came at the weekend. A bunch more drawers and some divider units. So far it's let me have a dedicated drawer for tiles, wing plates and curved slopes - each divided up roughly by size. That frees up more space inside my main drawers so my normal plates and slopes can stretch out a bit. The dividers helped tidy up my 'wheels' drawer into sizes too. You seem to lose a bit of space compared to just cramming a box to the brim, but I think it'll be worth it in speeding up piece finding. Moved some of the more common special pieces into individual drawers (they were sitting in a Lego advent calendar tray), and now I can use that tray for less common specials which will take up less space. still have 'wedges' and 'house pieces' to sort, but it's feeling more like a system now

I thought they were different colours for different properties? Eg black standard pins, blue are stiffer, tan are looser etc?

thanks. Love the traffic light with pedestrian crossing button.

looks like the answer might be yes - Japanese water Garden

I don't have that exact piece, but - on a 1x5x4 arch (2339 - as used in the fire brigade), nothing will stick underneath it - no grip at all - on a 1x6 arch (part number 3455), the arch is four studs long and 4 1x6 plates fit nicely underneath it. Thats a fairly gentle curve and I think you'd get away with something steeper and still hold plates so.... not much help at all, sorry. Not sure if there is a pattern to whether different sized arches accept studs or not.

Do you mean you want to put 1x6 plates on the underside of the arch, joining two of them together to make the floor? You're not sure whether they'll stick because of the curve?

Legoland Windsor is an odd place for buying Lego. Quite often they'll have older or less popular sets. Maybe they figure tourists will buy any old rubbish and so don't bother with good stuff? It was only last year they started doing the bigger 'exclusive' sets and architecture, but then they don't give you a discount like they do on normal sales (if you have an annual pass)

I noticed quite a few views but no comments yet. If it would help I can unpack the sets to take photos, and I'm happy to answer any questions. edit: some photos. Looking at the condition of the stickers on 8421, some are damaged or missing - you should realistically consider the 8421 as without stickers. If anyone can point me in the direction of a new set of stickers I'll see if I can buy some - lego don't have any (already tried) 8421 parts all bagged up ready to go. 8421 instructions - covers are dog eared and worn but inside contents are in good condition 8275 box. Corners ripped where it was opened, otherwise in good condition Instructions in good condition. Pieces bagged underneath the newspaper for padding