IAmWillGibson

As I mentioned elsewhere, these are technically Oxford bricks, if that lends any frame of reference to the quality. They seem to be one of the higher-regarded Not-LEGO brands out there. But, yeah. Megatron's the one I'm most excited about, because his vehicle looks solid, and adds a Road-Warriorey vibe to things that I like quite a bit. I'd be interested to see some more photo comparisons of Kreons in LEGO vehicles, Minifigs in Megatron, and him next to, say, the City Truck [3221] or something similar. Thanks for this, by the way. I think these sets will end up being more satisfying to LEGO fans who are also Transformer fans than they will be to Transformer fans who also like LEGO. As an addendum: If and when you get around to making Robot mode, I'd love a shot dedicated to what parts are left over. My main thing for this guy is to figure out a way [if possible] to give him the arm gun, hopefully using the spare parts and the stuff that goes on his shoulders [that I'm not crazy about]. Heck, I'm curious what extra parts there are after truck mode, too.

That's just it. They're not Transformers, they're building-block models of Transformers characters. I've yet to play with them, but from what I've seen, they seem to have come very close to the mark in that aim. Robot modes looks fairly good [not stunning but not terrible, trending towards good] and vehicle modes look decent to nice [with Prime, Megatron, and Sentinel looking very nice]. And having perused the instructions, it's neat to see that there are quite a few non-knockoff parts designs in there too, which are in the very least interesting. [Word on the street is these are actually made by Oxford, although never having toyed with this brand, I can't say if that's good or bad.] I find it particularly funny that much [if not all] of the hesitation coming from Transfans is that they don't transform, and then all of them tack on "But I love the Kreons." Who, you know, don't transform. As for BTR, it's an unfair comparison, because those designs were atrocious. Seriously, just ugly, ugly models.

I know, personally, I'm very interested in getting some balanced perspective on these things, being a sucker for both Transformers and LEGO. Everyone over there gets bunged up by "Bah! They don't Transform!" and everyone here will be all "Gah, they ain't LEGO!" and I'm hoping that between the two ends I can actually get a non-biased feel for the product itself, in and out of these respective vacuums.

Are the rules for the Heroica games online anywhere? I've been extremely interested in the games, but the general extreme die/random focus [read: kid-friendliness] of the previous LEGO games has kept me from just snapping them up impulsively without at least a review. But the promise of an Advanced ruleset has me quite interested, and it something I'm likely to want to be a part of. My game history is more Heroclix level, so complicated but not too complicated. I think some sort of balance across Clixy mechanic-focus, DnD/Warhammer flavour-focus, liberally blended with LEGO fun-'n-fast-focus could result in some quality rules. But, yeah, I can't contribute ideas until I can see the basic rules from which to grow the new ones from.

I sorta want just the townhouse half... Anyone wanna go splitsies with me?

I feel very strongly that this had been done before, on or around here, but I can't be sure. In any case, I'm sure I was the last person to think of it. I've also decided, should time be available to both construct the necessary sets and [poorly] photograph the images, to make a bit of a photo-play, previewable here. Sort of a bear, though, 'cause it's gonna end up playing out a lot like a movie. I need, like, a shooting schedule, and will probably photograph stuff out of sequence as dictated by the shooting 'locations.' Oh, and I need a bus. Either way, if any of the pics turn out to be actually decent, I'm likely to repost them as appropriate here.

So there is something to go along with the Post Office, eh? Hmmmm. I think because this is the first really hot day of the year [i think it broke 40 outside], this is making me think of wintery things with more eagerness. Ooh! Small hill with tobogganers? A LEGO toboggan would be rad.

So I just finished assembling andthen deconstructing the Bakery and Toy Shop [got them on sale, just checking that everything's there, then into storage 'till November] and I'm wondering now what the Post Office will include. I mean, obviously a post office, but the other two have each been composed of three modules [the toy shop with super-tree and Caroler corner; the bakery with tree sellers and ice rink]. So if this is indeed a pattern, what two bonus additions to the Winter Village might the Post Office feature? Potentially a mail delivery vehicle, but I'm sort of hoping for a horse-drawn carriage and a hot cocoa stand. Or maybe a horse-drawn mail delivery carriage? Any other thoughts? A snow fort would be cool, but I can't imagine that'd be easy to make out of few pieces and have it be obvious what it's supposed to be.

For my opinion of the location,here it is: I'm central. Like, as central as possible [Yonge and Bloor, essentially] so maybe my vote don't mean bupkis. But the distance from me to Sheway vs Fairview is almost the same. One uses the bus, which is a negative score, but the other uses the Purple Line, which is also negative 'cause that subway line's existence confuses me, and I get angry when confused. So, yeah, distance or ease of getting-to for me is a wash. Fairview's not a bad mall, but truth be told Sherway is a much better stylistic fit. I am not in the least surprised that they picked that mall to start in.

I may add this to my "Get at the LEGO store" list, although I gotta agree that the addition of the Minifigures is sorta... odd. Not so much that they're there, but the ones they chose. Skateboarder, really? Of all the Series 1 guys, I think that is literally the last one I'd pick for a reprint. Maybe they'll put out an alternate colour edition with a Zombie in it. That'd blow my mind, man.

I don't disagree with this, except suggested locations. There's no mall east that I can see them in, and not really the Eaton Centre either. Maybe I'm wrong here, but I don't think that's the right kind of mall for a LEGO store. I sorta always assumed they positioned themselves in the more upscale malls. Although maybe I'm wrong, because I can't remember what Fairview's like. But Sherway is definitely a jerk mall. And north is where the money is, too. Did that add anything to the conversation? No, I believe it did not.

Medieval Market Village is on there for 20% off... That's pretty tempting. Also, Tower Bridge is apparently in stock, as are the two Winter Village sets. I... may have just spent a bunch of money on them.

See, none of the ones I've been to had any POTC out, or else I may have pulled the crazy-trigger and gotten the Queen Anne's Revenge along with the [half-priced] City Bank. Nertz!

BOGO Sales are the stank; or, a Tale of Woe So anyways, Zellers is currently [until today, maybe?] having a Buy 1, Get 1 50% off sale on all LEGO, as far as I can tell. Which in theory is nice. But when I get my greasy little heart set on finally getting the Bank and Money Transfer [3661] and I get to the store and there it is, and wouldn't you know it... I can not for the life of me find another set that I have any desire for. The one I want is expensive [65 bucks] and for BOGOs to work, you need to get a second one at or near the same cost, and there is literally nothing else. And I am sad. Why don't you carry the City Corner [7641], Zellers?! Why?! Those would be two sets I'd get during this sale. Zellers gets a decent [not great, but decent] sale, but their selection sucks to the max. Agh, such are my woes. I'm starting to think I should have gotten two 3661s and just sold the second one.

I went yesterday, so no minifigures for me, but I did get the R2 DUPLO brick. It's a nice store, very clean. Like the Mac Store for children. I have no idea where all those kids came from at 10:15 on a Friday morning, though. Wasn't there school? Something strange I noticed in that Blacksmith Attack wasn't available in the store [nor is it online, for some reason] but it was quite available at the TRU next door. I got a pack of Build-A-Figs, which was crazy-expensive, but I got three mermaid tails as legs which I've convinced myself would cost more to get elsewhere. They had the parts for three or so series 1 collectible figs [forestman, clown, magicial, possibly more] in the selection, but none of the accessories. I'm sad the zombie wasn't part of it, 'cause I woulda gotten three of them for sure.

No, blurgh. The Blacksmith Attack set. And when it comes to LEGO, I prefer to think that the US doesn't exist at all, because I get very depressed when I think about the huge price gap.

I did a general audit of a couple bits and bob and I'm disheartened. Why is it that white cracks so quickly and under no abnormal conditions? I looked over my Toy Story stuff, at the garbage truck, and boom, at least one of the white 1x2 bricks [a really normal, old-fashioned piece] is split, the white cheese and tiles on Buzz's little space scooter [the one that came with a Martian] are pretty much all cracked, and worst of all, dirty Buzz's arm has a big ol' crack in it. Pbbbbttttttt. Can you even fix this stuff? I have a snowtrooper who's torso is so snapped his arm doesn't stay up. This stuff's all, like, less than 6 months old!

I'm aiming for around the same time. Hopefully they'll have the Blacksmith Shop, or some Alien Conquest stuff I can burn money I don't have on. I've gotten over wanting the minifigures, I think, because they're not super-specific. Besides, having rare stuff [if these even end up being even remotely valuable] feels like responsibility. Like my Shadow ARF guy... should I have opened it? Should I have sold it? Eh, too late now, he's part of the collection. Anyway, Friday. Party time.

I've had my camper for a while now, and I noticed it had cracks a few months ago. Cracks in bricks really bum me out, man, but I've sort of reached a point where, sadly, they're just a part of doing business and you can't prevent it happening. The bright side [and it's not very bright, but it's something] is that, generally, a cracked brick is gonna crack to a point, but not continue to crack. So essentially, it's split and will remain in its new configuration in perpetuity. So, while I weep for my cracky camper, I also know it is unlikely to crumble at some point because after the first little while and the initial splitting, it's as broken as it's gonna get. Right? Don't correct me if I'm wrong, this is the only thing that helps me get through the day.

You have some really interesting sets on here, but yeah, I have no idea how to price them out or what to even expect from them. And having the "some aren't complete" tag on there sorta makes it all the more complicated [which ones aren't and what is missing?]. I mean, the Lunar Limo or the Village Bakery are sets I've had my eye on for a while, but they're also still pretty available. Sorry I can't really offer any advice.

"Piece of crap set" feels kinda harsh. I'd drop 15 bucks [shipped] on it. Pending further info, of course. But yeah.

Tips for the future: generally, if you're looking to move something that's very recent, theoretically rare, and only just given away as a promotion, don't advertise that you have a higher-than-seemingly-possible amount of them. Charge as you will [the fairness of your costing remains to be seen] but highballing while simultaneously listing your stockpile of them smacks of scalping, which is pretty much guaranteed to sour any hope of a deal. Best of luck!

Here's an entry! Clearly a place for the Geisha and Baseball Player to have trysts-- No! Scientist and his Monster. [i've already shown this, so I hope it's not a breach of protocol!]

So hey, I'm sorta new to this... but is there a rule stating this has to be something I haven't already shown pictures of? I seem to recall that for another contest. But if not, I've got something made that's sorta perfect for this.

Dudes, am I gonna get charged brokerage fees on my order from S@H, sent via FedEx? I hadn't even considered this before ordering. I hate brokerage fees with a burning passion.