Locutis

We lost our 9 year-old son for 10 minutes today. I called his friend's house to tell him to come home for supper, and the mom just plainly said he left with some strange 16-year-old kid. I asked if she or my son knew who the kid was, and she said no. My wife found them down the street at the park, playing in bushes behind the trees. My thoughts are what it could have been instead of what it was, and if I hadn't phoned to call him home and just waited for him to come home when he wanted to, maybe I would be typing a different message on Eurobricks right now... Scariest thing that's happened in a long time. Locutis

Each Lego set that is taped shut has unique batch numbers printed on the tape. Each batch is theoretically the same. Therefore, if there are any problems or issues with a set, and it's the whole run that is affected, you can determine others that are problematic just by checking the batch number. This became handy when problems were revealed in the 10197 Fire Brigade in which many bags of pieces were actually missing from an entire batch. It was easy to determine if your batch was affected by checking the serial numbers on your seals. I had read somewhere else that someone had problems/issues with the consistency of the medium blue in this particular set. I don't know what batch theirs was, but I was providing my batch number for reference.

Are these sets so rare in EU that someone would actually pay the NA going rate, plus over $300 for shipping!?!?!? If so, that's unbelievable! It's funny how the post office would make more on the shipping than I would on the set! ;) I bought one for myself in Feb 2010 for $290 and I thought I was paying a lot. Hindsight tells me that was an awesome deal! I just assembled the pieces for my son to have one, and the cost was in the $400 range. I did a couple of substitutions that he won't mind/care about that can always be changed later. I would keep the Cafe Corner I bought for my son, but he's happy with the set I put together for him, and it would be better to resell it (for me). The Cafe Corner I'm selling though is fully original, no substitutions, complete with box. I didn't even get a box with the one I bought myself in 2010!

I think the shipping costs from Canada to the EU would make it so prohibitively expensive. These would have to ship only by XPress Post International, which starts at $40 here just for a letter! I just checked how much shipping would be to Belgium on the Cafe Corner, and Canada Post says they would rip me off at $334.54!! There really is no other way to send it from Canada that I would trust. Therefore, I think only members in Canada/USA would be interested in buying from me.

I have a used 10182 Cafe Corner for sale. This set comes complete with box and instructions. I purchased it from an adult collector with the intent to resell it. It was assembled once and displayed in a room without sunlight. From a smoke-free home. Pieces, instructions, and box are in very good condition (like new). I'd keep it if I didn't already have two myself. I will re-verify all pieces are there before shipping. Also for sale, a brand new (from Lego S@H directly to me) a 10185 Green Grocer. From my non-smoking, pet free home. Box is in perfect brand new condition. Also, I have some brand new (from Lego S@H directly to me) 10194 Emerald Night sets. From my non-smoking, pet free home. Boxes are in perfect brand new condition. Prices: Cafe Corner: $800 Canadian SOLD Green Grocer: $550 Canadian SOLD Emerald Night: $200 Canadian Plus shipping costs. If you would like to verify my identity, I am Locutis on Bricklink (my store is The Borg Collective http://www.bricklink...e.asp?p=Locutis), and I am locutis24 on eBay (http://feedback.ebay...tab=AllFeedback). Locutis

One thing I forgot to mention: I don't like the dark grey trap door plate that holds the roof in place. It looks very silly compared to the rest of the inside of the roof. I think the inside of the roof should have either been all dark grey, or the trap door plate could have been white. Locutis

Hello everyone! This is my extensive build review of the 10229 Winter Village Cottage. I decided to do a review of the set, but photograph the progress of building it in stages. Normally I would organize the pieces and line them up, to showcase what pieces come inside this fantastic set, but I was not feeling well today, and wanted simply to build it! Lego 10229 Winter Village Cottage Name: Winter Village Cottage Set Number: 10229 Pieces: 1490 Price: $99 US / $129 Canada / DE 99.99 € / UK 89.99 £ / DK 899 DKK Ages: 12+ Minifigs: 8 Theme: Winter Village Year of Release: 2012 Here we see the box: Here is the parts listing on the side (sorry for the low resolution - you can view a better version here http://farm9.staticf...e15e0f15d_k.jpg ) In case anyone is interested in the "version" of the set I have, you can see the serial number seal here: All of the bags from inside the box, laid out in all of it's brand new goodness: The dreaded sticker sheet. I did not apply these to my reviewed set. Here are the contents of Bag #1, and the start of the build. Looks like the snow plough started to roll on its own, and the lumberjack tried to stop it, but failed. Always remember to be careful around heavy machinery! Here we start bag #2: Here we start bag #3: And, we are done with the build! On with the review! There is definitely a good assortment and number of minifigs in this set. 3 female characters and 5 male characters, makes a nice variety. From left-to-right, we have the mom, then her mom (the grandmother), the grandchild, and grandpa (holding his newspaper - I did not apply the sticker for this review; I really wish Lego would print these pieces, especially at this price-point). Next we have the girl skier, the snow plough driver, the lumberjack, and lastly the boy skier. Some of the heads feature dual facial prints (the grandchild and the grandpa). The log shack and igloo are very interesting buildings. I'm not sure if they really add that much to the set, but they are a welcome addition, none-the-less. This brick-built sled features shovels for the skis! Very simple, yet intricately detailed. I believe the pail on the sled is new. Next we have the snow plough. I love the design of this vehicle. You're probably wondering what those brown bricks on the back of the truck are for. The plough on the front of the truck can detach, and be mounted on the back of the truck on those bricks. Nifty! Inside the wonderfully designed cottage is a light brick. Every Winter Village Set has featured a light brick, and this one is no exception. The use of the light brick in this set is well thought-out. Some of the other Winter Village sets have featured the light brick that simply added light to the room. In this set, the light brick provides a nice warm fire! The brick-built tree in this set is very simple, yet well designed. Here's another view of the light-brick fireplace. Let's hope the cat doesn't fall! And here we have the set shown in full. I do have the other Winter Village sets in this series, but none built at the time of this review. I may go back and revise this review at a later date with photos of all of the sets together, but not right now. Overall I really like the size of this set. TLG has been slowly increasing the size (and cost! ) of these special holiday sets since the first release. I can only imagine what the new releases in a few years will feature (2000 + pieces???). I think the $100 price point is essential to stay under, and in my opinion the size of this set is about as large as you want to have with this series. Here's my rating: Build: 9/10 There was nothing too repetitive about the build that would make it boring. There are some ingenious structural implementations that would be useful in some MOCs. Pieces: 1490 10/10 I think the piece count is about as large as you want to have, yet seems just right for a set in this series. Minifigs: 8!!! 9/10 While the number and variety of minifigs is nice, TLG have introduced some new prints, but some are recycled from other sets. Price: 7/10 While this set is priced at $99 in the USA (and a good bargain at that), it is priced much higher in other currencies without the exchange rate being considered. In Canadian dollars, this set sells for $129, but the US/Canadian exchange rate is 1:1 right now. That makes this set 30% more expensive in Canada than the USA. I was fortunate enough to drive down to the USA and purchase 2 at $99 and save myself some money. TLG could do better to make their official retail pricing on their sets more in-line with current exchange rates than lining their pockets. I deduct 3 points from the score because of this. Variety: 10/10 I like all of the variety and use of new pieces in this set. I am especially fond of large plates, and those "brick-bricks". There are 40 "brick-bricks" in this set, making it a wonderful supply for these pieces. Also, the window frames in dark green, and the snow plough piece make this a wonderful set to own multiples of for MOCs. Also nice to have are those dark-blue floor tiles. Yummy! Overall this set earns 9/10 from me. A definite buy, and a wonderful addition to the Winter Village series. If you wish to see very high resolution pictures from my Flickr set, you can view the photostream here: http://www.flickr.co...157631715098000 Locutis

I agree 100%.

What color do you think would contrast the best against the yellow bricks, for the back half of the building? White? Light bluish grey? Black? Classic blue? Locutis

Hi Everyone! I recently acquired a large Lego collection, and in it there was a Lego City Bank set # 3661. I had an unfinished idea that I was waiting for the right inspiration for, and decided to make a modification of the Lego City Bank set as the "capstone" to my MOC/MOD. First you will notice this is a work in progress. I do plan on making it one floor high, but it will be about twice as deep as the official set. Back side (there will be a wall in-between, next to that chair): But what is that vault door protecting??? SNEAK PEAK!!! We've only scratched the surface. (Purposely out of focus!) Locutis

I also would love to join MBA if it were available to Canada. I wish TLG would expand this product line to outside the USA! Locutis

I would agree with your assessment. I'm 99% sure that brick is not an official TLG made product. The way the plastic is formed (specifically on the bottom side) with lines where there shouldn't be, it appears to be a knock-off. However, I don't have it in my hand, so I can't say for certain. Have you tried weighing some to see if they are off weight? You will need a VERY accurate scale, but that should give some indication. EDIT: I didn't notice your text about it not including the official LEGO logo inside until after I posted this. That's a dead give-a-way. ALL Lego bears the stamp of approval. Definitely a fake if it doesn't have the logo. Locutis

22. Cecilie - 1 6. Sid Sidious - 1 3. slovakiasteph - 1 5. Caparica - 1 10. LegoJalex - 1 Good entries everyone!

27. Myko - 3 33. CarsonBrick - 1 1. castor-troy - 1 Good luck everyone!

I was browsing Lego Cuusoo and found this gem: Diagon Alley Gringott's Bank Coner The first thing that I noticed was that it looks detailed enough to be an official Lego set, and not too busy, like many MOCs do. What do you think of this set? (I'm not affiliated with the designer/submitter)

Lego's S@H website now is taking orders again for this product (after going "SOLD OUT" then "Temporarily out of stock" for a few weeks). Good news for everyone that missed it during it's short availability before. Locutis

Lego Shop@Home in Canada and the USA now list this set as "SOLD OUT": Shop@Home Site I was being lazy and hadn't yet ordered one for my son, and so I got worried. Fortunately ToysRUs still shows selling them (but for $5 more!). Looks like it will be a very limited release... Locutis

Yes, they sorted out the missing bag problem. The only reason the FB is still available is that (apparently) they had to do another whole run of some special parts, and so they figured they may as well do more sets and keep selling them. I have noticed that the boxes on the new sets are different than those from before 2012. Has anyone else noticed a difference in the box? Mine says "Fire Brigade" on the end by the picture and the box is a different shade of blue (I have several sets from over the time they have been out). Locutis

I couldn't find the answer to this question, and common sense isn't giving me the answer either, so here goes: The rules make reference to the Pet Shop, implying that two buildings each on a 16x32 baseplate are allowed as an entry. Is this correct? The reason for my question is because everything mentions only 1 entry, and only 1 building, but the Pet Shop is two buildings, in the profile of one large one. Locutis

There were a lot of sets in the 39R1 batch that were missing bags. If you hadn't noticed, the little stickers sealing your box have a number code on it. If one of them is 39R1, you should check the contents. You can find some extensive information here: http://www.bricksetforum.com/discussion/1933/fire-brigade-10197-missing-parts Locutis

I'm starting to think the Grand Emporium will be discontinued before the Fire Brigade! Locutis

I think TLG may have had the wrong parts in the bin for these. I got an email reply from them that they are sending my the proper pieces (ie: dark red in color) and a free gift as well. My only other real tricky part to get/emulate is the 1x2x3 panel. I am thinking of building one with white windows instead. It may even look better. Locutis

I ordered some of the rarer parts of the Cafe Corner through Lego Direct parts replacement service. My order arrived today, and in place of part 4623597 (ROOF TILE 1X2X3/73°), which was supposed to be New Dark Red, quantity of 36, I received this element in *BROWN*, and the element ID on the shipment sheet is noted as 4270470. I've contacted Lego about the problem. Hopefully they can get me this slope in the proper color. Has anyone else had good/bad luck with the Lego Direct parts replacement service for these parts specifically? Locutis

The VIP points are credited for your purchase, but only once the item ships. The offer still qualifies at the time it ships though, so even though Double VIP ends today, if your order ships in 30 days, you will still get the Double VIP when it ships. Also, they do still give free shipping, even on backordered stock (at least that's what I've gotten). I think that text might be in their terms as an "out". Locutis Are you sure Lego did the security check at $500, or was it your credit card company? I've placed a $4000 Lego S@H order before, and did not have any problems (except the credit card company calling to ensure I really was ordering $4000 worth of Lego). It may have been your credit card company's fault. PS: I ordered yet another of these wonderful sets. I will now have 4, plus my son has 1. YAY! Locutis

1 point is for each $1 spent on an item. You need 100 points for $5 redemption, and the redemptions can only be in $5 increments. Therefore, the extra 250 points would give your VIP redemption a value of $12.50. Locutis