Endigo Vandane

For my entry, I decided to go for the whole package. Not just the house, but also the surrounding grounds. The house is of a round design, with large overhanging roofs and an internal garage. The garden is divided into areas that each have their own function. This is the streetview of the house. The next four pictures show different sides of the house and the areas of the garden. Here is the drive, with parkingspace for multiple vehicles just outside the frontdoor. If you go to the right of the waterfeature you will get to the garage. This is the lawn. A great space for the kids to play and if you like a little more privacy, there's a separate area just to the left, where you can find some peace and quiet. Exit the house through the large glass doors and relax on the patio. Or go for a dip in the pool and then lay back on one of the deckchairs. And if it gets too hot, you can take shade in the poolhouse. And then there is the hedgemaze. Challenge your friends to see who is the fastest to get to the tree at the centre. The maze is part of the hedge that lines the inside of the outer wall. Some parts of the hedge protrude into the garden to separate the different areas. Finally, a topview of the house and it's surroundings. For extra (and bigger) pictures, a link to the gallery. This also contains the LDD-file. http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=540948

I cross themes all the time. The only limit to do so would be your imagination. Now, I'm not saying that people who don't lack imagination, some simply don't feel the need to do this. But personally, I can easily imagine a layout which would include nearly all the themes out there, if I only had the space to build it.

I buy LEGO because I like LEGO. Whenever a new theme comes out, I look the sets over carefully to see what parts they use and in what colour. If there are enough interesting bits in a set, I buy the set. Now I am also a bit of a "completist". So once I have one set of a theme, the rest automatically gets on my wanted list. But, like most people, I do have a budget so choices must be made. My prime interest being Scf-Fi and Fantasy, I naturally turn to those themes. Wether the theme is licensed or not doesn't really matter to me. As Cutty points out, there is the whole price/parts ratio thing. That has slowed my purchase of some licensed sets, but that is a price issue. If I had to choose between two sets from new themes, one licensed and the other non-licensed, of equal price and with an equal parts count. I would pick the one with the most interesting parts for me.

And if the self destruct of the little devil fails, it can always use it's little hammer to beat the enemy to death or stab them with the screwdriver. It looks cute enough to do that. I don't trust that serve-bot though. That one looks like it has a plan to take over the household. Especially if you make it wear that hat. I'm warning you, it will have it's revenge, either here or in silicon heaven.

I'm with Brickmack on this one. Why try to remember all the part numbers? If I am looking for a specific part, I either know in what category to look, or in which set(s) it appears. I know a few by heart, but that's only because I have looked them up so many times. Try to find the method that works for you (and if that's memorizing the numbers, good luck).

All the UCS sets I have assembled have been taken apart. Usually within a week or two. I enjoy building them, but during building I always get new ideas. So when they're finished they become partspacks for me. That actually happens to most sets. The ones I keep assembled the longest are the minis. They don't take up a lot of space and if they happen to have unique and usefull parts I just get multiple copies. So yes, I take them apart to use the parts in MOCs.

Love it! One of my favourite Sci-Fi ships. You've done a great job. I must admit I wasn't expecting anything special, but when it appeared on my monitor I nearly jumped out of my chair with excitement. There aren't nearly enough Valerian and Laureline MOCs out there. Thank you for making my day.

What a weird topic... I think I'm this one: At first I appear to be a simple man with just a hint of possible depths. (the smooth sides with some detail on the edge) Then they get to know me better and more structure appears in my personality. (the horizontal ridges) Then they get to know me really well and it turns out I sometimes do the opposite of what they expect. (the vertical ridges)

The times I have preordered something, my card wasn't charged untill it shipped.

I have never done it with regular sets. Except maybe impulse sets. But there used to be a time when boxes had alternative builds on their back. I would attempt to recreate those if I really liked the model.

I just checked and I have the instructions you are looking for. I also have the Aero Shredder and Cave Cutter instructions if you would like those. PM me your Email and I'll send the files to you.

Makes you proud to be Dutch.

a small piece of strange looking plastic.

Age: 38 Age you started building: 6 Country: Netherlands Occupation: Production operator Married: No Children: No Does your spouse or child/children build: N/A Do you have close friends who build: Yes Do you build together with your friends: Yes Do you regularly attend Lego conventions: Yes How much money do you spend on Lego product a year: $2200.00 How much time do you spend building/playing a day: 1.5 Hrs Favored theme/themes: All the Space related themes Do you primarily collect retail sets, build MOCs, or both?: Both Did you experience a "dark age": No If yes, what age did you enter your "dark age": N/A What age did you exit your "dark age": N/A Other hobbies (other toy collecting, sports, drawing etc.): Sci-Fi television/movies - Science (all fields) In your own words what makes Lego bricks so special: You can make the most complicated structures with the simplest of bricks May I PM you with a request for a personal interview: N/A

Gender: Male Occupation/print on torso: Legoland Ambassador Type of headgear: Cap Type of facial expression: Classic smilie Accessory: 2 x 2 tile with map of Legoland Basically this without the chain. And also, spread out over multiple series: Gender: Male Occupation/print on torso: Lion suit Type of headgear: Hood resembling a Lion's mane Type of facial expression: Lion's face Accessory: Flower Gender: Male Occupation/print on torso: Scarecrow suit Type of headgear: Straw hat Type of facial expression: Friendly Scarecrow print Accessory: Black crow Gender: Male Occupation/print on torso: Tin man (silver) Type of headgear: Oil funnel hat (silver) Type of facial expression: Silver face smiling Accessory: Silver axe Gender: female Occupation/print on torso: Blue and white dress and red slippers Type of headgear: Pigtails Type of facial expression: full of wonder Accessory: Basket and a small dog All together now: We're of to see the wizard...

I would call that truck minifig scale. The proportions of the truck look fine compared to the minifig. But let me ask you, is this minifig scale? You could argue that it is, since it is built to fit a minifig. Now, a real Humvee is about 7 ft wide, if you were to scale this thing up it would be 12 ft wide with monster truck sized wheels, hardly to scale. Yet within the theme (Dino 2010 / Dino Attack) it looks okay, because all the big vehicles are, well, big. I think that minifig scale depends on the theme. Most of the City sets look fine together, so do the Star Wars sets. The problem only arises when you start to mix themes together. Let's imagine the big T-Rex from Dino 2010 attacking the new space port. The humvee comes to the rescue and through some space/time fluke so does an X-Wing. You now have a single-seat fighter that's bigger than a Space Shuttle and a car that looks like it could drive over the both of them, together in one scene. So I would have to agree with DaveE, that it is important to be consistent. Pick a scale you think looks good and stay within those boundaries. A little variation won't hurt, but don't park an 8 stud wide sedan next to a 4 stud wide truck.

That's a very nice little build. I can imagine what it looks like in minifig scale. Your "sorting to building" story happens to me as well. You sit down thinking: "Finally I have some time to sort that pile." and before you know it you have taken out more bricks than you have put away, just because two little pieces set of your imagination. And any feeling of dissappointment you may have about how little got sorted, is completely eclipsed by the joy of having created something new. Good luck with any more sorting you need to do. Here's hoping inspiration strikes again.

My minifig policy is as follows: All minifigs are kept by theme. If I have multiple copies of a minifig in a theme, one will be kept original and the others either modified (usually means a switching of heads) or used for parts. For example, I have several City police officers from different sets that are identical. So they are either identical twins or the same fig that has the power to be in different places at the same time. I can live with the twin idea as long as there are two or three of them, but eight is stretching it a bit. So I take all my police figs, pick out the best copy of each fig and put them to one side. Then I take the remaining figs, remove the heads, dive into my headbox and pick suitable and different heads for each of them. And unless there is already one in the original line up, I always give one a classic smiley face. But that is just a personal preference. Now, if you do this in a theme like Pirates, you will have quite a few people who are wearing the same outfit. In that case I switch around everything, recombining torsos with legs and heads with hats (or hair), giving everyone a unique look. I have been doing this for twenty years now, so yes, there are a lot of minifigs that I've never changed in all that time.

There was this period when I was 14 years old where I would have conversations with myself, which went along the lines of: "Am I too old for LEGO? Should I be going out in the weekends like everyone else? Maybe I should switch to TECHNIC, that's acceptable for up to 16 year olds. Am I weird for staying in my room all weekend, surrounded by little plastic bricks? Ooh, that's a nice new part, but I will have to buy that set and the people at the checkout might think I'm a bit strange for buying it." And other such selfdoubting rubbish. But at 14 there is this inbuilt desire to fit in, not stand out, be part of a group. This went on for about six months. During which time I still bought sets, feeling my head become the colour of a tomato each time I went to pay for them. Then came the turnaround in my thinking: "Why should I deny myself something that gives me pleasure and does no harm to anyone else? If I start going out, I'll be surrounded by all the same people that annoy me when I'm at school. So what if they think I'm weird, at least I won't be a sheep mindlessly following the herd. Ooh, that's a nice new part, next time I'm at the store I'll get multiple copies of that set. After all, you can never have too much LEGO." Moments like that are very liberating. And this internet thing has been around for a while now, so anyone can find others who share their interests and fit in, not stand out, be part of a greater community. Had it been available in 1987, I might not have had my dimly lit period. Now when I'm asked if I have any hobbies, I just say it: "LEGO." Most times the responses are positive. But there will always be people who tend to, have a problem with, make fun of, or don't understand, it, they're ussually the same ones who don't have a hobby and lack imagination. You know the type, 30- or 40-somethings that think talking about sex makes them sound 'cool'. I might be a big kid (37), but at least I'm adult enough to admit it.

Well, I am Dutch and I have been aware of Doctor Who since the Tom Baker era. (1974-1981) Which is pretty early considering I was born in 1973. It was transmitted by one of the dutch broadcasting organizations. I think it was the KRO, they also showed Battlestar Galactica and Star Trek. And by doing so they are responsible for my Science Fiction addiction. (Thank you KRO)

Actually, I mentioned it here about nine days ago. Nice to see I'm not the only one who noticed.

Space Villain. Great torso for a Blacktron general and/or elite troops. I just love the helmet in black and it's nice to see the raygun in a new color. I will admit that despite the fact I am a spacer, my second choice wouldn't be the Space Alien but the Elf. Mainly because of that great hairpiece that will allow me to make some blonde Vulcans. (you really do need ears for that) As for my favourite series. Right now it's the first. For me it had the most useable minifigs. Series two only had one stand-out, the Spartan, the rest just had some nice parts. Series three has more stand-outs, Space Villain, Elf, Samurai, Space Alien, Bollo, sorry, I mean Gorilla Suit Guy, but also some not so special, Tribal Chief, Race Car Driver. Again the rest have some nice parts.

I was at the store today checking out the remaining series 2 minifigs, when a shop assistant came up to me saying she thought I was going through so much trouble, I should have this and she just gave me a Max. Which was nice. A perfect case of being at the right place at the right time.

Do you have a velux window? Or maybe a glass top table? Or anything else transparant you can place it on? Then you could photograph it from beneath. I have never tried it myself, but I have seen examples wich looked pretty good. I would recommend a few testshots to check out any reflections, but it's worth a try.