Pandora

Panda Panjin checking in. I'm in such need of rest and relaxation, and the brochures looked so beautiful I just had to take my holiday here Maybe in a while, I think I'll unpack my bikini first....

It's a great idea and you've executed it wonderfully. It was interesting to read about the progression and problem solving as it helps me understand better (not really a truck kinda gal), so thank you for that, and I absolutely agree with KielDaMan that the photos and presentation really help us appreciate what you've done. The details inside the van are lovely and it took me a few looks to spot the driver in the front Thanks for sharing, I'd love to see more

This guy sounds shifty, better lynch him on day one to be safe

Bugger. (sorry, not you def!)

Consider me metagamed Now if I die prematurely I will hold you responsible!

We might not flail or fail! .... Although it is extremely likely we will...

It's a very slow and surreptitious retaking of the colony..... Looking forward to seeing you there!

Thank you, um, glad it relaxed you! Thank you, Rick! I wish they made them too Thank you for your comments

Wow, what a great depiction of the nursery rhyme! The tiling is great - the way you've managed to integrate it with real world tiles is super and the free-standing cleaver is very impressive. I love the little details like the Braille and the applecore, and of course, the mice themselves! Best of luck in the MOCathlon!

Thanks Stash for doing this The torso is from the 2010 Kingdoms advent calendar - Queen (Day 7) The head and hair are also from the 2010 Kingdoms advent calendar - Barmaid (Day 16) and other sets too, but I'm not sure which. With a pearl gold goblet, please. However, we've registered and have booked the hotel (flights yet to arrange) so I could bring her with me if that's easier?

Isla Paradisa sounds like a dream vacation! Plus I love the idea of all I can drink included in the price I've been closely following the more recent mafia games and read through the archives, and I've read up on mafia-wiki. Please, please, please can I play? I've been excited about this for ages! Pretty please with a cherry on top?

Thanks Prateek; I got overexcited on BrickLink Thank you! Uhhm... It was pointed out to me, but I'm stubborn and I liked them better that way round... Thank you KielDaMan, that's what I thought! Thanks for your comments SilentMode and lightningtiger, and I agree, I wish they'd re-release a few small greenery packs, then we could all relive the '80s (well, those of us who were there, eh lighningtiger? ) Thank you dr-spock, I had a pleasant sense of nostalgia working with these sets and I still love the boxes

Flowers, Trees and Fences - A Composite Review of Sets 6305, 6137,6139 and 6318 In order to add a bit of life to many scenes, it’s often nice to add a bit of greenery. I wanted to do the same, but there’s a limited amount of greenery available at the moment – it often depends on what’s available from the pick-a-brick wall/ online, or you have to resort to buying multiple sets with greenery to get a decent amount. Some things I particularly wanted were flowers in colours other than pink, red and white. “If only there were some sets with greenery and blue and yellow flowers!” I cried. So I went hunting...... and found these sets: Perfecto! Exactly what I was looking for, and still in their original boxes. I registered at Bricklink and bought them (flowers and shopping ) but not before checking them out in the Town index, where they were curiously absent. I bought them anyway, and as they were MISB, it seemed logical to review them for future reference. So here goes my first review, a four-in-one extravaganza! Come with me back to the 1980s and ‘90s...... Starting with: Set 1 6305 Trees and Flowers (1980) Name: Trees and Flowers Number: 6305 Theme: Legoland (Classic Town – Supplemental) Year: 1980 Pieces: 12 Price paid: EUR 19.99 The Box Front The Back of the Box There’s just something about 30 year old LEGO boxes The pictures are descriptive of the contents of the box, without any excitable kids or signs saying “Hey!” They just show you what you’re getting with a nice picture. Bliss. These boxes will be opened carefully, and definitely kept. Inside the box: A surprise! A 30 year old advertising pamphlet showing different LEGO themes available! Which unfolds... And unfolds... And shows a composite of different LEGO themes by age-group: Look, there's Hinckley playing with his Fabuland! Apparently, all age-groups should be washed at 40C Onto the LEGO contents: Inside the little poly-bag of loveliness are the parts for the flowers: And the trees themselves: It is the work of moments to put the flowers together: Here are the lovely trees and flowers together: A cute little set, I'm sure you'll agree. Only one spare part (still useful) And that's that for this little set! I'll do an all-in-one conclusion at the end; I'm sure it'll become quite clear why... Rapidly moving on to: Set 2 6317 Trees and Flowers (1988) Name: Trees and Flowers Number: 6317 Theme: Legoland (Classic Town – Supplemental) Year: 1988 Pieces: 24 Price paid: EUR 15.99 To me this seems very much a re-vamp and re-release of the aforementioned 6305. The Front of the Box There’s a blemish from a former price sticker, but I don’t care, the design of the box remains simple and descriptive. The Back of the Box Inside we have trees And flower stalks and flower heads Once again, it is the work of moments to assemble the flowers: And then put the flowers together with the trees: The spare parts remain few (and remain useful) Moving into the 1990s we have: Set 3 6319 Trees and Fences (1993) Name: Trees and Fences Number: 6319 Theme: System (Classic Town- Supplemental) Year: 1993 Pieces: 37 Price paid: EUR 10.99 The heading has changed from Legoland to System over the intervening years, but the box still only shows you exactly what you’re getting, with four clear pictures showing the parts on the back. The Box Front The Back of the Box Inside the box: Another little perforated poly-bag of goodness! Which when opened reveals trees: Including parts for a palm tree, for which there are no instructions, but the parts come together intuitively: How to build a palm tree! Attach the palm top and base: Then attach two leaves like so: And attach the other two leaves like so: And top it off with the green 2x2 round plate: TaaaDaaah! As the name suggests, there are indeed fences: But there are also flags: And flowers, which, as you may remember, is why I wanted the set. Displaying all the parts of set 6139 together: With only one meagre spare part: Finally onto the late 1990s we have: Set 4 6318 Flowers, Trees and Fences 1996 Name: Flowers, Trees and Fences Number: 6318 Theme: System (Classic Town – Supplemental) Year: 1996 Pieces: 49 Price paid: EUR 18.39 This also appears to be a remake of the earlier 6139 (as 6317 was to 6305); I have no idea why 6318 was released three years after 6319, it seems like a very elaborate ruse just to confuse little ol’ me. Anyhoo, the box:- Box Front The front shows all the parts displayed once again in a pleasant scene. Back of the Box A very handy parts list on the back showing all the lovely pieces Inside there are trees: Including a palm tree (in parts): Flowers: And Fences: But there are other things also! There are vines and bushes and other greenery: And flags, and this time, a parrot! There are no instructions once again, but placing the flower heads hasn’t changed and building the palm tree is as before, however this palm tree is smaller than it's predecessor It was only when I put the two together that I noticed. Not only is it one piece smaller in height, but the leaves are also smaller. Weird. The addition of the flags to the fences is evident from the box. So, put it all together and what have you got? With these sparse spares: So how do all four sets look together? Well, I think they look fabulous! Phew! Well that was a rollercoaster ride through "Trees and Flowers over the last 30 years of LEGO" Overall summary: These sets are so similar that trying to draw conclusions for each would have become repetitive, so I’ve put all my thoughts together, here. Design: For all these sets the design has stood the test of time. All these parts are still available in other forms/sets except the yellow and blue flowers. The palm trees in sets 6139 and 6138 are cleverly designed, and I like the fact they are poseable, however the size of the palm trees compared to the conifers and rounded trees is somewhat incongruous. Build: There really isn’t any, apart from putting the flower heads on and piecing together the palm trees, but that’s not why you’d buy them. Playability: Again, there’s not much you can do with these pieces on their own; other scenery and some buildings and minifigs will help make a story. You can rearrange the scenes to your heart’s content, and adding them to other sets and/or scenes will only enhance their playing experience and aesthetic. Figures: There aren’t any, but that’s expected. Parts: As repeatedly stated, most of the items here are still available, either from other sets or the capricious affections of the pick-a-brick wall. Nothing is particularly rare, and given one of the sets is over thirty years old, nothing is new either. They were bought for the flowers but the addition of flags and fences, and of course a multicoloured parrot, are not to be sniffed at. I was also lacking in palm trees, so now I have two. The boxes are gorgeous in themselves and I almost regret opening them, but LEGO trapped in a box, however lovely, is no fun at all. Value: I’ll leave you to judge for yourselves. As a special purchase, I obviously believed them to be worth it, and that view was only further confirmed when I received them, but others may consider them too expensive. Overall: I adore these sets. Opening the boxes and arranging the scenes took me back to my childhood, and that was joy in itself. I bought them with MOCs in mind, but they can be used in so many scenes for adding that extra detail (greebling, I think.) Even if LEGO suddenly make blue and yellow flowers available on pick-a-brick, I’ll still be happy to have these sets. Thank you for reading, and I’d love to hear your views (good or bad) on the sets, the review(s) and the pictures!

Congrats to all you lucky, lucky winners!! Indeed, please post some pics of your prizes so we can see what you got up close. Great contest EB, thanks to the staff!

Does that mean you know where you're staying? Let us know and we can try to be nearby, as I assume there will be the consumption of beverages near where you guys will be staying and we'd hate to miss out!

I have to say JimB, your entire mafia game made for extremely entertaining reading (including, but not limited to, Hinckley's plays - I shall miss those ) and the opening and closing scenes of the days were great to look at. I was laughing out loud reading the "dream sequence" at the end! You definitely held up the high standard of the asylum (which was the first game I really followed.) Well done to all the players, especially the winners; it was very entertaining! Yeah, I had a sneaking suspicion Rufus was a Rogue, too. Weird, huh?

It was said a long while back in this thread, but I'd love them to make TinTin LEGO. I also remember a fabulous MOC of Snowy/Milou a while back (while I was a lurker.) There are so many stories and characters they could draw on, from so many geographical locations. As a TinTin fan too, it would be a delightful combination for me and really, who wouldn't want a large pointy red and white moon rocket in LEGO?

This MOC appeals to me as I like the smooth lines of the building - clearly identifiable as the Empire State Building, and the little plane is both really cute but detailed. Surely there's no reason to feel bad about posting if you've already put all the hard work in? Loads of people have said they want the "Godzilla" collectable mini-fig to do a "Godzilla vs King Kong" vignette so I'm sure there'll be loads of those around in time, too; and that's no bad thing, 'cos it's always nice to see other people's ways of doing things. Thanks for sharing, I liked seeing it!

Illegal doesn't necessarily mean not-fun - or so I'm told... Anyway, will you lot hurry up and lynch your sword-killer, I want the noob game to start!!

Does NOT wield a pickaxe. - from the very lovely and loveable Hinckley For obvious reasons - I don't wield a pickaxe My MO is much more refined..

I might have done, if you had offered me a tag That pales into insignificance compared to your most recent antics...

Sorry, none that I'm willing to trade, but good luck with your search. And sorry for interloping

Out of interest, Gregorovich, are you building a hareem?

Everyone else has said it - but it's true, this is incredible . Great story, great photos, great architecture, great everything. It's so intricate, the way the roads and monorail sweep in and under and around, and there are great details with all the different shops (well great details with everything, but - shops!). It'd be ace if there were more "Bill and Mary" stories, too!