Trent

Ah, thank you - I will try my luck tomorrow.

I am really irritated about this promotion. There isn't a Toys R Us in my county, and all of the WHSmiths in my county are shut on a Sunday. As the promotion is collect on the day only, I'm not able to get Jack. I have to question what the point is in a store taking part in a promotion that they can't fulfil? If WHSmith has stores that aren't open on a Sunday, then they should hand the promotion to ASDA or Tesco or something instead. I'm really disappointed.

I recently bought a collection of mixed bricks from a friend of a friend, who has lost interest in Lego and is selling all of his childhood/teenage belongings. There's a massive amount of bricks here, but I'm currently sorting it into Lego and non-Lego (e.g. Megablocks), and I've noticed that a fair portion of the Lego bricks are badly damaged or chewed - or are quite grimy and dirty. I'm not overly surprised at the condition, but as I kept my bricks in pristine condition as a child, I'm unsure how to clean them. There's an awful lot of bricks in the box, so I don't really want to take a toothbrush to them all individually...I just want to get them to a reasonable standard. My instinct is to put them into a bucket of warm water, but I don't know if warm water would warp the plastic, or what sort of cleaning agent (if any) would be ok to use on the bricks? I'm not really bothered about changing yellowed bricks back into bright white - I just want them to be clean. Any hints, tips and advice (or even links to existing topics!) gratefully accepted!

Today I received Tower Bridge.

There are some really nice little details in this, and I really like the traction engine.

I asked this question in another part of the forums the other month, and subsequently, I bought it. It's an excellent set, and a very enjoyable build. I would highly recommend that you buy it before it's too late.

Well, St Pancras and Westminster Abbey were two models that you have to mention - both of them were outstanding, and on a completely different scale to everything else. But that's not to take anything away from the other smaller models - there was so much there that was truly excellent. I really liked the Looney Tune models, and the 'paintings' (e.g. Banksy, Henry VIII). I've never seen Lego trains 'in person' before either, so I really enjoyed seeing those...I honestly couldn't believe just how sophisticated they were. I really liked seeing the Taj Mahal too, which I decided was too expensive for me a while back. By the time I came out, I definitely had some serious brick envy! I think my favourite overall piece was the QR code which was made of Lego, and actually linked to Brickish. My friend isn't an AFOL (yet) and his jaw nearly dropped when he saw that it actually worked! I also thought the Trotter's van from Only Fools and Horses was really well made as well. The only thing that was a bit of a shame was that sometimes it was hard to fully appreciate all of the models, due to how busy it was - but I think I came along at a fairly busy time, and I was quite aware that although my friend was very very patient, he isn't an AFOL so I didn't want to bore him to death going around and around all of the stalls repeatedly. I know, for example, that I passed by Cecilie's vignettes very quickly because the area was quite crowded - and I wish I'd had chance to look a little closer. ...but we need busy events, so there's not too much you can do about that! :) I think that was also confounded by the fact that I'm a little shy, and although I wasn't too bothered by it, I think my friend felt a little uncomfortable being one of the only adults there without a child! I think a couple of parents gave us odd looks now and again!

I did - but only to one person, as I'm a bit shy! (It's taken me years to stop lurking and actually sign up and post on here!) It was quite crowded at the time I went around (when I nipped back around a little later after I'd bought some Lego, it was much quieter and had I gone around then, I'd probably have said more). I thought it was pretty important that the kids got ample time with the builders, as they had heaps of questions, rather than me butting in! The displays were really high quality. I took a friend who isn't into Lego (shock horror) and he admitted being slightly tempted to get into it after he saw all of the models.

I think it's a great idea, and it's a shame that it's not available in this country - I can think of a few children I'd have given a subscription to as a present.

Very nice!

I had prior commitments, so I couldn't attend the full weekend - but I went to one of the public days today, and I loved every minute of it.

Absolutely excellent work. The interior is fabulous, and I really like the detail of the checked flag over the door.

I have to admit, I don't understand MISB collectors at all. I can understand buying a MISB set to build, and I can understand keeping a set MISB as an investment to sell on at a profit in the future - but I don't really understand buying a MISB off another collector just to hang onto it. I suppose that they're just waiting for the profit to increase further? I couldn't look at it on the shelf, knowing that there's pieces inside that I could be building with!

A very nice interpretation of the scene. Thanks for sharing.

This is an epic piece of work. The textures all over (the water, the landing pier, the tree) are excellent. The co-ordination of the brick work of the fort is really excellent, particularly the back shot, and I really like the rounded walls too.

This is absolutely gorgeous. I love the beach and the pier - and the water is excellent too.

I just built this set this morning myself. I really like your music choice, and the animation is really smooth. I think your layout overall is excellent - I may take inspiration from that myself! Thanks for sharing.

This is an excellent model - truly outstanding when you see it next to the real life building.

Very nice. A great idea, and I really like the roof. It matches really well - good job.

This is a lovely little scene, and I really like the interior of the tree.

Really excellent detailed work, and I love all of the little 'events' going on inside of the MOC. Brilliant build.

If anyone else is wondering whether or not to go for it, I'd definitely recommend this set. I had great fun building it, and the end product looks great.

Nice review. Thanks for the picture next to the Market Village too - I was curious as to how tall the tavern was. It's a bit of a disappointment that it's not quite as tall as the buildings out of 10193.

Thank you all so much for your comments - you've all really helped. :) I decided to buy the set, and it's arrived today, so I'll be building it tomorrow. I've been sorting out the pieces tonight, and it's the first brand new set that I've bought in a long time. I wouldn't ever buy a BNIB old set (it doesn't bother me buying already used bricks) but it was quite special opening all of the bags, and seeing all of the bricks in totally pristine condition. Obviously, I knew it had 1601 pieces, but even so, I was surprised at how big it seemed when I was sorting the bricks. I'm really looking forward to building it, so thank you all for convincing me that it was the right way to go. I think I'm going to have a fun day tomorrow! :)

Thanks for the help. :) I've been going through all of the Pirate MOCs to get ideas (I really am a newbie at this, and it took me ages to realise that the water in a lot of the MOCs wasn't tiles but was SNOT!) and yes, I love the Tudor style housing for them. I have quite a few of the old sets (no ships though, which most people find very odd!): Pirates: 6257 Castaway's Raft, 6254 Rocky Reef, 6270 Forbidden Island, 6273 Rock Island Refuge, 6279 Skull Island Soldiers: 6245 Harbour Sentry, 6259 Broadside's Brig, 6265 Sabre Island, 6276 Eldorado Fortress Islanders: 6264 Forbidden Cove, 6256 Islander Catamaran, 6278 Enchanted Island ...but I really like the look of a lot of the MOCs - e.g. http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=38526 I like the rocks in this, and I'm guessing it's brown tiles for the flooring? Do you use pick a brick and Bricklink a lot, or do you all just have a big range of sets? I have ideas, but just don't know where to start! I think maybe I'm trying to run before I can walk.