grum64

So far everything's been light enough to be hung from a crane. However (there’s always a however 🙄) an exception to the objects with a lack of heft hitting the floor of my shed comes to mind and it, I’m pretty sure, is unlikely to find itself suspended from the 42146 without leaving it looking like a hungry chicken in a farmyard 🙂

I would but a) The floor is frequently carpet bombed with miscellaneous parts so anything placed on said surface becomes just another hiding place b) Wheelchair with accident prone twit at the control

After a year, yes a year, spent patiently waiting 🤥 it’s finally happening! Binky’s back this weekend! I’m SO excited 🥳 Surely news as momentous as this needs front paging!

You may be right about the parts having fled across the border. A further search of the shed was carried out today but only two of the fugitives were apprehended. Their nine accomplices remain at large but fear not, they’ll not get away. The search team has been expanded after a generous reward was offered for their capture. Jake, George and Penny will be here at the weekend apparently armed with a handheld Dyson, golf club and magnifying glass. I'm told they're all essential tools 🫡

Great job. The 10317 is getting more appealing every day.

I agree with my learned friends, this is so much better than that from which it's born.

Clever, interesting and completely original. Love it 🙂

Unbelievably Brilliant 👍

Like you, I don’t like to see the moulding marks. I’ve just looked back through the pics and noticed a few more have escaped my detection so not only am I losing my mind but my eyesight also. Oh joy 🫤.

Building Days 23 & 24 / Building Time - 11hrs / Total Building Time - 102.5hrs A couple of days building this time with not really a great deal to show for it but I'm happy with what there is after some of the parts, namely the 1x1 & 1x2 slopes, did their best to drive me insane when trying to fit them. Suffice to say I had to raid my spare parts drawers to find replacements for the 11 needed after their predecessors relocated themselves at varying speeds and interesting trajectories to who knows where. A 20 minute search of my shed by Mrs Grum found 3 of the escapees with no sign of their 8 accomplises. The shed's due for its annual sort out soon and I'm sure they'll turn up. When the newly recruited parts were successfully fitted to the plates they made up the top edges of the wings. Fitting the first one to the build proved frustrating. When pressing it into place the shocks compressed & my hand slipped off and it came apart as it did when I tried retrieve it after failing into the engine bay. The answer was to place the small but surprisingly strong cardboard box you may have noticed lurking in some photos under the front bumper lifting the front axle off the table and hey presto, no more compressed shocks and the parts were fitted with no more breakages. I was getting toward the end of today’s building when it occurred to me that the end of this build was creeping slowly into sight and a strange feeling of impending disappointment came over me. I hadn't thought too much about it before but i guess it just shows how much I've been enjoying this build. Before I go. I know it could be argued that the end of the build has been in sight since the first two parts were put together and yes, you’d be right. It could also be argued that I’m talking nonsense and… The eagle eyed among you will notice in the next picture that the 3 x 5 Liftarm Bent is 1 stud too far back. Now guess who was more rhino eyed than eagle and so sat for over 20 minutes trying to fathom out why it didn't fit 🥴.

I completely agree about the Defender being one of the best sets of recent years. It's also, to me anyways, one of the best building experiences of recent years. I'm very grateful for your kind words. To be completely honest it never ceases to amaze me that people even look at my posts let alone take the time to read and comment on them as I just write whatever comes into my tiny, chaos filled mind at that moment and that’s what gets posted. I don’t plan what to write, I can’t, if I did I’d just tie myself in knots , nor do I edit anything which is why my spelling sometimes goes unchecked and my posts tend to go on. And on...

Thank you for your very kind words. I’m sorry to hear your Mum has broken her leg. I hope it heals very soon and wish her all the very best. I look forward to seeing the results of your ideas.

Building Day 22 / Building Time - 5hrs / Total Building Time - 91.5hrs Just one days building this time if for no other reason than to keep the number of photos down. See how i look after you 🙂. Progress would have been greatly improved today had I played Spot the Difference as I built. As I didn't a couple of silly and what I now see were pretty obvious mistakes went unnoticed until it was way too late and I lost loads of time putting things right 🙄. I won't bore you with the what, the how & the all too lengthy rectification. Instead see if you can spot what I didn't. It won't be difficult.

Building Days 19, 20 & 21 / Building Time - 13.5 hrs / Total Building Time - 86.5hrs A few more days building all of which have gone pretty well with I think a reasonable amount of progress made. I'd have gotten more done had it not been for the pesky 15100 Pin with Pin Hole used on the doors. As with the rear one, they took a property stupid amount of time. There were times that if I could have found a way around using them I would quite happily have done so because they were a right royal pain in the proverbial. Steps 478 & 479 and 480 & 504 along with the last part of step 566 drove me completely nuts. I couldn't get a hold on them to keep them in place. Every time I tried fitting them one or other would just flip up or one would fit in place and then of course the other was never going to go where it should. A whole heap of time, more patience than any one person should possess and an immeasurable amount of bloody mindedness proved the key to getting them done. There's one thing I'm miffed about with this set so far and that's the number of missing parts. The set was brand new and sealed but up until the end of bags 3 there's been 5 parts missing. 1 x 33299 Liftarm, Modified Crank with Pin 1 x 3 & Axle Holes - Black 1 x 60483 Liftarm Thick 1 x 2 - Axle Hole - Olive Green 1 x 11946 Panel Fairing #21 Very Small Smooth - White 1 x 44 Axle & Pin Connector Toggle Joint Smooth - Black 1 x 15462 Axle 5L with Stop - Reddish Brown I’ll have to see if they turn up amongst the contents of bags 4. Luckily I could replace them from my spares so building wasn’t delayed too much. I wouldn’t mind quite so much if this was an isolated occurrence but last year I had parts missing from a few sets, like the Defender all were new and sealed. I think Lego do an absolutely amazing job sorting all the necessary parts that make up a set and it's inevitable that there'll be a few missed parts along the way. That said, whether it’s 1 or 20 parts missing it doesn't make it any less annoying

oops…

I know this is a minor gripe in the great scheme of things but I can see another problem besides the rumoured otherworldly price. I display my models on shelves, I don’t have anywhere else, and with the finished model said to be 1m+ high I’m going to have nowhere to put it. I can’t be alone in this. A good many of you probably do the same, some display in cabinets. Either way, and I may be wrong, I think the height will put some people off. Just my two pennies worth.

Building Days 15 & 16 / Building Time - 9.5hrs / Total Building Time - 65hrs Another day another pile of parts cobbled together, suprisingly, some even correctly. I don’t know about you but seems to me that the Defender’s been going on for an eternity. I know I’ve had a few months out but even so I still can’t help thinking it’s taken a very long time, 65 hours to this point. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind one little bit because it’s a build I’m really enjoying, it’s simply an observation. For reasons that, try as I might to remember, completely escape me I've started counting the number parts used in some of the Defender’s assembly's. I first did this for the front seats and found each had over 50 parts which was a surprise. I did the same for the roof and how many do you think it had, 60, 70, 80 even? No, I was amazed to find it had 129. Now, I'm no expert on roofs, Technic or otherwise, but 129 parts. Astonishing. It does look good though Some of you may have noticed I’m not getting the stickers applied to the Defender. I used to get them put on most builds but not now. I’ve had too many start peeling or fade and with them being difficult to remove it’s just not worth it. I do always buy a spare sheet when I buy a new set though in case I sell it at some point in the future and the buyer wants to apply them. When they start peeling etc, which they almost certainly will, they'll have a replacement sheet that might otherwise be hard to get. For this build, as with the GT3 and the Chiron, I’ll be using custom printed parts and will be using them when I build the excellent Pimped version of the Defender. They're from Steindrucker and are excellent quality, completely indistinguishable from the Lego originals. In the Defenders case they have the added bonus of the Hi/Lo being the right way round. Although they're not cheap personally I think them to be a worthwhile expense for what I consider to be special sets. If you're interested you can find them here: https://www.steindrucker.com/defender-42110-custom-package To avoid any misunderstanding I'd like to make it clear that this is my own opinion. I'm not affiliated with the company in any way nor have I had or would accept free stuff in return for reviews etc. Good heavens, I almost sound professional. Nah.........

There's nothing I dont like about this, I even like the colour. Great work, well done. Many years ago after going on a business trip to the US and seeing one of these, my friends Dad bought an old Range Rover and, using woodgrain effect Fablon stuck to the sides, tailgate and bonnet, made a desperate and quite honestly embarrassing attempt to recreate it. It looked awful but he liked it and I guess that was all that mattered.

As far as I'm aware, and it is only that, no 42030 sets came with V2's so you finding one in your set is surprising, to me anyway. Was your set new & sealed or pre-owned? Mrs Grum has just been out to my shed and checked the artwork on my 42030 box which shows 2 x V2 receivers however, when she checked my model it has 2 × V1's. My 9398 definitely did come with 1 x V2.

Building Days 11, 12, 13 & 14 / Building Time - 17.5hrs / Total Building Time - 56.5hrs Hello My Friends It’s been quite sometime since I was last on these pages and longer still since I’ve done any building. I didn’t stop because I’d lost my passion for it, far from it that’s as strong as it’s ever been and so, with a Defender to finish, I’d best get on with things. Upon reacquainting myself with the Defender I was pleased beyond what many would consider natural or would admit in the presence of those not touched by our affliction. I intended to keep the number of photos down I really did, but my intention seems to have got up, scampered off and disappeared down a rabbit hole to who knows where. I'll try harder to reduce the number in future posts, maybe taking pictures of larger assemblies. On the subject of photos. My mobile, the trusty old S7, is no more after some twit in a wheelchair ran it over and pretty much destroyed it. I’ve bought a new one (ouch!) and am still getting used to the camera on it so some photos might be a bit iffy (or more so than usual) so my apologies. Anyway, when I left off building I’d completed the bulk of the chassis so from here on it’s the interior and bodywork. The front seats, each made up of around 50 parts, look great. I’m afraid I can’t say the same about the rear ones. The backs are fine but the seat base just doesn’t look finished, it’s too short front to back in the middle section. I did wonder if maybe it was done to allow a view of the gearbox. The two black 5L Liftarms at each end do add depth to the seat base but not being the the same colour the they don’t show up very well. I know they’re there to enable the seat to tip forward while helping to add some rigidity to the body and to fit the rear quarter panels to but I think it could have been done, dare I say, more elegantly. Maybe. But what do I know it’s irrelevant at the moment anyway as I'm building the Defender as designed so it'll stay as it is for now. I’ll make changes when I rebuild it to jb70's Pimped version. The only other niggles are the outer ends of the rear bumper. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to refit them and they’re not very easy for me to do. While trying to fit a black pin, admittedly with increasing frustration, it somehow flew off, ricocheted off the underside of a shelf and disappeared into the rear gearbox. Thinking nomadic pins in gearboxes to be a bad thing I began rigorously sliding the build back and forth on the table but failed to free the little bugger. Wedging my hands under the front & back and lifting the build up I gave it a good shake which still didn’t free the pin but did cause a bumper end assembly to break loose and deposit itself inside the sleeve of my jumper. Here, despite me doing my damndest to give it its freedom, it decided to stay until some 20 minutes later when Mrs Grum appeared with a cup of coffee and removed the troublesome assembly. Refitted, it’s been threatened with a healthy application of glue should it depart its position again. One thing, amongst several, that stopped me building was a few weeks of unseasonably hot weather which turned my shed into something not too dissimilar to a kiln but at the moment we have a spell of very cold weather which is fine, I’ve a heater in my shed so it doesn’t stop me building. It’s just a shame some of my countrymen aren’t so inclined to be productive. Now, those of you in Northern climes will be familiar with cold weather at this time of year, it’s called Winter. Or at least it used to be. That may be a strange thing to say but you need to understand that I reside in the UK where some of the population appear to know only Spring, Summer and Autumn. I really don’t think they know or remember what a Winter is. I’m serious. If they see a minus symbol or a snowflake on the weather forecast they have a nervous breakdown, crawl under the nearest duvet and stay there until mid April. Those in charge of infrastructure breakout their insurance documents, throw a hissy fit and immediately stop the trains & buses running, close airports, schools, public buildings and roads telling everyone to only travel if absolutely necessary. Then there’s the newspapers who go into Scare the Public Sh*tless mode and replace the headlines about the past loves, lives and indiscretions of the latest menagerie of Love Islanders with those about hospitals forced to close due to an outbreak of runny noses, emergency departments shutting their doors to the hoards turning up with grazed knees & elbows after slipping on the first patch of ice they encounter and an over stretched power station that exploded because Mrs Brown at number 10 boiled a kettle for her evening mug of Horlicks. The television news is no better. Rosy cheeked reporters up & down the country tell how bad the conditions are showing footage of snowdrifts almost to doorstep height, buses on their sides, HGV's in fields and bemused motorists standing at the side of the road watching as their car is pulled out of a ditch by a tractor. All this because there's been an inch and a half of snow overnight. Oh what have we become.

After talking to and with the blessing of the company involved I've removed this post to help my return to these pages.

Post removed with the agreement of the company.

PM sent

I've seen the one in the second picture, it's by a builder called Arian Janssens. I've messaged him via Flickr and Instagram to ask his permission to base a build on his work as it looks ideal but haven't had any reply. Thank you for taking the time to help me. I'm very grateful.

Thank you for your condolences. I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. It seldom matters the timescale, the loss of a loved one is just that, a loss and the pain although buried through time, never leaves us.