koalayummies

You'll find people do a wide range of things. Some collect and display the sets, some build them and then take them apart some time later for parts, some buy sets with the intention from the beginning to just use the parts and never build what's pictured on the box. Some stick to just one theme while many branch out and enjoy multiple themes. The majority of Lego pieces are cross-theme compatible and only certain minifigures and their pieces are really theme-restricted. Minifigures is a theme in itself and some just prefer that. The collectable minifigure series (CMF/CMS) is a great source of figure parts for themes that have been neglected in regards to retail sets like castle, pirates, general historic and space themes for example since the CMF line generally has a very wide range of themed characters, while the castles, ships, saloons, spaceports and so-on can all be built using regular bricks available so that's one reason the minifigure series is very useful. If you like the fishing store then you'll probably like the Creator Expert modulars as well and if you like complicated builds that take a while then Technic is another theme to consider. Depends how much you really want it. There is certain segment of adult Lego "consumers" that treat Lego like a sort of stock market insane casino commodity so it depends on how much its really worth to you. There are options like bricklinking retired sets by pieces, buying used or making minor color or part substitutions to bring down the cost as well.

Amazing work as always Xon67. The movie was on TV the other day and I didn't remember how huge the saloon was, really impressive work recreating it . "Howdy guys! Don't sit on me!"

The sheer size is quite amusing! The video makes it look very fun. Great work, very different from what we normally see around here.

Like a repossession agent coming to collect a car that payments were missed on. They have a fairly significant debt to Lego (along with a number of other toymakers) so its not unwise to pull the newest product as any profits made during this liquidation probably won't go to paying off suppliers that loaned product to them but rather back into the hands of the real debtors, the private equity bloodsuckers that put them in this position in the first place.

Come on SAZ, at least pretend like you read the guidelines.

Thats really great. Nice use of the new-ish 1x3 plate with 2 studs for the front wing, incorporation of the new halo safety thing and perfect photography. Excellent MOC.

Thanks a lot Jakbar! I was going to put the islands off the vignette (like the ships in the pursuit picture) but thought they looked better with the water so glad they look like they could be in the distance. Just felt it could use some scenery other than open ocean. Thanks! Thanks very much Ianmac! I was planning on making a dock scene with at a new ship being built partially constructed and a village but forts would be even better. Thanks for the idea! Maybe a fort with a small port town and dock, or multiple forts and another age of sail battle story. Thanks!

This can be worked around with very fine movements of the mouse, moving the camera or adding a plate or something else underneath or above the brick you want to place another next to for example; add the brick and then delete the plate. Adding something else to make a connection and then deleting that crutch piece is a common workaround. The 'snap-to' feature is one of the things many prefer about LDD but it sometimes requires using these workarounds. For future reference you'll get quick help with LDD questions in the LDD forum.

The former CEOs of Enron, Worldcom, Global Crossing and Tyco just said "wow, that's _______ greedy!"

Brickseek shows them in wally world's system now under 'minifigures confidential 2018 71021', got the picture up too. No MSRP listed and not seeing any in stock but they might be near you. The only time I've ever found CMF at Target they were nowhere I would have ever expected, the only way it could have been more random was if they were by the toilet bowl cleaner or car batteries.

These finds are like striking gold. What is the wild pink hair from though? And how did the old 'classic' Ninja head get in there, from one of those minifigure swap days ?

Was the LDD file freely shared? Surely they can find another LDD file of this build but considering its a slight modification of an official Lego set and not an original one-off creation wouldn't Lego have as much right and entitlement to compensation as much as the modder? Did they edit the picture to the wire-frame style or did you?

The middle section of Modern House is made entirely of plates! Great stuff on this page. Castor-Troy has done a bunch of awesome builds.

That's actually not the root of the reason why, it has already been discussed at length in this thread. Simplified cliff notes version: Private equity, obtain cheap credit, acquire profitable but slow-growth company (like TRU), force purchased company to pay for majority of its own acquisition to private equity with loans, saddle it with debt, cut costs everywhere making company even less successful, fire people, short term profits, take fee payments on the debt, ~40% chance the leveraged buyout fails, move on to the next. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/why-private-equity-firms-like-bain-really-are-the-worst-of-capitalism-20120523 Not smartphones. Not internet sales. Not Amazon or Walmart or kids not wanting toys.

Thanks! I'm glad you like the whole scene. Didn't quite get my fill of mini ships from the last build and wanted to continue and make a small fleet. Would really like to do one more in a 3-deck man-o-war style and would also like to make the brig's masts as strong as the other two ships as the connection method for those doesn't work on the smaller ship and so the brig is a tad fragile. But I digress, thanks!

Brilliant usage of normally limited use pieces for a really cool result. Great MOC.

While on dual-role patrol and exploration aboard the blue-canvased Elisabeth an uncommon encounter occurs. A crew member calls out a sighting: "Ship turning towards, brig! Looks like friendly colors." Its the Olivia! But the crew's delight is quickly dampened when the Olivia's captain informs them of the reason for this meeting. The Marianne has been stolen by pirates and the navy has tasked the Elisabeth with taking her back. Although the captain of the Olivia has been tasked with delivering the message of this mission they were given the option and discretion to choose whether to aid in this objective which the Olivia offers without hesitation. The crew of the Elisabeth graciously accepts. The Olivia is an older and smaller ship, her hull somewhat weathered by her time at sea and flying plain sails but she nevertheless has a mythical quality among the navy as one of the most reliable and among some one of the more surprisingly lucky ships. One time she and her crew were ambushed by three schooners and not only did she survive and defeat her foes but she also managed to salvage one of the ships and rescued a number of enemy sailors from the unforgiving sea. The crew of the Elisabeth is honored by her offer of support and elated to sail with her and so the two ships set out together in search of the Marianne. The Marianne is one of the newest ships sailing. She's been at sea less than a year and yet has now been stolen by privateers. One of the larger ships sailing these seas, indeed she is larger in every dimension than the Elisabeth with more firepower to boot, but that size and strength comes at the cost of speed and maneuverability. Still, she is quite a sight to see. Less than a day later the Elisabeth and Olivia spot the Marianne thanks in large part to their familiarity with these waters, just as she passes by the Banana Archipelago. With their objective in sight and the advantage of windward they give chase! The pirate crew of the Marianne, slightly shorthanded for such a large ship and now well aware of their pursuers, scramble to get every last bit of speed out of her. The crews of the Elisabeth and Olivia are incensed to see such a majestic ship flying under the depravity of the pirate flag. They begin to formulate their plan. They know the pirates won't give up without a fight and yet the pirates are fleeing as fast as they can towards privateer-dominated waters where they may have more of an advantage. And the pirates know they aren't going to be able to outrun their pursuers and also probably won't get out of this situation without shots being fired. As they bear down on the Marianne and pirate-infested waters they realize they may only get one chance to take this ship with as little damage and further loss of naval vessels as possible. They do not want to sink this beautiful ship or go down in the attempt of recovery themselves. The Elisabeth signals to the Olivia their plan. The captain of the Elisabeth orders the port cannons loaded with chain and bar shot and the starboard guns with round shot, just in case. The Olivia takes up a windward flanking position as backup. The crew begins timing the waves as the Elisabeth closes fast. The less experienced pirates onboard the Marianne realize what's about to happen too late: "raking fire! Brace!" The Elisabeth turns hard, the wave comes and with ship heeled and guns aimed skyward the order is given: "FIRE!". Chain and bar shot crack through the air ripping and shredding rigging and sail. Several of the shots are too good and the mizzen mast is sawed off halfway up. Mast and yards come crashing down onto the Marianne's quarterdeck. The pirate crew is in a moment of shock. The captain, navigator and quartermaster are all hit or pinned beneath splintered wood. Some of the pirates return fire with muskets to no effect as the Elisabeth and Olivia stay off the Marianne's cannon broadsides. The pirates begin to panic and argue as they try to maintain control of the ship: "Who's in charge, how do we steer, how do we sail?". Some of the pirates realizing their impending fate leap into the sea and begin swimming to the nearby islands hoping their enemies are more interested in the ship than prisoners. In short order the remaining pirates realize its hopeless. If they try and continue fighting they'll surly be facing a slaughter. They accept their fate, lay down their arms and surrender. The Elisabeth and Olivia are victorious, they have taken back the Marianne. They now prepare to detain the pirates, fix what they can and limp the recovered ship back home. The Marianne, the Elisabeth and the Olivia: All fixed and a happy reunited fleet: Hope you enjoy!

Yeah made that competition point (in response to one desiring more competition yet contradictory caring less about the demise of TRU) back a few pages, during the 'good, I never got ____ at the price I wanted so good riddance'. Here's a more in-depth look at the situation TRU was in, a bit more complicated than the oft repeated theories of smartphones and technology grabbing kids attention, Amazon sales reigning king (which is still a retail-killer no doubt) and Toys R Us being 'too greedy'. No, they were being slowly cannibalized for cash for the benefit of 'alternative investors'. http://theweek.com/articles/761124/how-vulture-capitalists-ate-toys-r "...In other words, if Bain, KKR, and Vornado had never come along, Toys 'R' Us wouldn't be doing stellar, but it probably could've muddled through. As recently as last year, the company still accounted for 20 percent of all U.S. toy sales... Bain, KKR, and Vornado will have to write off their investment, of course. But they did suck around $200 million in fees out of Toys 'R' Us over the course of their ownership. Basically, the trio took an imperfect-but-functioning company and cannibalized it for cash. Frustratingly, the story of Toys 'R' Us' debt burden has been a footnote in news coverage, buried under musings on how the company failed to compete with the likes of Amazon. And when the debt is covered, it's often devoid of context: Toys 'R' Us just happened to borrow money, it proved to be a bad decision, and now the retailer is suffering the fate of imprudent borrowers everywhere. Rarely does anyone point out that debt was a deliberate Wall Street strategy. In short, how Bain, KKR, and Vornado treated Toys 'R' Us is how Wall Street treats American businesses writ large. And if inequality is dragging down the profits of retailers and other industries, then these cannibalistic practices are the other half of the feedback loop: driving inequality ever higher, and depriving Americans of the jobs and incomes they need to consume. In other words, we are all Toys 'R' Us. And the vultures are hungry." The leveraged buyout killed TRU, as well as several other large American ventures just this month and the track record is something like 40%... failure.

Super awesome. Always love these big collaborative displays. Elevated highway! That "everything is awesome sign" . Is that an elevated mcdonalds with a spaceship going to the drive through? Your Crimson Assurance, Condo and Trackside Lofts buildings look so great there. Thanks for sharing and great work.

I have been a fool for not seeing this thread. A fool no longer. I am addicted, thank you all.

In this thread members said that free giveaway offers do combine: No personal experience that I can recall though. Could ask @Bricked1980 and see if they got all the free goodies combined that they were after. I have the April calendar (with 5005358 Minifigure Factory listed) that I got from the Lego store and there is some fine print that would lead me to believe otherwise but I default to the other members experiences saying they combine.

Still perfection! Though the olive green roof is particularly beautiful it works just as well with with the richness of earth blue, excellent color change choice. Love this building! Such an elegant design.

Wow, really like this MOC. The green is striking but the confidence and careful use of the bright color gives off an official set feel. The reddish-brown part of the building is especially beautiful as well and adds nice contrast. Fantastic top to bottom.

Very pretty! I love brick yellow, new dark red and medium stone grey. That roof is awesome and the construction of the top floor with regards to the sloping roof fitment is really innovative. Also love the close up intimate feel with interior pictures and figures, its like we're inside the building. Excellent old town feel and wonderful MOC.

You bet. I got another pirate-themed micro build, two different mods of Ninjago City (into modular style) coming up and a few MOC modulars in thinking design with one basically ready to build but have to finish some of these other described builds and continue the very slow parts organization journey I've been on for weeks now. Thanks, you're too kind. I don't really use social media or cross-post or self promote, direct-link images in threads versus BB-code (no particular reason), rarely tag images and only post Lego stuff here on Eurobricks so those are probably all contributing factors. Its more for the love of building and just sharing with fellow builders than views or followers. Edit or maybe my stuff is just not that great. The real question is what have you got planned? You've become a sort of City/Modular MOC encyclopedia, you're undoubtedly capable of some great building with all these ideas fresh in mind. Not to mention I'm sure this thread and the how-to-MOC-modular threads have inspired many others as well, even if many have seen some builds before they're always great to look at even more to get inspired. So what you got coming up?