Brickadier General

Pretty cool MOC and a funny story. You certainly put your heart into it, or in this case, your spirits. lol

Yeah, you're right. I think it was the Christmas one, and believe they've done it a couple other times.

I've had the same problem. I bought an unopened Interstellar Starfighter from the U.F.O. series, and the micromoter wouldn't work at all. Like you, I asked Lego for a replacement, but the one they sent me didn't work at all either. So I just pretty much gave up on it after that. I'm thinking that maybe they've had a problem with a number of these motors being defective.

A tree kit using the foliage pieces. They could really use something like that, well, I guess it's more like I could really use something like that. ;-)

Bonaparte, as someone who has been trying to build up an army myself, I am also very impressed at the size of your Napoleonic troops. The imperials aren't getting any cheaper after all. ;-) Have you added more soldiers to your army since you posted this?

Thanks for the thorough review! The details in this set really out shine the other 2 sets. I didn't think they would do buildings with interiors and was surprised that they went all out with this set. The mouse hole was a cool little whimsical feature. I hope this level of detail carries over into future releases.

Nice find. I love these strange looking Japanese cars, but I don't think I'd want one with three wheels. I always remember seeing one on Mr. Bean, and every time he drove by it he ended up tipping it over. X-D

I can see your point. I didn't think about it, but Lego has tried the dino think at least 4 different times (Duplo, Adventurers, Dino Attack, and those Dinosaur pod things), and most of them never seemed to do very well. And you could make up for Ian Malcolm minifigs in sets, by throwing a Robert Muldoon in there to balance things out. lol They had a big whee factor for me, awesome parts packs. I know kids don't really think about that though. lol Based on everything you've said, *ahem* "This sounds like a theme for Megablocks!"

Wow, you did a really good job and for having designed it on LDD I'm even more impressed.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, let's not go slamming on the Jurassic Park license. ;-) JP is a strong license, but the way in which it was handled was not the best in my opinion. The sets were kind of lackluster, with the exception of the Spinosaurus Attack Studio, which included the plane. Plus, there were only two sets, but it came out under the studios line. So did Spider-Man, and I don't know about you but I thought those Spider-Man Studios sets were kind of ugly. I think, without a doubt, it would've worked out a lot better for them had they done what they are doing with the Indiana Jones license. Releasing sets from the first two movies would've have been a great idea, as they were pretty heavily vehicle based, especially The Lost World. The third one, not so much, not to mention it wasn't as memorable. Plus it is a very strong license, and I think if it's handled right, it can do well. And with Jurassic Park 4 slated to come out next year, anything is possible. But I won't be holding my breath. :-X And wow, sorry for getting way off topic there. lol As for Code Lyoko, I doubt Lego would ever release sets based on that show. I'm just not sure how strong its international appeal would be. And after the blunder that was Avatar, I don't even think they'd consider it. Doesn't mean you can't dream though. :-)

These parts packs are great! But it's still a shame that they've made those new shutters. They look aesthetically poor when compared to the originals. When I saw the new versions of the train windows which were designed to accommodate the window panes I was kind of afraid that it might mean they were phasing out the old house windows with the built-in shutter clips. But all good things must eventually come to an end I guess... :'-(

An interesting read. I found it especially fascinating how he got his job. With the internet exposing all the great work of AFOLs out there, I imagine it would be pretty difficult to get a job at Lego in the same manner he did. Thanks for posting this!

Your point is a valid one. However, Lego can be considered a collectible, as hard as it may be for us in the MOCing crowd to understand. Just look at the Star Wars sets. The license adds a whole other dimension, reeling in Star Wars collectors, as well as Lego collectors. However, with these kinds of things condition is everything. In addition to having all the pieces, the biggest selling point of old used Lego sets are the instruction manuals and the boxes. Just having the right parts to build the set isn't enough in the eyes of most collectors. Granted, there will always be someone willing to buy it, but your final value will most likely be considerably less. The same goes for other building toys like Erector. Another problem with Lego is original pieces. They have changed in a lot of ways in the past 50 years, and you know most kids mix their parts together. Now, I think it wouldn't be too big of a deal with sets from the past 30 years now. But with stuff from the 50s and 60s, they're probably only going to be worth more if you have parts from the period. So now that this book is coming out, when can we expect to see the biography of Ole Kirk published? Every other big long established company's founder seems to get one.

I'm late, but happy birthday! Gl

Happy birthday! And for aayla-secura, gl

Maybe they take the pieces out because it is harder to smuggle boxes out of TRU and WM than Target. haha Probably not, but you're right. I've seen that a lot too.

I remember hearing that Cobi-Bestlock is actually partnered with Oxford now somehow, and part of the deal is Oxford letting Cobi-Bestlock to use some Oxford molds. That's why the minifig bodies are similar, as well as some parts. And that would also explain why the tanks are so similar. As far as I know, Oxford is sold exclusively in South Korea, so this joint effort is probably a way of getting a cut in the international market. However, there are some Chinese brands out there that do counterfeit clone brands. Sluban comes to mind, as they reproduce a lot of the Oxford military sets. I know this because I thought I was ordering an Oxford tank off of e-bay and instead got a counterfeit piece of crap. The plastic was pretty brittle, and when I was trying to put on one treads an axle snapped on one of the wheels... But I have heard true Oxford sets are comparable to Lego in quality. I imagine they would also exceed the quality of Cobi-Bestlock sets.

Excellent, this is the kind of book I have been waiting for a long time. And at over 800 pages, wow. For more in depth stuff though, I still like the Lego history CD.

It's really nice, and I love his other works. Making a modular medieval town based off of the Cafe Corner standard was a great idea.

Since I am a history major, I really do appreciate this and look forward to more you may do in the future. These are all quite good, but your Blackbeard is my favorite. Keep it up.

That does look pretty good. Though, for myself I would probably do it white or red with a black roof.

Ugh, no thanks. I know a lot of people like Halo, but I think it would be the ultimate sell-out on Lego's part. It is a game meant to be played predominantly teens/adults, not Lego's target group (even though there are kids that play it). Plus, the game would probably be too trendy and overrated, much like its predecessors. If you can't tell, I'm in the minority camp that really dislikes the series. ;-)

Wow, why do these Lego thievery cases always involve something with Target stores? haha

Definitely one of the greatest arcade game series ever. I have the 1st game for Sega Saturn and the Anthology for PSP and enjoy playing them from time to time.