Brickadier General

Thanks copmike. I didn't even think to use the tree for scale purposes. I actually did buy one to see what it was like though. It's basically the same size as the Lego System polar bear, mostly in length. It is, however, wider and looks "well fed." I really like it except for the fact that there are no depressions in the feet to connect them to Lego studs. Here's a pic I took of some of my Zoo Keepers and the bear: Personally, I think it fits very well into the system.

I don't know. I got the Scala bear, and I think it looks pretty scary...Well, maybe not, but I did this with it:

There is really nothing wrong with reproducing another person's MOC with your pieces, just as there is no problem with reproducing old lego sets you never owned but with parts you have. Using someone else's pictures and claiming them as your own and profiting off of someone else's design could be considered controversial. Maybe someone should create a MOC police force. lol

I know these are preliminary, but...I don't particularly care for the overall look. The oversized wheels on vehicles make these sets look pretty cheesy, almost like something I'd expect from a clone brand. However, the new parts, especially minifig ones, make them a little enticing. I'll wait to get them when they're on sale on shop at home. :-)

This looks very nice, and for not using instructions you managed to pull off a nice likeness. The addition of the trunk is also very cool, and I think it goes great with your other vehicles.

I found that out after I contacted the bricklink seller, and I found out that I bought it from the original creator. And thanks for posting the MLCAD file.

Guten Tag (Abend hier), dupree und wilkommen zu Eurobricks. Was bauen Sie? Und 39 Jahre ist nicht zu alt f

Thanks for the reply Todd. And actually, I think that prospective date for next year would work for me. I wasn't too clear. My classes start the week before, as in the first 4 days before the event. Plus, I live at home, close enough to campus to commute. So I wouldn't have to worry about moving in to a dorm room the weekend before classes.

Yeah man, tell him to bring them on. *sweet* There is a market for old custom guns, and they are kind of neglected in the world of Lego customizing. Some American Civil War period weapons would be nice too, please. ;-) And by the way, his needle and scalpel are FANTASTIC. I'll have to get some for my doctors when they become available. The quality of his work goes above and beyond.

Welcome to Eurobricks Kukla. I'm sure you will enjoy it here. And btw, you're one year younger than me. And you know what that means...well, pretty much nothing actually. lol

Unfortunately, the good old college starts up the week before that. I'm not saying it wouldn't be possible, but I'd generally prefer not to mess with something like a convention during school. Any chance on shifting the date a little earlier next year? Labor day weekend is pretty crazy for a lot of people (though I'm sure your turnout will be fine). I've never been to a big Lego oriented event before and would like to go some day. And I'm from PA, and my mom lives in MD so I could stay with her. So close, yet so far! :-D Anyway, I wish you luck with Brickfair. Also, if I can't make it, any chance on hooking me up w/ some Brickfair goodies (ie:minifigs, custom set, etc.)? I would pay.

No problem. I think it would fit in nice. It would also look nice in black, and I think the hood piece could be substituted with tile and still look good.

These are all quite good. They definitely have that vintage look, and with 6-wide you are able to bring out more details. I've actually seen some nice antique cars that used minifig seats on their sides as "rims" (the real name eludes me). Perhaps you could try this technique in a future car?

There is Arealight. I think he only sells custom pieces though, but their quality is great. And I believe he is in Thailand or Taiwan. I ordered from him before and was very satisfied.

Edit: OK, so the set came in the mail today, so I can now review this nice little car. 1000 Steine Land is an AFOL event in Germany, and this car was made as a custom kit for the show. There are not very many of them, as there were only 300 made. Here is the model in front of the box. The box and manual art are both well done, and the style reminds me a little bit of the old Legoland sets. The manual is of high quality printing and very easy to follow. The decal sheet that came with it appears to be from one of the old Spider-Man sets. Mine only came with one, but should have come with 2, because there is only one little badge decal per sheet. It wasn't a big deal because I had an extra one. You still have a lot of extra stickers when you are done. Side note on the stickers: I had to trim the decals with scissors to fit them properly, but that was only because there were unnecessarily large areas of clear, unused space. In other words, it's pretty difficult to mess them up. The end of the manual even gives you some suggestions for alternative parts. I suspect the reasons some of these weren't used was due to their expense. Here is a pic of the car overall. My apologies for the picture quality. But you can see that this is a very good likeness of an American police car. And for being a custom piece, every part appeared to be new. Even the chrome daggers were still attached to their plastic holders. The build uses numerous more advanced building techniques. The trunk is SNOTed on the rear. The "rims"(don't know the real name) surrounding the wheels use headlight bricks with 1x1 slopes SNOTed on their sides. More proof as to how useful they can be. I also love the use of chrome daggers as fenders. The interior is just as detailed. Although it's difficult to see in this picture, there is a black lattice fence piece to separate the criminals from the officer. Unfortunately, it cannot sit a minifig inside. But this is more intended for show rather than play. A minifig still looks great alongside it. And as the 2nd pic shows, it goes great alongside my other 6-wide vehicles. The sturdy box the kit came in also doubles nicely as a storage container for the finished model. And for a final look at the pros and cons... Pros: -Looks fantastic and is a realistic looking rendition of an NY police car -A more advanced build with special building techniques -Detailed exterior and interior -Parts in new/like new condition -Professional looking instruction manual -Nice, strong, reusable box -Only 3 decals used on the model, so there are several other types of decals you can save for later Cons: -As with most custom kits, this one is a little pricey. But that is to be expected, especially with such limited numbers made. -Cannot seat a minifigure. -If you like functional doors, this model doesn't have them. My final verdict: If you can find it, this set is very much worth purchasing for a reasonable amount. The pros outweigh the cons, and it looks fantastic. I just love it and am looking forward to see what next year's event kit will look like. Even if you can't buy this kit, there is still hope. As I've said in another topic, I bought this from the designer, and he sounded like he was interested in selling other custom kits on bricklink. So you might get a chance to see more of his work, and I'm sure any custom work he would be doing would be just as high of a quality as this kit was. His bricklink store is called "joerilla" if you would like to see what else he has to offer, now and in the future. Well, I hope you enjoyed my review. By the way, I know I said I would post instructions, but I gave it second thought, at least for the time being. I think I should talk to Joe before scanning the manual, since this is his creation and of his design. I just think it would be proper to ask first.

That's hugemongous!! I look forward to seeing this with the details you'll be adding to it. Will you be using lego seats in it?

Well, I've finally made a difficult decision...I'm selling off the majority of my classic space minifigs. My reasoning is that I am a town and train fan at heart. Space was never really a big thing for me, and I never really accumulated that many figs until I bought two huge bulk lots. Now, I have over 100 Space/Aquazone Minifigs I want to sell. Sorry I made that bold, but what better way to catch your attention? ;-) They range from a variety of subthemes, spanning more than 20 years: Classic Space, Futuron, Blaktron II, Space Police II, Ice Planet, Spyrius, Unitron, Roboforce, M-Tron, U.F.O., Exploriens, Insectoids, Aquasharks, and Aquanauts. Most of them are in excellent shape and are complete. However, in some cases they are not complete as they originally were. Some of the figs, I had to substitute regular smiley heads for the original. And in Ice Planet's case, some of the orange visors were missing. But almost all of the ones that came with airtanks, come with their airtanks. I just made a bricklink store and was listing these individually, but to tell you the truth I would prefer to sell them all at once and be done with them rather than wait for people to buy a few at a time. So I was thinking maybe e-bay might be better. So what would you guys/gals suggest? I would especially like to hear from people who have done the same thing.

Well, it is factory sealed, so the price would be very high. They are very uncommon in that condition. But I agree, that price is unreasonably high. I looked at completed auctions, and the last unopened airport shuttle went for $740 with free shipping. Used ones with the box seem like they would go in the $300 range. Sets without the box but intact instructions seem to go in the $200 range. So condition does make the difference. I would only buy an unopened one for sentimental reasons, and of course I would not open it for that price. The best part is that people are actually buying it. I looked at his feedback, and a few people have purchased subscriptions from him. Plus, I reported him, but e-bay probably won't do anything about. They like to pull legitimate auctions (I once had a Japanese Sega Saturn game up and they pulled it because they said I violated their taboo on mod chips and import devices. And all I did was say that the person would need an import device to play it on their console...)

I'm working on finishing up an article I started several months ago for BrickJournal. I wasn't really satisfied with it then, but read it again today and I've concluded that I was being way too hard on myself. I added a few things, tried to inject some humor to make it a little more interesting. Hopefully it will get published. It'll be different and unusual...kinda like me. ;-)

You got lucky if you could find just the shakos. Buying the sets for the shakos isn't really worth it, because then you have a bunch of crappy pieces you don't want to use (or at least that's me anyway). I bought several of the enlighten sets a few years ago to see them for myself, and they truly are garbage. Of course, what's inside the package looks nothing like what's on the box, and they steal the box art from Lego anyway. One funny thing about them though is that they do have a Chinese military line, so if you're really sick and twisted you could make a Tienneman (spelling) square scene. heh

Sorry about that...I can be pretty oblivious to things. X-D

Someone is selling a subscription to the Lego Magazine. Yes, now you too can pay only $4.95 for a two year subscription to the same magazine you can get for free.

Thanks again everybody. Thanks. I got the idea of using palm leaves from other builders. They make nice trees, and you can make pretty large ones for a far cheaper price than using the little foliage pieces. I will update as it grows, but since college is starting up again, it might be a long time before I add too much to it. I guess I should probably cover everything with plastic so it won't be all dusty by then. I cannot claim the idea of that either. I borrowed that idea from other builders too. I've seen many other nice ideas for minifigs like using the little pointy 1x1 modified plates as shoes, and a pivoting head effect under a helmet.

A mixture of green duplo, and basic green/brown/grey bricks might work well.

I didn't get one this issue. But whenever I accumulated enough of them, I just sold them on e-bay anyway. I like free money. :-D