WesternOutlaw

Nice job! It looks good in yellow. I think you mean set #6538 though. I love the chrome! I've always been a big fan of the Rebel Roadster, and 6561 Hot Rod Club. These old Fords were terrific. Interestingly, I was in San Diego Balboa Park a few weeks ago, and visited their Car Museum. They had a few real roadsters and they were beautiful. I was hoping to get more of these classic-style cars in 10200 Custom Car Garage, but they are way too detailed. There's something extra special about the Classic Town hot rods. Your MOC looks great!

Many old sets did use hollow 1x1 round bricks. While Peeron inventory says it should be solid, I'm almost sure that my set came with a hollow brick when buying. The reason I say this is because I had a few of the 677 Knight's Procession sets (from 1979). They also had hollow grey bricks. I don't think I ever had one that was solid. To answer your question though, many of my older sets were loose (like this one), in which I had to find the pieces to restore them. None of the pieces are new, but they did get mixed up. But like I said, I believe the 1x1 piece was hollow. Thanks Legofan. I'm glad you enjoy these old sets. They were terrific. Here's a little article about Preserving Your Lego.

My last and final true Return to Grave Stone creation will bridge the gap between the mythical Ghost Town and the real world. The creation was part of a Wizard's Challenge here on EB in which participants had to create a Wizard and a Wizard's Workshop. Taking the advantage of an opportunity to be creative and unique, I thought of creating a traveling Snake Oil Salesman, a wizard in his own eyes. The creation is called The Snake Oil Wagon of Professor Snidley C. Rooked, Wizard of Curiosities. Inspiration Very early inspiration for the Snake Oil Wagon came from none other than the old classic, Wizard of Oz. During the beginning black & white part of the movie, Dorothy meets up with Oz as the travelling Fortune Teller. He provides the perfect inspiration for the Wizard of Curiosities. Other inspiration would be drawn from Circus Wagons pictured in Lego Idea Book 6000. The Story Professor Snidley C. Rooked, Wizard of Curiosities rides from town to town in search of trusting townsfolk to sell his magical potions and Snake Oil. The all-knowing Professor is always willing to share tall tales of far-away places and mythical creatures to those that will listen. He even claims to have barely escaped a ghastly town know as Grave Stone in which a skeletal outlaw roams the cursed land. Most discount his stories as mere tactics to sell his Snake Oil, but there is always one believer in every town. The Snake Oil Wagon includes a removable side wall for easy access to the interior, and the Professor's collection of magic and curiosities. The Story Revealed I personally love the story related to this MOC. The reason why is because I like the thought of the Snake Oil Wagon serving as a conduit between the real world and Grave Stone. Imagine that only few have been to Grave Stone and made it out alive. The Ghost Train will serve as one possible way to get out, but how does one find the desolate town? The Professor of Curiosities knows the way through the desert and may give you a ride for the right price. One can draw inference between this story and Greek Mythology relating to the river Styx. "Charon" serves as the ferryman who can transport people between the world of the living and the dead (Hades). Professor Snidley C. Rooked serves Grave Stone in a similar manner. The Creation The backside has a removeable wall to allow access to the interior: :skull: --- :skull: --- :skull: This concludes my Ghost Town Collection as part of the Return to Grave Stone. Future MOCs introduce a Grave Stone sub-theme called Ghost Train (for those of you familar with my creations). Aside from Ghost Train, I did create two additional Grave Stone creations that I do not plan on re-editing. They include Decrepit Bank after a visit to Death Valley, California; and The Lynching of Jim Craven, which was a vignette entry for a 2008 EB Halloween Contest. Both creations were originally photo-edited pretty well; maybe I'll just resize. I hope you have enjoyed Return to Grave Stone. I do have something special planned as my next creation (if I'm ever able to obtain all the pieces). Until then, remember that Grave Stone may not be as far away as you think... :skull:

I love it SN! What a fantastic creation. I love all the extra little details like the sun flowers, the tin roof, and the wagon. I blogged this earlier today on Classic-Town.net. Suberb creation!

This is a fun one! Nice job. I like the face as well. Here's a shot of a larger one in Legoland:

If someone were to ask me which of the Grave Stone creations is my personal favorite, I would have to say that this Haunted Mine (MOC #15) is high on the list, if not my favorite. I attempted to take many pictures of this creation, but it was a very difficult MOC to photograph well. Flash spots and blury images seemed to dominate the photographing experience with this creation, so I truly don't think the pictures did it justice. Why do I like this MOC, you ask? This was a really fun creation to play with. The elevator worked (with a winch), and after adding two Classic Town lights, the inside looked awesome in dim light. Tracks were used from the Dwarves' Mine and the mining cart would roll into the mine perfectly. Inspiration I've always loved the thought of a Haunted Mine, since I was a kid growing up in the western U.S. While I think I've only been in 1-2 actual mines, I think the mine is such an important part of Wild West history as they were the reason settlers came to the West. Cartoons like Scooby Doo had "the gang" rolling through a roller-coaster like mine in an episode called "Mine Your Own Business". I also remember visiting Knotts Berry Farm in California and the Calico Mine was one of my favorite rides (next to perhaps the log ride). Indiana Jones took a ride on a mining cart in The Temple of Doom. And making it possible, Lego's 7036 Dwarves' Mine would provide me the pieces needed for this creation. The Story Hidden within the Shadow Mountains, only assessable by either Putrid Creek or the treacherous Hidden Pass, ghost drums within the Haunted Mine echo in the moon lit night . Four greedy miners have come to the mine to extract its treasures. Unfortunately, they did not heed the warnings of the reluctant towns people within Grave Stone. Legend says that the mine is haunted by the spirit of a great Indian warrior and that within the depths of the mine, his ancient weapons are still burried, cursed for those who desecrate the chamber. But the curse has not stopped miners from digging within the dark caverns, some still burried under cave-ins within the deeper levels. What ancient curse will the miners unlock? The Story Revealed The story of the Haunted Mine reveals the source of Grave Stone's Putrid Water, also mentioned in the story of Putid Creek Mill. The story also mentions the Spirit of the Indian Warrior. What link might the Indian Spirit have with the Phantom Rider? Perhaps a new Grave Stone story may reveal further clues... The Haunted Mine Inside the Mine Let's take a deeper look inside this Haunted Mine, shall we? On the first level (below ground), one will find a closed shaft with dead miner and spider web. I had later redesigned this area with a sliding wall that opened, allowing miners to escape to a cliff on the backside: 1st Floor Below Ground Toward the end of the 2nd floor, an old miner picks at some silver ore. Don't you love the lighting? 2nd Floor The 3rd floor id the lowest level within the Haunted Mine. There, a deserting Cavalry Soldier picks at gold ore in the dim light of a karoseen lantern: 3rd Floor (Middle) At the end of the shaft, miners will find Putrid Water seeping between the rocks, and some ancient Indian artifacts: 3rd Floor (Right) Lastly, the Haunted Mine, with lights:

As a big fan of the original 6490 Amazon Crossing, I think it's really interesting that you based your Humvee on the yellow 4WD. I would never have thought of doing so. Your first version is OK, but your 2nd version looks 100 times better. I like the more squarish, lower front end and how the windshield piece is level with the top (a much better design). Nice creation!

Nice job. I like the use of the Classic Town doors. Does the top lift off?

Excellent design! I'd love to see it light up.

Sounds neat! I've learned to always take a picture of my creations though. They're nice to look back on, even if they don't come out well. I was browsing a few earlier.

Nic job MedTL. As a big fan of Playmobil, this is fantastic. I liked your first creation as well, but I don't think I commented. I really like the roof of this one, so classic Playmobil. I tend to agree with you about Lego copying Playmobil a bit though. While the toy companies are completely different, I think Lego has used some Playmobil themes after they came out (like Vikings, Airport, Farm, and a few others), even if some of these themes seem basic. Now if they would just jump on the Romans and Egytian themes, that would be great. However, this topic has been discussed before on other threads, so to not get off-topic, I really like your creation. The colors work very well, and I like the addition of the tree.

Nice job Millacol. What made you choose a flat roof for your tower? Interesting choice. I really love the pattern you chose for the base. It gives the creation a great cobblestone look.

Another nice illustration Apache. You have a unique style that captures your models/ideas well. I like your Indian better (because of the theme), but this looks nice too. It reminds me of something out of Dungeons & Dragons or Warcraft.

Thanks, I'm flattered , but these were just examples. That's a very interesting choice, and would look awesome. Any desire to make a post-apoc style futuristic city? Slick! and very creative. You're a great builder Mr. M. I tried a lighthouse once. It was completely square. Any round tower is very difficult for me. I'd like to enhance my round building ability, in fact. I have a tower project in mind; and can visualize, just don't know how to create it in Lego. Your lighthouse island idea is a nice one. I really like lighthouses and the mysteries of the sea... Alien-style! That would be pretty cool.

I haven't posted any interesting topics as of lately, so I was thinking, "What might appeal to many different builders who collect different themes"? So, I decided to put the creative hat on for a bit and came up with this topic. If you could build the perfect MOC, and pieces were unlimited, what might you build? I'm not talking about a real house built out of Lego, but what creation have you always wanted to build? Would it be? A large Endor Forest scene from Star Wars? The Batcave with Wayne Manor standing on top? A large train table with bridges and tunnels? A Classic Town from the mid-80s? Neuschwanstein Castle? A spooky Ghost Town? :skull: What would you build that you have not already? Have pieces limited your ability to create it? What other limitations have prevented you from building your dream creation? Share your thoughts as to "The Perfect MOC"...

To shed some additional light on the Phantom Rider, I wanted to build a "boot-hill" like cemetery for Grave Stone. Although I honestly didn't spend too much time building this MOC, the result was okay. One day, I will probably re-create this little cemetery adding more detail and additional landscaping. Inspiration I was really happy when I first puchased 4766 Harry Potter's Graveyard Duel. What a fantastice set for pieces - with an old bat tree, crypt, graves, and wagon. This had all the makings of an addition to a Ghost Town. While I drew much inspiration from this set, I used only a few pieces (Why? I'm not sure). Perhaps I didn't want to copy the set too much at the time, although I did use the tree with no modifications. In addition, I've always loved Ghost Towns, and the few that I've visited had small grave sites with interesting/funny tomb stones. I also remember the famous Grave Yard scene in The Good, The Bad & The Ugly with Clint Eastwood, one of my favorite westerns of all time. The Grave Yard served as a place where the hidden loot had been burried in an unmarked grave. The Story Something's a'spook'n the critters in Grave Stone Cemetery. Jake Farlow, the Undertaker, and his loyal helper Hank Austin have been busy trying to keep up with the current demand. Jake is a greedy man; however, and has told Hank to just burry 'em quickly not to worry about digg'n 'em too deep. Perhaps it was the shallow grave, or even the Putrid Water, but someone or something is rising from the large grave in the center of the cemetery. Poor Hank sees the skeletal figure with its green glowing eyes climbing out of the tomb and can only stare at the horrifying apparition. It is he, the Phantom Rider who is awakening from his tomb! Halloween must be near... The Story Revealed Jake Farlow- do you like the name? Farlow came from the classic Stephen King vampire flick, Salem's Lot. I remember part of a line, "Mr. Farlow will enjoy you", stated by one of my favorite actors, James Mason who played the role of Straker. Mr. Farlow was the vampire that he looked after. A bit of this story also came from the movie, Poltergeist, in which a new housing community was built upon a grave yard. The story about this MOC would serve as a nice way to share a bit more about the Phantom Rider and what may have caused him to rise from the dead. This story would be expanded more in the Ghost Train Creation, Witch's Shanty. The MOC

In October of 2007, just befor Halloween; after Grave Stone was nothing more than piles of brick, I was inspired to return to building a few creations including this barn house. This and Grave Stone Cemetery (MOC #14) would stand side by side on a small table in my computer room. With an infusion of orange Lego for Halloween, jack-o-lanters, and the addition of Batman's Scarecrow, I was ready to create an old farm house with windmill. Inspiration The inspiration behind the Barnhouse would blend many different visions/thoughts into a single creation. Starting with the windows of the house, the vision of the classic film, Amityville Horror would provide the basic inspiration. The thought of a Scarecrow came from a few movies including the Scarecrow, Children of the Corn (one of the sequels perhaps), and Jeepers Creepers, along with many other horror films in which a spooky scarecrow served as the antagonist. The name Barnabas Higgens came from the classic horror soap opera, Dark Shadows; Barnabas being the lead character who was a vampire in the story. The Story Creak... Scrape... A rusting windmill can be heard in the distance. It turns outside the spooky Barn House of Barnabas Higgens, an old foreboding house the stands alone in Shadow Valley, not far from the trail to Hang Man's Hill. A small stream use to flow outside the house, but dried up years ago when Morty Perkins won the water rights to the nearby creek in a high-stake game of cards. But who is Barnabas Higgens, and where has he gone? No one left in Grave Stone seems to know. Rumor has it that his mysterious disappearance has something to do with the old scarecrow that stands outside the barn house. Every October as Halloween approaches, the eyes of the tattered scarecrow seem to glow an eerie red color. Some say that the scarecrow comes to life once a year to feed off the living. Green lights appear inside the spooky barn house, but Barnabas Higgens is never seen... The MOC

Yes, I encountered the same problem. This rather small MOC took a lot of time, and many rebuilds, much more than many of my other Grave Stone creations, including buildings. Wagons are very hard, if trying to capture a good design. Thanks Capt'n. You're an excellent builder. I appreciate the comment.

Good point KD. If I still had this little creation built, I might consider your recommendation. I'm surprised no one mentioned the use of the old classic red wheel. Not too many of these still around (although I've probably got quite a few). If I remember correctly, BrickMiner (you know his fantastic stuff) liked this creation a lot. In fact, I think it was one of his favorites from Grave Stone.

What a nice collection Legofan. I'm loving all the classic town sets. The curio cabinet provides a nice way to keep the dust off, and to display that awesome collection. Very nice!

Nice job on this. It could almost pass for a Pirate MOC, but not quite. I love the thought of a sea house with a mysterious cave below. I really like the open side with the palm tree. Very creative.

Wow! This is fantastic. I've always loved the beauty and mystique of the large black and red German steam engines. This is a very well designed engine. It looks like you put a lot of time into the design, with a complex wheel/gear system. I see you even have a slanted/sloped cabin. It's all the extra little details that make this a superb creation. Excellent!

A+ for creativity. Who would have ever thought? Miners + Indy? I really like the design of the mountain side. Nice job and very clever.

That's a good question. I'm a bit of a Classic WW fan and really wanted the black steeds. Skeleton horses wasn't the look I was going for, although I'm sure they would have looked good as well.

Thanks LegoFranks. I'm glad you like them, as well as the Legend of Grave Stone.