slovakiasteph

That's what I did... plus double VIP points this month.

B-RV-12A I call this my "country house." It's a pretty large house, typical of what you'd find on the edge of town. It features a porch, carport, and some vegetation outside. There's also a large porch and smaller balcony upstairs. Ya know, each time I build a building, I think "this is my favorite so far!"-- until the next one, that is! The bottom floors... a living room complete with couch and small TV. I like all the windows and the entryway/stairwell as well. The second floor holds a table with chairs and small kitchen. I might put a railing around the hole in the floor. Don't want any LEGO broken bones! Upstairs, the master suite: a bed with a unique headboard, chair and reading lamp, and chest with light. Ya'll can put your arms down now, people. They must be getting tired. I would really love to live here. ETA: here's the photo I used as inspiration for this house. I like my color scheme better, although I like their fancy work on the balconies.

I saw this on Saturday! It's pretty big! I love the way the windows look. I have a picture of it somewhere on my camera... I knew my sister would want to see it as she especially likes Wright's work. Oh, and I like the shot with the trees... very appropriate!

I think the double stripe looks best, and that the blue line looks more modern and up-to-date than the red.

I should build a furniture store next, so people can buy coffee tables!

B-OV-19E The bookshop I've really fallen in love with this one. I don't know if I can stand to ever take it apart. It's so small and yet detailed. Actually, even though I love books, I think the bookshop is my least favorite floor... didn't really add enough to make it have much of a "feel." I have one bookshelf and a little display case... any ideas of anything else I could add in that small space? Or how I could change it up? I was thinking of tile floors, but that just seemed too clinical. I'm especially in love with the upper floors... The sink, counter, and hob on the left... with a little table and chairs. Orange couch with a lamp... ran out of white bricks, so it was "lighthouse" inspired. After looking at this again, I think I might move the white table legs to the middle... so people have room for their legs. Yes? No? And, the attic room. It looks so cozy I want to live up here! A built-in dresser, desk and chair in the nook (with lamp), and a bed.

IGA-- that's something we have over here! Good thing I watch a lot of British TV or I'd be lost on half the things you're describing/terms you use. I'm really enjoying watching this all come together!

I really don't think this set is worth $70-- I'll have to get it anyway as I have the first two buildings, but will definitely be looking for it on sale.

This looks very impressive in person, too! (I saw it yesterday at Brickworld Ft. Wayne). Takes a lot of time to admire/notice all of the details!

I met you at Brickworld yesterday. :) And commented on how I recognized this. I think it was the block lettering and the church (the church is my favorite part) that made me remember. Your castle was amazing as well! My friend and I spent quite a bit of time admiring it before you'd arrived/while you were gone.

My thoughts on Brickworld Ft Wayne: Great first expo for a LEGO fan! I wasn't at all sure what to expect... but there was a good-sized room with lots of detailed displays! Since many of them were focused around buildings/cities, it was right up my alley. I took my 11-year-old friend... he liked all of the minifigures, Bionicle SW builds (I think that's what they were), the mosaics, and the LEGO ATM machine. :) We were there for about one hour and 45 minutes, but I probably could have spent a little more time looking at some of the displays. We went around fairly quickly the first time and then went back and looked at things more thoroughly. I didn't spend much time at the vendors but would've liked to look at them a bit further. My friend did purchase a minifig... he knew what he wanted and did some price comparisons. Honestly, I was surprised that I had seen quite a few of these builds before-- in pictures online! Maybe I just spend too much time looking at LEGO on the web. Even saw an EB Spaghetti Western entry! Overall, it was worth the money and drive. Took TONS of pictures for inspiration and even talked to a few folks even though I'm rather shy. Am I correct in assuming that Brickworld Indy will include many of the same displays?

B-OV-19D The flower shop! Had to add one of these as to me they're an important part of Slovak life; my friend works in one, and flowers are given for important occasions. I'm usually there for my birthday and will get a flower from at least one person. Well, it looks like it's snowing because of the white roof. It's not. It's just a white roof. The shop is run by an old guy who loves flowers. He's actually related to (father/grandfather) of the people who live on my farm... but you haven't met them yet. That's where he gets some of the flowers. Little apartment upstairs. The couch folds down into a bed... like a futon. In fact, he was so tired that he didn't even bother to pick up the pot on the floor. Thanks for looking!

I think the second as well... too much blue in the first, and I like the variety in the roofline.

Do you all ever go back to the place where you found the LEGO, just to see if more has magically shown up? I can't help but walking to the back of my classroom just in case...

That is exactly what I was expecting to see when I opened the thread. Great work! I became familiar with those types of houses through watching The Good Life (my favorite show). I like the front door very much-- it really stands out. Haven't had a chance to look at the interior too much yet but will soon!

I think I must be spending too much time on EB because I saw your 100th post earlier today! The set is typically priced at $20. I like the "ooohhh."

Thanks... my first EB review! I agree, it's a great set... next time, I'll have to review a set I don't like quite as much.

This set was a departure for my usual City-obsessed self. The only builds I’d built since I returned from my Dark Ages this summer were City, Creator houses, Harry Potter, or Kingdoms. At Toys’R’Us’ recent buy 2, get 1 free sale, I decided to go for something different and picked up this set. Not sure why, exactly, but it fit my price point and I liked my other Creator sets, although buildings. The first time I built Build 1 it took me about an hour—but I was in my tent, pieces on the sleeping bag, using a flashlight to either look at the directions, the pieces, or the model I was building, so probably longer than usual. :) The instruction booklets The pieces spread out… much easier to see here than in a dark tent. I just had to include a shot of this first page… the first time I built a set out of my Dark Ages, I looked at this page and decided it meant to not build on the carpet. So, I built the first several sets on a table, as I was told. ;) Until I used my quilting cutting board on the floor. Build 1 This was a great build with which to begin. The three parts work well together, but we begin with the helicopter. It’s fairly straightforward, but has some lovely SNOT work on the sides. Fairly polished altogether, and I like the bright yellow color. Action shot! Yes, I had fun getting both the rotors spinning… and looking at the orange line around the edge from the orange 1x1 tiles. Then, the truck. This is the best part of Build 1, hands down. It’s fun and I like the sleek look of the truck when it’s finished. I love the “wings” (not sure what they’re called) on the side of the cab. Am I the only one who has to spin each and every wheel when I put it on? Just to make sure it works. :D Finally, the trailer. A fairly straightforward build. However, the orange plate in the instruction booklet looks red. I have a problem distinguishing between the greys and black (dark bley looks black to me, light bley looks like dark bley…) in the booklets, but this orange definitely looks red. Also, the blue 2x4 tiles are held on basically by a 1x4 brick across the wider edge, which means if you press on one side, they’ll fall. Finished trailer Three parts… it’s more fun to have three parts to a build instead of just one! Together at last. Just a few bits and pieces left… Build 2 Build 2 begins on p. 3 of the second instruction booklet. We build the little boat first, which bears at least some resemblance to a boat. I don’t think the colors work very well on this—the white, orange, and black seem like left-over pieces put together. The jeep comes next, then the trailer. The jeep is my favorite part of this set; I like the way it looks, and the build was fun! Lots of plate layers to put together. Left-over pieces… plenty! Was going to experiment with another build but decided to move on… Build 3 Build 3, and my favorite! This one was the most fun. It begins with the little orange car. It looks great from this perspective, but from the side or front, at least partly recognizable as an orange sports car. Then for the truck. I love everything about this: the cab, the roof, the color scheme. The front end looks beautiful with all that cheese. Enough bits and bobs for an experiment later… So, what do I think about the set overall? Design: 8/10… Okay, so I’m not sure I’m adequately qualified to rate the design as I’m not very familiar with vehicles overall. I like the look of the vehicles, and everything seems to fit together well. The trucks are especially nice-looking, with the SNOT work and blue-and-orange color schemes. Playability: 9/10… Lots you can do here! Even for me, who doesn’t “play” with vehicles. I did drive the trucks and car around a bit, put the car on the trailer, and had lots of fun spinning the helicopter rotors (as you can see from the photos). Price: 10/10… The Creator sets always seem to be a good value to me. Three different builds for the price of one? Yes, please! This set seems to be a very good value to me, especially since each build has two or three components to it. In fact, while I wasn’t interested in the Creator vehicles, I picked up this set anyway just because it seemed to be a good value for the price and because of the versatility of the pieces: as I was building, I was already thinking about how useful the pieces would be for my usual Town MOCs. Build: 9/10… The only reason this didn’t get a 10 was because there’s a lot of plate stacking, which can become repetitive. The bulk of each cab is built by stacking many plates. Other than that, each was a fun build. I would say Build 1 was the most interesting, then #3, with #2 coming in last. The little boat just didn’t offer much variety, but the 4x4 provided a nice build. Still, they were all fun and I would build each of them again.

Thanks, but unfortunately, I can't take credit for that one... it's basically an upside-down version of the lounge chair in 8403. This update is rather outside the typical "town" range, but still belongs in a Slovak town! All over Slovakia, it's common to see castle ruins on hilltops. There are still many castles as well (I hope to include one of those in my Slovak town as well), but even more ruins. I was trying to create the look of one that still had most of a tower standing, but the rest had crumbled. This is my first time trying to create a MOC using castle pieces, BURPS, or even grey slopes as rocks, so if anyone has any suggestions to improve the piece, feel free to speak up! I don't have many castle parts-- just those two walls from 7948 and many grey arches and slopes. I did run out of grey cheese slopes, though. The couple on holiday decides to explore the castle; Vlado wants to climb up to the ruins, but Jana decides to captures its beauty through photography. Plus, her feet just can't make it up there! (I'm wondering if I found her legs along the road or something as they're rather, um "distressed"?)

Wow, I really like this! I don't have any trains (if I did get one, 7938 would be it), but I like it in white much better. I see a possible mod in my future... after I get the train, of course!

Definitely cool!

I'm going! WOOT! Bringing my CFOL friend along with me... he's 11, so if you see a young woman with an 11-year-old kid, it might be me! Not at all sure how long to plan to be there... an hour? two?

Thank you! Yes, I'm excited about the Friends theme! At least the buildings, anyway. And the tree house...

This is based on set 7639. Sometimes it's not much fun camping in the rain (every time I have a week off, it seems to rain!). What would camping underwater be like? Well, you wouldn't have to go swimming too! So, I present: When Will it Stop Raining? The campers have been here so long that the sand has drifted around the wheels... this is starting to look permanent. In fact, there's seaweed growing from the campers. The guys are outside talking around the grill... Arty (the owner of the teardrop trailer) is trying to relax, but finds it difficult to stay on that lounge. Bob is wants to grill one of the fish that was passing by, but it's a bit slippery. Inside the trailer, Emily is resting on the bed. The chairs, made of plastic, seem to be rather buoyant. The heavy coffee mug must be keeping the table down. There's also a sink, stove, and kitchen counter on the ground level of the camper. Who knows, the fisherman and surfer might join them in the salty deep soon enough...

B-RV-10D My tan house! I love this color combination... with the dark red roof. This was one of the first buildings I designed, and I was trying to add a little variety to the house rather than just a flat front. My favorite part of this house are the three sets of triple windows and the pop-out on the first floor. Living room... the black shelf is the unit found in so many Slovak living rooms. It houses the family's crystal and the TV, with a few drawers for storage (there's a grey screen, but it's hard to see). Upstairs, the son's bedroom with double beds. Kitchen, with a small hob. I've decided that the two red cabinets stacked on top of each other are the refrigerator and freezer on the bottom. :) Upstairs, the master bedroom. You can see the wardrobe. Bathtub with hand-held showerhead (very common in SK)... toilet, and "sink." Son: "We have to climb two flights of stairs to get to the bathroom?" Dad: "You can be grateful you even have a bathroom since you live in a LEGO City! Back when I was a kid, we just had LEGO outhouses behind the house." Enjoy! Flower shop coming up next, I think!