TheLegoDr

Interesting read. I've never heard of him before, so it was all new. He seems like a good sport talking about his ego and whatnot.

The wheelchair is indeed fitting. It doesn't look overtly big like a lot of them can look. Good job there!

Minecraft was popular enough they are now producing more sets within that theme. Something they normally wouldn't have done without CUUSOO (at least to my knowledge). Granted I never heard of Minecraft until LEGO released a set about it. I still don't really know what it is though. But it was immensely popular and the "CUUSOO set" was released and the royalties paid. But since it was so popular, TLG is coming out with their own sets not created by the same person, therefore they can get their feet wet by an outside source, but still maintain future revenue by adding in their own creations. I found that interesting. So the same thing goes for SW or other licensed themes. As stated above, they could release a set based on the CUUSOO plans, but then want to update it again in the future because that is what they do. So they make a "throw-away" CUUSOO product that they will change again anyway. Doesn't make a lot of sense if they were planning on doing it in the first place As far as BTTF goes, I doubt they were looking into that as a viable set in the future, so it does help add in extra awareness to this niche product. I will probably buy one if it looks appropriate, but I have to wait and see how it ends up.

It is licensed with Sydney Opera House, so it is possible they would link it to their gift shop also... but I would assume people would be more likely to buy the smaller architecture set when visiting somewhere instead of this giant monstrosity. But I don't know any specific details about it, so they may do things differently.

That poster looks awesome. Too bad it won't be available by the time I will actually buy this behemoth. And they tend to fetch quite a bit on ebay for some reason, oh well...

Csacsa234 - I assume you bought random bags then? I agree Medusa is the easiest and the hardest to find. She's so easy, she is probably picked clean from every box, therefore making her hard to find (plus she's only 1 or 2 per box of 30 or 60 respectively). I ended up buying extras of Medusa to hopefully sell later since she was harder to find. Naturally I would've made more money if I didn't buy them instead of selling them. I didn't get above MSRP, so it was a waste. Oh well.. But back to the post, the baseball player is easy to feel because of the hand. The parachuter is a little trickier, only because at first it may be odd feeling the helmet or the backpack. I kept questioning what I was feeling at first until I remembered it was him. I would never buy randomly. If you actually want a specific figure, there is no reason to randomly purchase. If you don't care, then random would be fun.

Thank you for releasing them! I always love your builds. I like the techniques used to add in some detailing. Best of luck on selling some of them. People will have lovely cities when they are done with them.

Interesting read. Our point of view (as FOLs) compared to the typical citizen's point of view can be widely different. From the picture, most were official sets as far as I can tell. But most people wouldn't know that, especially the exclusives. Most people think "it is cool" that I'm still into LEGO, but who knows what they really think. It doesn't really matter, but I agree the thing that matters the most is to not tell anyone how much you spend on LEGO. If they looked at you weird before, they will even more after then. Why do I like LEGO? I like that answer, a childhood pleasure. It seems most people who are into LEGO as adults were more than likely into it as children. If you didn't come across it until your adulthood, you probably won't care about it as much. So it is very much a childhood pleasure. And I learned what a lakh was too. Never heard of that before. He does have a lot of bricks, about double what I have.

Brilliant. I love the outcome of both. It's hard to pick just one as better thought since they both have their pros. I think I like the Knightfall one more, only because of the trophies. Although, the TDKR is spot-on to the source material. You captured them well!

Very well built overall. I like the color usage and the idea behind it. And that draft I almost think it looks a bit squat though. Maybe if the legs were slightly longer. But otherwise, it looks great!!

My most favorite part is actually the crossed broadswords underneath the arch in the front. Very clever and adds a lot of depth to the build. I may need to borrow that sometime. I'm surprised I like how much it looks. I also like the inner-workings and furnishments. The desk/book shelf are really well done. I like adding in the cell and including the boxer's head. Keep up the good work!

I also would suggest selling. I personally thought the figure looked cool until I saw it in chrome gold. Then I instantly fell out of love with him. I also agree that the money that you could make from it would be great for other MOCs or (things unrelated to LEGO, as if). But for what my time is worth, I didn't see the point in feeling all of those packets for one.

At first, I thought the walls were a bit too textured, but in reality I like the effect it gives. Makes me think of a very well used "ancient" castle. Keep up the great work here. I like different segments also.

The palm trees do look exceptional. They remind me of Dr. Seuss and that isn't a bad thing. The extra vegetation is very fitting for a jungle. I want to see more! I also want to see some Forbidden Coast monsters..

Not that it matters now, but I am about halfway done with my gatehouse for Albion. My original build I was working on (off and on) for months was scrapped the other day and I started anew. Like I said, probably about halfway done and I am significantly more pleased with this result. Hopefully I can finish it this week and get pictures up for everyone.

That's unfortunate. I didn't know anything about a special poster. Not that it will make me buy it early, but would have been nice to have. I think I have a Frodo poster from last year, but missed all of the other posters. Edit: Seeing that t-rex makes me regret not getting the dino theme. I wanted to, but there were too many good sets last year. I agree that it would be a good Lego size for Smaug.

Thank you for the review! It was very thorough and informative. I love the amount and quality of the pictures. I was already planning on getting this, but it is still great to see all of the little details in full view. I agree about the figure count. I wish it was higher. Even extra orcs or uruks to pad it out might make it feel like a better deal. The piece count is lovely. I'm sure I won't use them for anything else, unless I decided to make a new castle for my Black Knights, otherwise this set will stay together long term. I am also worried about the amount of dust collected. Where are you keeping this thing? Mine will be in the basement and I'm sure mine will have the same layer in no time. Is there something we can spray on our finished sets to prevent dust from collecting? Thanks again.

Do they ever release an Australia price on the initial release? As far as this set goes, it is beautiful. But I don't think it is $320 beautiful. From what I can tell, they nailed the shape which is great. But I would expect some more pieces, even if they were smaller to pad it out. It would at least give the appearance of better value for your money. And thus, will make you feel better about purchasing it. I was iffy on the $240 for Tower Bridge, so $320 will be really difficult to swallow. Thankfully there should be a long lifespan of this, so I won't have to get it this year. Especially since I just picked up the Tower Bridge this year. I guess one thing to note about the price is this set is licensed, so therefore TLG are paying royalties to use the likeness, so I'm sure that helped up the cost a bit. I like seeing the dark tan though. I'm not excited about the baseplate like the description is forcing us to be.

Mr Bill - I've said that to my wife before. She asked if there was ever such a thing...so I think I'm safe if I want to buy more. She is supportive. Clanure - I agree. I want to buy storage drawers and whatnot to help keep things separated, but then it takes away a lot of money from sets and TLG is putting out way too many great sets these days...

That's odd. All of my headlight bricks that are cracked (quite a few the more I look at them) are actually cracked on the back bottom base. I've never seen one cracked on the front. I've also been noticing a lot of arches that are cracked. I have a lot of castles, so I have a lot of light bley arches and I've noticed quite a few of my 1x4 and 1x6 arches are cracking. Most often on the sides (the narrow 1 stud width side), but on one I noticed it was on the front (or back) but on the long side either way. Really odd since I've never seen so many pieces cracking before. It might have to do with the less plastic being used, so they aren't as thick as they used to be. Didn't someone say they are see through now because they use less plastic? Interesting how prices can go up, but less product is being used...

That looks really good! I agree, maybe something small on the arms to add some contrast, but not too much detail is needed. Just enough to break up the color scheme. Granted, I don't know much about SW figures, so off the top of my head, I couldn't tell you what to change.

Thanks for the poster. I love seeing these. Will it be available anywhere? I luckily was able to get a few of the Iron Man 3 posters at the LEGO store a few weeks ago, but I won't be near one for quite some time.

Other than adding in some more trees, I think you captured the feel of the scene well. If the build was bigger, adding in an archer farther away might help. Otherwise, I think the builds looks great. The terrain works well. I'm still trying to work on my landscaping skills.

I just recently got into steampunk, so have been keeping an eye out for steampunk LEGO. These take the cake. I love all three builds. The color schemes work really well. But my favorite is actually the first build. Is that the old dark gray? It looks very fitting for steampunk, so much so that I am going to dig out my old grays to work into builds. Keep up the great work! I still don't completely understand steampunk, but I'm trying to learn.

Very clever! I wouldn't even consider trying something like this, let alone executing it. Good usage of pieces to help balance people. I almost want to try this for fun since I wouldn't be entering the contest. Can you use any bricks on the upper levels?