DelQuinn

It looks great! Using the Duplo part was an interesting choice, I love when parts like that can be integrated into designs. I also really liked your extendable ladder build. Good job!

I've always known Lego to be an expensive toy. I remember as a kid in the '80s dreaming about the sets that I couldn't afford. I think the biggest offset to this is back then, there were a lot of smaller sets that you could focus on instead. I think there are less of those smaller sets available these days so, aside from a few polybags here and there, the starting price point is higher than it used to be (And not going to include the 4+ sets that are usually horribly overpriced). I appreciate their marketing strategy back at the start of Classic Space when they released the 918, 924(487) and 928(497) sets. Basically releasing similarly designed sets at different price points to make sure everyone could feel like they could afford a spaceship (I grew up with the 918 set)

That looks very cool :) It looks very reminiscent of some of the alien designs from the old Robotech/Macross shows

Hi Everyone! Take a look at my newest project on Lego Ideas! It is the U62 Television Station from 'Weird Al' Yankovic's movie UHF (from 1989). I will post more photos here as soon as I figure out where is the best place for it! Thanks for your time and support! https://ideas.lego.com/s/p:05be71db48d34ea8bc0ab7ccfbfcd6eb

Also, that the recent CIty Space Modular Galactic Spaceship has Futuron inspired minifig torsos, as well as a recent Dreamzzz set

This is awesome. Blacktron was one of my favorite themes when I was a kid. I never had the Renegade, only the Invader (and I got the Battrax a couple years ago). I like the idea of creating different pods or modules for the new version, depending on its mission or function. I will be building something like then when I get the new Renegade. Awhile ago, I got some of those black girders/supports to integrate into some spaceship designs, looks like Lego beat me to it lol.

I only discovered the 6927 All Terrain Vehicle a couple years ago but it has definitely grown on me as one of my favourite sets of the era. The condition of those minifigs are amazing, most of my whites ones have no planet left on them.

For me it is the Bookshop. It was my first one and the one that got me back into Lego again. A close second is the Downtown Diner (the second set I got) for me it has the best build experience and a lot of interesting designs in it. The set that I still want to get one day is the Detective Office from what I've seen and heard about it.

Classic Space, Futuron (which feels like an evolution of Classic Space) and the original Blacktron

The skeleton was an awesome find! I've only found a couple small pieces here and there. Once I was out with the family in winter a few years back and found a black 1x3 curved slope piece in the snow. It has a few nicks and scratches but otherwise in reasonable shape. I've kept in in my coat pocket ever since for good luck.

I'm not going to weigh in too much more on this issue. Don't worry, it's not for the comments I've received. This is a very complicated issue and I do see and agree with both sides of the argument. I am not good with words and have a hard time expressing what I intend to. there are dangers with AI but in a lot of ways those dangers are from plagiarism and putting the wrong people out of jobs. I am sure that at some point TLG will determine how to use AI in their creations, but I can also see AI destroying and shutting down stuff like the Lego Ideas line, a platform that I am active and enjoy participating in (And yes I know about the complaints, plagiarism and issues with that platform as well, without the help of AI getting into the mix) I just want to sum things up with a quote that one of my coworkers heard awhile ago. "AI originally promised us that it would do the everyday chores like cleaning and laundry and repetitive tasks so that I could have more time to do art and be creative. Instead, we have AI doing the art while we are forced to do the cooking and cleaning and laundry." Yes, AI is definitely here to stay, we need to find a way to keep it balanced in our lives

I don't think AI is useful for designing with Lego. First off, with minifigures, yes I can see where AI could be used but it comes back down to 'why bother?' The iconic minifigure design is something that has been consistent for 40+ years. The main body remains the same, just with different printing and different accessories. The real design innovations are the ideas or themes of what to make the figures (and even then, if they are licensed, the follow the design of the IP being used). We don't need AI to give us ideas like, 'lets make a goat farmer', or 'lets make a e-gamer girl.' The recent space CMF series is a good example of this, the designers said they came up with 100 minifigure ideas for the series and the real work they had to do was to reduce that number down to the 12 they eventually released. Now for sets, I do understand and acknowledge that the arguments get more complicated. First off Lego designers have been successfully designing Lego sets for decades without the need of AI help. And also, i won't go into the issues already discussed already like play value or the building experience. The biggest current problem with AI is that it will generate something that looks good, but not realistic. Great care needs to be taken for AI to not use bricks that don't exist, or placing the bricks together in impossible ways. Or designs that would be too flimsy or unstable and would fall apart due to gravity if made in the real world. If you factor in all of these checks and edits and human adaptation of what an AI could come up with, then you end up spending more time and more money on a design that a Lego designer could've done in the first place. Sorry, I hope this rant makes sense, been having trouble finding the right words as I'm writing it. Also, AI wouldn't be able to hide some of the Easter Eggs that Lego loves putting into their designs.

Thanks! The lattice pieces were ones that I've been wanting to play around with for awhile and I am really happy with the result. It's some of the details that you can't see in the pictures but I wanted to add some detail underneath the lattices, under a couple of them are trans-red bricks to give a glowing effect, but didn't have enough to go under all of them. I'll have to pick up more trans-red from the PAB wall next time I am at the Lego store

Thanks! It was a lot of fun to build and there were a bunch of hidden details that don't show up in the photos

Here is a fun little build I did recently for our local LUG. It also allowed me to test our a couple ideas I want to integrate into a larger project that I want to work on sometime in the future. I'll try to get some more, better, pictures soon. (Sorry, I only realized after I took the photos that I forgot to put on the steering wheel for the Seismologic Vehicle (Set 6844) when I added it to the display) Space 1 by DelQuinn Bricks, on Flickr Space 2 by DelQuinn Bricks, on Flickr Space 3 by DelQuinn Bricks, on Flickr Space 4 by DelQuinn Bricks, on Flickr

Definitely difficult to narrow down to just one favourite, there are so many minifigs now and there are a lot of cool and interesting ones. So the one that I'd highlight is the one that I use for my avatar. it's one that I pieced together myself when I got back into Lego a few years ago. Looking through some of the new idea books, I saw the red jacket torso with the classic space logo on it and loved it. I ordered a few of them and used them to make a few different minifigs. I have since used this one in almost all of my Lego social media accounts and my Lego Ideas account pic. I named him Zack, after the old 'Lego Maniac' commercials from the '80s. I have this one standing here at my desk at work.

For updating official sets, I've only done this once with the 6894 Blacktron Invader. I replaced the hinges on the back section (The ones holding the trans-red plates) with the more modern locking versions. The original hinges are notoriously week and prone to breaking easily. the locking version doesn't look noticeably different on the set and it allows the trans-red plates to be held in place better. The set can be displayed more dynamically and more like the box art and official pics of the set. Original hinges: 4275b and 4276b replacement hinges: 44301 and 44302

Wow I didn't realize they were that expensive at the moment! Checking Bricklink, they are more around the $35-40 each here in Canada. A couple years ago I picked up the Exo-suit set for about $50.00, those minifigs alone are worth more than that lol. They are probably the most valuable minifigures I have at the moment.

Thanks :) I have done some stuff on Lego Ideas before. I digitized the Blacktron ship and the grey with green canopy for a Ideas contest years ago. I might be fun to send them in as product ideas and see how they do. I should take some more pictures on the ships before I digitize them and disassemble them soon. https://ideas.lego.com/s/ca:62d8b2574bff49e0b06a8d762de58e91 https://ideas.lego.com/s/ca:48d18cd46ce843bcbe621f19c70b6ef2 I used the digital files to recreate those two ships. I'm glad that I did, I think the Blacktron one was the most popular of mine at the show. (I am also working on a few other ideas for sending into Lego Ideas, its hard to find time to work on them lol)

I've had similar experiences like this growing up. I'm sorry to hear about the more physical issues you dealt with, I never had to deal with that level. I am in my 40s now, when I was a teenager, Lego was looked down on by anyone over the age or 12 and so I hid the fact that I still built with it. Admittedly, I was always the quiet, geeky, nerdy kid at school and the attitude around school always made me a bit ashamed I was still into Lego. It was hard to talk to my friends about it that have moved on. At the time, I foolishly gave 90% of my sets to my brother which I regretted ever since. (I have been able to recover them from him but the condition of some of it was a bit disappointing, but on a side note i have restored almost the entire collection in recent years) I was amazed a few years ago then I learned of the whole AFOL community and have fully re-embraced it. Even though that stigma is still sticking to the back of my mind, I am trying to ignore it and have as much fun in the Lego community. Earlier this year we were at a mall and saw my local LUG have a display set up. My wife urged me to join and I did shortly after that. This past weekend I participated in my first show and had a lot of fun interacting with club members as well as the public checking out everyone's work.

They are alternative light covers for X-T Starship Light and Sound set 6780. The set uses the red and green covers but also included the yellow ones as well. It was one of my favorite sets when I was a kid

I think (correct me if I'm wrong) refering to these old releases https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=6703-1#T=S&O={"iconly":0} https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=6301-1#T=S&O={"iconly":0}

I just came across this thread. Amazing work, I am currently working on restoring my old space sets. I have most of them fully restored or mostly restored at this point, not that I had a large collection as a kid. I'm now starting to expand and see which of the sets I didn't have that I can start acquiring parts to build them up. The 918 is my oldest set and definitely most worn out. For the restored version, I do have new wing plates and other parts without bite marks but I wanted to keep as much of the original pieces as I could

I think this is a complex topic and there is no right or wrong answers. The Netflix series "The Toys That Made Us" had a episode on the history of LEGO that was really good. In that they mentioned that the molds are destroyed to prevent them being used/copied by their competition. I don't know about if that is still a valid explanation or not with the amount of clones in the market. I also found another thread on here on this topic that also mentions that the molds wear out over time, which also makes sense. I've read indications that the lifespan of a mold is approx. 2 years. The large amount of variants for numerous elements does indicate that the molds are changed, replaced and updated over time. In all honesty, since getting back into LEGO the past few years I am amazed how many pieces they have brought back and/or keep going after all these years

It is my understanding that once a part is discontinued, they destroy the mold for it. Or at least dispose/recycle them so they don't have any old ones in storage. Of course they might have a few for classic pieces (like 2x4 bricks) in museums here and there.