Xyver

After a very successful Brick Event on the Gold Coast, Brick Events is heading to the Sunshine Coast. March 1-2, Lake Kawana Community Centre 114 Sportsmans Parade, Bokarina QLD

Being able to buy a box of 2x2 (or 2x4) light bluish grey tiles would be astronomically wonderful. The 2x4s aren't available from S@H and I need more to pave my city. I've used over 700 already and I've had to resort to unpaving the outside edge of the road so that I can finish around the buildings. I'm planning a trip to the UK next year, and plan on hitting the retail stores over there, but that's 18months away. I say please give us a LEGO brand retail store, not just for the PAB wall but also for easier and quicker access to the exclusives sets, I hate having to wait 8-12 months for them to hit our shelves, though this isn't as bad now that free shipping is standard.

This is also the problem with people proposing an idea rather than a set, or a lacklustre build of a set anyway, when there are already decent versions of the set simmering away. Imagine if one person proposed a Knight Rider set, but with a very undetailed, very plain black car. Another person produced a very detailed model, though of similar scale. It is conceivable, as what happened with Ghostbusters, they will both be pushed past the 10k votes because people want to see a LEGO version of K.I.T.T. If the idea passes 10k first, would they be forced to give us an undetailed car and pay the royalties to the person who submitted the idea, when the person who put in all the effort (and possible submitted their project first) gets nothing, even though theirs is the car the people actually want to see? That being said, the project that did not pass review was posted on Cuusoo first (by nearly a year) but didn't gain any traction until Brent's vehicle started being promoted and it was carried along with it. Oh man, this is a minefield, I don't blame LEGO for saying first to 10k wins, otherwise there are just too many variables to try and work out who the royalties belong to. Lets just hope the above scenario never happens, and we only ever get decent sets made. And before you say anything, I still consider the DeLorean a decent set, they did the best they could so as to keep the car convertible to all three variations. My only complaint about that car is that the roof should have been wider, but it was easily modded. I kept the bonnet as is, though I would have preferred and actual windscreen.

The Ghostbusters: 30th Anniversary proposal as originally submitted only had the Ecto-1, the building came later. I would say most people voted for the car and the figs, rather than the building anyway. I felt it was a better model than the other one, hence the decision going its way. I do not see LEGO ever producing a large building through CUUSOO, it will never meet their market case. That's why the LandRover failed, it was just not possible to keep the price down to a reasonable level to keep it justifiable. I am a bit surprised about the Wizard of Oz not making the grade though, I would have thought that would be a good brand fit. Maybe someone else has the licence for that. Poptropica was never going to happen, too small a niche, as was FTL. The ATLAS just wouldn't have any market appeal, especially to kids. The Female Minifigure Set, well, it is a good idea for LEGO, but maybe as a polybag type of series rather than CUUSOO, so I don't know about that one. From the way I read all of their blog updates, anything Ghostbusters is pretty much now off the table for passing review, though if this set sells well, they may do their own theme for it, as with Minecraft. This would go the same for BTTF. So all of you people wanting to submit other ideas for these now established themes, don't get your hopes up. The same goes for all other existing licences, your sets just aren't going to happen. The Assualt on Wayne Manor is a prime example. This is a fantastic idea, but for two of the reasons I've already listed (size and existing licence) it will never pass review. The only hope for the next review is the Japanese Old Style Architecture, the rest don't stand a chance. I guess that set will test the size limit for CUUSOO, it's ability to pass review will be determined by their ability to scale the models back a bit.

Target's current sale is wonderful. Though they didn't have much stock left, I did manage to pick up some of the new City sets and a Friends set. With the 20% off combined with the 3for2, I managed to save 46.667% off retail. I wish they still had more of the new vehicles in stock though, the shelves were pretty bare, so I still have to find the tow truck and camper van.

I agree with the Tower Bridge set for parts, that's what I did too. I then went onto Bricklink and bought the bricks of another person who did the same thing (they'd just been on sale at the local retailers) and that's how I made my hospital. My MOCing skills aren't up to the standard of many of the others on here, but I found building the official modulars first gave me a great basis of how to go about building one of my own. I also built my own Cafe Corner from spare parts to work out its techniques and the combination of using the instructions and replicating a similar look using different parts, is a great way to learn. So even if you can't afford to buy all the modulars, at least download the instructions and go through them. And I would suggest sticking to the standard modular dimensions too, either 16 or 32 wide, with the 8 stud footpath, as this aids tremendously when putting together a layout. I built some of mine to fit into my city, but now that I am moving it around, they don't quite work, so I have to rebuild some of them. Alternatively, come up with your own standard, and stick to it, it makes life easier.

I tend to MOD all of my modulars into bigger versions and was wondering how best to do that with the PR. The double height doesn't quite do it for me, it seems too thing, but I really like yours LegoSjaak, I will do something similar once I finally get this one. But do I buy two of these now, or just one and the Simpson's House??? I still have to buy all the new City vehicles, plus so many new Friend's set. Why does Lego insist on putting out so many good sets at the same time. I'm just glad I don't collect any of the licenced themes or I would be totally broke.

Thank you everyone for your feedback, it was very helpful. I knew it didn't quite look right, especially the middle door, so I have made some changes I've added an extra row of bricks to each level, so now the heights match the modular series better. I also reduced the windows on the middle level to three rather than four. And to avoid it looking too odd, I have added external blinds to keep the sun off the windows. I have also changed the Police sign to white instead of black, and made the frame around the entrance white to make it stand out a bit more. It still needs something though, in the photos it looks too flat at the bottom, though it doesn't look that bad in the brick. I guess photos never do things justice. Any other suggestions to improce it? I am thinking that I might make it more of a standalone building, or at least have a carpark off to one side for all the police vehicles. Maybe a few covered walkways around it might help with the fact that it looks too square.

I've been thinking for a while now on ways to use the roller door pieces as a roof, mainly for a curved roof, but haven't worked anything out as yet. I've used the black and white ones as an external window blind on my recent Police HQ modular using the Plate, Modified 1x1 with Clip Light to hold them. They move a bit though and come out fairly easily so it's not ideal, it does look pretty good though.

That is a very nice City Fire Station. I really like how you've used the baseplate on the roof for the helipad, that is a great idea. I also like how you've done the stair railing, but my favourite part is skylight/roof section of the office block, the roller door pieces on an angle look really good. I just hope it doesn't rain in Legoville.

I've never sold a MOC, and I doubt I ever will, but from a purely business side, you would want to charge for the bricks, plus a percentage to make bricks profitable. Then you would have to work out the time you spent designing/making the MOC, assign a $value to your time, and charge that as well. So, if you are selling a one-off MOC, the sale price would be: bricks+margin+time. If you are selling instructions only, this would be just time. If you were going to sell multiple copies of the instructions, then obviously this would be reduced by how many you think you will sell. So if you were going to sell 10 instructions, then the price might be time/8 (to build a profit margin into it)

I love it, sure the colours clash a bit, but the design is fantastic. I especially love the roof

A lot of people get back into Lego when they have kids, they then remember how great it was, and pretty soon, it is for them. This is how I got back into it anyway. I loved Lego growing up, would sit and build for hours with it. I only stopped because I 'thought' I was too old for it. So it started out as a few sets for my daughter, then I wanted to build a town for her to play with, then I wanted to build better buildings and it didn't matter what she wanted. She was just happy to play with it all once it's built, which I always allowed. My nieces/nephews love coming over and playing with my town. It is a toy after all, and designed to be played with. I don't 'play' with it though, I build/create. Sure people look at you funny when you say your hobby is Lego, but I have always found that changes dramatically when they see what you have done. Some people just don't understand Lego, even when they were kids, but that isn't your problem. When I started participating in a LUG, I was nervous for the first show, I thought it would be embarrassing to admit to other adults what I do as a hobby. But you know what, anyone who is there to see the show is going to love it, or their kids will, and that is all that matters. And just remember, the people who design this stuff are adults! So you don't have to justify it to other people, provided you can justify it to yourself, and it isn't causing a rift between you and your partner, so what. If it brings enjoyment to you, in whichever form you use it, and it doesn't interfere with your life, then there is no problem, other people just have to accept it is a part of you and get over their preconceived perceptions of it as a toy as it is more than that. And Off the wall, Friends is some of the best Lego you can buy, and I'm a male in my 30s. Sure, my daughter claims the whole layout as hers, but the truth is, she built very little of it and I buy most of it for me. I'm big into City, and I find the Friends sets better builds, and more variety then just more police cars/fire trucks. At our last expo, it received twice as many popularity votes than the superheroes/LOTR/Western displays, so it is very well liked by many people. Of course, if I sat down and 'played' with the minidolls, then I might happen to agree with you. "No Sir, I didn't see you playing with your dolls again sir."

Noahsdad, the Red Passenger Train is a great set to play with, even if it doesn't have all the added playthings of the cargo train. But if you and your son enjoy playing City, think of the fun you will have loading people in/out of the train for its journeys. Either way, Lego trains are great and will bring hours of fun.

I totally agree that it needs more colour, I just couldn't work out what would look best, and I'm seriously lacking in bricks at the moment (all my white is gone and this used all of my light bley) Although I do like the look of the build, it is too dull and square, especially the middle floor. Any suggestions on ways to bring more colour or texture into it? I could possibly make the front dark tan, but then I would lose my lettering as I don't have any brick w/stud in that colour. I did think of putting it onto a white plate background, which would solve the problem, but that would also make it stick out from the wall more, plus it would then go to solid letters rather than style I have used (which I quite like) I have added an extra row of bricks to both the ground floor and level 1, which should help with the scale a bit. I haven't put it back in with the other modulars yet though, so not sure how much it helped. I'm glad you like the helipad, I am very pleased with how that came out

It definitely works, you've done well to keep the original feel of the building. It would look great with the Pet Shop buildings on the other side, just to complete the row of houses look.

My city, Adestown is growing (and needs a better name), and with the growth in population, also comes growth in crime. So the city built a new Police Headquarters. To make sure people new where it was, the put a great big sign across the front And a helipad on the roof I normally don't do interiors, but since I used the same jail cell setup as the 2011 Police Station (but fully enclosed and with two rows of cells) I thought I might as well finish off level one at least The other levels are empty except for the stairwells, I haven't decided whether or not to do interiors. I want to, but since no one will ever see the interior when this is on display, it is a bit of a waste of limited bricks. I will have to put a couple of desks and a few police men/women on the first floor though as the trans clear panels give a pretty good view inside and it does look empty. This is not a problem on the other levels though as those windows are trans black. I would like to replace the trans clear panels with the black barred windows, but I don't currently have any spare, so that will have to wait. Here it is slotted into the main street of town. This isn't the final resting place for it, I'm going to have to do some reorganising to work out the best place for it to go. My town is going to have to change soon anyway when Chez Albert opens up in the new year. Your comments and suggestions are most welcome, so don't be shy. Xyver

Please don't tell me that, Friends is really popular at our shows, but I guess that may not translate into sales. I do know that some of them this year were one drop only to the retailers, which accounted for our lack of supply for some sets. With the new wave of sets coming out next year, Friends is obviously popular overseas. I'd be surprised if that didn't translate into popularity here, but who knows what young girls think. I know my daughter loves them, but she'd rather play with the figures in the sets than build them herself (which is a shame because that means I have to build them) She does still insist that my Friends layout is hers though.

I have most of the Friends sets, I think they're great, and my 7 year-old daughter loves playing with them. I would recommend the Summer Riding Camp, especially if she loves horses. But if the budget doesn't stretch that far, go for the Heartlake Stables. It still gives you a couple of horses and has plenty of play features in it for her. It is very open, so should be an easy build for you both. Pick up Olivia's House if you can, that one is very rare her in Aus, I'm assuming it is in NZ too. I'd buy a second one if they didn't keep releasing other good quality sets to buy instead. I would also recommend Heartlake High, especially if she likes role playing, the pool is fantastic as well. And for sheer jaw-dropping power, you can't go past the Dolphin Cruiser. That gets a lot of attention at the shows I have done lately. These are all 2013 sets, so they should be out for a while yet. So for Christmas, I would recommend the Riding Camp, Heartlake Stables or Olivia's House, depending on your budget, they will also be most welcome and provide many, many hours of role-playing fun, I promise.

Sorry everyone, but I do not do interiors. My buildings go into a layout, so nobody sees inside them anyway. The cinema has an expanded interior as I added extra seats and an internal wall. But this is only because it is at the front of my display and I've put clear panels on the outside wall so that people can see inside. Another member of my LUG also has some LEDs that he instals in it for me for lighting. My hospital did originally have tiled floors, a couple of operating theatres (ok, it was just a couple of small empty rooms) and a stairwell at the back, but I ripped all this out a couple of weeks ago because I needed the tiles for another project and you can't see them from outside anyway. As it turns out, I never photographed my hospital by itself so I don't have any photos to show what it did originally look like inside. My personal favourite part of the hospital is the double sliding doors on the side ambulance entry that retract into the walls, it's just a shame no one ever gets to see them due to its position on my layout.

Adestown November 2013 March 2013 | December 2012 | October 2012 Naiaville November 2013

It was easy, I bought two of them, and built it on a 48x48 baseplate, so extended it 8 studs each side. You can follow the standard instructions for the most part. I actually had a single one built, so when I bought the second one, I moved it onto the bigger baseplate and extended it, that saved me from having to build everything again.

I built the buildings first, which I have done over the last couple of years, so they have been in various layouts in that time. When it came time to put them all together for my section of a larger layout, it was agreed that I was to have 6x4 baseplates, so I just arranged them in the best way I could in the allotted space. The reason my hotel (blue and white building) isn't the full 32 wide is because we have a train running along that section so I had to make a narrower building to allow for the track. So in that case, the layout came first, I then built around it. That is also the reason for the vacant space between the Fire Brigade and my hospital - the train turns there and runs along a raised track behind the buildings back to the other end of the table. My Pet Shop MODs evolved because I wanted something more than a straight road along the front and thought a couple of corners up to the hosiptal might look good. I then had to build them to fit my roads.

No, I don't furnish my interiors. As these buildings are only ever on display as part of a layout, I never get around to doing anything inside as you can't see in there.

Although not really visible in these shots, there is a shark coming out of the cinema marquee to resemble the ad for Jaws 19 in BttF2. I put this on there the first time I displayed my cinema, even before the DeLorean was released, but it's even more fitting now.