snefroe

hmmm... ok... this is... a sensitive subject... be veeeeeery careful what you're saying now... i seem to remember, btw, this viking firefightiing team... you know, these four huuuuge people from somewhere up north claiming to be the masters of the firefighting game in the entire universe and beyond, winning and winning against all the best that the world could bring up. Those Vikings sure is the best ever!!

i tell ya... just one more year and we'll be looking at a Galaxy Explorer rerelease! Soon Classic Space will have taken over this space theme and put it back where it belongs! well i can dream, can't I?

nope, this is not the secret vault, but the VIP-vault. I think if you go to brickshelf, you can find quite a few photos of this particular vault. I've been there a few times as well, as several other people on EB and other sites. Nor does it contain all sets. There is quite a lot, but i remember there were quite a few sets missing as well. I'm pretty sure Lego has a second archive with every set ever produced in it, but who knows where that is... that may be even on the private property of the family that still owns the company. In any case, i don't expect people to get in there...

well i guess the pirate fans should at least be happy for having had a new pirate line. Personally, i didn't see any potential for several years. A decent pirate line needs a big ship and a fort. nowadays, it's commercial suicide to produce almost the same sets in two years time... kids move on so fast they're excited with a pirate ship today, tomorrow it'll be Atlantis or whatever...

i've had several of these dreams in the past. I remember one, when i got into a shop (think it was a gas station, these used have lego sets and on our way to italy for holidays the family used to stop at gas stations to buy food or something... and sometimes Lego... to keep us, kids, quiet in the back). I saw the entire series of M-tron, i didn't have the boxed sets at that time, but found i had nothing in my hands when i woke up... dreams like this are quite natural, really. according to people who know a bit about dreams/dreaming, it is possible to dreams about things or people of which they're very emotional. Many people dream of dead loved ones, for instance...

nothing beats the old line, really. the first pirate sets signified a revolution in Legoland. printed faces, an entirely new line with every pirate element you could think of. a ship nobody had ever seen before... the list goes on... it's not just nostalgia ... the 1989 line simply was superb. still, i don't think the 2009 is bad though... i think it's a great line too, probably the best sets from 2009... it's just... how do you beat a legend? Even if quality is the same, 1989 will always win, because, back then , the entire line was a huge risk and a massive investment. 2009 is at best a copy and success garanteed...

well i believe the term was created a while back to refer to the first generation of Lego space sets, when subthemes simply did not exist. so that means it started with the blue-grey ships, and it ended around 1987, when Futuron was released. That's right "around 1987". After all, several classic space sets were still available after 1987 and the Futuron sets were not released as Futuron sets during their first year in Europe. It was only a year later when the theme was officialy called that way in Europe, with the release of Blacktron, i think... there's nothing more to it, imo. it's just a title to categorise lego sets. several classic space sets are really not all that classic. I also don't think anything changed all that much in 1982 or 1983. if you really follow the evolution of the sets in detail, you'll see that classic space evolved throu out the years slowly and in a logical way, nor did Lego ever decide to suddenly stop releasing a large number of older sets. Many old blue-grey sets stuck around for the entire timeframe... I think all these so called key moments are just in people's mind, really... a change in colours never symbolised a "change of guard" in the classic space universe, they were simply an excuse for an individual fan to leave space, but for the line itself, it didn't mean all that much. classic space remained classic space... until lego cleaned up the catalogue, think it was 1988 or so... and replaced the old sets/theme by blacktron and futuron...

ah... well as you can see, i'm a "honorary citizen" these days. I'm not quite sure what that means, but it sounds as if i'm this God which all these slaves mods are working for. Or maybe that's just yet another sign of me slowly losing my mind... In other words, not sure if i can still give tags. Don't we have a space mod for that?

think the other co-founder is "Double T", or just "TT". anyway, is all this really that important? guess not...

can I, as a nose art freak of real airplanes, moan and complain for a second? this nose art doesn't make any sense... i mean, a bomb marking like these refer to a bombing mission... to my knoledge, these gunships aren't bombers, they're gunships, so instead of bombs they should probably have something like a laser beam... and eh... no migkillers around? no gunship having shot down a fighter of some type? hmmm... and eh... no "felix the cat", "skull 'n bones", "hat in the ring"? be creative! steel some real stuff! and now... please do continue... ah yes, you do know nose art normaly only appaers on one side, right?

Gelukkige verjaardag! We drinken er eentje op in Nijlen, binnenkort, voor of na de kebab!!

just out of curiosity, don't you need Lego's permission for something like this?

not the best train set ever, but i guess it got many train fans into the theme...

g... i've been away for two years or so but the community is still dealing with the same old issues... Space has evolved... just as generations have evolved... and Lego policy too. If i were 7 years old right now, i'd probably love the space theme. (Un)fortunately i'm not. Classic space was just as cool in the late 70's, especially with all that exciting news on tv about space shuttles, star wars, Voyager satelites, battlestar galactica, buck rogers,... but nowadays, when i look at the old models, very often i'd say: "hmmm... this sure looks primitive..." and eh... this small fighter thing... ok... this would be crushed by the community if it were a current set... still, i guess you can look at the entire line and be more or less objective. I'd say the mid 80s would be the high point of space for me: 1) many sets were available, far more than today 2) there was far more diversity at that time: you could still find galaxy explorers but also brand new futuron monorails... there was a supply of sets from a timeframe of almost 10 years. That's totaly gone nowadays. because of that, there was an unrivaled diversity of sets, set designs, themes, size, price... Lego Space was also still compatible with any other line, even Lego technic 3) Lego Space was top of the line, back then. It was highly creative and innovative, there were lots of small, printed and transparent parts, every year you got different/new key parts, like canopies, but everything remained compatible with the stuff from the year before. I'd truely would describe this timeframe as Lego's Golden Age. I don't think space, as we want it, will ever come back, unless you consider the last sw line to be space. after all, many of the current sets aren't part of the film, they're just models created by people in the Expanded University; You could easily take space models from the space community, put a stamp saying "sw" on it, and voilà: Space merges with SW. Who'd see the difference? who knows, maybe that's where Lego is evolving to... isn't sw going to end in a year or two?

i think it's one of the oldest subjects afls have been talking about and one that always seems to resurface. I think there are several things you should seperate though... 1) what exactly is collecting? to me, collecting Lego sets means you're buying sets in their original state and you try everything possible to keep it that way. In that regard, i can't imagine there were many kids in the passed who were collectors. Kids normally buy/bought sets because the set is a tool of their imagination: they buy the set and they build something with it, it doesn't really matter if the model is a perfect copy of what's been printed om the box. so collecting a toy does not really make sense, the reason why somebody collects Lego sets usually refers to something of the individual: a collector keeps sets because he likes them and is willing to spend money on them; out of nostaligia;... i don't think every collector can explain why he/she collects Lego sets, just as many other collectors can't explain why they're into collecting hats, puppets, ... it's the element of collecting that makes it fun for the collector, not the fact that it's a collection of Lego sets... I'm a collector nowadays... but a very modest one... I have no problem spending 100euro on a set, but not a 1000. So even in collecting there are many nuances... i don't think collecting has anything to do with creativity as such though... another variation, i guess, is buying, building and displaying a set. i don't see that as playing, because you don't add anything to what's given. at best you have a passive creativety here: the set itself is part of a larger context: a sandcrawler on display, for instance, refers to the sw films and you may find it cool to have one in your living room because you like sw. i don't think it has anything to do with playing... 2) as you say, there are different ways of playing. Toys seem to trigger our creativity. I think Lego used to follow the evolution of a child's creativity pretty well: we all started with basic building blocks (duplo), then on to creating stories in "city" or "castle", some of us change their interest in more technical stuff, like trains or lego technic... essentialy, we're all following the same paterns of playing, one evolves from simple playing to complex playing, we all start with storytelling. one sticks to the oldest foundations of storytelling for the rest of their life, others change their focus to different interest in life. For instance, they focus on solving design challenges of technical problems that need to be solved... after all, a student can be very creative in a subject like "English" but another can easily be just as creative in math... how your playing game evolves is very closely linked to your brain, the world you're living in... I don't think you've lost the ability to play. anyone can easily create simple stories, but why would you want to? it just not a challenge any more, playing like that is not a necessary step in your evolution, it would be like reliving something of the past and why would you wanna do that? i think you're still using your imagination, it's just evolved in a different process in your mind. It's more focused on what you want as an individual today... and no doubt, you're not as open to new things anymore then when you were a child. You've already tried so many things, closed doors, made decisions that limits the way in which you think too...

happy birthday guys! Have a great one!

happy birthday, buddy hope she's there with you in Sweden or you're in Germany and maybe there's room for some brand new Lego too? anyway, enjoy your day and hope to see you around some time soon!

it looks like a "factory" product, i'm guessing it's genuine.. where the heck is our amb to conferm this...

nono, Kim's right. the early space sets used to have stickered torsos. yes, idea books had stickers too, but not the classic space ones...

hmmmmmm.... Lego goes "Bladerunner", if you're asking me... unless the other sets are true space sets, i'd say this is a mixture of "racers" and a city - police theme in a future Lego city... hmmmm... i also see a light and sound system on the police ship... hmmmm... the white ship, from what i can see, looks ... nice ... but i'll wait untill i get some better photos... unfortunately, it is yet again "white" that dominates the space theme... it also reminds me of "time cruisers". it looks like we'll be stuck with sets that basically get their parts from other themes... if you look at the black space car, there's hardly no space part in it... so i'll just wait for some other photos before i really start trashing the theme... :D and ah yes, my guess is that the alien does not have a face, it's just an organge round brick...

hmmmm... "you guess..." hmmmm.... yeah... right.... it seems to me you're sitting on some information you're not willing to share with us... "i'll be at least 1/2 way pleased"? hmmm... so it's gotta be more than just nice figs... like... let's say... great , detailed BIG space ships with really cool cockpits, great colors, great parts... or... let's say... way, way, way, way better than sw and lightyears ahead of city? would... would that fit your description, my dear amb?

some close up of the doors. yes, the doors need some getting used to, but i think they have great potential. first of all, they're using ordinary clips so you can use the door in combination with the clips for any kind of creation, it doesn't have to be a door., it can, for instance, be a roof. This part in brown could be really great for roofs of market stands or anything... the doors are also 6 wide, which seems to be the current standard for most city cars/trucks/... there's more space in there and it's easier to reach. i guess the old builders just need to get used to it, that's all... also, a more detailed shot of the yellow 6x6 section ah yes, and a shot of the other city sets of the farm industry... loooove the dark red cylinders... and the yellow antenas

Dreamland has a few copies, for 39 euro but the official price in, for instance, Intertoys, is 49 euro. Don't know about the piece count though. i left the box at the office on Thursday so there's no way to check

INDEXED Lego's been into the construction theme for a few years now. I believe it all started with the large mobile crane, a very popular and high quality set. this new set shows that lego still has the talent to produce large, but affordable construction vehicles. meet the bricks: Ashame we only get two guys and it seems Steven changed jobs again... i guess there's more money into construction than into ... making films? :D nice shirt though! ah yes, like the red helmets too! and a walkie talkie... hmmm... you'd expect poor old Steven to have a modern cell phone or blackberry... we'll get to the new parts along the way, but onderneath the base of the crane, you can already see the large yellow crane sections. The base itself is a well known construction: some large technic squares, a few connector bricks and a couple of large plates... The number of technic bricks in this set is fairly limited, thank God... except for these four yellow bricks there's hardly any in it... :) the turntable goes on top of it... yes, there are stickers in this set. but it's fine, they look really nice and they're not all that many... looks really cool to me... :) this is the "flying" mid section. pretty simple, but perfectly ok for the crane. which is attached to the rotating base of the crane... there's a tool box like this on either side of the crane. I'm not too sure about the brand new grey doors though... they look nice but... don't know... i just don't see why they really needed to create new doors... the large crane section was a very big surprise; it's been created with large 6x6 yellow sections, you can them on plates, but technic axles also fit in them so you can build large, strong constructions, ideal for huge space ships... :D the cockpit is fairly simple, pretty much like the one of the older small crane; it only has two levers inside and no chair! :( it seems Lego still hasn't learned to improve those poor cockpits... hmmmm... i think i should have added that comment in Jan's survey... damn! i think it's a great addition to the theme. It's quite large, as usual with construction sets, so it doesn't fit the normal city scale, but i guess it's pretty acurate compared to the real thing. I got it for only 40 euro and it's defenitely worth that price, even though they could have added some tools for the figs... I also don't see any weak point in the structure. it's very stable thanks to the tracks, there's no real danger of thing collapsing due to weight or anything. the crane itself is quite leight, so there's no real risk of imbalance... still , i was kinda hoping for some more detailed parts. So even though it's most surely not a step back, i'd say the old mobile crane is still a bit better. another great thing about this model, however, is that almost every part in here can be used in mocs. For once, there's no need to get out the crappy parts bag :) :)

are you talking about the shop in Wijnegem?