Legogal

Wow! Those are killer sunflowers! Such a sad story...!

Thanks, Boney! Looks great! Small favor to ask: Could you arrange for weather like we had in Gunzburg?

Hahahahaha! Love the pastel reconnaissance drones! Every Friends' gal needs one of these accessories!

Congrats, dvsntt! Looks like you have jumped the hurtle to living a long life! We all fight our demons, and you seem to be doing well with yours. And it says a lot that you are working around folks with more "formal" education and fit in fine. And you have a great hobby with your LEGO. Good luck living a balanced life as that is what gets you through it in the long haul.

Cranes are fascinating! I love watching them work real time. In May from our Berlin hotel room near Potsdammer Plaza and the LEGO Discovery Center, we counted 37 cranes looking in just one direction! I often pull over to the side of the road and watch cranes operating if there is something going on. We use cranes to take out large trees in crowded spaces here in NC. Have hired them several times to remove huge trees from our steep hill because the trees were leaning towards neighbors houses. We usually sit across the street on a neighbor's lawn and take photos when the cranes are here. I can understand why you enjoy working with real ones and building LEGO ones. A person has to have mastered many types of information to make a crane work properly. It definitely is an art as well as a skill. Congrats on getting these skills! Back to the education question, it is entertaining talking with AFOLS because they come from mnay different backgrounds, some with more and some with less formal education. And no one cares because we are interested in what folks are doing with LEGO, not whether or not someone is an astrophysicist or whatever. (And I know too many ignorant PhD's from having spent over half of my long life in formal education!) So enjoy your LEGO with other AFOLs because the name of the game is to have FUN with our toys!

While I was around for the release of CC, GG, and the rest of the modular line and picked up doubles of the sets I like (all but Market Street,) it seems that building one using BL is the best way to go for someone who does not want to spend $700US or more to purchase a complete set of one such as CC or GG. And it is fun reading about how difficult it is to find the original parts...it sounds like a game almost, and many folks here are playing it quite well! The interiors could be improved on all of the modulars; due to the upgrading of many of the pieces used, it seems that TLG should stick to releasing newer modulars with more developed interiors. Many AFOLs will buy the new modulars because we like the line. And this gives us a chance to pick up buildings in new colors and designs. One can always build the earlier modular sets in different colors to get more variety in a City layout. And for fun, we can all build the first five modular sets in mini-scale with 10230, which costs $80US. If one is short on space or funds, this is the set to build. Do buy it before it disappears from the stores!

Sometimes it is hard to tell who will be going to an event, and even if a lot of folks are signed up, you may not meet people with whom you want to spend time. If it is not expensive or far from where you live and you can spare the time, it may be worth attending just to meet some folks, who may or may not use this forum. I can tell a lot more about the attendees after going to an event the first time. Some events I return to, and others I pass on because of the very reason you mention. My favorite US event is BrickWorld in June in Chicago because it is very family oriented and well organized around interesting seminars with decent sound systems and air conditioning. But I am certain that there are other events that will work for you; just go for it and try out a few so you can compare them. Once you find the group you like, it will be easier returning the following year. it is nice to meet women at these events because they tend to have similar building interests and have a hard time finding other female LEGO fanatics; you might ask the coordinator to identify special events for women during the get together. If you ask a lot of questions of folks with the largest badges (signifying they have attended that event for many years,) they often can give you excellent advice on where to find what you want at an event. Good luck and please let us know what you think of Bricks by the Bay.

Jareth, Thanks for reviewing this Creator set because it helps to know what is inside and how the builds look before spending our hard earned moola on a treehouse. It looks like a fantastic set for acquiring parts...to build add ons, etc. And a treehouse is a great idea because it can be stored above another lower set. Your outside review on a folding table was ingenious...often we don't have a place or the space to do a review, and you managed to brighten up things! So glad the neighbor's dog did not knock it over while chasing the other neighbor's three cats...phew! In general the Creator houses offer lots of possibilities and are a great source of parts, some of which are hard to find. Thanks again and happy building!

Wow! Your sailing ship blows my mind! And is that the Acropolis in front? Can you give us a close up of the temple? Great interior, too! PS: Young folks often sit that way (like the student in the red chair)...so it does not bother me at all. But then I am not a guy either! And it does add character to the whole room!

WOW! Holy Batman!

Wow! Very smooth curves on the rocks! Cool tilted window grill makes house look old. Great use of colors and design features, too. Roof trim is very creative! Way to go! (I would love one of these houses on the shore somewhere a bit warmer maybe!)

It is overwhelming with its sheer number of mini plots and details! Congratulations on a wild and crazy build....you may have gone over the top on this one! I am hanging on for dear life just viewing it on the screen!

Wow! Very nice proportions and details! Looks a lot like the real thing, too!

I just looked at the LR sets in our LEGO store, and they look very, very cool! Lots of interesting designs and very clean lines catch the eye. Let's hope that they continue to sell regardless of how the film does because LEGO does need a western line IMHO. Not everyone loves Sci-fi, Star Wars. LOTR or Mutant Turtles, so this gives them another choice, one that is a little more reality based. Hoorah!

t-brick, Phew! Good to know that it is mini scale and only about 27 inches long! That hopefully should put the US price at less than $500US, which will greatly expand the potential market for it. And it will fit in many more rooms than a monster model. Congratulations again!

Tazzy, I just did a long distance call with my engineering consultant (and hubby) who is working 3 states away in FL, and he says you would not run a generator from solar panels...would not make any sense. With LEGO, if you need to pretend there is power being generated by the solar panels, just use a battery. In real life a generator itself is very inefficient producing about 10-25 per cent of the power it uses to run. So you would use solar panels during the day if there is enough sunlight, storing extra energy in batteries that are used when there is not enough sun, and when the batteries are drained, they are backed up by a generator powered by another fuel...natural gas, electricity, coal, etc. when needed, but that can be very expensive. Or you can simply draw power off the electrical grid if you are on one...after your solar panels and batteries can no longer do the job. That would be more cost effective if you live on the grid...dream on, eh! It is confusing, so please ask any questions and I'll contact my cheerful consultant again. Cheerio!

Sounds like some mighty fancy wheels....except that I can't find the photo of the hover car....did someone already steal it? Oh no! Poor Stephanie....

Holy Cow! What a lovely rendition of Neuchwanstein! Did you actually count that many bricks by hand, or was the count computer generated, I hope so ! The roofs, colors and overall design are just superb! I love the views from the distance of the real thing as one drives in the neighborhood....it is so gorgeous that it makes one gasp every time it comes into view. This definitely is a solid candidate for Cuusoo! With my guess of an approximate $1500. price, does it come with a free, new adult sized house addition to place it in? Way to build!!!

A beautiful build! Especially like the matching railing, the nets, and the water of transparent bricks. It all flows very well. Congratulations and here's to many more fine builds like this!

I could never sleep at night with that in my bedroom! Hope it lives somewhere else in your place! Like your river and skyscrapers; nice legs, too!

CamelBoy. That sounds like quite an adventure! Hope that you can take a couple of large rolling bags to hold your loot. Are you in training for this physical challenge? Bet you will be in good physical shape before it ends! Any chance you can run through the Park at Windsor on this trip, or do you live nearby? The Park PAB's seem to have the best selection from what I hear. Happy travels!

Woweeee! The bridge is superb! The tiles on its curves are sensational? This would be perfect for a theatre district in Venice, Italy. Some random thoughts from my Dreaming Department: You could vary the colors and style just a bit turning one of your Palace Theatres into an opera house to vary the scene a bit. Then you could add a symphony hall in a similar style. Your raised flower beds are first class, too! Congratulations!

Looks like a great start...love your boiler...will it use solar power for fuel? I am no expert here, but it may need more ground clearance and at least six stabilizing long legs. Hate to see this baby turn over and get stuck in the middle if nowhere. Good luck!

Holding our breath for our Aussie friends...hope you get the next LEGO store. If you could all just move cross country to the same town, I am certain that that would get the attention TLG! NOTE: If you did get a store, you would need a second job to pay for all the LEGO you would undoubtedly be purchasing, so maybe it is better off not living within 5000 miles of a store....

Very nice details...is this taken from the area on the north of the Forbidden City...where the nice gardens and smaller structures are? We really enjoyed the architecture in that part before exiting the Forbidden City grounds for the park outside. Your roof and wall/railing details are lovely. The only thing I might change is using fewer colors, which can be very difficult. Some of my favorite sets did this in the Orient Expedition line, especially 7419 Dragon Fortress, 7418 Scorpion Palace, and the extraordinary 7413 Passage of Jun Chi, one of my all time favorite sets. The combos of red, black and sand green work well with a few touches of pearl gold if I remember correctly. Good luck...the Forbidden City is a tough build because there are so many HUGE buildings....makes it tough to walk around the place also! My son tried building several buildings and finally gave up after it expanded off our dining room table onto six chairs and after I had ordered ten more shipments of bricks..mostly dark red. He no longer complains when I order bricks.... If it were not so darn round, the Temple of Heaven would be a much better size of building for an MOC. And forget the Summer Palace...it makes me dizzy just remembering how far we walked at that place.