Legogal

Raccoons....did I hear raccoons? We have plenty of them in our backyard. How many do you need? Dead or alive? Have to warn you that there has been an outbreak of rabies in our area, so eating a fox, raccoon, possum, deer, wolf, coyote, vole, mole, squirrel, rabbit, or snke from your backyard is not recommended in our area. Hubby loves to trap critters.... And we live in a town, not in the country. The one thing I did not see in Europe this time was any signs of wildlife besides birds....not even roadkill, which are so common in the US. It reminded me of seeing only one rat in downtown Shanghai during 6 weeks in China.....they eat everything there, including all the birds, so no one expects to see wildlife or roadkill. One of the thrills of driving in the US is admiring the wide variety of roadkill. When my daughter in law first arrived from China four years ago, I was explaining to her how many deer collide with autos in NC in one year....over 6000. Just at that moment a highway dept. dump truck passed us....loaded with dead, roadkill deer! They even have cook books for roadkill here. Yup, we got too many Bambis for their and our good. Pretzel guy looks so cute! I did buy some pretzels at Legoland....and they do look good enough to eat!

Yup, the EuroBrickers surely do know how to have fun! And they are extremely friendly. It is very easy to to attend their event because no MOC is required, you don't have to set it up or break it down, you are not stuck behind a table for days answering dumb questions from yahoos, and it is much more relaxed, unlike BrickWorld or BrickFair in the US. So it is a low pressure event. And you get the added benefits of seeing behind the scenes at Legoland and buying lots of interesting bricks from their PAB in the brick store (called Fabrik in Germany.) If they set the date for EB 2014 way in advance, maybe more folks from across big oceans can join the fun. Next time I will make time to spend more than one day with them because they do some interesting/FUNFUN things that you won't want to miss.

I, too, prefer different facial expressions because it increases the variety of minifigs and makes them much more interesting. I collect female minifigs, and the facial differences give them more personality. So it works for more than just pirates and super agents. And dual heads are perfect for changing the mood in a scene....like who smiles all of the time anyway. Never thought I would see a study of their facial expressions!

A study of the facial expressions of minifigs measured whether they are grumpier now than in the past. And it questions whether this makes a difference in a toy for children. Check out the article describing the study at: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/06/11/18904238-do-legos-need-anger-management-figurines-grumpier-than-ever-study-says?lite Wish I had been able to do research on minifigs in my earlier life as a professor! Sounds like a dream job, eh?

Wow! These really car cool designs for planes, and the colors are outstanding. Anything but the basic red, white, blue, black, yellow and green is fine with me. It is so much fun playing with Duplo!

Wow, Thanks! Some great photos! Looks like you had a great time in Munich, too. Really pleased with the PAB parts in the Park because they had such a wide variety of cool parts even after the group cleaned them out!

Wow! Your cars must drive a lot faster than the econobox Nissan Micra we rented from Sixt. But with the autobahn traffic crawling, a faster car would not have helped us return to Munich on Thursday night. Hubby asked if there were ANY LEGO left for sale in the Park by the time yall cleared out....it looks as if the Benz family from Ireland and the fifty bags or so of LEGO they purchased are not in the photo. Great group photo must have been on Saturday because a few actually changed shirts on Day Three! Glad to hear that most folks made it home with their loot. My favorite brick is the one Hinckley designed for the event! Cheers!

I second eurotrash's thoughts....! Suburban sprawl has become a major issue in Heartlake City, and you have posted a brilliant solution...just stack the buggers! I love your choice of sets and colors, and think that they fit perfectly well in Heartlake. My Friends' sets are just waiting to go up rather than out as we need to reclaim our living room sometime this decade.

That was a blast today at Legoland...great to meet and see so many EBers! We freaked out viewing the mini lands, especially. Venice and Berlin; the others were stunning as well. Glad that Hubby made it three weeks on the road as that is a record for him; I had serious doubts that we could get to Gunzburg this trip. Just a word of warning before you try to drive tinto Munich tomorrow as try is the key word here. The autobahn was backed up completely from west of Augsburg to Munich as best as we could tell due to the flooding down South. We ended up exiting on 300 at Augsburg after crawling along for an hour. Made it to our destination, Friesing, near MUC, around nine pm...after about three hours of driving from Legoland. Definitely fill your gas tanks and hit the bathroom before getting in that mess. They are not sure when it will get better acc. to our hotel here. Again it was a wonderful visit to Legoland today. Look forward to seeing y'all again soon.

Oh, if someone has an adult pass they don't need tomorrow, I will be glad to buy it from you if you see me outside the front gate before ten am. Will check my email in the morning before 9. If anyone needs a large hotel room, Hotel Guntia is very nice in Gunzburg's old town for 85 euros a double with breakfast. Miss Kyle, We are thrilled to have a sunny day after almost three weeks of rain over here. Wooooohoooo!

See y'all in the morning at the gate to the Park. Weather is lovely in Gunzburg this afternoon! Hallelujah! We are staying in old town Gunzburg in the Hotel Guntia...complete with restaurant and ice cream parlor. Breakfast included for just 85 euros. It is lovely sitting outside in the alstadt inner wall!

The four monkeys, we lived this flick! Watched it several times. Thanks!

Pepp, should not be hard to become CopMike's freaky family with our set of skills! Can't remember seeing them teaching Swedish in Wales, but then my family (of horse thieves) was chased out of Wales about 300 tears ago. CopMike, glad you were just lurking like many of the rest of us and not seriously competing. According to my hubby, Gerhard, It is difficult enough to think....period..., but doing it fast is just too tiring. Holo, thanks for the entertaining countdown contest! Congrats to the winners! I think I saw that one Belville set in a Zurich toy store last week, but passed on it while awaiting the arrival of new Friends' sets in the US. Let's pray that Legoland is not solely a waterpark by Thursday morning. Will bring our swimsuits just in case!

Wow! A very nice set and review! Congrats, Rufus! The Architecture sets are favorites of mine because they are so challenging to design well, and the buildings are real. We have seen many of these in person, and that brings them to life. It is wonderful to see an famous Italian building as a set. This baby really does lean, and it gets to you after a while....making your neck ache and your body a bit dizzy. The angle of the building's tilt is important, and it looks as if the designer nailed this right on. Rufus asks the right questions....why not do it this way or that way, ...which helps us understand just how difficult the design was and why the tower is so interesting and such a challenge to build well. (A review of the history of its leaning and all of the measures taken to stabilize it also is fascinating for those interested in architecture.) This looks like a must have set to me. Thanks again for posting so much helpful info!

Holo, thanks for the countdown game...it has been entertaining even though I have gotten the clue too late every day to compete. Some of the members do have fantastic memories and computer skills! Should we just plan on meeting outside to the left of the gates of the Park between nine and eleven? And maybe at a named eating place inside around 1400 and again at 1700 so we can get to know others in the group? That way if folks arrive late or are not staying overnight with the group, they know where to meet up inside the Park. Any ideas on specific places to meet? Is it best to buy entrance tickets at the gate or online the day before? Many thanks to all for organizing this event!

Yup, we are hoping to spend the day at Legoland Thursday with the group with a liile luck. Is there a meeting place and time that morning to enter the park? Not sure where we will stay Wed night....depends on the drive from Luzern. Look forward to meeting you!

Holo, Thanks! Fingers crossed it is sunny on Thursday, Legoland day....is there a day ticket special for EBers? Or should we just buy tickets at the Park assuming we make it?

This sounds like way too much fun! Got some killer competitors here from what I can see....I don't have a chance even though I am continental. Maybe there should be a photographic memory contest at EB....done by age group....for each decade of age.....I might have a chance being the only contestant born in the Middle Ages. My question for you brilliant EuroBrickies....does the sun ever come out in Lucerne? Let's hope it does in Gunzburg because this is beyond funny after two weeks of rain...aaaarrrggghhh!

Highway robbery is no fun. No way we would pay rip off prices for any part, and I have never sold LEGO anywhere. We rarely spray paint anything Lego, but have done it a lot to get Playmobil in colors I like. Last time I checked, it was a relatively free world out there, so who cares?

Thanks! What a lovely ship and review! Great to have new mini figs, especially a Boy!!! Now the Friends can add a name to the boy of their dreams. Excellent design of ship with outstanding recommendations for adding windows, cabinets, ... Saw this in a toy shop in Old Town Zurich last week, and can't wait to buy it when it docks in the States.....woweeeeee! Nice comparison to your Friends' cruiser, Oky!

Those of us with LEGO stores nearby are spoiled by how easy it is to drop in and see what is new. I find the stores to be so entertaining. And it is fun watching how folks respond to the store...many of the children become live wires surrounded by so many cool sets and displays. Makes me want to be a child again. Glad they finally put a store in Glasgow so Scots have one of their own. Another reason to visit Scotland!

Holodoc, Darn, do you have some nice "leftovers" or what! Wished you lived next door to us! Does anybody have any pastel Duplo or figs they want to get rid of? I adore the 4966 and 9225 playhouses, and the 9171 and 9222 people sets. We may be able to stop by for a few hours on Thursday on our drive from Lucerne to Munich. Will know more on Tuesday before the event, hopefully before you leave your home for Gunzburg. Will be hard for me to bring anything to trade, so I'll just have to pay for your items. Thanks in advance!

Empire, Thanks for posting these figures. Never seen anything like them, so they are interesting. Glad someone knows what they are. And I like your special font, too!

Hahaha! Maybe the bearded agent really is a cross dresser....not sure that LEGO wants to go that route! I do sex changes on my figs all the time....many former men are now gals, and they leave the beards behind in my builds! Male figs are a wonderful source of torsos for female figs, especially since most LEGO women do not have noticeable busts, and all you have to add is female hair making sure that she looks like a female. This is truly easy with LEGO, but I would not want to try it in real life...OMG!

The exterior color scheme and design is first class....sand green and dark orange look wonderful with orange bricks. Very nice textures here. Congratulations on such a fine build! The baseball capped heads on the exterior are wonderful!