brickzone

From the EB Glossary thread pinned (top of page) on the Website & Forums forum: MOC: My Own Creation

Sounds interesting! A department store perhaps? Certainly some of those are in ornate buildings in European cities! Hopefully I'll have money by next March!

Some clone brands appearing here in Ireland - Easons bookshop started a toy section and Bestlock are there, and Smyths Toys despite the vast Lego range have always had a few non-Lego stragglers (Megabloks, Bestlock). World of Wonder toy chain seems to mostly be clone brands. Heatons also have some. What I find a bit crazy is that the sets are not particularly cheap - you save maybe a couple of euro compared to Lego. Maybe this is just high Irish pricing (and Lego by contrast being mostly at standard Euro prices) - I don't know. There was a megablocks mixed brick box for something like €12 in Heatons, and you can get a Lego Basic box in Tesco for €13. Similar number of bricks (Lego 6161 vs 250 megablocks bricks). Why would anyone buy the clone stuff?

Here's hoping it's in Ireland too again with the Irish Daily Mirror - and that the combined post-off price is better than it was for the Star Wars deal. The tan fedora is an attraction - maybe worth picking two of these up on Monday if possible.

I'm sure for real fans, pure Technic sets are still great, but to be honest, I never got into them. Despite being a Lego builder and someone with an engineering degree (computers and electronics), technic sets just seem a bit too intimidating for MOCing and I prefer stylised Lego set models over functional ones. For me, the amount of technic in ordinary sets is just about right for me, and I like using it to add features/support to ordinary models (kind of like it is used in many Lego sets). I'm gradually getting more used to technic as I build sets using particular technic mechanisms. I would presume that it is the same for people generally and kids too, that the technic features in normal sets expand their building horizons. At the very least, they often add fun play features. I think the idea of Model Team was good (never had the money for it as a kid/teen) but in some ways certain larger sets today are following the same line, albeit more fun (and the lesser degree of intricacy is probably better too)! I'm currently building the Imperial Star Destroyer (bought minus figs and 1 or 2 special parts for €8!!) and it is a fun playset with ordinary Lego plates etc. and yet uses a lot of technic for something that is not a technic model. I'm quite happy to have a stockpile of Technic even if I don't use it all, because you need a good selection for even just occasional mechanisms. Even for the opening gate/moving/lowering platform for the scrambler in my Lego Agents base, and the opening "missile silo" doors, I had to hunt around for the "correct" technic parts. And of course studded technic beams are very useful in any larger ordinary Lego construction. I do find the collection of black friction pins that I've built up to be somewhat alarming, and I have a box of random parts with pin-holes (not even bionicle - just the weirder brackets etc.) The parts I truly find I use least, apart from Bionicle, are the ratcheting knuckle and ball/socket joints from exo-force, but I probably just need to build some of my own mechas at some point to rectify that (I like the idea of making "transformers" out of Lego, but some playing around suggested it to be a lot more difficult than I had imagined).

All the fire engines here have vertical windscreens, more so I think even than the photos shown - the cab looks a bit like a mostly glass box. Not sure who the manufacturer is - Dennis maybe?

Here in Ireland you can buy up to €150 worth without paying customs duty, however, you still have to pay 21.5% VAT (sales tax) on the whole order *including* the postage. Also, the postal/courier services all have an administration charge for dealing with this issue. Sometimes you have to collect the delivery as well. For example, buying $100 (about €68) of Lego, say $30 (~€20) shipping, and after VAT you pay €106.92 and handling might be €15 - so a total of €121.92. Note that a Lego set priced $100 in the US is usually about €100 here. And, if you buy more than €150, there is import duty of 20%, and the VAT is charged *after* the customs duty is applied. Nasty! So Fire Station example - €140 (fortunately just below limit) would be €170 after VAT plus €15 handling. It is €175 on S@H for Ireland and €15 shipping... so a saving of €5. ---- Fortunately a bit of good news for Irish Lego buyers is that amazon.co.uk have just started Super Saver delivery (free postage) for Ireland for eligible orders over £28. With €1 = £0.93, this is rather good! It was already good buying *with* the shipping charges! Just a pity this isn't an option for Lego Exclusives.

Pig farm looks much better - reminds me of toy farm elements with the small plastic animals I had as a kid - even down to the fences. Anyone else remember those cheap plastic farm animals? The pigs usually came with piglets suckling or trailing behind the sow. You sometimes got chickens or ducks in a line on a plastic base. Sometimes the bigger animals, particularly the horses would fall over due to being a bit skinny to save plastic - I remember one had to bend the legs to try and get them to stand up (although they worked better in carpet).

Not impressed with the buildings, but that's not a problem as I find the large parts quite useful (as I have plenty of ordinary brick to go with them). I'd say it's a nice set to have if it's on sale. I bought mine from the UK (even with postage, less than the €65 that Smyth's Toys sell it for here in Ireland). If you like the tractor and silo, I'd say go for it.

Nine of them. I'm missing the Marauder's Map from my HP collection, also due to funding shortage I have not yet bought Troll's Mountain Fortress, and finally I don't have the Witch from the Batlord's theme. I really want to get Marauder's Map, but it's not a big enough set that I want to spend much on it... so I haven't found one at the "right price" yet. I'm intending to get the Batlord's Castle at some stage (indeed I did buy one off ebay in great condition but as a birthday present for my sister). Trolls Mountain Fortress... high up my wishlist but edged out by Winter Toy Shop and now the Imperial Flagship. Nicely presented Sandy - great work compiling this!

This is absolutely astounding!!! I sincerely hope I have gainful employment in the new year and the means to purchase this set! Every detail of it is just beautifully done - the same kind of aesthetically pleasing design as Medieval Marketplace.

€70 for Ireland... ARGH!!! EDIT: I guess Finland has more to complain about again - €80 there. What on earth are Lego playing at? It's just outrageous.

I'd like €50, but I'm guessing if the £40 UK price is valid that the Euro price will be €60. €90 doesn't seem believable.

Please read the comments. No we are not all complaining about shipping (although I do not agree that it is not Lego's problem - I think if they can post to Northern Ireland for £5.25/€6, how come postage to the rest of Ireland is a whopping €15?). Germany has a VAT (sales tax) rate of 19% and Ireland has 21.5% (not much higher) yet there can be vast differences in price on Shop at Home between the two countries, despite retail prices being the same in both countries (in my experience - limited to Hannover and Munich in the case of Germany).

I would suggest they might be older Lego - even now some pieces using older moulds don't have as much details on the inside as newer moulds.

This is a bit of silliness... but say I wanted to buy Town Plan. At €180 for Ireland (+€15 postage), vs. £88 for UK (£5.25 postage) - that's €195 vs. €102.50, a difference of €92.50... I could take the bus to my local airport (€7.60 return), fly from there to London Heathrow with Aer Lingus (not even Ryanair to the back of beyond) (€63.85 - another day might save €10 on that btw), catch the tube from Heathrow to Charing Cross (£8 return), take a train from Charing Cross to Greenhithe (£7.70 return) and walk to Lego Bluewater store, and make the return trip. Grand total of €88.70. So although I would be out a day, and have to wake at 5am and not get back home till 10 pm, I could take a day trip to London for that set and still save €3.80. Sorry if this is boring to anyone or rather ridiculous - it was just an amusing thought that came to me and I decided to work it out and see if my supposition was correct!

Legoist: I know the feeling - Irish S@H prices are at least similar to Finland, although not always quite as high. Seems as two "peripheral" countries we get screwed by Lego despite higher shipping costs too. Lego's excuse for Ireland in the past has been that the products are priced to the Irish market (prices are higher here in general, and until recently people had more disposable income and higher wages) - but it does not hold water when you consider the Lego *retail* prices in Ireland - which are similar to Germany or anywhere else - if not even slightly cheaper. So there is the insanity of things like Battle for Endor at €110 on S@H, and €95 in Smyth's Toys. Mind you - due to the Euro/Pound exchange rate I bought that from UK for €87 (*including* €17 postage!!!) - so a saving of €23 compared to S@H. The issue of the exclusives infuriates me - a whole €117 for Medieval Marketplace?! Or €175/180 now for the modular buildings? Sent Lego an email when they ratcheted up the prices of the modular buildings by €50 and they had the audacity to just send a reply pointing out the production costs of Lego (irrelevant to my complaint about prices vs. other countries). I'd have preferred the earlier fairy story about pricing to the Irish market - at least that had a shred of credibility.

I'm interested to see the new little city car (although I don't yet have the existing red one - hoping for it for birthday or Christmas present). Pig Farm sounds like a must-have! The streetlight repair is a neat idea for a set. So too is the traveller for an impulse. ---- I think the new airport may be more attractive to kids with the liberal use of blue - it looks very kiddy. Apart from the plane hulls and colours - I don't agree about it being more "<insert that tiresome argument>" than past airports - the earlier airport given as example is also pillars and windows for the structure - but just that the windows have bars. I think the glass pieces of the new set are in some ways more versatile than "framed" windows. I think the design is apart from the garish blue, rather convincing for airport architecture and more modern-looking than the old airports.

And apparently it having served its purpose, it is to be demolished unless a buyer is found (or specifically someone willing to pay for dismantling, transport and rebuilding). BBC News story here. It would seem to be a shame although I don't know entirely what the standard is of the house having only seen the few construction photos - is it exhibit-worthy? I'm interested to see the TV show episode and what the interior is like.

Straightforward but effective - gives a good impression of a riotous scene (the townspeople look agitated!) The posing of the figures and plethora of different offensive instruments contribute a lot to it.

Not much hanging around the shelves here. Indeed despite the dire economic circumstances, 2009 has seen more restocking than I've seen in a while (although maybe things were selling as well last year and the shops were just better able to instantly top-up stock). Speed Racers was the last major flop I've seen here in Ireland. There are one or two older Creator sets hanging around my local Art and Hobby shop - the ferris wheel, motorised dino. Not discounted though. Art & Hobby were pretty ransacked last time I was there, apparently they've been waiting on new shipment from Lego for over a month. Tesco keep restocking those little stormtrooper/rebel sets like anything. Sorry - I'm kind of talking about the opposite of this topic - but I guess what I'm saying is overall 2009 has been major WIN for Lego from what I can see.

Well, after reading this topic yesterday, what do you know but I ended up having the dream about finding Lego sets last night. Except in this case, the sets were all ordinary run-of-the-mill stuff and the excitement was that they were sale prices. In a reflection of reality, I had to browse all round the store looking for any toy section at all and was about to leave when I saw just one end-stand of Lego. Anyway, it beats dreaming about my thesis content which during my waking hours is all-consuming at the moment - when that changes I'll know I'm pushing it a bit much to finish it up!

Very neat combination of set elements and creation of a really interesting diorama with a lot happening! Welcome to Eurobricks!

I haven't had the dream about finding old sets, but I did have one about visiting a Lego store (I've only been to one once, the one in Munich) and spending ages going through Pick-a-brick filled with wonderous elements that were all so useful. The dream may even have been involved enough that I was actually choosing bricks to fill one of the cups! It was very disappointing to wake up and not be there! All the more so because for the time being it looks like funds will remain limited for purchasing any Lego at all, let alone taking a trip to Germany again pre-Christmas! I mostly find that any intricate dreams I have, at least the ones I remember most, are subsequent to a cheesy supper (hard to beat a cheese sandwich, cheese on toast or cheese on crackers).

It was worth the €130 I paid for it back when it came out. It is not worth the €180 that Lego are now charging Irish customers for it since their change to a "fleece Irish customers" pricing scheme for exclusives.