brickzone

Interesting read whatever about the source - thanks for posting! Lego has sold like crazy this Christmas, seems to be a bit of a media buzz too and it was kind of a "must have" toy this year. Still waiting for shops to restock. I was hoping to get an abandoned old Technic motor set - it had been in the shop for years, and was among the handful of sets left before Christmas (train track, half dozen Creator houses and one or two Duplo sets). Now post-Christmas even that is gone and all that is left are even fewer train track and duplo train tracks sets (about a half-dozen). Smyth's Toys have almost an entire shelf section filled one-deep with City Corner and Garage as placeholders for all the missing city sets (afaik those did sell too, just they had more stock of them). They have no Technic bar the smallest forklift (mini set) and the new Mindstorms NXT 2.0. I think the boom is actually due to my generation (80s kids) who experienced the late 80s, early 90s golden age - many of whom are now parents. So many were into Lego back then and the memories are not just nostalgia - Lego was putting out great stuff back then. I think Lego will be a bit stuck when those who were kids during their "downturn" become parents themselves. That could start to affect things in as little as five years time - a generation of less Lego-informed parents.

Probably, but that's not hard for World City to acheive given that in my opinion there was no "proper" ordinary Lego Town from 1997 (introduction of Town Junior for Fire, etc.) until 2003 with the advent of World City. 6 years of pathetic ordinary Town offerings (I mean the basic Fire and Police subthemes plus fairly regular ones like Transport)! For all the things people attribute Lego's dip in the early 2000s to, I think this is surely more than just a symptom, but given City's major part of Lego sales (and Town back in the day), was surely a major factor also in their downturn in fortunes. Seriously, what on earth were they thinking? Hopefully Lego have learnt their lesson that whatever else new and wacky ideas they try out (and some are worth trying out) they need to make sure they keep a well-designed proper Lego City/Town theme going normally through it all. For all the complaints among AFOLs about having a Fire theme again, it is absolutely necessary no matter how awesome the peripheral City stuff they have been doing recently is. And however much I like certain old police/fire stations, there is plenty of scope to do better or different new ones. AFOLs can just be happy with all the new things Lego *is* free to try out now that they have a sustainable awesome city theme going (and the other "ordinary" themes).

Pretty exciting. While perhaps there was scope for adding some new scenarios, I too am not overly concerned about redoing the same ones as before if there is a sufficiently better or new take on them. After all, these were/are some of the scenes of most interest. The Burrows will hopefully be well done as it is in particular a scene of interest that we have not yet encountered in Lego!

What about 6440 Jetport Fire Squad from 1991 :) It's six wide! Also 6336 Launch Response Unit and 6484 F1 Hauler from 1995.

It'd be nice if they had this here in Ireland. I think it's only furniture etc. that you can order online here so far from Argos, and even at that I think they have high shipping outside Dublin.

It's possible to have water from the hot tap be close to boiling (100°C for any Americans in the audience) depending on thermostat setting in the water heater, or the plumbing/heating arrangement used. That's significantly higher than the recommended 40°C. However, there is a simple way to test for approximately that temperature. Human body temperature is about 37°C so if the water feels warm to the touch, it is higher than 37°C. So really you do not want to wash Lego in very hot water (although obviously one can assume the 40°C is conservative as Lego want to make sure they can't be held to account for damaged bricks).

Best bulk deals I have got have been ebay. It is worth scrutinising photos as you may be able to determine the types of pieces on offer or even what sets might be in the mixed bulk lot. Things I would look out for are new colours (often means newer Lego generally - possibly even very recent) and not too many large pieces. Brick and plate are the most versatile additions I think, followed by miscellaneous small pieces. One thing to look out for with this tactic is sellers who show a photo of a HUGE mountain of Lego, or specific pile of Lego, but are selling random 0.5 kg lots. I recommend always translate as well (not so important for US buyers who go for US only) - I once accidentally bought a glued together display model after relying on a cursory glance at the German description. If you can afford it and you really need a lot of Lego, you are probably going to get better value with the huge lots (>€100/10 kg) as these attract less attention (only of interest to those wanting to spend a lot on mixed Lego, or else shop resellers). Some of these are fantastic as they can in fact be an entire Lego collection being sold at once. Shipping will of course be a major concern then (here in Europe, Germany is mostly the option I would consider sensible as they have reasonable courier prices - some options UK sellers choose can be expensive - anyone relying on standard post also is limited to 2kg packages). My brother started his AFOL collection with a giant ebay lot (8kg I think) and early on I bought a kilo or two of mixed Lego also (specifically smaller parts). Last year I bought a mixed lot that included King's Castle Siege minus minifigs. I bought this simply on the basis of the dark green plates and certain other parts I saw in the photos.

That is a nice little bit of trivia! I like the analogy of Lord Dave or Lord Steve :) Incidentally in the realm of Polish name trivia: Our Irish police (Gardaí) recorded a particularly common Polish name when recording traffic offences here, but it wasn't Vladek. It was a Mr. Prawo Jazdy. The Gardaí were reading the wrong line from Polish driving licences, and faithfully recording the name as Prawo Jazdy - the Polish for "driving licence". Ooops!

Wow - this is a neat little MOC. The "jaws" of the bonnet are just classic over-the-top Agents style! The incorporation of the missile shooter is artfully done and a great play feature. It encourages me to try and incorporate one into my own MOCs. All in all a perfect Agents MOC. Indeed it's so awesome I'm tempted to try to put together my own one for my Agents collection - I currently only have the Lego sets for the baddies (I've only MOCs for the Agents thus far).

This is incredible - I used to build a lot of spaceports as a kid, to incorporate my brothers' spaceship MOCs. This is like the kind of picture I only ever dreamed of in creating the space ports (with mostly multi-coloured basic bricks). I really like the look of it - it's like just straight out of a movie set. I find it hard to pick out the individual details because for me, it is the complete look that particularly impresses me. However, I like the details on the walls, the lift, the crane/gantry. The tiled studless surfaces I also like. Although sometimes it seems people do it just out of "anti-stud", to show off their vast quantity of tiles, or just because everyone else does - in this case it works wonderfully for the effect of the sleek polished surfaces seen in the likes of the Imperial spacecraft in Star Wars. I'm not exaggerating - even now I would love to actually recreate this in my own home - it that much fits with the kind of scenes I so often had in mind. Incidentally after having gone through Castle, Pirates, Agents, Town/Winter - I now am thinking of embarking on some space building (even though I had intended to MOC something Indy/Adventuresque) and this marvellous scene really encourages me to do so!

I hope Tesco here gets new Lego also - their prices are usually RRP or one/two euro under, whereas Argos still insist on trying to fleece Irish customers with ridiculous Euro prices. Strangely though Lego was flying off the shelves, some of last year's stuff in Tesco did *not* shift, including power miners and the midi Millenium Falcon. City was sold like crazy though, and the Star Wars battlepacks sold well too (though my local Tesco seemed to have an endless supply - until a month or two ago they still were able to restock the dropship and rebel troopers as well as the newer assassin droids and the other battlepack - they seemed to end up having to restock every week or two though at one stage!) However, I'm especially looking forward to Smyth's Toys having new items, as they seem to convert the UK prices to Euro - so recently they have been cheaper than RRP/S@H for many items. Alternatively I could just try and get to Northern Ireland again :) I'm really hoping somewhere has those awesome new Star Wars battlepacks for €12.50 (price for existing sets that size) rather than the RRP of €15. That €2.50 would make all the difference in terms of value.

Inside one another, and the largest ones (when full) wrapped 2/3 together inside bin bags and hoisted up into the attic (it's unconverted - good for storage only). I have no idea why I am keeping them other than that it seems criminal to throw out ones for Lego Exclusive sets and other large sets in particular (and *all* smaller boxes are kept inside those). Of course, I could chuck out the small boxes and fold flat the big boxes...

I hope bumping up a review this old isn't a complete no-no, but having received a secondhand one of these for Christmas, I'd like to give my opinions on the set! I entirely agree with the OP's remarks about the sturdiness and dissassembly time, as the truck was pretty much built (few minor appendages broken off) when purchased (hence disassembly required to have a cool model to build on Christmas day). The set doesn't disassemble trivially - in retrospect there are crucial axles that you should push out (with a longer axle) to aid in disassembly, and even then, you'll have to remove some parts that are attached to two different areas in different ways (indeed there is at least one step in building it where a liftarm is attached in a way requiring double attachment at an odd angle and flexing things slightly). This is my first technic set, but I found it very nice the array of functions available when built - even if the OP's comments about it deserving to be automated with motor are fairly accurate (you have to do a lot of turning on multiple manual controls, although it is neat the way they are hidden by the hinged stickered panels on the sides). I think I will have to deliberately create a large scale MOC (possibly even "technic-ish") just to have a vehicle to use the functions on - the OP's display of it towing that other technic model is great - and even just looking at the mechanisms the tow-truck is evidently up to the job for which it is designed. As regards the stickering - unfortunately the previous owner wasn't too exact. I was able to fix some minor stickers, but the ones on the fairings unfortunately seem to suffer from that issue where different inks affect the sticker - so black pulls off and red stays on, splitting the stickers. The stickers do add to the cool look of the model, and I like even the simple effect of the opening doors (panels attached to just a simple pin/axle mechanism to hold them in place and allow hinging). The metallic silver is awesome - I did notice the wheels immediately. Unfortunately I have to replace some missing silver connector tubes, but the metallic parts do add striking detail to the model. Even if it was cut-down as the OP suggests, Lego haven't held back on the metallic silver here, with those huge wheels in it, and the sheer amount of silver radiator plates. That blue tube in the instructions caught me out too - but in fact you don't actually "miss" a step - the instructions just don't really detail where the tube goes (in fact really to achieve the arrangement evident by the time you see the tube coming out the other side of the truck, you need to wrap the blue tube directly back into the mechanism when attaching the switch (it's awkward to neatly arrange otherwise). From the other side of the model later in the instructions it's evident how the blue tube goes behind the vertical axle in the innards, and how it is arranged on that side of the model. Anyway, in my uneducated (technic-wise) opinion, this is an awesome model. I look forward to building the alternate model. If I am reading the box properly, it is only the alternate that can be motorised. I'm tempted even so to pick up the motor set displayed, although it is €35 here (but in a shop where I have a €20 voucher) - of course perhaps the motor set doesn't include a battery pack?

Great review - I now even more want to get hold of this game :)

I think at this stage a lot of my Lego is recent, and despite people's quibbles about colour consistency, I like the new brighter colours (even if they do verge on a bit of translucency) and for white in particular. The colour difference seems to match the new softer plastic and I am sincerely hoping these new parts don't have the same yellowing problem. If they don't, I would put up with the current colour inconsistency for all time just not to ever again have "tan" white pieces (I have some old white bricks that on one side are almost a match for tan). I try to avoid having my light colours in particular exposed to much sunlight (curtains closed when not in the room, and they live in a darker corner) and that's about all I can do. I can't worry about oxygen exposure, and I cannot go without displaying models (although again, not in a window or such). Fortunately (in one sense) here in Ireland strong sunlight isn't very common - even in summer (this year we mostly had to put up with torrential downpours rather than sunshine - for those in the US, I believe Seattle/Washington State is similar weather to here, albeit slightly more continental). When I have more space/money, my next storage/display problem would not be to tackle yellowing, but rather tackle dust. It is the current bane of my Lego displaying. I currently rely on a soft paintbrush (not that cheap actually) to gently dust off the models from time to time. This doesn't work if the dust is at all greasy - so only good usually for newish Lego or models not in a combined kitchen/dining room - and cobwebs are also a menace.

I've always been what I would consider a careful builder, but I'm amazed at the greater degree of attention to detail needed in building technic - I'm currently build my first proper set, and I've several times found myself about to put things on in the wrong place, orientation, order or I've almost missed a crucial step (e.g. finally connecting an axle rod that was added previously). Green Grocer etc. also do require a bit more care than ordinary sets IMO.

Lego - I was delightfully surprised to get 4758 Hogwarts Express and 4751 Harry and the Marauder's Map - another two Harry Potter sets to add to my collection! Also received two tow trucks - but very different from one another! 7638 Tow Truck (city) and the huge 8285 Tow Truck (Technic). The latter is my first real Technic set, and I'm really enjoying the build so far. It was secondhand so as per my earlier thread asking for advice on fixing it, I may have to get a replacement pneumatic pump (plus one or two minor parts, plus silver dishes and one grey wheel). Lots of books too, including hardback editions of the first two Inkheart books. Now I just need to finish my PhD thesis so I can finally open Battle for Endor - a "thesis completion" present from myself back in October - when I expected to finish the thesis much sooner. I resolve not to open it till I finish it though.

Freight loco looks great - I like the style and colours, and the collection of things included in the set looks like good starting equipment for a busy freight yard. Not at all sure about the passenger train - the smoke panels somehow look unrealistic highlighted by the red colour of the carriages, and the slopes alongside the front/back window look too chunky. However, it is prelim presumably, so maybe the finished model will be more polished.

I recommend trying to build "approximations" of official sets you like the design of, but don't own (i.e substitute similar bricks or different colours, and this gives an idea of how some design choices are good/bad). Then also if you have sets, and perhaps are unsatisfied with them in some way, expand them but don't worry about recreating some of the styles/details etc. used in the official sets - plagiarise like crazy just to learn how they create the "look" that they do. Unfortunately I would also suggest that to improve an MOC, sometimes it is necessary to start over - you can usually get a far better model on a second attempt because from your first attempt, you now have a firmer idea in your head of what you want to create. I also recommend LDD for deliberate "first attempts" - i.e. kind of sketch things out roughly on LDD before you go at your bricks. It is quicker to throw something together in LDD IMO if you aren't trying to build a polished model, whereas actual brick prototyping can be as slow as normal building. Finally, just keep at it, build something different, switch between themes, and if you are good at smaller scale models but would like to build big - don't just keep having disappointment by not achieving what you want in your large scale attempts - instead intersperse these attempts with building the small models you're happy with. Even break off a large project in the middle if you are flagging and need some encouragement - even getting something small like a small car or piece of furniture just as you want it can be enough encouragement to turn back to a large project you are having problems with. Just my own thoughts on the subject.

Let's just hope that doesn't mean that the set is without the power functions kit (i.e. it would be extra). Although, given I haven't space for a train layout (just space for a small display), it might be better in my particular case to have more bricks rather than PF kit!

Thanks for the update CopMike and thanks again for all your effort in organising this (especially with a busy "real life"!) and thanks also to Siegfried and anyone else who's been helping to organise it!

No snow here yet but it is COLD with today a second hard frost (up to roof tops) on top of yesterdays mostly still frozen hard frost as well. Almost looks like a dusting of snow! Still a chance of some snow here, but we often don't get any all winter. The Atlantic with it's northern drift being the prevailing weather source usually just brings rain even in the winter, and even when snow comes from the east, can keep the west warm enough to make it just rain. It usually gets cold like at present when there are clear skies at night. It's quite extraordinary to think we are similar latitude to Hudson bay or Moscow though, our weather is so different! It's been great having cold weather though as we get SUNSHINE, probably more than we actually got during the summer :) It's good to get a break from the near-constant rain we had (very bad winter floods this year). It was beautiful weather for Christmas shopping in the city centre yesterday even if one did have to wrap up well, take care on the roads, and walk carefully on the drive or any less travelled footpaths.

Milan: Second-hand, and I figured it could be opened (plus my Dad is a mechanical expert so he'd understand the innards) but I wanted to avoid that if it was some kind of ordinary issue there is a simple fix for. Thanks for the links!

I was just wondering if anyone had any suggestions about getting a Technic pneumatic pump to work? It seems to be blocked, that is, there is resistance to pressing the pump, no air comes out the bottom, and if you push it hard the air just escapes out the top. I have no experience with Technic pneumatics - so I'm just kind of hoping that this isn't a situation where a replacement is needed (those pumps aren't so cheap for a single element). The pump is from 2006 and a dusty model - perhaps dust has blocked the nozzle? (although the pipe was still firmly attached when I got the model).

Actually I hadn't heard it was definite - if so it's sad news Agents is a fun theme.