jFox

Updated post with new wants, and loads of extra S7 figures for trade. http://www.eurobrick...dpost&p=1259005

I don't own any of the Architecture sets, but the two that I would actually buy are the Robie House, and Fallingwater. Third place? Maybe a tie between the White House set and the Guggenheim. Honestly, to me the Robie House seems like such an anomaly in this line. It just looks so much better than all of the rest. Part of it has to do with all the pieces, which make for a nice appearance of a brick building. I love me some dark red as well, so there's that. I think most of the Architecture sets just seem too minimal. While I've seen lots of neat things people have made with as few pieces as possible (micro-scale?), that's not much of a selling point for me when it comes to official sets.

I would say four. The mummy, the Frankenstein monster, the vampire, and the zombie driver (well, the face at least). Okay, three and a half.

+1 to zcerberus for quick, smooth trade.

Ouch, $60 dish? I wonder if you got it from the same store I did, and he doubled the price as his stock went down (damn you, supply and demand!). As for your wife, just show her some in-progress pictures of how awesome it is. Maybe that will sway her to your side (if only a little). So I hadn't had much building time for a while, but started making a big chunk of progress in the last few days. I'm 173 pages in, over halfway! The frame is done, and we've got some firepower too! As Lobot mentioned, it did get pretty big when the mandibles get attached to the front. 33 inches from end to end. As long as my arm now! The boat rigging pieces on the back, which due to cost I opted to get in black. $0.80 for black or $120 for grey... Later I'll attempt what someone else had mentioned and spray them. They stand out a bit, although I wonder if that's only because I KNOW they're supposed to be grey. Finally starting to get some plates covering the frame. Which is nice, because it was a bit drafty inside. Han and Chew are close friends, but not THAT close. And last up, the guns! One for the top and the bottom, I really like the way these were constructed. Especially the dish/window pieces; they're not attached by studs, they just have a couple of wedge plates holding them in place by a slight overlap. I never really thought about building something like that, and it works pretty well. And lastly, the gun attached to the underside of the ship. The top gun goes on later (and is removable, I think?) *Insert pew pew laser sounds here* I'm hoping to get a lot more time with it over the next few days, maybe even finishing it up. I think I can see a light at the end of this really, really, really long tunnel!

I've got most of series 6 up for trade, check out my post on the trading forums:http://www.eurobrick...dpost&p=1259005. Or send me a PM.

Add a +1 to Donut for a smooth, quick trade.

Thanks for that link! While I may not be that into economics in general, I do still like seeing "under the hood" about things that interest me (such as LEGO). And I hope my original post didn't come across as playing the victim card, like a "Woe is me, why is LEGO so expensive?!" I know this isn't the cheapest hobby in the world, and the price doesn't really bother me. I was originally just curious what made a line like the City sets seem to be more expensive than some others. I've started to get a "feel" for the Star Wars and Castle/Kingdoms sets and their price ranges (they're mostly what I'm interest in). For Star Wars, the answer to a question of cost always seemed to be "licensing fees, licensing fees!" When I started to look at City I was surprised a bit by the difference. But like some others have pointed out not all lines (or sets) are created equal. In some cases it's the cost of the parts, but in some cases it's just due to popularity. Sell the product for the as much as you can, it's just business. Like you said, it comes down to personal preference on the value of a set. I don't begrudge LEGO when they charge (what I think) is too much for a set; if it's not a good value I just won't buy it. Like the set 10215, Obi-Wan's Jedi Starfighter. I love it, think it's a beautiful set. But it's original price of $100 for the piece count was (to me) a little ridiculous, so I didn't buy it until it went on sale before it was discontinued.

Wow, this is very impressive! What I really like most about is the variety and composition of the orc army. Rather than just a hundred of the same orc you've got it mixed up into different types of units or groups. There's the trolls pushing the heavy siege equipment, the orcs carrying ladders up to the walls, and I really love the dinosaurs! Heavy beasts of burden carrying troops like that is a very cool touch. And the orc leader (general? king?) in the back, waiting patiently and watching as the battle unfolds is also a very nice detail. Hats off to you sir!

Not trading at the moment.

Oh wow, I hadn't looked at the price on those Dino sets, but they are pretty high. I suppose you're right, sharky, it's the custom pieces that drive the cost up. I guess that's why if you look at some of the modular buildings the price-per-part is pretty low in spite of the high piece counts; the types of pieces in those sets is pretty common though (at least it looks that way to me).

As the title says, I'm wondering about the price of City sets, and why they seem to be a little on the expensive side. Over time I've noticed people lean towards $0.10 per part as a good price for sets. For some licensed sets like Star Wars or Pirates of the Caribbean the price can go up due to licensing fees LEGO has to pay; this makes higher prices for those sets understandable. But I was looking at some City sets that had interesting pieces and noticed the price seemed higher for a non-licensed set. For example: Forest Police Station -- $79.99, 633 pieces, $0.126 per part Robbers' Hideout -- $39.99, 317 pieces, $0.126 per part Space Center -- $69.99, 494 pieces, $0.14 per part Are these sets (or this line of sets) more pricey because they have some uncommon--and more costly--parts? Or does LEGO price them higher because it's simply smart business; they know they will sell regardless of the price? (And sorry if this has been discussed before, I looked around but couldn't find a thread)

The pin connectors that I used (http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?P=62462) were offered as an alternative to the connectors without the slot (http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?P=75535). I would guess LEGO doesn't make the original piece anymore in this color; a look at the BrickLink catalog shows it was only used in sets up until 2008 (at least in light bley). Price-wise it was either $1.50 each for the original, or a dime each for the alternative. Which, so far, has done the job just fine. And if you need 41 of them... I can certainly believe that! Every major step seems to add quite a bit of bulk to it. Just reading about its size doesn't quite cover it; it easily blows anything I've built before out of the water. Must press on... almost 1/3 of the way through the instruction manual!

I agree, that was an expensive piece. It looks like it will be visible from the bottom, though, so the need for correct colors (yours and mine) will not be in vain I suppose. A few more pictures of progress: Landing gear all finished and ready to be attached. With the landing gear attached it makes a huge difference in its appearance. No longer just a big hulk of LEGO pieces, it's starting to look like a ship. The rear engine assembly is built into one long piece before angling each section. At this point the Falcon looks like some sort of Transformers vehicle... hands off, Michael Bay! I won't let you ruin this! Last but not least, the engines secured to the ship. I've seen so many mods of this section with LEDs and whatnot, I think I'll give it a go when it's all finished. Every step of the way I'm continually impressed with the detail on this thing. Tiny little pieces added everywhere for more details (or as I recently discovered, the "greebling"), and the overall effect is fantastic. Whoever designed this thing at LEGO (or the small team, I imagine) did an amazing job.

I would say jump on that one. I agree with Ki-Adi-Mundi about the Tantive IV, it is indeed a beautiful ship. One of my favorite ships, one I'd never break down for spare parts.

Finally was able to start building a few days ago, and here is the first few hours worth of progress. For starters. here we have all 5,176 pieces ready to go. And yes, I counted. One BrickLink order at a time, hehe. The build starts by building the frame of the ship out of technic beams and pins, and I must say I was pretty impressed at how sturdy this thing is. I still am impressed, really. After each building step, I have no fear of this thing breaking apart if I pick it up to look at one side or another. A lot of the structure is building up in layers, with identical plates stacked on top of each other. Very stable. On the right side here this is what I call the Millennium Falcon's butt. This piece attaches to the underside of the frame in the rear... just like, well, a butt. When building it the supporting bricks started to look like walls of a small house. I'll have to remember that if/when I try my hand at some MOC projects. Gratuitous Butt Shot - Hide the eyes of small children. As you can see, if those wedges at the center were removed that could be a doorway into a main hall of some sort (minus that big beam crossing the room). Lots of other rooms for decorating, storing stuff, etc. Hmm, I feel like there's a "junk in the trunk" joke to be made there... The rear end (teehee) attached to the frame, about 60 pages (of 300) into the build. She's starting to look space-worthy...ish. And I tried to have some fun with the minifigures and my limited photography skills in the next picture. Leia: You're going to try and fly this thing? You're braver than I thought.

That's a pretty cool looking set, I must say. Thanks for all of the pictures, especially the shot where the two alien ships combine together! It's a shame they're no longer on sale at the LEGO store online. It was originally just the minifigures that drew me to these sets, but after a closer look like this I might be leaning toward them a bit more. How sturdy is that copter? From the pictures the tail and the skids on the bottom look they might fall off easily. Are they securely attached?

Thanks for the input everyone. I think I'm going to go this option and get the 7946. With the difference in price I can get a dragon separately and then some. And I do like the look of that joust set; it seems like it would be a good expansion to the castle.

Ooh, that's nice to know! I had considered painting them, but thought the paint might make the pieces too thick to fit into clips and whatnot.

Well I'm glad I could help! I hear you on the price. I started out with no inventory (well, only in sets I didn't want to dismantle), and early on I was thinking I'd be able to get it for less than retail. But then I hit a point near the end where the last hundred or two pieces were nearing $1.00 each. Then the manual (sorry to hear they don't have any more ) and the radar, etc... Oh well, well worth it! I can finally start building mine this weekend, woo! After the move last weekend I haven't had a good amount of space for anything LEGO yet. I tend to omit that information as well, unless someone really wants to know, or it's in these forums where people already know the costs associated with this habit... er, hobby. This is really the only thing that irked me about the process. They're such big pieces and kind of obviously not right. I wonder if it's possible to paint or dye them somehow and not look terrible?

Hi all, What started with a purchase of the Medieval Market Village turned into a small buying frenzy of smaller castle/kingdoms sets--Village Mill Raid, Drawbridge Defense, etc (and lots of trolls too ). I'd really like to get a castle to tie these together. So far I'm looking at either the King's Castle (7946) or the King's Castle Siege (7094). I like the siege castle, but it looks like it's been out of print for longer, and a lot more expensive. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts or recommendations on these two sets? Or maybe some other sets I should look at instead?

And the new super star destroyer as well. Though I wonder why that one came with any minifigs at all. In the other two sets, the minifigs can fit inside. He makes a good point about the difference in pieces if a set is rereleased. From what I understand of their manufacturing process, molds are often "retired" after a period of time, and new ones are not cheap to produce. I imagine a similar problem exists for printed pieces (for example, the radar dish on the Millennium Falcon). So they would have to look to either existing pieces for a "close enough" fit, or making new molds/prints for a set. I feel as though I read an article somewhere about the cost of molds for new pieces and whatnot, but for the life of me can't remember where that was.

Wow those are beautiful! I love the building technique on the interiors; everything is so smooth, it's hard to believe it's LEGO. Also, I think you were pretty successful for the time-period, with your minifigure choices. The hair pieces, outfits, etc... All the men in suits, all the "dames" are dressed up. Two thumbs up to you!

There is a way to do this, and it works quite nicely! However, I found it was only accessible once (though I could be wrong). Once you have submitted an order at a store, DON'T CLICK ANYTHING! On the confirmation page there is a link in the middle of the page (in the middle of text most people probably don't read). The link says something like "show items from this order on my wanted list." Click that, it shows the matches, and you can check the "delete" box next to each item. Then scroll down to the bottom of the page, hit the "Submit Changes" button, and there you go! Like I said, I don't know of a way to do this order-to-wanted-list comparison except for immediately after ordering. I placed plenty of orders before finding this out, and even afterward I forgot once or twice. Mostly it was just meticulously scrolling through the wanted list for manual deletion. To add extra anal details, I'd then go to my excel sheet to enter the quantity of part I ordered, and the price, and even the order number. Actually came in useful once because I misplaced a few pieces. Thought I hadn't ordered them, but my records showed clearly I had. So I didn't give up the search until I found them. Okay, here's a breakdown of parts I bought from LEGO and their replacement parts system (and as best I can tell, why). I'll include the BrickLink numbers if you need to look them up. (Sorry to anyone reading that isn't LegoDad, this part might not be so exciting!) (Also, a disclaimer: Your mileage may vary. There may in fact be sellers with some of these (though I did just check a few along the way). LEGO may not have anymore of some of these parts, yadda yadda yadda.) EDIT: One more thing. Prices and quantities were all based on searching for sellers in the U.S. with NEW parts. I have no idea what the situation is for used parts for any of these. 47x 3703 --- Dark Bluish Gray Technic, Brick 1 x 16 with Holes --- Better price from LEGO, $1.11 each. 21x 6565 --- Light Bluish Gray Wedge 3 x 2 Left --- Only one person in the US with all I needed, for $2.00 each. $0.41 from LEGO. 21x 6564 --- Light Bluish Gray Wedge 3 x 2 Right --- No one with the quantity, terrible prices. $0.41 from LEGO. 16x 32555 -- Yellow Technic, Brick 5 x 5 Right Angle (1 x 4 - 1 x 4) --- $3.45 each in US (ouch!). $1.08 from LEGO. *** The shape of this part absolutely fascinates me. I don't know why, but I like it! *** 16x 40344 -- Black Technic, Brick 4 x 6 Open Center --- No one with all of them in US. $1.08 from LEGO 27x 6190 ---- Dark Bluish Gray Bar 1 x 3 (Radio Handle, Phone Handset) --- $1.00 each in US, $0.24 from LEGO 17x 2465 --- Light Bluish Gray Brick 1 x 16 --- $1.50 in the US, $0.78 from LEGO 34x 30365 -- Light Bluish Gray Hinge Brick 1 x 2 Locking with 2 Fingers Vertical End --- ***The set needs 58 of these. I got 34 from LEGO, the other 24 from a seller.*** 2x 75c12 -- Light Bluish Gray Hose, Rigid 3mm D. 12L / 9.6cm --- talked about this one earlier. No more bley in the US, and only black available from LEGO. 20x 6179 --- Light Bluish Gray Tile, Modified 4 x 4 with Studs on Edge --- $0.38 from LEGO, though I see now there is a seller in the US selling for $0.50 23x 41770 -- Light Bluish Gray Wedge, Plate 4 x 2 Left --- No one has the right quantity of these. $0.23 from LEGO (And hopefully you don't get the wrong ones like I did!) 24x 41769 -- Light Bluish Gray Wedge, Plate 4 x 2 Right --- Same as above. $0.24 from LEGO I also bought a few parts from their Pick-A-Brick page. These were either cheap, or because I couldn't find one seller with all the quantity I needed. 3x 2456 Black Brick 2 x 6 14x 3003 Dark Bluish Gray Brick 2 x 2 18x 3001 Light Bluish Gray Brick 2 x 4 26x 44302 Light Bluish Gray Hinge Plate 1 x 2 Locking with 2 Fingers On End 8x 4623 Light Bluish Gray Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Arm Up (Horizontal Arm Length 6mm) 1x 3039 Light Bluish Gray Slope 45 2 x 2 6x 3037 Light Bluish Gray Slope 45 2 x 4 1x 4079 Reddish Brown Minifig, Utensil Seat 2 x 2 60x 298c05 Light Bluish Gray Lever Small Base with Light Bluish Gray Lever *** I ended up getting the the bley bases with black levers. I think I read elsewhere that they don't make the bley levers anymore. *** 10x 32014 Light Bluish Gray Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #6 - 90 degrees 16x 43723 Light Bluish Gray Wedge, Plate 3 x 2 Left 16x 43722 Light Bluish Gray Wedge, Plate 3 x 2 Right 94x 3460 Light Bluish Gray Plate 1 x 8 159x 3021 Light Bluish Gray Plate 2 x 3 2x 3033 Light Bluish Gray Plate 6 x 10 35x 3709b Light Bluish Gray Technic, Plate 2 x 4 with 3 Holes Well now, I guess all that meticulous list-making has turned out to be useful once again! At least, I hope so! Once again, feel free to ask any more questions, I'll see what I can do to help.

Indeed. I went to the LEGO store in Orlando a few weeks ago and got an April calendar with my order. For April 24-27th there was a highlighted block saying there would be new Build a Mini elements available.