CP5670

It's a mixture of both for me. When I'm working on a MOC and find that I am missing something, I add it to a wishlist that I keep. I start looking at BL stores when the list becomes large enough. My typical orders contain not only specific things from the list, but also generic parts I see for good prices (usually in black, as it's a neutral color that fits into any model and has the least quality problems) as well as rare parts that the particular stores I'm looking at happen to carry. I don't build CAD models in advance to plan things out, as I find that it takes too long. I find it useful to place the order off a laptop near my parts stash, so I can see exactly what I need. For large orders (100+ lots), it can take a few hours to put together the order and make sure I have the correct amounts of everything. I make sure I have enough time to finish it before I start adding any pieces. Bricklink has an annoying bug that makes it empty your cart automatically after something like 36 hours, so the order needs to be submitted the same day.

It might have been. There is a pretty consistent difference between the two reddish browns in my experience, unlike the colors with opacity problems. There was some discussion about it here and here. Remember, a color change doesn't necessarily mean that they will actually change the color ID. Other colors like dark red have been changed before while keeping the same color ID. I vaguely recall seeing some quote from TLG about this color that it was done to attain better consistency in the color, but I can't find the reference now.

Thanks for posting these pictures. The matte wedge plate looks very strange, and just like Megabloks. I haven't encountered any such pieces yet, but it can't be a one-off problem if all the left plates in the set are like that. It's possible that TLG has changed the material of those pieces for some reason, but still has old stock of the other sided plates that are being included in sets.

There are at least three kinds of brown out there: old brown (before 2004), pre-2007 reddish brown and post-2007 reddish brown. The 2004 color change is well known, but there was another change to reddish brown some time in 2007 or 2008, and it's common for a set to contain both varieties (e.g. the asteroid bank in 5982). This isn't the same kind of opacity issue that many other colors have; there are actually two distinct shades of the color here.

Theme-specific prints are actually a good thing in my book. The control panels can be used just about anywhere, but even things like faction logo tiles and slopes are useful. I often build MOCs around official themes and use such parts regularly. The Spyrius control panels were widely used even among official sets, showing up in Unitron, Aquaraiders and even some City sets. The only kinds of prints I don't like are the ones that are very model-specific (this, for example) or those that cover less common pieces. Some of the Aquazone sets did go too far with the prints, especially on rare transparent windscreen pieces (I was thinking more of City when I said mid 90s), but I would still take that over today's situation. Toy Story is an interesting case. The trend among modern sets is overwhelmingly in favor of stickers over prints, but this theme actually contains a lot of prints. I have a feeling that Disney may have forced TLG to make certain parts printed as part of the license agreement.

I only buy from those sellers when they have specific rare parts I need. It can be frustrating to add all the parts you want to the cart, and then be forced to toss out half the order to make it fit within the seller's lot limit. For bulk orders of generic pieces, there are some specific sellers that I know handle large lots (150+) efficiently, and I tend to stick with them even if their prices are a bit higher. It's worth not having to worry about buying too much stuff, or waiting months to get your order shipped. I believe this is against Paypal's terms of service but the rules are not really enforced. This used to be especially common among the European sellers who were playing tricks with exchange rates.

I would make a distinction between generic and more specialized patterns. Things like grill patterns, control panels, simple logos, etc. can be used in a variety of models and should be printed (and were printed in the past), especially since they usually appear on common pieces. I would certainly pay a premium for such pieces. On the other hand, many sets also include elaborate stickered patterns that only really fit that particular set, and these are better left as stickers. I think TLG had a good sense of which patterns to print or leave as stickers around the mid 90s. In recent years, they have been all about cost cutting and it's rare to see much in the way of prints anymore.

I got an order from Canada last week. The guy was friendly and the parts were perfect, but I do think he did something shady with the shipping, with $16 airmail for a fairly small box from the Ottawa area to New Jersey (he also gave a $13 ground shipping option, which he said would take 3+ weeks). Other orders I've gotten from Canada in the past have been much cheaper and similar to US shipping rates. I also ordered a significantly larger box (a set) from Germany a few days ago, and that was only $15 for registered airmail. German and UK shipping is usually pretty reasonable, while Italy is quite a bit more expensive. Note that international shipping rates will also vary with the exchange rates. I bought a lot of stuff from Europe around 2001-04, when the USD/Euro rate was higher and the shipping prices were considerably lower.

There were some color issues in the 80s with red and blue, but they were limited to some specific parts (large-sized plates and 1x1 clip plates come to mind). On the other hand, the colors were very consistent and high quality in the 90s, especially in the second half of the decade. The stuff we get today is a far cry from what we had during that period. As for the timing of the ABS change, the color opacity problem became very widespread in late 2006, affecting a number of different colors, but I think they did it with yellow quite some time earlier. It became widespread in yellow bricks dating back to at least 2004.

I was one of the people who originally pushed for having a combined Technic/MT forum a few years ago, but I do see the arguments on both sides of this. Thread tags would definitely improve the situation here. I like both Technic and MT and look at MOC threads from both themes. I'm a lot more likely to see MT models if they appear here instead of the Special Themes category, which I rarely venture into. The two themes had a shared lineage to some extent and there was a time when most of the top Technic MOCs were in fact Technic/MT hybrids that would fit equally well in either theme. Although this seems to be less common today with a lot more "pure" Technic models being built.

The Legends were initially in high demand but pretty much died with the gray color change, which made them unappealing to their target market. The 2004 Legend sets sold poorly (I remember 10159 was shown at something like 30% off in a 2006 catalog) and even today, they go for noticeably lower prices than the earlier sets. The Legends also came out at a time when most of the regular Lego lines sucked, and those have improved dramatically since then, so there isn't much need for the Legends today. I don't think that one was a Legends set. It was "inspired" by the old one but made no attempt to actually reproduce it. A better example is the 10159 airport, which had a number of small changes from the old 6597. That was in contrast to the 10001/10002 Metroliner, which was very faithful to the original 4558 and brought back a lot of previously discontinued parts just for this set.

An excellent review of my favorite space set of all time. This set probably had the best implementation of the old 9V lights and used them to their full potential. It had quite a few unique parts as well, like the canopy extender, printed red arrow tiles and the light-up control panel, and those SP1 space lockup jails are always good to see. I made some changes to mine so another guy can fit there. The result looks like this:

Well, "quickly" means two years in this case. Although I'm surprised TLG would still have black smooth slopes in circulation, unless you got them from Bricklink. The smooth slopes occasionally still appear in less common colors, but I haven't seen black ones in a while.

That's the thing, people today no longer "discover" ebay for the first time as they would have done 10 years ago. Bricklink prices have generally still remained high, but they aren't a good indicator of what sets are actually selling for. If you leave aside the largest flagship sets, even the MISB stuff has fallen in value. I picked up several MISB Technic sets for bargain basement prices last year (e.g. 8408 for $6, 8412 for $20 and 8850 for $30). There was one guy on ebay who sold a very large number of old MISB sets over the course of 3 or 4 years, and even some of his 80s sets were going for pretty reasonable prices.

This has already happened to some extent with 90s sets. Most people who wanted them have already gotten them, and the demand has fallen. Some of the flagship sets will always go for exorbitant prices, but in general the ebay prices on these sets have dropped over the last few years, and I have gotten some very good deals on MISB stuff during that time. On the other hand, the Bricklink prices have remained fairly high. Also, I think recent sets (from the last 3 or 4 years) are appreciating much faster than the old 80s and 90s sets did. It might be a result of the much shorter production timeframes TLG has for many sets today.

You can build MOCs around those themes like I do. Blacktron and Space Police are still very much alive for me.

We get one of these medium-sized off roaders every few years. It seems decent enough and looks larger than the previous ones. I like the black panels. It's interesting that they are going back to 6 hole hubs, which they had used throughout the 80s and 90s.

I think I hit that limit 1 or 2 years ago (about 300 sets/100000 pieces) in the sense that I buy sets much less frequently than I used to. However, when I build MOCs, I get most of the parts from Bricklink instead of taking apart my built sets or MOCs, so my collection will always keep expanding.

That still remains my most expensive Lego purchase ever, even though I got mine several years ago. The Bricklink prices aren't always indicative of what they are actually selling for. It's better to look at ebay. It has been a long time now but I got MISB copies of all of those except 8868, while paying roughly the same as the original prices. I've still seen 8865 and 8856 go for relatively low prices in the last year or two (lower than the original prices if you adjust for inflation). As I said earlier, I think the demand for most sets of that era has simply tapered off.

8288 has strangely always been rather expensive on both ebay and Bricklink, given that it's a relatively recent set. The most expensive set I've actually seen sold was an MISB 954 Sky Copter on ebay many years ago, which went for $1100. In general, the ebay prices of 90s Technic sets have actually gone down in the last few years. I think the demand peaked at one point 4 or 5 years ago and has dropped since then; many people who wanted those sets already have them now.

I was thinking the same thing. This is clearly a systemic problem with the cheese slopes and not just a one-off glitch, but at the same time some of us have never experienced it at all. I would usually be the first to complain about this sort of issue if I saw it in any of my slopes, but mine all look good, even the ones that have been on built sets for a year or two.

The one in 5571 was actually advertised as a selling point in the S@H catalogs ("all the comforts of home: a bed, lamp, TV, CB radio, even a coffee machine!"). The coffee machines can fit into small spaces and are an easy way to add a homely touch to buildings. I think just about all the large police and fire stations have had them.

The parts tray in this set is actually kind of neat, although I wouldn't pay extra for it. It showcases all the pneumatic and electric parts. This set had a larger quantity of pneumatic parts than anything else at its time, and for many years afterwards.

I didn't know what this set was supposed to be when it came out. It was probably the last Technic set with a large amount of studded construction, and some yellow parts like the 1x6 half-beams and #4 angle connectors are still unique to this set. The steering was possibly the worst design we've ever seen in Technic. As for the video, it's a 10 minute skit showing some motorsports team ("Team Larsen") taking a pulling tractor (painted in Lego livery to look like this set) to a show and of course, winning. There is no speech, just background music. There are also some ads for the speed computer and other sets that were available back then. It's fun to watch once but that's about it.

Yes, this is the main point. If there is some issue and enough people complain it or alter their buying habits, TLG will probably fix it, and otherwise they may fix or ignore it depending on what it costs them to fix it. They won't just unconditionally fix all quality problems that are brought to their attention. This has been a problem for years now. You need to make educated guesses about where the seller's parts came from based on what he has for sale in his overall inventory. For generic bricks and plates, a seller's batch of one piece may have come from many different sets, although you can still get some idea of which years they're from. The Chinese-made parts are actually easier to distinguish since they are mostly unique, especially the ones from the collectible minifigs. It's the regular parts that create more of a issue.