CP5670

The mechanisms won't actually work without the frame though. I'm thinking of this on a more "microscale" level than the entire model. The situations where studless construction has a clear advantage are typically those where you want to cram a lot of functionality into a small space. In such cases, the mechanisms need to be designed with the shape and limitations of the frame in mind. The main example I have in mind here are axles for compact trial trucks.

There is a diorama used in several catalogs and posters where the Spyrius robots are tearing apart the Unitron monorail. The Unitrons are running away instead of fighting, so maybe they are independent civilians. Although the other Unitron models never seemed to have any relationship with Spyrius. The most confusing thing was the status of the Spyrius androids. The box pictures for 6991 show the android seemingly cooperating with the Unitrons (on the other hand, one Dutch catalog shows him spying on the monorail and calling in backup to "steal computers"), and the box pictures for 6959 show the Spyrius commander dropping him into a pit.

These themes were probably underdeveloped due to their US-only releases. TLG apparently intended the 6991 monorail to be a kind of standalone set (the box lacks the Unitron logo and actually has the description for Spyrius on it), and only made it into a separate theme of its own the following year. Roboforce was indeed pretty weak. I do like the Robo Raptor though and the Robo Master also has some good ideas, although the overall model looks ugly. However, all of the sets were excellent sources of parts, including many printed ones that were unique to the theme, and had some very cool minifigs. The set designs were not great but certainly weren't <insert that tiresome argument> in terms of part selection. Classic space wasn't really a contiguous theme though, and the name was only given by AFOLs later on. The minifigs were the only thing they had in common. I think of them as consisting of three or four separate factions, identified by the color schemes.

I use a mix of both styles and certainly agree with the OP. Many models in the 1997-2001 period were both lightweight and very strong, but also easy to modify and expand on. Those mechanisms were possible 30 years ago. The 8888 excavator, for example, is actually more sophisticated than 8294. A better example of the benefits of studless construction is a pendular trial truck chassis, where space and weight are often at a premium. The trial trucks people build today are more compact and robust than what was possible 10-15 years ago. I'll just copy an earlier post of mine when this was previously mentioned: Additionally, people's opinions on this are probably also influenced by whether or not they build in other Lego themes. I like to build both Technic and System (especially Sci-fi) models, and studs are of course the main method of construction in other themes.

Very nice. Most big Technic cars out there tend to have very similar functions, but you have actually added some unique and clever mechanisms into this model. I especially like your gearbox design and how the reverse gear only powers the front wheels.

Good point. I grew up with all the old space themes and have collected almost all of the sets from them (and regularly build MOCs based on them), but looking back at them now, they certainly did have their flaws. Almost all of them contained a mix of great and lousy sets. As far as the SP3 baddie ships go, I wasn't much of a fan of the 2009 lineup myself, but the 2010 models sport a new color scheme and are generally far better designed. Yeah, the Renegade is the arguably the weakest set of Blacktron 1, despite having some good ideas. None of them were actually released in the same year, although they were kept in production for a while and were available at the same time. The usual TLG approach back then was to have good guys, bad guys and civilians, each released in different but adjacent years.

I would say Life on Mars. The aliens were cool but all of the sets were lousy, and their drab colors were closer to Star Wars than the traditionally dynamic colors of Space. Simply put, it didn't feel like a Space theme at all. Even Mars Mission had a few good sets and an interesting design style for the aliens. I agree, the Warp Wing Fighter was one of the best space sets ever. UFO was a pretty hit-or-miss theme, but it was no worse than several other themes in that respect. SP3 is one of the best themes ever for me. Not all the sets are great, but that could be also said about most of the old space themes, and there are still quite a few gems there, especially among the larger sets. As an overall theme, the story and characters TLG has built up for it go well beyond any of the old space themes.

Yes, I think the Chinese factory is said to be where they have their more advanced printing machines, so many parts requiring detailed prints come from there. What is a minor or major fault depends entirely on one's point of view. The original brick opacity problem 3 years ago was blindingly obvious to me, as stark as the difference between Lego and Megabloks, but I've met people who couldn't see the difference even after I showed it to them in person. There is probably a range of good and bad parts as you say, but the main point here is that some people simply notice things that others don't. This might have been possible in 2007, when the problems related to the use of clear ABS pellets first appeared, but I can't see it happening today. By now it is clear that very few people have taken notice of these issues. TLG has no incentive to spend money on improving the quality if people can't tell the difference.

I like the overall shape of this vehicle, with the wheels of different sizes and the stacked cockpits reminiscent of SP2. The model does have a kind of empty feel though, and the hole below the front canopy is especially noticeable.

A few months ago, I was making some adjustments to my 5580 Highway Rig and accidentally knocked it off the shelf it was sitting on. I caught it before it hit the ground, but the corner of some brick made a decent cut in my finger.

This has been going on for ages now, and is certainly not limited to these minifigs. In a way I actually prefer these collectible minifigs over most of the other low quality parts. They are at least unique pieces and don't "contaminate" Bricklink like normal bricks or the vintage minifig collections do, so you always know what you're getting. TLG has long since realized that their post-2006 quality reductions have largely gone unnoticed, and we will be continuing to see them in the forseeable future. I have just learned to live with it these days, and have simply become more picky about the prices I pay on sets and parts. This thread also illustrates how people can have very different standards on Lego quality. When these collectible figures first came out, there were a number of people saying that the quality was identical to the minifigs in normal sets.

That light rail looks excellent and I like the coach-style bus in it too, but as others have said the structures in that set are very generic. I probably will only get the Lego truck (the normal one, as the TRU version is likely to cost more), as I'm already buying too many other Lego sets this year.

Calm down, dude. I can't see why you're getting worked up over such a simple question. None of that says whether you are actually allowed to submit more than one entry. If it is so important to specify a precise part and color, I was thinking it may suggest that they don't want people submitting several, similar entries.

The text you quoted does not really address my question. I wasn't sure if they were taking multiple part requests and was just thinking that it may make more sense to send in a generic request, instead of a long list of the same part(s) in different colors. From what other people are posting though, such a list seems to be okay.

I'm going to try to make it this time around. I have been to the last 3 events but have skipped this in the past. The Woodbridge store was too inconvenient given its distance and the late timing of the event (I stay with my parents in Rockville), but they sent an email today that they are moving it to the much closer Tysons Corner store this year. I'm not sure what MOCs to bring this year. I won't be bringing the same stuff as last time, as it has been displayed twice now, but I haven't built a whole lot since then. I was thinking of my monorail layout, but it would probably be too much of a hassle to take the whole thing. Maybe I'll just bring the stations.

I like the Raid VPR a lot too, and it is indeed a good set to make a fleet out of. It looks sleek and is one of the very few sub-$10 space sets ever to have a fully enclosed cockpit. Rench is one of my favorite aliens so I don't mind having a bunch of them, and the torsos are also useful for Blacktron minifigs.

This is a great adaptation of my favorite Technic set ever. The rear base of this model is in fact slightly thinner than the original, although the rear wheels are placed further outward to compensate for that. I think the front hood is also shorter relative to the height of the engine.

Do you have to point out a specific part and color? Generally speaking, I would like to see more basic bricks and plates (especially those of larger sizes) made in transparent colors. These kinds of pieces were common at one time in the 80s, but have become rare today.

The previous game was a walk in the park, but this one is a bit harder. It took me a few tries to beat it. You can apparently move in all 4 directions, but the ship moves up and down so slowly that you can effectively only move left and right. I've sort of done the same thing. I only have one each of most of them, except for Rench and Squidman.

I have been looking forward to this update for a long time too, and it was well worth the wait. As you said, 1995 was a landmark year in many ways and brought out a lot of substantially sized sets for a single year. 8460 could have been a flagship set in its own right if 8485 hadn't come out the same year. The dinosaur in 8485 (which is indeed a T-Rex, according to the S@H catalogs) is easily my favorite model in the set, and is totally unique in both its concept and its mechanisms. You mentioned that 8460 seemed unpopular to you, but I think that might actually apply more to 8485. It was only sold through S@H and at $220 it's by far the most expensive Technic set ever made, despite having a relatively low piece count. As a kid, it seemed like a poor deal to me compared to 8480 or 8880, and I didn't get one until several years later on ebay. 8422 was my first Technic set of moderate size (more than $15 or so). In addition to the tires, the printed headlight pieces in it were also unique to the set. As for the short life of the crank handle piece, it was probably because the dark gray 3/4 pin came out in 1996 and more or less made the handle obsolete.

I like the vehicle with the trans-blue mudguards, and all the hidden and pop up weapons in the base. I think the "telescope pod" is supposed to be a surface cannon. The ship pod is pretty generic and has room for improvement, although it's nice how those were interchangeable between the Unitron sets. That was probably because he was included in the 6705 Space Explorers pack, which was sold worldwide. The grunts only appeared in the actual Unitron sets. The original price of the set was $44, which was about average for its size and piece count. The Unitron sets tend to be much more expensive today than other sets from that time period, due to their US-only availability (except for the monorail).

Whoever built that display model did a sloppy job in general. In some of the other pictures, you can also see that several bricks are not attached firmly.

I think yours is fine. It's all stuff that you have made (MOCs and reviews) and is cleanly organized. I mainly don't like the ones that take up a lot of vertical space or have very big images, especially if they're unrelated to Lego. I know they can be turned off, but most people do use them intelligently. I often discover some great MOCs through the signatures of the builders, so I prefer to keep them enabled.

Amazing. This is one of the largest Lego creations I have ever seen. The chess pieces are quite cleverly designed too and have their own unique functions. I hope they bring it to Brickfair later this summer too. This would be great to see in person. It does seem to be tiled, after looking at the image here.

Yes, I think that should be around the upper limit. There are a couple of people in this thread alone whose signatures are too large, especially in terms of the vertical height. I trimmed down the images in my own signature yesterday. They used to be the standard Brickshelf 128x96 thumbnails, but after the forum upgrade even those were looking a little too centered and prominent for my liking.