Kristel

This is really cute, and such a sweet thing to make for your better half. The electric mixer is cleverly done.

Another stunning Buurli Burri creation! Love the buildings, particularly the trims on the roofs. And the goats are cute too.

Wow! This is just beautiful. I want one. No, make that two - a red one and a black one.

Definitely a very cool and unique Batmotive! The jet engines at the back of the train are awesome.

Wow. This is an excellent Architecture-scale version of the real thing. Well done!

Looks like a lively bar. I'm curious why Nessa is sitting in the corner by herself?

There's lots to like about this building. Even the orange colour, which contrasts really nicely with the white trim and grey facade, and looks fantastic next to your medium blue building. The interior is great too, with all the different tiling patterns. I'm impressed that you've managed to fit a bath, basin and toilet in a very small space!

Cute little merry-go-round. I like the brick built animals, particularly the cow. Good luck in the contest.

You've done a great job on this custom advent calendar, so far. I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of the days. You're daughter is a lucky girl!

Congratulations lego-maniac and whataboutlego. Well deserved, as both entries were awesome!

Congratulations to Captain Nemo and Ninja Nin. Both were outstanding entries! Thanks to everyone who voted for me. I'm stoked to have come third amongst all the amazing entries. Thanks, too, to Cornelius and Eurobricks, for a super Superheroes Month.

It does look very nice all lined up like that. Just a few more cars and people and you're there, I think!

This church looks really great and fits in nicely with the official models. The nativity scene is a nice feature. Well done. Good luck in the contest!

Great motto / advice for anyone I think. I would like to adopt this as my motto for the coming year. If you don't have any objections, I will add it to my signature. The "spend wisely" part will, of course, be thrown out the window if I win the lottery.

It's a BrickMaster 20007. An 8039 would have been nice as well!

The Republic Attack Cruiser arrived today. What an awesome prize. Thanks heaps Hinckley!

All very good points and I must admit that the telltale signs I listed were for the more obvious scammers. They do get smarter over time. You've summed it up in your last sentence. While we continue to have the very high prices in Australia (and other countries), we will be looking for online vendors to get our LEGO fixes. Strictly speaking, you're right that the only way to avoid scammers is to limit ourselves to direct retail vendors. However, you can reduce the chances of being the victim of scam by doing a little homework before hitting the "buy" button. I should qualify that I've never bought a big set (e.g. Town Hall, R2-D2) through Bricklink and most of my Bricklink orders are under $50. For the big sets, I've sucked up the ridiculous prices and bought directly from LEGO, because it feels safer and there is something nice about a great big box directly from TLG waiting for you when you get home from work! I am yet to try Amazon, but am considering it for the Arkham Asylum. If I do so, it would only be from Amazon itself (and not a third party seller on Amazon).

Very impressive indeed! Your MOCs fit is really well with the official ones.

Love it! This is one of the simplest models from the advent calendar, but definitely one of my favourites.

I think this is my favourite chapter so far. Excellent set too. It looks genuinely messy and cluttered.

I somehow managed to completely miss this one. It is really cute! The Elders next to the Holden dealer works really well, too.

Welcome to Eurobricks. You've got some nice MOC's there!

While I agree that Ebay should generally be avoided for new sets, I have to disagree with this statement for Bricklink. It really depends on where you are in the world. It probably wouldn't make sense to buy new sets from Bricklink if you're in the USA, for example, but it makes a lot of sense if you're in Australia for two main reasons - price and timing. As an example, I purchased a range of the (then) new wave of Friends sets in January this year through Bricklink. They arrived a couple of months before the sets were even released in Australia and all up the cost (including postage and insurance) was less than the retail price here. I will probably be doing the same again this year. Bricklink does get its share of drop ship scammers, but they are usually weeded out pretty quickly. And are usually identified through the telltale signs - large number of new sets for sale, at a low price, low feedback and little if no other parts or gear in the store. There are plenty of honest sellers to choose from on Bricklink.

This looks really great. You've nailed the look and feel of the official Winter Village sets. I would love to see this done in bricks.

This is fantastic! I love all the features, especially the shutters, floors and furniture.