Tacitus

Love it! Well done with the generally obscure literature reference, too!

Okay, so I just checked out the instructions for the Twilight from the LEGO download. I have to say that it looks like a complicated build that really just ends up being a hollow box. The cockpit is very, very disappointing, and the main body is as empty as the Sandcrawler's- just space for technic gears.

Thanks for the nostalgia trip! I had 6059, but I preferred the alternate model (bottom picture), instead, since it was more of a building than a wall. It was really hard to get the figure out of the jail, though.

Oh, I am totally with you here.

There have been a number of good ideas suggested here. I thought Oky and MacK were right on, and Brickbitz offers worthwhile advise, as well. I think that by showing your mom the higher-level MOCs out there, not just the Castles or Mecha, but the abstract work of Nannan (sp?) seen at brickworld recently (check out Hinckey's coverage on Brickzone.net), or the models of modern architecture (didn't someone just their version of a Corbousier house?), you'll be inviting her into your LEGO world through things that are more relevant to her adult perspective. So, definitely try that. And, as Brickbitz advised, a mature (i.e calm, and free of any Luke-Skywalker-farmboy-whine) discussion with her about these issues can go along way. I'd probably start with the dad first, and have him be there for support when you talk to your mother. Mothers can be difficult. They tell you to be responsible, but their definition of responsible seems to be limited to doing only the things they want you to do, rather than making good life choices. It's odd. But she clearly is trying to protect you from blowing all your money and obsessing over a toy- and potentially missing out on other 16 year old experiences. My guess is that if you get good grades, keep your job, save some money, and so forth, all while buy LEGO every now and then, her grievances will fall to the way side...eventually...you know, when you move out.

I'm surprised that neither you nor Hinckley were the ones to bring up Fabuland.

That got me thinking about 462. Those old LEGO rockets- they were so flimsy. Those 4x2 rounded/drum bricks never stayed together very well. The 426 rocket was especially weak at the connection between the white rounded brick and that L-shaped plate, so the top half of the rocket would always fall off.

I totally agree. If I ever gave into a LEGO space addiction, the Reaper would be my gateway set.

Hmm. I didn't know about this set. I had this one: It was among the first I had, like 487 and 462. Ah, the classics...

Oh dear lord. I had this set. In 1979. I remember that I spilled Coke on it, but being five or six, I didn't wash it properly. Very sticky. Got very dirty and fuzzy with dust. It was never the same again. Ah well, so it goes... Oh! I also had that 462 set. I have to say that I very much miss the old crater baseplates. You used to be able to buy them separately, along with landing-pads. It would be nice to have those again.

I think that the cancellation is particularly sad because the 2008 sets like the Tiger, Panther and the Chameleon are the best mechs they've come up with...so good that they actually got me into EXO when I had been ignoring it from the beginning. It would have been nice to see the models evolve even more. Anyway, good idea, Pencoin. And if anybody out there was good ideas on how to expand/modify that Golden Tower set, my eyes are peeled.

Sort of related, the US shop at home now was the Sandcrawler on sale for 99.99. The clone trooper BP is also 50% off.

Wow! You've done the impossible! You've made Mars Mission look cool! Seriously, the tank is great.

Sadly, for every warning you see on one of our boxes, there has been an injured kid with an angry mother who demanded that warnings be posted.

I like the concept and the attempt at creating perspective in the photograph. However, I have to agree with The Joker in that the lack of focus ruins the overall effect. You may wish to either get the camera on a tripod and provide a better light source, or move the camera back a little bit and use the zoom. Taking pictures of LEGO is not easy, given the small size, but you'll get better with practice.

It's hard to tell, but doesn't the new Emperor head look like a gray version of one of those Harry Potter mandrake plant-heads?

Just frakin' fantastic! Finally, another chance to get a gray Emperor... but I'm not too keen on Luke's new hairdo.

I'm still mad that I never got 6071. That forest woman is a such a fantastic (and rare) mini-figure!

That's funny. I just rebuilt it last fall. It is now inhabited by trolls.

I kid you not, it was this one from 1981 (sigh): But I was still a Spacer until I saw this years later: And this one sealed the deal one year after that: Awesome!

Given that the LEGO games tend to have a pretty good array of unlockable characters, like in Star Wars, I would expect that we'll be hearing about a lot of other characters in the future. It also occurs to me that in the CGI Batman LEGO set ads for the first line of sets, a few DC heroes made very brief cameos (I've spotted Johnny Thunder, The Ventriloquist, and Hour-man). So, it wouldn't be a stretch to insert them into the game... unless there are obnoxious legal issues.

It is what the title says it is. It's a mechanical bank. Essentially, it is furniture, and it will probably go on sale 6 months after release.

He's one of the "Old Ones" written about in the stories by HP Lovecraft, science fiction/horror writer from the early 20th century. Not to diminish Sir Nadroj's work, which was a great use of the Kit Fisto head, but check out this related MOC on brickshelf.

Dr. Jones, Sr.: "You call this archaeology?!?"

I'm not entirely sure that a LEGO line can become obsolete now, since, by definition, the classic line became obsolete when production of that line was discontinued years ago. And, when the classic line truly ended is a matter of opinion (Dragons? Fright Knights?). Old LEGO doesn't really fall into disuse, either. So, I'm not sure that obsolescence is the right question. Most of the responses here have been more about which line is better or more desirable, the old or the new, and that's something that probably should go on a case by case basis. For example, I think that the old 6066 is one of the best, and really makes the Dwarf Mine look silly. But the Skull Tower is much better design than either the Wolfpack Tower or the Dragon's Den (two of my favorite "classics," nonetheless).