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The feet/legs in this picture appear to be exact copies of LEGO. That may be where the trouble comes from. Most companies modify the legs of their minifigs (see Sluban/Oxford for examples) to keep them distinct. A company that is selling minifigs like the above in mainstream markets should know better. I hope LEGO wins this one, not because of prices or quality or whatever, but because they clearly have a legal right to win it. Copyright, trademark, and patent (I think this is probably a patent issue) protections are often abused and the system has flaws, but they are still absolutely necessary for economic stability and incetivizing product development.

Time Lapse of the car being built!

Unfortunately unlikely as the relationship is between Ford and Merlin Entertainment, not Ford and TLG.

My son and I had the privlege this morning of being at the FORD plant in Chicago for a news confrence and model unveiling. LEGOLAND Florida is going to have a Ford "Driving School" for kids as one of it's attractions. Though the ride will be in much smaller cars, as part of the attraction the LEGOLAND model team just finished a full size model of the new Ford Explorer. After a brief presentation including a time-lapse video of the building of the car, The full size model of a red Ford Explorer was rolled off the assembly line behind a couple of actual Explorers. Though built and destined for Florida, Chicago was the site of the unveiling because the Ford Chicago plant is the site that makes the Ford Explorer SUV's. It was a very nice presentation from Ford and LEGOLAND. Special thanks to Tim Courntey who, though contacted at the last minute (Messages to AFOL's went out on Friday), he instructed someone among the event organizers to reach out to some local AFOL's, including the Northern Illinois LEGO Train Club by which I was informed of the event. I had a very brief talk with the General Manager LEGOLAND Florida Adrian Jones and he revealed a few tidbits of information regarding LEGOLAND (Owned/Operated by Merlin Entertainment) and it's relationship to The LEGO Group (TLG) and FORD. I inquired about the requirements when LEGOLAND/MERLIN makes a relationship with an outside company. He informed me that within some general guidelines,(no liquor or cigarette brands for example...) LEGOLAND is free to establish these kind of relationships with very little oversight from TLG. Also, he revealed that the driving school was already planned, when he reached out to Ford about the potential for cross-promotion, starting with an initial contact with a dealership that lies just off the free way on the way to LEGOLAND Florida. Apparently Ford was very interested and it quickly moved up the corporate foodchain to establish the relatioship/sponsorship that currently exists. Lastly I learned that LEGOLAND Florida is a redevelopment of the former Cypress Garden's Amusement park which had fallen on hard times in the economic slump and was acquired by Merlin entertainment specifically for the purpose of redeveloping it into a LEGOLAND park. I've attached a few pics from my mediocre camera. I should have some improved pics from a friend of mine shortly to add to the mix. That's myself and my son in the last picture. A few facts from Ford •Full-size LEGOLAND® Florida Explorer created from more than 380,000 LEGO bricks makes its debut at Chicago Assembly Plant; model took more than 2,500 hours to create •New LEGOLAND Florida theme park is the second in the U.S. and the fifth and largest LEGOLAND park in the world; it’s comprised of more than 50 million LEGO bricks •Ford Driving School at LEGOLAND Florida allows children to experience the fun and responsibility of driving in their own vehicles (at a maximum speed of 3 mph) Ford Press Release about the event. http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=35337

Got no problem with those who do. However, I'm a MOC'er and I don't personally see any point to LEGO's sitting in the box or remaining in their original configuration for extended periods of time. I build nearly all the sets I buy, but I toss the boxes and it's a rare set that lasts for more than a few months on the display shelf before being canibalized for parts and sorted into my collection. A few times I've come across old sets with their original boxes at resale, garage sales, etc. These I will build and sometimes sell to members of my train club. I realize the relative rarity of these sets-with-boxes and as well as the cash infusion, it's nice to know they're going to a home where they will be appreciated.

Great Job! I'm a big fan of the sound and look of Ric Basses, though the neck profile does not agree with my fretting hand. You really nailed it with your MOC and captured the beautiful "cresting wave" body shape! I'm glad you spread the frets out a bit rather than keeping it exactly to bass guitar widths, as it really gives the necessary space for the sharktooth neck inlays (one of the most iconic elements)to be shown off. I look forward to seeing it -and wearing it maybe...- in person.

I agree with your sentiment regarding value and a premium product. However, I think LEGO premium product practices have been in place for well over twice as long as Apple Inc. has been in existance! LEGO est. 1932 Apple est. 1976

Thanks, I think... Bah, LEGO's are made for destroying and rebuilding into something else. When my son is old enough, I will talk with him about which sets he really, really wants to keep together, and probably only have him tear apart a few at a time. Either way I veiw tearing apart sets as a learning experience. If they get destroyed and they have fun building something new, then that's a good thing. If they get destroyed and he regrets letting them be torn apart and he learns for next time. That said, there will be no lending of LEGO to his friends, it's just too hard to make sure that it comes back into the house and if the option is there, there are too many kids who would likely take advantage of it. If you're still having qualms about the sets, perhaps suggesting that they use thier play brick to add-to the existing sets rather than just tearing them apart right away. As a kid, most of my sets got added to and "improved" for a while before they were finally torn apart.

I was hoping this thread wouldn't go there, but since it has, I would just remind folks that adjusted for inflation, LEGO is as cheap or cheaper than it has been for most of TLG history.

Sorry about the bad link. Aparently they make their articles unlinkable Just plug " Rebuilding LEGO Brick By Brick " Into google. It will be the first article that shows up and you won't have to register. ACWWgal2011, You completely missed the point. The title of this thread is not an invitation to rant, it's the title of the article that uses the question as a jumping off point for discussing LEGO and it's relationship with it's customers.

While I've got your attention, I may have posted this before, but if you enjoyed the Financial perspective on LEGO pricing, here's a Supply Chain Managment perspective from a few years back on how LEGO survived near-bankruptcy. http://www.strategy-business.com/article/07306?pg=all I geek out on this kind of LEGO company info. Edit: The link above isn't working for everyone. Just put: Rebuilding LEGO Brick by Brick into google. It will be the first article that pops up and you won't have to register.

I'll lend LEGO within reason. I run a LEGO club for inner-city third graders for which I raise funds. One year we had a large funding gap, and I agreed to lend about 1/3 of my collection (probably 30,000 to 40,000 bricks sorted by type and color) to a donor's child for a school project in exchange for covering our funding gap. It was an excellent arrangement. The young man was carefull with the brick, returned it in good condition and gave a very nice presentation to my students. I've also lent out baseplates and bricks to members of my the AFOL LUG that I am a part of. Lastly, I've put out a tarp on the street with a tub of mixed LEGO on it during a block party. I'm sure a few LEGOs walked away, but that's just the way it is. My LEGO don't leave the house much besides that, but I have no problem with guests of any ages using my LEGO. It helps that I'm not a set collector. Particularly valuable pieces or favorite sets get put up on shelves and everything else is fair game. Life's too short to worry about lost pieces.

A pretty good read from a financial perspective. http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/08/24/why-are-legos-so-expensive/ Makes some good points about the longevity and brand image that LEGO has cultivated as well as the company culture.

Great job! Really reminds me of the classic LEGO layouts in LEGO pamphlets that incorporated modeled scenery with brick-built elements.

Interesting responses all around. As someone who returned to LEGO as the change was happening, I was caught by surprise, but it never bothered me much nor did it figure into my buying habits. Buying of new LEGO combined with LEGO from my youth and the masses of used LEGO I've purhcased has meant that I have a large stock of each color. As I don't build many huge MOC's I simply use whichever color seems right for a given project. I do keep them separate though as -except for certain effects created by builders more talented than myself- I don't like the look of them side by side. Lastly, my one strong prefference of all 6 colors is old dark grey. It's such a nice earthy color. I don't seek it out specifically, but it's always a nice surprise when a bag of used brick contains some.

Bearded Castle Guy, One more option you may not have considered is cheap microwave food containers. Pros 1)The longer versions are great for stacking on shelves. and are not as shallow as Akro style units. 2) Easy to remove and build from and then replace. 3) Really cheap 4) Easy to tell what's in them. Cons 1)Styles change over time, so it's best to buy a whole bunch at once. 2)Not as deep as the chest of drawers style organizers seen above 3)Don't look quite as need as drawers. I have about 144 of this kind that I bought at a dollar store a while back. They are on a shelving system and work quite well. My bulk basic brick and plate is mostly in LEGO tubs and suitcases, and special pieces are in akro style organizers at my desk, but most everything else is in these containers. My experience is that it's best not to tie yourself to one style of organizer. Rather, different types and quantities of pieces will require different organization solutions.

As we all know, in 2003, LEGO introduced it's new versions of grey, light grey and brown. LEGO had added new colors in the past and would continue to do so in the future, but these were different because they replaced the existing colors rather than simply supplementing the LEGO plalete. Much rhetorical blood was spilt, some folks left the hobby, and it was a major topic of discussion for some years. now that 8 years have passed the "new" colors are the standard, and I'm curious... What place do the old colors have in your collection and MOCing? Please note: I realize that this may still be a bit of a sore spot for some folks, but please keep the "color rants" down to a minimum. This topic is about current use, and there are plenty of other places where you can read about color-change-rage.

A great review of my first -and still favorite- "pirate" ship. I rebuilt mine a few years back and it really is a very nice build experience. If only my sails were in as good a condition as yours. As you note, it doesn't have a true cabin. However, I vaguely recall (I was young then) that enclosing the cabin and the bow were done soon after it was first built.

I posted a couple times responding on the site with the article. What we have here is the "rock and hard place" that many parents find themselves in. Their kid wants LEGO, and inside themselves they know the value of LEGO as a quality toy. But their 6 year old really wants SW Lego. And most parents who have already consented to LEGO are not going to say "no, you can't have star wars LEGO, it's a couple years beyond you". Say what you will about most parents, but it's true. So now we have a toy that will require more than the expected amount of parental assistance and rebuilding. Paired with the feeling that they're buying a toy and not a construction set, we are left with a very frustrated parent who just happens to have a larger venue in which to vent her frustration. Not saying that any of this validates the sillyness of buying LEGO well above recommended ages, gluing it, or the inability to grasp that LEGO is a fairly expensive construction toy but not an overpriced action figure set. However, it shouldn't be that hard to see where the author is coming from. What is most interesting is that The author and many of the commentors on the website don't seem to have any problem continuing to buy LEGO for their children. So, even if they have complaints and dabble a bit of glue here and there, they still seem to see the value in purchasing LEGO for their ghildren.

Thanks for the front page mention! Here's the band's namesake Studs Terkel

Thanks Syn, I totally share your pain. I play in bands (bassist) and the limitations to making a drum set without taking up too much space really annoyed me. I've seen some MOCs of complete kits, and they all seem to dwarf the drummer. I really wanted a small jazz trap, but I couldn't find a good way to get even a rack tom in, much less a floor tom. It was another annoyance that I couldn't figure a good way to make tripod stands. If you figure a way to solve any of these issues , by all means please post it and let me know. My MOC's are by no means unmodifiable and EB is a great way to find ways to improve them. The only saving grace is that I've played several low key acoustic gigs with a drummer playing just such a kit and it didn't sound bad.

Wow, that's a really well thought-out explaination, but not the right one. Hint: Stud Circle does refer to the fact that a stud is a circle, but the double meaning honors someone related to the band's mission.

Thanks for the kind words folks. Glad you enjoyed it. Being that my town is based around 16x16 modular buildings, I rarely get a chance to build on angles. This gave me more headaches than usual, but I think the results were worth it. Bonus points to anyone who can explain the name of the musical group...

I don't have the largest street by any means, but I might have the street with the most interchangeable modular floors. Nearly every building is made of separate 16x16 and 8x16 modular sections, so that almost every building/base/roof is interchangeable with every other! Here's the last time it was photographed as a whole back in 2008. It's grown a bit since then. http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=21438 You can see more of the various buildings at the link in my sig.

How has only one person mentioned the near-bankrupcy of the early 00's and reorganization of 2004?!! Every LEGO fan who is interested in TLG's workings owes it to themselves to read about it. http://www.strategy-business.com/article/07306?pg=all It can't be tied to one specific change, but it has established much of what we've come to love (or not love) about LEGO in recent years. 1) Less Juniorization and un-LEGO-ish parts. 2) A focus on the LEGO system and more traditional LEGO sets. 3) Returning to a more standardized (at least within non-licensed) color and brick palete resulting in fewer elements produced. 4) Closer relatinships with larger retailers resulting in more "special edition" sets that you can only get at one place. 5) Closer monitoring of product development largely responsible for the new crop of bricks that aren't over-specialized and encouraging designers to use old bricks in new ways (this might have some connection with SNOT showing up in recent sets). 6) Profitability. The many specialized, Direct Order and AFOL targeted sets would never have been possible if LEGO had not been able to return to profitability or had been able to merely limp along just breaking even.