Eilif

I really like this. You're combination of a striking natural landscape and charming european architecture is unique and inspiring. The SNOT detailing and park bits are icing on the cake. Very well done! I've never been to europe, but this brings me back to my childhood and a visit to my favorite US park, Arches National Park in Utah.

Great topic Hinkley! I'm always interested to hear folks' motivations in this hobby. I build in town for a few reasons. 1-Wonder. I like to try and recreate -in myself and others- the feeling of wonder that I got when I built as a child and when I saw LEGO displays. 2-Fantasy. My town is a seaside village, and in a world that is so chaotic and violent, it's nice to be able to build something peacefull and idealistic. I try to build my town to inspire myself and others with the feeling of "I'd like to visit there". 3-Architecture and challenge. I'm not overly knowledgeable about architecture, but I like the challenge of fitting architectural details and concepts into the 16x16 base standard that I use for all my buildings. 4- Sharing. I really enjoy sharing my town with others through NILTC. I could build and display other themes, but Town seems to connect with people of all ages/genders/backgrounds.

Hey folks, A friend of mine in NILTC just let me know about this. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stor...7A?OpenDocument Apparently LEGOLAND is looking at a site in Southern Illinois, possibly near St. Louis. As with most large scale development deals, this one seems to hinge on the acquisition of tax breaks, and in this case a pending bill in the Illinois State Legislature could make or break it. More links on the same story. http://www.topix.net/wire/city/glen-carbon-il?q=legoland http://www.coasterdom.com/2009/10/23/legol...ng-to-illinois/ http://www.examiner.com/x-3599-St-Louis-Mo...-Glen-Carbon-IL LEGO seems to really be in Love with Illinois. We've already got a Discovery Center and 4 stores (5 if you count the Discovery Center shop) in the Chicago area, and now a possible LEGOLAND in the other end of the State. Wow!

As well as the 4 LEGO Brand stores, if you can get out to the suburbs... America's best has a large selection, and often times has good deals on older sets. http://www.americasbesttrainshoppe.com/ Cut rate toys often has good deals on sets, though beware, they often mark up, and then mark down sets, so the deal might not be as good as you think. http://www.yelp.com/biz/cut-rate-toys-chicago Also, if you are going to be in town on the 7th or 8th you could see a show in Addison, IL by the Northern Illinois LEGO Train Club. www.niltc.org They do 7-9 shows a year in the Chicagoland area, and often their shows are accessible via the "METRA" commuter rail system. PM me if you want more information. Enjoy America!

Nice Article Brickster! This was my favorite LEGO structure set prior to the introduction of the CC series of buildings. Though not a great deal as far as price-per piece ($.105/piece vs $.064/piece for Green Grocer), at the time it was still the best "parts pack" set for acquiring pieces to build urban buildings. My one regret was not buying two. I'm afraid however that I agree with Mancoco that we are unlikey to see Modular train structures in line with the complexity of Train Shed and Emerald night. Emerald knight is just so large that it's hard to design sets that will match that scale and still be viable for sale. However, I do hold out hope for a City train station more in line with the Classic LEGO train stations rather than the modern/futuristic deisgns they've come out with more recently. If I may suggest improvements for Train Tech articles regarding structures... In order to increase the usefullness to train fans it would be good to include exact train clearances for width, and height of structures so that train fans can judge if the structure will fit their trains and allow them to see what might need to be modified.

This is possible. IIRC, in "LEGO Factory" Tan is called "Dark Yellow". Still, if they use regular LEGO, I'm sure it will be tastefully done.

Thanks for the update. Few things I like as much as a new Modular house, and a corner no less! Really, I thought you've been waiting all year for a new CC building?

It always makes me happy when this thread comes up again! Carbohydrates, Great job with the packing! Jim, Glad to hear that you're developing the packing instinct/obsession. All the best with you future packing adventures!

No, Shifty is a Clone of LEGO. It's also one of the few actually illegal clones in that it copies LEGO set designs and some of LEGO's more recently trademarked pieces. It is however a neat way to get cutlasses and pistols in chrome and brown bandanas.... I've made my feelings about this clear before, so I won't rehash my opinions about these sets here, but I'd be happy to give you some facts. They aren't illegal (that's been decided in court), they are compatible, and they aren't direct copies of LEGO. You're best bet would be to do a search on EB for "Clones" and see what pops up. In the mean time here's what I told the last person to raise this issue.... Ah, young padawan, it's time you were introduced to the ugly truth about LEGO. It's a clone brand of Kiddiecraft bricks! Here's a page that will be of some interest to you. http://www.hilarypagetoys.com/ Read deep, there's some interesting info in there. Kiddiecraft came first, and LEGO made nearly identical bricks (with no compensation to kiddiecraft) until they finally bought the rights to the Kiddiecraft patents a few decades later for a pittance. Also, several subsequent lawsuits have resulted in the courts deciding that LEGO does not have exlusive rights to LEGO compatible brick based construction sets . That's why on the legitimate market you see tons of brick based sets, but no identical set copies. On the pirated market, however, you will see alot of sets that are direct clones of LEGO sets, right down to the instructions and box art. These are usually produced by the Brick/Enlighten/Shifty group, built in countries with no effective trademark or intellectual property laws, and are sold in private and second line retailers who aren't under the same scrutiny as the big names. Governments just doesn't have the resources to regulate all the toys that come into the country. However, when shipments are discovered, they are destroyed, as happened to a shipment intercepted some years back in finland http://www.lego.com/eng/info/default.asp?p...ountrycode=2057. Most of us who know the history still prefer LEGO because of the better quality sets, bricks, and service. However, there are alot of us who dabble in the dark side... Hope this clears it up for you.

At the in-store event at brickworld, I bought more Motorcycle Chase sets than I should have. At half off, can you blame me.... Anywho, I was left with alot of motorbikes, all of which were the same color. I tried mixing it up with riders wearing different color Brickforge Space Marine Armor as dirtbike gear. They look pretty good but it's obvious that they are all riding the exact same bike. Intending to try and brick build a new body for the bikes (this never did come to fruition) I removed the grey body piece and while looking at it, realized it could be painted. I used "Krylon Fusion" spraypaint in a buttercream color that I had lying around from an earlier project. Krylon Fusion is a spraypaint made specifically to bond to plastic. You can see all the colors here http://www.krylon.com/products/fusion_for_plastic/. The results are below with an unpainted LEGO piece next to each. Pros: -It seems to have bonded very well. Dropping it on the floor and scratching it with a fingernail does not flake off the paint. -Though opaque, the paint is quite thin. A minifig sat on the bike with no problems. -The color is glossy, and looks like it was molded that color. Looks very "LEGO" -Very easy to do. Lightly dusting the piece from every angle and setting to dry resulted in a finish that did not require a second coat. -If applied correctly, there appears to be no dripping, or marring of surface detail -Krylon Fusion in Gloss looks shiny like LEGO, but Satin colors would provide a base for hand-painting details. Cons: -Other brands of spraypaint are likely to bond irregularly and regular spraypaint is notorious for not adhering well to shiny and soft plastics. -Krylon Fusion is not cheap. At 5 bucks or more a can, it's not terribly expensive, but may be a bit over the top for one bike. -You are not likely to get an exact LEGO color match with any brand of spraypaint. The Buttercream color I used is certainly not a regular LEGO color.

I have a general idea of what I want to make, but I let the process proceed organically and the end result is usually much different than my first mental picture. Sometimes I will use photographs, but my MOCs usually come from an idea rather than trying to create a scale model. I use pictures of other MOCs for detailing inspiration more than pictures of real things. Rather than making specific bricklink purchases, I try to acquire alot of LEGO used (see the link in my sig) and new and create a collection that lets me build with what I have. Specific bricklink purchases can be great for getting that piece you are missing, but I usually change direction several times during building a MOC. Creator is a good place to start, but you may be better off buying loose lots on Ebay. If you don't want to take apart some sets, it will take a rather large investment in pieces to be able to MOC at will. Completely Hands on. Sit down and build. The tactile experience of building with LEGO is a large part of what I enjoy about the LEGO hobby. In the end, it comes down to whether you're more of a planner or more of a spontaneous builder. If you like to plan, then LDD/PAB-Online or LCAD/Bricklink are your friends, and you should be able to efficiently plan, purchase and build your MOCs. Buying per build is more expensive per piece than buying in bulk, but you won't end up with a bunch of pieces that you don't need, and if -as it seems- you like to keep you models together, this may be the best option. If your more of a spontaneous builder that eschews planning, then there's no point in buying specific parts for a project that may change direction mid stream. Buy in bulk, sort your pieces for easy access and build away. Oh yeah, Welcome back to MOC'ing, and have fun whatever path you choose.

+1, I vote Market Street! Erik Brok (RIP) was the man! This was my thought as well. It wasn't completely designed by TLG, but they did the final tweaking, LEGO released it as a modular building and used it to demonstrate the Modular standards for building size, connections and sidewalk width on their website. Obviously TLG thought it was a Modular building. I would vote for it being my favorite building. Purely based on the asthetics of the facade and the color scheme, I might vote for Green Grocer. Overall though, for modularity, innovation, and creativity, as well as a charming design and the use of the "walk-up" (rather than having the entrance at ground level) I would VOTE for Market Street. Additionally as anyone who has seem "Brickington" (see my sig) will attest, I personally love the way it took the concept of Modularity and applied to the interchangeability of foundations, floors and roofs to create buildings that can interchange parts rather than buildings that simply have the same style, street/sidwalk setback, and happen to fit on a baseplate.

Addititional Benefits of making joining a LEGO Train Club (LTC) a priority. 1) More experienced members can help you avoid common pitfalls in collecting, MOCing building and layout construction. 2) Cooperative layouts will often give you the impetus to build structures or vehicles that you wouldn't otherwise build. 3) Seeing other's creations in person is even more inspiring and educational than seeing them online. 4) LTC public displays are a great way to take your hobby out of your room and introduce it to the world.

Thanks for this very informative article. The issue of powered Loco's is an interesting one. For those of us sticking with 9V motors, Big Ben seems to be an ideal choice. However, I think it would be in BBB's best interest to create a wheel capable of accepting an O-ring. As more hobbyists begin to explore capability of powered locos via the PF system, they will likely be drawn to the gripping power of the o-ring compatible wheels.

This is pretty much what I think, and that last statement is key. "...as long as they need to." Not all themes have the capacity to last more than a couple years. Some just don't have the universal, long-lasting appeal of the "evergreen" themes. Does that mean we shouldn't have them? Of course not! LEGO should continue to innovate and explore new areas of the LEGO System universe that aren't covered by town, castle and space. I like being able to get interesting figs, parts, and parts in more colors. Short lived themes seem to be the most common way that LEGO introduces these things. Admittedly some themes are less interesting to me than others, but I know they attract kids, and help LEGO make profits, and if I don't like a theme, I can always wait for the next one. Of course for those, like myself, who are budget minded short lived themes seem to be the most likley to end up on sale shelves, and nothing makes a "meh" theme attractive like 25-50% off! I voted either. They both have their place!

I'll probably just dress up as a cowboy for when the kids come around trick-or-treating. It's kind of become my fall back outfit for Halloween. I haven't really dressed up as anything notable since a few years back when my wife and I went to a Quentin Tarantino themed party as Go-Go and Johnny Mo from Kill Bill. I built her a bladed ball-chain!

Wow, I wish we'd read books like that in High School! Yes, Arturo was definitely a prick!

Great Job, Your creation is defintely one that rewards a closer look. I see new things every time. Nice job mixing european and asian elements. The banners and banner stand is nice and creepy. The display stand with gears is a very nice touch to remind the viewer of what kind of universe they are looking into. Additionally, I would not thought of putting the dwarf beard on the pirate captian, I will definitely be stealing that one. One question, I assume the ninja is on the "shore" side, why is he further out in the water than the invaders?

It's great to have you here at EB! A few questions... -I'm not sure how much crossover you have with concept and marketing, but being that you are working on both Ben 10 and Bionicle, is Ben 10 intended for the same demographic as Bionicle? -Is Ben 10 intended to appeal to Bionicle users and/or is it intended to draw new buyers to LEGO? -Why a Bionicle like product rather than a System based product for Ben 10?

The Very Best Of The Doors Ok, I know it's a "best of", but it's a truely great collection of songs.

I just finished Geek Love. A disturbing ficitonal tale of a Carnival family (Geek was originally a term for someone who bites the heads off of chickens) and thier messed up lives and deaths. Imagine Flannery O'Connor with an even darker worldview writing about circus freaks and you have some idea of what this book has in store for you. Hightly Recommended!

Here's a little something I put together for the train contest. It's the center third of a 96 stud long train station. The neignboring sections were similar with a freight entrance on one end and cafe on the other. Unfortunately thse two were completely demolished in transit to the last NILTC meeting. At that point I scrapped the project, but kept this section together. Attendees to Brickworld 09 will recognize alot of pieces from the event pick-a-brick selection (black cheese, blue 1x1 round plate, 2x2 inverse round tile, black headlight brick, Black macaroni, blue 1x2 tile, etc, etc). It started as a sort of exercise to see what could be done with just black and blue as the "Train Station" project I had a poll for earlier this year. By itself it's not that impressive, but it was enjoyable building something other than 16x16 modular sections, and I liked the results enough to post them here. Enjoy. Pretty obvious that I didn't fully connect the 16 stud sections, eh... closeup of the arch. From the rear. I had planned more extensive interior detailing, but it's not bad as is. Not a great pic, but I did want to show the tile pattern on the balcony

Great Lighthouse! I have a soft spot in my heart for lighthouses, and I'm surprised they aren't MOC'd more often. I particularly liked the base you came up with, as it gives a diorama look to the structure. One suggestion I would make would be to possibly add some visual interest to the body of the structure by adding an observation deck, or some large observation windows about halfway up.

Wait, there's a difference between Bionicle and Galidor? I kid, I kid. Good point though,, Ben10 is different enough that alot of Bionicle fans will probably not like it. Despite my fairly negative reaction, and the failure of Galidior, it's not hard to see why LEGO is trying this line. Bionicle has been so successfull, that it makes sense that LEGO would try and create a simillar line of buildable action figures based around the technic pin and socket joints, albeit with different "body" parts. Eventually Bionicle may die off, and it is in LEGO's best interest to see if there is room in customer's hearts for other variants on the buildable action figure concept.

I'm going to take an opposite tack here. I'd love to see more Indy sets, and there are a wealth of great subjects for LEGO sets yet unmade, but I don't see how they could do it profitably beyond 2010. Licensed themes need a media presence and a huge fan-base. Though "classic trilogy" sets were released, The Indy line basically relied on the movie to get in kids minds. The movie has been gone from the theaters for well over a year, other Indy toy lines are going away, and asside from video games there's little to keep it in the public's conciousness. We've seen 3-4 waves of sets, and we may see another, but I wouldn't hold out for anything beyond 2010. I hope LEGO proves me wrong, but I just don't thing INDY has the fanbase or media presence to survive beyond that. Come on TLG, prove me wrong. Please....