Hey Joe

South Station, North? Are we in the Twilight Zone? You've done a beautiful job, thanks for sharing. Joe

The instruction booklet is available for download from Lego here. It's nice that they make these available in English now as I believe that they didn't used to be? Wikipedia has a page about the hotel here. Wikipedia's entry for the museum where the surviving parts of the hotel are located is here. Joe

Can we use parts that aren't Lego, i.e.; Enlighten? Joe

One of the best MOC modulars I've seen. Excellent design and I love the colors. Joe

Really great review! I appreciate all your hard work, thanks. Joe

Inspired by Locomotive Annie's recent 'Steam Electric Locomotive' topic and Electrosteam's 'Bag of Ideas' topic, I threw together this little MOD. Car #168 is the end result of a secret program started by the CIA in 1964. The previous 167 cars all met a grisly demise on the test track, incurring the loss of numerous personnel. The work was so hazardous that hardened criminals who were offered reduced sentences were about the only people willing to work on it. Haircut (pictured here with his guard) was one of the few to survive. The engine was designed to air-lift itself behind enemy lines where it could wreck havoc in it's own unique way. Most of the interior of the car contained various weapons including large calibre machine guns and missle launchers under the retractable roof. There was also room to store the rotors when not in use as, obviously, they would cause a bit of a problem with bridge and tunnel clearances. This prototype - the first to successfully complete trials - was launched from an aircraft carrier when it suddenly developed engine problems and presently it rests at the bottom of the Gulf of Tonkin. The crew was able to paracute to safety however the general in charge of the program was secretly shot for embezzling funds and for being so daft as to think this was a viable project in the first place! Due to lack of funds the program was discontinued soon afterwards. Oh, what's this? The Atlantis team has stumbled upon the wreck! What are they doing in S.E. Asia? Aren't they supposed to be in the Atlantic or Mediterranean somewhere and what are the Fish-men doing at the wreck? There are rumors of rolling stock that were being developed as well but no photographs have ever surfaced. There are several researchers digging through the files, who knows what they might find...? Ok, hope you got a laugh out of it. I don't have much in the way of space, time or bricks...did the best I could. The 'Atlantis' shot probably would've been more successful from a higher angle, live and learn. Joe

Thanks for the excellent review. I grew up within walking distance of a Wright home so I've always been interested in his work. Those pamphlets describing the buildings in the Architecture series are quite nice, is this one available to be downloaded in English @ Lego.com? They didn't used to be but that may have changed? Joe

Thanks for the excellent review. Those Fabuland sets are so wacky you gotta love 'em, don't you? The hand-drawn graphics are excellent, wish Lego would do more of that these days. Joe

Whilst reading this I had an engine and a helicopter sitting next to me on the desk so I thought, why not throw the two together? My three year-old was otherwise occupied so I had all of five minutes respite to throw this together and get it photographed: The backstory is everything, right? Car #168 is the end result of a secret program started by the CIA in 1964. The previous 167 cars all met a grisly demise on the test track, incurring the loss of numerous personnel. The engine was designed to air-lift itself behind enemy lines where it could wreck havoc in it's own unique way. Most of the interior of the car contained various weapons including large calibre machine guns and missle launchers under the retractable roof. There was also room to store the rotors when not in use as, obviously, they would cause a bit of a problem with bridge and tunnel clearances. This prototype was launched from an aircraft carrier when it suddenly developed engine problems and presently it rests at the bottom of the Gulf of Tonkin. Due to budget cutbacks the program was discontinued. The crew was able to paracute to safety however the general in charge of the program was secretly shot for embezzling funds, getting three secretaries pregnant and for being so daft as to think this was a viable project in the first place! Ok, hope you got a laugh out of it. Joe

Looks really great, thanks for sharing! Joe

Re: fresh ideas, that reminds me of a book I read about 'Saturday Night Live' years ago. NBC was always very careful that the writers not see fan-based script ideas so as to avoid charges of plagarism. I'm sure Lego is smart enough to have such an arrangement themselves. Joe

Really very nice, thanks for sharing! Joe

So what are you smoking down there in Kiwiland...and can I get some of it? Seriously though, it looks great. I love the engine in the B & W graphic, would look cool in Lego but might be tough to pull off. Cheers, Joe

Really cool, thanks for sharing! Joe

It's a curious situation, isn't it? Ten years ago they were hurt, losing money but now they're riding high. Surely it's something that's being studied in business schools around the world. I've read a few articles about the steps taken to turn themselves around. The company was pretty inefficent and had some other problems which apparently have been solved. My question is; why does Lego release this finacial information? It's a privately-held company, right? They don't have to release it. I haven't read anything recently (if ever) on their pricing strategy and they probably keep those cards pretty close to their chest in any event. Guessing I'd have to say that they're probably just trying to charge what the market will bear and build their coffers back up to protect themselves against future downturns? The toy business is amazingly fickle I think. Let's not forget that they lost a big chunk of money on that Lego Universe game and that was just a few years back. I wish the prices were lower, it would spur me to buy more. As it is I just get the must-have sets and rue the day my son starts to ask for certain items specifically. What can you do? Budgeting one's self is the only option, All of the toys in the stores seem expensive to me. It's fun to play around with Lego and I'm hoping that my son will enjoy playing with the sets when he gets older (he likes his Duplo so; so far so good on that account) but toys are VERY much a non-necessary item. Perhaps the key is get away from any collector's mentality about Lego (I GOTTA HAVE ALL THOSE SETS!!!) and just get what we need? Anyway, it's interesting. Have fun, Joe

I've not seen any Friends knock-offs here in Beijing (yet) but I haven't been to the local shop(s) in over a month. Hope that helps, Joe

Hi Amy; congrats on the job and thanks for giving us the heads up here on Eurobricks. Personally, I've been living in Beijing for awhile but am originally from St. Louis and will be relocating back there soon. It's exciting to know that there will be a Lego store there! Keep the PAB stocked with choice stuff, will ya? Thanks, Joe

Yes, I can see them now. Well done, that's a very faithful representation of the original! Cheers, Joe

Yes of course but what about health care? Joe

That gallery link isn't working for me but the little photo looks great! Joe

Sounds great, thanks for the heads up. Winter Village is definitely one of my favorite themes, great all-around family fare. Hope it continues indefinitely. Joe

If memory serves they have done some work on it there at the museum. The first time I saw it - which was longer ago than I'd care to admit - it was really in bad shape. They have a great collection there, it would be awesome to have them in Lego. EDIT; Oh, duh, someone DID make it in actual bricks. I totally glossed over that Brickshelf link to see your beautiful creation. Anyway, excellent LDD job and thanks for sharing the file. It looks like a fun one to actually make. Cheers, Joe

Hey, very cool Murdoch17. I remember that engine in RI livery rusting away at the museum in Saint Louis from my youth. I believe it's been restored now? You've translated it into Lego very well and it's reassuring to know that no bricks have been harmed. If anyone gets it going in real life, I'd love to see it. Cheers, Joe

You meant to say 5% I think? If 20% is correct then I don't understand and request clarification. Thanks, Joe

Google Docs doesn't work here either. I really should spring for a VPN but it's normally not a problem. I'll poke around for another solution. If nothing else I can always upload it to Google Docs next time I visit the US. If you (or anyone else) would like to post some more comics I'd be happy to PDF them as well. Thanks again, Joe