rriggs

My wife.....

It depends wherabouts in London you are talking. Outside Central London (eg Brent Cross) there's a few TRUs, town centre toy shops and all the usual big department stores. You will also find some Lego in the larger supermarkets (eg "Tesco Extra") and in the Argos catalogue department stores. There is a Lego shop in the Bluewater Shopping Centre which is about an hour from Central London. In Central London you don't have a lot of choice. Hamleys have a very good range and stock most of the current sets available however, they also charge between 10-20% above RRP on most sets. There is an Argos on New Oxford Street and most of the big department stores on Oxford Street itself. They don't tend to have a huge selection though. Hope this helps! Cheers Rog

I put down a deposit on a new (used) car at the weekend: Pick it up next Saturday and I can't wait! Soooo many gadgets and such a cool looking car! I'll post some more picks when I've got it. Cheers Rog

LEGO have started reshowing the old commercial in the run up to Xmas (in the UK at least). Camera quality is kinds grainy compared to modern TV pictures but it's great to see a blast from the past like this! Cheers Rog

I use Excel. I have a spreadsheet that lists all the sets, the number os pieces, number of minifigs, etc. It also has the price info (RRP, eBay avg, Bricklink). For the older sets it also catalogues missing pieces and substitutions I have had to make. Cheers Rog

My wife has told me to expect a big pile of Lego this year but won't tell me what! I know she has got me the Fire Station (I saw it delivered) and she has already given me the Advent Calendar but I don't know what else. She's keeping whatever she has got me at her parent's house to stop me snooping Still, less than two weeks to wait........ Cheers Rog

Does feel nice and I forgot the most important thing - The lighting is soooo much better. I had a room already in my house but it was the smallest bedroom and was only 9x7. The room I am using now is 14x12 plus gets the sun all day and has lighting directly over my LEGO table. Cheers Rog

I think you'll find that the quality will be lacking and that the pieces won't fit together quite so crisply. I have no hangups with clones and have received some as presents in the past - Although they have all either been sold or re-gifted since apart from a rather nifty brick separator that came with one of the bigger Megabloks sets.... What I do find is that the pieces never quite go together as well as Lego pieces. The cheaper the brand the worse this seems to be. I guess it's down to the quality of the moulds and the hardness of the plastic. Megabloks don't seem as bad as some others but still not as good as Lego. At the end of the day, a little competition and variety is a good thing and I think that Lego is big enough and strng enough a brand to cope with all comers. Even taking into account the little omissions in quality in recent times (which are well documented in these forums) Lego is still the superior product in my opinion and will continue to be where my hard earned cash goes! As for that White House design, it is pretty poor! Apart from the pillars and the roof it lacks any of the White House's features. It is too square and too bland! Not a great effort. Cheers Rog

At long last I have finally got my own way and last weekend we swapped the spare bedroom with my office/LEGO room meaning a huge increase in floor and table space for me and my important projects (although my wife calls them something else....). The move was more of a nightmare than expected as none of the tables or beds would fit out the doors with disassembly. Unwiring and rewiring the PCs and TVs was a real pain too! Anyway, got pretty much everything in place now and took a few pics to share. This is my new build area where there is the beginnings of a LEGO town: Next to the build area is a filing cabinet containing bagged-up large sets and the top of which makes a handy display area: Further round is the small bookcase containing boxed up smaller sets (I keep all my LEGO as sets not parts): And lastly, there is my computer desk which hasn't got much LEGO on it but there is a couple of sets on the shelf above: Still a few bits I want to do but I am very much enjoying my new room! Cheers Rog

It's been a while, but in 1979 there was this: Legoland Bus Station It was my first ever Lego set and I still have it! A great little set... and of course I have the City Corner bus too! Cheers Rog

It's nice of them to make the new trams more square so that will be easier to replicate them in Lego...... Cheers Rog

She's a babe. I think I'll get this set just so I can have a hottie in my town! Looks like room to make the table bigger - or does the seat then get in the way of the TV? Is there enough headroom to raise the floor up and make it all level? Could do a much better layout then... Could be the travel or the weather... Another great review! Cheers Rog

Nice review. Thanks for that. I like this set in it's own right but will not buy it because it is too similar to the car that comes with the Cargo Train which i already have. Why did they make both these cars red convertibles...? Cheers Rog

I agree that doors would be nice but only if the overall lines of the train aren't spoiled. I really like the use of the new 6-wide windscreen on a train it looks really smart. The overall proportions are very nice. I am planning a small EMU-type train like this for my current layout - which is very small and requires a short passenger train!! The driver's face does not inspire confidence for the passengers though....... Cheers Rog

Nice little mods and good use of the 90 degree plate for mounting. FYI - I live in the UK and I almost always put ketchup on my chicken.... Cheers Rog

Thanks guys!

I'm afraid that I have to agree that it sits too low. Looks like the suspension has collapsed and it's not going to get over any speed humps which would limit it's use somewhat! In fact, the dustcarts (garbage trucks) in the Uk tend to sit higher on their suspension than regular trucks as they need to be able to access and manouever in landfill sites and the like. The cabs tend to be low like service trucks at airports but the ground clearance is relatively high. I think that the one-colour scheme works well - again, the dustcarts in the Uk are predominantly plain yellow or plain white. That said, they have just started painting trees and hills on the side of my local ones... Nice MOC. Cheers Rog

It's my birthday in a couple of weeks and the Wifey Bat and I were talking about what I would like. I told her about of couple of ideal (and therefore expensive!) sets but said that any Lego for my birthday would be great and that I would leave it to her to decide. Anyway, she told me yesterday what she has ordered for me - 6742 Lego City Garage AND 6753 Highway Transport. Needless to say I am now a very happy chappy! Of course, it does make it tricky come Xmas when I have to get her something as that it quite something to follow up! Cheers Rog

He did say in the title - This is an OVERground train. The tube is the UNDERground.... New transport branding in London means that convential railway is now called Overground. The tube (or Subway) is the Underground. This is the kind of train he was aiming for with this model: I think that it looks great. Like all the techniques used and gives a very modern and smooth look. One question: How strudy is the front light arrangement? Looks a bit fragile...? Cheers Rog

Great model very nicely done! Very realistic and instantly recognisable. I really like your white container too. Brings back some fond memories of France for me too! Cheers Rog

Hold on... If I tell you when I'm on holiday, you'll all be round my house to break in and steal my Lego!! Sod it. It's covered by my house insurance! I'm going to North Wales the last two weeks of September. Will be taking my laptop but am doubtful there will be any 3G signal up there! Won't be taking any Lego with me but the first day of my holiday is also my biorthday so I'm sure I'll be treating myself while I am away! Cheers Rog

Nice MOC - I like real building like this where new bits fit in with older sytle features. This is really well done. Only (small) criticism is that you could do with larger smoked glass panels to give a cleaner look. More importantly, however, why is the little girl with the red hair so angry? Cheers Rog

...and a trailer!

Looks like an IS-F to me...

My sets are all sorted into indivdual plastic boxes set by set when they are broken down. This means I can easily recreate any set at any time. When I build a MOC I put a slip in the container listing the parts I have used in the MOC so they can be returned whence they came when the MOC is broken down. As most of my MOCs are variations on Lego's own designs this works well for me. When I get a new set, however, the first thing I do is open all the bags and mix the pieces up. Feels more like building a set from the good old days. They make it too easy sometimes!! Cheers Rog