Hobbes

After establishing EB's favorite Police Station with kind of a surprise winner in the end it's time we come to the next very important institution in a LEGO city/town: the Fire Station. As with police stations we've had quite a share of fire stations over the years. Which one is your favorite? Vote here and share your thoughts about the set(s) :-) Here are the candidates (Click thumbs for bigger pictures) 1. 590 Engine Co. No. 9 1977 was the year the new minifig was introduced. Unlike with the police stations LEGO gave us a classic American fire station with the brand new minifigs we grew to love until today (note the rare US flag). This set's hard to find searching for fire stations because it doesn't has "Fire" or "Station" in its name. LEGO would change that later on for most of its fire fighter sets. 2. 374 Fire Station One year later a revamped version of 590 in yellow came out. I don't have either set but I guess it was kind of a European version since it includes a Legoland flag. The only fire station of the minifig era that wasn't red. You see this style of station in many MOCs today (i.e. main building on the side and/or first level), rather than the style in following years with the main building in the middle. 3. 6382 Fire Station In 1981 we got one of the most famous fire stations of the minifig area with its classic station look of the 80s. Its charme made it one of the most sought after stations on the second hand market. 4. 6385 Fire House-I Four years later this modernized version arrived, minus one minifig, though. This is the only set incorporating blue pieces (including the garage doors) which gave it a modern look. 5. 6389 Fire Control Center After quite a long break in 1991, 9 years before the new millennium, LEGO brought this kinda futuristic looking, very red station onto the market. It was part of the new "RSQ911" subtheme. 6. 6571 Flame Fighters In 1994 we got another station without "Fire" or "Station" in its name. At this time towers seemed to be a cool thing to include with stations of any kind (see 6398, the police station poll winner). 7. 6554 Blaze Brigade The year is 1997. We're in the middle of juniorization. And a perfect example were the "Town Jr." sets. This one's no exception. Unlike 6636 Police Headquarters you didn't get that many accessories, though. 8. 6478 Fire Station Can you top juniorization? Yes, you can. But 2000 wasn't a great LEGO year in general anyway... 9. 7240 Fire Station The latest fire station arrived in 2005 with the new "City" theme. It has the same "dark" color scheme as its police station pendant 7237 which I like. It's a rather small station set, though, since it marks the first time a fire station came without a truck which was sold seperately. 570 Fire House/357 Fire Station with Vehicles, honorable mention I didn't include it in the poll since it doesn't have minifigs. It came out in 1973 and set a standard for all the stations to come. Well, these are all I could find. Now lets vote and share our thoughts on these fine sets. To quote Master Yoda again: Vote on! X-D

Well, thanks to two votes from our new member Section8 and Christian we have a come-from-behind winner with 5 votes. I present EB's favourite Police Station: 6398 Central Precinct HQ Now we finally know what the chamber looks like ;-) Voting's still possible but won't be taken into account anymore.

Here are a few: King's castle 10176, Picture on S@H Canada (but not for sale yet) My 10176!!, Finally the review of the one I made with my collection Classic Castle- What Makes it So Good?, Discuss why Classic Castle is great! Oh, welcome to EB ;-)

Good, we have a 4-way tie now :-D Anybody care to break it? ;-)

I checked the S@H pix, too, but I wasn't satisfied ;-) The question is: do the pictures really show the front side? The US version shows a very detailed description on the left side (set number, name, number of pieces, etc., see the pic I posted). The European version just shows the set number and is very scarce with "information" about the set which made me wonder if it might be the back side (see here). Hence my question. I don't know if that difference is common between US and European boxes... Thx for your help, though ;-) I fear so... :'-( :-P

I've got one question: I'd like to buy this set in the US on my next visit (you know, same old price difference thing). And because I am picky and only interested in the Tractor model I'd like to have a box with the Tractor pictured as the main model. Now I found this picture on brickshelf and am a bit confused: Anybody having bought this set, could you be so kind and shed some light on which model is pictured as main model? Read: are there two different boxes for the US and Europe or just one for both? Thx for any pointers :-)

Welcome to EB! Always good to see a fan of the classic LEGO themes. Enjoy your stay :-) Oh, and since you're into town, too, have you seen the Police Station Poll? It could use a tie breaker... ;-)

Umm... helicopter? :-D Thanks, that wasn't there yesterday :'-)

Where? You mentioned "Main street" which is available on BL but not from that many sellers. And on ebay it's scarcely to be found...

Whoops, sorry, didn't see it. Now I remember the thread, though (since I posted in it, too)... :-$ I couldn't make out any steering mechanism, either, but I thought maybe you have to "turn" the wheels themselves by hand. That wouldn't pose much playability, though...

V-LP-10A to V-LP-10C V-LF-09C to V-LF-09E V-LB-02A to V-LB-02D V-LC-04F to V-LC-08E V-LI-02C to V-LI-05D V-LV-01D, V-LV-01F, V-LV-02A, V-LV-02C, V-LV-04A, V-LV-04C & V-LV-04D, V-LV-05B & V-LV-05C, V-LV-05E I just stumbled upon brickshelf user pnorm's gallery and am at a loss of words - so beautiful 8-� *wub* Does anybody know what kind of pieces he could have used for the front wheels of this fire truck? The only part for steerable wheels I know is 4261 (I missed a lot of Technic, I know) which looks too big for this model: This is one of the most beautiful fire trucks I've seen for a long time *wub* Edit by Phred: All of Pnorm's Vehicles

You got it, that's exactly what they do. Not only with re-releases but with older and rare sets, too. And you can't really blame 'em. That's "supply and demand 101". As a buyer you don't like that, but that's how commerce works. That I don't know, somebody else will have to answer that...

With "castle" I've always associated knights, (blocky) castles (as in fortress), king arthur, knights templar and the like. Castles have to look like this or this. That is middle ages, that is castle. That is still my opinion today. That's why I like MOCs like this. KK is plain "fantasy". I always think of saving fair princesses from bad dragons. While castles like this do look cool (and I like fantasy stories), it's not what I associate "castle" with. It's "fantasy castle" that comes to my mind. I mean... magenta knights?!?!?!?! *wacko* As for the LEGO sets: can't really add anything that hasn't been said already. The sets just looked the way I imagined knights and castles. And the wall pieces were/are the only "<insert that tiresome argument>" pieces I actually like(d). :-)

I got a SES with box and unpunched instructions for 55 Euros. That was spring 2005, shortly after I registered here. Bricks were in very good condition, box had some shelfwear but wasn't torn anywhere. Inner plastics were gone, though. I've noticed that those pirate thingies tend to sell for a lot more in the States and down under, they're not that expensive in Europe (at least on ebay). So, are we talking CAN$ or US$? From a European's point of view US$140 for a SES without a box or instructions is not that good a deal, CAN$ is a so-so deal...

The reflection of the flash in Berry's picture looks like a rising sun. Cool ;-)

That wasn't an insurance bid, it was his maximum at the time. 457.77 just wasn't enough to win because of the $5 increment. Since he did win it in the end he shows up twice at the top of the list. A bit confusing, I agree ;-)

And we're supposed to stay polite...

Not really. It's a popular sport/topic and thus it has many new posts which list this forum under the new posts frequently. And because of my curious nature I read them. And when there's a possibility to show my dislike of it I do it now and then :-P And jipay is an admin, he's everywhere ;-)

Abolish the sport.

:-D :-D :-D

Please, don't... "dude-ing" someone is, like, so not, like, cool... For Customer Service, no matter which one, it's not. Definately not. Whatever CTT is, but what's that got to do with Customer Service? Please, read the thread again. And then get off those drugs... please... What's a message board for? Sharing your thoughts and experiences about your hobby. Experiences with Customer Service is part of it. Not that I haven't mentioned that before... Now I am worried... That's the experiance I've gotten. It's not the first time inquiries went like that. Although, one time I did receive a call(!) at home and the lady left a message on my answering machine. That was surprising...

Perfect, as usual. Just a note: MI:3 was the official movie title, SR is an abbreviation used by the internet-/message board community. None really. I'm catching up with my TV series at the moment, so that I'm uptodate when all the new seasons start in fall... autumn, sorry...

Understandable. The whole purpose of the thread is destroyed... I'll go in a corner and cry for a bit... What are you doing outside your realms, anyways?

I think it looks great. I'm not that a fan of studless Technic. Mostly because I grew up with classic LEGO and this new building technique came out during my dark ages. But I've come to accept it. There are just situations when building a model where those studless beams come in handy. I don't have 8459 but comparing the pictures I like your reincarnation. It might have to do with that I like construction vehicles in general (if they have functions, that is). You also used a few nifty features, like the ladder. You even managed to integrate those dreaded "panels" (that one for example). But most importantly, it's recognizable as a 8459 remake. Good work, looking forward to seeing more ;-)

Customer service rule #1: the customer is king, no matter how he acts or behaves. You don't play tricks on customers as customer service. Read my opening post again... I was merely telling about an experience with LEGO Direct, nothing more. I wasn't looking for a "solution" or what I'm supposed to do. I'm mature enough to handle it myself. Now, stop telling me to be polite because that wasn't the point of this thread.