Hobbes

As a kid I favored the Union. Mostly because blue is my favorite color but also because the rebs looked more like a chaotic bunch than an army to me :) Today I'm not sure which side I would've favored, to be honest. As for generals: Lee sure was a great strategist and a charismatic leader. But I think a lot of credit for his success also needs to go to Gen. Longstreet. Without him, I think, Lee would have made more mistakes - which he did at Gettysburg. On the Union side there were just too many and only Grant stood out as a man capable of leading an army that size. If you look at the first two years the Union didn't have a chance, just chaos! Especially Antietam stood out as a desaster... If it hadn't been for Lee's mistake at Gettysburg (I'm referring to the attack famous as "Pickett's Charge") and his men's inability to conquer Little Round Top I don't think the feds would have had any chance to "turn this thing around". Then again, I don't know that much about it ;)

Don't make me look cheap ;) I've never thought about how much a bunch of look-alikes would cost. I figured it takes a lot of time to collect. So, maybe the auction did end at a reasonable price but for me it's too high. I wouldn't pay that much - then again, I don't collect armies...

Well, you have to have some continuity. The cars from the new sets (including 2005) aren't too bad and they all "fit the theme" - except for the prisoner transport, that one's a big disappointment. What ticks me off most about the new cars is that they don't have doors - that's really annoying. But at least it's good practice for my modification (and later MOCing) skills...

*bigsigh* I hope my city will look like that some day. Brings back warm memories :) I see a lot of classic sets I've always liked but could never have. Like that yellow factory set in the upper right corner of the first pic, the red hospital, the yellow castle (great town center, btw), or the "Space port" in the second pic. *wub*

... an oil rig? In dependence on this post and the following - please? It's been done before... ? ? ? ... so why not again? Prettypleasewithsugarontop? *satis* *satis* *satis*

Yes, that's set 373 from 1977 - I remember having the catalog it was in... damn, I'm old...

Hmm... you know what? I don't like the yellow one. I think yours is nicer. And I like that's it's higher up. I can't put a finger on what I don't like about the yellow one yet, I just don't like it that much (although it sure is a good MOC).

Yeah, an "adult" version of this: I would like that - a LOT :) The copter doesn't look as bad as I thought from the first pics. Maybe I'll buy it afterall...

:oo :oD Really, this looks great! I believe you that it took you some time and I think it is detailed after all. The bricks above the windows, for example, I find a nice detail, they add to the "coachey" look. The "hatch" at the back is simple yet leaves no doubt what it's supposed to be. The "flap" in the front looks nice. Lovely MOC. And not just because I like the Western theme but I'm not that a skilled MOC builder and like simple things ;)

Lookie 'ere: Click me! There's some more army and castle pix in his gallery.

Cool. With my Fort troopers, the extra troopers, those from the Goldmine plus the Weapons Wagon I should have a mini army already. Can't wait to get my sets. And I've even got a great idea how to "integrate" them into my layout - at least I think it's great. Oh, the fun :oD

You're the moderator, "sort" the threads as you see fit. So far you haven't "messed up" anything ;) As for the price of the auction: I find it "overrated". It's just minifigs and "ordinary" accessories. You can find guns in more than the Wild West theme, and you can find horses even in the Town theme. The cannons are kinda special, although they also appear in the Pirates theme, and there's just two. Yes, single MFs would be more expensive - duh. The more a collection of 'em should be cheaper. 61 youroes is definitely too much. That's my $0.02 :)

You include the content? Then we have a deal ;) No, seriously, I'll consider it, but I have to check first because these sort of containers are fairly cheap at home-improvement-stores around here. 8 quid plus quite some shipping most likely (to Austria) might be too much for me. I'll let you know.

This looks terrific! I've been thinking of using some non-LEGO accessories myself because I simply don't have enough/the right bricks to create certain "landscaping". What were you using back then? Model railroad stuff?

Jesus, look at this! I was bidding but my limit was 35 (which was high anyways), but that's almost as ridiculous as those Blue/Red Coat, Knights or Stormtrooper army auctions...

By request of TheBrickster, here's my first train modification: Here's an "overview" shot: The right locomotive and two cars are modified, the third car and second locomotive are original. Locomotive First class car (red seats and tables) Second class car (brown seats, no tables) I wanted it to look more like an ICE. It turned out that the original color scheme wasn't that bad, though. So I just made a "flat" roof, removed the cargo part (which I didn't really like), made the cabin bigger, and modified the locomotive roof part a bit. I wanted the doors to look a bit more realistic, too, so I used 2x1 bricks from bottom to top which gives the doors that tiny "space" inbetween bricks - I hope you can see what I mean. As I said, nothing special. I'm still learning/trying...

My mind makes them audible. According to WorldLingo "Grootzeil" means "sail" and "Knoest" seems to be just a name.

Sounds dutch to me...

I could take pictures of mine, send them to you (or have you download them from my webspace if that's easier) and you write the review (I wouldn't know what to write). How's that? It's complete, just a minifig here or there might not be original...

Yeah, well, sheer exhaustion from LEGO-shopping, sorting my bricks, (re)arranging my layout and working on my first train mod, i guess...

Dammit, Brickster, you made me wanna have those sets! ;) I've liked the Western Theme all along [1] but haven't bought any sets yet since they're not in stores anymore. I found the second edition of Fort Legoredo yesterday at a superstore/warehouse, but for 60 Euro, though it's below its original retail price, I didn't want to buy it. I also found quite a few Bandits Hide Out on the german ebay site. One set went away for 10.49 Euros which I think is a pretty good deal (complete with instructions, no box). I think I'll pursue this theme, even if my girlfriend starts rolling her eyes more and more and wondering where I'll put all that stuff ;) Thanks for the reviews! [1] To whom it may interest: I was a Western fan way back in the 80s and my brother and I built western cities and minifigs with the normal city sets and minifigs since there was no western theme at that time (there were those "city cowboy hats" which was enough for our imagination). So one day we decided to write LEGO (and playmobil, since we had both toys back then) and suggest a western theme (actually we wanted a civil war theme but western in general would be a great idea). In those days we used pen and paper - boy, was that long ago. Anyways, playmobil answered and thanked us for our interest in their toys and sent us a police bike with a police officer and said they would "consider" it. From LEGO came - nothing. So we continued building our fake western towns and western minifigs. And then the themes came out and we both ran to our parents shouting "We thought of that! That's our idea!" Oh, the gold ole times... *snif*

It depends on what you are ruthless about. Getting kids away from too much TV is a good thing. I see enough of those kids around where the parents obviously don't spend enough time with them cos they're both working. The latter is a problem of today's society, but I've noticed that people become aware of that. Maybe it's going to turn for a better once it's my turn to be a parent. I certainly intend to raise my kid(s) the way I've been raised: as little TV/PC and as much LEGO and outside-play as possible :)

Found this on the 1000steine-forum: "The german Department for Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth together with the Organization More Time For Kids and the Organization for Exterior Advertising want to focus the attention of the citizens on the concerns and interests of the kids in the society. Concretely, the point of this campaign is to make the public aware of the importance of parents' devotion to their kids." (Sorry for the translation, sounds weird to me, I hope you get the point.) Among others they use this billboard: (pic = link to high-res pic, 3366x2379 532 KB)

Thanks for the review, good job. I agree with most of your thoughts. You proved my "suspicion" that you need at least two (if not three) sets to make a decent hospital. Maybe I'll get it when it's on sale...