Mariann Asanuma

I know it's a long shot, but I was wondering if any one had an extra Celebration CubeDude set they are willing to trade for a Comic Con CubeDude set. (I have two, one I'm keeping and one I'm willing to trade.) Even trade, unopened. If signed cool (mine is), but not necessary.

Finally! Tan cheese! My dreams truly have come true! Oh, and I like the rest of the set too.

Comic Con is actually in July, not June.

It was on straight when I built it, but I guess it moved as I was positioning the models for pictures. I didn't even notice. For all those asking, no I won't scan the instructions. Since the set just came out and Angus is my friend I want to respect his design. It is an official set. Anything put out by LEGO as a set is an official LEGO set. The only reason it is in ziploc bags is that it was packed by hand because there were only 2000 sets made. When LEGO packages a standard set with the machines they have to produce at least 10,000 sets at once. As this was an exclusive and a limited run, it was packed by hand.

For all of you who couldn't make it to this year's San Diego Comic Con or get one of the exclusive Star Wars CubeDudes sets here's what it looks like. Back of the box Angus MacLane, father of the CubeDude movement, was on hand and signing his work. He's actually a friend of mine, it was nice to see him again. What comes in the box I'm sure some people are surprised that I would open this, thus losing it's "mint" status. As I don't really plan on selling this, I don't really care about the "value." I bought it to support Angus and LEGO is meant to be built. Plus you can peel the sticker off easily enough that it doesn't really damage the box. Random instruction page. The booklet included instructions for all 5 models. Parts bags As this was an exclusive with only about 2000 made, the sets were hand packed. This is what usually happens with the LEGO exclusives as they are made in such small amounts. The built models Until I'd seen them at Bricks by the Bay in April I had no idea how very small CubeDudes really are. That just makes them so much cuter in my book. Overall: 10/10 as a set Price: $75 -- a tad pricey, but actually a little low for an exclusive set with 5 models in it. Rarity: High -- as it was only available as a raffle to buy at Comic Con, the set became instantly rare. Building: The instructions were a little different than standard LEGO instructions, but still mostly clear. The models took only minutes each to build and it was nice how Angus added a few tricks of building like the upside-down cheese slopes on the Captain Rex. Its a fun set, the only unfortunate thing is that it is so rare and so few people will get to own one. Hopefully this way you can at least get a glance at what's inside.

I asked Steve Witt directly and he said he couldn't say anything about them yet, I'll keep my eyes and ears open though. I will be at Comic Con all five days, some of the time at the LEGO booth. I'd love to see any fellow Eurobrick members there.

Last week I was asked to create a bouquet of flowers for the family of a very special little boy named Maxwell Harris who passed away just before his 10th birthday. Max's aunt Ashley said I'd never made a bouquet of flowers before and creating the vase was a bit tricky with only three parts available (1x2 clear plates and bricks, 1x1 clear plates). My heart goes out to the Harris family.

Great job! I love this one even more than the original. I had no idea this wasn't available in Europe. I do have that set, as well as every other Forestmen set, but this is definitely better. I posted about this on my Model Building Secrets blog

Just by looking at them and the country they are coming from I don't know if it is actually official LEGO at all. Not to mention the fact that there is only one set, from one seller, all as a super lot. It looks a bit suspect to me.

They are the Homemaker figures If you aren't interested in them I'd love to have them. The figures you are describing are Pirate Islanders

I'm surprised about the reaction to this house. I love LEGO buildings. The Creator homes and modular buildings have all been fantastic in my opinion, I've bought nearly every one of them. In comparison this house seems quite plain and unappealing.

Very awesome! I posted it on my Model Building Secrets blog.

Being as I glue LEGO on a regular basis I will tell you this -- don't do it unless you never want to take it apart again! Gluing LEGO, especially depending on the type of glue, makes them useless for anything but display purposes. Certain parts like hinges I don't even glue because they will break. The kind of glue I use, I don't even recommend to anyone unless they know what they are doing as it is toxic. You need plenty of ventilation, special glue applicators, and special training to work with it.

That's really cool! Thanks for sharing.

Sorry to hear about your folks. The easiest way to do it is to put them all in individual ziplock bags and then in boxes. You may have to take some of it apart, but you can always find the instructions if you don't still have them and rebuild them. A more complicated and costly way is wrapping them in bubble wrap. Again, you will have to take some if it apart, that can't be totally avoided. You will have to take down the masts of the Pirate ship, and any loose parts put in a ziplock bag. Then when you get them to the new place you can put everything back the way it was. If you have certain minifigs positioned just so, you can also take pictures of how it looks before you take it apart so that you know how you want it to go back together. I never keep my sets as sets, but I have had to move, ship and travel with my models many times so I know what its like.

Hi, I saw that you are looking for a LEGO Master Builder. I just happen to be one. I worked at LEGOLAND California for 4 years building LEGO models. Now I do Freelance Custom LEGO models You can check out my website http://www.modelbuildingsecrets.com/ I can make practically any model any size. I live in California, but I can and have built models for people around the world. You can contact me through my website. Mariann

I get to go to the "Red Carpet Premiere" at LEGOLAND California and see it on the big screen. I'll let you know what I think of it.

Such a little detail to be picky about! No I didn't intend to use a new and an old tan plate on the little kid's feet. I didn't even notice it to be honest. Thanks everyone for such positive feedback!

I was inspired to make this model today. I'd been thinking of making a fishing MOC for a while. The model kind of evolved on it's own. Originally I was only going to make the dad, but then I thought it would cuter with a little kid added. I also gave them both fish at first, but that didn't seem "right." So then I got the inspiration to give the dad a boot. But then it looked like the dad was unhappy that he hadn't gotten a fish so I put his arm around his son's shoulder to show that he was happy for his son. Nothing is "cheated" on this model. The only thing unofficial is the thread that makes the fishing line. If you are wondering, there is a small bit of technic flex tubing holding the thread in place. You can see larger images on my Flickr photostream.

The discoloration is not only due to smoke, it just happens. Florescent lights, sunlight, it happens lots of ways. Unless they are noticeably yellow -- like older bricks -- the different color is due to the different mixture of plastic they are now using. Newer bricks are noticeably different even when they are "the same" color, especially if you hold them up to the light. Older bricks don't let any light through the brick, newer ones do. The slightly different discolorations are unfortunately the new normal.

Although they appear random, the numbers actually are not random. What they refer to is the official color number -- 1 for White, 26 for Black, etc. The reason they seem random is that every time TLC comes up with a new color they give it a new number. Since White was one of the first colors it is #1. The newer colors like #141 Earth Green (what AFOL's call Dark Green) have later numbers. I think it also has something to do with where on the color pallet the color falls. What we are seeing in this list is only the colors that LEGO is using this year. Not all the colors LEGO has ever produced. You also have to remember that LEGO "downsized" their color pallet a few years ago from over 120 colors used to something like 56 (I can't remember the exact number). There are even more colors than that if you count all the one-off colors that were made specifically for one element in Duplo or Scala for example. And some numbers have been retired such as the old brown and grays. If you had all of the colors LEGO has ever produced laid out in a color pallet, it would probably make a lot more sense.

Multiple websites are posting that the newest LEGOLAND will be in Florida. You can read about it at Model Building Secrets blog.

So cool I just had to post it on my Model Building Secrets blog.

Nice pictures! That looks like it was an amazing show.