spade450

Great work, as always! Love the color scheme. Lots of detail packed into a what, 10 stud wide building? Looks bigger than it is. Also like the hairy fig in the business suit -- Jerry Garcia sells out!

Very impressive in 4-wide. This and your recycling truck show what is possible in the smaller width. Nice!

Nice work. The scale of the embassy fits in well with the rest of your layout. I love the Marine uniforms -- so simple yet I instantly recognized them. Actually, with the Marines out front, I would have known that the building was one of our embassies without you telling us.

Our little town here in Southern Italy recycles everything! Curbside collection for cardboard and paper is on Thursday mornings. That's where I "store" my boxes.

One of my favorite moves! I would have recognized the scene even if you had not told us what it was. You captured it very well and the suspended bike is beautiful. The only change that I would make (and it's a small one) would be the hair color for "Steve" -- maybe more blondish if you have it.

" I'm still having my doubts about the stadium. I don't think the scale fits nicely." I agree that a football/soccer stadium might be too big but those stands that you designed are too cool not to build. They would look great filled with minifigs. How about a smaller stadium -- for a tennis court maybe or a small equestrian arena, both more "upscale" than the football/soccer pitch. You could also build an outdoor theater or concert arena that could easily be adjusted for size so as not to overwhelm your city the way a larger stadium might. Go for it!

You have a great town with a lot of interesting detail. I like your explanation for the different scenes that are connected to your life. It helps us make better sense of the town. I really like the little three wheel maintenance truck. They are all over my town of Monte di Procida here in Southern Italy. It is difficult to believe that such a small vehicle can make so much noise -- especially when climbing a hill. A bit off topic: Your English language skills are excellent! As an American living in Italy for a few years, I am struggling to learn Italian. By the time I become comfortable with it, it will be time to return to the U.S. I am always impressed by how well forum members whose first language is not English communicate on this English speaking forum. I can just imagine how few Americans (including myself) would be able to post here if the forum language was Italian or German or French or Dutch or . . .

The first is a quote from the Bible and, taken somewhat out of context, is rather ironic for an AFOL discussion board -- but, then, I don't pretend to be a Biblical scholar. I just enjoy irony. The second is a quote from Vonnegut that sums up the fun of building while not wanting to sort, store, dust, etc.

This is an interesting topic and one that I ponder from time to time. In the past I have mixed modded Harry Potter sets in and plan to do so again in the future (my HP sets are in storage back in the U.S.). I recently purchased a second Medieval Market Village to mod with my first one for an old section of town where the first floors are maybe a bit more modern -- restaurant, pub, antique shop, etc. I also like the previously mentioned idea of a medieval fair (but all of my castle stuff is also in storage in the U.S.). Once I get done modding Brickbeard's Bounty, it will also be making a "tall ship" visit to my city (without any pirates).

Bachus, That is a great looking layout even if it is temporary. The fires station fits in perfectly. The pic with the cinema and pizza place in the distance make them look better integrated with the larger buildings than they do in real life (well, real Lego life). I also like how you used standard baseplates for the roads. They have a European cobblestone look that goes well with the buildings. I have no road baseplates and was debating which style to get (current style or older) but prices at both Bricklink and S@H were "disturbing." Now that I have seen your layout, maybe I won't bother with road baseplates at all. Thanks for the inspiration.

I had a chance to visit Legoland - Gunzberg back in June. It was great! Schools were still in session so the park was pretty empty no lines for anything and lots of great Miniland pictures with no (real) people in the background. There is a Pick-A-Brick at Fabrik. My recollection is that the price was 8 euros per 100g, which seemed expensive to me. Weigh your selections often as the grams add up quickly -- what I thought was about 100g was actually 400g when I checked out. Variety of bricks was better than at a Lego store but not as good as I would have hoped for Legoland. The Lego store in the park had some items on sale but most I could get cheaper at U.S.S@H. Good luck and have a great time!

Compared to "adult" hobbies such as golf, skiing and sailing (all of which I dabbled in at one point or another), Lego is a bargain! I am not a collector. I but what sets I like, mostly town and city themes, keep some as permanent models and part out others for MOCs. I often buy more than one of a given set if I like the parts make-up. I probably do not "play" with my Lego as defined by the original poster but I do use my Lego in the same manner as I did as a child. I was always interested in building things, plastic models mostly, and perfectly willing to let them sit on the shelf when done. While other boys were having wars with their model soldiers, I was painting mine in great detail and making dioramas with them. I went through a phase of model railroading but was mostly content to build the layout and scenery. I never really cared much about actually running the trains. That's how Lego works for me now. Cafe Corner, Green Grocer, etc., and MOCs of similar scale have really fired up my interest in Lego after about a 10 year layoff. They are perfect for me -- build a complicated city scene that I can add to over time and that is fun to look at. Just like when I was a kid!

U.S. S@H has it for $150 (about 100 euros) and free shipping. Also pushing Green Grocer for $30 off at $120 (about 80 euros). The price differences between countries are amazing (and somewhat perplexing). Anyway, my order is going off today. Just have to decide on another Green Grocer or not (have 2 now).

This is a good simple looking building. I like the use of the cheese slopes for decoration and the color scheme is realistic.

You spend about $12,000 a year at BL? Can I have you sit down and explain that to my wife? THAT would give her a new perspective on my Lego "budget."

I must be more focused than I thought. I am so interested in reading the posts, I didn't even know there were ads here.

Brickmaster, I live in Southern Italy but see that you are not headed this way so my local knowledge will not be of much help (it's too hot here in the summer, anyway). I've been to London a few times and, though you are avoiding the tourist spots, there are some amazing things to see in that city: British Museum (free), National Gallery (free), Imperial War Museum (free), Regent's Park (free - awesome gardens). They are likely to be a bit crowded in the summer but did I mention that they are all free? (More money for Legoland where you WILL need it.) I am a museum dork so in Dublin I recommend the National Museum of Ireland (great prehistoric Irish exhibits, bog people, etc. and very cool viking collection) and Collin Street Barracks (Irish military history and decorative arts). Both are free if I remember correctly. The Guinness tour is very commercial but is done very well as is the tour at the Jameson distillery (both free). If you do go to Jameson and they ask for volunteers at the beginning of the tour, DO IT! My wife and I were picked for a taste test at the end of the tour. My wife likes garden-type things and one STRONG recommendation is to get out of Dublin for a day and do this: Take the local train (sorry, I don't remember which one) down the coast about 30-45 minutes to the town of Bray. Beautiful little town on the beach. From there, catch a bus near the train station up to Powers Court Garden -- a very cool mansion with beautiful grounds to walk around on (not free but reasonable). We were there in late October and it was beautiful. In the summer it must be amazing. Hope this helps a bit. Have a great time!

Even if i had only seen the first pic, I would have understood the setting. The figs are definitely Pamplona. Good work!

That's a good idea and I might try it with some smaller vehicles. The postal van is a good example. I am afraid that some of the newer vehicles are just too big for the overall effect that I am looking for. I want to focus more on pedestrians and sidewalk scenes but feel guilty leaving all those cool vehicles in boxes or on a separate unrelated shelf.

Thanks, all, for the input. I guess the real issue for me is whether to include a road and vehicles. Over the past few years, TLC has been turning out some nice vehicles and I have quite a few of them. The downside to including them in the shelf city is that space is taken up for a road and the vehicles tend to block the view of what is happening on the sidewalk and ground floor of the buildings. Now that I have dabbled a bit with LDD, I do think that 8 studs is not deep enough for interesting buildings. I may go with 16 studs for the buildings, 16 studs for the sidewalks (very wide, I know, but could lead to interesting pedestrian scenes, public art, fountains, flowers. etc.) and limit the vehicles to perpendicular side streets. I'll post some pictures on down the road.

Here's what I am thinking: I've gotten hooked on the city theme but lack space to build much with any depth to it. In my earlier days of model railroading, one solution was a shelf layout -- trains go back and forth instead of around. I do have room for a fairly long shelf or a shelf on a set of bookcases. Using a 32 stud deep baseplate, I could rebuild Cafe Corner, Green Grocer, etc., as 8 stud deep facades, use another 8 studs for the sidewalk area, and have 16 studs left for a two lane roadway. I was wondering if anyone had done something like this and, if so, could point me to some pics. I would like to get an idea of what it might look like before spending too much time on it. I tried searching EB, BS, and MOC Pages with no luck. Thanks!

A very peaceful looking setting. I see that he was smart enough not to cut the trees too near the house. He seems a bit heavily armed, however. Is someone out to get this guy?

Overall, a great city. I really like the idea of the costume shop. What a great way to use some random figs that would not really go well with the city theme. I am trying to add Brickbeard's Bounty to my city -- maybe a "tall ship" visit -- but then I need a waterfront. It's fun to try to mix the themes but still keep a certain amount of "realism."

I'll admit that I am not much of a Star Wars fan and have no idea what Cloud City is but I am really impressed with your MOC. Very clean design, finished tile floor, minifigs appear to be in motion, and a great ceiling.

I agree with Sandy -- the colors are a bit bleak. They do make for interesting photos, however. Sort of like an old black & white movie. I really like the design of the security camera.