TJJohn12

I'm not sure what doesn't look vastly realistic over the official rifle you referenced. The lock is on the gun's right side, it has an exposed hammer, a rammer is mounted below the barrel, stock flare looks about right and it has a barrel band. Speaking as someone who fired 19th century black-powder weaponry weekly for 3 years as part of my job, this model is vastly more detailed and more accurate than the official LEGO accessory.

Chris, These older wheels also accept technic pins, which can help with 5-wide: and These give quite a bit more clearance when used in your example, and work relatively well for older vehicles. -John

Neither. This is a Video-On-Demand available on the digital cable service. I think most, if not all of the programming is available at the LEGOClub TV Channel on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/LEGOClubTV

I intentionally ignored the previous LUGBulk program so I wouldn't get jealous, so forgive my ignorance... What were element prices like for last year's program? This image is just so tantalizing! -John

The images were on Flickr along with, I believe, the text of the questions. (i.e. "Would you buy a set of LEGO if...") I went digging again for the images, which had even been added to the core "LEGO 16+" group, but no dice. I could swear they were from an official marketing firm's Flickr stream, because I commented to myself that this was uncharacteristically above board for TLG. I can only find the fan uploaded versions in my cache on my laptop. When I get home on Tuesday I'll check my desktop's cache to see if I can find the Flickr user ID for the marketing firm. Regardless, IF this was announced from an official channel, then revoked and "privatized", is that still fair game for discussion? Seems that if it was an official announcement then they rethought the decision, much like a catalogue or set obtained from a store early/before official release, it shouldn't be barred from discussion. It's sort of like trying to get dye out of the swimming pool. Regardless, I don't believe we as an adult fan community can ignore even the prospect of a shift toward wooden or bio-degradable bricks without speaking out strongly against the corruption of the brand. But I digress... -John

I'm a little confused as to why this was an issue with this particular poll. The images were originally released to us adults in the polling company's Flickr stream, not through the Kids Inner Circle. That seems to be as official and public a source as any. I agree with not discussing leaked info, I just am not sure what constitutes leaks or not. This seemed more like an official release through Flickr than a fan-based leak. -John

As much as I disagree with continually building on the same thread for new problems, here goes... Is Brickshelf down again? Maj is also dead for me... How's deeplinking fairing, folks? -John

Thinking back, I remembered something like this being posted on LUGNET. Sure enough, there is Ross Neal's working, 100% pure solution utilizing a boat hull and pneumatics. More pictures in John Neal's Brickshelf folders: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery....f=7051&n=96 It HAS been done. Now, to replicate it might be the problem... -John

The scant reading I've been doing on the subject suggests to me you'll also need to use UV light (natural or artificial) as a catalyst in the reaction. Haven't tried yet, but that's my impression from the articles I've read.

I bought Town Plan specifically for the gas station. I bought it on discount 50% discount at Brickfair, and frankly have only opened the Garage, pumps and cars up, leaving the theatre and town hall for possible trades with club members in the future. My plan is to swap the green for blue, and make a nice Esso Gas station, since Octan needs some friendly competition.

The chief reason that it's at night is that, with no one in the mall, the crowd outside the store waiting to get in will be more manageable. ~300-400 AFOLs clogging the mall is a logistical nightmare (an enjoyable one, but still). I can't imagine throwing shoppers into the mix. With the mall closed, we have the run of the store with no interruptions. I can understand the Rockville quandary (I used to live in Cabin John, where 270 meets the beltway), but I'd still encourage you to swing it if possible and if you're in the market for some scratch and dent. To give you a flavour of the deals, my girlfriend got ahold of a 10181 Eiffel Tower for 50% off. There are some great buys to be had. -John

Last year both stores honored the percentage discount (I believe it was a flat 20% off), but only the Potomac Mills store was the site of the "Running of the Bulls" event. This event, regardless of whether it changes in structure from last year, is worth going to. Typically, it is deep discount scratch-and-dent scattered around the store, with AFOLs swarming (hence why the Tysons store won't work: too small). I don't know what's planned this year, but if I were you I'd plan on attending. There will be plenty of folks driving down, so if Beltway traffic isn't your cupof tea just ask another AFOL for a ride. Potomac Mills is easy to get to by car regardless, and anyone from WAMALUG at the 'fair can give you simple directions. -John

That being said, it sounds like the public day might be the best idea for andy0002. I've been suggesting the public day even to casual, just-getting-started AFOLs, let alone TFOLs and kids. A fest can be culture shock; it might be helpful to dip into the LEGO insanity slowly. Also, there was a good deal of frustration from the adult fanbase last year that so many kids and uninterested parents were registered. Lego fests, in general, have always been intended for the AFOL community, with upstanding, mature TFOL's scattered in for good measure. I was one of those TFOLs at Brickfest 2002, before we had a term for teen fans. Be that as it may, a good deal of the adults were upset at having so many kids underfoot during off-public-hours. I, for one, was quite upset at the Dirty Brickster, as Star Wars sets were stolen and re-stolen 10s of times, yet the more special gifts (classic, MIB sets from the 80s and the like) were passed over and given no respect by the younguns. Sorry if this has come off as belligerent. I'm not trying to sound like a crotchety old man in a chaise lounge shouting "Get off my lawn," but Brickfair last year did lack the strictly adult socialization time that other fests seem to have. I'm glad to see the late-night BYOB 21+ party incorporated this year. Nothing sounds more fun than a drunken speed build! -John Aside: I went digging through LUGNET to make sure it was 2002 that I went to Brickfest and figured out I've been posting in AFOL communities for just over 10 years now. Wow, just wow...

Just a tip from someone who now buys his LEGO almost exclusively from PAB: stack the bricks! Plan for a good chunk of time in the store to do so, but make sure to stack and stuff around your selections. My most recent purchase was a small PAB cup full of 2 x 2 'L' Bricks in tan, plus some cheese and 1 x X plates sifted around the sides. With the brick stacked into columns, with the right geometry, I fit a ton into that small cup (sorry, I forgot to actually count as I parted things out this time). As I broke apart the columns of brick at home, I was dropping them in a large PAB cup. My tightly stacked small PAB cup of 2 x 2 'L' bricks equaled one loosely filled Large PAB cup. So, the moral: Stack! Stack like the wind! -John

OK, I'm really happy to see an acknowledgment of the Western theme. BUT, I'm not quite as happy as I could have been had they included a cavalry private in there instead of a Lieutenant. I can cross my fingers we'll see either a reintroduction of the western theme (with the included cavalry soldiers I love to use as Civil War-era Federals), or maybe I'll get lucky in Vintage collection volume 27 or so. Regardless, Volume 3 will be the first of these collections I'm enticed to buy. Cheers LEGO! Please keep making great products like these! -John

Not to burst bubbles, but my hope is that they release a relatively low price point PF train starter set, ala Metroliner. I want to see something to replace the RC trains, with a decent price point for Christmas so that kids can get hooked on trains. Kids are the AFOLs of tomorrow, afterall. Right now, I don't care about AFOL needs for train. We got our EN. Now we need a train suitable for kids to build with their parents. ALTHOUGH, if I had my druthers, that new train set would include more than 2 straight pieces, and also include some of these: I love these wheels over the trucks/wheel-sets of old. -John

I tend to go for 1 x 2 bricks, because that's what the majority of my constructions are made of. My best record to date is 627 Dark Grey 1 x 2s, with filler of 35 1 x 2 trans-clear plates. That gets me down around the 2.5 cent per piece level. I pack with columns of bricks. The lip at the bottom of the large cup will hold 1 x 2 bricks on end, if you line all the studs in the same direction. It's a pain, but can net you a handful more elements. Good Luck! -John

What country are you looking at the store from, Millacol? I'm viewing it from the US, and all I can see is "add to my wishlist." I'm looking forward to this set. Hopefully it hits LEGO brand retail at about the same time it hits S@H. -John

The sets should be available at retail shops here in the states starting today as well... -John