blueandwhite

So has this price actually been confirmed or is it still just speculation? Also, would you happen to have a guess on the price in other jurisdictions (I'm thinking about $600 in Canada and Australia and 350 Euro). I would love some concrete info if you've got it.

At $400 (likely $600+ CND) I can't justify purchasing this. I'm impressed by the figure selection but the set itself seems a bit bland to me. After the Cafe Corner and the UCS sets, this looks rather plain. As a playset it's wonderful. I just can't see myself forking over that kind of cash for a playset though.

Out of fear and respect I voted for Hinkley. Who am I kidding; it was entirely out of fear .

That's interesting . As I only speak English, this is all new to me. Would this mean that pluralizing other brand names which are treated as nouns in English would be improper as well. What I'm trying to get at is whether using the Dutch or French equivalent of "Volkswagens" to describe a parking lot of Volkswagens would be improper? In English many brands have become so generic that they are treated as everyday nouns. I assume that this isn't the case in many other languages. I'm curious as to what LEGO's official position on this topic is in other languages. Are they as concerned about their brand name falling into common use?

All of my fantasy folk have been banished to parts bins. I am a Crownie supporter. They are the one faction that mixes well with my classic BFs, Lions, and Black Knights.

I hope not because it already sounds pretty silly in English. Perhaps I'm alone on this, but I find it sounds really odd when people say "LEGOs". I actually had never heard the term used by anybody other than young children until I found my way onto the Internet. My relatives always referred to LEGO bricks as being simply LEGO so wasn't familiar with this until I was well into my 20s.

As we get older, many folks simply don't put the same stock into the opinions of others. Simply put, most of us don't care what others think of our hobby. I enjoy LEGO regardless of what others may or may not say to me. It certainly hasn't hurt me personally, and I don't think I'd lose much sleep if a complete stranger made a comment about my purchases. In all honesty, I think you were right to heckle the guy. As much as I love LEGO, I would definitely be irked by this guy's purchase. Clearing the store of all of it's Indy products definitely would have bothered me. I'm not a big fan of bulk purchasing from retailers as I think it definitely has a negative impact on consumers. Either way, I wouldn't worry about your comments. You seem like a mature young adult, and the fact that you've taken the time to reflect on your statement speaks volumes about your character (which seems to be quite positive). If only there were more fans like you (adult, teen or child). Later.

Of the three, the Mon Calamari Cruiser bridge sounds the most appealing. We don't need another Slave 1 (I'm betting it wins), and an office scene sounds even duller than a bridge scene. Besides, there hasn't been an Admiral Ackbar yet. Too bad that none of these choices is all that appealing.

I still hold onto the absurdist dream of an AFOL Idea Book. I would love to see an Idea Book that pays tribute to those of us who have stayed true to the brick for these many years. Looking at the amazing shows you guys put on in Europe and the US, I would really like to see some of those MOCs photographed professionally.

I think all AFOLs play with their LEGO. People who "MOC" are playing just as much as those who tell stories or build sets. We all take enjoyment from playing and manipulating these amazing plastic bricks and no matter how you cut it, it's still play. I may not "swoosh" or tell stories, but I definitely feel that I'm playing when I'm building a MOC. At the end of the day, I'm just a big kid who loves his bricks.

I miss the glory days when Sava used to build primarily Castle MOCs . Where's Ulmaris II? In all seriousness your train MOCs are amazing works. Your new cheese slope engine looks like it will be your best yet. The photo edit here is pretty nice as well.

I'm totally loving this discussion. It reminds me of my university days in philosophy class . I guess before one can define "minifigure" one needs to define "figure". I mean, if consciousness is part of the definition, does a statue or a skeleton qualify? Is there a distinction between the old skeletons which were generally depicted as being inanimate and the new skeletons which are depicted as being living (or at least undead) beings? Here's an interesting thought: is the representation of a representation still a figure? In other words, is a LEGO statue a minifig? A statue of an individual is the representation of that individual. That form is typically a representation of his or her figure (not always). A LEGO figure as a statue is the representation of a human being as the representation of a statue of a human being. Does this still qualify as a figure? Now, personally I'm of the opinion that a 'figure' is simply the representation of a lifeform (organic or inorganic). The representation may be a representation of a representation so long as the figure is understood to originally represent that lifeform (this covers skeles and statues). That being said, I draw a distinction between brick-built figures that are constructed from pre-exiting parts and those built from unique elements that were molded with the original intention of creating a fig (droid arms & legs, minifig torsos, dwarf legs etc.). Of course, this is still all based on the assumption that these parts were originally intended as minifig parts. It of course becomes more complex when a part for a minifig is used in a new or unexpected way that challenges this thinking. At the end of the day, this is something that is simply too complex for a perfect definition. Heck, a clear-cut definition would probably be less interesting anyhow.

Clearly this is just a kid. First of all, no university would sanction such a bogus and frankly childish study. The fact that we have a disclaimer written (poorly at that) entirely in capital letters certainly doesn't make this very credible. As you undoubtedly guessed, my previous post was more than a bit sarcastic.

It depends on the situation. Some small MOCs like my Batmobiles are pretty much permanent builds. I simply don't see the point in dismantling them for a few plates or slopes. Large MOCs may also stay together for an extended period of time as I'm simply too burned out to do something else. Mid sized MOCs don't last very long as they are a good source of parts and they aren't nearly as time consuming as a massive build like a large fort or castle.

Bristol University clearly has no standards. The grammar and general sentence structure on that page is autrocious! If only more universities would discourage the use of proper sentences and promote the disgusting abuse of the caps lock key. Bravo to Bristol!

It's a nice building. I guess it's hard to match it against the Corner Cafe and Green grocer without seeing the final structure (the roofline says alot about a building). I like your building's facade, and the Pets logo on the front really jumps out. I'm not that keen on the green, but that's simply a personal taste. My biggest concern would be that the architecture feels very different from the Cafe and Grocer sets. This building feels a bit more modern like something you would see in New York. the Green Grocer and Corner Cafe have a more European flare to them and at the very least don't look like something you would see in a larger American city. Something about them screams to me "small town". Your building looks like a trendy uptown pet store. Still, cities are diverse and there are countless forms of architecture in every city I've had the fortune of visiting. While I don't think that your building matches with the Green Grocer/Corner Cafe asethetic, I don't think it matters. The important thing is that you've put in enough detailing to make your building match up well with the other buildings in this series. The biggest criticism I have about Corner Cafe knockoffs is that many of them are overly simplified making them stand at odds with the stunning detail of this series of LEGO sets. Your building doesn't suffer from this affliction.

I've read this thread over and I still think that a minifig is a figure that is comprised of one or more parts that were designed specifically to create a figure and not an object. Droid and skeleton torsos, arms and legs, minifig heads, torsos, arms, and legs were all fashioned to represent a figure first and foremost. R2D2 and other droids have legs and a torso that were designed for the purpose of making that particular figure. While these bricks may be used in other ways (so can alot of traditional minifig elements), the original intent was to create something that could not be adequately represented using conventional bricks. I find Sinner's definition better than LEGO's so I'm sticking by my guns on this one. If a figure is made with parts that were designed for that purpose, that figure is a minifigure (conforming to conventional minifig scale of course). A figure that is scratch-built using conventional bricks is a brick-built figure. The thing is, there is nothing wrong with a brick built solution. Heck, where possible a brick built solution is a wonderful alternative to spending a small fortune on a new mold.

I always thought it was because it made the term more demeaning. It reminds me of all the other Internet jargon that kids use like roxxors and the like when they need to be sarcastic or feel it necessary to belittle someone. The "00" really gets the point across.

It was a fantastic birthday. I actually was quite busy working on a couple of assignments for teacher's college and a walk for MS. An excellent 31st birthday (allthough the card I got from a friend that depicts the grim reeper in the rearview mirror of a car with the caption "objects are closer than they appear" kind of makes me wish I could shave off a few of those years ). Still, a good day all around with a fine roast dinner and Yorkshire to cap things off. Thanks for the b-day wishes.

Half a million dollars? And I thought I had alot of bricks! If we go by the US average of about 10 cents per brick, that would put your collection at arround 5 million bricks! Consider the fact that this castle is made of 36,000 bricks. With 5,000,000 bricks you could build something that size 100x over! Heck, I don't even know if there's a bricklink store out there with an inventory that large. Your collection must be among the biggest in the AFOL community. Still, I'd love to see a photo or photos of your collection. From the sounds of things, it must be insanely large! I know that there are some wealthy fans out there with collections that make us mortals weep, but I wish more people would put photos up on brickshelf.

Good stuff. And kudos to Yoda for being a fantastic sport about this *yoda* . Honestly, it's one of those funny moments that could have happened to anybody. The fact that I can envision this happening to half the people on this forum makes it even funnier. Accidental embarrassment rules!

I think you did. My views are a bit different. For me, a person is really defined by where they live and in turn, by what they contribute to their community. An Australian living in Belgium isn't any more or less Belgian than a Englishman living in Belgium. The fact that the Englishman is European and the Australian isn't really relevant. Both individuals are simply there. Heck, both of those immigrants may contribute far more to Belgian society than many citizens who have lived all of their lives there. Ultimately, the only thing worth measuring is the contributions we make to the community around us. Being Canadian simply means that I live in and contribute to this country, just as you being European means you live in and contribute to European society. In turn, I am bound by the laws and orders that regulate this land and you are governed by a similar set of rules in your nation. I recognize that these may be artificial constructs but I don't really feel that I can draw a distinction between a continental division and a national one. Heck, in a federal state like Canada we are further sub-divided into provinces. Our identity is very much defined by the rules and regulations which we are subjected to, even if they are artificial.

This is an interesting POV. I find it interesting that you consider yourself European (a continental divide), but you feel that national boundries are artificial. By your definition, wouldn't continental divisions be just as artificial? Taking your example a step further; is a Australian living in Belgium less "Belgian" than an Englishman living in Belgium? Obviously the former is not European. Oh, and I'd like to add that I really enjoy the fact that everybody has been so polite in this thread. It just goes to show you that irrespective of one's national or ethnic identity, Eurobricks is comprised of predominantly mature and intelligent individuals. Good stuff.

If it comes down to the planet or my collection of ABS plastic bricks; I choose my bricks :-D . Later.

3 bricks isn't actually all that close to 1 inch. In fact, 3 bricks = 1 and 1/8th inches which would make you closer to 176 bricks tall. I'm 6'1 making my height in bricks (approximately 194 + 2 plates). Even these measurements are likely to be a bit off. I would use the helpful chart posted by imperial shadows.