blueandwhite

I don't really want a military theme. This is one area which I feel is best left to MOCers. With so many other possibilites, I would rather see the return of an old theme like Pirates or any number of new themes before even considering a military theme. I guess you can add me to the bad list too. Look at that; we're winning the war :-D .

That Anakin hairpiece looks fantastic! I can't believe how well it works on a head that doesn't look like Christopher Walken! Good job with your Doctor. I'm looking forward to seeing some more (the Tardis perhaps).

I'm not sure what I find more disturbing; the abusrd behaviour of the school or the unsettling comments of the many Youtube viewers who can't seem to finish a statement without typing in several profanities or even death threats. It's really sad that pop journalism can bring out such animosity in people. The generalizations and hate speach that bad journalism generates is absolutely terrifying! Heck, the whole thing looks more like a publicity stunt than an actual movement towards socialist schooling in Seatle. The way the segment plays it up though, you would think that every school in America is like this! Really, I'm always a bit uncomfortable when things like this get dragged up because they seem to bring out the worst in our community.

The dumbest/stupidest decision is always going to be the one that affects you individually the most. For me, that decision was/is bley. The colour change brought my LEGO purchases to a crashing halt in 2004. I've picked up a few sets here and there, but my overall LEGO buying habits have been dramatically impeded by what I feel is an incompatability issue. I'm a castle fan first and foremost, so this colour change couldn't have been worse. EVERYTHING I build relies on grey. The death of old (earth toned) grey was pretty much the death of my LEGO purchasing. I still buy sets for figs and occasionally just for the build (UCS falcon), but my brick collecting has really hit a wall. The thing is, if your a train fan the stupidest decision was undoubtedly the end of the rail system. If your a technic fan, changes in technic ccould be a source of major disappointment. In the end, it all depends on how the changes impact you personally. I don't view Galidor or other LEGO misfires as being fatal, simply because they don't impact me as a builder. I don't collect Bionicle either, but its existence hasn't hurt my building routine whatsoever. Galidor or some of LEGO's dud lines are undoubtedly poor decisions, but they never really had a lasting impact on me or LEGO as a whole. The colour change and some of the other permanent system changes are a completely different story!

Month? What are you talking about? It took about six minutes :-D ! Seriously, that is one crazy video. I actually like the second video better. The set itself doesn't compare but the animation is far more playful. I would love to see the first video done with the same amount of creativity as the second one! Crazy!

There's alot of beauty in simplicity *y* ! This is a wonderful MOC. I like how you've managed to achieve this without alot of sophisticated building techs. Too many MOCs go for complexity simply because they can. This is as beautiful a shop as I've seen, yet there's next to no SNOT work. We know that you're capable of some fantastic techniques. It's good to know that you can achieve greatness even with the simplest ones. A genuine master work.

"Apology Song" by the Decemberists. A great band to build LEGO to.

Brick Rat, Thank you for your explanation. I guess this is one of the reasons I've never been big on fan definitions when it comes to terms like "purist". It seems that everybody has a different interpretation of the same thing. I probably fall under your definition of Purist #2. With that said, I'm not really keen on the term as I feel that all builders should be recognized for their love of all things LEGO. The term "purist" seems to carry with it an elitism that I've never been comfortable with. I don't customize, but at the same time I would never discourage somebody else from doing it. I've used the term purist in the past simply as a way to indicate that I elect to keep my bricks and pieces unmodified. Your post has given me second thoughts about using the term in the future.

Villagers. Why is it that only Town gets to have actual citizens? What's the point of having rival factions without having wome actual village folk? We're getting one peasant woman with the Advant Calender this year but I want more. I'm not a huge fantasy freak (I don't really care for orcs, dwarves or anything like that) so the possibility of elves doesn't really interest me. I'd rather have some ordinary folk to fill out and enrich the castle landscape.

Well, at least Dr. Evil is happy with this line. Is it just me or does LEGO have that one horrible design team that everyone is afraid to fire? After Alpha Team and Dino Attack, you would think that they would realize that the generic action sets need something more. Instead the design has dropped a peg. These sets look incredibly bland IMO.

I haven't encountered many fans under your Type 3. Heck, if using fan-made parts still makes you a purist, I don't really see why using clone brands doesn't. I know that alot of fans use Big Bens' train wheels, but I don't think that I understand why using fan made bricks is ok, but using clone brands is not. Also, wouldn't this mean that any fan who customizes their own bricks could also be considered a purist?

It's things like this that make me feel really bad for you Pirate folk :-( . As a purist I would probably never be able to bring myself to buy or use fake bricks like these shakos. At the same time, you guys haven't seen anything Imperial in over a decade. This makes it very expensive (and difficult) to amass a good army. I really feel for you guys. You would think that LEGO would consider dipping into the past and reviving Pirates considering how well Castle is doing. Still, if some of you are fellow purists I would ask you not to give in to the temptation of cheap imitations. There is no substitute for the quality of genuine LEGO. A sorry rabble of LEGO soldiers could easily wipe out a battalion of knockoffs X-D .

Right you are :-$ . I'm always forgetting that fourth set (the one with the tent).

Well, we know that there is a fourth Indy set called "River Chase" on the horizon, so that is at least one new surprise. Also, unless my eyes are deceiving me, I noticed a distinct absence of all things Batman in this catalog so that is another surprise. The Shop @ Home stuff like the VW Bug was also absent. Don't forget about things like the Advant Calender either. One thing LEGO is pretty good at doing is keeping fans on their respective toes! I'm sure we have plenty of surprises left.

Wow! This is quite an old topic. Still, it's definitely worth a comment. Typically I hate raised baseplate MOCs, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw this. Building a traditional keep on that baseplate actually works quite well. It gives the castle an imposing base to work from. Allthough this wouldn't have worked with as well with a green baseplate, the Adventurers one used here is perfect. It's a nice MOC that really captures the feel of an old Norman keep. Donjon on!

Well it looks like all of the sets depict the Pirates as heroes and the soldiers as thieves. I thought that the different boxes might present two sides of the story (ie make the soldiers look good on their own sets), however it looks as if the settlers are bad to the core, stealing the gold of those poor misunderstood pirates. Kind of a funny twist that allows kids to cheer on the pirates without actually cheering for the badguys. I like how the Pirates are only trying to steal back gold that was wrongfully appropriated from their ancestors.

Well, in a world obsessed with Star Wars it is nice to see that our LEGO princess can put up a pretty good fight!

Speaking of which... how have you been? I've noticed a number of old posts popping up on CC in the MOC section with your name on them. I had wondered where you had been off to. I hope we're going to be seeing some MOCs from you soon. Your presence was sorely missed in the CC contest. Later.

I like how the settlers are made out to be villians here. Heck, they even use quotes to denote sarcasm when describing the Pirates theiving ways. LEGO really went a long way to make sure that kids new the Pirates were the heroes of this theme. Between the pirates and the forestmen, it would seem that LEGO has a fondess for scoundrals. " Steal" away!

I think it is generally used in other hobbys where a collector heavily modifies or customizes an existing toy by painting/modifying certain parts of the figure to create something different. I haven't really seen the term associated with LEGO though. I'm also pretty sure that modifying a set wouldn't be considered a MOC by alot of builders. MOCing as I understand it refers to an entirely original work by the builder. Putting different flags on a castle or adding extra gun ports on a ship would be a set modification rather than a true MOC. Again, these are all simply words thrown around in the AFOL vernacular. It's a good idea not to get too caught up with them. Calling a set mod a good MOC isn't going to rile up many feathers in these parts. Eurobricks and the AFOL community in general tend to be very friendly.

Well, threads like this do spotlight some fantastic MOCs. The fact that it fools so many fans is a testament to the quality of this work. Fake or not, it is a nice MOC. I have alot of respect for fans who put this kind of care into both their MOCs and their subsequent presentation.

Touche! Of course, CC is an independant state. Classic-Pirates' affiliation with Eurobricks would make it more like a colony :-D (I kid of course).

Sandy's head puts most modified heads to absolute shame. Chewie doesn't have anything on that girl. Seriously, The Sandy headpiece is absolutely fantastic. Considering the Squidward head, this is quite a surprise. Before I saw this set I actually expected nothing but a brown minifig head painted with Sandy's face. This is excellent. The potential MOCing humour to come from this headpiece is bound to be nearly unlimited *yoda* .

You would hope so. It would be embarassing for you guys to lose this one in your own sub-forum. We castle freaks have an entire website to go ga ga for Castle *knight* ! Winning the battle in your small kingdom is one thing. Beyond these borders there be dragons!