Carbohydrates

Now really is a good time. If you buy used and don't care about the box, you can get most of the Western sets for only slightly more than they sold for new. I personally wanted the original box and instructions, so I paid a bit more, but I still feel the prices are reasonable for 14 years-old sets.

I've noticed iffy quality control on 'em as well. These are actually the first Chinese LEGO I've owned, and it is actually more noticeable than I'd have expected. I have a Cowboy whose legs are too loose, and everyone's torsos and legs are more matte than the shiny 'standard' figs. This is particularly noticeable on black parts like the Magician's top hat and the Zombie's shovel, which are drastically different in texture than their standard production contemporaries such that I'm making it a point not to mix the parts. it's a bit of a sad state of affairs, but I know the cost of plastics manufacturing has gone up since 2005 or so (I work in an industry directly affected by this) and the figs would have to cost a bit more than $2 apiece to not be outsourced, so I suppose sacrifices must be made. I'd personally rather pay a bit more and get a bit more quality for it, though I understand there are those that wouldn't find $2.50 or $3.00 per fig justifiable.

They were released in America on June 1 and I've heard they were released overseas before that. I saw it mentioned a couple times in this thread that the release date is sometime late in the month, but I wonder where that tidbit of information initially came from? The only release date I ever heard was June 1. edit: A PDF on LEGO's official site states: "But look out – these limited-edition minifigures won't last long! Find out more at the LEGO Store. Offer valid June 1-30, 2010 or while supplies last only."

Yeah, they covered a lot of ground in a short period of time, which may be part of why the series didn't continue - where do you go from there? I could see having a stagecoach set, maybe a couple more buildings for the town, but what big, iconic locales could you introduce for a second run? Perhaps a train robbery with a station, train, tracks, and bandits on horseback. Actually, that would be amazing. Now I'm sad they didn't do that. Sheriff's Lock-Up was one of only three Western sets I ever had, the others being the covered wagon and a smaller supplemental native American set. I always wanted Gold City Junction, which my neighbor had. Luckily, I've got one coming in the mail to me now, since I am on a bit of a Western kick these days!

I feel like I'm in such a minority here, but... I'd like just one of those, to have a complete series 2. I really don't care for him that much compared to, say, the Mexican or the cop, which I like a lot more. In fact, I think the Mexican is gonna be my zombie of wave 2. Gotta get a bunch of 'em! edit: The post above mine is very reasonable and well thought out.

Petition for Western to return! Hello! I'd like to make a thread dedicated specifically to a theme a lot of us hold dearly that even seems to be growing in popularity recently (possibly in conjunction with the recent release of the popular Western video game 'Red Dead Redemption'). So, what is there to say? The Theme For a theme that only ran one year (edit: Actually, two years! Thanks to Norro for the correction), this theme managed to cover a lot of ground with quite a few sets. Introduced in 1996, the Western line featured four different 'factions' - which is pretty unique compared to LEGO's usual two-opposing-sides style - each with sets dedicated to them. You had the cowboys/civilians, the US Army, the bandits, and the native Americans. Interestingly, aside perhaps from the bandits, there were no dedicated "good" or "bad" groups. This is especially noticeable when you realize LEGO never released a set that featured both native American and cowboy minifigs in it, taking a very deliberate step away from the traditional "Cowboys and Indians" setup. In fact, the native American sets were released under a separate subtheme of the main Western theme. These sets were all made in 1996 and 1997, but three sets from the Western theme were reissued in 2002. The Sets http://brickset.com/browse/themes/?theme=Western http://peeron.com/inv/theme/LEGO/SYSTEM/Western I'm not going to list them all out here, since there are two resources above that list them all out for me! The sets cover all your staples of the American spaghetti western, though: the town (3 buildings across 2 sets), the fort, the gold mine, the native American village (4 tepees across 3 sets), and associated set pieces. Price points and set sizes were generously balanced, with the central iconic sets being Fort Legoredo and Rapid River Village, originally introduced at $85 and $60 respectively, with a good number of mid-sized, small-sized, and promo sets to go with. The sets' obvious weak point is the price per piece, which tended to range rather high due to most sets having larger prefabricated pieces and baseplates. The Minifigs The Western sets introduced 16 new minifigs, not counting the variations some of them had, like the three separate configurations of the Cavalry Lieutenant fig. These sets were very generous with their minifig numbers, with an average of ~4 figs per set. Notable sets in this regard are Rapid River Village, which featured 7 minifigs at a $60 price point; Fort Legoredo with 10 figs at $85, and the supplemental Frontier patrol: 3 soldiers (and a horse) for $6. Interestingly, only the native American minifigs featured new molds, as cowboy hats and bandanas had been around for a while. They did all come with a plethora of new accessories, though, such as the revolver, rifle, gold-plated horn, printed dynamite and TNT tiles, large barrel, tree stump, feathers (2 styles), snake, and more. MOCS This theme has been kept alive by some amazing MOCS built by members of various LEGO communities, and I'd like to recognize a few of my personal favorites here as an example of the potential of the theme! Tombclone Saloon by I Scream Clone Colorado Springs, 1899 by Profound Whatever Wells, Fargo & Co. Overland Express and Assay Office by Ɲ. Stagecoach by Sir Nadroj Mark Twain sternwheel river boat by Henrik Hoexbroe Pif Paf City by Kris Kelvin Riding out on a horse in a star spangled rodeo... by SlyOwl Of course, these are just a few of many, many excellent Western-themed MOCs out there! Useful Links: Eurobricks Western MOC index Eurobricks Western Themes Review Index Flickr Old West Group MOCPages American Old West Group

There aren't really any pieces dedicated to specifically doing that, but people have come up with workarounds. - You can use old finger-style hinge plates, with one turned upside-down from the other. This is one of the more often used methods, but it takes up a bit of space (but very little height!): http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=4276 http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=4275 - You can use a technic pin 1/2 with the pin pushed into the bottom of a brick and the stud facing down, but it's not "clean" in that it doesn't sit perfectly flush. It's still a good method for attaching smaller details: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=4274 - You can fit a 1 x 1 tile between the tube and wall of a 2 x 2 (or 2 by whatever) brick, allowing you to attach a same-sized plate upside down to the bottom. This holds reasonably well. - You can turn a 1 x 1 brick with studs on sides sideways, but this leaves a 1/2 plate offset (useful sometimes): http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=47905 http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=4733 - You can use two 1 x 1 headlight bricks nestled into each other. I like this method a lot since it's very clean and can be used fairly compactly: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=4070 - A technic 1 x 4 (or 1 x 6, 1 x 8, etc) plate can be used to mount a piece upside-down and is probably the very strongest and most stable method in this list, but it requires a decent amount of space to do well: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=4263 http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=4262 I'd post some pics showing exactly what I'm trying to describe, but I'm at work right now, so it'll have to wait a bit, sorry!

Thanks for the kind words, guys. It's really been 8 months since I made that car? Wow! I've still got it together on my desk.

Looks fantastic! very nicely done.

Still listed as "sold out," though.

I'm a guitarist. I've been playing with a band on-and-off for a couple years, but we're not doing much at the moment. I write music since I don't like playing covers - mostly folksy indie rock stuff, but my previous band was a grunge band. Here's an older shot - I don't even own that guitar anymore (but I do still play Les Pauls primarily on stage)!

Neat little set. I like that they included both the new and old-style helms, but I just can't get behind the torso on the dragon knight. Looks a bit too... kinky.

Thank you everybody, I really do appreciate the positive feedback. I'll play with it some tonight and see how it would look as a post office or doctor's office. I actually really like the idea of a doctor's office! Also, I just fulfilled some childhood dreams by ordering a Gold City Junction and a Sheriff's Lock-Up off Bricklink, so perhaps we shall see how this looks in a proper Western town! edit: This little building has over 600 pieces, by the way. Won't be cheap to make. It has more than double the number of pieces of LEGO's official general store and bank combined.

There won't be a shortage on the secondary market for a good, long time. I think when most people are referring to a shortage, they're referring to the fact that they're sold out at primary retailers like TRU and LEGO stores. For those looking for complete sets on BL, there are 5 complete super lots for $44 each, 6 at $50, and 3 at $63.

Received my order of 60 today. It wasn't a sealed box and the numbers didn't come out as if it was - for instance, I got 8 divers but only 1 crash test dummy. Oh well, can't complain at all since I got the 'correct' number of zombies and cheerleaders (3 each) and all the 'important' stuff. I'm just sitting on a giant pile of divers and spacemen now.

I wonder what exactly that means. Meta creations made of LEGO about LEGO?

Yes but that is literally the exact opposite of the situation you're proposing here, and with entirely different motivation. Those were just random minifigs from older sets that certainly weren't designed from the start to be exclusive, rare items. They were just the figs that came with the sets. Maybe, maybe not. Keep in mind these were made in China, outsourced no doubt for the lower production costs. Besides that, Chinese LEGO stuff tends to not intermingle with standard LEGO fare often. Finally, it's entirely possible LEGO is using the figs to generate interest in LEGO as a whole rather than to rake in pure profit, which would mean the figs would generate indirect profit and they can allow for a smaller margin on the figs themselves. Where's that quote from? Is that an actual quote or is it speculation? Because, if anything, I could possibly see these molds making their way into sets, just not the complete figs themselves.

What are the themes this year? I loved last year's zombie invasion and bug builds.

I love waiting to receive things in the mail. It makes them more satisfying when they finally arrive and it gives you something to look forward to during a slow work week!

Thanks! It's funny, the hedgehog cactus was the very last thing I added to the MOC and it seems to be one of the most popular parts of it! Feel free to use it wherever! Thank you! I don't really bother with minifigs when I'm designing this sort of thing, but when I build it (because I probably will), it'll look a lot more 'alive.' I've already got plans for figs - see that thread I made about 'em!

What a MOC! The outside's all right, but the real prize is the interior here. I'm really enjoying the consistent and obviously well thought-out color scheme in particular, and the bar is terrific, especially with the grating behind it (which looks odd from the outside, but GREAT from the inside). Nice!

Hello! I've got an open but 100% complete 7888 Tumbler: Joker's Ice Cream Surprise set, with all minifigs (including the now ridiculously expensive Joker), accessories, original instructions, and box. It was assembled once and then stored, so there's no wear, just a bit of dust. Stickers are applied nicely - I have a steady hand. The cheapest one in this condition on Bricklink is presently $300. I'd like to trade this for Wild West sets totaling a similar value. Used or MISB OK, but MISB will obviously be valued much higher! If you've only got a couple smaller sets of lower value, I'll happily trade for sets + cash. I'd prefer to trade than to just sell it outright, but I'll take offers! Originals or 2002 reissues of the Western sets are both A-OK by me! My big priorities are Gold City Junction, Fort Legoredo, and Sheriff's Lock-Up. Thanks for your consideration!

Thanks! I was thrilled to find that those gears do come in green. Everyone builds saguaro cactus, so I wanted to try a different kind. The left wall has two more rifles behind a swinging barred door and the right wall has a cavalry sword and two knives. The main purpose of the shelves/racks is to hold up the side walls, so they (or something similar) have to be there. :)

Here's what I've been working on lately! It's built to fit in with the official Western buildings such as Gold City Junction and the sheriff's office - 16x32 tan baseplate, open back, and an obligatory black fence piece. It still needs just a bit of finishing work, but I'm a bit impatient and I feel it's presentable now! Changes to be made: Smaller sign (3 tiles tall instead of 4), move the cactus so people don't have to walk through it to read the bulletin board. The three letter pieces on the little bulletin board would be these three pieces: 1 2 3 Not sure I'm thrilled with the firewood holder there, especially since the building doesn't have a fireplace. I'm also not positive I'm sold on this being a gun store. It works well enough, but feels a bit uninspired. It's too small to be a saloon, doesn't look right to be a livery or blacksmith, and there's already a sheriff's office, general store, and bank. Any thoughts on this?

Yeah, I love that they're built to the same standard as the official sets (16x32 tan baseplate, open back). The stage is a relatively straightforward design, but it works VERY well - the only thing I would change would be to add four 1x2 plates with 1 stud on the outside seat so a driver and shotgun could sit side by side.