MetroiD

Yup, I've seen many John Coopers with black stripes and quite a few tuning kits (I used to live nearby the primary Mini dealership in Berlin ). Knowing your rallying roots, I couldn't be sure you hadn't gone for an Aerodynamics Cooper Kit or a John Cooper GT :) In any case, your wife has definitely done well there - great choice!

This is just too good to be true... *speechless* Now I can rest assured that those minifigs will be treated in the best facility there could ever be! lgorlando, I hereby officially proclaim you to be one of my Modular Building Gurus

I was thinking of quoting both that AND your response... How about a hermaphrodite boner then!? (I shudder at the thought )

Ahoy fellow maties, first of all excuse me for starting a thread over a non-LEGO-related topic. However, I'm having trouble with this and I thought it might also be a useful thread for other ship modeling enthusiasts. I received this gorgeous brig as a present for my birthday. It's a wooden ship kit model by OcCre (Occio Creativo), the Corsair Brigantine - here's an overview of the kit's contents and the ship's details, as posted by a guy on another forum... I don't need to tell you just how much I love it, but I must admit the sight of so many tiny elements and instructions so scarce was quite frightening. Especially seeing as I have no experience with ship modeling whatsoever - and I'm genuinely worried that my clumsiness might cause some damage to her fine mast, rigging or other details... Worst of all, this is not a beginner's kit - but I loved the model so much from the instant I saw her, I wouldn't have been happy building anything else. I'd be grateful for any tips and pieces of information you might be able to share on this. I'll still build her, even if I get no help whatsoever, and even if that's at the expense of a few mistakes here and there (there's nothing that can't be rectified, at the end of the day :) ), but I thought I'd better ask the pros first and see what kind of response I'd get

I guess that's what I should do - thanks, Joey! I was thinking of posting this thread over there, but then I figured it's non-LEGO, so... Anyway, I'm starting a new thread for this over at the Pirates section, if the Admins decide this one is redundant, feel free to delete/close it. Thanks!

Precisely. Looks big and besides - it would take a big/ elevated (!) structure if they need such floodlights for it... From the looks of it, the red passenger train looks a bit less <insert that tiresome argument> than the current RC hi-speed train. It would be interesting to see how things have changed in that aspect, but I don't think I'll be buying it - I have enough on my hands right now, looking for Santa Fe wagons and planning on an EN purchase Now, the yellow cargo (?) train looks rather nice... Guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Neato! It looks to me that the TRU exclusive is also "hidden" among those sets. I'm not commenting on anything until I get a closer look though. In any case, whatever Train set comes out, I doubt it will manage to beat the Emerald Night off my priority list

Well I received this gorgeous brigantine as a present for my birthday. It's a wooden ship kit model by OcCre (Occio Creativo), the Corsair Brigantine... I don't need to tell you just how much I love it, but I must admit the sight of so many tiny elements and instructions so scarce was quite frightening. Especially seeing as I have no experience with ship modelling whatsoever - and I'm genuinely worried that my clumsiness might cause some damage to her fine mast, rigging or other details... So I thought that there might be some ship-building enthusiasts among yourselves here who could help me out with beginners' tips and tricks to make it a bit easier... I'm quite aware that this is NOT a beginners' model, but I'm definitely planning on building it, no matter how long it takes. And I'd be grateful for any piece of information you might be willing to share with me

Cockney for the win!! Downloading it right now, will have fun listening to this later today.

Don't mean to be rude here Selander and I must say I've really enjoyed your past designs, but I erm... have to agree with that 100%. Loving the truck, but it's practically a 1:1 copy of pnorm's design and the same goes for the front-loader. It looks like the only design purely "original" here is the trailer and while that does look nice and the red-yellow stripe is an eye-catcher (which is not always needed in construction transportation...), I really feel it should have been done in 7 (if not even 8)-wide. That machine looks waaay too big n wide on top, would be dangerous if it were hauled that way.

Am I the only one who thinks this sounds sooooo inappropriate As to the guy who's pissing on those birds' parade, that's quite obviously a transvestite. Peeing out of its belt buckle. And enjoying it immensely. OK, now this entire post sounds awkward...

Yarrr! How about finally fixing that poor shark's toothache problem anyway!? Kudos guys - these 3 MOCs really prove the old saying that "good things come in small packages". Enjoy yer booty, arrr!

Thoroughly deserved!!! Congratulations to all three of you - having won when the competition was so strong must be a great feeling, enjoy it guys!

Just turned 24. Not too old, not too young - juuuust right!

Almost every entry here is fully deserving of 7 points - absolutely brilliant work and hats off to all participants! This time however, I've decided to only award points to 2 MOCs, with the top priority for me being creativity in terms of ideas behind the entries, as well as implementation of those in detail. Without further ado, 2 points to Captain Blackmoor. This is one of the most original entries I've seen, the idea is extremely cool yet believable and has given him the opportunity to showcase his MOCcing prowess by depicting an almost surreal scene in a very realistic way. I still pity that ship, but at least it looks like it's going to become a great scuba divers' hangout in another 300 years And the other entry I absolutely loved was our local ice cream wielding clone's entry - 5 points to I Scream Clone for his C4C. From the moment I saw that MOC, I knew this would be my favourite in the Large category. I'm not sure whether it's because it's got that distinctive Islanders vibe to it, or because of its great comedy value... It might also be that I loved his landscaping, mini-stories or the natives' sea vessels. But I guess it's mostly a combination of each and every one of those aspects, so I can't really say what was the decisive factor there. Two words though - loved it! A quick overview of my voting once again: Captain Blackmoor - 2 points I Scream Clone - 5 points

Who told you they aren't into exhibitionism?!

You ugly corn flake campaigner! Huh, immature? Us? NEVER!

Spot on mate! Thanks a mill once again :)))

Here's our Winter Toy Shop underneath the Christmas tree, along with the Santa Express... my first ever train MOC, loosely based on the Holiday Train.

Very interesting design... The dome gives it a very typical Russian look and it looks it must have really hard to build.

Great thread!!! To me, that has to be the 6506 Precinct Cruiser with Inspector Cruchot (or at least that's who I think the policeman is) :) Got it back in 1989 and, apart from disassembling it to dust & clean the parts and then once again to take pics of all the separate pieces for a review here on EB, it has been intact ever since. 20 years and counting! Guess it's pretty obvious how nostalgic I feel about this particular set. Another set which I have kept together in its original state is the Spyrius Recon Robot. Originally, I had wanted to get the Robo Guardian instead for Christmas, but once I built my Recon Robot, I loved it... Funnily enough, I still haven't bought that other Robo Guardian - but I certainly will :) Unfortunately, the Recon Robot got a bit disassembled during the time it was stashed in a cardboard box, along with tons of other LEGO for 10 years... So I don't know if it really counts, but I'd say I've kept it built for 15 years now.

I just had to say this... Great choice mate! Is it the red version with the white stripes?

Thanks, fellow Berliner :))) I've been lucky enough to add another one (the 7894 airport) to this year's sets - although it's technically not "bought" - I received it as a bday present And who knows, I might just manage to add another wonderful train set before the end of the year... wish me luck!

Why not join the fun... Here's some facts about moi: I'm Bobby. In 99.9% of the time I go under the alias of "MetroiD" on the Internet, but I've set up this account, just like the MOCPages and Brickshelf accounts, to showcase stuff which I build with my girlfriend, hence the different nickname. "Mr. Otter" sounds kinda fun, but I still consider myself a young soul, so you could just stick with Bobby there... Just turned 24. Still at the university though. Went to the Technical University in Berlin for 3,5 years but had to cancel my studies there and return to Sofia (Bulgaria). Economics is my thing, although I just can't see how I can still find the nerves finish a Master's degree after my current studies. I wholeheartedly hate university - in general. My dark age lasted 1998 - 2008. A decade during which I was too busy wearing Iron Maiden shirts, pendants, rings and bracelets, then playing computer games (and earning good money by working as a game magazine editor), then driving around in my first car and absolutely loving it, and then juggling with work and university in Berlin. I still work alongside my studies. I've been working ever since I was 15, even if those were part-time jobs back then, can't imagine myself just "concentrating on my studies". I'm a sworn translator and professional interpreter, I work with English, German and Bulgarian languages and the area I enjoy mostly are simultaneous interpretations. I've also learned Russian, French and Spanish and I'm planning on picking up French once again at a later stage. I totally enjoy learning foreign languages. I've had several cars over the years (seeing as this is obviously a thing most EBbers discuss :) ), but I currently don't own one. I've started on a 20-year old Russian LADA 1500S, so there's pretty much nothing that can surprise me. I'm planning on buying a motorcycle soon, which has been my dream ever since I was a kid (I'm obsessed with bikes). Later on, I'd like to buy a VW Scirocco. I enjoy sports, even though I wasn't too sporty when I was a child. I've been involved with basketball, martial arts, inline skating, swimming, fitness and hockey since I was a teenager, and I still practice the last two sports, even though it's on an on/off basis right now, as I can't seem to find all the time I need. My favourite sport is still swimming though, followed closely by ice hockey. I love reading books and I hate watching TV. Using the PC serves perfectly as middle ground, especially seeing as I spend hours upon hours surfing wikipedia, online magazines (Men's Health, National Geographic) and blogs - I like keeping myself informed and I find that it helps every aspect of my life. I used to love playing computer games and considered myself a pro in that area, which is why there was a time when I worked as a gamers' magazine editor. Haven't played a single new game for the last 5+ years though, and I'm not planning to either. I don't find it enjoyable anymore, not even with the Wii concept and all. I guess my time with gaming has come to an end, which I find only natural. If I still play PC games from time to time, it's classics from the 90s such as the original Civilization, Colonization, MadTV, SimCity or some adventure game (Grim Fandango and Full Throttle are my two favourite games... love them to bits). I'm an avid melomaniac and my taste in music covers pretty much the entire spectrum with classical music, opera, trash/neo metal and some forms of rap being the only exclusions. I enjoy having tons of music to choose from and I try to keep my collections of favourite artists in a lossless format. That said, I find myself morally obliged to purchase their CDs as well (that's why they're called "favourite artists", after all) and I buy boxsets every now and then. Another thing I'm a huge fan of is watches - I love the brand Fossil. I own four Fossil watches and one Candino. I'll probably keep on buying Fossils seeing as I don't really like the production of equally-priced companies (Festina, Tissot, Candino, Citizen) and I'm still not too keen on splashing out on a Tag Heuer or an Omega. When the time comes though, I'm also definitely planning on adding a Tag Heuer Monaco to my watch collection. I love the concept of wet shaving. I own a shaving brush and I use shaving soap and classic aftershave products. I genuinely hate canned shaving foam and razorblade cartridges / modern razors. I've recently ordered a single blade shaving razor which will help me finally get rid of Gillette and their multi-bladed junk. ...that should do it for now, I guess :] P.S.: I've read all of your info and I found it rather interesting - keep em coming guys!

Thanks once again guys :))) Rick - did you HAVE to remind me of that I'm getting older, I know I know! Good thing there's always Izzy's nice colours to brighten up that fact! @ Svelte - no photos yet, sorry for that. We haven't had too much room for the Christmas village and we've bought so many houses this year that we can't really find space for all of them... Will take pictures tomorrow though and I'll make sure to post them :)