MetroiD

Zorbas... This is the first time I've heard the details of your story :( I feel for you buddy, I really do, and I do hope everything post-op is fine now! I thought the trouble with that accident of yours was long forgotten and you'd already bought your BMW - I had no idea things had been that serious. That thing you said about your leg reminded me of a similar tragic story which is still too recent in my life... totally unrelated to motorcycles, but... too often we seem to take our bodies for granted, and it is only when we lose a part of our own selves, literally, that we suddenly realise just what we'd been blessed with in the first place. ...But enough about that. Once again, I wish you a speedy *full* post-op recovery and I hope your leg heals perfectly! Back to bikes - hats off for still being on a bike - I guess it just goes to show you're a biker through and through. Hope you never have any accident again - and that applies to all of you "biker brothers" out there! I'd LOVE to do a Balkan tour with you sometime later on... I'd been working my megablocks off this year in hopes of saving up for a bike but I guess that will have to wait some more :( In any case, Greece will most definitely be one of my first destinations once I get comfortable with my motorbike, even if it's a 400cc, as planned. Hope we could meet up then :] CGH, L-space, you really should consider a trans-Balkan route for your journeys next time guys... Seeing as you're quite experienced, I guess you've already made plans of long-distance journeys and the Middle East for example sounds rather nice for any biker. Central Europe - Balkans - Turkey - Syria... who knows, we might even be able to join you

I'm starting this thread since I noticed that there has so far been no comprehensive discussion of LifeLites being used as a lighting method for houses & entire town layouts. I'm not too keen on splashing out on a PF pack just in order to light up thw town, so I see LifeLites as a wonderful and very plausible alternative to that. The package I personally will probably be purchasing is eLite Basic Kit - and seeing as even if I order it straight away, it still won't be here before January, I decided I'd delay that purchase and ask you guys whether you had any experience whatsoever with LifeLites lighting. If so, which one do you consider to be the best kit? The way I see things, the Basic Kit is the optimal solution with its max. 10 LED cables which should suffice for a small / average layout. Another thing I'm a bit worried about is the power source - LifeLites use 9V but since I'm not a huge fan of using batteries, I was also wondering whether there were any other options of connecting it to the AC other than the 9V Train Speed Regulator? If not, I guess I'll just have to buy an extra Regulator for the town's lights... I mailed some of my questions & concerns to Rob Hendrix (who runs LifeLites) and he was kind enough to provide me with detailed information which reassured me that LifeLites is 100% compatible and a really good choice. But I still wanted to know what you guys thought of it. Thanks in advance for any info :)

Now THAT would be fun to see :) Just a thought, but I was wondering whether you'd seen The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.? Rather short-lived western/steampunk series, but I really loved it back when I was akid and I've recently found it on DVD and have been rediscovering it... Could be a nice source of inspiration!

All good then!

Oh well, some people simply prefer pics to text, I guess :P In any case, despite this terrible tragedy I still think things are fixable. All you need to do, Hornbricker, is follow CGH's steps veery closely... For that however I reckon you'd need a precise list of beers taken and a time schedule so that you know exactly when those were drunk... If you try really hard, I'm sure she'll look complete in no time Stupid beer jokes aside though, good luck with bringing her back to life! And do keep us posted on your progress :] P.S.: Ratshot's piece of advice seems rather plausible... thanks for that mate!!!

Thanks a lot Siggy! I guess I'll be putting that purchase on hold for now, until I can really hear how that Onkyo plays. The Denon M37 has won quite a few awards these last few years, but I still like to do my testing with my own ears.

I'm thinking of buying a new micro hi-fi so I was wondering whether any one of you guys has had any experience in that area... I've pretty much made up my mind and after listening to that system in action, I think I'll go for Denon D-M37. The other hi-fi I was considering was Onkyo's CS-515, but unfortunately I haven't had the chance to actually hear that system yet, so I'd be grateful for any feedback. Another thing I was wondering was whether you guys know of any online shops that deliver hi-fi within the EU? Fortunately, Denon do have an official distributor here, but Onkyo, Tannoy and the likes are somewhat of a rarity... Thanks in advance for any info and sorry for the slight off-topic here ;]

Sometimes, guys, I'm wondering if you are indeed adults or 8-year olds (Rancor, we all figured out what CopMike was talking about, but it was still supposed to be a surprise). Oh well, with the surprise ruined anyway, at least I hope we don't see a thread "What *snip* would you like to see in next year's Xmas Raffle" started...

That army is getting stronger by the day! And I liked the Union better... Does that mean they're headed for desctruction? I love your cannon wagon by the way... very ingenious You've definitely been on fire these last few weeks Brickster mate, great job :)

My guess is, they've been popping in just to see what's new and then clicking the X button in the upper right corner because they've received yet another phone call from a client who wants things done within the next hour or so, even though they've had the last month to decide whether or not they want anything done at all. I guess you know what December does to business mate - and at the end of the day this is still supposed to be an AFOL site :] As to Tony's masterpiece here... When I first saw it, I thought it was photoedited... And I only realised it was all brick-built after I went to that flickr page. Always known you were a true master train MOCcer, my friend, but your photo arrangement & landscaping... oh, and the bridge too... they're breathtaking. If I lived in the USA, I'd definitely come over to see your next display. Pity the pond's so hard to swim across :/

I must agree there, Inconspicuous... That was not too a very smart thing to say - you didn't have to shove it in other people's faces, now did you?

Still haven't built ours... It's been a busy week and we're yet to decorate the house. Along with putting up our town layout, we are also going to do our Christmas village arrangement which is not related to LEGO in any way. I was wondering whether you guys would be interested in seeing that once we're ready?

This is every bit as impressive as your other wonderful modular designs, lgorlando... Great job mate, to me you've definitely become a great source of inspiration and one of the best modular CC-style builders! Off to check out all the cool details of your hospital now....

Finally casting my vote... Here goes: Lorentzen: 3 Lorentzen's grandpa & grandson story is really touching and well-executed. This was my favourite entry in the Small Category because it was well thought out and reflected the spirit of the Contest in a wonderful and very peaceful way. Besides, it also featured some of the best details, both in terms of furniture and building techniques, which definitely managed to win me over. Jansued: 1 I enjoyed Jansued's visit to the dentist mainly because of the details he featured there, with some of those being admittedly downright brutal but at the same time really hilarious. I like an entry with a good sense of humour and his really deserves to be mentioned for that! Besides, that toothache-suffering shark was the perfect icing on the cake. JDHinten: 1 JD's entry is what I'd really call a "Small" entry per se. No multiple levels, no buildings, just a couple of minifigs and a brilliantly depicted idea. I thought he did a wonderful job in capturing that concept in so few bricks and showing it to us. His perfect hedge-building technique and minifig posing really did wow me. Admiral Ron: 1 Ron's tale of corruption is another candidate that fits the theme perfectly here. Even with wars gone, it will take a lot of effort to change our evil ways - and that includes both bribing and spying. Besides, he really managed to go a long way in a very short time with this MOC of his and I can only congratulate him on that wonderful effort! TomBricks: 1 Tom's entry, with its promise of domestic peace, was another nice depiction of life as simple as we'd sometimes like it to be. The idea aside, what grabbed me there was Tom's capability of building such a nice structure on the tiny base which all Small categories had been given. The colour combination that went with that is smashing and rounds up a wonderfully thought out scene.

How can you have a problem with winning something for free and having it eventually delivered to you at no cost? If anything, not knowing what you're getting would make it a bit more exciting! Besides, who told you you'd win anyway I could understand it if some members wanted to know what they were getting so that they could switch prizes with other members (which was an option in last year's raffle), but I don't think you're being reasonable here.

Appreciated At least this gives me the perfect excuse to keep ranting... mwwahahahhaaaaa :pir-skull:

Bump! Saw this a couple of months back. Thought to myself, well isn't it time for Part 2 yet!!! What are you waiting for Siggy! (veeery smooth bump by the way, I admire your skills :D) P.S.: Oh, and... sorry, but I'm a total stranger to GIMP & the likes, so I can't really help you... but I'd love to see this comic continued!

This is beautiful. It is precisely presents such as this one that really warm one's heart. Whenever someone takes a heap of materials and turns them into a very special, unique and personalized gifts - that's when you're really lost for words, because you know how much love was breathed into such a creation. I've had that happen to me so many times, my significant Otter is great at all kinds of handicraft so she always finds new ways to amaze me and fill my days with joy. So yeah, WF mate, I know just what receiving this piece of beauty must have felt like. You, my friend, are blessed, and long may that continue :) And do tell Kim that her piece of art is so unique that I could definitely see it becoming an instant hit if it were ever made available to the wide public! What a nice way to set the Christmas mood here on EB by the way... thanks ever so much for that, if you hadn't revived this topic, I probably would never have seen this wonderful gift! Oh, and by the way - if you ever find out which shop sells materials to make custom snow globes, please do let me know! (I hope they'd take international orders :P)

And you certainly did so in a very enjoyable way, I did laugh a lot when I saw this MOC :). As to the peg-leg, that's a very cool detail, thank you for pointing it out - I did miss it when looking at the photo for the first time, and was going to ask you what that brown thing by the bath-tub was... Stupid me! It's definitely an awesome idea and just goes to show that you knew exactly what you were doing with this great vig of yours! :)

You'd hate them even more if they crapped on your visor while you're doing 100 mph on your bike. It is at such times, after having pulled off and while cleaning the birds' excrements from my helmet, that I think to myself: "Bless them, it definitely ain't that bad... thank God that cows can't fly!!!" Sorry for the off-topic, DarthNick, but I guess you'll appreciate this as a proper excuse for this sport of yours :)

Well, I'm guessing Bart here doesn't have long hair (not that popular anymore ever since hair metal went out of fashion and the 80s were officialy declared "old times", I guess)... But I agree 100% with you there capto, that hairpiece looks quite appropriate when used as a substitute for wet long hair. Besides, long hair wasn't so rare back in those days (at least if we look at the pirates movies), so to me that's definitely a nice-looking detail - well done mate!

Congrats on being allowed to participate with this one :] I didn't think the local seadogs would have admitted an entry posted as late as two days after the deadline, but I guess this goes to show how wrong we are in our assumptions regarding pirates! You've certainly got a nice idea there, refitting the prison and turning it into a fun place to hang around. Some of the details are definitely very succesful, such as the gallows rope used as a hoop and the "newly-invented" food-cutting machine. I must admit though that I would have liked to see more of those and perhaps if you'd entered the contest a bit earlier, you could have asked C-P members what torture devices / prison equipment they'd like to see refurbished and used peacefully in these peaceful times. After all, that's what the Creative Critic part of this contest is all about and that's what it makes it so much fun for the participants! Off the top of my head, you could for example have had an isolation chamber turned into a freezer compartment - such additions would have turned this MOC into a much more lively place. So I'm not sure if you've managed to use 100% of the potential that you had with this wonderful idea of yours, but it's still a very nice entry. However, some of the details featured here could have used more work - such as the staircase which you could easily have kept in this brick-built form, as long as you'd placed it along the wall. As it is now, it looks very unstable and a bit out of place - and seeing as it's one of the main interior features that viewers' attention is focused on, I'm thinking that you should have tried and added more details and realism to it. The same applies to the flames, two of which seem to come pretty much out of nowhere (the ones on both sides of the door). Coming up with a couple of nice lanterns could have made a huge difference there and would have definitely been very eye-pleasing. And as to the rooftop, it has been turned into a nice garden, but definitely not a greenhouse - and having precisely a greenhouse up there would have been such a cool idea. I guess you didn't really have the time to include that, but I did enjoy your idea, pity you didn't take it all the way. Good luck in the competition - you've certainly had some in having this entry admitted :)

When does voting commence mateys?

I agree but I'm sure the boys will take care of that once they're done with all the details (prizes, etc.). Just have some more patience and in the meantime - check that bookmark once a day :]

Congratulations guys! Can't wait to see what you've won - enjoy your presents. Cheers to CopMike, Sieggy & Co. for organizing the great raffle as well - 24 days of anticipation, yay!