Wodanis

Really like your MOC! It's very well thought out and is quite detailed. How did you do the bridge? Did you use the stud with rope piece? I know I want to eat there!

I do not view TLG as hypocrites. TLG has stated quite often that they will not make modern war themed toys. It is part of their ethos since the company's founding. Licensed themes reflect the conflicts within those worlds such as LoTR and Star Wars. All stories shared by humans have in their essence conflict. Conflict progresses a story. Conflict of man vs man, man vs himself, man vs an outside force. Chima or Ninjago are a prime example of this. Have you seen any movie that hasn't had one of these conflicts? You won't find one. In these themes the conflicts are still based in fantasy. Last time I checked Classic space astronauts were not 'Red vs Blue', Russian vs American. I find that view rather insulting. Perhaps you would do well to re-read Faefrost's post as he sums it up pretty well. I would recommend that if you find conflicts distasteful play with something else. As for the other post with all the Chinese knock offs. Who is promoting war there?

I think the essence of Lego has been neither the sets nor the bricks but the system. Sets show us what is possible and the the bricks allow us to utilise our imagination. Having grown up with Lego all my life since the 80s there has been a shift to Intellectual properties. In the 80s and early 90s it really was about using your imagination and disassembling sets to build something even greater. Now we have seen targeted marketing campaigns for various movies and themes (Superheroes, Star Wars, Lone Ranger etc) which isn't a bad thing as there are movies that I would like to own a corresponding set to. However it does makes sets more prevailent and relevant in the current climate. TLG makes more money off these IPs especially if a movie is popular. It's difficult to sell a box of bricks without some thought as to how it will be used by kids or AFOLs. Movies in particular are a great way to frame a product. I don't think TLG has lost focus due to IPs. If anything AFOLs and kids alike have shown to appreciate non IPs such as Lego CITY or advanced models such as modulars. I know I do! Look at how modular buildings are so popular? Both as a set and to give us the framework for our imagination. This is why BnP and PAB are so important. These services provide balance to the system from exclusively offering sets. There can always be improvements made. I think you are right in that TLG restrains itself with PAB but I attribute that to cost rather than functionality. I would love to see that service expanded. Who knows maybe we will see it happen. :) I like to collect and when I have more parts I will build more MOCs both are fun in their own way. However bricks and sets are two sides of the same coin: the system of play.

As someone who supports the environment I disagree with Greenpeace's current tactics and message. Clearly Greenpeace is bullying the Lego Group due to two reasons; it is now a very popular toy and they think that doing so is the weak link in the chain. If Greenpeace is so concerned about the environment why not target Shell directly? It is because their argument is weak and border line conspiracy theory. They would get no where with Shell. They should get with the times and stop picking on pointless issues and start concentrating their efforts on the actual problems. I really dislike how people are trying to use Lego as a pretext for a political message. It's a toy, yes made out of plastic, most of the goods we use are. Greenpeace should mind themselves and gain some credibility.

I never heard that humidity could be a factor in the discolouration of bricks. So far my sets from the 80s or 90s are good as they were in a box out of direct sunlight. However my 1999 Star Wars sets on display were exposed to direct sunlight and I'd spend a fortune to replace the parts.

For me, I made a MOC Octan Modular Gas Station last summer and this year a modular police station (still work in progress). I consider these to be 'sets'. I specifically bought the pieces for each and store each separately from my other spare parts. I have no plans on reusing them as I liked being able to create these design in LDD and making them a reality. If I had more money I'd buy numerous parts and reuse them when MOCing but as I don't have that luxury yet I have to stick to my plan. :)

Good to know. Isn't nice to get new parts in the mail. :)

I would definitely call Lego Customer Service and follow up with them about this. It clearly came from the same point in origin. I've never seen that much cracking on lego parts in one set. Clearly there is a quality control issue and TLG takes these issues very seriously. Emails tend to get lost in the shuffle so call their 1-800 number. It's on the TLG website.

I really like this building when I first saw it posted. Any chance on sharing the LDD file? Ive been looking to do a bank design.

Welcome to the darkside! Mwhahaha

I hadn't thought about it like that but you would be right. It makes sense to have the spaceman promo alongside the Exo Suit release. Guess I'm going to be buying an Exo Suit.

I really wish Lego would do just one type of promo for all regions rather than try to be specific. I understand how they cater to regions as they think different promos might sell better in an individual region however I think TLG is selling themselves short. TMNT may be more popular in North America but I would prefer the European promos. They should just do a promo each month to cover all the bases. That way AFOLs and kids can get access to all the polybag promotions over the course of the year. I am finding it difficult to acquire certain polybags in my city as we only have one Toys R Us and they rarely have much of a selection. For instance they are still trying to unload the creator polybag turkey from last year!

I wish I had been smarter and picked up some of these before the prices got like this. I was still in my dark ages when I finally woke up with Series 5 . I managed to track down the complete sets for 3 and 4 but my collection is incomplete as I do not have Series 1 or 2. I think you are right about this. I didn't see that many boxes in the shops until later. Around series 3 is when I saw things pick up with inventories.

Sorry I should have clarified that I was referring to the polybag version of the Mini Cooper. I just saw that the Lego website finally updated for the July promo with Flashback Shredder. I even called Customer Service as I noticed the promo only lasts till July 20th and I wondered if they were having a promo after it? Unfortunately after speaking with them it looks like the next North American promo would be the August one. (See other thread) I really wanted to get the retro space mini-figure. I did find out though, that the current promo in Europe will make its way to North America later this year. I'm thinking either October or December if it did.

Yes please do as I would be interested in seeing how they broke. Ordinarily Lego pieces do not break. It depends though, it could have been part of a bad batch that got through. Speaking of parts anyone else notice how Red bricks seem to be more translucent lately than they should be?

Most annoyed. I have been checking the lego.ca (Canada) site and they aren't listing any July deals, yet the UK has by far the best promotions currently for the month. I don't even see the creator Mini Cooper listed.

Hey Serpico, this looks great! I really liked your newspaper stand and it's cool to see the mountain in the background. That square is huge! Is your design based on anything in the real world?

My advice as I had some Lego be subjected to mouse waste was to simply take the parts and wash them in a bucket with warm water and dish soap. Worked like a charm and after a few soaks and rinses them came out properly.

I second this! Seeing your other winter modulars on your Flickr account I'm impressed with your work so far. Keep it up!

That royally sucks. Maybe try speaking to the manager? If you haven't already? Sounds great! I wish I could just get Drk stone grey 2x2 tiles from PAB. Have yet to see that.

I agree with Faefrost on this, as an artist myself I understand how Lego can be used as a medium. However that wasn't how they were using Lego products. Either way it was in bad taste for government to do it. Lego is quite popular so I understand the appeal of trying to use it to have people listen.

There are primarily two factors that determine the PAB wall selection, Managers who order the parts for the wall and the current part selection that is distributed. For instance at the Westfield Shepard's Bush store in London, UK has a really excellent selection of parts. (I was there this past April got some cool parts and colours) I know the manager makes a concerted effort to order the more unusual parts or colours. Whereas when I visited one of the Toronto stores last year I found their selection was pretty poor. Lots of standard 2x4 and 2x6 bricks. Very minimal on the colour selection too. Honestly it was night and day between the two stores for selection. I'm hoping that when I do re-visit the Toronto store they would have updated their selection. However it pays to ask. The manager there was extremely nice and found clear windows and frames for me from the back. So unless you have a store that does not have a proactive manager your likely to get the standard PAB wall selection. Oh one more thing, AFOLS are the ones predominately buying from the PAB walls. All I ever see are kids picking bricks from there to build with on average.

Totally agree. They really should leave products out of the discussion. Lego products are designed to sell and in case no one noticed for the last 30 years made in Europe. Lego does not make an issue out of gender or race despite attempts of people to insinuate it. Even in the response letter from Lego they pointed out the reason why Lego mini-figures are yellow. Next issue they will think of, why are there not enough of a particular profession... Got that right!

Having seen some preliminary photos of this but now seeing your more in-depth photos, still doesn't do your creation justice! The LED lights will be an amazing addition. This is simply one of the most brilliant Star Wars Lego MOCs created! Now sure if this has been asked but how much did you have to spend to create it? I am still trying to figure out how you knew where to use the grebbling around the Star Destroyer Mark II?

I'm very impressed with the result Kevin8! You have used many interesting techniques with some unusual part combinations. That's the beauty of Lego. it's hard to imagine that your creation took 6000 pieces! What is your next project?