Wodanis

Got that right! Certain specialty poly bags are made in china. Turns out my TC-14 and Incredible Hulk are made in china. The polybags that are sets I would say no. Just seems isolated to the mini-figures. Not so much worried about capes and the like as they receive little attention other than hanging off the figure.

That's what I found with Bricklink. I'm still waiting on my BnP order to ship. It's been 'processing' since last Wednesday. :( at this rate it will be Feburary before I can finally build it.

After selecting the part in LDD look at the address bar near the bottom, it will display the element ID and what not. Then you can look up that part on Brickset or Bricklink and find out if its in the colour you want etc.

Interesting. Unfortunately I tried calling lego customer service thinking they may still have some of the autumn scene polybag left. They were sold out on lego S@H and didn't have any more. Really annoyed by that as I wanted to get two of them. :(

I don't think I could not swoosh my aeroplanes or my star fighters from Star Wars. My vehicles may not swoosh unless at high speeds but they do vroooommm!!! Errrrrrppppp. Hit the breaks!

I really like the exterior. You have done an excellent job. The use of colour and textures are quite nice and I can't believe it is only a 16 wide building! Keep up the good work.

As was recommended the modular buildings are fantastic to get into. I would recommend the houses from lego creator which I see you have already started on. I got really into City 2 years ago and haven't looked back. The great vehicles are a lot of fun to buy. Frankly I try to buy all the city sets I can get my hands on :) it all depends on what you are into.

How did you get to bend the pipe in LDD? Whenever I try I can only bend one side and not get the other to connect to the piece. Yea I found the same issue with the blue column not waiting to sit next to the sides of the door frame in LDD.

No, but there are parts that are. I wrote to the TLG a few months ago asking about Chinese made parts and that is part of what they told me.

Really impressed with the amount and styles of your buildings. Can't believe you we're able to add floors to the existing modulars. Someone is certainly flushed with cash. ;) loving the roman museum!

Currently the ambiguous nature of that mini-figure would allow for a child to imagine it either as male or female. I think you are right they would have to make a clear distinction and thus take away from a child's imagination. Most of these requests usually are a reaction. The initial request was spoken as a 'mother' and I don't think she thought about the full ramifications for all children and AFOLs alike.

Gotta consider that the FB was 2009, GE 2010 and the PS was released in 2011. Two years is a long time to improve upon a technique. Glad you enjoyed building it, after all that is the best part :) I love these sets.

What you are seeing is symbolism. It is how both adults and children distinguish gender. It is true that while lots of men don't have facial hair or women wear bright red lipstick, a person looking at the mini figure would easily identify which gender they are based on those features. Then stereotyping comes into your psyche. Think about the facial hair and you may think of a lumberjack or a rogue pirate for example. In our societies (mine being North American) we have been told that stereotyping is bad. This is false, it is part of our learning process and how we disseminate information quickly. The trouble stems from not learning there are things beyond the stereotype as we grow. I really wouldn't have it any other way with mini figure heads. I think lego does enough to demonstrate gender and race neutral figures which allows a child's imagination take over. The smiling faces from classic Lego sets always makes me smile at them and recall hours of fun.

8% of all Lego parts are made there, these consist of Duplo, CMF, Chima, Friends and some of the Super Heroes line and of course certain elements from City. They also mentioned some electronics and textiles.

At what point are you going to stop trying to refute the argument? At first there was a point about quality and then it was refuted as if people are incapable of using the word in the correct context. This thread isn't reflective of 'a meme of poor quality Chinese parts'. It is a thread about the genuine article. Parts produced in China that do not possess the same standard and quality as other Lego parts, CMFs have shown to be a prime example. Just because you don't wish to believe in the points that have been discussed doesn't mean you are correct in labelling it all as hysterical slandering of Chinese manufacture. In fact because TLG is so diligent in its pursuit of quality is the likely reason why there haven't been any major recalls as of yet. (Note: TLG does have recalls of products but they are relatively few in scope.) It is also a fact, that Lego cannot use its grade of ABS plastic in China. No, it isn't a magical formula, but they do have a standard grade they use which is why all their parts and products are consistent. Unfortunately they have to use whatever local grade of ABS China uses, until such time as their factory becomes operational and maybe then they will be allowed to import their own raw materials. At which point they have stated publicly that the sets and parts produced there will be for the Asian market. How far that will last is anyone's guess. Finally I do not believe you can lay the blame solely on the moulds. The parts I took issue with in my own collection didn't have an issue with how it was shaped but as I've stated with the quality of the part due to the grade of ABS from China.

Ugh, I can't wait for my parts now so I can start building them. My only drawback at the moment for CC is that I want to build the interior but I have not figured out the cost of my design yet. Watch out for the top floor. They designed the roof differently with the CC and it doesn't leave much room to place your hand in there while building.

Love the look of the building. Excellent work. I wouldn't sell it as I can never have too much Lego!

The way I look at it, even if I changed the front windows in CC to panel ones I still have the 'original' parts. I had not noticed that before. Very perceptive.

It isn't a hysteria, nor is it a slight against China. There are legitimate concerns with products being produced by a lesser grade of ABS from China. If it was produced elsewhere Lego would be able to use their grade of ABS. What intentional design decisions are you referring to? I would hardly doubt people seeing flaws which aren't there. It is quite obvious.

I really like your MOC as well redhead1982. Things i like about it are the snot floors (certainly an interesting technique) and your layout is pretty open concept. Good job! Even the dragon in the lego shop is a wonderful detail.

I paid 10 Euro for my arch...boo to bricklink! For the most part I have excellent customer service from their reps. Really the only thing to keep in mind is they are people who have moods. Once in awhile I get someone on the line who has been having a rough day or what not and aren't terribly joyed when I am asking for a price per part. Just make sure you have the element ID numbers. Makes a world of difference for them.

As a Lego purist I have to have new parts. I've never tried to buy anything off Craigslist or Kijiji. I agree with Sin, it is a very inefficient method of acquiring parts for a project. Buying in bulk you really just don't know what you are getting. My mistake was not directly buying from Lego and using Bricklink. Sure I was able to get the unique parts I needed but the costs of shipping really counteracted any savings I was making on parts. Least when I am dealing directly with Lego I may pay more at times but I'm assured quality and have reduced shipping costs. Every order over $75 nets you free shipping, I can easily spend that much on PAB orders.

That's right. VIP points are earned or applied. Glad to help :)

Fire brigade is a very nice set and I enjoyed building it. The Grand Emporium is good too and I like the humour with the set. I'd try my best to get both but I would go with whatever set is being discontinued first. They can be a pain to buy after market and so much fun to own. I bought the majority of the modulars in a 6 month period but very happy I did it.

Right now that is what they do, a lump quote. I usually call them instead as it allows me to ask what is the price per piece (usually 10 pieces or so at a time) and place my order. You can order I think up to 80 different parts and up to 200 of a part in quantity. As for the discontinued parts, CS will know if a part is discontinued. What you have to do (I find it extremely helpful to them) is make sure you know the element or design IDs for the parts. Brick set is a good place to find them. I have it all the details beforehand on my spreadsheet so I can tell them. As far as i know the medium blue and earth blue parts are still available.