5150 Lego

To be fair, the threads seem to be focused around theme's that TLC either won't touch, or just don't have anything similar. Halo from MB, and Transformers from Kre-o are good examples. Now if a thread started based on a competitors "city" or "space" theme (even though I wouldn't have a problem with it personally) I could understand were there might be a problem. But I hear alot of uneducated comments about this brick being stolen from TLC, or that their crooks. Non of which is true. Alittle healthy discussion on competitor brands shouldn't be discouraged as it can open up alot of peoples to to the real facts; good and bad. Whether or not they choose to believe any is up to them.

Its the fanboy in them speaking out. Many had their minds set on this and always see a competitor brand as being inferior. Even with no direct evidence. Its very possible that these could have MB quality; Its also possible that Hasbro has had plans on releasing this line for some time and have worked through any past hicups with their previous lines. I have to say it seems odd that they would wait till now to release their own brick built line based on Transformers considering this is the 3RD and presumably last TF movie for a while. It would have made more sense to introduce this back when the first movie came out. Hopefully within that time they did in fact work out quality. I really hope these do turn out good as the designs do look fairly good. It would be a shame to have great designs yet poor quality bricks. Time will tell.

I see what your getting at, but full length technic brick (such as a 1x4 or longer) works very well at keeping two levels of bricks locked together. Example.. (sorry for the crappy quality pics) Though its technic beam and not a brick, (same concept though) i use them both regularly to hold multilevel of bricks together. In this case the goose neck hitch to the flat bed trailer. If it weren't for this method, there would be no way support a build of this size as the goose neck would just snap off. Similar methods are even used in some of the larger Star wars sets. So while technic bricks may not be the most visual appealing, they do have there place.

This about sums it up. Some people take things alittle to much to the heart. I understand the love of LEGO, but its really nothing to get this worked up about. In this case there's only some many ways your going to conect technic style conectors, let alone the basic brick. In this case there is no Building techniquing being stolen. Not even the brick. Anyhow, does MB even have there own technic line, or is this just a page in there instruction booklet for one of there sets that has technic style bricks and pins? Why? Positive or negative as long as its kept cival whats wrong with a little disscusion on a competing brand? This is the off topic section were everything non lego related belong anyhow.

That would be cool! I recently converted my Ferrari Scuderia Transport truck to a double car stacker haul two F1 cars. Did this along with conveting a second trailer to a "B double" style. It would be interesting to see a trailer in the scall you made to be a stacker.

I hear this alot concerning the subject of clone brands bricks they use. But my question is why? Why does it up set or in this case "appall" you that Hasbro has made a duplicate brick? What is Lego doing specifically for you that would make you feel such a way? There are only so many ways you can make a slope piece. Though it really doesn't concern me, I am curious to see if TLC does in fact have a case. I know that anyone can make the standard brick, but i am curious to see if a patent can (or has for that matter) be put on any specialized pieces. I don't understand this statement. How is Hasbro being hypocritical? Did they at some point say they would never make a building type toy? Well this confirms my one of my concerns. Thats a big disappointment. The whole point of Transformers is for them to...Transform. I might still pick up as i do like there vehicle forms, but i have to admit, they are alittle less appealing to me now. The fact that two people in this thread didn't care for the quality of a competitor brick line was over 10 yrs old doesn't concern me. Thats more than enough time to improve on brick quality. Anyhow, i don't believe going on the visual looks of the bricks is completely fair. LEGO has had quality control problems with there colors for years now (anyone who has built Café' Corner can confirms this). Would you judge LEGO's whole line based on a couple bricks not having the exact same shade of red? Or Blue? Agreed.

Very Trailer! I like the fact that you made it a triple axle. Have you tried making it with the same size tires as the truck? Ussualy on a trailer that size the tires are the same of that on the truck.

efferman, yes, this is exactly what i plan on building. Your idea of a pulley system is what i had in mind myself. I'm going to moc up something in a little bit and see if it will pan out. Dluders, thanks for the links. Good ideas there too.

Epic Rap battles of history... Hulk Hogan Vs. Kim Jong-li WARNING!! These some of these contain explicit language. Don't watch if you are offended by these kinds things! Hitler vs. Darth Vader Sara Palin vs. Lady GaGA

So i'm off work currently for an injury, and have a some extra time on my hands. Though now is as good a time ever to get started on a long awaited LEGO project. The plan is to construct a techinc/model team enclosed race trailer simular in size of 8285 (this won't be towing it, just a size refferance). The trailer will be made to transport up to two of these... For loading these racers up, the plan is to have the rear tail gate motorized, have the car drive up on the tail gate, and lifted to the top level of the trailer to be loaded up. Top of the trailer will hold two cars while the bottom will be the "work shop". Anyhow, i'm trying to figure out the best way to acomplish motorizing the rear tailgate, but at this point i'm wondering if LEGO motors would even be able to handle the wieght of the Ferrari racer. Clutches are obviously out due to the weight. I was thinking two XL power function motors with some kind of pulley system. Looking for any input you guys can give! Thanks for looking.

Why was it pointless? No one really could have guessed that Hasbro would have came up with there own brick line considering they have nothing on the market currently that would indicate a move to click tighter bricks. And if your insisting that because their there own toy line doesn't necessarily hold up. I think a better example on my part would have been Disney. The own Pirates of the Caribbean as well as "Cars". Disney is essentially has there own toy line and if they wanted to, could have done the same thing Hasbro did and came up with there own brick line but they didn't. They gave TLS the license this time around. Point being is that just because a company owns its product out right (heck, it doesn't even need to own it out right, just a share) doesn't mean that there isn't a possibility for an outside company to come in and create product under said license. And besides, in the end, theres nothing wrong with alittle wishful thinking.

True. But if its anything like how the rest of business works, there is a bidding process. This ensures that every company gets a fair and equal opportunity to make products based on their particular line. many times though if a company (in this case Lucas Arts) owns is already working with a company (Hasbro) they will give them first dibbs at creating the product they are looking for. If they can't create or are not interested, the company that owns the rights then can contact another company who is capable of meeting the criteria needed in said product, or they simply go out to bid. (please note, this is just speculation. I don't have any hard core facts, but it does make sense since this is how alot (not all)of business works. I've found that being a "Fan boy" or brand loyal never pays off in the end. I can understand having preferences based on personal experience, (this can be related to any hobby really) but to dismiss something completely without having even seeing it is down right ignorant. I've held Mega Blocks Halo sets, and even attempted to build a couple. I can say from experience that the quality is terrible and many sets need glue to hold together if you plan on actually playing with them. But in this case many just see them as a "clone" brand and automatically dismiss them. And at this point there is no real basis for this as the designs are clearly well done. Quality has yet to be seen as no one (at least on here) has had the opportunity to see them up close. So while we can't say there better or on par with LEGO, we can't say there worse either. Competition is a good thing.

Hasbro also owns the rights to one of TLC most popular licensed themes.. That being Star Wars. while the probability may not be likely, never say never as no one knows what the future will hold. And why is that? I don't think its fair to pass judgment on these if you haven't seen one in person and had an opportunity to examine the quality up close. You also can't fault Hasbro for at least giving a shot at designing there own brick line. I'm not saying these are going to be flawless (i haven't seen any in person so i myself can't comment on quality), but the set designs seem to be good. Oh geez.... TLC doesn't own the brick anymore. Nore to they own the rights to any similar brick designs. They do however own the rights to set designs. But in this case, that is not being copied. After further examination of the pictures, I'm having a hard time lining up were the feet/arms etc go during transformation. They don't seem to add up when compared from vehicle to robot mode. So its looking like you might have to choose which one you build. Either robot, or vehicle. That will be a shame if true.

Heard about these for the last couple months or so and Saw these on the Seibertron.com in the Toy Fair coverage. I have to say I'm impressed. These look alot better than any TF "Lego" style kits we've seen in the past. Their actually recognizable as their relative characters and alt modes. I'll probably pick up at least one of these sets to check out the quality. If they fail to past muster, at least they'll make good display pieces in my office as there overall designs seem to have very good detail. If they at least hold together without glue (unlike the megablock Halo sets) then that will be enough for me. Here's hoping the quality is good so we see more sets in the future. (I'd love to see Ratchet, Iron hide, and Mack truck Megatron) Because it shows interest regardless of whether or not TLC produces the set. And the fact that one company has the license doesn't necessarily mean that you won't see TLC with it in the future. Perfect example would be Pirates of the Caribbean and Cars. Megablocks had both of these Licenses within the last year, and now TLC has them. As far as Modern war goes, it will happen some day. I'm going to guess within the next 3 to 5 yrs. Maybe not a specific theme, but USC sets or some sort of license theme.

Thats nice. But it seems you just put a nice log cabin on the tractor trailer of 7633 construction site.

So lets see what we know so far about the movie.. -Optimus Prime has a trailer and will combine with it for so kind of "power up" flight mode -Megatron returns and is a run down rusty Mack tanker truck, -Shockwave is the main villain, -Ratchet, Ironhide and Bumble Bee are all back and have the same alt modes with a few minor changes in color and body work, -The twins are back (though rumored to have very short parts. Maybe like how Ja Jar had a short part in "Attack of the Clones" -Starscream is presumed to be back, -There are 3 new Autobot Nascars that have been named "The Wreakers" -There are 3 new Deception Chevy Suburban police type vehicles know as "The Dreads" (you can see two of them crash into Ironhide in the Super Bowl trailer) -There is a Red Ferrari 458 Italia Autobot. Name is unknown at this time -There is a Blue Mercedes Autobot. Unknown name. -Silverbolt will be in the movie, though it is unknown what his alt mode is. It is known however, that he will be voiced by James Avery (better known as Uncle Phil from the American TV show Fresh prince of Bell Air) -The Gold bot on the Moon from the first teaser trailer has been identified as Sentinel Prime and the Airport fire truck seen in Chicago has been identified as his earth Alt mode. I think thats it for now. (everything i typed has been off memory so if i forgot something my bad. )

Not sure if this has been meantioned yet, but it looks like the rear crane is made to be a "quick disconect". Though i haven't seen them in any of the pics, but given there are some mounted in the front,(presumably for the B-model) it only makes sence that there would be some in the rear to allow for easy removal for dismantal of the B-model snow plow. This would be great for adding your own rear equipment. Pnuematics, power functions, engine, 4WD, full suspension, front and rear Pnuematic hook ups, as well as PTO's;... This is really looking to be onw of the most universal models we have ever recieved from TLC!

I have a nephew his age and he's SW obsessed. Though even if he was a fan i suppose he still wouldn't know who James Earl Jones was. But that's also the problem. Him meeting JEJ is a complete waste. To people in th know, there meeting a legend in their hobby. But To him he's just another old guy. A very large portion of SW success was due to those "primitive" special affects. To this day i still believe the Special affects of the OT were by far better than the CGI affects of the last 3 movies. They were so ahead of their time it made almost everything fail in comparison that was made during, as well as years after. The new movies were mosr of a step back in terms of animation.

Well you have to remember its comercial. So they have to cram alot into the short time they have. I don't think using only two drum roles toook away from any of it though.

As we now have a new trailer, me thinks its appropriate to resurrect this thread... There was alo this trailer that was released in December.. So far, everything looks good. I think there on the right track!

OK, since most of you are from across the pacific, you might not have seen this. Last Sunday in the U.S. was the Super Bowl. Its the final American football game of the Season and is huge in terms of TV viewers. That being said, believe it or not, the TV commercials are actually one of the highlights of the super bowl. A 30 sec. commercial spot during the super bowl cost on average $3,000,000 and companies produce some of the best commercials you'll see all year. This one in particular from Volkswagen was voted #1... http://www.youtube.com/vw And it hasn't stopped there. The little boy that played "Vader" in the commercial has become an over night phenomenon. He has appeared on numerous morning talk shows and has even had the opportunity to meet James Earl Jones. The original Voice of Darth Vader. But you know what really sucks? This kid has NEVER even seen anything SW related. Let alone the original 3 movies that James Earl Jones voiced.

X2 I think this will be the first train set i will ever buy. Only thing that sucks is now i will have to get some tracks to go with it.

First off I'd like to start by answering the OP question. Well, at least attempting to answer it. For me, I'd have to I prefer Star Trek. I don't believe one can really say that one is better than the other due to the fact that both have ran for 30+ yrs (and are still going), and have fan bases in the millions. Though i do understand that this will be one of those arguments that will outlast many of us, i also believe that neither one is going to go away any time soon. Anyways i prefer Star Trek over Star wars because of the following.... - Characters- This is just personal preference of course, but I've always enjoyed the characters in Star Trek much more over Star Wars. more personality, character and diversity. The acting was also by far better than SW. - Ship Design. The Enterprise in itself is just a clean classic design. it takes whats familiar (such as the saucer section) and adds to it. Also every ship seems to fit the race/planet its from perfectly. The federation star ships are clean and sleek. Klingon ships are all business and scream "battle" with there forward torpedo bays, and wing mounted cannon's (well, on the Bird of Prey at least) - Science- ST has always been believable and much of it was based on real science. That was its whole premise. And bits that weren't real were made to be as real as possible. I remember getting a book on the Enterprise D with the full schematic layout. Including all the major mechanical features such as replicators, warp engine design, torpedo designs and launchers, touch pad operation etc. Speaking of touch pad operation, you know the first flip phone was inspired by the ST tricorder? Also think of the current smart phones with touch screens and such. What is considered relatively new technology now (well at least with the last 4 yrs) was being shown in ST-The Next Generation series in the 80's. Good points. I think its also important to point out that many of the ships in the SW universe were in addition to traveling through space, were also made to land on planet surfaces as the ships in ST were not. With the heat coming in and out of a planets atmosphere, there naturally going to appear more "weathered' than those that don't. Agreed. I think this was the first time someone who was not a fan of ST could come in and watch the movie and not get lost in the science "lingo' talk so to speak. The last appealed more to a mass audience than other ST movies have in the past. Actually, most of the ST movies and series up until Deep Space Nine were all models. Just like the original 3 SW movies. For me, CGI add-ins that came later in the DVD specials took away from what made SW so visually enjoyable. Those movies were ahead of their time in terms of model animation, and filming. The CGI add In's, as well as the full CGI ships, wars and storm trooper clones were a step back for the SW franchise.

Very cool. With those containers and that trailer.... I see potential for a Road Train moc. Or at least some double semi truck trailer. I wonder if the 5th wheel hitch raises up like in the real yard moving tractors? That would be a nice touch.

Thanks to everyone for the nice comments. Their much appreciated. For those asking about piece counts and instructions; Sorry, but i have no plans to do either. To do such a task is very daunting and time consuming. It would require a complete list of every part used, disassembly and then reassembly hoping that i get each part in the correct place as I'm categorizing it for reference. I've tried this before on smaller MOC's, and it can get extremely frustrating. All i can say is most parts are from 7743. I've made a few "upgrades" since then, so I'll try and post some more detailed pics. If someone else can recreate from there, (or make improvements) power to them. Again, thank you all for your nice comments.