meyerc13

I'd have to agree with one of the posts above that you always need to keep an eye on LEGO prices. In the USA, except for clearance sales, the best price you'll typically get is 25%-30% below MSRP. With that said, there are two ways to find that price. First is sales at big box stores like Target and Wal Mart. Right now both of them have a lot of the $20 LEGO sets on sale for $15, which is a 25% discount. Target runs regular sales on 1-2 themes at a time. A few weeks ago it was City, this week I think it might be Cars (I wasn't terribly interested so I didn't pay much attention). With these sales, they'll have 1-2 sets at 25% discount, with other discounts ranging from 5-15%. Outside of those regular sales, you need to watch Toys R Us (and sometimes Target) for Buy x Get x sales. With TRU, it is generally either Buy one get one 50% (which is a 25% discount if you buy identically priced sets), or Buy two get one free (which is a 33% discount on identically priced sets). The problem with TRU is that they often mark sets above MSRP, so the discount can be closer to 20-30%, rather than 25-33%. I've found that when TRU runs these sales around the Holidays, that the markup on sets is often higher than other times of the year. If you can catch one of these sales randomly in the summer, they don't usually jack the price up just for the sale, so the deals can be a bit better. Other than that, you need to learn when clearance sales happen. The end of December is one time, but selection can be sparse due to high demand leading up to the holidays. I've seen Wal Marts discount everything they have left, only to restock the shelves at MSRP a week later. Target follows a discount schedule, with prices dropping over days/weeks (depending on how quickly they are trying to get rid of stuff). This method is a bit of a gamble, because sometimes the clearance items fly off the shelves, other times it stagnates for weeks. So if you really want a set, I'd buy it in one of the 25% sales I mentioned above, rather than wait until the item hits clearnace, in which case you might not be able to find it. If you follow this method, join the rewards programs at the various stores, and watch for coupons, you should be able to average at least a 20% discount off MSRP.

Another great review! Like the Garbage Truck, this one wasn't one of my favorites when I saw the images. I was still going to pick it up for my daughter though, since this is a set I know she'll love. Seeing your review, I've now grown to like this set as well. The car looks very similar to the new police car, I'd like to see those compared side by side. The still photos made the trailer look a bit odd, but watching your video I didn't get that same feeling, so it must have been the angle. That latching design is brilliant as well. Thanks again for the great reviews!

Having the previous garbage truck, when I first saw the images of this set I wasn't really interested. But your video review has turned me around. I really like the tipping function on the back, and I see how they worked around the problem the old set had where the weight of the back end pulled it apart - fixed by using the aircraft tail piece. Brilliant! That new hinge is great as well. Thanks for the review!

The Farm sets are long gone in the US, regretfully (would have loved to find a Farm for my 3.5 year old daughter who latched onto that theme, but that's what MOC'ing is for). The airport theme in the US has gone to TRU exclusive status, you won't find those in Wal Mart or Target any more. That subtheme was from 2010, so even a major subtheme like that won't necessarily last long in general availability. It will be interesting to see what LEGO plans to do with their existing police and fire subthemes. Some of those sets are very new, but keeping those on the shelf alongside the new Forest police/fire will result in a lot of redundant sets on the shelves. For example, the current police K9 unit and Prisoner Transport will be made somewhat redundant by the new K9 unit. So perhaps those two will be disappearing soon, but who can say? If those were sets I liked, I would probably pick them up sooner rather than later. Yes. They are used throughout the 2012 line, and have been previously discussed in this thread.

What frustrates me is that on the North American packaging they prominently place the set name on the ends of the box in French, which I assume is for our neighbors up north in Canada. For those of us who don't speak French, it's difficult to browse sets in small stores where they store the sets sideways to save space.

Perhaps you are thinking of this thread: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=56134

Yeah, he's up for young inventor of the year: http://blog.brickstix.com/2011/10/15/vote-for-greyson-maclean/ He's from the same state I am, Wisconsin. I saw these in person at a local learning toy store, I like the idea but the printing they use isn't as detailed as I'd like for my creations, but I think my kids will love them so I plan to pick some up on a future visit. If for no other reason than to support the kid for having such a great idea. Who knows what he'll come up with next given more resources. Back on topic, I wonder if you could print more detail on the same material, for example replacement decals as we're discussing above.

You mean something like this: http://www.brickstix.com/

These are simply amazing! I love how much you are able to fit in such a small space. Plus, I know how hard it is to build something very small but yet capture the look perfectly in so few parts, but you have it down to a science! Keep up the great work.

Really? That's the only LEGO store I've been to, and it's 300 miles away so I only get there every other month or so, but every time I've been they have had duplicate parts on the wall in several spots. And during my week in MN I generally visit on Monday or Tuesday, sometimes a second trip on Thursday or Friday. I've seen them change the parts between my visits within a same week, but every time they have duplicates. It's great having the bigger wall there, but duplicating so many parts on the wall negates some of the advantages of having the larger wall. I could see it making sense if they have certain parts that are really popular, but generally the parts that show up doubled aren't the parts that would be in high demand.

Here's another: The Tampa boat is a LARC, whereas the Seattle is a DUKW. The DUKW have six wheels, the LARC have 4 wheels. The LEGO model has 8 wheels, but I can see modding this to a be a DUKW. Growing up a few hours from the Wisconsin Dells, where Duck tours originated and still run today, to me this has to be a Duck.

Only suggestion I have is to replace the sign on the side with the ice cream sign from the new Spongebob set (3816 'Glove World'). Other than that, it looks great!

Is that LEGO's interpretation of a duck (DUKW)? What amazes me even more is that a google search for 'fire dukw' actually turns up several hits - so these were real! I love it.

I like this, even though I am not a huge fan of 8 wide vehicles. I think the problem is that to have a cab that looks like a heavy duty ambulance, you almost need to use the 6 wide roof, so you almost have to go 8 wide. The proportions look right, although I agree with LT that the front bumper looks a bit thick... I understand the look you are going for, but I'd reduce it by a plate if possible. I definitely like the yellow stripe.

This is a really neat creation. It has sort of a cargo cult feel to it, with the mummies worshiping the parts of a downed plane.

Most of the wall will stay fairly constant between your visits, but several items can change from one day to the next. I live about 300 miles from a LEGO store but always stop when I'm in town on business. I remember one week that there were parts on Tuesday, but when I stopped back on Friday before leaving town some of those parts were gone but others were in their places. Generally it is the more interesting parts that cycle the fastest, while the boring basic bricks are fairly constant. I swear that the Mall of America store has had orange 1x1 round plates consistently for several years now. I have to remind myself not to get more when filling in empty spaces in my cups because I have so many already. If you go on a slow night, the staff tends to go out of their way to serve you. I went on Monday last week to the Mall of America store, and one guy asked if there was anything I was looking for that wasn't on the wall. Another lady went back and got some swords for the build-a-minifig when I said I was trying to find some accessories for a ninja. So they will help you if they are having a slow night and have the time.

These are on price rollback at Wal Mart, so I picked one up since you can't beat that many pieces for $15. So far I've only put together the first model, and I'm quite impressed. A very solid build and very heavy once completed due to the large number of plates. I bought this mostly for the parts, but now that it's together I think I may wait a while before disassembling it.

Just saw a preview for a new movie - Tower Heist. In it they use LEGO to build a model of their intended crime. Here's an article with a still: http://www.movieline.com/2011/01/help-movieline-caption-these-befuddling-stills-from-tower-heist-the-help-and-abduction.php Here's the link: http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/universal/towerheist/ (It's Preview 2.)

I saw some of the BanBao sets at a Tuesday Morning store today. The designs of some of the sets are close enough to LEGO that I could see a grandparent getting confused and picking up one of these by mistake. The pricing on the sets was all over the board, their 820 piece fire station was about half the price of a LEGO fire station, but their 600 piece police boat is about the same price as the LEGO police boat (although more pieces than LEGO's). Some of the designs look impressive, like a police Hummer... but other designs are unidentifiable. Even my 6 year old son noticed that they show their firemen with their hats on backwards. I was half tempted to pick up one of these just to see what the quality was like, but I'd rather save my money for real LEGO.

I think you are confused, the catalog that's making the rounds now is for the beginning of the year... the sets that will come out during the middle of the year will be a in a catalog that won't be out until spring. True there are no sets in the catalog that's out now, but that is expected since there weren't any in the catalog a year ago. The Mill Village Raid and other sets were summer releases, so we won't see a catalog that could contain the next wave, should there be one, until March or April.

I avoid clone brands like the plague, but one thing I have to give BanBao credit for is having a more robust line of City sets than LEGO has been putting out. I mean, they have a farmhouse for their farm! So clearly they have some designers who can do more than simply copy LEGO designs. I would guess the limited sets from LEGO is because LEGO has so many themes (especially with all of the licensed themes) that themes like City can't get the shelf space they deserve. It looks like next year it might get better with the new City vehicles that aren't tied to a subtheme, but I still think LEGO could do more to get back to the sets of the early days of the minifig.

Hello, thanks for taking the time to do this. I think you might be right on the reason, JPG compresses much better than PNG. I'm an IT professional, and as a general rule JPG is the best compression to use for photos, PNG for charts/graphs/line art. Also, to reduce file size without losing image quality, it's typically better to compromise on compression rather than on resolution. So perhaps Eurobricks should be as concerned with encoding method as they are with resolution. Now... as for the MOC. Very nicely done. I especially like the interior. I love those light fixtures and the stairs. One suggestion I have would be to move the railing on the upper part of the stairs to the exterior side, rather than the interior side of the stairs. It seems like you are losing space on the stair itself to allow for the railing, but if you mounted the railing to the wall using some type of brick with an attachment, you might free some space on the steps themselves. The only problem would be selecting a brick that wouldn't compromise on the exterior, and in the color you've chosen perhaps that isn't possible. Overall, thought, very nicely done!

I know this forum is a stickler for photo size, but even with the largest photos I've never had a problem before but I've tried to open this thread twice (last night and today), and it is loading so slow... I don't think it's my Internet, I have 6mbps down. Is anyone else seeing a problem? My guess would be the hosting company for the photos. I'd love to comment, but since I can't see your photos I'm sorry I can't.

With the guy in the diving suit, it isn't great but doesn't look as bad as the girl because at least with him the dark color of his neck makes it look like it could be part of the wetsuit. Too bad this piece has the major drawback, because other than that it looks nice.

I really like that K9 unit. Reminds me of a typical panel truck style. I think I'm going to try one of those, but moving the door hinge to the rear. I also like the two additional entries (water rescue and inspections truck). I can definitely see that inspection truck used at major events to check bags as people enter.