fred67

Likewise, +1 for CorneliusMurdock.

Hi, Some people frown on reviving old threads, but I appreciate your reply. I've essentially given up trying to use LEGO, and I think D&D 4 is too complicated - it takes away from the fun. I guess getting started with the starter set was worse - my son and his friends would kill something/one, pick up their weapon - and we had no stats on how the player could use it or what damage it would do, etc.. It's really turned into a money making farce, IMO, and now I have the four main manuals, I've been trying to find the old ones online and already have a few. If we picked it up again, we'd use pencil and graph paper. No figures at all. When I first started playing, we bought miniatures and painted them because they were cool and we were 'into' art, and while we might bring one to sit in front of us and represent our fictional selves, we never actually used them for game play. I am eying the pathfinder set - it's relatively inexpensive on Amazon. It would be nice to be able to build our characters in LEGO the way we used to use the little metal figures, and perhaps some of the other interesting characters, but not using them for game play would help keep the game moving, IMO.

Yes, you can buy directly from them online - at least in the U.S.. Sometimes they have pretty good sales, offer new (as in 'unused') items that S@H does not, and every so often (like S@H PAB) you can actually find items there for less than what the lowest bricklink prices are - especially if you need bulk. Like you might be able to find a store with 1 of what you need, but if you need 20, then S@H or Education can be better. I don't know about now, but the first time I bought treads (or conveyor belt, or whatever they call it), the Education store was by far the best way to go. That was like 6 years ago, but I still check there every so often.

Kvothe (pronounced like 'quothe'). From "The Name of the Wind," although he was not described as wearing armor, but does have red hair and a cloak.

Well, I don't want to rattle any cages in this sure-to-be-locked thread, but boobs on minifigs is no more sexist that boobs in real life - it's sexist and dumb to try to pretend they don't exist. Boobs on the minifigures don't really bother me... if I was going to need armor, I'd just use another torso (the same way you might have a hat/helmet AND hair for a figure, and just use the appropriate one where needed). Secondly, this is another case of TLG hypocritically rejecting ideas (as shown by the Friends picture). It's not the first time they rejected something using reasoning they didn't apply to themselves. I wouldn't support this - might even groan a bit about it if it were implemented, but it comes down to the way it was rejected, not just that it was rejected, and I agree with the whines about how it was rejected, and whine with you, my fellow whiners.

There's a thread for CMF displays, but I wanted to say that this is pretty nice - and I like that you got the series colors to match the figures. 18 in a case is awkward if you want to display whole sets... we discussed this in the other thread, using container store display boxes - 5-6-5 wastes some space, but gives you an even 16. Don't know how you could make something like that with this kind of build, though. Good job.

YES! And I was sure I had at least one; I've been digging through all my LEGO looking for it! It would be perfect, but I haven't been able to find it (I just know I got one in a bulk LEGO buy, once). Appears in 7 sets. 10 sets (this is the one I'm sure I have somewhere) 2 sets.

CLOSED.

I couldn't agree more with that sentiment... I know some are army builders, but I also think a lot of kids want a decent random distribution and most people would just like a complete set. Agreed; while I can live without extras of a couple of the figures, I think the forest maiden will be one I need more of. Not a lot, but definitely more. I have resorted to just getting a case (and haven't received it yet, so I'm assuming the distribution is what White Fang posted); my kids get first picks, so I often end up not even getting a complete set for myself, so it's rather annoying. As far as voting goes, while I did vote this as the best series so far, I have to note that it's only because there's so many complementary figures that go with previous series, otherwise I might not like it so much. I've not been keeping up with EB lately - in fact, I will sell off a huge chunk of my LEGO collection soon, but will continue getting CMFs and actually, after seeing the review, thought I probably should order a second case.

WOW... another third party website picking up where LEGO left off (or leaves off, if you like puns). Very reasonably priced, too, excepting that you have to buy in bulk. I'll give it a try. As for the trunk, I already have so many 1x2 brown palisade bricks, I'm going to have to stick with those for the trunk; don't know if white or gray for stairs and upper structures... but I have a lot more white on hand. Again, thanks for sharing the designs.

This is an awesome thread; very inspirational. I was going to ask about legitimate colors until I got near the end... what is the availability of different leaf colors like? Looks like Dark Red and White are the only non-green colors, and they are really rare and expensive on Bricklink (by comparison). I know autumn colors were a suggestion on Cuusoo (which I supported), but things like that - new bricks and different colors - don't seem to get a lot of support. I've also got a whole k-box of 1x2 brown palisade bricks I was hoping to use for trees.... any thoughts?

Incredibly useful; for any 2x building (normally with 2x4, but need 2x2 for areas around doors and windows), the recent monorail tracks people have built makes copious use of them; one great trick I learned from EB a couple of years ago is that you can use them on top of duplo bricks - I have a lot of duplo from when my kids were young, now you can use to bulk up supports and inside buildings and build on top with standard bricks by using 2x2. I guess like most of the responders here, it seems like a weird question - like any brick, they can be useful what you're building can make use of them.

Sorry, no laptops have 100GB of RAM, and not only doesn't that make sense, but python 'ruining' a laptop from 'overuse' (???) of RAM makes even less sense.

Enough that I'm embarrassed about the quantity... but for starters, every Hobbit set. My wife realizes I'll just get it all anyway, I suppose.

Looks great, Brickster... it's hard to build such a nice layout in so little space. Do you follow any Train club guidelines for your table size or layouts? Some day, when I finally have room to build my full layout (I get a temporary one for Christmas every year, but I can't leave it up), I was planning on actually lowering a section for water. I have a Sponge-Bob set my kids gave up on that I'd like to add, and with the CMF divers I figured it would be a good way to include them... maybe a shipwreck. But given the constraints of a level table, I love the raising of the track just a little bit to bridge over it - nice job! It all looks great - the train, the shipyard with the crane, the modulars, the greenery... nice.

LEGO executives can't do anything about Uncle (insert name here), they can only do what they can do, and even if only 2% of the population are pedophiles, and 10% of those target children outside the family... hell, let's just say 1% would take a 'target of opportunity', that's still two in a thousand. That sounds like a small number until you ask yourself how many people go through these theme centers every day. Frankly, I also like the idea of an AFOL night - I'd prefer to see it without a bunch of screaming, head-ache inducing, out of control rug-rats ruining my time (as opposed to the other way around). And I say this as the parent of two. On the other hand, I have no desire to actually go into one of those centers, I really doubt I'd get anything out of it. But you CAN go do the discovery center stores without children; they sometimes have stuff you can't get elsewhere.

Updated my post (link in signature). Added wants: Uruk Hai Polybag and Mirkwood Elf Polybag. I have a large variety of figures for trade, from series 3 on up, including some whole sets of series 4 (NIB), as well as a few others.

Sorry for bumping this thread, but I can no longer edit the original posts - I'm going to end the trading of these items for now. If you want to make a cash offer, I'm open to it, but with the holidays coming and everybody in my life thinking I only care about LEGO (not true, of course), I have no idea what's coming.

I probably missed something related to the upgrade, but I can't edit my sales post. I don't want people to complain I created a new one.

ME Tracks are definitely better than copper tape... hoping Big Ben tracks will be awesome, too. Choice is always good. Copper tape is more of a fallback when nothing else is available, IMO.

2 SW Advent Calendars (50% off at S@H).

Well, there's pluses and minuses, but there's a reason that LEGO trains took off with traditional train fans during the 9V era - it's what made me switch, and I was very disappointed when they discontinued it. I was a LEGO novice, though, otherwise I'd have learned their track record for abandoning things people have invested so much money in. The benefits of PF do not outweight the negatives, IMO, but it all depends on the individual and how they use their trains. Building a battery box into a train sucks. Replacing batteries in a built in battery box on a train sucks even worse. Rechargable helps, but then you have to stop and let the train recharge. The degree of control you get with the LEGO remote controls is terrible, too... it might be better if they did radio control instead of IR RC. On the up side, there are definitely some benefits to PF. Lights stay on full and are not dependent on train speed; you can have discrete control of other onboard things - cranes, doors, whatever. There's also the fact that TLG no longer produces 9V compatible track. HOWEVER, I say you can have the best of both worlds. In fact, when it comes to lighting, local battery operated is better, instead of wires running all around and between cars... there are always option; the 9v battery adapter mod works great for things like lights. No more of a pain to deal with than other PF batteries, easier to conceal, no wires running between trains - and with the LED lights, lasts a REALLY long time. Essentially, 9v battery mod or full size battery box, you get the best of both worlds. Lifelights works even better (but a bit more expensive). ME and Big Ben are taking up the slack on 9V track, and I have little doubt there will be an engine solution at some point - until then, I have four and not permanent layout anyway, so it's more than enough for me at the moment. I DO have a handful of PF motors and track, and I've modded some new trains - like the Toy Story train, to run on PF. The AAA battery box hides nicely in the closed car. There is room for both, but I simply prefer 9V and will defer to 9V when possible. If ever I feel like really "playing," and went all out with a full permanent layout, I'd prefer digitrax over LEGO IR RC.

That's just plain awesome... congratulations on a fantastic creation!

Several modulars fit nicely across a good shelf... but a single Millennium Falcon doesn't fit anywhere. It depends what you're talking about. A decent N scale train layout can be done on a 2x4 foot board; the same layout in HO doubles each dimension (4x8). The same layout in L (LEGO gauge) doubles each dimension again. So yeah... if you just got back into LEGO and by Friends Sets, it's all fine and good... until the third and fourth and fifth waves of sets, and some sets - castles and ships and such, take a large amount of space.

The risk of fire is indeed minimal... there is copper tape you can buy at some hobby stores. http://chrismeyer.org/projects/lego-train-track/