deraven

Just thought I'd throw this out there: I'm pretty sure Erebor is $120, not $130. If you look at the leaked price list, it's all USD and CAD prices, but for Erebor they're switched- it says $120CAD and $130USD when it should be the other way around, unless just that one set is more in the US than in Canada for some reason. Not that $10 makes *that* much difference, but for $120 I'm slightly less underwhelmed. ;)

Hey there- I remember you, though I was only lurking back then! Welcome back!

I don't think it's the color scheme- I think it may have to do with the framing of your scene in that the terminators are clearly shooting at the minifigs and they're obviously shooting back. That, coupled with the vehicle very much looking like "modern warfare" with the minifigs in jeopardy probably pushes it past that fine line. The other Terminator submissions don't have that direct conflict present: the HK tank is just the robot by itself, and the UCS Terminator has a gun but, again, it's not shooting at anyone and the weapon could easily be an "optional" accessory that would be removed. Just my thoughts on it, but from other threads I've read and official comments made, I'm betting it's something along those lines.

Yeah, also took me over 20 minutes to add to cart and check out, and there was a big block of red text on most of the pages saying that they were having technical difficulties and promotions, etc., would be applied later, after check out. I also didn't have free shipping for the first 15 minutes, then on the next-to-last checkout screen it popped in there. It's been about half an hour now and still no order confirmation email… but I saved my order summary and confirmation number to be on the safe side. Hopefully that means I'll actually get my 2 Exosuits and the Research Institute, but we'll have to wait and see about the promotion(s) and whether or not the VIP points appear or need to be requested later. Still better than totally missing out like I did with the Curiosity set!

Well, I can't believe this popped to mind, but that's from a MOC of a Spinner from Blade Runner, so I'm 99% sure it's just a custom sticker that Rob Summers made for his MOC:

You should be able to use Bricksmith or LDD to build your model, then open the LDR/LXF file with the Mac version of LDView (here: http://ldview.sourceforge.net/ ), and export to a POV render file from there. Then you can use the Mac port of POV-Ray to do the actual render (available here: http://megapov.inetart.net/povrayunofficial_mac/ ).

I do think it's a nice promotional thing to do, and as you said there's a lot more not included in that number like the stories you see of Lego sending kids free sets in special circumstances (like this one, and this!!). I think those other spontaneous things speak more to their generosity and good spirit than the builds designed to get folks into the stores. I, uh, get something in my eyes each time I see one of those stories. Your math, however, is indeed very far off. Let's go with your number of 428 bricks (in a year) x 250 kids, x 100 Lego Stores. That does indeed give us 10,700,000 bricks. I think those 428 bricks would be closer to a $35 set (given the retail pricing for Creator sets without minifigs tend to come in just a bit under the $0.10/piece rule of thumb pricing). If 428 pieces is one set, then we simply have 25,000 annual "sets" of 428 bricks given out (which comprise those 10,700,000 total pieces), and 25,000 x $35 is $875,000. All told, I'm sure Lego gives away multiple million dollars of product each year, but definitely not $214M! Anyone else have some favorite examples of Lego giveaways/philanthropy or, more to the topic, any official source for what Lego actually has in the budget for that kind of promotion?

What a great topic! I noticed some years ago that official sets had the flowers put on "upside down" (from my perspective) and recall, maybe when I was 10 or so, deciding that I was going to consciously put them on the other way. That was a big deal, you see, because I'm usually really OCD about having bricks perfectly aligned, even the things like flex tubes/hoses, etc.! I've loosened up a bit these days and agree with tedbeard in that it does give them a bit more dimension. I'll mix them up a bit to help represent different varieties, and I've been messing with some of the interesting techniques I've seen floating around, like adding a lever base (part 4592) on the stem under the petals to make them look like tulips. Good to have variety... but yeah, we've been putting them on incorrectly all this time.

Ask user Sheepo - in a recent, unrelated thread he wrote: "...I have found a store where you can buy pneumatic tube 100% Lego compatible in many colors: black, blue, brown, dark blue, dark gray, green, light gray, red, tan, teal, trans clear, white and yellow. And with very good price..." but didn't elaborate as it's was tangental to the rest of the discussion. Might be a good info for you. :)

Generally I agree with BrickG and I identify with all those reasons (including getting a hair or something under the sticker when applying it - ack!! (especially when my kids do the application)). For me, though, the reason I used to despise them was because of the prevalence of STAMPs. Especially many years ago when my collection was small, I hated either having those pieces being permanently out of play unless used in their original set or worked into a related MOC, or destroying the (basically irreplaceable) sticker. Now that LEGO is so much better with their sticker placement (and my collection is large enough not to miss those pieces) I do find that I'm regularly applying stickers and do enjoy what they add to the set. :)

Ah, OK. Then Bram Lambrecht is probably your man. The Lsculpt project is probably a good place to start: https://code.google.com/p/lsculpt/

Is there a particular feature that you know to exist in BrickBuilder that's not available in LDD / LDraw? It just seems like a very pointed question, so I think it's important to ask what you're trying to do since there may be an existing tool that fills the need and can easily be had rather than trying to get BrickBuilder itself or even going as far as to try to develop something from scratch.

Definitely try your local lego store and if they have them on the wall (my store just happened to stock a couple bins with tan 2x4 bricks last week!) ask the manager if they'll sell you a k box of them. Some folks have recently said that they've stopped selling them in cases, but it seems to be more of a store-by-store thing based on some recent supply/stocking issues they've had with PaB shipments more than an actually policy. I think the current price for a k box is around $90-$100 US, and they usually hold about 650 2x4s. That'd probably put you at $0.165ish after tax, which is just a little better than Bricklink. Something else to think about for your project would be using tan 1x4 bricks for most of the facade ( maybe just topped with 2x4s) so you'd still have the same look at least from most angles and you can find those bricks for 50-60% the cost of 2x4s. If you could buy a case of those from a Lego store, then you'd have a solid deal as that should be close to 1200 in a box for about the same $100+/- price.

The whole thing is pretty great, but that shield at the back of the stage!!

Ah, so... a classic sci-fi lit design rendered in Lego Classic Space style, with prototype Lego elements. Nice.

Hey, another 'Zonie - welcome! :)

That's pretty fun! Appears to have been inspired by a Firefly-class transport, perhaps? The engines seem a little under-sized from some angles for my taste, but I think that fits with the classic space-y vibe for this type of craft. Where did you find that windscreen in trans-yellow? Custom from someone?

Looks like a fan filter to me! I'd also agree, not Lego.

Not sure how much building experience you have, but it looks like it's a pretty straightforward build, especially if you have a parts list. It appears to be 4 studs deep with each of the 1 stud wide bricks visible in the middle on the front of the heart actually being 1x4 bricks going through to the back side to provide strength (it's hollow). Then, they simply have some 1x2 plates popped on along the edges to help with the tapered 3D effect. Talon2174's quick review of the set on YouTube should give you all a nice view of most surfaces to recreate it, and if you pause toward the end as she's putting it back in the box you can see 1 step of the instructions that gives you a little more detail: If you're really having a hard time with it even with that additional info, I'm sure there's plenty of us around here that would be happy to help.

Yes, I wasn't quite sure where to post so I went here since they seemed pretty Model Team-y to me... though he also has some stuff in a more direct Technic scale, anyway: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupe NPU for the Merc badge on the grille. :)

I searched around the forums a bit and didn't see this posted elsewhere before- I came across these MOCs by Malte Dorowski and though that both the final product as well as the techniques that went into creating them were great so I thought I'd share them here. In particular I had never seen the flex tube -> clip plates -> cheese slopes technique following the curves of the cars, and it looks mighty nice! Check them out - awesome work by Malte! Porsche 935/76 Turbo Porsche 935/78 (I've seen other's work highlighted by a 3rd party here before, but if this is inappropriate I apologize.)

I usually think that gratuitous play features crammed into a model detract from official Lego sets, but all that awesome stuff worked into Benny's ship, just… wow! Really a must-buy for me now! The police dropship is still just "meh" for me. I don't know quite what it is but I'm just not excited about it like a lot of the others so I think it just comes down to preserving my budget and allocating that cash elsewhere in the line… but that's not really a bad thing. ;)

Spectacular! The feeling you've captured with the brick-built figure is awesome (and hilarious) and really adds to the overall build with that crazy hotrod!

What a beautiful love story! ;) Welcome to Eurobricks!

Ha! The sleeping idea is great! It's a MOC that'd be harder for everyone else to pull off. ;)