deraven

Hi RobWB - welcome to Eurobricks! Here's the question to ask: Do you want to build them? If the answer is yes, then open them. But really, if you enjoy building with Lego and not just collecting and those sets are ones you'd like to build, just go for it. Open them carefully and save the box and instructions (of course), and that way you can still get plenty of value back out of them later if you want to sell them, just not quite as much as NISB/MISB. If there are any that are still available at a reasonable cost now and you're really torn about it, buy another copy if you have the budget and build 1 and keep one. The main reason I say that is being unsure if you should build it will only get worse as the price starts going up (unless it doesn't, then it's an easier decision!). I'll admit that I have a few sets that I bought and fully intended to build but ended up stuck in my backlog, and now they're worth 4x+ their original retail which so far as kept them in their boxes.

This is pretty much the state-of-the-art in Lego sorting machine, and basically what you would need to do an effective job: If you were just sorting by color you could do that with any number of ready-built machines with simple camera systems, but as already noted here you really want to sort by part type in most cases (and optionally then by color as well, though I agree that's not necessary or very helpful for all but the very largest collections). There are also plenty of options out there for mechanical sorting by general size which could be helpful for a pre-sort, but then you'd still need to do the rest by hand. Honestly, I'm not sure what I'd pay for something like that for personal use. If I ran a huge Bricklink store where I'd have an ongoing need for sorting large numbers of pieces, that would make sense. Now, if I could somehow rent it for a week to get through the couple hundred pounds of unsorted stuff I currently have, that would be great. Or if it was open-sourced for non-commercial use, I'd be happy to spend time putting it together instead of hand sorting and then have the machine handle that as needed. Are you thinking you'd try to produce a product of some sort yourself? If so, I think you've got a pretty high bar to meet, and given the niche market you'd either need to somehow produce something inexpensive enough that hobbyists would be willing to buy it for occasional use, or full-featured and robust enough to justify a high price from the even smaller market of people who would find it useful in a commercial capacity or for a giant collection. It's a tough nut to crack as an actual product.

The hair is fun, and I like the frills on the skirt. The 2-tone outfit looks great overall.

Yes, I meant that I just wasn't sure if this is the particular BMW model that they'd want featured as a Lego set. But it does have a following of folks that find it charming and I imagine it'd do pretty well if it were released!

This is ridiculous and wonderful. Not sure if BMW would go for the license on it, but I'm supporting it nonetheless. Nice job all-around, and I like the inclusion of the luggage, too.

Looks good! I think you've worked in some nice details at this small scale. By way of constructive criticism, I think the back fins are a little large (maybe just too thick), and the propeller is a bit small. This one may be larger than would be ideal for the scale you're building in, but the shaping is more like a modern submarine propeller if you use this part. I think the tiny bridge you've worked in there looks great and really feels like a submarine command deck!

HI Macropus! Would be best to talk to the Lego customer service folks, but to me it sounds like perhaps you were in the Replacement Parts area when you should have been in Bricks & Pieces to place an order. That is, Replacement Parts is for a missing, misprinted, or damaged piece in a brand-new set (factory defects) and with Lego's quality control system they're usually only expecting 1 or 2 pieces from a request. When you say you wanted to replace "a few broken Lego bricks" it sounds like that's more than correcting a factory error and probably caused the system to reject the order because it thought you were trying to take advantage of getting free parts from the replacement service. If you just have broken items in your collection that weren't factory defects, you should purchase replacements from Bricks & Pieces (or some place like Bricklink). Of course, if you had a larger number of defective pieces in a new set, you should definitely contact Customer Service so they can look into it and get you what you need. Happy building!

This is lovely and really takes me back! Especially that red & black color scheme for the buildings, the lighting on the platform, and of course all the wires looped everywhere. Would be great to see more if you ever resurrect it, but this is a nice bit of nostalgia right here.

Why not do both a launch vehicle as well as spacecraft: Buran Energia!

Looks nice. I like the plants, tree, windows, the wall detailing at the bottom, and interesting use of magnets to attach the roof pieces. Certainly a nice addition to the lake!

Welcome to EB, brickman! Tell us a little about yourself... and in the meantime, happy building!

Looks great, and I think you should be very satisfied with that window solution. I like your buffer design, too. Nice build!

Great overall design, and the presentation blurs the line between MOC and reality. Really nice job on the livery with fitting those slopes. The trucks could be slightly modified and recolored to better match the real one, but they work as-is and don't detract from the build at all. Nice build!

I think it looks great, and instantly recognizable as the N1. Nice build, especially if some of your design choices were limited by parts on-hand! What's next on your spacecraft/launch vehicle MOC list?

Welcome to EB, CF 28! Nah, you're not "old" - you're just an "adult" and now a proper AFOL. Happy building!

Those look great! You could also work in a couple of Lego weighted bricks hidden in the base or tunnel sections to make them less likely to shift around. How complete is the engine and passenger car? Do they abruptly end where they enter the tunnel, or are each removable and complete in their own right?

I would say either Culture & Multimedia, or a general post in Community. https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/forum/25-culture-amp-multimedia/ https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/forum/7-community/ Maybe in the Star Wars forum itself, and just add a little note in your post asking an Admin to move it to a more appropriate section if necessary.

Wow - that is a great looking train! You've captured all the key details very nicely, and nothing looks out of place or off-scale. Well, the leading wheel set looks like it might be a bit bulky/extended too far forward compared to the real thing. Great build!

Welcome to EB, Explorien-Vagabond! Yes, a typical story, and hopefully you'll now have the typical AFOL fun with us here as well! Lots of spaceship love to enjoy here on the forums, and other wonderful inspiration as well as you're working toward that longer-term goal. Happy building!

Welcome to EB, Brikmaster_85! Those original Pirate minifigs are easy to fall for, and I still feel a strong sense of nostalgia for them as well. Happy building!

I think it looks great. Captured the angles and curves really well at this scale, even if the dimensions are slightly off on a few of the details. Nice build.

Ah, well, then I think this clue may have gone too far in the other direction from the first one you posted!

I agree with Mylenium here - if Lego measured success by units of nostalgia or fan-praise, then more of these arguments would matter, but they view success as generating revenue and turning a profit. As I said above earlier, if BB themes were a "bad strategy" they'd have stopped producing them. The issue we're now debating is what the "goal" should be. Again, for Lego that's turning a profit and clearly this kind of product achieves its goal. For AFOLs looking instead for "creativity" or nostalgic potential, maybe they're not the best strategy... but that's now what Lego is going for themselves. Now, of course, pleasing their customer base is important to Lego in both the short and long-term but, again, that customer base is also diverse. They're putting out products aimed at adults, however with the bulk of their business still being sets that kids want today, as long as whatever they produce sells and is fun right now for those kids, their mission is accomplished. Nostalgia absolutely plays a roll in what parents are willing to buy for their kids, but Lego has their overall brand going for them to aid in that. For example, a Cabbage Patch Kid is just that, and not really anything else. If a child is into dolls and that kind of play, a parent might buy them a Cabbage Patch Kid because they had one they loved when they were little, and that's that. With Lego, however, it's just about anything and everything: If their kid is into Star Wars, or Harry Potter, or Disney, or Marvel, or Ninjas... all those things can be had in Lego and a fond memory with Lego regardless of the theme may be enough to get the parent to select a Lego version of that IP (and possibly other Lego products). I don't think any parents are holding out to buy Lego for their kids until they revive a specific older theme. Looking forward, Lego might lose a little bit of that nostalgia as today's kids grow up if "Star Wars toys" are what they remember vs "Lego Star Wars" or just Lego in general, but that's where the Lego IP such as Ninjago and even the shorter BB themes will still help. After all, as was mentioned several times here already, look at how many of us still think about Rock Raiders or Power Miners or Atlantis, etc., and we're still buying plenty of other non-related Lego products today.

I think more clues may be needed for this one, but I'll start with a guess:

That looks cool, but very obviously just a mashup of an ekranoplan and an F-14 with no real thought to functionality. ... but that doesn't mean these designs and you build are any less fun! I've always thought the ekranoplan concept (and the few real vehicles that were produced) was fascinating and it was great to come across your MOC.