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deraven

Eurobricks Dukes
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Everything posted by deraven

  1. deraven
    Hey, that's a great idea! Please post some pics of how that works out (assuming they are indeed chromed on the inside as well)!
  2. deraven
    I must agree with Andy D. I do find is annoying when I see a thread float up to the top that looks mildly interesting and has a lot of apparent discussion, only to find it's from several years ago and the only new comment is "Wow, it's awesome!" On the other hand, it is fun to see some of those old topics (especially things I missed or wasn't interested in when I was in my lurker stage) gain new life or give folks inspiration for something new. It seems like there would definitely need to be a balance between them, but finding that balance would be a challenge. As TheBear said, "…if you have something meaningful to add" would seem to be the differentiator, but how is "meaningful" determined? Maybe something like a new comment requiring Mod approval once a topic has gone stale for 6 months or something like that? Then, if it's the sort of thing that they'd have merged into another thread they can do so (or leave it there, already "merged" with that old topic... sorta) or they could encourage the poster to create a new topic just referencing the old thread (or do it themselves). I guess the question then would be is it better to have a new separate topic referencing an old post, or just continue the with the old post bumped up? Or… Maybe this whole discussion has been had several times before and it was determined that it was even money either way so it's remained the way it is and this time will be no different.
  3. deraven
    Sure thing! Those Jumbo Bricks were before my time as well, and I wouldn't have even known they existed either if I hadn't come across set 041 still in its box about a year ago and grabbed it to add to my vintage collection.
  4. deraven
    Those bricks are actually from the "Jumbo Bricks" series that were aimed at Preschool children, prior to Duplo. They were available only in the US, and manufactured by Samsonite. These predate Duplo by only a little bit and were in fact produced concurrently for a short period- Duplo was introduced in 1969, and these Jumbo Bricks were produced from 1964-1972 (pretty small numbers, and even fewer after Duplo became more widely distributed). So, Jumbo Bricks (1964-72) -> Duplo (1969-present, basically). With Duplo fulfilling the preschool age range, Lego introduced Quatro for younger kids (babies, really) in 2004. It was a short lived theme, cancelled in 2006. That's probably why most people haven't even heard of Quatro, unless they happened to have a kid in the target age range for whom they were shopping for Lego during those 2 years. ;) You can find a little more information about the Jumbo Bricks and the few sets they came in here: http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/Jumbo_Bricks
  5. deraven
    Wow! Everything about that is superb. The telescopic mechanism works really well there, and while I can see that it's a necessity to reasonably fit the castle into the head, it also adds an additional element of interest moving at the different rate as you open & close it. I really don't know what else to say other than that I'd love to see more of what you guys create!
  6. deraven
    Now, personally I'd go with 2 9v motors and call it a day. But as far as PF stuff goes, I'd have to agree with cimddwc- fit as much as you can in 1 loco and help out the coupling if you need to. That way you don't have to worry about signaling issues, but you still have enough power to move it easily and it's still cheaper and easier than doing a whole PF setup in each loco. And yeah, with only 1 RC motor the HE really isn't very express.
  7. deraven
    Nice. For some reason, I think the gas can on the Jeep is my favorite part!
  8. deraven
    Wow. I just love everything about this. All the components of the sound system in "DJ Mode" are fantastic, and the VW itself is great as well. The separate engine on the hoist is a fun addition, too. Bravo!
  9. deraven
    Looks great all around. The different scales are fun and interesting. NPU with the handcuffs on the micro scale AT-ST!
  10. deraven
    Definitely an improvement overall- I always thought the hood on the official set in particular was terrible! You're right that this looks better in general, but I have to agree that it does lose a lot of the DeLorean vibe with the curves. I'd maybe go with a flat slope for the hood and keep the rest of your mods as-is. That would keep your great doors and other mods, but still make it "feel" a lot more like a DeLorean. :)
  11. deraven
    That's basically list price, and it's a nice, hard to find set. I don't know if I'd pick up a whole case of them at that price or anything, but grabbing a couple if it interests you at all (or if you do any reselling) wouldn't hurt. I mean, with the prevailing pricing, you could buy 3 and selling 1 or 2 of them would cover the cost of the remainder. :)
  12. deraven
    You could also put the 11090 bar holder with clip at the top of a 4L bar (lightsaber blade) attached the same way you have those 6.6L bars in your photo, then the flex tube across. That would get you a similar look with the height just about where it should be as well as solving the horizontal handrail issue by using the flex tube.
  13. deraven
    That's great- love the old-school look with new-school automation! :) Looking forward to seeing the whole coal terminal!
  14. deraven
    Really fun! A little over the top on the lights at the top of the stagecoach, and could maybe use a little bit more greebling on the back, but it does look like it could be a set. Liked your Not-a-Robot super cycle, too! :)
  15. deraven
    What was said above is correct- basically, resale value of the product only impacts company valuation if it causes the sales of new product from the company to increase (whether that be in quantity sold or with increasing product pricing). However, in the case of TLG that doesn't apply since they are privately held and do not have individual stockholders valuing the company by trading shares! ;) What valuation are you basing the "undervalued" idea on? The only numbers I've seen are hard sales figures or marketshare estimates which don't really speak to total valuation. I guess I have seen a few other numbers floating out there for total value, but generally that's when an analyst is trying to compare TLG against another company, so what they do is take all the publicly available financial information along with sales estimates, etc., and then they compare against the same metrics of publicly-traded competitors to come up with the estimated market value. I would agree that the numbers that come from that estimate (usually just a little higher than other toy makers) do not reflect what the total value to investors might end up being. I can tell you that at least I myself would place a lot more value on a share of Lego than a share of Mattel because of the perceived difference in quality and goodwill, regardless of the specific earnings numbers. :)
  16. deraven
    What is that!? A building for ANTS!?? Nicely done.
  17. deraven
    OK, I'm not all that in to Ninjago, but I think both this little mech and the Earth Driller are great sets at very attractive price points... but I had no idea they actually worked together reasonably well like that. My son is going to love seeing this! Nice review with solid photos, by the way.
  18. deraven
    Totally agree with SirBlake. In fact, I just ordered another copy of MVR on eBay for $100, and I think it's totally worth it. MMV is also fantastic and well worth it. Likewise, 10223 Kingdoms Joust is pretty good and a decent value (still available at MSRP online) at $119 for over 1500pcs. It's not quite as interesting as the other 2 and doesn't have the same exclusive/rare elements (goats!), but still a really nice build. It's personal taste of course, but I don't have any of the 2013 stuff as I just don't think it's worth the money. Even as parts packs, they're pretty weak, other than the classic gold coins in 70403. :) I guess it depends on what your aim is but, personally, I think for parts, building, or collecting/investing, the MMV and MVR are definitely worth focussing on over the general 2013 line.
  19. deraven
    Wow- impressive! Bruce as a child, an the flower later are my favorites here.
  20. deraven
    Gorgeous G1! The face is especially good; NPU with that roof piece for his mouth! It looks like it was designed for Optimus, not finishing off dormers. ;) Awesome.
  21. deraven
    Yes, I had seen those stand-alone coins in some sets, but it seems a lot of the databases have them listed as the pearl gold so I wasn't really sure if they ended up being included in those newer sets or not. Now that you mention it, I can totally see the 4 coins plus 1 gold bar being a fine replacement for those of us who saved the sprue! Definitely need to see how the Treasure Island set turns out. I do agree with Mencot that having the individually identifiable soldiers without hats is actually a play feature of sorts. Again, though, I'll be optimistic that they'll include uniform headgear for them as extra pieces in those sets.
  22. deraven
    This. Craigslist, Goodwill/other thrift stores, and even eBay can help with good value on Duplo sets. One thing that's great is that Duplo is much easier to clean than standard Lego since there aren't really and small crevices and such. If you get a batch that's dirty, a tub of warm soapy water will do the trick just fine. When my kids were littler I bought a few specific Duplo sets that looked cool, but then really filled out the collection with a lot of second hand stuff. They were both really into Thomas the Train, about a year or so after Lego was winding down that license, but I ended up getting pretty much all the characters and whatnot we wanted for about 1/2 retail, all in nice shape. I also got a ton of track and random bricks for far less than I was expecting. We still play with that 4 years later since Duplo is great as the foundations of large constructions since it's System-compatible, and it's also excellent for quickly putting together larger, basic MOCs (like a garage or obstacle course for Hot Wheels cars, or a house for my wife's vintage My Little Ponies that the kids also get a kick out of!).
  23. deraven
    Yes, I'd agree. I really don't care for the 1x1 round tiles being used as coins, and even the pearl gold coins from POTC aren't great, but I'd still take 'em over the tiles. I'm expecting the former, but will quietly hold out hope for some version of the actual coin element!
  24. deraven
    Good question. It looks like the only semi-recent sets they've been in have been Pirates or Pirates-related. A few in 2007, but the most recent being 2009's Shipwreck Hideout (6253) and the Imperial Flagship (10210) in 2010. Only 1 set in each of those, however, so that was a little stingy. The BSB had 4 sets on sprue (and I always saved the center piece as additional treasure- a big gold ingot!). So, it would make sense that if we were to get more of the lovely chrome gold coins it would be in this new Pirates wave... *fingers crossed*
  25. deraven
    That is an interesting question. As rollermonkey noted, there is such a huge variation with the types of pieces in Duplo sets it's a bit hard to really determine an average. This is probably another instance, as with the $0.10PPB in System sets, where price per unit weight would give the best indicator of value for a particular set (all other things being equal, like if you actually wanted the type of parts in said set!)... but I don't know that a weight database exists for Duplo elements. So, as unscientific as it is, I just hit the Lego online shop and grabbed 20 Duplo sets, trying to get a decent balance of vehicles, animals, buildings, "general" sets, and including about 20% licensed sets. When I add up the price and divide by the number of pieces, I get $0.64/piece. Value? i'd say if you're at $0.50/piece it's probably good value, but the average for every set individually probably varies between about $0.50 to $0.85/piece, soo...
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