Section8

Excellent work portraying one of my favorite films. Your next challenge is to do a brickfilm of the fight scene between Roddy Piper and Keith David...all 5 minutes of it.

A good review of a nice display set. I find the choice to release a model of the incomplete station interesting. The completed station would have the truss perpendicular to the crew modules, and include twice as many solar arrays as the set has (4 arrays of 4 panels, 2 arrays on each end of the truss). The position of the arrays in the model reflects the temporary "starter" configuration. There are also a few more modules added perpendicular. However, if I remember correctly, there was some uncertainty as to whether ISS would ever be completed to plan back in 2003, so I understand Lego's choice. Here's the completed station: Oh, and regarding your cleverly-built addition of smoke and flames, the main shuttle engines aren't used after reaching orbit. Their fuel came from the big external tank that separates after launch

The fact that Lego hasn't done zoo sets outside of Duplo is perhaps the most baffling omission I can think of. I've been wondering when they would make one for 20 years now. My family were members of our local zoo when I was in the prime Lego demographic and we visited it multiple times per year. And what did I see when I was there? Kids everywhere, all having a great time. Definitely an appealing theme, and since it is untried, who knows how people would respond. Look at Friends, that was a big gamble for them but it's paying off. .

Excellent work. Those new brick facade pieces really help cement the scene, right? Hard to tell it's even Lego bricks in some areas. I see the 1970s was a dark time for architectural design in Sweden, too...

I just moved from there and I must say, you captured its character. The skyline is instantly recognizable, and the great thing about LA is you can find examples of pretty much every kind of architecture in the city (albeit a modern re-construction). The modulars remind me a bit of that famous street near Rodeo Drive. That certainly would be interesting. For every Santa Monica or Hollywood, there are huge tracts of less-savory neighborhoods in the LA metro area.

That's a very nice boat! I wouldn't mind owning one like that in real life. Do you remember what set the bow pieces are from? They seem too narrow to be from those great harbor sets of the early 90s. Also, I like the way you made a sliding glass door. For how common sliding doors are in real life, there are few examples in Lego models. Your model is much better than that fishing boat Lego recently released. And your english is very good too.

That is a very good looking ship. I hope Lego considers making it. I'm surprised that Lego has never made a modern sailboat. The closest they've come are the small boats that use the windsurfing sail and alternate models of airplanes that use the wing as a sail. Considering all the other types of boats they've made, it's time they made a proper sailboat.

Very nice review, Pandora! I especially appreciate your images of the alternate builds for the set. I have this set from when I was young and never looked up the box art for the alternate builds. I like some of them better than the main build. You're right about the baseplate, it is truly the centerpiece of the set. My sister had Cabana Beach and Dolphin Point, and these three sets looked great next to each other. The lines on the plates almost matched up if I remember correctly. Since I only have the cafe now, the baseplate doesn't integrate well into my current town. However, the nice thing about the cafe on the elevated platform is that it can be removed and placed just about anywhere. Right now it sits on a curved road plate next to the beach, the L-shape being perfect for the space.

Keep up the good work. Your town also reminds me of Willemstad, Curacao, though its buildings tend to be more pastel. I like how you are building in the old System style, simple construction techniques with just enough creativity to imply more elaborate designs (like the SNOT plates on the front of the blue building). I'll be watching for more updates. I see you have 6543 Sail 'n' Fly Marina too. I reconize the parts and truck. That set has an abundance of very useful parts.

You did an excellent job capturing the look of SP3 in that monorail. The battery box from a town set looked pretty good in space! I like how you posted different pics showing the evolution of your creation. The motor looked a bit sparse, but that is a difficult piece to dress up. I wish it had more studs on the sides. Keep up the good work! I wouldn't mind seeing more of the layout you had in the last photo.

Very nice work. You definitely made that set more realistic. Are you planning on integrating it into a larger city? I'd like to see how that looks.

Very good job! You make it look realistic, but at the same time retro-System style. I too work in the oil industry and I found it odd there weren't many MOCs about it on EB. I've wanted to build an offshore rig for sometime, but I never buckled down and designed it. Your design is a good inspiration. I especially like the way you made the derrick.

That's a very nice MOC. A lot of detail in a small space. I'm surprised Lego never made any official set of a supermarket. As for more stock, it looks like you can fit some things under the canned food shelf. How about boxed foods or bread?

That is a great MOC. It reminds me of some of the old Forestmen sets. Perhaps you could put a hinge in it like they have so the house opens from the tree; that way you could make an interior (I'm assuming it doesn't have one). Of course, I don't know if the construction would allow this. The tree looks fine to me. Yeah, you could go taller, but there are also trees which lose the top to disease or lightning and continue to grow outward without getting taller. So in that respect, there's no biological reason it should be taller I read Derfel's guide and doubted its applicability to smaller, more System-style castle MOCs, but you did it. I'll have to give it try too sometime.

That's a very nice scene. The water is especially well done, including the little rapids using clear cheese wedges! Now that I'd like to see! I'm to the point that I can't even build a set from instructions without cursing. Unless it's one of my oldest sets that I basically have memorized, I alway miss something. I'm trying to figure out how you made a tool that has less clutch power on the studs than the layer of offset circular plates.

I really like this building, it does resemble the unadorned housing common of the communist era. The interiors are well done and highly playable, especially with the classic open-back. I do have one question: is each floor an apartment, or each half of the building one apartment? I could see it going either way. Hey, don't feel bad about that. I like using large panels too, and Lego has been doing it since the mid-1980s as well. For large, simple design buildings like skyscrapers or your apartment building, they let you build larger buildings faster. I'd rather have a 10-story office building made of panels than a 3 story office building made of bricks.

Huh, I missed that in the instructions. Like I said, I don't have one myself. That definitely improves the playability of that station. Another thing 6990 has going for it is you can remove the battery box without ripping the car apart. Still doesn't make it better than 6399

Speaking from an unbiased position (I am looking from a design/feature standpoint, not which one I like best), I think 6399 is perfection embodied. The set is amazing; the stations are very creatively designed, yet still look realistic. The train is simple but still catchy with its red and white color scheme. The little things like the hamburger stand, the lights under the city platform, and airport/monorail directional signs at the airport station could have all been easily omitted. However, their inclusion shows the level of detail that the designers put into this set. It is truly one of Lego's best sets, if not the best. An additional bit of trivia: I'm pretty sure this is the only Town set that has a road baseplate, but no cars/vehicles with it. As for the other monorails, they have their merits, but also their flaws. 6990 is a very striking set, as was typical of the Futuron color scheme, but the elevated base is practically useless. There's no real purpose to it and no play functions aside from the elevating radar dish, which would have been better as a person or cargo container elevator. The lower base is better designed with its transforming nature, though. The instructions lack distinct steps for building the on-track accessories and the track length is pretty small. You get two stations with a long straight track, then 2 inclines and a circle of curves. No wonder they made a dedicated track pack for it. I own 6991 (as well as 6399) and let me say: yuck. The concept of a monorail that transfers its cockpits to other vehicles/places is neat and actually works pretty well, but the implementation is less than stellar. The set largely reminds me of what someone would build if they had a bunch of spare space parts. You get two gappy stations, a overly simplistic ground vehicle, and two supposedly independent, powered cockpits. The elevated station is my main problem with the track and stations. First, those BURPs are ugly and out of place. Would it have been so hard to just include another 2 stanchions? Next, the little command center could have really used more windscreen pieces. The other stations aren't bad, the lowest one does what it's supposed to do, give a cockpit 'wheels' (which, if they can fly as implied by the upper station, then why would you need wheels?), and the one on the baseplate is okay. It's no more offensive than 6988 in terms of gappiness or purpose; the spinning radar dish was a good idea. You get more track than with 6990, including the only switches in an actual set, but that can't save this set. You also only get 4 minfigs in this >$100 USD set, while 6990, a smaller set, gave you 5 and a bunch more were in 6399. And I'm not even going into the awful Unitron color scheme. Anyway, there's my opinion/rant on this topic. As I said, I own 6399 and 6991 and I wouldn't mind getting a 6990 at a decent price, especially since I have enough track to make it interesting. I received 6991 before 6399, but even then, I acquired it with the intent to make some kind of city monorail with it. Fortunately, I later found a 6399 at a very good price and relegated 6991 to a track pack for the 6399. But since my 6399 is not currently built and I am nearing completion of my Blacktron II collection, I am thinking about making a B2 monorail from it. Now there's an interchangable-cockpit monorail that would look good!

The folks over at Brickset seem to think that model is actually this non-Lego model. It sure looks similar, though I hope Lego does make their own, it would be great!

Universally, the older sets are better. I own both the new and old sets of the marina and fishing boat, and the new ones don't compare to the old ones. Sail and Fly Marina? The new Marina doesn't even come close. 6543 is one of the best Town sets ever made. I didn't think that until I built it myself. Every old set I don't own is pretty high on my want list, but the new ones are not. I have the new spaceport, but I'd rather have the old one. Lego just made more detailed, more functional sets back in the day. The only two sets that come close are the two freight trains, but when compared to the Freight Rail Runner, they are both inferior.

I do a mix of official sets, mods, and MOCs. For instance, I took several of the old official house sets that came with 16 x 16 or 16 x 32 baseplates, and put them all in a row in between two sets of road plates with 8 studs on each plate. Then I put a white fence in front of all of them. My town is System scale, so modding sets like this is easier than with the Modular scale buildings. I also took the terminal building from 10159 City Airport and made it into a TV studio, as I have two other airport buildings. I do have some MOCs too, also in System scale. It all depends on what you want your town to look like and what official sets you have that fit that vision. Lego has made essentially no official sets of office buildings, hotels, or various shops, so I make those myself.

I think this idea has a lot of potential and I would like to see some more pics of how the frames are built. It would be pretty neat as a community build skyscraper. I like the idea of constructing a large parking garage in this manner with baseplates as the floors, since regular plates aren't that large and you'd probably need too many supports to hold them up. I am also interested in making one to stack my architecture sets on top of each other. Fallingwater and Farnsworth House would look pretty good on a black frame, and it can be expanded if Lego releases more sets that size.

Fantastic, and I can easily tell which official sets they were made from. I especially like the butcher's counter and the interiors of the apartments. I browsed your flickr galleries and saw you have a particular talent for making modular buildings! I like your diner and theatre too.

Since the Robie House has revealed that Lego isn't afraid to do a very large set (piece count as well as shelf space), I'd love to see the Miami Beach Ocean Drive hotels as a set. four of them in a row, with their colorful palettes and great designs, would look amazing. It could be built on two 16 x 32 plates so you could display just one plate or both depending upon the space you have available. Plus if there ever was an excuse for Lego to make mini-neon lights, this would be it!

I like this vignette. I really enjoy these dark, near-future settings people are working with. Are those printings official Lego or custom?