AFOLguy1970

That is an impressive reimagining of what is perhaps the most classic of all Lego spaceships of all. Of course, I would buy it, but I think the set proposed has too many pieces. It might be more successful if they just focused on the ship and did not try and combine it with the base. Currently, that project has over 2000 parts which would make it prohibitively expensive to most kids who would otherwise enjoy it.

Great detail inside and out. I like the combination of dark orange and dark red on the building.

So far, the sand green 1x2 grooved bricks do appear to be the crux of assembling a GG. I could always substitute other sand green bricks for the 1x8's, there are only a few of the white train windows, and a few other assorted rare parts that are not needed in a high quantity. I noticed on Bricklink when the price of the grooved bricks gets closer to $2.00 per brick, they do not last long. Then, you have some sellers who will only sell them to you if you buy all 56 at one time. I only have six left to get, and then it is time to move on to other pieces. I would definitely suggest to anyone who wants to bricklink their own GG to start with the rares and if you are trying to remain true to the original design, be mindful of those 56 sand green grooved bricks.

As a kid, I wanted a reptile pet, but no way would my parents let me have one. The wife feels the same way. I thought of having something like a kingsnake, ball python, or a bearded dragon. Guess it was not meant to be.

If it is a MOC, a lot of time is spent using the Lego Digital Designer. Then, I order the parts. It could take a week or it could take a year to get the parts together depending on what the design was. The pool table took a week, and the courthouse took a year and two months. When actually building, I do it when I do not feel like I am in a hurry. School nights are not so good, but weekends and holidays are great for building, especially if the weather is bad. Most of the time on MOCs is waiting to get paid or waiting on the actual parts. Then, there are always the adjustments that need to be made since LDD does not readily reveal structural weaknesses. If building a Lego set, again, I like to wait for there to be ample time to build it and not be rushed.

Since the latest modular has more of an American theme to it, I wonder if the next one will be European in nature? People have speculated on patterns. Perhaps we will get a corner based European inspired structure. Banks and pharmacies certainly are both capable of occupying that slot. Then again, it could be something completely different.

When some people say, "This is the best MOC I have ever seen", it might be an exaggeration. In this case, I can truly say this is the best MOC ever. More than a million bricks--wow! Wish I could be in Copenhagen to see this. After the model is displayed here, where will it be taken?

Now I really hope the Natural History Museum is approved on Lego Ideas. That mummy set would be a perfect addition to it.

Definitely would be a nice color for the courthouse. Only issues would be the high cost of parts and also some of the parts do not exist in that color As an update, I was fortunate enough to visit the real courthouse with the model. The kind staff even let me bring it to the bench in the courtroom. Here are some photos from the visit. They are making emergency renovations on a couple of floors right now. They would like me to bring it back when the courthouse is rededicated. Hopefully, this will help the Texas Historical Commission stimulate awareness in their program to restore historic courthouses statewide. Lee County Courthouse by stevesheriw, on Flickr Lee County Courthouse by stevesheriw, on Flickr Lee County Courthouse by stevesheriw, on Flickr

This is great. Nice attention to detail in the exterior and interior as well!

A minifig certainly can enhance a set. It really depends on the setting. For LOTR, Star Wars, or super heroes, the minifigs are probably the focus of the scene. When it comes to my MOC's or modulars, they are not the main focus. I admit to buying some sets due to minifig appeal (Hobbit, LOTR, DC, SW, and soon Scooby Doo). Creator sets, not so much. As far as how I define a minifig, besides the traditional setup with a headpiece, torso, and legs, I would probably consider some molded designs or creatures to be minifigs. Anything brick built would not be a minifig (sorry, Unikitty!)

San Antonio getting a second store? Wow, I was hoping we would eventually get one in Fort Worth. We are probably the largest Texas city without one.

You did indeed give us some hope. Your project is very impressive in the sense that it portrays a larger than life location in Middle Earth, yet you stayed within certain size limits to express it in Lego form and still have the most memorable features of the city covered. If your project makes it, it will be a day 1 purchase for me. If not, I think the rights to your model revert back to you if I am not mistaken. I might suggest at least having the instructions and part list for sale as some of us would consider building it given those things. Throughout the years, I hope to become more creative, but know that I would probably not be able to design a Minas Tirith that compares to your design. In the meantime, best wishes to you during this review period!

That is an excellent modular MOC! I like the colors and Victorian appearance you have given it. I am impressed that it only took you half a month to design this. Probably quite a few of us would enjoy having one of these in our "town".

^^^ I really like this way of combining multiple DO's. Instead of building up,you built it outwards. It will certainly add some more room to the interior and it gives you a lot of streetfront space as well. Looking at the photo, if you gave me any incentive to buy a repeat modular, you would convince me to get another Pet Shop. I really like what you did with the red halves of it. Alas funds are limited, and I will have to be happy with one of each.

If the Minas Tirith project did get the green light, and that is a big "if", as an Ideas set, it would have a limited run and production. I can visualize Lego limiting the number of sets in the same manner as the Mars Rover or Research Institute. They probably would not make a lot like they did with Ecto-1. As much as we would like to see the White City, you have to admit there is a rather limited fanbase and among this group, a limited number of people who could even afford to buy it. If it came online, I would have to explain to my wife that we need to run up the credit card, because waiting past day 1 risks not having it at all. I can see die hard fans buying some, and resellers getting the rest in hopes of cornering the market and making a big profit down the road. A big set like that will place demand on the factory, and I doubt Lego would take a big risk by making a whole lot of them. Funny thing about the license, it you had until the end of this year, and you released a very limited run in the summer, the sets would probably be long gone before the license expired. Disclaimer: just my opinion of course.

Sounds great, but my fear and the most likely reality would be the glow in the dark Captain Cutler diving suit.

I really think the Natural History Museum has a chance of cracking the $50 ceiling. It is somewhere in the 2000's piece count range and is presented as a modular. It requires no licensing and should appeal many people. It is a good tie in to the Research Institute, which sold out almost immediately. This is not to say Lego will give it the green light, but to me it looks like the best chance of a set that size of being made that has so far been presented.

I have not yet bought the DO, but hope to get it within a month or two. Due to limited funds, the plan will be to probably stick with just the one and like you, focus on creating my own modulars in the future (after bricklinking a Green Grocer is completed). I will continue to buy the official Lego release as long as they do not become overglorified City structures with play features, cookie crimes, and who knows what else. Hopefully, Lego will realize that even though having AFOLs as your target audience is more the exception than the rule, the modular line certainly fits as the exception. If kids want play features, they have City, Chima, Ninjago, Star Wars, and basically 90% or more of Lego products dedicated to their desires.

Thank you all for the replies! My hope is to take the model to Lee County over President's Day weekend if the weather forecast is good. Perhaps I can post a location photo soon.

It would appear that the trend of no large sets is alive and well. This next wave is interesting, because other than the piano, all other sets are fairly larger than previous ones selected. Even the labyrinth appears to have a significant size/number of parts. The piano seems like the easy way out to avoid having a large set produced, but it is fairly small in its present form. My dream for the next review: Minas Tirith or the Museum gets selected My realistic best case scenario for the next review: Labyrinth My fear for the next review: the piano is chosen and a few minifigs/things are added to it to increase piece count

I wish it were possible to visit the alternate universe and see what would have happened if they had just given Lynch the ball.

This could be the time to finally pick up the Detective Office. If the item is out of stock, I think you can still get the double points as long as S&H lets you order it and you place the order within the time frame. Even if it ships beyond the promotion period, you should still get the points.

Lee County Courthouse 1899 The following MOC is a rendition of the Lee County Courthouse in Giddings, Texas. It was designed by J. Riely Gordon, an architect who designed many of Texas’ courthouses. The structure is built in Richardsonian Romanesque style. I have visited over 100 of the county courthouses in the state and hope to one day see them all. Obviously, the historic ones are of most interest, and I wanted to choose one to build in Lego form. The idea was to build one that was historic and had been photographed for comparison. The chosen one could neither be too easy to build nor be too difficult. This courthouse in Giddings fit the bill, so I designed it in Lego Digital Designer and began to acquire the parts. It took about a year and two months from the first parts gathered to placing the tower on top of the model. Lee County Courthouse by stevesheriw, on Flickr The actual courthouse Lego Lee County Courthouse by stevesheriw, on Flickr Lego Lee County Courthouse by stevesheriw, on Flickr The model Overall the Lego model consists of over 9000 parts. More will probably be added as I tinker with it and maybe add some more interior features. There are two main differences between the model and the real courthouse. First of all, the interior is entirely different. Had I imitated the real one, the stairwell would have been in the center, and therefore each of the rooms would have been relatively small. Although the exterior is the main focus, I did want the option of having an interior complete with a courtroom and some other chambers. By moving the stairway to the side, I could construct a main chamber for a courtroom. The interior is entirely my design and will not match the actual interior of the real building. The second big difference is that the tower is much larger to scale on my model than on the actual building. Having a larger tower allowed me to give it more detail than I could have otherwise done with a smaller one. It also allows the courthouse to dominate other modulars I may have in size. Texans are very proud of their courthouses, and they are often the structure of most architectural interest in a county seat. This one is built in modular style from the ground up. It separates into five sections. There are three floors with rooms on each level, a roof level, and the tower level. There are no connecting pins to attach to other modulars. This is purposely done, because most of the courthouses are not attached to other buildings. In fact, they are often the center of the town square. In Texas, it is usually the courthouse, and not the city hall, that receives the focus in the town plan. Many are surrounded by landscape on the main town square, and perhaps I will gradually produce some for this one. The first level introduces four entrances to the building. Note the archways that give the courthouse its Romanesque features. Near one entrance is a dark tan brick rather than a red one. This is the cornerstone, and the only piece that my wife assembled on this structure. The structure is symmetrical on one axis. At first glance, the courthouse may appear to have be separable into four equal chunks, however one side is different than the other. One side will have three arches over the entrances, while the other side will have four. One of the wings is also longer than the other three. To round out some of the structure, hinge plates were used. I enjoyed trying to find a way to make sure the courthouse was not simply 90 degree angles. On the inside, there are plenty of supports to make the structure stable, and there are several rooms with a hallway accessing each of them. Be sure to visit the security officer and have him wand you at the metal detector! One room contains the stairway. The center room is still being furnished, although I have added some features. This is the records room, where you file for a court appearance, or perhaps pay for your speeding ticket. The other rooms are to date unfurnished, although I will probably eventually have a copier room, a justice of the peace office, and a polling place in the larger wing. Many a courthouse has been used in a general election as the polling place. Lower level by stevesheriw, on Flickr Porch by stevesheriw, on Flickr Porch by stevesheriw, on Flickr The second level contains the courtroom itself. The stairwell brings you up to an antechamber. There are doors accessing two porches to the outside. Benches are provided as the verdict is awaited. The main chamber is of course the courtroom. There are seats for family members and other interested parties. Two tables are provided for the attorneys, the plaintiff, and the defendant. In front is the witness stand and the judge’s bench, and the flags of the United States and Texas stand behind them. A jury box is included. Behind the box is another room: the jury deliberation room. There is seating for a jury of six members. Lego towns usually do not have violent crimes, therefore a jury of six will typically suffice. The other currently empty room will eventually become the judges chamber. One other thing to note: my visit to the actual Lee County Courthouse revealed that all of the windows had shades halfway drawn down. I chose to imitate this in the model, and you will see window shades on the three main levels. It added to the piece count, but details make the building more special. Second Level by stevesheriw, on Flickr The bench by stevesheriw, on Flickr Jury room by stevesheriw, on Flickr The third level is where the stairs terminate. I have added some rooms I felt would be useful in a courthouse. Here is the breakroom with a couple of vending machines. There is also a bathroom. Lego has not made an effort to recognize that restrooms typically come in pairs, and I too have chosen to just have one bathroom. It does have two toilet stalls and sinks. Finally, I can get the pressure off the lonely bathroom in the Pet Shop. One room has a spiral staircase leading to the roof level. Another chamber has a fireplace, mainly to line up with the roof chimney. Back in the day, this is probably how documents were destroyed. Other rooms are still empty awaiting a purpose. Third level by stevesheriw, on Flickr Breakroom by stevesheriw, on Flickr Restroom by stevesheriw, on Flickr The roof level is fairly straight forward. There are lots of white slopes here. The central chamber is accessible, and a trap door has been installed to access the spiral staircase below it. Roof level by stevesheriw, on Flickr Roof section by stevesheriw, on Flickr Finally, we have the tower. This gives the courthouse a commanding height, and makes it visible from all over town. There are four clock faces, one on each side. I preferred to have these brick built for the sake of detail. Later on, I might tinker with the clock hands and make them more maneuverable. Tower Level by stevesheriw, on Flickr Tower Level by stevesheriw, on Flickr This is the first MOC I have “completed”. Now begins the tinkering phase, which lasts from now to the rest of my life as I make minor changes here and there. Tiling some more surfaces and furnishing some more rooms will likely be among future improvements. Also, I hope to take the Lego model to the real one and have them photographed together. That would be fun! Oddly enough, Lee County is between Fayette County, where my Mom lives, and Washington County, where my mother-in-law lives. Therefore, the courthouse will probably be in the back of the car for the next family visit. Thank you for reading all of this!

The lighthouse and plane are not bad. I will probably buy them because I really am a fan of Scooby and the different variations of Scooby interests me. I do however find the mansion and the MM to be the best two sets so far in appearance. It is hard to tell what the primary colors of the lighthouse are. The "swamp" creature does look more like a deep sea creature, especially since it is holding a trident. The presentation is not bad, but perhaps I was hoping for a bit more on the lighthouse itself. Still, I will probably buy all the sets.