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AFOLguy1970

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Everything posted by AFOLguy1970

  1. AFOLguy1970
    I just went with the Winter Village because of the time of year. I also missed out on the big carousel and Ferris Wheel and would hate to not have those sets to go along with a mixer. Maybe one day they can revisit the ferris wheel and the carousel concepts and design another one. There are so many neat things I missed or people new to Lego never got the opportunity to purchase: carousel, USC Millenium Falcon, Eiffel Tower (the big one), Taj Mahal, the list goes on.
  2. AFOLguy1970
    I would certainly not want play features and interior elements to reach the point where the exterior has to be significantly compromised in modulars. The DO does not seem to me to have crossed that line. There is certainly a lot of exterior details and features. The cookie barrel does not use too many elements, so it does not impact total piece count that much. On the topic of color, I guess it does not bother me too much that multiple colors were used in this build. As illustrated, some places like Copenhagen certainly have a great deal of colorful structures. It would honestly bore me a bit to use the same few colors over and over again with multiple structures. Once my first modular MOC is completed, i would likely wish to use an entirely different color and theme if I decided to pursue another one. I do appreciate how the various modulars always bring something new to the table. DO obviously has very little in common with the PR, and PR had little in common with the PC, and so on. Variety is the spice of life.
  3. AFOLguy1970
    On the topic of Christmas, one thing that you can never do too early is to grab the Advent Calendar sets for your kids. The City, Star Wars, and Friends sets are all sold out in the US. If you plan to get your kids or yourself one, get to a store immediately. It seems like they all sold out last year before December as well.
  4. AFOLguy1970
    On one of the cartoon channels, they are vigorously advertising the Lonely Mountain set. I have only seen commercials for this one and not the other three in the wave. The ad is clever enough with the focus on Smaug and the play features. Surely, this will be on a lot of want lists for Christmas. Then, the parents will see how much it costs The kiddos need parents who are largely not impacted by the recession, or it is going to have to be a joint gift from mom, dad, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and godparents. Kids, just tell them you really need this instead of socks and underwear, and..... good luck.
  5. AFOLguy1970
    We got the high speed passenger train to go around our tree. I will have to hide the train before setting it up around our tree after the boys go to bed on Christmas Eve. Also got my older son a minecraft set. He will be completely surprised. Last year it was triple VIP points, but the double points are certainly better than nothing. Getting that second holiday set now is nice. This prevents me from having to wait until actual Black Friday weekend to get the stuff. My concern was that the train would go on backorder before I could get to it since they will likely be in demand over the holidays. Glad you all got some freebies for your time/money investment. Although, your account of the event does not make me jealous for not getting the invite. Thankfully Lego made the double VIP points and the skating scene available to all today.
  6. AFOLguy1970
    So far, it is up against the Avengers Helicarrier, the F7A Hornet, the Natural History Museum, the Goonies Pirate Ship, and the marble Labyrinth. It is interesting that all of these projects appear to be larger than what has been made into a set so far. The only small project I see so far within reach of joining this lineup is the piano. My hope is that some other set does not come along between now and the end of this submission period that would seem like an obvious shoo-in to be picked (think Ecto-1). Hopefully, something from the current review will not be rolled over, in the same way Dr. Who was handled. I cannot imagine Lego choosing nothing from an entire review. Because of this, I would say that Minas Tirith has a chance. How big of a chance, I have no idea, but it certainly seems higher than zero percent. My own premonition tells me that the museum is the greatest competition to Minas Tirith, because it would not need to be licensed, and modulars are very popular.
  7. AFOLguy1970
    Still cannot tell whether or not the windows are printed or they are stickers. I do not see sticker boundaries, although it cannot be ruled out. That mirror element is great. I need this for other MOCs too. The printed dartboard will be well received. This certainly is a good set for getting a lot of nougat masonry bricks and multiple shades of blue. We also get two of the new scissors elements. Kind of surprised there is not a rat in back, maybe the cat keeps it away. We need a new painting. I think the ship now appears in this, the PR, and TH if I am not mistaken. It looks like this will be a fun build.
  8. AFOLguy1970
    The online PAB order finally made it in from Poland, so I am working on the third floor of my MOC. Was hoping to finish it last night, but it was getting late. Now, I will spend most of the work day thinking about getting home and finishing that level by tonight.
  9. AFOLguy1970
    It looks like it will be included in the Spring review. We are currently waiting on the results of the decision on the batch that precedes it. My guess is it will be late spring when we may know something.
  10. AFOLguy1970
    It certainly is Christmas weather in North Texas with flurries last night. In all likelihood, Christmas will probably be actually warmer than what we experiencd this week, it usually is. The fact that Thanksgiving is a week and a half away makes me think it is too early to get into the Christmas mood. Once Thanksgiving rolls around and we are in the day after, then we will get the tree out and get the house decorated that weekend. Just like last year, it is a late Thanksgiving. December is going to quickly be here once we reach that point.
  11. AFOLguy1970
    It seems like the Detective Office is really everything above the pool hall and the barber. The entrance into the office proper is from the room with the bathroom, therefore it is either the private apartment of the detective, or it is not really an apartment at all. The only nitpick with the bathroom is that you have to be somewhat of an exhibitionist to use it with that big window in front of the toilet (now we now how Where-are-my-pants guy got started). I guess the floor above that is the kitchenette/breakroom for the office. The ceiling fan looks great, and there are some good usable colors and parts here. Just like others have mentioned, I really really hope those windows are prints. I am quite OCD when it comes to stickers and cannot stand it when they do not line up just right. Many of my stickers have corner blemishes from trying to realign them to what I think is acceptable. I look forward to the designer video explaining all the details and the story behind it. This will certainly be on the want list for 2015.
  12. AFOLguy1970
    Overall, it looks very nice. It is more modern than some of the other modulars, but still has the feeling of a past era, which for me is a must when considering a purchase. Now, the big question: how much?
  13. AFOLguy1970
    (1) Yes, they do sell the brick separators individually. However, if you buy a large set, one could be included. (2) It depends on if the type of bricks you are looking for are there. If they are, then it sure beats the price of online PAB and could even net you more bricks for your money than Bricklink. The Rockefeller center store has a larger than average PAB bin, so the selection should be good. (3) I always hope for plates, windows, doors, and certain colors. 1x1, 1x2, 1x3, etc. bricks are good, especially if in a usable color. There are also a lot of other random parts that come up, some of which are very nice. Tiles are good too. (4) There are exclusive sets that are only available there. I think of some of the big ones like Tower Bridge, modulars, and others. Those I have only seen at the Lego Store, at least here in the US.
  14. AFOLguy1970
    Totally agree. There are now several large projects at or near review stage. Two of them are based on the popular superhero themes (Wayne Manor and the X Men Mansion), then you have the museum, and Minas Tirith from the Lord of the Rings is getting close. The museum has a nice advantage over the other three in the fact it would not need to be licensed. Also, it appears completely compatible with the other modulars. I could see Lego approving one of the large sets to really test the waters for demand.
  15. AFOLguy1970
    It seems like there would be something on the 22nd for any VIP member since it is clearly on the November calendar. I find it hard to believe that is only about the one hour that the big spenders have access. There has to be something more to it than that. Maybe bonus VIP points or a discount could be involved. It would be nice if the second holiday set was available on that day, but the calendar also states that it is only the Black Friday Weekend when that happens . Hopefully someone will get inside information before Nov 22 so I can decide whether or not it is worth it to drive out there.
  16. AFOLguy1970
    There could potentially be a bar, and the agency, and a barbershop. I get the feeling like this one is going to look very different from the others. A lot of bricks would have to go to providing detail for the interiors in the fashion of the PR (sorry Off-the-Wall, but signs seem to be pointing to this). If there has to be an alley in the middle, it is definitely going to make the two buildings narrow at the front (think Amsterdam). That would seem to imply that you would have to extend the buildings further to the back than normal to allow for some interior space. Could it also be possible that both buildings do not even have the same number of floors? If there is something above the Barber Shop, then you are going to need even more bricks to create an exterior and an interior, unless you go the way of the Pet Shop and make it vacant. It will be interesting to see what the pricing is on this.
  17. AFOLguy1970
    You did a nice job recreating this scene. The trouble it might have with being produced into a set is the fact that we just got Galadriel in a set. Usually, Middle Earth sets introduce at least one new character in a set to stimulate demand since this theme is so character driven. The fact there is not really an action sequence or conflict here would make it difficult to promote to children. I think the Riddles for the Ring had the same trouble as well. Again, a very nice scene, however it does not really introduce anything new to the line.
  18. AFOLguy1970
    Rumor has it that Lego is really cutting back on the extras. So far, I have only heard about the second holiday set over the Black Friday weekend and nothing about the Saturday before as badbob001 mentioned. Besides the set, the only other bonus right now seems to be the calendar, which you can only get in the Lego Store if you purchase over a certain dollar amount. It has some coupons, but the general consensus is that there are no earth shattering deals on it. The in store Pick-a-Brick holiday boxes have also disappeared. This is not to say that Lego might surprise us with a 2x or 3x VIP day, but I would not bank on it. They might also do what they did last year and offer free shipping for a time regardless of purchase amount. With the guaranteed busy holiday shopping season and the success TLG has enjoyed, they have likely figured out that they will get the business regardless of whether they offer some of these things or not.
  19. AFOLguy1970
    Yes, some of the walkways were dark green. I think that this was meant to represent malachite, which is a semiprecious stone. Malachite in that quantity would be extraordinary in our world, but considering that the Lonely Mountain had rivers of gold and diamonds bigger than the hope diamond, it would seem fitting that they had that much malachite to embellish the halls of Erebor. It is definitely not a cheap material, and it is a very rich dark green color.
  20. AFOLguy1970
    In a theoretical extra set, I would simply hope for the obvious omission: an army builder set. It would be similar to Battle of the Five Armies, except there would be generics in it. You would have generic orcs, a generic iron hill dwarf, an armored elf, a man of Lake Town, and I guess if there absolutely had to be a named character, include Bolg. If there is room for a creature, include a troll. It is hard to believe this movie is based on an epic battle, and you cannot recreate it, because the battle set had no generic good guys. If you use every minifigure you have, the bad guys are outnumbered, which is obviously not the case in the movie.
  21. AFOLguy1970
    It appears that the museum will make it into review with over 9000 votes now. The more concerning thing to me is that it will face fierce competition in the review. If it makes it in soon, it has to go against Wall-E, the Hubble Telescope, the Ghostbusters Headquarters, the Dr. Who sets that carried over from the last review, and others. Wall-E is not that big, which would fit in with the other sets from Lego Ideas. The Hubble Telescope follows the success of the Mars Rover, although it does appear large, which might be its main drawback. The Ghostbusters Headquarters might be the biggest rival in terms of similarity, because it acts as a modular. If Ecto-1 sold well, then that could factor in. Then, there is Dr. Who. Obviously, it has a lot of fans, and Lego did not flat out reject the sets, making me think they are trying to secure licensing. The last review proved that more than one set can make it, however it is not going to be easy for the museum. It's greatest weakness is its size, but the fact that it needs no licensing would certainly help.
  22. AFOLguy1970
    I was just browsing the forum at Brickset, and it is reported that Lego is going to discontinue the monthly mini-build after December. It is disappointing, but I can understand some of the reasons why. I took my kids to their first one over the summer. It was packed, and that is where I learned you have to get there early to get your place in line. The Lego Store in Dallas has it arranged where you wait in line outside the store (it is in a mall). They would pass out cards for the kids who were there and then at 5pm direct kids to the tables to build their model. After a couple of times, they finally gave people the option of either building it at a table outside the store or taking it home. They also made sure the kids were actually present before issuing a card. Apparently, some people were abusing this and making up imaginary kids for the models. My kids enjoyed building the models, but it was not fun waiting that long with them, especially when the 7 year old has hyperactive attention deficit disorder. He would bother every living thing around him for that hour to hour and a half wait. Actually, I think forcing everyone to wait in line kind of hurt store sales a little bit. As the only parent with two kids in line, I myself wanted to go into the store while we were waiting, because (a) it was not busy inside, and (b) I am an AFOL who would likely purchase something. Going into the store would mean losing our place in line, because if I went in, then we would all have to go in. Therefore, I had to wait until we did the minibuild to go inside and maybe buy an item or two. By then, I was rushed, because it was dinner time for the kids. Certainly that and a more crowded store was not great for making a PAB cup. Even on a school night, the store easily gave out all of its supplies. The line extended back several stores and sometimes beyond. It will be disappointing to end this short lived monthly tradition with the kids, but again, I get it. It was not really profitable for Lego to give away free bricks and inadvertantly discourage people from going into the store. What are your thoughts?
  23. AFOLguy1970
    I dont remember seeing Smaug in the trailer either. So the ballistas come from the Iron Hill dwarves? It makes me wonder how much TLG was shown before they designed the sets.
  24. AFOLguy1970
    If they needed to further reduce the piece count, they could always nix one of the two dinosaur skeletons. I like both designs, but TLG might find two to be somewhat redundant. If the museum becomes a set, hopefully it will not be a very limited run ala Mars Rover or Research Institute where you better have your $250 on day 1 or risk never having the chance to own it. I hope it will be around for at least the average lifespan of a typical modular. This is of course assuming it gets the green light. So far, there has not really been an big ticket item from Cuusoo/Lego Ideas. This, or something like the Lord of the Rings Minas Tirith would establish a new precedent.
  25. AFOLguy1970
    Minas Tirith is now past 8000 votes on Lego Ideas. Hopefully it can get the last 2000 quickly.
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