gotoAndLego

That was me, Nizam's Persian Restaurant, B&N was running a special which is why I grabbed the Battle of Almut set.

While I don't have any I think they would be great for a Joe vs The Volcano MOC.

I initially thought this should go in the other section, but since it is in essence a MOC with pirates I posted in here. Mods can move it there if they really need to. Its been slow going and as you all know development comes in big spurts. I still have to finish off the roof and rigging but its looking pretty cool thus far. While not modular per se, it is built on the modular standard so it can snap together with Green Grocer and the like.

Well what ever it is that first layer of wings doesn't match the shape of the nose. Change it you should.

That doesn't matter. What matters is that they show the kinds of bricks and techniques needed for bumpers and what not.

If you like a set buy it. Otherwise in a couple of years, you're going to kick yourself for not getting it just because its not a theme you collected at the time.

Love the picnic table. Trees in environments such as an urban gas station are seldom really healthy. They are usually a little stunted and scraggly. Try raising the pump island from crash barrier to crash barrier one plate so it looks raised compared to the tiles. Have you thought about making the pump wider so you can have hoses for the different octane fuels. What about a separate pump for Diesel? New Mannum must be a super hygienic place to live as there is no litter scattered around the picnic area. :D

Both of these are 6 wide. http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=6743-1 http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=5867-1 Look at the instructions for both these AND their alternate models.

I'm totally lifting your turntable idea. :D How do they look with a 1x1 tile rather than the round plate?

Weird that they could test the UCS Star Destroyer but not the UCS Falcon.

They named the dog Indiana.

Looks great. One simple thing you can do is stick a 1x2 plate under the bed's pillow tile so it really is raised.

Kids love war! Looks great.

Both cars and computers are excellent examples, but unfortunately they do nothing to prove your point. Windows OS is licensed which is why many companies produce Windows computers. Mac OS is only available from one company which is why no one else can make Macs, and back in the 90s Apple tried licensing their OS and that was one of the things that almost bankrupted them. There is nothing stopping a new company from creating a new computer using components and an OS that are available for sale/license much in the same way that there is nothing stopping a new company from producing a new brick toy using plastics which are widely available for sale. In regards to cars, anyone can develop a car (new brick toy), but they can't use proprietary components (Legos' specific system). You are correct, but we've moved on and are discussing theoretical trademark and copyright issues. :D

Imperial Flagship and Shipwreck Hideout.

Free market is competing brick systems, not other companies capitalizing on a brick system that TLG has developed. TLG shouldn't suffer just because no one wants to use MegaBlocks. As far as opening borders to free trade. Everyone wants lower prices, but Ask the Southwest United States how awesome NAFTA has been. This is the epitome of short-term thinking. In a couple of years a garage-based company could drastically increase its scale and end up producing competing bricks.

This one for me as it was one of my earliest Expert Builders sets. I put it together again a couple of months ago and I still like playing with it.

In the US the majority of roadside gas stations have picnic tables. But not really in urban areas.

Why do you need to "decide a direction"? Just get which ever sets you like the look of.

I have to say that its a marked improvement from where you began. Good job on that. Of course all the details on your buildings bring up the flaws in using regular lego trees. They just dont fit style and heightwise. Even if you just made a bunch of 10193 MMV trees I think it would make everything look better.

If the point of Legos isn't to create something from your existing bricks then nothing is.

From the photo it looks like the bottom level should have a vertical front, not a slanted one.

Looks good, but its not a diner without a long counter with bar stools. Use this image as an example:

You're assuming that not only will the person be playing both but also that the parent will pay for both. Assuming the additional $10 a month is a huge amount for the parent they will most likely have the kid choose which one they want. It teaches the kid a lesson about priorities. I also have no issue with kids and video games, it would be hypocritical for me to be against that. and think that a game that emphasizes creating things is better than a pointless FPS game. Not that I don't love shoot em ups. I abhor Bionicle, but I have no issues with someone enjoying that mess. PS. Anyone who has paid the Star Wars tax for sets doesn't get to complain about the relative value of anything including LU.

I'd be happy to sort your bricks into my collection.