tedbeard

That is delightful. Looks like it should be in a bottle.

I believe that is the lower end of the spectrum for a short-run/low numbers element. I am sure I heard a talk at a BrickCon one year that indicated you have to add another zero for long-run/high numbers production elements.

They look really nice. Very swashbuck-ly!

Wow, I guess there are people who live in a totally different world from me where up is down and black is white. In the world I live in you have it totally backwards. In the world I live in price is proportional to desirability. The more people desire the item the higher the price will go. A higher price for a LEGO item never made me think "oh I'd like to get that even more". This whole thing stinks and simply makes people disappointed in LEGO. They should produce more of these stupid "exclusives", at least enough for every attendee at the event, or they should stop doing them, or they should at the very least come up with a fair distribution system.

^ Finally! This is why we have been waiting for Target to come to Canada. :)

That is fantastic. I cannot decide which I love better, the stern with the wonderful gallery or the really nicely shaped forecastle. Well done all over.

^ Really? Last time I looked the guide pages were gone. Do you have the new URL?

The manager is quoted as saying he would have been happy to take the man through as his "guest" if he had known what was happening. Planning ahead could involve using these things called "telephones" or "email" to the store manager. Not rocket science and NOT nearly as evil as people are making it out to be.

The manager did say that If he had actually been made aware of the issue (clearly a dud employee dealt with the man) the manager would have escorted him through as his "guest". I think it is a silly blanket policy but it is to as cold-hearted as it is being portrayed in the media.

If by "general audiences" you mean "children under 5" the yes. Cars 2 was so bad even my two youngest (11 and 7) won't watch it, and they LOVED Cars (as did I). I think there have been some positive reviews of LR and there is a small chance that "Westerns" may become popular again. I wouldn't wait for PoP style clearance sales. PoP was a total bomb without a bankable star.

Why can't you open it? I would remove the front panel and frame it like a postcard.

I will try to break our numbers down as best I can: The city of Victoria, British Columbia, has a total metropolitan area of about 350,000 people. So not very large to begin with. Four of our members live outside that area and for three of those members travel to meetings is more than 2 hours of time. We have something like 18-20 "members" on the books and when we had our most recent BBQ with a distribution of free LEGO we had virtually everyone show up. There are app 8-12 "long-term" members, 2-3 "new" members, and the balance are what I would call "satellite" members who pay dues and show up occasionally due to focused interest (ie: mindstorms) and/or real life conflicts. When we do displays we are usually looking at a core group of 4-6 long-term members who provide the bulk of any given display. We like to think of ourselves as "the little LUG that could". You would be surprised what you can achieve with a core of 4-6 people with LEGO creations and sets to display. Also do not forget that people can make valuable contributions by creating and running a website, volunteering to supervise displays, and participating in the club generally. Just because they may not build a lot does not mean they should feel unwelcome.

When I rebooted VicLUG we started out with monthly meet ups at a local casual restaurant where we brought small MOCs and talked LEGO. Eventually we put together a small display for our local library. We filled a glass cabinet in the lobby with MOCs and some small signs that gave info on the display and contacts. We had a summer BBQ and started doing some drafts and eventually put together a van load of people to travel to our nearest convention. We now do four or five public displays/events a year including a local model train show where the one train guy gets to put out a train and the rest of us bring city (and rural) MOCs to fill on the space. The main thing is to meet regularly and keep it fun. I highly recommend drafts of random sets on sale either on S@H or your local toy store. None of us is into SpongeBob but we had a blast drafting a deeply discounted Ms Puffs boating school one time. Post-Christmas is a good time to do a Dirty Brickster gift exchange and any time is good to play with timed builds/races to build poly bag sets or quick building challenges. You can even do challenges with draft sets. Before you start to sort everyone piles the parts from the set they brought, you grab a kitchen timer and give everyone three, five or ten minutes to build something on a theme chosen randomly. A few beers and some silly builds isa lot of fun.

Welcome aboard from the Left Coast! What part of the Great White North are you from?

So, you want a half-sized straight road plate? A friend had some so I made two for myself. Not really difficult, you take a regular straight and cut it in half with an exacto knife. :)

I suggest you have a look at his official bio page: http://brickartist.com/about/

He uses genuine LEGO elements assembled by hand.

T-junctions and Crossroads can both be turned into "Straights" if you build sidewalks using plates (such as pic below). Using a bunch of Crosswalks you can make a straight section of road without center lines which is really good for alleys or residential streets which don't usually have lines. ^ The sidewalk is two plates high and the modified Fire Brigade meets it fine. Unmodified Modular House Standard buildings (like the Pet Shop house on the right) can be lifted to meet the sidewalks using other baseplates or foamboard sheets underneath. And yes, I know I forgot to make a "driveway" for the FB in the pic above. ;)

I don't know if it is hideous or not but this review certainly does not provide much in the way of answers. DLuders, you have done a lovely job of previewing the book and providing us with advertising copy. Any chance you could add some actual review content? Perhaps share some WIP pics form your building of one of the models? Your thoughts on the ease of use of the instructions? As it stands now I don't even know if you built ANY of the models.

I am able to do it just fine on an iPad which uses the same operating system.

Very nice, great use of the "seaweed" part.

I would have put "Method C" first as it is the easiest for non-techie people but otherwise a brilliant guide.

My father was commissioned a sub-lieutenant in the RCN in '66 after graduating from U of Sask on that program (or the equivalent back then) so he knows about that option. Funny story, my dad came out here to Victoria to do the summer training components at RRMC and met my mother on a blind date. Wow, I had never heard of that option. It sounds brilliant. I will certainly let my son know about that.

That is very nice. I agree the two-tones really makes it pop.

Accident when I was in Cub Scouts left me blind in one eye so I did not meet the physical requirements. Of course I became a Cub Scout leader a few years ago and now when I tell kids not to play with sticks they listen. My oldest is in grade 10 and I keep suggesting he check out RMC.