tedbeard

I hate the combo packs as well. I prefer to buy distinct numbers of the different elements. Thankfully Lugbulk has provided better opportunities for buying road plates.

That is odd. I have to log in manually every time I visit on an iPad (same basic OS) but it remembers me for the session at least.

And sometimes you forget they are in a pocket in your coat and you get to have a happy "discovery" a few days later.

Mostly just Collectible Minifigs because I am tired of the looks that say "You really need ANOTHER guardsman/Roman/whatever?"

This is great, especially all the wonderful interior detail. The LEGO room in particular is a nice touch. I did have to laugh a little though. I saw the first picture and thought, "why a toilet seat for a basketball hoop?" Of course, not everyone is using that part for a toilet seat but it is just kinda stuck in my brain now so that's all I see when I see one in white or black. That said, I might use use it for just that effect in a trailer-trash MOC sometime where a toilet seat as a basketball hoop would make sense. Thanks for indulging the silly digression.

Totally the right forum, although you are preaching to the choir. The price differential battle has seen an added intensity over the last five years as our $ has been strong. A couple of years ago Wal-Mart actually stopped carrying LEGO for something like six months when LEGO refused to reduce the price in Canada. Wally-World lost that battle as you can see by the huge amount of LEGO in their stores now. I buy sets, especially the big ones, when I go the states. I do this once a year when I go to BrickCon in Seattle as there is also usually a convention discount at the local LEGO store. If you went to BrickWorld (nearest LEGO convention to you I assume) you would get some great deals and have a great time. Otherwise I tend to buy online from S@H just before Xmas when they have free shipping.

Why, yes it is. I in fact live in James Bay and my youngest kids go to James Bay Community School (my oldest goes to Victoria High School est 1876.)

Hello from Canada's Best Coast!

Sometimes helpful: down for everyone or just me?

Nice additions but I am not sure what the cheese grater on the front is supposed to be.

This is really nice. The kind of thing I hope to see on CuuSoo (hint, hint).

That is fantastic. I love how you even have a functional garage built in and the way you built in the postbox is a great idea. The interiors a very well done as well. Very nice MOC. Tiny quibble: IMO 6-wide cars are more in keeping with the scale of these buildings but I realize fitting that into the garage would be a bit tight.

Riiiiight, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings, are all "throwaway" movies. I understand you have some nostalgia for the sets of your youth but the company is selling more now than it has ever done. They are making profits in a time of severe recession. If you look objectively I think you will have to accept that the design quality of the majority of sets is at an all time high especially as you are looking at some older series with rose-coloured glasses as others have suggested.

Thanks, I found a photograph from a travel site and added my sigfig in.

I have found quite the opposite. Due to problems with theft many stores I have found will refuse any discount and cite "corporate policy" designed to discourage thieves. If they allow the set to be sold after being opened then they are asking people to break open boxes and then bring them to the front to be bought at a discount. Kinda screwed-up I know but I can sorta see their point.

Pioneers are a tradition with Briths and Commonwealth Regiments and usually full dress uniform includes an apron as well as the beard and axe (a hatchet is too small, being used with only one hand.) Example (pioneer with band):

Welcome from out here on the Left Coast!

This is indeed the basis of the Modular Houses Standard established when the line was introduced with LEGO Factory. They were meant to be "modular" both in the sense that buildings could be reconfigured or expanded and that the different buildings could fit together to create streets and blocks.

Is there somewhere I can go to see different ways to connect wheels to train cars or is using the standard train bases the only option?

Love it! Big fan of OoTS and these are really well done. This little group I made usually appears somewhere in my castle or town displays as a kind of "easter egg":

Not to worry. It was an April Fools joke on ThinkGeek.

It has interesting themes, high-quality materials and can be customised reasonably easily. In fact it shares much of the same appeal as LEGO except, as pointed out, you cannot build as much with the construction parts. While you can build really cool castles and town buildings and their pirate ships are generally excellent, you cannot really use parts from a police station to build a castle etc. It may also help that the people are larger than LEGO so they are more useful for younger children. I do find the accessories are generally well made but often do not attach as well as LEGO accessories. Basically I think they found a sweet spot in the marketplace between heavily male-oriented tin soldiers and female-oriented dollhouses in large part by adapting the tradition of toy soldiers to the modern world of plastics. I loved the amazing uniforms and armour and weapons but could also appreciate the fully-stocked grocery store sets. I bought my daughter the huge Victorian house with extra floor and had a great time building it for her and getting all the cool accessories (ie: toilets, wood ovens, baking trays with cookies). I still prefer LEGO but I often want LEGO to make something that Playmobil already has (ie: ROMANS!)

Couldn't you just cut the ends of the IJ track flush? Kinda permanent I know but it seems unlikely they will ever make compatible straight track since they did not make it for this set.

One of our VicLUG stalwarts (he's also our Ambassador) helped with the build in Vancouver, BC. They managed to finish just after 6:00 pm local time thanks to lots of volunteer help from members of the 501st Legion. The LEGO store in Vancouver is not open yet so the effort was led by Jenn (The Brick Chick) who is going to school in Victoria right now.

I am not sure but even if it was slightly cheaper it probably would not make up for the time and effort required to have someone receive it for you and then for you to pick it up.