tedbeard

I'm not gonna buy a PC just to run it so: me too please!

I think you might want to out some more thought into your "little LEGO blog". Try to think of a niche that is not already overcrowded. You seem to be doing mostly Town MOCs and general news. There are already many blogs covering this. Is there a theme or even a particular niche within a theme that is not being covered by multiple blogs? Very few people are going to read another Brothers Brick, Classic-Town or Brick Town Talk style blog. Maybe people will share your passion for "Xmas-themed MOCs" or whatever keeps you interested. Good luck finding your niche.

I bet you could do the clouds pretty easily using a sponge to dab it on. Some mountains might be possible as well since they would mostly be silhouettes. If it was me I'd probably let my 7-year old daughter do it since she'd do it better than me.

Looking at those blank walls all I can see are simple murals in the style of LEGO box art with blue skys and puffy clouds. Hopefully you will get a chance to do something like that to really make your tabletown pop.

My wife got into a Halloween mood and added LEGO bat earrings to her etsy store.

Don't go to the LEGO store before the Con! They usually have an attendees discount and the Friday night sale event usually has lots of exclusive goodies. Just trying to make sure you get the best deals.

I have to say I really love the interior. The stools and counter area are great and the soda taps are great. I will have to use that in the pub I hope to build soon. I was wondering though why you chose to make studded sets and counters and tiled floors and sidewalks? Just curious because this reversal of the "classic" norms seems to have really become big in the last couple of years (especially with sidewalks thanks to the Modular Houses series - Cafe Corner, etc). I have not seen a lot of studded countertops and seats before but it certainly makes them much easier to use for accessories. Of course that's why I always prefer studded sidewalks, so figs and accessories can go anywhere. In any case, very nice work.

Actually LEGO Kingdoms would be an improvement. "Castle" was always kinda limiting and didn't really fit for Vikings, Ninjas etc. Now they could have the Knight's Kingdom, Orc's Kingdom, Ninja Kingdom etc. Of course we will just keep referring to it as Castle in the same way we still call it "Town". If it sells more product and keeps the company profitable and producing amazing sets like they have done over the last three years they can call it 'Shirley" for all I care.

That's why I started using the RECEIVED option. You mark it RECEIVED so they know it arrived and then you can inspect the order before marking it COMPLETED.

I think you meant "see" not "show off" as non-attendees do NOT get to display MOCs. You have to be registered (at least for the day) to add to the displays.

No. My son has gone with me for the last two years and he is almost 12. As long as I was somewhere in the hall nobody gave him any hassle. To be honest I don't think anyone ever even asked him where I was. But then, he is very well behaved and did not touch without asking permission. :) You don't have to bring anything to display if you don't want. A member of my LUG who I share a hotel room with each year, has usually come down by passenger ferry and brought no MOCs at all. This will be our fourth year @ BrickCon and I think he might actually let me bring something down in my van for him this time. As an adult I would say go for the whole con. You might be satisfied with one of the public days but there is so much more to do at BC beyond just looking at fabulous MOCs.

Obviously a lot of confusion. Even the guys on Classic-Town.net cannot seem to get it right as they recently described a building as "modular" that was neither part of the Modular Houses line nor "modular" in the sense of "Designed with standardized units or dimensions, as for easy assembly and repair or flexible arrangement and use.*" People seem to be using "modular" as a an adjective meaning "more realistic designs". I think Town Plan creeps onto these lists because it is large, new, expensive and better than your average "classic town" set. It certainly has more realistic buildings even if two of them are just facades. Back on topic: of all the MH sets released to date I like the Green Grover best myself. But I have yet to see a Fire Brigade in person ...

I'm sure you'll recognize me: Even worse, we are taking the Coho which only goes twice a day from downtown Victoria to Port Angeles. Lucky thing is I live within two blocks of the terminal so I can park the car in line early and then go home and have some breakfast.

Oh yeah, we'll be around. We will all have brick badges and probably con shirts. I will probably hang around the OpB display to watch for grabby fingers some of the public time but we also have private roundtables/sessions during that time. I will be running a "How to BrickWiki" session at some point (schedules not published yet.) I know what you mean about cost I have to pay for me and my son (plus a ferry and gas from Victoria and the hotel). I probably won't have a lot to spend at the brick bazaar or LEGO store event. Good thing juts hanging out at the event is a hoot.

You are still registering for the con I hope. The public hours are less than half the time the con is on during those days. Maybe we could all "do lunch" on Saturday. We could all grab a burger and shake at Dick's (a Seattle classic)?

I've seen that trailer about six times since I bought my kids Bionicle 4 on Friday. (I still have not made it more than 20 minutes into the Bionicle Movie itself.) It does indeed say it will be a direct to DVD release.

I have a friend (the guy who built the castle mentioned above) who likes to build big. We have taken to calling large MOC's "Langrish-Scale" after him. (ie: Someday I'm gonna build a Langrish-Scale mountain.") Anyway, he, and all big builders I have seen, use baseplates (usually the XL, 48x48) as the bottom layer, then build up a foundation of brick. John likes to build hollow boxes supported internally with bricks to create raised elevations. You can see from this picture the modular boxes that sit at the back of his giant castle. To each their own I suppose. I prefer to use foamboard or DUPLO bricks to elevate baseplates. The only time I use baseplates is if I have to raise up a Modular House Standard module to meet sidewalks developed by PSLTC. Sitting a MH module on another baseplate raises it nicely to meet a 2-plate high sidewalk:

Where on earth did this supposed "requirement" come from anyway? What gave people the idea that there was any sort of time limit other than "modern"? Sure it's an antique style fire truck but my local fire department and volunteers associated with the fire department display antique fire equipment all the time. Heck, we even have a horse-drawn, steam-powered pumper wagon that is fully functional. I'd say the 1930's may make a good "start of range" but this line does not have to be limited to one decade nor does it appear to be. The large windows and other details of Cafe Corner make it look very contemporary to me.

Uhm, BrickArms never had German helmets. BA German figs had kepis or "police" hats in dark grey. The closest thing to German Helmets are the "Military Helmets" by BrickForge which are apparently mostly out of stock right now but I am sure will be re-stocked soon.

I take pictures and post them for two reasons: I like having a record of what have done since I seldom leave builds together To share ideas and techniques. I enjoy seeing what others have done and how so I figure I have an obligation to share. As for displaying @ conventions I do that for many reasons I mostly do that because it gives me a reason and a deadline to build. It gives me something to do and/or talk about with other people when I get there and we share with each other (see above) I get to share with children and adults who come to see. I see nothing wrong with enjoying the smiles on kids faces when they see and enjoy my creations. I get to be a part of a giant city or a castle battle or whatever that I could not build @ home in the space or with the bricks I own personally. Suggesting that those of us who take pictures or display at cons are somehow egotistical, as you have done, I think misses the point of the LEGO community. If we were not sharing our MOCs online or @ events pretty much means we would not need forums like EB. If you are just building for yourself and don't want to see what other people are doing what is the point of being here?

I love details and that blender is fantastic. Nice design on the popcorn wagon as well.

Hi! Nobody I know talks about inches - probably because a) most of us use the metric system, and b) we are LEGO fans so "studs" and "bricks" are our standard. :) What you are calling 10x10 and 15x15 are, respectively, 32x32 studs and 48x48 studs. Sometimes referred to as "regular" and "XL". They are not sturdy at all and no one would recommend "stacking" them since, as noted above, they do not actually connect. They are designed to be used on a hard surface like a table. If you need to move them I suggest building on a thin sheet of plywood or sturdy cardboard. You will be able to move your MOC safely with thick cardboard under the baseplate. I have often slid a creation off a table onto a sheet of plywood (we even did that with my friends castle.)

My youngest is 3 and still watches and I have been watching them since my oldest (almost 12 now) was younger. I can say that the new storylines are as sappy as any childrens programming but they are not all CGI. What they have done is brilliant. They took the old footage of the models and have added animated faces to the engines and CGI people to the scenes. I like it much better than the old versions. Just be glad you never had to watch the abomination that was "Shining Time Station" with Stacey Jones et al. They survived into the piece of crap movie called "Thomas and the Magic Railroad" with Alec Baldwin and Peter Fonda. <shudder> May those days never come again. Sorry, didn't mean to go off on a rant there. I love the Thomas Railway DUPLO. It is the only DUPLO I will buy. Well at least until the Cars sets come out. :)

Uhm, I kinda got that much from the "HMS" part. I guess I should have asked what era and type of Naval Vessel is HMS Gannet?

I visited HMS Victory et al over a decade ago on holiday with my wife. We really enjoyed the Mary Rose as well but what is HMS Gannet?