A thread about Lego

[ChrisBardon 352]

Lots of talk in other threads about Lego stuff, so I thought I'd start a new thread for it.  There's actually been a lot of good stuff released recently, and my "stuff to build" pile is getting larger.  The fact that this showed up yesterday only compounds the problem:

 

 

That's a minifig on the box for scale.  This one is going to be my Ep7 falcon, leaving the old UCS one as Ep4 (and the system scale one from 2004 as 5). 

 

I still have Assembly square, Saturn V, and the new BB8 unopened and waiting to build, and the Disney Castle is in progress (my wife and daughter are building that one, which is currently using up most of the Lego table.  Next problem is going to be finding space for all of this stuff in the house-I'm really starting to run out of good display spaces.  What started off as just Star Wars stuff expanded to modular buildings, and then from there to other big sets that looked cool (Helicarrier, Ghostbusters etc). 

[Dimness 259]

That is going to be one of my first job purchases.

[Angry the Clown 3,423]

I'm awaiting re-stock of the Saturn V on Lego's UK website. I got a bit tired of regularly walking into the Lego store to check, especially since there have been queues to get in this summer, and when I do get in staff keep taunting me with things like the London bus and that lovely looking fishing shack. I've neither the money nor the room for so many of these things so more often than not I just take simple delight in seeing them, but the Saturn V is a must have for me.

[Dimness 259]

What is the deal with its popularity?  It's a gorgeous box, and the Saturn V is historically significant... did I just answer my own question? :-)

 

[ChrisBardon 352]

The saturn V is a very large, very well designed model from all accounts.  Ideas sets, especially ones not based on franchises, have also been historically under-produced.  The one with the scientists was extremely hard to find, but the Yellow Submarine seems pretty easy to get.  I was able to get one when they went online last month, but that was me checking daily to see if there was stock.  The stores seem to get them every couple of weeks, and the indications are that they'll be produced for a while, but I think it's really just a case of demand far outstripping supply.  I actually started calling the stores around here every few days to ask about stock, and the one comment that stuck with me was that they'd never seen one on a shelf before.  Hopefully it'll get there though.

 

The fishing store looks nice, but I don't think it really fits with the rest of my collection, and the theme doesn't really click. Maybe the next time double points rolls around, but it's already been a really expensive Lego year (probably a record given the MF), and my wife wants to get the Ninjago city block and the Carousel (and maybe the ferris wheel) at some point.  Then there'll be a new modular in January if the pattern holds.

[iainl 555]

The Saturn V is probably the best-designed model I've built in a long time, the price is remarkable for a model with that number of pieces in, and it's a Saturn Blooming V for goodness' sake.

 

I think that (as with a few other Ideas models) they just vastly underestimated the popularity. I presume the Mars Rover didn't sell in anything like the same numbers.

 

[Dimness 259]

So far, my purchase priority is this:

• Millenium Falcon
• The White House (I love the architecture series)
• BB-8
• The Disney Castle
• Ghostbusters Firehouse

[Angry the Clown 3,423]

Money no object, and if I had the space for this stuff, I'd be buying:

• Palace Cinema
• Disney Castle
• London Bus
• Old Fishing Store (seriously, it is so adorable and I don't even fish).

 

[ChrisBardon 352]

The Palace cinema was actually what pushed me over the edge on the modulars, and made me decide "well, if I get this one, I might as well get all the ones that are still in print".  All of them are amazingly detailed builds though. 

 

The Ghostbusters firehouse is also a very cool model, and goes well with the ideas ecto 1.  I didn't actually realize that was still in print.  I've got it over with the Monster Fighters haunted house. 

 

Was there ever any word on whether they'd do more Simpsons sets?  I passed on the house (since the interior scale looked terrible), but the Quik-e-mart is great, with tons of detail in the build.  The problem now is needing another room/area for big sets, as well as some of the smaller stuff that I've still got around.  I've been spending time in the evenings trying to sort through everything that never got reassembled/re-displayed after the last move (6 years ago), and figuring out what to do with all of it.  Lots of 2002/3/4 era Star Wars sets. 

[Dimness 259]

I have the house because Simpsons.  I haven't gotten around to putting it together, but if you're a Simpsons fan all the relevant details are there (including the sailboat too I believe).  I want the Kwik-E-Mart as well.

[Carlucci 634]

On 9/23/2017 at 9:57 AM, Dimness said:

I have the house because Simpsons.  I haven't gotten around to putting it together, but if you're a Simpsons fan all the relevant details are there (including the sailboat too I believe).  I want the Kwik-E-Mart as well.

 

 

Carlos.

[ChrisBardon 352]

Yeah...I just can't get over the crappy looking minifigs and awful scale on that Simpsons house...

 

Started building the Saturn V the other day, and the final product really hides a lot of the complexity that's inside that model.  Making round things in Lego is hard, so there are lots of SNOT (Studs Not On Top) bricks being used to hold on outer plates, which end up getting held together really well by the end.  That's one of the things I like about big sets like these-they do a great job of showing off construction techniques that you might never have seen before. 

[Angry the Clown 3,423]

I tried my luck again at the Lego Store this evening and was finally able to walk away with a Saturn V.

 

Seeing the £650 Falcon on display was quite a sight. It’s brilliant.  

[Dimness 259]

As of this minute, 650 translates to 852 dollars.....

[Angry the Clown 3,423]

17 minutes ago, Dimness said:

As of this minute, 650 translates to 852 dollars.....

 

I welcome you to Brexit Britain (although does the US $800 price include tax? That might make make it closer on either side of the pond). 

[JoeyN 1,117]

US prices never include tax

[Angry the Clown 3,423]

Right, so while still more expensive here the tax does bring the prices a little closer.

[JoeyN 1,117]

Yep. also depends on what state it is bought. Everywhere is different.

[Dimness 259]

Hmm, do I want BB-8?  I regret not getting R2-D2...

[ChrisBardon 352]

I bought BB8 to go next to R2, but I haven't built it yet.  I do like that it's a "studs forward" model, that you can't mistake for anything but Lego.  I've actually found that a lot of recent sets have started using lots of tiles etc to try to smooth things out, which takes away from the "Lego-ness" of them. 

 

Saturn V is done, and that thing is really tall.  Relative to the disney castle:

 

I like the fact that the LEM fits in the rocket (although I've left it separate), and it's a little strange that they included the "splashdown" mini, but otherwise it's a nice model. 

 

Next up-started on the Assembly Square build, which by contrast doesn't pull any punches.  Saturn V-1969 pieces with 12 bags.  Assembly: 4000 with 6, and LOTS of intricate steps. 

 

Also, just a reminder that there's double VIP points for the next week or so.

 

[Angry the Clown 3,423]

Oh how I want that damn castle. 

[iainl 555]

If you take the inflated parachute balls off the splashdown, you can mount it on the Service Module instead of the white launch version, then mount the inverted Lunar Module on the top, just as it should be as an imitation of the white protective cover that is removed with the Launch Escape System.

 

Which is nice.

 

[Dimness 259]

Must... have... castle

And money to get such things

[ChrisBardon 352]

Double VIP sale ended up netting a couple of xmas things for kids, as well as Ninjago City for us (it's sort of another modular...or at least at the right scale for it). 

 

Bonus tip-I figured out this summer that the lego VIP points are usable internationally, so, for example, a $5 reward earned in Canada translated to $5 US at a US store, which given that the dollar is still around 0.77 right now, means maybe coming back from Florida in December with some other new stuff... 

[Angry the Clown 3,423]

More NASA related awesomeness coming:

 

 

I can’t pass that up.