Armory

With such a large military force, you need a place to store all the arms and equipment they need to train and carry out their duties.  So, why not build an Armory to store everything.

The Marine Armory 

Designing an Armory was pretty easy.  First, make sure there is a desk where everyone has to check out the equipment they wish to use.  Put a guard at the front door to prevent someone from looting the place or causing a firefight.  Then place some containers in the Armory to hold all the weapons and shields and whatnot, so the marines could look at the merchandise available for use.

 The current guard on duty at the Armory (left) and a marine checking out some equipment with the the depot officer (right)

Swords are the most common item available in the armory.  With all Castle and Pirate sets I had from the late '80s and early '90s, there are a lot of broadswords and cutlasses for use.  I've also got some newer swords from more recent sets, like longswords and katanas.  I do need a few more, just to even out the counts.  I'd like to have 6 of each type in the barrels here, regardless of their color.

 Deciding on what sword to use in training today

Of course, you can't just expect everyone to wield a sword when they go into combat.  They'll need things like spears, or maybe even a firearm or two.  Sure, they're all flintlock pistols and rifles, but they'll get the job done.  And you can't cause too much havoc with such a limited amount of firepower.

 Spears and equipment bags (with some pistols in the background)

Hey, my marines are not the kind to go into battle and just spray and pray.  They are supposed to help people and keep the peace.  They aren't going to war.  No one wants that.

Looking at the different kinds of shields available in the Armory

We also have shields and tools, for use out in the field.  Plenty of shields to choose from, but I need to find a way to store the third kid of shield these troops use.  You know what I mean.  The triangular ones, like this.  Definitely have to find a way to display those...

 Tools can be checked out, in addition to weapons

As for tools, everything is modern.  Walkie-talkies, binoculars, even drills, sextants, and an oil can.  Lots of fun there, using it to lubricate the various transport carts and wagons (no, there are no tanks or trucks here).

There's so much inventory, we just can't store at all!!

There's way too much equipment to store in the Armory as it sits now.  I was kicking around some ideas for a new building design, just before Thanksgiving.  I'm thinking of combining the Armory with the Marine Garage on an extra large 48x48 baseplate.  I think it's feasible, but I need to construct a physical model to ensure all the wagons and carts fit in there.  We'll see how well that'll work after the holidays.

Marine Base

Everything up to this point has been relatively modern looking in my Lego city.  Some maybe a bit futuristic, like the Research Lab working on air drones.  But how does one integrate sets from the days of yore into a present-day setting?

Easy.  They become your military forces.

The Marine Base

I had many Castle and Pirate themed Lego sets from my childhood, all obtained during the late '80s and early '90s.  Then they always throw a few in with each series of minifigures, classic sets to appeal to your feelings of nostalgia (if you meet the minimum price requirements of your purchase)...  It just keeps going on and on.  Sure, Medieval Europeans and Caribbean swashbucklers wouldn't stand much of a chance against a modern army/navy/air force, but Lego is a land of fantasy.  How cool would it be if those sworn to protect us still had to fight like that.

Yeah, you're right, I shouldn't be glorifying that kind of thing.  But one must already be ready to serve.

Since I had both land-based and water-based troops, I didn't think I needed two separate forces.  I figure combine them all into a single Marine base of operations.

Early design of the Marine Base

The first challenge was coming up with the shape of the building.  I thought about maybe having room for a moat, like the castles in the movies and TV shows showed, but I'd give up quite a bit of real estate for that.  I then thought about the shape where corners just out and the inner parts are recessed in a bit, and I felt pretty happy with it.  I then added some elements, like a gate at the front and couple sets of stairs.

The guards at the gate

The base will always have about a half dozen troops on patrol, at a minimum.  2 groups of two on the elevated platform to see what's out on the horizon, plus a couple at the gate to choke off any possible invasion (no idea who'd be invading in the first place).  

 Patrol groups surveying the environment around the base

Today, we see a group of Marines getting ready to learn how to move around with heavy armor.  Helmets, shields, plated body armor, and a weapon.  There are some items in one corner of the base with those items these men and women will practice using to get used to carrying the extra weight and build up some strength.

Equipment to be used in Heavy Armor training 

All the marines are commanded by a king minifigure, who acts as the general.  Below, he provides guidance to one of his majors about the group she'll be taking out for sword training.  He may be wearing a crown, but he's not all that special.  Sure, he can bark out orders and such, but he worked his way up the ladder, like everyone else did.  He's not afraid to be hands on, and he knows it takes a good team to succeed.

The General (left) talking to one of his majors about training exercises

There may be a wide range of uniforms, backgrounds, abilities, and body types, but they are all marines.  They fight for those who cannot fight for themselves.  They're willing to take the risk, putting their lives on the line to ensure the rest of the residents of my Lego city stay safe and free to pursue whatever they want.  And that's awesome.

Today's training groups, clockwise from top left: survival, firearms, archery, and handling swords in combat

The following months will cover other facilities the Marine forces use to carry out their mission, so stay tunes for more.

Lego Haul - 11/8/17

My name is Paul, and I have a problem.  I can't stop buying Lego's.

The Lego Haul from 11/8/17 

I splurged last month to take advantage of double VIP point last month.  This time around, I had to make sure I got a couple of sets before Lego ran out of stock and retired said products.

I'll be paying for it when the credit card bill comes...

40261 LEGO Thanksgiving Harvest contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

First up, I got the new seasonal sets.  40261 LEGO Thanksgiving Harvest, which isn't so much about sitting down for a meal or turkeys like previous sets.  I like the harvesting and farming theme this time around.  I'll split elements up between the Grocery Store, the Hardware Store, maybe the Pony Farm and Toy Store.  It should be good times.

40262 LEGO Christmas Train Ride contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

 40263 LEGO Christmas Town Square contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

Next, there are 40262 LEGO Christmas Train Ride and  40263 LEGO Christmas Town Square.  It's easy enough to place them, as they perfectly fit in with the Winter Carnival up in the mountains.  I may have to add another 48x48 Extra Large Baseplate to that area to hold all the extra things I'm looking to add there.  I'll play around with some ideas when I unpack all that stuff out to put in the living room for Christmas.

71349 Beetlejuice Fun Pack contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

I also got some Lego Dimensions sets.  My wife and I haven't had much time to play it in the last couple of months.  With school and social engagements, we haven't had much time to sit at home, but with the weather getting colder, we'll definitely be spending more time inside the house.

I orders a 71349 Beetlejuice Fun Pack, and you can never go wrong with Michael Keaton.  While I was putting him together with the game running on my Wii U, he made a joke about being playing Batman.  It was hilarious!!  God bless the best man to ever play Batman.

 71343 The Powerpuff Girls Fun Pack contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

71346 The Powerpuff Girls Team Pack contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

When I was a freshman in college I fell in love with The Powerpuff Girls.  I thought it was an amazing cartoon.  Seeing it and the other cartoons on Cartoon Network was my preferred Friday night entertainment.  I didn't care what my roommate or anyone else thought of it.  It's not like I was cool in high school, why should college have been any different?

I got both 71343 The Powerpuff Girls Fun Pack and 71346 The Powerpuff Girls Team Pack.  Sadly, these sets are based off the NEW PPG cartoon series and not the original.  I would have preferred the original voice actors to the new ones.  Oh well.

21312 Women of NASA contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

I was quite upset that I missed out on the Research Institute.  Lego did not make enough of them to handle the extreme demand for it.  So I sure as hell wasn't going to miss out on 21312 Women of NASA.

It's meant to be a display piece, but I'm thinking about breaking it up and moving the figurines into town to carry our some roles.  Margaret Hamilton would help develop code for drones and satellites.  Nancy G. Roman would design satellites themselves.  Mae Jemison and Sally Ride...  That'd be cool if they had an astronomy lab or major telescope to research what's out there in space.  They could work with Raj from The Big Bang Theory, as he IS an astrophysicist.

40253 LEGO Christmas Build Up contents

Lastly, I got a 40253 LEGO Christmas Build Up free with my order for spending enough money or whatever.  I was curious as to what came with this set.  Since the packaging and manual were labelled "24 in 1"

 40253 LEGO Christmas Build Up manual (left) and some constructed models (right)

This set gives the impression that it's LIKE an advent calendar with a new model to build every day.  It's true, but it's not like a normal Lego Advent Calendar set.  As you can see from the instruction manual, you'd be expected to take models apart to rebuild the next one.  Going through one model at a time, I was only able to make four items.  I plan to sit down one day soon to determine how many of each piece would be needed to assemble EVERY model in the instruction manual.  It's going to bother me when I determine how feasible it'd be to do so.

Now, I'd like to think that I won't be buying any Lego's anytime soon...  But I do have a niece and some nephews to get Christmas presents for.  I've also got a credit card bill to pay...

Meh, I think I can squeeze out a few more sets before Christmas...