Lego Haul - 8/20/17

My wife and I went down to Kansas City last weekend to check out the solar eclipse.  We got down there on Friday, so with some time to kill, we went over to Overland Park, KS to see what they had to offer.

The Lego haul from 8/20/17

There wasn't much there.  It was a smaller, mall-sized Lego store.  Nowhere near the size of the MOA store.  Fortunately, they did have some Series 17 minifigures.  My wife and I spent some time finding some of the items I was still missing and walked away with a Veterinarian and a Gourmet Chef.

71018 Series 17 Minifigures Veterinarian (left) and Gourmet Chef (right)

I'll send the Veterinarian to the Zoo to help care for the animals there.  I'll use the Gourmet Chef at a new bakery I'm considering for addition.to my town.  Speaking of a bakery...

Contents of the small Lego Cup from the Overland Park, KS store

...I also got a small cup of bricks.  I filled half of it with pink 2x4 bricks for the building of the bakery.  I supplemented by cup with 8 4x4 Round Bricks (which I think I'll use in the Laser Tag Arena.  The rest of the pieces will be for projects to be determined.

Lego Haul - 4/8/16

Last weekend, I went onto my favorite secondary market for Lego pieces, Bricklink, and bought some bricks from one of my favorite vendors, ADOPT_A_BRICK.

This was my third time ordering from Jay, who is in Florida.  He's got a great selection, good prices, and fast service.  I highly recommend checking him out first when you're looking to buy bricks from people on Bricklink.

The Lego Haul from ADOPT_A_BRICK on Bricklink, which arrived on 4/8/16.

I got a good variety of pieces for several buildings, so I'll run down the list of what goes where here:

• Barracks: The window panes will do into the windows on the second floor.  I still don't have a frame to put them in, but those frames are the last pieces I need to complete this building.
• Grandstand: 4 for the 5 black 2x2 plates with a single stud are for microphone stands.  This will allow a couple of the guitar players to sing backup vocals in the band.
• Greenhouse: The round plate with the 4 studs and the corner plates finish up a couple of items outside the Hardware Store.  I'll be writing more about this next week.
• Grocery Store: The medium blue 1x1x2/3 roof tiles are the lids to some milk cartons sitting in the dairy case in the corner of the store.
• Hospital: The blue 2x8 and 2x10 plates will complete the last layer for the walls to this building.  I still need a good number of 2x8's, but I'm making progress.
• Laser Tag Arena: The Technic 1x10 brick (with the holes in the side) completed an obstacle on the second floor, while the 6x12 plate with studs around the outside is in the briefing room, where the officials review the rules with those who will be participating in laser tag.
• Marina Office: The dark stone grey 8x8 plate is to build the dock outside the office.
• Pyramid Nightclub: The yellow 6x10 plate is the overhang to the entrance into the nightclub.
• TV Studio: The last black 2x2 plate with a single stud will be the base of the camera in the studio broadcasting the news broadcast.
• Watch Tower: The dark stone grey 4x8 plates are for the floors in the Watch Tower.  I've nearly got one floor completely done, I just need one more of these pieces to finish it off.
• Winter Cottage: The white 2x2 plate with a single stud is the base for the broom held by the snowmen outside of the cottage.

Most of these pieces are for buildings I have not yet completed, but I'm much closer than I was before, and all for less than $13.  Bricklink and its vendors are so good to me, it's scary.

Laser Tag Arena

Fifteen years ago, Lego started releasing Star Wars-themed sets.  Over the past few years, I've purchased several of these sets (and received a few others for Christmas), but I was always left with the question as to how do I integrate them into my Lego city?  Sure, I put the droids to work in the Research Lab, but where do the Stormtroopers go?

Action is going down at the Laser Tag Arena

How about a laser tag arena?  Sure, Stormtroopers can't hit the broad side of a barn in the presence of a Jedi, but there are no Jedi's in town.

Service counter and orientation room at the Laser Tag Arena

Design was a challenge, as the arena is a two-story building.  Not only did I need to put a floor together, but  a couple of entry rooms as well.  One to handle the customers (reservations and monetary transactions).  The other is a holding room for the next round of laser tag combatants to go over the rules of competition and await for the current battle to finish up.

The arena itself has a number of obstacles in place.  You can't have a laser tag arena without a few walls and other objects to hide behind, run around, cilmb on, or snipe opponents from.  I've got a few in place right now, but I still need some pieces to complete others.

All the Stormtroopers, plus a few others, who are playing laser tag

Stormtroopers and other Star Wars characters work great for laser tag, as their uniforms help distinguish the groups of friends who will team up in the arena.  They also came with a good number of blasters in all sizes.  A contestant can go with a smaller unit that's easier to carry, or a bulky rifle with increased accuracy over other models.  

The open back wall in the Laser Tag Arena, so you can reach in and place the minifigures

One of my favorite features is the wall that opens up so I can access the first floor without having to remove the second floor.  I could have left the wall completely open, but it would have been more difficult to place the second floor in place.  As I write this, I'm now thinking of rebuilding the top layer of plates on the first floor walls by placing flat tiles and 2x2 plates with a single stud every so often, so the second floor could be easily removed.

I have all the staircases to connect the two floors, but I haven't found the best way to ensure they remain connected.  Sigh...  I'll get this finished up some day.  But I got other fish to fry.

Lego Haul - 3/10/15

This past weekend, I went on BrickLink, a great site for the secondary market of Lego bricks and sets.  I could write a whole post on why it's so awesome (and I will).  It has a much bigger selection of pieces than Lego's Pick-A-Brick wall for lower prices (if you don't mind used bricks).

I'm at a point where I'm going to make better progress on my buildings going to resellers than I will buying directly from Lego.  I bought from two vendors, Brick Art and 1 2 Many Bricks.  Between the two, I spent $27 on nearly $35 worth of pieces, some of which I can't get from Lego at this time.

The first order was mostly blue 2x6 and 2x8 plates for my Hospital.  The little black clips are for holding tools at the Research Lab, the blue door frames are for the portable toilets at the Construction Site, the stairs and 1x8 Technic brick will be in the Laser Tag Arena, the gray set of bars will complete the jail cell in the Police Station, the brown plates are bases for tiki torches at the Islanders performance area, and the white plate is for a whiteboard (location to be determined).

Bricks ordered from Brick Art

The second order was the better of my two scores, IMO.  I got 16 8x8 dark stone grey plates, which cost $1.10 each from Lego, only ran me 41 cents each used.  Half of them are for my Watch Tower, while the other half are for the Marina Office.  The other dark stone grey plates and the black stairs are also for completing the Watch Tower.  The Blue 2x6 plates are for the Hospital, the black plate is for a television at the bar in the Restaurant, the black fences are for the Laser Tag Arena, and the two white pedestals are for tables on sale at the Hardware Store and Greenhouse.

Bricks ordered from 1 2 Many Bricks

If I had bought these bricks, they would have cost me $28.50 PLUS shipping.  The BrickLink orders were less than $27 for everything, including the shipping.  It's like I got free pieces out of the deal.  The black fences, the stairs, the white pedestals, the blue door frames...  It was all a bonus.

You can wait for things to happen, or you can MAKE them happen.  I could have waited a lifetime to buy these parts from Lego.  I don't have that kind of time.  I need to finish up my Lego city now.

Lego Haul - 1/3/15

The new year brings many great things to us.  One of the greatest things it brings me is new Lego sets.  After Christmas and my birthday, I've got $240 in Lego gift cards burning a hole in my pocket.  My wife and I went to the Mall of America Lego store yesterday, where I was hoping to get all of the new 71008 Series 13 Lego Minifigures, a 70818 Double Decker Couch from the Lego Movie, and a free 40140 Flower Wagon set for spending $75 at the Lego store.

It was slim pickings at the Lego store.  It turns out they were open on New Years Day (I wasn't sure if they would with it being a national holiday, and I had more important things to do that day, as my beloved Golden Gophers had a bowl date with Missouri).  There weren't many Lego Minifigures to choose from, as there were about 40 or so in the small bin.  The store was out of Double Decker Couch sets, if they even had any to begin with.  I didn't see a place on the shelf that marked where they would have been.  Several other sets I would have wanted were also nowhere to be found.  It did not look good for Homestar Runner.

Fortunately, I was able to adapt.  I only grabbed 11 Lego Minifigures, but I got to $75 with a 31035 Beach Hut and a 40120 Valentine's Day Dinner set, which my wife noticed before I had a chance to.

The haul for Saturday, January 3rd, 2015.

I may not have found what I originally wanted, but I was happy with what I got.  I've still got $150 in store credit left, and I'm sure they'll restock the shelves in the coming weeks.  I'm ready to get my ticket punched, after I get through the next several days.

The January 3rd, 2015 haul fully assembled.

What do I plan to do with my new Lego sets?  I'm glad you asked...

• The Beach Hut will be placed out at the Lake Shore.
• The Valentine's Day Dinner may go to the Restaurant, but I haven't decided yet.  It'll just be decoration until I figure it out.
• The Flower Wagon will go in the Plaza area.
• The Alien Trooper, Goblin, Lady Cyclops, Sheriff, and Snake Charmer minifigs will go to the costume party at the Grandstand.
• The Carpenter minifig will work at the Construction Site.
• The Egyptian Warrior minifig will be a Marine.
• The Fencer minifig is to be determined.
• The Galaxy Trooper minifig will work as a referee in the Laser Tag Arena.
• The Paleontologist minifig will go to the Research Lab.

10 of the 16 Series 13 Lego Minifigures

40140 Flower Wagon

40120 Valentine's Day Dinner contents and fully assembled

31035 Beach Hut contents

31035 Beach Hut open/front and closed/side views

Lego Haul - Christmas 2014

I tend to ask for Lego sets for Christmas as an adult.  I don't need stuff, as I am pretty self-sufficient, but my parents, my in-laws, and other cherished loved ones like to give me gifts because it means something to them.  Thank you to all who have contributed to my collection.

Here is what I got this year: 8804 Hockey Player, 8827 Butcher, 10674 Pony Farm, 60055 Monster Truck. 60057 Camper Van, 70804 Ice Cream Machine, 70811 The Flying Flusher, and 75034 Death Star Troopers.  I got pretty good haul, if I do say so myself.

The 2014 Christmas Haul

Now, blog posts like this are not product reviews.  There are plenty of those floating around the internet.  It's also not an unboxing and assembly (though I am posting pictures of such things).  Plenty of those out there too.  And I'm certainly not here to brag about the cool new swag I got.  I'm certainly not trying to be materialistic.

No, this post will cover what I plan TO DO with these sets and how they'll fit into my grand scheme of a Lego community.  So let's go through this set by set:

• The Hockey Player will go to the Winter Village.  After I got 40107 The Winter Skating Scene, I'm working on an ice rink for that area of town.
• The Butcher will go to the Restaurant for now, but once I get the new Toy & Grocery Store, I'll put him over there.
• The Pony Farm will be a new setup in the Lake Shore area.  I plan to expand on the design in the instructions and go bigger, as to fill up a 32x32 green baseplate.
• The Monster Truck will also go out to the Lake Shore.  For now, it'll just be a personal vehicle (although with another monster truck or two, I could expand the Fairgrounds, which will also be out at the lake).
• The Camper Van will be at the Lake Shore as well.  I'll probably put that couple in the Log Cabin.
• The Ice Cream Machine will cruise town selling ice cream,  Kinda obvious, but I can add more frozen treat type items to its inventory.
• The Flying Flusher will be the Plumber's truck.  That building is in the design stage.  The doctor will go to the hospital, and the portable toilet will go to the grandstand for the concert goers to use.
• The robotic drones from the previous two items may end up in the Marine Training Area.  They'll give my fighting forces a couple extra things to maneuver around/with/against.
• The Death Star Troopers will battle in the Laser Tag Arena.  Their laser gun, however, may also go to the Marine Training Area, though I'm not sure how I'll fit it in yet.

You'll see everything come around again as I get my blog posts written up and published.  But for now, just take a look at what I got here.  Thanks.

8827 Butcher and 8804 Hockey Player

 10674 Pony Farm contents

10674 Pony Farm assembled contents from bags 1, 2, and 3

Extra bricks from Bags 4 and 5 in 10674 Pony Farm

 60055 Monster Truck contents and assembled product

60057 Camper Van contents and assembled product 

Inside the Camper Van and the minifigure couple in the canoe

70804 The Flying Flusher contents and assembled product

70811 Ice Cream Machine contents and assembled product

 75034 Death Star Troopers contents and assembled product