Christmas Haul 2016

Well, Christmas has come and went, and you know what that means.  A massive post about what I got this year.  It's so big that I'm postponing my normally scheduled post until next month.  I got A LOT of sets.  This could take a while...

 The haul for Christmas 2016 and my birthday

First off, we'll start with the gift I got for myself.  60104 Airport Passenger Terminal is great for me to add an airport to my town.  I got a 60022 Cargo Terminal for my birthday two years ago, but I needed a building to go with it.  Although the Airport Passenger Terminal is for hauling people, not goods, it gives me a foundation for building an entire airport.

Contents of 60104 Airport Passenger Terminal

It'll probably end up being as big as my city, as we'll need plenty of room for a couple of runways.  I've got some pen and paper sketches for the layout of the airport, but no virtual model yet.  It's a couple of weeks until I start class again, so I got plenty of time to whip something up.  Expect to see that in late July.

Fully assembled contents of 60104 Airport Passenger Terminal

I got a second set to help with flight operations in town.  60102 Airport VIP Service is around to help more affluent citizens rent a private jet, with limo service to and from the airport.

No one in town is any more important that anyone else.  It's a very egalitarian society.  Sure, some people have a bit more than others, but it's through effort, hard work, and increased responsibilities.  I think I'll stop there before I get any more political.  Lego is supposed to be fun, while politics are not.

60102 Airport VIP Service contents

The employee with this set will work at the airport, while the limo service will not only service people flying on this private jet, but anyone else in town wants to rent it.  It'll belong to the taxi company.  Not that there IS much of a taxi company, but as I usually do, I'll keep my options open for expansion.

 60102 Airport VIP Service fully assembled

I got a few different minifigures.  The Lego Batman movie is due out in February, and Lego released sets related to it here in December.  My wife was able to find a few characters, Catman, March Harriet, and Zodiac Master.  I have no idea who any of them are.  I don't remember them from the campy '60s TV series or any of the films.  I never read the comics.  Where they in there, or are they completely new characters created specifically for this new Lego animated feature flick?  Regardless of their origins, I'm looking forward to the movie.

71017 Lego Batman minifigures, left to right: Catman, March Harriet, and Zodiac Master

I got a couple of others as well.  My wife and I found a Lego-like Goldy Gopher minifigure at the University of Minnesota bookstore.  It's got a couple things that normal Lego minifigs don't have, like elbows and knees.  It works in the Lego System, and it'll just be for decorative purposes, so it's good enough for me.  Especially since it IS Goldy Gopher (he's my hero).

 Goldy Gopher off-brand minifigure contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

The other minifugre is a gingerbread man that was free with my order for the Airport Passenger Terminal.  He's a bit darker in color than the 71002 Series 11 minifigure.  I was hoping this would have come with more pieces to build a gingerbread house for him.  I'm keeping the box to give me ideas to build my own to add to the Winter Carnival for the kids to check out.

5005156 Gingerbread Man

I got a 31051 Lighthouse Point, which I'll be adding to the Marina.  A lighthouse is a great addition to the shoreline, as it will help out those on the water at night see where they are going.  It also came with this cool orca figure who'll reside in the ocean, at a safe distance of course.

 31051 Lighthouse Point contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

I received a 31050 Corner Deli, another Creator set, that'll go into the plaza area.  I've almost got enough small buildings to finish off this section of town.  I know it's another restaurant-type place, but it's not sit down service like the big one I've built.  The Corner Deli will work more like a takeout/fast service eatery.

 31050 Corner Deli contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

My parents got me 60082 Dune Buggy Trailer.  My wife and I had a pretty low-key Christmas with them.  I didn't even ask for any specific set from them, but they did get me a winner here.  I don't have a desert area for running a dune buggy through, but it should be fun off-roading vehicle out near the Lake Shore area.

 60082 Dune Buggy Trailer contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

You still there?  If so, good.  We've still got a ways to go here.  I got a few Lego Dimensions sets, and some containers to store them in.  First, the characters.  My wife and I got 71251 A-Team Fun Pack and 71258 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Fun Pack.  The former wasn't really a gift for anyone.  If I remember correctly, I added onto another Lego store online order to get some bonus for spending X number of dollars.  The latter I got at GameStop after Christmas because I had a $5 store credit that had to be spent before the end of the year.

 71251 A-Team Fun Pack contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

 71258 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Fun Pack contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

Both sets will open new Year 2 content in the main Lego Dimensions game.  We'll be spending all New Years Day playing that game.  No idea what B.A. Baracus and E.T. can do for us, but I'm going to love hearing the former telling us that he's not "getting on no damn plane".  Also curious to find out who'd be doing his voice, the original Mr. T, or Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.  Both good choices, but if I had to choose, I'd want the classic.

My birthday is a few days after Christmas, and my friends Collin and Lora were kind enough to give me a gift.  I never expect my friends to get me anything.  I just want them to come hang out with me.  They got me 41578 Screeno Mixel and 3920 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey board game.

 41578 Screeno contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

They said I could just use them for miscellaneous bricks to build whatever I want, but I like them.  I've considered getting some Mixels sets since I started putting my town together, but I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with them.  With all the other animal-like creations I have and my desire to build a park, I'll put Screeno out there with the alligators and tigers and whatnot.  As for the board game, I'll play that with my wife and whatever guests we have over.  Hopefully Collin and Lora one day.

 3920 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey board game contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

That's it.  The end.  I got some gift cards from my wife's family, which I'll be using for more sets.  Probably after visiting Disney World and Martin Luther King Day.  After I start class again.  I've got a few things on my list to procure.  Buying Lego's in a never ending battle that I'm more than prepared to lose.  Bring it on.

Log Cabin

Summer has come to an end in Minnesota, so Lake Season is wrapping up here.  Traffic up north is slowing down, but some people use their lake cabins in fall, especially when you have a nice Log Cabin like this one.

The Log Cabin

You probably won't see anyone out on the water.  They're gonna be up their preparing for hunting.  Geese, deer, other game.  Some hardcore outdoor enthusiasts might be in a canoe.  They may not even be hunting.  That's not me though.  Going up to the lake is a summer activity in my book.

Paddling out into the water in the canoe

You'd need to have a place at the lake to camp out up there.  If you got a nice RV, you can find a public campground to set up shop.  If you have a buddy with a lake place, you can stay in your own vehicle or camper, so you don't disturb people in the cabin, and maintain a level of privacy as well.

Chilling inside the RV

Another great fall lake activity involves sitting out by the fire and cooking out.  Maybe some hot dogs or chicken drumsticks.  And you definitely can't do without s'mores.  Why sit out by the fire at night on a cold October night without graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate.  Totally worth getting chilled to the bone.

Cooking outside over an open fire

If it's too cold for you outside, then you can just sit by fire in the living room.  Snuggle up to your S.O. and just watch the logs burn.  You can fall asleep on the floor and stay toasty warm all night.

Sitting by the fireplace

My Lego people don't have to worry about some of this stuff, because they live in a more moderate climate that's a little less continental than the Midwest.  I'm thinking a little bit more like California.  I dunno, I'm not a meterologist or anything like that.  My Lego city is a fantasy world.  Duh...

Sets used: 5766, 60057

Lego Haul - 7/7/16

I'm supposed to have a normally scheduled post right here, about my next building out at the Lake Shore, but I've been really stressing out over stuff lately.  School, work, social activities.  I was freaking out a few days ago, but I've calmed down a bit since my near-panic attack.  I've got a mid-term exam Monday, so I should return to normal after that.

I did get some new Lego's last week, so I'll share that with you instead here.  I made this purchase online, as I was aiming to spend enough to get a 5004119 Lego Knights Retro Set.  Lego has also lowered the amount you need to purchase to get free shipping, from $75 to $35, which is nice.  I got a nice variety of items here, one of my nicest acquisitions, IMO.

71235 Midway Arcade Level Pack contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

I got my first Lego Dimensions level pack with the 71235 Midway Arcade Level Pack.  Everything I got before was either a fun pack or team pack, which only gave me new abilities and new worlds to complete tasks in Lego Dimensions.  With Level Pack, not only did I get to go the Midway Arcade world, but a brand new story mode level.

Not only can I play more of the Lego Dimension content, but there are the classic Midway arcade games you can fire up and enjoy.  Rampage, Gauntlet, Spy Hunter, Paperboy, Joust...  Lots and lots of fun.  Well, fun as long as you don't play Defender or Robotron 2084.  Those are hard as well.  How did people waste their quarters and tokens on that shit.  Those ARE NOT fun.

60134 Fun in the Park - City People Pack contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

60134 Fun in the Park - City People Pack is the one set I wanted the most with this order.  They introduced a few new elements/concepts, like the baby and the dude in the wheelchair.  There is a great assortment of standard park elements in this set, enough so that I'm now inspired to design a park "building" for my Lego town.  I hope to start figuring that out in the coming weeks, after I clear up my personal schedule.

 

5004119 Lego Knights Retro Set contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

I didn't need more Castle or Pirate sets for my Lego Marine facilities, but I can never resist these fancy collector sets like the 5004119 Lego Knights Retro Set.  A nice little presentation box and an insert outlining the evolution of a major aspect of the Lego system.  And who doesn't love big giant crossbows?

The full haul sitting on and around the sand baseplate

Lastly, I got a 10699 Sand Baseplate so I could start trying to move some of my Lake Shore sets off of blue baseplate plates.  Sand is a much more logical choice, as water shouldn't be sitting underneath the cabins and houses out there.  I hope to try to transfer a building I haven't catalogued at the Lake Shore, so you can see the different of what it looks like on a blue versus a sand baseplate.  The latter is going to look much better.

Gator Landing

Not every property on the lake has a nice cottage or cabin or even a shack to stay in.  Some people just have a cool hangout spot where they can chill with their buddies near the water.

Gator Landing

Gator Landing is a great place for guys and gals to pull up and park their boats for a short time.  There's a place to hang out in the shade, a bridge to pontificate on while watching the sunset, and a rock to perch upon and maybe cast a line into the water.

People hanging out at Gator Landing

This set is just wide enough to extend the width of a baseplate without exceeding it.  Leaving it as it was designed makes the set prone to coming apart while being handled.  I could use a few bricks to further secure it, but since it sits on the shelf (along with everything else, it's fine for now.

Some buddies discussing plans for hanging out at the lake

This structure has been out by the lake longer than any other (especially since it's 10-15 years older than the other sets I've got there), but no one dare touch it and try to replace it with a house.  It's a traditional hangout spot for lakegoers, and there are some things you just don't change.

A couple of people arriving at Gator Landing

Sets used: 6563