Lego Haul - 10/3/15

Made another Lego run this weekend.  But it got me thinking about this blog and what I'm trying to accomplish here.  Stay tuned for that post later this week...

The haul from October 3rd, 2015

I wasn't sure what to get this time around, because I had no idea what would be available.  My wife pretty much found everything for me.  I'll start with the large cup I filled.

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The contents of my large Pick-A-Brick cup.

The Pick-A-Brick wall was fully restocked with new product.  Nearly every bin was completely filled up.  Gone were the yellow 2x2 slope bricks, but they were replaced with yellow 1x4 bricks, which I needed for the inner wall to the Pyramid Nightclub.  I need some 1x6 bricks to finish up that inner wall, but I had enough to build up three more layers of 2x4 bricks.

I'm about 700 slope bricks short of building up the pyramid, but I'm at a point where I can start considering the internal layout.  A bar, a DJ's booth, a dance floor... This place is going to be off the hook.

Current progress of the Pyramid Nightclub

My wife located 40123 Thanksgiving Feast on the shelf and grabbed it right away.  Sure, Thanksgiving is still a couple months away, but as we've learned, you have to get while the gettin' is good.  I was so excited to put this set together that I forgot to take pictures of the three bags of pieces and instructions contained in the box.  It will go great with my other Thanksgiving sets, which will be featured in a future post.

40123 Thanksgiving Feast fully assembled.

The Lego Store at the Mall of America finally got some Series 14 minifigures in stock (or maybe just managed to hold onto some).  I needed five to complete the set, and we got them all.  They were pretty easy to feel out, as the parts to identify them were very unique to each minifigure..

Gargoyle, Plant Monster, Specter, Zombie Cheerleader, and Spider Lady

Not sure when the next haul is coming, as I'm awaiting the Holiday 2015 catalog to come in the mail.  Until then, I don't feel like I have much direction.  Like I said, I have to figure out what my next steps are here.

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 - 9/27/15

My wife and I went to Target on Sunday, and usually while we're there, I'll take a quick peek at what they have to Lego sets.  Good thing we checked this time around...

We were debating a trip to the Lego store at the Mall of America, but we didn't want to venture that far Sunday morning, as we were pretty run down from activities on Saturday (Minnesota Golden Gopher homecoming football game).  We had to make a Target run to pick up some essentials, however, and it turned out to be the route to go, as we FINALLY found Series 14 minifigures.

We grabbed 12 minifigures, as we were unwilling to check ALL the bags they had there, and we were pretty confident in our selections.  Our haul included a Fly Monster, a Banshee, a Wacky Witch, a Monster Rocker (or as we called him, Frankenstein Guitar Player), a Skeleton Guy, a Square Foot (Bigfoot), a Tiger Woman, a Wolf Guy, a Zombie Pirate, and a Zombie Businessman.

All these monsters (the theme for Series 14, since it's nearly Halloween) will be hanging out at the costume party at the Grandstand.  I'll also use them as decorations for All Hallow's Eve to give my sets that spooky flare.

I also grabbed a sand baseplate so I can develop a physical model for a beach, but that's a story for another day...

Lego Haul - 9/19/15

My wife and I went to the Lego store yesterday morning, and we're still not finding any Series 14 minifigures.  There were plenty of Series 13, and they were cheap.  Only 98 cents a piece.  Maybe we have to wait six months before we can find them.  Since we didn't find what we were looking for, I decided to grab more bricks for my Pyramid nightclub.

A large and a small cup of Lego bricks

I managed to get 161 yellow 2x4 bricks and 167 yellow roof tile 2x2.  I also grabbed a few other pieces, which I'll get to later.

Contents of the Pick-A-Brick cups (left), neatly stacked (right)

I went a little overboard with trying to put all the pieces together so they'd fit in the cups.  As you can see below, I cut my finger.  I didn't notice it at first.  The red marks on the yellow bricks clued me in.  Totally worth it.

No pain, no gain

I also grabbed a few bricks to finish off the Alligator model.  I'm still missing a yellowish green 2x2 plate for the body, but I'll probably get that through online Pick-A-Brick.

A nearly completed Alligator Pick-A-Brick model

With the bricks I've purchased, I was able to two levels of the exterior, and start on the third.  Although I have plenty of bricks to keep building up, stability of those bricks becomes and issue, so I'm holding off on construction until I get more 1x4 and 1x6 bricks for the inner wall.  I still need about 755 roof tiles and 175 2x4 bricks for the main body.  Filling the cups as I did this time around will take care of the bricks, and then probably two large cups of just roof tiles for the rest.  I hope to find the thinner bricks on the wall at some point before I finish this thing off.

The Pyramid nightclub construction progress, with the alligator enjoying the party.

TV Station

About 10 or 15 years ago, my sister was kind enough to give me her Lego's.  We'd play together quite a bit as kids, although we had very different styles.  I played the "right way", giving equal focus to everything going on in town, thinking big picture, operating an egalitarian society.  She wanted special treatment, to be in charge of certain aspects of the town, and ignoring others.  It annoyed me.

The TV studio

She did, however, have good taste in Lego's.  A pizzeria, beachfront property, and maybe best of all, a television news crew.  When my town was smaller, it seemed a bit ridiculous, but now, it's brilliant.  There's so much going on in town (and even the region) that news broadcasts are necessary to let the citizens know what's going on.

The Action 4 News team!!

The basic pieces of the studio, which is just a newsroom, was to have a desk for all the reporters to sit at, with a screen between the two newscasters.  You know, when they bring up an image for the next story they'll be reporting on.  In front and to the right, is the greenscreen for the weather forecasts and maps.  On the other side, there sits a desk for the producer to oversee the broadcast and a technician to ensure it there aren't any disruptions in the broadcast.

The weatherman showing the Doppler radar map (left), while the technician and producer prepare the next segment

I'm missing a few elements to complete this building, but as you can see, it's functional.  I wish I had some more minifigure pieces, like a navy colored suit for the sports guy (far left at the news desk), and also some more equipment in the newsroom (like a couple of stands for the cameras.

I used the mobile news team below to show how the studio would operate in the studio shots above, but they'd primarily work out in the field.  The gal would still function as producer, but the two cameramen would stay out in the field.  I need a field reporter and a dedicated helicopter pilot.  A bigger news van would be nice too, as only one person fits in the current one.  If it could carry two people and equipment, that'd be ideal.

The mobile news team preparing to go out into the field

The news van (left) and helicopter (right)

The mobile news team is ready to roll out

Sets used: 6553

Lego Haul - 9/7/15

Happy Labor Day everyone.  You know, designing a Lego city is a labor of love.  I put many hours into constructing buildings, laying everything out, planning for more...  It's not a full-time job, but I think about it like it is.

I do my best to stay on top of upcoming sets, to get them as soon as possible.  This past Monday provided me with yet another opportunity, when I picked up a 40122 Trick or Treat.

The haul from Labor Day 2015

The holiday scenes Lego came out with this year have been excellent.  Both the Valentine's Day Dinner and the Painting Easter Eggs sets make nice decorations and great additions to the civilian population.  I hope Lego plans to come out with more of them in the future.  I know there will be one for Thanksgiving, and Lego is always on top of their game for Christmas.  I look forward to adding them to my collection.

Contents and assembled 40122 Trick or Treat

I saw that the Pick-A-Brick wall at the Lego store had some yellow 2x2 roof tiles, which I need for my Pyramid nightclub.  I only had a small cup with me so I only grabbed 43 of them.  I grabbed 57 yellow 2x4 bricks and 8 yellow 2x6 bricks for the same purpose.  There's still a long way to go, as I need 922 roof tiles and 336 2x4 bricks, which would take up about 5 LARGE cups to fill.

Yellow bricks for my Pyramid nightclub

I've got like $45 worth of Lego store credit burning a hole in my pocket.  I want to use it for online Pick-A-Brick shopping, but it looks like slim pickings right now.  I need to sit down and make a list of my next purchase of individual bricks, and then we'll take it from there.

Lego Haul - 8/30/15

As I mentioned in my previous post, the selection at my local Lego store has been a bit subpar lately.  When that happens, I have to widen my net.  Target managed to come through for me when I wanted 75902 The Mystery Machine.

The Lego haul from 8/30/15

Target is a good place to buy Lego's.  It's even more financially sound to shop there than the Lego store, if you have a Red Card.  I crunched the numbers, using 10,000 baseplates as an example.  At both locations, 10,000 baseplates will cost $79,900.  A Lego VIP card will get you $3995 in store credit, which gets you 500 more baseplates.  However, with a Target Red Card, you can buy 10,526 baseplates at a 5% discount, and have $2 left over.  

Now, don't limit yourself to just buying Lego's at Target.  They have limited selection (one whole aisle vs. and entire store, more sets are exclusive to the Lego store than Target, you can't buy individual bricks).  But keep your options open.  If you're building your own Lego city, compile a list of the sets you want and see which ones are at Target first.  Also, if you don't have or even want a Target credit card, then stick to the Lego store to get store credit.

Contents of 75902 The Mystery Machine

Enough about the economics of buying Lego's.  I wish there was a Scooby-Doo set that didn't come with Shaggy and Scooby.  I'd like the whole gang, but I don't want duplicates.  I hope they eventually have a set with Velma and Daphne, but I'm not holding my breath.

Until then, they guys will be accompanying some of the Halloween decorations, like the fall scene from 31036 Changing Seasons.  Once that has passed, they'll be headed to costume party at the Grandstand.

Fully assembled 75902 The Mystery Machine on a sand baseplate