Lego Haul - 3/18/17

My wife and I were at Target again this morning, and I was feeling lucky.   I thought I could find the last Lego Batman Movie minifigure to complete my collection.  It only took five bags, but I found Commissioner Gordon.

The Lego Batman Movie minifigure pack and the Commissioner Gordon that was inside it.

Now that I have a complete collection, I can determine what I want to do with them all.  Most of them will be civilians hanging out at the Grandstand, enjoying the rock show and chilling with friends.  And the Glam Metal Batman may have to get on stage  The Gordon's, Barbara and the Commish, may become police officers.  I got plenty of those already.  Dick Grayson might work in the Research Lab or something (though I don't know how handy Robin is with designing tools and such; Wayne Industries come up with all those wonderful toys). 

My full collection of Lego Batman Movie minifigures

I haven't seen the Lego Batman Movie yet.  I should probably do that before my wife and I go to California again.  Maybe we'll Netflix or DirecTV or buy the DVD.

Lego Haul - 3/11/17

It's Double VIP points time at the Lego store again.  Of course I had to go buy some sets.  Who wouldn't?

The Lego Haul from 3/11/17

 
There's a lot on my want list these days.  I've paid off my wife's engagement ring, and I'm getting a small raise at work, so I've got a bit more disposable income these days.  I debated about what to get, constantly flip flopping between a few different items to purchase.  Fortunately, my wife had a wonderful suggestion.  "Get sets that you don't expect someone else to buy for you".

Or something like that.  It really helped.  For example, I don't expect to ever get Lego Classic sets for any occasion.  They're just totes with loose bricks.  I NEED bricks.  Not necessarily the ones that come in these sets.  But they do have their uses.

Contents of 10698 Lego Large Creative Brick Box

 
The bricks of interest from my 10698 Lego Large Creative Brick Box include some bright purple roof tiles and cool yellow bricks to add onto the 10686 Family House I got for Christmas a few years ago.  The flame yellowish orange bricks will be used as hay at the Pony Farm.  Yeah, hay isn't orange, but so what?  They're my bricks, I can do what I want with them.  The yellow roof tiles will be used for the Pyramid nightclub.  The other yellow pieces I have in the picture below could be used for my School Bus idea.

I also built the camera from the instructions included with this set.  Well, not included.  They are online.  If you wanna check it out, just visit the Lego website.  They are at https://www.lego.com/en-us/classic/activities/booklets/10698-camera-d2d6ba9de3924aefbaa6b5f648a69d9f.

The best bricks from 10698 Lego Large Creative Brick Box

I also thought about the release dates of sets on my wanted list.  I should get the oldest sets first.  So I picked up 76060 Doctor Strange's Sanctum Santorum.

 76060 Doctor Strange's Sanctum Santorum contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

That's one more Marvel superhero marked off the list.  Lego now has a 76078 Hulk vs. Red Hulk, so that'll help me mark another one off.  And Guardians of the Galaxy sets are out now as well, ahead of the Volume 2 movie release in May.  Just need a Black Panther, Scarlet Witch, War Machine, and Vision.  Oh, and Agent "Phil" Coulson.

Lego was also giving away free 30351 Police Helicopter sets.  I wish they'd choose something besides police helicopters.  I have plenty already.

30351 Police Helicopter contents (left) and fully assembled (right)

I need to take all the police helicopters I have an build a bigger one.  One to rival the size of the 60010 Fire Helicopter...  Hmmm...

Marina Shop and Beach

As I was coming up with a model for my Marina area, the first building I came up with was my Marina Office.  I figured it could handle all the business that people going out on the water would need.

Then I found a 4644 Marina set at a Toys'R'Us.

The Marina Shop and Beach

It was a great solution for handling all the equipment rental business, while the Marina Office could handle boat rentals.  This also allowed me to get a lifeguard and a seaside cafe as well, to give the oceanfront a bit more character.

The lifeguard tower and rescue personal watercraft ready to save someone out in the water

The shop has a great array of equipment for rental.  A fishing rod, swim flippers, life jackets, a speargun, SCUBA tanks.  Now sure, if you're renting a boat, you'd have to haul all that stuff all the way over to the docks, then haul it back in after returning to shore.  Kind of a pain in the ass, especially at the end of the day.  Those days I've sent in a boat all afternoon in the sun, I've felt quite rundown.  Not sure how to fix this any time soon, but I could figure something out.

 The marina shop, front (left) and rear (right) views

The Paradise Cafe sitting above the marina shop works as is, but I've also considered making it an office for the lifeguards.  An idea inspired by the TV show Baywatch.  Maybe if I had a David Hasselhoff minifigure...

 The Paradise Cafe inside (left) and outside (right)

I know I said I have a beach here too, but that's still in development.  I'll also have to figure out how to connect it to the area under the lifeguard tower.  Like everything else, it's a work in progress.  Stay tuned...

Sets used: 4644

Lego Haul - 2/26/17

My wife and I went to Target this morning, and we found some Lego Batman Movie minifigures there.  I didn't spend much time going through them all but I did find The Mime.  I just need a Commissioner Gordon to finish the collection.

The Lego Batman Movie minifigure pack and The Mime that was inside it.

That's it.  Nothing more to see here.  Move along...

Police Dock

Someone has to be out on the water to ensure no one is up to any shenanigans, boat or otherwise.  Gotta have a cop out there to patrol the seas and keep everyone safe out there.

Police Dock and the police boat docked at it

I know, I know, cops showing up at your yacht party would be a major buzzkill.  Especially if you're doing something you shouldn't be.  You shouldn't have to worry about it, since it usually stays docked.  It'll only heads out if he gets called to check something fishy.

The police boat getting ready to shove off and find some trouble

I need a few more accessories for this police boat.  A pair of binoculars, some handcuffs, maybe a firearm, in case things get hairy or the officer runs into a kraken.

The officer checking out what's on the water and getting ready to call it in on his radio

Sets used: 6344

Lego Haul - 2/2/17

Pro tip for going to the Lego store:  go on a school night.  It should be pretty dead in there.  My wife and I went this past Thursday evening, and there weren't many people there.  We usually go early on weekend, as soon as the Lego store opens, but weeknights are way better.  Much easier to take our time to browse the shelves for new sets.

 The Lego Haul from Groundhog Day

The new 40237 Lego Easter Egg Hunt set is now available, so we grabbed it.  I know, it seems silly that it's more than two months away, and it's not even Valentine's Day yet.  But that's typical of our consumer-driven society.  Oh well, I'm not complaining.

I will use it at decoration, but I may also use them in the Park I'm designing.  Not use how to incorporate such a small egg hunt into the activities in the park though. The Romantic Valentine Picnic I got last month can be added to the Park with no problem.  People have picnics in the park all the time.  But an Easter Egg Hunt?  That's an annual occurrence, not a daily one.

40237 Lego Easter Egg Hunt fully assembled

My wife and I also went through the bin of Lego Batman Movie minifigures to see if we could find the ones needed to complete the collection.  We found Dick Grayson, Fairy Batman, Pink Power Batgirl, and Red Hood.  We could have found the last two I need, Commissioner Gordon and The Mime, but I was hungry and impatient.  I didn't want to take the time to find them, I wanted some dinner.

The Lego Batman Movie minifigures (clockwise from top left) Dick Grayson, Fairy Batman, Red Hood, and Pink Power Batgirl

Unlike the last few series of minifigures, we haven't found any at Target yet.  I'll wait until they start showing up there before I track down the last two needed for this series.  No need to make a special trip to the Lego store for two minifigures and an $8 purchase.  It's just not worth it.

Marina Docks

Next to the Marina Office, there are some docks that boat owners can park their watercraft between adventures, or just load up some gear before heading out to sea for the day.

The Marina Docks

The longer space on the end is reserved for the failing boat, which residents can rent for a half or full day to go trawling for seafood.  The captain is the brother of the Marina Office's supervisor.  A group wanting to go out can head up to the window at the office to pay for its usage, then walk on down and get on board for the tour.  And they'll get more than three hours.  It's not like they are going out on the Minnow.

Boats parked out at the docks.

The other two spaces are for anyone else to park to do business in the Marina Office or haul gear on board as well.  There is plenty of room for a boat to fit in there.  Any kind of boat.  A speedboat, a personal fishing boat, even a military watercraft.  The options are endless.

Oooh, there's a parking spot right there!!

Sets used: 4642, 6596