How do we not have a dedicated Lego thread yet?

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Mike Bridge

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  • #1
    Per title. The wife and I have been enjoying watching "Lego Masters" (started with the USA version, trying to find episodes of the UK & Australian versions now) during our shelter in place, and that may have led me to spending far more than I'd like to admit on some of these sets (current & retired): https://ideas.lego.com/

    Useful links for reviews & getting pieces for MOC (My Own Creation) or seeing other peoples MOCs:
    http://brickinsights.com/
    https://rebrickable.com/home/
    https://www.bricklink.com/
    https://www.brickowl.com/
     
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    Mike Bridge

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  • #5
    this showed up today (Ideas Dinosaur Fossils, 910 pcs).
    this should show up tomorrow (Ideas International Space Station, 864 pcs).
    finally this should show up thursday (Ideas Voltron, 2321 pcs)

    Next week I'm expecting this (Ideas Ship in a Bottle, 962 pcs) and this (Ideas TRON: Legacy, 230pcs), and I'm hunting around for a reasonable price for this (Ideas NASA Apollo Saturn V, 1969 pcs).

    When will I ever find time to actually assemble them? Hopefully soon, as the wife seems excited to build some of the kits too.
     
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    Mike Bridge

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  • #7
    Scifigod said:
    I'm still kicking myself for not buying the Voltron set and the Ghostbusters Firehouse when I had the chances.

    What I really need though is a good way to display all my stuff. I've been trying to find a display case or glass door cabinet but anything that is deep enough is $$$.
    Click to expand...

    8 Barnes & Nobles within 100 miles still show having Voltron in stock for MSRP (granted, most are closed due to shelter in place, but that will change on friday with the governor's modified shelter in place for curbside pickup), I think I may have snagged the last Lego Voltron their online warehouse had in stock though.

    edit: looks like the top and bottom shelves of this https://www.ikea.com/us/en/p/detolf-gla ... -80269122/ would end up being a the exact height of Voltron (40cm) in combined form, so not quite tall enough, and definitely not tall enough for the Saturn V, unless it went on top or something.
     
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    Mike Bridge

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  • #9
    JasterMereel said:
    I'm still going back and forth on the Voltron set. It is an awesome set, and I remember Voltron from my childhood. However I am running out of space in my room and I'm to the point where I have to be picky. I'm starting to take down and disassemble some sets.
    Click to expand...
    You could have the cats strategically placed around, and not combined. Also, we have that same cat tree.
     
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    Tegid

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  • #10
    Mike Bridge said:
    JasterMereel said:
    I'm still going back and forth on the Voltron set. It is an awesome set, and I remember Voltron from my childhood. However I am running out of space in my room and I'm to the point where I have to be picky. I'm starting to take down and disassemble some sets.
    Click to expand...
    You could have the cats strategically placed around, and not combined. Also, we have that same cat tree.
    Click to expand...

    The clear answer is to start hanging the spacecraft from the ceiling in a giant mock battle sequence!
     
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    Mike Bridge

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  • #11
    Tegid said:
    Mike Bridge said:
    JasterMereel said:
    I'm still going back and forth on the Voltron set. It is an awesome set, and I remember Voltron from my childhood. However I am running out of space in my room and I'm to the point where I have to be picky. I'm starting to take down and disassemble some sets.
    Click to expand...
    You could have the cats strategically placed around, and not combined. Also, we have that same cat tree.
    Click to expand...

    The clear answer is to start hanging the spacecraft from the ceiling in a giant mock battle sequence!
    Click to expand...

    Technic motors and a rail system to have the ships "fly" or "dog fight" across the ceiling.
     
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    JasterMereel

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  • #12
    Tegid said:
    Mike Bridge said:
    JasterMereel said:
    I'm still going back and forth on the Voltron set. It is an awesome set, and I remember Voltron from my childhood. However I am running out of space in my room and I'm to the point where I have to be picky. I'm starting to take down and disassemble some sets.
    Click to expand...
    You could have the cats strategically placed around, and not combined. Also, we have that same cat tree.
    Click to expand...

    The clear answer is to start hanging the spacecraft from the ceiling in a giant mock battle sequence!
    Click to expand...

    Kind of like this?
     
    M

    mishakim

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  • #13
    Amusing interaction with my 5-year-old yesterday that I thought I'd share: she has a number of Disney Princess Lego sets, and likes to take apart and re-configure the minifigs (these are the skinny ones "for girls", not sure if they have a different term). She was upset that she couldn't find Sleeping Beauty, who was "wearing Belle's dress." I picked up what appeared to be Sleeping Beauty (pink body/dress, but black hair), and she said, "No! That's Elsa, but with black hair!". So I grab the blue one (but with Belle's hair on it) and ask "Isn't this Elsa?" - "No, That's Belle, and with Belle's hair!" Finally I find the yellow one - "Yes, see, it's sleeping beauty, wearing Belle's dress". Apparently, it's the heads that determine identity, not the bodies. And she can tell them apart that way. Looking more closely, they do appear to each have different colored eyes.

    Incidentally, something else about these figures that lead to drama a while back: the heads of these figures are not interchangeable with the traditional minifigs, the necks are a different size. The bodies are obviously different, but the heads look the same at first glance, but do not fit.
     
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    mishakim

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  • #15
    Wheels Of Confusion said:
    The term of art is "mini-dolls." I like the overall design, except the dramatically lower articulation.
    Click to expand...
    That makes sense - and I agree, the fixed legs are annoying, but my kids (both girls) don't seem to mind, but could just be that they haven't noticed. Many of the minifigs they play with are also less articulated, because they're child characters (Harry Potter series) with the short non-bending legs. The big pile of generic ones never get played with it seems. I have a whole ton of vintage space figures somewhere, need to find those and add to the collection.
     
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    Tegid

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  • #16
    JasterMereel said:
    Tegid said:
    Mike Bridge said:
    JasterMereel said:
    I'm still going back and forth on the Voltron set. It is an awesome set, and I remember Voltron from my childhood. However I am running out of space in my room and I'm to the point where I have to be picky. I'm starting to take down and disassemble some sets.
    Click to expand...
    You could have the cats strategically placed around, and not combined. Also, we have that same cat tree.
    Click to expand...

    The clear answer is to start hanging the spacecraft from the ceiling in a giant mock battle sequence!
    Click to expand...

    Kind of like this?
    Click to expand...

    Yes (That is very cool) but with more swooping! :eng101:
     
    Jonathon

    Jonathon

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  • #18
    JasterMereel said:
    I'm still going back and forth on the Voltron set. It is an awesome set, and I remember Voltron from my childhood. However I am running out of space in my room and I'm to the point where I have to be picky. I'm starting to take down and disassemble some sets.
    Click to expand...
    Where'd you find the front-loading shadow boxes that you're using for your minifig displays?
     
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    JasterMereel

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  • #20
    Jonathon said:
    JasterMereel said:
    I'm still going back and forth on the Voltron set. It is an awesome set, and I remember Voltron from my childhood. However I am running out of space in my room and I'm to the point where I have to be picky. I'm starting to take down and disassemble some sets.
    Click to expand...
    Where'd you find the front-loading shadow boxes that you're using for your minifig displays?
    Click to expand...

    Michaels.com. Search for the "coin case" or "keepsake case". Also, never pay more 50% off for them. They are either regularly on sale for 50% off or you can get coupons for 50% off.
     
    M

    Mike Bridge

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  • #21
    Scifigod said:
    I'm still kicking myself for not buying the Voltron set and the Ghostbusters Firehouse when I had the chances.

    What I really need though is a good way to display all my stuff. I've been trying to find a display case or glass door cabinet but anything that is deep enough is $$$.
    Click to expand...

    How deep of a case are you looking for? I did more searching on that detolf case from Ikea and it's pretty easy to add/customize the height of shelves.
     
    Scifigod

    Scifigod

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  • #22
    Mike Bridge said:
    Scifigod said:
    I'm still kicking myself for not buying the Voltron set and the Ghostbusters Firehouse when I had the chances.

    What I really need though is a good way to display all my stuff. I've been trying to find a display case or glass door cabinet but anything that is deep enough is $$$.
    Click to expand...

    How deep of a case are you looking for? I did more searching on that detolf case from Ikea and it's pretty easy to add/customize the height of shelves.
    Click to expand...

    I think about 20in deep is what I'd need. That should be deep enough fit my megabloks Enterprise, Benny's spaceship, and the ISS with an inch or so to spare.
     
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    Mike Bridge

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  • #23
    found a Saturn V kit for MSRP from barnes & noble (bit of a drive to pick it up, but still cost less in gas than the aftermarket price on the kit), now I'm looking into the various other MOC options to go with it, like the umbilical tower & 1:110 space shuttle w/ boosters. Not sure which alternative building block brand's kits are the best options.
     
    M

    Mike Bridge

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  • #24
    Scifigod said:
    Mike Bridge said:
    Scifigod said:
    I'm still kicking myself for not buying the Voltron set and the Ghostbusters Firehouse when I had the chances.

    What I really need though is a good way to display all my stuff. I've been trying to find a display case or glass door cabinet but anything that is deep enough is $$$.
    Click to expand...

    How deep of a case are you looking for? I did more searching on that detolf case from Ikea and it's pretty easy to add/customize the height of shelves.
    Click to expand...

    I think about 20in deep is what I'd need. That should be deep enough fit my megabloks Enterprise, Benny's spaceship, and the ISS with an inch or so to spare.
    Click to expand...
    Have you considered making your own with aluminum profile extrusions & acrylic panels? Could do the shelves with acrylic too, thickness depending on number of supports and span between supports.
     
    Wheels Of Confusion

    Wheels Of Confusion

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  • #25
    I'm just going to take a moment and plug Studio 2.0 from stud.io as a digital Lego CAD program for Windows. It has an option to tie into a BrickLink account but that's not required. I gave it a test drive by drafting up a tensegrity-based MOC sculpture and it was overall a pleasant experience.

    I used to use the official Lego Digital Designer back in the day, but that's been unmaintained for a good while now. This feels like a good replacement.
     
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    mishakim

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  • #26
    Wheels Of Confusion said:
    I'm just going to take a moment and plug Studio 2.0 from stud.io as a digital Lego CAD program for Windows. It has an option to tie into a BrickLink account but that's not required. I gave it a test drive by drafting up a tensegrity-based MOC sculpture and it was overall a pleasant experience.

    I used to use the official Lego Digital Designer back in the day, but that's been unmaintained for a good while now. This feels like a good replacement.
    Click to expand...
    Nice -- there's a Mac version as well. Installation was iffy, though -- the package isn't signed, so Catalina by default won't install it. Overriding that, it wants permission to receive keystrokes from any open app, and to view system events. I denied both, since it didn't explain why it wanted those before asking and they aren't things a stand-alone user-space app should need. I'll play with it later and see how it works.
     
    S2pidiT

    S2pidiT

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  • #30
    Mike Bridge said:
    Useful links for reviews & getting pieces for MOC (My Own Creation) or seeing other peoples MOCs:
    http://brickinsights.com/
    https://rebrickable.com/home/
    https://www.bricklink.com/
    https://www.brickowl.com/
    Click to expand...

    Thank you for these links. I've heard of the last two, but the first two are new to me.

    I am designing a Lego version of my house using Lego Digital Designer. I started by using the "extended" version, which I didn't realize allows you to apply any color to any brick. So now I have to go back through in standard and figure out which pieces I can actually buy, and redesign based on those.

    I'm oranging both to further discuss Lego, and to have a reminder about these links.

    Jeff3F said:
    I was hoping that this would be a lego robotics/crafts thread so that I could live vicariously!
    Click to expand...

    Now that I've become at least a little familiar with LDD, I'm trying to think of things to design and build for/with my kids.
     
    Arasirsul

    Arasirsul

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  • #36
    This weekend, I finally unwrapped all the storage boxes, re-sorted everything that fell out of the little drawers during the move two years ago. I really was not looking forward to opening up the wrap around each box to see how bad it was. Anyhow, I finally did that (really, only the small Technic parts and the bin full of plates were _that_ bad) and set things up so I can sort some of my bins of unsorted Lego.

    ...and I determined I don't have enough drawers:

    legosorting.jpg


    The plan is these will go back-to-back on a set of wire shelving on wheels so they can easily be moved to a table or back out of the way, though I need to re-measure, since that plan was before I ordered six more of these storage drawer units.

    I still don't have a good solution for particularly large parts. I'm considering just sticking with my current solution, which is an 18 gallon Rubbermaid bin. If it's too large for the large drawers you see here, it ought to be something I can find in a large bin. That said, if one of y'all has solved the problem of storing pieces like castle walls and polar base panels, let me know.
     
    Arasirsul

    Arasirsul

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  • #38
    I haven't answered the question of what to do with large parts, so I figured I'd start with a different problem: How do I get all those drawers so that I can store them over in the unfinished section of the basement, but bring them into my cave easily without making ten trips and taking up most of two portable tables when I do it?

    One of the things I noticed about my old storage arrangement was that I wound up having to put the drawer sets on a shelf sideways, which meant they had to come off the shelves. That also isn't optimal.

    I now have a proof-of-concept:

    legoshelves.jpg


    The wheels are sufficiently tall to deal with the carpet in here, and the height is just lower than the door between the finished area of the basement.

    I've got six more sets of drawers arriving tomorrow. Each is 16" tall and 20" wide. The top bins aren't strapped down because they'll come down, and four of those six new bins will go up there.

    The three bins up there and the remaining two will get attached to the short ends of the shelf unit. I'm thinking of taking some 2x4s, routing a channel on one side, and using some large hose clamps to attach them to the shelves, which will give me somewhere to put screws in for the mounting holes on the drawer units. This may not be a good solution: I'm not sure those mounting holes were designed for an object that moves. We'll see what happens.

    Another possibility is that I've got two more of those shelves, if I can get two more posts and two more wheels, I can extend this thing out about half-height for more space, but that might be a bit long and unweildy to move around.

    Once all the drawers are in place, I'll start moving around pieces to try to keep like stuff together-- say, technic axles, gears, and beams all on one side of the unit. That way I can minimize the amount of walking around the thing-- roll it up to a table and build.
     
    Arasirsul

    Arasirsul

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  • #40
    Scifigod said:
    I can't quite tell from the picture but do the drawers have enough lip on the outside you could maybe hold them in place with an angle bracket and not lose the use of any of the drawers?
    Click to expand...

    Maybe. Some of them have thicker lips than the others. I might be able to arrange things so those get bolted to the outside. Good idea.

    EDIT: I like this idea more and more. Angle brackets would also hose-clamp to the posts nicely on their own without a need to add a bulky layer of wood.
     
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