Reviews

After 2 years of waiting, I finally used some of my profits toward a 10179. It's an open box non-special edition set with a very good to excellent conditioned manual. Was able to pay under Brickpicker and Bricklink values. Honestly, I wasn't ready for the 27 pound box that FedEx delivered. I wasn't home but a neighbor signed for it so that meant, your's truly carried this heavy beast 1/4ths of a block. I did a quick inspection and everything looked good enough. The key elements were there. I'm estimating a 3 week build since this will be done only during my spare time (usually when everyone is sleeping). I also decided to use the downloaded PDF version of the instru…

Mom is working today so the kids took me (ha) to buy the new Sandcrawler. This thread will be like my previous 2 building ones (sets 10179 and 10181). We will walk through the building process, take pics, discuss various topics like elements used / how, and finally compare this version to the much beloved and classic 10144 set. Building will begin later today after my son's T-Ball game My other Build / Review Threads. 7780: The Batboat: Hunt for Killer Croc : http://www.brickpick...-croc-batman-1/ 7782 The Batwing: The Joker's Aerial Assault : http://www.brickpick...arison-to-6863/ 7786: The Batcopter: The Chase for Scarecrow : http://www.brickpi…

The Lego Starwars 10143 Death Star II is an iconic Lego set that most of us know. I have been on the lookout for this for quite awhile and whenever i saw one i couldn't get it for a right price or i got sold under my nose again. Yesterday i lost another auction on this set so i decided to start Bricklinking it. I wan't to see how much its gonna cost me to collect all the part. At first i'm going to try to keep it to Dutch stores only and i'm already 2.000+ bricks in. The reason i decided to start this topic is that perhaps you guys like to follow the process, i will keep updating this topic till this set is standing at my desk! (I'm going to try at least ) …

This thread will be like my previous builds (links below). Intro : While waiting for the missing 10173 elements to arrive, i decided to build 10125. It was recently picked up on eBay for $109 shipped (used, no box). The $179.99 set was introduced in May 2012 and consists of 2,127 elements including a R2D2 minifig that was recently refreshed. The elements are in 15 bags. For more pictures of the box, please refer to this review found on eurobricks. http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=69410 Like other builds, I'll will walk through the building process, take pics, discuss various topics like elements used / how, and provide a recap. Bricklink's element…

I just finished this late last night. Great build. Steering wheel is a bit big. Best part is the front and back seats. A close second is the picnic set fitting in the trunk. Enjoy the video.

This thread will be like my previous builds (links below). Intro : Since I became a fan of Lego trains last year, 10173 has been the #1 train on my wish list. I couldn't wait to get my hands on one to build. Honestly, my expectations aren't high anymore since building 10194 Emerald Night less than 2 weeks ago. 10173 was released in 2006 and available only for the holiday season so the retail life was extremely short. As of July 2014, one can expect to pay between $300 and $450 for a loose set depending on condition and completeness. Sealed sets sell for between 3 versions of the train were available (from http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/10173_Holiday_Train ) …

This thread will be like my previous builds (links below). Intro : While my last building post was a poll about which set to build next, I couldn't help myself. I wanted / needed to build the Lego Ideas 21108 Ghostbusters set. While I'm a bigger fan of Back to the Future films, I did watch Ghostbusters in a theater w/ my father and enjoyed . ...I'm also not going to surprise anyone by publicly stating 21108's design is far better looking than 21103's DeLorean. When the Ghostbusters set arrived, I immediately wanted to open it while my 21103 DeLorean sets are collecting dust still sealed. I'll will walk through the building process, take pics, discuss various top…

10194 was released in April 2009 for $99.99. It remained available on lego.com and amazon until Oct / Nov 2011. The nearly 1,100 element set consists of 3 minifigures, an A3 Pacific inspired steam locomotive, a tender and a dining car. It was also released with Power Functions and track (called K10194 Emerald Night Collection) http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/K10194_Emerald_Night_Collection One of the earlier press releases can be found below. http://brickset.com/article/247/10194-emerald-night-is-real! I've been a Lego train fan only since late 2012 with my first Hogwarts Express 4841 (to run around the Christmas tree) and 9467 The Ghost Train purchases. I just mi…

Despite the controversy on its category, this set is another large, impressive "play set" priced as a UCS set. Regardless, it's an impressive display with a load of figures and a wide footprint AND also a fun and sturdy play set. Here's the bags and books: 3 large instruction manuals and thankfully only a couple stickers. 15 numbered bags, 2 unnumbered bags, and 1 loose baseplate.

Set Name: Grand Carousel Set Number: 10196 Theme: Creator, Expert, Exclusive, Sculptures Years Available at Retail : 2009 to 2011 Retaile Price: $249.99 # of Elements: 3,263 # of Minifigs: 9 Introduction : Based on 2009 threads I've read, the set was released to mixed reviews. However, 10196 has aged very well, became an AFOL favortie, and is now among the most expensive sets to purchase. I waited nearly 2 years before finally finding a 10196 that was a "decent" deal (meaning combination of price and condition) Box and Instructions: The box is about the same size as the Ewok Village and recent modular buildings. It measures out to 18.80" x 22.80" …

This thread will be like my previous building ones (sets 10179, 10181 & 75059). Set 10226 first became available in Summer 2012. For more information about this popular plane, visit the Wikipedia page. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sopwith_Camel We will walk through the building process, take pics and discuss various topics like elements used / how. Unfortunately, I do not have the original mostly brown colored Sopwith Camel for comparison. Set 3451 from 2001 contained 557 elements while 10226 has 883. Box pictures below are from a Eurobricks.com review. The box is the exact size as the 10220 VW T1 van. I started the build and all anyone needs to kno…

I just wrapped up editing this video. I'd love to know what all of you think.

This build was everything I wanted it to be. Believe it or not, putting together Benny was the best part because it brought back so many great memories from when I was a kid.

http://youtu.be/qw12Ppobmc0

Set Name: Cloud City Set Number: 10123 Theme: Star Wars (conflicting reports whether it's an UCS set) Year Released: 2003 Retailed Price: $99.99 # of Elements: 698 (box), 675 (Bricklink) # of Minifigs: 7 plus 1 Han Solo carbinate brick Introduction : 10123 is often considered the 1952 Topps Mantle of non-UCS Lego sets. As of Sept. 2014, expect to pay between $625 and $1,300 for this set depending whether new or used plus condition and included contents such as the box and manuals. I purchased this set in Dec. 2013 and been meaning to build it for a while. My complete set was purchased pre-owned including the retail box and build manual. It should be…

Lots of cool features in this set. The ship even includes a sleeping quarters. I love that the captain comes with a cup of coffee. Take a look.

I just wrapped up another Hobbit set. My favorite part of this set is that two sections of the castle explode.

For the next two weeks, my son and I are going to build 4 Star Wars models together. Trying out a camera with 2k and 4k images. Any input is appreciated. Here are the first two we did on this rainy Saturday, will build 75052 and video him playing next week.

I finally picked up the Tower of Orthanc. Here is the build. First, the box: The contents. 17 numbered bags 1-15 (two 3s and two 5s), the eagle bag and the manuals/stickers: Bag #1 contains an Orc and Treebeard's lower half: Bag #2 finishes off TreeBeard: Bag #3 builds the base/dungeon of Orthanc:

Set Name: Marina Bay Sands (Republic of Singapore) Set Number: 21021 Theme: Architecture Year Released: Late 2013 / Early 2014 Retaile Price: SGD 89.90 (converted to $64.77 as of March 10, 2015) # of Elements: 602 # of Minifigs: 0 Introduction : This set was a limited edition set exclusive to Singapore. I've read that only 10,000 sets were produced and was available in the Marina Bay Sands gift store and selected retailers. Box: The box design is beautiful with various pictures of the hotel. The standard black Architecture styled was used. The box itself is comparable to the Lego Ideas / CUUSOO Back to the Future set (10.24" x 7.48" x 2.76") and esign. W…

This is a new Modular Set in my collection and of course a new video. Enjoy.

This is another cool set that I've wanted since 2012 when I came out of my dark age. Set 7780 : The Batboat: Hunt for Killer Croc was part of the Batman 1 theme (2006-2008). The set consists of 2 minifigures (Killer Croc and black / gray Batman), the Batboat (more like a swamp hovercraft), Croc's speedboat and jet-ski for Bats. Both small vehicles can connect to the Batboat independently. It retailed for $19.99 in 2006 with 188 elements. It can be bought used for between $75 and $130 depending on condition and completeness. Most eBay auctions are missing something when listed (manual, Killer Croc, stickers, etc...). Like most Batman 1 sets, many dark grays and b…

Truly a great build. The dragon is like no other. Smug really towers over the whole set perfectly. I know you won't get as much joy out of watching the build as you would actually building the set, but hopefully it will provide of glimpse. Enjoy.

Hi evereyone, Just made a stop motion build of Cinderella's castle/ disney's castle. This thing is tremendous. It's huge! Really liked the detailing. What do you guys think of it?