No, this image is perfect

Lately I've been buying unhealthy large-ish quantities of LEGO off eBay.  For the most part, it's just been random minifigure bits and stuff, but I managed to get a Scary Laboratory:

The set is missing one or two bricks and has a few in a different colour, but nothing major.  Otherwise the set is in fantastic condition, clean, and all the minifigs are there and in pristine, basically brand-new, condition (probably in far better condition than many of my own 'figs from that era).  I love the designs of the minifigures, and the set itself has loads of useful parts (especially sand blue).  Not bad for £40.

I also got some SW/HP minifigs, again off eBay.  Here are a few:

I'm particularly pleased with the Lucius Malfoy minifig, and I love the Boba Fett head.  I really want to start creating a bunch of characters with these.

I also went to the LEGO store and got some minifigs from the minifig maker.  I'd heard they'd added a lot of new and interesting parts so I was interested in checking it out.

I'm really, really happy about getting the Sleepyhead/Hawkeye hair.  I've been wanting it for such a long time, and I heard it was available in the store.  (As it turned out, there weren't any of those left in the actual minifig maker, but I asked a store employee about it and he went and got one from storage in the back, which was really awesome.)  Also really happy about all the other parts, especially the newspaper, "sick" face, and pizza.  On a side note, I haven't seen the face with the blue lipstick in any sets, does anyone know where it comes from?

I always wanted that back in those days.  I remember gazing at my copy of LEGO Magazine and wanting it, then in later years looking back on my older issues and regretting having not obtained it.  Although, not as much now since all of that old grey became obsolete in 2004.

I got this today:

Overall, I'm really happy with this Minecraft series.  There are so many block style bricks which makes it feel like a really classic set from the old days before my time, which feels quite peculiar considering it's actually a licensed theme.

This set has a lot of cool plants I've never had before, and I'm really fond of the cow's design.  But it's a shame that these Minecraft specific pieces will likely be useful for little else, although that's not likely to be much of an issue since only a small few are really Minecraft specific.  I feel like it's a lot less than with most licensed themes, though.

However, I'm pretty disappointed that the big grass plates are actually a more light green colour rather than LEGO's standard shade of green.  Of course, it's my own fault for not looking closely.  The main reason I wanted this was to increase my supply of green plates, which I've been finding rather insufficient lately.  Of course, if I obtain a whole lot in this shade, these plates could add some variety to my grass so I could do something more interesting the basic green.  But again, I will have to get quite a lot.

@RedBrick1 I'm super jelly. I nearly bought the Ecto-1, but then a local store of mine had a sale and for the same price I managed to get the big Dol Guldur set and the Nick Fury/Spider-man set. Still, it breaks my heart not having that and the BttF set (first world problems).

@Squid the Minecraft sets intrigue me. I've never played the game, but like you say the sets have more actual bricks, and in more interesting colours too. I think I may have to pick some of these up once I have money again.

"Nothing goes down 'less I'm involved. No nuggets. No onion rings. No nothin'. A cheeseburger gets sold in the park, I want in! You got fat while we starved on the streets...now it's my turn!" -Harley Morenstein

Only 2004?  I thought they switched way before that!  Wow!

(Wow, we're getting off topic)

I use old gray and new gray together to add variation to the color. Especially if you are making a stone wall, it's nice to have that color variation. I have mostly new gray, though I really like the look of old gray. I can't pick a favorite, however, because they both have their uses.

(As for the topic)

Walmart had some good clearance items, so I bought three LEGO Star Wars planet sets (two Series 1, and one series 2): 9674: Naboo Starfighter & Naboo, 9675: Sebulba's Podracer & Tatooine (I hate the "minifigure" in this one, it's so gross), and 9678: Twin-Pod Cloud Car & Bespin. They were each 2 dollars, so I got 30 dolars worth of sets for 6 dollars (I would never have payed 10 dollars for these planet things, and have been waiting for them to go on sale for a couple of years! ).

I also got 30227: Police Watercraft polybag for $1.50 (normally 5 dollars, I think)

Last edited by rioforce (February 27, 2015 (11:07am))

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"Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:31b

Got the birds as a birthday present! Great build!

My choice of using the word obsolete was probably inappropriate.  One can still use it, although mixing them with new colours can be problematic, especially when trying to build a wall.  In certain cases like the space set from Pirates Rule, I used exclusively old shades of grey.  For the rest of the film I simply used new grey.  Thus they never appear on camera simultaneously.  So it still can be quite useful.

Also, having any bricks which still connect like regular bricks is great because one can always still use them for filler bricks.  I almost ran out of filler bricks building my current set.

Depends.  I think mixing old and new shades of grey and brown can help create an interesting texture, particularly if you want to make something look old or worn, and helps avoid the "big bland wall" syndrome.  Things rarely have a completely consistent shade in real life.  The wood flooring in my house has many different varying shades and textures, and even the walls and carpets show subtle variations in colour in some places.  Not to mention things in the natural world, such as rocks and trees, show huge variations in colour within the same thing.  It all depends on what you're going for.  If you want to build a high-tech, brand new sterile-looking facility, it would be highly advisable to only use new greys.  On the other hand, if you want to make an old, run-down looking concrete tunnel with rust stains, dark patches, and all sorts of junk, mixing old and new tones, and even discoloured pieces, would help achieve that look very nicely.  I think Nathan Wells even said that for a scene in Alex & Derrick: 5 Years Later, he deliberately used old, scratched, and discoloured grey bricks because he wanted the set to look run-down and dirty.