So, last entry I let you all know that I would be visiting my nearest Lego Store, which is almost 100 miles away last Saturday for my birthday. I do not have pictures of the store because it was a very open an crowded store and I feel awkward not being able to take discreet photos. I suppose I should get a Google Glass...NOT! Anyway, it was pretty cool. There were several of the more expensive sets on display, such as
Set 71006: The Simpsons House,
Set 10243 Parisian Restaurant, and
Set 10232: Palace Cinema. It was cool because I got a better idea of the size of each set, more so the Parisian Restaurant and the Palace Cinema because those are both sets I'd like to get and it was nice having a point of reference for their size. The Simpsons House is cool but I'm not in to The Simpsons enough to justify the price point, also because I wouldn't know how to incorporate it into my main set up. I do plan on collecting the minifigures, which are reported to be the next collectible series after The Movie Minifigures. I'm not a big fan of these two series in place of the main minifigure line and will be happy to return to the normal figures when the new Lego MMO comes out that uses the figures.
Other features of the store included a pretty decent pick a brick wall and a wonderful station to part together 3 minifigures for $9.99. It seemed a little expensive because I'm pretty sure I can part together figures with more options for less than that using pick a brick at
Lego.com and
Bricklink.com but I partook for the novelty and came up with 3 solid figures. So, now more details on the loot! I didn't have a lot of money to spend this trip but I came away with some good stuff.
The Loot!!!!!!
So, the first set is a first purchase from the
Lego Cuusoo line. I really want to support this effort because I think it's awesome, so I plan on purchasing anything that I think I will even remotely enjoy, even if it's just for the minifigures, which is what attracted me to 21103 The Delorean Time Machine. I'm impressed with the packaging for this set. The box (which I should have taken more pictures of, is different than your regular lego box and felt way more collectible than a normal box (I don't save my boxes, I don't intend to ever sell my Legos so there is no real reason to junk up my house with boxes) so I will actually be saving it.
Back of the box shows you can choose to build one of the three different designs from each of the movies
High Quality Instruction booklet
Movie info with English and French text
The set was pretty easy to build and I went with the design from the first movie as it was the one I was more familiar with and because I liked the moving doors option. I had read some reviews that there were some issues about the doors or some of the pieces falling off easily but I found that if I handled it delicately things stayed in place. Some parts did fall off during the building process but they seem to be doing fine now.
I finally have a brick separator!!!!!This set came with some great specially printed pieces. All the must-haves of the DeLorean. Thankfully no stickers, unlike the next set.
California OUTATIME License plate!
Flux Capacitor!!!!!!
And of cousrse the dashboard that let you know "when" you were and "when" you were going. I love, love, love the minifgures. They are the first flesh colored minifgures I've ever had. The Star Wars sets that I won don't actually have the flush color yet, that's how old they are. Fun fact: according to the book
Lego Minifigure Year by Year: A Visual History, minifigures were given the yellow skin color so that they could represent any race. Anyway, they really made the set for me, particularly because apparently this model was not built to accommodate them sitting inside the vehicle, which for someone that does not intend to use Legos just to "display" it's a little disappointing. I am considering doing a mod on it to allow for the minifigures to sit inside so it can go roaring through Legoland but that will be later in the future.
Next up is the custom minifigures that I parted together from their bin. The didn't have any wonderful accessories so I ended p with 2 red mugs and 1 pot but I was able to sift through and find some pretty cool pieces to part together.
The above figure is actually my favorite of the three. He almost ended up with brown pants and a different hairstyle but the cool jeans I randomly found off in a corner and the hair I reached in and happened to pluck out of the probably thousand head pieces that were there. I kind of have him pegged as a gamer and maybe do a local video game shop or arcade build for him. I think he's pretty cute too. Maybe he'll have to be my date on Valentines Day. XD
The above would probably be my least favorite of the two. Her pants are actually a navy blue though they look black in the picture. I see her as a teacher, particularly a French teacher in a possible school or high school build.
I see mob boss or casino owner for this guy. I love his torso and would love to use it in another planned secret build, so hopefully I can find it at
Bricklink.com.
The last item today is Set 60057 Camper Van. I wanted this so badly when I saw it in the December catalog and it was a must have for me. It reminded me of
Set 6351 - Surf N' Sail Camper, which I actually have from my childhood. I kind of see a "friendly" rivalry between the two men of each set. One with a clearly bigger "rig" than the other. Trying to outshine each other and whatnot. =)
I'm probably a newbie to this concept but I was surprised when I opened the box and found that there were two instruction booklets. One for the interior of the camper and one for the exterior. I think it helps to do this because it keeps the correct parts organized and you're not hunting as much for things.
Unfortunately, this set comes with my Lego kryptonite, stickers!!! I am terrible at apply stickers without them being crooked and off-center. Usually takes me a few tries and even then they aren't "perfect." I wish more pieces were pre-printed but I imagine it costs more money to do that. My sticker application was decent this time around, so it wasn't that bad. I have gotten a bit better over the years.
Big canoe piece, wondering if this is anything like the canoes in the Native American Western Sets
Interesting use of pieces. This window piece.........
Back to back with the same window piece.....
Creates awesome legs for a table. I'd love to use this with a 4 x 4 studded plate piece
Base is finished!!!!
Love this HDTV sticker! I'd love to make some of these myself if I can improve my drawing skills.
I love these! They are circular flat topped pieces. I would love to get them in different colors to use as poker chips for a casino build. Perhaps make a sticker to put on them for monetary value.
Hinged side an removable roof for easy cabin access.
Plenty of rooftop storage for the gear!
A change in life jacket design. Although the new one (left) looks more realistic, I'd feel safer in the older one (righ^_^t).
The happy couple is ready to go on their camping trip. Now I just need to build them a mountain and a lake.
All in all I'd say I got a pretty good haul from The Lego Store. It was fun seeing what it was like and taking part of the different novelties. I could see myself making a trip down there for some of the sets that have been sold out and retired online that people that are just in it for collection and selling charge outrageous prices for, but it being about 100 miles away, I think I will still do most of my ordering online.
Happy Building! ^_^
