Legos, anyone?

[M'Kyuun]

Small victory, as there are other LEGO-like brick makers out there, although Lepin was one of the more well known, and also known for making copies of official sets, which is what really spelled its doom legally.  For some reason, I was thinking this was just a branch being shut down and it's manager arrested, rather than the owner of the entire enterprise. To that end, yeah, it's a solid victory for LEGO and a shot across the bow to other companies doing the same. Which makes me wonder if Has/Tak will start pursuing similar actions against third party Transformer  manufacturers in China. I must confess to being morally torn in this case, as I  have more third party figures than official in my MP collection, with an eye to keep collecting them, even if it is IP theft. 

Slaginpit, the new Quinjet is pretty sweet, although, for some reason, they didn't give it any landing gear, an omission that seems to affect all Marvel flying machines in 2019, as the proto-Quinjet set from Captain Marvel, Stark's jet from Spiderman: Far from Home, and the Avengers' Quinjet from Endgame all lack landing gear. However, the Endgame Quinjet is the first to accurately reproduce the wing openings for the vertical lift fans ensconced therein, so lose something, gain something.  It was a fun build that captured the look of its subject very well.  My favorite part is in how the various opening hatches were designed on slight angles when closed, but they close seamlessly- it's a subtle thing, but one I appreciate as a MOC builder..

[Mazinger]

On 4/27/2019 at 6:46 PM, sketchley said:

Context is everything: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48076505

TLDR version: " The raid comes as China seeks to strengthen intellectual property rights, with the number of trials hitting a record high last year. "

In the past year, the Chinese government has become motivated in shoring up IP rights for foreign companies (if one needs a self serving reason: it's to get more foreign investment to help stimulate growth as their economic growth rate has significantly declined in the past few quarters).  Expect more of these in the coming months.

Police in China have uncovered a gang accused of manufacturing and selling 

You'll never find a more depraved or dangerous gang than LEGO traffickers.

/s

[M'Kyuun]

Yeah, you may wake up to find a decapitated minifig head in your bed some morning.

Another new City Space set has been revealed, and it's a beauty. Credit to Brickfan.com via Playzone.com.ua for the set pics.

The tracked transport looks to have more in common with Russian military vehicles 
than NASA's Missile Crawler Transporter Facilities, but it sings to my soul nonetheless. There's a 'clean room' , which ironically is wide open with barely any walls to speak of, for maintenance to a small 6-wheeled rover, which, of course, can be loaded into the rocket via an overhead crane from a smaller truck that reminds me of the old beloved Tonka trucks of my youth. To finish it off, there's a small launch control room. I've thus far been really impressed with what this line offered, but this set is really the complete package- just so much playability, visual appeal, cool vehicles (both ground and space), and some nice interactive peripheral builds to complete the launch from prep to control. Can't wait to build it. 

While it's not shown here, I hope the modules from the Moonbase set can be sandwiched between the spaceplane and the booster section, as that would be some nice crossover playability between sets within the theme, and give it a touch of neo-realism (the actual modules for the ISS had to be lofted by the Shuttle, although I believe the Russians used rockets to put Mir in orbit, so close enough ).  In terms of realism, future US space endeavors, in the absence of a new shuttle system, will rely solely on heavy rockets , like SpaceX's Falcon Heavy, so I think it's poignant that these sets emphasize the rockets over a Shuttle Transport System that, sadly, no longer exists. In my mind, though, rockets will never be as cool as the Shuttle, which set a benchmark yet unsurpassed. 

[nhyone]

11 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Small victory, as there are other LEGO-like brick makers out there, although Lepin was one of the more well known, and also known for making copies of official sets, which is what really spelled its doom legally.

I don't know if you are lumping all brick makers together, because it is legal to make Lego compatible bricks.

We can use TaoBao to infer who is infringing. Lepin, Lele, Bela, Decool and SY are all banned for foreign buyers.

FansToys was banned for a short while too, but it seems to be okay now. Transformers KO makers (note: not 3P) are more savvy and have not copied sets as-is.

Edited May 5, 2019 by nhyone

[M'Kyuun]

Nhyone, you're far more educated on who's infringing, and who's not than I am.  I chose my words poorly, and will simply condense my opinion to the arrests and seizures  of Lepin personnel and property, respectively, as a win for LEGO. I'll say nothing further on the matter.  I'm well aware that LEGO compatible bricks are legal, and even own some (Hasbro's Kre-O Transformers and Battleship Movie sets, which were produced by Oxford).  I also own a few Mega Bloks sets from their  Call of Duty line, a Harrier and an AH-64 Apache. Both were impressive builds with a lot of realistic features. Moreover, I think their figures are amazing for the high level of articulation they offer, and wish LEGO would follow suit with something similar. The minifig is great, but it definitely shows its age relative to the MB figs.

[David Hingtgen]

I've considered a Lepin pirate ship or two, just to take the sails and "toss out all the cheap plastic/give to goodwill"---Lego has made extremely few sails in the last decade, and many have more "kiddified" designs than earlier ones.  And the prices for authentic sails are so insane, and the difficulty in printing fabric yourself---if it's a non-plastic part, that Lego themselves probably contracted out to a third party due to how rarely they use them (unless there's a Lego sail-weaving factory I'm unaware of), it's possible that you might even be getting "authentic" parts from the same factory that made the originals for Lego. (some people have reported that the KO sails are ridiculously similar to the originals)      

Also, I just want to point out, that a large chunk (majority?) of the larger Lepin sets, are sets from 5-10 (or even 15-20) years ago, that are still insanely desired by fans, that are impossible to buy now, or even bricklink.   Lego has only ever re-released like 0.5% of the highly-desired sets.  There's a ton of old sets I'd buy, if I could.  "Lego Legends" needs to be greatly expanded.   Give people another chance.  When a single piece commands $25+ on Bricklink, Lego is just losing money by not reissuing the set that piece came in.  Want to preserve the "collectibility" of a set?  Fine, change a color or two, or a piece or two.  Make "an extremely similar set" that will allow people to still "get that set" in a way. 

If you buy a Lepin set, of a set that Lego hasn't produced since 2005 or something, and Lego hasn't produced anything very similar since--Lego isn't losing any money/sales because of the KO of their old set---it's their own lack of "making sets of that category" that is preventing a sale, not a "competitor/KO".   When the KO is the only option that exists, that's just Lego willingly abandoning that market segment.   

Buying the KO of a new set, just to save money?  Yeah, that's very much an issue--buy the real thing whenever it's available.  Same goes for when Lepin takes people's MOCs, and then sells it themselves. (that's even worse!).  But buying the only version of a set that's been actively produced in the past 15 years, that only one company is currently making?   That's just Lego letting people eat into their market share, by abandoning a market segment for a decade.   If you literally cannot buy the original because it's been off the market for years and years, and Lego refuses to re-release even though they have the molds for all the parts still...    

I am still a "Lego purist" and have no Kreo, Megablock, or Lepin at all.  But man do I get tempted when I see "set XYZZ now reissued, after 15 years off the market, but by Lepin"...

 

[M'Kyuun]

You're not alone, David, so far as desiring reissues of old sets. LEGO would make a small fortune if they rereleased a number of very popular Classic Space sets and the monorails, as those things are still highly sought after on secondary market, and generally go for premium prices. I speak from experience, both as a buyer of a number of retired space sets, but also as an attendee to LEGO conventions where various vendors sell old sets, and as a Bricklink user. Pirates were never my thing, but it's true that that's another theme, along with Space, that has become very infrequent among LEGO's yearly releases over the past couple decades. Space and Pirates are two of the bedrock themes that made LEGO successful through the late 70's into the late 90's, and it's sad to see these things relegated to nostalgia when there is still, very clearly, a love of and demand for these themes. Again, as a convention attendee, Space and Pirates, far more than City, which has a very strong presence on store shelves, are always large and conspicuous presences among the MOC exhibitions. And it's not just us crusty old AFOLs building this stuff- kids build it, too, so there's still interest. Now that the Pirates of the Caribbean movies have run their course, it opens the door for more homegrown sets, but LEGO seems to have lost their interest, same with sci-fi Space, as opposed to the sporadic City Space sets we get every 4-5 years. A lot of hope was anchored to the LEGO Movies for reintroducing CS sets, and I'm thinking Benny's Spaceship was a hit (I own three copies), but, sadly, that's as far as they went. LEGO Movie 2 gave us a small CS 'battle pack' with Benny and three different colored astrofigs, including the first pink one, and a small scooter, as well as a 4+ set with a simplified CS styled ship with Benny and Emmett. For a movie that was known to be set mostly in space, I know I had my hopes up for something grander, along the lines of Benny's ship from the first film, but it wasn't to be. As to whether LEGO are aware of the popularity of these old themes, the answer is undeniably yes, as many of the set designers currently producing sets are AFOLs who, prior to their employment with LEGO, created MOCs of CS stuff, grew up with it, or became aware of it by proxy through the AFOL community. So, in short, we all wonder why LEGO won't revisit these beloved and much sought sets and themes, even in a limited format like 'Legends'. I'd love to have a shiny new Galaxy Explorer, or Mega (Magna)-Core Magnetizer, etc., but unfortunately, that interest remains with us, the fans.

Incidentally, despite my 'not my thing' statement concerning Pirates, LEGO released the Imperial Flagship in 2010, and that thing is just beautiful-still have it displayed. I also bought the Brick Bounty in 2015, the last year of a homegrown Pirate line, and I thought it a rather nifty set, too. The last release of a Legends Pirate set was in 2002, the venerable Black Seas Barracuda, which I skipped, much to my chagrin in hindsight. That set now starts in the $200s and goes up from there on the secondary market. I don't think it's a question of demand, but more of LEGO's reluctance to do more frequent rereleases. I, for one, wish they would.

Edited May 6, 2019 by M'Kyuun

[Chronocidal]

I think where the line gets blurry with the Lepin sets is that you can't just say "I'm buying this to get a set LEGO won't sell anymore, so they're not losing any money" when the next guy goes "I'm buying this to get parts cheaper than LEGO sells them."  You may treat a set as a whole, and only want certain parts, but LEGO is absolutely losing money on a part-by-part basis, because for every unique element that LEGO hasn't manufactured in 30 years, there are probably several dozen elements that LEGO still actively produces.

Far as reissues go, yeah, I'd love to see more old sets re-released, but I think LEGO is slightly cautious of doing that.  After the re-release of the Taj Mahal set a couple years back, I was thrilled to be able to get one, but I got the impression that there was some backlash from collectors as they watched the value of their sets fall back to retail price.

The market for treating LEGO as an actual investment has grown a ton, and while I personally think it's rather ridiculous, it is what it is, and people will treat old sets like stock traders.  It would probably be better if it had never happened, but here we are.  

I think my biggest gripe about the more recent sets is actually a lot of the elements they seem to have discontinued.

In fact, I'm pretty sure that's the direct reason the IDEAS Shuttle set failed.  I haven't seen the old notched-style space wings in years now, as they've been supplanted by the ever widening selection of angled tiles (which I still want more angles of, honestly).  The big missing piece is that we no longer have a way to make a seamless 45 degree wing, because all of the modern 45 degree plates that I know of have squared off corners (please correct me if I'm not aware of newer elements that fix this).  Some of the smaller tiles and longer shallower angles have sharp corners that let you blend the edges and angles, but putting two 45 plates together will always leave a gap.  It's driven me insane on a few projects, honestly.  

[M'Kyuun]

Chronocidal, I agree about the old wing plates with cut-outs- they were really useful for making seamless angle changes that really enhanced the smooth look of models. Not sure why they retired them, but they were useful. But, the variety of new wedge plates has grown. One of my favorite new additions is this:

  I wish they'd made this years ago, but I'm glad they finally did. It's a wonderfully versatile part, and can help smooth out changes in angles. The three studs allow for more anchoring, as well. 

[Chronocidal]

See.. That part is the entire problem though.

It needs to look like this.

'

Or even like this, or any other sized variant of that shape.

'

Every other slope of angled plate has a version with a sharp end like that that can be used as a direct transition to another angle plate, EXCEPT the 45 degree ones.  There's just no way to connect two 45 degree plates, or a 45 to a shallower slope smoothly.

Edited May 12, 2019 by Chronocidal

[M'Kyuun]

While they're not plates, they do make these parts, which are reminiscent of your render: 

But as far as wedge plates with cut-outs, that doesn't seem to be something that LEGO wants to produce. It honestly doesn't bother me that much, as I've learned to work around it or live with it. Obviously, mileage varies. 

[Chronocidal]

I did think of those, and actually, all they do is convince me that my thought about them not making the normal wedge plates due to strength concerns really doesn't have much evidence.

There are ways to work around it yes, but the lack of stackable and seamless 45 degree angle plates is just a huge limiting factor for some designs I've wanted to do for years.

[Bobby]

Don't mean to interrupt the discussion on wedge plates just want to post the latest put-together and figured this was the best place...

the lineup...

cowl hatch open...

...basically saw something similar online and tried to make my own.

Edited May 13, 2019 by Bobby

[M'Kyuun]

Looks great!  I have no faculty for building at such small scale, and am ever impressed by folks who do, and can cram a lot of detail into their small builds. I've thought about trying my hand at a Garland at this scale, but LEGO doesn't really make anything that allows for an accurate mechanism for the front wheel to split. I've seen some neat small builds of the Garland, but all of them employ a non-accurate method of swinging the wheels into shoulder position. I'm still trying to find a viable solution. Anyway, Kaneda's bike looks amazing; all you need now are a bunch of small decals to plaster on it to finish the look, and  a custom Kaneda to take it out for a spin!

[Scyla]

I'm building the Lego Tantive IV at the moment. Having built two UCS models (Slave 1 and the Falcon) I think they planned it as an UCS set. The instructions even include an interview with

all the designers. I guess the idea was to use the new cockpit pieces of the UCS Falcon as the bridge section of the vessel and build the best possible Blockade Runner possible. Someway down the line they probably though that it is not enough for an UCS set.

And I agree with their decision. The bridge section looks quite nice I just wish they would print the large panels. It is a shame that an iconic section of the ship looks like nothing without stickers (some would agree that the engine section is more iconic but I digress). Especially for the high price to part ratio of the Star Wars sets I think there was enough room to print the pieces. The Falcon cockpit piece is nicely printed! 

But I guess this is a reoccurring discussion with the SW sets since I remember there where some negative comments about the Slave 1 and X-Wing cockpit piece.

Another thing I'm not too thrilled about is the white color. Comparing it to images of the real thing this seems to be accurate but Legos white has a yellow tinge that is unappealing to me. So I would have preferred a light, light gray.

[M'Kyuun]

I'm not so certain that UCS is the right nomenclature anymore, as I think they're reserving that term for the large non-Minifig scaled models, and System models meant for Minifigs will fall under a different classification, the name whereof escapes me at the moment, and Google is failing me. Semantics aside, the new Tantive IV is a benchmark set due to its inclusion in the 20th anniversary of LEGO Star Wars collection of sets. I believe every set in the collection illustrates the homage of the current set to an earlier release either on the box or in the instructions, with even more information given in the Tantive's instructions, as it's essentially the flagship of the collection. I appreciate touches like that which give background on the set's development. The new Tantive's instructions also have several photos of the original filming model for reference, which is also nice.

I'll respectfully disagree with Scyla's preference for the use of gray rather than white. One could easily argue that, within Lucas' 'dirty universe', a light tan would be apropos to give the impression of wear and tear. However, I like the use of the white, and to me it just seems appropriate. I will say that the designers snuck the odd light yellow bits here and there throughout the exterior, which I thought was a nice subtle way of breaking up all that white while giving the impression of wear. It may not be to everyone's taste, but I thought it a nice inclusion.

I couldn't agree more with Scyla's assessment of the lack of printing on those large cones. I do ok with decal application, but, at least for me, it is a slow precarious procedure which interrupts the smooth flow of building. Moreover, while putting stickers on small parts, like 1x2 and 2x2 tiles isn't too bad, trying to get decals to line up and look copacetic on a curved surface can be taxing.  I'm of a firm belief that large panels and any sort of complex curved part should be printed, not to mention large clear canopies. The recent UCS Snowspeeder required the application of stickers to pick out the frames on the front and sides of the windscreen- it's a PITA to get both window frames to align across the ship. I digress. The 2009 Tantive IV, which was also minifig scale, featured clear cones with all details printed, and I liked that solution. Shame they didn't do that this time, too. However, the overall ship is a nice upgrade to the 2009, except for the crappy aircraft stabilizer parts that they used to represent, rather poorly, the structural vanes that extend from the large central section to the aft cylindrical docking ports (which LEGO used as escape pods for our intrepid droids on the '09 and '19 sets). The best improvements over the '09 are the new larger cones for the bridge section, a better shaped neck leading to the cones, a more accurately shaped fuselage section in front of the engine section, and a built in retractable carry handle. As always with these capital ships that are made for minifigs, but well below scale, is the issue of how to use what little available space inside to good effect. Neither version used that section to illustrate a scene from ANH; rather, the '09 has Leia's desk with some computer monitors for the crewman, and the '19 version has a console of sorts which acts as a table over which she and Bail Organa can discuss their Rebel activities. The '09 had a larger cargo space behind the 'office' section which could carry a small hover sled, whereas on the '19 version, that area is much smaller and is simply used to hold a couple spring-loaded projectiles. The '09's cockpit area was hinged and could be easily opened; the upper cones on the '19 snap into place and have to be removed in order to place a crewman at the controls. Even with the larger cones, ergo more bridge space, the seating area for the two pilots (one on either side of centerline) is meager and that space probably could have been expanded slightly to maybe allow for a couple of Rebel soldiers to hang out. Alas not to be officially, but LEGO is plastic in both senses of the word, and I'm sure it could be modded to make better use of all that space.

My final thoughts are that the '19 wins for overall aesthetics/accuracy, but the '09 wins for playability and easier assembly due to the printed cockpit cones. Both are lovely sets and present well. The inclusion of Bail Organa is a nice, if odd, selling point for the set. Leia comes with both regular legs and one of the new dress pieces that has some nice printing on it, so that's a nice option that LEGO didn't have to do, but they did, and I appreciate it.  Like most LEGO sets, and especially licensed sets, the new Tantive IV come in at a hefty tag of $199.99 for 1768 parts, although, to be fair, there are any number of large parts throughout the model, especially the 4 large cones which form the bridge, and numerous cylindrical parts used to create the engines, along with five minifigs, which all have nice prints along with Leia's dress piece. I have to add that I got double VIP points, a free mini 20th anniversary Hoth scene (about a $20 set) and a free poster depicting all the 20th anniversary sets in appropriate settings. So, I'm a pretty happy customer. 

[Scyla]

Oh, I also wished it would come with more Rebel Troopers. Two additional would have been enough for me.

After I finished the Tantive IV I will probably build the Saturn V. 5 after 4 seems fitting. 

[Mazinger]

https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/14/18623977/stranger-things-amazing-lego-set-takes-the-upside-down-literally

[Tking22]

11 hours ago, Mazinger said:

https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/14/18623977/stranger-things-amazing-lego-set-takes-the-upside-down-literally

Yeah this came out of nowhere for me, was there a tease for this or anything? I just saw several sites post about it last night, once again, I never heard of a tease or rumor this was coming. Either way, frakkING BOUGHT ON SITE. I didn't budget for this, I didn't know it was even coming, but I have to have it, so I nabbed mine this morning, available to VIP Members starting today, and I paid for priority shipping, so I'll have it Saturday, awesome.

[M'Kyuun]

I knew it was coming, as LEGO's been putting out teasers for about a month now. I frequent a few LEGO blogs, and that's where I saw them. Anyway, this is the first I've seen the actual set, and I have to say, it's pretty impressive. Although I'm a fan of the show, I didn't think it was a good fit for LEGO, being a bit mature for their usual demographic, or that there was really much in the show that translated well to a set. I never expected them to take the 'upside down' concept and turn it into a literal set, but it's beyond cool that they did. I wonder if this is going to be a stand alone set, or if more are planned. I think the Hawkins National Lab with a white van would be cool, with a Dr. Brenner fig and guy in a hazmat suit ready to enter the portal.

[anime52k8]

21 hours ago, Mazinger said:

https://www.theverge.com/2019/5/14/18623977/stranger-things-amazing-lego-set-takes-the-upside-down-literally

I've never actually seen stranger things but I kind of want this just for how clever that is.

On 5/12/2019 at 7:54 PM, Bobby said:

Don't mean to interrupt the discussion on wedge plates just want to post the latest put-together and figured this was the best place...

...basically saw something similar online and tried to make my own.

That's adorable and I want one.

[Bobby]

 

On 5/13/2019 at 8:53 AM, M'Kyuun said:

Looks great!  ...all you need now are a bunch of small decals to plaster on it to finish the look, and  a custom Kaneda to take it out for a spin!

 

Edited May 19, 2019 by Bobby

[M'Kyuun]

5 hours ago, Bobby said:

 

 

[technoblue]

I was reading over on the TFW2005 Lego thread that one of the next releases in the Creator Expert line-up will be the Apollo 11 Lunar Lander (1087 pieces). *swoon* It looks to be a very nice update to the old Lego Discovery 10029 set.

Yep, I'm in. 

https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/the-lego-thread.173890/page-1211#post-16882350

 

Edited May 21, 2019 by technoblue
direct link to image

[snakerbot]

4 hours ago, technoblue said:

I was reading over on the TFW2005 Lego thread that one of the next releases in the Creator Expert line-up will be the Apollo 11 Lunar Lander (1087 pieces). *swoon* It looks to be a very nice update to the old Lego Discovery 10029 set.

Yep, I'm in. 

https://www.tfw2005.com/boards/threads/the-lego-thread.173890/page-1211#post-16882350

 

That's an insta-buy for me.

[technoblue]

On 5/21/2019 at 7:11 PM, snakerbot said:

That's an insta-buy for me.

I was reading Ars this morning, and they have more detailed images plus a release date.

Per their article, this set will be available June 1. 

https://arstechnica.com/science/2019/05/recreate-your-own-apollo-11-moon-landing-with-a-new-lego-set/

The brick-built lunar landscape is different compared to the molded classic space tiles, but I think I like the change.

Edited May 30, 2019 by technoblue
formatting

[M'Kyuun]

Appreciate your posting that article, Technoblue. It always amazes me the places where LEGO turns up these days, and how it sometimes transcends the 'toy' mentality and becomes a medium. However, I'm curious where Mr. Berger got the info for its "laser hatches and opening camera".  There was, indeed, a camera externally mounted to the LM which caught the famous footage of Neil Armstrong descending the ladder and making his 'small step'. The astronauts also had a handheld Hasselblad that, IIRC, could be mounted to a rig on their suits. This is all fairly fresh, as I recently finished reading Armstrong's biography. The set is priced very reasonably, about hitting the $.10 per part ratio that has become an unofficial standard of good value among collectors. The only fault I have with it is the single mold backpack and helmet that they continue to use in both underwater and space sets. I wish they'd retire it and make the backpack separate so the astronauts/divers can turn their heads. Quibble aside, I think LEGO did a commendable job recreating the lunar lander, even going so far as to make the ascent and descent stages separate and detachable. It's a bit of a shame that the lunar rover wasn't part of the initial lunar landings, only seeing use in the last three Apollo landings, as it would make for a nice play feature.  As it stands, it's a nice display piece commemorating one of the most daunting technological and engineering aerospace achievements ever undertaken, and I can't wait to get a copy.

The lunar landing was only a third of Apollo 11's mission, as the greater feat was returning the astronauts safely to Earth. I hope that LEGO produces a Command Module with a Michael Collins figure to go with the LM, as it'd be fantastic to have both spacecraft for a complete display.

[Mazinger]

Interesting to see so many elements in that glossy gold color.  I think it's new for at least a few of those elements which will make them quite the fetch on Bricklink in the future I think.

[anime52k8]

https://shop.lego.com/en-US/product/NASA-Apollo-11-Lunar-Lander-10266

Quote

Includes 2 astronaut minifigures with NASA decoration and golden helmets.

This advanced LEGO® set features a detailed replica of the Eagle lunar lander with separate ascent and descent stages, plus a depiction of the lunar surface with crater, footprints and a U.S. flag.

Descent stage features new-for-June-2019 gold-colored landing pads and panels, opening camera and laser hatches and a ladder.

Ascent stage features a detailed interior with room for 2 astronaut minifigures.

Celebrate space exploration with this highly detailed display model.

Accessory elements include a brick-built video camera and laser reflector.

New-for-June-2019 decorated elements include an Apollo 11 Lunar lander nameplate and golden elements.

 

[technoblue]

Yay! Official release day confirmation. 

Catching up with the other thread discussions...

I agree with you, M'Kyuun, I wish Lego had updated the legacy NASA "suits" to give us some head articulation along with the fancy printed details (but that's a minor nitpick from my side). My other nitpick, after watching the developer's video over lunch, is that the ascent stage is pretty plain inside. It might be a limitation of the model's scale, but I wish it was truly minfig scale so that we also could show off how things looked inside that half of the lunar lander.

But those two things that came to mind are very minor. Overall, I'm really impressed with how this came out and I'm also looking forward to the new gold elements (like Mazinger). I might get a second copy to sacrifice to my DIY/MOC bin.

Edited May 30, 2019 by technoblue
punctuation

[Scyla]

Quick question. I need to move my UCS Millenium Falcon soon. Has someone figured out a good way to disassemble it into smaller more transportable pieces without taking it apart completely? 

Some people swear by Saran wrapping the set and than secure it with bubble wrap to secure it but I would rather partially disassemble it since it is really big. 

Edited May 30, 2019 by Scyla

[Tking22]

2 minutes ago, Scyla said:

Quick question. I need to move my UCS Millenium Falcon soon. Has someone figured out a good way to disassemble it into smaller more transportable pieces without taking it apart completely? 

Unfortunately not, when I had to move mine it was a nightmare, I had to open our front double doors because I couldn't think of an easier way to break it down, ended up with about 2-3 hours worth of repairs. Granted, I never really looked for methods or instructions from others, I just looked over it myself for about an hour and couldn't think of an easy way to do it, it sucked to move, it's a large unwieldy set.

The way the thing is built isn't friendly to breakdown at all, everything locks in onto or over something else already assembled, I had a hard time putting the separate "rooms" in each section of the Falcon when I first assembled it, so once again, I really couldn't think of an easy way to break it down or apart into more manageable pieces. Outside of some timely disassembly, I don't think there's an easy method to break down or separate this beast once built, sorry.

[Scyla]

On 5/30/2019 at 9:31 PM, Tking22 said:

Unfortunately not, when I had to move mine it was a nightmare, I had to open our front double doors because I couldn't think of an easier way to break it down, ended up with about 2-3 hours worth of repairs. Granted, I never really looked for methods or instructions from others, I just looked over it myself for about an hour and couldn't think of an easy way to do it, it sucked to move, it's a large unwieldy set.

The way the thing is built isn't friendly to breakdown at all, everything locks in onto or over something else already assembled, I had a hard time putting the separate "rooms" in each section of the Falcon when I first assembled it, so once again, I really couldn't think of an easy way to break it down or apart into more manageable pieces. Outside of some timely disassembly, I don't think there's an easy method to break down or separate this beast once built, sorry.

Bummer. Well I need to figure something out anyhow.

In other news I built the Saturn V which is probably one of the best Lego set I've ever built. Could be the best but I might be on a high from building it still. 

Lots of interesting building techniques and creative parts use. It is amazing how they where able to get an almost perfectly round tube that is super stable out of an square based building system. 

Love all the printed pieces that show that Lego could do all printed sets if they wanted to (looking at you UCS Falcon). That said it is a bummer that they went back to stickers for the Lunar Lander.

The build itself is a bit monotonous with lots 2x and 4x steps but you are building a tube so that has to be expected. Since there are subtle differences in the arrangement of the pieces you need to stay focused building it otherwise you end up placing sub-assemblies on the wrong side of the tube.

The thing I enjoyed the most during the build where the alternating dark gray/white pieces for the inner "tanks" of stage 1 and 2. They remind me of the pattern on some old fashioned rocket livery which seems fitting.

The only thing I would loved to see included are regular Minifigs of Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins just to round out the homage to the Apollo 11 mission.

Now make me a fitting Space Shuttle to accompany the Saturn V, Lego!!!!

Oh and something happened that never happened to me before with an Lego set: a part was missing. One of the 1x2 blue plates was nowhere to be found. Luckily I could substitute it with one form a later build step so no harm done.   

[M'Kyuun]

The Saturn V is a fantastic set, both in terms of building experience and display. Can't recommend it enough.

Today the Creator Expert Lunar Module set is available. I got mine through the LEGO Shop online, but it will likely appear at other retailers who carry the bigger specialty sets, like Barnes and Noble.

For those interested, the City Space sets , loosely based on the various projects ongoing at NASA , are available June 23.  

[wwwmwww]

Just spotted this image from Lego.  And I have a few questions...

(1) Why does the southern hemisphere appear to be transparent?  Am I seeing stars through the Earth?  Those aren't city lights as South America is in daylight and many of those bright spots are out over the ocean.

(2) What is that in the top right?  Mars?  Just how close do they think Mars is?

(3) Where is the Sun?  The part of Earth that is in shadow places it behind us to the right.  The shadow of the lander and the part of Mars(?) in shadow places the Sun behind us and to the left.

(4) Why is the sky blue?  The moon has no atmosphere.

I love Lego and just got this kit yesterday but this image is really bugging me.

Carl 

Edited June 12, 2019 by wwwmwww