Inspiration of the Day - 12/31/10

Courtesy Downtown Oak Park by Eridony.

Have a Happy New Years everyone!

Review of 9348

I was lucky enough to buy some LEGO with one day of the year left. I hoped to get Diagon Alley. Sadly the last one had sold out in the morning. I managed to purchase the amazing Atlantis Temple (which I shall build later today), 20 Series 3 Collectable Minifigures (12/16!!! - Not bad - sooooo many sumos!), and 9348 Community Minifigure Set. Enjoy the review.

Set Number: 9348

Name: Community Minifigure Set

Theme: Education / Dacta

Year of Release: 2011

Pieces: 256

Minifigs: 21

Price: £39.99

Box Art

Front of the Box

Back of the Box

The Contents of the Box
There are five bags. The set does not contain instructions - you have to guess from the box. There is also no inventory.

The following pictures show the content of the bags. The first picture shows the minifigure heads. The males are all the same as are the females although they have a revesible head so that they can be happy or annoyed. The second picture shows some fantastic pieces that are available in other sets, however, its fantastic they are all here together in one place. The fourth and fifth pictures show the pieces (there are no stickers). The sixth picture shows the left overs.

The Minifigures

Finally here is a picture of some other minifigures you can make with the pieces.



I didn't take any pictures of the completed set because the images on the back of the box are so good - I couldn't top that.

Conclusion

This is definately a must have set for any City fan. The best bit about the set is getting the new pieces - crow bar, burglar's sack, printed dog, new colour cat - without having to buy lots of different sets. The laptop was a big bonus too as I didn't have one of those. It is good to see a balance of male and female characters and to see them represented doing non-stereotypical things (especially in an education set). I would give this set 9/10. The only thing I would suggest to improve it is having a greater variety in facial expressions.

Comments gratefully received.

Huis Ter Dijk

And yet another incredible house by Flickr user Nieks G. for the 2010 Brick Architect Contest. I'm astounded by some of the entries we've seen for this contest, so keep it up everyone!

Courtesy Huis Ter Dijk by Nieks G.

Toys R Us

And here we go again! Brian Lyles churns out another amazing outlet store, this time a Toys R Us. It has a fully detailed interior, a delivery truck, and one awesome giraffe. The facade on the building uses an interesting technique of a wall of windows that ends short of the cornice. The design is well thought out, and looks like it should be right there on the corner of a big city. Great job on this one, Mr. Lyles!

Oh, and be sure to check out his new site, Brick City Depot!

Courtesy Toys R Us by Brian Lyles.

Branching Off the Cafe Corner Theme

LEGO obviously has had much success with the Cafe Corner line. Although LEGO is considered a "toy", the recent Cafe Corner line has appealed to many AFOLs, mainly due to the new building techniques, massive amount of pieces, and realistic architectural designs. So, what's next?

Architectural Themes and Sub Themes

Now that the line has proven its success, LEGO should consider branching off into themes and sub-themes based on particular architectural styles. We have already slightly seen this with the American turn-of-the-century styles of the Fire Brigade and Grand Emporium sets, compared to the more lavishly decorated European styles of Cafe Corner, Market Street, and Green Grocer. Nevertheless, it could be expanded even more. 

Examples of Architecture Styles

Here are a couple ideas of what I mean:

Themes

• Houses
• Farms
• Downtowns
• Marinas/Harbors

Sub-Themes

• Asian
• European
• 1800s American Gold Rush Era
• Mexican/South American
• African/Mediterranean

Maintaining the Standard

Regardless of the chosen architectural style, the standard must be kept as with the original modular buildings; and that is the pin hole connections, the sidewalk, and the modularity of rearranging the floors and roofs.

How should they be introduced?

Every six months (or however long it may take), LEGO would release a certain number of sets based on different regions of the world  all related in some way or another. For example, let's say in the first half of 2013, they release a series of small houses; one Asian styled, another European styled, another Mediterranean, and so forth. The second half could be a release of downtown or town square buildings, each from a particular region. The sets however, will have to be much smaller than their original counterparts if this were to work.

The line of sub-themes could be placed under a names such "Modular Farming - European - Barn" or Modular Housing - American- Two Story Home" to distinguish from one another and create a catalog of sets that could easily be viewed and purchased based on need or want.

Possible Problems

• It will impede on the current town and city theme
• It will cost a lot of money to introduce a new theme
• It will be focused mainly on older fans of LEGO, and not kids
• How to represent different cultures, countries, and regions

I would love to hear everyone's thought on the matter. I've been thinking about this idea for awhile now, so I finally decided to post something on it and see what everyone thinks, so please, post a comment, question, or another suggestion about the idea. 

Inspiration of the Day - 12/26/10

Courtesy Bucyrus, Ohio by OZinOH.

Hope everyone had a good Christmas!

Family Home

Can you say ornate? This build by Flickr user LegoManiac - LEGO 13 is a terrific model of a immensely detailed home. It was built for the 2010 Brick Architect Contest over at Flickr. I recommend checking the submissions out, it has some terrific entries which should pave the way for some tough judging!

Courtesy Family Home by LegoManiac - LEGO 13.

Happy Holidays

I saw this today on brickshelf in freeedrik's gallery. Made me feel Christmassy. I hope you all have a good one whatever you're doing.

Gray Castle

There's some amazing architectural detail in this model, from the ground right on through to the roof. However, I would really like to know the cost estimate on a thing like this! The entire wall is made by a bunch of 1x2s by the looks of it. Keep up the great work!

Courtesy Castle by Tavernellos.

Modern Strip Mall

Well, I had a feeling this would happen. I post the collage picture, and BOOM! I stumble upon another one of Brian Lyles awesome creations, a modern strip mall. It's an amazing little series of buildings with rarely used colors such as orange, sky blue, and lime green. Each even have their own interiors. Nevertheless, I think what I like most about this is the tan-brick pillars for each store, very nice touch, and keep it up Brian!

Courtesy Modern Strip Mall by Brian Lyles.

American Harbour Diorama

These buildings by iainy73 are based on New England and West Coast buildings. I have it good authority that Iain would welcome feedback. Personally I think the diorama will be amazing.

2010 - Year In Review

This year has been loaded with amazing creations, and we here at Brick Town Talk can not thank you, as the readers, viewers, and builders, enough for contributing your time and energy into cranking out terrific MOCs. As a little gift, I made a collage of some of the MOCs seen throughout the year here on Brick Town Talk. 

(Thank you, ShapeCollage.com!)

It's a little early to be saying this, but have a wonderful Christmas and New Year's and I hope to see all of you next year!

Post a comment or two regarding your thoughts on how the year went!

Rødovre Townhouse

An incredible build, and quite unorthodox compared to those we see from across Flickr and other sites. This townhouse, based off a building in a Danish town, features a great cross-sectional view of the interior— with furniture and all. Check out the interior rooms for more great building techniques!

Courtesy Rødovre Townhouse by John.

CC House Flower Shop

from the CC House Flower Shop set in Xenyo_BrickMaster (Christian Veigl)'s flickr photostream.

Little (Half-Size) Fire Brigade

from the Little Fire Brigade set in Puddleglum-'s flickr photostream.

Roswell Saloon

An amazing little western diorama with loads of detail and a terrifically designed little frontier saloon.

Courtesy Roswell Saloon by tacvud.

Modular Church

This church was designed by ktanger. I like the addition of the Series 2 Minifigures. I wonder what the service is about?

Farm House

LUGPol members always crank out something terrific. I had a difficult time figuring out what the main picture for this model should be. Every photo is expertly taken and each offers its own unique view with an insurmountable amount of detail hiding behind every corner. This farm house (mansion?) is just spectacular. The red gambrel roof and how the entire structure is sort of "sunken" into the ground points to the fact that this could have been a barn at one point (at least that's how I see it), but the additions such as the porch and garage make for an incredible design.

And this is just the outside....so take a look at all the interior shots too!

A truly incredible model. A massive amount of pieces and time went into this, and a massive model was born. Awesome job here!  

Courtesy Domek Letniskowy 96 x 64 by maciejer. 

Inspiration of the Day - 12/10/10

Courtesy Ottawa Avenue & Monroe Center by Eridony.

Industrial Building

There's something about factories and industrial buildings that I just find intriguing. I guess it is just all the different components that go into making one work or just the shear power that seems to resonate from them. Perhaps it is the culmination of raw materials, logistics, and the facility itself that go into making the products that I find so interesting. Regardless, I don't see many factory models too often, so this caught my eye immediately. What I like best about this particular model is the restriction to a simple three-color scheme meshed with varying heights in the structure itself. It turned out remarkably well. Great job Luky1987!

Courtesy Industrial Building by Luky1987.

Winter Village Train Station

As a submission to the Winter Village Contest, over at Eurobricks, Brian Lyles has built a simple, but very effective little scene of a train station in the winter.

Courtesy Winter Village Train Station by Brian Lyles.

P.S. Also check out his new website, Brick City Depot.

Edificio

Bright orange is hard to use in LEGO structures. Sometimes it's just too over- powering and the color just takes away from the model as a whole. However, this building by Naneto, a Portuguese AFOL, is certainly an exception. By blending it with the white bricks and the black outlines created by the windows, the orange enhances the building's look and contributes to a very pleasing aesthetic design. Good work!

Courtesy Edificio by Naneto.

Inspiration of the Day - 11/25/10

Courtesy Good Historic Infill by Eridony.

White Building

A nicely built structure with a good design and color choice. It has a terrific representation of European architecture. View the entire folder to see more great buildings!

Courtesy Carnival Parade by Mockingbird.

Texaco

This caught my eye - I really like the realistic design.

By jces9022

Inspiration of the Day - 11/21/10

Courtesy Chicago Real World House by Eridony.

Japanese House

This was actually a coincidence, but when I stumbled upon this building I couldn't help but post it here. This is an amazing creation, and best yet, it has a superb interior to go along with it. Who knew a musket could be such a good railing?

Courtesy 20101120 by midnightcat.

Japanese Restaurant

His work's been blogged before, and for a good reason. This LEGO model is a tremendous rendition of Japanese architecture. The brown, vertical beams look terrific as well as that finely sloped gray tiled roof.

Courtesy Japanese Restaurant by rack911.

Prairie Style House

Very intriguing build. The wall along the sidewalk really catches the eye, as do the red and tan conflicting with each other. However, I think my favorite part is the glass-balcony walk out, great idea there. Keep up the great work!

Courtesy Prairie Style House by Jameson42.

Inspiration of the Day - 11/14/10

American Printing Company, Mill #7, in Fall River Massachusetts.

Courtesy Anawan Street by Marcfoto.

Inspiration of the Day - 11/11/10

Happy Armistice Day! Brick Town Talk thanks all veterans and their families who battled it through thick and thin. We salute you.

Courtesy Downtown Caluemt, MI by Myself.

Inspiration of the Day - 11/10/10

 

I'm just trying this out to see how it goes. For those of you frustrated in not knowing what to build, I will try to post daily images of real life buildings to provide some ideas and inspiration.

Leave your thoughts and comments on the idea if you wish!

Courtesy Zeeland Historical Museum by Eridony.

Mr. Wong's Curio Shop

Mr. Wong's Curio Shop, originally uploaded by Jameson42.

A very nice model to say the least. The horizontal black rectangle with the yellow dots really stands out against the tan wall. The general black outline of the whole structure really brings everything into focus for me. Very cool!

The Building Process

I don't know about you, but whenever I build something, it is usually based off something I saw while on a trip or something that's been eating away at my conscious for awhile. For example, after visiting Calumet, in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, I was inspired to build a church. What inspires you to build?

And then there are the problems faced while building. It can start at any moment. Not sure what to build, how to build it, the lack of pieces, or the sudden change in mind. What problems do you face? How do you fix them?

I would just like to hear your thoughts and comments on the matter.

Hope to hear from you!

NEWS - LEGO Sales Up 20%

Just caught this on the CBS evening news today. LEGO is "building up its workforce by 10%" and sales are up 20%. Sounds like great news, hopefully they can keep this up through the holiday season. Thoughts and comments always appreciated!

Click here for the full length video.

Abundance of Dark Orange

Courtesy cheops from Brickshelf

A testimonial to why Dark Orange is such an awesome color, and yet, why is it seemingly impossible to obtain in large quantities (LUGs are an exception)? Take this as a hint, LEGO. People want this color, and it can do wonders for a model.

It's far too expensive on Bricklink and Pick a Brick does not even offer it. I understand  that it might be a bit more expensive to produce such a color (especially just for adults), but wouldn't it be more applicable to everyday models (sand/dirt, buildings, roads, terrain, etc.) compared to say, Bright Blue or Bright Yellowish Green?

So what do you as builders think?  Leave a comment or thought if you wish.

Cafe Corner Truck on Ebay

This beautiful creation could be yours. Its for sale on Ebay. I love the colours and the logo.

By brickbuilderspro

Village

Courtesy psiaki from Flickr

There is a thing about European architecture that sets it apart from others. Perhaps it is the squished buildings lining the streets, or the variances in design, but whatever it is, Flickr user psiaki sure managed to capture the look and feel of a small European village. Better yet, this isn't even "completed" yet! We all look forward to seeing where this one goes. Please get this project rolling, Mike!

Chili's Restaurant

Courtesy Brian Lyles from MOCpages

I personally apologize for overlooking this, but to get to the point, this is why building in the Cafe Corner standard is so much fun. Anything can be built, and that's why Brian Lyles figured, "Why not a Chili's restaurant?" First off, the chili pepper is spectacular, along with its accompanying logo. The brickwork is superb and shows what one can do with an endless number of 1x2 plates. The building itself is well built too, with very nicely proportioned colors, like most modern buildings of today. There's a lot of building tips that can be used in this creation, so take heed and maybe you can incorporate them into your own model someday. Look forward to more, Brian!

Classic Corner Kwik Stop

I really enjoy the look of this model from MOCpages user, Alex Mac. The stonework really gives it that classic convenience store look and the dark red roof just works very well for the creation. All it needs is a huge flashy sign out front!