MAB Posted January 21 Posted January 21 1 hour ago, Toastie said: TLG is "selling" the most expensive USB power supply currently offered on the entire planet Earth. LEGO's prices for really basic electronic devices such as this are truly terrible. But as to your claim ... you can always trust apple to gouge even more. Quote
Toastie Posted January 21 Posted January 21 (edited) That's a 30 W (= 3 x LEGO) adapter. Their 20W adapter (=2 x LEGO) clocks in at about $15 if you don't really search; you can get that original Apple adapter for $12. TLG's record for a 10W adapter still holds - by far. I tried to find that silly wall wart at other places as well - to no avail. Why should I - every other comparable USB adapter (10W) on this planet is perfectly fine. Even 1A adapters or less will work; it will increase charging time >should< the LEGO device charging really suck-up 2 amps of juice - I doubt that, in that case it will for sure get warm, and thus you can sue them. So better charge at 0.5 amps, as the LEGO LiPo does (did). And Apple doesn't claim it is for Apples, it works on Bananas and the likes as well, it's USB. The LEGO version implies, it is for PoweredUp, which is even worse than the silly price tag. Best, Thorsten Edited January 21 by Toastie Quote
JesseNight Posted January 21 Posted January 21 8 hours ago, Toastie said: TLG is "selling" the most expensive USB power supply currently offered on the entire planet Earth. Original text from website: "Keep your rechargeable LEGO® devices charged and ready to go with the LEGO Powered Up USB Power Adapter" for $34.99. Oh crap - USB is USB, the absolute total standard. In Germany, they "sell" it for €34.99 - without suitable USB cable of course, as any USB A -> X cable you have at hand works. 5V is 5V. They also don't show the "transformer" but the cardboard box on their website - not that you wonder hey, this is a plain vanilla USB A socket ... I wonder if ... Aftermarket parts is in electronics usually where the bigger profit margins are. I've seen some ripoff cable and connector prices, this is surely a "winner" too. Let's consider ourselves lucky they didn't put a proprietary connector on it like so many manufacturers have done before. Always be cautious with 2A multi-port adapters because in most cases the mentioned current is the total over all ports, and not per port. Read the details and if "per port" is not clearly mentioned, assume it'll be total. That being said, they're indeed not hard to find for a fair price. On 1/20/2025 at 3:30 PM, MAB said: Which one do you think is too close to being British, as I wouldn't recognize any of the current vehicles as a British ambulance. This one, the wheel base looks a little like a British one based on the little checked type pattern but aside from that stripe it doesn't look like a UK ambulance. Here, white usually means it is patient transport rather than an emergency vehicle but mixing with the aqua colour doesn't make much sense. I think they have tried to take bits of different designs and stuck them all into one. I think these themes never intend to be 100% realistic, but just add some recognizability for people in many different regions. Have to admit the Aqua color as a full color makes no sense, and yet is recognizable when seeing it on the minifig outfit. Ambulance vehicle main colors seem to be mostly Vibrant Yellow or White depending on which country, I'm sorta surprised not having seen this yellow having been used more yet. Let's just assume in the end it's a fictional standard. I am happy to see that they are at least consistent keeping the color theme the same over all City emergency vehicles. Quote
Toastie Posted January 21 Posted January 21 47 minutes ago, JesseNight said: Always be cautious with 2A multi-port adapters because in most cases the mentioned current is the total over all ports, and not per port. Read the details and if "per port" is not clearly mentioned, assume it'll be total. Sure, that is why I wrote in my post: "And yes I know, they say 17W max., so you can't load at full speed on all three ports - the LEGO joke has only one port anyway." 48 minutes ago, JesseNight said: Aftermarket parts is in electronics usually where the bigger profit margins are Absolutely, for all companies, and that is absolutely fine with me! It is just that in this case, TLG is the biggest grifter I've ever seen: They charge x-fold (not percent) more for a totally generic USB power supply and camouflage these by saying "for PoweredUp devices". That is what I find - simply grifting. People may not know what specs USB has, so they may conclude for PoweredUp devices, it must be the LEGO PoweredUp USB adapter. I have no problem when they sell "USB power supplies" rated at 2A/10W for $34.99. People believing in the LEGO sign still can get their LEGO branded USB power supply, most probably made in China, for less than one dollar; I get mine from IKEA, selling their 1A USB chargers for $2.50 (and make profit). I just bought 10 of those - after some Köttbullar with mashed potatoes - and a rather good coffee. Well, I am waiting for the LEGO USB-A/USB-C adapter cord for ... (random price generator on, with minimum set at ... $10) $15.99. So far, they don't offer that. I suggest adding a nice and shiny "LEGO" sticker (they are good at making stickers) around one of the plugs, saying "designed for PoweredUp" on the other side ... All I am saying is, just don't buy this thing from them unless you collect LEGO stuff. Best wishes, Thorsten Quote
JesseNight Posted January 22 Posted January 22 I'm just glad they stuck to universal ports so we at least have a choice, I am completely fine with that. I am not fine with companies who develop proprietary ports or protocols solely to be able to charge insane prices because there is no choice anymore (in the cases it's not as simple as a cheap conversion plug that is). As for the stickers... I can make those myself a lot cheaper too But yeah I'm the kinda person who would rather print box art to hang on the wall rather than investing serious money into original boxes to fill a lot of shelf space with. To each their own. Quote
Toastie Posted January 22 Posted January 22 1 hour ago, JesseNight said: I'm just glad they stuck to universal ports so we at least have a choice, I am completely fine with that. I am not fine with companies who develop proprietary ports or protocols solely to be able to charge insane prices because there is no choice anymore (in the cases it's not as simple as a cheap conversion plug that is) I completely agree. However, regarding "charging devices" (rather than wired data protocols), within the EU TLG did not do us a favor, they simply adhered to regulations: https://commission.europa.eu/news/eu-common-charger-rules-power-all-your-devices-single-charger-2024-12-28_en USB-C it is, including PoweredUp devices. Best, Thorsten Quote
recovering_from_dark_ages Posted January 23 Posted January 23 This may count as an unpopular opinion about Lego, since it apparently owns Bricklink: Quote
SpacePolice89 Posted January 23 Posted January 23 The "staff picks" on Lego Ideas are all too similar and leave out some of the best sets. I have noticed that I very rarely support any of the sets that get the staff pick label. Quote
JesseNight Posted January 23 Posted January 23 22 hours ago, Toastie said: However, regarding "charging devices" (rather than wired data protocols), within the EU TLG did not do us a favor, they simply adhered to regulations: Yeah true. I for one am happy these regulations exist. We need more universal standards to keep the market healthy. Funny how every business calls out that we need universal standards, only to add a new one and hopes theirs becomes that standard Quote
Toastie Posted January 23 Posted January 23 (edited) 1 hour ago, JesseNight said: only to add a new one and hopes theirs becomes that standard Yup, I am as well happy about these regulations. Many like diversity - but you know, 5V should come out of a universal 5V socket or plug. Custom "protocols" may very well have their own standard. And as TLG could not do anything about that ("USB-C it is in the EU, so ordered") - they added the new world-wide standard "USB-C for PoweredUp". Smart (WHOA! The Wrong Word Police is now in-situ! OK, here we go:) as*es they are Best Thorsten Edited January 23 by Toastie Quote
SpacePolice89 Posted March 3 Posted March 3 To design the Endurance ship from scratch was totally unnecessary. They could've just recolored Jabba's Sail Barge black and no one would've noticed. Quote
DonQuixote Posted March 3 Posted March 3 Lego no longer has the best quality in the world of building bricks. I saw a review from Jang on YouTube from a Cobi product. And damn, their sets have no stickers and the white /light printing is far superior to Lego printing. Cobi is a Polish company and everything is made in Poland. So no Chinese things. It's mostly military stuff that I am not interested in. But their quality... Lego could learn a thing or two from Cobi. Quote
icm Posted March 3 Posted March 3 Yeah, Cobi is very high quality. Most other brands have better print quality than Lego, but Cobi is the only other brand to have the same glossy finish on the parts and the same not-too-loose, not-too-tight, just-right clutch power. Quote
Yoggington Posted March 19 Posted March 19 On 3/13/2025 at 9:19 PM, imposter said: The video was very blurry, I had to turn it off after 26 seconds. Quote
danth Posted March 28 Posted March 28 Brick built sails are better than cloth sails on ships Brick built wings are better than vinyl wings on dragons Brick built dinosaurs are better than molded dinos Brick built big characters are better than "big figs" Quote
danth Posted March 28 Posted March 28 On 3/3/2025 at 8:09 AM, DonQuixote said: I saw a review from Jang on YouTube from a Cobi product. And damn, their sets have no stickers and the white /light printing is far superior to Lego printing. Do any other leading brands use stickers? I think Lego is the only one. Quote
DonQuixote Posted March 29 Posted March 29 7 hours ago, danth said: Brick built sails are better than cloth sails on ships Noooooooooo! Quote
RichardGoring Posted March 29 Posted March 29 8 hours ago, danth said: ... Brick built wings are better than vinyl wings on dragons Brick built dinosaurs are better than molded dinos Brick built big characters are better than "big figs" Have to say, I agree. 8 hours ago, danth said: Brick built sails are better than cloth sails on ships ... [Sits back, eats popcorn]. Quote
The Island Chronicles Posted March 29 Posted March 29 10 hours ago, danth said: Brick built dinosaurs are better than molded dinos And here I was hoping to see molded dinos make a comeback. Lol Quote
Peppermint_M Posted March 29 Posted March 29 Do we still have rules about flaming I like the plastic/vinyl sails and wings more than fabric, they are a little better to pose. Brick built can get too heavy for certain creations I want to achieve. Quote
Autumn Posted March 31 Posted March 31 On 3/28/2025 at 4:36 PM, danth said: Brick built sails are better than cloth sails on ships Brick built wings are better than vinyl wings on dragons Brick built dinosaurs are better than molded dinos Brick built big characters are better than "big figs" Brick built small characters are better than "minifigs." We should go back to this. Quote
Aanchir Posted April 8 Posted April 8 On 3/31/2025 at 12:55 PM, Autumn said: Brick built small characters are better than "minifigs." We should go back to this. I don't mind minifigs (or mini-dolls), but it does frustrate me sometimes how quickly people disregard a LEGO set or theme if it DOESN'T have minifigs, or treat a set with both minifigs and brick-built characters as if only the minifig characters matter. Quote
MAB Posted April 9 Posted April 9 On 3/31/2025 at 5:55 PM, Autumn said: Brick built small characters are better than "minifigs." We should go back to this. Nothing is stopping you building like that. You can use regular torsos like that if you want to. You can also buy plain heads for little money or wipe the prints from printed heads. Quote
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