ElCrab

Thanks, I appreciate it.

I'm hoping for some help regarding the torso on the Lucius Malfoy minifig (HP104) from sets 4736 Freeing Dobby and 2 others. The torso is black with brown accents, but someone is claiming a torso variation, which shows the reversed head with the death eater mask and a hood, has the same torso but with red accents. HP120 shows as a minifig when you search google (it shows as the death eater version), but also shows as not appearing in any sets. I personally think it's just the exposure of the photo, as the black legs and torso are shinier, more reflective of light than the usual photos of the Lucius Malfoy minifig, causing the brown to show more as red than it is. I also believe that HP120 is merely a designation for the HP104 with the head flipped and a hood. I've attached photos in question, showing the same minifig at two different exposures. These are the same, right? Thanks.

What a great build, so many lovely details to be found in here. Impressive!

I'd search eBay for mixed lots of bricks, in the styles and colors you're after. As far as the LEGO Store, I'd say keep tabs on the Pick a Brick Wall to see if there's any good elements. You might even consider buying elements to bag and resell on eBay yourself, to build your 60 into a little more (if you do it right). At Walmart, try to find useful sets on clearance, of course, to stretch your dollar on that.

Normally I'd do that, but in this instance, I need the physical instructions.

Hi, I'm looking for the instruction manuals for the following sets: 10214 Tower Bridge 10211 Grand Emporium 10218 Pet Shop I'm hoping one or more of you bought multiples of these sets and have spare manuals to sell. Thanks!

Not too shabby. I do like that you nailed Custer's personal battleflag, red on top of blue, with crossed white sabers. The regiment's horses were colored in 1867, and the tradition was kept for quite some time. It's true, Co. E was the only company mounted on grays, but as gray horses age, they become closer to white. Sadly, gray horses are hard to come by in the LEGO world. All of the trumpeters were mounted on white horses, as was the regimental band. The regimental adjutant, Lt. W.W. Cooke also rode a white horse. The band was left at the Powder River Depot, along with most of the recruits that had walked all the way from Fort Lincoln. General Terry had expected to have horses waiting for him around the area to purchase, but those horses never materialized. So the band was dismounted, and its white horses distributed among the regiment, replacing worn out mounts or mounting a few extra troopers. Company M was the only one without a single color horse. They were mounted with all colors. As I said, Co. E's grays were often closer to white, so when I was planning on making my own Seventh Cavalry, I was going to use white horses. The difference between white and gray horses is whites have pink skin under their fur, and grays have black skin.

The only boxes I've kept have been the ones from the Exo Suit, Ghostbusters, and my Haunted House box. And of course, the Architecture Studio box (obviously). The rest get recycled.

That sea monster is incredible, as is the entire diorama. Any chance we can get more of the sea monster?

That's a good deal! I bought a lot of LEGO off Craigslist for 300, that was just about every Harry Potter set, plus several POTC sets, including both Queen Anne's Revenge and the Black Pearl.

Great MOC! I was wondering what and where the Hellmouth was, but when I got to the inner shots, mystery solved!

Stylistically, this is very good. Love your terrain and water, and if you're going for a representation of the romantic depictions of Custer's last fight, you nailed it. Early paintings and depictions had Custer charging, headlong and saber in hand, into the throng of warriors. But historically, while your description is mostly correct, your depiction is wrong. Custer's battalions, Companies E and F (B was the rearguard for the pack train) under Captain Yates, and Companies C, I, and L, under Captain Keogh. E and F approached the river but never crossed, and Custer likely wasn't with that battalion on the first approach. Later, Custer did lead the same companies to a north ford, but again did not cross. As for your minifigs, using the cavalry troopers from The Lone Ranger sets is a good choice, but the Custer-like character (played by Barry Pepper) is a poor choice, unless you're going for that romantic image of Custer. He wore white buckskins that day, with a blue fireman's shirt and a red tie, and a white hat. His horse, Vic (short for Victory), was a brown horse with a white blazed face and 3 white feet. His other horse, Dandy, wasn't white or gray either. His adjutant rode a white horse, as did all of the trumpeters in the regiment, and the entirety of Company E rode grays, which became whiter and whiter as they aged. The early paintings and drawings would depict him in his Civil War uniform, or in a standard general's uniform of the time. And Custer didn't carry a saber, nor did anyone in his regiment that day. Two officers kept theirs when the regiment's sabers were boxed up and left at the Powder River depot, one to kill snakes and the other for traditional reasons, and both of their sabers were likely stowed with the pack train. Years ago, before they started making US Army LEGO minifigs of the period, I used the black fireman torsos with a blue legs, changing out the connector piece for one from black legs. I felt the black torso/blue legs best represented the contrast of dark blue for the blouses (jackets), and the sky/kersey blue of the pants. To mix it up, I'd use white arms to make the torso look like it was a trooper in a vest and a white shirt underneath. For a Custer minifig, I used white pants with a bluecoat's officer's torso, changing the arms out for white ones. I don't recall what I used for the hat. All that said, I love seeing western MOCs, especially historical ones. I myself have had some ideas for similar MOCs, including some in this very genre, as I've been reading and learning about the battle and Custer for over 25 years. It might be my biggest hobby, with LEGO trailing behind. So I don't want to dissuade you from posting such things, as I'd love to see more. And if you'd like to PM me, I'd love to chat about this stuff if you'd like.

They bought a ridiculous amount of LEGO from my work. 15-40K a day for about a week. Wait, is Pley the same as Pleygo?

Very cool!

Love your water techniques, especially the waterfall, and the pulley/crane wheel is well done.