Rufus

No need for the large font. Play nicely please, puctuate, capitalise, behave like the adult you agreed you were when you signed up. Final warning.

Don't forget that the Emerald Night official PF mod uses an XL motor.

Oooh I love that Classic Space ship! Shame it'll be bley, but hey. The trans-yellow windshield is the same mold as the cockpit canopy from the new UCS X-Wing, by the looks of it. Are you going to eat it, or something else?

Hello coolcab1, and welcome to Eurobricks. Please might I ask that you introduce yourself here. Please note that we require a reasonable level of attention to punctuation and capitalisation on the forums. Thank you, and have fun.

Thanks for the comments everyone! I just realised I forgot to add a poll. Now corrected. Lucky you! Quote possibly!

My life seems to have been nothing but Campers recently. Still, when I saw a few of the new 2014 CITY sets available already at a certain toy store, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to produce an early review, given my love of CITY civilian vehicles. Having reviewed 2012's 4435 Car and Caravan, I'm interested to see how this latest addition to the outdoor recreation collection compares. Review: 60057 Camper Van Set Information Name: Camper Van Number: 60057 Theme: CITY Release: 2014 Parts: 195 Figures: 2 Price: GB £17.99 | US $19.99 | EUR xx.xx | AU $xx.xx | CA $xx.xx | DKK xxxxxx.xx Links ... Shop@Home ... Brickset ... Bricklink ... Peeron The Box Click for a larger full frontal image No matter how far our intrepid campers stray from the concrete jungle, it seems they cannot escape the City's looming tower, still visible over the trees in the background. The nine-year-old blue box surround suits this set; the lady protagonist paddles happily in the blue while her chappie puts his oar in from the artistically-rendered shore. As usual, this European version of the box features no part count, suggested age range or Choking Hazard warning. Several nicely-tesselated insets demonstrate the set's features on the rear. Modularity is assured, in the recent subdued format of bags alone rather than the individual modules' builds. Click for a larger image The highlight for me here is the fantastic spread of the new 2014 vehicles. I can live without the fire truck, but just about every vehicle here is right up my street. Gotta get that car transporter! Click here for a close-up. Note that the subversive Pokemon-esque 'Collect them all!' mantra (Pokemantra?) has gone; collecting all of these would be a daunting task for your average nine-year-old, and expensive for his or her parents. Our life-jacketed heroes parade with oars aloft on the box top: Ginger dude shows off his orange top in the scale inset. I really like that treescape in the background. Measuring 260 x 190 x 58 mm, the box is the standard size for this price point, demonstrated here in comparison to 2013's 60018 Cement Mixer: I've yet to even open the cement mixer box. Box Contents The usual thumb-tabs open the box, and out fall two polybags, each containing a smaller bag for fiddly bits; two instruction manuals; and the Dreaded Sticker Sheet: I dread stickers far less these days, particularly since the days of STickers Across Multiple Pieces seem to be over, and I even put these on this time. They are printed on a glossy white background, which isn't quite the same shade as the white of the bricks, but this isn't too noticeable. The Instructions Two similarly-sized manuals are provided, identical on the front save for the module number; both have covers made from thinner paper similar to the inside pages, rather than the glossier covers found on many instruction booklets. On the inside front cover, the newish cartoon demonstrates how you should sort your pieces before building; opposite this, acres of blue space surround diminutive depictions of the modular build: I don't know if it is deliberate, but the blus background has a vague watery pattern ... ... which continues throughout: The build is simple and rather pedestrian; the only SNOT-work is seen here on the front bumper. Piece call-outs are a little reduntant in a set of this size, but I'm not complaining. At the rear are found an advertisement for one of the new CREATOR sets, a CITY diorama, and the two pages of inventory. Page one is here; page two is on the inside rear cover ... ... and demonstrates the thinness of the cover paper and the presence of the evil WGW kid on the rear. The Parts The red canoe is the highlight of the parts from Module 1: it appeared in a few Pirates sets in the mid-1990s, and the mold hadn't been seen since 2001 until 2013's 79107 Comanche Camp brought it back to us in Reddish Brown. Otherwise, the selection is unremarkable except for the 1x3 tiles, which come for the first time in Green. Module 2's contents are a little more interesting, with some useful tiles, and I'm delighted to see smaller Dark Tan plates in a low-priced set. The newer-style trap door and frame appear for the first time in white; I was excited to see the R5 droid head in plain light bluish grey, but it also appeared in two Star Wars sets last year. The Figs Meet Tom and Barbara. Tom is not called that because he's ginger; he has a lopsided facial expression which could be a smirk, or sceptical, or indicative of some neurological condition. He sports an orange anorak first seen in 2011's CREATOR 5770 Lighthouse Island. Both torsos have back printing. Barbara has evil hair, and a nice blouse ... ... but it's the same as that of Olivia from the Car and Caravan set: Barbara, alone out of the foursome, seems at least to be a Happy Camper. Maybe that's because of all the fun that can be had with paddles. The life-jackets are the newer kind: narrower than their earlier counterparts but leaving a small but unsightly gap in the neck region. Both Tom and Barbara sit comfortably in the canoe, and there's room for more. The set comes with a spare oar, but no extra life-jackets, so if John and Olivia want to join them it'll be at their own risk. It's nice to see the couple rafting together, though I suspect the reality will be more like this. The Camper No build pictures for this simple set; just straight down to business! I was critical of the newish front end piece when it appeared in the 60017 Flatbed Truck; I'm still not 100% sold on it, but here, helped by the 1x2 curved slopes to either side, it does help to define the contours of the van's front end. I like the multiple appearances of ornage indicator lights, and the clicky-hinged wing mirrors look fab. The van's lines are for the most part clean and purposeful, helped by the unbroken stripes in green and dark tan: colours which are replicated on the stickers, so don't apply them if you want to modify the set with different colours. I'm not so keen on the white mudguards - they look a little odd next to the bluish grey of the camper base. You may notice a slight oddity in the construction: the front mudguards are mounted a plate higher than the rear. This isn't too obvious - I failed to notice myself until typing the review - but it does spoil the image a little. The rear mudguards sit lower in order to maintain the green stripe and provide a tile surface for the opening side - there isn't a way to avoid this without making the whole camper a plate taller. It might be possible to lower the front mudguards if this height difference bothers you, but this will result in the front bumper looking incongruously high. There are nice curves to the roof, brought about by the 4x6 car bonnet panel sitting flush with the larger roof piece in front, and the curve slopes to the rear. The back end is a little spartan - it could do with a ladder to the roof, or possibly a rear window. The blocky bley mass at the base here demonstrates the simple construction technique throughout; the cliff face of bley broken only by the sticker and the dark bluish grey plate edge at centre-bottom. This dark bley plate forms part of the chassis: If the dark bley bothers you, you might switch the two 2-wide plates over here; this will fix the dark bley spot at the rear, but might weaken the chassis. Features The cab has opening doors, as do most CITY vehicles these days; I recall a few years ago that AFOLs bemoaned the lack of doors - proof that The LEGO Group does listen to its fanbase. Barbara is driving, today. There is space atop a blue brick next the steering wheel for the obligatory coffee mug; in front of this, two grille tiles neaten the cab nicely, and might represent ventilation or heating. The cab can easily be reconfigured for right hand drive if you prefer. A high arch provides easy access to the rear of the camper ... ... and allows Tom to join Barbara in the cab, albeit sitting sideways. To allow access to the rear, the whole left side of the van opens: You can see here why the rear mudguard is lower - if it were a plate higher, it would prevent the side opening. The roof is also easily removed, allowing adult fingers to manipulate the figures with ease: Tom and Barbara have a decent-sized table, a large double bed, and the grille tile at the bed's foot could I suppose represent a stove - though there's no other cooking equipment. Unlike in the Caravan, this camper's bed sleeps two comfortably - though one of them has to sleep on their side. Note the stickered television screen on the wall - a similar feature to the Caravan, which was showing a scene related to one of its sister sets (the Dirt Bike Transporter). If 60057's television is meant to relate to another set, I can't tell which. The horizontal bars, which I presume are meant to represent static, look a little like scratches. Up on the roof, there's a handy compartment for storing the oars and life-jackets, or whatever camping paraphenalia you fancy. A minor criticism: unless the boat is attached to the roof, there is no way to secure the trap door; this means repeatedly having to pick the oars off the floor when you inevitably forget and turn the van upside down. The front section also has sizeable storage space, and here the lid is more firmly attached: So firmly that it can be tricky to open. There's not much to store in there, but I guess it depends what you want to use your camper for. The 2x2 jumper plate and the R5 head provide a little detail, but they are there to allow attachement of the canoe to the roof ... ... like this: There's a little ambiguity as to exactly how the boat should attach; it can sit a stud further back than this, or a half stud to either side, but I think this position looks best. The red of the canoe really sets of the colours of the van - now it looks really smart! Comparison to other camper vehicles Let's now see how this latest camper compares to the most recent CITY camper, 2009's 7639 Camper: The latest version is taller, with a more detailed, textured front end, and wing mirrors, and I prefer the trans-clear headlights; although the newish bonnet (hood) piece adds contour to the front, I do miss the SNOT grille tiles. The rake of the windscreen is shallower in the new set. The disadvantage of the addition of wing mirrors is a two plate-high step at the top of the windscreen, but this is a minor point. 60057 is considerably longer than 7639: a good four studs, bumper to bumper, though 7639 has a stud's overhang at the rear. I'd like to draw your attention here to the subtle but important difference between the two, and to which I alluded in my review of the Car and Caravan set: 60057 has a more sober livery, and a more realistic overall design; however it loses a chunk of the Classic Town cuteness that exudes from its immediate predecessor. Lacking from the rear of the new set is any means for Tom and Barbara to get onto the roof - the set is crying out for a ladder, but even a window would help to break the cliff-face monotony. I do like the round tiled lights. There really needs to be some detail on that bley boxy bottom. The 2009 Camper allowed both walls to open, giving easy access to the cosy interior; 2014's left wall opens completely, and the roof is removable. There's much more space in the new one, partly because the table has been pushed right to the front; if you want Tom and Barbara to share a romantic dinner, then you can reposition the blue driver's seat without tooo much difficulty. 7639's latching mechanism was fiddly - you have to unclip and reclip the rear lamp. 60057 has no latching mechanism at all, but it isn't necessary: the stiffness of the plate hinges means the door stays in position. 60057's living quarters share a lot in common with 2012's 4435 Caravan: the window/wall panel/small window configuration is identical, as is (or should be) the placement of a television on the inside of the white wall panel. The opening mechanism is similar, but simplified in the Camper Van, and the interior has been tidied up somewhat; I'm pleased that the Camper has trans-black windows rather than the Police-ish trans blue of the Caravan. I like to think that TLG listened to me here. Conclusion When I reviewed the 4435 Car & Caravan, I was in retrospect rather unfair to it. I complained about the sobriety of the colour scheme (of the caravan, at least), which, compared to the cute lime green and curvy 7639 camper, seemed rather too masculine. The likely explanation for this is the arrival of the Friends range necessitating a wider dichotomy from the principally boy-oriented CITY range; however, seeing this latest camper, I begin to see to logic. The result makes up for the loss of Classic Town cuteness with a huge dose of realism: 60057 looks like a LEGO version of a real camper. Whether this is the right direction to take is up for debate; however, if this is the designer's intent, I would say it has been a success. Of course there will be niggles: the colors and position of the mudguards are a little fussy; the rear bottom is too simplistic in its boxy bleyness; and there needs to be a ladder or something else at the rear - else how are Tom and Barbara ever going to get that canoe back on the roof? I can live with the mudguards, and if I find I can't live with the rear I will modify it. This is a lovely little set: smart and realistic, but fun for play. The only quandry is whether to choose this over the many other wonderful civilian vehicles now available. Design & Build 8 A realistic design and smart livery is achieved effortlessly despite the simple build. It could just do with a little something more at the rear. Parts 8 It's great to see the return of the kayak-style boat, even if its uses are somewhat limited. There's a number of useful parts in white, and the smaller dark tan plates are most welcome, even if there's only a few of them. Figures 7 Tom and Barbara's torsos are both nice, and though not unique they aren't so common. It's a shame that Barbara wears the same top as Olivia, because if you have the caravan, you're likely to want to show the two sets together. Playability 9 Plenty of storage compartments, and easy accessibility to the interior, give the set an edge over earlier camping-related sets. Other uses for the paddles I will leave to your imagination. Value 9 The expected inflation hike for this price point maintains the 10c per part guideline, though many of these parts are large and specialised. But you wouldn't buy this set for the parts alone: it's a great-looking vehicle, a fun play set, and a super addition to your LEGO town. Overall 82% My Score 9/10 The triumph of this set is the achievement of a very realistic-looking camper and a fun play set for a simple build. And it's just one of many great looking civilian sets new for 2014! Your dilemma should not be which to buy, but which to buy first. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed the review. Please tell us what you think! Rufus Resources My flickr Photoset 4435 Car and Caravan Review 7639 Camper Review by Macoco No joke to end with, I'm afraid, but here's a picture of the more recent camping vehicles together: If you like my reviews, and would like to learn how it's done, please consider joining the Reviewers Academy:

More of the monkey if you haven't already seen it:

Reservation confirmed! Apparently we're in a (the?) Wild West chalet. That was the excuse last year.

Booking email sent! Now both of us need to get the time off work.

Pimp My Camper Contest Winners are Announced! Thank you to everyone who entered and voted making this a spectacular contest. There were a total of 177 fantastic eligible entries, and the quality of the MOCs and the imagination involved went far beyond what we expected. Well done to everyone! Of course, there have to be winners. These were decided by popular vote by the existing EB member base in a manner in keeping with previous Eurobricks contests; however, allowing multiple entries per member is (I believe) a first for EB and I hope you'll agree has been successful. So, without further ado, here are the winners! The Winners Prizes kindly provided by The LEGO Affiliate Programme First Place - 65 votes 10220 VW Camper + 40079 Mini VW Camper 175. Steampunk Camper by aditayam Second Place - 51 votes 40079 Mini VW Camper 99. Vammoth by BrickLaboratory Third Place - 35 votes 40079 Mini VW Camper 9. Oscar Meyer Wiener by WachutuChief Fourth Place - 27 votes 40079 Mini VW Camper 106. 50 Cents Joyride by midi Fifth Place - 26 votes 40079 Mini VW Camper 56. TMNT Party Wagon by midi Congratulations to the winners! There were a huge number of notable entries that didn't make the top five. Special mentions to the next five: A special tag will be awarded to the top ten. Voting Raffle Winners Prizes kindly provided by TLG 40079 Mini VW Camper Winners chosen at random from eligible voters: Redhead1982 Matipasio Chocolatecake If you've won a prize... Please send a PM to Rufus stating your (real!) name and address. I will pass these on to The LEGO Group who will ship the prizes directly. The information will not be used for any other purpose etc. etc. Thanks again to everyone for taking part!

Votes are counted and checked! Just waiting for the vote raffle to be drawn, then I'll make a thread to announce the winners.

Voting is now closed. I will tally the results over the next two days and post the results as soon as possible.

Last chance to vote in the Pimp My Camper Contest! The deadline has been extended to 3 November 2013 1200 GMT.

I'm extending the voting dealine to tomorrow - 3 November 1200 GMT.

Sorry for the late reply. I chose the pictures in each case in order best to show the camper, and thus provide a level playing field. In any case, if I change one I'd have to change it for everyone who requests it, and it is incredibly time-consuming. So it's a no, I'm afraid.

Yes please. Rodiziorobs, WachutuChief, sorry but MstrOfPppts is right - this has always been the rule on EB and the danger of vote rigging is the reason. Thanks for understanding.

Pimp My Camper Voting has opened! Click the picture to check out the 177 fantastic entries in the Special Themes Forum!

Pimp My Camper Entry Index All pictures link to the related post in the Entry Thread. Please let us know about broken links in the Discussion Thread.

It's time for you to cast your votes for your favourite entries in .... Pimp My Camper! We have been overwhelmed by both the quality and quantity of entries in this contest. Well done to everyone who has entered! Now we need you to vote for your favourites. To reward you for voting, we are proud to offer a Voting Raffle: thanks to The LEGO Group, three copies of 40079 Mini VW Camper will be awarded to eligible voters by random selection. Entries are indexed by thumbnail in the post below. We recommend reading through the Entry Thread before voting, as many entries have features which will not be apparent from the thumbnails. If your entry has not been indexed, then it has been ruled ineligible. Common reasons include two or more entries in one post (first only is indexed), or pictures not deeplinked. If more than four pictures were included, we have still included the entry but have removed the image tags from the excess images. Use this thread only for voting. Please use the Discussion Thread for questions relating to the voting rules or process. Please do not ask us to fix titles for the thumbnails - we have chosen them based on the information you have provided. Your username may not show exactly as it should be; please do not ask us to change it unless it is completely inaccurate (eg. shows the wrong member). In view of the extraordinary number and quality of entries, we have allowed extra time for voting. Voting will close on 1 November 2013. This has nothing to do with any holidays planned by the Special Themes Staff. So Get Voting! Voting Rules Winners will be decided by public vote. Only Eurobricks members who registered before the start of the contest (registered on or before 30 August 2013) are eligible to vote. You may cast a total of 9 (nine) votes. You may cast a maximum of 3 votes may be cast for any one entry. You may cast a maximum of 3 votes for any one entrant, regardless of how many times they have entered. You may not vote for yourself. Any member who infringes these rules will have ALL their votes disqualified and will not be eligible for the voting raffle. Any attempt at vote-rigging will be dealt with harshly. Elibile votes will be entered into a voting raffle with further prizes detailed below. The Eurobricks staff reserves the right to adjust these rules as necessary. If there is a tie, or any dispute, the EB staff decision will be final. Example vote: The Prizes (kindly provided by The LEGO Affiliate Programme) First Prize 10220 VW Camper + 40079 Mini VW Camper Four Runners-Up Prizes 40079 Mini VW Camper Three Voting Raffle Prizes 40079 Mini VW Camper Some tags also may be awarded at the discretion of the Special Themes staff.

Thanks for the suggestion. Actually, we are shying away from this sort of thing as it could encourage vote-rigging, and we are keen to promote voting according to the quality of the builds rather than who the builder is. As such, there will be a limit on the number of votes any member can cast for one entrant. This is the first time (as far as I know) that an EB contest has allowed multiple entries per member, and will act as a test case for similar contests in future. We will certainly give special recognition to whoever garners the most votes overall, but I don't think a prize with a monetary value will be offered. Thanks for understanding.

From your description, I think it would sit best in the History forum proper (not Guilds of Historica, which I believe requires 'joining' a particular guild, unless that's what you want to do). That's if it's more about the build. If it's more about the story, then you could consider the Brick flicks and Comics forum.