petero

I've just started building the Disney Castle, and I've found a great use for the PDF format instructions on LEGO's site. The DC's instruction book - more of a tome - is large and unwieldy. Using the instructions on my iPad saves space, as well as avoiding annoying reflections from the light above my head. I can also zoom in on the page, a good feature with this large set. Peter

I back-ordered Curiosity when it briefly became available on February 10, with an expected availability date of March 9. Within a few hours, the set had gone back to Temporarily Out of Stock status, and has apparently remained that way since. Did anyone else manage to order it on Feb. 10? I have yet to hear from LEGO, so I assume it wasn't actually available to ship this week. Peter

I've run into my first problem - missing parts. Not just one, but four parts from booklet/bags #3, including one of the large white curved shell pieces. I've had the odd missing part now and then, but never four in one set. There's probably no chance they're in the as-yet-unopened #4 bags, but I'll wait till it's finished to request them. Peter

I'm in the middle of building it now, partway through book 3. It's definitely a more interesting and fun build than Tower Bridge. Tower Bridge is highly repetitive by comparison. I also like the bags being keyed to the instruction booklets, which makes sorting the parts much less onerous than Tower Bridge. Peter

I am also unable to view the images, trying with a variety of devices and connections. The connection to Brickshelf times out, so it's not a Eurobricks problem. Peter

I'm glad I found this thread. I was planning a trip to one of the LEGO Stores outside of Boston, to use my coupon to get either Orthanc, the Sydney Opera House, or Mindstorms. Since it's not going to be accepted for any of those, there's no reason for me to spend the money to get to the store (the 120-mile round trip costs me roughly $40 in gas and tolls alone), and pay Massachussetts sales tax; it will be cheaper to buy one online with free shipping and no sales tax. I'll be emailing the store's manager to express my dissatisfaction with the change! Earlier in the year I used a coupon to buy Tower Bridge, and picked up several other sets as impulse purchases while I was there. LEGO will lose out on those impulse purchases this time, since seeing the sets on the screen doesn't motivate me the way holding the box in my hands does. Peter

Don't count on K-Mart's website. The site says my local store has them in stock, but they don't. Around here, the only retailer that gets new sets right away is TRU. Our K-Mart probably won't have the new sets until late summer. Peter

Yeah, LEGO always sends out bags that have been opened and taped shut Glad to hear they had a replacement! It's a fun set, even though I'm more into the 1960s TV Batman than the current movies. Peter

Sorry to hear that, Jahab. I'm sure Target won't give you any grief about returning it. The last time I was at Target before Christmas, they had one large set (I forget which) that not only had been opened and re-taped shut, but had a sizeable chunk out of one corner of the box. I considered finding a manager and offering him $10 for it as loose parts Peter

My wife and I went to the local mall on the 26th, and we found a toy store that was giving 50% off on everything. One of the few LEGO sets they had was 6860 The Batcave, so I bought one. Today I finally got a chance to start building it. The box seemed fuller than many LEGO boxes, and I was pleasantly surprised to see it had numbered bags... 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 2. That's right, it had two Bag #2s in it! No wonder the box seemed fuller than usual. Interestingly, the extra bag did not have the two bags of smaller parts inside it. So I have an extra Poison Ivy torso and legs, but no head or hair. Way to go LEGO! Half price and extra parts. Woohoo! I wonder how this set slipped past the weigh-in at the end of the production line? It should have been seriously overweight! Peter

Could anyone tell me how many sealed bags there are in the set? I have a chance to buy an open box set with sealed bags, and there are 28 bags and 13 loose plates. Since the bags aren't numbered, the instructions don't help to see how many there should be. Thanks! Peter

I would have to go for 3450 Statue of Liberty. I guess I'm just a patriot at heart Peter

Thanks, Lego Otaku. I'll keep that in mind for future projects. Peter

Thanks for the great solutions, Superkalle! I'll try both and see which I like better. I'll be sure to post the finished MOC. Peter

Hopefully I've posted in the correct forum. My apologies if I guessed wrong. I'm designing a building that uses this framework for the outside walls. My problem is that I end up with the half-plate-high gap. Is there a way around this problem? I definitely need the bowed shapes, but they could be adjusted to retain the same basic outline. LDD file Here is the shape I'm trying to recreate: Thanks for your help! Peter

If you're a member at Barnes & Noble, they currently have some 20% off Members-only coupons. Using a coupon, I was able to get Helm's Deep from BN.com for about $94. Their current price is $116.99, minus 10% for being a member, then minus an additional 20% for the coupon. And free shipping too! Peter

Me too. It was still down about 3 hours ago, but it's alive now. Peter

I'm sure they don't really do any of those nefarious things, but LEGO's site is quite aggressive about collecting information. Certain tracking cookies and ad-bots must be allowed in order to use it. Without those enabled, there are no pictures with the product pages, for instance. Programming LDD to fail to run because it can't connect to LEGO's servers is also unusually aggressive for a common-use application. Even apps like AV programs will still run - with warnings about the consequences - when they can't update. Peter 30+ years in programming, app development and IT management

I stopped at my local TRU this morning, but no LOTR yet There was an employee stocking the LEGO aisle, but when I asked, it was obvious he'd never even heard of the LOTR sets, let alone seen them. He started telling me that it would be 2 or 3 months before a new set came out, so I explained that they're already at TRU online and in some stores. All he could say was "Well, I don't have them yet!" Peter

Wow, that's an awe-inspiring MOC! Your other airplanes are superb too. Could you put the LDD file for your KC-135 online? I was a KC-135 mechanic back in the late 1970s, and I'd love to build it. Peter

On Saturday the first SBIRS (Space Based InfraRed System) satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral. The team that launched the rocket has created LEGO models of the SBIRS and DSP (Defense Support Program) satellites, here: http://www.sites.google.com/site/sbirsspacediv/ They were designed with LDD, so I've asked them if I can get copies of the LDD files. If they won't send the files, it will be easy to reverse-engineer the models from the instructions. They can't ship the kits outside of the USA because of technology export rules, so if you want one, you'll have to use the instructions and build your own. Right now the link to the DSP model instructions doesn't work, but they will fix that when they get back from Florida later this week. Peter

Thanks! There isn't a lot of room inside, but maybe a minifig Pharaoh would fit. The minifig Nemes headdress is rather wide front to back, so it might not fit. I used 43722's for the back of the sarcophagus headdress, so that closed up the inside of the head. I also got rid of the hinges, and substituted pins to hold it together. That was partly because real sarcophagi don't have hinges, but mostly because the hinge gets in the way of making the outer sarcophagus fit as snugly as possible. This would look really striking with the yellow replaced with gold, but I doubt many of the pieces are available in gold. Peter

Thanks very much for the photos. I really like to see the original paperwork that comes with a set. I've been modifying the design, so mine looks like this: There will also be an outer coffin and sarcophagus to go with it. Who knows - if I stay motivated long enough, I might finish the entire tomb Peter

Thanks, that would be very helpful. No rush, of course! Peter

That's great trivia! Would it be possible for you to scan the instruction sheet for me? I'd like to have a copy of it to go with your LDD file. Peter