Lummox JR

I'm having fun figuring out the design on my own anyway, so the LDD probably isn't necessary (not that I still wouldn't want to peek under the hood). I figured out the clip hinge assembly and realized it had to be tied to the "base" by the 1x4 with studs on the side. I think to avoid going with an all-black look, using 1x2/2x2 brackets and covering with brown tiles is a good way to go, with the caveat that the supports would have to be done a little differently. This might not be a bad thing. There will be more black in the final result but I think it can still look nice. I suspect the clip hinge approach is not enough friction to keep the stage up, however. (Click hinges might work, but I don't know how those would align.) That wall is going to be relatively heavy and the center of gravity is offset outward from the hinge. Some kind of simple lock, even if it's a basic stud connection, to keep the stage in place while up would be ideal. No doubt though if TLG runs this set they'll come up with something, though if I'm gonna build this for me I'll need a solution of my own.

I love this concept dearly. I had an idea to do a traveling theatre group for a medieval village years ago, but it never developed anywhere near as beautifully as this. I tried recreating this in LDraw from visuals, because I want to build this just to have it, but was surprised to learn from Bricklink just how few of the pieces are actually available. Some of the adjustments are hard to make. I was able to redo the backdrop with findable pieces, but the rounded 2 x 4 x 1 1/3 at the top doesn't exist in reddish brown, nor does a 1 x 4 with studs on one side which I assume is how the stage is built, and these two pieces seem the hardest to work around. Building the stage and wagon in a color other than reddish brown might lose some of its charm. Obviously most of the rest is fungible, but the stage design needs to be a certain way for stability, and the curved parts at the top of the wagon are appear to be as structural as they are decorative. The stage problem is fixable, I think, by using a different color and then adding brackets in one of the plate layers; tiles can then be added to the bracket. The structure at the top of the cart will be harder to rectify unless I dip into other colors. One thing I haven't seen in this build: I don't see anything to hold the stage in place when it's up. How is that accomplished?

Setting CompatibilityModeLevel finally got it to start. I haven't updated my graphics driver yet (will do so at a better opportunity) but it looks like DirectX is up to date. Presumably the driver update will take care of any remaining issues, but if not at least safe mode seems to be doing the trick. Thanks.

I gave that a try but no luck. After it failed I tried once more just to be thorough, but LDD is still giving me the same error after the reinstall. It's a shame too because I thought you were on to something there when I saw the data directory was still present from before. The only thing I've let stay around is the LEGO Creations directory in my documents, which I assume is okay; I did try renaming that and LDD just created a new one when I tried to start it. If it helps clarify anything, I'm running Windows XP (32-bit). Version 4.0.2 did not give me this issue so it's possible I guess that something new has come up in the software that is misbehaving.

If you mean running more than one instance at a time, that isn't the issue. No other instances were running. This happened even with a fresh installation after a full uninstall.

I just upgraded from 4.0.2 to 4.1.7 and I'm now getting a very strange error: "LDD could not load some required assets. Try restarting. If that fails, try reinstalling LDD. See the 'read me' file for help, or go to http://ldd.lego.com/support/" I haven't found any information about this error. To be safe, I tried again by uninstalling and doing a full reinstall. I've emailed Lego tech support already, but I was wondering if anyone else is aware of what this error means and how to fix it.

On the subject of battle packs, I'd actually like to see Lego release a castle-themed minifigs pack that aren't soldiers. The closest they've ever come to this is set 6103, which introduced probably one of the few actual peasant/villager characters they ever made before the release of the Medieval Market Village. (The only other civilians I can think of right now would be the first blacksmith, armorer's shopkeeper, and guarded inn keeper.) In 6103 they had a couple of soldiers, a couple of forestmen (I'd love to see them come back), and a villager with a pitchfork. My ideal "pack" set from the new Kingdoms would be a number of civilian minifigs including a couple of pitchforks and several buckets, along with a cow, a pig, a goat or two, and say maybe two chickens. Or as a compromise, one set could be the civilian minifigs and another pack could have some livestock and various accessories (buckets, torches, tools, etc.).

This thread really reminds me of the idea books, where they would post pictures of various scenes with building instructions for a few elements therein, using pieces from the current and sometimes previous generation of parts. I think it'd be pretty cool to see that done now by the community, using LDraw to create models and some of the various available tools to produce detailed instructions. There is a slight hitch in that not all parts are in the LDraw library, and patterned parts in particular can be a bit difficult to work out, but with what we do have it seems like some really nice stuff could be put together. Along with the idea books I also miss the alternate builds that used to adorn the backs of set boxes. I used to spend hours looking at those.

The mill is now available online from TRU and Lego shop-at-home!

Right now on toysrus.com the new Kingdoms sets all show they are in stock for shipping and sold in stores, except for the Mill Village Raid which is listed but not in stock. However I'm not sure that the others aren't a glitch, as several posters have mentioned them going in and out of stock. I see this kind of thing on Amazon all the time when a release date isn't firm or is modified. I can confirm PotC sets are in stores in the US. In Syracuse, NY, my local Toys 'R' Us had at least some of the sets (Queen Anne's Revenge being the most notable, but there were others) when I hit up their buy-one-get-half deal last weekend. I did not see any of the new Kingdoms sets, but thankfully they had restocked 2010 Kingdoms. If sets being released early in the US is a trend, then I can hold out hope to see the new sets sooner than July. I'm not sure how much earlier they're releasing though (does anyone have more specific info?), since if the PotC sets weren't due out till May this still might mean a head start of only a week or so. Here's hoping Kingdoms 2011 show up in May.... PS: If anyone ordering online can confirm when the sets are actually delivered, please do!

As soon as I heard about these sets I was giddy with excitement, but seeing even more of the mill makes me want it even more. Actually it makes me want several. I'm going to be vibrating in place till these are released.

Since the second one is sleeveless I thought it was the Todd at first. I think a white coat would be more characteristic of Cox. Otherwise though, prety good likenesses. The Janitor especially is good.