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Posted

I wanna know how to scale the inside garage is with the car inside looking at the doors open to the inside. Is there enough room people could walk on the left side like Walter Peck did?

It's not to scale. There's a moc in progress on EB which is truly minifig scale... I think that shows just how prohibitively large an accurately scaled door/garage would be.

On the subject of the back wall again, I'm betting that wall looks very close to the source material the designer was given... He just wasn't that concerned with tarting it up.

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Posted

To whose standards? Is the finish of the back of the HQ really necessary to the point where the set is neither enjoyable or functional in anyway? Do you get upset looking at the bottom of the Ecto-1 because it doesn't look like the bottom of a real car?

You have a really great point there.

Posted

It's not to scale. There's a moc in progress on EB which is truly minifig scale... I think that shows just how prohibitively large an accurately scaled door/garage would be.

Care to share this MOC?

Posted

It comes down to cost and what LEGO thinks would be profitable. I think it would be safe to assume the designers were given a price and parts count to work with and had to create the HQ within those guidelines. I'm sure the back was not intentionally designed to look awful, but perhaps making it match the rest of the building without sacrificing the interior exceeded the budget? The reality is, most collectors are going to either display it opened or the front facing towards them with the car driving out.

I get that people want perfection, especially at this price point, but I think you need to look at other sets released by LEGO and have realistic expectations. Very few are universally loved and considered perfect out of the box.

I absolutely agree with everything you said in the first paragraph. As for the second, I don't expect perfection, but I know what you mean. I DO, however, expect to not be so shockingly jarred and put off by any one aspect. It's true that it probably won't even be visible in the majority of people's displays, including mine, I'm sure, but I have to build it, and I know it's there. I know that's not a great defense, but really, it's my hobby and my opinion, and it doesn't really need defending. That's just how I feel.

I feel like I should reiterate that I really like the rest of the model. There are minor issues here and there, as always, and those are ones that I attribute to that whole first paragraph, e.g. piece counts, budgets, profitability, etc., but overall, it's pretty great. I like this designer's work, and I've been waiting for this since day one. Everything about it had me psyched until I saw the back wall. It's true that nothing is universally loved by everyone, and every set has its issues. Usually when I have major problems with a set, I just don't get it. I wanted so badly to want Jokerland, but I didn't care for it enough, so I didn't get it. No big deal. This is the biggest issue I've had with a set which I will still be getting, and it just so happens to be the largest, most expensive set I will own. So yeah, I have more reservations now than I did then.

[slightly out of context] Do you get upset looking at the bottom of the Ecto-1 because it doesn't look like the bottom of a real car?

No, because the back was finished.

Or less glibly: I get what you mean, but I think your comparison is unfair. I won't get upset looking at the bottom of the HQ either. I will say, though, that one of the coolest parts of the Slave 1 was the attention given to the bottom of the craft. That thing was wicked, and that was just one more aspect of awesomeness.

Posted

Hi, I was hoping i could get some advice from some lego enthusiasts. Previously I've only bought sets that have been in low demand.

2 questions

1. Will this sell out on january 1st?

2. What time do they go on sale?

3. Why jan 1st? surely thats a bad date, I'm not looking forward to setting my alarm?

Thanks very much for the help guys and girls

Posted

Hi, I was hoping i could get some advice from some lego enthusiasts. Previously I've only bought sets that have been in low demand.

2 questions

1. Will this sell out on january 1st?

2. What time do they go on sale?

3. Why jan 1st? surely thats a bad date, I'm not looking forward to setting my alarm?

Thanks very much for the help guys and girls

I'm not really a first day buyer but some of the larger sets do sell out right away when released and also around VIP double points. But they'll get more stock and you can buy it online and wait for a later delivery as well. Lego must expect to produce x amount of stock and think it'll be around for 2 years? I had a heck of a time getting the Research Institute but after I got one, weeks later there was stock on the shelves. For awhile, everywhere I went I saw the Ecto1 and with this price point I suspect it'll make a fair number of shoppers hesitate unless they're big fans.

Posted (edited)

Is anyone making printed parts for this set yet?

I think reproducing the art from the stickers would be a copyright issue with LEGO. And if it's a licensed theme, it might involve the license holder as well. For example, Hanna-Barbera may not like people to print and sell parts with the phrase The Mystery Machine. But then again, I don't remember LEGO stickers to have little trademark TM.

Edited by badbob001
Posted

I think reproducing the art from the stickers would be a copyright issue with LEGO. And if it's a licensed theme, it might involve the license holder as well. For example, Hanna-Barbera may not like people to print and sell parts with the phrase The Mystery Machine. But then again, I don't remember LEGO stickers to have little trademark TM.

A trademark is not the same as a copyright. A trademark is a word, symbol or design, including a logo or the shape of goods or of their packaging, that distinguishes the goods of one company from those of another company. A copyright is an exclusive right to make or distribute copies, by any means, of original written and artistic materials. LEGO sticker sheets have the copyright notice printed on them. You may see a trademark symbol if the LEGO logo is on a sticker.

The brick printing company should get permission from the owner of the copyright first.

Posted

Well NACM made arms with the "no ghost" arm patch and sold them online for the minifigures in the Ecto-1 set (and they are awesome by the way). Maybe someone will do something similar here. As long as it is not "mass produced" LEGO or other companies might not intervent here ;)

Posted

Well NACM made arms with the "no ghost" arm patch and sold them online for the minifigures in the Ecto-1 set (and they are awesome by the way). Maybe someone will do something similar here. As long as it is not "mass produced" LEGO or other companies might not intervent here ;)

They already have and its on Ebay.

Posted

I'll do better and send it to everyone in the form of a post, lol:

Custom printed pieces (signs): http://www.ebay.com/itm/PCS-GhostBusters-Accessories-Custom-Lego-Ecto-1-21108-city-minifig-Signs-/141706586898?hash=item20fe5eeb12:g:ugYAAOSw-vlVkixz

Ghostbusters gear: (even the stuff TLC never made): http://www.ebay.com/itm/Custom-GHOSTBUSTERS-Lego-Black-Proton-Pack-Gun-Goggles-Green-Slime-PKE-Meter-/262136176185?hash=item3d08889e39:g:zLAAAOSwstxVNUs-

SLIMER (the real one coming in January) - http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Lego-Ghostbusters-Slimer-mini-figure-display-base-not-included-71241-/201466173367?hash=item2ee851d7b7:g:wuAAAOSwLzdWRNig

Search for "lego ghostbusters custom" on ebay and you'll even find custom alternate costumes of existing characters and sometimes a custom Walter Peck or even Gozer.

Posted

I'll do better and send it to everyone in the form of a post, lol:

Custom printed pieces (signs): http://www.ebay.com/...gYAAOSw-vlVkixz

Ghostbusters gear: (even the stuff TLC never made): http://www.ebay.com/...LAAAOSwstxVNUs-

SLIMER (the real one coming in January) - http://www.ebay.com/...uAAAOSwLzdWRNig

Search for "lego ghostbusters custom" on ebay and you'll even find custom alternate costumes of existing characters and sometimes a custom Walter Peck or even Gozer.

I'm generally purist, but oh man, that's some sweet gear. I love the slime piece! Thanks for sharing that!

Posted

Well NACM made arms with the "no ghost" arm patch and sold them online for the minifigures in the Ecto-1 set (and they are awesome by the way). Maybe someone will do something similar here. As long as it is not "mass produced" LEGO or other companies might not intervent here ;)

Just to be clear, avoiding attention still doesn't make it legal; doesn't matter if they only ever sold one piece. Even selling custom instructions for licensed products (or TLG's own IPs) is technically a copyright violation, as it's making money off someone else's intellectual property without paying licensing fees. The fan base is especially bad at this, because unlike knock-off companies, fans tend to not even bother filing the serial numbers off.

Posted (edited)

I'll do better and send it to everyone in the form of a post, lol:

Custom printed pieces (signs): http://www.ebay.com/...gYAAOSw-vlVkixz

Ghostbusters gear: (even the stuff TLC never made): http://www.ebay.com/...LAAAOSwstxVNUs-

SLIMER (the real one coming in January) - http://www.ebay.com/...uAAAOSwLzdWRNig

Search for "lego ghostbusters custom" on ebay and you'll even find custom alternate costumes of existing characters and sometimes a custom Walter Peck or even Gozer.

The Ghostbusters gear is by BrickForge and has been around for a few years:

https://www.brickfor...ts-and-Devices/

I think the Spectro Goggles and Energy Meter are must haves for my GB figures but the Particle Gun and Particle Pack are nice alternatives to the brick built Lego versions.

Edited by Robianco
Posted (edited)

Even selling custom instructions for licensed products (or TLG's own IPs) is technically a copyright violation,

Do you have a verifiable source for this information?

Oh wait... Do you mean selling instructions to make an existing product? Or do you mean instructions to make an alternate build from an existing set?

Edited by BirdOPrey5
Posted (edited)

Do you have a verifiable source for this information?

Oh wait... Do you mean selling instructions to make an existing product? Or do you mean instructions to make an alternate build from an existing set?

Naturally the copyright law varies from country to country, but for example the U.S. law says this:

Copyright infringement occurs when someone violates one of the exclusive rights listed in 17 USC 106 [subject to sections 107 through 122, the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize ... derivative works based upon the copyrighted work]. Commonly, this involves someone creating or distributing a "copy" of a protected work that is "substantially similar" to the original version.

Note that this applies even if nothing is being sold, though there are "fair use" clauses and whatnot that I won't delve into.

The point is regardless, selling instructions to create a variant (i.e. derivative) of an existing licensed set is not only a problem with TLG's intellectual property (their design for the set, which arguably is the lesser evil due to the very nature of the medium), but also, and likely more importantly, the licensor's rights to the likeness depicted. The entire reason TLG needs to acquire licenses to begin with is so that they can legally portray likenesses under rights owned by someone else. Nobody presumes TLG to just start manufacturing building instructions for Star Wars or Ghostbusters or whatever and make money off them without paying appropriate fees to the licensors, yet somehow fandoms tend to have this belief that it's perfectly fine when they do the exact same thing. (It's not something unique to Lego community by any means... a lot of, say, fan artists get up in arms when their work gets distributed without permission, completely ignoring the fact they never had any right to the subject material in the first place, let alone profit from it.)

But I shouldn't really derail the topic any further. I'm also not a lawyer, so I reserve the right to be inaccurate. Really just applying common sense here.

Edited by Lawngnome
Posted

Technically speaking...

Fan-based instructions of a licensed LEGO model without the licensors permission is copyright violation because it's a derivative work. Look up that word.

Not too many companies go after fans. It's bad PR.

Posted

I know that this is not legal, no question here. But every single custom figure of any licensed theme isn't and as they are really limited and do not do any serious harm to such big companies I tend to buy them. when I really like them and TLG does not produce the one special thing I really want I do not see big problems here. I support the great work and effort someone puts into that and I buy officially licensed stuff nonetheless.

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