Sunday, January 19, 2014
LEGO Octan Semi Tractor Trailer
I have finally completed my rendition of 3180 Tanker Truck. The Tractor was completely remodel to include a desk behind the cab. The design was also improved to reflect the look of semi's outside the United States. I am very fond of the design of a flat 'nose', so I knew I had to incorporate it into my current design. The vehicle is of course an Octan fuel carrier, LEGO's imaginary fuel brand. The trailer has gone through a few minor changes. I added a hitch at the back to allow multiple trailers to be towed at one time. I also removed the mess of parts that served as the hose carrier and storage space. This made the trailer look more realistic, an attribute I am always looking for in LEGO models. I would like to made the trailer about 25% longer, but I need two more of the round compartments to accomplish this goal. Right now, the tractor is almost as long as the trailer.
I realize there are a few color discrepancies, but my collection is not perfect. Over all, I am very pleased with the look and function of the new rig. The model is quite simple to make as long as you have 3180 Tanker Truck and a few more parts from your collection of loose bricks. I am happy with this model and it will not be changing any time soon.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Reasons NOT to live in LEGO® City
CITY has always been one of The LEGO Group’s top selling
themes and it is also my personal favorite. When given a glance, it seems like the
perfect ‘boy toy’. What’s not to love about building your own city? However,
when the demographics of LEGO® CITY are examined more closely, it seems like
this place would be an absolute horrific place to live if you were a
minifigure. Please take into fact that I have nothing against LEGO® CITY, it’s
just that there is a stark contrast when it is compared to a city of our modern
day and age. All of my information is taken from Brickset.com and only pertains
to CITY sets released in 2012. When all of this is examined, the following are
the results from my demographic census:
According to Brickset, there were 42 CITY sets released
for 2012. Of these 42, 35 contain unique sets. In these 35 sets, there are 46
vehicles, 8 pieces of aircraft, 2 boats, and one uncategorized mine crane. This
means there are 57 things with motors. Of the 46 vehicles, there are only 8
cars and 38 trucks. This means the ratio of cars to trucks is 1:4.75.
In the 35 sets, there are 84 people. Of these 85 people, it
appears that only 11 are females and 74 are males. That means the female to
male ratio is 1:6.73.
Of the 35 sets, 19 have to do with some kind of emergency:
11 police sets, 6 fire sets, and 2 hospital sets. Within the police sets, there
are 8 robbers and 18 policemen, (no police women). We can only guess what these
robbers are in jail for, (arson anyone?). There are also 12 firefighters. Of
all of the minifigures, only 12 appear to be regular citizens, as opposed to
working in some kind of profession. There are also only 5 crude buildings
throughout the entire 35 sets.
Based on all of this information, we can draw some valid
conclusions:
There are almost 7 males for ever female. 83% of the
vehicles are trucks or vehicles for work. There are almost as many
criminals as there are women. There are 5 crude buildings in the entire city.
Reasons not to live in LEGO® CITY
·
A large male population
·
A lot of pollution from so many trucks
·
Nowhere to live
·
Almost a dozen pyrotechnics constantly breaking
out of jail
·
Only 7 trees, half of which are always on fire
LEGO® CITY needs some major reform before I would even
consider living there. Safety, housing, discrimination, and health are my major
concerns about LEGO® CITY. Until these things are fixed, and a government is
established, I would not encourage anyone to move to this city. So where else
could I live in LEGO® Universe? Chima? Nope, constant tribal fighting. Ninjago?
Never, an endless battle. STAR WARS? No thanks, too much war for my tastes.
Kingdoms? Too much feudal warfare. Galaxy Squad? No way, huge bugs! The only
safe place seems to be Friends. It looks like it has everything CITY doesn’t:
Trees, cars, housing, and no criminals. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I
would much rather live in Heartlake City that LEGO® CITY. I’d be surrounded by women,
but hey, we all have to make sacrifices. J
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
9470 Shelob Attacks
9470 Shelob Attacks is the second smallest Lord of the Rings
sets. It is based on the middle scene from The Return of the King. It is priced
at $19.99 USD and contains 227 pieces. I was able to get mine on after
Christmas clearance for $15.91. Considering it is a licensed set, it is
actually a pretty good value. The box contains four bags and the directions.
The bags contain two cardboard boxes, one with two capes and the other with
string. Gollum is also packaged in a separate little bag within one of the larger
ones.
The set contains two minifigures, (three if you count Gollum). Frodo and
Samwise Gamgee are included in this set. Both of their heads are two sided so
Frodo’s can be turned to symbolize him inside Shelob’s web. There are also two
rings, two swords, a fish for Gollum, and Sam’s starlight bottle symbolized by
a crystal. The next part of the build is Shelob’s main body. It looks great except for the bulky Bionicle piece towards the back; though I think it is necessary to get her web to work. The next part is Shelob’s legs and more of her body.
The completed set
looks amazing, including Shelob herself. A number of rarer pieces and the fact
this is a licensed set make it a great buy. It is
bigger and much more intricate than the smaller 9469 Gandalf Arrives. The only
thing that seems a little weird is her web cavity. It seems a little out of
proportion when compared to the original source material. Shelob is miraculously
stable, despite her fragile appearance. This is another great Lord of the Rings
set.
Price
|
O O O O
|
Playability
|
O O O
|
Minifigures
|
O O O O
|
Building Experience
|
O O O O
|
Parts
|
O O O O
|
Overall
|
3.8
|
Labels:
9470,
Frodo,
Lord of the Rings,
Review,
Samwise
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)