I've been wanting to get a copy of the original WALL-E set for a while now. This morning a local independent Lego store got one in and I couldn't resist!
The box is in absolutely mint condition, like it just came off the shelf - and it's staying that way! Won't be building him anytime soon, if ever. He was a bit pricey, but I traded in a few sealed sets that I had duplicates of to make the purchase more palatable.
Now I need to get the new Brickheadz version!
I've wanted one of these since 2006. It's safe to say that Bionicle collecting today isn't what it was in those days, but I'm still immensely happy to be able to add the elusive brown Komau to my collection:
This was a lucky BrickLink find. Immaculate condition, bought from the original owner who got it from Lego headquarters in Billund. Goes nicely with my Metru blue Matatu 🙂
Now to track down the white Huna - anyone have one to sell? 🤣
I'm about two decades late, but I finally finished my collection of European misprints from 2001.
The values of some of these have really exploded in recent years. Fortunately I got the two Kaukaus, which are absurdly expensive on BrickLink now, when they were more affordable so buying the last few that I was missing wasn't too painful.
I attended BrickFair for the second time a couple weeks ago, the first having been back in 2015. One of the things I remember most from that year was the heat and humidity. This time, believe it or not, east coast August weather was a welcome relief after spending June and July in the south of France.
I was extremely limited in luggage space, but picked up these goodies from the vendors:
And acquired these Kraata prototypes from a BZP member in a trade we planned in advance:
Always wanted to get this one! An exclusive to Woolworth's containing comic #13, a rerelease of Vakama in polybag format, and an infected Hau Nuva. I believe it was produced to promote the Mask of Light film. This was the only one I could find on the internet:
The box is opened, but at least that means we can have a look at the contents. I quite like the artwork on the polybag:
Also found two of the three trading card games from the early years. All six boxes are still seal
I ordered some old Nuva/Krana polybags and Kanoka boxes a couple months ago, and they finally arrived this week!
Just for fun, here are some stats about the Kanohi Nuva polybags (though 20 is probably not a statistically representative sample, so this might be utterly meaningless). The masks were clearly not distributed evenly throughout the polybags; some were rarer than others. Focusing only on shape, the Miru was the most common, with 12 appearing out of 20 polybags (40 masks
A few more oddities found on BrickLink:
The collector's tin version of the Quest for Makuta game. I regret not checking eBay before buying this because there's a sealed copy on there for the same price I spent on this open one. The advantage is this one can be played; maybe something to bring to Lego conventions for amusement value?
These pins are deceptively large, just over three inches tall and two inches wide. Not sure what their backstory is but they're in excellent co
I've gotten back into Lego recently. I had forgotten - along with what an incredible strain on one's bank account this hobby can be - how much fun this stuff is!
I was always interested in rare and unusual Bionicle sets and collectibles and have gotten a few things recently that fall into that category. I thought I'd post some pictures here of my more interesting new acquisitions.
Still sealed, including the plastic wrap; here's the back.
Green Nuva weapons, probably l
I'm going to BrickCon after all - turns out there will be people from Edmonton there that I know so I won't be wanting for company. In keeping with tradition, I'm accepting suggestions for this year's brick badge. Past badges have included "Fashionable AFOL," "This character limit suc," and "The character limit still su." -L
And that means I require more brick badge ideas. Last time I did this, Ehks's idea was a smash hit; we have two bricks to fill this time, people - go! -Letagi
Since 2008, I've been a regular attendee at LEGO conventions - primarily Seattle's BrickCon, but I've made appearances in Portland and Virginia as well. I've attended nine conventions, and have plans to attend at least another three in the next year-and-a-bit. These conventions are horrendously expensive to go to, especially for a university student still largely dependent on his parents for financial support. Flights are of course the largest contributor to this - my flights to BrickFair were
Yesterday Andrew posted this article by Jonathan Last to the front page. While I agree it's nice to see a mention of the LEGO hobby in more widely-read media, as something of a journalist myself I have a few bones to pick with this bit of writing. The article on Acculturated is titled "The Cult of LEGO - It's creepy. And awesome." The title on the New York Post is "Why Legos [sic] are the best toy ever (for adults too)." Both titles are a little cringe-worthy if you've ever read or written for
First of all, this bit of genius courtesy of Avohkah Tamer featuring Sumiki and Lady Kopaka has be shared again: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omT4z6xDL0Q Next, shoutouts to Trisha, Pat, Maddison, Andrew, Ben, Susannah, Vance, Christie, Corvin, Jess, Jamieson, David, Nate, Thomas, Pablo, Scott, Andrew, Yanni, Danny and more people that I'm trying desperately not to leave out but probably failing. You are all so wonderful. One of the greatest things to happen during BrickFair: Sumiki call
Seeing as I have another four hours to wait here in Dallas, I might as well do a quick review of the past few days. I flew to Baltimore at around midnight on Tuesday night. After a layover in Toronto, I arrived at BWI at 10:00am, whereupon Xaeraz and his dad picked me up on their way to BrickFair. A good amount of laughter and like-minded political discussion took place, in particular whilst driving by NRA headquarters. Our timing turned out to be impeccable, as we arrived at BrickFair almos
Actually leaving for BrickFair in a few minutes. Like, for real. This is really cool, because I've wanted to go to this con since its first year in 2008, and it's finally happening. See a bunch of you soon! But first, like twelve hours of travelling. Oh boy. -Letagi
Slightly freaking out right now because I leave for BrickFair in two days and I can't find my passport. I think it might be in a different province. Whoops. Cancel red alert. Passport has been located. -Letagi
That was slightly underwhelming, but cool nonetheless. The new Kepler discovery was exactly what I and most others expected it to be - the most habitable exoplanet found to date, but with no signs of life. The planet, Kepler-452b, is the only planet found so far in the Kepler-452 system, 1400 light years from Earth. It was discovered using the transit method, where the apparent brightness of a distant star decreases slightly (usually by about one part in 10,000) when an orbiting planet passe
NASA has scheduled a press conference for tomorrow morning at 9:00am PDT, and you should all watch it. The announcement has to do with a new Kepler discovery. Kepler is a space telescope that is responsible for finding over a thousand confirmed extrasolar planets, or planets orbiting other stars. The new findings will very likely be the most Earth-like planet found to date. The press conference can be watched live here: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/9407922 Best-case scenario? Kepler has f
