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Letagi

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Blog Entries posted by Letagi

  1. Letagi

    An adorable new acquisition

    By Letagi,


    Lego
    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!
  2. Letagi
    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? 🤣
  3. Letagi

    More shiny plastic

    By Letagi,


    Bionicle
    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.
  4. Letagi

    Obligatory BrickFair post

    By Letagi,


    Bionicle
    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:

    To my knowledge this is one of only two complete sets of these. Said member will be receiving my prototype Strakk helmet in return. I've had it in my collection since 2009 so it was tough to let it go, but I'm glad another collector will get the chance to enjoy it.

  5. Letagi
    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 sealed:


    Curiously, both of these are printed in Canada.
    A few more items coming up!
    -L
  6. Letagi
    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), followed by the Kaukau, with nine. In six instances, a Miru and a Kaukau were packaged together, making this by far the most common combination. The two most common masks were the brown Miru and white Miru, with four of each. Rarest shape was the Kakama, with just three out of 40. For colours, red and brown were the most common, with ten of each. Rarest colour was black - just two out of 40, and both were Kaukau. Curious that LEGO would stop producing brown sets in 2006 because of low sales, but they chose to make it one of the most common Kanohi colours in 2002/3. Annoyingly, there were five set masks, three of which were the white Akaku. The other two were a red Hau and a blue Kaukau. There were zero Protodermic/silver masks, not even any silver Miru, so the reason for the abundance of that mask, compared with the other five (which are now quite valuable), remains a mystery.
    I was surprised that these came with regular Krana, not Krana-Kal, but now that I think about it it makes sense: these polybags are from late 2002, but the Krana-Kal weren't released until early 2003 (the later boxed versions of these packs came with the Krana-Kal). All the purple Krana in these polybags were the lighter variant.
    There was less repetition in the Kanoka, but I didn't bother to take detailed notes. I got no more than two of any given disk out of eleven boxes containing two disks each, and there were only two instances of duplicates - 265 and 654 (there were 36 different disks in these packs; the 16 that came in sets and other promotions did not come in the packs).
    More cool stuff on the way!
    -L
  7. Letagi
    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 condition.

    And finally, sealed copies of the German edition of Comic #1 that was rereleased in 2003 and packaged with the infected Hau Nuva, of which there were four variations. Unfortunately one of them came unsealed during shipping; waiting to hear whether the seller is willing to replace it. He's got more and they are very reasonably priced if anyone is interested: https://store.bricklink.com/Yo_Yo_Flamingo?p=Yo_Yo_Flamingo#/shop?o={"q":"Ankunft","showHomeItems":0}
    More whenever my boxes from Russia and Ukraine get here... so maybe never. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
    -L
  8. Letagi
    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 late-stage prototypes used to test the new moulds. These show up for sale on BrickLink every now and then.

    Bohrak Va polybags that seem to have been only available in Korea. I recently learned that these actually came in the boxed Kabaya sets, which were sold in both Korea and Japan.
    More coming soon!
    -L
  9. Letagi

    I lied

    By Letagi,

    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
  16. Letagi

    LEGO Convention Musings

    By 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 $700, with another $100 for baggage fees and travel insurance. Usually accommodation is quite affordable thanks to room sharing, but not affordable enough to offset the cost of transport. When I lived in Vancouver, West Coast cons were fairly easily accessible. Not so much from Edmonton.
     
    There are also other, non-monetary concerns, primarily in the form of missed school. I expected to miss four calculus classes for BrickFair; I ended up missing seven. My mark will come in any day now, and I really have no idea whether I'll pass. The cost of failing would be a lot of wasted time and a ton of frustration - not to mention paying to take the class again, since I need it for my degree.
     
    So I've been asking myself lately why I bother going to these events. The reality is that I usually don't get a lot out them in terms of LEGO-related benefits. The deals are nice, but given that I already have a hard time paying to get there, I can't generally afford to buy much; at BrickFair I came away almost totally empty-handed. I actually didn't mind that so much - I don't have a lot of time for MOCing these days anyways, nor do I have the desire to at the moment. Well, I do have a big project in the planning stages, but that's still a little ways off.
     
    This also relates to the fact that I seem to be going through a bit of what's called a "dark age" in terms of my interest in LEGO. I'm sad to say this, but my enthusiasm for Bionicle is and has been for a while at an all-time low. My interest in other aspects of LEGO is slightly better off, but not great. If I had the money to start the aforementioned project, I think things would be different, but in general I feel as if my LEGO hobby is largely on hold for the time being.
     
    The one thing I do get out of conventions is the social aspect, and it's been dawning on me more and more recently that that's the only real reason I continue to attend. There's a certain small group of BZPers I can call real friends whom I've gotten to know over the years, and I go mostly to see them.
     
    BrickFair was probably the most disappointing LEGO convention I've been to (ask anyone who was there - it was very much an off year) but it was by far the most incredible year in terms of socializing. If I go again, it'll be for that reason, regardless of how good or bad the con itself promises to be next year.
     
    But there are other ways to see people. Tomorrow morning I'm flying to Vancouver to visit my parents, and I'll be making a trip down to Portland for a couple of days to visit some people. Some other people are moving there soon; combine that with two of my closest BZP friends living in or near Vancouver, and in a couple of months I'll be able to visit almost my entire group of friends with just a train down to Portland whenever I happen to be in Vancouver. The Vancouver trips happen anyways for family visits, so that's only about an additional $150 for the round trip, as opposed to the amount mentioned above - plus minimal or no hotel costs, since I can usually stay with friends. Well worth it.
     
    Another advantage of seeing people outside of cons is the additional freedom. When you're registered for a con, you feel bad if you're not spending a lot of time there - like you're not getting your money's worth, or like you're missing out. At BrickFair, I really wanted to visit the Air and Space Museum and see DC, and I would have if it hadn't been BrickFair week. In hindsight, I would much rather have gone to those places with some friends than sit around bored at the convention for hours on end.
     
    I'm not entirely sure what the purpose of this entry is. I guess I'm just thinking out loud (in print?). I don't think I'll stop going to cons altogether - BrickCon will continue to be a thing for a while, I think, and BrickCan in Vancouver as well when it starts next year - but I might trim down my appearances at cons in favour of non-LEGO-related trips down the West Coast.
     
    -Letagi
  17. Letagi
    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 a real newspaper, but that's not their only problem - they're both totally inaccurate, because the article isn't actually about the LEGO hobby - it's almost entirely about the LEGO Company. Last spends most of the article giving a LEGO history lesson, and devotes only about two short paragraphs to discussing the adult LEGO fanbase itself. Granted, titles are often made up by editors and not by the author of the article in question, so I'll give Last the benefit of the doubt and assume he's not to blame for misleading potential readers.
     
    But in those few paragraphs, he makes slightly disparaging remarks about the members of the so-called "Cult of LEGO," despite having stated earlier that he is "down with the LEGO program" and even listing several sets that he displays in his workplace. He states that he wouldn't "want our children to grow up like them" - immediately previously saying in contradiction that they're a "good influence" - and that the "weirdos" who invest significant amounts of money in their LEGO hobby "have made some interesting life choices." Although he devotes most of the article to praising the LEGO brand, and although he purports to support the LEGO hobby in theory, he seems to disapprove of it in practice. I'd be curious to know what Last's own hobbies and interests consist of, and how much money he spends on them. Perhaps he's invested some extra money in a nice car - perhaps even $30,000, the very same amount that he semi-seriously mocks the builder of the LEGO St. Peter's model for spending.
     
    Reading through some of Last's other articles, one can tell he's the judgmental sort. That's fine, as long as he's not writing news stories. Some of his opinions I agree with, some I don't, and most I simply don't care for because the celebrity world bores me. The titles of his articles are consistently awful, and the articles themselves are mediocrely written. Oddly enough, that's something of a compliment when put into context, since almost all Internet journalism is terrible. Last's articles are actually significantly better than the drivel I'm used to regretfully stumbling across. He obviously does his research, and generally makes his opinions clear. But he does himself a disservice with his article on the LEGO fanbase - after reading it through a few times, I still don't know what his opinion is. Does he respect the LEGO hobby and those who practice it, or is he only impressed with the things people build and otherwise finds the hobby itself distasteful?
     
    Although I'm pleased to see a non-LEGO fan take the time to attend a LEGO event and write something about his experience, I'm a little disappointed with the execution here. Last's article could have been an insightful look into the LEGO hobby; instead, it serves only as a history lesson and as a means to make fun of nerds.
     
    -Letagi
  18. Letagi
    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 calling me "famous." His words, not mine. I'm honoured.
     
    Furthermore, my material acquisitions over the five days of the con (aside from the usual free BrickFair goodies) consisted of no more than two LEGO pieces, but they were particularly special pieces - TLH picked up an extra SDCC Scorpio mask for me recently, and I now finally own a Metru blue Matatu, which is a piece I've been wanting to have for almost ten years, and of which no more than twelve exist. Thanks Maddison!
     
    My convention plans for the next year - if finances allow, that is - include BrickCon in Seattle in less than two months' time, BrickCan in my hometown of Vancouver in April (finally one that I won't have to go through customs for), BricksCascade in Portland in June, and hopefully BrickFair VA again next August.
     
    Until next time, lovelies.
     
    -Letagi
  19. Letagi

    BrickFair 2015 Recap

    By Letagi,

    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 almost exactly at opening time. After checking in, an unexpected parts draft run by Black Six ensued and free LEGO was acquired.
     
    Recalling all the details of the next few days would be a considerable challenge, as I was utterly sleep deprived almost the whole time. But one of the defining characteristics of this con was the amount of socializing; out of the nine cons I've attended, I think BrickFair was the one at which I spent the least amount of time per day at the con itself, and the most time chilling with friends elsewhere.
     
    Highlights of the last five days include: putting more than a dozen more faces to their respective screen names, reconnecting with people I haven't seen in six years, debauchery and shenanigans with friends, laughing with/at Team Farm Animals, making fun of awful TV shows, watching sunsets, Mark Knopfler, staying up all night and sleeping half the day.
     
    The quality of the trip was, I admit, somewhat muddied by various resurgences of my anxiety, which doesn't usually bother me much, but I got through it all without too much suffering. The low quality of the most easily available food and the challenge of finding decent vegetarian options greatly contributed to this.
     
    My take on the con itself is mixed. This con has three times as many people as the West Coast cons I attend regularly, but oddly enough, doesn't seem to have a much greater number of MOCs (possibly even fewer; a comparison is difficult because of the drastically differing venue sizes and subsequently inconsistent concentration of MOCs per unit area). I also noticed that the average quality of MOCs at BrickFair seems to be lower than at BrickCon. And while BrickFair is clearly well-organized, I actually enjoy the organization of BrickCon more; I find the activities more enjoyable and relevant to the purpose of the con.
     
    I'm not sure if I'll be attending BrickFair again. If I do, it'll be for the primary purpose of spending time with the friends I so rarely get to see, with the con itself being secondary.
     
    -Letagi
  20. 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 passes between it and Earth. If this happens at regular intervals, then further methods of analysis are used to determine whether it is in fact a planet (since the same effect can be caused by binary star systems and other phenomena).
     
    Kepler-452b has a mass of 5±2 Earth masses, a radius 60% larger than Earth and a corresponding surface gravity of about 2g (with an error margin related to the error margins for mass and size, but I'm too lazy to calculate that). Its orbit is 5% larger in radius than that of Earth and lasts 385 Earth days, but its star is older and thus more active, and so the planet receives 10% more solar radiation than Earth. This would cause an Earth-size planet at the same location to be undergoing a runaway greenhouse effect, similar to Venus, but Kepler-452b's larger mass means that won't happen for another 500 million years or so (if our observations are correct; there's a possibility we're slightly off somewhere, and it is indeed happening now).
     
    Currently, the technology for analysis of atmospheric composition of exoplanets doesn't exist. It's not beyond our current capabilities - we just haven't built a big enough telescope yet. Thus, we have no idea what the atmosphere of Kepler-452b is made of. If future findings show it to have dioxygen and/or methane in significant quantities, it will be an excellent candidate for life as we know it.
     
    -Letagi
  21. Letagi
    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 found an Earth-like planet whose atmosphere has a high concentration of dioxygen, or O2, which did not exist on Earth until the evolution of photosynthesis. Since O2 is not produced in stellar reactions (elemental oxygen is, but not molecular oxygen) or in large quantities by other known natural processes, the presence of the molecule on another planet would be a strong indicator of life.
     
    -Letagi
  25. Letagi

    BrickFair and Jobs

    By Letagi,

    I might actually make it this year.
     
    It's never really been an option in the past, either because of the cost or because I was too young to travel that far on my own (or to register for a conference, for that matter) and would have needed a parent with me - which would have doubled the already high cost. I'm twenty, so obviously the second problem isn't a problem anymore, and I have some good job prospects so I'll be able to pay my parents back for at least part of the trip in the near future.
     
    That's one of the annoying things about where I am in life right now - I'm self-sufficient and independent in every way imaginable except financially, in large part due to the fact that going to university full-time doesn't really allow for a job. But now I've applied for some jobs that I think I'm likely to get at the university where I study and live, which will make it easier to balance work and school, so hopefully my financial dependence on my parents will start to attenuate.
     
    That, and finally this cursed* school will start giving me money, rather than it always being the other way around.
     
    *Just kidding, I love this university. But seriously, universities are evil when it comes to taking your money.
     
    -Letagi
     
    Edit: First line is now inaccurate. I am going to BrickFair.
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