The 3p MOC tanks and military sets are so cool... but so expensive.

My latest addiction is adding lighting to my ships. Found a guy who made really nice basic wall mounts for most of my ucs sets so they are all around the office on the walls now

I just finish assembly of the Saturn V. It was a fun build, and it's one of the better values among the large kits. 1969 pieces in honor of the first lunar landing.

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Couple more built.

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next guilty hobby to get into... adding LEDs and sounds to your legos

Check out this millennium falcon that the guy 3D printed each piece at 500%. It’s like giant lego.

The new stuff is impressive and massive! It’s really a cool 3D puzzle and art. Vintage stuff was all I knew about until watching some good recent documentaries.

i've got that red car too - it was the pinnacle of Technic back then. Recent LEGO technic kits feel a bit more Mecano-ish with the odd custom parts way it all snaps together.

I built this one and it’s amazing. Also very large make sure you have somewhere to display it.

Sharing some experiences with LED kits...

lightingtail.com - did the UCS A-Wing. These kits use the 'string of lights' where you have an octopus of leads where each leg can have several LEDs and can be integrated into existing bricks.

The bricks they use probably aren't lego, but I haven't had any fitment issues. The LEDs themselves seem to be comparable to others. They claim a 2yr support for their parts. The wires used are untwisted and very thin and route well. They provide printed instructions, but photos only and the photos are only about 2"x2". This made following the instructions very difficult. Between not understanding what they are trying to show, to lack of detail/contrast due to size... I found this kit the hardest to follow the guides.

Price wise it is pretty cheap, and they are sold even on Amazon making shipping/etc super easy.

Their Brikmax line seems to be the same modular design with expansion boards used by other vendors while the lightingtail line seems to be the pre-fabbed hydra cable design.

They offer lots of DYI options, but going through the available kits, I think many of them look sloppy with their cable routing options, etc. The A-Wing I did looks very tidy - but their Death Star kit looked bad.

They have some kits with remotes+sound, but I haven't tried their offers.

Pros:
Price
Quality seems acceptable
Wide Range of options
Easy buying options (ebay, amazon, etc)

Cons:
Difficult instructions
Scrutinize the design of the kits before buying
Effects/tech seem lacking in the pre-built kits

Game of Bricks - gameofbricks.eu

I've built their 10274 Ecto-1 kit and feature wise... this kit is the TITS! It has many effects, multiple sounds, and remote control. Their sets use a combination of the modular parts w/boards and some pre-fabbed wire+brick pieces. For instance, the taillight and spotlight assemblies were pre-fab wires while almost everything else was modular parts. The parts quality seemed good and comparable with other kits I've used.

They used to use youtube videos (unlisted videos) for all their instructions and I really don't like this format. It helps for somethings, but I find it cumbersome to be using video pausing, speed, back and forth, etc. I think it just puts the burden on you, instead of on them to be clear. For newer kits they seem to be using online photos that were pretty complete. Took some interpretation, and they lack some guidance, but once familiar with the kits, it was reasonable. The photos >> video instructions, but a first timer would still probably struggle some. I don't think the parts they include are Lego parts, but I did not have any quality issues/concerns. They have DIY options, but do not list all the components they use (including their effects boards)

Buying however has been the biggest problem. They have a simple online site that is effective, but they ship from China, are deceptive with their shipping times, and even their tracking updates are dubious. Add into this if you need replacement parts and you can see how this can get really ugly very quick. For instance, I ordered two kits on Jan2. As of today, I still don't have my full order (they short shipped the first time).. and the replacement parts have been 'shipped' 18 days ago.. and I still have no target delivery date. They are responsive to emails and have offered me discounts for my trouble on new orders - but their website boasts 3-5 days shipping which is total BS. The shipping problems are issue enough to not want to buy from them.

However - their kits are EXTREMELY competitively priced and are feature rich. Their components seem good, their sound and effects boards are very featured... for end product their Ecto-1 kit is supreme IMO. They claim a 1yr support on their parts. But again, getting anything shipped from them to the US has been dreadful.

Most of the kits they offer seem like good designs - tho there are some pretty ugly ones too.. always study their videos and photos closely as you should with any vendor's kits. (note everyone likes showing the kits in the dark to help hide things too!). I still had to improvise some and guess on their intents at times.

I have only done the Ecto-1 from their kit, but have several others on order to try. Their Ecto-1 kit I would rate as an 'advanced' kit that would be daunting to a first timer, but the end result I am very happy with. It is definitely one of those 'wow' kits.

Pros:
Seem to be good parts
Very feature rich (effects, sound, remote)
Best feature/price combination I've seen
Instructions were decent->good where non-video ones are available
Sales Support is responsive

Cons:
Abysmally slow shipping/deceptive lead-times
Only available direct from company

Lightmybricks.com

I've done multiple kits from this company now.. mostly vehicles. The DB-5, the Batmobile, the beetle, etc. This is the company I have the most experience with.

It might just be best to say.. if you are new or uncertain, this is the most 'robust' of the brands I have worked with to-date and the brand I would point you towards. They use the modular design with parts and expansion boards (I've not seen any pre-fabbed parts+lights in any of my kits). They offer a wide range of kits, and each I've used has been very tastefully done. I'd say they are the one I am least concerned about for good looks.

That said, they are a bit more conservative in the effects department. They have things like flicker, etc.. but haven't had extensive sound+remote abilities. They offer some now, but are expensive and limited compared to the effects I got in my gameofbricks set. For example, the Ecto set controls 8 different strings of lights from the remote, integrates sound+light sequences, has lightbar effects, etc.. while the LMB remote only controls one string, and allows sound on demand. They do offer lots of other components that are good, like contact switches, disconnects, other lighting effects (gun fire, flicker, fade, etc) - but lack the big punch effects found in my Ecto-1 kit from gameofbricks. For their smaller kits, they do offer a coin-cell battery pack that I really like for it's size.

The 2020 batmobile is probably the most advanced set I've done from them and I was super happy with the outcome. It has switched lights, 3 different effects, a ton of lights, etc. I considered doing it DIY as I didn't necessarily feel I needed everything it offered, but the pricing doesn't make DIY work very well unless you buy a bulk of stuff.

As mentioned, these kits use the modular design. I've found the parts good quality, and they seem to use Lego parts when supplying extra pieces. I have had two bad parts before (a battery pack and one expansion wire) and this is where this company has excelled. Their CS has been very responsive, and I've gotten my replacement parts in about 3 days. Note, this company is in Australia!! Yes, I get my orders and replacement parts to the US in under a week. They ship DHL express and I've been SUPER impressed with their shipping and packaging.

They use online instructions with large photos. I've found their instructions very good and have not had problems following their intentions. I'd rate their instructions the best I've used.

Of the brands I've tried... I'd probably rate this one the best for any first-time users. This is not china knock-off quality stuff. This is premium packaged, bundled, featured, and supported. The trade-off is these are alot more expensive then the alternatives - but IMO it is worth it. My only grievance is they don't have as advanced kits as some of the competition.. and their price point for the larger kits. (note however, they are not the top-end of pricing.. the 'OMG want' kit for the UCS Falcon is $400 from brickstuff!).

Pros:
Good quality parts
Suburb Shipping/packaging
Excellent Customer Service
Very good photos/instructions
Good kit designs
Wide range of DIY options

Cons:
More expensive than alternatives
Not as advanced in some of the sound+remote abilities

Conclusions:

For a first timer using LEDs... I would point you to Lightmybricks - they have the best 'complete' experience IMO. However, GameofBricks would be an excellent cheaper alternative if they could just fix their stupid shipping and if they continue on their updated instructions offering. Their bang/buck is really hard to match. Lightingtail I'm ok with, but not completely sold yet. It seems a good offer for cheap sets, but I think you need to be a savvy shopper to make sure the kit you are looking at meets your standards and compare it to the other venders. But it does seem acceptable quality in my limited exposure so far.

I was a bit embarrassed at first but not afraid to admit it, I love design and started playing with creating customs in the free app stud.io. You can then order your creation from any number of linked brick stores.

One of the best distractions I had in a long time. Copied a custom speeder bike from a live YouTube video. Credit to this guy.

And translated that to a design in the software. Here's a render of the design.

You can even make instructions, etc.

Now I'm hooked and my 7 year old daughter and I are designing a bigger project!

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I was wondering if anyone had used a Lego set for a topper or mod on the playfield and found this thread when I searched. And I'm glad I did!

Yea, I'd say I'm a wee bit of a Lego fan. And have been pretty much my entire life. Born in 1974, my oldest set is the moon landing one from about 1975. And by some miracle, I've been able to hang on to pretty much every set I had ever gotten from the 70's, 80's through to today.

Somewhere around 1992 I built a huge boat. Just my own creation and it had room for cars to drive in the front, a swimming pool below deck, a band playing, helicopter pad, you name it. I left it together like that for probably 20 years. Then around 2012 or 2013, my niece was expressing an interest in Lego and I thought she'd get a kick out of seeing what the old sets looked like. So I took the ship apart and started what was about a 30,000 piece puzzle.

I have some of the old instructions and some I didn't. Some sets I knew I had and others I only realized as the piece pile got smaller. Most instructions you can download a PDF copy of so that really helped. I got them all together and put most of those old ones all together on the dining room table.

Just a fraction of the total really. Star Wars takes up it's own room lol. The newer space ones are great like the Apollo rocket and lunar lander. The Simpson's house and VW bus. The Pirates of Barracuda Bay set might honestly be the best set I've ever owned. Even more so than the Death Star. The thought and design and engineering going into the big sets nowadays is really incredible. Also got a little twisted idea making a Brickheadz model from the Hannibal movie...

I have a couple of my pinball machines with minifig keychains hanging off the coin door. I don't have any direct franchise related pins to Lego though, like Ghostbusters or Back to the Future or Star Wars. There are plenty out there though where you could make a topper out of a set.

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One of my friends in France sent me this picture. Lol

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I haven't bought anything lego since I was a child. Well that changed yesterday when I scored these at a garage sale for only $4!

Should I open them and put them together or leave them in box?

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In addition to building sets, you can have fun doing some stop-motion animation movies. Here is a little one I made a few years ago.

Don't forget to watch through the credits, I added some bloopers...lol

Nice! How long did it take to make?

I think it took about a month. I was screwing around with learning photoshop to clean up the images (remove wires, backgrounds, etc.) and the camera for stop-motion, plus having fun building the scenes.

Here is a pic of an in-scene filming. It was a lot of fun and I have seriously thought about doing another one. I think a Noir style hardboiled private eye movie would be fun.

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After almost 2 years, the kids were old enough for my wife to be able to put together her castle safely. She started with a 6,000 piece giant lego Harry Potter castle as her first set. She had eyballed it everytime we passed it for months, and sometimes as a husband you just have to step in.

10/10... going to get her Diagon Aley this Christmas.

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This IS the Droid you are looking for. "Help me O B 1 Kanobi" I am addicted to Legos and Pinball....

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Dude... respect!

Rebuilt the Death Star to help pass the COVID time, and decided to branch out from the Star Wars theme. The fun begins!

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I re-got into Lego when my wife didn't know what to give me as a birthday present and I got a big Lego Technic firetruck, wich I built with my (still a bit too young) children got them hooked.

For me that lasted some years, but while I still like to build LEGO with my Kids as well as alone, I'm over it in terms of collecting... dust.

So,... while I love the Ghostbusters HQ, Ninjago City and the others, I don't get any joy from them sitting around.
I'm pretty sure I'll buy nothing more for myself and my Kids are now playing with them and eventually will tear them to pieces...

...that said I'm looking Forward to my sons birthday and the 3000pcs LEGO Set he'll get and I'll help build!

This is a good observation. I feel the same way.

So I just found out there is a Lego show in the D.C. metro 31 July - 1 August. https://www.brickfair.com/VA/ Anyone go to anything like this and are they any good? Would be bring family.

i still have this brand new unopened diner set for sale.......currently sold out and retired on the lego site.....including the led light kit .....can be shipped out right away........$300 plus shipping...........or can be delivered to the allentown pinball show

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yes its worth it.

Imagine the entire hall setup with tables and people displaying their creations. They have the Lego GBC (Giant Ball Contraption) thing setup which is mesmerizing to watch... and they have a vendor hall where you can see/buy most of the 3rd party brand stuff too.

I got my young daughter into Lego's back in 2007 and we started collecting the Market Street sets:
10182 - Corner Cafe
10185 - Green Grocer
10190 - Market Street Factory
10197 - Lego Fire Brigade
10211 - Grand Emporium
10224 - Town Hall
...too bad they've all been opened, otherwise they'd be collectively valued at same price as a nice pin! They were all re-boxed and are all cmplete, so there may still be some value...but they'd be nice gift for grand kids too some day!

We do have an unopened 10194 - Emerald Night Train (She wasn't interested in a train!)

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I have a box in the garage labeled “legos for the grandkids” with a bunch of old space sets. No boxes but they have the instructions and all pieces. Remember the old space minifigs and the craters like set 6970

Probably not worth anything but I hope to build Them with my grandkids someday

I recently sold a pin and decided to use some of the cash to treat myself to the large Millenium Falcon. I'm really looking forward to building it

I have not tried any of them but there are customized lighting kits for most of the big models like the falcon.

https://www.lightailing.com/collections/star-wars-lights/products/lgk-lego-millennium-falcon-light-kit

Take your time... enjoy the journey. Don't feel pressure to finish as much as you can in a session, etc. It's no race

Biggest need for the falcon is a display stand! I have one like this and love it - https://www.wickedbrick.com/products/display-stand-for-ucs-millennium-falcon-75192

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Has anyone done a lego retheme on a pin? Seems like it would work well

Nice! I built that one. You can see a time lapse of us building it in 2 days if you search YouTube for three amigos lego millennium falcon time lapse.

Awesome! I have been looking for a good stand for it. I have a few hundred sets, but the vast majority of them are small enough to be shown off in my display cabinets. I was wondering what to do with the Falcon. I've seen a couple wall mounts also that look nice.

My family loves Legos too. Here is our 9 ft tall (with whip) Dr. Jones. Don't need to worry about a display shelf if it's big enough.
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Don’t know if it’s been mentioned or not can’t read all 4 pages right now. But if you like or are becoming a fan of LEGO then you have to watch the tv series LEGO Masters. Airs Monday nights. They are in season 2. Pretty awesome builds.

That's amazing!!! Did you all build that?!?

I wish I could build something like that. I received it as a gift from Lego CEO about 10 years ago. The funny thing is when I first met him, he handed me his 'business card' which was a lego of himself. It blew my mind at the time.

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Yes those are considered quite collectible too I believe

I never thought about that!

Update: Whoa! $400+