What are you building right now?

evancelt

Beginning to plan out my 5x3 MILs layout using stand-ins. Will have some good elevation gain toward the back

Planning to use a ton of 8x16 and 10x20 green bricks as filler / top bricks. I have a few hundred

Hoping to do some fun ballasting

AJRDLawrence

My #75050 B-Wing Starfighter arrived so I out it together and it is much, much larger than I had imagined. It doesn't scale well with anything, and it's much too big to reasonably fit on my 2 bookcase plan and would need a 3rd bookcase dedicated to Return of the Jedi to display it properly. Just look how big it is next to the #75055 Imperial Star Destroyer! Here's hoping it is downsized as and when it is rereleased.



I also threw my #31132 Viking Ship and Midgard serpent together and I'm very pleased with the results. In fact the biggest issue I have with it is where to display it, as the Lego Star Wars sets have taken over. Overall it's not a bad model but the Ballista is kinda weak and pointless. 



I think I'd like to pick up #31130 to use the Octopus as Kraken sooner rather than later.

Lastly, my wife and I rebuilt the #31109 Pirate Ship and added a few of the recent #40515  pirates and treasure VIP goodies into the mix.

lowlead

Pals.

KingAlanI

#60328 to go with some other modern road plates. Even the bit of combining it with #60304 was more MOCing than I've done in awhile
Recently opened #41697 - another aquatic set. Maybe I'll finally work on that beach layout after all

evancelt

Made some progress on my MILS train layout

Beginning of the first two front modules. Still need to add ballast under the curve and put tile ties on top of the track.



Beginnings of a proto-train

iwybs

Over the weekend I rebuilt my Chris Ehnot 2020 (cehnot) X-wing, making small changes as I went to strengthen the (originally very weak) structure. We'll see if it holds up to partial disassembly and storage any better this time than it did earlier this year, but I like it better now than I did before.

I 

FollowsClosely

Slow progress on my Black Falcon Barbican.

Every once in a while I am reminded of how well LEGO pieces are designed. The following four pieces can be assembled to align on top of .

KingAlanI

Started #60153 People Pack Fun at the beach

Love the people packs, and this one is no exception

will divvy up the models based on whether the action actually takes place in or out of the water

with previous people packs, I don't display all of the models together either

MaffyD

It was my birthday over the weekend. My lovely wife asked me what I wanted to do. I said I wanted to build this Lego set. She said "Is that all?" And I said "Yep - easily pleased!"

Loved building this:

So many little touches that just made me smile from ear to ear. And afterwards, my youngest son and I played with it for about an hour. And he came back to it again and again - it has enormous play value.

It'll blow his mind when I build my second one! I just need a better space to display it all!

lowlead

@MaffyD Happy Birthday Elf Captain!  Any plans to build the GE Sport or Coupe models?

Switchfoot55

Happy birthday @MaffyD! I think I've decided that, should I happen to see one of these on sale as I'm walking through Walmart, I'll just need to pull the trigger and buy it. 

FOMO is starting to set in. 

iwybs

I rebuilt my Brian Tobin 2004 X-wing over the last couple of days, too. Brian Tobin (errbt)'s "X-wing custom hybrid" on Brickshelf was one of the X-wings I admired when I was a kid, and for years I thought it was one of the best out there. It was one of the few custom X-wings of the era to be derived from set #4502/#6212, and one of the few to use rubber bands on the wings and the inverted-windscreen cargo bay.

My original build of this was an attempt to spruce up the design on Studio and run a knob out the back to open the wings, but it had a lot of problems:

• the wing mounting geometry was wrong,
• the wings were very fragile and easily broke off their attachment points,
• the rubber bands couldn't hold up the wings and left the wings to flop around,
• the wing jacks weren't strong enough to open the wings,
• the axle running out the back was under stress and nearly impossible to turn because the exit point was ever so slightly offset,
• accessing the wing attachments to remove the rubber bands and the wings in a controlled fashion was impossible,
• the lights on the fronts of the wings popped off,
• there was no room for the legs of the droid,
• and the cockpit was so cramped the minifigure's arms had to be raised way up high. 

When rebuilding it this time I worked primarily from the source photos on Brickshelf, not from my Studio model. The dimensions, proportions, and style are still those of Brian Tobin 2004, but I entirely redid the structure to solve the problems listed above:

• the wing mounts are separated by two more plates of height in the fuselage
• the wings have a sturdier structure with more reinforcement
• the 6 rubber bands were enough to hold up the wings of the #4502/#6212, but these wings are heavier, so they still flop a bit; 2 more rubber bands would help; the rubber bands can hold the wings fully closed or fully open only when swooshing the ship very gently
• because of the way the wings are built, the wing jacks are still not strong enough to open the wings if they're rotated from behind, with the wings closed - but
• when inspecting the photos on Brickshelf more closely, I see Brian Tobin didn't actually have a knob running out the top, bottom, or back to open the wings from within; so the fact that I had to manually hold open the wings and rotate the wing jacks on the previous version must have been what was actually done on the reeal Brian Tobin build; so when rebuilding this, I deleted the gearbox entirely; there's just an axle that runs side to side between the wing jacks, which are rotated manually with the wings held open
• the wing attachment section, tailcone, and fuselage from the droid forward are built as three separate modules connected by a single Technic pin in the center of the cross-section and secured by tiles on top and plates on bottom; they're easy to take apart from each other, which makes it easy to access the rubber bands and the axles that the wings pivot on, in order to remove the wings
• instead of attaching the lights on upside down minifigure neck brackets underneath the wing wedges, they're just attached beneath the engine cylinders ahead of the leading edges of the wings
• the droid is mounted sideways, making room for the legs
• the cockpit sidewalls are slightly unconventional now and a bit fragile, but they do leave a bit more room for the minifig arms

MaffyD

lowlead said:

@MaffyD Happy Birthday Elf Captain!  Any plans to build the GE Sport or Coupe models?

Absolutely! I have the 918 & 924 bricks, so I have to use them :-)

Ideally I need a third Galaxy Explorer, but I'll cope.

560Heliport

I built my third #10497 as the #918 version. I am very excited for the rumored early 2023 Blacktron GWP.

lowlead

@iwybs Whoa, Brian Tobin!  There's a blast from the past.  He still around any of the boards, or?

iwybs

Not that I know of. His pictures on Brickshelf go way back to building Star Wars ships in 1983 or so. Quite the old-timer as far as Lego Star Wars goes. Ironically, it looks like even though he was building X-wings as far back as 1983 it wasn't until 2004 with the version derived from set #4502 that the wings actually opened on any of them ... his really old ones don't look bad for the time, but as late as 2003 the wings look like they must be fixed closed, they couldn't possibly open. (member name "errbt" on Brickshelf)

iwybs

The last I heard of Brian Tobin was a comment on a Brothers Brick article three years ago
https://www.brothers-brick.com/2019/04/09/looking-back-on-20-years-of-lego-star-wars-and-the-lego-fan-community-editorial/

lowlead

^^  Wow, Reto 'Warhawk' Geiger is in that comment section as well.  Brian, Reto - if you're around, check in and catch up!

evancelt

Got started on a corner module and ballasted some curved track. Waiting on a bunch more tiles to come in the mail! They'll be used for rail ties.

WesterBricks

Started working on my UCS Star Destroyer this evening. It’s humongous.

Modeltrainman

evancelt said:

Got started on a corner module and ballasted some curved track. Waiting on a bunch more tiles to come in the mail! They'll be used for rail ties.

How'd you put the curves down, Evan? I can only get mine floating on tiles.

evancelt

Modeltrainman said:

evancelt said:

Got started on a corner module and ballasted some curved track. Waiting on a bunch more tiles to come in the mail! They'll be used for rail ties.

How'd you put the curves down, Evan? I can only get mine floating on tiles.

I positioned them on mostly tiles but a few jumper plates, following this tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNYjVieirOw

pxchris

Working on a couple of recent additions... Not quite-so-classic ships.

GrannyLEGO

Temptation finally got to me and I am working my way through #60532 CITY Advent Calendar. I've started getting out my Winter Village sets as some of those need rebuilding. I have some sets that I include like #76388 Hogsmeade Village Visit and #10308 that are already built and some that need rebuilding like #10267 Gingerbread House and #10275 Elf Club House. What I need to pull it all together is some minifgiure scenes like children sledding.

WesterBricks

Good progress on my UCS Star Destroyer today. It is taking up a large percentage of my Lego room.
I’ve been able to provide many of the missing parts from my collection. Other than the plaque and minifigures, the rest of the missing parts should be inexpensive. I probably won’t even worry about the figs.

Modeltrainman

evancelt said:

Modeltrainman said:

evancelt said:

Got started on a corner module and ballasted some curved track. Waiting on a bunch more tiles to come in the mail! They'll be used for rail ties.

How'd you put the curves down, Evan? I can only get mine floating on tiles.

I positioned them on mostly tiles but a few jumper plates, following this tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNYjVieirOw

Thank you!

Brickfan50

evancelt said:

Got started on a corner module and ballasted some curved track. Waiting on a bunch more tiles to come in the mail! They'll be used for rail ties.

I super admire your collection of bricks! Wish I had that many of green parts for landscaping! I probably need a banker with a box of money to fulfil my dream :-)

560Heliport

My second #75337 AT-TE, with the New Dark Red (and a couple of grey parts) replaced by Earth Green.
Phase 1 Commander Gree as gunner, just because he's also wearing Earth Green.

WesterBricks

And it’s as finished as I can get it. This thing is massive.

evancelt

Brickfan50 said:

evancelt said:

Got started on a corner module and ballasted some curved track. Waiting on a bunch more tiles to come in the mail! They'll be used for rail ties.

I super admire your collection of bricks! Wish I had that many of green parts for landscaping! I probably need a banker with a box of money to fulfil my dream :-)

I do have a lot of green parts, but a good part to get started is the 8x16 green bricks from older sets. You can often find them for $0.50 ea on BrickLink and then build massive green layouts!

FollowsClosely

I am taking a stab at an alternate build.

FollowsClosely

Such a limited pile of bricks lessens my enjoyment of MOC'n. Progress none the less.

Lo1sJess

@FollowsClosely what are the bins you are using for sorting?  

karrit

Lo1sJess said:

@FollowsClosely what are the bins you are using for sorting?  

They look like the Target ones to me:
 https://www.target.com/p/4pk-small-storage-trays-brightroom/-/A-85665004 
They come in several different sizes & colors.  I have some I bought a few years back to use in a set of storage drawers.

Lo1sJess

Thanks @karrit
these show as in stock at local target so I’ll take a look

TheFew

Brick Bank Apocalypse. Two storeys complete,  one to go. The  then Zombies need to visit.

FollowsClosely

Four studs wider on each side will give this gate house the presents it deserves.

FollowsClosely

Of course the back is extended by eight studs as well.

FollowsClosely

It really is so much better just eight studs wider.

TheOriginalSimonB

Not sure I want to see any 1x1 plates for a while...

FollowsClosely

Gatehouse is complete.

TheFew

Complete... but what will Hazmat man find inside?

Bumblepants

Started hearing 'Fallen Angel' in my head looking at the front door area.

Cymbeline

I thought those white columns would yellow...

pxchris

I worked on building the four Western sets I'd pulled out of a bulk lot I got last summer, but just got around to actually pulling and completing via Bricklink this past week. I got these built just in time to add Fort Legoredo to yesterday!



Definitely off to a nice start on the Western theme.

560Heliport

^ Apparently they're experiencing some flooding?  ;)

FollowsClosely

I built book one without any modifications. The finished product in my opinion is so much better. Adding just 650 more bricks makes all the difference.

pxchris

560Heliport said:

^ Apparently they're experiencing some flooding?  ;)

Yes, the blue tablecloth most certainly does not suit the Western sets. Unfortunately I'm loosing my photo space soon (need to reconvert the spare room back to a bedroom for the kid who's moving back home) so I'm not going to be able to do a ton of fun photos & setups for a while.

MaffyD

@FollowsClosely - I like your expansion of the gatehouse! I I'd love to do something similar when I get my castle (maybe Christmas hopefully). I do wonder if one of the towers would also look good if made a bit taller? Maybe heighten the one with the red and yellow flags on top to be a bit more of a Wizard's Tower perhaps? Not that I'm suggesting you add that on to your castle, but just thinking out loud really... :-)

Brickfan50

pxchris said:

I worked on building the four Western sets I'd pulled out of a bulk lot I got last summer, but just got around to actually pulling and completing via Bricklink this past week. I got these built just in time to add Fort Legoredo to yesterday!

Definitely off to a nice start on the Western theme.

This is looking so sweet! I only have Fort Legoredo and Rapid River Village. Will look out for the other sets now.