donderdag 30 april 2015

Building Assassin Droids

What better build report to post up right before `May the 4th Be With You` then one of the older Star Wars sets no?

Set 8015, Assassin Droids Battle Pack, is a set from 2009 and one of the few that contains the metalic coloured droid bodies.

Opening the box, we get 2 bags of parts and the instruction booklet.

First things first, the minifigures.  being an `army builder` set, it contains 2 black and 3 metallic droids, not to shabby!

The vehicle build, a sort of speeder, starts on the basis of a long 2x12 plate.

Adding the necessary `technic hole` bricks for inserting the sides in later on, it uses two antennas to form the forward array.


The seatings and bodywork parts are then slowly build up.

Two side pods, using the softer `rubbery` spike pieces, are then build and attached to the side.


Finally, the sides are closed up and the speeder bike is completed.

Like almost every set, we get a heap of extra pieces as well.

Now, the build is rather simple, but for the limited price tag that was on this set years ago, we do get 5 figures, but what is more important, some `not to common` pieces in intresting colours, like the metallics, the black droid arms (great for making fences), and the soft plastic pieces.

May the Force be with you, young Padawans!

woensdag 29 april 2015

Today`s Haul part 2

As promised, the more detailed pictures of a fantastic haul I did yesterday.

I went out with my mom for a mom / son afternoon...

...and we visited an auction house to have a look.  There my eye fell on a box of old toys, and it contained a Wildcat from MASK, 85% complete (I need to get the crane and the disks to complete it), so I decided to go into the bid wars.

I pulled it off for a good price, and bar the MASK Wildcat, it also contained half a Stiletto, a good beginning to complete that model as well soon.

The small heap bottom left was total ruins and went off into the garbage bag, and the small police helicopter is a gift for the kids of my sister-in-law.

But then, the research started... and I nearly fell of my chair.

The pile top right is a Super Sentai Spylas plane.  Unfortunatly the windshield has a crack and the stickers are worn out, but eBay searches list that one at around 50 USD still in that condition.  The same goes for the Maskman small scale `Big Five`, who misses his ejectable fists.

Then there is this little pull back robot, just a funny thing, but without any value.


Transformers Generation 1 then...

It contains this near complete Micromaster vehicle base (it misses a missile), as well as the complete sportscar turns base toy.  Those two together are worth a nice penny, being sold on eBay for around 75 USD for the both of them if I look at completed sales.






Also included is an accessory less, and no Buzzsaw, Soundwave, who still has a listing value of around 40 USD over the past 6 months



But how pretty is this Rodimus Prime, his colours and decals are in a great state for a 30 year old toy found in a box of random stuff.  This guy in this condition is often seen at around 70 USD.



But here are the real treasures: from the old Super Sentai series (the pre-power rangers) comes the Maskman Turbocharger, complete with his 5 auxiliary vehicles and only missing his antenna.  Currently, eBay has one listed, damaged and without the beasts, at 185 USD...




And there is a childhood favorite of mine, the Machine Buffalo.  With his small companions, and his missile launchers functional AND with the small rockets included.  This one especcially made my day, because even though he is apparently worth around 100 dollars as well, I know have a good reference piece to make a Lego version of it one of the months / years...





All in all, a haul worth well over 400 USD, which is far more then what I actually paid for the whole shabang!

On a different note, I also bought these cool Batman foam deco`s for 6 euro, just because they looked cool to have the `Batman` one added to my build cabinet...


Today`s Haul part 1

A little order from BrickForge fell in the mailbox yesterday containing another heap of loose parts.

Now I`m a fan of their `30s under 30` programme, in which they sell off parts at serious discounts.

This program consists of a heap of end of the line (molds where down and such) elements, all of whom are being sold under 0.30 USD, and this is the third time I took advantage of it. 

Usually ordering for an amount of 10 USD (the required minimum), this gives me a nice range of parts to add that little difference left or right in my builds.

And you always get some extra pieces, this time it included the awesome Viking helmet...

But why part 1?  Because tonight I`ll be posting the pictures of a HUGE toy haul full of valuables I got yesterday...

dinsdag 28 april 2015

Classic Build: Harry Potter Flying Lesson

As could be seen on the BrickMania Wetteren report last week, the GF bought some `used but complete` sets of the original Lego Harry Potter line.

Of course, they needed to be checked and build to see if they where indeed complete before the Smurf gets them, so i sat down and put them together, and for today`s classic build I`m starting with the smallest of the lot: 4711 - Flying Lesson

This set is basically all around two minifigures on their flying brooms and then some parts.

These figures are Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy.

The included build itself is rather simple, as it is a storage cart for the broomsticks.


Adding the wheels and some grills, the cart is already completed.

It`s a nifty little set, and truth to be told, I ain`t "into" the whole Harry Potter thing.  But after Antwerp Convention two days ago, I have taken it to myself to both read all the books and watch all the movies at last.

Why?  Because in 2016, I want to take along a MOC based on the Hogsmeade village, as seen in the Lego video games.  Clearly, Pottermania is rising again since the announcement of the new movies and the appearance of the fresh short stories, so that might attract some attention on that sort of events...

Inspirational Lego 14

After a short break due to a heap of holidays on my part, it`s time to pick up where we left, namely a walkthrough of some awesome builds I spotted on the internet.

Slowly but steadily, I`m starting to get through the big backlog of things on these, but let`s start of with some pure nostalgia

Goldorak!  Funnily enough, we talked about that one with a fellow BeLUG member, so when I saw this one, I thought it might be pure inspiration for him.

Another great build I stumbled upon is this USS Defiant from Star Trek Deep Space 9.  A tough little ship, that looks awesome in bricks.




Another favorite of mine is this Excalibur team-up build.  Even topping Alpha Flight, this less known team formed around Captain Britain has always been my most beloved superhero force, though I do realise ever seeing that on screen is sheer impossible.

This one is rather nifty as well, when the first trailer for the new Star Wars movie came out, soon moc`s already based on this appeared, like this speeder bike.

Talking Star Wars, how about this little beauty ;-)


This week, we`re rounding out with a little cult classic, as we have a look at Ash from Army of Darkness.

That is about it for this episode, with all sorts of pop culture builds to stay in the feel of the Antwerp Convention.

See you all again next week for more amazing finds on the digital world!