The Lego Store

Yesterday, as you might have known, the Alabama Lego store opened. The place was packed. The place was also awesome. Sorry that I don't have photos of the store. I'll take my camera when I visit the grand opening, or maybe even next Tuesday (that's the monthly mini-model build.)

I do, however, have some photos of what I got:

This was my custom minifig package: Rail Worker (left), Trucker (right), Adam (center). I had wanted an Adam minifig for a while, so when I saw the chance, I made him first and the rest are just so I could get him. (I didn't have that sunglasses head on the rail worker, though, except in skin color. So that's good.)
The Dwarf Battle Pack. I had been looking for this for a while. I was rather excited to find it. But for a second there, I wasn't sure whether to get the dwarfs or the trolls. You can see how I decided. (Note: Besides the 5 dwarfs, this set also has a barrel of tools. It's just behind the Dwarf king, so you can't see it.
Since I spent 25 dollars (the custom minifigures cost 10 dollars and the dwarfs cost 15 dollars), I got (drumroll.....) my first loyalty stamp! Just 7 more for my 10 dollar Lego gift card!

Oh, yeah, you remember the mini-model build I told you about? If I go, I'll show you how to build it. I'm pretty sure the August one is a lobster.

The Poll Is Now Closed

Well, another poll is gone. Let's see how it turned out......

Aqua Raiders: A whopping 1 vote. Not too bad.

Alpha Team: Another 1 vote, making it 14% for this theme.

Orient Expedition: 3 votes. This was my favorite theme in the poll.

Knight's Kingdom: This theme wins with 4 votes! It's a nice theme, I guess.

Exo-Force: This choice got 3 votes. Not too bad.

Vikings: After Pirate's shocking win, you'd think this theme would win also. Too bad it falls short with only 1 vote.

Other: One vote. I wonder what other theme this voter liked?

Soon I'll have a "Favorite Old Theme" poll, finishing up our favorite theme polls.

An Incredible Donation!

Yesterday I was met with an incredible donation: ALL ADAM'S LEGOS!!!!

WAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Phew. Now that that's out of the way....

Adam's collection consisted of mostly Star Wars Lego sets, although he did own a large brick bucket of generic Lego bricks (although it seemed to probably be City themed.) Expect to see some of the Legos in future strips (especially the second year.)

I feel so good, I feel like giving you a spoiler!

This is Zombie Commander.

Well, there's your spoiler!

Strip 5: The Legolas Sort

Yes. The Tolkien type. That sort of elf.

Oh, and in case you're confused, that's not the elf king there. That's one of his lackeys. The king prefers to use other elves for these jobs.

You'll be able to see the elf a lot better in, um, let me see, the next strip. But for now you'll just have to put up with this back view.

Adam makes a guest appearance! See that orange blob in the top left of the first panel? That's him and his orange shirt. Say hi to the nice people, Adam!

Christmas in July (The Post)

As you probably know, yesterday was Christmas in July. It was an excellent day, fun all the day long (and soon you'll see why.) Even the cat got a present! Here's a present list (for me, at least):

-A new Lego City Minifigure Collection set

-A new Cannon Battle set

-A copy of Lego Batman: The Video Game (for the Wii)

-A can of delicious Planters salted peanuts (made with pure sea salt)

-A box of Russell Stover's chocolate

-A 30 dollar gift card for Amazon.com

-A certificate for unlimited electronic media time, valid only on July 25 (That was the fun all day long, usually I only get an hour and 30 minutes of time.)

All together it was a pretty good day, wouldn't you say?

P.S. Expect to see some of the Legos to appear in the webcomic.

Christmas in July!

I'm just posting to tell you to expect a Christmas in July post Saturday or Sunday. If I posted regularly on weekends this wouldn't be necessary.

Steampunk: The Heavy Cruiser

I'm a big fan of steampunk, so one day I used Lego Digital Designer (downloadable here) to design a steampunk cruiser. The result?
The Heavy Steampunk Cruiser. Let's observe some of the details, shall we? First stop, the front.
The front features loading ramps which fold up and down, several steam tanks, and between the two smaller steam tanks, a steam engine.
The cockpit features a comfortable gray leather pilot's seat and a streamlined windshield.
Here you will notice two large propellers for an extra boost, two more steam tanks, and several cargo holders. And finally....
I carefully lined the interior with steam pipes and steam-powered generator cells. This view, by the way, is with the bottom removed. This section isn't exposed. Also notice, on the outside, the exhaust pipes.

Well, that's it. Maybe soon I'll show you my smaller, affordable cruiser (which comes with a steam jet-pack!)

Update: The Heavy Steampunk Cruiser is now available to buy here.

Avatar

Oh yes. I'm sure all we Avatar fans have wondered, "Why? Why for Pete's sake did they make just 2 Avatar sets?!" I wasn't even a fan then, so I have 0 Avatar sets. Allow me to quote (but with a few changes):

"Just when [I] needed them most, they vanished."

Too bad it probably won't turn out like this:

"Years passed, and my brother and I found the new Avatar [sets.]

I mean, who wouldn't want a Sandbender's vehicle? I even have an idea for one (complete with minifigures)!

Too bad. (Sniff sniff.) There won't be a happy ending to this story.

Probably.

Unless someone convinced the Lego company into making more sets, just in time for the live-action movie!

Wahoo! How cool would that be!

P.S. If you have an Avatar set and you aren't particularly an Avatar fan, please send it to me. I would appreciate it.

Oh Good, He Finally Got Around to Making a New Poll

Yep. There's a new poll. Similar to the last one, but different. Expect a "What was your favorite old Lego theme" soon. Ta-ta!

Strip 4: It's a Trap!

Forth strip. Yes. Not much to say.

Oh yeah, that's my mom coming out the door.

Here's the last two team members, as I promised you.

Not much to say about these guys, either. They're both from the Lego Studios set, Temple of Gloom. I'm a fan of Studios and Adventurers sets (although I only have one of each. (Hint hint.))

Strip 3: Don't Bring Your Pets on a Plane

This strip reminds me of our trip to Austin. We had to board our cat, and she hated it. If we could have, I would have rather brought her, but that wasn't possible. 

Yes. I know. That's an alligator. You just tell me when there's a crocodile and I'll change the strip.

As I promised, here's more of the team: Bill and Julius.

Originally Julius had the angry cop face, but I needed that for someone else. (Did I just say that out loud?)

Medical Conditions

Lego Nail. A slightly painful affliction caused by Legos.

Lego Nail (LEH-go): Damage caused to the fingernails by Lego bricks; usually caused by attempting to separate Lego plates.

Lego Nail usually causes ragged edges, peeling and/or breaking of the nails. It can easily be removed with a good nail clipping.

Eventually, Lego realized this problem and created the brick separator, stopping this problem. Still, if you forget about your separator, you may find yourself with a nasty case of Lego Nail.

Ah, Look, The Poll's Closed

Yes. The poll's closed. Let's see how the votes ended up.

Space Police 3: A shocking 0 votes! 

Bionicle Glatorian: Aw. 1 vote. At least it got one.

Power Miners: Another 0. This is getting predictable.

Pirates: Comes in first with 4 votes. Hmm. I like the other themes more, personally.

Agents 2.0: Again! 0 votes! Zilch!

Other: Wow. A shocking 1 vote.

Keep in touch for the next J.B. Webcomics poll!

Strip 2: My Great Idea At Work

If you've ever seen my Lego Universe sets, yes that's the plane from the Airport set. I just rehashed it for the webcomic. Don't get too upset at my laziness in not building anything new. I used all my decent plane pieces with that one. You send me a Lego plane, I'll change the strip.

The skeleton photo was very tricky to get right. It seemed as if every photo was blurry, off-center, or too small. Finally I managed to get a decent shot. I probably don't have to tell you that I didn't bother with extra shots.

Here's Steve Irwin up close and personal.

He originally had a classic smile head, but I decided to give all the team members detail heads. I'll show the rest of the gang soon.

Lego Trivia Answers

Check your answers with these to see how many you got right!

Question 1:

The Knight's Kingdom coin piece.

Question 2:

The year 2000.

Question 3:

The Bermuda Triangle.

I hope you did well!

Rankings:

3 right: Lego nut

2 right: Lego fan

1 right: At least you know something!

0 right: Whoops. Sorry. You flunked.

Lego Trivia

Yes. Lego trivia questions. Tricky (sorta kinda) if you're not a lego nut. 

Question 1:

What is the very smallest Lego piece ever to be produced?

Question 2:

What year did the Mickey Mouse sets run?

Question 3:

What was the setting (you can't say "the sea") for the Aqua Raiders sets?

That's all for now. Stay tuned for the answers!

Product Review: Claw Digger

Ah, yes. The Claw Digger. A new set from Power Miners, and my only one. Ah well.

   This set comes with a miner named Rex and a nifty little Sulfurix rock monster. It also includes two crystals, a pickaxe, a chainsaw, and a stick of dynamite. (It's a very neat piece.)

  On to the play features. On the front is a shovel for picking up crystals. On the sides are two impressively large claws for smashing rocks. Or digging. (Hence the name.)

   You see that big engine on the back? Makes you wonder if this is an ordinary gasoline-powered vehicle. Hmmm. Let's check that little sticker near the back.

   Oooh. This thing doesn't run on gasoline.

     Ladies and gentlemen, this thing runs on "gasolone."

  Oops. That's a problem. You see, gasolone isn't the most common of fuels.

     Asides from the fueling problem, the only other con is the shovel. It doesn't scoop properly.

  All in all, this is a good set. Completely worth $19.99 plus tax.

      This set gets 9 out of 10 gold studs (this blog's rating system.)

Strip 1: My Great Idea

Ah, yes. Everything has to have a beginning. For me, it came from Ben's Posterous. Ideas come from obscure locations.

  Boy, I'm glad they made a laptop piece. I was going to have the real me in the picture, but a minifigure seems better. Lego® all the way!

   Don't expect a strip every day. I'm starting out with one a week. Maybe if it works out, I'll go up to two strips a week! How exciting!

Pile of Bricks...

..Just waiting for a friend. Or a purpose. Like a webcomic.

Not Just Webcomics

Yes, you read right! I have started a Lego® webcomic blog! But not just webcomics. This blog is all about Lego®! Lego®! Lego®*! Check every day (excluding weekends) for cool Lego®** posts.

*Okay, okay. I'll cool it with the ® symbol.

**Oops! Sorry!