-
Search Results
-
In reply to: lug masks
They look good! I would definitely like to purchase one. I can wait until our next meeting/LUGBulk pickup or whatever is convenient if that works. Thanks!
In reply to: lug masks
@joshhall, I’ll definitely buy one, but I’m not in any rush. Probably be down your way sometime soon for LUGBULK sorting, so that’s soon enough.
In reply to: Threadjacking
Perhaps this is also why the transparent parts were deleted from LUGbulk this year.
I looked into placing the order to Germany; during the pandemic, DHL has suspended small package delivery. Instead of 9.90 € shipping for a 12 ounce package it was going to cost 39.90 €, (which covers up to 17 pounds!)
In reply to: Threadjacking
the Fedex delivery notification came that it is coming from LUGBULK GMBH
If you receive several hundred thousand parts, then that is our LUGBULK order*. 😀
(*but it will not be – we’ve not even received our invoice yet)
In reply to: Threadjacking
That definitely sounds weird @tcsbgdady. What was the store name? Anything LUGBulk related?
I’d guess the part counts may have to do with it being a traditional direct to consumer sale. My understanding has been Lego claims it treats LUGBulk as B2B so they relax their precision requirements. PAB sales are probably produced by a manufacturing business unit then processed by another “company” (division) which takes the time to ensure accuracy. This could factor into the relatively higher PAB prices.
The store was MT_Bricks. Nothing to do with LUG Bulk that I know of. I ordered several well priced baseplates.
I agree with your assessment. I assume even at retail, they don’t hand count though. BUT, maybe they do. It certainly looked weight measured and bulk bagged and packed just like LUG Bulk orders are.
In reply to: Threadjacking
That definitely sounds weird @tcsbgdady. What was the store name? Anything LUGBulk related?
I’d guess the part counts may have to do with it being a traditional direct to consumer sale. My understanding has been Lego claims it treats LUGBulk as B2B so they relax their precision requirements. PAB sales are probably produced by a manufacturing business unit then processed by another “company” (division) which takes the time to ensure accuracy. This could factor into the relatively higher PAB prices.
In reply to: Threadjacking
SO…..I ordered some parts from Germany via Bricklink. I noticed when the Fedex delivery notification came that it is coming from LUGBULK GMBH….does anyone else find this weird/interesting?
Another thing I find interesting….I ordered a ton of parts from TLG Pick A Brick. Every count was dead on. I am talking thousands of parts. So, why is that a fairly large PAB order is so accurate but our LUG Bulk orders are usually off in one way or another? I would think they could get it right everywhere….Missing Pieces, PAB, LUG Bulk, etc, etc, etc.
Just random thoughts from Chima Quarantine.
In reply to: What the heck is Rich building?
2/14/2020:
Here is my current LUGBULK order rationale:
(25) DOUBLE SPHERE 2X2X1 2/3, W/ KNOB, BLACK: These are 2x2x2 spheres, and I can use these for miniature chemical storage tanks, gas bladders, or energy field generators or containment. In short, this is a greeble part to me.
(8) BASE PLATE 16X32, DBG and
(16) BASE PLATE 16X16, DBG: These I consider as subdivisions of the larger baseplates, and will serve as test beds for larger builds, and to act as modular baseplates to fill in 5″ areas of display, allowing me to build toward the edge of a display area more often.(300) HOLDER Ø3.2 W/TUBE Ø3.2 HOLE, BLACK and
(300) 3.2 SHAFT W/3.2 HOLE, BLACK: These two parts, with a T-bar or other bar lengths linked between them, allow for irrational stud lengths because of the play that the sleeved bars give within them. This allows me to build off-stud in three dimensional space.(50) MINI LOWER PART, ORANGE: Space pants. Mostly. My Outer Colonies space faction wears orange and both light and dark bley, utilitarian colors for a more rugged space force. Also for a small orange Classic Space construction team and racing suits for my Grand Prix drivers.
(25) PLATE 16X16, WHITE, and
(25) PLATE 16X16, DBG: My United Earth Fleet buildings will be white, including the floors, lending a sterile, smooth feel, while my Outer Colonies buildings will be DBG for a more rugged, unrefined and utilitarian look. Larger plates are actually less necessary than I thought, as play functions and interior walls break up large plate sections, but the 16×16 is a great way to create open space with far less support and resulting brick.(175) BRICK 1X6, LBG,
(350) BRICK 1X12, LBG and
(350) BRICK 1X12, DBG: Vertical rock strata on high MILS cubes. These LBG bricks will also serve as surface rock formations on United Earth Fleet DBG regolith, while the DBG bricks will serve as surface rock formations on Outer Colonies DBG regolith.(50) GRID PLATE 8X8, LBG: Grating for blast areas, hatches for access to greeble within a MILS’d space baseplate, and caps for the ends of evolved space containers once landed, such as the George house. This is a similar construction to The Stacks from Ready Player One: space containers landed on top of and around each other and linked.
(50) MINI OXYGEN BOTTLES, ORANGE: Emergency oxygen for the Outer Colonies personnel, standard for every OC spacer and compartment, and used as pneumatic or hydraulic bottles for OC machinery.
(5) MINI UPPER PART, NO. 5062, ORANGE: These are the Classic Space torsos for my Neo-Classic Space construction team. Five guys is enough for me to create for a CS themed area.
(25) FLAT TILE 1X2, NO. 219, METALLIC SILVER: This is a fabulous, attention grabbing greeble part for a critical or higher precision machine.
(118) FLAT TILE 1X2, LBG,
(100) 1/4 CIRCLE TILE 1X1, LBG, and
(100) FLAT TILE 1X8, LBG: These are critical parts for my LBG logo and larger lettering design systems.(100) ANGULAR BRICK 1X1, LBG: This is another greeble part as well as SNOT wizardry because of the half plate offset.
(200) FLAT TILE 2X2, LBG: Tiling for flat tarmac on custom built landing pads.
(300) PLATE 1X1, W/ 3.2 SHAFT AND 1.5 HOLE, LBG and
(300) PL.ROUND 1X1 W. THROUGHG. HOLE, LBG: This part transitions studs to a bar and clip system, and also acts as a stud reversal part in combination with the 1×1 round plate with hole. Also a decent greeble part.(100) GOLD INGOT, LBG: Greeble. Great for caps on overhead cam engines, or anything pressurized really.
(500) BRICK 2X4, LBG: Superstructure brick, both for MILS and to connect the vertical Duplo constructions to a MILS cube’s outer wall.
(50) PYRAMID RIDGED TILE 1X1X2/3, LBG: Finishing parts for LBG rock spires.
(50) RIGHT PLATE 2X4, DEG. 27 and
(50) LEFT PLATE 2X4, DEG. 27: These parts are for detailing, as I use these on the sides of a cockpit box to transition it to the fuselage of a fighter. I also use wedge plates to contour patio decks to break up their squarish shape.(25) PLATE 1X1 ROUND W/ 3.2 SHAFT, LBG: This part has two points of articulation once the round edge of the 1×1 stud is considered. Also, small robot feet.
In reply to: What the heck is Rich building?
1/30/2020:
Got a Gamer Guy CMF yesterday as a gift at work. Now I have to run through my CMF stash to find some duplicates that might be interesting.
I’ve been thinking about my LUGBULK #1 and #2 picks. I really want to have a compact system to transition System into irrational stud distances and back again quickly. This is necessary for SNOT wizardry in three dimensions. In thinking about this, a bar grid would need to be built every time for this, requiring one of these parts for each stud, and so I’ll be using these at a high rate every time I use this method. My probable buy amounts just went up into the hundreds range.
The clip and bar system with 3.2 mm hole is the tightest way to do this and connect back to the cubic System stud positions that I can think of. I want these two parts as my picks.
Transitioning from bars to studs is pretty easy with Technic bricks with the bars threaded through pins, and clutch can be varied to scoot the assembly back and forth along the bar grid to get the assembly, built off-stud, into the desired position along the newly created axis.
I gotta get back to designing the new cowlings for the Warlock this way instead of relying on the limited possibilities of Pythagorean triangle stud distances.
In reply to: MILS
@joshhall in the LUGbulk sheet you brought up about the cost option for building brick built roads. I ran some numbers and came up with the following numbers.
I can’t remember for sure how many 1×4 bricks are used in the plates I’ve made, I know it’s between 100-120. I’ve ran numbers using the larger just for the sake of being thorough. Anyways, here’s the math:
Black 1×4 brick- 120 Bricks Per Plate, $0.03
0.03×120= $3.60 Per Road PlateBlack 1×8 brick- 60 Bricks Per Plate, $0.07
0.07×60= $4.20 Per Road PlateBlack 1×16 brick- 30 Bricks Per Plate, $0.17
0.17×30= $5.10 Per Road PlateI did the bricks in multiples of 8 just to keep the math simple but as you can see the 1×4 bricks are the cheapest route as far as lowering the overall cost per road plate.
In reply to: What the heck is Rich building?
1/16/2020:
I rediscovered the Moonbase standard for space bases, and it got me thinking about modularity, which I highly value for longer term displays. I think I’d like to use the Moonbase standard for my base too as unified airlocks, passageways, and support distances, but atop MILS as well.
This complicates things in a number of ways for me:
* It removes the capability to connect airlocks at baseplate level. Therefore, every connection between baseplates in my bases must be at the 5 brick level.
* In terms of style, Moonbase in Classic Space is cubic. The better Moonbase styles in Neo-Classic Space are often circular and in large scale, a building style I haven’t tried.
* My original G-Base concept for the United Earth Fleet was angular, like the Project G logo, and as such relies heavily on the 2×3 wedge to create angled walls. I’d like to keep this architectural aesthetic, and would like advice on how to maximize it from architecture builders.
* This led me to abandon the large, rounded square architecture plan as the main superstructure, but instead use the circular and rounded square shapes as towers instead, perhaps as the main Outer Colonies aesthetic instead. With a smart purchase of large quantities, I could make 12×12 or 16×16 stud towers with a 4×4 hole in the middle for elevator access, with barely room enough for a single fig. 12×12 is better, as this arrangement, on a 32 stud baseplate, would allow two towers with a 4 stud space to either side of the pair, but no room between them. Thus, it seems that single, larger towers are best.
* Even so, with buys of the 4x4x6 trans-clear panel through LUGBULK, combined with 4×4 curved plates and some small 4×4 plates, a base superstructure could go vertical very, very quickly.I just need to do more research into the Neo-Classic Space base constructions, and figure out how these elegant and very large circles are constructed so tightly, hopefully without stressing any brick. I’ve decided to hold off on major base building until I do some more research, but those 4x4x6 panels are just too valuable in bulk and mint condition to pass up. Scratches suck while looking in on figs, and I’ve decided that trans-dark blue is too dark for buildings with complete interiors that are designed to be playable.
This doesn’t work as well for Classic Space figs, and I think that this is because the core fig is so strong in monochrome that breaking it up is limited to maaaaybe air tank color, gloves, a helmet swap to the newer type (still monochrome with the rest of the fig), with a different visor color. Maybe armor, EVA tools via neck brace or jetpack. I think that some customization is possible, but on a CS fig, I feel that it has to be restrained. What do you think, @erunaamo?
I agree. It’s a space suit. Space suits have been basically monochromatic since forever, in reality and in every fictional setting. A different visor color is fine. I cringe slighly at using the newer helmets, which mess with the classic, almost VW-bug-iconic lines of the original spacefig design…but I use them anyway at times. A jetpack or air tanks in a different color, stuff like that, sure – especially a neutral tone like gray or black to go with a colored suit. And I like using black gloves on white figs – it looks a bit more Star Wars or something, but I think it works.
This still means that the orange CS fig parts are a premium here.
It’s also ripe for resale because of rarity. Remember: LEGO, on BrickLink, now has all the data it needs to track down LUGBULK resale abuse.
Yeah, if BL gets a flood of these instead of a trickle, where could they be coming from? Who can buy them in bulk, and who can only buy them singly with a BOOK?
If it’s supposed to be a true book exclusive, it’s a bit weird to offer them in bulk to anyone in any way. I wonder if we’ll actually see them in a regular set later on.
Anyway, I’m glad they’re offering them in LUGBULK, even if I don’t understand why they feel comfortable doing so.
Personally I have no interest in reselling these, but I don’t need 25 of them either. I do want more than one, and I don’t want the book. I’m thinking about voting for these parts, getting 25 (or more??), and putting about half of them (or more??) up for trade within the LUG.
Totally agree… Growing up there was Red Blue and white, then I got a couple YEllow space men, and the one Black suited space man.. never switched up their parts, I do however want a few of the orange guys as well… I do have an issue witht he visors and the like.. Heck the first visors of any kind I recall came with the yellow castle
This doesn’t work as well for Classic Space figs, and I think that this is because the core fig is so strong in monochrome that breaking it up is limited to maaaaybe air tank color, gloves, a helmet swap to the newer type (still monochrome with the rest of the fig), with a different visor color. Maybe armor, EVA tools via neck brace or jetpack. I think that some customization is possible, but on a CS fig, I feel that it has to be restrained. What do you think, @erunaamo?
I agree. It’s a space suit. Space suits have been basically monochromatic since forever, in reality and in every fictional setting. A different visor color is fine. I cringe slighly at using the newer helmets, which mess with the classic, almost VW-bug-iconic lines of the original spacefig design…but I use them anyway at times. A jetpack or air tanks in a different color, stuff like that, sure – especially a neutral tone like gray or black to go with a colored suit. And I like using black gloves on white figs – it looks a bit more Star Wars or something, but I think it works.
This still means that the orange CS fig parts are a premium here.
It’s also ripe for resale because of rarity. Remember: LEGO, on BrickLink, now has all the data it needs to track down LUGBULK resale abuse.
Yeah, if BL gets a flood of these instead of a trickle, where could they be coming from? Who can buy them in bulk, and who can only buy them singly with a BOOK?
If it’s supposed to be a true book exclusive, it’s a bit weird to offer them in bulk to anyone in any way. I wonder if we’ll actually see them in a regular set later on.
Anyway, I’m glad they’re offering them in LUGBULK, even if I don’t understand why they feel comfortable doing so.
Personally I have no interest in reselling these, but I don’t need 25 of them either. I do want more than one, and I don’t want the book. I’m thinking about voting for these parts, getting 25 (or more??), and putting about half of them (or more??) up for trade within the LUG.
Back in my day (you can imagine that said in my extra cranky old man voice), there were two colors of astronauts. So for me, any new color is extra super exciting. The best I could come up with as a kid was giving the red guys white pants, and vice versa, or switching the tanks, or the helmets, or some combination thereof. Regardless of how I did it, the results were always extremely unsatisfying, and I eventually stopped doing it.
I had the same approach, which has carried over into how I do my United Earth Fleet and Outer Colonies factions now. I do combine different colors of hips, torsos, arms and hands, and I’ve found that changing the hip part to a contrasting color makes it look like a harness, so I do that often.
This doesn’t work as well for Classic Space figs, and I think that this is because the core fig is so strong in monochrome that breaking it up is limited to maaaaybe air tank color, gloves, a helmet swap to the newer type (still monochrome with the rest of the fig), with a different visor color. Maybe armor, EVA tools via neck brace or jetpack. I think that some customization is possible, but on a CS fig, I feel that it has to be restrained. What do you think, @erunaamo?
This still means that the orange CS fig parts are a premium here.
It’s also ripe for resale because of rarity. Remember: LEGO, on BrickLink, now has all the data it needs to track down LUGBULK resale abuse. 😉
The torso, tank, and helmet are all showing up as options on the temporary list we have, the one without prices. They’ve already been mentioned on the LUGBulk 2020 thread, so I wouldn’t be surprised if those parts make our ordering list.
In reply to: What the heck is Rich building?
12/9/2019:
Massive work done on the White Raven fuselage for @arcadiumsol’s faction. I’d say the fuselage is about 90% done, and I’m pleased with the subtle adjustments I made so far:* I was missing a black Plate, Modified 2 x 2 with Grills, part 41862, and a black Plate, Modified 4×4 with cutout, part 64799. I used LBG in both cases. If you have either part, Sean, that would be great.
* I pretty much used the template you built, Sean. Dropping the secondary modules’ hardpoints is not possible without thickening the entire fuselage by a plate. This is not something I want to do, as it would require a total rebuild and pitch the craft forward even further than it already is. That said, the secondary hardpoints aren’t held on by a lot, so the secondary stuff will need to be compact, light, and molded as tight to the fuselage and wings as possible, probably limited to the canted 22.5 degree position of the wings above it.
* I wound up using the white upward pointing 1×1/1×1 brackets we got from last year’s LUGBULK to build the studs out side stripe along the fuselage. The downward pointing bracket in LBG is exactly where it needs to be, Sean, and the LBG lip that’s visible on the ventral surface of the craft isn’t bad at all, due to the big LBG landing gear right beside them. I like the feel of the LGB being the chassis and ventral surface, and the white and black being a shell over it on sides and top. I may use this in later builds to make the color blocking more solid and put more greeble underneath on my craft more often.
* I made a handful of color blocking changes to better match the stripe on the cockpit with the stripe on the fuselage. Turns out that matching them is impossible. Making them intersect was a better idea. I even removed the flight lights, as those really need to go outboard as far as possible, on wings and modules.
* The little recess in the dorsal area of the craft, between the curved slopes, I filled with a trans-red 1×2 grille in a callback to the Red Sparrow.
* I fidled around with LDD, and, with the rear landing gear lowered to 90 degrees and the nose wheel pushed all the way back, the craft pitches forward at about -5 degrees. I had to do this so I can design the canted wings with sufficient clearance. the slight nose down pitch might give this craft a diving look while sitting on the ground, which I’m growing to like. Rolling the craft around in play makes the rear wheels rotate independently, making the craft stumble a little bit during quicker movement as the wheel assemblies pivot like on a shopping cart. I’m not mad at this, because honestly, the craft should never move this way in the first place.It’s got complex outer shaping that makes color blocking a bit of a challenge in a good way. I decided to not force the striping to bend at the connection between cockpit pod and fuselage, but to have these stripes intersect instead.
Next up is digitally building the engine. I have four of those “shield” parts with pins and intend to use them. I’m concerned on how to integrate the engine with the 24 tooth clutch gear. I’m going after the main engine / FTL drive next, as this will further define overall profile of the craft.
After I get this craft to version 1, I may make a second pass and refine it to version 2 before handing it off to you for refinements. My plan is now: main dual purpose engine, wings, secondary assemblies, and finally weaponry.
In reply to: What the heck is Rich building?
11/29/2019: I just finished a 52 stud long “PARTS + SALVAGE” sign for @whitesidewjw ‘s big, red MOC with the dangling rigging chains. I like this MOC, as it could be anything, and I like the idea of a space junkyard / aftermarket parts dealer / repair bay. Walter liked it, so it’s his. I was inspired to do this after the GOB sign for @joshhall went so well, as I love font design.
I built it using the collection of curved LBG tiles from LUGBULK, creating brushstroke tips on the 3×5 stud letters that just so happen to fit on 4×6 plates quite nicely with the latter spacing added in.
In this system, 3×5 lettering (or 5×5 in the case of M, W, and others) is the functional minimum without SNOT trickery in using the edges of plates and brackets. Some stud locations could be a different color for flash, and it’s probably really useful, as the entire system is LBG by contrast. Any colorful logo next to or combined with the LBG is going to pop.
My lessons learned are that the 1×1 quarter circle tile is VERY useful in standard studs up font design, as is the 1×1 round tile for styling and the 1×1 tile with one curved end. I used up maybe half of my supply, so if anyone has the LBG 1×1 quarter circle tile, or any 1x LBG tile length really, I’m interested in replenishing my “font tiles”, so I can brick build more signage.
It was a fun build! Now, on to @arcadiumsol’s White Raven!
In reply to: Want: Plain Minifig Parts
One, I figure on putting together one car, plus driver, per month, treating them as bite sized, rewarding and achievable. As the race track, even a front stretch, is a looooooot of brick, I figured, do the cars first, as they can be displayed independently, are the most colorful things, and would draw the most attention.
As for hands being in LUGBulk, I don’t remember seeing them, or I passed over them in all these years because I didn’t need 25+ of a particular color. However, fig hands could conceivably be a good buy. This all depends on the color, especially if a builder is generating a faction in a color where fig hands are well above average price on BL. Fig hands are also unique connection parts, and are decent greebling in the tonal colors, so a buy of fig hands in LUGBulk could be smart, depending on the builder’s style.
Glad to see you on here again, and in the store today.
You picked a great time to come back, we have a bunch of events to display and staff coming up before the end of the year. Also, we’re in the sign up period for LugBulk. So go check out some threads on the rest of the forum. And then we can work on getting Franklin on here.In reply to: Want: Plain Minifig Parts
Okay, @greg, but hugely long and intimidating posts are exactly why I wanted to keep this simple.
Now I understand that this is an overwhelmingly large list. So what is the time frame for completion?
On a side note, do you remember if minifig hands were ever a LUGbulk item?
In reply to: L-gauge standard
If you are referring to the R104 turns, they are done all with straight track. They space the outer tie by 1/2 stud per piece of straight track and it makes a long gentle curve.
Did not notice that, but that still creates a problem with the amount of money needed to buy that much straight track. Unless we buy them through Lego (using the LUGbulk like program for Big LUG projects, Sorry I honestly cant remember the name) it honestly might be cheaper to just buy the 3rd party track as opposed to brick linking all that straight track.
For what its worth, I am absolutely for this. I think we have gone too long without a LUG standard and it is about time we get one that will work for us and we stick to it. I just want to make everyone aware of what goes into it. for those wondering about MILS and ballasting parts for this standard, reference this: http://l-gauge.org/wiki/index.php/Reference_Instructions . Regardless, I think this should be brought up at the q2 meeting, and we should draft some examples of this for q3 that way we can get the ball rolling on parts ordering and what not.
Actuaally Bricktracks is R104 and R120. The method using curves to make straights is somewhere in the neighborhood of R256.
I’d love to see this adopted as the LUG standard for train layouts. PennLUG will be rebuilding its layout and we’ll be taking a very similar approach. It’s not intended to replace LUG layouts, but provide a separate platform for collaborations.
If anyone has questions, let me know. I’m on the “rules committee” and we’re still pretty open to suggestions right now while we get a first layout together at Brickworld Chicago this year.
In reply to: L-gauge standard
If you are referring to the R104 turns, they are done all with straight track. They space the outer tie by 1/2 stud per piece of straight track and it makes a long gentle curve.
Did not notice that, but that still creates a problem with the amount of money needed to buy that much straight track. Unless we buy them through Lego (using the LUGbulk like program for Big LUG projects, Sorry I honestly cant remember the name) it honestly might be cheaper to just buy the 3rd party track as opposed to brick linking all that straight track.
For what its worth, I am absolutely for this. I think we have gone too long without a LUG standard and it is about time we get one that will work for us and we stick to it. I just want to make everyone aware of what goes into it. for those wondering about MILS and ballasting parts for this standard, reference this: http://l-gauge.org/wiki/index.php/Reference_Instructions . Regardless, I think this should be brought up at the q2 meeting, and we should draft some examples of this for q3 that way we can get the ball rolling on parts ordering and what not.
There were many years when fans were clamoring for new parts and different colors and I feel like those issues have been addressed. No, TLG did not bring back 9V trains or monorails, but it probably for good reasons.
It is amazing what LEGO supplies to our LUG in exchange for doing fun events with the public. And despite the complexity of the LUGbulk program, I think its pretty awesome that we can custom order bulk lots of certain parts at prices that you can’t get elsewhere. The sets released by the IDEAS program and the recent collaboration with bricklink to create MOC’s give the impression that TLG is quite willing to work with the public.
Yes, parts are now produced in places like China which may not be known for quality production, but I haven’t noticed a difference in part quality. The parts now are definitely a lot better than the bricks that were made in the 70’s which do not connect well and tend to warp.
In reply to: Threadjacking
>> Its shocking how small an order of 3,000 parts can be.
Yours is a familiar tale. We ordered something like 3800 1×1 round plates for LUGBulk18, the majority of which were purchased by me n Sean, and I was dismayed when Josh brought out the bag containing them, it was essentially a gallon bag. What color cheese did you buy and what for? I buy trans-orange for space lava, and even when it’s 10,000 or more, it’s not that big a pile.
In reply to: Threadjacking
Listen, I maintain that that whole ordeal was @timf’s fault…
I’ve donated bags and bins to the LUG on several occasions. But sure, if you want those back, I’ll return them. By Septemberish, since that’s when LUGBulk2019 will be delivered…
