I had to post this in case anyone had been holding back on ordering: Amazon UK are selling the LEGO 42115 Technic Lamborghini Sián for £239 This is amazingly cheap - the RRP is £350 and I really doubt that you'll ever see it lower. For reference, the Chiron RRP is £330 and the lowest I ever saw that was £220. So go buy a nice Christmas present for someone - probably yourself!
It turns out I have a few bits missing for all the rebel starfighters: Y-Wing Progress has been halted by a rare part, specifically this one: Turns out that this part is A) expensive as it was discontinued in 2008 and B) also needed for the B and X Wings. Sigh. Fortunately, it turned out that a UK seller had a dozen all in 'like new' condition. Ordered at a price that is still hard to swallow. B-Wing I was missing two parts, which just like before, are rare and unfortunately can't be substituted for newer versions.There was also a mising placement of parts in one of the instruction steps, which I guessed at their placement. A-Wing I barely got to the next page of instructions before discovering the next missing parts, specifically 3794b: I reviewed the parts and found that version didn't matter, so ordered the most current version instead for much cheaper: X-Wing That there is the mechanism that allows the wings (or is it 'foils'?) to attack position. I have parts for a stand, but am missing one parts (ordered). The instructions have some extra parts that don't seem to get used... And now, for other updates/Lego news: Centenario I've changed a couple of parts holding the flexible parts around the doors to make the shape more pleasing. Iron Man collection My collection is now almost complete, bar three models (well, there are more, but I don't like them) Avengers diorama I have all the Endgame Avengers minifigs bar War Machine (well, I actually have him as part of a set but don't want to open it). At some point I'll start setting this up: I'm thinking of getting some fishing wire to suspend some minifigs in mid air (i.e. Thor, Captain Marvell etc). Nebulon B Since I was ordering a load of spare parts, I decided to order the parts for the Nebulon B Frigate - this fortunately meant I could meet the minimum buy requirements for some of the rare parts I needed for the starfighters. This'll go nicely alongside the Star Destroyer (which I accidentally lightly bumped into recently when getting some parts - no damage done thank God). 10276 Colosseum Lego's broken its record of the set with the most number of parts (the previous being the UCS Millennium Falcon), 9,036 to be exact. To be fair, it's mostly small parts. Pretty cool but it's not really my thing. Definitely a contender for occupying a coffee table in a lounge though. Should be ~£450.
While potentially sacrilege, have you considered 3D printing some of those rare parts? depending on if they are visible or functional it could be an option.
Well, apart from the sacrilege... Lego tolerances are actually extremely high, on the order of 5um or less. Lithography would be the only process I'd consider but I'm not sure how long the parts last, plus it'd take a few attempts to get it right. Plus I have this image of someone printing a whole model, sticking a single brick on it and calling it a 'Lego' model . One thing that would be a good idea to look into is manufacturing custom wheel hubs: I'd love to have wheels that actually match the real life cars I've built/am building/am going to build.
The wheel hubs is a great idea. My current printer gives a resolution of 50 Microns. Once set using UV the resin becomes pretty robust. If you have some hub designs you like from the real cars, we could mock some up and I could print them?
I may have made an order for something McLaren last night, but not that... Oh blimey, why didn't we think of this while I was unemployed? I'd love to, but finding the time to CAD them up is a struggle - well, could do it instead of Lego building, but y'know. Please will you let me know the following: 1) Make of you 3D printer 2) Max unsupported angle 3) Max unsupported overhang 4) Minimum wall thickness 5) Build volume 6) Are supports imported as STLs? If you have access to chrome coating, that'd be a win!
These are easy: 1) Make of you 3D printer - Elegoo Saturn 5) Build volume - 192mm (L) * 120mm (W) * 200mm (H) 6) Are supports imported as STLs? - they can be or I can add them pre slicing. The following depend on the design: 2) Max unsupported angle 3) Max unsupported overhang 4) Minimum wall thickness Printer is pretty new, but I now have a new build plate so can print flat onto it and avoid damaging it when removing.
@Goatee Cool. BTW, I'm sure you're careful, but really treat the resin with respect. I knew a chap who worked on the first generation of SLA printers (as in, when they were huge machines only industry could afford) who told me a horror story about a guy who rubbed his eyes after setting up a build, then went outside - that didn't end well, really not well.
Yeah, even a small amount of resin is nasty. Im using water washable stuff to avoid solvents but it still needs to be treated with respect. Caution noted.
Not as much progress on the Lego front this week as I'd like, but hey ho: X-Wing That's the rear the craft mostly completed: some fiddly stages that I had to be careful with, slowly 'massaging' things into place. The next stage is the cockpit, which involves cutting a couple of piece of Lego tubing. A-Wing Not much progress, but at least I haven't got loose assemblies lying round for it. Nebulon B Frigate Parts have started turning up. McLaran 720S Parts ordered because I needed 4 yellow 7L axles for the X-Wing . Looking forward to this, I love building complex mechanisms. I have to order hubs for it though, so I have three options: Copper chromed hubs or... Silver chromed hubs or... CAD up a custom design and liaise with @Goatee . I'm leaning towards the copper hubs as I think they'll match nicely with the white colour of the car.
I looked at those wheels and saw the €29 and thought that’s expensive, then I realised that’s per wheel!
Been a while! B-Wing A few fiddly bits to do, particularly around the engine. The rest of it should be plain sailing. A-Wing A little progress. It's standing on its landing gear now. Other progress McLaren 720S: waiting on a missing part, as well as ordering some chrome bits in the new year. Nebulon B Frigate: waiting on one more part - the part in question was supplied as a used part but it's a bit weathered. 8838 bike: parts ordered, because I'm worried about ordering Lego from Europe after Brexit! Harley-Davidson: ordered! Iron Man minifig collection: last two ordered, leaving the infamous Mk33 as the only remaining minifig to get (ignoring ones I'm not interested in having). Funnily enough I was watching some Red Dwarf last weekend...
B-Wing finally done: A nice model to build, with the ability to fold up and deploy landing gear. I'm not usually one to choose models with battle damage, but it's been done well here. I started building the A-Wing but immediately came across more missing pieces, specifically six of these: So, on to the Y-Wing then! A few more deliveries are outstanding for the other projects - hopefully they'll arrive before Brexit.
Finally, my Iron Man collection is complete! Well, I've still got to do the Hulkbuster, but I'm saving that for its own shelf. There are also some omissions as I've focussed more on the suits seen in the Avengers films, rather than Lego's own creations. Details below: Present models Mk 1 Mk 2 Mk 3 (well, 'Iron Man with Circle on Chest') Mk 5 Mk 6 Mk 7 Mk 17 'Heartbreaker' Mk 33 'Silver Centurion' Mk 41 'Bones' (this one is actually behind Tony Stark in the photo) Mk 42 'Prodigal Son' Mk 43 Mk 43 (from UCS Hulkbuster set) Mk45 Mk46 Mk 47 Mk 50 Mk 85 Tony Stark (Partially Wearing Suit) Excluded Mk 37 'Hammerhead' Mk 38 'Igor' Mk 39 'Gemini' Mk 45 (micro version) Mk 50 (Booster Wings) Avengers Endgame White Suit (in Endgame collection) Mighty Micros version Invincible Iron Man Iron Legion Other War Machine Mk 2 Iron Patriot Mk 3 Mk 4 Rescue Comic book version Film version The Holy Grail There is one minifigure that I would consider adding to the collection (other than potential future releases based on the films), which owing to its prestige, I'd probably stand atop the helmet bust. Why? Because it's this one: SDCC 2012 Promotional Iron Man Price is hard to say, but a new one is worth at least £1,000 - the eBay link is sold out and lists it for over £1,800