Lego and "Depression"

Hey, today I want to talk about something more personal.

My love for Lego is obviously related to the fact that I grew up with it and some sets I buy are nostalgia driven.
BUT, Lego also helps me now a days with my personal life.
When I say it helps me I mean that it helps me with my constant down feelings.
I do not want to say depression because a lot of people have severe depression and I do not want to compare myself to those in worst state.

But for the past year and a half I have been dealing with a lot of rejections from apprentice employers and my future is clouded.
Putting effort into applications, interviews and eventually getting nothing but rejected gets to you as a person and these downs are terrible.
This is where Lego comes in. Building sets distracts me, it makes me happy and fuels my creativity.
To me Lego is not just a toy or a nostalgia thing, it is also a way to escape life for a moment.

This is just to show that for some like me Lego is much more than a passion.

Thank you for reading

and always stay positive :)
V.

New LEGO Instagram Page!

Hello people, the past days I made an Instagram account where I upload lego pics taken by me that I think look pretty neat.
Have a look and follow me if you like it :) I will try to post stuff daily if I can.
Here is the latest thing I posted which was an attempt at being funny ^^
https://www.instagram.com/p/BD1Vqd7M0QS/

Enjoy and have a great day.
V.

My Lego Summer 2016 buy list!

Hello fellow Lego fans. Today I wanted to talk about the Lego sets I am guaranteed getting from the Summer 2016 wave.

-Just as a side note, the pics where taken from the following blog talking about the Nürnberg Toy fair-

A bit surprising is the fact that so far I only have 3 sets on my list and all are Ninjago. I was a bit disappointed at the Star Wars selection especially at the Force Awakens set as they could have done better.
In all fairness the year isn't over and if they do release a new Death Star, it is very likely that I will get it.
Now onto the sets.

First off is the Lighthouse Siege defense I believe it is called. I got into ninjago mainly for the buildings and seeing a new one definitely made me happy so this is going onto the list. 

I like this set mainly due to the bottom rock structure. From the get go I can see that this set can only be really displayed from one side but that's alright. 

Next is the Ronin mech. This set will add nicely to the ongoing mech battle in my display and I like the design of it a lot. 

Last is the Kryptanian Break out set. I am also a fan of small structures and this one looks pretty neat. This set seems to be heading into a pirate direction and that I like a lot as pirate themes always have my attention. Could this mean a bigger pirate ship in the future? 

These are some sets I will definitely be buying 

My price guesses? (I have not checked if there are set prices yet, these are just my thoughts)

• Kryptanian Break out: 30 euros
• Ronin Mech: 50 Euros
• Lighthouse Siege Defense: 100 - 150 Euros. 

I am hoping for many more great Ninjago sets and would buy them all but you always have to make a choice. 

Thank you for reading and stay tuned for a very special review coming very very soon. 

Until next time, have a great day.

Vincent.

Lego Ninjago layout update!

Hello readers, I think I mentioned that I was working on a Ninjago layout.
I have an update picture. It does not look excellent so far by any means and I am currently only using the pieces I have and my minecraft set suffered a severe deconstruction :/ but that is what lego is ^^
So here you go:

I have to see what to add to the lower side but I do not think I want more water at least not past the second baseplate. I will need to acquire more baseplates :(.

Oh and these are all the sets I need to display :D with 2 more coming in. 

This is all for now. Any suggestions? Comment :D

Much love as always.

Bricklink Haul February 17

Hello wonderful readers.
I have another Bricklink Haul blog post for you guys.
I have been getting a few new sets so building took up my time along with personal situations.

This haul came mainly from me needing some pieces for the Aquazone set I recently acquired as of course it was missing pieces.

But first, let me show you one of my favorite things to come out of the haul.

Santa Maul. 

I am not quite sure which advent calendar this one came from but I saw it on the seller store and had to get it :D

Here are the replacement pieces for the Aquazone set. I only really needed 2 columns and 1 red square but its always good to buy larger quantities. 

Finally, some 16x16 baseplates for general building

That is pretty much it. 

Thank you again for reading and I hope to release more content more frequently once I get my sets sorted out.

Much love as always and have a great day.

V.

LEGO Star Wars Carbon Freezing Chamber 2016

Hey Guys and Girls, sorry this one took a bit longer as I had some new sets to build ^^

Today we are looking at the Carbon Freezing Chamber from 2016. I am a huge Boba Fett fan so I was looking forward to this set when I heard this but in the end it did not meet my expectations.
Here are some facts.

• Price: 30 Euros
• 3 Minifigs with a new one
• Only includes freezing chamber

Let's jump straight to the pics shall we? (Note: for some of the pictures I had to show my hands to somehow show the actions. I am thinking of adding videos some time in the future to newer posts)

This is the basic view and right from the get go you can see that it does look neat color wise but there is not a lot to this set. Saying that let me show you a closer look.

Here is the back and HELLO, there is Han Solo. The back is very open and you can see a lot of the Technic studs sticking out. This set is what I like to call a one angle set, meaning you can only really display it from one side without custom adjustments. 

The bottom of the right side has a little flap which I never figured out BUT Mr. JangBricks said that this is a place to put or hide solo when you turn him into carbon. If you do not know Jang please check him out he is fantastic. 

Now the hard part, showing the actions. This here is a little lift that is operated by your hand and held in place with the little ball joint. 

 
The next actions you do by pulling the center ball joint out, then turn it and then push it back in.
This is where my main issue is with this set. From a front view, when Solo goes down it looks neat but one you turn the knob and he is turned into carbon you can see that sticking out quite a bit.
HONESTLY I would have preferred if they stuck with the movie and made it elevator style so that he goes down, spins and turns back up.

FINALLY we have the figures.

• A standard Boba Fett with not arm or back printing
• And the first (correct me if I am wrong) Ugnaught figure. He has Star Wars style clothing but the best part is certainly the head mold. Very nice and exclusive figure.
• Excuse the fact that I forgot Solo

The final Verdict. 

• The figures are great. I love the Boba figure and the Ugnaught looks fantastic.
• The price is alright but I feel like Lego is always finding ways to include less for more
• It is however a good way to get your hands on Solo, Boba and the Ugnaught without spending money on a Slave 1.
• The set itself is ok, I am not a fan of the transformation or freezing process.

Thank you as always for listening and much love as always.

V.

LEGO Bricklink Haul

Hey guys. I am still getting my room organized and got a bunch of new sets this week so I wanted to make a quick blog post where I show my Haul from the bricklink store.
Bricklink is a store where you can buy individual lego parts from different sellers. It is kinda like amazon but for legos.

Here is a picture of everything that I got.



















And here are some closer looks:

The clear pieces will all be used for stands so that I can display more sets in the same area or have some in flying positions. The green studs are for small additions or replacements.
Finally here is a look at the figure.

Left we have a hoth trooper though I am not sure about the face and do not really care about it as I just purchased it to get to the buying minimum,

The real deal is the one on the right which is Sabine. I needed her to complete the Ghost crew for the rebels sets and didn't want to purchase any of the sets she was in. I did buy the pistols as well but overall I am happy with her. Now just need to get her helmet. 

Bricklink is a great place for people who need small parts or individual parts.

If you guys like this I will do more Haul pieces.

Thank you for reading.

LEGO Star Wars Phantom/Ghost Review Pt2. 2

This took a bit as things kept getting in the way but here we go. Last entry I looked at the Phantom with you guys so this time we look at the mothership aka the Ghost.

Quick Facts

• 929 Pieces
• Many Play features
• Part of the Rebels TV show
• Comes with 3 Figures from the crew and one Trooper
• Retail about 100 bucks give or take

So here is a look at the set in all its beauty side by side with the show version:

Taken from google as i forgot to take a pic

The Lego set looks a bit bulkier and a lot cleaner than the actual set but still looks the best it can in my opinion.

Now I´d like to show you the set with all the parts taken off that can be taken off without having to remove bricks.

This already looks a lot less bulkier but you can clearly see that there are a lot of play features in this set which I really like.

Above is a picture of the removed parts which are from right to left: 2 Escape pods, the bottom cockpit, the 2 triangle shaped blocks form the front of the ship and the gun tower which goes on top of the ghost.

The gun tower and front cockpit section hold 1 figure each and the cockpit about 2.

Now lets see how they fit in to the set.

Another figure can be put above the sphere cockpit section as all of this is the cockpit in the show. The escape pods fit in nicely on either side and are held in place with a pin connection. Also, next to the cockpit the two flaps lift and offer storage space for the lightsaber, guns and extra spring gun ammo.

Behind the cockpit is another storage space where I decided to put in chopper as he is pretty hidden in the Phantom, you can also place about 3 minifigs in and some weapons.

The gun tower fits in nicely yet it is not held in place to allow a 360 rotation and will fall if you turn the set upside down. Zeb looks the best in this tower as his head is a bit taller. I only wished the back was also covered.

Above is a rear view of the ship. You can see two doors which are the access to the back but of course are not in minifig scale. The engines look nice and are stable but without the phantom docking the set looks empty.

Speaking of the Phantom lets see how the two sets look together as its the main selling point.

The wings fold nicely and it does sit firm in the back of the ghost. However sometimes it looks as if the Phantom is the main cockpit.

Apart from that there are 2 spring loaded missiles on the bottom.

Excuse the bad quality, the flash made it hard. Anyhow from left to Right,
Stormtrooper, Zeb, Kanan and Hera. Zeb and Hera are the main figures in this set as Kanan features in other sets. I think they did a nice job with Zebs face and Heras head.

Verdict:

• Good set with large amounts of playablity
• Nice to see that they made it combine directly with the Phantom
• Ghost and Phantom are Costly together
• The set feels a bit clunky at times
• Great figures
• Id say 7/10
  • I love the features but the price puts it off especially having to buy the phantom in addition for the price it was sold at.

INTRODUCTION

Good day to you fellow readers and bloggers. Today I want to try something different as I am a huge Lego Fan, particularly Star Wars. Yes I know, expensive taste.
Anyhow, I always wanted to review sets like one of my favorite youtubers (Jangbricks) does, yet I do not have the equipment he does so I want to write reviews instead and maybe one day I get to review those for a living on video? :D

I will focus on the look, size, play-features and figures which are the points that are the most important to me when buying a set.

LEGO Star Wars Phantom/Ghost Review Pt. 1

Good day to you fellow readers and bloggers. Today I want to try something different as I am a huge Lego Fan, particularly Star Wars. Yes I know, expensive taste.
Anyhow, I always wanted to review sets like one of my favorite youtubers (Jangbricks) does, yet I do not have the equipment he does so I want to write reviews instead and maybe one day I get to review those for a living on video? :D

I will focus on the look, size, play-features and figures which are the points that are the most important to me when buying a set.

Enough babbling, today I want to start with a set that has been in my eyes for a long time...drum roll please...the Ghost from the Star Wars rebels tv show and its baby, the Phantom.

As this is a first try I will start with the Phantom. Here are quick facts.

• Comes with Ezra and Chopper
• Retailed at around $25/€25 though as it is retired it is hard to find it at that price.
  • About 11 cents per piece
• Combines with the Lego Star Wars Ghost
• 234 Pieces

First here is a look at the set. (note: there is a shooter on top in the final build but I removed it as it looks wrong in my eyes and the two main guns are in the front).

 

The Phantom from the Show (taken from the Wiki)

It looks rather small when you look at the box yet once you actually get to build it it feels much bigger. Non the less it is still a small set.
Now id like to take a look at everything you can take off and open without any troubles.

As you can see the back part with the storage compartments and wings detaches completely which was a surprise to me when building this as this adds much to the size of the set. Also the fact that the cockpit can be detached enhances the play feature as it can be seen as an escape pod.

• You can fit one mini figure in the Cockpit and one droid in the back compartment, so lets look at this from another angle.
• The roof of the back comes off to fit in chopper, the roof also has a hatch on it to cover another storage in the back.

 

This is the back view without the cover.

You can see the droid compartment behind the cockpit and another small compartment used for Ezras Helmet/Hair and blaster.

 

Speaking of Ezra, we will not take a look at the figures.

Here we have our two figures, a bald Ezra and Chopper. Of course Ezra is not really bald as he comes with a piece of Hair and a Helmet. Chopper does look true to the show and is a noticeable smaller droid than lets say the R2 series droids.

 

In terms of play features there is not much other than a spring loaded shooter that goes on the roof of the back which I removed as it is not originally on the ship in the show and the look bothered me personally.

 

The Verdict:

• It certainly looks close the the Show
• It nice and handy for playing
• Comes with two figures which look nice
• The price was okay, It is normal now that LSW sets cost more than others
• Overall id give it a 8/10