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Friday, April 28, 2017

More of the building of the building


The second floor is under way, and by the time of the publishing of this video, even more progress has been made.  In addition to an uncomfortable color scheme, I've pushed my left brain to try to accept an unconventional shape.  It has not, in fact, accepted it, but it has resigned to the understanding that I'm not listening to it right now.

Thursday, April 27, 2017

New azure (?) colored LEGO building MOC begins


Today I began to tackle the first floor of a new building for the industrial zone in NJC.    The main reason for doing this at all is to use up some of my lighter blue & bluish colored parts, which overflowed their storage drawer weeks ago and haven't fit since.  Visually I think it'll be my loudest structure yet.  I'm nervous.

LEGO Pirates King Kahuka from 1994 - set 6236


Happy Throwback Thursday!  This is a very small set, but from a theme I've not often touched upon.

"Mega" aisle rework at a Toys R Us


This took me quite by surprise.  In the "Imaginarium" section of a TRU in my region I found the new Construx orange taking over the the aisle adjacent to the big 'L', complete with tons of branding, new product display nooks, and even a looping featured video with sound.  It gives me hope that Mattel dollars are really flowing into the brand and who knows, the distribution issues may even receive some attention.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

FAQ: Why don't you name specific Bricklink vendors?


Here's a question I've answered in varying levels of detail in the past, but only in 1:1 replies that have long since been buried under the shifting tectonic plates of YouTube comments.  Finally the idea developed inside my thick noggin to write this stuff up in a place where it can actually be found for more than a day.

Q: Why don't you name specific Bricklink vendors in your haul videos?

  • A1:  I don't keep track.
    • Most packages arrive without their seller account aliases on or inside them.  I make so many purchases for the Jangbricks channel, both online and at brick & mortar stores, that it would be an unnecessary headache to always match every single purchase to its precise original source.
  • A2:  I don't have any favorite sellers to recommend.
    • I have purchased from nearly 200 (two hundred) different Bricklink sellers, only 10% of which have I patronized more than twice. When I'm shopping for items that I want or need, I just search for them.  I don't browse a tiny list of "favorite" stores with my fingers crossed, hoping one of them will have 1/4th the stuff I'm looking for. No single seller has ever had anywhere near the breadth of stock to satisfy my needs from order to order, and that's actually perfectly fine.  The multi-seller marketplace system works, and it works really, really well.
  • A3:  You don't want to buy from the places I do anyhow.
    • You want the items you want presently, not the ones I wanted a week or two ago.  Even if you happen to want the exact things I bought, by the time my haul video is on YouTube the next 20 customers after me may have depleted that seller's stock, or another store may have listed the same items for lower prices. If you want to do like I do, then do like I do.  Look for the items you want, and buy them from sellers that have them in stock at reasonable prices and with good feedback.
  • A4:  Some people suck, and I don't need that drama.
    • Some packages do arrive with their seller account aliases on or inside them, and it would be no trouble at all for me to read off those names "on air."  However:
      • If I name some vendors on video because they include a card or printed receipt, but don't name others who don't (see A1, above), some of the latter will get all mad and make up a litany of slanderous fabrications about me, because, well, they* suck.  I don't need that drama.
      • If I name some vendors on video and proceed to have really bad experiences, some sellers will get all mad and make up a litany of slanderous fabrications about me because they messed up and I simply shared my experience honestly, and they can't handle that, because they suck.  I don't need that drama.
  • A5:  Some sellers are really anxious to exploit both me and you, and that annoys me.
    • I have, in the past, named some stores on camera when packages arrived with their seller account aliases on or inside them.  What followed almost every time were streams of private offers from other sellers whose eyes lit up green with dollar signs.  These were "offers" to use my channel as an advertising platform to get more money from you, my viewers.  "Buy from my store and plug me in your videos and I'll give you a permanent discount [sic]."  To be honest, there's nothing wrong with that, so long as there's no attempt to hide the deal, e.g., "Hey everyone it's YouTuber here and I just happened upon this great new seller out of the blue, all on my own."  However, I personally choose to keep advertisements and core content separate & distinct.  I like being able to tell you that if you see me plugging a product or service in my own voice, it's because I wanted to, not because somebody hired me to do so.  That's not to say anything against anyone who does honest product placements & paid, scripted ad content.  It's just not something I, myself, am particularly interested in, and I don't like being pestered to partake.

* By "they" of course I mean that small minority of exceptionally sucky people who tend to ruin everything for everyone else.  Most people are cool.  Most Bricklink sellers, in my experience, are awesome, fellow hobbyists.  I have to include disclaimers like this because of the aforementioned exceptionally sucky people, who are always on a mission to dissect and de-contextualize everything to fabricate something to get all mad about, because they suck.

Monday, April 24, 2017

LEGO Shell Gas Station & Repair Shop MOC updated walkthrough


Something, something, something, com-plete.  Again.  I did some rework to adapt this 4-year-old build to the newer city, where it now finally has a place of its own to live relatively long-term.  The arrangement of structures has changed significantly and one has been partly rebuilt, so I decided to do a fresh full tour.

Saturday, April 22, 2017

LEGO Rail Rider Blast - Classic Space inspired locomotive MOC


I love it when a plan comes together, but sometimes there's no particular plan and I end up happy anyhow.  I had earmarked the windshield of a spare set 1580 for a Rail Rider, but there were no further forethought.  An old gray base color seemed like a natural match, and after hours of throwing parts at a 9V train motor, what do you know, a bunch of them actually stuck.

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

LEGO CMF Series 17 review with all 16 minifigures


These were due out May 1, but they showed up all over the US a couple weeks ahead of schedule.  It's an eclectic collection with good variety and excellent production values, but a number of these figures are similar to earlier releases.

Mega Construx Halo full Warrior Series review with all 8 figures


Finally I have completed my collection of these figures to be able to bring you all a proper review.  Of course, finding these to buy at all remains somewhere between tricky and impossible, depending upon what precise micro-region you live in.  Online? No luck for me so far.  Maybe eBay?

Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Custom LEGO near-future cabover semi truck MOC


A brief mental image of a little bit of the front of a non-existant vehicle has turned into something complete!  This MOC allows me to kick a non-custom semi out of New Jang City and establishes both an era for the city and a specific vehicle manufacturer brand that I can potentially use again in the future.  Win-win-win!

Monday, April 17, 2017

LEGO Architecture Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (ver. 2) review


For a good time, compare this to the previous version.  It's a K.O.!  Pricey, though, as is the norm for the Architecture line -- price/part ratios are made deceptively reasonable by a preponderance of 1x1 (and smaller) pieces.

LEGO Creator Mini Volkswagen Beetle review - 40252


It's a mini-me version of 10252, surprisingly offered up as a promotional freebie almost a year after the release of the full-sizer.  It has its issues and has received a lot of criticism, but did I mention that it's a freebie?

"Volkswagen is actually pronounced..." rage intensifies in 3... 2... 1...

Saturday, April 15, 2017

Custom LEGO Push Boat MOC


Don't call it a tugboat, as it may get offended and go off on a long, rant-filled lecture.  This thing came into existence in quite the roundabout way, but at least I'm happy with the end result!

LEGO Friends Tic-Tac-Toe polybag 40265 review


It's an epic battle between the cute little bunny rabbits and the cute little hamsters with magenta noses & smiles.  Such a risque theme for morally conservative The LEGO Group!

Thursday, April 13, 2017

LEGO Container Ship MOC complete


I've dropped a couple previews of this on Instagram and now the full build is complete.  It didn't turn out half bad.  If I did it again, I'd keep the bridge 2 studs narrower, but otherwise it's pretty optimized to maximize the available space.  Now I really want to make another, with a different design!

All Mega Construx Call of Duty Series 1 figures reviewed


Evidently the Mega Bloks/Construx Halo Heroes series was a commercial success, as they've now extended the idea over to Call of Duty (as well as Monster High), with individually-sould micro action figures with more paint applications & prints than normal.

Monday, April 10, 2017

LEGO Rail Rider RODd - Racing train MOC #2


...And then there were two!  Of course you know what that means.  We need a race!  Not to worry; for this video I've figured out how to make that happen.

Friday, April 7, 2017

First in a new LEGO racing MOC series: Rail Rider "Azul"




Inspiration struck, and with nothing else hogging up the MOC-building table, I was able to go for it immediately.  This is going to be a series of vehicles, each with a distinct color scheme and style (hopefully), in the vein of my old "Hero Factory Racers" lineup.  I think the next one will be yellow & orange, we'll see; it'll depend upon what parts jump out at me first.

Mega Construx Halo UNSC Fireteam Shadow review


Hey!  Look what showed up on Amazon at non-scalper price... for a few hours :)  Still no sign of it at physical stores in my area.

Thursday, April 6, 2017

New custom LEGO Covered Hopper MOCs hit the rails


I love it when things go according to plan, even when there isn't so much of a plan as a nostalgia-painted ethereal idea bolstered by some random Google Images action.  This older-style, externally braced design isn't intended to replicate any one specific real-life hopper.  Rather, it takes inspiration from as many of them as needed to extract something semi-believable out of the very limiting proportions (and color selection) of LEGO parts I had on hand.

I was able to make two of these before running out of 1x2 mod plates.  I wouldn't mind having another couple of 'em eventually.  For now, though, I'll be turning my attention to something different.

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

My "Nemesis" now has its own arch-rival


As promised, here's another LEGO body for a fully functioning 4WD radio controlled drift car, with more shells to come in the future.  I hope to push still farther away from the original design with the next one, but it's oh, so tricky!