And now for Something Completely Different!

Hey friends, it's been a while. Almost 5 years in fact! Work got pretty busy, we moved, I closed my Bricklink store indefinitely, we underwent a construction project and work got even busier. I'm tired. But in a good way. In the meantime I started getting involved in cryptocurrencies and blockchain and NFTs. The previous LEGO laurels I had been resting on were crumbling away and I was getting bored with the hobby. But I found a new way to share my passion! I've spent the last few months building up the backend and will be excited to share with you. In the meantime, familiarize yourself with getting a free WAX wallet at https://wallet.wax.io/create-account. You might want to add about $20 to it to get started. Then come see my new site and what it's all about. If dagsbricks.com doesn't point there immediately, give it a day or two. Join me on this rollercoaster and experience something completely different!

Used Tuesdays - Have Brick Will Travel

Not the Valentine's Day post you were expecting?

My next used lot happened because I got itchy. I was visting my folks in Florida (opposite side of the country) for 2 and a half weeks. I figured the first thing I wanted to do was check the local Craigslist and OfferUp for some LEGO. I didn't find very much but there was one lady with "Legos lots of them". I checked the pictures and saw some decent pictures. She was asking $60 which seemed reasonable for the amount in there.

We met and I picked up the lot, taking a quick glance through it. She noted how much Ninjago was in there and that her son was selling it to get money for RC cars. I had noticed in the picture that there were some clones mixed in. That quick glance told me that there was probably a little more clone brand than I wanted but whatever. I got it back to the house and started sorting.

Oh. My. Mega. It never ended. Almost half of the lot ended up being clone. I pulled out the legit minifigs (including a $12 Boba Fett) and put them in a baggie. About a dozen were complete but not worth much on Bricklink, maybe $2 each. There might have been around 30 figs in some state of completion. The rest of the pure stuff I got packed into 2 gallon baggies at about 2.5# each.

With the figs it was about 6# in total. At a bulk price that's $10/# for the LEGO pieces, junk for free. If the figs had any value it might be $30 which would make my remaining 5# of LEGO parts $6/#. Still somewhat reasonable I guess for my own play brick. At least the Boba Fett helped pay for the lot and there were several pieces that I needed for my own MOCs.

Yeah, there was some Ninjago in there. But there was also a bit too much Friends for an apparent 12 year old boy who was changing hobbies. I didn't expect the enormous amount of clone brick to be mentioned. All in all I should have passed on the deal but that probably would have meant no LEGO downtime on the trip.

Lessons learned:

• Clone brick is great weight filler. Not good if you're buying.
• People are not completely honest, even about things that don't matter.
• You may often wonder where the other half of every set went,

Used Tuesdays - Second Lot

My second used lot came as sort of an accident. My sister-in-law has a friend who was going to put their 23# LEGO collection in a garage sale. My sister-in-law sent me many pictures to ask how it should be priced. I studied through and saw several key pieces that intrigued me. After looking up the potential sets on Bricklink I went ahead and made a generous offer of $10 per pound. In retrospect I realize that I was setting a precedent. I'll have to be more clear in the future that that price was for clean pieces with no junk.

And there was very little junk! Only a handful of Knex. I started with some key parts to figure out what could be in there. I then sorted by piece type and started reassembling. Imagine how pleased I was that most of a UCS TIE Interceptor was in there! No stickered plaque or instruction book, which is fine for myself. If I ever want to sell it I'll need the plaque at a minimum. It was also missing the dark grey cockpit, a hefty piece. Where the 6 month average on Bricklink hovers around $30, I was able to score one for $22 in beautiful shape.


There were several Harry Potter sets too. Some had a low value per pound, others were higher. I decided to piece together Dumbledore's Office and the Knight Bus. The latter one was a mistake. I saw that it was missing about 40 pieces out of 236. I didn't think too much of it and built a wanted list. Only after I got halfway through completing that list did I realize how expensive many of the missing pieces were. Nothing over a buck each but when you're piecing together a $45 set to sell and you need to spend $25 to complete it, that shows a poor return. I would have been better off selling the parts I had on hand.

The other big problem with this lot was the lack of minifigs. I found most of them were missing and when the lot is primarily Star Wars and Harry Potter, the licensing upcharge can be a bear. I inquired about any other minifigs and got a bag of about half a dozen a week later.

Lessons learned:

• Parting out the remains of a set can be more profitable than piecing one together
• Licensed minifigs are expensive. Check for them before making a generous offer
• Some people have really clean collections!

New Installment - Used Tuesdays

It's been about last July since I stopped posting. Sorry about that. I became so overrun with work that I could no longer keep up on non-income producing activities. Like this blog, sad but true. But I've got a bit of a slow down right now, enough to start an occasional new topic I like to call Used Tuesdays.

As you may (or should) have read in my amazing ebook, Insider Secrets to Funding Your LEGO Hobby, I sell new parts on Bricklink, almost exclusively. But that's slowly been changing. I'm not giving up new, just adding a bit more used into the mix. Here are some lessons I've learned so far.

My first used lot was donated from a good friend. I was mentioning that I would be teaching after school LEGO classes and needed to find a nice lot on Craigslist to use. Her kids were grown and out of the house and she offered her old LEGO. It was 42# but ended up containing at least 10# of off-brand and non-LEGO items. There were quite a few classic sets in there and with her permission I reassembled some to sell to help pay for extra materials for the class. All sets were missing pieces, most were older looking and worn. A few were in good enough condition to put in my Bricklink store, the rest will become BRIX Museum pieces.

I used this lot to teach a couple of terms of after school classes for kids. It worked pretty well, the kids improvised with older pieces just fine. When it came time for the ramp race it was immediately apparent that wheels were lacking, and I hadn't pulled any out to complete older sets. I'll continue to use this lot for classes and such but I obviously need to add some wheels and other pieces. I've thrown some of my own older pieces in too.

Lessons learned:

• Even self proclaimed LEGO fans may not always consider Mega Blocks as off limits.
• Even if all the parts are there to complete a set, the condition of pieces may not be suitable.
• Those couple of missing pieces could be worth half the amount of the set itself.

A LEGO Museum? BRIX is coming!

While the LEGO Group is busy finishing up their new Idea House in Billund, I've been busy with my own idea. After years of dreaming and planning, I'm getting ready to bring a LEGO Museum to the Portland, OR market!

BRIX will offer everything LEGO that you could ever think of under one roof. There will be interactive history exhibits, art pieces, classes and camps, a gift shop with unique items and plans are already underway for future expansions when we are ready.

Early concept drawing, BRIX Museum

We have some funding secured already but you can help us! Click here to read more and pledge your support. Then, tell all your friends about this amazing opportunity. We appreciate all the Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest and media coverage we can get.

Thanks and we look forward to seeing you at our #brixmuseum grand opening!

Bricklink Seller Review - Real Bricks

Have you ever dealt with buying a big box of used LEGO pieces? I had the thrill of receiving a donation to use for LEGO classes. The donor was a proud tried and true LEGO fan and swore they only played with LEGO brick. I got 35# worth of contents. Once I pulled out a Mega Blocks jet fighter, some still unknown brand of Humvee, Tente, GI*Joe, doll accessories, K'nex, gum and crayon wrappers, etc., I was left with a nice 28# of real LEGO bricks remaining.

Profile
Seller: Real Bricks
Store: http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=Drareg
Feedback (at time of writing): 340
Feedback Ratio: 99.7% (one neutral from a buyer using the feedback system as a comms device.)
Location: Netherlands, Noord-Brabant
Prices: Average

My Order
Order Size: 12 items in 3 lots
Condition: 67% Used
Shipping Charge: Actual
Other: €0,50 charge for orders under €2,50 when paying via Paypal.
Final Cost per Part: $1.40

Timeline
Order Date: Jun 20
Invoice Date: Jun 21
Payment Date: Jun 21
Shipping Date: Jun 22
Delivery Date: Jun 30

Order Details
Why this store: Wanted list ping for a rare item at a reasonable price.
Packaging: Each lot in individual baggies, one with a cardboard insert, all in a bubble mailer.
Feedback left: Positive
Odd telltale signs: none
Issues: itemized all 3 lots on the customs form and used the word "LEGO". C'mon, "Used Toys" is more than sufficient and doesn't raise any eyebrows for any reasons.

Recommendation

I only ordered the 3 lots because there was really nothing else I needed. I had a few other filler items but they barely bumped me into the next shipping bracket. It was too far to go to fill that next bracket and nothing more I wanted to fill it with so I backed off. Prices seem reasonable, shipping is at cost and the proprietor is very responsive to questions and to ship. I would have no problem shopping here again.

Bonus points! Can you identify the pieces I bought?

Bricklink Seller Review - Britton's Brickhouse

It took me a while to ketchup but I finally mustard the strength to finish. I mayo may not continue at this pace but I don't relish the idea much anymore. I've been in a bit of a pickle and the Mrs. wants to lettuce rest. I concur.

Profile
Seller: Britton's Brickhouse
Store: http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=rbritton31
Feedback (at time of writing): 2752
Feedback Ratio: 99.9%
Location: United States, West Virginia
Prices: Average

My Order
Order Size: 340 items in 15 lots
Condition: 60% New
Shipping Charge: Actual which includes tracking
Other: no extra charges
Final Cost per Part: $0.06

Timeline
Order Date: Apr 4
Invoice Date: Apr 4
Payment Date: Apr 4
Shipping Date: Apr 6
Delivery Date: Apr 10

Order Details
Why this store: Needed about 100 of a specific part. Seller was one of very few who had it at a good price with reasonable terms and other things I needed as well.
Packaging: All lots individually baggied then placed in a Duncan Hines cake mix box. Brilliant!
Communication: none
Feedback left: Positive
Odd telltale signs: none
Issues: none

Recommendation

Some fun tidbits sitting in the corners. I got some of the single piece molded Bionicle minifigs because why not. They were less than a quarter each and just helps build my collection of interesting LEGO bits.

Bricklink Seller Review - Playstones - Always Cheap

I like the colloquial translation of 'bricks' into other languages. In Spanish it's 'ladrillos' which means small bricks, the kind you'd build a chimney with. German comes back as 'stones' with the Dutch 'steen' sounding similar. Serbs and such call them 'cubes'. Indonesia's 'bata/batu' encompasses the same brick/stone/rock idea. Turkish 'tuğla' is a brick or tile. Funny to the English ear? In Danish they're 'klods'.

Incidentally that little anecdote about the Greek word lego (λέγω) meaning 'I built it' is a little far-fetched. The ancient root is more like 'I speak/choose/mean' with the closest idea being "I bring together". More commonly, this word has become the root in many languages of the verb "to read".

Profile
Seller: Playstones - Always Cheap
Store: http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=playstones
Feedback (at time of writing): 320
Feedback Ratio: 98.8%
Location: Germany, Schleswig-Holstein
Prices: Below average

My Order
Order Size: 43 items in 24 lots
Condition: 100% Used
Shipping Charge: Actual which includes tracking
Other: no extra charges, not even Paypal! Minimum buy 5€
Final Cost per Part: $0.85 (Fabuland figures anyone?)

Timeline
Order Date: Mar 26
Invoice Date: Mar 29
Payment Date: Mar 29
Shipping Date: (Being so far behind in my updates, I've lost that info...)
Delivery Date: Apr 15

Order Details
Why this store: A challenge was issued and I needed parts. Plus I needed someone who could continue helping me complete older sets.
Packaging: Baggied and placed in a thin cardboard box that was amazingly not one bit crushed in transit.
Communication: none
Feedback left: Positive
Odd telltale signs: none
Issues: none

Recommendation

The prices are reasonable and it's refreshing to see a European store who knows how to work their Paypal fees into their cost of business, not as a separate line item on the invoice. Selection is very interesting for older stuff. Response and transit times were a little slower than other stores

Announcement - Facebook Official

It's official. Rather than running some occasional LEGOry through my personal page, there's now a dedicated Facebook page for Dag's Bricks. As my publicity is increasing it only makes sense to make my art easier to find. After last Friday's fashion show it seems like new mountains are coming. Go follow https://www.facebook.com/dagsbricks/ and enjoy the ride with me!

Announcement - The LEGO Bowtie

If you'll remember, I built a LEGO dress for my wife. But I also outfitted myself to match her with a LEGO built pair of glasses, belt, and bowtie. That bowtie has become a replicable item. With the leftover parts from the dress I was able to create 6 more LEGO bowties. They are available as a limited first run in my Etsy store. Perfect for a wedding party, geeky prom or grad gift.

See how amazing it looks? When I wear it to events I get nothing but smiles and positive reactions!

Bricklink Seller Review - Recycled Brick

The final push. Full steam ahead and damn the torpedoes! Ain't nothing gonna stop me, not even a piece priced out of my comfort zone. When it gets close to go time, nothing else matters. Git 'er dun at all costs. I suppose that's the benefit of being the last seller to a convention builder who is frantically finishing. Twice the price? Whatever, I gotta have it and this one's got it! Hmm, might need these and these and these. Not enough of those, I'll buy something similar and see which I like best. Yeah. Poor timing is one buyer's loss and another seller's gain. Not that I'm bitter at all. Hey, it was me who got lazy until the end. I'm just glad someone had my back.

Profile
Seller: Recycled Brick
Store: http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=RecycledBrick
Feedback (at time of writing): 2684
Feedback Ratio: 99.92% positive (two neutrals ever)
Location: United States, California
Prices: Average

My Order
Order Size: 115 items, 35 lot
Condition: 76% Used
Shipping Charge: Actual which is pretty amazing for a California seller.
Other: none
Final Cost per Part: $0.21

Timeline
Order Date: Feb 16
Invoice Date: Feb 17
Payment Date: Feb 17
Shipping Date: Feb 17
Delivery Date: Feb 22

Order Details
Why this store: This was the second frantic final order before Bricks Cascade. Plus there were a lot of neat parts to finish some older sets.
Packaging: Parts cordoned smartly into zip baggies then gathered and mummified in bubble wrap, then in a bubble mailer. Business card included.
Communication: polite
Feedback left: Positive
Odd telltale signs: none
Issues: missing one Modulex brick which was inconsequential. Seller chose to refund plus send a variant in its place.

Recommendation

Notable because of the exact shipping and no fees for a California seller. Something about sellers from that state results in a large percentage of them putting a fat thumb on the shipping scale. This seller also has Modulex which is a fun addition to any order and rare for a US seller. Great communication, selection and speed puts this on my favorites list.

LEGO Finds - 2016 Week 15

As with most of my recurring installments, I've been posting much less lately. I'm focusing more on my mailing list for readers for my ebook. But I couldn't pass up sharing this with you. Didn't believe my own eyes at first. Sitting in a free bin with all sorts of other junk. Yes, I'll liberate those!

LEGO Techniques - Bricklinking a Super Star Destroyer 10221

It's been a while and I've got a backlog of requested sets to analyze for Bricklinking. This analyzing stuff is fun. I also do it for the readers of my ebook, Insider Secrets to Funding your LEGO Hobby. I review sets for part out value. Get the book and get on the list!

For those of you not familiar with BrickStock, find a tutorial at the beginning of this popular post and then come take the walkthrough of this set. I'll be doing it in real time meaning that even as I'm typing this I don't know how much we can shave off of the bill.

A brand new one can still be had for $900. Not near the prices of the Millennium Falcon so my first gut instinct is that you might as well buy new. Fire up the gerbils and Ctrl-A, Ctrl-G to get the average prices of all of the parts. Once you've done this toggle the status to get all the variants at the bottom. Go through each one and strike the most expensive version. There aren't a whole lot of doozies except for the 3x6 cylinder piece and even that's not terrible. My computer shows me ~$650 of parts value.

As usual, I'm going to strike the minifigures from BrickStock. That takes off $100. The sticker is another $32. Now toggle the price to get the most expensive pieces at the top. The yellow right angle technic brick poses a problem. Almost $12 each? Change it to black for $1.25 each. Total value for 6 of this part goes from about $70 to $7.50. Part prices quickly fall to reasonable from there. Toggle the Total Price column now.

We want to be careful about changing out too many colors since this build is very drab and needs to stay that way, What we're looking for are variants that might be a little more obscure or were updated after this set was retired. But there are seriously no variants to be found here!

The only things I can find that would make a lick of difference are things like the tan 1x8 plate. Forty-one of a piece you don't see at 20c each can be swapped for any other color, even medium lavender. Whee, we just saved $4. The blue hinge plate could be swapped for green to save another $3. But these kinds of minimal savings can easily be gained or lost depending on the buyer you choose.

At this point I'm going to anti-climatically shut down the rest of this study. I'm down to $450 for new parts. Add another 12% for shipping and you're at about $500. Not even half off. What if we change the condition to used? Now at $350 for pieces and $420 delivered. Considering all the orders you'd make, the time spent checking them, as well as organizing all the pieces and you may decide to skip it and buy new.

Coming soon, the Grand Carousel!

Bricklink Seller Review - Plastic Packrats Palace

Tell it like it is. Call it what it is. Some of us pomp it up, others downplay. If it's a spade, call it a spade. Wait, is that gardening or cards? Because if we're talking cards, I'm not telling you anything. But if it's gardening, that's easy. Spade, shovel, wheelbarrow. Seeds down, plants up. I like to make my gardening as easy as possible. Drop the seeds, let nature water, eat what comes up. If anything else tries to eat it before I get to, exclude that beastie. If it wins, dispatch it. I'm not about to let my not so hard earned lettuce get eaten by a little dirt dweller.

Profile
Seller: Plastic Packrats Palace
Store: http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=Plastic_Packrat
Feedback (at time of writing): 1274
Feedback Ratio: 99.92% positive (one neutral ever)
Location: United States, Minnesota
Prices: Average or less

My Order
Order Size: 341 items, 38 lot
Condition: 94% Used
Shipping Charge: Minimum $3.50. So up to $1 surcharge for smaller orders.
Other: none
Final Cost per Part: $0.24

Timeline
Order Date: Feb 16
Invoice Date: Feb 18
Payment Date: Feb 18
Shipping Date: Feb 20
Delivery Date: Feb 24

Order Details
Why this store: I don't remember now but this was a frantic final order before Bricks Cascade. Plus there were a lot of neat parts to finish some older sets.
Packaging: Tall ziplocs sealed as lots were put in, nestled in large bubble wrap, all in a box. Packing slip included.
Communication: none
Feedback left: Positive
Odd telltale signs: none
Issues: none

Recommendation

Yep, it's another Bricklink store. Ordered pieces, paid some money, got my parts. Timeframe took a little longer than most other stores with a 2 day response time after ordering and paying. Don't go here if you're in a hurry. Otherwise it's decently stocked with newerish stuff.

Bricklink Seller Review - technix4u

Sometimes I like to pit sellers against each other. Without their knowledge of course. Kind of like when you're surreptitiously racing another customer at a self-checkout to see who can bag their own groceries the fastest. I always win. Easy to do with one LEGO set. A for the Bricklink sellers, one ends up a joy and the other ends up being an eventual joy. As long as LEGO keeps getting into my house I'm pleased.

Profile
Seller: technix4u
Store: http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=gertt67
Feedback (at time of writing): 1582
Feedback Ratio: 99.87% positive (two neutrals ever)
Location: Netherlands, Gelderland
Prices: Average or less

My Order
Order Size: 178 items, 32 lot
Condition: 62% New
Shipping Charge: Typical at cost Dutch rate
Other: adds €1 for orders under €25, requires more expensive track and trace for orders over €25. Pro-tip, make your order exactly €25.
Final Cost per Part: $0.20

Timeline
Order Date: Jan 29
Invoice Date: Jan 31
Payment Date: Jan 31
Shipping Date: Feb 1
Delivery Date: Feb 14

Order Details
Why this store: Lots of pieces to complete some well cared for older sets.
Packaging: Packed very intentionally with baggies taped together to avoid shifting in transit all in a bubble mailer
Communication: helpful
Feedback left: Positive
Odd telltale signs: none
Issues: none

Recommendation

Surprisingly I bought no Technic from this self styled store. Despite the fact that nearly a quarter of the parts are in the Technic category. Bricks, plates, and slopes also make up another gargantuan chunk. The shipping is not as fast as other stores and the extra Euro charge or T&T on overseas orders is not as friendly as other stores but it all worked out.

Bricklink Seller Review - Groenehollander Brick's

Finally back to writing again. Been riding on the fame of my LEGO Dress and coming off of the exhaustion that is post convention. But as I've started ordering again I need to get a little backlog taken care of. Does anybody ever care about the logs in front? Those can jam too, can't they? I guess those have no chance of finally breaking free and kicking you in the posterior.

Profile
Seller: Groenehollander Brick's
Store: http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=groenehollander
Feedback (at time of writing): 6296
Feedback Ratio: 99.98% positive (one neutral ever)
Location: Netherlands, Zeeland
Prices: Average or less

My Order
Order Size: 65 items, 32 lot
Condition: 92% Used
Shipping Charge: Typical at cost Dutch rate
Other: adds Paypal fees
Final Cost per Part: $0.24

Timeline
Order Date: Jan 30
Invoice Date: Jan 31
Payment Date: Jan 31
Shipping Date: Jan 31
Delivery Date: Feb 11

Order Details
Why this store: Lots of pieces to complete some well cared for older sets.
Packaging: Some items stacked in a bizarre fashion, no real rhyme or reason or continuity in packing materials put in a perfectly good bubble mailer then edges taped with brown packing tape.
Communication: none
Feedback left: Positive
Odd telltale signs: none
Issues: none

Recommendation

As I am learning Spanish I try to see the humor in others' foreign language spelling and grammar goofs. But don't let that fool you. This is a well stocked, well run store. Great for completing older sets and bulking up your builder's booty. Pity that I rarely revisit stores on account of my mission to review so many different ones.

Bricks Cascade 2016 Wrap Up

Sparring entrants, waterfalls and wearable LEGO were my experiences this year. I have a few sources to thank for pushing my boundaries. Madison for her Wyldstyle cosplay a few years ago and Cole for his social experiment come to mind. Also, the partial pieces of clothing and armor that other builders have shown off over the years.

When I first played around with staggering rows of 2L rubber technic axle connectors on axles I had no idea how large that table scrap would grow. That little thought grew until it became a pair of flip-flops. Then they got fancy. Then they needed something more so I played around with the same concept in a different way. I used a bunch of 2L technic liftarms and connected them with 3L pins. Once I figured out the pattern I could run long strings. These strings then were fastened together and suddenly I was a weaver, creating large swaths of cloth. With a little finagling I was able to convert these large chunks into form fitting pieces. Thus, a dress was born.

"Little Black Dress" was my feature MOC at the convention. My wife was a willing participant in showing it off. I made her a handbag to match and added a few small touches. I then complemented her with my own LEGO built belt, bowtie and glasses. Being already near sighted it would have been nice if the window glass was prescription.

You can see the dress featured on CNET and MSN!

With a choice to enter into either the Art or Technic theme, I chose the latter. The coordinator was very intrigued by a true bio mechanical sculptural build. Didn't even need any motors or battery packs! Runs on protein and water. Taking that cue from Cole, we walked around the public expo together, wowing the crowd and vying for the People's Choice award.

And the competition was pretty stiff. We had to compete with an 8' Multnomah Falls. A Steam Punk build, "Sea Haus" also sported a moving waterfall. These proved to be real crowd pleasers. In the thick of it was Cole with his life size light sabers which he was letting the crowd hold and feel. Who lets the public touch their LEGO!? What a smart guy. To make it even more memorable, Cole and I got into a very friendly grudge match with good natured trash talk and a bit of jovial intimidation. He really is a great guy and if he ended up with the People's Choice award I would have clapped the loudest. Maybe even cheered.

In the end Multnomah Falls cascaded to a People's Choice victory and the Sea Haus punked us on Best of Show. Both fine entries worthy of their trophies.

Courtesy the Oregonian

Courtesy the Oregonian

Who loved us the most? Tweenage girls, followed by most females. Many of the guys were reasonable enough to ask first before snapping photos or feeling the dress. Older folks seemed to really love us as well. Must have been a Ginger Rogers / Fred Astaire vibe. My wife and I both appreciate that the LEGO community has kept their comments positive and non creepy, unlike a few random ones on Twitter and the like. LEGO people really are some of the nicest most respectful people I've met.

You can buy a copy of the same bowtie I wore. Great for a geeky wedding party or prom night!

I won that trophy in Technic for the dress. But also art anyway for my enlarged Dag's Bricks. In a sideways related note, I recreated the classic LEGO wooden sewing machine for the Classic category. I laid a large piece of the "fabric" over it and won a small Fabuland set as runner-up prize for that theme as well. On top of all this I coordinated the Microscale theme and was given a thank you prize for that as well. And did I mention that Bricks Cascade is one of the most generous LEGO conventions there is? In door prizes alone I received about $400 worth of bulk elements this year. Include the 3 large prize sets valued at around $360 and at least $30 for the Fabuland set and I count almost $800 of street value, not including the brick built trophies.

All for one $55 convention ticket. The door prizes alone would have more than covered that.

I should mention too that as a theme coordinator I counted it pure joy to build trophies for others. I built three large and two small trophies and didn't hold back my creative process. Rather I felt that these were some very generous trophies and I was pleased to give them out. I look forward to the next year when I can snag either of those coveted grand trophies.

In the meantime, I've got some fashion designers to talk to. Something about couture with a virus?

Photos at the Oregonian
Bricks Cascade on Flickr

Bricklink Seller Review - Everything But the Kragle

Cover your assets. What do you do when you screw up? Hide your head in the sand? Look the other way? Find a rug? Owning up is hard because of the cost. But how do you measure that cost? There's the monetary cost. Then the return customer cost. Social equity and confidence also play in. One mistake could end up costing not just 100% of the cost, but 10,000% if you play your cards wrong. You can always improve your game. And when you do you can reap 10,000% of the investment.

Profile
Seller: Everything But the Kragle
Store: http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=paulkremer
Feedback (at time of writing): 291
Feedback Ratio: 100% positive
Location: USA, North Dakota
Prices: About average

My Order
Order Size: 113 items, 18 lot
Condition: 94% New
Shipping Charge: States no handling fees but I was charged an extra 40c above postage.
Other: none
Final Cost per Part: $0.15

Timeline
Order Date: Feb 6
Invoice Date: Feb 6
Payment Date: Feb 6
Shipping Date: Feb 8
Delivery Date: Feb 14

Order Details
Why this store: Specific printed tiles for a specific project
Packaging: Almost every lot separated, used parts baggies labeled, all in a Bubble mailer
Part condition: Very Good
Communication: Polite
Feedback left: Positive
Odd telltale signs: none
Issues: Shorted me the ONE part I came in for. Irony? Sorted it all out with pleasant and humorous communication to boot. See, it can be done!

Recommendation

The extended shipping time has to do with when the initial package was sent compared to when I received the missing parts. Since they were tiny tiles I suggested how they could send it via letter post instead of spending another $2.60 for three tiny parts. They were pleased to do so. Well sure, wouldn't you save over 75% on a mistake if you could? Just one of my many tips on this blog and in my ebook. As for the store itself, sure, I'd have no problem going back.

LEGO Techniques - Putting it All Together

What would you do with 8400 tiny technic liftarms and about 5000 technic pins? Back in November I ran a contest to guess how many of those liftarms were in a bag I had received. I implied there would be a creation forthcoming. Well lady luck (or lord LEGO?) was on my side. The project is near complete and will be making a public debut at the Bricks Cascade 2016 convention in Portland, OR this weekend. Come see this amazing build between 10a-4p on Saturday and Sunday the 27th and 28th.



Oh, what is it? Here's a photo of one part of it. Give up?

LEGO Celebrity

Friday night I had an amazing opportunity. My favorite business guru Ramit Sethi was in town and invited his Portland students and subscribers to hang out with his team for happy hour. I have been following Ramit for at least a year and am very impressed with the content he puts out. He has expanded my thinking on business and I couldn't miss an opportunity to meet him.

Think quick, how many people might be there? 50? 100? How could I distinguish myself from the crowd and make an impression? LEGO Ramit! About an hour before leaving I whipped together a Miniland scale model of Ramit to present to him when I had the opportunity to shake his hand.

At some point I did have the opportunity to meet him as he was working the room to greet everyone. He's just as genuine and chill as he is on the internet. We talked for a couple of minutes about why I was there and what I do when I presented him my thank you gift for all the great content he and his team put together. While I cobbled a nice outfit together based off of a couple of web images, the crazy thing is that it matched what Ramit was wearing that night, right down to the gold bracelet. That was a last minute addition before I left the house, after I took the photo below.

Ramit told me he hates LEGO. Why? Because as an Indian child his parents were always buying him engineering type toys and he was never big on puzzles and the like. When I read about the amount of time and energy that have gone into creating his courses, I don't believe that. Maybe he just doesn't like physical puzzles. But much like his polished emails and courses, he appreciated the LEGO model I presented him because it shows what can be done with all those fiddly bits.

The food was great, the drinks were perfect and the social equity Ramit invested in was astronomical. I have always intended to join one of his courses as soon as I am able; now there is no hesitation that I will do so. Thanks Ramit for a great evening!