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Surprised to find very few posts about the 10226 Sopwith Camel. This set gets even more looks and discussion than my 787 (10177), even though it is smaller. This set is what it's cracked up to be and worth every penny. The colors are vibrant, the size and scale are excellent, and the functionality seals the deal. I haven't had this much fun putting a set together in quite a while. The piece count is a little deceiving—there's tons of little 1x1, connector rods, balljoints, et cetera. The main draw of this set is the real working ailerons and elevators connected to the yoke in the cockpit. They move in the appropriate directions for flight, which is a simple but all-to-easy to screw up detail. They achieve this by a system of string that gets pulled by joints connected to the yoke. Tension is kept by using rubber bands on the underside of the control surfaces. Without these bands as counter tension, the surfaces would be hard-over all the time. It's a clever and functional setup that will make you grin once you start putting it together. The rudder is movable, but not via the cockpit. A shame, but understandable once you put it together, since there is scant room in the interior left for it, and you'd have no way to push the rudder pedals. A larger scale Technic model might have done this. All of the graphics are decals, not printed, which may make a difference for those that like to re-use pieces. There's lots of rare and useful pieces, like the metallic quarter-circles surrounding the engine. The engine itself is accurate; it spins freely and has a true radial engine with cylinders that spin. The cylinders are done in a clever way, built from 1x1 dots on a 1x1 hook tile that connects to an octagonal frame. This keeps it light weight for more spins. Unfortunately there is no room at all in the internals for an electric motor - the control surface stuff is smack dab in the way. The landing gear has a working suspension, which is a nice touch. It is not minifig scale, but my advice would be to either build a brick or papercraft Snoopy to sit in the cockpit.  Unfortunately, Lego forgot to include one of the rubber bands that keeps tension on the control surfaces. I had to MacGyver it in the interim until I get a replacement from Lego. This is the second time this happened to me in big sets, as my 787 was missing a key connecting rod for one of the engines. A run of bad luck, but annoying nonetheless. Long-term, I'd be concerned about the durability of the string used to move the control surfaces. There's several hard-edged areas that it travels through, and if you like to move things around a bit it might fray. The rubber bands may also wear out and lose tension over time. It may not be much of a concern since it's a display model, but it is something to consider. Even if you aren't an aviation enthusiast like I am, this is a very worthwhile set to build and display. Plus, you get the mini one for free when you buy it at the Lego store, which is a nice perk.
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Jun 22, 2012 20:33
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TriggerHappy posted:The sopwith camel is also a bit pricey per piece for a non-licensed set, but it's lots of big plates and a pretty great set. They might just be charging by weight, period. The Sopwith camel has unique colors that people will buy just for the sake of having the colors. It's also extremely cool and functional. I paid $99 for that set without looking back. It's a lot better value than the $89 787 I bought several years back, even though the 787 has more pieces and is a physically larger model. The wing join on the 787 is a real downer.
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Jul 9, 2012 16:30
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It's their new mode of transport, the Shellraiser.
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Oct 11, 2012 15:49
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Yeah, I learned my lesson with the Sopwith Camel. Separate all of the parts by color before you get building. It'll take you an extra half hour or so of time up-front, but it'll save you hours on the back end when you're frantically picking through a pile to find that one particular piece.
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Dec 28, 2012 16:57
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GigantoR posted:I picked this guy up today: Holy poo poo, that looks exactly like the car from the 2001 Spy Hunter Remake. Mod in some machine guns and missile launchers (and find a way to make it turn into a boat) and you're pretty much there. I gotta pick that one up.
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Jan 9, 2013 15:34
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Umbra Dubium posted:Do printed bricks usually show this much variance within a run? Does the way the white text sit so high on the tape on the brick to the right mean they made a new print run but didn't check the one thing they were specifically trying to fix? My friend, you're messing with the messy force of registration. If these are pad printed (they probably are), there is always a risk of misregistration.
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Dec 5, 2013 20:34
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Why not use post-in-blocks to secure the arms? It looks like there's a few solutions to make those arms a bit sturdier while retaining articulation.
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Mar 4, 2014 02:21
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Just got back from Burlington with both a Spaceship Spaceship SPACESHIP and Ecto-1. Time to get buildin'. 
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Jun 1, 2014 17:46
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Finished up Ecto-1 and yet again Lego gives me a handful of extra stuff but manages to miss one transparent round stud! Fortunately it's not a big deal as I just used one of the spare white ones in its place, but this is the third set in a row that this has happened to me and I have been meticulously making sure all the bags go into a sorting tray so I don't lose anything. If Benny's Spaceship is missing a part I will consider myself snakebit. My griping out of the way, I loved the way they built the Cadillac fins on Ecto-1. The two wingplates thing totally works for it and isn't just a gratuitous "aren't we cool" bit. It legitimately makes the set look sleek. Bravo.
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Jun 1, 2014 21:05
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I really dig Benny's spaceship, it's a well done classic space style ship. Some of the construction techniques are definitely not 1980s-era, but it's got all the things that make you like old blue and gray Lego spaceships. The details are nice, like the nuclear power core, the spy drones, the little spot for Unikitty. It's also a nice touch for the kids to include a little bad guy fighter, you can have pew pew lasers right out of the box. Only thing I don't care for are the attachments for the drop ships on the wings. They use these little... I don't know the right terms, a 2x1 plate with little ribbed circle things sticking out of them? It looks slick but if you touch the ship wrong they'll fall right out and they were a bear to attach and keep level with the wings.. Why not stick with the traditional 2x1 plates that had the locking rod and C-clip? Far more secure, even if it doesn't look as elegant.
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Jun 2, 2014 02:00
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I agree that it does feel a bit fragile for something that a kid's going to pick up and go woosh woosh with. The back wing plates will pop off if you look at them wrong because there's not a lot of surface area for the plate to attach to. It definitely wants to be picked up and cradled from the bottom structure.
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Jun 2, 2014 02:23
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I only mentioned the wing plates because I accidentally popped them off twice in various states of constructing the ship. If you try using your thumb to balance the ship while holding it under the wing, that's how I did it. Fortunately, it's easy to fix and I've figured out better ways to hold it. I think my first mod for it is going to be designing an stand and some landing gear.
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Jun 2, 2014 03:46
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Dogen posted:Maybe a landing pad using some big plates and something like the old monorail supports. I like the way you think. I know exactly the parts you're talking about and I can imagine a whole landing pad with maintenance bay, fueling dock, and so on.
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Jun 2, 2014 22:34
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Also, I retract my earlier statement about the wing dropships on Benny's ship. Turns out I was attaching them wrong. Now that I know the proper way to do it, they're much more secure, and I feel like an idiot.
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Jun 3, 2014 03:13
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Called the Burlington store yesterday before venturing, and they did have one exo-suit. But by the time I got there (I work up the street), it was gone. Curses!  However, I did take a Mini Cooper home as consolation. drat does that thing have a ton of parts. It'll fit in very well thematically with my Sopwith camel, since I think they both use the same beige and green bits. Plus, I love the license plate stickers for the countries of the world. Stuck the Connecticut plate on to represent the Nutmeg state, home of Lego USA.
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Aug 5, 2014 20:11
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smackfu posted:Oddly, they didn't get it correct. Real CT plate is navy blue letters on a light blue to white gradient. The actual license plate design would probably not translate very well to a sticker, not to mention probably having to pay the state a royalty. That light blue gradient makes it hard enough to make out the letters on real plates. The color is clearly limited by the fact that they used the same ink for all the blue bits in the various plate stickers. However, in an interesting coincidence, CT released "classic" style plates for older cars this year, and they're pure white. http://www.ct.gov/dmv/lib/dmv/New_Classic_plate.jpg I know that right-hand drive and British plates are purist, but i did like that you can make the model left-hand drive and put on more native license plates for the various places in the world.
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Aug 5, 2014 21:05
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If not landing gear than at least a UCS stand or something for it to be displayed on.
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Aug 16, 2014 03:24
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People will buy that for the "what's going on here?" Unikitty alone.
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Sep 28, 2014 23:20
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Why would Lego make so few sets when these things will clearly sell? That's what boggles.
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Oct 3, 2014 03:52
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Stopped at the Lego store in Burlington during my lunch hour today to pick up an Exo Suit. They have a bunch of them now. Going to enjoy putting this bad boy together.
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Oct 30, 2014 20:58
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xzzy posted:And still no research institute, despite the occasional mention around the internet of a random Lego store getting one or two on the shelves. The fellow that I talked to at the store today said they were getting dribs and drabs on their ship days. Everyone there seems to know that the demand is super high.
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Oct 30, 2014 21:08
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Phrosphor posted:Hmm, that ExoSuit looks like another good set to use as a base, I might need to grab one once all the other stuff I bought arrives. The Exo suit has a lot of little fiddly parts but it also has tons of balljoints that could yield creative use. It reminds me a lot of Herr Faust from Wolfenstein: The New Order. I might buy another to customize to make a legit Lego Herr Faust. 
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Oct 31, 2014 14:28
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So what's the best way to deal with yellowing/aging bricks? My 787 is eight years old and it's starting to age pretty badly. The white pieces are all turning to a grayish yellow.
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Dec 22, 2014 04:20
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That makes sense, though I am not looking forward to disassembling most of it to do that.
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Dec 22, 2014 04:32
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xzzy posted:Uh, it's lego, it's designed to be disassembled. Well, yes, but the way the 787 was put together to simulate the Boeing house paint scheme was a very tiring and tedious build. It's a long series of 1x1 and 2x1 plates of alternating colors. It's just going to take a long time to take it apart and put it back together. 
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Dec 22, 2014 04:38
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Now I want Inspector Gadget lego sets.
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Jan 21, 2015 22:26
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Do the UK prices include VAT or taxes? US Prices do not include taxes.
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Feb 4, 2015 19:25
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DrChud posted:Kwik-E-Mart Reveal photos, holy crap. I'm sold. Now, when will we get our Springfield Nuclear Power Plant?
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Mar 12, 2015 15:52
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quote:Well after 5 straight days of repairing my modulars, I got everything sorted out and rebuilt. Distressingly, one piece (one of the gray 1x4s with pegs on the ends for connecting each floor) is totally missing, and I've GAINED a single 1x1 brown brick. I can't find the missing piece nor where the brown brick is supposed to fit. Are transmuting bricks an issue I need to watch out for? If my experience is anything to go by, they tend to migrate under the couch.
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Mar 14, 2015 00:09
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General Specific posted:I'm pretty sure I still have one or two of the gray separators, but I rarely, if ever, used them. The wedge on the end of the orange one is what finally made them really useful. The orange ones also have the little peg popper for those cross-shaped connector rods. I remember when the gray separators were a real special thing, but almost every set I've bought lately in the $50-$100 range includes an orange ones.. Now I've got more than what I know what to do with. Maybe I'll make them into keyrings.
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Mar 14, 2015 18:17
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I haven't bought a lego set that cost over $100 in many years, and I think the Kwik-E-Mart is going to be it. It's too cool to pass up.
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Apr 15, 2015 00:45
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Dumb question, does the "VIP Early Access" for the Kwik-E-Mart also count at Lego stores? As in, if I walked into one today would I be able to place an in-store pickup order for when it's released instead of being at the mercy of having the set shipped to me?
kefkafloyd fucked around with this message at 17:19 on Apr 15, 2015 |
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Apr 15, 2015 17:10
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Norns posted:Yes. Sweet, thanks. I think I'll do that this afternoon, my office is like five minutes away from the Burlington store.
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Apr 15, 2015 18:29
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Norns posted:My email seems to imply they already have them in stores for VIPs I stopped in at the store and they did! They appeared to have plenty and I happily took it home. Woo hoo! etc. I haven't bought a set in a box this big in a long time.
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Apr 15, 2015 22:31
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Dogen posted:Someone post their impressions already! This thing takes a while to build, but I can appreciate the colors and detail already. Also, if you hate stickers, you're gonna have at least 50 of them to stick on. Stickers only drive me crazy because I can never get them right. 8 bag groups, some of which have double bags.
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Apr 16, 2015 01:32
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Also, the Kwik-E-Mart set has three 1-stud round... things (not plates but they're the same thickness, I don't know the technical term) that poke into technic holes. It's for the Buzz cola machine. So I wonder how illegal that technique is.
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Apr 16, 2015 02:27
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Finished the Kwik-E-Mart this afternoon after work. Impressions, I guess. * 2200 pieces and a ton of them are little bitty ones. But there's a good variety and the set is pretty sizable. It takes up about the same space as a 13 inch Macbook pro (without the dumpster). * There's 50 stickers and some are more fiddly than than others. The only one I really botched was the welcome mat, but that probably adds to the charm. * Beautiful use of colors and it nails a lot of the Simpsons aesthetic. * A lot of fiddly one-stud prop building. It's especially front-loaded too since the freezer cases are built in the first steps. * The best bits are the Squishee machine, Buzz Cola fountain, the dumpster, and the arcade cabinets. Very clever builds and they look great. * Tons of printed bricks with Simpsons references. Honestly, if you left the Simpsons stickers off you could easily mod this into a convenience store for any Lego town.
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Apr 17, 2015 00:16
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Norns posted:I think i'm going to do this. Make a few modifications and add it to my WIP town i'm starting with my daughter. The quantity of pure yellow bricks for the outside isn't that high either, so you could easily change the "coat of paint" with some spares from Bricklink. I also like the build technique for the sign; it's easily replaceable if you want to make a completely different design for the sign so long as you make the connector the same way. For a set that many people are going to make as a "model" they put a lot of playability in it. The roof slides off easily. The grocery shelves can be easily detached and rearranged, and so can the machines if you really want to.
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Apr 17, 2015 04:04
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Also this set has made me want a Planet Express (ship and location) even more now.
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Apr 17, 2015 21:34
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| # ¿ May 21, 2024 06:41 |
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I need to get the UCS X-Wing before it's discontinued, and get the TIE fighter for Christmas. You can't have one without the other.
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Apr 18, 2015 03:54
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