It took longer than expected to finish knolling the last 30% of the pieces (in hindsight probably 30% by volume and not by quantity). It seemed like we had all the small pieces left to count last night. Even though this set has slightly more pieces than the super star destroyer (3263 vs 3152), a lot more of them are small 1x1 plates, tiles, and "greebles".
Nonetheless, we plowed through it and got everything finished last night. Mom has developed a passion for knolling and finds it really enjoyable. There were even several types of pieces that I was just going to count and bag but she insisted on knolling hahaha. Anyway, to my surprise, there were only 4 pieces that were missing. I had honestly thought there would be more, particularly given how many tiny pieces are in the set. I sure do hope that our counting was correct .... I caught mom counting out 2, 4, 6, 10 at one point ....
Hopefully, the seller will be willing/able to send the missing items - not sure how good the Lepin customer service is. Lego would have no problems sending out the items. Time will tell, I guess.
So with pieces missing both in this set AND the super star destroyer, we are at a bit of a standstill. I was hoping on building the star destroyer first but at this point, it looks like whichever set gets all its pieces first will get priority.
Friday 20 January 2017
Thursday 19 January 2017
Grand Carousel (10196) - Let the knolling begin!
We spent a good hour and a half on knolling last night. One of my larger concerns with this set is missing pieces. One of the critiques of Lepin sets is that they seem to have a higher probability of missing pieces. We knolled about 70% of the parts and found 2 pieces that were missing - which is actually a lot fewer than I had expected. At the same time, we also found about 6 extra pieces (though you'll never hear of anyone complaining about those).
I'm still hoping that as we go through the rest of the bags, we'll find that those 2 pieces accidentally got packed elsewhere. I have to admit I am somewhat doubtful though as ever other piece has been properly bagged with its brothers and sisters.
A couple shots of some of our knolled pieces from last night.
I'm still hoping that as we go through the rest of the bags, we'll find that those 2 pieces accidentally got packed elsewhere. I have to admit I am somewhat doubtful though as ever other piece has been properly bagged with its brothers and sisters.
A couple shots of some of our knolled pieces from last night.
Grand Carousel (10196) - De-boxing and Initial Thoughts!!
Upon opening, we found that the pieces were packed in a similar manner to what you would expect in a Lego set. The type of plastic used for the bags was the same crunchy, crinkly plastic that Lego uses.
It was a pretty impressive haul - covered the better part of our assembly table.
One difference we spotted was the lack of numbering on the bags. The parts are not divided into the chapters of the build but are sorted by color and type. We actually prefer this style of packing as it is more conducive to the knolling process. Due to this style of packaging, there are also a larger number of bags, each containing a smaller number of parts.
The colors themselves look pretty good - they aren't faded and look as vibrant as the Lego pieces do. Mom was really excited at all the different colors there were - 3 shades of blue, 2 shades of red, yellows, etc.
The instruction manual looks exactly as the Lego version - with the small exception of the Lepin logo in the top left corner. Otherwise, the print material feels the same and the print quality seems to be equivalent.
Some reviews I have read of Lepin sets complain about the quality of the print on the minifigures - issues with the faces not being centered, eyeballs being printed on tops of heads, lines on the eyes not being crisp. I have to say that I did not find ANY of those issues with the minifigure parts on this set thus far.
As you can see below, the detailing is of good quality and all eyes are on the face and not the scalp :)
Another difference we noticed was that the point of injection on the Lepin pieces was larger than those on a typical Lego piece. A typical Lego piece has a small pinprick where the liquid plastic is injected into the brick mold. As you can see below, the Lepin pieces have a pretty noticeable injection site. Aside from being less aesthetically pleasing, it does not seem to affect the fit of the pieces at all.
It was a pretty impressive haul - covered the better part of our assembly table.
One difference we spotted was the lack of numbering on the bags. The parts are not divided into the chapters of the build but are sorted by color and type. We actually prefer this style of packing as it is more conducive to the knolling process. Due to this style of packaging, there are also a larger number of bags, each containing a smaller number of parts.
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| Pieces bagged by type and color |
The colors themselves look pretty good - they aren't faded and look as vibrant as the Lego pieces do. Mom was really excited at all the different colors there were - 3 shades of blue, 2 shades of red, yellows, etc.
 |
| Look at those colors! |
The instruction manual looks exactly as the Lego version - with the small exception of the Lepin logo in the top left corner. Otherwise, the print material feels the same and the print quality seems to be equivalent.
Some reviews I have read of Lepin sets complain about the quality of the print on the minifigures - issues with the faces not being centered, eyeballs being printed on tops of heads, lines on the eyes not being crisp. I have to say that I did not find ANY of those issues with the minifigure parts on this set thus far.
As you can see below, the detailing is of good quality and all eyes are on the face and not the scalp :)
Another difference we noticed was that the point of injection on the Lepin pieces was larger than those on a typical Lego piece. A typical Lego piece has a small pinprick where the liquid plastic is injected into the brick mold. As you can see below, the Lepin pieces have a pretty noticeable injection site. Aside from being less aesthetically pleasing, it does not seem to affect the fit of the pieces at all.
Grand Carousel (10196) - It's actually Lepin this time ...
Mom is very much into colorful sets - in case you hadn't already noticed in previous posts where she oggles over the coloring. And in continuation of the theme park setting that the ferris wheel gave, she really wanted to build the Grand Carousel set. Unfortunately, this is a retired set and people are charging $3,500 for it on Amazon.
My pockets are not nearly deep enough to afford, regardless of how much fun the set would be to put together. I was likewise, a little tired of gathering Lego parts through Bricklink, having just finished placing my last order for my super star destroyer.
So, we decided to try out luck with a Lepin set. I have heard that for the price, they are a pretty good deal. I placed my order last Friday and was extremely surprised to have it show up yesterday (only 4 later), particularly given that the point of origin was China. I guess when you cut Canada Post out of the equation and go with a courier service, that kind of delivery speed is a possibility.
Even better? Shipping was free with the purchase. All-in, I spent $135 CDN on the set. Much easier tab to swallow than the $3,500 Lego set.
It arrives in a non-descript cardboard box. No fancy Lego box for this one, but at a savings of more than $3,000, I can live with that.
Little Gucci is eager to open up the package and see what is inside too!
My pockets are not nearly deep enough to afford, regardless of how much fun the set would be to put together. I was likewise, a little tired of gathering Lego parts through Bricklink, having just finished placing my last order for my super star destroyer.
So, we decided to try out luck with a Lepin set. I have heard that for the price, they are a pretty good deal. I placed my order last Friday and was extremely surprised to have it show up yesterday (only 4 later), particularly given that the point of origin was China. I guess when you cut Canada Post out of the equation and go with a courier service, that kind of delivery speed is a possibility.
Even better? Shipping was free with the purchase. All-in, I spent $135 CDN on the set. Much easier tab to swallow than the $3,500 Lego set.
It arrives in a non-descript cardboard box. No fancy Lego box for this one, but at a savings of more than $3,000, I can live with that.
Little Gucci is eager to open up the package and see what is inside too!
Tuesday 17 January 2017
Do you knoll?
I've been doing some reading online about people who knoll their lego sets prior to beginning assembly. Practically speaking, it allows you to familiarize yourself with what pieces you will be working with (useful if there are several colors that are very close) and to do a piece count to identify any missing bricks PRIOR to construction. After all, there is nothing more annoying than getting halfway through your build and then realizing you are short on something. Other people have reported that they also do it because they find it therapeutic and relaxing.
Last night, mom and I decided to give it a try. We grouped like colors into their own boxes and then attached each of the like pieces to each other. Oddly enough, we did find it very enjoyable. There is something wonderfully symmetrical about a stack of lego bricks that have been stuck together at even offsets to each other.
I think it will also come in handy during the build. With more than 3,000 pieces in our upcoming Super Star Destroyer project, it will save us a lot of time rooting through a large pile of pieces to find what we need. As more of the pieces arrive, we plan on knolling them and sorting them.
Last night, mom and I decided to give it a try. We grouped like colors into their own boxes and then attached each of the like pieces to each other. Oddly enough, we did find it very enjoyable. There is something wonderfully symmetrical about a stack of lego bricks that have been stuck together at even offsets to each other.
I think it will also come in handy during the build. With more than 3,000 pieces in our upcoming Super Star Destroyer project, it will save us a lot of time rooting through a large pile of pieces to find what we need. As more of the pieces arrive, we plan on knolling them and sorting them.
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| Knolled box of light bluish gray pieces |
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| All pieces neatly knolled and organized |
Monday 16 January 2017
Super Star Destroyer (10221) - Everything is ordered!!!
Had to commemorate this milestone with a celebratory post. I just placed an order for the last 2 pieces of the kit (at least I hope they are the last 2 and that I haven't miscalculated somewhere!!!).
Thank goodness for sellers who DON'T have a minimum buy amount and are willing to take my 25 cent order. These are the people who truly care about your projects and aren't in it just to make a couple bucks.
I've had mostly good experiences during this journey of parts gathering. The vast majority of sellers were very friendly, eager to help and ready to share knowledge. As with most things in life, there were a few ignorant sellers out there who didn't even have the courtesy to respond to an inquiry - they have already been added to my "dislike" folder and I will be staying away from them in the future. In case any readers are also looking to purchase parts, stay away from the Bricklink stores named "Emmets Room" and "MAMMY STORE". These sellers need a lesson in customer service.
Rant now over :) All we need to do is wait for the remainder of the pieces to arrive and we can begin construction!! Mom is not really looking forward to this one as it's a pretty dreary and boring build color-wise. She's all about the color, which is why the ferris wheel excited her so much.
Thank goodness for sellers who DON'T have a minimum buy amount and are willing to take my 25 cent order. These are the people who truly care about your projects and aren't in it just to make a couple bucks.
I've had mostly good experiences during this journey of parts gathering. The vast majority of sellers were very friendly, eager to help and ready to share knowledge. As with most things in life, there were a few ignorant sellers out there who didn't even have the courtesy to respond to an inquiry - they have already been added to my "dislike" folder and I will be staying away from them in the future. In case any readers are also looking to purchase parts, stay away from the Bricklink stores named "Emmets Room" and "MAMMY STORE". These sellers need a lesson in customer service.
Rant now over :) All we need to do is wait for the remainder of the pieces to arrive and we can begin construction!! Mom is not really looking forward to this one as it's a pretty dreary and boring build color-wise. She's all about the color, which is why the ferris wheel excited her so much.
Super Star Destroyer (10221) - Down to the last 100 parts
After my latest round of parts buying, I have only 103 parts left to get. Unfortunately, these are proving to be difficult to round up in the quantities that I need with local buyers. I may even be hard pressed to be able to get everything from within Canada.
I'm hoping that if I give it a little time, local sellers will have pieced out some new inventory so I don't end up paying an arm and a leg on shipping.
I did a pick-up run this weekend - 3 packages from around the city. A few more arrived in the mail as well so things are slowly starting to come together. I've got another few parcels that should be arriving this week and will have another 3 packages from around the city to collect this coming weekend.
I'm hoping that if I give it a little time, local sellers will have pieced out some new inventory so I don't end up paying an arm and a leg on shipping.
I did a pick-up run this weekend - 3 packages from around the city. A few more arrived in the mail as well so things are slowly starting to come together. I've got another few parcels that should be arriving this week and will have another 3 packages from around the city to collect this coming weekend.
Ferris Wheel (10247) - Final Thoughts, Pictures and Video
So some summarizing thoughts on this set.
Overall, it was a really fun set to put together. Definitely a set that requires a lot of attention to detail and some more advanced building techniques. There are a lot of moving pieces that need to be aligned properly to make sure everything moves and turns as it should.
It's a bright set with a lot of vibrant colors, which makes it an excellent display set. The sheer height of it also really draws attention. And of course, if you choose to get the motor for it, it's really a joy to just sit and watch it run.
In things that Lego could have done better, these are not points that apply solely to this set. In fact, most of the annoyances that we had with this build are things we have seen in many other sets and are general possible improvements for Lego overall.
1 - the instruction manual would be so much easier to use if it were spiral bound so it wasn't constantly flopping back on itself
2 - the color matching in some parts of the manual are off and this could easily lead to confusion
3 - more mini-figures would have been nice and would have allowed for more "play function". The set only comes with 7, 1 of which is the ride operator and another is the ice cream vendor, leaving only 5 riders. Once we added a few more figures from other sets, the wheel became a lot busier and we could pose the riders in some interesting scenarios.
Here is a video of the ferris wheel in all its glory .... and a few still shots further down.
Overall, it was a really fun set to put together. Definitely a set that requires a lot of attention to detail and some more advanced building techniques. There are a lot of moving pieces that need to be aligned properly to make sure everything moves and turns as it should.
It's a bright set with a lot of vibrant colors, which makes it an excellent display set. The sheer height of it also really draws attention. And of course, if you choose to get the motor for it, it's really a joy to just sit and watch it run.
In things that Lego could have done better, these are not points that apply solely to this set. In fact, most of the annoyances that we had with this build are things we have seen in many other sets and are general possible improvements for Lego overall.
1 - the instruction manual would be so much easier to use if it were spiral bound so it wasn't constantly flopping back on itself
2 - the color matching in some parts of the manual are off and this could easily lead to confusion
3 - more mini-figures would have been nice and would have allowed for more "play function". The set only comes with 7, 1 of which is the ride operator and another is the ice cream vendor, leaving only 5 riders. Once we added a few more figures from other sets, the wheel became a lot busier and we could pose the riders in some interesting scenarios.
Here is a video of the ferris wheel in all its glory .... and a few still shots further down.
Ferris Wheel (10247) Complete!!
This weekend saw the completion of the ferris wheel!!
It looks great - super colorful, very lively. And all the mechanisms work very well - the wheel spins smoothly with no "hiccuping", the individual buckets all rotate smoothly on their axles.
The only thing that I would suggest for improvement is to include more minifigures. The set only comes with 7. Once you take out the ride operator and the ice-cream lady, that only leaves 5 "customers". That means there are a LOT of empty buckets (11 to be exact).
Mom and I couldn't help adding a few more people from other sets to make the ride a little more fun .....
First off, in the name of safety and efficiency, we added a maintenance droid. The wheeled chassis allows it to move quickly from one trouble spot to another. The dual antennas on its head provide excellent WiFi capabilities so that it can be operated manually for delicate procedures. Currently, the ride is in full operation with no outstanding issues, so the droid is quietly charging in its docking station.
Now what is this chap staring at? He seems to be looking up at the top of the wheel and pointing excitedly ...
There seems to be some daredevil scaling the ferris wheel supports!!
Despite his precarious perch, he seems to having a grand time. judging from the huge grin on his face. I guess there is more than 1 way to ride a ferris wheel! At least he has his crash helmet on, though a safety harness would probably serve him better.
Looks like this rider has spotted the climber as well - he's busy staring at him instead of the scenery!
And over on this side of the wheel, it looks like the head-sized pretzel is getting some attention. This rider clearly wants one for himself as he can't take his eyes off it, leaning dangerously over the side of his bucket just to keep the pretzel in sight.
Our ride is very inclusive and does not discriminate among riders. Amputees are fully welcome!
It looks great - super colorful, very lively. And all the mechanisms work very well - the wheel spins smoothly with no "hiccuping", the individual buckets all rotate smoothly on their axles.
The only thing that I would suggest for improvement is to include more minifigures. The set only comes with 7. Once you take out the ride operator and the ice-cream lady, that only leaves 5 "customers". That means there are a LOT of empty buckets (11 to be exact).
Mom and I couldn't help adding a few more people from other sets to make the ride a little more fun .....
First off, in the name of safety and efficiency, we added a maintenance droid. The wheeled chassis allows it to move quickly from one trouble spot to another. The dual antennas on its head provide excellent WiFi capabilities so that it can be operated manually for delicate procedures. Currently, the ride is in full operation with no outstanding issues, so the droid is quietly charging in its docking station.
Now for the ride itself. With the addition of more people, the ferris wheel is in pretty high demand. There are only a couple of free buckets and there is a line-up of excited riders waiting to get on. Not sure how that girl with the huge lollipop is going to get on, but I am sure she will figure something out!
Now what is this chap staring at? He seems to be looking up at the top of the wheel and pointing excitedly ...
There seems to be some daredevil scaling the ferris wheel supports!!
Despite his precarious perch, he seems to having a grand time. judging from the huge grin on his face. I guess there is more than 1 way to ride a ferris wheel! At least he has his crash helmet on, though a safety harness would probably serve him better.
Looks like this rider has spotted the climber as well - he's busy staring at him instead of the scenery!
And over on this side of the wheel, it looks like the head-sized pretzel is getting some attention. This rider clearly wants one for himself as he can't take his eyes off it, leaning dangerously over the side of his bucket just to keep the pretzel in sight.
Our ride is very inclusive and does not discriminate among riders. Amputees are fully welcome!
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