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Bionicleäpocalypse
And lo! the Builder was Sick and Tired of looking at the Old Toys and wanted He
room for the New Toys. Therefore put He His hand to a box of Zip-Loc® bags and
did part-out the Bionicle® thereto. Only the 2001, the MOC and the 2008 were
exempted and also the cooler models like the Exo-Toa® and Roodaka® and the
Bahrag® and Lesovik® and Lhikan® but not the sled or steed thereof for they
please not the Owner so much and maybe the Boxor® but most certainly not the
Matoran® of Metru Nui® which are the most Utter Crap. And that the baggies of
Bionicle® might not tempt His eyes with their unassembledness to a spasm of
MOCing they were cast deep within the tote that is of Rubbermaid® and no other
and thence to a shelf in the darkest garage beyond the Ford Focus® and the
Nordic Track®. And their Set Numbers were entered into an inventory and thence
to an Index Card even unto a Rolo-dex® that they be not forgotten entirely. Be
not sore of heart for all the toys will be gathered together at the last day
when the Builder assembles He an addition or shed or daylight basement or other
such Man-Cave as should please Him with sufficient display space thereunto. And
there will be such a display of Bionicle® as the world will never have yet seen!
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I'm not sure where this should be posted, so I placed it in events, general, and
storage. Stacy and I are planning to attend Brickworld and possibly BrickFair
this year. We would like to exhibit at both, but this year will be our first
time doing any kind of public exposition. Since we're first-timers, we have a
few questions (and I warn you this could get long) about AFoL events.
First we'll focus on Brickworld since it is closer to us in distance. We will
be driving (probably a MINI) from the La Crosse, WI area and will be coming down
either Wednesday night or Thursday morning. Our questions...
1) How do most of you transport your MOC's and layouts to shows?
2) What types of containers do you use...if any?
3) How much stuff do you usually bring?
4) How do you determine what to bring?
5) How much stuff your first time exhibiting?
6) Does anyone collaborate on transport (i.e. multiple groups renting a U-haul)?
Next, we have BrickFair. This would involve us flying in...which presents a new
challenge. I'm leery of letting the airlines handle my MOC's, but I don't
really have the vacation available to drive out to VA. So...
1) If you fly to an event...do you brings MOC's?
2) If so, how do you get them to the show (airline, UPS, etc.)?
3) How much stuff do you usually bring to shows you fly to?
4) If you bring MOC's on the airline...how do you package them?
5) If you ship them, what type of container do you use?
I think this covers most stuff. We're just trying to get the logistics down for
going to these shows and bringing our MOC's, if possible. This will be a
new...and fun...experience for us. Can't wait to meet some/most/all of you this
summer!
Oh, if anyone is passing through the La Crosse area on the way to Brickworld and
has some "transport space for hire"...we'd be interested. :-)
Thanks,
Dave
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In lugnet.storage, Brian Kendig wrote:
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Anyone see the new LEGO Furniture items being sold now in the online
catalog?
A storage box in red, yellow, blue, or green, slightly larger than two feet
deep by 1.5 feet wide by one foot high... for a hundred twenty dollars!!
And a stacking bin in green or red, one foot tall by one foot deep by three
feet high - for a HUNDRED FIFTY dollars!!
I could understand these at a tenth of the price; I might buy storage boxes
for $12 each and stacking bins for $15 each - but am I the only one who thinks
that the LEGO prices for these are *insane*?!
And, theres a table thats 2 by 4 by a foot and a half high - for two
hundred dollars!! I could make something like that out of less than ten
dollars of wood... it doesnt even have baseplates on its surface!
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These are all on
clearance now at S@H. The stacking bin is sold out, but the others are all
deeply discounted.
Marc Nelson Jr.
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In lugnet.color, Bob Parker wrote:
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Now that all I have is bley, it does look nice by itself. Since I sold off
all of my original grey, the mismatch between the two hues is not a problem
in my currently small collection of pieces.
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I dont think I could stand to do that... there are too many unique pieces that
arent available in new grey colors. Im currently wrestling with dilemmas
about how to cope with the various shades of grey in my sorting system. Ive
tentatively decided to take the old grey and brown colors out and store them in
obsolete color bins, and when I build MOCs I would choose either the new or
old grey bins to build from but not typically both at once.
Its just such a pain to separate the different shades of grey from each
other...
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In lugnet.storage, David Eaton wrote:
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In lugnet.storage, John Patterson wrote:
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My guess is that they were made in China and cost Lego about a dollar each.
Tack on another dollar for shipping to the distrabution center.
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This guess seems out of whack. Lego has pretty thin price margins
comparatively (just ask merchandisers what the at cost price is for Lego to
get an idea). I dont see why Lego would be jacking up the price for these
storage bins but NOT for everything else. Besides, whenever they try to
market things in the USA, the price margins are razor thin compared to
everywhere else-- why should we expect these to be any different?
But even moreso-- what do you think most US citizens would be willing to pay
for them? If they were for sale at $40 per shelf, theyd be selling like
iPods to teenagers. Theyd move thousands of them REALLY quickly, because
they LOOK fantastic, theyre versatile, and theyd be affordable. If Legos
cost were even $20 per, theyd be making a KILLING at $40 per unit, selling
them by the proverbial barrelful. But at $100+, theyll sell FAR fewer, and
make way less money (assuming the same $20 baseline cost for Lego).
Personally, I think these look like (and are priced like) high quality
shelves, and Id be proud to have some. I dont think Id keep my Lego in
them (because its just inefficient for AFOL sized collections), but they
look perfect to go in (say) the front hall as a place to store shoes or
boots, or in some other room as a cute storage system. I also think theyd
work well for schools, day care centers, etc-- anywhere where theres a chunk
of Lego for kids to play with that needs a sturdy storage system.
DaveE
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I have the storage and sorting box and it is ok, nothing special, but a lot
cheaper than the other ones. I also have the older one from the 80s or earily
90s, held up well. My guess on the price comes from my other life when we
ordered a few things from China. Very very low prices when you buy in quanity
and if you fill up a conex container shipping is very low also. Not what one
would expect. That is why so many things are made in China now. I just bought
a bedroom set and it is very heavy and it was made in China. So I dont think
that it is all that expensive considering the weight and that the item is more
than keystoned. So for a $5500 bedroom set, the seller here makes around $3000
that leaves 2500 amd if the keystone is more, which it probably is then cut
another $500off and then shipping in the US from the West Coast is probably
around $200 if by rail. Then the profit in China and their internal shipping,
so the production cost goes down even more. And I do not think that wood is a
problem in China. The cost for wood jumped after Katernia here, but China
stayed about the same.
I am sure that it is a good quality product and there are a lot of private
schools that may pick it up, but even I, who is Lego crazy would not spend that
much for the furniture. After all I live in El Paso, not Beverly Hills. (The
sorting storage box is great and at a resonable price, probaby did that to fill
up the shipping container.) John P
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In lugnet.storage, Bryan Wong wrote:
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In lugnet.storage, Scott Lyttle wrote:
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Since this product is made from pine, Id dare say there is no particle board
present. (Most of those bookshelves from Wal-Mart are made of particle
board...Particle board is an awful material to build with--even MDF would be
preferred over particle board.. and MDF is basically sawdust and glue!)
So, youre probably getting a pretty decent quality product with those
containers. I, for one, will not be buying them, simply because Ive got a
really nice table saw in my garage to use for another of my hobbies. Im
currently in the process of using my saw to make storage shelves in my own
LEGO room, and its building my skillset on the saw at the same time.
Yes, some will probably be sold by those who must have it at any price, but
if the quality of that furniture will be anything like the 3-sided play
table, it should hold up very well. For some reason, I think the furniture
is not shipped assembled, so assembly is required.
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Yeah, the website says that the LEGO furniture is made from pine and MDF.
Also says that the item will come mostly unassembled - much easier to ship
that way I guess. Besides, being a construction toy company, Id expect most
LEGO products to require assembly!
-Bryan
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**snickers**
Bryan, you beat me to the funniest part of this whole thread. Some assembly
required...! Yeah, right.
Still wouldnt buy it at those prices for kids. Id get it for myself, and have
fun with it...if I had the bucks. But between getting new LEGO, and buying
bricks off of Bricklink--does that sound familiar?
Play Well and Prosper,
Matthew
The Brick Detetctive
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In lugnet.storage, Scott Lyttle wrote:
> Since this product is made from pine, I'd dare say there is no particle board
> present. (Most of those bookshelves from Wal-Mart are made of particle
> board...Particle board is an awful material to build with--even MDF would be
> preferred over particle board.. and MDF is basically sawdust and glue!)
>
> So, you're probably getting a pretty decent quality product with those
> containers. I, for one, will not be buying them, simply because I've got a
> really nice table saw in my garage to use for another of my hobbies. I'm
> currently in the process of using my saw to make storage shelves in my own LEGO
> room, and it's building my skillset on the saw at the same time.
>
> Yes, some will probably be sold by those who "must have it at any price", but if
> the quality of that furniture will be anything like the 3-sided play table, it
> should hold up very well. For some reason, I think the furniture is not shipped
> assembled, so assembly is required.
Yeah, the website says that the LEGO furniture is made from pine and MDF. Also
says that the item will come mostly unassembled - much easier to ship that way I
guess. Besides, being a construction toy company, I'd expect most LEGO products
to require assembly!
-Bryan
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In lugnet.storage, John Patterson wrote:
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My guess is that they were made in China and cost Lego about a dollar each.
Tack on another dollar for shipping to the distrabution center.
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This guess seems out of whack. Lego has pretty thin price margins comparatively
(just ask merchandisers what the at cost price is for Lego to get an idea). I
dont see why Lego would be jacking up the price for these storage bins but NOT
for everything else. Besides, whenever they try to market things in the USA, the
price margins are razor thin compared to everywhere else-- why should we expect
these to be any different?
But even moreso-- what do you think most US citizens would be willing to pay for
them? If they were for sale at $40 per shelf, theyd be selling like iPods to
teenagers. Theyd move thousands of them REALLY quickly, because they LOOK
fantastic, theyre versatile, and theyd be affordable. If Legos cost were even
$20 per, theyd be making a KILLING at $40 per unit, selling them by the
proverbial barrelful. But at $100+, theyll sell FAR fewer, and make way less
money (assuming the same $20 baseline cost for Lego).
Personally, I think these look like (and are priced like) high quality shelves,
and Id be proud to have some. I dont think Id keep my Lego in them (because
its just inefficient for AFOL sized collections), but they look perfect to go
in (say) the front hall as a place to store shoes or boots, or in some other
room as a cute storage system. I also think theyd work well for schools, day
care centers, etc-- anywhere where theres a chunk of Lego for kids to play with
that needs a sturdy storage system.
DaveE
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In lugnet.storage, Brian Kendig wrote:
> Anyone see the new "LEGO Furniture" items being sold now in the online catalog?
>
> A storage box in red, yellow, blue, or green, slightly larger than two feet deep
> by 1.5 feet wide by one foot high... for a hundred twenty dollars!!
>
> And a stacking bin in green or red, one foot tall by one foot deep by three feet
> high - for a HUNDRED FIFTY dollars!!
>
> I could understand these at a tenth of the price; I might buy storage boxes for
> $12 each and stacking bins for $15 each - but am I the only one who thinks that
> the LEGO prices for these are *insane*?!
>
> And, there's a table that's 2' by 4' by a foot and a half high - for two hundred
> dollars!! I could make something like that out of less than ten dollars of
> wood... it doesn't even have baseplates on its surface!
Well, from what I understand, the materials are made of pine (softwood...As an
amateur woodworker, I like hardwoods much better), and I agree, the prices are a
bit high, but there's still probably a bit of cost there. Wood is not cheap,
even in bulk, factor in shipping, warehousing and labor (if made in China, labor
is probably quite small, relatively speaking). I'd say for that 150 dollar
price tag, you're probably looking around 40-50 dollars material and shipping
cost--remember, oil is going up, and China is now a major consumer of oil, given
their current economic boom.
Since this product is made from pine, I'd dare say there is no particle board
present. (Most of those bookshelves from Wal-Mart are made of particle
board...Particle board is an awful material to build with--even MDF would be
preferred over particle board.. and MDF is basically sawdust and glue!)
So, you're probably getting a pretty decent quality product with those
containers. I, for one, will not be buying them, simply because I've got a
really nice table saw in my garage to use for another of my hobbies. I'm
currently in the process of using my saw to make storage shelves in my own LEGO
room, and it's building my skillset on the saw at the same time.
Yes, some will probably be sold by those who "must have it at any price", but if
the quality of that furniture will be anything like the 3-sided play table, it
should hold up very well. For some reason, I think the furniture is not shipped
assembled, so assembly is required.
Scott
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In lugnet.storage, John Patterson wrote:
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They are in the new catalog. My guess is that they were made in China and
cost Lego about a dollar each. Tack on another dollar for shipping to the
distrabution center.
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Yeah, not buying that guesstimate, on either count. Wood in large volume is a
lot more expensive than a small amount of plastic, and for shipping purposes,
those will either eat up a huge amount of volume (if theyre preassembled), or
weigh an ungodly amount (if theyre flat-boxed kits) and still take up a large
volume. Either way, they will not ship anywhere near as economically as small
boxes of plastic toys. Also, consider warehousing costs, which will again be
much higher based on volume (and order-picking might be similarly affected by
both weight and volume).
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Give it time, they probably bought thousands and when they get stuck with
them, as with Galidor, the price will drop very very low.
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Im sure they dont expect this to sell like hotcakes, so they probably ordered
in fairly low volume. There will be enough moderately wealthy families out
there wholl think this is worth buying for them to move their stock. When I
was in high school, I spent a few years working for a boat-builder, and he used
to make rocking-boats that a local store would sell for ~$150. This was over 15
years ago, we lived in a resort town of ~6000 residents, and those rocking-boats
would still sell as fast as he could make them.
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In lugnet.storage, Matthew Crandall wrote:
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And made from wood (or a wood-like substance), which is not a LEGO usual
feature.
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Whats so unusual about it? The Billund LEGOLAND park still reportedly sells
the same wooden letter blocks that have been made by The LEGO Company since
before they got into plastics.
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I wouldnt buy them for my kids (if I had them), but I might
consider them if I were single and LEGO was my job (Think like that artist
chap that has a need for a studios worth of storage). I might also consider
them if I were filthy rich and wanted my kids to have a LEGO room. Otherwise,
I agree--they are a tad steep for my taste.
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I might eventually buy the table and stool, just for the novelty of it all, but
as cool as the stacking bins are...theyre too expensive to do large-scale
storage with, and too cool to just get one or two, unless youve got cash
bleeding out of your pockets in need of something to be spent on.
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In lugnet.storage, Brian Kendig wrote:
> Anyone see the new "LEGO Furniture" items being sold now in the online
> catalog?
Yup. Mostly they all look pretty cool (particularly the ones that actually have
studs on top for stacking purposes), but at those prices I will have to pass.
> I could understand these at a tenth of the price; I might buy storage boxes
> for $12 each and stacking bins for $15 each - but am I the only one who
> thinks that the LEGO prices for these are *insane*?!
They aren't. Not really. Have you priced furniture recently? I've been
looking for fairly basic computer desks, and I've been seeing prices as high as
$300 to get what I'm looking for. And these are made from cheap, pressed
particle-board. The LEGO furniture appears to be made from milled lumber, or at
least high-grade plywood. _Those_ desks ran upwards of $900, and that was
without some of the key features I'm looking for. These are not priced to be a
high-volume sales item, but
> And, there's a table that's 2' by 4' by a foot and a half high - for two
> hundred dollars!! I could make something like that out of less than ten
> dollars of wood... it doesn't even have baseplates on its surface!
Yeah, I'm guessing you haven't priced wood lately either. Or you'd be making it
entirely out of 3/8" CDX plywood. But I do have to agree about the absense of
and incompatibility with baseplates. It'd make more sense if there was a
shallow hint of a pit sized 30"x60", so that the top surface of baseplates (not
counting the studs, of course) would sit flush with the rim of the table, and it
would accomodate 3x6 32-stud baseplates, or 2x4 48-stud baseplates. That way
the baseplates would stay locked in place, would be interchangable, and you
could continue building out over the rim without it tilting your MOC one way or
the other.
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I just looked at the sorting and storage box I bought, with the shelves and sure
enough it was made in China. John P
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In lugnet.storage, Matthew Crandall wrote:
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In lugnet.storage, Brian Kendig wrote:
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Anyone see the new LEGO Furniture items being sold now in the online
catalog?
A storage box in red, yellow, blue, or green, slightly larger than two feet
deep by 1.5 feet wide by one foot high... for a hundred twenty dollars!!
And a stacking bin in green or red, one foot tall by one foot deep by three
feet high - for a HUNDRED FIFTY dollars!!
I could understand these at a tenth of the price; I might buy storage boxes
for $12 each and stacking bins for $15 each - but am I the only one who
thinks that the LEGO prices for these are *insane*?!
And, theres a table thats 2 by 4 by a foot and a half high - for two
hundred dollars!! I could make something like that out of less than ten
dollars of wood... it doesnt even have baseplates on its surface!
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Brian--
Yeah, Ive seen them. Theyre nice. Nifty.
And made from wood (or a wood-like substance), which is not a LEGO usual
feature. I wouldnt buy them for my kids (if I had them), but I might
consider them if I were single and LEGO was my job (Think like that artist
chap that has a need for a studios worth of storage). I might also consider
them if I were filthy rich and wanted my kids to have a LEGO room. Otherwise,
I agree--they are a tad steep for my taste.
Nobody said you had to buy them, though...While I appreciate the idea, Id
rather buy LEGO proper and create a different way to store it all. If youre
really good with wood and the tools to shape it--build your own storage. Me,
Im not so good with that kind of thing. Thats why big box stores (like the
one that starts with W and ends in Mart) like people like me. We buy very
big plastic tubs, and use those to store LEGO. No bugs, they stack well, and
I can keep the original boxes and bags. (Ziploc bags are a help here as
well.)Theyre not perfect--but its a whole wad cheaper than the LEGO storage
boxes.
Play Well and Prosper,
Matthew
The Brick Detective
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They are in the new catalog. My guess is that they were made in China and cost
Lego about a dollar each. Tack on another dollar for shipping to the
distrabution center. Give it time, they probably bought thousands and when they
get stuck with them, as with Galidor, the price will drop very very low. John P
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In lugnet.storage, Brian Kendig wrote:
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Anyone see the new LEGO Furniture items being sold now in the online
catalog?
A storage box in red, yellow, blue, or green, slightly larger than two feet
deep by 1.5 feet wide by one foot high... for a hundred twenty dollars!!
And a stacking bin in green or red, one foot tall by one foot deep by three
feet high - for a HUNDRED FIFTY dollars!!
I could understand these at a tenth of the price; I might buy storage boxes
for $12 each and stacking bins for $15 each - but am I the only one who thinks
that the LEGO prices for these are *insane*?!
And, theres a table thats 2 by 4 by a foot and a half high - for two
hundred dollars!! I could make something like that out of less than ten
dollars of wood... it doesnt even have baseplates on its surface!
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Brian--
Yeah, Ive seen them. Theyre nice. Nifty.
And made from wood (or a wood-like substance), which is not a LEGO usual
feature. I wouldnt buy them for my kids (if I had them), but I might consider
them if I were single and LEGO was my job (Think like that artist chap that has
a need for a studios worth of storage). I might also consider them if I were
filthy rich and wanted my kids to have a LEGO room. Otherwise, I agree--they
are a tad steep for my taste.
Nobody said you had to buy them, though...While I appreciate the idea, Id
rather buy LEGO proper and create a different way to store it all. If youre
really good with wood and the tools to shape it--build your own storage. Me, Im
not so good with that kind of thing. Thats why big box stores (like the one
that starts with W and ends in Mart) like people like me. We buy very big
plastic tubs, and use those to store LEGO. No bugs, they stack well, and I can
keep the original boxes and bags. (Ziploc bags are a help here as well.)Theyre
not perfect--but its a whole wad cheaper than the LEGO storage boxes.
Play Well and Prosper,
Matthew
The Brick Detective
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Anyone see the new "LEGO Furniture" items being sold now in the online catalog?
A storage box in red, yellow, blue, or green, slightly larger than two feet deep
by 1.5 feet wide by one foot high... for a hundred twenty dollars!!
And a stacking bin in green or red, one foot tall by one foot deep by three feet
high - for a HUNDRED FIFTY dollars!!
I could understand these at a tenth of the price; I might buy storage boxes for
$12 each and stacking bins for $15 each - but am I the only one who thinks that
the LEGO prices for these are *insane*?!
And, there's a table that's 2' by 4' by a foot and a half high - for two hundred
dollars!! I could make something like that out of less than ten dollars of
wood... it doesn't even have baseplates on its surface!
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In lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto, David Koudys wrote:
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In lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto, David Koudys wrote:
snip
See, what we have here is a failure to communicate--this was supppose to be
the pic of bins n boxes under the table. Eh...
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Wow, looks like you have been very busy indeed. I use those same storage bins
of my collection as well, although I dont think I will ever get around to
sorting it all, so much for that New Years resolution (even tho I still have
half a year... Im not holding my breath.)
Hmmm, I did manage to see the pics yesterday, but looks like you are having a
server issue today Dave... hopefully its a quick fix.
Janey Red Brick
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In lugnet.org.ca.rtltoronto, David Koudys wrote:
snip
See, what we have here is a failure to communicate--this was supppose to be the
pic of bins n boxes under the table. Eh...
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By this guy--
http://news.lugnet.com/storage/?n=1599
(thanks James!)
And by the fact that Canadian Tire had a sale last week of those drawers, we
redid the LEGO room--
Still in the throes of cleaning things up and organizing--have to sort the stuff
in these bins/boxes--
(as well as other bins n boxes distributed thru the basement)
And I wanna build shelves above these drawers to hold the miscellaneous stuff,
but I think its coming together very nicely!
Once again, thanks to James for the perfect idea for our LEGO storage issue.
Dave K
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In lugnet.storage, James Trobaugh wrote:
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After moving into my new house almost a year ago I finally got my LEGO room
in order...
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James-
Nice job. It looks like a fun and comfortable place to work. We havent had
our LEGO space that orderly for 10 years.
But: You do have room for more LEGO in the room! Check out all that unused space
between the ceiling joists.
-Ted
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