Whoa.  I did not realize it had been so long since I last worked on this thing.  Well I'm sure glad to be back at it!Video: LEGO laser tag arena MOC progress 8Work in progress!  Incomplete!Original linkOriginal author: theJANG

Ah yes, much better!  Instead of a pile of random builds made from a pile of random parts, this time I've made a complete scene that almost makes sense as a unit.Video: LEGO Life Master Build challenge -- A better attempt!This features an intermodal cargo ship with containers and a dock with a crane and a few little related items.  I really wanted to leave it at that, but there were so many parts left over that a couple more small builds made their way into existence before I was able to step away.  Unfortunately these are in a different scale.That was fun!  Now back to our regular scheduled programming.Original linkOriginal author: theJANG

Here's the product of the first building session from the night of Oct. 4th when I first showed you the pieces from the LEGO Life Master Build box.  I proceeded as planned, with basically only one course correction during the sitting.Video: LEGO Life Master Build project -- First build attemptNow that I've warmed up, I'm going to make a more serious attempt!Original linkOriginal author: theJANG

As promised, here's a walk-around of my autonomous / self-driving little vehicle with a more direct explanation of how it works as well as the revelation of its second function.Video: LEGO Boost tank-bot up close! ?Original linkOriginal author: theJANG

With the overdue LEGO Boost project approaching completion I've finally spilled out that bin & bag of parts that were sent to me by the LEGO Life team a couple months ago (feels like a few weeks).  It's my first time really looking at exactly what I have to work with, and the situation is about as dire as I expected.  This is a real hodge-podge of parts from which it will be very difficult to build anything that doesn't look like a unicorn ate a rainbow & then promptly threw up.Video: LEGO Life Master Build project -- The Parts!I mean seriously, what a mess, and what a challenge!  The coin-operated supermarket rodeo ride that legit Master Builder Mark Roe came up with was amazing, but I wish I could have seen how many parts he didn't use.  I don't think I can dip into this huge pile and make one small thing,...

Ah yes, finally something NEXO to make the original Fortrex look dainty!  Lots of figures here and a larger structure than it appears to be at first glance.  I have to also say, the main build here is about 10x more playable than the beloved classic castles of the 1980s.Video: LEGO NEXO Knights Knighton Castle review! 70357Original linkOriginal author: theJANG

Happy Flashback Friday.  If you follow my haul videos you've recently seen me get a sticker sheet for one of these sets, but what I didn't show was that I also bought a complete set before that to review.  Honestly it's not a great set, but it has a tremendous amount of charm.Video: LEGO System McDonald's Restaurant from 1999! set 3438Original linkOriginal author: theJANG

This is I believe the 4th or 5th time I've published footage of a camera riding around on my train tracks, but the first time I've done a video with nothing else.  I experimented with a brand new simple Power Functions-based servo turntable (shown at the end of the video), but rotation cannot be fluid because the PF system deals in distinct steps of input and power.  I may discard this whole concept and stick to the far more stable static mount I used previously and in the inner loop segments in this video.Video: Ride the trains around my LEGO city! ??Original linkOriginal author: theJANG

In recent months I believe type of video most requested by viewers is a minifig-view drive through the streets of my main layout. I believe most folks asking for such a thing had an RC car with a camera on it in mind.  However, RC cars sufficiently small and yet well-controlled at very slow speeds are surprisingly rare.  Even more critically, RC cars can't handle the extremely tight turns of LEGO road baseplates unless you take them extremely wide and just right, which ultimately leads to awkward multi-point turns.  After carefully researching & ruling out every single wheeled option I could find, I turned my attention to tanks, since they are generally slow and can spin within their own length.  Here again I found a shocking dearth of qualified candidates, with just two options passing cursory inspection.  This video here is taken with the second option, the initial design intent of...

Hooray, Planetary Defense Force!  I definitely didn't realize early on that I'd enjoy making non-combat vehicles for this theme, but thus far they've been my favorites.  The base of this new thing is intended to be what PDFers would call their "standard tractor," an easily reconfigurable mobility & power platform that can serve all manner of different roles.  I'll definitely make more attachments to use with it over time.Video: Custom LEGO tracked utility vehicle MOC for my Planetary Defense ForceWhile building this I found myself faced with an significant excess of large wedge plates in LBGray, so I definitely need to make something larger for the PDF, soon-ish.Original linkOriginal author: theJANG