40034- Christmas Train

New for Christmas 2012, we have a lovely little festive train.  This polybag release features a train engine connected to a train car containing two model candy canes.

The mostly red engine has two small side windows and one large one in the front.  Unfortunately, the little space in the cab isn't quite big enough for a minifigure.  The engine has three slightly shiny silver wheels and some gold pieces in the front to represent the lights and grill.  It also has two smokestacks and two green circle decorations on each side.

40033- Turkey

This is my very first Holiday set.  With this order, I purchased a couple Christmas ones, but I've decided to hold off on opening those until mid-December.  I don't really like calling these "sets", as to me, that implies that the scale fits in with the rest of the Lego Universe.  Micro, Architecture, and Mini sets are at their own varying but micro scale, which most collectors or hobbyists can imagine easily, so I think I'll settle on calling these Holiday sets "models".

8684- Minifigures Series 2

I recently decided that these collectible minifigures were worth the inflated ebay price and purchased three for my Lego Small World (LSW) collection.

3177- Small Car

Front of the box

I love this little car.  The blue and white versions of this Smart Car come with set 7939 Cargo Train, but I wish they came in other sets as well.  The car is just so sleek, adorable, and functional.  It can easily be going anywhere around town.

4201- Loader and Tipper

I'm not very impressed with the larger sets of the Mining theme, so this will be my most expensive set.  Mining in general doesn't feel like it belongs in my Lego Universe, so I easily can pretend that these vehicles are just construction ones.  The yellow colour certainly aids in that.  If the crew happen to find some gold or gems during the daily grind, then that's nice a nice bonus for them.  To fill out the crew, I've also purchased set 4200- Mining 4x4.

40076- Zombie Car

I got this little set in September of 2012 as a "Free with $75 purchase" promotional lego.com was running.  I'm not beyond admitting that this car influenced how much I put into my virtual cart that day.  O.o

I like the idea and the figures of the Monster Fighters theme, but I don't like any of the sets enough to purchase, so this set was a nice way of getting a little bit of the theme without having to really buy anything.

7634- Tractor

I came across this little set while browsing my Lego Collector's Guide.  I had no idea there was a small Farm theme in 2009/2010!  I hope they bring this back in a few years and do a bit more with it. The only other set I liked in this small theme was the Pig Farm.  Loving Lego animals, I'd love to see a little chicken coop or dairy barn with at least 3 animals in each set and a a few tools/special pieces.

8909- Team GB

What a fantastic idea Lego Group!  Unfortunately, I was not in England when these collectible minifigures came out, so I got stuck paying high prices on ebay and only purchased two (received one as a present later).  The baseplates these athletes come with are extra special because not only are they white but they have some printed words and symbols on them.  All the minifigures come with gold medals which I love because.. they are Lego gold metals (!) and also because they fit around the head of the figure so that the head can be pushed all the way down.  Every other neck accessory I've seen makes it so that the head cannot be depressed all the way which makes the neck look slightly odd.

Holiday Figure Collection (custom)

This is just a little collection I've created from several of the Lego minifigure series.  It currently contains The Tooth Fairy (8833-9 Series 8), a Leprechaun (8827-9 Series 6), the Easter Bunny (8831-3 Series 7), a Man-Bat (8833-11 Series 8), and Santa (8833-10 Series 8).  I know, The Tooth Fairy isn't really a holiday, but she is a special character in our lives that we get stuff from, and isn't that what holidays are about?  :P







There are certainly a few more holidays out there that the future minifigure series' can address and I hope they do so.

8833- Minifigures Series 8

I own 11 of the 16 collectible minifigures in this series.  Five were obtained in my first attempt at using the bump or dot codes on the bottom of the packet.  Every packet is supposedly marked with a few indents or bumps that indicate what the figure is.  This didn't work too well for me as at first glance none of the packets I looked at had the exact pattern of the ones I was looking for.  However, if I knew what was inside I could kind of make out the pattern it was suppose to be.  If you don't know what I'm talking about, then don't worry yourself over it.  If you want a specific minifigure, I suggest first seeing exactly what accessories the figure is holding, if they have a special leg or dress piece, and/or any special type of hair.

8831- Minifigures Series 7

Not pictured: Jungle Boy (10), Computer Programmer (12)

I own 10 of the 16 Collectible Minifigures in this series.  See below for back of leaflet image.

8827- Minifigures Series 6

I own 11 of the 16 collectible minifigures in this set.  See below for back of leaflet image.

8805- Minifigures Series 5

These guys were the first collectible minifigures I purchased at retail stores late 2011, though some were later collected from ebay.  I own 7 of the 16 from this series.  See below for back of leaflet image.

8804- Minifigures Series 4

It wasn't until late 2011 that I found out about the minifigure series'.  I wasn't back into Lego just yet, and it was actually my mother who introduced me to this series by giving me a figure.  When I went to London last Christmas, I purchased a few more.  It wasn't until September 2012 that I decided I wanted specific ones and started ordering old figures from ebay and spent time in my local retail store feeling the packets of the current series (8) for the ones I wanted.  I mostly collect them if I feel they would fit in my "Lego People Around the World" (Lego Small World- LSW) collection.  See below for back of leaflet image.

21000- Sears Tower

I can't remember exactly when I got this set, but it was purchased at the top of the Sears Tower.  I'm happy that I got it before the name change.  It was my first building from the Architecture series, and the first Lego model set I had ever really seen.  I'd like a couple more buildings to put in my Lego Small World collection, but I think that even the cheapest ones are overpriced.  When I'm online deciding on which sets to buy, a $20 City or licensed set is always going to look better and take precedence over a $20 small Architecture set.  Most of the sets should be a little bigger with a little more detail for the same price, but that's just one girl's opinion.

30210- Frodo with cooking corner

I was super excited to see this set online from Toys R Us.  I knew of its previous existence from Brickpedia and Brickset, but I thought it was a promotional item that was long gone, or not available in my area.  This polybag cost me $4.99, which seems spot on for a licensed set with some nice special pieces.  This Frodo is the same one that comes in set 9469- Gandalf Arrives.  So, little Frodo has a reversible head with a worried expression on the other side.  He also has some nice, shaggy hobbit hair.  The keg fits nicely on the little table so it doesn't roll away.  The flower seems pointless, but I like Lego flowers so I think it's a nice little homey touch.  I love all the special pieces it comes with, especially the sausage since this is my first of that food item.  The only thing I don't like about this set is that the frying pan half disappears under the hood of the cooking area, so it would be difficult to place anything on the frying pan.  I have plans to later place this set with 79003- An Unexpected Gathering, as that set does not appear to have a fireplace/stove/cooking area.  Hungry Hobbits need a place to cook and this set does the job.

Why Lego?

Duplo and Lego bricks and sets were a huge part of my childhood.  The first set and one of the first toys I remember playing with was 2705- Duplo Passenger Train.  I still remember pulling that train around the carpeted room, in awe of how the wheels made those bars on the engine move up and down, just like on a real steam train.  That the cars could all easily be linked together and the tops opened so that you could put all the people inside.  The nice bright colours that made everything seem so exciting and full of life.  It was around 1992 when I first played with that set, nearly a decade since the set had been released.  I'm sure there were much more exciting Duplo sets on the market, but the idea of a primary coloured train is so basic and so universal that it can easily stand the test of time.