Terrain Workshop: Trees 33

I dug these out of my storage bin the other morning in a "quest" to unify a group of trees into one terrain set.  Except, it turned out I had never taken pictures of them and never posted about them.  Weird.  This design is a riff on my Tree 8 with elements of Tree 19 added in.

The core is a Travis Brick with four Appendages, Bladed w/Pin plugged into it, and four 6x5 Swordleaves w/Clip on the end of them. This is mounted on a 1x1x6 Solid Pillar then a Fez and a Cone are mounted on the Travis Brick.  This is a total of twelve pieces which is 2 Hits.  The tree is 38 feet tall and 30 feet across in 6P Scale.

To expand and toughen this build we have to add another Travis Brick with four 

Appendages, Bladed w/Pin, and four 6x5 Swordleaves w/Clip mounted at an angle

to the first.  New to this version are three 1x1 Round Plates sandwiching

each Travis Brick.  All of this is placed on the 1x1x6 Solid Pillar then the Fez

and a Cone are popped back on top.  This is a total of 24 pieces which is 4

Hits.  This expanded version is 43 feet tall and 40 feet across in 6P Scale.

As you can see, both versions are tall and cover a decent amount of space.  Once again I hope I've given people ideas or techniques to use in their terrain builds.  Flickr page.

Terrain Workshop: Trees 32

Sometimes you subconsciously reach back to older builds while trying to design something new.  That's not a bad thing.  If a technique has worked before, it should work again.  Today's creation draws from ideas I had back in 2022.

This build starts with a 1x1x6 Solid Pillar Support and a Travis Brick with four

Trunks w/Bar End (Long Straight Tip) plugged into it.  On the ends of the

Trunks are four 1x2 Round Plates w/Pointed Leaf.  On top of the Travis

Brick is a 1x1 Round Brick and a 1x1Round Plate w/Twist.  This tree is 29 feet

tall and 15 feet across in 6P scale and can take 2 Hits before being destroyed.

As you can see in this version, I changed the colors and a few of the parts to

make something that would fit better with some of the plants in my Oasis

setting.  The trunk is changed to two 3L Axle Connectors joined by a

Notched Axle.  Topping that off is an Axle/Friction Pin.  The Travis Brick,

four Trunks, and four Pointed Leaves are added to that.  Topping off the

stack is a 1x1 Cone.  Added to the outside of the Pointed Leaves are four

1x1 Round Plates w/3 Layered Leaves.  This version is 26 feet tall and

15 feet across in 6P scale and can take 3 Hits before being destroyed.

Here's the size comparison against the usual suspects.  Once again I hope I've given people ideas or techniques to use in their terrain builds.  Flickr page.

Review: Brix 64169 Fashion Bags Quilted Bag

These sets have been out for a while but are still available, for the moment.  They aren't labeled as a Brix Buildable Trio but they are packaged as such.    All of them have some interesting Colors and Parts, so let's take a week and review them.

Box.  MSRP is $6.00 for a $0.13 Price per Piece.

This is what the combined sets look like.

Instructions.

Parts.  Half Circle Plates, Tiles, Quarter

Circle Plates, Plates, Double Sided Plates,

Large Macaroni Tiles, Chain, Round Plates

w/4 Petals, Brackets, Quarter Circle

Tiles, and Small Macaroni Tiles.

Build.  IO Frigate (2W).

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away? Yes. (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio? Above. (-10) (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away? Yes. (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts? No. (-5)
Score: -5 (B-).  This is the weakest set of the bunch but it still has some decent pieces.  I figure the overall set is worth it just for the amount of Gold, Dark Blue, and Olive Green pieces you get.

Review: Brix 64169 Fashion Bag Blue & White

These sets have been out for a while but are still available, for the moment.  They aren't labeled as a Brix Buildable Trio but they are packaged as such.    All of them have some interesting Colors and Parts, so let's take a week and review them.

Box.  MSRP is $6.00 for a $0.11 Price per Piece.

This is what the combined sets look like.

Instructions.

Parts.  Plates, Tiles, Double Jumpers, Jumpers,

Round Plates w/4 Petals, Brackets, Bar Connectors,

Bar, Hinge Brick Bases, Hinge Brick Tops, Bricks w/

Stud on Side, and Elbow Macaroni Round Bricks.

Build.  IO Frigate (2Ras+d8) [Systems are Gold.].

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away? Yes. (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio? Above. (-10) (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away? Yes. (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts? Yes. (+5)
Score: +5 (B+).  I like the Macaroni Bricks and the Gold pieces but, I feel like it needs a little more to bulk it out.

Review: Brix 64169 Fashion Bags Green Bag

These sets have been out for a while but are still available, for the moment.  They aren't labeled as a Brix Buildable Trio but they are packaged as such.    All of them have some interesting Colors and Parts, so let's take a week and review them.

Box.  MSRP is $6.00 for a $0.09 Price per Piece.

This is what the combined sets look like.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Flexible Hose.

Parts 2.  Quarter Oval Plates, Plates, Tiles, Quarter Circle Plates,

Inverted Studless Slopes, Corner Tiles, Corner Tiles w/Cutout,

Jumper, Quarter Circle Tiles, Round Plates w/4 Petals, Stadium

Tiles, Brackets, Bricks w/Stud on Side, Brick, and Corner Plate.

Build.  Frame (2Rd) [System is Yellow.] and

nano scale Futurama ship (Station or HVA).

The Questions:
Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away? Yes. (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio? Below. (+5) (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have parts you should be able to put into use right away? Yes. (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts? Yes. (+5)
Score: +20 (A+). Olive Green and Pale Yellow is a nice color combo.

Review: Make Market 795528 Floral Brick Art Lily of the Valley

A few months ago Michael's started carrying Make Market Floral Brick Art sets.  They're basically copies of sets by Block Tech, Make -It Blocks, and other botanical set creators.  I was originally going to try and review as many of the 27-odd sets that I managed to track down.  But, as these sets have all gone on clearance at 60% off I'm going to do something different.  I'm going to review three sets -- each at different Price per Piece levels -- and put together a post mortem in the final review on why this line tanked when every other company is still going.

Box.  MSRP is $9.99 for a $0.06 Price per Piece.  

Back of Box.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Dishes, Domes, Minifig Whips, Plates, Round Plates, Round

Large Jumpers, Studless Slopes, Pin Connectors w/Pin, Candles, Pin

Connector, Axle Connectors w/Pinhole, 3L Axle Connectors, Dinosaur

Tail/Neck Middle Section w/Bar Hole & Technic Pin, and Bar w/Stop.

Parts 2.  Wedge Studless Slopes, Brackets, Axles, and Bars.

Parts 3.  Wedge Studless Slopes, Half Pins,

Bar Connectors, Cones, and Pin/Axle.

Build.  Frame (2W), Station, and two 1 Hit pieces of Cover.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away? Yes. (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio? Below. (+5) (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have

parts you should be able to put into use right away? Yes. (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts? Yes. (+5)
Score: +20 (A+).  If you need 1x1-1x1 Brackets and Wedge Studless Slopes then this is the set for you.  It has some other useful pieces, and I like Pale Yellow, but I feel like Wednesday's review was the better set.

My thoughts on the whole matter: One, unfortunately the parts count is listed on the back of the package so you have to do a little digging to see which ones are affordable.  Two, the starting price point was $10.00 where Five Below -- for a counter example -- charges $4.00 to $6.00 usually.  Three, Michael's is not a place you think of when it comes to building block sets.  Yeah, they have a lot of online third party product but there's not a lot available in the actual stores.  Four, nowhere on the package does it state that it's compatible with Lego even though it is.  One item on the plus side of the ledger is some of the sets had parts in colors not available from Lego.  Overall I'm not sure whom the target was but they obviously missed.

Review: Make Market 795531 Floral Brick Art Carnation

A few months ago Michael's started carrying Make Market Floral Brick Art sets.  They're basically copies of sets by Block Tech, Make -It Blocks, and other botanical set creators.  I was originally going to try and review as many of the 27-odd sets that I managed to track down.  But, as these sets have all gone on clearance at 60% off I'm going to do something different.  I'm going to review three sets -- each at different Price per Piece levels -- and put together a post mortem in the final post on why this line tanked when every other company is still going.

Box.  MSRP is $9.99 for a $0.10 Price per Piece.  

Back of Box.

Instructions.

Parts 1.  Octagonal Bar Plates, Translucent Round Plate w/4 Petals, Round Large

Jumper, Round Plates, Cone, Translucent Minifig Mop Head, Ball Joint Plates, 3L

Axle Connectors, Minifig Skis, Bar w/Stop, Axles, and Wedge Studless Slopes.

Parts 2.  Round Plates w/3 Leaves, Ball

Joint Pins, Pneuma-Ts, Minifig Nozzles,

Bar, Clip Bar Holders, and Cone.

Build.  Frames (2W), Station,

and a 1 Hit piece of Cover.

The Questions:

Can you build something -- a frame, station, or starship -- right away? Yes. (+5)
Is it below, at, or above the golden ratio? At. (0) (The Golden Ratio is $0.10 per part.)
If you can't build a frame right away, or choose not to, does it have

  parts you should be able to put into use right away? Yes. (+5)
Does it have more than a handful of immediately useful parts? Yes. (+5)
Score: +15 (A).  Better than Monday's review, Octagonal Bar Plates, Ball Joints, and Hot Pink parts are all interesting to me.  But, if this had two more pieces it would have had a better score.