Lego Temple of Anubis 5988

 We're in the middle of a very slow clear out here and part of that is opening cupboards that we haven't actually been into for, without a word of a lie or exaggeration, 5 years and probably longer.  In my mind this means just put it all in bin bags and stash them in the small lean to in the back until we have a skip full and then get said skip - we can apologise to the neighbours afterwards for opening a branch of Steptoe's Yard.  Turns out there is going to be less thrown out than we thought as there are some genuine collectable items stuffed in there - probably why they are stuffed in there to be honest.  Some of it we could likely list and sell on eBay but neither of us has the patience even if the cash would be good so back in the cupboard it goes.

However, one little gem we stumbled on was a huge metal tin full to the brim with some Lego pieces that very definitely looked like a set and a really cool one with large pieces printed with faux-Egyptian hieroglyphs and murals.  No instruction booklet and no idea which kit it is but lets use the power of Google for good.  Lo and behold we found the kit and thanks to Lego being the geniuses they are I could download the pdf of the build instructions direct from their website for free.

So, instead of starting on the London Bus that was pencilled in as yesterday's build of choice here's what I really made:

Talk about a FIND!

I am thrilled with it and I only wish it was still in production as I would definitely be buying the whole range.

Only problem I have is where to put it now it's built - my display cabinet is full of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter kits.  The only big shelf in the living room just has room for the Roller Coaster and I have vehicles crammed in to the shelf underneath it that are more dumped than displayed.  For now it is languishing on the shelf under the telephone but that means you can't really see it so rethink due on that one.

Lego Attack On The Burrow 75980

To date this has to be one of my favourite Lego Wizarding World Of Harry Potter Kits that I've built.  There are so many little details included in The Burrow that I was constantly going "oooohhhhh" as I built it.  My particular favourite is the fireplace because you can change it from orange flames to green flames for when they use those all important pinches of Floo Powder.

The only downsides to it that I could find where the number of stickers included with the kit - I have sausage fingers and trying to put stickers on accurately just doesn't happen so my builds never look as good as they could.  The second one (and final) was that the clock is a standard clock and not the magical one detailed in the books and films.

 I thoroughly enjoyed the build from start to finish and was actually quite disappointed when I finished it.  There is a lot of play value with all the little rooms and included figures but you need to be careful as it is a little fragile unless you glue it together as you build.

Number Of Pieces: 1047

Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.09

Build Time: 33/4 Hours

Lego Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 42093

 The other half has been saying I need to try the Technic's kits but I have been resisting as all those tiny little gears and cogs were putting me off.  Why? Why did I let that put me off?

This was a really fun build although the fact that it comes with a plethora of bags (okay i think it was 4) that are not numbered so you need to open them all before you start the build.  My table was covered in pieces because I have to lay everything out in colour and piece order.  Yes, it makes building easier for me but it also looks kind of pretty on the table.  No joke, half an hour of the build time was just me sorting pieces before I even opened the booklet.

I'm not sure how close the finished product is to a genuine Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 but it looks great on my shelf which could just be due to the colour as the orange is really bright.  I was going to break it down and download the Hot Rod instructions but I didn't have the heart once it was finished.  May buy a second version of the kit just to do the Hot Rod but we shall see.

Number Of Pieces: 579

Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.07

Build Time: 3 Hours 10 Minutes

 

 

Lego Creator Roller Coaster 10261

 Bit of a step up from my usual kits but as soon as I saw this it lodged in my brain and kept niggling at me.  Did a bit of maths and decided that seeing as there was not going to be a holiday this year or even a weekend getaway I could take the plunge and purchase this huge set.  Yes, it IS expensive but it is definitely worth every penny; never mind the actual pieces and the build instruction booklets the engineering and design that have gone in to this are incredible.

The mistake I made with this was attempting to construct it over only two days.  I did manage to complete it but I will readily admit I was exhausted at the end of each build session.  There is a lot of repetitive building of the support struts but I didn't find it boring in the slightest, the only problem for me was my finger tips became sore from pushing all the blocks together.  Well worth it because the completed structure is really sturdy and it needs to be because you need to use some force to attach the red tracks as they have a tendency to want to spring back as you attach them.

When I first ran the Coaster it pulled to the top of the lift hill just fine but when it got to the top the bumper was running anti-clockwise so it was trying to push it back down.  On removing the bumper I disassembled and carefully rebuilt from the instructions in Booklet 1 and it still happened.  After 90 minutes of frustration trying to figure out what went wrong I searched online for the problem and came across someone who had the same problem but had figured out the diagrams for the three bumpers had one of the cogs in the wrong place.  I removed each of the bumpers and rebuilt with the amended cog position and lo and behold it worked.  So you can add another 2 Hours to my posted build time.  

Still not marking it down though as I am genuinely impressed with the overall build.  It just fits on a shelf in my living room and I can actually run it from it's new location.  Including moving the second train on to the tracks - I was thrilled by the sliding mechanism for this as it does replicate genuine roller coasters train switching systems.

Number Of Pieces: 4124

Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.07

Build Time: 16.5 Hours

 

Lego Hogwarts Clock Tower 75948

 Lots of fun details in this kit that is definitely based around the Yule Ball that takes place in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.  The little tables with the icicle detailing are so cute looking and the first thing you build so it gives you hope for the set being highly detailed and kind of sweet.  The next part of the build is building a dance floor and it is built from interconnecting cogs that mean as you move one the full set of 4 move as does the dancefloor so it gives the effect of the minifigures waltzing around.  Throw in the detailing of the Prefect's Bathroom and the running taps and even if the rest of it was a cop out on the detailing it would still be a good buy.  This is Lego though so there is definitely no copping out going on.

This was a really fun build and I took my time with it to draw out the set a little so lots of little breaks to sit back and gloat over my build.  The build time I posted is the actual time spent building and not including all my little breaks which pushed it to over 5 Hours.

Links really well with the other sets and has a high amount of play value.

Number of Pieces: 922

Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.09

Build Time: 3.25 Hours

 

Lego Hedwig 75979

 This is a relatively complicated build.  You start by building the gear mechanism that moves Hedwig's wings on the stand.  To be honest this went together much more smoothly than I anticipated, admittedly I checked that the gears worked correctly each and every step of the way so that I would hopefully not have any problems when the build was completed.  I am pleased to say that I didn't, the wings move quite well but the operation isn't particularly smooth.

Making and attaching the feathers is also quite fiddly as there are so many tiny pieces involved.  Definitely one you need to build on a table top rather than cross legged on the floor.  Well worth all the work that goes in to it though, not really a lot of play value but it looks fantastic on my shelf.

Number Of Pieces: 630

Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.06

Build Time: 2.5 Hours

 

Lego Hogwarts Whomping Willow 75953

 There were two reasons I decided to purchase this kit; partly for the fact it links to the Great Hall but mainly for the Ford Anglia.  I was not disappointed at all, the detail on the Ford Anglia is wonderfully done and I was really happy with how it looked when it was built.  The Whomping Willow looks incredible when built but getting the green leaf pieces to stay in place when you rotate it can be a bit of a chore, you need to really push them in VERY firmly and then cross your fingers.

Once you have the car and tree built you then move on to what I can only describe as the ramparts.  To say this is primarily a linking kit there is a lot of details in the set.  The main tower which forms the owlery is a real pain to attach and it took me several goes and still I couldn't do much more than balance it on.  It wasn't until I built another kit that I figured out how to snap the pieces together so it is now secure instead of just balancing on top precariously.

Number Of Pieces: 753

Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.08

Build Time:
Car and Whomping Willow - 1 Hour
Ramparts - 13/4 Hours