Another high class MOC on the theme of super heroes by Mr Xenomurphy which I introduced to you Spiderman vs sandman in August 2011.
The announcement of the launch of the LEGO Superheroes range in 2012 has awakened the creative spirit of many MOCeurs, and we are finally rediscovering something other than Star Wars in every way ... Even if I love Star Wars, let's not get angry. not....

Here we are entitled to the very "Art Deco" building of the Daily Planet, a newspaper published in the city of Metropolis, and where Clark Kent alias Superman works in the company of Lois Lane and under the orders of the editor in chief Perry White.

And here, Superman does not face Lex Luthor or Bizzaro but a small army of robots in the pay of Brainiac, nemesis of Superman who bottled the city of Kandor, capital of Krypton. The end of this sentence doesn't mean anything if you didn't know Brainiac. Go see here to know more.

The staging is breathtaking and teeming with incredible detail. Traffic lights, manhole covers, road signs, telephone booth, everything is reconstructed and with very original techniques.

We also find two of the heroes of Young Justice, Aqualad and Superboy. 
As a reminder, we will soon be entitled to the animated series Young Justice (Season 1 available on DVD) whose first season is already being broadcast in the USA since the beginning of the year and that we will discover in France at the beginning of 2012. It features Robin, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Superboy, Artemis and Miss Martian, young super heroes in the making and seeking recognition from their Justice League elders Batman, Aquaman, Flash and Green Arrow. 

To see the impressive photo gallery of this MOC with close-ups and diagrams of its design, go to the MOCpages gallery de Mr Xenomurphy.

He is in his superhero period, and more particularly Batman, and he presents a new MOC very successful both technically and creatively in the dark universe of the vigilante of Gotham City.

Legomaniac was inspired here by the 1992 film Batman Returns starring Michael Keaton (Batman / Bruce Wayne), Danny DeVito (Penguin / Oswald Cobblepot) and Michelle Pfeiffer (Catwoman / Selina Kyle).

The result is up to the task, with this recreation of Tim Burton's snowy Gotham City and its disturbing but so surreal atmosphere.

Small parenthesis, my favorite Batman obviously remains the Batman from 1989 with a Michael Keaton in a state of grace in what will remain in my eyes his best role, a Jack Nicholson at the top of the cabotinerie and a vaporous and sublime Kim Basinger. All on a high-flying Prince soundtrack and in a crazy, dark atmosphere, but so special that it sticks to the image we had as a kid in Gotham City. And this MOC brings me back to that movie followed by Batman Returns. 

On the MOC itself, nothing to say, it is the paw of Legomaniac found there. A maximum of details, a snow very well reproduced on the sidewalks of Gotham, a convoluted layout which obviously poses problems of shooting, but a skilfully distributed lighting and a Penguin perched on his duck, quite simply brilliant.

I forgot, if you are looking for Catwoman, she is present, but discreet as usual.

To see more, know all the details of the creation of this MOC and discover it from every angle, go to the dedicated topic at BrickpirateOn legomaniac blog or on his flickr gallery.

The X-Wing remains without a doubt the most fan-replicated ship and Mike "Psiaki" takes it even further with this achievement.

However, I do not share the usual ambient enthusiasm, inevitable as soon as some little-known MOCeurs lay a realization, concerning the realism of this MOC. If it has the merit of being well built and using interesting techniques, some details are far from the original models used in the films of the Star Wars saga. The cockpit for example is not really alike, even if the nose of the device is one of the most ingenious among the many MOCs that I have seen of this device so far.

But as the American AFOLs say in their comments of Psiaki's flickr gallery, this MOC is "stunning", "cool", "so accurate, so thing, so thing" ..... So I leave you to make up your own mind by going to admire it from every angle.

While we are all hoping to get a UCS Tumbler in this new 2012 LEGO Superheroes range, here I bring you a creation from 2007: The Technic Tumbler by Mike Loh.

I am not a Technic specialist and I would be careful not to judge the relevance of using parts from this range for this Tumbler. What matters to me here is that the MOCeur tried to proceed in a methodical and documented manner to arrive at this rather convincing result.

The overall proportions of the machine are respected to the letter and this construction work spread over a year and a half is bearing fruit. Mike loh explains having gathered the sets, trucks and Formula 1, allowing him to obtain the parts necessary for this MOC, and to have gathered more than 1000 photos and videos of the original Tumbler to obtain a substantial documentation allowing him to reproduce the machine in the best conditions. He even got his hands on schematic blueprints of the Tumbler from the Batman Begins movie so he could coordinate the scale of this MOC with the original model. both front and rear suspensions work, and the engine is a V8.

This Tumbler would perhaps be the only set that would push me to buy Technic, not being a fan of the usual trucks, excavators and other backhoe loaders, or supercars of all kinds ....

To see more go to the MOCpages gallery by Mike loh. 

Let's go to a thorny question that divides LEGO collectors: Do you absolutely have to keep the boxes of your LEGOs? Should you fill your cupboards with these boxes or put them for recycling? Should they be folded, cut or protected while waiting for the sets concerned to increase in value over the years?

The answer to these questions depends on your intentions. Or not.

Many AFOLs buy their sets, assemble them once, possibly display them in their bedroom or living room, then dismantle them, often under family pressure, so that the parts go to their bulk destined for MOCs.
Others store their sets without even touching them, telling themselves that because they don't have the space to display them, there's no point in putting them together. And they will probably never put them together.
Throwing away the packaging is seen by some as an almost militant act: By breaking the speculative aspect of the set, they try to convince themselves to be real AFOLs who use LEGO for their primary function: Play.
Each situation is unique, and there is no objective argument in favor of preserving or not the boxes.

There are still some indicators that should change the minds of those who throw away the boxes of their sets without regret. 

What does a set consist of: A box, an instruction booklet, minifigs and loose parts.
In order of value we can therefore consider that the minifigs are the most important component of the set. The pieces would come in second.
But this reasoning overlooks an important fact: The pieces are only plastic bricks which, when combined, make up the set itself. The identity of the set is ultimately determined by its box which presents the content in its final form. And collectors are demanding: A plastic bag with loose parts, a few minifigs and a paper printout of an instruction booklet from its pdf format will never have the same value as an original box, even open and damaged , an original booklet and all the plastic, brick and minifig elements.

This is especially true for licensed sets or very old sets. Star Wars fans get carried away as soon as the franchise logo appears. They are willing to spend insane amounts of money to collect anything that can bear the Star Wars endorsement. And LEGOs are no exception. A set from the Star Wars range sold with its original packaging will see its price double, or even triple in some cases, compared to the same set sold in bulk, without box or original instructions. These same boxes and other instruction booklets also retail on bricklink, where the price per kilo of cardboard is exceptionally high ...

Finally, the part of the set which remains the easiest to assemble and which costs the least per kilo are the parts themselves .... The minifigs are also affordable, with notable exceptions like the Boba Fett from 10123 Cloud City for example. , and the rarest object over the years effectively becomes the box. And it becomes scarce over the years: Cardboard is a material that is difficult to resist to numerous manipulations, humidity, moving ...

This same box which takes up too much space today will undoubtedly allow you to get the most out of your collection if one day you decide to sell it to the highest bidder, for whatever reason. Paying the rental of a storage box to accumulate your empty packaging could even pay off over the years.

In the worst case, you will sell them to all those specialists in flea markets and other garage sales who scour the villages, accumulate complete sets in bulk bought for a few euros from sellers who have no idea of ​​the potential value of these LEGO, purchase boxes and instruction booklets separately at bricklink and resell it as a complete set on eBay for a more than substantial profit.

 The next time you want to get rid of a set box, don't throw it away, sell it. You will be surprised at the number of interested buyers .....