[quote name='dothog'] I know I'm a little nostalgic, but the inclusion of these huge molded pieces is a recent innovation[/quote]
And this is when you are wrong. :lol:
LEGO has always made floating boat hulls. The set GoingIncognito got as a kid has a HUGE window piece. LEGO makes rock pieces that can be made from other bricks. LEGO has always made big pieces instead of using bricks.
And the Creator Lighthouse is right on target, though it seems like LEGO's using the Creator line to unload a lot of these angled roof pieces (here they're on the little house and the shoreline). Part of why I like the Creator theme is that the builds remind me more of the LEGO I grew up with. I can see the bricks in everything. For instance, unlike the City Marina set, the boat in the Creator Lighthouse is built up rather than a single piece. That's how it's supposed to be. /oldmanfistshake
Which is the whole point of the Creator theme, it's bricks. LEGO really went in the shitter in the late 90s and early 00s, really bad, almost went bye-bye bad. They realized they needed to change to fit the world today and they started making more action themes. At the same time they realized they need to still make bricks. So now they make sets that appeal to everyone. I frankly hate this year's City sets, probably the worst sets since City started in 2005, but they still make great sets.
I mean look at this helicopter from the early 80s...
http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=645-1
It's ugly as can be, no kid would buy that crap today. :lol:
Then look at a few classic police sets....
http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=6598-1
http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=6398-1
http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=6386-1
Windows...
Windows...
Windows...
If you want shit sets without bricks here is a $60 police station from 1998...
http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=6332-1
Five 1x2 bricks were replaced by 1 1x2x5 pieces in the early 90s, however most sets contain bricks still. Look at the new Castle sets (called Kingdoms because children liked that name more), they are still bricks everywhere, Creator is bricks, even the new Alien Conquest is surprisingly "blocky". :lol: Don't use one horrible HORRIBLE City year against LEGO. Lego City is now used to sell against video games and Hess trucks, it's a different world. The Police station looks like something we would have gotten the last 15+ years, which is actually my problem with it.
Maybe you are better off ignoring the City sets and going straight to these....
http://shop.lego.com/product/?p=10211&LangId=2057&ShipTo=US
http://shop.lego.com/product/?p=10197&LangId=2057&ShipTo=US
[quote name='dothog']Separate post for this:
I just realized this thread is LEGO
deals. If I should keep the LEGO discussion to myself, or make a thread in OT for it, please let me know. I don't want to get in the way of minifig tracking!
I'm enjoying the education, in any case...[/QUOTE]
No one here cares, we usually go into talks about new sets, favorites, MOCs. Cheapy doesn't care, the site leaves us alone until the thread gets insanely huge.
And these are some of my favorite City sets that contain bricks and are a mix of old and new...
http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=7991-1
http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=7945-1
http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=7903-1
http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=7737-1
http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=7732-1
http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=7997-1
http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=7639-1
http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=7638-1
http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=3178-1
A good use of that ugly shuttle piece, in a mainly brick built set...
http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=3181-1
Even a building that has big pieces and bricks...
http://brickset.com/detail/?Set=7641-1