POOPs in KK and other castle sets

Post by **davee123** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 3:57 pm

I remember seeing King Leo's castle in the store for the 1st time in 2000. Couldn't wait to get it home and build it. When I got home, I opened it, poured the pieces out onto the floor, and just stared at them. I felt like crying. It was just so sad... TONS of 1x2x5 and 1x1x5 bricks, a big POOP arch, POOP turret pieces, very few real bricks, and very few soldiers.

About 10% of the set was made up of good parts. Cool helmets, head designs, torsos, a few actual bricks here and there. The rest? Well.... mostly made of stuff I wasn't overly thrilled with. 1xNx5 bricks are ok as filler, I spose, as are the single-piece turrets, but I'd rather have more versitile pieces.

KK2 is no exception. Lots of large, juniorized parts, set designs that are basically columns and floors, rather than walls, and lots of "playable" bits that are neat, but not a builder's paradise.

I think the saddest part is the "new blue" they use. After Lego's statements of how they didn't want to see a color explosion like in the late 90's, they made a new purpley-blue, seemingly exclusively for this line. Why not keep the old blue? I mean, sure, it looks cooler than regular blue in this context, but isn't it supposed to be a Lego *system*?

Eh, I'll stop ranting. I'm still buying these sets-- there are some good tidbits in there, and I'd like to support the castle theme so Lego doesn't abandon it... But I'll just go on secretly hoping that the more classic style will make a comeback...

DaveE

Teup · Post by **Teup** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 6:14 pm

davee123 wrote:TONS of 1x2x5 and 1x1x5 bricks

Aren't those bricks really useful? In my stave church moc, i've already used over a 100 of them... (and i'll need another 100 to complete the other half) those are some of my favorite and most useful parts...

Post by **davee123** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 6:37 pm

Can't stand those 1xNx5's. I'll use them when I have to, when I'm running low on a particular color, or as filler for something that's not seen inside a MOC, but rarely (if ever) do I use them otherwise. Personally, in addition to wanting to use multiple 1xN's instead of 1xNx5's (for added versatility), I also don't like them practically:

1) I've heard that 1xNx5's are stronger & sturdier than regular bricks stacked, but I'm actually not sure this is true. With stacked bricks, although it's true that you have fewer stud connections that can break, you've also got more that can have a bit of flex to them. Hence, a little bit of leverage on a 1x1x5 puts ALL the leverage on a SINGLE stud connection, where in a stack of 1x1's, it can be divided over 5 connections. Hence, even when you build corners out of 1xNx5's, you're not going to get something as sturdy as one made out of regular bricks...

2) The texture isn't quite right-- it doesn't mesh with standard brick texture well. It produces long, vertical lines, with occasional horizontal ones, which looks less like brick construction. Not to mention that if you need a height that's not divisible by 5, you'll get a varying texture in a single wall, which looks a little off.

Give me 1-high bricks any day.

DaveE

Post by **Formendacil** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 7:08 pm

Personally, I'd take a 1xN over a 1xNx5 wall any day, but I personally have no objections to the higher pieces, as they have their place, and look good for a spot that doesn't need structural integrity. They also free up 1x2s, 1x4s, 1x3s, and 1x6s for other building. When your total pieceage is limited, you take what's available.

Snoopy · Post by **Snoopy** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 7:18 pm

I love 1xNx5's! I use them in my LEGO Movies all the time. I just set up rows of them for walls and then I can easily transform them into other scenes in seconds. You couldn't do that with regular bricks. 1xNx5's are probably the most-used pieces in my movies.

I never use them for castle walls, though. YUCK!!

Teup · Post by **Teup** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 8:02 pm

Here's one pic of the moc i'm working on now, you can see some of the 1xnx5 bricks.

If i was to replace em with piles of ordinary bricks, i'd need like 500... don't have that much free

And, i really think it's a more elegant solution than piles. I only make piles when i really need one different brick in the middle of it (like for a torch or something). Otherwise i try to efficient and use as few bricks as possible (without doing any harm to the looks, unlike some TLC creations)... But that's just what i prefer, i can imagine people preferring piles instead.

But furthermore, piles are heavier. I can already barely lift the building without using piles...

Commander Redbeard · Post by **Commander Redbeard** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:14 pm

I think the 1xnx5 bricks are pretty useful; and the least of the flaws of the KK & KK2 lines. with a little fixing up and a few stickers, the KK2 figs can be pretty good. I use the helmets in my jousts; if the color wasn't so wierd it wouldn't be half bad. I like the Scorpion Knight's helmets; and they can actually boast a real weapon, but the castles are pathetic. Castle of Morcia is hardly defendable; it's basically a big pile of arches and flags on stilts with hardly any battlements. I did notice that TLC sort of is addicted to arches with battlements that look pretty but have absolutely no defensive value due to their lack of walkways.

I just got Border Ambush yesterday. I like the windows as they're made of real bricks, but I did some substitutions of bricks to make it less open and more defendable. Overall, KK2 isn't all bad, you just need to make some adjustments and it's fine.

Teup · Post by **Teup** » Mon Jun 21, 2004 11:23 pm

Formendacil wrote:
Actually, Teup, I think that those are NxNx6 bricks, but the same principle applies there, in my mind, anyway.

No, they're 1xNx5. The collumns supporting the arches, i mean (though i've used tons of others throughout the building that are not clearly visible).

Commander Redbeard wrote:Castle of Morcia is hardly defendable; it's basically a big pile of arches and flags on stilts with hardly any battlements.

Well, they don't need em, since there are no archers at all

I think with this architecture it'd be easier for the knights to jump out of the castle to fight (or rather crush to the ground

)

Post by **architect** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 12:32 am

This topic is getting a bit off topic so I will split and move it.

The 1xNx5 vs 5 1xN's is an interesting discussion. "Column" poops do not bother me if they are used sparingly. In some cases they are useful and necessary. What bothers me is an over reliance on them which limits a childs creative possibilities (while reducing cost for LEGO).

Ben E.

Post by **Formendacil** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 12:45 am

Sorry Teup, I was looking at the wronge piece(s).

wlister · Post by **wlister** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 7:04 am

I do like using the 1xNx5s for some decorative elements in a castle structure sometimes a nice flat surface looks good in front of brick built. I have also used 1x2x5s to block window holes in castle wall pieces for ground floor construction. A combination of decoration and function that works pretty well. Now do I like seeing a bunch of them in place of real bricks in a set, definitely not. I'd love to see a return to brick built sets and some limits to the use of Poops and 1xNx5s.

Will

The Blue Knight · Post by **The Blue Knight** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 8:28 am

OK, I get BURP, SNOT and OLG (old Light Grey-made that one myself), But please describe POOP. And why do our Lego acronyms have this excretory system theme to them? My kids think it's hilarious when Daddy discusses the pros and cons of burps, snot and poop!

wlister · Post by **wlister** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 8:57 am

I mentioned this in another thread, but check this link: http://www.lugnet.com/~88/acronym_faq/ . It may not answer why all the potty words though.

Will

Post by **davee123** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 3:14 pm

If I'm not mistaken, the first such acronym to be coined was 'BURP' (Big Ugly Rock Piece), back on RTL. At the time, the feeling on BURPs was that they were awful things, that should be made out of bricks, not a single piece-- so the durogotory term stuck, and instantly everyone was calling them 'BURP's.

Soon people started looking for other similar names for pieces they didn't like, such as 'CRAPP' (Crummy Ramp And Pit Plate) and 'POOP' (Piece Of Other Pieces). None of them really had the same appeal as "BURP", but they did sorta get the point across that the author didn't like the piece(s) in question, and some were adopted by the rest of the community.

From there, I think it's continued purely for the sake of tradition (like SNOT), not particularly because it's objectionable, but because it fits with other silly Lego acronyms.

DaveE

Teup · Post by **Teup** » Tue Jun 22, 2004 3:35 pm

Hmm what else can we think of... FART

Facade.. and roof.. tiles

or

Formula 1 and rally tires

Oh well.. we're getting off topic again