"Latest In Lego" Returns

It's been a long time since I have written a post that focuses exclusively on my Lego hobby. I shared my first "build" of the year, a Kreo Klingon Bird of Prey, a couple of posts back. But the story is a two sided coin. Here's the flip side. 

The Klingon ship was half of a set, Klingon Starfleet Attack, sold by Kre-o, Hasbro's version of building bricks. 

 I have other Kre-o kits. They include both large and small versions of Transformer robots...

...and miniature version of the Starship Enterprise. 

Back in 2013 I had purchased a Kre-o kit with a large model of the Enterprise but I couldn't get it to fit together. It was very frustrating trying to assemble it. I even tried to glue it together but I ended up trashing it. The pieces were warped and just wouldn't fit together. At the time I thought the problem night have been my fault because for a time I had kept the kit in the back of my car in the middle of the summer. 

I was really disappointed. I really liked the way the Enterprise looked. So a couple of years later when I found a Kre-o kit with the same version of the Enterprise and a Klingon ship in it on "clearance" at Toys R US I bought it. I was happy to get a second shot at putting the ship together. 

During the 2nd week of January, I got the kit out and started putting together the Klingon ship. Because the colors of the pieces were so similar I thought it would be more difficult to assemble than the Enterprise. Turned out it was rather easy. I am kind of proud of it. 

Encouraged that this Kre-o Star Trek kit was going to go together just fine, I quickly started working on the Enterprise.

Here's a picture of what the finished product is supposed to look like. 

The saucer section was first in the instructions. With the exception of a few pieces I had to correct because I put them in the wrong place, all was going well. That is until it came time to put the top on. 

The pieces that formed the lid of the ship's saucer section was made up of 4 pieces that formed the outer perimeter and another circular section fastened into the center of the circle formed by the 4.  In the picture below you can see what I mean.  

Here's where things started going wrong. The 5 pieces of the lid would not interlock. They just didn't go together. It was the same design flaw that happened with the first one. 

I tried to work with the pieces to see if I could find a way to make it work. But frustration set in and I was getting stressed out. I hated to admit it but I was beaten again. I took apart the Enterprise and disposed of the pieces. Epic Kre-o fail #2.

I kept the Star Trek mini-figures and the Klingon Bird of Prey. 

I quickly moved on to the next model on my "To Be Assembled" list. It's the Lego Creator Expert kit 10242; The Mini-Cooper. 

When I opened the box, I realized that this build was going to be the kind build I like. The bags are numbered. You open them and assemble the pieces in order. 

Here's my progress a little over half way through the #1 bags. 

It doesn't look like much but it's a chassis that will serve as a solid foundation for a nice little vehicle. 

I'm going to enjoy putting this one together. When I finish it I will have something cool to display next to my VW Van. 

Since putting an expert kit together takes some time I am concurrently putting together the 3-in-1 Creator kit 31034, Future Flyers. I can put these type of models together quickly so I get to enjoy the results of my efforts sooner. I have already completed the first incarnation, the futuristic jet. 

After a little bit of a drop off I'm back to enjoying my hobby again on a regular basis. I've got a variety of easy, intermediate and expert skill kits to put together throughout this year. 

But my real 2017 Lego goal is purchasing and putting together, what I consider the ultimate mashup of my favorite fandoms. 

And that's about it for this first edition of "Latest In Lego" for 2017.