BikinMike
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BikinMike's Stats
- Review Count5
- Helpfulness Votes182
- First ReviewMarch 1, 2015
- Last ReviewJuly 13, 2016
- Featured Reviews0
- Average Rating4.8
BikinMike's Reviews
Big Ben
Big Ben
Overall:
5
/
5
Nicely Detailed Replica
Posted:July 13, 2016
BikinMike
From: Hilliard
From:
United States
Age:
65 or older
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Purchased For:
Self
Build Time:
15hrs
Play Experience:
5
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Challenging
" My wife and I put this together, partly in a pub. It was quite an attention getter. The detail is achieved by using LOTS of tiny pieces. There are also some interesting uses of bricks that I have not seen in prior builds with Lego kits. Very nice result. I am looking forward to comparing it to the real building next week on a trip to London. I thought it was a good value. I agree with other reviewers that it would have been AWESOME if there were a working clock kit available. It has a place on our mantle currently. (Our son has lived in London for over a decade, so this symbol of the city has special importance for us). I hope to see more kits like this in the future. I also have the Tower Bridge kit. I like the Elizabeth Tower (Big Ben) kit better--just seems more realistic and less "toy-like." Elizabeth Tower is much closer to the architectural series than the modular series.
"
Video Review:
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I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+4points
5of 6found this review helpful.
My First Train Set
My First Train Set
Overall:
5
/
5
Cute and Fun
Posted:June 29, 2016
BikinMike
From: Hilliard
From:
United States
Age:
65 or older
Customer Type:
LEGO Grandparent
Building Experience:
Advanced LEGO builder
Purchased For:
Grandson
Build Time:
15mins
Play Experience:
5
/
5
Value for Money:
5
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Average
" I bought this for my grandson, and the two of us had a great time with it. Although he is a few months short of 2 years, he was able to operate the on/off switch and the hose easily. I bought the accessory track kit and had track from the push version, so there was plenty of track for a big layout. To be honest, I don't think a 2 year-old would need a big layout. The sound effects are awesome and it shuts down after about am minute (to preserve battery life). He actually says "wow" when he gets up in the morning and sees it (Mom and grandson are visiting this week). I'm getting the deluxe set for his birthday in a few months.
"
I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+29points
33of 37found this review helpful.
Brick Bank
Brick Bank
Overall:
5
/
5
It's All in the Details
Posted:January 23, 2016
BikinMike
From: Hilliard
From:
United States
Age:
65 or older
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Advanced LEGO builder
Purchased For:
Self
Build Time:
04days
Play Experience:
5
/
5
Value for Money:
5
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Challenging
" My wife and I enjoy assembling the modulars as a winter activity when the cold and snow keeps us indoors. This is the seventh modular we have completed. Just prior to assembling the Bank, we did an older one: the Pet Shop. The modulars have come a long way in terms of the fine details and "playability." While the Pet Shop may have been bigger and a little less expensive, you are trading size for a much more lush, full, complete look. It is worth the trade-off! I think this model stands well on it's own. (I actually bought two of the previous modular, the detective's office, because I felt it was too cramped.) To avoid spoiling all the surprises, I'll just say that there are lots of cute touches, unusual uses of bricks, some bricks I have not seen before, and very thorough detailing throughout. My only caution, don't build this as your first modular because you will be disappointed in the others. Highly recommend.
"
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I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+10points
19of 28found this review helpful.
Venice
Venice
Overall:
5
/
5
Recognizable Instantly as Venice
Posted:January 17, 2016
BikinMike
From: Hilliard
From:
United States
Age:
65 or older
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Purchased For:
Self
Build Time:
30mins
Play Experience:
4
/
5
Value for Money:
5
/
5
Level of Difficulty:
Easy
" Several years ago our entire family met in Venice for a holiday. This kit brought back some great memories. I posted the build to my Facebook page, and friends recognized it immediately as Venice. The only quibble I would have is the Bridge of Sighs as it is actually a bridge between two second floors (or named "first floors" if you are from Europe). It looks more like a regular canal-level bridge in this representation. The colors were appropriate and based on the cost of other lego sets, this was a good value, especially with the detailed booklet. With a couple of other cities available now, this could be a nice series. You should probably get in on the beginning.
"
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I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+19points
20of 21found this review helpful.
Detective’s Office
Detective’s Office
Overall:
4
/
5
Posted:March 1, 2015
BikinMike
From: Hilliard
From:
United States
Age:
65 or older
Customer Type:
LEGO Fan
Building Experience:
Intermediate LEGO builder
Purchased For:
Self
" This is the fourth large modular my wife and I have assembled. (We missed out on Lego as kids, so we have become fans in retirement.) I have mixed feelings about this one. While it does have some cute touches like the hidden panels, tunnel, and wall safe, it really looks almost out of scale when sitting next to the grand emporium and city hall. It almost fits better with the bike shop/cafe from the City collection. The rooms have nice detail, but they are extremely tight. The box says it is for age 16+, and our hands are not large by any means, but we found it challenging to get our hands into the rooms once the walls were up, especially the barber shop side. This is probably one reason the walls inside do not go all the way to the ceiling. A number of reviewers have commented on the "story", but in the end, this is a toy. It is easy enough to change the story. They did provide a barrel (so if the story bothers you, change to prohibition?). Although I have to agree the story does seem pretty weak given this is rated as 16+. I would guess the story came after the design--probably next time it would be smart to start with the story first. The story tries to justify the odd placement of the rooms. It still seems to me, however, that the rooms are randomly placed. It would have made more sense to have the bathroom and kitchen above the pool hall (to provide food and facilities for the pool hall patrons) and the detective over the barber shop, although the sizes would not have worked out in the small buildings this set contains. I assume that Lego was trying to keep the price down, but I would rather pay a little more (we only get these once a year) and have a bit bigger building that made more sense. I actually just bought a second one of these and my wife and I are going to try to address some of the shortcomings we see in the build. Maybe it was a smart corporate decision to make this kit relatively small as they were able to sell two of them to the same family.
"
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I would recommend this to a friend!
Share:
+85points
105of 125found this review helpful.