“Wise men say, 'Forgiveness is divine, but never pay full price for late pizza.”

Day 18:

I'm feeling pretty thankful for flour today. When all this madness started, along with the toilet roll, hand wash and pasta, flour was one of the first things to go. I couldn't get a bag from anywhere. Making pizza dough today really made me happy and I know there are going to be some smiley faces when the first bites are taken out of these lovelies (I just wish vegan cheese would melt properly).

"I tried to think of the most harmless thing. Something I loved from my childhood. Something that could never, ever possibly destroy us. Mr. Stay Puft."

I'm quite sure many of us have got that one friend that no matter how much effort they put into life they just cant seem to catch a break. Mines called Steve! After meeting him one afternoon in our local toy store we got chatting and our friendship blossomed from there over a love of LEGO, Movies, Games and many other geeky things that we have in common. Steve is the kind of guy that will just continue to graft in his work life despite what is thrown at him, and it has seemed like over the last few years, the obstacles that have been placed in his way have become a lot more frequent. Whenever I go an see him though he always has a smile on his face.

The last few months for him have been a little harder than usual with being away from his family due to work commitments and I like to think that as a friend I've always been there to help him out when he (and his family) have needed it. I really wanted to do something special to put a huge smile on his face though, so in my classic brick lovin' style I hit the LEGO.

Steve is usually the first person outside of the house to see anything that we have created with those magical bricks, and has been a huge fan of the custom Death star's that we have created over the years. If you remember a few years back, he was the chap that created the LEGO arcade with me, housing the first Death star that the boys and I had built. Well in all fairness he built the entire thing and took care of all the electrics etc (I just threw some Lego on it), He's such a smart guy, it just always seems like the world is stacked against him.

For years Steve has been making off the cuff comments about me building him a Death star, Id always loved the idea he had had for one and knew that I would inevitably build it. Recent events though gave me all the motivation I needed to get going.

Steve's idea: A retro Death star using all of the great characters released in the dimensions range.

Luckily they were all TV shows and movies from my childhood so I was excited to get stuck in. It gave me a great excuse to watch them all over again too (because what else was I going to do with my evenings?). As I said before, I knew that I would eventually start this, so for the last few months I had been picking up the Dimensions kits that I needed in preparation.

As soon as I had built all the floors for each section of the build (which is by far the most boring part) I was ready to let my creative juices flow . The boys sat and watched all the movies with me (apart from Beetlejuice) and came up with some amazing ideas. The bottom floor of the Death star build can be a little wasted, as unless you have it up high you cant really see whats going on, I really wanted to make the most of it though, So for the first room I created the scene from Ghostbusters, the part when they have dug up the street and are lowering Ray into the sewers and he finds the river of pink slime. This was great as I could make the bottom level look like a sewer. As soon as I had built it Opeie said 'Dad, didn't you watch ninja turtles before school when you were little?, you could put them in the sewer!' Which I thought was a great idea. So I added in an upper sewer tunnel with Michelangelo skateboarding out, which fit into the build perfectly.

The A-team was one of the highlights of my Saturday afternoon when I was younger and With Mr. T being released for Dimensions, I had to build the other 4 characters and somehow add the iconic truck into the build. It was at this point where I really started getting into the creation .

I had originally wanted to make the classroom scene from ET as one of the things that stuck out most for me was the little girls face with the frogs around her, but as that scene didn't include ET it was clear that I needed to go for the spaceship scene where ET finally 'goes home'. I didn't want to leave the frogs out though so I had the girl standing in the section surrounded by frogs anyway.

With the way this build comes together, building each quarter at a time and then working upwards is quite exciting when you get to the next level as it all starts taking shape and you realise how big the finished build is going to be. The Goonies was the section that I was looking forward to building the most as it was (and still is) my favourite film growing up. I was a little disappointed that LEGO had only released Sloth with the Dimensions pack but I still managed to build the Goonies despite their outfits not being spot on. The boys were playing and they were using LEGO dynamite and I had a eureka moment for what I was going to build for the section.

Steve is massively into retro gaming and all things arcade so I wanted to include an arcade into the build which I also thought would be a great spot to put a minifigure of himself in. The boys decided that I should be in there too as I was building it so they made a LEGO Steve and a 'daddy figure' to live in the arcade.

I was really looking forward to building a Back to the future section but it ended up being such a stress and I wasted a whole day building. I had originally planned to build the Delorean which the boys said not too as I had added the A-Team van in and they thought I should do something different. So I decided to try and create the scene when Marty gets to Hill valley after going back in time (You know the part "Mr Sandman......"). The section wasn't high enough to add the clock tower in though and it didn't seem right without it, so after a few hours building I broke the section up and attempted the enchantment under the sea dance. That didn't work either and by this point I was feeling pretty frustrated. Then, Opeie said 'You should build the big speaker from the start of the movie with Marty playing his guitar!"... the kids a genius! Within an hour it was looking amazing.

I knew that the final quarter of the larger section was going to be for the Gremlins but I had no Idea how I was going to create the idea I had so I made some make shift walls so that I could put the next level in and start working on the top layer. With all of the previous Death Star builds the top level had been split up into 4 sections but I had an idea and wanted to do something a little different. Before I started the build I knew that I wanted to build the closing scene from Ghostbusters with the Staypuft. It seemed like the perfect idea for high up on top. I was concerned though that the size of the Staypuft minifigure would look silly compared to the giant one in the movie but once I'd added the terror dog statues and the Ghostbusters it all looked pretty cute. 

I was talking to a friend of mine on one of the LEGO FB pages about the build and I told her that I was struggling for an idea for the Beetlejuice section. She said that I should make the graveyard scene, I couldn't remember it so that night I watched the movie again. She was right, it was the perfect idea and when the advert comes on with a country looking Beetlejuice riding a cow I knew I needed to include that too, along with his coffin and sign pointing to his grave. The double section was too big to be all graveyard so I added a sandy area and put the sandworm in their too. All I needed now was to come up with something for that Gremlins section. 

I knew what I wanted to do but I just wasn't sure how I was going to make it look how I wanted it too. The kitchen scene was one of my favourites when I was younger, I mean whats not fun about seeing a woman Microwave and blend up a Gremlin? Building a kitchen was the easy part but I needed chopped up gremlins in pools of gremlin slime. It wasn't until I had built Billy's knife wielding mom that it started to come together. I somehow had to add Gizmo in there too so I had him casually cruising in his remote control car.

It's so satisfying to complete a build like this, but this one was even better as it was a gift for Steve, a top bloke that deserves to have good things happen in his life. Lets hope that good things come in 3's and this has just kick-started it. Either way hes got a new toy to play with, I know that always makes me smile.

"Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out."

Last week we had arranged a trip to Build-a-Bear Workshop to see their new Teenage mutant Ninja Turtles range and build one to take home. The day before we had arranged to go, Seth came down with Tonsilitis and was really unwell. By the morning he really wasn't up to going anywhere and just wanted to stay in the warm cuddling mommy (I can definitely see the appeal).

Opeie was really excited about going so we decided to go ahead. Opeie kept assuring Seth that "we will make a special bear for you to make you feel better". Our boys are so cute, they are really concerned when the other is ill and do all they can to cheer each other up.

When we arrived at Build-a-Bear Workshop we were greeted by Karen, what I love about visiting our local store is that the staff are always so approachable and they make it about the children as soon as you walk in which I think is really important. We also saw a familiar face, Laura the lady that helped the boys with their valentines bears for nanny and auntie Lotty.

We were there to make ninja turtles which I thought was really fitting considering the boys were going through a bit of a ninja turtle phase recently, but also because it was something that took me back to getting ready for school in the mornings, eating my breakfast watching the TV show (back when they were heroes not ninjas).

With the TMNT movie just around the corner these are great for younger fans. I was expecting them to be costumes for the bears like the Spider-man and hulk costumes that we have already but the bears are actually turtles which I think is great and Opeie was really excited about it too. Laura asked Opeie if he knew which turtle he wanted and he said Raphael please and Michelangelo for Seth...

I was hoping there was going to be pre-recorded turtles voices to choose from but they had the TMNT theme tune instead which Opeie chose and had put in the bears hands ready for action. Then it was time for the stuffer which Opeie loves as he gets to stand on The peddle an make his new toy cuddly and plump.

With both turtles stuffed and almost ready for cuddling Opeie picked a heart for each and Laura told him to rub the hearts on his head so that the turtles would be intelligent and rub them on his muscles so that they would be strong and to give them a big kiss before going in. Seth's got extra kisses and Opeie said "get well soon Seth" adorable!

Once the bears were all sewn up and had their tracking slips inside (which I think is a great idea), we moved on to Opeie's favourite part of the visit, the fluffer. A lot of care went in to brushing those turtles and he made them extra soft and fluffy...

With the turtles stuffed, fluffed and ready for an afternoon of squeezes it was time to accessorise, they are Ninjas after all. Opeie knew exactly which weapons belong to which turtle so he knew what he was going for. Weapons in hand we made our way to the Dressing Room...

Raphael and Michelangelo looked great and Opeie was loving giving them a squeeze. They didn't belong to us just yet though. As with any adoption we had to fill in the relevant paperwork to make sure everything was legit. The last thing we would want is someone stopping  our turtle in the street saying 'Rodriguez you've come back to me' (I'm not crazy, Mrs M will get that).

Then it was time to pick up our birth certificates up before taking our bears to their new home. While at the till Karen told us all about how they have changed the parties and how they include free snacks for the children, which i think is a really nice touch to add to the experience. She also told us how build a bear are trying to lower their carbon footprint by beginning to phase out the cardboard boxes in return for reusable drawstring bags which Opeie loved as he got to carry his new friend on his back

As always a really enjoyable hour at Build-a-Bear Workshop, looked after by great staff. Everything we would expect from a store who's main aim is to make children happy.

"Raphael is cool but crude (Gimme a break!) Michelangelo is a party dude (Party!)"

After our last LEGO Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles review we received some really great emails about the comic style review that we created. So when we came to review this new TMNT movie kit i planned on making a sequel, but as i went rooting through our LEGO looking for props i may need i had a great idea for something a little different that may or may not have worked, either way though i knew it would be fun. So the night before building i set our morning LEGO fun up. We had some spare boxes in the house and i wrapped them all in white paper and created a little blank canvas area for building. When Opeie woke up he found an intriguing blank space, the new LEGO Turtle Van Takedown kit (79115) and a selection of pens, pencils and crayons. Opeie looked very excited and quickly grabbed his Michelangelo mask and Nunchucks ready for action.

We've really got in to the TMNT kits since reviewing the Turtle Sub Undersea Chase kit and my inner geek was really excited about seeing the new kits, mainly because i had seen the Turtles new look for the coming movie and i wanted to see what LEGO had done with that. I expected them to look a little more aggressive but LEGO have done what they do best and the minifigures look amazing, Personally I'm a little unsure about the positioning of the shells but i can see they have done that to fit in with the movie style.

Opeie wasn't sure about the Minifigures at first and asked for the older characters out too but soon decided that he loved them. There was a little disagreement over who was the real Michelangelo but that arguement was soon sorted...

Usual household building rules apply, we never go by the numbered bags, we just empty them all out so that the boys can build the minifigures first because apparently they are the most important part.

This kit is the smaller of the three released for the new movie but at 368 pieces it's a great size kit especially for the younger builders who may lose interest after a while. With four minifigures (Raphael, Michelangelo, Vern and a Foot soldier) , a vehicle, barricade to blow up and a bed with mechanical arms for taking a hostage, there is everything you need for your very own Turtle adventure.

When we had finished building the kit it was time for us to start the second part of the mornings LEGO activity, Creating a play area for our Turtles. Opeie got stuck in and drew some great circular patterns so I politely ask if I could add to it and transformed his lovely drawing in to the very fitting Technodrome.

After decorating the walls with a sewer scene and a pizza shop it was time to play. The turtle van looked great with rockets to shoot and a retractable hook for pulling down buildings. We even drew a lake for our previous kit the Turtle sub to go in too.

We included all our Ninja turtles kits but realised we were missing a few key characters so we now have our eyes on the other two kits from the movie sets, Big Rig Snow Getaway (79116 so that we can get April O'Neil) and the awesome looking Turtle Lair Invasion (79117 because we need to get hold of a splinter). I did manage to build us a custom Shredder from the parts we had though (not a bad job if i do say so myself).

 I love how all our LEGO kits fit together and there really is no limitation to your play adventures if you have a great imagination. We ended up playing in our purpose built TMNT play area for most of the morning, Opeie comes up with some great stories to act out.

 

Of course as always me and Mrs M found ourselves in the usual hostage situation with no way of knowing if we would make it through the terrible ordeal...

...but we can always rely on those brave boys of ours (with the help of the Turtles of course) to come to our rescue and save the day.

I'd be shocked if i ever had a negative word to say about LEGO and again the Turtle Van Takedown doesn't disappoint. Its a great kit with excellent minifigures and a cult status that will entertain children and parents alike. The Ninja turtles were huge when i was at school and thanks to LEGO they will live on for even longer in the toy stores.