u/NotAgedWell

I have these two areas by my pool I want to have filled in with pavers to make a bigger deck that I can actually use. Anybody have any recommendations for a couple of companies to come out and give me a quote?

Located in Palm Bay

Perhaps a long shot, but maybe someone here can help me out. I have 2 businesses (well one LLC and a DBA under that) and have started getting asked if I was on the Brevard School District approved vendor list by customers calling for our services.

Trying to figure out how to do that and the only thing I've found is this page:
https://www.brevardschools.org/page/becoming-a-vendor-with-the-district

I do have my OpenGov account set up, but after that it's not very clear what I need to do in order to say "Yes, we're an approved vendor."

I've tried calling the number at the bottom of the form but the extension just goes to a full voicemail box and the operator just sends me there as well when I ask.

Has anyone gone through this process and can offer advice or direction?

I know there's a lot of clips like this but here's another. Pulling out of a parking lot today and nearly ready to turn into traffic and a biker that was coming up the sidewalk at a pretty good pace decided to just keep going right in front of me cutting out of the crosswalk and into the street. Car stopped to let him go (obviously).

Including front and side camera clip.

I'm shocked and surprised especially considering it had to go around my truck and it's never even backed into the driveway before let alone the garage (edit: my wife has informed me that it backed into the driveway once for her a couple of weeks ago but she just never mentioned it to me)

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My foot was hovering over the brake since my garage isn't in the best/cleanest shape and it had to angle in around the truck.

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It did leave the car a few inches too far forward for me to close the garage door though.

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I could get used to that considering my charger is on that back wall and much easier to plug it in when I back in.

Update: Interestingly I just came back today and it did it again. No idea what is different but that's twice in a row. I'll have to go around the block later and see if it does a 3rd time

The only thing I paid attention to is that when first got into our neighborhood it came up and the parking option was "charger" but I'm pretty sure it always was set to that. I think. As mentioned I had a 2023MY but without FSD and I've only had this 2026MY with FSD about 1.5 months so it's still relatively new to me.

Nearly complete but I still have to place most of the minifigs.

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However I'm having issues with the TIE (MOC I bought from AE) not being very stable on the holder. Wondering if anyone else ran into that and how you fixed it. It seems front heavy and the crane flexes forward a bit so it'll fall off quite often (like just from me walking or barely bumping the stand). I was considering modifying the arms to wrap around it more but would like to hear what others have done.

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Also looking for a lighting kit but don't want to spend a fortune. Found one on AE for $58USD but wondering if that's a decent price for one.

Also on a side note, this thing was both a lot bigger and a lot more fun than I was expecting. Hadn't really read a lot about it so really enjoyed building and discovering how many little Easter eggs and details and interactive elements there are. Fun time.

It was doing so good tonight until this light. Only time I had to intervene in 40+ miles on city streets. Reported as navigation issue. I just had a feeling it was going to fail here so was ready to intervene as soon as it started moving forward.

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It's so good though (normally) and I rarely have issues.

Do they make a better side brush? I have to replace mine every couple of weeks because the brush just keeps tearing away from the housing. Going through them pretty fast. I don't know what's causing it since my house is like 90% laminate and tile with only a couple of low ply area rugs.

Finally bit the bullet on this B-Wing 10227 clone from AE. I've always loved this unconventional design and is one of my favorite ships, even if it barely makes an appearance in the OT.

COST 

I ordered this from AE awhile back but just got around to building it. It didn't come with stickers or the printed cockpit, so ordered those separately.

All amounts are in USD and include any shipping to the US.

• $83: Set from AE
• $9: Stickers from BrickStickerShop
• $14: Printed cockpit through Bricklink

TOTAL COST: $106

Not too bad considering it's a retired set and the official version is hundreds more.

PARTS:

1487 parts and I had no issues at all. No missing or damaged (Although I thought there was but turned out my kid had raided my pile to build something so I had to reclaim them).

Parts were not in numbered bags so did require sorting prior to building.

BUILDING EXPERIENCE:

Pretty fun build overall. Lots of grey as is typical. It didn't come with instructions so used the official ones but even those were pretty pixelated (guess cause it's an older set). Not really any super-advanced building techniques, but I did like the gun array at the end of the large wing and that the cockpit swivels (and the smaller wings will fold down as well). I did like the two halves (top and bottom) of the large wing coming together and attaching together more solid than I was expecting. Some interesting details added to the experience as well.

I did have some issues attaching the back pieces to the cockpit and the smaller wings (they were a tight click so hard to put enough pressure on the rest of the model without breaking something else off). The 4 slanted "walls" around the center engine part would also frequently come off but easy to re-attach. Once it was all together it's pretty solid though.

OVERALL

I still love the design of this ship. I'm not sure I like the cockpit area. In fact, I think the non-printed cockpit window looks a bit better than the printed one but I paid for the printed one so going to use it. Also after being happy with how the large/center wing was built with both a top and bottom half I was a little disappointed that the smaller wings didn't follow that same design and there's only a detailed top but the underside is just the open studs. Oh well.

Still I'm pretty happy to add this to my growing collection.

One of our cabinet hinges broke and I can't seem to find a replacement (this is the unbroken one). All the similar ones I can find don't seem to fold flat like this.

The thing is less than 7 months old and I got greeted with a floor of water while doing a load this morning. Water coming out of the door. It looks like the seal (at the bottom) got bent backwards in that little section? I'm assuming it's not supposed to be like that

No idea what did that. My wife says she didn't notice anything jammed in there that might account for the bending.

Any way to fix this without a new seal? Think it would be covered under warranty?

I was looking for a good OT Y-Wing but didn't really like the UCS one so ultimately decided on getting Jerac's version from Brickvault. I found the MOC on AE so I bought it from there but had issues with parts. I also bought the instructions from the creator cause I always like to support them even if I'm buying a KO from AE.

MOC:

This MOC is by Jerac and instructions and parts list are available here. It also comes with both red and yellow variants. I built the yellow (obviously)

https://www.brickvault.toys/products/y-wing-starfighter?\_pos=2&\_sid=92b73d793&\_ss=r

MODIFICATIONS:

I bought extra parts to make the modifications to both reinforce and extend the engines from this BrickCats video (modifications are any ten minutes into it).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aiz5ITbodT4&t=5s

I also bought parts for this universal stand. Instructions are free.

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-148938/GrindingBricks/universal-stand-smallmedium-ships/#details

COST 

I added a lot to the initial cost to enhance the engines and buy parts for a stand, and then I ended up with several missing and incorrect parts, as well as I wanted a few printed pieces that weren't included. All-in-all it ended up costing me quite a bit more than I would have liked. I probably will end up ordering a pilot minifig as well

All amounts are in USD and include any shipping to the US

• $105: Parts from AE
• $20: MOC Instructions from Brickvault
• $13: Parts for the modifications to the engines
• $28: Parts for Universal Stand (unfortunately had to get from several stores so shipping added up)
• $27: Replace missing/incorrect parts and several printed parts.

TOTAL COST: $193

PARTS:

No numbered bags or anything but I wouldn't expect that with an MOC so it did take a bit of sorting. Everything was just shoved into one big bag though so that made it more difficult as it was just one big pile of pieces to sort.

I wish I would have just got the parts list and bought them from Marstoy. As it was, I ended up with several missing parts (including the hinges to attach the canopy) and quite a few incorrect parts that prevented attaching the turret so my build was stalled for awhile waiting for those.

Also the barrels of the turret were supposed to be screwdrivers and they sent hammers. Obviously that won't work (I ended up cutting the hammer's head off rather than order screwdrivers).

In addition, the piece they sent for the "hoses" that are visible on the top just shattered when trying to bend them so I had to get one of those. I find anything flexible are just not a thing with KO sets and they just snap. Had similar issues with the whips used on R2's legs for that set.

Finally there were no printed parts which wasn't a surprise but I had to order a head for the R4 unit, a canopy and then a couple of round tiles for the rear-body area which weren't necessary but added to the overall look.

BUILDING EXPERIENCE:

This might've been one of my most frustrating experiences to build. Honestly it was all going fine and peachy and was loving the greebling on the body. But then I got to cockpit/head area. Some of that just didn't fit together well and pushing one piece on broke another piece off. Especially on the rear part of it.

Parts underneath would frequently fall off, especially around the landing gear area (I love that it's retractable but they just easily fall off). There are several pieces on the rear of the body that are barely attached and fall off.

Finally the back of the engines (that round circle of parts on each end) were sooooo frustrating to put together. I ended up having to glue 8 pieces onto the round part cause they were barely hanging on and then wouldn't attach to the struts right.

OVERALL

It looks pretty cool, and I love the cockpit/head is bend slightly downward. The colors with yellow and the light blue look pretty great and the greebling is really well done and detailed. In addition, the entire R4 unit slides in from underneath (legs and all) which is nice and there is retractable landing gear, even if it is a bit fragile.

The engine modifications look tons better than the original design...not only more stable but longer which makes the dimensions look more in line with the movies.

I guess I'm happy with it. I was really frustrated during some parts of the build and annoyed about the missing and incorrect parts (something people talk about but I haven't had this many issues with it until now) and I feel it's definitely a bit more fragile than I would like. If you grip it from the back it is pretty solid and swooshable though but you have to be pretty careful where you are placing your fingers.

Now to just find a place for it in my office. I can't believe I still don't have an X-Wing.

Woohoo! Can't wait to build this bad boy. That seemed to take forever to get here.

Edit: I opened it enough to see the plaque is printed and says "Star Wars" so that's good.

Also the stickers don't look terrible but I've ordered (and received) the printed parts from HiTian so will definitely be using those.

I still have the UCS AT-ST and Jerac's Y-Wing MOC sitting here to build, and I have the B-Wing on the way that should be here any day. Not really sure what order I'll end up building things in.

I really need to buy a set of shelves before building much more.

I had already bought and built both a UCS TIE Interceptor and an Advanced TIE MOC, so I wanted a regular TIE, but didn't like the old UCS one that had a really blocky cockpit and didn't really match the others.

Rebrickable MOC to the rescue! I found this MOC that mimics the look of the UCS Interceptor and my Advanced TIE MOC. It really ties the room together.

MOC is from here (and is free): https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-191329/Simon%20Lenz/ucs-tie-fighter-enhanced-edition/#details

The nice thing about that MOC is it has several variations depending on what you need. For example, if you already have the UCS TIE, you can just buy the parts you need, or it has lists for the entire set if you don't already have it. Also, it has variations on if you want to keep the original matte black wing panels or change to glossy black to match the Interceptor (and my TIE Advanced). You also have a choice of modifying the UCS stand or building a new "enhanced" one. Pick and choose what you want.

I didn't have the original set, so I ordered the full parts list, with the glossy panels. I also didn't realize the parts list didn't include the stand, so ordered parts for that separately, as well as a UCS Sticker and TIE Pilot figure (which hasn't arrived yet)

COST:

• MOC Instructions: FREE
• Parts: $91 ($67 USD + $24 shipping) through Marstoy
• Parts for enhanced stand: $18 for genuine parts through Bricklink
• Printed cockpit window and lid: $22 through Bricklink
• TIE Pilot Minifig: $7 through Bricklink
• UCS Sticker: $6 through BrickStickerShop

TOTAL COST: $147

Obviously your cost could vary if you already have the UCS set and just want the parts to modify it, or if (unlike me) you include the stand parts in your order. I was impatient when I realized that and just ordered genuine parts through Bricklink real quick. If I wasn't a stickler for having the sticker and didn't order a genuine minifig could have saved a few bucks as well. Gotta have the printed cockpit window and lid though.

The TIE will stand on its wings and they support it fine (actually had it that way for about a week before getting the stand parts today) so you don't really need the stand but I wanted it to display alongside the other ones.

PARTS:

This is my 4th MOC with parts purchased from Marstoy and still no complaints. No missing pieces, quality was good. I did have to order the canopy window and lid for the cockpit from Bricklink since they don't do printed parts, but whatever. There was a slight delay of a couple of weeks on this one cause they had to wait for some of parts for the wing panels to come in but they let me know and I didn't mind.

BUILDING EXPERIENCE:

To be honest, the building experience was a bit frustrating at times. The instructions are broken down into 6 stages (separate PDFs) but you also have to use the official instructions.

You are supposed to use the original to build the wing panels then stage 1 and 2 modify both the front and back to fit with the updated model (and differ depending on if you've bought the glossy parts or want to use the original matte parts). It was really meant for if you already had the UCS set to break them down and then rebuild, but to build from scratch it was a little unclear on what you needed vs. what you didn't. At times I thought I was missing pieces, only to find later that pieces I had added weren't needed for the modification but were used later elsewhere. So I had dipped into my spare parts for some pieces, then realized I didn't need them after all when I got further along and I was able to tear out some stuff I had already built. It was a lot of flipping back and forth between the official instructions and Stage 1 and 2 PDFs. It wasn't absolutely terrible, but was definitely confusing and my 8 year old gave up on waiting for me to figure out what the next step was supposed to be.

But once the wing panels were done, the instructions flowed more smoothly. Stage 3 is the cockpit build, Stage 4 is attaching the cockpit to the wings, and then you used either Stage 5 or stage 6 (actually 5A and 5B) depending on which stand you wanted to build: modify the original stand or build the enhanced one.

The cockpit was a very similar build to the TIE Interceptor with some welcome changes. There are no swinging "arms" on the top and bottom of the struts for example, and the curved panels on each "corner" of the cockpit hold together better. Also the interior cockpit doesn't have all those annoying triangle panels and is a simpler design. I much prefer it and it made the build similar, but not an exact copy of the Interceptor build. Different enough to not feel that repetitive anyways...

OVERALL

I love how this one looks....so much better than the original UCS TIE and fits much better into my TIE collection. The enhanced stand is pretty sturdy and the build itself feels much more solid than the Interceptor and tons more than my Advanced TIE which I'm scared to breathe on. It's actually pretty swooshable (and better if you make Pew Pew sounds while doing so).

I do almost think the wing panels could be a bit smaller as even though the cockpit is the same size as the other two it still overwhelms them. But they are the same size as the original UCS set and probably are mostly to scale

Hopefully I get the UCS sticker and pilot soon to add to the display to complete it, then just need to find a good TIE Bomber to complete the collection. And a shelf to put them all on.