I have a question, and forgive me if this has been answered elsewhere, but it feels like it should these things should probably be enumerated in the official spec as well.
What is the policy regarding parts currently unavailable both officially and unofficially?
What I mean to say is, say you're building a set and come to a piece you cannot find officially or unofficially, what is the acceptable/appropriate action to take? For example say you're building a set and come across a 2x2 45 slope brick with pattern that is currently unavailable. Do you substitute a plain version? Do you find the pattern that is closest to the one that is supposed to be used (which may be rather subjective)? Furthermore, what if no acceptable part can be found. For example, you're building a set for which a particular part has never been developed, in any form? Do you simply skip the part altogether? What if it is a vital/obvious piece, without which the set looks entirely incomplete? Following on this notion, apply the same questions towards minifigs. Let's say I was building the 6212 X-Wing Fighter. Currently, the Chewbacca minifig piece is unavailable in any form. Do I create the basic "brown torso and legs" minifig with no head which would look completely bizarre and out of place, or do I simply skip the minifig altogether?
Additionally, it seems prudent that there should be some way of documenting which parts have been substituted or skipped why, so that those who download it will know the problems. Also, if done correctly, it could be used as a way of "highlighting" sets which are in need of upgrade once the part(s) needed become available, so that the set could be improved and re-released in a timely and efficient manner.
Now, personally, I have my own way of handling and documenting these things for the sets I build, but I'm not entirely convinced they're the best. Generally speaking, for parts, I'll substitute "plain" versions where available and otherwise skip them. For minifigs, if insufficient parts are available for the minifig to be recognizable (I realize this is subjective), it is skipped entirely. All data on missing/unavailable parts are documented in a seperate text file, which admittedly is probably not the best way to handle this.
What is the policy regarding parts currently unavailable both officially and unofficially?
What I mean to say is, say you're building a set and come to a piece you cannot find officially or unofficially, what is the acceptable/appropriate action to take? For example say you're building a set and come across a 2x2 45 slope brick with pattern that is currently unavailable. Do you substitute a plain version? Do you find the pattern that is closest to the one that is supposed to be used (which may be rather subjective)? Furthermore, what if no acceptable part can be found. For example, you're building a set for which a particular part has never been developed, in any form? Do you simply skip the part altogether? What if it is a vital/obvious piece, without which the set looks entirely incomplete? Following on this notion, apply the same questions towards minifigs. Let's say I was building the 6212 X-Wing Fighter. Currently, the Chewbacca minifig piece is unavailable in any form. Do I create the basic "brown torso and legs" minifig with no head which would look completely bizarre and out of place, or do I simply skip the minifig altogether?
Additionally, it seems prudent that there should be some way of documenting which parts have been substituted or skipped why, so that those who download it will know the problems. Also, if done correctly, it could be used as a way of "highlighting" sets which are in need of upgrade once the part(s) needed become available, so that the set could be improved and re-released in a timely and efficient manner.
Now, personally, I have my own way of handling and documenting these things for the sets I build, but I'm not entirely convinced they're the best. Generally speaking, for parts, I'll substitute "plain" versions where available and otherwise skip them. For minifigs, if insufficient parts are available for the minifig to be recognizable (I realize this is subjective), it is skipped entirely. All data on missing/unavailable parts are documented in a seperate text file, which admittedly is probably not the best way to handle this.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
I'm theJude! So that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, his Judeness, or uh, Juder, or el Juderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.
I'm theJude! So that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, his Judeness, or uh, Juder, or el Juderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing.