Last Monday, I hit the road after work and I drove about two hours to Ottawa. I live near Montreal, but I joined the Ottawa LUG (ParLUGment) during the Pandemic when their meetings were virtual. However, the crew is so nice and so much fun that I decided to stick with it when in person meetings resumed. Now, driving to Ottawa once a month for LUG meetings is becoming more of a regular thing. While I’m there, I like to hit up the LEGO® Store at the Rideau Center to see if they are offering anything different from my usual stores in Quebec. As it turns out, the fall 2023 BAM (Build-a-Mini) selection was out on my most recent trip.
The fall 2023 BAM selection is actually pretty small. Comparatively, the January 2023 offering included parts for 11 new characters, while summer 2023 brought seven. This time around, we only get three new characters. All of them are Halloween themed with tree, cat, and pumpkin costumes. I don’t really care much for the cat. While the cat ears are fun, I don’t really like the polka dot top. However, I am pleased with the return of the pumpkin mask. I think this is the third year we’ve seen this around Halloween in the BAM station. I buy them every year. The Happy Halloween sweater is also fun.
I build extra minifigs to get more tree costumes…
What excited me most was the tree costume. It comes in a new, lighter shade of brown than I’ve seen before in sets. The bark print on the torso is also new. I recently found an interesting use for the tree costume in a MOC project. Consequently, I was quite happy to get more of that element. I ended up building an additional three Minifigures just to get three more tree costumes for use in my MOC projects. You’ll also note that all of my characters feature skull headpieces. I also need those for my recent build project. Otherwise, the LEGO® Store still had Lion Knights from the spring BAM selection. You can never have too many knights.
Speaking of MOC projects, the Pick-and-Build wall had some nice items too. I don’t often go to the wall and find something I need immediately. Most of the time, I fill cups with elements that I could use some day, or that inspire me with a new idea. This time, I found 1×2 log profile bricks in white and dark grey. My MOC project used a ton of those in brown… but the build would look equally good in grey. Now, I’ll be able to build a copy of the MOC in a different color. I’ll share the project here soon enough, so you’ll soon understand why more than one is a good idea. I strategically filled my cup with 315 log profile bricks. Subsequently, I filled the empty space with 5 of the smaller BURP elements, 30 1×1 cones, and 1141 green cheese wedges.
I’m leaning more towards buying elements for custom projects than sets these days… that’s not to say that I don’t have a big wish list of sets… but I am saving set purchases for interesting GWPs at the moment… or sales. I’ve been getting more enjoyment out of MOCs than sets lately anyway. Consequently, you might have noticed fewer set reviews recently. I’ve been having too much fun with my custom projects. Stay tuned, I’ve got a couple of MOCs to share in the near future. What have you been building lately? Will you get the fall 2023 BAM selection? Let me know in the comments or reach out on social media.
Until next time,
-Tom
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