Tag Archives: decoration

Not-Quite-LEGO Bat Sets by Block Tech & Brickcraft

Posted on by Standard 2

You may know I dig LEGO. I find it a relaxing hobby, & a carryover from my youth when it was definitely my favorite toy. These days, shelf real estate is low and big sets are expensive… but more & more competitors are popping up. They’re all over the place quality-wise.

I remember having Tyco blocks back in the day, getting my son some of the He-Man Mega Bloks/Mega Construx sets, and I may have purchased a set or two from AliExpress. Those little Zuru Max sets are awesome.

I guess I don’t really blog about it (save for our LEGOLAND trip!), but it’s peppered on my Instagram.

Recently I saw & picked up two different fLEGO bat themed Halloween decoration sets. I thought I’d share my take.

Built some not-quite-LEGO bat sets. They are cheap as in affordable, but are they cheap as in quality?

Two brick sets - Block Tech (from Five Below) Shadow Bat set & Brickcraft Hanging Bat 72741 set.

Block Tech (from Five Below) Shadow Bat 🦇 This set was pretty neat to build. The pieces don’t clasp & hold together as well as “leading brick brands,” but was fun for the money. The cage piece seemed out of place… but it works, and this used some pretty unconventional pieces in neat ways. I feel like the wings are repurposed sword blades or something? Not sure how they get away with outright cloning real LEGO pieces. This set retails for $6.00, which is decidedly off brand for Five Below. (Yes, I know.)

The Block Tech bat in a cage.
Close-up of the Block Tech bat.

Brickcraft Hanging Bat 72741 🦇 This set snapped together a little better, and had wildly fun building techniques, but you can see through the gaps in the bricks which usually does not happen with the “other name brands” mentioned on the box. The poseable wings are awesome and the printed pieces instead of stickers are a big win. This set is $9.99 online. If LEGO can learn anything here, it’s printed bricks over stickers all day every day.

Brickcraft Hanging Bat Set with see-through wings.
Brickcraft Hanging Bat Set folded up

All-in-all, they were both fun sets and neat builds. They didn’t take long, they didn’t break the bank, and they’ll look neat as part of Halloween decor. I’d suggest building both while rocking a Halloween playlist on random.

Instruction books for not-quite-LEGO (fLEGO?) bat sets.

Do you stick to LEGO or do you think outside the blocks™?

I really like the little Zuru Max sets, and I am super curious about Lumibricks and some other brands like Pantasy or just the generic stuff from AliExpress or Temu that seems to be creeping into Amazon. I also have a few Snap & Switch sets form Five Below.

I recently got the X-Files LEGO set & the Bricklink Antique Collection set. The quality and little build details on LEGO sets are incredible and worth the price.

Hit me up with your takes on LEGO and not-quite-LEGO or fLEGO bricks!

Skeleton Dungeon DIY Halloween Decoration 💀

Posted on by Standard Reply

I really enjoy setting up Halloween decorations. I have been thinking I should do one of these “skeletons escaping a dungeon” pallet things for years. Finally did it.

Halloween decoration featuring skeletons appearing to escape from a wooden dungeon, complete with chains and hands reaching out.
A Halloween decoration featuring a wooden pallet with skulls and skeleton hands appearing to escape, secured by chains.
A spooky Halloween decoration featuring skeletons appearing to escape from a wooden crate illuminated by purple lights.
A spooky Halloween decoration featuring skeletons trapped under a wooden pallet with purple lights and chains.

💀💀

It really didn’t take long, and I neglected to look at any instructions online. Some other ones have a definite “burning pit of hell” vibe. I just went pretty spooky/chill. I have seen some people using Saran Wrap and heat guns or hair dryers to make sinewy gross zombie-ish skeletons, or people painting or staining the bones. I may get to that later, but these looked pretty neat as is for now.

The wood came from a recently town-down old swing set. I didn’t like the two pallets I had on hand for this. I had an old rattle can of black paint that I used to just barely darken it up & kind of make it look more aged.

I got the one skull & forearms/hands from Giant Eagle. I got the other skull, hands, chains, lights, & netting for the back at Dollar Tree. All-in, I think I have around $20 to $25 in this? I swapped the hands for the skulls because the sizes made more sense to me.

After letting the pallet dry, I stapled the lights into the bottom, then I stapled a weird grey ratty cloth under that. Then, I just picked a spot, positioned the skulls, arms/hands, & chains, then plugged it in. OH yeah, I put a weird motion-sensor screamy thing in the one corner too, because it was super-annoying everywhere else.

Do you like to put a DIY spin on Halloween or other holiday decorations? Show me what ya got!

💀☠️💀

Lack of posts, & the dumbest product ever.

Posted on by Standard 9

LIVE MUSIC! SAT. JUNE 23 THE FALLOUT SHELTER.NET ROCK- ERNIE AND THE BERTS & FRIENDS

The sign outside of Sheffield Lanes/The Fallout Shelter in Aliquippa, PA this weekend.

I’ve noticeably slowed down with blogging.  Perhaps I was blogging too much before.  Real life has been happening lately.  The band played twice this weekend, my real job has been taxing, etc. Perhaps I’ll find inspiration more often in the days to come. 

Like this…

Groupon has successfully  shown me what I believe to be the absolute dumbest product ever:

Car Lashes ...Wait, car-freaking-lashes?

Car Lashes …Wait, car-freaking-lashes?

I could rant about it, but do I really need to?  There would a a Herbie/Love Bug joke, pointing out that putting them on a BMW decreases the value/classiness of the car, maybe a joke about truck nuts & just maybe a reference to the movie Cars even though I’ve never seen it.  Maybe even a joke about the dude I saw on My Strange Addiction who makes love to his car for the crowd who likes it blue.  Maybe even an Optimus Prime humping your car joke.  I have finally found something more annoying than flags on cars & more decorative than the mysterious stickermobile.  If you’re going to glue stupid stuff to your car, go all the way.

If there are any people out there with money to waste on stupid things, I’m taking donations so I can buy a Flycaster.

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