I picked up my Battery Point, CA LE last night. As stated previously, this is an extremely large piece (and unfortunately looks out of place with the other California pieces previously released).

Interestingly, the piece did not seem very heavy. If you tap the bottom of the base you will notice it has a hollow sound - must be a new technique of HL (and not really very appealing). Try tapping the bottom of all other pieces, they are solid. Anyone else notice this?

How big is Battery Point? I didn't see a measurment on the HL website.

Well I don't have Battery Point so I've tried tapping on a few others. You can't get a true tap in the middle of them as that's where the sticker is located. One piece I've always wondered about is Cape Disappointment. It sure seems light to me. When I tapped on that one I noticed a definite difference in sound when tapping under the portion below the location of the attached house from the other side of the piece.

I believe Navesink is hollow---filled with some kind of tiny beads to reduce what otherwise would be one REALLY heavy piece. I wouldn;t be surprised if this was the case with other pieces as well. Cape Disappointment would be a good candidate for this technique.

As long as the structural integrity of the piece isn't compromised, I think the reduction of the overall weight of a piece is the thing to do. I often worry about too much weight on a glass shelf and what would happen if the glass broke under the weight.

Hollow bases are a good idea. It cost less to ship, it uses less material (hopefully that might help keep retail pricing down), and they're easier on your shelves.

Bob

I thought Navesink had some sort of re-inforcement to keep it from snaping in half under its own weight.

St. Rebar

I believe that only part of the base is hollow. That space seems to be under the house itself. The area around the out building seems to be solid if you go by sound alone. Interesting my dear Watson!

Maybe there's a basement under the house!!

I vote for Paul to break his piece and photograph whats inside for all to see. There could be a treasure in that basement!!

-Geraldo

I side with Rod for Paul to experiment and let us all know what's inside/not inside. My piece sounds like a bongo drum when you thump it. It definately could pass for a watermellon.

Rich