gambort Posted January 30, 2012 At this year's Brickvention I once again had the pleasure to team up with the very talented Mike Pianta (scruffulous) for a town/train diorama. Like last year's Ararat we went for a rural Australian town theme, and again set it in 1972 to maximise our building fun. This time we chose Elmore for its distinctive train station. You can find many more pictures by some wonderful photographers at the convention in the layout's flickr group. While we'd learnt a lot from the previous year this one presented new challenges. Not least for me how to bring large buildings in my aeroplane luggage. And for Mike how to assemble large base segments without ever getting a chance to see them all together. Luckily we were able to overcome the challenges and I'm very happy with how it turned out. Apparently the TLG judges were too as we were honoured to be awarded Best in Show. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
harnbak Posted January 30, 2012 There is something very authentic about the layout's 'look-and-feel'. True masterpiece! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AussieJimbo Posted January 30, 2012 (edited) Really top notch stuff, gambort & Mike. Great follow-up to the beautiful Ararat layout from last year. Getting off the rectangular grid really helps with the overall realistic feel as it did with the earlier layout, along with the again outstanding details. Very well done. :classic: Edited January 30, 2012 by AussieJimbo Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bricks n bolts Posted January 30, 2012 Well deserved, congratulations! Each element here needs it's photo stream to do it justice, inspirational. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
michaelozzie Posted January 30, 2012 Great creation guys, really captures the feel of a small Aussie town from the 70s. Reminds me of my childhood days seeing all those smaller country trainstations which sadly are no longer in use now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
L@go Posted January 30, 2012 Congratulations on the Best in Show prize - from what I can see it must have been well deserved, it's a fantastic diorama! I particularly like the kindergarten and the main station building, and the train cars covered with fabric are also very nice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hoexbroe Posted January 30, 2012 Excellent job! -And congratz on the award! ;-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gambort Posted January 30, 2012 Thanks everyone. It was great fun making this. Tim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lightningtiger Posted January 30, 2012 AWESOME 'gambort', again every detail is Victorian.....that milk factory is the bomb ! The vehicles add that early 70's look too ! Time for the tiger to do more work again on his eh ? Thanks for raising the bar to aim for ! Brick On 'gambort' ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Peter L Posted January 30, 2012 Brilliant stuff! I especially like the presentation of the bricks on the black cloth. Really makes it pop. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gambort Posted January 30, 2012 Brilliant stuff! I especially like the presentation of the bricks on the black cloth. Really makes it pop. Thanks for noticing that. We have adapted various "real" model railroading techniques for this layout. The cloth allows the free form shape that allows us to work at more angles more easily. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WesternOutlaw Posted January 31, 2012 Amazing Tim! My congratulations to you and Mike for a wonderful build and taking "Best in Show". It is certainly well deserved. Front-paged! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gambort Posted January 31, 2012 ^ Thanks for the kind words. Very much obliged. We now have the honour of being front-paged here, on RAILBRICKs and on TBB (which is kind cheating) :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WesternOutlaw Posted January 31, 2012 We now have the honour of being front-paged here, on RAILBRICKs and on TBB (which is kind cheating) That's okay - just goes to show that it's a great build and deserving of multi-site recognition. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HighFlyer Posted January 31, 2012 Outstanding layout, the details are simply wonderful Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KyleJohnson11 Posted January 31, 2012 That looks absolutely beautiful! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KRI76 Posted January 31, 2012 I am MORE than impressed. This is pure art. But I am also wondering where did they got all the bricks to complete such a piece? Bricklink? Wouldn't that be one very large investment? /Kristian Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gambort Posted January 31, 2012 (edited) But I am also wondering where did they got all the bricks to complete such a piece? Bricklink? Wouldn't that be one very large investment? Thanks again everyone. Actually it would be two large investments. More seriously there's actually less brick there than you might expect (although still a lot). There's a lot of baseplate on show cunningly disguised. I'd guesstimate there's probably 10-15k pieces there. Tim Edited February 1, 2012 by gambort Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted February 2, 2012 Beautiful layout and fantastic colors scheme! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites