70 replies to this topic

[TheBrickster]

LEGO 7597 Western Train Chase ~$79.99 USD / $109.99 CAD


Revised image from www.wikia.com

link to sneak-peek image on Brickshelf

The new 2010 Toy Story train is being discussed in the Toy Story Discussion thread, found in the Licensed Forum, but I think it deserves its own discussion among Train fans right here in Train Tech.  

Caveat: let's focus on the train rather than the Toy Story figures and any story relating to the movie.  That way, we keep the discussion on the train design, its pieces, and any technical aspects.

I'll start by saying that I love the new cow catcher piece.  That looks like a very useful part for train MOCs.  In addition, I think the picture may be elongating the overall height of the train, but the wagons look like they may be a two studs short compared to the classic 16-stud train car length.  I do like the colors of the passenger car, which provides a nice idea for a longer coach.

[lightningtiger]

First of all - why is the caboose behind the engine and not behind the rest of the rolling stock ?
Apart from that the engine itself is very nice and yes, that cow catcher is very cool looking !
Are those large red train wheels the same as on the Emerald Night ?
I actually can't wait for this one to come out !
So keep on bricking everybody !

[ZueriHB]

It has sliding doors for the goods wagon, a box with tools, six train axels and small train wheels with groove and a rubber band. Lots of interesting and usable parts.

[AllanSmith]

The cow catcher looks to be 8 wide at its widest part. Pity cause I'm a 6 wide train builder.  

Edited by AllanSmith, 11 February 2010 - 07:36 AM.

[Captain Zuloo]

I can't say this one is favourite, and it probably won't wind up in my collection. In my opinion TheBrickster, the new cow catcher is a bad thing. In steam train MOCs, I always enjoy seeing what people have come up with for their cow catchers. I feel that this part will signal a lot less custom cow catchers.
On a plus note, there are large dark red driving wheels! Also, it seems there are dark red 2 x 4 round slopes as seen on 10194 which could mean some interesting dark red locos! Dark red is one of my favourite colours, and in my opinion a big steam engine would look supurb in dark red.
It has some interesting parts, and some nice minifigs (I wonder does Bacon actually hold coins from the pirate theme?) but I think those will be Bricklinked items for me.
I'm not really a fan of this set, and I don't think it will be in my collection unless I find it really cheap. And is it just me or is the driving rod on the inside of the wheels?

[WhiteFang]

Good to see this topic inside our Train Tech.  

When I first saw the image, I wasn't very excited and thought it was quite wierd looking. However, after seeing this photo, I begin to like it more. Although the Western Train may look "cartoonish", but somehow or another, I find it rather Classic Looking, similar to the earlier Classic Trains back in the 1980s, where less brighter colours are used. To me, I am likely to get this set, mainly not because it's Toy Story, but simply because it give me a warm classic feeling to a certain extent.  

[AllanSmith]

Captain Zuloo, on Feb 11 2010, 07:46 PM, said:

And is it just me or is the driving rod on the inside of the wheels?

It looks like the large driving wheels don't touch the ground. Looks like a technic frame that could hold smaller wheels?

[jonwil]

Remember that this set is designed to run on carpet (as well as presumably track).

[Captain Zuloo]

jonwil, on Feb 11 2010, 09:04 PM, said:

Remember that this set is designed to run on carpet (as well as presumably track).

But why not make use of the big wheels? Surely they turn as well as any other LEGO wheels?

[Matt Dawson]

Regarding the coupling rods issue, I think it either hadn't been photographed properly or it wasn't properly assembled.

Compared with a previous (confidential) image, here's a few differences:
> All wheelsets are now black, not grey. Boxcar now has both wheelset covers in black.
> Money sticker is new on the boxcar.
> Steam loco redesigned, mainly along top of the boiler & read underframe. Wheels now in red, not black.
> Coach windows in green, not white

But as far a parts go, it's nice to see variations in colour to normal sets. Shame they changed the wheels. Blacks much more usable than red...
Has anyone notice the RED tools? They're standard 'toolwheel' ones...but in RED!

Edited by Matt Dawson, 11 February 2010 - 02:08 PM.

[Big Cam]

I wish Rex was bigger, it would ahve been great if there was a flatbed car just for him.

[Duq]

Wonder what the final set and box will look like. In the first picture we saw they put the coupling rods on wrong, and now they're missing altogether. Or is that bit of grey between the wheels a coupling rod on the floor?
I hope the red drivers will come in a pack of six with two blind drivers as well, like they do with the black ones.
All in all a set that looks worth buying, even if it was only to get Buzz and those red drivers...

[Rick]

I think this would have been a very useful parts-pack for your Western train TheBrickster. But you're doing fine without it...  

[Helmantel]

Matt Dawson, on Feb 11 2010, 03:02 PM, said:

Shame they changed the wheels. Blacks much more usable than red...

I think German steam engine builders will disagree with you :) Of course, red wheels were already available from BBB (as were the black ones), but now there are both black and red large Lego train wheels, which is great. The rest of the train doesn't interest me much.

[The Green Brick Giant]

It's an OK set, the wagons look weird, too short, the who thing seems small.  Plus the second wagon from the front looks like a caboose, and the brown one with dark green windows looks nice, but not long enough.  It would be a fine set if it was $60, but for $80 that's way too much.

[-The Hyphen-]

Okay, here's my two cents.


As-is, I would give this set a pass. The train seems incomplete without a tender, the carriages are too short and too tall, and I have no use for the long-limbed maxi-figs other than to resell them on Ebay or BrickLink.

However... If the price/piece ratio is right, (I'm hoping for a piece count of somewhere around 700, though 600 might be a closer estimate), this set could have great potential for modification, or at the very least as a parts pack.

For example; the locomotive. Reduce the height of the cab, add a tender and some proper running gear, and you could make a decent, if a bit caricatured, little 4-4-0.

I really like the sloped roof on the passenger car. (By the way, are the windows supposed to be green, or dark green? Due to the lighting, I can't be sure) As The Brickster suggested, the only things keeping this from being a nice little coach are the insane proportions.

At a casual glance, I can't find any parts that wouldn't be useful in some way. (Ooh, is that a crate full of dynamite in the boxcar?) Having only six axle/wheel assembles is a bit disappointing, but we're also getting the new cowcatcher piece and -- red train wheels!  

For me, it all comes down to how many pieces it has, and/or whether or not I can find it on sale.

[Duq]

The Green Brick Giant, on Feb 11 2010, 10:53 PM, said:

It's an OK set, the wagons look weird, too short, the who thing seems small.  Plus the second wagon from the front looks like a caboose, and the brown one with dark green windows looks nice, but not long enough.

You're right. The proportions are all over the place, and the drive gear is really bad. Did you see the cargo? A dino!
You know what, the whole thing looks more like a toy than a proper model train....


In the mean time the mothership seems to have done a good job removing the picture again. Can't find it anywhere.

[Fugazi]

Duq, on Feb 12 2010, 05:46 AM, said:

You're right. The proportions are all over the place, and the drive gear is really bad. Did you see the cargo? A dino!
You know what, the whole thing looks more like a toy than a proper model train....

I'm sure that this has been mentioned before, but we should keep in mind that this set is an imitation of a toy (like in TOY story), not of an actual train. So I'm sure that many of the shortcomings with regards to realism are intentional, as the prototype for this model is probably not very realistic to start with. It's certainly not fair to compare the result with City-theme trains or any of the MOCs featured here on EB.

Same could not be said for the Hogwarts train though, as its prototype is a real breathing steam locomotive, so it deserves a minimal level of accuracy and detailing.

[Duq]

I guess I forgot to add my sarc-mark...

[Poldo]

Hi all, I personally don't dislike this train: it's a toy train for kids and the prototype is a toy train itself (!) so it's OK. Now, seen with the eye of a european train builder (in 8 wide), it's very interesting for parts.

Assuming that the image provided is still not final (see the connecting rod UNDER the driving wheels - photoshop gone bad?), I'm curious to know if the loco wheels are red rather than dk red (BTW, red driving wheels are present in 80% of european steamers) and the coach 1x2x3 windows are green vs dk green (as in the emporium).

Also caboose looks dk red but I can't tell if the steamer is red rather than dk red.

Waiting eagerly for official pics,
Gianluca


EDIT: ooops, this is my 1st post here :-P

Edited by Poldo, 12 February 2010 - 11:40 AM.

[TheBrickster]

Captain Zuloo, on Feb 10 2010, 11:46 PM, said:

In my opinion TheBrickster, the new cow catcher is a bad thing. In steam train MOCs, I always enjoy seeing what people have come up with for their cow catchers. I feel that this part will signal a lot less custom cow catchers.

Interesting thought Cap'n Z.  I did not consider that a a new Cow Catcher piece would eliminate the creativity of those making brick-built designs.  At the same time, the piece is very unique and specialized.  This is one piece that I've always wanted to see LEGO offer, especially for a more basic-style builder like myself.  While red definitely works, the same piece in black would have probably been my first choice though.  Red is still a good color for a more colorful Wild West Steam Train.  

Rick, on Feb 11 2010, 11:19 AM, said:

I think this would have been a very useful parts-pack for your Western train TheBrickster. But you're doing fine without it...  

Thanks Rick .  I must admit that preliminary pictures of this Toy Story Train was part of my motivation for building my latest creation, although I've always wanted to build a Steam Train worthy of a few wagons.

Great discussion with some really interesting thoughts. I applaud LEGO's efforts to offer a Wild West Steam Train.  From the movie perspective, this will appeal to kids for the characters, but for train fans (especially Western fans), this has a lot of appeal (at least for me).  I think it was WhiteFang who mentioned that the train has a Classic Lego Train look/feel, and I tend to agree.  It's definetely NOT an Emerald Night for the advanced train builder, but it has a toyish appeal for fans of Classic Lego Trains - but of the American variety as opposed to the old DB/European trains.

I am wondering how to power this little guy for some future Wild West train robbery action.

[kris kelvin]

On this picture you can see black "train grill"  just the same like in this red Toy Story train :)

[TheBrickster]

kris kelvin, on Feb 15 2010, 01:10 PM, said:

On this picture you can see black "train grill"  just the same like in this red Toy Story train :)

Are you sure that's the same piece?  They look different, more thin.

[kris kelvin]

TheBrickster, on Feb 15 2010, 10:43 PM, said:

Are you sure that's the same piece?  They look different, more thin.

I`m not sure, but this looks the same :)

[-The Hyphen-]

kris kelvin, on Feb 15 2010, 04:57 PM, said:

I`m not sure, but this looks the same :)

I concur.

Cool, so we'll be getting the new piece in black as well!