36 replies to this topic

[Michael S]

I so often forget to document things along the way - yet it's fun to look back and see how things develop in LEGO worlds... So this time will be different!  Here you'll find the beginnings of Shady Vale.

It all starts here.  At the base of Mount O'Legos, nestled along the beaches of Colorful Cove.



Like any town, Shady Vale had a modest beginning:

Shady Vale, Circa 1984:


That was before the Great Fire, the Earthquakes, the Flood, the Hurricanes, the Alien Invasion, the Dark Ages, and our three kids.  But relocated to our living room, the residents of Shady Vale get a new LEGO table custom built to fit the baseplates - on which they can grow their town.  Approximately 130" x 110" to fit 13 by 11 baseplates:



The town is a mecca of commerce, industry, transportation, and tourism.  Far from complete, the residents have their work ahead of them!  Having just completed their airport, I'm wondering what to start next.  Should it be the 1 Mafia Tower?  The Brick Wallups?  The City Center Casino?  The Bridge across Colorful Cove?  So many choices it's always hard to get started on the next project.  I'm a bit airported-out right now, so the Cargo Center will be saved for another day.

Places in Shady Vale:
Shady Vale International Airport

More pics to come in time!  Any thoughts/ideas welcome...
-mike

[lightningtiger]

Very interesting layout 'Michael S', a cross-section of over thirty years of Lego town, world city and city.....you have an engine shed too....me too...only good thing to come from world city in my opinion.  
From the multi-coloured diagram it does appear to be a huge layout, suspension bridge - pictures please.....oh, being so big how does any kids play with it ?
I'm looking forward to your updates....so Brick On 'Michael' !

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Great layout here!
I'm a bit jalous of your tables, under that I could hide my "spaghetti cables"  

[Gareth]

That does look like an impressive layout Michael S,    if  I'm looking at the plan right the shaded area is the photo, is the rest of the plan complete or is it all under construction still.
Anyway it's looking pretty good so far and I like your tables.

[Michael S]

lightningtiger, on 02 March 2011 - 08:25 PM, said:

a cross-section of over thirty years of Lego town, world city and city.....you have an engine shed too....me too...only good thing to come from world city in my opinion.  

Yep, definitely the best set from that era.  Also from that time, the Hovercraft Hideout warehouse will eventually creep in here, and maybe (?) the Coast Watch HQ, but that building takes up so much space for the quality of structure.  So it might not make the final cut.  I'm already running out of space - land values are going thru the roof!  Pictures soon - maybe this weekend...

[Michael S]

Here we go some pics at last.  It's hard to get good ones at this point cuz things are so undone...

The view from the monorail blue line, looking west across the town:


Tourist view from atop the Cosmopolitan.  Sure get some nice views from up here!


And last, the proposed building site for the City Center Casino...


Now I have to actually get to work on something!

[Mr. Gray]

You've really got this planned out. And for good reason too, it looks HUGE!  

Can't wait to see more photos, this looks really promising.  

[Dino_Bot]

Why 'Shady Vale' ? Shady businesses going on here aside from the purported Casino?

[Gareth]

Cool, I see now!.
I bet it looks real good when you've got all the trains and monorail running, do you have light bricks in the buildings it would make it look really pretty with the lights off (I always seem to think so anyway ).

[Michael S]

After a little hiatus, I've finally started the next skyscraper in Shady Vale!  This is the City Center Complex, modeled somewhat after the superstructure of the same name in Las Vegas.  It's going to be mixed use development... with a Hotel Tower, Luxury Condos, and of course Casino!  

Here's the building site... approximately 4 baseplates, between a bend in the road and the Colorful Cove:



All my skyscrapers start with a model floorplan, to see how things can be made sturdy once tall.  Most buildings are strong at 3-4 stories, but once you get to 7 or 8 they tend to sway!  Also the spindly modern look that I try to bring in leads to a rather light construction... And of course - it has to be accessible on the inside, and stand up to the kid-use test!  Every wall that opens, every roof that retracts leads to less structure.

Here's what we've got for a 1st draft of one tower, which will cantilever some floors out above the train tracks!

[Pandasushi]

OH MY GOD! That is going to be Enormous! From what i can see of it so far, the level of detail is amazing, and there are some excellent design features (the internal archway in the white building) that i hope to see more of! A Bang Tidy Build so far, can't wait to see more!  

[cimddwc]

Seems I missed this one in March...  I'm sure not only the new skyscraper will turn out well, the entire city, existing as well as planned, looks great and impressive already.    

(And it makes me even more anxious waiting for the time when my new apartment will be complete and I'll have the space for my big city...)

[Legocrazy81]

I like that placement of the Bank and Money Transfer set. It looks very fitting, even among the big buildings surrounding it. I'm gonna have to use that.

[LEGO Guy Bri]

This looks great so far. And finally seeing so pic of your overall city is great. I love seeing large layouts. Keep up the great work

[enrgie]

This is gonna be epic when finished! Keep it up and more wip shots pls!

[sputnik16]

I can't wait to see the city center complex done
this town is WAY better than mine.

[Michael S]

Some more shots of the work in progress...

Early development of the monorail station:


A possible balcony...


And looking up...

[The Blue Brick]

OH MY GOD, the building is awesome! Cant wait to see it incorporated into your town.

[sputnik16]

this structure is so complex and awesome... can't wait to see it done  

[sadbutcool]

omg this is massive! legend!

[Michael S]

Construction on the Aria tower has been on hold for a week while we await some parts from overseas... in the meantime, construction on the Infinity Tower has begun..  This one is modeled in LDraw from top to bottom.  In a rather new-age method of construction, this building was actually built top-down!  Seven (upper) floors done... 3 more to go.  The lower ones get tougher - as they get bigger, it becomes more challenging to keep interior access and playability up.



No actual pics yet...

[The Blue Brick]

  That is going to look amazing when it is done. The architecture is just beautiful.

[HighFlyer]

Fantastic job so far, can't wait to see more pictures and the finished job!  

[Michael S]

Today the happy residents of Shady Vale were about ready to move their City Center Casino & Fun Center from our Dining Room table over to it's designated lot in the city... but when put in its front and center location it so amazingly dwarfed all the rest of the structures -- even previously pretty tall 8 and 10-story skyscrapers.  So the townspeople went back to the drawing board.  Fortunately for them, their city is built out of LEGO... so after a significant amount of landmoving, baseplate upheaval, railraod regrading and rerouting of monorail lines, the engineers came up with revision 2 of the Shady Vale town plan!  With this new plan, the City Center Casino is set further back in the skyline where it will anchor the back corner and photograph well with the rest of the city - which not only makes for pleasant viewing, but nice postcards too.  Ah, what geniuses those planners are.  Always thinking about the postcards.

Here is the Ldraw / TD20 image of the CityCenter in its old and future location.

The building itself?  It's 3 towers... 8, 10, and 12 stories... however these are taller floors than in past buildings, at about 8 bricks per floor (upper floors) and 10-12 bricks (lower floors).  The Cosmopolitan was also 8 stories tall, but it only reaches to about the height of floor 6 here.  Just goes to show how building techniques evolve over time.

Original location:




After relocation:



Photos?  Almost here!  Still doing some finishing touches to round it out.

[tomdobs55]

Wow!  That's really all I can say...okay I can say more.  Just saw the airport for the first time then stumbled on this topic, and I must say amazing.  My favorite part has to be the fact that you remember Lego is meant for play, with playability being a big factor in your layout.  I can't wait to see finished pics.  Your photography is great by the way.