Homemade Road Plates

[Jasper Joppe Geers]

Fantastic! Now those are road plates! 

And, me being dutch i'm of course very attracted to those bicycle lanes! 

[LegoModularFan]

Wow, your roads start to become very impressive and realistic! Great background editing too! Your city start to look to me as it was very big...

1 hour ago, Bricked1980 said:

"Aaargh Heck!"

That one is my favorite  the poor guy...

[fred67]

This is actually really awesome - I wish something like these were available for sale.

Since I'm American, though, kill the bus lanes and those damn nuisance bike riders, they're not welcome here.    Ok, sarcasm off, I was feeling a bit salty - I take offense that Americans don't want those things, or the belief that we don't already have them (it varies city to city, but a lot of places DO have them).

But since we're on the topic, it seems like adding those, and the turn lanes, and the parking spots, are starting to get too specific.  Of course, it's all yours, Bricked19080 - I'm thinking in terms of if these were actually available to buy.

If I were a more enterprising lad...

[ColletArrow]

These look good incredible, good work!

How wide is each lane in studs? It looks like a Unimog can just fit down them. I like the red colour tarmac used for the bus/bike lane as well,  it adds another layer of realism to the scene. Well done. 

Edited February 20, 2018 by ColletArrow
Stupid autocorrect.

[Bricked1980]

@AllanSmith @zoomzoom78 @Jasper Joppe Geers @LegoModularFan @fred67 @ColletArrow Glad you like the new designs and thanks a lot for the kind comments. 

14 hours ago, LegoModularFan said:

Your city start to look to me as it was very big...

I tried to use camera angles and arranged the buildings in a way that gives the impression the layout looks bigger than it really is. In actual fact all of those photos were posed and shot on a small table that measures 4 feet by 2.5 feet. Obviously it's never gonna be Jang City but it just goes to show, it's still possible to create an interesting display even if you've not got space for a really huge layout.

35 minutes ago, ColletArrow said:

How wide is each lane in studs? It looks like a Unimog can just fit down them. 

My main aim with these was to get the lanes as wide as I could within the space of a 32 x 32 baseplate but still include space for an extra lane for buses and parking bays. Not sure how this equates to width in studs but each lane measures approx 8cm wide.

[Tariq j]

Those look amazing , loving the bus lane and all the details. The level of realism is really good too.

[Nightfall]

Wow! The new road design is awesome.

[ScaleCarModels]

Nice work! Adds a whole new level of realism to a lego city.

[Bricked1980]

Thanks and glad you like them @Tariq j, @Nightfall, @ScaleCarModels 

19 hours ago, fred67 said:

But since we're on the topic, it seems like adding those, and the turn lanes, and the parking spots, are starting to get too specific.  Of course, it's all yours, Bricked1980 - I'm thinking in terms of if these were actually available to buy.

When I started designing them it was difficult to know what features to include. Also I wanted them to look realistic but after doing a bit of research online it soon became clear that different countries use different styles of road markings, not to mention the fact that some countries drive on opposite sides of the road.

So in the end I gave up the idea of making the road markings specific to any particular location and instead came up with my own generic style that suited the buildings and vehicles I've currently got set up. My hope was that they'd be recognisable as real roads even though they aren't completely accurate to any particular country.

Edited February 20, 2018 by Bricked1980

[Juxtapoisson]

These are all wonderful, and the new ones are wicked wonderful.  I like the hectic/complicated imagery that the new plates create.  Just like being down town "I don't know what all these lines mean!".

The style is great.  I think the cartoonish realism is perfect for lego.

 

There was mention of lamination.  Did you try that?  I am concerned about the glare in photography that would cause.

The modular nature is nice.  My inclination would be to print long roads on a plotter/poster printer.  But I work in academia, so I'm used to having plotters as a problem solving tool.  (The plotter paper would not last very long).

My wife and I struggle in purist/not ways.  I think these are an amazing level of quality for a not purist situation.

Did you print the black?  Or did you print on black? 

[SollX]

these are amazig!!

[Bricked1980]

Thanks @Juxtapoisson and @SollX

17 hours ago, Juxtapoisson said:

There was mention of lamination.  Did you try that?  I am concerned about the glare in photography that would cause.

I haven't tried laminating them. I think that would make them too glossy and would also cause them to slide around on the table too easily. Another problem with laminating is that they would end up with a clear plastic edge around each sheet where the laminate pouch seals around the edges. I would have to trim this off but in my experience of laminating, once that seal has been broken it can cause the laminate film to get tatty around the edges and start to peel away over time.

17 hours ago, Juxtapoisson said:

The modular nature is nice.  My inclination would be to print long roads on a plotter/poster printer.

This would be a good idea if you've got access to a printer that can run long continuous sheets of paper. The reason I did mine in squares is so that I could mix them around and create different road layouts just as you would with official Lego road plates. I think printing them on big sheets would be good if you knew in advance exacty how you wanted your road layout to be set up.

17 hours ago, Juxtapoisson said:

Did you print the black?  Or did you print on black? 

They were all printed in full colour on to 400gsm white card using a digital laser printer. 

17 hours ago, Juxtapoisson said:

My wife and I struggle in purist/not ways.  I think these are an amazing level of quality for a not purist situation.

I know what you mean, this probably wouldn't be the best option for Lego purists. I think it's similar to when people print their own stickers, make their own sails for Pirate ships or use 3D printers to create their own bespoke pieces. It's not something that will suit everyone.

The way I look on it though is that all I've done is create a printed base on which to display my Lego sets. It's a bit like creating my own versions of those printed backgrounds that Lego use on their packaging and shop displays. Whenever Lego display their City sets in shops they don't very often use the plastic city road plates. Instead they display them on a specially designed and printed background like in the image below.

Also Lego have themselves released a new playmat set recently which contains roads printed on to cardboard, so you could argue that in some ways it's a similar concept to this.

 

Edited February 21, 2018 by Bricked1980

[-zenn]

Really nice work, I gotta say I'm a fan of the more realistic approach. Love the parking spaces, but missing the pedestrian sidewalks a bit.
I can even imagine photoshopping it for personal touches or numerous terrains; dirt/country road and vegetation. Maybe even transition plates, from asphalt to dirt.

Though I wonder; would it be possible to make pop-out cut-outs in them? So you're able to insert a 2x2 plate, for a traffic light stand/manhole cover. Or a 1x2 for a drainagecover.

Edited February 22, 2018 by -zenn

[Bricked1980]

5 hours ago, -zenn said:

Really nice work, I gotta say I'm a fan of the more realistic approach. Love the parking spaces, but missing the pedestrian sidewalks a bit.

Thanks! 

Regarding the sidewalks - as well as printing roads I did actually print some sheets of just continuous sidewalk pattern, so that I could use this to fill in gaps at the side of the road where no buildings were positioned. You can see a bit of this in the foreground of the picture below.

5 hours ago, -zenn said:

Though I wonder; would it be possible to make pop-out cut-outs in them? So you're able to insert a 2x2 plate, for a traffic light stand/manhole cover. Or a 1x2 for a drainagecover.

I see no reason why not. It might be a bit tedious to manually cut holes in to them though.

[Jasper Joppe Geers]

I think that minifig on the blue bicycle should be arrested. Not even riding on the correct lane!! 

[Bricked1980]

17 hours ago, Jasper Joppe Geers said:

I think that minifig on the blue bicycle should be arrested. Not even riding on the correct lane!! 

Ha ha . Also I didn't realise when I was setting up for the photos but if you look carefully the chef in the one below appears to be wielding a knife . Maybe he is upset the city pizza company have been stealing his customers. 

Edited February 23, 2018 by Bricked1980
Spelling

[finnbricker]

These road plates are absolutely amazing! I wish they were available for purchase...

I would prefer a hybrid between your versions 1 and 2, ie a solution where the road fills the whole baseplate but where the surface doesn't mimic asphalt too realistically. So looking like the Lego roadplates, but with more variety.

Also, I would appreciate a 16-wide roadplate for those old, narrow European cities...

[LegoModularFan]

13 hours ago, Bricked1980 said:

Maybe he is upset the city pizza company have been stealing his customers. 

Are you sure? Look, he’s smiling 

11 hours ago, finnbricker said:

These road plates are absolutely amazing! I wish they were available for purchase...

I agree, there would be many people purchasing those, they look so realistic!

Edited February 23, 2018 by LegoModularFan

[Bricked1980]

14 hours ago, finnbricker said:

I would prefer a hybrid between your versions 1 and 2, ie a solution where the road fills the whole baseplate but where the surface doesn't mimic asphalt too realistically. So looking like the Lego roadplates, but with more variety.

That might be a better option for any future designs. The problem with making them too realistic is that it runs the risk of clashing with the simplistic charm of Lego. Maybe a hybrid between the 2 styles would look better.

14 hours ago, finnbricker said:

Also, I would appreciate a 16-wide roadplate for those old, narrow European cities...

I am considering doing a design that would work for narrow cobbled streets. A bit like this sort of thing. I think a street like this would look pretty good running beside Parisian restaurant and some of my smaller creator shops and buildings. Perhaps not quite as narrow as this though.

3 hours ago, LegoModularFan said:

Are you sure? Look, he’s smiling 

You are right. Arrgh, a knife wielding maniac with a smile on his face. Looks like I've got a real psychopath in my city.  

[SollX]

5 hours ago, Bricked1980 said:

You are right. Arrgh, a knife wielding maniac with a smile on his face. Looks like I've got a real psychopath in my city.  

I think the pizza van guy just lend him the knife. thats why he is zo happy. all positive vibes :P

[Bricked1980]

NEW PICTURES ADDED

Here are a few new pictures of my roads. These are a bit different, I've used some photoshop trickery to add some weather and lighting effects to the pictures which gives quite a dramatic effect. Feel free to let me know what you think. 

Damn! This rain is sure to make the stickers peel on my Pizza Van! 

 

 

Edited February 26, 2018 by Bricked1980

[AllanSmith]

Amazing ? I am lost for words. 

[LegoModularFan]

Great, it looks very realistic! You’re awesome, man! The window decoration of the Corner Deli just incredibly inspired me thanks to your 4th photo with the tractor! Thanks!

[Bricked1980]

Thanks guys.  I was just interested to see what a Lego City might look like with realistic weather rather than the permanent sunny settings we're usually used to seeing in Lego photographs.

@LegoModularFan if you're interested in Corner Deli you might be interested to see this Mod of the set by @Murdoch17. It looks really nice.

 

[finnbricker]

Lego should employ you to take their promo pics. Amazing!