technic70s

2019 LEGO Trains - 70424

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42 minutes ago, dr_spock said:

Is that a new tow ball piece for the couplers?  

I dont like that type of couplers at all... the loc is rather ugly and the wagons too small. Dark red color scheme is a plus. Also a good thing it doesnt have an other full circular track. 

Edited by AE bricks

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3 hours ago, Bartosz said:

Well, the "train folks" might not be their target. But if it doesn't sell well and they'll extrapolate it to trains then...

Kind of catch-22. They say it's more likely for them to release train within some theme (as opposed to standalone) to have greater reach,  but then - does it really work?

Keep in mind that from LEGO's perspective, this isn't "we're using this theme as a way to release a train". It's "we're using a train as a way to add variety to this theme". Unlike AFOLs, LEGO is interested primarily in making stuff kids will care about, not to find ways to change the things kids care about to include stuff with more sentimental value to adults. So if they thought that kids didn't like trains, they wouldn't be putting trains in kid-targeted themes that don't need to include them. They'd just have designed something else kids like more to take this set's place in the theme.

This is the same thing I've tried to remind people of who think Nexo Knights was a sign that LEGO believed kids no longer liked knights and castles. If they really believed that, they wouldn't be trying to "fix" that by mashing knights and castles up with stuff kids enjoy more — they'd just focus on ideas kids still liked and combinations of those ideas. I mean, it's not as though LEGO made Legends of Chima because they thought kids no longer liked animals, or Ninjago because they thought kids no longer liked ninjas.

The fact that LEGO keeps releasing trains at all — both "normal" ones in the City theme and more "themed" ones in themes like Hidden Side, Harry Potter, or Monster Fighters — is a pretty good sign that they recognize demand and sales for train sets hasn't up and evaporated. They just don't release as many train sets as often as they did back when toy trains were a much bigger craze among System-aged kids, because they don't want to oversaturate what's now a much smaller market for these sets.

2 hours ago, TrainDragon said:

Looks like some sort of monster/zombie/mad scientist theme?  Not interesting to me, but maybe kids will be into it.

Also disappointing that they're again foregoing the standard magnetic couplers.  My son loves coupling/decoupling/rearranging the train cars, I imagine other kids do too.

I'm interested in that weird track piece.  That "funnel" shaped piece in front of the locomotive.  Could function as an on/off ramp to tracks could be useful somehow.

The idea of the theme is that these teenage bloggers/paranormal investigators are investigating hauntings and other ghostly activity in the town of Newbury. The ghosts are normally invisible to the naked eye and can only be seen using a smartphone app (which is why both the teenage protagonists carry those) but can become visible at night by possessing people, buildings, or vehicles and transforming them into eerie monstrous versions.

Besides the standard physical ways of playing with the set by itself, there's also a free app that allows you to interact with the physical set while viewing it through your phone or tablet's camera to reveal and capture the hidden ghosts on your smartphone just like the heroes Jack and Parker do. IDK the name of the scientist character who appears in this set and some of the others but I think she's a friend to Jack and Parker and maybe the one who invented the tech that lets them use their phones to see and capture the ghosts.

I hadn't even paid attention to that new track piece! Really cool and I'll bet we'll see it in City sets as well in the future.

1 hour ago, fred67 said:

EDIT: wanted to add, as I commented about this in another thread; I feel like TLG is cheaping out on us with these half-size cars these days.

To an AFOL who is buying the train with expectations of it as an authentic model and not a playset, it might feel like "cheaping us out", but I think in sets like this and the Winter Holiday Train it's more about more smaller cars allowing for a more varied building and play experience than fewer larger ones.

And as far as keeping train sets marketable to kids and families is concerned, I suspect it's a lot easier to sell large numbers of train sets when designers can pack as varied a building and play experience as possible into a considerably lower price point than the same number of full-size cars might entail.

1 hour ago, dr_spock said:

Is that a new tow ball piece for the couplers?  

The lever could be for exploding the sides for locomotive?

The tow ball piece is not new — it's originally a steering joint from LEGO Technic (https://brickset.com/sets/42021-1/Snowmobile), and has since been used together with the ball cups from the Mixels sets in a lot of mech-type builds like the Nexo Knights Battle Suits (https://brickset.com/sets/theme-Nexo-Knights/subtheme-Battle-Suits). Very useful though! My brother pointed that out to me earlier and I was curious to see what train fans might think of its use as a train coupling.

All the Hidden Side sets have a normal daytime mode and a haunted nighttime mode. The lever is used to switch between them. In this case, that includes ghostly wings popping out of the sides and a ghostly jaw opening up in the front:

 

Edited by Aanchir

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Zusammengebaut has pics of all the sets, including the train:

https://zusammengebaut.com/lego-hidden-side-toy-fair-2019-alle-sets-im-detail-65641/

I'm not really much of a train fan so don't have much to say about it. The cars are nothing to write home about but the engine is nice. And I sort of like the use of Technic ball joint parts for coupling the cars together.

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At least some useful train parts in colors that can work out well in MOC's  :)

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I wonder what that weird ramp piece is for exactly?

We couldn’t get a new cross-track, switch, curve, straight, etc., piece? But we get this ramp/re-railer thingy?

But hey, it looks like this set comes with a station at least?

 

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21 minutes ago, M_slug357 said:

I wonder what that weird ramp piece is for exactly?

We couldn’t get a new cross-track, switch, curve, straight, etc., piece? But we get this ramp/re-railer thingy?

But hey, it looks like this set comes with a station at least?

Well, the curved, straight, and switch track pieces for the Power Functions trains still work with the Powered Up system just fine, and several of them have been re-introduced pretty recently (with others potentially still available for use in future sets). So I can see why LEGO might put a higher priority on something like this that doesn't already exist in any form in the current track system than stuff like straight tracks in different lengths, curve tracks in different radii, etc.

And while it might not be particularly useful for powered train layouts, I know that a lot of push train systems like the Brio wooden railway sets have had a ramp piece like this for YEARS, so I can see why it might be a desirable element in this (non-powered) train set, particularly since it doesn't appear to include a full circuit of track. It will be interesting to see how long before it shows up in other sets like a new City train set or new track supplement.

ToyArk has more pics of this set BTW, including preliminary box art that more clearly illustrates the transformation function: https://news.toyark.com/2019/02/16/toy-fair-2019-lego-hidden-side-333586 Relevant images to this set are 049–051 and 061–066.

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8 hours ago, Aanchir said:

Keep in mind that from LEGO's perspective, ...

And you know that because you're actually working for LEGO, right?

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I hate to be negative about a new train set (we get them so rarely) - but that train set looks awful. The old Monster Fighters haunted train was (in my opinion) - much more interesting at a similar price point.

 

A couple of the other sets look ok though (as least as parts packs). So may pick those up.

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I believe the inclusion of the track and ramp piece is not for play, but due to the limitations of the AR tech.

I think it will have trouble recognizing the train unless the cars are lined up perfectly, as other videos have shown that other sets in the theme need to be set up exactly as required.

The track enables the train to be perfectly lined up, and the ramp enables kids to do it quickly.

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2 hours ago, Mr Hobbles said:

...I think it will have trouble recognizing the train unless the cars are lined up perfectly...

Oh god... this theme could be dead on arrival if it isnt very flexible...

I can see it now:

Some kid builder getting frustrated at the app for repeatedly crashing... and all because they forgot to place  like one chesse wedge piece... thats not even on the side their device’s camera is aimed at...

And that’s bad.

I hope this ramp piece can fix it?

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4 hours ago, ElectroDiva said:

I hate to be negative about a new train set (we get them so rarely) - but that train set looks awful. The old Monster Fighters haunted train was (in my opinion) - much more interesting at a similar price point.

For me, I'm just slightly disappointed that it's only a modern diesel engine, as we pretty much receive one of those every four years from the City theme. Sure, it only makes sense since the theme is set in a modern-day context and all; but, given that it has a slight retro tinge with a 1950's Diner in its set lineup, they could've made that engine more evocative of a EMD F7 locomotive just to further cement the character of the theme. :shrug_confused:

P.S. I know this may possibly be the only train set we'll see for this year, but do think this topic should be renamed 2019 LEGO Trains @technic70s? I don't believe we have such a discussion topic yet for this year. 

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3 minutes ago, Digger of Bricks said:

given that it has a slight retro tinge with a 1950's Diner in its set lineup, they could've made that engine more evocative of a EMD F7 locomotive just to further cement the character of the theme. :shrug_confused:

That would have been a *much* better choice. Ideally something that people could have modded into a Santa Fe to keep kids and AFOLs alike happy.

 

I think TLG miss a trick with things like that. Yes - the primary purpose of these sets are as toys for kids, but why not try to appeal to both markets.

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1 hour ago, Digger of Bricks said:

For me, I'm just slightly disappointed that it's only a modern diesel engine, as we pretty much receive one of those every four years from the City theme. Sure, it only makes sense since the theme is set in a modern-day context and all; but, given that it has a slight retro tinge with a 1950's Diner in its set lineup, they could've made that engine more evocative of a EMD F7 locomotive just to further cement the character of the theme. :shrug_confused:

P.S. I know this may possibly be the only train set we'll see for this year, but do think this topic should be renamed 2019 LEGO Trains @technic70s? I don't believe we have such a discussion topic yet for this year. 

I was hoping we would get a steamer, as to me that would make more scene. 

I its funny, I was out today at a miniature ride on railway and had the same thought, a 50's EMD F7 would have been a better chose. 

@Digger of Bricks I have updated the topic, but yes sadly I think you may be right, I do'n't see any other trains coming out this year.   

I was a bit hopeful that ether Dumbo or Toy Story 4 may get one, but Im not holding much hope.

Now, will I buy this train, yes off course I will, its LEGO and its trains, but it will be modified a lot. 

I will likely get two as I know kids will like to see it on a display. I have a table of Monster Fighter stuff with the  Ghost Train converted to rail, and kids love it. 

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8 minutes ago, technic70s said:

I was hoping we would get a steamer, as to me that would make more scene. 

Heh, an American streamlined steamer could've been sweet, though it would've just barely fit within the theme's modern context. At least a more vintage diesel such as the F7 wouldn't have felt too out-of-place. :def_shrug:

14 minutes ago, technic70s said:

I was a bit hopeful that ether Dumbo or Toy Story 4 may get one, but Im not holding much hope.

Technically Toy Story 4 is getting a Duplo train set, though that doesn't exactly count. 

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11 hours ago, 3797 said:

And you know that because you're actually working for LEGO, right?

Nope. I'm just making a reasonable inference that LEGO isn't seeking out opportunities to convince kids to buy stuff they don't expect them to ordinarily like/care about.

And this isn't something I'm only bringing up about stuff like trains and castles and other themes that are a big deal for "old-school" AFOLs. I see proposals all the time from my fellow Bionicle fans, including many my age or younger, about how LEGO could bring back Bionicle and make it a success like it was in the early 2000s, and I have to remind them that for LEGO, the goal isn't to make kids interested in Bionicle specifically, it's just to make stuff kids are interested in, whether Bionicle is a part of that category or not. So if a theme's core concept isn't resonating with kids like it used to, LEGO's not going to try to make kids interested in something they're not, they're going to focus their resources on stuff that kids are already showing more interest in.

3 hours ago, M_slug357 said:

Oh god... this theme could be dead on arrival if it isnt very flexible...

I can see it now:

Some kid builder getting frustrated at the app for repeatedly crashing... and all because they forgot to place  like one chesse wedge piece... thats not even on the side their device’s camera is aimed at...

That shouldn't be an issue — if the AR technology could differentiate between details that minute,then it wouldn't need to use such conspicuous Bright Yellow/Medium Azur/Vibrant Coral parts to signal the in-game responses. The demo videos from Toy Fair also make it seem pretty user-friendly, since a lot of minor stuff in the scene like minifigures does appear to get moved around in between demonstrations and it doesn't appear to impact the performance.

And anyhow, even with sets that don't have any digital component, there's sometimes the risk that if you make a mistake while building it can keep certain play features from working right. Ultimately it's just up to the building instruction designers to try to spell things out clearly enough to avoid places where a careless mistake is likely to completely throw off the play experience.

1 hour ago, Digger of Bricks said:

For me, I'm just slightly disappointed that it's only a modern diesel engine, as we pretty much receive one of those every four years from the City theme. Sure, it only makes sense since the theme is set in a modern-day context and all; but, given that it has a slight retro tinge with a 1950's Diner in its set lineup, they could've made that engine more evocative of a EMD F7 locomotive just to further cement the character of the theme. :shrug_confused:

For the most part the theme appears to be set in the modern day, just in an old and run-down setting. After all, a key part of the theme's premise is that the two protagonists are bloggers who use their smartphones to see ghosts that are invisible to the naked eye.

An EMD F7 type locomotive would definitely be cool to see in a set again after so long, but IDK whether it would suit this theme since it's so elegant looking, rather than as austere and foreboding as most of the theme's other sets like the school and graveyard. Even the diner you bring up is not a hip and classy-looking eatery like the Downtown Diner from Creator Expert or the Drifting Diner from LEGO Friends, it's a pretty dingy-looking "greasy spoon" diner that even in its "non-haunted" mode conveys a sense of unease and has clearly seen better days. Whereas even if you stripped away the paint of an EMD F7, it'd still convey a strong sense of nostalgia, dignity, and class, not the grim and uninviting design language seen in the school, diner, station, etc.

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Just now, Aanchir said:

An EMD F7 type locomotive would definitely be cool to see in a set again after so long, but IDK whether it would suit this theme since it's so elegant looking, rather than as austere and foreboding as most of the theme's other sets like the school and graveyard. Even the diner you bring up is not a hip and classy-looking eatery like the Downtown Diner from Creator Expert or the Drifting Diner from LEGO Friends, it's a pretty dingy-looking "greasy spoon" diner that even in its "non-haunted" mode conveys a sense of unease and has clearly seen better days. Whereas even if you stripped away the paint of an EMD F7, it'd still convey a strong sense of nostalgia, dignity, and class, not the grim and uninviting design language seen in the school, diner, station, etc.

That's very good point, though I guess I wouldn't be fussing over this lamentation as much if such locomotives weren't as commonplace within the City theme on a regular basis. 

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1 hour ago, Digger of Bricks said:

That's very good point, though I guess I wouldn't be fussing over this lamentation as much if such locomotives weren't as commonplace within the City theme on a regular basis. 

Yeah. To be honest, I have long been hoping to see LEGO release a really classy looking train in LEGO Friends, since I've been really impressed with some of the boats and planes in that theme. Granted, when trying to MOC one I had typically been thinking about a more modern high-speed train, but an EMD F7 would certainly communicate the sense of classiness, comfort, and luxury that a lot of stuff in LEGO Friends exemplifies. It could even potentially take inspiration from the Atlantic Coast Line's livery of purple and silver with yellow trim, which practically feels like a LEGO Friends color scheme already!

While it might be personal bias due to living on the United States' east coast most of my life, I got pretty serious Florida vibes from Heartlake City even before the sticker sheet in the  Heartlake Grand Hotel set showed that it is apparently in the Eastern Time Zone, 3 hours ahead of Los Angeles and 14 hours behind Tokyo). So considering our country's embarrassing failure to offer any form of high speed rail on par with other countries, a diesel locomotive might in fact be more realistic to that part of the world than the sort of state-of-the-art electric locomotive I had in mind…

Edited by Aanchir

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Just now, Aanchir said:

Yeah. To be honest, I have long been hoping to see LEGO release a really classy looking train in LEGO Friends, since I've been really impressed with some of the boats and planes in that theme. Granted, when trying to MOC one I had typically been thinking about a more modern high-speed train, but an EMD F7 would certainly communicate the sense of classiness, comfort, and luxury that a lot of stuff in LEGO Friends exemplifies. It could even potentially take inspiration from the Atlantic Coast Line's livery of purple and silver with yellow trim, which practically feels like a LEGO Friends color scheme already!

Yeah, a passenger train set for the Friends theme seems like a no-brainer to me, though I can somewhat see why one hasn't been done yet. Train sets for the City theme nowadays seem like a hard enough sell alone, so perhaps that's why there could be some possible hesitancy to try out the formula for Friends. :def_shrug:

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7 hours ago, M_slug357 said:

Oh god... this theme could be dead on arrival if it isnt very flexible...

I can see it now:

Some kid builder getting frustrated at the app for repeatedly crashing... and all because they forgot to place  like one chesse wedge piece... thats not even on the side their device’s camera is aimed at...

And that’s bad.

I hope this ramp piece can fix it?

I don’t think it matters on a per brick basis, but it needs the overall shape to be consistent as it’s looking for markers. With the train for example, if the wagons are at an odd angle to the locomotive, it’s doubtful it would be able to recognize it. It’s looking for a straight train on tracks.

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3 hours ago, Mr Hobbles said:

I don’t think it matters on a per brick basis, but it needs the overall shape to be consistent as it’s looking for markers. With the train for example, if the wagons are at an odd angle to the locomotive, it’s doubtful it would be able to recognize it. It’s looking for a straight train on tracks.

Seems to be sacrificing core LEGO play-ability for this Pokemon Go type idea.

Wait for the part outs for some reddish brick and black train doors from that loco. Can be thankful for that at least, before the 60052 blue doors, it was starting to look like train doors were a thing of the past... 

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4 hours ago, bricks n bolts said:

Seems to be sacrificing core LEGO play-ability for this Pokemon Go type idea.

Wait for the part outs for some reddish brick and black train doors from that loco. Can be thankful for that at least, before the 60052 blue doors, it was starting to look like train doors were a thing of the past... 

While it is great to see the train doors in another set in black (City Bus 60154 has some left side) it is very painful that they don' do the rounded corner train windows of old. The new Hogwarts Express was a big opportunity to reintroduce them, but I guess the moulds for the square type windows frames are not at the end of their life yet. 

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5 hours ago, bricks n bolts said:

Seems to be sacrificing core LEGO play-ability for this Pokemon Go type idea.

I think you might be focussing a little too much on the "must be on straight tracks" concept. :) The train still works off tracks for kids push around playability, and it can still go on switches/curved tracks/ovals/etc for people who want to put it on a normal track system. The straight tracks requirement is only there for the app to recognise the train and provide the AR functionality. I don't think they've sacrificed anything.

If anything, the new ramp is a nice new track part for us train people who might want to re-rail our trains quickly and easilly!

(I have no interest in the train itself, it's a bit, bland, in my opinion. Some of the other sets in the theme are really nice though. Schoolbus, graveyard, boat, diner, etc)

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hmm, a new train, but not what I was hoping for. But then again, I really didn't expect any train to be honest. 

I guess we are keeping expectations high here. But nonetheless the train is interesting with possibly interesting pieces like that ramp connection. And the colours I also like. So perhaps not a train to put on my tracks but possibly a very good parts package. 
And BTW that Hidden Side High School might be a good option to convert to a train station.

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Kinda underwhelming, but a new train is a new train.

Regarding the F7 discussion, perhaps an Alco PA would’ve fit better? Still recognizable to train fans but easier to make creepy-looking.

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