Ron Dayes

Reviving Classic Town (in one scale)

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Hi,

The following pictures are a write up on flickr about how Cars/Motorbikes were designed fitting in the "classic Town" concept from 1978 over the years since the introduction of the minifig.
Now while some say "car moccing" and "classic Town" are two different things, actually, i have good reason to believe they are one and the same.
Cars will always influence the scale, detail and vibe of a town. Since they are the "tough nut" to crack building wise in any layout given the limited space, i worked on these
ideas for over 4 years with several attempts (going from 8 wide to 4 wide even) of getting it to fit well with each other.
Along the way i discovered several new techniques i want to present here swiftly, which might be inspirational despite whatever approach is made or desired.
I might also use this thread to post more or more detailed shots of techniques that can be very useful if there is a fair demand for it (rendering takes long^^)
Have fun, click for larger views through the pictures on my flickr account (simply click on the first pic and then move to your left on flickr).

48708363626_b2dd5a6c97.jpgno 1 / 13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

48708026573_6666cfb158.jpgno 2 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

48708363481_f9904810da.jpgno 3 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

48708524467_2a55c5a3e4.jpgno 4 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

48708524417_291985b8d2.jpgno 5 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

48708026388_2b272e1fc8.jpgno 6 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

48708524277_14e07b4755.jpgno 7 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

48708363096_c8b4d2b17d.jpgno 8 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

48708363031_c4afd936a4.jpgno 9 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

48708523927_e85af325f3.jpgno 10 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

48708362831_94dae8e13d.jpgno 11 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

48708523752_b06594aaef.jpgno 12 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

48708025798_a52b07fc4f.jpgno 13 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

 

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:wub: Beautiful work and beautiful delivery!!! Fitting minifigs inside a vehicle is purely meant to be a play feature, yet I think there is this unreasonable expectation to have your vehicle seat one because of the challenge that's involved in the process. And while it is cool when you can pull it off, it won't always work out perfectly for every model. I know I personally would enjoy the design process much more if I'm not forcing myself to work around the constraints of using this oddly proportioned Lego person, all while knowing the finished model would probably look better if I excluded it.

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Great explanation and even greater creations. I really admire your work and hopefully I can use your examples and techniques. It is really amazing and somewhat mindboggling. But it looks so much better!

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On 9/11/2019 at 3:10 PM, MR IOUS said:

Very interesting approach to a well known problem!

Thanks man, really enjoying your flickr stream btw!

On 9/11/2019 at 3:53 PM, Trekkie99 said:

:wub: Beautiful work and beautiful delivery!!! Fitting minifigs inside a vehicle is purely meant to be a play feature, yet I think there is this unreasonable expectation to have your vehicle seat one because of the challenge that's involved in the process. And while it is cool when you can pull it off, it won't always work out perfectly for every model. I know I personally would enjoy the design process much more if I'm not forcing myself to work around the constraints of using this oddly proportioned Lego person, all while knowing the finished model would probably look better if I excluded it.

Many thanks, glad you like it. Can only agree on that opinion :)

On 9/11/2019 at 4:12 PM, Man with a hat said:

Great explanation and even greater creations. I really admire your work and hopefully I can use your examples and techniques. It is really amazing and somewhat mindboggling. But it looks so much better!

Thanks to you too! Im quite sure its useful whatever the idea is that you are pursuing. If you ever need help with something, just let me know :)
cheers!
also great that you keep the town community alive, i see you frequently replying to several posts :sweet:

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2 hours ago, LEGO Train 12 Volts said:

Great point of view ...a point of view that I share :thumbup:, my only problem is that I'm not so smart to build cars like your! :grin:

Ah, if you ever want a file for clearer instructions, let me know! TBH, this took me years to figure out! its simply  "not giving up" that got me there, nothing to do with intellect. rather patience:blush:

I will also post more types of cars with instructions soon...

7 minutes ago, pooda said:

Town is now City. Though I would like reboots of some of the classic town buildings like the post office. 

It is, but somehow, it isnt, right? Old classic town looked much more "real", than all those "panorama" window builds we are getting now...Simply old small windows and more bricks that creates that appearance...

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8 minutes ago, Ron Dayes said:

It is, but somehow, it isnt, right? Old classic town looked much more "real", than all those "panorama" window builds we are getting now...Simply old small windows and more bricks that creates that appearance...

Yeah. I would like a bigger variety of buildings in a single year. People argue me down on this forum that we do see a variety. But with all these police sets and explorers/discovery sets in the way.......Eh......I just don't see it. 

However I do have to defend them in saying that City is more about jobs than places and children love jobs about rescuing and Science & discovery. So that's prolly why they go that route with City instead. Though I would love to see a year where they do no rescue or explorers/discovery sets. Just one though. 

Edited by pooda

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37 minutes ago, pooda said:

Yeah. I would like a bigger variety of buildings in a single year. People argue me down on this forum that we do see a variety. But with all these police sets and explorers/discovery sets in the way.......Eh......I just don't see it. 

However I do have to defend them in saying that City is more about jobs than places and children love jobs about rescuing and Science & discovery. So that's prolly why they go that route with City instead. Though I would love to see a year where they do no rescue or explorers/discovery sets. Just one though. 

Pff, the variety is very little compared to what classis town used to offer. You are very right to say so. I mean, where did post offices go? Windmills? Company buildings? Gas stations? Car garages? Motels? Train crossing buildings? car loading stations? harbour heavy crane settings? And hospitals barely make it into the city series...

those are also jobs, if you portray them interstingly in the sets with cool functions (package devices, running tracks), not every one might feel the need to be a cop or a firefighter.
 

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52 minutes ago, Ron Dayes said:

Pff, the variety is very little compared to what classis town used to offer. You are very right to say so. I mean, where did post offices go? Windmills? Company buildings? Gas stations? Car garages? Motels? Train crossing buildings? car loading stations? harbour heavy crane settings? And hospitals barely make it into the city series...

those are also jobs, if you portray them interstingly in the sets with cool functions (package devices, running tracks), not every one might feel the need to be a cop or a firefighter.
 

Ikr. What about the many children across the globe who want to be chefs? Or mechanics? Or even pilots? I'm a bus driver and I've met loads of children who look up to us. 

Like you said, policemen isn't the only job out there. 

 

Sorry but I refuse to defend Lego and the police emphasis. 

Edited by pooda

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21 hours ago, pooda said:

Like you said, policemen isn't the only job out there. 

"There needs to be a baaaaaaaaaaaaaad guy."

"Duh".

:snicker:

 

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What I was saying is that Lego always does cops and robbers so the set can have an action packed storyline. 

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@Trekkie99 Ah. What about formula one race car drivers, firefighters, paramedics, airplane pilots or construction workers? Plenty of action there. But those don't get nearly as much emphasis as police. 

Edited by pooda

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Just now, pooda said:

@Trekkie99 Ah. What about formula one race car drivers, firefighters, paramedics, airplane pilots or construction workers? Plenty of action there. But those don't get nearly as much emphasis as police. 

Race car drivers run risk of getting in a car crash, firefighters fight fire (an inanimate object), paramedics save peoples lives, airplane pilots run risk of crashing, and construction workers run risk of being squashed by a boulder. These all lack a key ingredient that I think is unfortunately needed to capture the attention of kids who could get way more stimulation playing video games. Conflict.

Lego is a company who's main goal is to sell toys so they can make a profit. Lego wouldn't keep pumping out police sets nonstop if they didn't sell like hotcakes, and they wouldn't ignore the humble taxi or garbage truck if those did sell like hotcakes. 

You can't blame Lego for producing what sells. It's the kids' fault that we don't have more peaceful City sets. :laugh:

 

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1 hour ago, Trekkie99 said:

Race car drivers run risk of getting in a car crash, firefighters fight fire (an inanimate object), paramedics save peoples lives, airplane pilots run risk of crashing, and construction workers run risk of being squashed by a boulder. These all lack a key ingredient that I think is unfortunately needed to capture the attention of kids who could get way more stimulation playing video games. Conflict.

Lego is a company who's main goal is to sell toys so they can make a profit. Lego wouldn't keep pumping out police sets nonstop if they didn't sell like hotcakes, and they wouldn't ignore the humble taxi or garbage truck if those did sell like hotcakes. 

You can't blame Lego for producing what sells. It's the kids' fault that we don't have more peaceful City sets. :laugh:

 

Truthfully speaking, cops run the risk of getting killed in the line of duty. So.....

I mean when advertising them, they don't have to involve death or injury. Lets not forget, these are toys. The people are made of plastic. They aren't actual flesh and blood. I'm gonna go as far as to say Lego people CAN'T die. The mini movies for example, you can see people falling or being thrown around all the time and still fall on the road and live.

My thing is...there is a way to make them appeal to children. TLG isn't trying. Btw, we do have the explorers sets. Those are peaceful. 

 

Edited by pooda

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17 minutes ago, pooda said:

Truthfully speaking, cops run the risk of getting killed in the line of duty. So.....

But the cause of conflict for the police is another Lego person, usually in the form of a robber. Unlike fire or a boulder which, as I said, our inanimate objects. Now of course you could turn the fire into a fire breathing dragon and the boulder into a rock monster, but then it wouldn't be city anymore. :snicker:

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1 hour ago, Trekkie99 said:

But the cause of conflict for the police is another Lego person, usually in the form of a robber. Unlike fire or a boulder which, as I said, our inanimate objects. Now of course you could turn the fire into a fire breathing dragon and the boulder into a rock monster, but then it wouldn't be city anymore. :snicker:

Still. I'm sure there is a way to lay down the law in the city without shoving it down our god dog on throats every year. 

Besides, from my research, children love action and adrenaline more than conflict. That's why I said what I said before. 

In other words, children love to get scared stupid. Let's not forget, the innocence of children is sort of leaving. Check Spaced Out for example. That's the newest mini movie. 

Edited by pooda

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Great approach to a scale discussion that interest me highly. I agree 100% to your "conclusion" of reducing vehical height and width !! I try to build 4-5 wide cars, 6 wide trucks and 7-8 wide trains and rolling stock. 

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Very nice write-up, and I totally agree that your proposed cars look way better together with Lego buildings than whatever Lego throws at us nowadays.

The SC series always looked totally ridiculous imho, and I always felt that they were way to big in comparison to minifigs. Your write-up confirmed that.

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