A Long MOC Journey

[Tube Map Central]

I've been building occasional Lego Architecture sets for a few years now, but the series now seems to be well-and-truly moribund. Just tourists traps and Skylines that don't appeal (although the Miami skyline on Ideas is rather nice). But I've always had a train interest too, and the Crocodile caught my attention last year, and I was hooked.

I needed more than that to keep myself busy, and I had a collection of OO scale model railways that, in all honesty, were never going to see a layout, so I sold them and switched to Lego trains.

I started with two City Train sets, 60197, at good prices, but they really needed a proper station to do them justice. Like many people I think that the Metro Station 4554 is one of the nicest that Lego has ever created. I completed this in Tan, and replaced the windows with panels, which give it a nice 1930s look.

I needed another building for the other platform. Lego does Brutalism really well, and 7997 looks the part in Light Grey. The station buffet is long closed, a victim of economies. Together, parting up 4554 and 7997 are a really good lesson in learning the ins and outs of Bricklink and the waywardness of Lego parts colour availability.

These are both nice stations, but I wanted something a but more grand and old fashioned. The Disney Train station 71044 is really the only large station that Lego has ever created (it keeps rejecting good stations on Ideas), and I managed to get just the building by itself for a very reasonable price from Ebay.

Of course, platforms are needed too. Several Harry Potter stations combine nicely to create an attractive substantial set-up.

 

Although the Disney station is large, it still gives the impression of a country town station rather than a major city terminus. The next step was a chance encounter with a book on the history of Lego sets. The Town Hall in 10184 looked too good to stay as a Town Hall: I could see a Neo-Gothic Victorian monument struggling to get out. St Pieces is the main central station on the layout in my head. Typical Victorian grandiosity (as per St Pancras). I followed the original 10184 plans to the letter and then extended outwards and upwards. My big lesson was not to design like this. It is much better to start with a concept and a blank slate rather than adapt someone else's design. For the record I will note that the 2x2x3 roof slope is HORRIBLE, that part doesn't have clutch, it has anti-clutch, and that roof exploded messily at every opportunity. All those joists in the loft are there for a reason.

 

 

 

 

The desire to return to Brutalism was strong, showcasing just how nice a such a building can be when done well. Inspired by the Royal Festival Hall, Falmer House (University of Sussex) and the Crystal Palace Sports Centre, for Festival Gardens Station I particularly wanted to show the metal-framed windows that characterise these buildings, and I've always wanted to do a circular roof. Initially, I thought I had cursed myself by making the whole building an odd-number of studs wide but the Lego gods were merely testing my resolve: the circular roof went together with the main building like a dream and fitted perfectly. I just wish there were more inverted slopes available.

 

 

 

 

I thought that Festival Gardens would be the last stop on my journey, but Art Nouveau has always been my first architectural love, and ideas started forming in my head about ways to make it possible. You've already seen Botanical Gardens, but here are a few photos again so you can see my full journey!

 

 

So, that's my long MOC journey come to an end. I hope you enjoyed the results. I think that's exhausted my inspiration for now, but who knows what might pop into my head next! If any of these buildings generate particular interest I will start a separate thread for them with extra photos, I need the practice!

[Vilhelm22]

Very nice!  That's a lot of stations.  I particularly like Festival Gardens with its trains logo in the glass!

[Tube Map Central]

5 minutes ago, Vilhelm22 said:

Very nice!  That's a lot of stations.  I particularly like Festival Gardens with its trains logo in the glass!

Thanks! I need some more trains and track to go with them. I was wondering about using SNOT and/or cheese slopes to smooth off the arrows but that would have been quite a battle in a small space.

Oh, and if anyone knows a trick to centre the clock in the circle properly, let me know!

Edited February 4, 2021 by Tube Map Central
Extra question

[zephyr1934]

You've got some nice techniques going and I like the progression you present. The stained glass window in Festival Gardens is an immediate attention grabber, but I think Botanical Gardens is the best so far (That one is a show stopper, but I bet it is the most recent too).

[Tube Map Central]

15 minutes ago, zephyr1934 said:

You've got some nice techniques going and I like the progression you present. The stained glass window in Festival Gardens is an immediate attention grabber, but I think Botanical Gardens is the best so far (That one is a show stopper, but I bet it is the most recent too).

Thanks for the kind words. Yes, you are completely right, these are in order of development (and ambition), and Botanical Gardens is the most recent. The real challenge is where I might go next!

[CSW652]

Is it just me, or can anyone else not see the pictures?

[Stuartn]

2 hours ago, CSW652 said:

Is it just me, or can anyone else not see the pictures?

I saw them yesterday, but was on my phone with poor reception so I didn't comment, I went to give some praise today but now I can't see the pictures.

But anyway they are fantastic mocs, I like the recolours of the official Lego stations, and the detail in your own MOCs was tremendous. I like the bracing in the roof of St Pieces. I know you said it was for practical reasons, but it looks really nice.

I love the tiled surfaces on all the mocs.

[Tube Map Central]

Apologies to those who can't see the images, they are hosted in a folder in my web pages, not sure why there would be problems.

The locations are below, but going to these individually will be tedious, I will make up a web page next week.

 

www.tubemapcentral.com/legophotos/05a_StP_top.JPG  

www.tubemapcentral.com/legophotos/05b_StP_front.JPG

www.tubemapcentral.com/legophotos/05c_StP_right.JPG  

www.tubemapcentral.com/legophotos/05d_StP_middle.JPG  

www.tubemapcentral.com/legophotos/05e_StP_loft.JPG  

www.tubemapcentral.com/legophotos/06a_FG_top.JPG  

www.tubemapcentral.com/legophotos/06b_FG_front.JPG  

www.tubemapcentral.com/legophotos/06c_FG_back.jpg  

www.tubemapcentral.com/legophotos/06d_FG_left.JPG  

www.tubemapcentral.com/legophotos/06e_FG_centre.JPG  

www.tubemapcentral.com/legophotos/03_three_quarters.JPG  

www.tubemapcentral.com/legophotos/04_full_rear.jpeg  

www.tubemapcentral.com/legophotos/09_glass_floor_and_roof.jpeg

[cptkent]

I like your work.

Do you have a 'flickr' presence?

[LegoDW]

I could view your pictures as normal on my Ipad, but not on my PC.  Pictures can be tricky sometime.

Anyways, great builds.  Hard to pic a favorite.  If I have too would be the Festival Gardens.  Love those transclear colored bricks for the train logo.  Would love to see a picture of it lit from behind.  The interior is well done and a classic look.   

I too also combined a few of the Harry Potter sets station sets for a moc.  Mine was similar but yours was done better.  

 

 

[Tube Map Central]

7 hours ago, cptkent said:

I like your work.

Do you have a 'flickr' presence?

Thanks, I don't have a Flickr presence, but I'm new to this world (first Bricklink order placed Sept 20th 2020) and what you see here is just about everything.

My html skills are vastly better than my photography skills, so once I get a couple of pages up and running, all will be well.

Contrary to what Brothers Brick say, "Seriously, personal websites are a thing of the past." personal we pages are not quite dead! www.tubemapcentral.com is in good health!

[Tube Map Central]

On 2/5/2021 at 11:35 PM, Stuartn said:

But anyway they are fantastic mocs, I like the recolours of the official Lego stations, and the detail in your own MOCs was tremendous. I like the bracing in the roof of St Pieces. I know you said it was for practical reasons, but it looks really nice.

I love the tiled surfaces on all the mocs.

Thanks! Once I decided that the roof needed help, I wanted to make it look nice. The geometry of Lego clip-and-bar hinges is ... interesting. I like St Pieces but, although the concept is sound, there is something not quite there. One that needs starting again I think, keeping the basic features but getting them to work together better.

I love Lego tiles, which is why my builds end up as studs-not-in-view, If I see a stud it is hard to resist putting a tile on it.

6 hours ago, LegoDW said:

Anyways, great builds.  Hard to pic a favorite.  If I have too would be the Festival Gardens.  Love those transclear colored bricks for the train logo.  Would love to see a picture of it lit from behind.  The interior is well done and a classic look.   

Thanks! Lego trans plates make fantastic stained glass, when the light catches them in the right way they look incredible. It's a shame that we don't see more of this in official sets.

I will see what I can do with lighting.

I wanted Festival Gardens to look neat and slick. However, it needs slightly higher ceilings inside. I was restricted by the method I used to create the window-walls, 1x10 tiles would have made a big difference, but no can do!

[Tube Map Central]

As promised, here are all images on a dedicated web page:

My Long MOC journey

 

[Feuer Zug]

Fine selection of stations. The classic LEGO station rebuilds are nice, but I adore St. Pieces.

[Tube Map Central]

58 minutes ago, Feuer Zug said:

Fine selection of stations. The classic LEGO station rebuilds are nice, but I adore St. Pieces.

Thank-you!!

In my younger, more naive days (i.e. before Christmas) I thought that St. Pieces might have a shot on Ideas, and this is what I wrote ...

**** 

St. Pieces Station. 

With the invention of railways a new age was created. Nothing could travel faster than a train and, to house these glorious engineering marvels, the most incredible stations were built, the grand cathedrals of the 19th Century.

St Pieces Station is monument to times past, Neo-Gothic splendour or folly, the people are undecided, but it's aspirations and audacity are nonetheless as breathtaking now as they were when it was completed 160 years ago.

Pull yourself away from the solid, yet ornate masonry outside, enter through the opulent doors and travel back in time, from the intricate mosaic floor to the atmospheric arches and the central hall, so massive it needs a clerestory to light it. Marvel at the grand chandelier, masterfully converted to brand new electric lighting one hundred years ago. Perhaps you know the station manager and you might get to climb the endless stairs to get to the uppermost terrace, with unparalleled views across the city.

Unfortunately, times move on, and state of the art 160 years ago is no longer good enough today. Regional control is squashed into a corner, the columns of the arches get in the way. Staff endlessly complain about cramped working conditions and, although the buffet is busy, there is only space for cakes and coffee. Worse, rats have been sighted in the rickety rafters of the roof.

St Pieces station is under threat and there are calls to demolish it and build something more modern and 'better' in its place. Will you help to save it?