The Lego Room

[Opinion] Review of the new road plates system (2021)

Recommended Posts

Been thinking also how much easier it will be now to make stuff like race tracks and airport runways. The ideas just keep coming as I leave these new plates laying around in my build space. Trying also to work out some way of doing inclines or rampways.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

These roads are one of best "new" ideas Lego had for a while. Old and new have different  strenghts and weaknesses, but I think new system is really good especialy that it allows to be more creative.
The only thing that is a problem is that news sets with roads dont come with aditional 2x4 plates. So you actualy can't connect them nicely out of the box

Edited by Lordofdragonss

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
10 hours ago, Lordofdragonss said:

These roads are one of best "new" ideas Lego had for a while. Old and new have different  strenghts and weaknesses, but I think new system is really good especialy that it allows to be more creative.
The only thing that is a problem is that news sets with roads dont come with aditional 2x4 plates. So you actualy can't connect them nicely out of the box

hmmmm...must...buy...more...lego...to...connect...them! (insidious ploy)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My personal opinion on the new plates is mixed.  They definitely allow me to keep my display area smaller and cleaner.  And I agree they do offer a decent amount of flexibility in layout.   However, what is missing from them is the ability to make curves in the road.  Not all roads are straight.  Also my girls love using them over the base plates as they can use them with all of their friends stuff and have the roads go over the pile of blankets in their rooms.  

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 4/10/2021 at 4:11 PM, Jack Sassy said:

But this one is clearly more expensive.

No, it's it's not. 

I have debunked this countless times. The sets are about the same price as former sets with similar piece counts and without roadplates. These new plate roads are always on sale and can be used in so many different ways.

Baseplates are clearly expensive, because they haven't been included in sets in decades.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
4 minutes ago, Maple said:

No, it's it's not. 

I have debunked this countless times. The sets are about the same price as former sets with similar piece counts and without roadplates. These new plate roads are always on sale and can be used in so many different ways.

Baseplates are clearly expensive, because they haven't been included in sets in decades.

On Bricklink, these road baseplate sets cost about 6 euros, making it cheaper than in stores, so therefore you're half-right on that subject. Also, baseplates are still being included in sets (only modulars though.) There was time when they were included in so many sets, allowing more people to own them and sell for acceptable prices on BL. See it for yourself, really one of greater privileges of that site is that you can buy retired baseplates for about the same price they were in stores. 

 

(Also it's been a few months since introduction of these new road plates. Some stores are still selling old ones. :wink:)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 minutes ago, Jack Sassy said:

On Bricklink, these road baseplate sets cost about 6 euros, making it cheaper than in stores, so therefore you're half-right on that subject. Also, baseplates are still being included in sets (only modulars though.) There was time when they were included in so many sets, allowing more people to own them and sell for acceptable prices on BL. See it for yourself, really one of greater privileges of that site is that you can buy retired baseplates for about the same price they were in stores. 

 

(Also it's been a few months since introduction of these new road plates. Some stores are still selling old ones. :wink:)

Bricklink isn't LEGO. (It is but it isn't)

I'm really sick of having to have to explain basic math to people. The new modern house with roadplate is $10 more than the last one without a roadplate but because of inflation they are about the same. The last police station has less pieces and no roadplates than the downtown set with a bunch of roadplates. This isn't difficult to look up. I'm not half right i'm 100% right and I'm done with this.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
4 minutes ago, Maple said:

Bricklink isn't LEGO. (It is but it isn't)

What? Well actually it is pretty much 100% Lego because TLG own it now.

 

6 minutes ago, Maple said:

I'm really sick of having to have to explain basic math to people. The new modern house with roadplate is $10 more than the last one without a roadplate but because of inflation they are about the same.

I was talking about baseplates alone, no buildings whatsoever (you can construct those yourself) and when comparing 60304 with, say 7281 then yes, about two sets of 7281 cost the same as 60304, making it same amount of road for each. But like I said previously, there is Bricklink which is used by at least half of Lego builders, therefore old baseplates are cheaper than new plates (for now.)

11 minutes ago, Maple said:

I'm done with this.

If you wish, friend. You can't start an argument and then say that you're done with it though.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
20 hours ago, Jack Sassy said:

there is Bricklink which is used by at least half of Lego builders

Dear god no. It's very easy to forget how many Lego builders are kids or casual fans who will never post on a Lego forum or social media, or even know BL exists. Heck it's probably a fraction of 1% of Lego fans use Bricklink.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, Merlict said:

Heck it's probably a fraction of 1% of Lego fans use Bricklink.

That would be a bit overexaggerated. After all, it is the biggest trading Lego site and there are millions of Lego fans across the whole world.

 

(To be honest, I'm not sure how much percentage it is, I was just doing a wild guess. It has to be at least 10% though. :sceptic:)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 4/17/2021 at 1:18 PM, Maple said:

Bricklink isn't LEGO. (It is but it isn't)

I'm really sick of having to have to explain basic math to people. The new modern house with roadplate is $10 more than the last one without a roadplate but because of inflation they are about the same. The last police station has less pieces and no roadplates than the downtown set with a bunch of roadplates. This isn't difficult to look up. I'm not half right i'm 100% right and I'm done with this.

Not everyone is a fast learner though dude. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

After some initial weariness, I picked up a set of the new road plates on sale at a local retailer. I was converted to them immediately. First, they offer me the ability to make a great runway for my aircraft models with relative ease. Second, the modular option enabled me to retrofit my modular buildings fairly quickly to be combined with them. I was back to buy more the next day. As some have noted, the lack of curves is a detractor, but I find it made up by the ability to put intersections and crosswalks where ever I chose. I might even break even trying to sell my collection of old road base plates too.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 4/19/2021 at 8:07 PM, Feuer Zug said:

After some initial weariness, I picked up a set of the new road plates on sale at a local retailer. I was converted to them immediately. First, they offer me the ability to make a great runway for my aircraft models with relative ease. Second, the modular option enabled me to retrofit my modular buildings fairly quickly to be combined with them. I was back to buy more the next day. As some have noted, the lack of curves is a detractor, but I find it made up by the ability to put intersections and crosswalks where ever I chose. I might even break even trying to sell my collection of old road base plates too.

I can see why they'd be useful for a runway actually! Would probably be a lot cheaper than buying 1000+ tiles as I did, lol. But overall, I'm still not a fan.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 4/17/2021 at 12:55 PM, Maple said:

Baseplates are clearly expensive, because they haven't been included in sets in decades.

Baseplates come with each years modular building not to mention we got them with The Chinese Lantern Festival and Diagon Alley in the last two years. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

48x48 Light Grey + 32x32 Bright Green , Blue, White Baseplates are also still sold via Classic Theme. 

Road Baseplates however, indeed haven't been part of sets for quite a while, until the new but different 2021 City system.

2012 was the last year with City sets with baseplates , and the 2011 Police Station and Spareport still had smooth "road" parts on their baseplates.

I don't think 32x32 or 16x32 baseplates are entirely retiring yet, and even then, the first signs probably would be if Modular buildings would be on standard plates + the retirement of ClassicBaseplates, which I don't see happen soon.

Edited by TeriXeri

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 4/22/2021 at 4:41 PM, The Jersey Brick Guy said:

Baseplates come with each years modular building not to mention we got them with The Chinese Lantern Festival and Diagon Alley in the last two years.  

Yep, and Ninjago City Gardens as well — but even so, three or four sets built on baseplates per year is a pittance compared to back in the 80s and 90s when they were still the standard for larger sets in nearly every theme. And I don't think it's a coincidence that nowadays, they usually tend to show up in sets with well over a thousand smaller pieces to offset the cost of the baseplates themselves. Most smaller sets (and even some other massive ones) opt for a foundation of standard plates instead, which I tend to greatly prefer.

After all, even most Castle sets back in the 80s were only built on baseplates if standard plates didn't come in a large enough size. Interestingly, LEGO didn't seem at all concerned about the height discrepancy at that time, because sets like 6080, 6073, 6067, 6061, 6041, and 6040 were all designed to link together using pins and hinge bricks, even though the offset meant that 6080's pins and pin holes were half a plate lower than the ones in all those other sets!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Aanchir said:

Yep, and Ninjago City Gardens as well — but even so, three or four sets built on baseplates per year is a pittance compared to back in the 80s and 90s when they were still the standard for larger sets in nearly every theme. And I don't think it's a coincidence that nowadays, they usually tend to show up in sets with well over a thousand smaller pieces to offset the cost of the baseplates themselves. Most smaller sets (and even some other massive ones) opt for a foundation of standard plates instead, which I tend to greatly prefer.

After all, even most Castle sets back in the 80s were only built on baseplates if standard plates didn't come in a large enough size. Interestingly, LEGO didn't seem at all concerned about the height discrepancy at that time, because sets like 6080, 6073, 6067, 6061, 6041, and 6040 were all designed to link together using pins and hinge bricks, even though the offset meant that 6080's pins and pin holes were half a plate lower than the ones in all those other sets!

Not to mention, pretty much every baseplate that was included in a set over the past 10-15 years didn't have any sort of road or specialized details.  The only exception were police/fire stations, where there'd often be one or two smooth lanes used for garages, but the rest was just empty studs.  Beyond that, pretty much everything was just plain old studs.  That's a far cry from the 80s/90s town baseplates, where there were more intricate patterns or printings, stuff like the moon crater base plates, raised plates used in Castle/Adventurers/Pirates (among other themes), and so on.  Heck, even some little $10-15 impulse buy sets would include an 8x16 baseplate, that hasn't happened in probably twenty five years.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I will happilly switch to the new system as soon as Lego will introduce 32x32 and 16x32 plates in "normal" prices (up to 10 euro) compared to 8 euro for baseplates). As long as they will not do it there is no point of leaning towards the new road system. It is expensive (roads + plates for buldings + normal bricks for elevation) and not always possible. And we all know, that not always plate 16x16 is sufficient for what stands on it in terms of integrity of the building.

Let's hope Lego will find a solution which will be sufficient and easily obtainable.
 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I know this is an unpopular opinion but i think Modular buildings should stand on regular Plates with Studs on the Bottom. It would automatically be level with the new Roads and terraining possibilities such as  not entirely Flat City would be more easy. The new roads have tons of disadvantages, yes, but also open up new possibilities. They should have made both roads co-exist.

There is an amazing video on Youtube by Afol TV of how a train Track can be seemlessly integrated into the new roads to make a tram track next to the road. 

Personally i like the Aspect of not having to fill out the broad Walkway on Roadplates since they take a lot of Space, and modulars already come with a passenger lane. with the new Roads it can be decided how broad the road should be with additional tiles as i favor 8 stud vehicles. The aesthetics of that is another topic :D

anyway, nice video!

On 4/24/2021 at 2:02 AM, TeriXeri said:

48x48 Light Grey + 32x32 Bright Green , Blue, White Baseplates are also still sold via Classic Theme. 

Road Baseplates however, indeed haven't been part of sets for quite a while, until the new but different 2021 City system.

2012 was the last year with City sets with baseplates , and the 2011 Police Station and Spareport still had smooth "road" parts on their baseplates.

I don't think 32x32 or 16x32 baseplates are entirely retiring yet, and even then, the first signs probably would be if Modular buildings would be on standard plates + the retirement of ClassicBaseplates, which I don't see happen soon.

There is a rumor going around for Modulars on Baseplates retiring because the current Police Station doesn't come with connection Pins for another Modular on its right Hand Side anymore. Though that might be a bit far fetched I could see them retiring Baseplates since it's even a different production Method than for Standard Bricks. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 4/24/2021 at 10:02 AM, TeriXeri said:

I don't think 32x32 or 16x32 baseplates are entirely retiring yet, and even then, the first signs probably would be if Modular buildings would be on standard plates + the retirement of ClassicBaseplates, which I don't see happen soon.

https://www.brickfanatics.com/is-the-lego-group-about-to-discontinue-its-traditional-baseplates/

The four classic baseplates are due for retirement by February 2022.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I personally love the new road plates. It's great to see City sets that you can just connect with each other again like they used to make them in the 1990s. Baseplates are good for a huge, permanent layout but 95% of people don't have the money or space for that. I have young kids and the baseplates get bent or broken extremely easily.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
7 hours ago, Padlix said:

I know this is an unpopular opinion but i think Modular buildings should stand on regular Plates with Studs on the Bottom. It would automatically be level with the new Roads and terraining possibilities such as  not entirely Flat City would be more easy. The new roads have tons of disadvantages, yes, but also open up new possibilities. They should have made both roads co-exist.

 

It isn't that unpopular as people have been putting modulars on plates instead of baseplates for years, where they wanted into integrate their own plate built roads.

Both roads can coexist if you stick a ramp at the side of the built ones. Although aesthetically mixing them will look a bit weird.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
9 hours ago, Padlix said:

I know this is an unpopular opinion but i think Modular buildings should stand on regular Plates with Studs on the Bottom. It would automatically be level with the new Roads and terraining possibilities such as  not entirely Flat City would be more easy.

Yeah totally agree. I'm been grabbing 16x16 plates whenever I see em cheap.. it takes a LOT to do a whole city! 

But it gives you so many more options for rearranging buildings, basements and sewers, even a subway would be amazing

I'd buy so many baseplate sized plates.

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.