legotownlinz

The BlueBrixx Thread

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I'm starting the thread with my experience with the BlueBrixx open freight car in eight-wide. I bought it because it looks great and it's cheap.

The quality of the bricks is somewhere between low and medium. I had no issues with colors (only one 2x6 brick is a bit darker), but the clutch power varies greatly (sometimes too low, sometimes too high). The worst issue is the size of the plates, they are too large and warp when a second layer is added. This is how the result of the first step looks like:

DSC_9441.jpg

The quality of the wheel sets is extremely low, the friction is too high. A heavy eight-wide car needs better wheels so that the engine can pull several cars. At least my car did not derail. Other reviewers reported that the axles are sometimes too short.

The building instructions are only available as pdf files and the model is stupidly built bottom-up. It would make more sense to add certain decoration parts last and build unstable parts as submodels.

I redesigned the bogie to accomodate HA Bricks ball bearing wheel sets and made it one stud shorter to keep two cars closer together.  The instructions (which offers a better building experience than the original instructions) can be found on Rebrickable. Let me know what you think about the bogie design. I added brick-built leaf-springs that are typically seen on such cars.

1000x800.jpg?1640648362.8217201

 

 

Edited by legotownlinz

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After discussion with other staff, we decided it would be best to put it in Community even though it might mostly deal with Trains.

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Thanks for posting your experience with a BB set. I'm still on the fence about trying some of their sets.

I really like the look of some of their passenger carriages, but the quality sounds a bit concerning. It seems reviews are also quite varying. Then again, it's impossible to get something similar from Lego and the price is good.

I look forward to hearing more impressions.

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2 minutes ago, Morvayn said:

Thanks for posting your experience with a BB set. I'm still on the fence about trying some of their sets.

I really like the look of some of their passenger carriages, but the quality sounds a bit concerning. It seems reviews are also quite varying. Then again, it's impossible to get something similar from Lego and the price is good.

I look forward to hearing more impressions.

I'm think about ordering the parts somewhere else to build a for more of these cars.

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On 12/28/2021 at 11:44 AM, legotownlinz said:

I'm starting the thread with my experience

Very good idea! And it really does not matter where this thread is "located".

Quick question: Is this thread intended to report your own experience with BlueBrixx or may other folks post here their experience with BB as well?

And then: Although you have linked the product, I believe a parts count as well as rough price info may help some others to gauge the product on their own - or may even lower the bar to cross the border to visit the land where fire and brimstone falls from the sky ... :pir-skel:

Thanks again!
Best
Thorsten   

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5 hours ago, Toastie said:

Quick question: Is this thread intended to report your own experience with BlueBrixx or may other folks post here their experience with BB as well?

I intended this to be a thread for everybody.

5 hours ago, Toastie said:

Although you have linked the product, I believe a parts count as well as rough price info may help some others to gauge the product on their own - or may even lower the bar to cross the border to visit the land where fire and brimstone falls from the sky ... :pir-skel:

 The part count and part list be be found on Rebrickable. If quality matters, then don't buy from Bluebrixx. Unfortunately, not all of the parts are available from Lego. I'm still investigating how to get the bricks for more cars and let you know once it is done. I might try webrick.com, they seem to sell Gobricks bricks.

Edited by legotownlinz

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Hello JopieK,

I am trying to send you a message, but I am not allowed to send you a message for some reason nor am I allowed to upload a picture. Please advise. Thank you

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7 hours ago, Bulletbricks said:

Hello JopieK,

I am trying to send you a message, but I am not allowed to send you a message for some reason nor am I allowed to upload a picture. Please advise. Thank you

You just need to make a few more posts, before you can message, not sure exactly how many but the number is small, like ten or so. Also I think posts in community, do not apply to post count, so keep that in mind too. As for uploading pictures you have to use an external site and link to it to post pictures. 

Edited by Johnny1360

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Hello

I'm completely new to this forum. Since the pandemic started, I went back to build stuff from lego, mostly trains. I discovered BrickLink and since then I went on building cars and locos from time to time. Now, I would like to ask for advice.

I've been looking towards BlueBrixx recently. I don't want to buy any of their sets, just thinking about some part packs for my own creations:


Dark Blue window frame 1X4X3
Glass for train for window
Light Blueish Gray plate w. bow 2X2X2/3 (curved slope)

607576_1.png606751_1.jpg601870_1.png

 

These elements are either unavaible in dark blue colour or expensive in large quantities. How do you think it could be with their quality? I see in thread that there were some issues with BB's quality, wondering if you had chance to get hands on this particular elements?

What scares me is their shipping cost. For sending it to Poland they count 19 euros, which is quite a lot, especially if one buys just a small pack. My vision for alternatives (except for glass) are trying to buy a proper lego in cheaper colour and paint them or trying to 3D-print them.

Thanks in advance and regards

Edited by kbieniu7
photo adjusting

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1 minute ago, kbieniu7 said:

 

Hello

I'm completely new to this forum. Since the pandemic started, I went back to build stuff from lego, mostly trains. I discovered BrickLink and since then I went on building cars and locos from time to time. Now, I would like to ask for advice.

I've been looking towards BlueBrixx recently. I don't want to buy any of their sets, just thinking about some part packs for my own creations:


Dark Blue window frame 1X4X3
Glass for train for window
Light Blueish Gray plate w. bow 2X2X2/3 (curved slope)

607576_1.png

606751_1.jpg

These elements are either unavaible in dark blue colour or expensive in large quantities. How do you think it could be with their quality? I see in thread that there were some issues with BB's quality, wondering if you had chance to get hands on this particular elements?

I bought the train windows in dark green for another project and the quality was good.

For the open freight car presented at the top of this topic, the windows would be needed in redish brown, but they are not available from BlueBrixx yet and neither on BrickLink. I'm still looking for a source of thís part. Nearly all other parts are available from Webrick, were I ordered them but still waiting for the parcel to arrive.

It is my goal to order only parts that are not available anywhere else from BlueBrixx, but otherwise avoid their low-quality parts.

 

 

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On 1/8/2022 at 1:29 PM, legotownlinz said:

I bought the train windows in dark green for another project and the quality was good.

For the open freight car presented at the top of this topic, the windows would be needed in redish brown, but they are not available from BlueBrixx yet and neither on BrickLink. I'm still looking for a source of thís part. Nearly all other parts are available from Webrick, were I ordered them but still waiting for the parcel to arrive.

It is my goal to order only parts that are not available anywhere else from BlueBrixx, but otherwise avoid their low-quality parts.

 

 

Thank you for the answer. With your pieces, how is the BB's colour matching with the original LEGO ones? Is there any visible difference or are they the same?

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37 minutes ago, kbieniu7 said:

Thank you for the answer. With your pieces, how is the BB's colour matching with the original LEGO ones? Is there any visible difference or are they the same?

There were no color issues, the colors were identical to Lego. The surface of BlueBrixx parts is slightly less glossy, which results in a small difference to new Lego bricks. I'd say the look of BlueBrixx parts is the same as those of used Lego parts.

The problems I noticed is a greatly varying clutch power and wrong geometry of some plates which result in warping. And of course the wheel sets should be immediately disposed and replaced with Lego wheelsets (the old ones with steel axles) or ball bearing wheelsets from HA Bricks.

 

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On 1/9/2022 at 7:06 PM, legotownlinz said:

There were no color issues, the colors were identical to Lego. The surface of BlueBrixx parts is slightly less glossy, which results in a small difference to new Lego bricks. I'd say the look of BlueBrixx parts is the same as those of used Lego parts.

The problems I noticed is a greatly varying clutch power and wrong geometry of some plates which result in warping. And of course the wheel sets should be immediately disposed and replaced with Lego wheelsets (the old ones with steel axles) or ball bearing wheelsets from HA Bricks.

 

Thanks a lot for a detailed answer :) 

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On 1/8/2022 at 1:22 PM, kbieniu7 said:

Hello

I'm completely new to this forum. Since the pandemic started, I went back to build stuff from lego, mostly trains. I discovered BrickLink and since then I went on building cars and locos from time to time. Now, I would like to ask for advice.

I've been looking towards BlueBrixx recently. I don't want to buy any of their sets, just thinking about some part packs for my own creations:


Dark Blue window frame 1X4X3
Glass for train for window
Light Blueish Gray plate w. bow 2X2X2/3 (curved slope)

.....

These elements are either unavaible in dark blue colour or expensive in large quantities. How do you think it could be with their quality? I see in thread that there were some issues with BB's quality, wondering if you had chance to get hands on this particular elements?

What scares me is their shipping cost. For sending it to Poland they count 19 euros, which is quite a lot, especially if one buys just a small pack. My vision for alternatives (except for glass) are trying to buy a proper lego in cheaper colour and paint them or trying to 3D-print them.

Thanks in advance and regards

All of my BlueBrixx train windows are pretty much identical to the genuine ones from TLG regarding quality, clutch, tolerance, gloss, color and color consistency. Any difference is usually down to colors which TLG hasn't used for that part.

51825466282_5978042fe8_b.jpg

(LEGO left, BlueBrixx right)

The LEGO one in tan with an average price of 20 Euro per piece on Bricklink with only 61 available in the whole EU. The BlueBrixx one with a price 1/100th of that :wacko:

50203418397_cce32eebf1_b.jpg

(BlueBrixx Train Windows with LEGO bricks)

51826792119_f334195ee6_b.jpg

(BlueBrixx Train Window in Dark Blue)

The BlueBrixx train window glass have a slightly cold bluish tint whereas the genuine ones from TLG have a slightly warm yellowish tint. This is noticable up close in direct side by side comparison but not in usage. The tolerance is also less tight for the BlueBrixx glass but with no practical implications though.

50203152411_9ef028dd9a_b.jpg

(BlueBrixx left, LEGO right)

Edited by dtomsen

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The only problem is that BlueBrixx does not sell the tan and brown train windows separately. They are only available as part of sets.

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33 minutes ago, legotownlinz said:

The only problem is that BlueBrixx does not sell the tan and brown train windows separately. They are only available as part of sets.

The tan train window is available as a part pack. Reddish brown will surely be available in the future too following the trend of the other colors.

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On 1/17/2022 at 5:20 PM, dtomsen said:

All of my BlueBrixx train windows are pretty much identical to the genuine ones from LEGO regarding quality, clutch, tolerance, gloss, color and color consistency. Any difference is usually down to colors which LEGO hasn't used for that part.

(...)

Thank you for such detailed comparison! :)

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The BlueBrixx thread ...

On 12/28/2021 at 9:55 PM, JopieK said:

would be best to put it in Community even though it might mostly deal with Trains.

Good reasoning. And I see very educated and valuable information here, in the BB thread, for train heads.

Now, in the Technic Forum there is now a blessed, i.e. pinned (!) "Cada" thread.

Hmm. Technic folks seem to like Cada products. I checked the Cada website - and I must say: Yes, I can see that.

However: Ever checked the BB website with regard to trains??? Is there >any< other provider of a) original models (they have their own designers) and b) offering the sheer wealth of train models - TLG is not even coming close, at no measure?

I am not talking about quality of bricks - although I must admit: I just ordered their BR89 for my birthday. After ordering carriages for my very own BR23. And those bricks were fantastic. 

@JopieK and @Milan : Why exactly is the very train relevant BB thread here, but the technic relevant Cada thread right there, where it truly belongs?

I am just curious!

All the best,
Thorsten

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All non-LEGO topics should be in community but is some kind of dilemma which is somewhat impossible to solve.

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9 hours ago, JopieK said:

All non-LEGO topics should be in community but is some kind of dilemma which is somewhat impossible to solve.

This thread is very much a train-centric one, so it really feels odd in the Community forum with little to offer those not interested in trains.

If it was more about the BlueBrixx the company or all their product range it would make more sense here but alas it is not.

Just my two cents. Nothing more :classic:

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On 1/8/2022 at 1:29 PM, legotownlinz said:

I'm still looking for a source of thís part. Nearly all other parts are available from Webrick, were I ordered them but still waiting for the parcel to arrive.

It is my goal to order only parts that are not available anywhere else from BlueBrixx, but otherwise avoid their low-quality parts.

I got the parts from Webricks. They are worse than those from BlueBrixx, especially the colors vary too much.

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@JopieK and @Milan: So we're stuck here - at least the EB train folks go along the lines of the legal department of the forum :pir-skel: 

 

This is about BB's set/brick quality/issues etc. @legotownlinz has started this thread and said:

On 12/29/2021 at 5:36 PM, legotownlinz said:

I intended this to be a thread for everybody.

Well then ...

Xmas 2021 I got these four BlueBrixx sets from Santa (OK, he got the addresses below from me, and he is a she):

1 x https://www.bluebrixx.com/de/trains/103877/Gepaeckwagen-dunkelgruen-BlueBrixx-Special
3 x https://www.bluebrixx.com/de/trains/103880/Passagierwagen-dunkelgruen-BlueBrixx-Special

(the latter are currently not available from BB - I know why: They are simply beautiful :pir-love:)

This is what you get for 24 Euros: all_pieces_for_24_euros.jpg

This is the finished coach:

what_you_get_for_24_euros.jpg

And this is the baggage car:

what_you_get_for_24_euros_2.jpg

This is the "consist" for 100 Euros:

what_you_get_for_100_euros.jpg

Dark green and whatever the color is for the window frames. DBG for the roof - indistinguishable from TLG's DGB - and beware gray is >my< color range.

Brief summary on building:

  • Clutch power: stronger than TLG
  • Warping, as noticed by @legotownlinz when mounting plates on plates: yes. But then you can a) bend/force them back, as they seem to be a little more tolerant to bending and b) the structure regains orthogonality when adding bricks on top - certainly, when the roof is mounted. The resulting overall sturdiness of the rather long coaches is amazing. A >solid< box type thing.
  • Interior: Simple, just seats for minifigs that's basically it. Fine with me.

Issues:

  • Some parts (>some< the ones shown here) need a little exacto knife treatment - one clean cut when you are on the clean side of things - I just leave them "as is", I like a little real life in my models and not the antiseptic-all-true-color-shiny look:
    bb_part_quality_2.jpg'
     
  • Then there are these moulding "cut" points (no idea what they are called) - but you never see them in the build!!!
    bb_part_quality_1.jpg
     
  • And finally the wheel sets. After a little further investigation, it was >not< at all the wheel sets, it is the length of the metal axles:
    bb_part_quality_3.jpg

    Top: TLG wheel set. NOTE: The TLG wheel sets - after some operation, need to get these (here badly performed - on the left) "cuts" into the frame; otherwise friction per frame gets insane over time.
    Bottom: BB axle all the way pushed (>forcefully<) into the BB wheels (with a "click"). Not good, does not work on track. Interestingly, these axles come bagged up in the box, whereas there are 4 lose axles floating around in the box, as if they were "later" thrown in there. However, they are still too short. See this picture for what you get from BB without any further comment:
    bb_part_quality_4.jpg

    Left: TLG unused (and unmodified) wheel set. Right: BB wheel set with long BB axles - still too short!

Summary:

  • The bodies of the coaches/luggage car are superb.
  • The frames of the wheel sets are matching-up with TLG frames.
  • The "long" axles are still too short, i.e., when pushed (forcefully, with a click, as if they were going through the plastic, but don't) all the way in. And beware, this needs some pressure.
  • Solution: Use TLG axles or wheel sets - or have axles made that fit in length. The latter is what I did.
  • For 24 Euros each per set, I am >absolutely< happy.

As said: When it does not fit, I make my own stuff. So I am very happy with what I got.

All the best,
Thorsten

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On 2/10/2022 at 10:51 PM, Toastie said:

Brief summary on building:

  • Clutch power: stronger than TLG
  • Warping, as noticed by @legotownlinz when mounting plates on plates: yes. But then you can a) bend/force them back, as they seem to be a little more tolerant to bending and b) the structure regains orthogonality when adding bricks on top - certainly, when the roof is mounted. The resulting overall sturdiness of the rather long coaches is amazing. A >solid< box type thing.

I also had bricks with a clutch power stronger than Lego, especially the 2x6 bricks and 2x4 45° slopes. But there were also several bricks with less clutch power. If it would always be a little bit stronger, like GoBricks, I would be fine with it, but it is just inconsistent, sometimes too low and sometimes too high. I don't like that it is just luck to get bricks with good quality. 

All my plates were perfectly flat. The reason for warping was their size, they were too big. The warping started when adding the second layer of plates. Bending doesn't solve the problem, only adding more layers of bricks does.

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11 hours ago, legotownlinz said:

sometimes too low and sometimes too high.

This is what I have not experienced in the sets I got. We'll see, as I get certainly more ...

11 hours ago, legotownlinz said:

The warping started when adding the second layer of plates.

You would get the same results with TLG plates, won't you? I have seen that on my MODs/MOCs using only bricks/plates from TLG. This may be considered bad building practice - however, when the next bricklayers take care of that: Fine with me. Better to use 2 plates thick ground frames than TLGs train baseplates, as far as I am concerned.

Anyway. It is too bad though that this very informative thread is not in TrainTech. Thanks again for starting it!

Best wishes,
Thorsten

Edited by Toastie

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2 hours ago, Toastie said:

You would get the same results with TLG plates, won't you?

No, there is a small gap between Lego plates that prevents warping. I compared the size of BlueBrixx plates with Lego plates: they are slightly larger.

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