LEGO Trains 2022

[Tube Map Central]

Don't read this sub-forum if it makes you disappointed and sad. This isn't a model to develop interest in Lego trains amongst young people because, TBH I would have known that it was rubbish and had limited play value when I was seven years old. Those train wheels won't run properly on any Lego track, and it won't run properly off-track either. No high speed collisions with this one. As a wheeled vehicle it fails.

Edited December 3, 2021 by Tube Map Central

[dtomsen]

23 minutes ago, Amoreternum said:

Damn, the hatred in here towards a set that's clearly not targeted towards the audience in here is... disappointing and kinda sad.

So who is the target audience then?

And shouldn't LEGO train fans get disappointed when TLG gives them nothing as in absolutely nothing except a token train set every other year?

BlueBrixx' "success" is TLG's own doing imo. They provide what TLG apparently will not 😔

 

Edited December 3, 2021 by dtomsen

[Amoreternum]

I'm neither, but it's obvious that most people in here are because of this set. Which is understandable and relatable, as I am too, from the name I expected fare more. They way this disappointment is managed and voiced though is a bit childish. Expected more from the community, that's all. Is it a good set? Most likely no, but that's that and I skip it. End of story. 

 

@dtomsen I did not say the disappointment is not justified, as I just said I am too. But are we in here a marketable audience? Yes, but a small one, and one that's obviously not that much into something like this. No idea who the target audience is for this one, but I doubt that I have to know that to see who is not. 

That aside, Bluebrixx would be really successful if they used proper train axles. Their 8w-stuff is quite nice actually, but the wheels are horrible.

Edited December 3, 2021 by Amoreternum

[Toxic43]

2 hours ago, Tube Map Central said:

TBH I would have known that it was rubbish and had limited play value when I was seven years old. Those train wheels won't run properly on any Lego track, and it won't run properly off-track either. No high speed collisions with this one. As a wheeled vehicle it fails.

My 7 year old Son said almost exactly this. I tried to get him excited about a new Lego train and he said it wasn't very good, it was too small and wouldn't go on the tracks. I can see his point. Given the scale they haven't done a bad job, but I can't say I'm not disappointed, for both me and my son. He loves Lego trains and this was just not for him. If not for a 7 year old Lego train fan, then for who?

[Black Knight]

Well, at least we can wait for MOCs "40518 in 6w". Maybe I'll treat myself with a "40518 in 8w" (aka MK 12002).

Edited December 3, 2021 by Black Knight
typo

[dr_spock]

16 hours ago, Toastie said:

Yeah - on BRIO track. I fear though, it will not do the BRIO bridge so well. Better use straights only.

Or did I miss the release of the "TLG 4-wide track system"? In that case, my apologies.

Tow ball sockets should have enough vertical movement to handle the bridge. You might have to "chibi" shorten the cars into the BRIO style.

LEGO did have 4 wide tracks.  I think they were in Indiana Jones mine set,  spaceship in an Alien Conquest set, Batman Joker fun house.  That system only goes in circles and up/down. 

[Djmojo]

All negativity aside, i think 2022 got some goodies in store, we can almost certainly say we will gett two new city trains, and with the new container piece in the city cardine factory set, i think atleast the cargo will feature some cool rolling stock. And there are some spots in the 18+ range that fits a new train. With the sucess of the crocodille and its early retirement, i cannot think that lego wont release a new set 

[ejayb]

On 12/2/2021 at 10:15 PM, Stuartn said:

Not directly relevant, but the new city fire brigade set has a shipping container piece with a new double door piece which looks much nicer and more realistic than the open-sided ones in the 2018 cargo train. Could be a good sign for the next cargo train set.

Which set?

[Maple]

1 hour ago, ejayb said:

Which set?

Fire Brigade.
LEGO has the new 3 wide doors and are putting them to good use.

[zephyr1934]

On 12/2/2021 at 3:17 PM, Djmojo said:

i cannot understand how this feels like a better idea to them than releasing simple 6wide push trains in the creator series, or even some carriages.

You know, that is the saddest bit about this set. Same amount of parts and they could have made a nice push locomotive. Or make a two in one set that can either be a high speed cab car or a high speed coach. Even better, a single 6 wide subway car. Oh well

[legotownlinz]

4 hours ago, zephyr1934 said:

You know, that is the saddest bit about this set. Same amount of parts and they could have made a nice push locomotive. Or make a two in one set that can either be a high speed cab car or a high speed coach. Even better, a single 6 wide subway car. Oh well

Or they could have made it a 2-in-1 6-wide set with the option to build either the engine or the coach. A full train would then require four sets, a perfect idea for greedy Lego ;-)

[*thomas*]

How can anyone at TLG think this is a good idea? As has been said: why not make it 6 wide? It would be a nice little extra 'inbetween' city trains and could be sold w/o track/PU because it's sold as a creator set.

As many have said: bluebrixx has 238 train sets. They continue to release new designs almost at a monthly basis so someone must be being them. Like many others, I've stopped looking at TLG for their trains.

[Djmojo]

5 hours ago, zephyr1934 said:

You know, that is the saddest bit about this set. Same amount of parts and they could have made a nice push locomotive. Or make a two in one set that can either be a high speed cab car or a high speed coach. Even better, a single 6 wide subway car. Oh well

Yes, its not that its not a good model. because in legos favour, the set is actually good for the scale. They even bothered with doors, thats a standard we dont se often  but its the fact that they give nothing to the actual lego train comunity but instead makes a unusable model. They easily could have pleased the train comunity, AND made a good model for kids.  
 

on another note, this is quoted from the city forums: Two unconfirmed products have been registered with Brickmerge. The numbers are 60335 and 60336. The prices of 60335 and 60336 are $79.99 and $179.99, respectively.. The price points could sugest a train station and train 

[*thomas*]

I think it will be - once more - a cargo train with crane and/or an other building and a passenger train with a small platform. How could would it be if Lego (for once) would 'invert' this and give us a full-on passenger train WITH station and a smaller freight train. 

[Duq]

"There's not enough variety in Creator, they always do cars!"

"WTF? A train in Creator?"

Seriously, I don't get all the negative comments about 40518. This is Creator. It's not City Trains, it's not Creator Expert. Creator does relatively simple designs with few or no special parts. Within that brief I think this is a great little set. It's not a scale model, and I'm sure AfoLs have done more detailed 4-wide trains but this looks the part for the target audience. And with the previous 6 Creator trains all steam loco's I think it's great to see an EMU.

And if kids who have been introduced to trains with this set want a City high speed train next that can only be good for us right?

[Amoreternum]

Totally agree. And it's not like sets like this have not been there before... cars and planes and ships in that price range never came with more either, so why demand it for a train? I see this more as an impulse set or something someone spots on the shelves, and with that in mind, this one does just fine.

[Lok24]

13 minutes ago, Duq said:

Seriously, I don't get all the negative comments about 40518.

And what about missing tracks?

 

[*thomas*]

It's not about the train being bad, neither are people complaining about it being it creator set. But, why would TLG be so reluctant to make it:

A 6 wide
B include train wheels, magnets and buffers

If they were worried about in-house competition, they just should've designed something else.

Tracks can be bought separately, so that's no issue. 

[zephyr1934]

3 hours ago, *thomas* said:

It's not about the train being bad, neither are people complaining about it being it creator set. But, why would TLG be so reluctant to make it:

A 6 wide
B include train wheels, magnets and buffers

If they were worried about in-house competition, they just should've designed something else.

Tracks can be bought separately, so that's no issue. 

Actually, I think you might have answered all of the questions right there,

make it 6 wide and people will want train wheels and buffers. The GWP loco from a year or two back deliberately did not have buffers. The magnetic buffers are probably 100x more expensive for Lego to produce than any pure plastic brick of similar size. So for the price point I'm sure they started with "no magnets." The train wheels are also probably a lot more expensive for them to produce than the small train wheels. Everything there is to keep the price down. So perhaps we should view this as an enlarged Emerald Express and the more recent train polybag.

 

[*thomas*]

So in this case Lego thinks they could make more profit from this then if they would've just made it into a proper 6 wide train set (w/o track and PU?).

[Amoreternum]

What makes you think they do? Zephyr has a legit point, and this sets target and purpose is just a different one than most seem to think. It's obvious that this is not necessarily aimed at people who'd buy a 6w-train set, rather than at shoppers who just want a little set of Lego. It does not need tracks or all the other stuff it's lacking. Small Creator cars don't come with a street or working steering either, why demand something equivalent, like tracks or turning bogies, here? We do not know if there'll be more train-stuff this year, I don't see why this set seems to be the end of all hope. It's only December.

[legotownlinz]

5 hours ago, zephyr1934 said:

make it 6 wide and people will want train wheels and buffers. The GWP loco from a year or two back deliberately did not have buffers. The magnetic buffers are probably 100x more expensive for Lego to produce than any pure plastic brick of similar size. So for the price point I'm sure they started with "no magnets." The train wheels are also probably a lot more expensive for them to produce than the small train wheels. Everything there is to keep the price down.

 

So you say they market leader is unable to do what the small competitors can afford?

11 hours ago, Amoreternum said:

Totally agree. And it's not like sets like this have not been there before... cars and planes and ships in that price range never came with more either, so why demand it for a train? I see this more as an impulse set or something someone spots on the shelves, and with that in mind, this one does just fine.

Because there is a compatibily issue with trains if they do not have train wheels and have the right gauge that does not exist with cars and ships. Ok, other models don't look well if the scale is off, too, but the issue is not as severe as with trains and tracks.

 I once got one of those Creator trains as a present and the guy who bought it was rather disappointed that it did not run on my layout. The average customer assumes it is compatible but it isn't. Therefore such sets should be avoided.

Edited December 5, 2021 by legotownlinz

[Toastie]

2 minutes ago, legotownlinz said:

So you say they market leader is unable to do what the small competitors can afford?

I don't know what @zephyr1934 was implying - but of course the market leader may not be interested in doing it.

Both, the market leader and the small competitors get their >raw material< at the same price. Well, the market leader gets it definitely cheaper, or they should simply go out of business. It is the year 2021 - and making plastic bricks with some finesse has matured into a broadly available technology. To all.

And then ... OVERHEAD strikes - heavily. As well as ... the (very) well-being of the employees ... and the employers ... and so on and so forth.

It would be interesting to learn what fraction of the retail value of a newly released set goes into OVERHEAD (that number will be - crazy, I guess).

As an example: My university charges currently about 70% of the volume of a research contract as OVERHEAD. That dissolves into - well - THE ADMINISTRATION . No idea what they do with that money other than hiring more people to secure that all is handled correctly. It appears as if this system is a perfect perpetuum mobile, violating all laws of thermodynamics. And it appears as if nobody can do anything about it - other than increasing the percentage of the OVERHEAD. Which in turn suggests that thermodynamics is still doing fine and the system is just stupid enough to along with it.

Which may be >one< reason why TLGs products become insanely expensive, when you ask me. Whereas the small competitors sell their products insanely cheap. Well, I guess it depends on your perspective.

All the best,
Thorsten

 

[dtomsen]

No doubt about overhead but TLG has insane profit - as any world class company should have (or at least strive for if they want to remain world class).

TLG is a business above all, not philanthropy and we AFOLs are consumers - even though we often pretend otherwise.

This Creator set is clearly not meant for us diehard train fans and since TLG doesn't find us worthwhile as a consumer-segment anymore, I'll just look elsewhere or make my own trains, thank you very much. But I won't kiss a** and will continue complaining about being neglected and I still think it is a miscalculation by TLG to leave this flank so wide open for the competition to gain a larger foothole in our fan communities. It isn't just trains but technic, medieval and other neglected segments as well.

Edited December 5, 2021 by dtomsen

[Toastie]

25 minutes ago, dtomsen said:

It isn't just trains but technic, medieval and other neglected segments as well.

Yes. And Yes.

Best
Thorsten