Western Theme Discussion

[legofrek]

I really feel that we'll get a remake of this theme. Yep. I really do...

i think so to just because there is so many good western movies like

and if you don't know which movie it is you live under a rock

Edited July 2, 2011 by legofrek

[Piranha]

Let's face it, Klaus-Dieter, even if TLG would produce a Wild West theme in the future, you wouldn't be satisfied with it. I think you've grown such high expectations over those sets (even counting what they would cost!) that TLG couldn't possibly meet up with what you're expecting.

Unless they make it better than we are expecting.

[Dr Rod]

In case you guys & gals haven't noticed, Matija on Flickr has been busy making some kick megablocks western mocs.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/matijagrguric/sets/72157627087661478/with/5889499286/

Oleg,

DrRod

[Sirens-of-Titan]

Unless they make it better than we are expecting.

Yes indeed! Let's face it, the only kind of western theme that can be officially released is not a historic one but one based on the Hollywood version of the wild west. (Which was filmed mostly in California and parts of Arizona/New Mexico and isn't really that accurate to true pioneer life)

Then again, I think that a good Wild West Theme is to real pioneers as a good castle theme is to the middle ages; rooted in history,embellished by fantasy and edited for the little ones.

[David Thomsen]

I'd love to see a run of modular buildings done in a WW fashion.

Take a look at any western movie set in a decent sized town and you can see that there would be a wealth of buildings to choose from.

Just dreaming, I know but, it WOULD be cool.

I had this thought after I saw a Modular style Western MOC. I think it has great potential, though I don't see Lego doing two Modular ranges at the same time.

The best part is that if they're feeling squeamish about using Native Americans again (not necessarily very PC any more), they don't have to, because unlike most Lego ranges, the exclusive Modular sets aren't based around conflict and don't need to have two opposing sides.

Alternatively they could take the 'Christmas Village' route and have a smaller but well designed exclusive building every year. I'm not sure I could afford two Modulars every year anyway.

OR they could just bring the theme back as a standard range. I'm not fussy.

Edited July 6, 2011 by David Thomsen

[Piranha]

Yes indeed! Let's face it, the only kind of western theme that can be officially released is not a historic one but one based on the Hollywood version of the wild west. (Which was filmed mostly in California and parts of Arizona/New Mexico and isn't really that accurate to true pioneer life)

Then again, I think that a good Wild West Theme is to real pioneers as a good castle theme is to the middle ages; rooted in history,embellished by fantasy and edited for the little ones.

Yes one more thing on Sandy's comment, KD can use his money for whatever he wants, and he/us are not hoping in blind faith. For example, Western/Wild West is obviously on TLGs mind, as we have seen 4 figs featured in the CM series, (Tribal Hunter, Chief, Cowboy and Mexican) now albeit there also has been plenty of ones that match and we don't see those themes but maybe they are testing the waters to say??

Now other examples, fans wanted Pirates brought back, what happened? They brought them back in 2009. Fans wanted Ninja brought back, what happened? It came back as Ninjago, now not everyone was expecting that

If TLG sees enough interest and can profit from it, then why not?

[WesternOutlaw]

I was reading some of the posts above and want to chime in. Every few years, this topic seems to resurface like LEGO underwater-related themes, but without the release of any new sets.

Part of me would very much like to see new sets built in the old 1996 Wild West fashion to expand Gold City. We've discussed the opportunities for new structures and Wild West elements on several occasions (so no need to mention them again). I can't express how much I enjoyed searching my home town for Wild West sets right before they could no longer be found in stores. The WW sets (and LEGO Trains) brought me out of my Dark Ages and I recall the excitement of opening Gold City Junction and Bandit's Hideout with green pieces, barrels, wagon wheels, and exploding dynamite traps.

At the same time, I would welcome a brand new Wild West theme (not like Ninjago to Ninja), but something like a 50th Anniversary Town Plan to that of the old 50s set (although a Ghost Town or Mexican Village would certainly be awesome).

While movies like True Grit, Jonah Hex, Tomb Stone, and others released in the past 10-15 years were good movies, the kids just aren't into WW anymore. Perhaps Cowboys vs. Aliens may stem new interest, but the era has died. It was fun seeing WW appear in Toy Story and Rango (an excellent cartoon BTW), but licensed themes may provide the only hope for resurrecting the theme; unless LEGO decides to offer some new sets for adult fans. They have certainly surprised us in the past and they seem to be listening like never before.

Other toy companies like Playmobil are in fact offering new Western sets, as well as "legends from the past". LEGO could certainly follow suit.

Until then, as a few have mentioned, use the pieces and parts that you have to build your own Grave Stones, Shiverdales, Mexican Villages, and Gold City Junctions.

[Ogre]

Alternatively they could take the 'Christmas Village' route and have a smaller but well designed exclusive building every year. I'm not sure I could afford two Modulars every year anyway.

OR they could just bring the theme back as a standard range. I'm not fussy.

Agree and agree!

At the same time, I would welcome a brand new Wild West theme (not like Ninjago to Ninja), but something like a 50th Anniversary Town Plan to that of the old 50s set (although a Ghost Town or Mexican Village would certainly be awesome).

That would be very cool. A 'one-off' with some of the buildings that were missing in the original series would be really nice.

[bligor]

Hi everyone.

Being a EB newbie and having a comeback to LEGO after few years i have to start with the basics.

I would like to know if anyone could give me advice on what equipment(bricks) to get for building medium sized western MOCs? I have a lot of white, gray and black pieces but i figuered that tan or brown pieces would probably go best for walls and wooden builds.

I haven't really searched for another topic, perhaps there is one that has a discussion about the best parts for decent western MOCs, but if not, write here what you think.

Peace :D

[Piranha]

hello welcome to EB, have you checked Bricklink.com? they have alot of parts and practically every LEGO product ever made.

also with CM6 or was it 7? we get a new western bandit and Spanish dancer

[bligor]

I am active on bricklink (thank god for them) :)), but my point was on asking about the type of bricks, styles and techniques used in western MOCs.

Since this is a western theme forum, lets make it a place where you can learn everything about the western MOCs.:)

Peace :)

[Zeya]

Well a good place to start would be to look through western MOCs posted on these forums.

But off the top of my head, you'll likely want to use tan bricks and plates for desert/dry landscapes. You can make cactuses out of 1x? green plates and round greens. Those palisade bricks that look like logs are good for buildings. You'll probably want to think about using colors like tan and shades of brown. You might go with mostly brown parts for buildings, I'd imagine. Long brown tiles would be nice for a porch in front of a saloon, maybe.

I had been looking through mini fig torso prints recently, thinking about maybe dabbling into western or civil war uniforms and the like. There's some potentially good torso prints from some of the adventurers and Johnny Thunder type of themes. I think some of the villains from those themes had things like suspenders or button-up shirts and uniforms. It's worth a look anyway. For women, you can use some dress prints like the new one from the Kingdoms Mill Village Raid (she has a nice apron on) or the white dress one from the Imperial Flagship or Brickbeard's Bounty. You could also repurpose the blacksmith from the new Kingdoms line as well - he could easily become a western blacksmith with just a new hat, I think. I have some red handkerchief accessories, that go between the head and torso - those came from the winter holiday sets. I would also use some pirate or city crook heads, maybe one or two with an eyepatch. The female pirate torso from 2009 and MMV would make a good wench/whore character. A whorehouse MOC, there's an idea. I should do that, lol. I hope I'm not offending anybody with the language here.

Of course I'd say that parts from the true-blue western theme from years ago would have the best parts. You might be able to actually use some stuff from the Toy Story line as well.

I started watching a new TV series here in the US called Hell on Wheels. It's a western, and really a good show. Runs on AMC which is a premium cable/satellite channel. So I've been giving western stuff some thought lately. Also there's that new bandit fig coming out in the next series of "collectible" minifigures, and that's got me thinking too. :)

Edited November 26, 2011 by Zeya

[NiceMarmot]

bligor-

You might want to pick up a bunch of 30140 bricks off BrickLink (Panel 2 x 6 x 6 Log Wall (Palisade)). I think these are essential for building log palisade style forts and such. They are a bit pricey, but they're big. You'll probably need at least twelve or so for MOCing. Of course, you'll want to get 30136 and 30137 log bricks too (1x2 and 1x4) in the same color, as well as some 1x1 round bricks and cones. Some western buildings in towns are a bit fancy in a sort of pre-Victorian way, so you might want to pick up some 1x1 modified plates with tooth (49668) for a gingerbreading effect. And some brown tiles; 1x4 reddish brown tiles are fairly cheap; buy a lot. You'll want brown barrels and wagon wheels too. See if your local Lego Store has horses in the PaB wall, and if so get a bunch, or they go for about $1 on BL (the non-white ones are more expensive).

For landscaping, you'll want tan, dark tan, and reddish-brown plates. If you see any Ramses Pyramid games on sale, buy them. They were just on sale for $9.99; they've got a tan 32x32 baseplate (that's worth $5.50-8.00 on BrickLink alone), plus lots of other tan pieces. The 6064 prickly bushes are have a good western style too, especially if you can find the dark tan ones. The 30093 Sea Grass looks a bit cactus-like too.

You'll save some money on minifigures by going Western as compared to some of the licensed themes, especially Star Wars. Quite a few minifigs can be hand fairly reasonably, and if you're willing to build your own minifigs from parts, you put a bunch of them together for $1-2 each off BrickLink. For women, some of the pirate and castle torsos make good Western minifigs, like 973pb528c01, 973pb732c01, or 973pb522c01.

For western-style men, take a look at torsos like 973pb203c01, 973pb86c01, 973pb547c01, 973pb09c02, 973pb716c01, 973p21c01. The farmer-style torsos tend to be relatively inexpensive on BL, and make good wild west civilians or cowboys. The Desert Adventurers / Johhny Thunder / Pharoah's Quest torsos make good western-style figs too -- reasonably priced examples include 973pb391c01, 973pa7c01, 973pb42c01, 973pa1c01, 973px3c01, 973px4c01. Or the entire Johnny Thunder minifig (adv010) is available fairly cheaply. There are a bunch of Indian torsos too; they tend to be a bit more expensive, but still not too bad.

[Dr Rod]

Hi everyone.

Being a EB newbie and having a comeback to LEGO after few years i have to start with the basics.

I would like to know if anyone could give me advice on what equipment(bricks) to get for building medium sized western MOCs? I have a lot of white, gray and black pieces but i figuered that tan or brown pieces would probably go best for walls and wooden builds.

I haven't really searched for another topic, perhaps there is one that has a discussion about the best parts for decent western MOCs, but if not, write here what you think.

Peace :D

Obviously lots of brown and tans. I would suggest buying up old brown now from cracklink as it will be gone one day and it is great to have multiple shades of brown...

The photo below is from my flickr stream of "El Bricko", have a look, there are lots of different building styles there, it was made by a few SydLUG guys.

Dr Rod

[bligor]

I really gotta praise you guys, you really give away a lot of useful info.

@Zeya:

-I agree with everything that you said, and I especially like your idea about Whorehouse MOC :) It would be a great idea to make a Western modular city, Whorehouse, Sherif's office, Bank, Saloon etc.

@NiceMarmot:

-I am really impresed with your knowledge, and you were really helpful, you've truned this theme into a true discussion as it says on the topic headline. So i have one thing to discuss :) Concerning that brick palisade, i would rather go with 1x2 and 1x4 brown log bricks, because they can make more detailed and precise walls but that is also the matter of taste.

@Dr Rod:

El Bricko looks fantastic.

You can also check on MOCpages a builder called Matija, he is from Croatia and he makes an outstanding Western MOCs. It would be fun to make a project on starting a modular Western city with 5-6 buildings to build. Just my imagination working :)

Peace

[NiceMarmot]

@bligor- I use the 1x2 and 1x4 log bricks as well as the larger 6x6 palisade pieces. You're right, you do get better control over the details with the smaller bricks. However, using the 6x6 pieces is a bit cheaper, if you're just doing a plain expanse of wall. It's about $0.36 to build a 6x6 section of wall using them, as opposed to $0.45-0.50 using 1x2 and 1x4s.

[bligor]

@bligor- I use the 1x2 and 1x4 log bricks as well as the larger 6x6 palisade pieces. You're right, you do get better control over the details with the smaller bricks. However, using the 6x6 pieces is a bit cheaper, if you're just doing a plain expanse of wall. It's about $0.36 to build a 6x6 section of wall using them, as opposed to $0.45-0.50 using 1x2 and 1x4s.

Yup, money is always something we need to think about :D I got this idea today about building a 4 horse stagecoach, something like Pony Express style. I browsed through the MOCs on the web and haven't found one with 4 horse drive (4HD) :laugh: They usualy make a one horse stagecoach. I got a lot of horses in my bricks but not one brown horse, i figuered that white ones aren't really authenthic so the black ones are probably the best.

Does anyone has a suggestion of a model to look at when building such thing, wyatt earp movie or old classics? :D

Peace

[Ardelon]

Reading the thread, i found this bit from Klaus-Dieter on page 2:

Now I remember that TheBrickster mentioned somewhere some time ago that there were rumours that Playmobil is going to release a Mexican theme in 2012.

And since it's not seldom the case that Playmobil and Lego release similar themes in one and the same year, perhaps we've got the luck to get a new Western theme in 2012.

I really hope so!

Btw: For those who haven't already joined, please take part in the Petition to bring back the Western theme - thanks.

Klaus-Dieter

So does anyone know whether Playmobil will release this Mexican theme next year? And I know it's a tiny straw to grasp, but maybe the "new action theme" next year could be a Western theme?

Edited November 27, 2011 by Ardelon

[Capn Frank]

I couldn't find a Western Review Discussion thread, which means it could exist.

Anyways,

I believe the Link for Fort Legoredo Photo Review Part II is incorrect and should be here instead of here.