Legoless

I can't get this song out of my head- its The Stranglers- Golden Brown. Its actually a song about Heroin, although fairly subtle by Stranglers standards. Its in both 3/4 and 4/4 timing (certain bars), making it a very unusual song. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7R7q1lSZfs Considering its subject matter, I was always quite tickled every time I heard it played in ASDA (UK supermarket owned by WalMart). But then, ASDA's old catchphrase used to be 'One trip and you're laughing'!

Calm down, calm down! Uploaded with ImageShack.us Just in case some of you are too young to remember the Harry Enfield Show (early 1990's)

I haven't played D&D for donkey's years, but a group of us used to play a similar game called Call of Cthulu (based on the writings of HP Lovecraft). It required a gamebook and some multi-sided dice (plus character sheets but they could be improvised or photocopied). We didn't go into the rules too much- as long as you have a fully immersive game where everyone is playing by the same (simplified) rules, who cares, as long as you are having fun? Nowadays I play World of Warcraft, but really can't be bothered with the minutiae of how to spec my char properly (as long as my gear is reasonable for the job I'm happy) and some of the convoluted tactics. You almost need to be a post-graduate engineer these days to play fantasy games. So why not just play D&D the old fashioned way? I bet you'd find a group of friends willing to join you- not to mention veterans who tire of the endless 'mission creep' designed not so much to enrich the playing experience, but to enrich those who produce the doodads that are 'required' to play the modern game.

Used to be the same in Gloucestershire, although with increasingly mobile populations (since most rural-born folks can't actually afford to live in the place of their birth due to sky-high property prices) it is no longer so. Although I can differentiate between a Cheltenham and a Gloucester accent, and a Forest of Dean one. Although I've lived my whole life in the northernmost parts of the West Country- I do love the Devon accent most of all, possibly followed by the Northern Irish (which, I am sorry to say, I used to hate as a kid because the only time I ever heard it was in connection with The Troubles).

Now this is a vastly more impressive model on every level than the frankly rather disappointing Lego Architecture Burj Khalifa (yeah- so that is the world's largest phallic symbol- a modern day Tower of Babel- but what a boring model of a rather dull building). Love the use of curves on the facade, and the water, which would probably look too deep blue in other MOCs looks right for this one. Congrats and look forward to seeing more!

A nice start- I like the half-train loco at the crossing, although you might want to increase the height of the monorail as the pantograph and therefore the electric cable wouldn't get under. Raising the monorail would also keep it well clear of the buildings below, to reduce visual clutter. Look forward to seeing how it progresses.

Wow- this build is really progressing- love the kitchen department. Surprised Vodaphone operates in Australia- considering Britain is about half the size of your average Aussie sheep station and they can't even manage decent coverage here- not even in major cities- what chance have they got in Oz?

Hmm, that makes you about 90 years old? Funnily enough, people always say that Formby played the ukelele- in fact, as can be seen above, he played the banjo. Edit- Correction- he played the banjolele which was a cross between the two (he says after deciding to check his facts). Edit- again to include new face-palm emoticon. I think I'll shut up now.

Ok, so this is a music video, but I think it qualifies because it was made to be shown on TV. It's the White Stripes- Fell in Love with a Girl (excellent stuff) directed by Michel Gondry.

@Mikey- yup, I've had my tyres slashed 3 times at a previous address, one on an Accord Aerodeck (estate) with brand new tyres on it (not cheap). @Prof Flitwick- yup, Stephen Fry is a great national treasure. And whereas you might expect someone who is both 'posh' and extremely intelligent to only appeal to those of a similar ilk, he seems to be adored by everyody, regardless of class or social standing. Another great Englishman, Rest in Peace, was the late John Peel. He championed many music acts that would not have been given a look-in by any other DJ. If you are over 35 and a music fan, you only need look through your collection to see some of the 'left field' acts that were first featured on his radio show. But more than that, he was a fabulous person without trying to be a 'personality', which put him at stark contrast to his egomaniac colleagues at Radio 1. And wheras their inane chatter, sycophantic co-hosts, and generally chart music only tended to grate (they really thought that their radio shows were about them), John Peel concentrated on the music. That is not to say that he didn't talk- indeed he did so, sometimes at length, yet he was, unlike his colleagues, self-deprecating but highly eloquent.With his wimsical English sense of humour and sense of the absurd, sometimes he could wax lyrical in King James style prose, always relevent (if tenuous), yet delicious to the ear. There is something intimate about radio at its best, and you always felt that he was talking to you directly rather than addressing the masses. He'd often talk about his family, whom he clearly adored, and who were very much ingegral to the man he was. What was always surprising was how young people related to him. Here was a scruffy, balding, grey bearded guy in a shapeless wooly jumper- the very antithesis of 'cool', yet when he put in an appearance on stage they adored him. Young people tend to react badly to older people trying to be 'cool', and because of his down-to-earth demeanour (together with his soft Liverpudlian tones), and his great love of music, regardless of how esoteric, they really took him to their collective bosom. In his later years he also presented a show called 'Home Truths' for that great British insitution, BBC Radio 4 (of which I am a huge fan). In Home Truths he often had to interview ordinary people in their own homes about tragedies that had occurred in their lives. A deeply sensitive man, quite often he would break down in tears and need to be comforted by the people he was supposed to be interviewing! As a Radio 1 DJ, he had to present Top of the Pops on a rota basis. Ever the wag, he once announced a band with the words 'And if you don't buy this record I shall break into your house and break wind in your kitchen!'. When the TotP producer heard about it, he cut short his holiday in Austalia and flew back to give Peel a carpeting! When Peel died, I was deeply saddened, far more so than for any other famous person. His contribution to the world of music can not be underestimated, and when I hear some of the shite that gets airplay these days, I keep thinking 'what if Peel was still around?'. He was, and always will be, deeply missed by those who knew him in real life, and by those of us who never met him, but felt we knew him nonetheless.

I know I've already commented on this, but congrats on getting on the EB frontpage- it was very well deserved!

Yeah, but surely you must be able to appreciate the beauty of the British countryside- it isn't flat! You are right about the trains though- that is a legacy of decades of underinvestment by successive governments. Although there has been a hell of a lot of investment in the last 2 decades, our railways still need to improve. But heck- at least in a British train you don't have to sit on seats that are covered in green PVC! Car insurance- don't get me started there. My previous car got written off by some ***ker who tried to steal it. He was so inept that he damaged 3 doors, broke a window and then the steering lock, but didn't know how to hot-wire it. He tried to do it through the fusebox then opened the bonnet to try to do it that way. It was an old Nissan Sunny and the locks could probably have been picked easily using a piece of wet string. So I am not looking forward to renewal time- as if an insurance company has to pay out once they seem to expect to recoup their money every time you renew. So I bought an old Ford Escort as an emergency replacement (surprisingly its actually a pretty good car)n and someone, probably the same person, prized open the rear door and did the same. Not noticing that it was fitted with an immobiliser which would have made it very difficult to hotwire, and a fitted radio cassette which would only be of use to another Ford owner. Luckily this time the only damage was to that one door so I didn't bother claiming. I do have to put up with a dent that he made with his knee when he bent the top of the door back, and it leaks where we couldn't get it to bend back enough to achieve an effective seal. Bugger, spent so long typing this that I have cremated the pizza I was cooking.

Not much rain in Gloucestershire- actually I am probably the only person in the country who doesn't really want it as it plays havoc with my joints and besides, I have a wild jungle outside that I am supposed to be taming (God I hate gardening).

I like the scaffolding with the safety netting. Nice MOC. Although there does seem to be a lot of activity going on. Had they been British builders they would have arrived on site, made themselves some Builder's Tea (basically a mug of warm damp sugar with milk added), sucked their teeth, shook their heads 'Ooh that's going to be costly...' then buggered off muttering something about'getting something from the depot'. And that would be that for the day.

Lol! Its quite funny to think of 1980's era minifigs having 'normal' lives with all the attendant issues (but bless them, they are still smiling through the tears). Great review. By the time this set came out I was only playing with Lego covertly, and would soon enter my Dark Ages (from which I have yet to properly emerge). I would have liked this set for its useful roof slopes and skylights. And those oh-so-naff (by today's standards) Val Doonican sweaters on the minifigs.

The consensus amongst many train enthusiasts was that the 8 straight, 8 curved pack forced them to buy curved tracks that they were never going to use (as many layouts call for far more straight track than curves). I agree with you that packaging flexi track in with straights is also not a good idea, as they have had a poor reception amongst AFOLs and are not suitable for heavier trains. But even accepting that AFOLs are not the core market demographic for TLG, it would seem to make sense to offer only the track pieces that customers actually want rather than forcing them to buy stuff they don't (not very ecological for one thing). Luckily there is an alternative with ME tracks, although their range is, probably out of necessity, being unfolded rather slowly and is incomplete as yet. Its perfectly possible to make a double crossover out of 4 sets of points, albeit the track geometry might not be desirable, due to the peculiar geometry designed into Lego pointwork. In real-life British practice point-based switchovers are preferred to using diamond crossings, although the actual paired points are usually much further apart than is the case for most model layouts.

That works for me- a nice simple representation of this odd but endearing tractor cum offroad truck. As for the red brick- one way to get round that might be to make up a custom sticker for that corner- say advertising a 'tree surgeon' service, or maybe a wrap around race sticker.

Ah, a very characteristic 57xx- a wonderful MOC of a terrific pannier tank loco typical of the many built for use on God's Wonderful Railway (sometimes mistakenly referred to as the Great Western). I'm a native of the West Country which was one of their main stamping ground (not that I am old enough to have seen one in the wild- so to speak- I've only ever seen captive versions in museums or preserved lines). My first Hornby trainset featured such a loco so this type has particular appeal for me. Lovely MOC- like the wirework and the efforts gone to conceal the motor/electrics.

I look forward to seeing its first shop window display with all the vehicles propped up on Lego bricks after the wheels have been knicked! But seriously, its good to see that Lego in the UK is looking to open stores north of the Watford Gap. The furthest north existing store currently is Milton Keynes- and that is little more than an offshoot of London. Cardiff is the nearest one to me, but I find it odd that there is no store in Bristol or convenient to the Cotswolds, where I live, which is probably one of the wealthiest parts of the country (yours truly excepted)- Lego ownership is particularly high amongst middle class consumers (would have to be given the cost of the stuff).

Possibly an ideal solution might be a metal wheel (turned in a lathe) with a coloured ABS insert on the outer face to co-ordinate with other wheels, and with a cross in it to locate a Technic axle. Then a hidden brass pickup could rub against the back surface of the wheel to provide pickup- that should be fairly easy to make and to solder a wire to. These days it is possible to get small ABS parts custom-made using a 3D printer- so to make such wheels would only require a lathe and the right skills, as well as the ability to design the plastic centre cap using CAD- hell it might even be possible to turn that on a lathe if the wheel was of a plain appearance (eg diesel). Maybe Big Ben's Bricks will come up with such a product. An interim solution (if a little crude) might be possible using a pair of sprung sliding shoes in the middle of a bogie, although this would need to be wide enough to maintain contact on both sides when going through curves. Again, should be easy enough (in theory) to make using cut brass sheeting and a pair of pliers, plus some kind of basic springing mechanism. With the new ME track I'd be surprised if some kind of commercial product wasn't in development by someone- after all, 9v motors will start to get rather scarce fairly soon, if they aren't already.

Looks like you guys had a whale of a time! Wish I could have come (never mind). So who is who in the photos?

If you don't want to use plywood and would prefer the 'purist' Lego route, you could complete the foreground in normal Lego (the bits that would be on display) and maybe build up other layers (where they are not seen) using Technic beam 'stilts' or even second-hand Duplo bricks to make up the height (probably worth cleaning them first...) which would probably be quite cheap and quick compared to making up pillars using standard Lego.

Oh. My. God. The A4 is almost unquestionably one of the most beautiful, most iconic locomotives in the history of railways, as well as holding the world record for being the fastest. And this is an amazing feat of building- to get the proportions and the wonderful curves right. Once again you have set the standard by which all other Lego model trains must be judged. And as somebody so cack-handed as to struggle to get a postage stamp on straight (literally) I always marvel at the accuracy of your stickering, both in application and design. Of course you chose the most beautiful (and most recognisable) colour for your A4- a rich, deep cobalt blue that works superbly with the sleek design of the loco.

You'd be most welcome to use the idea, as I am unlikely to, at least for the forseeable future. But I think it would be very hard to carry off in Lego, simply because it would need to be done entirely in shades of grey (even the blacks and whites to avoid excessive contrast), and Lego bricks are too 'blocky' even with sophisticated building techniques. Lego Bley is too 'blue', old grey is getting rarer, and what made period black and white photography so characteristic was the graduation of grey tones as well as the effect of shadowing. I think it could be done well in conventional model railway scales (O Gauge would probably be ideal) with a very skilled eye and a airbrush. Could make a really interesting late steam/prototype diesel era layout!