Chiaroscuro

Really impressive build, congratulations. How many pieces in this beauty?

This issue is huge and I don’t know why LEGO hasn’t come with more track options or a more flexible solution. The current tracks hardly works in any layout, took too much space to do the basics of things. I am starting to plan a layout for myself but wanted it pure LEGO without modifications, but it seems impossible.

Thanks for the very fast answer, Guenther! I am quite a newbie on Lego (came from my dark ages in 2016) but the aspect of building a miniature city always apealed to me. Now I reserved a space to do so, but I have a lot of planning to do. Your layout inspired me to add trains to it (got the 2015 ones) but surely I will have to be pleased with a small less complex one. Thanks for sharing your technics, I it always nice to learn something new. The way you make a “sandwich” of the baseplate between 2x2 plates is really clever. However the 2x2 plate that goes on top of the baseplate would not be on the same level of the tiles applied to make the sidewalk? I see now that your layout have a fixed “ground” made of baseplates where you place the modules with houses and buildings. At first I was trying to make everything modular, like in blocks of 32x32 studs. In that way I could change or transport the layout easily. The sandwich of tiles does not work very well in that scenario, since it will add a stud to each side, makings the module 34x34 (which will keep the buildings apart). One solution would be to build the modular buildings on top of plate build bases (like 2 layers of 4 16x16 plates) but it seems counterproductive if you consider the official Creator modulars (even worse that they are already build on baseplates). Another solution is to just lay the modulars on top of the 2x2 plates, without securing it with another plate on top. It is easier to make those 32x32 blocks for roads, but it seens very difficult (if not impossible) to achieve when you add train tracks to the layout. At the beginning of my project I was considering using road baseplates but soon at the planning stage it becames clear that they take too mauch space and are not flexible enough for a bigger layout. So I began to plan a brick based road plan. Most of the designs I found are made of bricks place sideways (studs on the side) secured by normal brick based borders. I am not sure it will fit my ideas anymore, since I was toying with the idea of mixing roads and train tracks side by side ate the same plate (so I can have a city tran running through the city streets). That seens easy to do with straights, but track curves seems a difficult mix. I may have to build tile based roads to achieve that. As you can see, I am just at the beginning of my project, years of work ahead (just trying to be sure I may not face a dead end in the middle of it).

Hi Guenther. Have to say your work is inspirational to me. Great job! I started to build a layout for me too (very tiny compared to yours). But something escape me and maybe you can help me with a doubt: your roads are Brick-based (as I am planning my city too) so they are at least a brick thick. So you have to elevated the buildings as well to compensate it. I can see that some AFOLs use brick based bases for terrain as well, I imagine that your buildings sit on top of them. But how they are secured in place, since the original baseplates from the sets don’t have anti-studs on their bottom to grip on the base?

Ops, sorry. I follow the notification of new content unread and just scroll back the answers up in thread, without realizing I went through the time tunnel.

Not even the Modular Buildings use them anymore, Diner changed them.

Lights really bring the town to live. I started a little research about it, found the kits from Brickloot, but man, over $50 for each modular kit, sure it would be expensive.

Very nice layout. Love the way Disney Castle fits the town. The beach is also great, only I think that OFS is a little bit hidden. And the lights... great. Which method did you use to light up your buildings?

I love it! Congratulations! I like specially how you create a combination of two different buildings, creating almost like an inverted corner. It reminds me of Assembly Square yes, but yours is a bigger achievement of the same wow factor but on a 32 faceplate! Lovely details too. Please let me know if you decide to sell your design.

Hoth says hi.

That set already have minifigs of its own, and won’t fit a whole minifig line in a nice way.

One problem with Hogwarts being in micro scale is that there is no place to display the minifigs from the new series. Usually a large D2C set release alongside a minifigure series serves as a display diorama for the figures (see Disney Castle,Simpsons, Ninjago City, and Joker’s Mansion). The is no set to display the upcoming HP minifig series.

Beehive is on the tree of the raft set.

Doesn,t Sega Arcade Machines have licenses on their own? I mean, outside a Sega license also Ferrari for Out Run in exemple. That will make the licensing troublesome.

And another one on the train station.