SteamSewnEmpire

Nevermind, just saw it. Didn't realize a tree constituted a station now.

Can't tell if you're pulling my leg or not. I saw the lighthouse and the carnival funhouse for the January rollout. Do you have a link to pics of a subway?

Which, I might add, is an abomination, resembling neither a European nor North American locomotive in any way. I like the Hidden Side sets (because they're fine so long as you keep the gaudy ghosts tucked away); the train was the weakest effort in the line by far.

My lone bit of criticism is that there are so many clear blocks utilized for windows. However, with the shaping you've gone with, I guess it was the only option.

It's to feed the monkey, obviously. Thus, we are back to the monkey.

I was wondering more about the monkey.

Love it - very Kongo/Tiger-esque. Are you able to show the internals and how you achieved the hull shaping? How solid is it to hold?

I think even Star Wars might not be the best example. What about, say, the Black Knights vs. the Dragon Knights? They're clearly fighting each other, but - aside from one faction wearing black (oOoooOOOoooo, not black!) - it's not really obvious that anyone's a bad guy. In fact, for at least half of its existence, the castle theme has been about realistically morally indistinguishable factions fighting and (presumably) killing each other (because why else would they need castles and catapults and swords, etc?); nobody is obviously bad or obviously good - they're just men motivated by the vagaries of medieval society to take what they need by force of arms. Even the woodsmen theme is ridiculous in this manner - are the woodsmen really the good guys? Or are they just thieves that the king is trying to quell? And, if the woodsmen are good, why are the wolfpack generally portrayed as chaotic or evil? What I am driving at is: if nobody in many of the castle themes is evil, how is one side killing the other "okay" in Lego's worldview of peace conquering all? That seems a little too real... a little too murder-y... a little too much like exactly the sort of warfare that they claim to have transcended. I personally do not believe in hiding many of the realities of the world from children - what isn't learned at home will be picked up on the playground, regardless. And Lego's portrayal of combat is, universally, pretty soft stuff (even a large portion of the swords are rounded at the ends). But it's absolutely ridiculous that this company that has downright gloried in combat-themed sets since I was a small child believes that it can lecture anyone regarding violence. People being stabbed with swords and hit with flails might not be real in today's world, but it was very, very real for the people getting bludgeoned, and to act like that kind of killing is somehow "okay" when getting gunned down by your assault rifle flavor of choice isn't, is ludicrous. I love Lego, but let's call a spade a spade: they love war, and they love the profit it brings in.

Isn't brickowl a sort of alternate bricklink?

I'm going to have to call a bit of tosh on this. Lego most assuredly promotes war. Maybe not modern war, but certainly everything up to the late 19th Century seems to have been fair game. The castle, western, and pirates themes are all completely founded on real-world combat, and Star Wars, Space, Lord of the Rings, Avengers, etc., etc. have always been very violent lines heavily reliant on battle/faction rivalry/war. Lego has themselves released flintlocks, cannons, revolvers, rifles, and even Tommy Guns (the latter being military ordinance, despite its association with gangsters), and several of the Avengers and other super hero sets have featured built-up guns that were clearly intended to represent heavier ordinance. Even the existence of "army building" sets is proof that Lego wants people embrace large-scale battle situations involving minifigures doing more than skirmishing. While Lego is definitely shy when it comes to military escapades in the last century (which is a little silly, when you think about it - is being cut down by a machine gun really all that more gruesome [if at all] than being hacked to pieces with a sword, or impaled on a spear?), the idea that they are opposed to war is inaccurate (and for them to claim otherwise is total hypocrisy). Lego has, in fact, done little else throughout its history than to promote violence in its themes. I have no problem with this, of course - boys like to play war. But the company definitely has profited from its adoption of very bloody themes.

I've admired your work, as well as that of Big Ben and Shupp, for years. But I'm a pessimist, too, and after what happened with Paramount and the Star Trek fandom (NO MORE FAN VIDS FOR YOU, MWAHAHAHAHA!) I am never optimistic when something like this happens.

Those of us who model narrow gauge - and hope to see narrow gauge's presence expanded in the future - however, appear to be SOL...

I cannot believe they would order you to stop selling. If they do, I encourage you to fight tooth an nail - and to set up a GoFundMe for legal defense support. If Lego is going to go to war against MOCers with their ludicrous "war doesn't exist; guns don't exist; accurate train parts don't exist" world views, we need to collectively counter attack as a community.

If I ever build it, yes. Here's a bit more info: https://locomotive.fandom.com/wiki/Jones_%26_Laughlin_Steel_No._58 Basically, it's one of the world's most powerful 2-footers.

Nice. I wish the tree was real :/. The locomotive looks great with lights.

Thanks.

This is awesome.

It's great. Slight criticism: the bridges should be wider than the sleepers. If you can spare the parts, I would bulk them up a bit.

Very strong stuff.

That's probably more than the little engine can haul, but there we go.

Probably not prototypically-correct interiors, but with the limitations on space, I did my best (and yes, I know that sleeping cars from the 19th Century were mostly open with no dividers, but I wanted some privacy). The "roomettes" would be closed off by cloth curtains if the car was built. There are also light fixtures in both cars, but they hang from the ceiling, and so aren't visible with the rooftops off.

I haven't played the game (it's sixty freaking bucks right now), but it's apparently receiving just rave reviews. Does anyone know if it's added anything new to the ship or vehicle canon that we should be looking to MOC? I mean, there's this thing, but it looks a bit impractical - and more than something of a part hog - to me (although cool):

Been thinking about doing one of these (with that crankshaft design that's available on the web) for a while. The only thing is: I wouldn't the battery pack in a second car. A three truck shay might be able to fit it, though. Hmm.

See, I think that's going too far. Lego is a very popular product - unless Disney is getting into the toy-making business (other than the garbage they sell at their theme parks), there's no reason to end a licensing agreement that is making them money for essentially no effort. It would be like cutting off Mattel. Not to mention that Lego is pretty deeply embedded into some Disney properties, which would make any rift both painful and public: It's almost certain that this is a minor decision rather than a major one. And if it was a major one, I think we all know on which side we'd come down on: Lego's. If Disney ever did foolishly end the licensing, at this point, we have pretty much everything we need to keep MOCing for some time to come. If you want to fret over something, I'd worry about Disney's monopoly at some point being broken up. I get a general sense that Hollywood is none-to-happy about the mega-corp, and - eventually - the powers that be may go to the government with some bit of evidence or whatever that allows the feds to force Disney to divest various business interests. THAT might risk the Lego partnership.