Tijn

Yes, i have personal experience with all custom track manufacturers. If you use the track for living room or garden use, it functions perfectly. However when integrating the track into MILS modules, things get quite a bit different. The early R104 switches form TrixBrix would not align with the studs properly when used as a siding. For this purpose they have developed a special correcting ballasting R104 curve to correct the alignment. I have experienced alignment issues with the yard setup as well, even with the special correcting pieces in place. this could be due to an individual printing / warping issue, but finding out three days before a show is no fun at all. Early versions of the R120 track contained 4 sleepers as opposed to 5, making the popular ballasting technique useless. This has been corrected after feedback, but still leaves me with some expensive useless R120 that can only be used for the kids. Oh and clutch power on all parts randomly differs from tight to non-existent on a single piece. you get used to working around it though. TrixBrix are, however, very friendly in their communiication, allways open to feedback, looking to improve and open to ideas and feedback on new parts, willing to replace faulty parts, willing to compensate, etc etc. ME models was a downright disaster and had to be glued together to be usable in any way. I LOVE the bricktracks molded parts. they are in a leage of ther own when it comes down to quality, clutch power and overall look of the track. If it weren't for the incredible increase in price when importing the stuff in de EU (+40% over an allready -not cheap- product) i would replace everything with this brand in a heartbeat. But their range is limited. I hope FXBricks will deliver on it's promise, as they should have the perfect blend between quality, range of products and production costs from the looks of it. as mentioned before, i love the 4D monorail parts. it fits perfectly and the colour is a good match. I have no personal experience with their track parts, just second-hand knowledge from the lego train community.

Exactly. This is where opinions differ and the moc/lepin argument goes south in my opinion. In all cases of claiming IP , one thing is a constant: the design has to be new, not obvious. whether it is from a technical standpoint (patent) or a visual one (copyright, industrial design right), the same applies allways. Track type extensions, as mentioned by coaster as well, is an idea that came out of the community, has been tried in differrent ways many times, both succesfully and unsuccesfully. The geometry is a result of fitting within the system and many mathematical constraints. One does not simply decide to make R100, it just won't fit. The real challenge is making it work. So the real question lies in the definition of IP. People have been modifying R40 switches for ages. Is it an infringement to print these designs and make them available to the masses ? Is the difference in the production process ? If lego discontinues their wheels and someone decides to produce that themselves, is that stealing ? Or is the wheel design generic enough to not matter that much. I know of at least 3 companies that are working on these. Who owns the IP ? Lego train track looks like lego train track, so we can skip al arguments from a visual point of view. All manufacturers use diffent solutions for the mechanical part. And the geometry, though similar, is acually diifferent as well. TB's geometry is far inferior to anything else on the market by the way, and so is the clutch power. And that is why copying a MOC design (or a lego set for that matter ) is an entirely different discussion. Because that can actually be visually distinguished from any other moc. It is unique in its appearence. We all know the builders who double a modular building in size and call it a moc. We usually know better. but if we double a train switch in size, all of a sudden there is an entire IP discussion. Is it really that easy to go into production with only a kickstarter picture as a reference? Can you measure the geometry from that accurate enough to save a lot of time on testing, retesting, etc ?

First of all. I own some of your monorail products and i love them. I would love to buy more, but the availability is a problem. (EU) However: It is a fact of life, and especially a fact of doing business, that someone is going to compete with a product if there is a market for it. The copying argument you are making is not valid as: a) Different types of track have been made by companies like ME models for a longer time than 4D bricks has been around. (they failed because their production process was too complex and expensive. ) If you believe your own argument, you yourself are copying designs of other companies as well. b) The Lepin copying argument would apply to IP. Not when you produce an unprotected concept. Even TLG doesn't complain about a company bringing a building system to the market, they don't sue megablocks for being compatible, they sue for the copying specific artistic designs, witch they protected first to make sure they had the legal grounds to sue when needed. They don't sue you for making a product based on their track connection system they invented. c) The fact that a point is "modular", for instance, is not a feature, it is a necessity as most printers simply can't print these large parts and warping is a problem. I can't imagine anyone using the modularity as a feature when using the product. I find it annoying as FCK personally. Your modularity is based on logic and the exact same connection system for the parts as lego track, breaking the product into parts that can be printed end simplifying your own production process as you can recycle certain parts for a different product. You Don't even sell individual modules for your modular system to allow customers to make use of the modularity. Trixbrix overtook you as a company because the produce at a significantly lower cost, but also because they keep innovating themselves as well. their range in switch types has expanded beyond the 4D range with double slip switches, R120 track, different types of crossings, etc etc. The internal workings of the switches are not copied but are their own design. It is up to you to make sure you are ahead of the competition. Find a way to lower production cost. No consumer in the EU cares where a product is made as long as it is available. Made in the US is not a valid feature. Find a way to deliver in the EU at a competitive price point. Have better clutch power, improve on the way points can be ballasted (with regular bricks, i hate the TB ballasting parts) I am convinced that some of your product is superior to the competition. there is a reason you're the only one making monorail as precision is very important here, and your control units for automation are beautiful. the servo housings for switch automation are useless as TB's as when running 8 wide trains as the cars can't clear them. TB automation is not usable by kids as the way you have to connect them is far too fiddly and frustrating for kids. (i tested, extensively, as my kids got to play with a review copy of the TB switch automation) So there are plenty of opportunities to make a difference. But if you can't compete on price, compete on quality, innovation, create switch automation solutions for MILS module users and Lgauge enthousiasts, as no-one is doing that (yet). But don't complain about the competition. Every true entrepreneur has to deal with that. I wish you all the best with your endeavours, i really like the quality of the product i bought. I think if you let go of the frustration and look at your own strengths, you can contribute a beautiful product to the lego train community.

Building a frame on the ground first was a good idea, It helps to define a shape without a lot of hassle and snap the components to that frame. LDD is a bit naggy about snapping to certain angles, particularly when rotating bricks placed at an angle... Here's my WIP Green Grocer extensive MOD WIP by Martijn van der Linden, on Flickr

Thank you, that helps a lot. I'll probably end up changing a lot, but I'll show you the end result.

Hi, First of all, awesome work you're doing. I notices in the first page that you made some LDD files available. Is there any chance the movie green grocer you built will become available as well ? I would like to do a mod on this so it becomes an angled 48 x 48 corner modular building, not copy the entire building, but you figured out a lot of angles that would save me several hours. Regards, Martijn

You're right, i credited his version as well as kid bricksto's in the flickr comments, but i should have done so here as well. I loved mike's version, but i wanted to do the mandible holes with the 6 wide arch pieces. The downside being you have to make the mandibles a bit too long, but only slightly. Does anyone have any thoughts on the docking rings? I like the smooth look of the 4x4 macaroni pieces on mike's version, but it should have a tapered shape, so i used wedge plates on a hinge.

Hi all, i decided to share my wip, hoping you would like to help out by giving tips and feedback. I have been wanting to build a larger MF for a while now, but i think the ucs version is too big, too expensive and i never liked the cockpit. So i decided to do a version roughly 1,5 times the size of the regular minifig version, and it should be the force awakens version with the rectangular dish. Currently i am doing seperate components to get the sizes right and to make sure i use a scale that will still allow for an interior. Some pics in my album:

It is a french balcony and they never have doorknobs on the outside.

looks like threesided but if you freeze at 0:32 you can clearly see it is 5 sided

your c3po appears to be the one from the death star and not the original one from 10144, am i right ?

The sandcrawler is 118 euro on S@H now, 50 euro's off :-) just (finally) ordered mine today ...

there is a theater in this gallery http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=11398 that might give you some inspiration ?

I think it's misleading that it appears to be steering on the front picture of the box, whereas it cannot steer.

dooku's star sailor is up on the brothers brick ...