pinioncorp

This is definately helpful to people, why isn't this thread sticky (pinned)?

While I admire your creativity and your attention to detail, this really isn't prototypical of the type of train it was intended to depict. At the time these were running, a split level car was unheard of. Furthermore, the caboose was not an element found on European railways. There was either a guard compartment in the last car or a separate brake van. That aside, you've done a nice job with the detailing. It would be nicer to get a consistent height across the length but you've made the transition as eye pleasing as possible. I look forward to seeing your sheds.

Absolutely fantastic, any chance of a video to show this beauty in motion?

Very nice, its like a "classic 90's modular". I also love the use of the tree on the footpath, it actually looks really nice. Makes me wish they'd use the trees more often, as their brick built trees have been an eyesore at best, atrocious at worst (I'm looking at you Town Plan). Hope to see more of your work.

Fantastic! An approachable scale without the loss of grandeur. The details really evoke the gothic style and the height makes it as imposing as it should. Very well done.

Wow, that is just magnificent. The "Munificent" class is particually dificult to visualise, let alone attempt to build. I've made one of these for a video game, but I don't think it comes close to yours! Would love to get my hands on the LDD file.

Really loving the streetscape Tiger, the attention to detail is second to none. The only thing that bugs me is the lack of trees. It looks very stark without some shade providing foliage along the road, like red gums or even oaks, typical of an Australian small town main street.

StephanSz, that solves nothing as the PF motor is different to the RC motor. And while it would possibly add a little bit more tractive effort, I don't see the RC motor helping that much to pull that train. The two motors run at different speeds for the power they recieve, so that setup would actually strain both motors, causing damage. The problem with the power functions motors is that you cannot easily reverse the polarity with the cables, like you could with the 9V connector type. One way I've thought of is to just loop the wire of the second moror around the front of the locomotive. Unfortuntely it will remove the possibility for a coupler on the front, but if there is a hole in the front the cable is fairly long. Other than that cutting the cables might be my only option, there just isn't always space for a switch.

Lost opportunity. That's not a train, that is a bunch of bricks on a plate. It wouldn't have been hard to add some of the large train wheels onto a brick built technic base, would have been far better looking.

Fantastic detail there andybear. Beautifully detailed with a practical purpose. Dark Flesh makes a great feature accented with the grey trim. Love the wall fountain too.

You can build almost 2 passenger cars from a set. The only thing you need is two trans-black panels 1 × 4 × 3. Leaves you with some spare parts, and the power functions parts to go into your MOCs. As for building off pick a brick / LDD, there are a few parts that are not available. The whole set only retails for £100 (didn't put GBP in the review, sorry!), so paying £50 for the one carriage is ludicrous. You'd get two from the set (almost) anyway plus a whole heap of extra stuff. I used the wrong windows, you can buy the correct ones but you'll have to change them from the ones I've used, along with the couplers. The black arches, the sloped vents, the blueish grey undercarriage slopes and the roof will need to be aquired from bricklink, none of which should be too expensive. I do wish there was some straight track in this set. Jeez TLG, if you have to, make a new mould. I just have far, far too much curved track. And the flexi track is just bad.

Oh wow Hoeij, that is extreme. Expecting to go off (rail)road?

It is where the flange of the wheel comes very close to the holder. The green line is where the shaving should be made, on the inside, and the purple line represents the location of the wheel flange. This is really only necessary on wheelsets that rub against the frame though. The new ones do not seem to do this, and only some of the older ones do. A good test is to while holding the wheel holder, give the wheel a little press from below. If it touches the frame, its probably best to shave the side away a little.

The fact that everyone is siding against you should make you reconsider your argument. I understand what you are saying completely, But there are other train only parts (wheels, tracks, bogey plates, couplers, bases, etc) to say that they do need to invest some parts into trains, a motor would be no exception. And while you say that they can be powered by the other motors, it may be that this is actually cheaper and easier (especially for kids) than using the standard motors and gearing, you just don't know. As for being the same as the RC motor, it essentially is, but rather a newer, updated version made to work with PF. The two motors are not meant to compliment each other, the PF motor supersedes the RC version. No, it doesn't. It fits perfectly, a motor that is compatible and reusable. Of course they will change it down the line. Past history shows us that. But past history also shows us that there'll probably be a new train motor that you can hot swap onto your model. The dimensions of the motor is virtually the same since the 9V motor introduced in 1991 - clearly they are happy with it. Its just something you need to be mindful of when approaching this hobby. You get the good with the bad: Lego changes everything at the drop of a hat, you just have to adapt to that. If you can't, there is still the standard model railroad that you can fall back on. Part of the joy of Lego is being able to create something from what you're given.

Its really quite simple. There's 3 dedicated train motors. 9v motor. The one with metal wheels. Pretty obvious this one. Although they are all technically 9 volt, generally this is the one referred to as a 9v motor. RC motor. This is the one without a cable, when they were making the RC base all in one unit. PF motor. This is the latest one out that comes with the cable with a PF attachment built in. The RC motor was released before the onset of power functions. There was only electric parts were the RC base and the motor. It uses a different connector, and such is not compatible with power functions (without the transition cable). The new PF train motor is designed to encorporate into the PF system. And yes, while it is technically just a train motor, is can be used for other things, as you can attach whatever kind of wheels you like. To say that it isn't a power functions part is incorrect because it does fit in with the PF mentality: it is compatible with the other parts. Just because it is used for one thing only doesn't mean they won't keep it, they do need a compact train motor. It will be kept for a considerable period of time and released with every new train set. That alone is enough to warrant the part's existance, and their expenditure on research supports this. If anything, it is more likely to stay around than the other motors, which can be redesigned without consequence.

The new passenger train will be out for a few years at least, so take your time with acquiring that. The 7740 and its parts however are getting harder to find by the day.

Personally, sometimes I think that it's worth buying the expensive parts instead of subsituting them for cheaper options. They are what gives a model its charm. The wheels I think can be changed over to the new ones, but the carriage windows become lifeless by using a transparent 1 × 4 × 3 panel. And using white ones would also disrupt the continuity of the overall design. Its will be very expensive, but anything but would destroy the nostalgia factor.

I think this will ultimately be a bad thing. With more competition will come less sales. With less sales there will be more pressure to make the items they do sell more profitable. Not by making them more expensive, as that would be counter intuitive, but they would need to make more sales from fewer SKUs to make up the difference. Therefore the sets would be cheaper, but there would be less to choose from, which would definately be bad for AFOLs. Large sets will be the first to take a hit. Furthermore, it will increase pressure to squeeze more money out of the smaller markets, to make up the difference. Brick Arms and the like are to supplement your Lego collection, to fill the gaps in TLG's lineup of items. Clone brands are the companies that rip off the lego block designs, such as Mega Bloks and Enlighten, to the extent that they are hard to pick apart. They often copy the design of the sets down to the patterns of the stickers and graphics on the box.

I admit, some doors would have been nice. You can't use the standard train doors because they're too tall, and really would look out of place. But you can emulate the Emerald Night doors easily with few parts, all easily aquired on bricklink for a few coins. When the doors are shut, it looks practically the same, save for the door hinge on the outside. passenger car.zip - Lego Digital Designer Ver. 3.1.3 (Universe Mode)

OMG that is just beautiful. It's so colourful, but nothing looks out of place. The level of detail is just stunning, and even without an overload of minifigs (which I appreciate - its not overpopulated) it looks wildly vibrant. I like the way you've encorporated lots of plant life to your scene, something that is often overlooked in the dense streetscapes.

Yes, you can. The wiring is tight but the white brick has holes in the forward facing studs - the perfect shape to slide the PF lights into.

Too bad you can't! There's no coupler on the front.

I also bought two of this set. It was a relatively affordable way to get some PF parts. The second one is still in the box. However it does give me the utter irrits that you get no straight track. Therefore the set adds absolutely nothing to my existing layout. As for the brickbuilt front, I don't really like it that much, but I don't hate it. It would have been nice to be a different colour though, the red isn't that appealing to me. And I dislike the roof. yes, it gives it a nice curve on top, but it stifles creativity and removes any possibility for doors because it goes too far down the body. I see... but that really is unneccesary considering the cheese at the front would do the same job...

One of the few sets that would actually be improved by the use of the new click hinges. Keeping the sides straight is a real pain! Great indepth review.

Vote 1 "x69" Cypress in dark green!