michaelgale

Sure, we can't expect TLG to make an exhaustive list of practices and scenarios that would constitute a trademark violation. Things like prohibition of TLG logos and brand assets are obvious. However, clear rules for the vast majority of potential use cases can be defined and would be very helpful. Specifically, guidelines for product descriptions, a range of different disclaimer texts for different applications (rather than the typical non-specific "Fairplay" text), acceptable use of TLG elements integrated in another product, etc. The reality is that TLG is a global business with a powerful and valuable brand. Protection of this brand is a major strategic imperative from their perspective. However, I want to believe that this aim can be achieved with more "tools" besides aggressive legal action. A framework of engagement and partnership with other business is surely better. If anything, it would result in far better PR outcomes for TLG and its broader relationship with the fan community...

I must admit, that we (Fx Bricks) were only recently made aware of the result of this action taken against HA Bricks. I have not had time to fully digest the details of this action and what implications it has against not only Fx Bricks, but other members of our fan community. In any case, it is a chilling reminder of the precarious legal landscape in which companies such as ours operate. I take no issue with TLG enforcing trademark and IP rights; but definitely take issue with the way it engages with "friendly" 3rd party commercial entities and with the fan community in general. Specifically, I wish TLG would simply be clear about what behaviours and practices constitute a violation of trademark. Violation of IP rights is more clear-cut, e.g. copying a product. However, what constitutes a violation of trademark is much less clear. We can not only empathize with HA Bricks in more than spirit. In 2021, we (and JB Spielwaren) were subject to a letter from TLG's legal representatives regarding the use of trademark on our Fx Track store listings. Fortunately, we were able to amicably resolve this issue with some modest changes. However, it is not with a sense of looming anxiety and paranoia that other violations are potentially lurking in every product listing, blog post, retail box artwork, product manual, advertisement, video, etc. Having a clear set of guidelines (with examples) would be helpful. In a perfect world, TLG and a vibrant 3rd party product eco-system should be able to co-exist in a mutually beneficial "win-win" way. It would take some clear rules and guidelines and perhaps a semi-formal framework of commercial agreements; but I'm sure it's possible. However, for now, I live in the real world. And in this world, we tread very carefully and remain eternally grateful for the support of an awesome fan community!

EVERYONE: Please consult this latest blog post about a problem affecting some production P40 switches. We are very sorry and are still getting to the bottom of it. Rest assured we'll make it right. https://shop.fxbricks.com/blogs/news/were-sorry @SD100 Thanks! That's great to hear! I shouldn't really reveal it, but we have already tooled the R120, R136, R152 and this is the shocker: the R168! No word on release date yet since we have to get the P40 production and fulfillment sorted out. I've seen production samples from my HK team and didn't realize how BIG these curve elements get! The R152 and R168 are monsters!

@UltraViolet @zephyr1934 @Landman Many thanks for your kind comments--much appreciated! @dtomsen Thanks for sharing your ballasting method! I may just have to "borrow" it for future instructions! ;)

@dtomsen That looks fabulous! Well done! Please show us the underside to figure out what you've done!

To be honest, I am not comfortable getting into debates about costs / prices etc. My previous post about pricing was just to put our price into perspective with comparable products. And by comparable, I don't mean compatible or identical. As a basis of comparison, I don't have a lot to choose from. I chose other retail model train products which have injection molded plastic, metal, and other components such as fasteners, electrical connectors, etc. that are about the same size/shape as a P40 switch. I believe that is a fair basis of comparison. When I refer to similar base costs, I'm talking about all the common things Fx Bricks, Piko, LGB, etc. pays for: injection molding, metal stamping, labour, global logistics, etc. And more specifically, incurring these costs in China where we all perform our manufacturing. @aawsum You just have to take my word for it: it is really expensive to develop a product like the P40 switch. Our price is not high because of a $0.50 PCB + $0.50 2mm jumper. It is high because it is almost 6-digits USD to tool a high precision (<0.05 mm tolerance) ABS mold for 320 x 120 mm. And don't forget, you need to make 2x (left + right). The next big ticket item is metal stamping all of the metal rails: count them: 11x unique stampings. We're not done yet: molds for switch rails, covers, tie bars. Still not done: metal stampings for tabs and interconnect. And finally: LABOUR. We have to pay people to assemble 36x components PER SWITCH. Then these folks electrically test each switch and QC the final assembly. Then they have to be packaged and prepared for distribution. Again, I am really not comfortable talking about our cost / prices and hopefully this will not be a recurring discussion every time we release new products. We are very grateful and appreciative to everyone who has demonstrated their support for us in the most meaningful way: purchasing Fx Track. Remember, we've already incurred all the development and capital costs plus all of the risk. Therefore, as a business we are placing our trust and confidence in both our products and customers to make this work. We are prepared to wait for the return on investment and in return, we need folks like you to trust us and recognize that our retail price is based on fundamental realities of manufacturing in 2023.

@UltraViolet We're expecting a small consignment of S32's + S8's in 2-3 weeks. S48's are an interesting idea; however, I suspect the molding costs for this would be steep due to the size and tolerance requirements. Most folks are wanting us to release the S16 ASAP--that will at least allow you to fill an integer multiple of 48 studs. Re: the power feeder, it is dark bluish gray as most folks would expect/prefer. It does maintain a flat 2x2 tile profile either side of the rail head, but has a 1x2 plate protrusion adjacent. This was a necessary engineering requirement to enclose the connector terminals as well as offering a point of "leverage" for insertion/removal. @Duq @Ashi Valkoinen Yes, the R104 can be used in a sub-optimal way as both a return curve as well forming a 90 deg curve off of the diverging route. Obviously, you use at your own risk, but practically speaking it is unlikely to damage the components as long as you try to distribute the stresses equally among all rail joints by letting the track formation "float" above the ground between fastening points to baseplates/etc. @UltraViolet @GoHabsGo @Szubi The motor bogie is still in development, but has taken a back seat to the metal wheelset pickup. The reasons for this are: 1. It lowers the overall technical risk since we confine the risk to the development of the metal wheel component, axle bushings, pickup wipers etc. These elements can then be used with confidence with the motor bogie. 2. The metal wheelset has a bigger receptive market than the motor bogie (at least in the beginning). More folks can use the wheelset "out of the box" to power existing trains using 9V, PF, or PU motor drives. Furthermore, folks who simply want to energize lighting or accessories can use the wheelset too. 3. Lastly, the wheelset will obviously have a lower retail price point than the motor bogie, therefore giving more folks the opportunity to embrace the benefits of metal rails and exploring the 9V rail system incrementally.

@Duq Fully understand the dilemma of buying 8x elements when you might only need 1 or 2. If its any consolation, R64P curves can be used to make grid aligned S-bends with any multiple of 8-stud offset? Lastly, I guess one could always split a box with a friend! :) Ahhhh...the double slip! A god-tier track element! Obviously its not on the radar currently, but someday maybe? We would make a 22.62º diamond crossing first--a less risky stepping stone to the summit!

Hello All, Sorry for not checking into this forum in some time -- I have been *busy* as you can tell by the recent release of our P40 switches! 1. First of all : A big thank you to everyone for supporting us and for your patience over the past 18-24 months. We are very much encouraged by the initial support for the pre-orders of the P40 switches and we can't wait to deliver them to you. 2. The "Sold Out" status for the P40 switches on our site was due to a Shopify plugin bug. It's been fixed, so if you got caught out, it should be back to normal. There is an actual risk that we will actually sell out of this first production batch--so if you're keen to get 9V switches this summer, act now! We have scheduled a couple more production runs over the next 12 months, but we don't know when they will occur or what their lead-times will be. 3. THE PRICE! Let me be clear: 150 USD for 2x metal rail switches of this size is 100% reasonable and consistent with global model train industry. I think we in the LEGO train world are so "calibrated" to plastic track pricing and/or LEGO retail product volume pricing for tracks, that we lose sight of what the price / value relationship is. For example, here are some retail unit prices for comparable metal rail model train switches in O gauge and gauge 1: LGB 16040 Right Turnout : €87.99 LGB 18050 Right Manual Turnout 15º : €155.00 Piko Left Switch R7 22.5º 35226 : €132.00 Piko Left Switch R5 30º 35222 : €94.00 Piko Left Switch R3 22.5º 35228 : €90.00 Lionel FasTrack O32 Left Switch 681254 : $129.99 USD Lionel FasTrack O36 Left Switch 612017 : $54.99 USD On average (taking approx. F/X rates) this represents about €98 per switch. One P40 switch retails for €85 (€169.99 for 2x) on JBS. Clearly, our pricing is consistent with the market. Furthermore, all the above manufacturers have their products made in China just like us (I've visited their factories!) -- so our retail prices are based on the same base costs, expenses, margins, etc. We also notice many folks from the EU visit our Canadian shop to compare pricing. Let me assure you JBS pricing virtually the same. Also remember that the JBS price of €169.99 includes approximately 20% VAT whereas the Canadian shop price is EXCLUSIVE of VAT--Canadian customers will pay 5-13% (depending on province) more on checkout and pay roughly the same. The effects of currency conversions and local taxation can make price comparison difficult and misleading. That is why we nominally work in USD inside Fx Bricks since all of our costs are fundamentally incurred in USD. It is also why we've set a nominal MSRP of $150 USD ($75 USD per unit). The bottom line is that $75 USD per switch is very reasonable, this will be especially noticeable when you finally get the real thing! :) 4. Please don't forget that releasing the P40 switch is HALF the story. We also had to offer the R64P curve track and S1.6/S3.2 straight tracks at the same time. Otherwise, the P40 by itself would be much less useful for building layouts. We believe the decision to release these elements as individual products is better for both us and for you. For us, it makes inventory and production planning easier and it makes the logic behind our product system crystal clear, i.e. how each element fits together. The benefit for you is better choice and the ability to target your purchases to what you really need--especially for the highest priced P40 switches. Adding extra elements to every box of P40 switches that most customers won't need just increases the price of every box unnecessarily. If you're building a yard or crossovers, you want to make sure every $75 USD spent is for the switch you need. That is also why we offer the P40 switch as 3x SKUs: (i) 2x P40L Left, (ii) 2x P40R Right, or (iii) 1x P40L + 1x P40R. Folks building crossovers will love the opportunity to buy a pair of the same switches. Once again, thank you everyone for your support over the past few (very challenging) years. Rest assured we're still marching forward on the all other products such as power accessories and wheel/motor drive systems. We should have some good news regarding power feeders and accessory cables very very soon! Stay tuned!

Just saw this now. Its a great idea, look forward to seeing this develop!

@Wimmer Your sentiments about waiting to see if other key products are "real" before willing to invest in metal track are definitely shared with many fellow hobbyists. I completely understand this position and it makes sense. At Fx Bricks we have always recognized that making metal track for a declining market of existing 9V Lego train fans does not make sense. A metal track system can not survive without "closing the loop" with other support products such as feeders, cable, power supplies, controllers, motor drives, etc. We did not invest significant resources into making track without an overall strategic product plan. Here are some overall points which I think will help folks understand us: 1. We have a plan The Fx Track system is the first of part of our product development strategy. It poses relatively lower technical risks and was quicker to design/tool/manufacture ready for market. It also offers us a modest revenue stream to offset on going investment in new products. Metal track is 1/3 of our plan. The other 2 components are power/control systems and motor drive systems. Without all 3x elements, our plan is not viable. 2. We can't predict availability / schedule I know its frustrating to not know when we might be releasing new products. Ironically, we share the frustration because we are at the mercy of many other supplier/manufacturing partners in terms of their capacity and availability. Some of the uncertainties are due to normal engineering process. That is, we design a product and its elements, we produce a small batch of prototype samples, and then perform testing and evaluation. Inevitably, there are things that will require correction/iteration/refinement etc. Sometimes these errors are made by us, but more often it is due to one or more of our manufacturing partners. This requires yet another round of tooling, production, and evaluation. We have to make sure its correct, because of massive risks of investing in a large scale production for 1000s of units. When we are satisfied with the design, we then "green light" production. Usually at this point, we open our store for pre-orders. 3. We're getting closer By now you have seen some evidence of our progress on several key products: a. P40 switch - Its tooled and we have pre-production samples. We have several changes to make to both plastic and metal components. This will take some time, but hopefully after these corrective actions, we'll be in a position to green-light production. Our best estimate is summer 2022. b. Track feeder - It is also tooled and we have samples. The manufacturer has to correct some mold issues, but the electrical design is good. c. Motor bogie - There is so much going on behind the scenes that I will share later. Suffice to say it is going to be well worth the wait! I hope by now we at Fx Bricks have earned enough of your trust and confidence that we are capable of developing and manufacturing high quality products with care, passion, and attention to detail. The scale and scope of work required to develop these products is massive. Yet, by now, you are seeing some hints and indications that they more than concept pictures or CAD renders, but actual physical items which have been tooled and produced. This should inspire enough confidence that the products WILL be coming, not IF. The WHEN part of the equation, we don't know yet, but suffice to say within the year. Another confidence factor is that we have not resorted to crowd-funding or pre-orders based on concepts/prototypes. We only take your money when the product is ready. We are incurring almost all the risk and hope that it will give you folks the confidence that we're in this for the long-game.

@mark6399 Our rails (and also LEGO® brand 9V) are make from nickel plated copper beryllium (NiBeCu). This is a very common material for fabricating precision stamped metal components. NiBeCu is perfectly safe in its finished form. The safety concerns are related to machining/sanding/etc. NiBeCu and the inhalation of particles. This is a safety concern which relevant to any material which is machined and the use of masks is always recommended. Check out the comment section on my BrickNerd article for more info: https://bricknerd.com/home/this-old-track-maintaining-and-restoring-your-metal-9v-track-11-2-21 Re: Orange Feeders: These are 3D printed prototype enclosures. The real product as shown in other photos on my flickr page is injection molded ABS in dark bluish grey. Re: Bogie wobble: What you observe is a very light weight vehicle reacting normally to vertical deflections of the rail due to the gap in the frog. There are two main points to make: 1. The LEGO 9V motor bogie wheels are not rigidly mounted to the drive axle. Rather, they are "sprung" outwards so that the comically sized flange can make electrical contact with the rail. This loose and elastic wheel mount is less than ideal for smooth ride quality. Its difficult for a LEGO 9V motor bogie to maintain consistent vertical "ride height" since its wheels are constantly being "pinched" by the track and deflected slightly upwards due to its inherent sprung mounting. You can see this especially in tight curves where the gauge-narrowing increases the effect. When the bogie is mounted into a locomotive, the weight due to gravity of the locomotive helps resist these vertical forces and the effect is less apparent. 2. The Fx Bricks P40 switch is designed to be more like an actual railway switch. Firstly, it does not include any artificial filler segments in the flangeway to support the wheel flange over rail gaps or transitions. The principle of allowing weight transfer from the wheel tread to the wheel flange and using the wheel flange for vertical support is completely unacceptable. The role of the flange is strictly for lateral guidance. If weight transfer is constantly being exchanged between the flange and tread this can increase the probability of derailment and prevents the flange from performing its role of maintaining lateral guidance. All of the rails in the P40 switch have consistent cross-sectional profile along their entire length--even in the frog/crossing vee. This ensures proper guidance and smooth running along the entire switch. The gap in the frog is short enough that vertical deflection of the wheelset is subtle and brief. We have verified wheelset ride quality using every Lego train compatible wheel size/shape we can find, including the small "narrow gauge" wheels up to Big Ben XL.

@McWaffel Generally, trains will not likely be able to force the switch to change route in a trailing movement in its current configuration. Even with reduced spring tension, the train would have to push the switch blades at least 3-4 mm to overcome the over-centre spring point and change the route position. We made this switch to have more in common with other model train switches and I guess more like the real thing too! @cptkent The R120 is definitely in the roadmap/pipeline. All the curve track elements are designed and ready to go. It's just a matter of manufacturing capacity, scheduling, priority, and managing our costs.

@Duq The range of movement is 5 mm (a little over half a stud). This is basically the range of motion required to move the width of the rail plus flangeway clearance. One of the changes we're likely going to make is the spring tension in the switch bar. In our prototypes, we're finding that its a little too aggressive, i.e. it locks each route *too* well. We think that a more modest spring tension will perform much better. In our switch, this range of movement is a much more critical value than single-rail switches since it represents the symmetrical clearance required for both routes. Whereas a single blade switch only requires enough movement to clear the flangeway.

@Matt Dawson We're still working on it! I've got working prototypes on my desk! Its a gorgeous item of track, but it is made out of a lot of parts and needs to be carefully assembled. That's what we're working on now: documenting an assembly procedure for our manufacturing partners to ensure reliable and efficient assembly. Furthermore, we're likely going to re-tool a couple of items to optimize the design in a few places. If this was a pure plastic switch, then it would have been job done months ago. However, a metal rail switch requires all sorts of metal components (which you don't see from the top) to ensure electrical continuity across the entire rail. The P40 switch also has 2x electrically live switch rails attached to the tie bar--in fact it is the ONLY Lego track switch with two switch rails. It is so gratifying to run a motor bogie slowly through each route of the switch with out stalling! Thanks all for pre-ordering the new R56 and R104 curve tracks! We're glad you guys continue to show your support and faith in our products--it's much appreciated! There's so much in the pipeline, and unimaginable mountains of work left to do. Everything from design, prototyping, product certifications, dealing with supply chains, customer support, etc. We appreciate your patience as we do our best to turn ideas into real products suitable for market!