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Showing results for tags 'California'.
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This is our Legoland scene with the Park, Hotel and other buildings. The Legoland Hotel was submitted to Lego Ideas 3/29/2021. You could see other pictures at that site. Any support is appreciated!!! https://ideas.lego.com/projects/fae63fd7-82af-4b20-9a4f-855889befd86
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15 years ago, I moved to California from Germany with my family and it changed my life tremendously. I love it here, so I wanted to make a tribute to the Golden State that highlights some of its best and most recognizable features. This is a three dimensional map of California with a minifig and micro build for each landmark, including Hollywood, Disneyland, Legoland, Death Valley, Joshua Tree Park, Monterey Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, Yosemite Half Dome, Lake Tahoe, Napa Valley, and Redwood Park. I tried to make it as topographically accurate as possible with all the mountains and valleys. I even included the islands around it. As you can see, it has the recognizable sock-shape of California. Let's take a closer look, starting with the NorCal portion. Here you can see a hiker among some redwood trees, a vineyard farmer harvesting grapes for his wine, and a snowboarder by Lake Tahoe. The bay area is represented by a micro build of the golden state bridge, a hippie, and a seal for Monterey Bay. The SoCal section is comprised of the Hollywood sign with an Academy Award winning actress, the Disneyland Castle, a placemark for Bricks LA (which this MOC was built for), and Legoland California. In the back, you can see a joshua tree and a skeleton, representing Joshua Tree Park and Death Valley respectively. And what would a California MOC be without a surfer dude? This dude is surfing in front of a beach scene that represents all the great beaches in California such as Santa Barbara and Pismo Beach. Let me know what you think in the comments. Thanks for looking and keep on California dreamin'.
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Having built one of Caltrain's switchers, I decided to follow up with another piece of maintenance-of-way equipment. Caltrain inherited much of its equipment from Southern Pacific, and these cabooses (two total) are no exception. International Car Company (by then a subsidiary of PACCAR) built the steel-bodied C-50-9 series of cabooses for the Southern Pacific Railroad in 1980; the model number indicates they were the 9th order of the C-50 series. The two units reside in the San Francisco terminus on Caltrain. My understanding is that JPBX tacks them on to work trains and uses them around Christmas for a "Holiday Train" special service. Despite this, and despite the relatively large number of these cabooses owned by Southern Pacific, I found it hard to locate diagrams. Fortunately, the Western Pacific Railroad tacked on 6 units to the Southern Pacific order (source), and I was able to find a drawing of that to work from. Internally, this model is a riot of SNOT; there are studs pointing in every direction, including upside-down! I'm particularly proud of the technique I used for the bay windows, where 1 x 2 x 1 panels close flush with sloped tiles. 2x3 tiles made some details sturdier, but the real MVP is Brick, Modified 2 x 4 x 2 with Holes on Sides! Finally, for this model (as well as the MP15DC) I tried out a new "sticker" technique. Inspired by a frustrating experience with trying to cut and align sticker paper, I instead printed the caution stripes on regular printer paper, then attached them to the model with an ordinary glue stick. The longer "open time" allowed me to reposition the "stickers" slightly while applying them, making them easier to line up. Next step: printing up some gigantic Caltrain logos. The end! Full gallery here, pending moderation.
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Silicon Valley, California, is not particularly well-known for trains, nor public transit in general. Caltrain operates a commuter service along the peninsula. While most of its modern rolling stock is too large for regular track at my typical 1:48 scale, they also own and operate a pair of MP15DC switchers: EMD offered the MP15DC as a successor to the SW1500 series of switcher, the key difference being longer standard trucks and a higher top speed. Caltrain's two units (#503 and #504) were acquired from Union Pacific, which in turn acquired them from Southern Pacific. I believe the two are usually based in San Jose, though they can be seen up and down the peninsula running various maintenance-of-way jobs or "rescuing" stalled Caltrain commuter sets. This is the first "normal" diesel locomotive I've built in a long time, and the first time I've built something local. It's relatively straightforward mechanically: two 9V "mini-motors", one driving each truck, with the battery box in between them and the receiver in the cab. Pulling power is plentiful as the locomotive is reasonably heavy for its size. Pressing down on the single exposed stud on the hood powers the battery box on/off, and the power state can be checked via the small clear window on the hood. I took advantage of many recently-introduced parts on this model, such as they grey Collectible Minifig base which I used to plate over the sides and hide the works. Grey 1 x 2 x 2 windows, truncated corner tiles, and 2 x 1 wedges are relatively recent parts that help capture the shape of this locomotive. One innovation is an improvement on the technique I used for the cab windows on the TP56 locomotive. In this model, each "half" window is held captive by rotated tiles, greatly simplifying construction (a technique that @Commander Wolf absolutely loathes). The full Brickshelf gallery is here, pending moderation. I also took a number of work-in-progress screenshots in LDD, which you might find useful. Until next time, and may your commuter train never have to be rescued by one of these! INSTRUCTIONS: https://reb.li/m/137017
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My latest build matches my passion for motoring culture: it's the MOONEYES headquarters located in Santa Fe Springs, California. MOONEYES was founded by Dean Moon in 1950, the Santa Fe Springs-based hot rod shop was originally titled Moon Speed Equipment. The Moon crew was a prominent group of go-fast pioneers through the ‘50s and ‘60s, working hand in hand with the likes of legends such as Carroll Shelby — in fact, the first AC Cobra was constructed in the Moon garage. Inspired by the Dean Moon’s history I've recreated the MOON HQ, both the interior and the exterior of the building. In the garage there’re a lot of tools: a roller cabinet, a workbench, the pendant lights, a sink, the column drill press and a lot more. Everything in bright yellow of course. Remarkable the American flag hanged on the wall and the electrical outlets and conduits. What about the surfboard displayed on the wall? The exterior is enjoyable and it features many details. The two rolling shutters and the electricity poles are the ones I prefer. To complete the work I've built the well known and famous MOON pick-up, a ’68 Ford F100, and a Hot Rod based on a ’32 Ford model B. More info and pictures on my flickr. Thanks for stopping by.
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Get your kicks on Route 66... U.S. Route 66, also known as the Mother Road, is propably the most iconic road in the world. The first time I heard about Route 66 was many years ago when I listened the Rolling Stones playing "Get your kicks on Route 66". From that moment on I loved the 66 and especially all the buildings, the art deco' gas stations and the advertising signs along the road. I built a little piece of the Route to present my latest Hot Rod that has a great story at its back too. The red/white machine in the pic was owned and raced by Hayward V-Eights member Lee A. Jagla of Hayward, California. Lee got the hot rod as a gift from his parents for his high school graduation in 1960. In 1965 the “T” went into storage, and spent the next 48 years locked up in a dry garage. When Lee passed away, his daughter sold the old hot rod as part of her dad's estate. In 2014 it was advertised for sale on eBay. Jon Aksel Lier of Tønsberg, Norway, found the listing and won it. Now he happily drives a truly piece of american kustom kulture! Below disassembled The car features a '23 Ford Model T body mounted on a '30 Ford Model A frame. Power comes from a 241 cu. in. '53 Dodge baby Hemi that ran an Offenhauser intake manifold and a single 4 barrel carburetor. It ran 1939 Ford taillights and Yankee brand headlights. Painted white with a red chassis. Plus I added two red stripes on the entire machine, a little hard-top and the brand Ford in red on the back of the turtle deck. More info and pics on flickr. Thanks for stopping by. Andrea Lattanzio | Norton74
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Legoland California - when will the Miniland be fixed?
pdxbricks posted a topic in General LEGO Discussion
First, I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for this topic, but I think that someone from the Lego group should see this. I understand that Legoland parks are not managed by Lego any more, however since they represent the Lego brand there should at least be some oversight on how this is done. Here is my family's experience with Legoland California: - First visit was in summer of 2008 - it was great, everything that my then 4 year old daughter, my wife and I expected and more! Specifically to Miniland, all exhibits were working, trains were going back and forth (the one around the farm, two monorails in Las Vegas and I think one more), some of the cars were going around the roads in various cities, but some were already broken, as you could clearly see thread marks on the road where they used to go. Being that this was 8-9 years after opening, you could see some of weathering on the buildings and exhibits, which is expected, I suppose. - Second visit was in September/October 2014 - great experience, especially on the first day (Thursday) - no lines on almost any of the rides, we felt like we had the park for ourselves! Then the weekend came and things started getting crowded... but I digress: Miniland - now this is almost 15 years since the opening and 6 years since our last visit, and it looks like nothing was done in the meantime. None of the trains worked, to the disappointment of my 2-year old son who simply adores trains. There was 1 car moving in New York City model, another one in Washington DC, and that was it. There were some boats that were moving, but most were not, since the cables to which they are attached have fallen off the pulleys. You could see some additions, like a brand new firetruck in otherwise weathered New Orleans, and San Francisco display slowly taking shape, but otherwise everything else was just 6 years older and not very well cared about in my opinion. - Third visit was in December 2014 (yes, we bought three memberships for $200 a pop for the three of us, since our son is still younger than 3yr), we actually just came back home tonight and I had to write this and post it - it was crazy, I have never seen so many people in Legoland, which on one hand is good for the revenue but it's terrible if you happen to be there on those days, the lines were 60-90 minutes long on most of the rides. So instead of waiting in line, we went to Miniland. On the bright side, San Francisco model was completed, and it looks great! Unfortunately the street cars are not moving, even though there are rails for them. Also, some of the boats were repaired, as someone finally put the cable back on the pulley. The rest of the Miniland was in a really sad state: there were one or two cars moving in one of the exhibits, no trains were moving (even though the train around the farm exhibit was replaced with a "Christmas train", no one bothered to fix the engine I guess), no cars in Manhattan were moving, the lacquer cover on the MGM hotel in Las Vegas model was peeling off from the side and flailing in the breeze like a tatter from a ghost ship mast, the Santa with reindeer model was sadly sagging from one of the New York skyscrapers, unlike the witches that were spinning around during our previous visit and that everyone was pointing at. A section of the roof of the Sydney Opera caved in. All in all, it was fairly disappointing experience. So there you have it. We are planning to go again sometimes in March (we live ~350 miles away in Phoenix), and I hope that at least some of the things we saw will be repaired. After all, the sign at the entry to the Miniland says that it's the "Heart of Legoland" so I think that it should be kept in a better shape than it is now. You can go to so many other amusement parks for a ride on a roller coaster, to a water park or aquarium, but the Miniland is what should be a really unique experience that sets Legoland apart from so many other amusement parks in southern California, or for that matter Worldwide! -
[MOC] ’32 Ford Roadster: Classic Choice
Norton74 posted a topic in LEGO Technic, Mindstorms, Model Team and Scale Modeling
Hello, today I show you my latest MOC: The Roadster. My ’32 Ford roadster is probably one of the most classic and iconic “old school” Hot Rod around. Recently people has discovered again the old school Hot Rods with their smooth design, classic colors and without frills. Original and vintage Hot Rods are considered today as a treasure to conserve and preserve indeed they are sought after and very expensive. I'm fascinated by classic Rods and for this I built this Ford ’32 Roadster with the body of a Ford Model B, released by the American manufacturer from 1932 to 1934, painted in total black. The Roadster fits the V8 flathead with three carburettors and wheels are "oversized" respect to the original ones that were narrower (I didn’t find LEGO wheels that fitted well, at least to me). I used few chromed parts that I think look great on the car. I especially like the big rims with the chromed dish 4 x 4 inverted (Radar). The engine is made of light grey bricks with a touch of chrome. I like to imagine this Roadster racing at Bonneville Speedway in the fifties. Racing number: 74, of course! Below few pictures The Roadster in my garage, the engine has been overhauled and ready to be placed into the car The back: refined and graceful. The racing number on the doors The Roadster has been blogged by: The Brothers Brick The Lego Car Blog More pictures and details on flickr Thanks for your attention. All the best and happy building! Norton74 - Andrea Lattanzio Norton74 @ Facebook Norton74 @ LEGO IDEAS -
Hello everybody! I've always wanted to make a Spanish Mission and recently some inspiration came to me and I finally made one! I call it the Mission San Luis de Las Casas after Bartolome (who lived in Mexico, but I don't really care). My main concern is that the roof of the central chapel is too high; if anyone can opine and tell me what they think about it, I'd really appreciate it. As always, see more on Flickr. Thanks for reading!
