greg3

Thanks again for the comments.... Unfortunately I can't claim any credit for the console as it's straight out of the new Mobile Police Command Centre set!! Anyway, for this week's update, we spend some time following a couple of visitors to Ballabreek as they try to find out about their family history.... This is Bill and Mary (they might look a bit familiar!) who have just arrived in Ballabreek from the airport after a long trip from their home in the USA. They're in Ballabreek to find out a bit more about Bill's family history after learning that his ancestors emigrated from here in the mid 1800's. Bill is especially keen to find out anything he can about his great-great-grandfather (and namesake, William) who was the last family member born here and who went on to live a long and eventful life as an inventor, explorer, decorated soldier and adventurer. This photo is of William (on the left) at the age of 14 when he became one of the first Pony Express riders, carrying mail across some of the Wild West's most hostile terrain. The photo is captioned "Pony Express Station, New Ballabreek, 1860" and is what has driven Bill and Mary to find out more about the original Ballabreek. First stop is the small chapel of St Vincent where they've arranged to meet a local historian. He's brought with him the parish records and sure enough they find an entry for the birth of William on 18th January 1846. They also discover that he was christened in this very building and that his father (like most of the men in the village) worked at the local mine while his mother was the postmistress. Next stop... The post office!! Like the chapel, this building dates back to before the 1800's and is where Bill's great-great-great-grandmother worked. After chatting to the current postmistress, Bill and Mary are allowed to recreate the original photo of William!! (With a bicycle instead of a horse!) Finally a visit to the mine. Unfortunately the old Victorian workings are now unsafe so Bill and Mary have to make do with a quick tour of the modern part of the mine. They do, however learn that in 1851 a group of miners (including Bill's Great-Great-Greatgrandfather) left the mine and, taking their families with them, traveled across the Atlantic to seek their fortune in one of the many Gold Rushes of the period. As skilled miners they hoped to run their own mine and eventually set up the small community of New Ballabreek (just outside the mining town of Colby) As Bill and Mary leave, the mine manager says that he thinks he has more records and letters from the period in storage at head office and that Bill and Mary are welcome to look through them next time they visit... So perhaps we'll learn more about New Ballabreek over the next few months!! I'll post more pics of the Pony Express Station in the historical forum tomorrow (where I eventually hope to show much more of New Ballabreek!!) Comments are alway more than welcome - thanks for looking!!

That tree is fantastic!! And the ice sculptures are spot on - congratulations!!

Well done to everyone who took part, and especially the winners (all very well deserved!).

Wow!! Definitely well worth the effort you went to. The logo design is perfect but it's the exterior architectural details that really make this one stand out to me (the interior's pretty good too!). Excellent work!

That looks perfect.... The store interior is instantly recognisable with the display cases and PAB wall and the upstairs is just as fantastic (I'd love to live above a LEGO store - although I'd probably end up bankrupt within a week if I did!) Excellent work!

Nice creative design... Very different to the normal sort of fire station. I especially like the way you've one the control room with the glass panel roof. (The "webbed" criminals are cool too - maybe they'll give Spidey a piece of that cake as a reward!!)

Fantastic looking city... I like how your MOCs fit in so well with the official sets (I especially like the museum and of course the Lego shop!) Excellent stuff!!

Thanks for the comments Sorry for the confusion... It was a small vehicle repair garage/workshop that burnt down (a stolen car crashed into it - you can see images of the incident in last year's Ballabreek topic). Since then the area has been used as a car park and recycling centre but now, as well as a fire station, it has (as this week's update)... A police station!! As you can probably tell, it's based on the robber's hideout (oh the irony!) from last year's Helicopter Arrest set (60009). I really liked the building design and had wanted to use it my village. I had tried to make it into a Coastguard station but the garage was too low, then it was going to be a taxi office until I got a few of the new police sets and decided that I needed a police station (I just had to extend the garage a couple of studs) The ground floor consists of a garage for the patrol car and a small holding cell (only used when the cells at the main police station in a nearby town are full). Upstairs is an office/control room. Here, the various CCTV and traffic cameras can be monitored and incidents quickly responded to. There's also a counter where the public can call in to speak to a police officer if needed. Like most of my buildings it sits on a baseplate which fits into a gap between plates and can be easily removed to access the interior. Thanks for looking, as always any comments are more than welcome.

Excellent use of the lighthouse... The landscaping is terrific (although he might want to fix that rail he's leaning on!) and the other building look good too. Nice work!

Looking good LT... As i think i've said before, I love the way you combine realism with the classic open back style!! (I especially like the first pic looking down the street) Looking forward to seeing what comes next!!

Clever stuff!! You've added a nice bit of realism to the ATV's.

Beautiful looking building!! I like the was you've used different textures and details rather than colour to make the exterior look interesting and the interior is just perfect!! The rooftop garden is a nice finishing touch!! Excellent stuff!!

Hi Following on from last year's topic, http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=77658 I thought I'd continue to share the goings on in my small Lego town/village, Ballabreek. I hope to continue updating the village throughout the year (trying to incorporate as many of this year's sets as possible) but this time ongoing stories etc will get their own topics and this one will be simply about the development of the village. So with the "filming" of the TMNT story taking a break, it's back to everyday life. Starting with a look at Ballabreek's latest building... The fire station! I got the latest fire station (60004) for Christmas but like most official buildings it's far too large for my layout so I MODed it into something a bit smaller. It's located on the edge of the village on the site of the old garage (which burrnt down last year). The station is operated by retained firefighters (that means that they have regular jobs nearby and are called in only when needed) so is rather basic. Inside is the main garage. As well as the firefighter's gear, it contains tools to maintain the appliance. There's also a small office with a computer which gives the crews information about the location and nature of any incidents. As for a fire engine, I originally wanted to use the one from the starter set (60023) as it can fit 2 figures and by adding a fire hose, would have been able to deal with most call outs. However, to make it fit, the station would have had to come right up to the edge of the road and just didn't look right. My solution was to MOD the rather disappointing smaller engine from 60004. (Although I might have got a bit carried away in adding equipment to it!) As you can see I removed the back section and remodelled it to carry more kit. It now has a water hose with pressure gauge. Radio, medical equipment and extinguisher. Breathing apparatus. Removable generator with lighting and cutting tools (from set 7942) mounted on the roof. As you can see it's certainly well equipped (the only thing I couldn't find space for was a ladder!) Thanks for looking.... comments are always more than welcome.

Nice little model... I especially like the candy cane sign and the large sweet jars!!

That is such a clever idea!! I love the little courses and could just imagine it as a real crazy golf course!! I'd love to see a bigger (non competition) version. Excellent work!!

Fantastic!! This is one of the most original models I've seen for a while!! I love all the mini trains and scenery... The little "train engineer" kid just rounds off it off perfectly!!! Excellent work!

That picnic table is great!! (Might have to "borrow" that idea!) The stall is nicely designed too... Love the coffee machine!

Lovely little build! You've managed to squeeze such a lot into such a small space (especially the ground floor) but I think the upstairs could do with a bit more adding to it - perhaps a place for the owner to live or more seating for customers? Nice work!!

Great idea and perfectly executed!! Despite the small size, the tram design is spot on (we have similar trams here both electric and horse drawn versions and at Christmas they operate special Santa Trams which look just like this!!) Excellent work!

This is great.... Such an original idea and perfect for a Winter Market!! I love the variety of clock designs you've used and the old guy carving the next one is a great touch.... Excellent work!!

That is really cool!! I love the classic open-back style and this would make a great official set (even a mini subtheme.. for example you could even have a restaurant or a gym as an add on and say a taxi or mini bus for sightseeing trips!!) I'd love to see this in brick form!!

I think this this a beautiful little scene and would be great just as a Christmas decoration. I especially like the star design you've used and the use of the turban as baby Jesus!! Excellent work!

Nice work on the clock tower and I love the candy dispenser idea!! The band is also a nice touch (I especially like the drummer!) Excellent stuff!!

Welcome to the forum and that's a nice little truck you've made!! Looks like it could be part of an official set (if I'd change one thing though it might be to add some different colours or even stickers to the side to break up the yellow a bit) Thanks for sharing!!

An excellent little scene!! The buildings are just beautiful and the details of the well and the snow effects just finish it off wonderfully! Nice work!!