JopieK

I have static material (white) that I can print on for you. It sticks well on large parts but nog on e.g. parts with rough surface (like some of the traffic signs unfortunately).

Of course discussions about programming language are easily turing into religious affairs ;) I grew up with Object Pascal, turned to C++, now more into Swift for iOS (but still need to use Java now and then, Processing is a great mix, you don't see the disadvantages of Java there). @msx80, great to hear you can test it soon ;)

Really nice ScotNick! Are you going to use them in your layout too?

Here is actually an addition to the review: Set 163 is also a rail crane but then from the 'blue era' (< 1980).

I would start by buying some tracks, a motor and monorail base. Other option is to forget about the original system and focus on the "new" idea:

Good to hear, I also don't like Java, it is so much overrated in a lot of universities etc. I'm getting "java.lang.IllegalStateException: GLFW error [0x10007]: WGL: A forward compatible OpenGL context requested but WGL_ARB_create_context is unavailable" in Windows 7. In my case it doesn't say anything at all it only seems to draw a lot of resources.

Don't think so, I followed the instructions to the letter ;) they overlap the wheels 1-stud and those wheels are three studs wide, one stud on each side of the wheels so even not possible to do it in an other way. @LEGO Train 12 Volts: Just today I had a BBQ in Kleve (just across the border in Germany) and needed to wait for a real-life draisine, bike version (they do it on an abandoned track from Kleve to Nijmegen). @Rail Co: I totally agree about the shed... But it has an advantage, makes the green train doors more available, I regret the Friends caravan only has one side of the yellow train door :( Although I'm happy they make new production runs of those doors apparently.

Difficult train, but you captured it very well. I ride this one a few times a week (more often the revised NS-DDZ though).

They are "flex" items, originally Technic indeed (from the ninetieth I think).

Looks nice MTM! Also the 12V railroad crossing, have played hours with it when I was young :)

Introduction It has been a while for me to make a review, too busy at work, but now with the summer holidays, I thought it was time to make a review of this old but nice set. I saw it on bricklink from a Dutch seller for only 40€ but he withdrew it after my questions since there were minor issues. I did not mind the minor issues so I finally could purchase the set and am very happy with the price/quality. Set information Set Name: Cargo Crane Set Number: 4552 Number of Pieces: 282 Theme: 9V Trains Year Release: 1995 Prices: $38.50 (original price in the USA) #4552 on Brickset #4552 on Rebrickable Packaging This is how it should have been but would have costed a small fortune: (http://www.brickpicker.com) And this is what my second hand package looked like: And now of course the most important part, the bricks revealed! Since I got it for less than € 45 including shipping and handling, that was not a bad deal at all. A few stickers were missing, but hey that should't be a problem. The box was missing, but I generally don't like boxes anyway since they take up a lot of space and tend to become bugs' houses (that is why I store all my LEGO in plastic boxes). Apart from that only one piece was different (the sunroof in clear instead of clear blue) and two 1x2 bricks with grille (2877) were replaced by three 1x4 plates. Apart from that only a walkie-talkie was missing. I have plenty of green bricks with grille and also plenty walkie-talkies, so replaced them of course to make the set perfect again. After all a very good deal in my opinion. Ok now back to the set in general. Minifigs The set comes with two minifigs. They are not very rare since they both also appear in set 4565 (the red and black cargo train) and the red train station (2150), both from 1996. The minifigs are ok, but not that special in my opinion. The accessories Our minifigs can only do their very important job of repairing and/or extending LEGO tracks if they are equipped with enough tools and other necessaties of course! Next we move to the accessories: a. a welding unit with two gas cylinders and a face shield b. a pallet with four octagonal cones c. a working cabin with some kind of lever d. a cute draisine The welding set I really like the welding unit. It has a small modified plate to help it stand right. We have seen other welding units, e.g. in the 10027: Train Engine Shed and in the 2005 Advent Calendar. Although the one from the 10027 set is very special (the yellow hand truck is exclusive to that set), the approach to make the welding set with the round wheel holder. B.t.w. using a small Arduino and some SMD led's (blue/white) one can easily make a 'working' welding machine. Children love that (my experience with the welders from the engine shed!). The pallet with the cones The pallet has four octagonal cones. Apart from this crane, they can only be found in underwater sets from around 1995. I like the choice of LEGO to include them in this set because they make a very solid impression. Later I will show what they look like under the crane with its stabilizers. The draisine If you are not a hardcore train-fan (or even if you are), you might never have heard the term draisine. According to Wikipedia, "a draisine is a light auxiliary rail vehicle, driven by service personnel, equipped to transport crew and material necessary for the maintenance of railway infrastructure.". Although most currently used draisines are rail-cycle draisines, and even LEGO released a few of them like the promotional (and more rare) 2585 set from 1998 and even the more recent 30260 set from the Lone Ranger theme, as far as I know this is the only LEGO version that is especially designed for tools. and it's back: The portable cabin / work shed Of course if a crew is out in the field, they also need to do things. Apparently this item is a work shed since the welding set should be inserted inside. This is not very obvious since it is not in the instructions but appears to be the case in one of the pictures at the back of the instructions. I don't know what the blue lever thing inside actually is, maybe it is supposed to be a vice (since there also is a blue vice in the 10027 engine shed although that thing looks like one). This is what the shed looks like when closed (front): This is what the shed looks like when closed (front): The rail cars The main part of the set consists of two rail cars: the crane itself and an additional wagon that carries the draisine and the green shed. The small additional car A little plain and somewhat boring when empty: But... really great looking when filled with both the shed and the draisine: The actual cargo crane car Now the car that is the centerpiece of this set: This is what a rail crane should look like in my opinion. The entire set This is what the entire set looks like: And another image taken by our LEGO drone! To finish off we want to compare set 4552 with other LEGO rail cranes! Comparison There are actually quite a few LEGO rail cranes: I got this set when I was (very) young back in 1982 (released in 1980). Some parts of this set also appear in 4552. Five years later set 7817 came out and already looked quite a bit like our 4552 set. As you can see the stabilizers are almost the same. More recent we of course had the remote controlled battery train that included a rail crane: (Thanks to alex54 for this image from his 7898 review!) Conclusion Design: 9/10 Parts: 8/10 Build: 9/10 - . Playability: 9/10 Minifigs: 7/10 Price: n/a anymore, depends on whether you can find a good deal, original price 8/10 Overall: 84% score Although 7898 has a nice car, 4552 is still better I think. It is elegant and very playable! I think set 4552 is the best rail crane LEGO ever released, but maybe you don't agree of course :) An overall score of 84% is not that bad at all! Hope you enjoyed my review, if you like reviews and reviewing, join the academy here. Please leave your comments / remarks / etc below of course!

You could also make a different train based on e.g. the Santa Fe of course. I'm working on a Union Pacific train. Already have the Engine and the postal waggon but still need boxcars and e.g. cattle wagons. The costs will vary per car of course. The Engine is about 80€ I think.

I'm not going to discuss it here with you further, but you forgot to read the whole line: "Thus if you have something relevant to say then feel free to post in a topic, but if it's more than a few months old please make sure it's good.... and if it's been a few years it better be really good! For example, if you liked the review or set and want to say so you probably shouldn't. If you've got an answer to a question (such as "Does anyone have pictures of the alternate model?) then by all means post! What you shouldn't do is ask questions to the original poster; he/she may not even visit EB any more." That was the exact problem in this case. But I'll try to set a good example and help to fuse the discussion. I would not spend that much on the Emerald Night but I made my own design also based on the 7750 and idea's of others that I like much better. I have 2x Emerald Night and 1x the Emerald Night MOD in Black and Red (like the old German Baureihe sets). I like the idea of the Emerald, but not the fact that it doesn't have good driving aspects and also not the fact that the XL motor fills the whole cabin so I leave them static on my layouts (and then children ask, why don't you let that one run, etc...). For 200$ a MOD/MOC is very doable and thus I would prefer that. Of course other may very well differ on that opinion. I'm working on the original that the EN was based on: the Flying Scotsman. I have added an addition for the Emerald Night. Hope to put them on my own train this week:

Better say sorry for reviving such an old topic for that question peter_m!!! I'll kindly ask brickdoctor to fix the first link in his post, but please read the rules and don't revive very old threads of 2 years of older unless there is a good reason for it.

Ha that will be an interesting thing with LEGO jblackwe! Welcome to Eurobricks and hope to see your ideas in the train tech area!

I agree, this is the 21st century and not the 1980-ieth with patents and other stumbling blocks to adverse innovation. I'm also working on a large (non-LEGO) hardware project but we make it open and well-documented to boost innovation on it with a lot of different partners.

My cousin(s) will visit coming weekend and stay for a few days, good excuse to make the attick a mess again (next year we will move, so we have the house for sale, that gives one a few restrictions ;)). Even larger attick in the new house so plenty of room for a large layout then. B.t.w. richfilth, nice Arduino tutorials! About the lampposts, brickforge has lampposts that are easier for wires, not genuine LEGO, but does the job better, ruining lampposts is also a nightmare ;)

Hi Marrssha, Welcome to eurobricks! Please also read the rules that should keep EB a nice place for all (below this post, at the top of my signature). I think this topic is not a "special themes" topic, but belongs in 'Buy, Sell, Trade and Finds'! I moved it for that reason. Fortunately the Mac has a right-click option to change your title from all caps into something better. Be sure to also introduce yourself in the introduction forum.

Haha, thank you ;) I enjoy 'cracking systems' as a teacher in informatics. But also like the set and already had the truck from bricklink for about two years, it is a very nice set indeed and without stickers it is not as appealing as with stickers in my opinion (but that is why I started with the stickers in the first place since this is also true for e.g. the 7750, ridiculous prices, it has some very special parts, but apart from that, paying 100€+ for stickers is something I can't understand, stickers are about the look, for the rest they also have a lot of disadvantages that can partially be solved by making them affordable).

The first set I remember getting was the 7710, that was at the 5th of December 1982. I was 2,5 years old than. I more or less skipped the Duplo phase, was always very disappointed by family that did not understood and gave me useless stuff like other toys or sketchbooks ;) After my Dark Ages it was the Santa Fe.

But that is like saying: "what laptop should I choose" or "what car should I buy"? Depending on a lot of different factors, people have their preferences and they might not be your preferences! I like steamers too! Or e.g. a custom US train. The Emerald Night is a very nice train but has drawbacks in how it drives. And apart from the locomotive, what do you want to pull, passengers, or goods, or even a mix?!

Enjoy your stay! Apart from minifigs what kind of LEGO do you like? Hmm mr Gold... Very expensive indeed. I have a golden 3-CPO (about three grant worth I saw somewhere), apart from that I don't have a lot of very exclusive minifigs afaik.

Haha hilarious! Maybe not such a good idea to let him drive that particular truck :) Great job msx80.

I don't think that would work, but it is easier to ask it in "Technic", not in Train where you initially posted it! http://www.bricklink...arch.asp?q=2428 B.t.w. it would help to also state the set number. They are readily available in black: http://www.bricklink...D=81&colorID=11 They serve the same function ok, but that doesn't mean they they will be suitable. Crux is this part: The 2428 fits inside (actually in two ways), but 2743 will not afaik.

Hi Amtrak186, welcome at Eurobricks. Why don't you introduce yourself in our introduction forum?!! It is a nice train indeed. @v6TransAM: let the moderators decide about bumping that's their function ;) I don't think it was wise, one can better start a new topic about this, but Amtrak186 is a new member so he needs to be patient first. You can see in the third picture that it is a 8-width train (with overhangings that make it effectively 10-width). The advantage of this is that you can add more details, but: one also needs to take measures for other buildings / track side structures.