MikeJ

As a new convert into Lego Trains, I see that unless I'm willing to spend a small fortune in buying the 9V straights, I have very little opportunity to extend the basic oval as supplied in the Cargo Set. Lego themselves are out of stock of the Straights/curves pack, the same goes for the points pack (not everyone wants to buy 1 x l/h and 1 x r/h in a pack. I know I don't) and as for the shops.....forget it, "not in stock"..."unable to determine next delivery"..etc, etc. As a consumer, I believe that had I looked into this more thoroughly BEFORE buying the set, I would very likely have gone the OO route where track is available in multiple variants; crossovers, finescale, concrete / wooden sleepers, long / short points, etc. I don't want to run trains round and round (one sure-fire way of putting youngsters off buying trains is boredom, the big players in the OO producers quickly realised that, hence the "extras" they offer from the very beginning), but Lego is doing everything it can to disappoint the consumer. I appreciate that AFOL's are the minority, but they are the ones with the funding, and for Lego to persist in their current way of marketing their products is a sure way to put people off buying their products. Just spend a couple of hours on internet auction sites and watch the prices of straights. The all-plastic variety is rarer than hens' teeth, and 9V track is being snapped-up by those that already have 9V gear. I have spent two nights checking the on-line auctions, prices are simply outrageous, and right now my brand new £129.00 (child's toy prices??) Lego Cargo set is looking more like being placed on an auction site than me keeping it. Disillusioned already.

At Last!! A decent alternative to the official "B" model. Thanks Grohl!!, Your next task is to make some instructions for us mere mortals!!

WOW that heavy Duty rig is superb!! Pity there are no build instructions for stuff like this. Us mere mortals can only dream of achieving such excellence. sigh!!

Hi Folks. Had the container truck a few months now and at the weekend decided to re-build it into the "B" model. I'm definitely not impressed with the looks of this version, it is poor in comparison to the "A" model. Does anyone have any suggestions as to an alternative model to build using the container truck parts? I also have the Front Loader and altered that at the weekend to it's "B" model, and I have to say that this is quite good. A bit inferior to the "A" model but certainly a B-I-G model when the claw arm is at full stretch!! Well worth having a look if you have this set.

You will be able to get the set by post PROVIDING you collect eight different vouchers (from the Daily / Sunday Mirror) with a cheque for £8.99 to an address to be printed next weekend. They state the sets will be delivered before Christmas. Saturday's set was a space craft / figure (neat, even had 5x spare parts!!) Today's set was the police dinghy / figure (okay) Monday's set is a snowman Tuesday is a diver/mini-sub affair Wednesday is the parrot Thursday is a police car/buggy Friday is a plane (no figure) Saturday is a Christmas tree/presents Sunday 31st is a fire buggy with figure Monday 1st Nov is a shark-like figure Tuesday is a storage box and Wed 3rd is a playmat. All the above taken from today's Sunday Mirror. Hope that helps. Ooops sorry escortmad, just read your post

I love the Lotus!! I used to have a Tamiya model of that, and it brought back a lot of memories.

For those in the UK, Argos have the 8258 in their end-of-catalogue clearance range for the reduced price of £87.99. They are scarce admittedly, but after a thorough search, managed to find several available within reasonable travelling distance. One now resides in a "safe" place as my Christmas pressie..!! Search under Argos clearance, select high to low search and it is currently third down on the list. Good luck!!

Nice model Nico. Tried to view the instructions, but there seems to be a problem accessing them.

Not necessarily. A large number of trucks use extra wide singles nowadays, especially multi-axle rigs, agreed they are not as common as dual rears, but wide singles are still around.

Thanks All, managed to download the instructions. @ Blackbird: I agree about the wheels, they are neat. I bought this in a charity shop, in a poly bag, pre-built, no instructions, and looking pretty much intact (hence the instructions!!) for £2.50, which seems a bargain??? At the same shop bough another bag for another £2.50 complete with a standard City set style "boat", and two figures,(I now know this is part of River Response 6451-1 set) along with another bit of Technics in the style of a small off-roader vehicle with balloon wheels, (and this is the 8816 buggy) I initially thought both the car and boat were seemingly complete, but there are a few parts missing, so will have a look at the sites for these. Any parts-site recommended, or is asking this against forum rules? If so I apologise and will withdraw the question. Once again thanks for the help everyone, a great welcome indeed for a "newbie"

Thanks Jan. that's what I found too, but thanks anyway, looking via Google I've managed to find it at last on yet another site..but it has two numbers 8248/8432. Do Lego do that normally?

Cheers Zbli, will give it a go. Bit confused though one image on this site shows the model as 8248 but on another site that comes up as a forklift..!!

Hi Folks!! Could anyone help with ideas on obtaining assembly instructions on the old 8248 buggy please? Tried the official site but it isn't on there. Thanks.