Toastie

They add 2 plates-high incompatible road-plates with missing tiles to existing layouts. In addition, you get 4 of these round 8-wide slopes that you don't need when your setup does not end at the end of the new road-plates. On the other hand, you can use these slopes for ... "other things". There will be quite some numbers of these slopes piling up (at least 4 in each set), because so many "other things" may not require so many weirdly sloped slopes. Fun fact: Incompatibility is relative. Another fun fact: When replacing all baseplates with one-plate high plates plus addition of one layer of tiles on the exposed surfaces, the new road-plates are fully compatible with existing layouts. Maybe TLG is also consolidating the price gap between the cargo and passenger train sets, regardless of what is in the box. Best, Thorsten

True, but this is superb coffee, made in the most expensive and accurately operating coffee machines in the world. They have patented that (the accuracy, not the machine, Italians were in the way). And it comes in mugs made from plastics with less-than-1-micron geometrical tolerances! Hmm - that is an idea ... Have all a very nice day/night/morning/evening! All the best Thorsten

And - another high speed passenger train - and - another freight train. Why not. Folks may have missed out on the past X+ passenger/freight trains. Maybe these will rock the stage. Best, Thorsten

Yeah, exactly my point: Someone somewhere in TLG's marketing department should be able to do this and put that graphics onto every box containing BLE devices. Also, a little list of "what is what" on every of such boxes would also be very helpful. Or at least be available in the retail stores. I believe I have a reasonable idea what is what - and sort of for what works with what and what does not, as per your list above. I must admit though that I try to follow TLGs evolving BLE zoo of devices for some time now. And then I just imagine, I were new to the game; it would be extremely helpful for orientation to have a figure/list which categorizes into software (apps) and hardware (devices) and HW wise into the sub-categories controller, actuator, sensor. Would be some drawing, I believe, but worth the time making it. I asked my sister (high-school education, 2 grown-up kids, knows classical LEGO and classical LEGO Technic) what these four devices can do - along with this info from TLGs website: "Hub" = 88009. "Use the LEGO® Powered Up 88009 Hub to power and control Powered Up sensors and motors." "Technic Hub" = 88012. "Bring LEGO® Technic™ creations to life with the LEGO Powered Up Technic Hub (88012). This advanced control unit features an integrated tilt sensor, as well as 4 input/output ports to program and control LEGO Powered Up sensors, motors and lights." "Technic Large Hub" = 88016. "Bring your LEGO creations to live and make them move with the LEGO Powered Up Technic Large Hub 88016! Use the Hub to power motors and sensors and control your LEGO creations. Program the hub in the LEGO MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor app." "Move Hub" = 88006. "Use the LEGO® Powered Up 88006 Move Hub to bring movement and life to your LEGO creations with its 2 integrated position motors and tilt sensor. Connect other Powered Up sensors and motors to the Move Hub for even more control of your LEGO inventions." Answers were quite clear: 1) for all sensor and motors - nothing is excluded, 2) for Technic "creations" only, 3) not clear, name says Technic, but text for LEGO "creations", needs special software, no idea what MINDSTORMS is, 4) for model "inventions". Oh well. I do understand that a "Technic hub" has technic holes and no nobs, and a Hub has nobs but no technic holes. But other than that, I find the explanations in grey (for the best) confusing. My sister was - let's say "surprised", when I told her, that a Technic Hub is controlling four of my 9V LEGO System switch points and that the Hub is built into a Technic MOC. I did not tell her about the "Technic Small Hub" - as this is in Education. This may have led to total confusion: Technic Small Hub €190; Technic Hub €80; Technic Large Hub 240€. Best Thorsten

Indeed, very nice summary, Werner. The thing is, though: Something went >terribly wrong< in TLGs marketing department when it comes to their BLE stuff. >When< you pay very close attention to what's on their boxes (which I hardly buy anymore), AND what is in their help files (which take on lengths and additions and removals as instructions on "Covid-19 measures and regulations" do) you may get a clue. However, when you just want to build things and then use any of their BLE stuff with any of their BLE clients, you better do an in-depth study of what works and what doesn't. Which is starkly contrasting their "building across multiple themes philosophy", which has been abandoned some time ago. Oh well. Maybe the fast and furious kicked this all off - and now it just keeps going. Best regards, Thorsten

A very, very big Thank You to all participants - it was really fun to follow all your work. And congratulations to all winners!!! Best regards, Thorsten

This is what I have not experienced in the sets I got. We'll see, as I get certainly more ... You would get the same results with TLG plates, won't you? I have seen that on my MODs/MOCs using only bricks/plates from TLG. This may be considered bad building practice - however, when the next bricklayers take care of that: Fine with me. Better to use 2 plates thick ground frames than TLGs train baseplates, as far as I am concerned. Anyway. It is too bad though that this very informative thread is not in TrainTech. Thanks again for starting it! Best wishes, Thorsten

The color is interesting - "prototype" means, it may change with regard to colors, right? I mean, I am good at gray - but that connector is a bit color-rich, isn't it? Just curious. Best Thorsten

In principle maybe, in reality no. The motors need to be in series (as they are "9V" types). And then different torque on each motor will lead to unpredictable behavior. You want to go parallel (with a 9V supply) and then make your supply strong enough to always provide enough current. Best, Thorsten

@h3ctic I mean, this is the perfect all LEGO solution, @1963maniac is suggesting. Or you take the DIY route @dr_spock is suggesting. With the 9V train controller, you can - well - set the output voltage and thus the rpm of the motor. With just the fixed voltage power supply, you can bang the motor on/off. All you need is: one of these: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=2868b&amp;name=Electric, Train Speed Regulator 9V&amp;category=[Electric, Train]#T=S&amp;O={"iconly":0} they start at less than 10€ used, A wall wart type power supply putting out >9 V AC or DC - I would not exceed 18 V, I'd say less than 10€ new to feed the 9V regulator, and then it depends: What type of motor? 9V? PF? PoweredUp? Best, Thorsten

Nice. Quality wise as well as getting an overall idea of the build. Now, I tried to "stop and go" the video. Because you are essentially on fast-forward - with multiple pieces arriving temporally separated to the minimum. That is fine, as you could easily go a little slower - the piece load/time, even when doing this apparently easy build (which it is not, as it is of 3D type) is rather high. What I could not resolve (in the video) was when pieces came from below, without turning the build upside down. As they do in the printed/step-wise instructions. Other than that: Really cool! Best wishes, Thorsten

Now this is what I call a super-nice, wonderful, exciting, fascinating project!!! Wow. I love this. This is my world ... Thank very much for the very nice presentation and all the work you put into that! It becomes quite clear (not the details - to me only that is, but the overall approach) - and this is (for me) always the hardest part. You mastered this! Man, I am still flashed, as I also missed your initial post. Nice, nice, nice. Everything here. All the best - and I hope you keep us updated! Thorsten

@JopieK and @Milan: So we're stuck here - at least the EB train folks go along the lines of the legal department of the forum This is about BB's set/brick quality/issues etc. @legotownlinz has started this thread and said: Well then ... Xmas 2021 I got these four BlueBrixx sets from Santa (OK, he got the addresses below from me, and he is a she): 1 x https://www.bluebrixx.com/de/trains/103877/Gepaeckwagen-dunkelgruen-BlueBrixx-Special 3 x https://www.bluebrixx.com/de/trains/103880/Passagierwagen-dunkelgruen-BlueBrixx-Special (the latter are currently not available from BB - I know why: They are simply beautiful ) This is what you get for 24 Euros: This is the finished coach: And this is the baggage car: This is the "consist" for 100 Euros: Dark green and whatever the color is for the window frames. DBG for the roof - indistinguishable from TLG's DGB - and beware gray is >my< color range. Brief summary on building: Clutch power: stronger than TLG Warping, as noticed by @legotownlinz when mounting plates on plates: yes. But then you can a) bend/force them back, as they seem to be a little more tolerant to bending and b) the structure regains orthogonality when adding bricks on top - certainly, when the roof is mounted. The resulting overall sturdiness of the rather long coaches is amazing. A >solid< box type thing. Interior: Simple, just seats for minifigs that's basically it. Fine with me. Issues: Some parts (>some< the ones shown here) need a little exacto knife treatment - one clean cut when you are on the clean side of things - I just leave them "as is", I like a little real life in my models and not the antiseptic-all-true-color-shiny look: ' Then there are these moulding "cut" points (no idea what they are called) - but you never see them in the build!!! And finally the wheel sets. After a little further investigation, it was >not< at all the wheel sets, it is the length of the metal axles: Top: TLG wheel set. NOTE: The TLG wheel sets - after some operation, need to get these (here badly performed - on the left) "cuts" into the frame; otherwise friction per frame gets insane over time. Bottom: BB axle all the way pushed (>forcefully<) into the BB wheels (with a "click"). Not good, does not work on track. Interestingly, these axles come bagged up in the box, whereas there are 4 lose axles floating around in the box, as if they were "later" thrown in there. However, they are still too short. See this picture for what you get from BB without any further comment: Left: TLG unused (and unmodified) wheel set. Right: BB wheel set with long BB axles - still too short! Summary: The bodies of the coaches/luggage car are superb. The frames of the wheel sets are matching-up with TLG frames. The "long" axles are still too short, i.e., when pushed (forcefully, with a click, as if they were going through the plastic, but don't) all the way in. And beware, this needs some pressure. Solution: Use TLG axles or wheel sets - or have axles made that fit in length. The latter is what I did. For 24 Euros each per set, I am >absolutely< happy. As said: When it does not fit, I make my own stuff. So I am very happy with what I got. All the best, Thorsten

The BlueBrixx thread ... Good reasoning. And I see very educated and valuable information here, in the BB thread, for train heads. Now, in the Technic Forum there is now a blessed, i.e. pinned (!) "Cada" thread. Hmm. Technic folks seem to like Cada products. I checked the Cada website - and I must say: Yes, I can see that. However: Ever checked the BB website with regard to trains??? Is there >any< other provider of a) original models (they have their own designers) and b) offering the sheer wealth of train models - TLG is not even coming close, at no measure? I am not talking about quality of bricks - although I must admit: I just ordered their BR89 for my birthday. After ordering carriages for my very own BR23. And those bricks were fantastic. @JopieK and @Milan : Why exactly is the very train relevant BB thread here, but the technic relevant Cada thread right there, where it truly belongs? I am just curious! All the best, Thorsten

@Toxic43 This is a fantastic design! Wow. You have 1) all the power of the linear motor and b) the power of PyBricks - and managed to assemble all that into this beautiful "small" (and at the same time so "big") engine. Congratulations! Hope you'll get your hands on the missing gears sooner than later! One totally marginal thing: Some of my trains operate their powered bogies on the same principle. What I saw when serious torque is required (slopes, friction) that the 1x2 technic brick (and you secured that additionally with the 2x2 plate with holes) was sometimes popping off. I used this to get around that issue: (just did draw it up in MLCAD for your geometry) - colors don't mean anything to me but "contrasting" Would that also work for your design, or is that "gear framing" simply not required? I really enjoy seeing your progress. Thanks a lot for sharing!!! Best Thorsten P.S.: This also demonstrates the power of PoweredUp either using PyBricks or TLGs PoweredUp app using "set speed" )

Of course not - that set is from 1975 (https://www.playmobil.de/hochbauarbeiter-bierkasten/3312-A.html) Doesn't make any difference, but these days many, many other things were - a bit different. I guess there is a learning curve to be expected. The machinery that guy is operating is a wheelbarrow and a brick trowel. But again: not good to drink and build. Best, Thorsten

Phew - Now in real life, I can get a crate of beer within a radius of 500 m from this place (oh well, living in a small town comes with a cost) - but I can't buy any dynamite sticks, firearms, or canons within at least 250 km - nor do I want to. What's wrong with the beer, though? Presumably drinking at work? Just curious. Best, Thorsten Oh so true. TLG is (as far as I am concerned and as almost every other toy company) far less on the peaceful side of things. Covering up violence in fiction, be it ... whatever it is in the LEGO world, may not be perceived by (very) young humans as "nowhere related to the real world", simply as it is meant to be pure fiction. I put my favorite violent fictional minifigs on a shelf for a photo shooting; the ones on the left/center. Folks with guns and dynamite are on the center/right. On that island they can't cause much harm other than going 1:1 Well, as you said, I'm not keen to get into there. But I know what it did to me, when I was young. Luckily (I'd say), there were - at some point in life - "Exits". Nevertheless, I clearly see @Ondra's point. Best, Thorsten

7: 10 3: 6 4: 4 2: 3 1: 2 5: 1

Oh well - just checked The Internet ... There is DONT and there is NEVER ... Just very briefly: Paper is food for "mold" (= a biological entity); ABS is >not<. ABS is a nice place to "breed", because it is flat, non-toxic, not transporting well "cold/warmth" well - it is dead. So being there poses no harm. Nothing wrong for "mold" to extend out to such surfaces, when food is either available elsewhere (but in reach to the Borgs, no, the mold), or moisture and airborne + adsorbed "edible" stuff is available. Again: ABS wrapped in paper, or in contact to = plenty of food everywhere. Now, let separate the food from the ABS. Throw the paper away (here are means to clean paper as well; it is a bit more - no, a lot more elaborate), or send it back, that was smart. Put the ABS pieces into a washing machine set to 30°C (provided you have a LOT of pieces - if not, use a bucket or whatever and stir occasionally, same temp), apply (plenty of) detergent; we want to get the fatty = "non water/aqueous acid soluble (vinegar)" stuff first. Get rid of that stuff will let the next treatment do the work. Then wash with water. Now do the NEVER DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT thing: Same procedure as above with plain vanilla bleach applied. In contrast to what is out there: Mold does >not< penetrate into ABS. It sits on the surface. Some say bleach only works on the surface. Yes. So, just do it, this is where it works - and where the mold resides. Also, don't spray bleach onto the ABS, >immerse< it into bleach. As you would do with clothing to be bleached. Ever seen remaining mold on bleached clothes? Or smell? I haven't. When you have: Use more bleach + more time. On ABS, it will work swiftly, for sure. Then wash with water. There should not be a whiff of smell anymore. Maybe residual "chlorine" smell, which is indeed hypochlorite, but who cares. Just wash with water again. No smell = clean, actually disinfected surfaces. They did it in hospitals for decades (on >surfaces<); nowadays, there is more powerful stuff than bleach. But possibly not available to everyone. All the best, Thorsten P.S.: Been there, tried it, worked. Always.

Hey, that's the whole fun of it! I have no clue about DCC, but some hands-on experience about the 80's way of thinking I love registers! And ULAs - or typing DJNZ into the assembler 7bit text editor . Maybe I should try DCC! Just kidding, I am happy with my ZX Spectrum. Wonder if that one is capable of talking DCC ... they seems to be of same age! All the best, Thorsten

VERY NICE! Thank you very much! Best wishes, Thorsten

Overpriced, yes - but total garbage hardware - no. In contrast, these are nicely engineered embedded systems, have memory large enough to "never" be filled with handmade machine code - even a C-program will have some substantial numbers of code lines before that memory is full. Sound is OK, display sucks when getting older, 4 inputs, 3 outputs, I2C bus (and thus open to the World of Peripherals ), BT (over serial), USB ... no not that bad, I'd say. Definitely not for a train, but maybe for controlling an entire train layout. And 16 years old. NXT's are currently rather cheap on BL. The EV3 came later (also not good for trains, but good for controlling three train layouts in parallel ) - and now we got PUp. The City hub is performance- and size-wise undoubtedly attractive for trains - but the battery sucks, as discussed. We are THAT close, but I guess it simply will not happen - because the metal track is gone. Good we have FX. In other words: Fire up the soldering iron. , as @dr_spock said! Best, Thorsten

yes, but depends on what the "LEGO train market" means. I have a feeling that although TLGs train sets do not appeal to "many" here on this forum and elsewhere, that this particular "many" represents only a tiny fraction of the sum of moms and dads, grandparents and others happily buying TLGs current trains sets. These sets are quite large (the box that is ) and since the store's shelf-space as well as set order or box appearance on the shelves is definitely optimized by some folks at TLG who hold an M.Sc. in "Finance of Shelf-Space Optimization & Accounting", they must sell; otherwise they'd be kicked out as soon as red numbers appear on some Excel sheets in Billund. So yes, FX will dominate when they succeed, but only "the LEGO train market for bold LEGO train enthusiast with deep pockets". Which is perfectly fine with me, I wish them all success!!! All the best, Thorsten

Same here - exactly that. That is my approach as well. However, there are also the "Forum Rules". Clone brick-built carriages and trains (never even closely offered by TLG) usually get beamed into the Community forum. There is already a BlueBrixx thread, where the quality and issues with their stuff is discussed. Unfortunately, I'd say, because it really is interesting. I am not talking about bluntly copied stuff (or even remotely copied) - but BB originals (they call "specials", I believe but don't know). But other than that: Very nice to have these and other topics related to train right here, where they belong. Best Thorsten

Any thoughts on wireless as well? The principle is the same: There is a central brain (the Client, representing many clients = trains, e.g. a RPi or ESP***) and the servers (= individual trains with a brain = ESP*** or PUb hubs) - which is more or less identical to DCC, but differently realized. DCC needs all metal track, wireless some metal track for recharging (on the fly - whenever on metal track, the motors run off from metal power, when on plastic track, they run off from the LiPo/NiMHs or whatever rechargeable you prefer). With a mixed metal (80%) all plastic (20%) track the net outcome is charging, at least with the load I was pulling back then, see above. The other thing is, the double cross-over (e.g. from BB, with some tinkering) works, wyes work, back loops work ... all plastic stuff from X and Y works ... But: Just my take! All the best, Thorsten