SavaTheAggie

Blessing Of The Fleet by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr For those of you who aren't familiar with what the "Blessing of the Fleet" is... --Tony

Luau by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr --Tony

Took me longer than I had hoped, but they're done. North Pole Limited Instructions Collection by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr --Tony

Whether built in bricks or in pixels, if you designed it, in my opinion, it's a MOC. It's my creation whether it's in LDraw or in my hand. --Tony

Thanks much, all! Originally I was going to have Santa wear a cowboy hat instead and have a Texas Santa saying "Merry Christmas, Y'all!", but without the red hat he didn't really look like Santa. I had already wanted to do a "Mele Kalikimaka" picture with the Hula Girls, so I figured this was a good compromise. I still may do a Texas Santa, but he'll be dressed all in red to make it more obvious who he is. --Tony

Glad to hear it! It's a famous image, at least here in the States. It's usually accompanied by a Biblical reference of "Every knee shall bend (to Christ)". It's meant as a reminder as to the true reason for Christmas. Thanks! It'd be nice, but there's nothing holding you back from building your own, and I would imagine we, the AFOLs, could do better than what LEGO would produce. I don't see why LEGO couldn't make a Nativity scene if they're making Advent calendars. The people that would be offended by Nativity scenes they don't have to buy made by a company they don't own a part of should already be offended by Advent calendars (advent is Christian). Heck, those people should already be offended LEGO does Santa and Christmas Tree sets. One of my fellow TexLUGgers has a Menorah that was built by LEGO as some sort of store display (it's glued, IIRC). Thanks much! Thanks! Thanks much! It really was a spur-of-the-moment type of thing, but it was a lot of fun to put together. --Tony

It seems there is an available 20% off coupon code. Use "REMARKABLEYEAR305" at checkout, and RAILBRICKS will still get the full donation. --Tony

Mele Kalikimaka by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr --Tony

Click here to order from LuLu.com! Help support RAILBRICKS, the brick railroading magazine, with this gorgeous 13 month calendar. Each month features photos from Anthony Sava's Sava Railways Scenic Tours photo series, showcasing trains and scenery built entirely of LEGO® bricks. As a bonus, the 13th month features a guest photo of LEGO trains by Larry Pieniazek and Jim Garrett. This Calendar takes the place of the official 2011 RAILBRICKS Calendar, which unfortunately did not materialize in time. --Tony

One of my favorite seasonal images, I'm not sure why. --Tony

The next installment in my Sava Railways Scenic Tours photo series: "Moment In Time" Image is a link. --Tony

The Spare Partman Bridge by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr I had a few light grey 2x4s left over from building my Cathedral, so I decided to throw together this tablescrap bridge for the upcoming TexLUG train show this weekend. It's designed to sit on the floor and span the gap between two tables. It's 96 studs long and a whole, whopping, 8 studs wide, flaring to 10 studs at the base. :) It would actually be relatively simple (but a little time consuming) to calculate just how many 2x4s are in there, but I have not taken the time to do so. --Tony

I'm running low on parts for a "tall" version, but I was able to build a version of the "medium trestle bridge" in three 32 stud long segments: EastwoodRavine_00 by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr I didn't know we had a gallon of milk on hand, so I went ahead and photographed the test. Tall Trestle Bridge Milk Jug Test by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr Forgive me for being indignant, but this is not more of a "balancing test." A US Gallon of milk weighs in excess of 3.9 kg. That particular chunk of my cathedral easily weighs 2 to 3 times that much. Much more than a "balancing test." --Tony

I've taken my trestle bridge design further, creating a taller, more realistic and fluid looking design. Trestle Bridge A-Frames by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr Of course at 22 1x1x5 bricks per A-frame, compared to 14 per A-Frame of the original, it can tear up your brick supply very quickly. Tall Trestle Bridge Assembly by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr It has proven to be just as strong (or stronger) as the original. Tall Trestle Bridge Strength Test by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr --Tony

And with Power Functions you wouldn't need to worry about any of that. Looks great! --Tony

Great SNOTwork, well done. It's deceptively complex and really cleanly done. Personally I think the handrails are fine as is, but I am one to understand the pursuit of perfection. I just may have to build me one of these. --Tony

Thanks to our new senior editor, Elroy Davis, a new issue RAILBRICKS is here! Inside you'll find articles for beginners, lessons on how to photograph your trains, more RCX/PF train experimentation, new ideas for smooth curves, instructions, and more! Click here to read, download, or order your copy today! --Tony

I'm sorry, but that's not my Brickshelf gallery. I have not had a chance to see these clones in person, so I can't give you any opinions. I've also seen some work by others on Brickshelf in creating 9v track out of standard model train track, connecting standard rails to LEGO plates. It seems like more effort in the beginning, but perhaps a longer life span compared to metal foil. Either case, though, I have not tried it nor seen it in person. --Tony

This Brickshelf Gallery holds photos of many of the Enlighten Train lineup. Some trains are direct copies, others are unique designs (or copies of some other brand of which I am unaware). http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=433917 I'm rather fond of the dark green locomotive and car, and the prime mover included in the Santa Fe rip-off. --Tony

I have an old, outdated LDraw file of the Polar Express, before I retrofitted the locomotive (again) to be studless and add more detail. So I can give you a part total for the locomotive, tender, and three passenger cars, but it will be a severely low-balled estimate of what you see there in that photo. I think you meant # of bricks x 0.10 = price point estimate, equaling $0.10 a brick. The older version of the train has somewhere around 2,150 parts. I can't be exact because the the file includes some lighting elements (back when I was trying to render it) and track, and I didn't bother to count them all to remove them from the total. This would give a theoretical price point of $215. I don't know how many extra parts there will be when I finally get the new locomotive rendered in LDraw, but I can't imagine it being more than a theoretical price point of $250. However, if this were to be a Licensed product, even if it didn't add any more cost simply by being licensed, you would still need to add in minifigs at least, and possibly track and even PF equipment. You could easily find it topping out over $300 or $350. --Tony

I'm hoping to get the instructions finished soon. However, as you point out, I can't call it by a trademarked name. The instructions I will be selling will be for the "North Pole Limited". --Tony

For the curious, I've posted a behind-the-scenes shot of Wedding Bells to my Flickr photostream. Behind the Scenes of Wedding Bells by SavaTheAggie, on Flickr --Tony

Exactly. First and foremost, it's 8-wide, which LEGO doesn't do. Even so, I've already built a copy on commission, back when it was a simpler design, and making a minuscule profit on it it cost the client $450 (including two 9v motors and shipping). Granted, this was 5 years ago or so, so some prices on parts would have gone down, and some may have come up. But my design is also more complex now, including a nearly studless locomotive. I can't see TLG making this a set unless it sold it a la carte, like the Santa Fe Super Chief. --Tony

Don't know how much of an inspiration it will be, but I've built the Polar Express. Full Gallery --Tony

Thanks all! I'm happy to see people taking interest in my work. You umm... aren't supposed to think about that. Besides, they're newlyweds, they'll want to spend their time close together. I was hoping people would notice her. Kind of a last minute addition. --Tony