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NickLafreniere

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Everything posted by NickLafreniere

  1. NickLafreniere
    I'm so glad LEGO is bringing back the trains! I think 1200 pieces for this highly-detailed, larger scale locomotive is very fair for $100USD. I would imagine that will be CAD$130 for Canada? I plan on buying this at the LEGO store when there is some kind of GWP worth about $40, so I can sell that to reduce the overall price. The inclusion of a display stand is perfect. LEGO trains are expensive and have a huge barrier to entry. After buying a train set, a decent amount of track kits, battery boxes+motors+lights, that comes out to about $400. This locomotive has tons of moving parts and technic details, as well as a wide variety of texturing. I think one can get a huge amount of satisfaction out of this set for just $100 (or ~$70 if you shop smart). As for extra train cars to go with it, I'm glad one is not included. It would have been too large and would increase the cost of the set by a huge amount. Perhaps LEGO is planning another 18+ train set to go with it in the later months? I will buy this set when it comes out or as soon as there is some kind of deal. If this set came with an exclusive small GWP just for the crocodile, I would get it sooner!
  2. NickLafreniere
    Thanks for the kind words! So far, people on reddit in Vancouver, Winnipeg, British Columbia, and Ontario liked it! :) I agree with the TTC project... As someone who lives in Toronto and also designed my own LEGO subway LEGO idea many years ago, I agree with you that it is really poorly-made. If the guy with the crappy TTC project got 10K in a 1.5 years, I should be able to get 10K as well. At least he helped prove that are at least 10,000 people who would support a Canadian train.
  3. NickLafreniere
    Thanks! I felt like this train has more detail than your typical 6w LEGO train set. Although many hardcore LEGO train fans prefer 7w or 8w, I think this 6 wide train could make them reconsider it! Mix & Match both sets to your liking:
  4. NickLafreniere
    Agreed! It is strange, I've never seen another train that does this... It's truly unique!
  5. NickLafreniere
    Take another look at the proportions: Look at how the lines perfectly match up when you mix & match both sets:
  6. NickLafreniere
    I made the other livery. Check it out here. The other livery is much more simple, print/sticker-wise.
  7. NickLafreniere
    Here is my other Via Rail train, The Corridor. To see more pictures, please see Via Rail Canada - The Corridor. I'd love to hear any feedback, comments, questions, or criticisms. It's a big set, so let's tackle it one car at a time. :) If you like it, please support on LEGO Ideas if you believe it would make a great official set.
  8. NickLafreniere
    Perhaps LEGO is making a new piece for train wheels for 2021... that would be great. I'm sure some kind of alternative can be done. Glad you saw that opportunity as well! I also had that idea, just like how the Metroliner has an alternate "B" model. So instead of the Skyline car, you could also use those pieces to make a Park car. For the Chateau, you could make a Manor car instead. And instead of the baggage car, it would be a dining car. Either these could be included as a second instruction book + 50-100 additional pieces to build these models, or just fan suggestions. If this set gets to LEGO review, I would gladly suggest and design the alternative "B" models. That would add even more value to the set. Buying 2x of the set makes it twice as long... and having an alternative to build the second time you build it would be great.
  9. NickLafreniere
    As you can see in the real life picture above, the locomotive is slightly taller than the passenger cars in real life. Via Rail's passenger cars are much older than their locomotives. Via Rail "mixes and matches" their rolling stock :) The 2 windscreens at the end are regular car windscreens with a custom print I designed myself. They are attached on their side. The glass roof pieces are those new train windscreens, but on their side and in light grey for the first time. I must say, this is the best way to build a LEGO dome roof compared to anything I've ever seen online. If my set got produced, these pieces would be produced in grey and you could use these to make other MOCs. The beds each get "stowed away" in their own spot. The upper duplex roomette's bed is in the wall behind and can be put down. The lower duplex is like a drawer. You must "pull" the bed out. The upper berth bed simply folds down and fits perfectly when not in use :) I really enjoyed making 3 different types of classes of cabins! It's hard to choose my favorite :)
  10. NickLafreniere
    My name is Nick, my favorite LEGO theme, and pretty much the only theme I like, are LEGO trains. As a kid, I only owned 1 train set... 4559 Cargo Railway from 1996. This set is considered to be the worst train set, as it is so unrealistic! That has always inspired me to make my own train that does represent a real life vehicle. I like to design digitally and only recently have I been showing my stuff online. In the near future, I'd also like to go to a convention or brick show. I was going to attend Bricks in Six this summer, but it is canceled due to the pandemic...
  11. NickLafreniere
    It has been a long time goal of mine to build this beautiful train with LEGO. After working on it for a long time, I have finally finished it. To see 70+ pictures and a detailed tour, please see Via Rail Canada - The Canadian I'd love to hear any feedback, comments, questions, or criticisms. It's a big set, so let's tackle it one car at a time. :) If you like it, please support on LEGO Ideas if you believe it would make a great official set.
  12. NickLafreniere
    I made the Via Rail Canada - The Canadian train on LEGO Ideas. I think this IP has quite a good chance of working in collaboration with LEGO. Check out the project and 70+ more pictures at my project page: Via Rail Canada - The Canadian My other project that also has a decent chance of getting through is my Canada Post Delivery Truck. LEGO made 2 Canada Post sets in the past already, set 105-1 and set 107-2, so perhaps they could also get approval for this. The executives at Canada Post gave it the "OK" so far! See the full project here: Canada Post - Delivery Truck
  13. NickLafreniere
    This looks great, I prefer this front to the pre-molded piece.
  14. NickLafreniere
    Thank you! I came up with it myself since there weren't many other examples of MOCs of this style of delivery/mail truck. The 2x2 jumper worked perfectly for this application.
  15. NickLafreniere
    Yeah, that sticker covers 7 bricks!!!!!!! 7!!!!! I thought 3 was already a lot :P My sticker just covers 2 pieces, which is the best possible scenario for STAMPs. If only LEGO made a 1x10x 1 1/3 brick, then we would have nothing to worry about :)
  16. NickLafreniere
    I'm trying to find more information about this. Has LEGO ever made an official statement that they no longer do STAMPs in sets? Does someone also know the last example of a set LEGO has made with STAMPs? I think the Maersk Train was one of them.
  17. NickLafreniere
    Thanks for the comment. While designing this, I kept the building/sticker experience in mind. I understand that stickers over multiple pieces is controversial :) Although, this is a good and "reasonably safe" instance to have a sticker over multiple pieces. The 1x10 brick and 1x10 plate will be locked together rather tightly, so you could still take apart the Canada Post truck and keep the 1x10 assembly intact without damage to the sticker. The other instance of a sticker going over multiple parts is the circular Canada Post logo sticker on the slanted front of the truck. That part is more fragile when taking apart... However, having that sticker over the 2 1x2 cheese slope actually keeps that part built a little stronger.
  18. NickLafreniere
    Thank you, I am most proud of that technique. Thanks! I agree, I feel like this is a great replica of the real truck in 6-wide! To clarify, this is one sticker covering 2 pieces: A red 1x10 brick with a white 1x10 plate below. The top of the sticker lines up with the top of the red brick. The bottom of the sticker lines up with the edge of the white plate. Honestly, I don't think putting 1 rectangular sticker on a 1x10 with 1x10 plate would be that challenging. Kids will probably get it crooked, but who didn't when they were kids? :) My best advice is use tweezers to apply the sticker. Any sets with stickers are challenging. I wish LEGO would print every piece, but that just isn't economical, especially for a small set like this. I think that since LEGO and Canada Post have worked in the past, this set proposal isn't totally unrealistic. Although this truck is only a Canadian icon, I still think that this model can be enjoyed internationally. North American mail trucks are usually larger/more boxy that European mail trucks, and that extra size gave me more interior space, which is great for play. I think a new generation of kids would enjoy this :)
  19. NickLafreniere
    Getting 10,000 supporters can make this project a real LEGO set. You can help by voting for my project! Please see my LEGO Ideas project here. Set Description Canada Post’s Delivery Truck is the perfect addition to your LEGO city. Featuring an attractive red and white color scheme with a striking blue curve, this LEGO Ideas set delivers a high amount of realism at a budget price. This real-life delivery truck is far more detailed than any mail/postal set LEGO has produced and is a great build for consumers of any age – young and old. This set makes for a great collectible display set for adults as well a fun play set for kids that depicts an everyday aspect of life – the mail. The inclusion of the ‘parcels’ that come with the truck can be a very useful accessory to use in your LEGO city. Features: Truck measures 15 cm long, 5 cm wide, 7 cm tall 191 pieces, 91 unique pieces Includes mail truck, mailbox, mail carrier minifigure, 4 letters, and 6 packages Rear door opens and roof lifts off for access to the interior Detailed Tour This authentic scale LEGO Canada Post Delivery Truck model features many details, such as the advertisement billboard frame on the side of the truck. “Delivering the online world” is one graphic being used, although LEGO can also place their own advertisement for LEGO Shop At Home as an alternative. The rear of the truck also has a printed door piece with the Canada Post logo. A red Canada Post mailbox and some assorted mail are included. The roof can be lifted off for interior access. There are shelves along each wall of the truck to hold packages. The floor is tiled and can hold the larger packages. The rear door can also be lifted open. The Canada Post mail carrier minifigure features a light blue button up shirt with dark blue pants, hat, and carrier bag. He is holding a white Flat Rate Box from Canada Post. The driver can comfortably sit in the seat in the front of the truck. This set will feature these new colored parts in red as well as metallic silver. These pieces will be printed: The truck is built on a strong base and uses clever connections to make the detailed front of the vehicle. Here is the real-life Canada Post truck... CanadaPostTruck
  20. NickLafreniere
    Hey all, I'd like to share my City-themed creation here with all you Town fans! It's the LEGO City Subway Train Car, perfect to complement a LEGO town layout. You can see the rest of the details and more pictures on my LEGO Ideas page: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/100353
  21. NickLafreniere
    This looks good, it's like mine but wider and longer. I like the smooth roof and how you did the front of the car.
  22. NickLafreniere
    My main reason for not including minifigures is to avoid redundancy when buying multiple subway train car sets. If I had to, I would include the train driver/conductor, or him plus two other figures. But then you would end up having many duplicates of the same figures. I even thought of including 3 minifig bodies plus additional heads and hair pieces to customize, but that too would increase the price. Many fans have their own minifigs to put in the train, so I thought that including some wasn't a priority. The light brick is an important featue to the set. It brings an inovative and unique feel to the set, and looks really great in person. Without even having to have Power Functions, the user can still have a lit up model using just one light brick. The brick stays on with simple lever so you don't need to press it down with your hand. There is little to no pressure at all on the bricks when the switch is being pressed the lever because the surrounding piece is flexible. I will explain this in detail with pictures when I update the project later. No other LEGO train set has ever had a battery operated lighted interior either. The car even looks realistic when it glows in a dark room going around the track. The price point of the set was one of the primary goals I had in mind when designing. I wanted to create the most affordable train set currently available and most approachable to parents and children as well. The removal of minifgures helps tremendously to cut the price, but if the fans really desire to have to a figure I believe the driver/conductor is the best fit for the set. Adding a light brick would cost LEGO a dollar or so to include in the set and the amount of value this adds is a great seller to non-train fans and targets regular City/Creator fans. This train is modular in size and would compliment large town layouts or still appeal as a stand-alone play set to the casual audience.
  23. NickLafreniere
    First of all, thanks for that in-depth review. I appreciate it. The printing on the windows is absolutely essential to finish the look of the train. Without having a rounded grey border around the windows, the transparent panel directly on top of the yellow stripe looks unfinished and primitive. It also shows the yellow studs because of the transparent piece and looks even more out of place. In addition to the grey border around the windows, the rounded corners match the rounded train door windows. As for the color variation in parts, I have put thought into it. There are some other colors such as white and brown included in the set, but you are correct that there is an excess of grey. Because the set is built using a minimalistic classic/creator style, not many types of pieces were used. Most bricks have at least 2 or 3 purposes and the variety of pieces in the set have been optimized. As for the yellow stripe, that color can easily be changed if desired. All you need is a few plates:8 of 1x1 plates and 10 of 1x4 plates. For example, if you had a big city display you could multiple train lines like the green line or the blue line. I really do like the light brick, or any thing that lights up really! Just one light brick is needed to light the cabin and it is a great effect, especially in a dark tunnel. The light brick would only add a few dollars extra to the price of the set, but I think it is well worth it and an attractive feature to entice new train fans.
  24. NickLafreniere
    When desigining the 3 configurations of the cars, I decided to make the cars asymmetrical. Also, the set has 2 different types of bogies. The larger one has the little yellow footholds, and the smaller one is just a basic wheelset. On the front car(1) and the rear car(3), there are little yellow footholds only at the ends of the train. All the other bogies are the smaller type. To make the exteriors of the cars visually differing from each other, I decided to make most of the differences in the bogies as well as the undercarriage of the train car. Compare the bottom part of cars 2 & 3: However, if people and/or LEGO prefer the design with yellow footholds on both sides, that can easily be changed.
  25. NickLafreniere
    I have read the all the guidelines before joining here, I really would just like to receive constructive criticism from the members. I have a picture on the Ideas page showing how all the Power Functions components are fitted inside the car: Please ask me questions if you are curious as to how certain parts are built or what this set is capable of providing!
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