Rob Klingberg

Thanks october and Legogal! october, all of the set parts are LEGO parts-- the lights are products I make and sell through my company, Brickstuff. They are designed to fit inside bricks and otherwise integrate with LEGO parts.

I finished building this set yesterday, and I have to agree with the others that it is by far the best Modular to date (I've built them all, save the Market Street). It is the richest set of the bunch in terms of overall detail, and as others have pointed out, it actually is priced very reasonably given the number and type of parts included. Simply stunning to see it finished, and a joy to build. I have to say one more time that the level of detail is amazing-- so many little features and creative use of parts show just how much thought went into creating this set. Of course, I couldn't be content simply with building it-- I had to light it up! That added an extra 1.5 days to my build time, but I am happy with the final results. 20+ LEDs, six lighting effect controllers, and much creative running of wire later, and it's complete. All wire is contained within the building, hidden beneath floors and inside the walls. The existing structure was modified only slightly (adding a black wall on the 3rd floor to conceal the battery pack, etc.), and everything is self-contained. The whole thing turns on and off via a micro magnetic switch in one of the chimney posts-- place or remove a 1x1 round plate with embedded magnet to turn everything on and off. I will be working on a video and posting soon. Enjoy! http://www.flickr.com/photos/brickstuff/sets/72157639439897404/ --Rob

I looked at the Imp as well for a wireless platform I am developing, but decided against it for the very reason you mention: you always need an Internet connection. While we are able to count on these things more and more frequently in more and more locations, they will not always be reliable, especially in places like convention centers where LEGO shows are held. In these situations, even Wifi cellular modems may not be reliable. Plus, isn't there some sort of recurring monthly charge to use the Imp's cloud-based service? I may be mistaken here, but if there was a charge, it would seem to add to cost over time. I've decided the better way for my application is to use BLE as a proxy to cell phone, which wouldn't need an Internet or cell connection to allow interactive programming and control. Plus the cost for BLE continues coming down, and more and more phones have BLE capability. Plus it is great for power-- anything that relies on Wifi (even the Imps) will consume many orders of magnitude more power than BLE. Moz, I am curious to learn more about how you will be using your RFDuinos...

If you're looking for LEGO lighting solutions, there's also http://www.brickstuff.com. We have adjustable flashing and 10+ other effects, plus much thinner wires than Lifelites. Check out our latest installation (built by the folks at Brickmania and lit using our lights): .

Excellent project, very interesting! I question why you would look at using WiFi vs. Bluetooth LE. WiFi cards are like 4-6x the cost of BT cards, they require an access point or complicated Infrastructure Mode configuration (like on the AR.Drones), and consume vastly more power (I know that you have LiPos but why not save that energy for the motors?). I'd recommend taking another look at BT LE-- most of the modern phones now support LE, so you could still have your control. Also, if you need flat ribbon cable 22AWG or finer that will support >5A, check out McMaster-Carr. Their product numbers 9634T201, 9634T203, or others in this same series should work for you (depending on how many conductors you need).

This looks like a good set! It would be nice to have something substantial in the Japanese/Chinese design that didn't come with ninjas.

I'd like to have a way for those of us who are not in clubs to participate. In anticipation of this event, I designed what I believe to be a very custom and cool container that represents my company (www.brickstuff.com). Because I am only one person, I invested to make a total of 5 containers. I would be interested in sending these 5 out and getting 5 in return. I don't want to make 30 containers, but a swap 5-for-5 is interesting to me. Thoughts?

Absolutely fantastic-- so well executed, and a wonderful and very creative re-use of the monorail motor and tracks. I always admire when people can create something that's round with such accuracy-- the bricks in the turntable well look like they themselves are round. Superb! Now we need to see it installed in a layout!

Looks like the YouTube video is private-- can you change the settings so we can watch it? Very interested to see the lighting effects in action.

Wow, brings back so many memories of lost days in front of my computer. Well done! Heading over now to support on Cuusoo. Even if you don't succeed in getting the set approved/produced, I think you could still sell the plans on eBay or something. I think a lot of people would buy them.

Well done! I too would like to see some additional detail about how you made the inner workings, gearing, etc.

Excellent tribute to a very famous computer!

I'm working on perfecting drilling through the lamp posts myself. I find using a 3/8" drill bit (longer than normal-- look for an extended length) works well, as long as you have a drill press or other way to hold the drill straight. Let me know if you want me to send you a couple lamp posts. I also have pre-mounted SMD LEDs. --Rob

Wow, that is quite a circuit! Thank you for sharing. When you say you kept shouting the "F" word, I assume you mean "FUN!" How did you mount the LEDs into the 1x plates? Did you drill holes? Again, great work!

That is absolutely amazing work! Do you have more details about the circuit that you could share? What functions does it perform, how are the LEDs connected to the circuit, etc. Thanks!

Any city layout that leaves room for a haunted house is OK in my book! Excellent job, and so much detail. I think my favorite features are the building under construction and also the viaducts in the street over the river. Well dome!

Well done! Tell me more about the custom metal wheels? I know you used BB medium wheels underneath, but do you have any more information to share about how you made the metal wheels? Of course now it needs lights and sound if you're going the DCC route! I have some lights that would fit inside those headlight bricks if you want to PM me. Now I'm thinking I need to pull out my old 7760 and modernize it as well! Again, great job.

Great job! I love it all-- the custom trains, the lights, the nighttime photo, the turnstyles in the station, the workers hard at work on new track sections, everything.

Very interesting idea! Although the NXT today can communicate via I2C natively, which Arduino can also use, so why not make a NXT-to-Arduino I2C connector? Then people could use whatever Arduino board/flavor they wanted. If you have manufacturing/design/electronics experience and really want to bring your idea to life, my suggestion would be to not wait for Cuusoo but instead go directly to Kickstarter.

Finally received my set earlier this week, after a very long wait. Interested to get into the set and see what's possible, but I'm also hoping others more creative than I will post some design ideas. As those who bought the set are well aware, it comes with no suggested builds, ideas, etc.

I really like this idea. Have you done research into the costs needed to build custom molds to make this yourself? My suggestion would be to not wait for Cuusoo (as others have said, it is very unlikely TLG would make this part), but rather to post your own Kickstarter campaign for it, and message to the community directly. Rather than just vote for something that may or may not ever come to life, I'd much rather pledge my support today by contributing funds that would allow you to make and sell it now. Just a thought. Also, have you modeled out the internals, to make sure everything would fit (dials, IC, etc.)? Hopefully so, because your form factor is 100% spot on! --Rob

Woohoo! So happy to see the next issue released. I just ordered my print copy. I love the idea of a series of articles based on custom train control with the Arduino microcontroller. I have been using the Arduino quite a bit in my own products (Brickstuff), and have been thinking about which solutions related to LEGO trains I might offer for sale someday. This will give good food for thought!

Well done! I love modulars that are recessed somewhat on the upper floors-- the terrace on the 2nd floor of your build is a great touch. I also love the interior lighting details-- you have developed quite a few unique lights/lamps in addition to making a beautiful build all-up. Bravo!

Happy to support the continued creation of such high-quality work. That was a mighty large download! I was salivating just looking at the first few pages. I need to allow some time to properly absorb all the great work you've done (and continue to do). Bravo! Keep it coming.... --Rob

Very helpful topic, thank you. I work a lot with lighting in LEGO (for my company, Brickstuff), so I'm building a large collection of trans-clear elements. I have a large amount of 1x1 round plates that look dirty/milky in the bag-- I believe they are newer stock, though they could be polycarbonate. At least now I know they're not dirty-- just made of a different material. I do like the way light shows through the milkier elements-- it adds a nice softness, especially working with LEDs as I do. --Rob