Ron Dayes

good to hear, lets hope they wont give up on other professions ;) Thanks, i checked your MOCs, really superb stuff, we definately agree scale wise! Your stream is a bit low on cars though, if you ever want a few more 5 wides, stay tuned in this thread, i frequenlty post instructions now ;) Haha, yeah - allthough atleast SC series set a bit of focus on cars again, not in a good way, yet at least there is more experimenting again (car community was quite silent early 2010s) HERE IS ANOTHER 90ies GEM IN 1/43 , combining advanced techniques with a classic town squarish look. Instructions see pic or ask if something is unclear. View on flickr for full size and zoom. easy mercedes 1/43 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr easy mercedes instruction by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

Pff, the variety is very little compared to what classis town used to offer. You are very right to say so. I mean, where did post offices go? Windmills? Company buildings? Gas stations? Car garages? Motels? Train crossing buildings? car loading stations? harbour heavy crane settings? And hospitals barely make it into the city series... those are also jobs, if you portray them interstingly in the sets with cool functions (package devices, running tracks), not every one might feel the need to be a cop or a firefighter.

Ah, if you ever want a file for clearer instructions, let me know! TBH, this took me years to figure out! its simply "not giving up" that got me there, nothing to do with intellect. rather patience I will also post more types of cars with instructions soon... It is, but somehow, it isnt, right? Old classic town looked much more "real", than all those "panorama" window builds we are getting now...Simply old small windows and more bricks that creates that appearance...

For those interested, here are some "simpler" models with instructions "Easy" 1/43 Porsche (with instructions in other pic) by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr "Easy" 1/43 Porsche Instruction by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

Thanks man, really enjoying your flickr stream btw! Many thanks, glad you like it. Can only agree on that opinion :) Thanks to you too! Im quite sure its useful whatever the idea is that you are pursuing. If you ever need help with something, just let me know :) cheers! also great that you keep the town community alive, i see you frequently replying to several posts

Not meaning to be rude, but can't you figure it out by yourself in LDD? its a pretty simple design, the video literally shows every aspect in clear detail... Since you obviously point out that it wont happen as an ideas set, therefore just wanting the file - why not recreate it yourself - instead of asking others for it?

Hi, The following pictures are a write up on flickr about how Cars/Motorbikes were designed fitting in the "classic Town" concept from 1978 over the years since the introduction of the minifig. Now while some say "car moccing" and "classic Town" are two different things, actually, i have good reason to believe they are one and the same. Cars will always influence the scale, detail and vibe of a town. Since they are the "tough nut" to crack building wise in any layout given the limited space, i worked on these ideas for over 4 years with several attempts (going from 8 wide to 4 wide even) of getting it to fit well with each other. Along the way i discovered several new techniques i want to present here swiftly, which might be inspirational despite whatever approach is made or desired. I might also use this thread to post more or more detailed shots of techniques that can be very useful if there is a fair demand for it (rendering takes long^^) Have fun, click for larger views through the pictures on my flickr account (simply click on the first pic and then move to your left on flickr). no 1 / 13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr no 2 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr no 3 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr no 4 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr no 5 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr no 6 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr no 7 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr no 8 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr no 9 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr no 10 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr no 11 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr no 12 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr no 13 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

Yes, i feel you - im actually kinda disliking the modular trend. Because of modular now the city line simply cant keep up in detail for the price and looks like a toy now since they are trying to make up for it with big mould pieces -and modulars overly detailed dont fit with simpler buildings well. Every layout is now filled with modulars - yep they are cool - BUT thats in a way buildings for really large cities, the whole "Town" = "small city" spirit and idea got lost. Its understandable, the modulars are also fun to build, but frankly, we dont get to see simple things anymore on layouts, like gas stations, small postoffices - ur average suburban flair is gone. Thats what we love about TLG 1970 - late 80ies era: Its simple suburban flair, where a 2 story tall building is allready "huge". Looking at the late 1970ies shell gas station these days, makes you actually think it looks super realistic - cause those buildings irl are also not "much" more. Thats literally the key to the nostalgia of old sets. They look like the real thing, modulars are buildings when you get the chance to visit NY or Amsterdam, or the central medival market of european small towns. Real, but not ur 99% common building in the environment most people grow up in real life. Sometimes less is more, and more realistic to real life. Im currently trying to revive the old town flair by literally keeping it simple in my mocs, so stay tuned if you are interested ;)

Couldnt agree more! 6 wide is too much for average cars. I went 5 wide and low without fitting any figs just like the good old 70ies TLG era, but increased a bit the detail all around. They actually had it very right back then scalewise, just not very playable for kids - but as an AFOL, who cares... your 4 wides are really refreshing, glad to see the "non fig inside" faction isnt totally extinct ;) Great nostalgic feeling, looking forward to more from you!

Id suggest the opposite Using the width as a rule of thumb leads you to having oversized cars and motorbikes, in a way what TLG is doing with the SC line right now. Better use the height, it varies less irl than human width (90% of population 175cm +/- 10cm). That gives you a scale of 1/43 as others also stated earlier. Actually it comes down to a choice: Do i oversize everything so it also look realistic length wise and height wise again, just to fit in a few figs some people might not even see in a convention layout from 2 meters away? Or, being an AFOL, focusing less on playability, do i just not care about them fat figs inside cars or trains, but instead have cars, trains, motorbikes, planes and buildings harmonize in the same scale together with more detail? (Thats what i chose btw)

Ah really - well thats good news, yet still i think they should have provided at least 3 blank sheets for that price. I mean cardboard and cloth may (should) work - but in terms of longterm lifespan i think the Lego plastic sheets provided are the best (durable). Also you gotta invest to customize even if u buy cardboard types etc. Not too expensive, yet a bit annoying considering this set is meant to be “creative” from start on. btw, have you tried using cardboard yet or any own designs? Maybe even thin cloth? Would be interesting to see if that works well...

"...add a splash of creativity to your day" What do they mean ..... Only only day? many days, everyday? uhm...with only 4 skins in full pack? 1 skin to modify out of 4? and that for the "FULL pack". What is a full pack these days, hum? A bag full of candy aint just 4 candy bars.... Id imagine at least 20 items +...dont you? So why didnt they include some blank plastic sheets to cut out your own ideas? In different colours, multicolours, patterns etc...cant be that expensive given the plastic price for them. THAT would have been a big step for lego and "Forma" - almost no precut ideas and material blanks to customise! UNIQUE to lego! Besides, what can a "normal" cutsomer with no knowledge of third brand plastic materials (correct thickness, durability, paintability) do to be creative beyond what is provided in the set? He/she had to go to a construction store, read about materials, order online etc. - you dont just have plastic sheets lying around at home to add onto this set. (Ok, we AFOLS might...). After work, buying this set - how many would take the extra mile like that? Its the group they aimed at ,right?....stress relief, mantra like motion in endless loop, using pens a bit? As if they are just really carefully figuring out if there is still creativity left in people with this project. "Maybe they colour it - maybe they dont - lets not force them, give them only one option to be a bit creative themselves and relieve their stress (as stated on their survey)!" the rest is allready "readymade" so a satisfying result is possible. It should be the other way around IMO! I get it - bricks are creative per se, but they could have really made this set directly into something really unique. Why just scratch on the surface with an allready experimental product? Its about customisable skins on their front box and establishing this as something new "Forma" - then why so few options...feels like every other LEGO set in a way. Even if we dont want to be that creative, we'd need more sheets to coulourize...no? for daily use? After 2 days and switching all 4 skins it might get a little boring and dust catchy. Some humans actually like a bit of "change" once in a while, especially in decorative items which this is also aiming to be (ok, it really is eyecatchty allready!) Sigh, tbh great potential poorly executed at a high cost with limited distribution (for now). Loving the Set design though, imagine it in an upward down motion for whales/dolphins...so many possibilities. I hope they dont stop there and offer more options and motions at a fair pricing. It could really catch the "Non-Afol" market and establish Lego not just as a toy, but an art medium... (i bet they all thought of these things above in their little workshop groups, can only suspect that marketing department didnt see it that way yet...) Should it fail, which i do not hope, at least this concept will (or allready found) their way into the minds of moccers, cult potential ;)

I know where you coming from. At one point half a year ago i felt way to drawn to the whole thing in total, especially LDD building. When u just wanna build something small and suddenly its nighttime you know u arent spending ur time wisely. There is other things, way more important stuff to focus on irl. So here is what i did, and therefore i can only agree on getting it out of sight and maybe even cutting all ties to communities etc for a while: I took all my files and put them on an old harddrive, what i had in bricks i took apart into single pieces, put them in order and assorted my moc instructions. Everything went into one big box, sealed it off in 10 wrappings against moisture (and the itch to even open it) and placed it in the worst accesable space in my attic. I deleted everything LEGO filed i had at home, send a few copies to a friend and thus i just got rid off everything - without loosing it just in case i might want it later in life. I layed low on the communites and just focused way more on artwork and music. It really worked wonders. Out of sight, out of mind. Selling is usually a bad idea unless its only parts you could get back easily if you wish to return to this hobby. Hope it helps, let us hear what you are up to ;) cheers

Hi there Perhaps this is my final post here. Been quite a while from starting this hobby in LDD to finally having some brick build versions years later. So before entering dark ages, i thought it be nice to post em. I choose "modular" scaled cars as title because i scaled all my vehicles after the door frames and minifig heights in referance to real world data. Thus i estimated a scale of 1/43 --> so they could also be called "scaled to minifig" cars since they meet the height criteria, yet dont fit any figs inside or offer any playability (apart from wheels turning and a dispatchable roof). So i dont consider them actual "minfig cars" - yet, they do a nice job on a town layout and also work great together with trains. Since this whole process took some time, its quite a few pictures :) Final result: Porsche Carrera GT3 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr Porsche Carrera GT3 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr Porsche Carrera GT3 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr a VW bus: VW T1 Scale model in environment by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr VW T1 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr a Mustang 72 Mustang'72 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr Full line up brick build models with a lamborghini prototype builds. Full final line up by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr An excerpt with some of my favorites builds over the years in LDD form My last projects - future? by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr Racing Collab by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr Shown with modular buildings Modular context, sundown by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr The math and building process: I start... by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr the math and the height! by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr In context with minfigs and scale referance: brick build models in 1/43 scale by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr Minifig scale reference 1 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr Minifig scale reference 2 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr So, this been quite some time and thinking that went into this whole scale idea, thats why im taking a break from bricks now :P Feedback/criticism welcome. cheers!

I think that sums it up pretty well, there is too much chit chat about NEWS from TLG etc. Its everywhere, so why does it also have to be on EB? If someone were to really put EB back to its old standards of interesting high quality MOC posting, the news and discussion threads should be banned from each topic into the "discussion" topic (and maybe divide that into each topic category). I mean, thats what the discussion topic is for - right? That way MOCs will have more space. Some discussion threads take up half the scroll page... In general, the whole mix of discussion here, and moc there isnt really that great. Perhaps seperate both of them.... Also, the main page should post more pictures frequently, especially of MOCs. I dont need to see what Set is up next or which contest is currently hosting for more than an hour. Perhaps split mainpage in one half announcement/ contests and the other in "newly added MOCs we regard worth a look at". That way peoples attention would also be placed towards non TLG stuff more which is definately what a real AFOL community needs. Less fanboys and collectors, more active builders with genuine ideas in the topics that are about building...

Thanks for your kind effort pushing this MOC back into the main page (for at least a few hours/days). But it is how it is - this wont discourage me from building, but definately from posting anything on EB. Town forum has kinda died imo when it comes to new creations that arent just mods or modular variants, the pioneering spirit for anything new and not Speed champions seems gone. Too bad really, used to be different. Was a nice time. But glad to see you giving it a spin with your modular thread that frequently shows inspirational builds. Carry on!1 Many thanks Man with a hat :) Oh really? Cool - the project is definately ambitious in smaller scales, but once you are done its very pleasing to look at^^. If you need any input or ideas, just check my flickr, quite a few concern scaling discussions with fellow builders. Cheers!

yeah, this is nowhere near any minifig scale car. Look nice though!

thanks mate, yeah those pieces are definately useful for doing rockwork if covered enough ;) Apparently discussing soon to be released sets is way more important than checking other builders mocs. Just the way it is these days... Many thanks though - paradisa is like the best ever, the colours really sell the whole flair of these old sets back in the 90ies, so we definately wanted that. The water was very tricky, i built several layers of 1x1 round plates and angled them each individually into 8x8 stud squares and 4x4 stud squares, then copy paste - that was the easy part then. Problem is that it takes up a huge part count and increases rendering time by hours.

Hi, this is a collaboration between Fictictious Pasta and me - our biggest installment, completely digital. Build with mecabricks and finally rendered in Blender to completion. Maybe some of you remember the late 80ies and early 90ies TLG catalogues depicting Harbour scenes and Piers with a collection of all sets in the same picture. We tried to do that era some justice by putting that scene together showing vehicles, BURPs, the classic Palm trees and a Paradisa inspired restaurant and beach hut. Enjoy a day at the pier! If you look close, there are a lot of old sets remade in here, including the Sand Dollar Cafe, the Beach Hut, a Town Delivery Van, and so on. There are also two new cars for the collab, a Nissan Skyline R31, and an Jeep like vehicle. The Pier - 90ies Nostalgia by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr (1/43 scaled environment and vehicles) Pasta: - red van - blue japanese car (R31) - gillnetter boat - palmtrees - beach hut - minfig design - RENDERING and final edit Dayes: - black sportscar - yellow 4x4 (Jeep) - Restaurant - water - wooden pier - rockwork - LAYOUT and arrangement

just get a flickr account and share them with the link here into the text, super easy!

yeah, good thinking - with larger buildings the scale factor gets smaller and it looks way more suited together!

Could you state which topics in moccing interest you? Is it cars in technic? This guy makes amazing Technic cars https://www.flickr.com/photos/139930963@N04 he is also a nice guy to talk with, he might give you some insights etc...

To perhaps answer all questions since i've spent years trying to figure it out: No, they dont fit in and a Speed Champion shouldnt really be near a modular, i can only agree to that fact with SollX. Yes, a minifig is unproportionate and squeezing them into a 6 wide is certainly possible, hell i even get them inside a 5 wide, but the result is far from "amazing" and its better to either try to just fit one figure or none at all if you want a working layout. None at all? Yes, cause if you scale everything after a minifig height of 1,65 to 1,80 m, you can rest assured that ANYTHING in your layout will work together BUT you may only fit in one fig (if you are less strikt) or like i said, none at all. Fun fact: If you look at old lego sets from the 70ies to 90ies - note how the cars are SMALL? even so small they dont fit figs in the 70ies? Back in a day the Creators of those sets knew that if you build a car for a minifigure, it would be about impossible to fit the minifigure in. But they went with that anyway for the sake of scale! Today they sacrifice scale for the play factor, which is understandable from a Toy manufacturer. if you look at this picture https://brickset.com/sets/602-1/Fire-Chief-s-Car you may think "funny, its waaaay too small" - and now imagine you are the guy standing next to it, would it really be too small? No, its lower in height than the minifig and the overall sizing is reasonable for a vintage car. The car wheels are not higher than the figs hip - just go outside, stand next to a car and check the wheel size next to yourself. I promise, you will be amazed! this odd little set is way better scaled and more true to minifig than anything that was offered to us from TLG in the last decades! Sounds ridiculous, but its the truth. Now, if you want a good layout - and that statement goes beyong lego/bricks etc into model making in general - make sure you have everything in the same scale "key" or at least not too far off that "scale key"! Result: Speed champions are even themselves ill proported, but if you want to use them, you'd literally have to increase the size of everything else surrounding them (buildings) to make it look "right". But thats perhaps a not so great decision and very costwise Proposition to anyone with that scale issue: Build your own cars! You guys are grownups with bricks at hand. Be creative! Dont even bother using the sets and things TLG throws at you. Those are toys and safe for playing, but if you are just a tiny bit a serious builder and want it to look "real", make smaller cars and use smaller wheels. Thats actually the answer to all scaling problems one might have with modulars and trains and so on. As soon as you neglect the "urge" to fit in figs into your cars, the buidling of literally anyhting will begin to be easier and allow A LOT MORE DETAIL! In my opinion the detail is more important than fitting in figs! And it should be if you consider how detailed modular buildings are. If you mixmatch a detailed building with a less detail ill proported chunky big car you create an unharmonic system. If you have no problem with that, ok sure why not. But if you really want to top your layouts up a notch, start building! You can also say: its just LEGO, aint perfect, why even bother? Well, that kinda attitude wont solve any of the issues. You cant get right 100% with everything, but at least trying to get to 90% plus should be any AFOLs goal if you want some great looking MOCs and layouts. here a few examples of how small and detailed you can actually build: VW Sharan/ Ford Galaxy /Seat Alhambra by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr Nissan 300 ZX by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr Modular context, sundown by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr Town layout by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr For those who desperately need the figs in the cars, i can only advise you to check out "DeMarcos" builds - More Detail, better size and proportion and true craftsmanship whilst being easily buildiable with not too many bricks! https://www.flickr.com/photos/47875208@N07/

Indeed, the width in smaller scales is an issue making it hard to build any vehicles fitting figs in properly, but if you accomondate the width its actually far worse imo, since then the figs dont just look "too wide" but small aswell. There will always be a "too widish" appeal to them in any scale, thus having at least the height more in the "western world" average heights (175 cm with hairpiece), it will only be "one" flaw to their design. The Thing with trains is (or at least i guess) that they vary a lot in sizes also depending on gauges. I personally think 1/42 to 1/44 to be the best scale range, making the figs average high in height, which sets most trains i googled (european) to 8,5 wide. So from there it might be practical issues if you decide to go 8 or 9 (or even do the exact 8,5 somehow with SNOT), but i dont think that 8 wide is based on practical reasons alone. Or is it a known fact around here that trains should be 10 wide? Do you have some pics or a flickr account displaying some of your 10 wides next to figs so i can get a complete picture of your scaling thoughts? I also did an 8 wide next to the 5 wide (which would perhaps be my minimum with of train cars for future builds in my scale). 5/6 wide cars to 8 wide trains by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

First thank you all for your amazing lots of feedback into this topic, nice to see the discussion/input getting along! If i have the chance i will post a few more 5 wides next to trains soon.... Dont have time to quote you all, but i did read em and will conclude some of my thoughts in the following quotes ;) Yeah, that would be quite something - allthough i believe with a bunch of people all agreeing to a certain scale that shouldnt be a problem. Didnt hear about that with the train modelers since i knew they had lots of different scales to buy from, but perhaps the cars wont be too "unseen" then... About the sizing depending on "what is larger to what is smaller" - i think thats like the best idea if you really want figs fitting at least in some of the vehicles. I think that works out great in the links provided!! Actually a good point to start from there - since its the only constant factor in this case. However, what tells you the gauge is great in scale when compared to the minifig height? Perhaps assuming that a minifig is 175 cm high irl (average height), a minifig scale might need a different gauge alltogether - Some very serious math you did there aswell. I personally strongly believe that TLG intended the whole minifig world to be around 1/42 - 1/45 in scale when inventing the minifig. Especially if you look at their early era 4 wide cars fitting no figs inside at all and especially the still used bicycle mould from 1985. If you measure their diameter compared to an average real life bicycle, you will eventually end up in that scale range. Same goes for the old motorbike mould or 2x2 stud wheels (tiny turbo diameter) in total. Compared to real life, thats about the size of a tire when you look at it height wise. As for the gauge, the european 1435mm is the closest it gets (according to 1/43 ., 4 studs = 1333mm, so the lego gauge is actually too narrow). But not by far, so it definately works.... Yes and no really, just cause the minifigs proportions are odd, doenst mean you cant scale or will always encounter "trouble". You need to choose either going with the minfig width or the minifig height. If you do both, only then it will get messed up. I am very fond of going by minifig height only. Keeps everything small and realistically looking in proportion to human height (which does matter more than width imo since our perspective of surrounding is rather height biased). But indeed, fitting the figs is a real bummer! Definately the correct math and very good example - but perhaps the fig relevance does get kinda lost here. I mean, how many 5 feet tall people do we see - (not meant in a discriminating way!) - its possible, but not very realistic. In that case one might also consider building figs with bricks to accomondate the scale to the correct human heigt. 1/38 is still in a good looking minifig fashion, but technically speaking - when going with 10 wide trains, the figs do look a lil tiny....especially given their width which then additionally creates the illusion of even smaller height. Must not bother ones layout really since its mainly about the trains, but the issue certainly is there ;) Nice demonstration of scaling btw! cheers!