Phil B

Alright, after tonight's modifications: - Doors in the corridor. They even open. I added a closeup of the build. This shows a red version, but I am also considering doing these doors in Reddish Brown or Black (from what I've seen, Black would be prototypical, but rather boring. There are also no windows the door in the prototype version). - Modifications to the carriage doors. I believe they will now open. This would need a bit of stickering to continue the line across the vertical section. I have looked at Stud.io's Part Designer, but haven't used it yet, so you need your imagination. I think that IRL the dark shadows around the vertical SNOT section will not be as prominent as in my render, and hence not as noticeable. I'm pretty close to calling this done. As the change between door styles is fairly easy, I will probably build both versions to see which looks best (and to validate that my modification allows the door to open). Tomorrow's exercise: Building 2 different coach styles - a guard's van and a 1st class car :) Hogwarts Express Carriage 7-wide_opening_doors_20190917_3 by Phil B, on Flickr

Awesome, I thought about doing a curved lower section as well but couldn't integrate it easily, which is why I stuck with my rendition. Here is the current WIP state of mine. Improvements made: - Elongated the body by 2 studs, total length over the cushions now 36 studs. This allows the bogies to rotate freely. - Changed some of the bogie details to DBG to have some visual contrast - Added another undermount "greeble" (used a Caterham printed tile to get some texture, might become a sticker later). - Added compartment class numbers (although I might drop these and go to number decals on the doors) - Went for a brick-built corridor cushion section Still to be worked on: - I still need to fix the doors - as someone correctly pointed out, in their current state they cannot be opened. - There need to be doors in the corridor opening to other carriages. Was thinking bi-fold, but might have issues with that. WIP. Hogwarts Express Carriage 7-wide_10 by Phil B, on Flickr

Actually, I said it wrong. The BBCode goes directly in the post (don't use the "Insert Image from URL" dropdown).

What works for me is to go to Flickr and select one of the pictures to post, then use "share" and "BB Code" to get a long BB code tag. Then, on this site in my post, I use "Insert other media"->"Insert image from URL" and paste the BB code. I then remove everything before the "img" tag (tag included) and everything after the "/img" tag (again, tag included) to keep an https:// link to the picture. Then I click "add". UPDATE: Silly me, the site accepts the entire BBCode link as a URL. Just paste the Flickr BBCode (from the Share pop-up in Flickr on the picture you want to include) link in the "Insert image from URL" dropdown at the right bottom of the "new reply" form, and you're good to go. Duh.

That looks awesome and I'd love to see this in more detail - but the picture here as well as the picture on Flickr is tiny .... do you have higher res/larger pictures available?

Made a couple of changes. First of all, here is the idea I had regarding seating minifigs: I achieved this by using the old minifig legs and a couple of jumper plates. Stud.io was complaining that there was a collision when placing the torso, but I'm quite confident that IRL this will work. Here is an interior shot showing these sitting figs: Also, I have been playing around with the bogies, and came up with this design. It uses the standard wheel holders, and is nicely 7-wide (the previous bogie design was 8-wide). Thoughts on the seating and on the bogie? As this is still a WIP, and needs to be validated in a Real Life build, I have not decided yet if and how I would be sharing the plans for this carriage.

Agree on those compartments being too small. The original intent was to make them look good from the outside (looking in through the windows), not necessarily to make them minifig compatible. But I might remove the headrests, replace the bricks behind it with a black 1x4 to simulate headrests, and then have studs on the lips so minifigs can be seated. Before I do so, I have one more idea I will try out :) More on that shortly.

To get familiar with Stud.io 2.0 (I have always used MLCAD for my designs in the past), I decided to build a custom carriage for my Hogwarts Express. I intend to build at least 3 of these, with different window/door configurations (possibly including a brake van end). I took my inspiration from this Hornby model: So far, my work is a Work In Progress. Couple of notes: 1. I wanted the coach to be shorter in length to better negotiate LEGO R40 curves. The current iteration is 32 studs wide (across the body), but needs to be extended by 4 studs as the bogies are currently hitting the undercarriage details. 2. The idea was to allow close coupling. As such, I made the cushion between the train carriages out of part 45590 Technic Axle Connector Double Flexible (Rubber). I will need to do some IRL experiments to see if this actually works, and if it does, I might extend the body by another 2 or 4 studs to set the couplings further back. 3. The bottom bars on the bogies might be too low. I am considering moving them up by one plate. 4. I wanted a realistic interior, but didn't want to go 8 wide. So for now the model sits at 7 wide, with a "creative" solution to create compartment walls. 5. The benches in the compartments are too narrow for the "normal" seating of minifigs, but I think I have devised a way to seat at least 2 minifigs per compartment - hopefully a future iteration of this WIP will showcase this method. 6. There is room for more greebling under the carriage - still WIP. 7. I am also still working on a door design to fit in the opening between carriages. 8. Yes, this model uses the old train windows. I have recently gotten my hand on about 40 of them, so that won't be a problem for my build. With that said, I am looking for your feedback so I can further improve this model. Here is my progress so far:

I'm secretly hoping for a proper, Emerald Night-style Hogwarts Express to go with the new Harry Potter theme (re)launching summer 2018 (or at least, I heard rumors this theme is coming back). And then of course a D2C Hogwarts castle with a couple of thousand pieces.

There's even a dead bug on the bathroom floor - talking about realism .......

I have a few "fake" pieces I received via BL sitting on my desk. These are typically pieces bought as Used in larger quantities, and the seller picked them up as used bulk before sorting and listing. I know they are fake (or better: not-LEGO, clone brand) because they are slightly different from real LEGO ones. For example, I have a Hasbro black 50950 Slope 3x1 Curved which I got in a lot of 20 and stood out because the base is slightly higher than a real LEGO piece. I also have a Blue 87087 Brick, Modified 1x1 with Stud on one Side which has a square opening on the opposite side of the stud (like in a Headlight/Erling brick) and an open stud on the top, with no markings except "M1" on the bottom, which makes me think it is a Mega Construx (formerly Mega Bloks) brick. This also arrived as part of a lot of used bricks. I didn't even notice it was different until I wanted to use it.

LOVE IT.

What happened with the Dragon Sanctuary is "the perfect storm" for high secondary market prices: 1. Set contains unique material needed for a collection (the one egg and the building that acts as a collection display). 2. Set retired unexpectedly without warning. 3. Set never had a big distribution (it wasn't "in your face" everywhere). 4. Set only had a 4 month lifespan, which is very rare. and 5. Set contains a dragon (dragons are _ALWAYS_ in demand) That's why prices on EBay and Amazon are crazy.

How about putting a large road tire in the train (perhaps with a shock absorber to keep it pushed down) and have that drive over the center of the track? Haven't tried this, but might give you an alternative.

Ah Monty Python, love it ... would love to see the whole building :)

I like this ... very creative and looks pretty good!

Now you need to build that slug too .... :)

Didn't read the entire thread, so apologies if this has been mentioned before, but one part combination that always gets me worked up is the Tile 1x1 Round w Straight Sides in a transparent color inserted in the bottom of a Plate 1x1 in an opaque color, like in Bart's bedside lamp from 71006 or in the Christmas lights on the Winter Village Cottage. Apart from force with pliers, I know of no way to safely separate this combination.

For the yellow sticker on the baseplate, I have used Automotive Striping tape to good effect before - they come in all sorts of widths, including one that is almost an exact match with the height of a baseplate, and cost less than $5 for an entire roll (you can do 100s of baseplates with a roll). Check your local auto store.

This $0.99 sale of Fun, Level and Team packs has been going on for 2+ weeks now (I believe since Jan 21st). It is almost over - no more shipments. And yes, for the first week there were no limits and people were buying the pallets as they came into the store (before unloading) and also calling warehouse managers to have shipments sent across the country. It is very unlikely there will be restocks. There was a 9 item limit for a few days, but that got lifted after the last shipments. You can check the effects of this "dumping" of earlier Dimensions packs on Amazon - some Level and Team packs dropped from $30 to $8 shipped.

Here's my experience clearance hunting the last 2 years: Walmart: You can score great deals on clearance items (I got a 21118 Minecraft the Mine for $35 last year), but you need to be a cautious shopper. Check seals and seams. I wouldn't go as far as claiming "don't buy clearance" because you miss out on gems (Picked up a General Grievous Wheel bike from a clearance aisle long after it was gone, in a mint box). Just be very much on your toes. And when in doubt, go to customer service and ask if you can open the set and validate its contents after you buy (or if the seals are broken, even before you buy - I did an inspection of a damaged box Popstar Tour Bus a while ago in front of a WM employee. Me with a set review open on my phone's browser, the lady pulling the contents out and checking with me). Target: I have not found theft/scams to be an issue in general at Target. I still check seals, but everything typically looks really nice in all of the 5-6 Targets around me (Mid-west USA). The times that I found damaged boxes I got additional discounts from customer service. Meijer: (For those who missed it, Meijer (a mid-west US Walmart/Target competitor) is running a 50% off all clearance prices (10-50% off already) until tomorrow Jan 28) - Never seen a tampered box. Even the clearance stock is pretty much mint, minus the occasional spider imprint. Love the 2x 21127 Minecraft Fortresses I picked up yesterday and today for $39 each (68% off) :)

It's a risk vs. reward thing. The crappiest stores often have the best deals (75-90% off clearance, sets from 2014 etc.). This is for a reason: the type of customer they attract, and their spending power. If you live on food assistance, you're not going to ploink down $50 for a LEGO set. Some might feel the need to take a five-finger discount, but most leave the merchandise untouched. Which is why you can find the best deals in those areas, but have to be on your toes in terms of set inspection. Most stores however allow you to open up a set on the spot at Customer Service to verify contents, so have your phone ready at a page with a set contents overview and go to CS, pop the seals, and check if all is ok. Then fold the box flat and put it like that in your suitcase, with the bags separate, so you save space on the way back :)

Awesome display and awesome trains. Nagyon tetszett!

If you use one of the many Target Inventory checkers around (BrickPicker.com has one), you should be able to find most (if not all) Ultimate Nexo sets for $4.98 on clearance. I've managed to pick up Axl, Flama and Beast Master that way. I found Clay for $4 at HomeGoods (but TJMaxx or Marshalls might have them too as they are all the same company), and used some KMart magic to get Robin for $2.55 :) Still waiting for Aaron (Hard to Find in Targets around me), Magmar, Macy and Lance to drop to 50%+ off.....

I think you can do better than that (this is an invitation to challenge yourself, not negativity on my behalf). If you look at pictures of the prototype, the red area under the window clearly has a "nick" in it - you should be able to replicate this in your build with some SNOT work.