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Dear Train Tech readers! As suggested on this forum, I just bought my first Lego train for a starter set (7939, PF motor), but whenever the engine starts to work (pulling) it generates a high pitched faint noise. My son doesn't seem to be bothered by it, but it gives me a headache (literally). Is this noise normal? If the engine is on standby (turned on, standing) it's silent. Should I return it to the vendor? thank you

I'm walking in your (half) shoes. I do have a classic town layout (most of them from 80-82) and a 4yo son. You have to make some decisions and keep that direction: - If they are toys that (no matter how expensive or rare) can be played with, then let them play with it and don't get angry if some parts get lost/broken. In the happy age of Bricklink it's not that hard to replace a missing/broken part. - Are the sets for display? If so, you CAN and should draw a line for your child not to touch them. (Well, to be fair you should't display them on a place where it tempts them all the time.) They have to learn some rules. My rules and "principles" are: - Since I never intented to have mint/pristine sets, I don't consider them to be that expensive (put that maersk truck or unicef van away). I'm do let my son to play with them. However, I do have an eye on him when he is playing around with it and he is not allowed to take the parts/sets out of the room or mix with "his" lego. - I'm glad to let him play with the sets, he fills the town with life and imagination. To tell you the truth, I wouldn't even touch those sets. Of course, he makes some rumble (lamp posts, trees beware) but that's easy to fix. Finding a bad-behaving doctor in jail or a mechanic sleeping over in a friend's cottage always makes me smile :)

It's my opinion vs an unofficial statement someone told us to make TLC look a bit nicer :) You are an adult, we are just giving you input for you to develop your own opinion, don't expect all the answers to match.

The terms "fair" or "righteous" are unknown to a sales department. Your problem is that you want to justify pricing. The short answer: If they CAN sell for that high price, they WILL sell. If the Lego won't sell at that price, they will lower it. If they reach the profit limit/ "premium toy" price limit, they won't sell Lego at all.

This topic surfaces from time to time, you can make some grumble about it, but it doesn't really help. Lego in Hungary isn't cheap either. I often find myself thinking hard over 30-50% discounts (they are quite rare here) and finally not buying the sets for 50% (let's say, full US price). If I need something badly, usually I order it from BL. Luckily I'm mostly into classic town and my son is too young yet to appreciate "small" lego.

I can see your point, since with a town from the 80's, you could swap a a figure's legs and there you got a new unique minifig (striped shirt/red legs omg, new combo). However, if you look at the common blue workshirted figures with the only difference being the hat and here you go: serviceman, helicopter operator on the top of the police, crane operator, truck driver etc. (You can get a town swarming of blue but001-but027, not that I mind it.) However, you have to see TLC's point of view: - For one, they have to evolve and show new and different molds/prints so people can keep buying figures (and considering the set/figure ratio nowdays that leads to lots of sets). - Secondly, they have to have a lead on the clone brands. (I don't realy keep track of them, but I guess they are making more and more sophisticated figures too) - And last time, there's something with the world nowdays that tries to make the children lose their imagination. Look at the super-detailed electronic toys and compare them to the simple (yet, of course awesome) tin/wood toys of old days. One could (and should) play with those toys for years. And this goes for everything, LEGO sets, the old TV vs bedtime stories rant etc.

Thank you all for your kind and patient responses. I have only one question left: if I'm getting it right, whenever I buy something (7939 looks good for a start, thank you) and that's L-gauge and I can attach it with my (future) existing train, it will work? (I'm sure will have a look at the starter set's wheels and spacing, but are there different kinds of wheels for example?) Thank you

Hello Everyone! I have a plan to get involved into trains at some degree. My main goal is to establish a (temporary, since it has to cross some rooms) train line between my classic town and my son's lego city. I would like to have your kind responses in some questions that would help me starting on this project. - As far as I understand, there are different track "standards", the newest being the non-electronic plastic track (including the flexi track). My educated guess is there are differences between the gauges there. Could you please tell me if a) how do I differentiate between these track types (mostly in BL terms) and b) which is the most budget friendly option for building long single lines (10-20 meters) - As far as I see from my limited research, there are different electronic sets for the trains, 4.5V, 9V, PF etc. I guess the cheapest option (with the most future upgrades) is the PF one. a) am I right? b) do the PF-operated trains lack the ability to actually have switches on the tracks? (to choose between tracks when forked) - What would be the cheapest option to start with such a project? I have about 150 system sets to start building, so buying motors, wheels, lights used on BL could be an option. (The alternatives are to buy used sets on BL and buy new sets in retail. I have a little handicap here, since I live in Europe and the Lego sets are 1.5x-2x more expensive.) - My son is 4 years old, so the trains should be kind of safe for him. That's it at first, thank you for your kind answers in advance, Hatalmas

I've done replacements stickers for my classic town sets several times, since my nearest copy shop does vinyl with cutting with a minimum size of 100x100cm, it's quite a lot of stickers actually. I've never had any problem of it. My way is to put the original scan on a layer and draw everything in vector I can in Inkscape (free vector drawing tool), if you have high-res color correct scans for your sets, then it's easier. The second step is to have a separate layer with the outlines for cutting, so you don't have to do it with hand. I got pretty decent results with this method at around 30USD/1square meters of white vinly cut. The transparent stickers are very tricky for it's difficult to have properly covering white paint. (Basically I gave up having transparent stickers) Now I have more stickers than I can handle :) Lego sticker replacements by hatalmas, on Flickr

Dear fellow robot modificators! Here is my second take on 3.0 -> 2.0 conversion, Jimi Stringer 2.0 (after Rocka 2.0) The initial setup, I started with white parts, so I can easily spot uncovered areas during the paint: Jimi Stringer 2.0 setup by hatalmas, on Flickr I only had matte black paint, here they are drying after the painting process: Jimi Stringer 2.0 by hatalmas, on Flickr Covering the parts with varnish was tricky, for the model paint was so delicate that the thinner/solvent in the varnish made it smudge. Jimi Stringer 2.0 by hatalmas, on Flickr And finally, Jimi 2.0: Jimi Stringer 2.0 by hatalmas, on Flickr It was more difficult than Rocka because the uneven painting showed more on black: Jimi Stringer 2.0 by hatalmas, on Flickr (The visor/mask was chosen by my son. Since this is/will be his toy, being canon is not a priority here.) The next project is Bulk 2.0, but I will have hard time to mix it's color out of white/black/silver. * Do you know any ready made paint that matches his color? * Do you have some pictures with his "named armor piece"? Seems I have to make it stickers. * Are there longer black armor plates? ("5" long like the gray one on him) seems like I'll have to get involved to Hero Factory sooner or later thanks, Keep on modding!

And the final product: Rocka 2.0 by hatalmas, on Flickr It was a success story, my son loved it, the next will be even better :) Thank you for your comments

As far as I could get, I reverted their gray limb bones (sorry for the lack of nomenclature) and I added a different colored armor piece for as their named armor piece. (Maybe with a sticker in the distant future, I just had printed 1square meters of stickers for my towns people, I wish this idea had come earlier.) Are there any drastical differences in build? PS. Update on the original post.

Have they released official high-res images like with the town set? I tried to run trough the last 12 pages, but couldn't find any, sorry if I missed it. thank you.

Dear fellow Robot Modificators! (That's not supposed to be an insult ) Since my son was not so much into the 3.0 line, but he likes Bulk, Jimi and Rocka we came up with the idea of converting them back to 2.0 from the jungle line. I ordered a handful of extra helmets, shields and weapons from BL and got to work. Excuse me for the quality of the painting below, my excuses are endless, it's mostly me not getting energy to paint models for years So, here are my humble results this evening: Helmet by hatalmas, on Flickr Shield by hatalmas, on Flickr I have several concerns (not the quality, my 4 y.o. probably will like it this way too): - Should I paint it with matte or shiny enamel? - Should I use my regular model enamel or I would be better to get some real heavy-duty varnish in a DIY shop and spray itt all. Pro: it will be won't get off in a first play session, con: I have a bad feeling if the thick varnish will stop the pieces from connecting. (The pins fitting etc.) - The next level will be the black robot, since I can't get away without a base paint to get a decent even result. Do you have any good suggestions for Revell? I'm was not into painting plastic models, shuld I simply go over them with a very fine emery paper? - Do you have any idea what mask (the layer between the head and helmet with the 2.0 robots) is Rocka using in the beginning of the jungle movie? Is it a real mold? - The same goes for Jimi and Bulk. Do you know what mask they are using? (I'm not that concerned about being canon, but hey) Happy modding and thanks for your time :) UPDATE: This morning I decided to go with a relatively thick household varnish. I've gone crazy with it, the parts are dipping with the stuff now and I have to clean the excess. I will give you a follow up about the longevity. Varnish by hatalmas, on Flickr The shield by hatalmas, on Flickr The helmet by hatalmas, on Flickr The finish gave them a nice shiny and smooth look, I'll update as soon as they are dried and applied on the robot.

Very nice idea and I understand that it could be hard to get legal approvement for printing these. However, at this price you are printing money literally :)

A progress counter would be nice :)

For the sets you don't like that much: part them and start doing MOCs, chances are you will learn a lot from your son about space-pirate-ambulance men who are going to take over the airport-castle defended by ninjas :) After you have built a decent collection of parts, you can start to be picky about sets you buy for parting out (for me, it worked this way;))

Wonderful! My favourite is the baby's bedroom :) As with all art medium: there are some talented people, and we can have the luxury of sitting back and admire talented creations :)

And that is your AFOL opinion. My son is all excited to see his long time known heroes getting new and new upgrades (he is making his own tweaks/mocs of course). Maybe this is the way they can get attached emotionally to the heroes. If they were shifting them twice a year, a 4 (or whatever the real age range is supposed to be) year old could get confused with names, powers etc. (Following that line, I wouldn't be too surprised if they dug up old time heroes like Trasher (?))

It can't get any worse than the preliminary :)

Diffraction kicks in earlier with our poor lenses, anyway :) There's an optimum F value of your lens where the DoF is wide enough and the picture doesn't get blurry due to light interference in your lens/sensor. With my humble camera it's about at f11. EDIT: Maybe he meant manual MODE. That's a handy one for stepping down aperture.

Hmm.. Did anyone notice this at b&n? Overlorde - 6203 (1/1/2012) Pre-Order Now Format BN.com Other Format $17.95 It's on Black Phantom's number

That is most probably because the camera compensates the narrow aperature with longer exposure time and you can't shoot hand-held any more (The un-sharp picture you are getting is blurry because you are shaking the camera). Are you using a tripod? (4.9 is the highest f-value on your lens?) 1) That's not true, nobody said that he needs a DSLR or any expensive camera. The first question was his budget :) 2) I think that needs some explanation, what do you mean?

I'm starting to feel that the BP model is a placeholder as it is. They threw some armors on the old skeleton for the preliminary catalog. Seeing how the main vilians evolved (ok, IMO FL was a step back from VN) I'm sure they will have something super-awesome boss for the vilians. I don't think it even reaches the part count of the former titans. (It seems to be less bulky than firelord, if that's possible.) So, I'm ready to make serious bets on a completely re-designed boss here. Thinking along the line of the lesser ones, maybe a fused together one from former evildoers.

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