ElectroDiva

Another great looking OE coach - thanks for sharing @ScotNick. How long is it (seems >40 studs). Does it run ok? Also - very happy to see the news about a new Hogwarts Express today. Just in time to get some decently priced parts for my custom locomotive for this project

Called it :) And here’s a pic from Brickset (mods hope this is ok to post?): At *only* $79.99 (£69.99?) it’s actually very reasonably priced - thumbs up to TLG for leaving out the track to keep the price down. I’ll be buying at least two of these (one to add to my existing 4841, and one more for an extra coach, station and steam locomotive parts). Good to see detailed pics of the two new city sets too. The passenger train looks much better now - but I still reckon I’ll be sticking to just the cargo train.

Yep - you’re right @Haddock51 - I realised that would be too short almost immediately after I typed it :) I’ve been playing around with a few different length bases that will easily go round a standard radius curve. 40 studs long seems to work quite well and will give me a 5:1 ratio for my 8 stud width.

@LegoMonorailFan - here’s some speculation on the PF2 gear from a few pages back which you may have missed. The linked blog post is well worth a read.

Thanks @marbleman - those are great looking coaches - love the brick built decals and oval door windows in particular !

Just had a look at the leaked Instagram photos. The passenger train looks like a poor imitation of the Horizon Express - I think i’ll give it a miss... The cargo train still looks interesting though and i’ll def be picking that up to get my hands on the new PF2 gear. Speaking of which - the PF2 Bluetooth controllers look like they may have smooth sliders rather than the old stepped ratcheting control mechanism of the current PF controllers - thumbs up from me if that’s correct.

Thanks @Redimus - will have a look tonight. Particularly interested to see how you constructed a 7 wide base and those lovely oval doors Very interesting - can you provide a link to that thread with the ball bearing axles please? With regard to the overhang for 8 wide cars - presumably that is more to do with the longer length coaches that most modellers go with rather than the 8 wide width? I’m wondering if I could get away with 8 wide for the interior detail with a shorter length (28-32 studs) for practicality.

That would be great @Redimus - those are great looking coaches Thanks for the pictures @Haddock51. I like the look of that blue steam locomotive! Does anyone know what type that is? With respect to the colour scheme - I managed to get a job lot of standard blue train windows and doors a while back so I think I’m going to go with that rather than dark blue (since you can’t get them in dark blue). @haddock51 - if you’re going to go with dark blue - what will you do for the windows and doors? Window blocks fixed directly to the bricks and custom built doors? With respect to the width - what’s the issue with 8 wide? Would that cause any particular issues?

I’ve started working on a MOC of this beauty: @Haddock51 (and perhaps some others too) seem to have the same idea so let’s discuss some options :) As as far as I see it, there are a number of things to consider - firstly to go with a modern locomotive (as used today) or a historic steam locomotive. Personally I would much rather go down the steam route but am struggling to find good pictures of steam locomotives that have been used with this service. Secondly - what color scheme to go with. The carriages seem to have two configurations - blue with cream/white windows and a white roof or blue with blue windows and a white roof. I’ve opted for the latter. Thirdly - to use custom printed decals or try to approximate the look with Lego pieces. I think I’d like to use custom printed decals but wouldn’t know where to get these. Finally - what scale to use - 6 wide or 8 wide. I’m personally leaning towards 8 wide by 48 studs long to allow a decent level of detail.

Small world eh @Haddock51 I’ll start a separate thread for it.

Hi all - I’ve started researching my next project (Venice Simplon Orient Express) but i don’t really want to run it with a modern locomotive. I’m struggling to find clear source pictures of steam locomotives that have been used with this service. Any suggestions?

Thanks for the feedback and kind comments. It’s given me the encouragement I need to start working on my next (more ambitious) project - the Venice Simplon Orient Express !

Thanks for the suggestions @icemorons and @dr_spock - the motor is actually at the back already with the battery above it. The battery is slightly offset though so I can try moving it back a bit more so it is directly overhead. Will also try a bit of ballast. The incline supports are from TrixBrix and yes the gradient is pretty steep - a brick height per track section. @ColletArrow - that’s a shame. Will you be buying 60198 when it comes out? Octan are changing with the times and are now also in the electricity generation business - renewable sources of course

Thanks @icemorons - that’s a great idea! I have 6 of the full size fuel wagons to run with it, but a bit of variety would be nice. I’m having a couple of issues with traction though. In the video I posted you’ll see that it can only haul 3 cargo wagons uphill. Not sure if ballast or a second motor is the way to go - will have to experiment before expanding the Octan fleet :)

Finally managed to get around to building this: Props to @ColletArrow for his 60198 design which was used as the base for it. Edit - here’s a video of it running: https://reddit.app.link/rcMHLVF9AM

I hadn’t seen those - thanks for pointing them out. They look great

I don’t think there was too much wrong with the original system - i’d be happy just with a reissue of that. The only additions I’d like to see is some of the stuff 4DBrix are doing - a cross switch, diagonal track segment and ideally automation (although I really couldn’t see TLG stretching that far) Now for a completely new version- your suggestion of something that “grabs on” to allow a suspended monorail would be a significant improvement. I can’t see how that would work whilst still allowing a conventional monorail though. Did you have a MOC example in mind? As for a Lego ideas project - I’d love to see a new classic space inspired monorail - that would appeal to two audiences in one - anyone interested in monorails and anyone looking for a revival of the space theme.

Have just seen this rollercoaster on the reddit Lego sub. It looks really well thought out and I don’t mind those red rails one bit. Will definitely be getting it. Although I’m now debating whether to also pick up the upcoming Pirate Roller Coaster. It would have been better if that had been a pirate ship ride.

Time to bump this thread. According to Hollywood Reporter, the new Amazon LOTR series will be in production within 2 years, cost upwards of $1bn, with a commitment of at least 5 seasons. I think a reboot on this scale increases the chances of TLG revisiting the LOTR theme. Given the scale of their investment, Amazon will be going all out to market and exploit the franchise and we all know TLG loves a good licensed franchise tie-in.

@dylanfarrow - bluetooth is a pretty widely available, commoditised (and hence cheap) technology. Unless it has has some bells and whistles we aren’t aware of yet, the only significant cost I would expect for TLG for PF2.0 would be the cost of the new moulds. Like Apple though, I fully expect TLG to see this as an opportunity to disproportionately increase the cost of their power functions parts for PF 2.0 - I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they were double the cost of the equivalent PF 1.0 parts. I’ve been stocking up on PF1 train parts in anticipation of that...

Nice solution for compact designs. What sort of run time do you get with a PP3 battery?

Well - there was a great example on the other castle speculation thread: A wave including a couple of sets of that scale (incl. ideally a remake of 6059), a “good” faction battlepack and a “bad” faction battlepack, and maybe a mid scale range topper along the lines of Mill Village Raid would be a nice simple way of reintroducing classic castle.

You make a good point @Haddock51 - it should be TLG chasing after customers not the other way round. But you should remember that TLG is a sales behemoth and any marginal lines *will* be cut if the numbers don’t stack up for them. Is that right and fair? No of course not, but it’s the reality of the situation. So the question you have to ask yourself is do you hold your nose and buy what they have to offer (even if it’s not 100% what you want) or do you refuse to do that on principle - knowing that might kill off official train sets completely? I’ve personally decided to do the former as I really wouldn’t want the train theme to die off in the same way as classic space has for example. Where I do completely agree with you though is the lack of respect TLG seems to have for its extremely loyal long term fans. That kind of brand loyalty is very hard to come by and should be valued by them more than it is.

Really? I thought the goal was to annoy classic castle fans :) On a more serious note, the suggestion of bringing the line “back to basics” with smaller scale sets and army building packs would be a good way to test the water for reintroducing classic castle. Of course, i’d love to see more complex builds and ideally a D2C large set at some stage, but I’d accept a basic line just to see classic castle come back. Same goes for other neglected classic themes like Space and Pirates (although the Pirates line is still being served through PoTC tie ins so can’t complain too much there)

I really hope the rumoured Y-wing materialises for May 4th - i’ve been waiting patiently to complete my non-capital ship UCS collection for years. Love the look of the old one and hope they keep that intricate engine detailing. Following on from that, a UCS ISD or blockade runner would do very nicely to start bulking out the Capital ship collection :)