ElectroDiva

Nice layout @sed6 - very good use of a very small space :) The biggest problem with Lego Trains is just how much space they take up. I still haven’t found space for a permanent layout in my place so have to pack everything away after every session. Will hopefully fix that when I move from an apartment to a house some time in the next few years. Have often wondered if there would be more of a market for smaller scale Lego trains given how space restricted homes seem to be these days.

Here’s an interesting blog post on Power Functions 2.0 with a mixture of “confirmed” info from the Nuremberg toy fair and speculation (including photoshopped mockups of the PF 2.0 battery box/controller): https://ramblingbrick.com/2018/02/01/all-aboard-power-functions-2-0-with-bluetooth-announced-at-nuremberg-toy-fair-rampant-speculation-follows/ Most interesting from my perspective is the confirmation there will be a Physical Bluetooth controller and an “adaptor to allow retrofitting the new battery box” - great news if true. With regard to the physical controller, hopefully this will allow control of multiple Bluetooth devices in the same way as the current IR controller. With regard to the adaptor - that should mean we can keep using the existing train motor and simply connect it to the PF 2.0 battery box/receiver with an adaptor. I also suspect the new train motor may essentially be the same as the old one with just a new PF 2.0 lead.

You are right in the sense that Bluetooth is not an innovation when you consider 3rd party products, but there are still some attractive new features with PF 2.0 The parts that ship with the new train sets are expected to include a physical Bluetooth controller (so you do not have to rely on a smartphone for connectivity) This is likely to have two implications if true: 1- better support for controlling multiple Bluetooth devices (as with the current IR based physical controller) 2-longevity (a physical controller will always have a longer lifespan than a smartphone app for which support can stop at any stage) I also have some PfX bricks on order from their Kickstarter and really hope those guys can do a firmware update to support the new PF 2.0 physical Bluetooth controller - that to me would be a great combination.

This thread Is a bit depressing :( So many train AFOLs potentially giving the new sets a miss... I understand the reasons but personally I will buy at least the cargo set to get access to the new PF 2.0 parts and more importantly, to show TLG there is a market for train sets (even if they are not 100% what i would have wanted)

TLG seem to have tightened up on leaks recently. I wouldn’t expect any leaks for a Jan ‘19 launch until a couple of months beforehand. In any case, I think they may skip 2019 and reboot Castle for 2020. Hopefully I’m wrong,

I wish real world trains would use roof cranes and ladders to get passengers in and out. I for one am sick and tired of using train doors. It just seems so mundane by comparison.

I think wall/partial building sets sometimes get criticised as they are perceived as poor value props for selling the figs that are hard to re-use for anything else. 79007 Battle at the Black Gate was the same price as 76088 Thor vs Arena clash at about $60 - yet the former is a much better value set and much easier to re-use due to the color palette. For the record, i’d also buy multiples of a reissue of 6059 with new heraldry - so you have at least 3 AFOLs just in this thread who can appreciate a well executed and good value wall/partial building set.

Ooh that sounds interesting. One of the downsides with the currently available 3rd party Bluetooth controllers is that they rely on smartphones as the control interface. It will be great to get an actual physical Bluetooth controller. Now I just hope the PfX guys can can support that physical controller when it comes out (I’ve got 5 of those Pfx bricks on the way..)

Now that’s a great idea !

Erm... I think you might be reading too much into it. Wasn’t Nexo Knights just a thinly veiled rip off of Visionaries? :) Anyway, personally I thought it was an abomination and I won’t be shedding a tear at its passing (sorry to those who really liked it) As for the future of the castle theme, much as I’d like to see the return of a classic evergreen Castle theme complete with traditional medieval castles and factions, I have my doubts that we’ll ever see that again (much as I’d like to be wrong about that) I think there may be more hope of a general history theme with waves taken from different epochs/civilisations in history - similar to what Playmobil are doing. Personally I’d be very happy with something like that.

@AlmightyArjen - the rumours are still rumours. I have seen nothing so far to substantiate them but equally have seen nothing to debunk them either. However, a station in the summer wave would have leaked by now, and a station in the winter wave would clash with the presumed return of the Winter Village Station, so I personally doubt there will be a new station set this year (much as I’d like one) With regard to a HP themed station - how about a HP themed Kings Cross - would you still be unhappy with that? only joking- I doubt we would ever get something like that (again, much as I’d like one..)

I’m still waiting for my pledge (5 * deluxe packs). Have been told it will be another month or so. Which suits me at the moment as I’ve been very busy with work recently. Anyhow, some people have already got theirs and there are a few projects beginning to appear online- this is a nice one showing off the sound effects:

I think it’s pretty much a nailed on certainty that there *will* be another Hogwarts Express at some stage - the golden question is just when. I think they may go for it either this Christmas or next Christmas to appeal to the holiday train market as well as HP fans

@Capparezza - repetition of “iconic” vehicles never seems to be a problem in other licensed themes - how many X-wings, Millenium Falcons and Batmobiles have we had now? I think Hogwarts Express can be seen in a similar light

Agree - It’s actually quite a big straw by EB standards.. An updated Hogwarts Express is a no brainier for a rebooted HP theme. My guess is with the winter village train having had its second outing and destined for retirement, they may go for a HE set this Christmas for that sweet crossover appeal

Amazing moc - with some really cool mechanisms. The lift off carriages remind me a bit of the passenger carriages in 4559 Cargo Railway :) Def deserves a place on the front page. MODs make it happen please.

That's inspired. I love MOCs that use otherwise fairly useless pieces like that. Either works for me tbh.

Good call - that would be awesome. Ideally packaged with some Pullman carriages with proper train windows and doors How did you build that curved, ribbed station roof? It almost looks like curved track sections used as supports

That's a shame. I don't think there was any flat straight track in the Pirate Roller Coaster set either.

Ok thanks for confirming @Digger of Bricks - It will be good to get more of that track in LBG if nothing else.

Interesting bit of news from the Nuremberg toy fair - courtesy of Brickset: 41347 Heartlake City Resort - This set will cost 99.99€ and includes an elevated rail. Suspect this will just be the new roller coaster track used in Joker Manor and the new Pirate Roller Coaster set, but we can hope...

Those builds are great @Zetroc - they really have a mid 20th century English village feel about them - can't wait to see your layout. You should start a thread for it - even if it's still in progress. There's a lot of friendly people on here with a lot of expertise in creating layouts and I'm sure you would get some good advice. I'm planning on doing the same when I have room for a permanent layout of my own.

I ended up buying the UCS Falcon as I just couldn't resist it after coveting it for so long, but if I'd had the willpower to wait a while for a double points event, I'd have bought the following items from my "to buy" list instead (for the UK equivalent price of £650): 70620 - Ninjago City - £260 210310 - Old Fishing store - £140 10257 - Carousel - £160 21030 - US Capitol Building - £85 ... with £5 change for a latte and some biscotti on the way back from the Lego store :)

That chemical plant is quite new, rising fast and stands a good chance of hitting 10k before the other current ideas on there. The reason is probably its cross market appeal for anyone interested in Science/Education, Trains and structures to add to a Lego city. I've supported it and really hope it makes it through. Also found this little gem of a German steam locomotive which appears to be a resubmission but is doing much better this time round. Not sure it will hit 10k but it would be an instant buy for me if it did The speculation is that the city train sets will be around for much longer so it makes sense to move them to power functions 2.0 first. PF2 would then follow for technic sets in the Winter 2018 wave

MOCs are great for inspiration but I don't think they really get new people *actively* into the hobby. For that you have to have official sets. Just look at the anecdotes in the introduce yourself thread or the amount of new users (easily >10) who have popped up on just this one thread at the prospect of new official Trains. I think TLG recognise that but it's a balancing act for them - what's the optimal amount of money for them to invest in dedicated train sets to get the return they're looking for? They have clearly reached the conclusion that 2-3 "City" themed train sets (cargo + passenger + station) every 4 years or so is optimal, with the occasional more specialised/expert set released in between that schedule. However, I do think this approach is a little short sighted of them. In my opinion, Trains are like a gateway drug for buying significant quantities of Lego. For a start, people generally don't want to stop at one, they want different locos, cargo and track options. Then, when they're really hooked, they want some scenery and ideally a city layout with modular buildings etc to run them in (even if like me they don't have the space for it yet !! :) If TLG wanted to, they could dial down the profit margins a bit and release more Train sets to encourage that effect. For me, the sweet spot would be 3 City themed sets (cargo + passenger + station) every *3* years, and one Creator expert type set for each of the two years in between that (possibly making alternate Creator sets a 3 in 1 for a bit more flexibility). That way we would get at least 1 decent set per year - not too much to ask for is it? That sounds pretty cool. Got any pics / vids we can take a look at?