nesquik

With respect, I think you miss the point. The reason this product does appeal to AFOL's is for exactly the reasons you point out; the train is designed to compliment existing layouts or set-ups. The product paradigm exists to satisfy both playability and expansion. Whereas the City train products are 'all in' and have everything included to get the user up and running, Exclusive trains have always been regarded as an option for those who have bought a City train product (with its track) or own a 9V system. Therefore, by only including the train itself, the customer has more flexibility and at a lower retail price.

The trouble with any situation such as the 9V vs P.F is that it's almost entirely out of the consumers hands when it comes to R&D. Sure, the AFOL community can contribute their ideas and experience to Lego Ambassadors, but only TLG have the final say, and most of the time it's a decision based on economic advantages. http://news.lugnet.com/announce/?n=3637 It's easy to understand why TLG made the transition to P.F. For the primary child market, it's offers a cheaper way to expand upon existing sets because, as you rightly pointed out, the all plastic track is far cheaper. Not having any wires outside of the train or controller is an added bonus for the ease of set-up, and the reduced cost of the motor (as well as options) is welcome. But outside the youth system, P.F really is quite flawed. The rechargeable battery box is ridiculously priced, and even if you get the regular battery box, means that you are required to add two large components within the train housing, thus altering the design of the train. In the 9V system, the motor is just in the bogie, so it doesn't alter the design. And whilst the controls are more 'convenient' being wireless, they are indeed more clunky to use. I don't see TLG altering their current strategy in the near future, because it does 'work' for their target audience. Regardless of what they say, AFOL's are sadly not in the front of their minds.

Darth Star City Station? ... YES.

New Baseplates and Train Track! This should make it a lot easer to gauge scale when making stations

I think you've missed the point; TLG want customers to spend more on each product in order to gain a particular feature. By the end of the 90's, they had saturated the market with train accessories and they were not selling as well, which is partly why they moved the train products into the City theme. It's not as easy to just sell such hoppers/containers at a cheap price because this would grossly affect the sales of the larger complete train sets. In addition, if they won't sell as many units as non-train products, then TLG have to produce less, and that in-turn makes them more expensive to make.

Great find!

The exterior detail is absolutely beautiful - you should be very proud of yourself I envy those that can make such wonderful MOC's, as I simply don't have the time or money to do so.

I think the thing about the container issue (if it even is an issue) is that, like all City sets, TLG want to keep the brick count down as low was possible but still maintain a particular scale. So if they can use less bricks in one particular build whilst sacrificing detail that only a small percentage of people will notice, then that's what they'll do. The 1990's Train sets swung a little more in the opposite direction, but I think in an attempt to make the train builds more universally appealing and better to handle, they've simplified them dramatically and of course used more specialised/large components. As for the 2013 rumour mill, I think we'll definitely see a new addition to the Exclusive product line of trains But thinking about what style of train they'll pick is very tricky... We've already had several diesel loco's, a steam train in the Emerald Night and more recently a branded Maersk train. I can't see TLG going for an electric variety because to compliment the design and necessity of this transport, one would really need several carriages and up to now the trend has just been standalone locomotives. Tell you what I would love to see though - another steam train! The Emerald Night was just stunning, and the many MoC's that have been produced only prove that the potential is there for more.

It's been out for a while now... Anyone got any ideas when this product might get discontinued? I'm still waiting to pull the trigger but I'm holding out for any promotions I can possibly take advantage of!

What's Nicky Clarke doing there??

It blows my mind how people can even design something as detailed as this model. When you see for yourself how all those large and small plates interlock to create just one panel, you can only hold your hand up and applaud the designers. £342 is a lot for any Lego model, but when you consider how much research, testing and trial-error goes into something like this, the price can always be justified. With all due respect, I think the member was attempting to make a 'Yoda' related jape (backwards syntax), such as "Great review, it is" :)

Well it would definitely need a signature style - something that just jumps out at you so you immediately think "Yep, that's an electric passenger train". A lot harder than we think sometimes!

Hmm... Whilst this looks ideal on paper, or at least logical, I'm not too sure how it would plan out in reality. The train Exclusive sets are from the Creator series, meaning that the construction and design is the main focus of the product, not the playability. The last high speed train released was for the World City I believe and that utilised special parts for the 'nose' of the front and rear cabins: I could be mistaken, but I'm just not sure if TLG would make similar parts again for a new high speed train - particularly when it's not a part of the main City theme. Sure enough the Emerald Night contained new bricks, but they had great reusability. I'd personally rather see an updated version of the original (and absolutely classic) 'Metroliner' 4558 train. With the number of new bricks available today, TLG could offer a more realistic take on this great design. I can't help gazing at it... Such a beautiful product!

Now that theTown Hall' has been introduced and we have three Modular buildings on sale, should we presume that the Grand Emporium is due to be discontinued any time soon? It's double VIP points now so I'll probably make a purchase, but I just thought it'd be good to track this product so others don't get caught out

'City' products that I would like to see introduced; Bus/Coach (separate) - As I'm sure many of you know, these were included in the 'City Corner' and 'Transport' sets, but I think it would be absolutely wonderful if these were sold separately. They warrant being bought in various quantities for obvious reasons, and would be perfect for the £14.99 range that is currently in place. Market Stalls - Very straightforward, just three or four marquees for different kinds of products (such as vegetables, clothes). Post Office - Obviously a Winter themed one was introduced, but I'd love to see a more contemporary version with better playability value. A man after my own heart!

A big hello from North-West England! I've actually been using this site for some time now, but I haven't really introduced myself as I only made contributions on and off. Now that I've officially left my Dark Ages however and got back into the spirit of making collections, I visit this site on a regular basis Started playing/purchasing Lego in the 90's when I was young (a great time!) and have fond memories of the 'BASIC' product range. After receiving the 4559 Cargo Railway one Christmas, my heart has always been devoted to the Train lines and I can't imagine it ever escaping me. It feels great to see so many young people enjoying Lego in the same I remember I used to, and with things like 'eBay', I can now relive old memories by purchasing old sets. I hope I can contribute plenty of discussion in the future and really feel happy that Lego continues to be popular worldwide. Thanks!

This was the norm with 90's 9V sets, and if you do a bit of searching, you'll find some absolutely excellent products - from carriage 'washes', to maintenance vehicles, snowblowers and more. However, during that period the 'Train' line was considered a separate theme from 'Town', so it obviously garnered it's own line of products, whereas today, the Train products have been merged into the City theme, hence the slimming down. It's also worth noting that Lego products today have a larger emphasis on narrative and combination. In contrast, the 'Train' products from 15 years ago were very much counterparts of real life and encouraged you to use your imagination more. This is why I can't see the Train related sets being expanded beyond their current paradigm, because they have to balance out with the quantity of other City sets. Products such as 'Emerald Night' and the 'Maersk' train are just Creator Exclusives , which is what TLG labels products that don't fall into any particular theme. I've found the best way to build a train system these days is to simply buy the separate models from sets on eBay at a fraction of the price, and do without all the other models that you don't want. For example, I loved the little red cargo truck from 7939, so I bought several of them fairly cheaply as many people sell them in their original numbered bags with stickers and instructions. I saved myself masses of money in the process, too!

Nice effort! I would have perhaps made the length of the van a bit longer, but that's only nitpicking... Fun model!

Thanks for that! This appears to be a better representation of the final colours. It's always the case with TLG - they alter the colours of their products for the packaging that go beyond their natural appearance. If this 360 imagery is how the final product looks in natural lighting, I'll certainly purchase it

I don't think TLG will go for another licensed set soon (like the Maersk), but it's difficult to see what they'll come up with because the Exclusive sets are usually quite different to the City counterparts in terms of authenticity. Because of this, I reckon they'll come up with something similar to Emerald Night since the steam train theme can be varied endlessly, and having the loco, tender and carriage really breaks up the build and makes it more interesting. It's a tricky one though

The GE is certainly the, shall we say, most customisable modular building because of two things; the smart exterior (which is pretty universal) and the plain interior which, in all honesty, could have been filled more. Personally I would fit it out as a shop dedicated to just one type of product, rather than the included instructions for many different products. It would be nice just as a clothes shop! Or even a fancy dress store (using the collectable minifig series)

Great stuff! The FB is by far the best value modular, you'll be well chuffed :)

GE has a nice construction and outer detailing, but it seems a bit bland inside to me. The PS has a lot more story to it and playability value I think :)

When the 'Town Hall' arrives, I imagine that the Grand Emporium will be the next modular to be discontinued, so it might be a good idea to make any decisions SOON! Edit: I take that back - just rang my local LEGO store and they said it's not going to be discontinued yet, but the Fire Brigade will be when the Town Hall arrives on 1st March!

I asked again at the LEGO store, and this time they could confirm the set is being released March 1st