Hrw-Amen

I have not posted anything recently in the train forum as I have been concentrating on a building since Christmas which I have posted in the Town Forum. A rather large Hospital that just kept growing. Anyway I have now got back to my trains as I have been missing them. I have been looking at Hopper Wagons. I wanted to create some of these as I do not have a huge selection of freight wagons and felt I needed to make some. I have used the same base for them as i did for my Box Cars, so again they are quite a bit longer than normal LEGO wagons, but then again that makes them more believable I think? They are not modeled after any particular type of wagon, although I have been referring to a lot of photographs in order to draw on them for ideas and to get the general overall shape and concept right. Each of my wagons has four small silo doors which can be opened to allow the wagons contents to come flooding out. This is operated (On the models.) by pulling up a small roof section under a vent to which they are all internally attached. I have tried this filling them with small 1X1 round plates and opening the doors on my desk. Not a thing I will be repeating again anytime soon!! I am still picking up odd plates that I am finding in little nooks and crannies all over the place!! Anyway, the photographs are up on my flickr photostream, so take a look and let me know what think? I am planning to make four in total and the third, a green one is under construction as I type.

That is really nice and using those corner road plates is a really good idea for keeping it nice and low.

When I read cable car I was expecting to see something going up a mountain, so was surprised when I opened this. Still it was a good surprise as from the photograph you included it seems that you have done a really good job at capturing the style and character of the real thing. With all those characters on it as well! I am assuming that the cable is somehow buried into the street? Is that the grove that you have in the middle of the road? Can the cable be seen in the groove running up and down on the real one, I have to ask as I am not overly familiar with how these operate, but I am guessing that is it? Lovely model though and will doubtless look good in your display.

That is a really nice looking carriage you have there. I especially like that you have taken the trouble to complete the interior with the beds and everything. The roof looks good as well. I like the curve that you have chosen to put on it, it looks just like on the real thing.

I seem to recall when this first looked as though it was going to reach the 10K mark that people were saying how awful the design looked and how if it got through the process that the designers at LEGO would tidy it up and make it better. Well, like everyone else it appears they have done the opposite. I guess if it does not come with mini figures it will put a load of people off buying it as it looks dreadful from what we can see. I suppose when we get the official pictures and release information it may look better and we will know if we are getting the figures or not. I think it is looking like that will be the deciding factor as to whether this is a win or a fail.

How about a theme set in ancient Eygpt where a priest discovers a time portal and can see into the future where the evil European people are raiding the sacred tombs of his ancestors and compatriots. So angered by this he raises a powerful spell and with the help of a sympathetic deity manages to break through the time portal, in order to fight the evil European raiders and drag them back to his own time where they are put on trial for their crimes. Maybe a large set where half shows they are themselves entombed in a big pyramid in the past and the other half shows them back in the future robbing and disturbing their own tombs and realizing with horror, but some feelings of remorse for their evil deeds, that they are digging up their own remains! Sounds like an exciting theme to me.

I would not say it is an issue unless you are running up huge debts doing it or are slowly pushing the rest of the family into one bedroom whilst LEGO takes over the rest of the house! But I do think most of us probably dabble in more than one theme even if we only collect one or two. You just never know when bits will be useful. Having said that I make the models up and then keep them made (Even if they are not on display.) for MOCing I tend to buy loose bricks either from Bricklink or PAB etc. My main theme is CITY/Trains, but I have also bought the Lotr & Hobbit as I am a fan of the books and films. Traditionally I am a space fan, so got the AC and am slowly getting GS although they may have to stay in their boxes, at least the larger ones, until I find a bigger house.

As I said in the other thread about this yesterday, I am pleased to see science projects getting coverage as I really like science, but I was not familiar with the Atlas in itself although I know about the LHC. I would have thought a more generic and instantly recognizable LHC model could have been made, one of those large ring doughnut magnets or something? Anyway, I am pleased a science project got through and maybe it can lead to a set based on the LHC but a more instantly recognizable part of it. Why have we got two threads on this?

Well I do quite like science projects and think that the educational value of the whole Cuusoo concept has not been realized yet. But this model to honest means nothing to me, If there was nothing telling me what it was I would not be able to work it out from the image. This is perhaps a sad fact that my own knowledge is lacking. But I have to say that although I did not personally recognise this particular bit of equipment, a set based on the whole CERN / Large Hadron Collider would be good, I just think it needs to be something more instantly recognisable? I am not sure what, I do understand that this model from what I have read is a lot smaller than the original and I guess that is in part to make it more acceptable price wise, but it seems to have lost something in translation? Still, maybe LEGO can come up with a set based on the theme in general that will be more recognisable and as such may sell enough to make it worthwhile as a project? So for the effort of bringing this to the attention of LEGO designers if nothing else I think we should appreciate it and thank the creators for the chance to get another cool science related set.

Looks great and a must watch film for next year. I really like all the little details and yes I think a lot of them will only be noticed by adult viewers and will go over the heads of the kids, but that is fine, it makes it a movie for every age group to get something from it.

It seems nice and is very train orientated. This is fine as it is in a train related show. I would myself however try to fill in some of the space if it was myself. At the moment as fine a layout as it is, it is still very much a lot of train tracks running around each other with little 'Town' in between. I don't mean that as a negative comment though as I appreciate how hard it can be to take it all apart and set it up again elsewhere. Sometimes though for a convincing scenario it is better to have slightly less track and train and a bit more setting the scene. But it really depends on what effect you are going for. I cannot complain as I have to long term layout due to lack of space. You certainly have a wide range of track types and power types running on your layout which is really good to see.

It is good to see all this automated to know that it can be done and nice for a layout. Like you I have no real space so have to keep taking mine down every time I have finished playing. I would love to be able to get my switches/Points to change automatically and signals and all that. Maybe one day I will, I am looking at some signals on and off at the moment. However is not part of the fun of a layout, (especially one you have to take down and rebuild.) being able to control the trains yourself by starting and stopping them? I can see that this would be good at a display in a hall where it can be left running though. But I do like to maintain some control myself over what the trains actually do. Still it is very good that you can do it, as I said I am jealous of your level of performance.

Yes I agree. It is simply a term used to define anything not involving LEGO whilst on a retreat of some kind that is principally concerning LEGO.

Do they actually get left made, or are the bricks recycled into other things once a model has been made and displayed?

Oh I quite agree that people have to buy what they can afford and I have nothing against the more established clone brands that are building sets of there own, such as MB rather than just copying stuff. That is not the issue at all, it is simply the fact that there does seem to be confusion out there over what LEGO actually is and that in this instant it was from the retailer not the customer. I do get the general name thing that becomes part of daily life but i would not have thought LEGO as a brand was that persuasive in people's concepts to have become that entrenched as say a Hoover. Maybe I am wrong though?

Hopefully like the Sun we can just buy the paper but leave it in the shop and just take the LEGO home. Anyone know where we can get it, I am presuming WH Smith again, but it would nice to know in advance.

And anyway, not everywhere has them or all of them even not in the USA. I do not know what the 'official' LEGO stores in the UK have but down where I am all we have is two CITY Coastguard sets and two CITY Cargo sets. No Galaxy Squad or the rest of the CITY sets, no Lone Ranger or Lord of the Rings!

Looks a lot better now than it did before, which when you consider before it looked wonderful makes it hard to describe now.

I am just wondering if the Portal set that they hinted at may be on the cards for the next release. Looking at the two sets that are up for review next time, either some school mascot set, which whilst it will be good for the school probably will not have many takers outside that and the Space Troopers which (Whilst this would be fantastic and I would buy in an instance!) they are probably going to say is too much like Galaxy Squad/Alien Conquest/etc to make it through. That would mean either no sets released next time or they leave the room open for the Portal set that people want and they appear to have not given up on?

Yes, very interesting to read, but I was expecting some explanation as to why do this experiment at the end, what actually was the goal?

Good that it is finally out, but I agree with others that these sets seem to be taking way too long to get through the whole process and by the time they are released the initial spark that interested us has pretty much died. This would have sold loads more I am sure if it could have been released to tie in with something exciting in the rovers actual mission. Still we never know, NASA may have something exciting to announce that will reignite our interest. It is a set that I would like to own, so as long as the price is not ridiculously high I would still like to buy it. I know nothing about Portals beyond what I have read on these forums, but if people want it and it still has a chance then even better. What did happen to the Back to the Future set? I thought I read that it had passed and was going to be released but that was months ago and since then nothing at all? Is it still coming or has it been dropped, I have not seen any recent photos of what they are planning or anything?

I think that the thing that got me was the store manager was referring to the other clone brands as LEGO as well as the real LEGO, it was like "This other cheap LEGO." when I pointed out that it was not actually LEGO but a cheap knock off and that the 'Real' LEGO was the only actual LEGO they just shrugged as though they did not care or understand the difference themselves when they are the ones selling it. To the manager the cheap knock offs were still LEGO in their eyes, just a cheaper version.

I know that we have had topics on clone brands before and not to get into an argument about it, but I wanted to share this very sad tale of my toy store visit today. My local toy store, (Toymaster Franchise.) is actually three stores and one of these until recently has been completely LEGO and nothing else. Over the summer the LEGO has to share with sweets and other summer tat like buckets and spades. They have a main store a couple fo shops along that also gets LEGO in it but on a smaller scale since most is in the main LEGO shop. Today I was there and I observed that along with the LEGO on the same shelves they have started to get a lot of clone brands that are really dreadful quality, some even have brick built wheels. These sets are going for anything up to a quarter the price of real LEGO. I was speaking to the manager today and I asked why they were putting all these clone sets out as they never used to sell them and they were ruining the LEGO display. I was told that:- "Parents want these cheap sets that they can give as gifts to the children." So I asked why they would buy such rubbish when the real thing was right next to it. "Parents don't care, they know that this cheap LEGO is not as good a quality as that other LEGO, but they just want something cheap, it does not matter and this is what we sell most of." It seems that the manager does not know what real LEGO is as they refer to clone brands as LEGO as well. That really made me sad, (Which I know is sad in itself.) but I just wonder what hope is there when even the people selling it call clone brands LEGO and admit that they know it is rubbish and put it next to real LEGO in order to sell more as they make it look like a good deal when lined up alongside the expensive real LEGO sets. Again, i know we have talked clone brands to death, but I wanted to share this sad story as it has been bugging me that they would do that, sell knock offs calling it the real thing, probably without even knowing the differencr themselves and using LEGO as a generic term for all construction toys.

I actually was surprised by the meatiness of the new jet ski compared to other official LEGO ones I have built. It certainly looks like it could do the job. I was also pleased to get two mini-figures and a shark as well!. One thing I would say, I was unsure as to if the surfer was supposed to be a man or woman, the hair could kind of be for both and the printing of the wet suit sort of hinted at breasts but not enough to be totally convincing. I sort of half and half figure depending on what you want I guess, but I would like more positive male or female myself. Could have been easily achieved by use of a better hair bit. Still that is just a small negative comment and overall I was very pleased with the set.

Well that does look nice and engine like. Would look good for a train, even if not in the train, perhaps on a flatbed wagon with chains holding it taut. Ready to be delivered somewhere.