WesternOutlaw

These are fantastic! I love the multi-color design and all the nice details. I'd love to see you actually build one of these and share a picture. They would look awesome in a real tabletown.

Nice job Benny. I really like how you created the front end using a standard brick design (as opposed to a big ugly single molded piece). The overall design captures the real train really well. It's also nice to see the use of red, white, and, blue bricks for the stripes as opposed to stickers - a nice touch in train MOCs. Thanks for sharing your creation and also picturing the engine next to the Super Chief and BNSF for comparison. I like it!

Very nice Cooper. This wonderful creation looks like it could be one of the models within Lego's Hobby Train Set (10183). I love the smooth design that really captures the look of the real Pennsylvania loco. This train would look excellent with a few coal hoppers. I really wish Lego would offer a single set like this (much better designed than the My Own Train steam locomotive, yet smaller than a big set like the Emerald Night). It would make an awesome set and return Lego to a great Train theme like they once had. This creation deserves a BLOG! Great job!

Strangely, it appears that someone has attempted to let the fuel out of the tanker (and the ground smells of fuel). There is an open drainage plug; but something is lodged in it from the inside - perhaps an old piece of metal that got stuck inside. Fortunately, it stopped all of the fuel from draining out, but based on the fuel gauge, the tanker is now at three quarters full.

The group sets off for the fuel tanker not far from old Jeb's farm. A few even get to ride on the hand car along the way (but not Austin ). Arriving at the fuel tanker, the group looks at one another suspiciously...

Pete has proposed a plan. Would anyone else like to follow along? NOTE: the dead body has been safely tucked away in a conveniently found bag aboard the Emerald. It has been placed within the baggage/supply car temporarily.

Excellent! Willoughby is becoming quite the Area 51. With Aliens and Mystery Maidens, this mystery has all the makings of a Saturday night B-movie classic.

Nice job Zuloo! This deserves to be seen within the mystery. Added in Chapter 10 Intro.

Murder On the Emerald Express: Chapter 10 The Mystery Unravels After an uneventful yet relaxing evening aboard the Emerald Express, the passengers and crew awake by the sounds of rocks being pelted against the boiler of the engine. The rain has stopped and it's a bright sunny day in Willoughby. The townies have begun to gather outside the train for the next exciting day of adventure. Max, Jim, and Brakes exit the train to see if there's any damage to the locomotive. Image by Captain Zuloo Will the passengers and crew of the Emerald unlock the secrets to finding a way out of Willoughby? Are members of a sinister Town Council among the townies cloaking themselves beneath classic town smiles? These questions and more will soon be revealed in the next intriguing chapters of Murder On the Emerald Express. NOTE: All participants who suffered from an injury regain two (2) life points for a restful evening.

Very nice Cole. As soon as I saw the name of your creation, I thought to myself, now this will be an interesting MOC. As a big fan of Jungle Adventures, you've created a very nice scene. I like the denseness of your jungle, esp. as seen in your first picture. It's also very interesting to see your use of zombies attacking the adventurers. I'm not usually a big fan of zombie MOCs, but zombies in the jungle make this a very unique creation, and a bit scary which I love. Great job. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Alice & WF. I'm even going to stop at a Lego Store (so I'm excited just for that) - planning on buying a special set.

I'm sorry to say that I start my long needed vacation tomorrow morning and will be returning July 1. The mystery is in "intermission mode" until then. If any of you would like to share your thoughts or plans, feel free to do so on this thread. Until then, please enjoy and stay tuned for the exciting concluding chapters of Murder on the Emerald Express!

As the passengers and crew aboard the Emerald Express plan their next action, the townies return to Willoughby where the rain begins to subside. It's a relaxing afternoon in Willoughby... - Intermission in Progress - The Mystery will resume on July 1, 2009

As the rain poors down outside, soaking the clothes of the sad townies with their noses pressed against the dining car windows, the passengers feast on Chicory gratin with cheesy bechamel sauce, and pralines for dessert. With heads down liked whipped puppy dogs, the townies slush away in the mud back toward Willoughby... An angry mayor turns back to face the Emerald lifting up his middle finger... "flipping the bird". Ba$tards!

The passengers and crewman board the train. They conduct a thorough search, but do not find any CLUES at this time. A few take showers and clean up while others have waffles in the dining wagon. Meanwhile, the Townies are gathering outside the train in "mob formation" while a light rain begins to turn into a heavy one. The Mayor humbly requests that the townies be allowed aboard the train promising that they will stay within the dining wagon if permitted (at least until the storm lessens), while the next actions are planned. Conductor Max is hesitant, but considers the request...

Thunder claps again... CLAP! The sky begins to turn dark as grey clouds can be seen overhead. Think you may be right boy! Our storms can be pretty bad too! CLAP CLAP! Ever get rid of that CLAP Jeb?

You're good Hinck. A few went up in George's plane, to discover a dead body on the tender. In Chapter 9B, the group discover that Jennifer Chamberlain has been shot to death, the body found on the tender of the Emerald Express - a single gun shot wound. That's where we are currently at.

Nothing is found in her pockets or person, aside from the locket. Suddenly, the motor of an aircraft can be heard in the sky. It's Grill'n George's airplane, landing near the Emerald. WOOOOOOOSSSSSSHHHHHHHH! The plane makes a quick landing along the small dirt road near the tracks.

After a few "just-in-time" repairs, George is able to get the aircraft down safely. It lands not too far away from the Emerald Express as you see the others outside the train. END CHAPTER 9A

Greetings Space fans. This evening, I will be reviewing the new mid-sized Space Police set, 5971 Gold Heist. Drifting far outside of my Lego comfort zone, this space set was actually a gift that I helped build, and thought I'd share a brief review on EB. Space Police Gold Heist VITALS Set #: 5971 Theme: Space / Space Police 2009 Year Released: 2009 Piece Count: 205 Minifigs: 2 Vehicles: 2 List Price: $20 (USD) - Purchased at my local TRU for $20.99 Starting with the box, I must admit that the new boxart immediately caught my eye: A single image of the ship and accessories are shown on the back of the box: The set includes a single sheet of stickers with just a few stickers: The same boxart image is shown on the instructions: But let's take a look at a few of the pages. Starting with a view of the completed ship: And step 31 showing how the yellow safe is held into place: As well as some really nice imagery of other sets: The set includes two figs, one Space Police, and the other a tall green alien I call SLOSH. The interesting alien has a 2nd torso that attaches as a head: He has a small ship that the Space Police ship can pursue: The Space Police ship is a bit different in design almost reminding me of a pod racer from Star Wars: The main assembly looks like this before the wings and engines are attached: The blue visor piece is rather nice and lifts for minifig access: The top/roof comes down to cover the cockpit: I like the twin engines that attach to the ship with a single technic piece. They can turn for lift off and flight: Once the engines are attached: The wings are a nice design and have green missiles that can be launched by "flicking": A top perspective provides a better look at the design: A small yellow safe with two gold bars provides extra play value: It is held into place by two technic beams. The rear beam slides out to disattach: Another view of the completed ship: And a few extra pieces: SUMMARY While this set and the Space Police theme is a nice attempt by Lego to offer a completely new Space sub-theme, this set is a bit disappointing. I find the entire ship design unsturdy/weak with a lack of any special or interesting technique. In fact, it has the look and feel of an "alternate model", rather than a main build. The alien is okay, and the main minifig a bit bland with black and grey torso. The small alien ship is not good at all, and I didn't even attempt to attach the safe to it for pulling (which I think is the purpose of the small beam sticking out of the back). I really hope the other Space Police sets are better than this one, although the thought of "Aliens on the loose" might appeal to Lego's much younger fan base. This set definately looks better on the box. Overall, I rate this set a 2.5 out of 5. I'm interested in hearing how others view this set. I miss Classic Space! EDIT: I just realized that this set has already been reviewed by Faramir (I must have missed it after doing a few searches). In any case, I'll go ahead and leave it as an alternate review.

Just a few more votes, then you can close the contest WF.

Welcome to EB Trains & Town Vestabuyer. I'm glad another train fan has joined EB. We're glad to have you! And thank you for that feedback. It's always nice to know that by sharing a review and/or appreciation for a set, it helps someone else in their purchase. Good luck finding more of the 9V sets. They're becoming more and more costly, esp. MISB. Please share your train creations, and feel free to always do an image review.

I think that "wet" or blood on the coal was not the cause of the locomotive's failure. This is a LRTS 10194 class locomotive that has issues with the drive train assembly. The Johnson Rod is too short, and sometimes comes loose resulting in locking of the gears. Any friction created under the coal burner, including misplaced coal, can cause the vertical gear to become loose from the rod and stop the train. It is most likely that this is what caused our break-down. It appears that the young lady is in her early 20s. The townies begin looking at the pictures in the charm to see if they recognize them...

Not seeing any crop circles or "Xs" toward the farm, George does another turn from the air back toward the Emerald to the Southwest. "That storm seems to be getting closer", he says with fear as he turns West, following the Emerald's line. "I really don't think the two lines connect", he points out as more thunder can be heard in the sky, "if you guys have seen enough, I can land this bird - or do you want me to keep frying flying? I may be able to land near the Emerald."

Thanks everyone for the comments re. this review. I particularly enjoyed this one. It was a fun set to review. Ouch! That's a harsh rating. Keep in mind that the Train Engine Shed was built after this set. One could say that the Train Engine Shed is too short for some train wagons. I'm okay that you can't place a fig in the observation area, but imagine how much larger the caboose would need to be if you had room for a fig to sit up there. Even with good design, it would most likely need to be a little taller. While a fig would have been nice, does that really detract from a neat set? I'm not real fond of the non-removable roof either, but early 12V sets were just like this - before the use of tiles to allow "lift-off".