WesternOutlaw

Hi Richard. Welcome to Train Tech and to EB! It's always nice to see brand new members here, esp. train fans. It's never too late to emerge from the Dark Ages. I remember mine. Wild West and Trains pulled me out of many years of a LEGO-dry era. The Airport Shuttle is a fantastic set although I don't own one. I bet the price for one is pretty hefty as the set appears to be very popular among town and train fans. Good luck with your efforts to create a local LUG. Sounds like a fun endeavor if you can get members. Hope you enjoy our LEGO Train comunity.

Sok: I think you're missing the entire idea/concept of what is being proposed. When we have any sort of building challenge or contest, it requires publicizing to generate interest. That's what I'm here to assist with. The alternative is for members like 22kane and others who have shared creative ideas regarding this challenge to create topics that simply get ignored with little or no exposure. It's NOT at all "tomfoolery", but rather sharing information with others who may be interested in participating. Voting for your favorite and a tag for the winner(s) serves as a small incentive adding to the fun. Interesting idea. Let's see what others think. I really like this idea. Cross-over with other themes allows a much higher level of creativity and for non-train owners to participate. We saw this with the Train Container giveaway, and it was fun seeing all the splendid non-traditional train containers. Much like a physical Community Build in which members show off their creations in a mall or face-to-face get-together. Keeping it simple would be my only concern with this idea. If we get too technical, it will take the fun out of it. Great ideas all!

Making it sound awesome will also help make it awesome. Marketing and publicizing helps create interest and drive participation. I don't want to see it simply become a topic with 2-3 comments. That's partly why I'm here to help whoever wants to champion the idea(s).

You can basically do that now. The Challenge does add that level of competition which helps drive interest. We're talking about getting a tag below your avatar if we vote/select a winner - it's not "high stakes".

Hey All: I've added a poll for all to express their interest and keep track of what members might be interested in seeing as part of a challenge. I do not believe we've ever built a Building Challenge based upon the ideas from all of our members. This might be a fun little endeavor and the first of its kind here on EB. It's always fun to be creative! If I've left any choices off the poll, be sure to share your ideas within this topic. I can always add/modify for inclusion if there are enough votes/interst in one thing. If anyone wants to champion this Building Challenge, as mentioned above, I'm looking for takers (22kane as this topic starter or other brave member). Honestly, the reward for coming up with an idea is helping implement it. Let's see what y'all want to do.

As I give this some additional thought, I think it would be a really nice idea to generate some nice MOCs and building among train fans. I'm not real fond of the LDD idea as I personally prefer to see real builds vs digital designs, but that's not to say I will nix the idea if there is strong interest. I do think real/traditional building is much more fun. Please take a look at this Build a Ghost Train Building Challenge to get some ideas how a challenge would work. I kept the rules out for more fun. As the building challenge would be just for fun, I would be willing to throw in some special digital Train Tags for the winner(s) (like a red train arrow or train engine to appear below the winner's avatar (see my US flag, etc.)). I would like to see a champion organize the entries keeping in mind that the simpler, the better and more fun. This involves starting the topic and establishing the rules (once approved), and organizing the entry pictures/thumbnails. The nice concept here is that this could be a challenge created by our LEGO Train community, as opposed to a contest created by myself and the other staff. Let's see what you all are interested in seeing and maybe we can get some ideas flowing and a champion or two. Challenge on!

I think most understand what weathering is.

Feel free to discuss the topic here as well. There's been a number of our Train Tech members who have created some nice weathered trains.

Mkrogers64: There's a number of topics related to issues and improvements for the Emerald Night here in Train Tech. I would recommend you take a look at the Index to see just a few. Here's one of many that provides a solution if you did not use the recommended 12:00 / 3:00 wheel alignment per the instructions. It solved a lot of my problems with sputtering and locking. NOTE: I've also moved your initial question posted to topic: My Emerald Night Gold line Mis Printed to this topic. Please refrain from starting multiple topics or posts regarding the same question. You might also introduce yourself as a new member in the Community forum and/or Train Tech Registry in this forum. Much appreciated.

Hi Matteo. Welcome. I don't own a single 12V set, but I've always admired them as well. They weren't available in the US as they were in Europe making them even more special. Enjoy our train community.

I'm reading some nice ideas in regard to a building challenge. I do want to point out that contests are created by our moderating team as they require prizes, resources, and collaboration between staff; but I am certainly open to ideas and suggestions. In regard to a community build, this usually involves a physical meeting or "get-together" in which you bring your creations - more difficult than an on-line contest as we have international membership. A building challenge; however, is just for fun and does not involve prizes. Feel free to continue to discuss those ideas here.

Looks like an awesome collection of 12V track that would make one hell of a layout. Welcome to Train Tech Harnbak, and I hope you enjoy our LEGO Train community.

Welcome Tom. Two complete red passenger trains sound like a great find. It is tricky to balance a nice Town with room for rolling stock. There's been a few topics/discussions related to this, as space always limits your layout. I hope you enjoy the forum and feel free to share your custom creations.

Really nice Hinck! I always enjoy seeing the creativity of your MOCs and I like how you successfully integrate the large Fabuland parts with standard LEGO, a task that I'm sure is not always easy to do. The MOC spells fun, especially with certain elements like the heart fence pieces, the icecream desserts on the table and the most classic icecream sign. Nice combination of colors used for the chimney and paved/tiled area. The fountain reminds me of a certain margarita fountain in front of a Mexican restaurant I remember from a visit to Old Town in SD many years ago. Great details and the ivy adds to the quality of the building. Great job, as always. Lots of fun.

Interesting topic and I like the use of your Blue Train image above. I've always loved the little blue shunter and hoped that LEGO might offer it as a small train Legend. Since the 2x3 blue windows of the Shunter are pretty rare (as well as a few other pieces), I had to try my hand at a Red Shunter as part of a 12V Train restoration project. On the topic of "blue trains", blue trains are not exactly ultra rare in real life trains as L@go pictures above. Here's a blue train from the Nevada Southern Railway as well: Perhaps the color blue is not as versatile as other LEGO colors like white, red, and green. In the past few years, it seems green has been a pretty popular color for LEGO Trains.

Welcome Kisvakond. I'm glad you found our EB LEGO Train community. I really like your Beka locomotive. In fact, it's an outstanding first 9V MOC. I hope you enjoy the forum and look forward to seeing your future creations.

You need to deeplink the images: Syntax: {img}link to image{/img} Use brackets for the {}. But watch that double posting and/or topic bumping. If you don't get responses, it's either that the creation is not impressive or some members do not have any comment. Image quality sometimes has a bearing as well. You may get a comment at a later date if you wait for it.

Absolutely not, but just make sure you stay within the size limits next time. Thanks.

You've successfully blended Castle and Trains in Classic Town fashion, a practice seldomly used anymore. It's a nice integration of Castle. I really like the colors and the red roof looks terrific. Nice job on the tudor wall decals as well. This reminds me of a mini-article/topic from a few years back, Classic Castle Towns: What Ever Happened to the Town/Castle Combination? It's great to see this in our Train Forum!

Thank you for sharing Brickviller. I've added a poll and indexed. On a side note; however, your images are larger than our site guidelines of 800x600.

Thank you for sharing this image review Typo. I've always had mixed feelings about this set but must admit that I never picked it up during the late 9V era. I see that you added a Train Tech graphic Typo. This signifies that your review has been indexed by a moderator. I've indexed and added a poll.

Shupp- your LEGO Trains are amazing! I'm a huge fan of the old steam locomotives, but your 20th Century Limited is just as impressive. It's always a pleasure to have expert train builders join our EB Train Fan community. I hope to see more of your fantastic creations. Hope you enjoy the Train Tech forum and feel free to share any of your creations as individual topics.

Welcome LMC. I still haven't opened my Yellow Cargo Train. I was just about there, then the Maersk was released (sort of trumped the Cargo Train). In any case, I hope you enjoy the forum and good luck with your layout.

Welcome Ced. If you're a big train fan, you should introduce yourself in the Train Tech Registry - all are welcome. I always enjoy reading about "finds in the attic". That's a great classic train! I'm not the best person to ask about obtaining parts (although BrickLink is probably my first resource), but you should certainly retore this beauty to it's original condition. It's too nice of a train to not do so. Good luck with your searching and let us know how you progress. Welcome to EB!

Thank you for sharing this nice review JD. I truly love these classic 9V sets. I think my favorite aspect is the engine and cargo containers (love those yellow and red hinge pieces). The truck is also a nice aspect/component of this set in 4-stud wide fashion. Great set and I wish I had one of these. Looks like yours is in pretty good shape. I've indexed and added a poll so our train fans can cast a newer rating. Top notch!