legotownlinz

These sets will inspire children to become truck drivers, pilots and motorcyclists. Most of the parts are dedicated to vehicles, not wildlife. Lots of vehicles between the last few dying trees. These sets are not perfect. The animals deserve a 10/10, but not the entire set. Pricing and the vegetation builds are far below 10/10.

The price of 7.5 Euros per S32 is already high compared to 2.3 Euros for a Trixbrix S32. In the long term the success of the track system depends on the number of new customers who choose 9V over plastic tracks, therefore, tracks must get cheaper, not more expensive. The number of customers who are willing to pay high prices is limited to the existing 9V fanbase but their need for tracks will be satisfied soon.

The background of the box artwork shows what the trees should look like but what's included in the set looks like a first clumsy unaestetic attempt to design an acadia tree. Nearly everybody could build a tree of similar quality.

The animals of the Wildlife Rescue sets are sweet. The color scheme is ok, it looks better than on the early leaked pictures, but I still think that tan/red is not the best combination (though not horrible neither). The vegetation and vehicle builds are lacking the magnificence that for example the Jungle Explorer sets had.

Kings Cross is an excellent negative example for Lego's ignorance about trains. If they had ever tested this station with tracks and their own trains, they would have noticed that some of them collide with the bridge.

But let's face it, the current train offerings cannot match with those of the past. I wouldn't say Lego hates trains, but it is obvious non of the designers has a passion for trains and pushes the theme forward.

It's true that the Crocodile was sold out frequently, but we do not know the reasons. Maybe Lego prioritized other sets for production? But it is safe to assume that at least it isn't a slow seller. Unfortunately the Crocodile is still a Lego exclusive, if it would be available in other stores like many of the cars and 18+ sets, it could give Lego trains a boost. Given the fact that there are many third-party train-related offers, it would be strange not to see any Lego train set this year. But who knows, maybe an infamous influencer is right and Lego indeed hates trains? Then they will continue to over-saturate the market with mosaics, plants, helmets and other dust catchers instead of producing a single train set. Don't take me wrong, I like some of these sets, especially the Bonsai, but I don't get why they produce so many sets of the same kind while neglecting other themes. And then there is the miracle why they refresh the City trains only every four years. Other long-lasting themes get more frequent updates. It's not harder to develop a train engine than anything else if the electronics stay the same.

Let's hope we get anything train-related in the second half year, otherwise 2021 might become a sad year for train collectors.

I'd also like to upgrade my trains to 7-wide so that they have a similar scale as MOCs. I've already made several coaches longer, but not changed the widths yet.

I thought about it, but I think it requires a lot of time to keep it in a good condition. Maybe in a few years...

Plants are not made from ABS. There is no replacement for ABS yet.

It's actually one layout across multiple rooms.

True. And I like competition in the LEGO market, too. I'm glad that tracks get cheaper now, I spend too much money on tracks anyway. The Trixbrix double straight track was a game changer for me, it allowed me to expand my layout quickly.

A few years earlier I would have started with Fx Tracks but now I own so many plastic tracks that it would be prohibitively expensive to convert to 9V (see some impressions of my current layout below). I couldn't use all the special elements that I enjoy a lot, but will never be available in a 9V version. Beside that, multi-train control is an unresolved issue of the 9V system. There are no DCC motors available and personally I hate the complexity of DCC and do not like to use it for my LEGO trains. Therefore, I do not see conversion from plastic to 9V to happen at a larger scale. Plastic tracks have far more advantages than disadvantages when compared to 9V.

I own moulded Trixbrix R56 tracks and can confirm that the quality is excellent. They are a bit more glossy than LEGO tracks. I also own BrickTracks R104 and R120 tracks. They are less glossy than LEGO tracks. Coaster mentioned that he switched from aluminum to steel molds which should make the tracks more glossy. As I have not ordered tracks from BrickTracks recently I cannot confirm it. BlueBrixx tracks looked warped on their YouTube presentation video. I never that warping issues with Trixbrix or BrickTracks tracks. The products of all three manufacturers are legal in the EU. In my opinion it is also morally ok to buy from all of them. 4dbrix was ahead of Trixbrix in the early days, but that doesn't mean that Trixbrix ripped off their ideas. The idea to produce different kind of switches was not new, all track systems have similar elements and all manufacturers copied all important design details from LEGO, not from each other. I'd guess that we will soon see moulded switches from Trixbrix. This would be an expectable step and not a rip off of a BrickTracks idea.

I've made some additional improvements to the 60266 Ocean Exploration Ship, the biggest one is a deck at the front of the ship. Not only does the front look empty anymore but the deck also compensates the additional weight of the increased height of the rear cabin so that it looks better when floating in water. Instructions are now available on Rebrickable.

I don't consider the lower voltage of NiMh batteries a serious issue when using the train motor because the train motors are too fast. The higher capacity is more important. The only exception is the Crocodile with the slow Technic motor, I'm planning to replace the NiMh batteries there. It has certainly be mentions several times in this forum, but I would like to repeat it again since it saves lots of money: The IKEA Ladda NiMh recharchable batteries come from the same factory as Eneloops and have an identical performance.

Let's hope so.

The color scheme of the wildlife sets is disappointing. And the vehicle in 60302 is really ugly, not only the red/tan color scheme but also the shape.

At 1:51 you can see that the Bluebrix tracks are warped. Sprue marks are also clearly visible. In comparison, all Trixbrix tracks I ordered so far, both moulded and 3D-printed, are perfectly flat.

This is my Technic bridge. All segments that are built at full height are very stable. It would be no problem to increase the distance between the two pillars.

I meant both the 10001 and the 4558, they are identical besides the slightly different grey color. I don't want to see a release as it was done with the 10001, but a new design that is only inspired by the 10001.

Lego tends to stick to proven concepts, thus a modern interpretation of the Amtrak Metroliner is overdue. I'd love to see it because the original one is still missing in my collection. The Crocodile is European, so it's possible the next set is based on an American train.

Will there be an English version? Does it make sense to buy the Italian version if I don't speak Italian (few texts, mostly language-idenpendant instructions)?

Can't see the images.