Sbm1

This is a build I have been wanting to do for a while, and thought I'd share with you guys on the forum. In this build I'll be combining one of my favourite sets with one of my least favourite sets. The 7900 heavy loader set is one of my favourite sets of all time. I love the cab-over design and the three axle chassis, and although its big, I think it looks perfectly proportional for what it is, and hasn't dated as much as other sets I own from the same release year. The truck looks awesome and beefy on its own, but the bridge that came with the set is too large to be sitting on the back of it all the time, and without a trailer or implement to tow it isn't of much use. There are no other semi-trailers that are compatible with the truck, and any custom trailer or implement that I've made has doubled up on what I own already. In this build I will be combining the 7900 heavy loader with the 60060 auto transporter, one of my most hated sets. I'll be making a new dual-axle chassis for the semi-truck and putting the car transportation bed on the back. I've already tried a test fit of the parts and it looks great. The 60060 auto transporter is very minimalist, and looks silly when it isn't trucking anything around my town. The proportions are just wrong, and with such a small puny cabin, anything that I pose on the back that's wider than 4 studs looks silly. The 7900 cabin would be a nice touch, and allow me to pose some bigger vehicles on the back without it looking dumb. I'll post changes here, but all photos will be uploaded to an album on google drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1XzrzH4sKs5NiD6B9WTDTMNCHkkoMG5xk?usp=sharing

Thanks Deraven, Fred and littleworlds, very well said. Scale is something I have never considered, but it’s a good point. It’s also why I have chosen not to use modular buildings which are big and require even larger roads to give them breathing room. Moving the road back and some sort of bridge or marina are great proposals. If I was to move the road back, how do you suggest I should blend my main shop buildings with suburbia? Also, in my current layout, do you like the shops along the water’s edge, or should they go down a street opposite the homes?

Long Story Short: I have long had hopes for how I wanted my town to turn out, and built a huge table that I dreamed of filling with custom creations and an elaborate layout… However, after many years of collecting lego, it seems as though not even the least of my plans will EVER be fulfilled. I have posted photos of how my layout looks currently: messy and full of holes that rely on the idea of custom buildings. What I need is some advice on how to best arrange my present collection, using only what I've got (some extra parts permitting) to make the most of it, but allow for effective additions down the track. I am also open to suggestions for custom builds that I can start and complete with what I've got. Short story long: All of the sets I own are pictured, all complete, but some with parts floating around elsewhere in the room. In addition to what is shown, I have the 7744 police station (demolished because I couldn't stand the blue windows and unfinished structure) the 4956 creator houses (sacrificed in an attempt to build the large red-roof house at the back) and the bridge from 7900 heavy loader set. To be honest, the town looks pretty lost without the police station and random emergency vehicles floating around. If anybody has ideas on how to repurpose the police station or photos of fitting, alternate designs would be great. In the past, I've gotten sick of seeing things the same all the time, and tried to make little modifications here and there which I could never finish properly with the parts I had. Most of those have been reverted, but I've started too many projects and finished none. The simplest plan I had for this corner of the town was to have a marina running along the water's edge, a port where the large boat is parked, and a railway line from the port wrapping around the outside edge of the table. The shopfronts you see, in a mad rush, were placed around a makeshift square, lane, and the idea was to have port vehicles drive up and around the back of the port, and exit along the water. All of which I can guess is very space ineficcient, and is holding up many other decisions for my layout. A proper automotive shop is currently in the workings to replace the car dealership, but that's it. I have no idea whether what I'm doing is right or wrong, but would greatly appreciate some advice to straighten my thinking, and give me a cleaner slate to work with.