Phil-B259

Its also rather specific. OK its a train, but its a very specific train appearance wise and only works for a certain for a specific time period. It doesn't have the versatility of a blander / more European design which could be made to work in a number of different settings across the world.

I agree on this - A darkish Green colour would have been a better 'fit' as it were - if you go and look at photos of the Orient Express (or VOSE) in real life the locos always tended to be different colours from the coaches. However once again I stress that OEs heavy involvement in this set seems to be driven from a marketing angle - so to them I can see how they would turn round and reject a loco not in the same colour as the coaches regardless of how non-prototypical that might be. With the HE & 4470 I kept to 6 wide* (though with the the latter coaches I extended them lengthwise by 4 studs) - and yes I admit my mods do look a little ridiculous close up. However like I said above my mind is better able to cope with stuff like 1 stud wide corridors than the inclusion of un-prototypical layouts just to make the interiors fully minifigure accessible as it were. Toys are just that Toys - its the attention to authenticity which actually turns a toy into a model! *Going 8 or 10 wide would of course allow for finer detail - but I want to be able to run them alongside my other 6-wide Lego issued trains. Again inconsistency in size just doesn't look right when running trains together - I wouldn't mix HO gauge model railways with British OO gauge (even though they run on the same track) because the size difference between the two scales would be too distracting.

Guilt as charged on this - I rebuilt my HE cars to try and make them more prototypical inside and yes because they are only 6 wide the corridor past the toilet is only one stud wide... I also rebuilt / added extra carriages top the legendary 7740 with the kitchen at the side of the carriage not across the end (with a similar 1 stud wide corridor) for realism But I justify that by saying how many real world cars have just one seat in them - yet thats all most Lego cars have had! Lego has always involved compromises because to make it work as a toy compression is needed, so where space is lacking its creating the impression that counts for me. After all my HE doesn't run round with all the roofs removed so the fact that the corridor is too small for a minifigure to be posed in it doesn't matter that much - the point is it looks like its there from the outside and the interior layout, although much compressed is grounded in reality.....

Admittedly its personal view but if a train is to be a train it should be prototypical in its configuration - and that INCLUDES the carriage interiors not just the exteriors or that the loco be powered!. So in that sense yes I agree with the statement that the division of OE which approved / guided development of this set don't know anything about trains* But, at the same time I don't expect them too because in my view they regard this as a Marketing / Advertising Tool! - and as such the OE folk who were involved with the Lego design were most likely not rail specialists or necessarily enthusiasts In the minds of OE the Lego set exists to promote their brand of luxury travel with a heavy focus on luxury! In effect the fact its a train is not that important - but putting as much of the luxurious interior on display is. And I admit the interior detail is superb and really does a good job of capturing what luxury train travel looks like so cannot fault OEs input in respect of that. * and perhaps if more Lego Trains fans were able to accept that then they might be a bit more realistic about what this set actually is. Agreed Its one of the nice things about the latest Modular Museum that you have a toilet in it! Sounds silly I know but I kinda feel that even Logo should be vaguely realistic.... However I have I plan to rebuild my modulars in future to include such things though and were I to get this set I would need at least two OE sets so I could remedy the highlighted issues

As ever you are completely ignoring that this is a licensed product - and ANYTHING involving the words 'Orient Express will be! Selling just the carriages would most likely to have been vetoed by the OE! They would no doubt want a locomotive included so as to give off an 'authentic train set vibe' about the set. And given the original Lego Ideas submission was quite explicit in that it was a model of the Orient Express then Lego could not have made that idea into reality without obtain a licence from owners of the OE brand. As such the choice is simply the model e have got or no model at all - so stop coming up with nonsense suggestions about what was realistically possible in this case. If you want straightforward carriages with no licencing hang ups then try submitting something to Lego Ideas and see how you get on. If there really is that huge demand we keep being told about for separate locos, carriages etc then we would expect them to regularly end up in the top 10 when it comes to votes. The fact that don't do so at the moment speaks volumes about the importance of 'trains' in terms of the Lego fanbase as a whole... As to the set itself, I actually quite like the set BUT... I can't overlook the fact the restaurant car doesn't have a kitchen (or an accompanying kitchen car) to prepare the meals Having a sleeping car where the bedrooms taking up the whole width of the car and no corridor between is ridiculousness for anyone who knows anything about trains... Both of these issues are far more important than whinges over the look / size / lack of motorisation of the locomotive!

Ta - surprised you haven't have heard much about it, though I guess as the VOSE doesn't normally go that way exposure would be less. However the point about those links I put was precisely that they were mostly touristy / holiday ones! You type Orient Express / Venice Simpson Orient Express into any search engine and the majority of results are all about booking holidays / taking trips on the train - virtually none of them are about technical or railway enthusiast aspects! If the railway angle was the most important aspect of the Orient Express then that would be the thing which brings up the most results - but it isn't! That should tell you just how low interest in railways is in the general population - and Lego know that! Interestingly trying the same exercise for the 'Super Chief' mainly brings up links relating to motorcycles..... *I have since deleted them because the computer I'm using didn't post them properly rather than anything sinster.

Oh don't get me wrong - with a Paris - Venice ticket costing in the region of £4000 per cabin its not exactly a cheap way to travel (hence why it tends to be viewed as a 'once in a lifetime' trip for most folk and only the very wealthy can use it more than once). However that in itself adds a certain mystique around the brand plus makes those who are able to afford it feel special. Those are the vibes which Lego and the Orient Express are seeking to exploit - particularly the OE group who will be trying to grab a slice of that market which the VOSE have been cultivating so successfully and for Lego who can effectively say to folks 'OK you might not have been able to go on it yet but you can at least imagine....)

Where do you live? If you say 'Orient Express' to most folk they will be thinking of the VOSE - or The Venice Simplon Orient Express has been running as a luxury train from Paris to Venice since 1982 and in its time has regulatory topped polls as one of the most spectacular / romantic train trips you can do in Europe and very much a 'once in a lifetime' thing for many. Its well advertised and well known by lots of folk who have ZERO interest in trains. Now granted this is a totally separate company and has nothing to do with to the Orient Express group behind the Lego collaboration* - but I doubt the general public care in the slightest about that. If you say 'Orient Express to a member of the public then most folk will be thinking of the VOSE * VOSE = https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venice-Simplon_Orient_Express And with respect to the VOSE its very much about a luxury experience - not the fact its a train which matters! If you do a goggle search what comes up is not pages of railway related stuff but rather pages form luxury travel providers offering trips on the VOSE...

Not so much 'Orient express enthusiasts' but rather people who like the Orient express because of what it represents. If you ask what most non-railway people what do they associate the words "Orient Express with they will most probably cite murders, luxury travel, films books, 1930s decor, 1930s fashion, etc the railway element is very minor and is effectively secondary to the prime interest. Please remember that Lego is marketing this set at the general population at large NOT just lego train enthusiasts - and the general population at large really couldn't care less what train enthusiasts think And yes, these sorts of folk DO outnumber the people who like model trains once you step away from forums like this!

It could but its sales potential would have been lower! There will be a large number of people who couldn't care less about railways and especially couldn't give a toss about Lego trains but who would potentially be attracted by the set specifically because of the IP tie in! That could be because they liked the films, liked the book, have travelled on it, want to travel it in future, like the 1930s period in terms of decor / fashion etc That is in addition to those adults who like having Lego models on display around their property because they look nice. The number of Lego train enthusiasts is pretty small (despite what some on these boards like to think) and Lego know that a train simply pandering to that segment will not be a profitable proposition.

Because the Orient express brand have licensed them to do so! It makes no difference whether the medium is Lego or a ready to run model loco made by Hornby, Bachman, Atlas, etc they ALL need to have secured express permission of the owner of the real life intellectual property to reproduce that in model form. You want to make a model of a train with the DB logo on it (regardless on whether its Lego or not - guess what? you need express permission from Deuche Bahn to do so. In fact a couple of decades ago Union Pacific Railroad in the USA caused a massive problem when they suddenly* started charging huge sums of money for model railway manufacturers to use their liveries & logos and threatening to sue anyone who didn't pay up! However its also true that in most cases said rights owners are usually content to issue a licence to reproduce their intellectual property free of charge or for a minimal fee - recognising that model railways manufacturers returns are actually quite modest compared to the wider toy industry plus a 'poor' model doesn't actually reflect too badly on them nor the public perception of them due to the relatively low levels of public participation in the hobby (compared to other things people do as 'hobbies') Lego is a rather different matter - not only is the brand far more globally recognised and in terms of profitability makes way more in turnover each year than many of the traditional model railway manufacturers do in a decade, it also is something far more people globally are likely to interact with and as a consequence the perceived risks to the rights holders reputation will be seen to be much more significant. Therefore the its quite likely that the rights owners to the 'Orient Express' IP will have not only charged a hefty fee, they will also have wanted far more involvement in the venture than they will do with the respect of a traditional model railway manufacturer who has been turning out HO / N gauge models of their coaches for many years. *(After a few months and much lobbying by manufacturers / railway modellers UP did in the end give way and significantly lower what they charge).

No they couldn't Please remember Lego could only make this set in the first place because the holders of the rights to the brand "Orient Express" let them do so - and as Lego have explained in this case those right holders were VERY involved in the design of the set seeing it as a way to showcase THE CARRIAGES which are used on the real train. The rights holders didn't care that much about the locomotive - because as has been highlighted the owners of the "Orient Express" have never owned a single locomotive throughout the trains entire existence, they merely hire them as required from the countries the train travels through, all it needed to do was look OK when put in front of the carriages

Don't talk nonsense... The loco does have a smokebox! (its the black bit at the front of the boiler) - what it doesn't have is smoke deflectors bolted to the side of the smokebox which makes it less noticiblle Now just in case it was a typo (and also because i have seen some posts on the subject of fireboxes) this loco does indeed also have a firebox. The 'square' Belpare firebox is a later innovation and many powerful locomotives (including the Flying Scotsman) used the earlier round top firebox type - as featured on this design.

Except they DON'T Model railway companies know the growth area in the hobby is actually in highly detailed and expensive models for adult collectors which sell for high prices - NOT the 'cheap models for kids element. OK some might churn out a range of sets, but overall they are not exactly money spinners and usually feature older tooling that is past its best. Yes there are are also some things like Markin's 'My World' range for youngsters but thats a rare exception in the hobby as a whole. Meanwhile you have to acept the reality that demographically speaking model trains have not bee 'cool' or 'must have' toys for over 60 years now while even things like Thomas the Tank engine are now pitching their shows / products squarely at pre-school kids. The conclusion which Lego draw from this is that there is zero point in offering much more than a couple of token train sets in their kids range - but as with many true model railway companies there is money to be made from Adult collectors who buy expensive models for display. Thomas the tank engine stuff requires the paying of huge sums of money to Matel in licence fees! Yes Lego also have to pay huge sums to the likes of Warner Bros so they can make Harry Potter themed sets but the financial returns make it worthwhile. As such a huge range of TTE products is unrealistic - particularly as the demographic in terms of audience for Thomas has now dropped firmly into the pre-school market (i.e. Duplo territory).

You mean Buffers not bumpers! Such things are universal on locomotives, wagons and loco hauled coaching stock throughout Europe (the spiritual home of Lego) and as such having them along with the coupler is entirely reasonable (and prototypical) for many builds. Granted having a stand alone coupler would be useful for American or Multiple unit / high speed builds, but as the latter are fixed formation trains a technic based coupling solution might well be possible.

Actually there is a benefit! Many real life railways have invested in bi-mode traction which has can use electrification or an on board power source - traditionally diesel. Newer developments have also seen batteries replace / augment said on board diesel engines that get recharged when the train is receiving external power. There are also some schemes in development which are based around a fast charge boast being given to batteries at intermediate station stops or where the train terminates. The key point about all the above is it means you don't have to spend a fortune electrifying every bit of railway to get the benefits.... ... Now one of the things which has been cited as a problem with the Lego 9V range was the expensiveness of the track, something that limited the amount of pieces it was viable to produce. Plastic is cheaper to make but you then need a bulky battery module on the train which has to be easily accessible for it to be removed when it needs new batteries / charging. However if you take the current real railway developments on board then you could have a smaller battery which gets recharged on a special 'charging track' piece - which could be manufactured as a single design leaving the rest of the track to be made totally from plastic.

Please remember there is a big difference as to where those cylinders can be put! Many smaller locomotives designed in the UK / Europe up until the first world war used inside cylinders! As the name suggests these were mounted inside the locos frames and not stuck on the outside where they could get in the way of the leading bogie. Some of the many examples from the UK include the flowing:- https://sremg.org.uk/steam/b4-b4x.shtml https://sremg.org.uk/steam/t9class.shtml https://sremg.org.uk/steam/lclass.shtml https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LMS_Class_2P_4-4-0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GER_Classes_S46,_D56_and_H88 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GCR_Class_11F https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LNWR_Whale_Precursor_Class https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caledonian_Railway_72_Class Granted the curvy slashers might be an issue to replicate in Lego but if you are no slavishly following a specific prototype then I'm sure something pleasing could be created In Lego terms this greatly simplifies the loco building as you don't need to worry about the front bogie hitting the cylinder. Though if you want a change there were also a few inside cylindered 4-6-0s..... ( e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GER_Class_S69 )

I agree the set is more akin to a country bordering the Mediterranean Sea than the UK but the point still stands. Yes you can find lots of oddly shaped buildings due to a non linear / grid road pattern but the key point is these roads still exist! That is the fundamental problem with the set as released the single story art gallery add on just doesn’t make sense - particularly in a series of buildings which are quite clearly done on a ‘grid’ theme. The earlier test designs shown up thread were much more realistic due to the presence of an alleyway between two full height buildings. The hotel is attractive though so I might get two sets and turn it into a proper corner building with the art gallery as a seperate structure to one side - such an setup would be far more representative of the real world.

It could - but we come back to the point of why make the larger hotel such an odd shape! A road is a bad example - in the UK a public right of way (i.e. roads, footpaths, etc are hard to remove) so the likelihood of one being blocked off at a later date to build a small building is extremely unlikely. It could conceivably have been left as an access to other property behind all the buildings facing the street, but the usual methods of accessing such places (in Europe) would be an arch allowing buildings to be erected above the opening. A river that was later put into a culvert, a subterranean railway restricting building heights due to shallow foundations or perhaps a tramway / rail siding of some sort are all far more likely contenders as to why the hotel builders were forced to adopt such an unusual shape on what is otherwise a square plot.

Unlikely - the hotel is stylistically an older building and as such the art gallery would have come later. That means there needs to be a reason why the hotel is an odd shape, the Flatiron building in NY being constrained by the street pattern for example, but sometimes you can get other less obvious and visible reasons. The most common thing to note is tall buildings usually need deep foundations - lets imagine that when the hotel was being built there was something running just below ground like an underground railway - culverted river, etc and that precluded the construction of deep foundations and so buildings are angled to suit. Here is an example in south east London - note the way the railway tunnel slices through the housing and has not got any buildings directly above it. https://www.google.com/maps/place/118-116+Langton+Way,+London+SE3+7JT/@51.4747971,0.0193031,275m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x47d8a834e4faccc9:0x513191bdc68bee9!8m2!3d51.4747958!4d0.0199926 As for the smaller building there are two approaches here. The first is that whatever was below ground was sufficient to support a single story structure (and no more) or alternatively a few decades after the hotel was built a 'raft' structure was constructed allowing a building to be created without transmitting the load onto what was directly beneath. The latter is perhaps less likely though as 'rafts' can usually be engineered to support buildings many stories high.

Yes, I do have a few complete 12v connectors (but not a caliper) and should be able to work out the key dimensions. However it seemed a sensible idea to ask on here too - as I can't believe I am the only person who has lost them over the years given how tiny they are and how easy it is for them to become lose.

Hi, anyone got a solution to replacing the tiny screws in the lego 12V / 4.5V connectors to hold the wires? I have several connectors with pins but no screws! I'm thinking some small grub screws like the type linked to bellow might work but am not sure what size would be best as its not clear exactly what size screw Lego used though I understand from Bricklink they might be 3.2mm long. M1.6 M2 M2.5 M3 M4 M5 A2 Stainless Grub Screws Cup Point Hex Socket Set Screw | eBay

However with BrickLink, most of the time you can pay the VAT due at the checkout. The importance of this is (like e-bay) that once the parcel arrives in the UK it should be recognised by the systems as not being subject to any extra charges - I.e. you dodge the £8 ‘handling fee’ So while the whole VAT change thing has increased costs of for buying from overseas BrickLink stores, the whole process itself is pretty much exactly the same as before.

The bad news is unless you have a friend who is able to bring them to you in the UK personally then you are most likely going to get stung for VAT and fees somewhere along the line. Its not that complicated though - before you can take delivery of the item either Royal mail (or the courier company handling delivery of them from the US) will require you to pay VAT at 20% (which they pass on to the Government) plus a handling charge before the goods will be released to you. In other words once you have paid Bens Bricks you sit back and wait for the 'you have a fee to pay notification to come through from the courier company. What you will get is the postman drop a 'you have a fee to pay' card through your door after which you pay online to have the parcel released an delivered as normal. See Help with customs fees and the Fee to pay card (royalmail.com) BEWARE OF SCAMS though - For example Royal Mail will NEVER send you a text, etc Typical online scams to look out for | Royal Mail Group Ltd. Courier companies will be slightly different - but as above BEWARE OF SCAMS and make sure you are going through the official websites etc when paying. The good news is that Lego (or Lego compatible items) are classed as a toy under World Trade Organisations so are free of all Tariffs - there will be no import fee to pay, just the VAT + handling charge mentioned above. Its a shame (though totally understandable) that Bens Bricks doesn't have an e-bay storefront because if buying through them then they will collect the VAT at the checkout which means that you can avoid having to pay the courier / postal company handling charge when the parcel lands in the UK as VAT will have already been passed on by e-bay.

Sorry - but the 'Gas Pumps' are not exclusively 'American' Quite a lot of similar pumps got installed in the UK during the 1930s and the odd one or two even survived to be 'listed' (meaning they can't be torn down) https://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/6492558/Oldest-working-petrol-pumps-in-country-found.html This website seems to sell some examples:- http://www.petroliana.co.uk/List.asp?type=Category&string=Petrol+Pump and http://www.roofingreclamation.co.uk/vintage-petrol-pumps/4588421577