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A wagon included in the station set would be a great idea. Seperate sold wagons would be great too, however I don't think TLG will release them. They did in the past, but seperate cars and wagons never sold well.

I think the alternate model of 8850 Rally Support Truck is better than the main model. I have to say, there are a lot of great alternate models, but most of them are already mentioned. Unfortunately, many sets lack a good alternate. 8436 for example: although the 'alternates' are quite good, they are too similar to the main model. The same for 8421: only the crane itself is changed. The 8275 bulldozer had a downloadable alternate, but this was a very poor design. At Brickshef there are some builders (Erik Leppen and Nico71 for example) who manage to create sme great alternate models, usually better than the official alternate. Some of these 'one-set MOCs' even have building instructions.

@BobaFett2: I get your point about the prices. The sets get bigger these days, as a result raising the price even more. However, sets don't always get more expensive. The 2005 fire station (7240) had a list price of $30 USD, being cheaper than the two Town JR Fire Stations: the 1997 one (6554) and the 2000 one (6478) with their list prizes $44 and $50 USD respectively. I think the difference gets even bigger when you count the inflation. These sets have about the same piece count. If I look to the garbage trucks, the 2007 one is around twice expensive, but has a lot more parts (so it has way better parts-price ratio). @Klaus-Dieter: those ideas look very great to me. The pick-up could be another set outside the existing standard themes (police, rescue, construction etc.) like many great sets of Classic Town were. The second idea looks great as well, but I doubt TLG will release some set like that in a City setting with armed robbers. I would buy it, though.

You're serious? I really can't imagine how these big pieces are useful in any way. Look at the Town jr sets: they lack details, are way too easy to build and they don't really sell. I respect your opinion, but I'm glad TLG stopped producing those sets.

I would like to see factions like the Templar knights and Teutonic knights. Especially the last ones can be interesting, with their unusual helmets. Although I don't think TLG will create a new helmet mold for just one faction.

To be honest I don't see the advantage to chrome gears or axles. But I think this is very useful to chrome wheels, exhausts, bullbar pieces and more fancy parts. I consider myself a purist, and when I first heard about Chromebricks I didn't want to use custom-chromed pieces. But now I want to build some trucks I changed my mind. Maybe I'll use their pieces. For painting: no way. It's too difficult to paint parts properly.

Oh, yes, now I read it. M:Tron was indeed one of the greatest Space themes. I have the same. Those pods don't really make sense, except for playability.

Is this about the best spaceship released by LEGO or did I miss something? If it's about the best space set, I vote for the 6990 monorail. If it's about spaceships, then I stay with the Deep Freeze Defender.

The best spaceship ever? No doubt about it. A set I've always wanted:

For a boost in interest in the Wild West theme, I think it will be a good idea to re-show old Western series. I personally have never heard of The Lone Ranger, so for me that can be a point for not buying any possible The Lone Ranger-licensed set. Besides, a theme like Lucky Luke wouldn't start my interest either. Themes are something what TLG should design themselves, not by a movie or series producer. Another thing: generally are licensed sets more expensive. You don't only pay TLG, but the movie/series company as well.

For some themes, for example Western, I let the building for those who are good in building with that theme, while for others, I try to create something myself, mostly in Town (at the moment virtually only due to a lack of parts). Western is a theme where I prefer to collect it. It can go to the opposite direction as well. My interest for cowboys and revolvers started with seeing the pictures from Playmobil and LEGO western sets. Before that time I played pirate and knight only.

I think they will be only sold out temporary. Maybe they're out of stock in the US. This was a regular autumn 2009 set, usually sets last at least two years. From the Town subforum:

The main issue are the curves. With the 4.5V / 12V straight tracks, it's easy to build narrow gauge straight tracks, as you showed. This is not possible for curved tracks, making it impossible to create a layout. The new Indiana Jones mine track features new narrow gauge curves. Straight tracks have not been released yet.

This builder has really some nice creations. However, he cuts and modifies some parts in models, and that's something I don't really like. Not all the models, as far as I know the VIRM in the first image is 100% unmodified LEGO, aside from the decals or stickers. These models are for display use only, so they don't need to be able to take narrow curves.

One of the reasons why they are packed together is the store room. Straight track will be more popular, but the shop has to make space for curved track as well. Combining them saves space. And now they can rid of curved track as well. But I prefer seperated track of course. Track was already seperately sold in the blue era in the '60s, so why should they change that after a success story of 40 years?

I agree. This will help people to find the subject they're looking for. Some article ideas: -bridges and inclines -ballasting track -scale: 6-wide, 7-wide or 8-wide. And what size should the cars and trucks be?

I voted for unlicensed sets. The point is that you have to stick with some scenes. If the license theme mvie don't have artillery, it would be in conflict with the movie to release a set with union gunners and a shooting gun. I don't know many westerns, but if you want many aspects, like trains, the gold rush, the civil war, indians, pioneers and gunfights, I think there are few possibilities for licenses. I must confess I haven't seen Deadwood yet (will be in the near future) so I don't know how about it.

I do prefer studded sets above studless ones, because they don't really look like LEGO to me. However, there's no hate. There are worser lines (Bionicle, Galidor, Ben 10). In fact, some recent sets got my attention (8258 is just one example), as well as some awesome MOCs. I don't think, and hope, that the studded beams won't be replaced completely by studless liftarms. I think there are some great examples to combine the two (8421, 8275, 8265, Prinoth Snow Groomer by Han Crielaard).

Among my favourites are: -V8 Engine by Barman. Also at Youtube, but I believe you already made a MLCad file, so you know the model. -Avatar chopper by Barman. Also at Youtube, see text file. -Skid-steer loader by fivestarbrick. -Excavator by fivestarbrick. -Da Vinci flying machine by Mahjqa. Also at Youtube, see link in the description. -Demag AC70 City mobile crane by Erik Leppen. This guy has made some other beautiful mobile cranes, and some one-set MOCs as well. The creations of Dennis Bosman are beautiful, but I think it's closer to Model Team what he builds.

If you have set 7897, it's easy to test how far the wall has to be from the tracks. Build a standard curve, lay a plate 2 x 12 halfway across the track, with 8 studs below the track and the rest at the outside of the corner. Place a pillar or some bricks at the edge. With the train you can look how far the bricks have to be from the track. With a curved wall this should be the same.

Is there a way to change the grid and rotation settings? I know you cann change them, but is there a way to start the program with the settings I prefer?

I would add all the train sets (stations, cargo depots, every building that was set in the Trains theme) to the default library.

All the time. My layout WIP will resemble a fictive Dutch area, with only trains in use in the Netherlands. First I wanted only the trains that were used in the province, but if I choose to build a train wherever it operates, as long as it's in the Netherlands, there is much more to choose from.

The first thing that comes to mind, is My Own Train. See this as a compliment, I really like these sets, that combines compatibility with "regular" 9V sets, and a realistic look. Your MOC has the same advantages.

Something you should keep in mind about train width is the space for your layout. As mentioned in the previous posts, it can look horrible to get an 8-wide engine trough a standard LEGO track curve. There are tricks for wider looking curves (for example a curve piece, than a straight, than a curve etc) and it looks more realistic, but it's only possible if you have enough space. That's the reason why I only use 6-wides. I design 7-wides, but I can't use them in the near future. Maybe this presentation made by Ben Beneke is useful. @Selander: I think he means a pantograph that can be raised and lowered with an electric motor.