soc399

Try watching the train derail at a very low speed to see exactly what is happening. Anytime my EN derails, the position of the cord connecting the engine and the tender is the culprit. Make sure you have enough slack and it isn't twisted.

It looks like this part from Fabuland. I found it by browsing "parts, container" on Bricklink.

Do you know how much to ship to the US?

I ordered from Amazon after Lego cancelled my order, too. I'm not happy with SAH, but the rep on the phone said there was no way to get me an Imperial Flagship.

I have that problem when the PF cable doesn't have enough slack or gets caught on a minifig in the cab. Make sure the cable isn't twisted or stuck on anything. Also try going over the problem area at very low speed and watching exactly what's happening.

Check out this picture of a giant rat killed in New York City. The LEGO rat would be perfect to MOC this scene.

The newest issue of Railbricks (number 9) has an article on building pantograph wiring, which is called catenary. I'm just reading it now, but it looks pretty good. It even has some instructions.

You should call customer service anyway for a new sticker sheet, but you may just want to move the odd dishes to the feet. It sounds like they changed the mold, and you got a mix of old and new parts.

I made a similar Santa with the gnome parts, and it works great. I especially like the face you chose.

Stickers for currently available sets aren't too pricey, but sheets from old sets can be extremely expensive.

I've never done this myself, but I would base the scale on your doors or windows. Is there any part of your house that will be hard to reproduce or call for a specific part? Let that determine the proper scale.

+1 for Dropsy. Thanks!

My Blackbeard's sword and beard are really soft rubber. Are everybody else's squishy?

I actually got a free copy of Lego Universe with my latest catalog because I am a VIP member. I don't think I've ever gotten any mail I didn't want, but it's possible.

I don't think the small blind wheel he mentioned exists.

I finished building just the engine last night and motorized it. The new train motor works great! I can't wait to see how much cargo it can pull.

I also ordered one last night, and it has already shipped! If only I had the money to order 5...

I see what looks like both old grey and bluish grey rails in the new picture!

You can see an interview with the builder on the Brothers Brick here. His work is really impressive.

You have to buy the part in multiples of the number in parentheses. It seems like that seller offers better deals if you buy in bulk.

I've used that design, and it works really well. Just attach one of the basic PF remotes to the side of your train remote, then tune the switches to their own channel. Remote switching is lots of fun.

Don't try to open it. Just find something that looks like 8887 and says it outputs 12V DC power on it, then try to plug it into the little round hole on top of the battery.

The flex track pack makes a small loop, but I recommend getting 2x of 7896. You can make a nice, smooth oval with them. The flex track makes the train bump and rattle a lot, so it is best used sparingly in combination with normal track to "cheat" the geometry. A pack with some straights and a smaller number of flex pieces is coming out next year, and it will be better than 8867. I never need all 64 pieces of flex track that I have.

My experience is that Lego Stores sometimes have stuff that has sold out on SAH, but it's a matter of luck. The retail stores can ship to you, so you might just try calling a bunch of them and asking about the set you want.

Was it this or this ?