Beej

Ok so I rang around and spoke to some people at the various Target stores in my area. It seems they won't be getting the Creator family home in until after the sale has ended. I guess I'll just have to grab one from Kmart.

Can I ask anyone who has seen it what price Target have the house at?

Checked out my local Target, Kmart, Myer and TRU tonight in northern Melb. Target and Myer are still wiped out with all the good sets gone. Kmart have the Fiery Legend, Fire Rescue and Family Home creator sets, it took all my will power not to take a Family Home away with me! I'm hoping Target will get them in before their sale is over. TRU's prices are shocking. Everything is 10 to 25% above RRP.

I'd really like someone to bring these into Australia and put them on sale or even maybe sell them a bit below RRP. $130 is an absolute rip-off, all the other creator houses are more like half that price.

You can do a few things to mix the 12v and 9v track, but you probably wouldn't want to do any of them if you're a purist. As you said, you can run the 12v middle rail down the middle of 9v or RC track. Straights work fine, but 12v curves will need modification to accommodate the extra sleepers that the 9v/RC track has. And you can run 9v trains on 12v track by painting the outside rails with conductive paint. Points are another issue completely, and while you could probably get a 9v train to run on 12v points, the opposite would need some major modifications to the 9v points. As far as running RC and PF trains on 12 volt track, most of them run just fine. The 7897 however hits the 12v point motors with it's nose, the only reason I don't have one.

I'm going to checkout my Target again tonight. I don't think there will be much left though, there were people clearing out entire shelves last night. I imagine a lot of it is going to end up on ebay.

I got the last MMV at my local Target. And that was at 5 minutes past midnight!

So has everyone got their plan of attack ready for the Target sale? Selected stores open from midnight tonight!!!

Best Lego train? I wouldn't know where to start! I enjoy passenger trains more than goods trains, so this is my line of thinking: TLC got serious with trains when they launched the grey 12V series in 1980. No less than four motorised trains were released! Three more battery-powered or push along sets! Many more carriages, new track and electronics, they really went all-in and created a complete, fantastic railway experience. And of course at the forefront of the grey-track revolution was the 7740 Inter-City. It was the biggest set of the year, and a substantial gamble for Lego to take. A faithful reproduction of the DB Class 103 electric locomotive, it came with two carriages, ten minifigs, a platform and loop of track (sets sold in Australia at the time even came with a bonus transformer, everything you need!). The 7740 really paved the way for the next great passenger train sets - the 7745 and 4558 both followed this path very closely. The 4558 Metroliner was the first of the 9V trains, and Lego again went all-out to create a realistic, detailed train set that both kids and adults could appreciate. Of course the 9V system crushed the dreams of the 12V fans who were looking for new sets after being left out in 1990. (I still remember the moment I saw the new trains in the '91 catalogue. ) But I won't let that detract from the fact that the Metroliner was a brilliant kit and it wasn't until over 10 years later that TLC again did something special, this time with the Santa Fe Super Chief and it's array of passenger cars. With plans for no less than 5 different passenger carriages available, the Chief and it's gang are awe-inspiring to look at. And of course this year, train fans were again blessed with the arrival of the Emerald Night. Another brilliantly designed set for another new power system, the smooth lines of the EN almost make it's predecessors look blocky. Almost. So there you have four fantastic sets, each one the commander of it's era. Is it possible to pick a single winner out of them? I'm not sure I'd want to.

Nice work on the 7725. I can't see the IR receiver in there, did you manage to fit that in as well? (edit: ok so it's not in there yet. Hope you manage get the PF remote soon.) I'm going in the other direction - I'm retro-fitting my Emerald Night to work on the 12V track.

Looks great! There's everything there but the kitchen sink! I think he's trying to cook ice blocks.

I'd love to get one of these (heck I'd even get two!) but the Australian price on the S@H site is highly inflated. Maybe I should ask TLG how US$59.99 converts to AU$129.99? I didn't know the Australian dollar was so weak!

Wow, some of those are amazing! You've got just the right amount of detail to keep them from looking too plain, and yet you haven't gone over the top either. I need to create some buildings to go between my modular sets and the classic town style sets, and you've pretty much hit the nail on the head. Great work! Oh, and that hotel is

At $299.99 I was almost on the verge of sort-of considering the carousel. At $400 they can forget it. I'm happy with my City Corner purchase this morning before work. All the sets were there at my local K-Mart. BigW is a bit further away for me so will have to check them out tonight.