Davey

This is exactly the direction we have taken. I like to take the open-back 'Classic Town' sets and then enclose them to look more like the modular standard. Stacy used two of the Town Plan sets to make a nice modern looking enclosed cinema. I recently rebuilt #6378 Service Station into a larger set that covers two 32x32 baseplates. It still maintains the 'Classic Town' look and feel, but fits in better with the newer sets. I don't have any real good pictures of it right now, but if you search through the Brickworld 2009 photos, you might find a couple. I do, however, like the idea of using the modular buildings at the center of the layout and then having open-backed buildings in the 'suburbs'. If you face them toward the crowd, you could build very detailed interiors that would give viewers more to look at. -Dave

I think this is an issue that everyone struggles with at some point. Stacy and I are starting to approach outgrowing our current LEGO storage space. We have managed to add some display space for a lot of sets by buying more shelves for the walls in our house. Target and IKEA seem to have a lot of innovative storage and display shelving. We have had good luck at both. Once we run out of space, I'm not sure what we will do. Hopefully by that time we will be looking at moving to a slightly larger house. We have also contemplated renting some studio space for our LEGO collection. However, I really want the collection to be right at the house...or at worst 2-3 blocks away. Right now since we live outside of town...that's not an option. Good luck with storage and the wedding! -Dave

Nice work! A very innovative design that I have not seen before. :thumbup: -Dave

Hey all! It's taken me a little longer to get my stuff uploaded than I thought, but I finally managed to get the custom tables I built uploaded. The first three are 'standard' LEGO dimensions to fit the 32x32 baseplates evenly. These are the table sizes I use in my 'LEGO Lair' and they are similar to the PNLTC style display tables. Be sure to click and get the full size image in order for it to properly work in BlueBrick. This is a 20" x 20" (64 stud x 64 stud) table. This is a 10" x 30" (32 stud x 96 stud) table. This is a 20" x 30" (64 stud x 96 stud) table. This next set of tables is based on standard 'banquet table' dimensions here in the United States. If we are using tables from a hotel or convention center, we commonly receive 30" x 48", 30" x 72", or 30" x 96" tables. I'm not sure what the dimensions of these tables are like in other countries as I have not had the pleasure of doing a show in another country...yet. This is a 30" x 48" (96 stud x 152 stud) table. This is a 30" x 72" table (96 stud x 228 stud) table. This is a 30" x 96" table (96 stud x 304 stud) table. I hope this is helpful to everyone as you plan your displays! -Dave

Great work again Ralph! Your aircraft are simply amazing. The Grumman 'flying boat' series of aircraft (Wigeon, Mallard, Albatross, Goose, etc.) are some of my favorite vintage aircraft. You have managed to do a great job capturing the look and feel of the Mallard. Oh...and the retractable landing gear is total win!!! Great work! :thumbup: -Dave

Since I don't run a MAC, I'm afraid I won't be much help. My only suggestion would be to run the 'Boot Camp' software if you're on one of the Intel based MAC's and run it under Windows if downloading MONO 2.4 didn't work. You could also try contacting Alban and seeing what he says. His e-mail is at the top of the mainpage. -Dave

Interesting topic! I am interested in this as well as Stacy and I have contemplated a move to a larger house recently (need more LEGO space). I agree with the thought of taping storage boxes together for loose pieces. In regards to MOC's, I like the idea of bagging them to keep the pieces together. My thought is if they fall apart, it just gives you a chance to build a bigger and better Rev 2.0. I hope Hinckley will jump in here as he recently did a cross-country move with his whole collection. -Dave

Nice work! This looks great and thank you for taking care of this. :thumbup: I'm involved in some other LEGO stuff right now that is pulling me away from working on my BlueBrick images, but I will be posting some soon, I promise. -Dave

This is great news! We've been waiting for something like this for awhile now and it's clear that LEGO is listening. It's a shame that legislation is blocking it in the US so we'll have to wait a little longer. Looking at the bright side of things, that gives LEGO a chance to refine the program before bringing it stateside. Thanks for posting this great news! -Dave

Dimples perhaps?

Ya know, I never actually noticed...but you're right. We definitely could use some female minifig heads with glasses. I mean Quidditch Goggles rock and all, but I agree that not everyone wears them. What I'd love to see is a female minifig head wearing 'sexy librarian' (aka Lisa Loeb) style frames. Some of the new hair pieces would really work well with those frames. I'd also love to see a female minifig with the white sunglasses like Hannah Murray (aka Cassie) wore on the first two seasons of Skins on the BBC. I think they are called a "Jackie O." style frame. They're wicked cute. These would both be stellar....interstellar even. Like...wow! -Dave

Congrats Stash! Put those Jedi Mind Tricks to good use regulating. :-) Stars Wars Regulators...mount up! Again, congrats and I know you will do a great job. -Dave

Great work! I love the counterweight and the pulley design. And the color is just awesome. I love the "LEGO Orange"! :thumbup: The log skidding truck is a great "bonus MOC" and looks fantastic being hoisted by this crane. Great work on both of these MOC's. Edit: I figured out what you used for the wheel covers. It was this piece, correct? -Dave

Nice work. I actually own that shirt from Threadless. I've had a lot of people comment on it when I wear it. Nice job on recreating the scene in using LEGO elements. -Dave

Stacy and I use BlueBrick to design all of our layouts and we have been through a number of designs as we have grown and done more shows. I find that BlueBrick works great to allow me to fit my layout to whatever table space I have allotted. I have made custom graphics for BlueBrick to represent the various non-LEGO table sizes I have encountered (such as hotel tables at Brickworld). The two layouts below are the latest two layouts that we have built. The first is the layout we took with us and dis played at Brickworld 2009. Size of that layout was approximately 12' x 18'. Pictures of this layout can be found on my Flickr Photostream. The second layout is our current home layout that resides in our basement, affectionately known as 'The LEGO Lair'. This layout uses the PNLTC-style 30" x 30" tables and the total size is a little larger than 15' x 17'. With the new layout configuration in the basement, we still have some open space on the layout and will be adding new buildings to some of the areas that are currently 'green space'. We also have a little more room to add tables, but maybe only 2-3 more before we run out of space. As such, I think the size will stay about where it is until we decide to move to a bigger house. I do not have pictures of this layout yet, but I hope to get some taken this weekend and post them. I hope you guys like what we've put together so far! Keep watching Eurobricks and our Flickr Photostream for more! UPDATE 8/8/09: I finally managed to get photos of our current home layout. Check them out here. -Dave

Honestly, I didn't vote for either because I like both equally well for different reasons. I agree that more modern engines tend to 'fit' better on a modern layout. However, steam trains still have their place on even a modern layout just as they do in the 'real world'. Stacy and I use a mix of steam and modern engines to add more depth to our layout and I think it has worked well. In terms of building, I enjoy steam and modern equally well. They both pose their own challenges, especially when building in 6-wide and I have fun building either. -Dave

I've always had a fascination with trains since I was a kid. I'm not sure what draws me to them, but I think it is similar to why I am drawn to airplanes...they're different. They are not something a person typically experiences every single day of their life. This is how they maintain their mystique. Growing up, I had a respectable size LEGO layout for a kid. It was roughly 4'x8'. Sadly, the only train set I had was the 4.5v set #7720 Diesel Battery Train Set. I remember fondly paging through the LEGO catalogs and seeing the 12v sets and dreaming of someday having a layout as cool as the ones I saw in those pictures. Of course, my 'Dark Ages' put a halt to that in 1995. Fast forward to 2002... I got married in 2002 and Stacy and I spent a couple years crashing around old logging roads in a 1986 Dodge Omni GLH. Yes, we were stage rally competitors. I was the driver and she was the navigator. We competed in both the SCCA ClubRally series and the Rally America Series. We won a couple championships, but decided to retire from racing at the end of 2005 (racing = money pit). In addition, we had started to get back into building with LEGO after rescuing my collection from my parents' house. In early 2006, we met up with GMLTC at a local train show. After talking with some of their members, I was hooked! We started buying up 9v stuff in anticipation of it potentially being discontinued. I was lucky enough to score the TTX cars, BNSF GP-38's, and full Santa Fe sets before they ever were discontinued. I also started buying motors, controllers, and track in anticipation of someday displaying our layout publicly. In 2008, we decided it was time to introduce the public to our layout. We started with the La Crosse Model Train Show as a warm-up for Brickworld 2008. The rest as they say...is history. Our collection has grown considerably as has the layout since I came out of my 'Dark Ages' in 2005-2006. We started with a 4'x8' layout and it now stands at roughly 12.5'x18'. We're only limited right now by space in our basement and our ability to transport the layout to shows. You can check out pictures of the various layouts at the links below. ToT-LUG Public Displays The LEGO Lair I will also be posting more pictures of our private 'home layout' soon. -Dave

Amazing collection of 12v stuff there! Thanks for posting the catalog pictures as those are always very nice to look at. When I was a kid, those 12v train ads were what really drove me to get into the Train/Town theme. I'm looking forward to seeing more pictures of your layout as it evolves. -Dave

Congratulations! The cake toppers looked great. The bouquet was a really nice touch. Again congratulations. -Dave ToT-LUG

Just an FYI that this is now showing as SOLD OUT and S@H in the US. -Dave ToT-LUG

Nice work! I like the use of the tiles for the fascia on the first floor. It gives the corners a really nice and interesting look! The 'wash lighting' between the windows is also a nice touch. And the glass entry add a nice modern flair to this building. Almost like it was built long ago and recently remodeled. Great work! -Dave ToT-LUG

Seconded! The bike racks are great! I also really like the bow window. Bonus points for the old style 1x2x2 red windows. :thumbup: The overall design is great and it certainly captures that old 'Euro' feel. The simulated 'Tudor' style is also really wonderful. Great work! -Dave ToT-LUG

Is it just me or does it look like the driver is blissfully mowing down a field of flowers in this picture? Could this be a subtle commentary on the development of the automobile and foreshadowing of where it will take us? Perhaps an editorial on humans use of technology and how we commonly use new technology to destroy things. Or maybe I'm just having a bad Wednesday. Great work Jordan. As always, this is a really nice build and I love the design of the car. Color scheme rocks too. :thumbup: -Dave ToT-LUG

It's approximately 33 cm wide, 30 cm tall, and 8 cm thick. I have a Dell Latitude D630 and it fits easily in this bag. I have been carrying this to work for the past week or so. I manage to fit the following easily. * Dell Dimension D630 * Current LEGO S@H Catalog * Creative ZEN MP3 Player, Headphones, Docking Dongle, and USB Cable * Seagate FreeAgent Go 160GB Portable Drive and USB Cable * TI-85 Calculator * Checkbook * Two USB Flash Drives * "Black'n'Red" A4 Size Hardbound Notebook I've still got room and could potentially carry more. Quality of the bag seems pretty good and I imagine it will hold up for quite awhile. Hope this helps. -Dave ToT-LUG

Hey now! If I destroy the trackside shacks, where are the hobos going to live? Please...think about the hobos!!! Seriously though, nah...no plans to hide switches in here. I'm sticking with the shacks for now. I agree completely! I've been contemplating this ever since I built it. The original goal was to make sure it didn't exceed the boundaries of the 16x32 baseplate aside from the stairs. This limitation came from a previous layout I was using it on. Now that the limit is gone...it's time to build Rev 2.0. Of course with the MOCOlympics coming up in about 2 weeks, I don't know how much MOC-ing I will be doing that isn't related to the contest. -Dave ToT-LUG