Brick Miner

oh man, questions without answers... i started the project 8 months ago (right after Ghost Town's Haunted Pass 6776) :-/ i want to completely finish an MOC every 4 months... but that doesn't mean i spend 4 months on each one... for example, i have 3 or 4 im working on now. - BrickMiner

:-D thats true... i had forgotten about that. that makes this news seem all the more likely.- BrickMiner

it seems weird that LEGO would license this movie, after all the good opportunities they have missed *wacko* however, maybe the SW license has put lucas and LEGO into a good partnership that they are looking to expand on ??? honestly, im not sure how excited i would be if this surfaces... id rather have the adventurers back. i miss johnny :'-) - BrickMiner

i wonder if the AR have been moving well for TRU... nearly weeks after they first came out they went on sale (20% off) here in the states. and now this ??? or is this normal promotion for new themes ??? - BrickMiner

im not familar with that piece either... as in i've never felt/seen it. it looks pretty hard based on the images on brickshelf though.khorne... can you bend the green dump truck beds as much is shown in the 7900 bridge elements ??? if so, i think that is too soft a plastic for a truck bed |-/ - BrickMiner

what is your screen settings ??? im set at 1152x864, and while it seems a little small, i think its fine.any bigger would just be obnoxious :-D - BrickMiner

no, i wouldn't sell these sets to anyone... well, unless LEGO wanted to buy the designs :-D ;-) really, i design these with a lot of speciality pieces, in fact, the more i can squeeze in the better (mainly because im using a LEGO building style). for example, this set includes a 1x16 brown brick... this is an element LEGO never released in an official set. and one can only assume it was created for a LEGOLAND miniland design. coming across this piece is not easy (i have two). so to reproduce these in any kind of measurable number, would be very costly and even with an infinite amount of money, may still prove to be impossible.

im sorry, im not familar with the piece you are referenceing... is it similar to the plastic of this piece from 7900 ??? that still isn't very much for a plate that size. i would expect 8-12 studs. thanks ;-) hmmm... that sounds pretty good :-/ well, im heading to target today, hopefully they have what TRU didn't X-D thanks for the review and answers to my questions Khorne !!! - BrickMiner

its already on US S@H.. and it seems the price is 35 USD ;-) unless shop (TRU ???) prices are lower than S@H... however that seems untrue, as my TRU had the recycle truck for 16.99 USD while on US S@H it's 14.99 USD... so if the pricing on the heavy hauler is going to work in a similar exchange, this is going to be at least 35 USD at TRU. - BrickMiner

the casual hermione is perfect for a town setting !!! love that one, and will now have to BL her. though, it was hard to not vote for the picturesque gryffindor... i love that LEGO tried to capture the look of the minifig in a larger form. i love stuff like that X-D - BrickMiner

i really really like the look of this set from the boxart... love the front end of the truck... it looks so powerful !!! and i really like how lego advertises this on S@H, "the biggest truck in LEGO city !" love that. however, im a little concerned that you say the freight beds are made of a softer plastic !!! i don't like this at all. if fact, this could be the determining factor if i get this or not. how soft are they ??? you say you can bend them around *wacko* >:-( that sounds terrible. i was hoping for hard hard plastic. you may have saved me from a bad 35 dollar purchase. -------------------------------------------------- also, how many studs hold the front plate of the truck on ??? from your photos i only see two studs facing toward the front... i hope its more than that 8-

well... im only talking about my preferences here... not that LEGO won't/can't do a war theme. thats a whole nother topic ;-) just to clear the air... personally i like "city life" or "adventure" over war... but that just my preference. X-D - BrickMiner

:-Dactually, i think violence and conflict are great for a theme... the bandits are one of the main reasons i like the WW series so much (great figs) !!! however, war is different. gamblers, theives, and bandits are still considered "city life" from my perspective, and add some great playability to it ;-) - BrickMiner

thanks for contributing your thoughts P !!! though, it seems my interest in AR has been dwarft by the excellent 2007 city line. - BrickMiner

i just picked up two of these at my local TRU... i do have one complaint about the overall design... there are about 5 areas which i feel the truck is "un-sturdy." this really bothers me, as im used to official LEGO designs sandwiching all bricks and plates securely. i think LEGO might have been trying to place this set in a lower price bracket, thus resulting in the "fragile" design. don't get me wrong, this is a spectacular set, very well designed... but with a few more pieces could have been better. one, the front attachment is large enough that it should require more than a 1x4 brick to hold it on. also, the exhaust pipes just "rest" against the top 2x4 white plate. i wish there was an extra clip to hold them in place. also, when you go to pick up the truck you have to grab the unit by the base, otherwise the back starts to lift from the truck (i think some type of locking element should have been implemented, the side technic axels don't do anything). also, though minor, is that the seat the driver sits in is exposed on the back of the cabin... a little strange, but not terrible. anyway, everyone who gets this set should enjoy it, i like it a lot !!! and am happy to keep one MISB ;-) - BrickMiner

looks good to me... i love all the links in the inspiration paragraphs (this must have taken some time). and i like that you have included your non-ghost town MOCs too. its nice to see this graphically all in one place. i do agree that the MOC images seem like they are separated from their descriptions a little (pretty much what chewie said). maybe the images could go either under or above the description (preferably under), with some type of graphic divider between each one (a lasso) ??? also, this maybe being picky (or not possible), but if each MOC image were a consistent size (at least the thumbnails on the main page) it would really bring the site into uniformity. you could just take sections of the images (crop) to get to a uniform standard size. just a though, maybe not a good one... its something that would just have to be tried out, i bet. i also like that you went back and added digital backgrounds to your stagecoach and confederate soldiers MOCs... really ties everything in well. the playmobil mystery game was very good (even though i couldn't finish it :'-( )it will be nice to see this linked from your site... as those toys will surely appeal to AFOL visitors to your site. *y* - BrickMiner

ah, its amazing what you-tube can be used for *wacko* :-|

ahhhh... its all coming back to me :'-) now im positive i have played that track before.my question is why did someone you-tube mario kart ??? as for the train crossing, im not sure how to handle that in an old west setting, the crossing in MK64 looks too modern. :-D i've never seen that before... and what are you doing with duplo *wacko* :-P - BrickMiner

my single most desired new mold is a bonnet... this set would be a great opportunity *y* - BrickMiner

i know we both admire those 90's LEGO catalogs *wub* have you taken any photos set up like a catalog shot (with MOCs and official sets) ??? i might have missed them if you did *wacko* -------------------------------------------------- wow, those are some pretty hard words to read :'-) i can't even imagine LEGO returning to the WW theme. that would be something. im not quite familiar with MK64... i have played it a few times, but im not sure what you are referencing ??? is there a western course ???-------------------------------------------------- :-D ;-) i think an official LEGO set would have an advantage over my version because of new molds... most LEGO themes introduce new pieces, and i bet, if LEGO would have released a western train, they would have either made a front grill piece, or steam engine style pistons for the wheels. it would have been a great opportunity to introduce office steam engine style building into the LEGO hobby. though, i could be wrong.-------------------------------------------------- thanks for the feedback everyone *y* *y* *y* - BrickMiner

interesting... my first conceptualization of this set involved a much larger station. my MOCs are an exercise in conveying emotions, and the emotion for this MOC was going to be power (inspired by the locomotive) and awe (being the largest WW set/MOC i plan on doing). for power, i attempted to make the station look like an imperial trading post and fort legoredo mix. it had two tall towers, one being a clock tower (makes sense with a train station). this station design also included cranes for pulling freight off the wagons... and helped capture the trading post feel.however, after getting feedback from a few WW AFOL enthusiasts, i realized that a true WW station would be much more humble, and resemble something of a house. i realized my vision was a little skewed, and if fully realized could have been called the "Knights Kingdom 2" set of the WW :-D since i was going for LEGOs vision of the WW, i went with the more traditional design. however, a few aspects of that original concept transferred to the final design... the color scheme and signage resemblance of fort legoredo being one of them. -------------------------------------------------- thanks ty... i think hands down, the train station has come closer to the LEGO feel than with any of my previous MOCs. i really can't wait to take some photos of the whole town of LEGOREDO, and put them on a digital background. my final vision is something like this...http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemPic.asp?C=m96west but with my MOCs included, of course ;-) as for the piece list... i have one, but actual instructions are a project for the future. anyone can just PM me if they want the piece list ;-) - Brick Miner

thanks for the tip LTR... you were right... i went to the saint louis TRU, and they had everything as you described !!! i guess the customer service people on the phone can't be trusted :-D anyway, awesome... i picked up two recycling trucks X-D - Brick Miner

thanks P, hopefully someday, i'll have time to make all the MOCs in your "ideas for new western sets" thread :-D (it seems to have been pretty successful) ya, i guess i did make an appearance in this MOC :-D - BrickMiner

that makes sense, a low volume seller, just getting rid of stuff. i've even been there before (remembers when the AquaRaiders came out).- BrickMiner

hmmm... im in missouri too. however, i called my local TRU and they say they don't know anything about these sets, they even say they are items they don't carry *wacko* im in Saint Louis... where are you at, exactly ??? i want the recycle truck and heavy hauler !!! - BrickMiner