Freddie

I actually have that game. Well, parts of it. Never figured out how to play it, but then again I was only five at the time. The playing pieces are indeed cut out from the small pictures at the bottom. That is the sole reason why I only have parts of it, since I kept losing them, but I vaguely remember that the photos used were the action shots used in advertising and in the enviroments in the catalogs.

While I'm not a founding member, I am one of the very few members in Brikkelauget who have a single-digit member number, and remember how the LUG that I'm a member in started. Initially there were only a few people who talked with each other on LUGNET, website that in my eyes is not particularily newcomer-friendly. Because of that I did not participate in the few discussions that took place there, but one day the took the initiative themselves to establish their own norwegian LUG forum. As I recall, it was called Brikkelauget from the start, but at that time the name was only a temporary placeholder and there were no logo either, so it was just a bare-bones forum. That was just over three years ago. Then we started to have meetings, trying to arrange them as centrally and available to as many as possible. Basically evolving over time. Brikkelauget wasn't registered until last year, as an organisation recognised by the authorities. We also have a logo now, altough it too, like the name, was initially only temporary, but we've since grown accustomed to it. We just started with paid membership, which can be summed up as a two-tier system: a basic, free membership on the forums, and a paid membership for the LUG itself that includes recognition as an AFOL by LEGO, various offers and discounts and etc. We're yet to arrange any events of our own, but we do participate in other events, and are featured in media from time to time. Just keep in mind that it takes some time for a LUG to evolve into one, and that it doesn't happen over night.

I dunno. Place it by a window and have it looking out in the general direction of a school? Edit: Natman8000: Oops. Fixed the meaning of the sentence. Not in the window, but by a window. (And just in case you don't get the joke... )

If it is the pin that you're refering to, then it would practically make the motor useless as a bogie (the pin allows the motor to rotate, which is necessary when used as a bogie), without using extra parts. You can however still build either a short locomotive, like 4563's, or a long locomotive with the motor attached directly to the middle of the chassis with swivelling axles at both ends, to create "bogies". But if you're intention was to use it to replace the RC-motor in the passenger train, then you'll going to need the pin. Without, well, then the motor isn't even attached, which will cause some interesting movement, to say the least.

It's because the track is uneven that causes the problem to surface. Replacing the plate with tiles is still a recommendation, since the clearance margin with the studs is so small even a baseplate can make the engine "run aground" in corners, crossovers and switches. Using tiles here would give the locomotive decent clearance and solve the problem.

Switching to battery trains allowed the LEGO to greatly reduce the costs involved in the production of the track, since 9V-track was becoming too expensive to take part in a sound buisiness model. In today's market 9V-track would likely cost two or three times as much, if LEGO was to cover the only the production costs. Not to mention that the price of metal has increased disproportionally compared to plastic, and that combined with the fact that 9V-track is produced over multiple stages, people wouldn't be willing to pay the high price that the track would eventually end up at. So the switch to battery-powered trains is because the 9V-trains were no longer profitable within LEGO's quality and price standards. Sure, the rechargable PF-battery costs a small fortune, but compared to what we would have to fork out for 9V-trains eventually, it's a bargain.

That's an interesting thought - I've always considered freight trains the more playable of the two, because of the large variation on the cars, and that it can be very closely integrated with other town sub-themes, i.e. unload this here onto that, then drive it there and load it onto the ship etc. I've always seen passenger trains are more suited towards role-play, with the cargo limited to passengers and luggage, and the train cars being visually uniform. I think I might lean towards passenger trains on this one, with the Santa-Fe and the Euro Express/Metroliner, and also the 12V passenger trains being examples of passenger trains that I think look great and IMO would not look out of place next to each other at a grand train station. The Emerald Night is in a league of its own, and has no freight-hauling counterpart (yet!) and I've therefore not measured it up against the other trains.

Wow. Just wow. I've been planning to build a diorama for this christmas that will be displayed at the local bank, and been wondering a bit on how to do the snow-covered roofs. I see a solution here, and maybe also a bit of inspiration too. Hmm... yes, those roofs are very nice.

I reckon you haven't seen the entire city, then? This guy's building style is like this. Lots and lots of SNOT-work, odd angles and creative use of bricks. The firestation for instance uses the then-new plastic curved rails as a frame for the roof. And lots of other fantastic stuff, too. And then there's a back-story to it, as well. But it's well worth a look.

Hmm, that's odd. I got the teaser when I loaded the site today, which is why I thought this was new. Combine that with getting it highlighted on the LEGOClubTV-channel on YouTube... Ah well, just gotta do a better search next time...

So, everybody familiar with the teaser on the space police mini site? Here's the full video:

Just over one hour from now on, the Eurovision Song Contest.

Found and bought 2x 4531 at a toy store in Töckfors. Wasn't really looking for any special deals or anything, but finding 9V rails in a toy store today is a bit of a rarity.

Gotta love the pavement! The chaotic style looks way better than the 2 x 2 tiled style, which often has to the broken up with colours to not become too boring. For the corners you can have a small, triangular public garden to fill in the gap between the pavement and the road. It'll break up nicely, and will make the city appear more livable. But, for the interior for some of those residential buildings, maybe you should have curtains in the windows or something - it'll look way better from the front and the building won't look abandoned. Well, for those without interiors to begin with, that is. Otherwise, the city is looking fine.

Seems someone at LEGO didn't thoroughly test the Emerald Night. I uncovered what I think is a considerable flaw in the drivetrain design of the engine, which leads to a breakdown when it starts to pull or push heavy loads - something mine gets to do a lot. The flaw is the axle that holds the bevel gear that transfers power to the wheels - this axle is too short, and only reaches half-way through the gear. This is sort of critical considering how thin the gear is to start with; when the engine is put under strain, the gear will simply pop off, the engine will stop and all you will hear are some nasty grinding noises. Thankfully, it is an easy problem to solve. The axle in question is a dark stone 5.5 axle with stop, that is used already at step 1. This should be replaced with an axle of at least 6 studs length, to ensure that the bevel gear is properly secured. I've myself used a seven studs long axle, just to illustrate how it can be fixed: Again, the light grey axle I've used replaces the 5.5 axle with stop used in the first step. And so far it's worked OK.

8866 is nothing more than the RC train-motor when sold separately. Even the connection point is identical. The PF-extension cord is backwards compatible in one end, and using this you can power and control any 9V-motor. So the answer is yes, this should word, and should be all you need. Just keep in mind that the 9V train-motor has fixed wheels, while the RC train-motor has grippers for technic axles and uses technic train wheels. So with the latter you can use red BBB-wheels.

Thanks for the excellent review, Mania3! I was sort of waiting for a review of this since I was debating with my wallet wether to get this or not. I guess the exclusive figures alone have won me that debate.

These sets are released as a part of the Brickmasters idea-books that DK will release later this year. Purchase the pirates-themed idea-book, you get one of these sets. Simple really.

Here's my vote: Erdbeereis: 1 Hinckley: 1 SlyOwl: 1 Edit: Removed comment. Votes remain unchanged, though.

Saw this on Brothers-Brick. Congratulations on getting it B-B-blogged! Fantastic creation, Hinckley. Very creative shape on the island, and the little story that is being told is also funny. Poor Ras, CopMike and Bonaparte, though.

I think I'll echo what others have already said, because I agree with them. A very surprising entry with a carnival and a parade: excellent use of figures from other themes.

I usually never run freight cars mixed with passenger cars. On the other hand I don't give much consideration to if the engine is a freight locomotive or a passenger locomotive pulling the train. If it looks good, and does the job, it stays in front. Which is exactly how I use Emerald Night. First just to test its pulling power, it very quickly developed to become the only locomotive I use to pull my three metre long freight train around my layout. Simply because a pair of one-motor 9V locomotives struggle to get any decent pace, usually taking up to three laps on the layout before it settles down on a rhytm, while the Night has absolutely no problems pulling the train. In fact, just for fun I attached a full Santa-Fe train set to the back of the train just to see if it could pull it - it could, before train cars where pulled off the tracks in corners and the (old) magnetic couplers gave up.

Turns out it is not quite as polished aluminium (chrome/mirror-reflective) as I remember it. It's still a good deal more reflective than the other unpainted cars that were there, though, and the carbonfibre contrasts look good on it. Oh yeah, and while I had a good view of the area, I snapped this:

They are attached to the themed Brickmasters books, which have nothing to do with the US-only magazines. I have no idea where the books will be sold, but Amazon ships books worldwide, so getting them shouldn't be too hard.

Hmm. It is a pretty nice set, but I don't get the "must-have" feeling that I usually get with other some exclusives. Nice solution to make it spin though, altough I don't see why it couldn't have been done internally (too expensive, maybe?).