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zephyr1934

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Everything posted by zephyr1934

  1. zephyr1934
    I do agree that Lego does not prioritize the train AFOL's. Though they do seem to try to slip train friendly parts into the non-train lineup from time to time. I think their idea of supporting us is to introduce train sets into other themes, e.g., HP. I'm glad they are doing something, but I would much prefer they had a 3-in-1 set of train cars to support train builders. 1) MODing the design would likely take minor part substitution, e.g., black for red to build a conventional steamer, redoing the cab to make it look like a North American train, or like the EN coach replacing train windows with conventional windows. 2) I did not mean that dark red would be sufficient for someone to buy the set, what I meant was if they make it in dark red, (a) it will sell well to which they might misinterpret that to mean trains are popular (much as they misinterpreted the poor sales of the red hobby train and orange horizon express to mean trains were unpopular) and (b) the dark red parts would become available on the broader market. Imagine if they produced dark red train windows (of course this IS lego so don't hold your breath, it could be normal red with normal windows if it is even a set at all) 3) yes, I misspoke, probably not "massive" but it will still be a gateway that will attract some builders. And yes, it is fundamentally a tool to extract $500 from as many HP fans as possible. While I agree that going from a creator expert set to a city train set is a downgrade, that does not mean AFOL's won't take that step, there are many AFOL's out there who happily run both together. At any rate, we are strictly in the land of speculation right now, this could even be a false rumor.
  2. zephyr1934
    Lego is a slow to move bureaucracy and doing anything different with trains would take more thought than they have to devote to the matter. So they keep plodding along business as usual. AFOL's are not the prime target for the city trains and I bet they have market research data that shows that out of the kids who get one train set only a small fraction get a second train set so by extension why on earth would they want to make a third train set. If they stick with a three year cycle and a small number of sets from the consumer side it would be better if they renewed the passenger train on year 1, station on year 2, freight train on year 3, then repeat (or whatever order with one per year being renewed). But they generally renew entire city sub-themes at one time, presumably for part production.
  3. zephyr1934
    Yes, definitely advantageous for it to be on the BL server where folks can stumble on it. Of course if one has time they can do both BL and a personal cloud drive.
  4. zephyr1934
    A few thoughts: (1) If they come out with a good design for the Olton Hall and/or the cars, even without buying the set you can download the instructions and build your own MOD, potentially repainting it along the way (that's how I got into MOCing via earlier train sets) (2) What if it is in dark red? (3) If targeted at HP fans, it has the potential to become a massive gateway set to our train hobby. "Well I like HP, but then I got this train and realized how amazing Lego trains can be and I've always loved trains..." So even if an expensive HP train is not of direct interest to a given AFOL train builder it still has potential for beneficial fallout.
  5. zephyr1934
    Oh yeah, definitely trickle it out, at most one per week. That gives each locomotive its own spotlight. If you posted several at a time you'd saturate your audience. Looking back at Percy you've done some interesting build techniques, e.g., the bucket handles. There is a lot going on in that tiny engine.
  6. zephyr1934
    Most definitely true, though I'm sure they are aiming more for HP than for train heads since there are probably many more HP folks In relative terms the price might not be THAT out of the ordinary if it is simply a very large set. The recent city passenger train was $160. Make the two cars longer and more detailed that gets you to $200, add a nice station for another $100+ replace the power car with a steam engine for another $100, then toss in a bunch of HP minifigs and pay for the license for another $70
  7. zephyr1934
    I'm liking this idea of building the prototypes of the Thomas engines. It needs a Gordon, Henry and James, but I'm sure that will all come in due time.
  8. zephyr1934
    Just one? (grin)
  9. zephyr1934
    That's looking really nice! Just one thought, do you allow the middle axle to float? Otherwise, you might want to use a blind driver in the middle to keep it from binding.
  10. zephyr1934
    Amazing stuff! Thank you for sharing!
  11. zephyr1934
    As noted by Feuer Zug, "It's bad enough that many have gone to third party suppliers for tracks, switches, wheel sets, couplers, and electrical systems." But you can get double length molded track these days at a reasonable price. You mean Lugbulk might go away? That would suck if it did, but I think they do recognize the value of having a bunch of power-AFOLs putting on a public show. It's hard to beat that kind of grass roots promotion... oh, wait, this is TLC, they don't mind cutting off their own arm. Simply having ONE car and ONE locomotive available to buy would be nice. A 3 in 1 set in brown, dark green or dark red for a railcar could go a long way. Or failing that, have a parts pack that is a Lego exclusive with two couplers, four sets of train wheels, one base plate and two bogie plates to at least let people EASILY MOC their own train cars.
  12. zephyr1934
    This would be Mr. 7777 Torben Plagborg, father of the golden era of the gray age. Further information can be found in this older thread and at least some of his sets on BrickSet. That date for transitioning to more imaginary trains makes perfect sense. Imagine what would have happened if they had produced wide radius curves in the early 90's.
  13. zephyr1934
    Very efficient build in terms of parts and space. The motors are very powerful given their size. My CircuitCubes powered steam elephant has a single motor in it and pulls three cars (light, but high friction technic axle wheels) If you want to use a single port on the blue cube, you can power the motors serially, running a wire out of the side of one motor and into the next. The most obvious solution would be to use tiles (taking the model to almost 5 wide) or you might be able to hide it behind 1x4x3 panels (especially the older unreinforced versions) but getting the half plate spacing would be very tricky. Maybe hide it in a boxcar and use large flags for the doors
  14. zephyr1934
    Looking good
  15. zephyr1934
    The train looks amazing and the layout remains without equal. Phenomenal work! It looks like you've upgraded the curves on the lower level to FX bricks wide radius, no? But I assume the mountain grade remains at R40. Is there a Y or some other facility for turning a full train on the lower loops?
  16. zephyr1934
    Nice! Those grab bars remind me of a snippet in the "virtual shop tour" of the P2 Prince of Wales, (unfortunately the tour isn't working at the moment, at least on my computer) where they talked about having to make the quarter rounds themselves to line the edge of the sheet meal around the cab. This ubiquitous practice on steam engines would use common stock that could be bought anywhere back in the day.
  17. zephyr1934
    Oh, a very nice looker! Great job all around. Are you planning on building it in real bricks? Please show a shot or two! As for the circuitcube, they are pretty powerful for what they are, but both the battery and the motors are pretty small. It is also pretty slow without gearing which takes a lot of space and reduces the power. So be prepared for the possibility that you might have to upgrade. On the flip side, it looks like there is probably room for a PU battery box up top and a train motor down low in the tender.
  18. zephyr1934
    Wow, that's a cool set.
  19. zephyr1934
    Totally doable. First thought is that the corner would be the hard part since the curve track needs to pull away from the wall. My second thought is don't bother leaving the track there all the time, it should be easy enough to pull the sections out. If the assembled couch is a single unit just make sure you put sliders under the legs so that you can pull it out 1 ft when needed.
  20. zephyr1934
    Any forecast on a release date for these set numbers?
  21. zephyr1934
    That's great work, the control lab really was ahead of its time and it is really great to see you using it to push the boundaries of what can be done with pure lego solutions. The title sequence to your video is also great. You know, if you pull the couch 10 inches away from the wall you can slip a set of double tracks behind it and you now have a comfy place to sit while running your trains around the room. Then when you clean up just push the couch back against the wall.
  22. zephyr1934
    Another great build, particularly nice work on the cab
  23. zephyr1934
    That's brilliant!
  24. zephyr1934
    Very impressive
  25. zephyr1934
    That is turning into quite the grand station. The details are fantastic and I am looking forward to seeing the progression.
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