peterab

Here just about everybody does a riding course combined with their test. Honda run the one I did, and they recommended we use their bikes even if we had one of our own. Their bikes were small and maneuverable, and were tuned just right so for the slow riding section they would roll though just slow enough to pass with no throttle. It makes it all so much easier when they teach you all the tricks.

Yeah, I'd say it was pretty good value at $300 dollars or so a year. I'm always amazed at vehicle prices in the US, my second hand 250 cost me $7000 here. The bike market is small here though, but from the sounds of it it's not huge where you are either, I'm pretty sure I could find any recentish model of bike I wanted without too much trouble locally.

You should never ever buy a bike which has been repainted without a thorough mechanical check. It is very common to repaint a bike to hide the evidence of a crash, or to tart up an otherwise less than stellar bike. I don't know much about engines, so I get someone who does to look for me. I think all the Fellows have had their world turned upside down. That stuff happens occasionally here, it's best just to smile and move on.

RC stands for Remote Control (as far as the train line goes), and yes it can be confused, but unfortunately that's how the LEGO group named it. Yes it was the infra red control before PF.

You guys have to be kidding if you think you are being hard done by when you have to wait a while till stock reaches you thousands of kilometers from the distribution centers in Sydney. You are lucky that you get all that extra transport cost for the same RRP as the eastern states IMHO. The other benefit you guys have is there might be stock left by the time stuff goes on clearance. In Melbourne and Sydney most stuff sells out never to return long before clearance sales happen. I don't know of any independents like TC or Laygo in Melbourne either.

That only works for some tenders where the wheel spacing matches the 9V motor. PF is far more flexible though more difficult, also the XL motor is way more powerful which is useful for heavy AFOL carriages. It does seem to me that as AFOL train builders get more skilled, and try and better replicate details of real trains more closely, they tend away from prefabricated parts like train doors, and the train motors.

There's a small group on Flickr you might like. Also from one of my favourite builders on brickshelf. Make sure you hit up from that page to get to see all the other MOW Mocs

I wish people would read the thread. It gets really annoying having to repeat yourself for those too lazy to inform themselves when the info is easily available. If you don't care enough to read the thread about the subject you are speculating about I can't see why those who find stuff out should even bother posting it. This confirms the info that I got about the red battery box. It is not a sticker. At least the version seen in the offices of Lego Australia was not a sticker. Interesting new facts about the extra grey cover. Thanks for that.

There's a pallet crane on the last wagon, just in front of the pallet.

No the S@H prices are the same as RRP negotiated in each region with the retailers, though some retailers discount and sell below RRP. Retailers won't stock LEGO if they know TLG will try to undercut them on S@H. I agree about the double dipping on freight prices though, TLG could absorb them given they are getting the full retail price.

Yep, it's pretty cute too, first the doorbell sounds, followed by the dog (on the front lawn) barking. I prefer sets not to have sound or light bricks because it makes them more expensive as parts packs for me but they do add play value for kids.

I saw these at the Melbourne toy fair and asked if baseplates would disappear from all lines. Apparently the Creator designers feel using regular plates is more in keeping with the aims of the Creator line as it helps with the flexibility for alternate models. As far as Lego Australia knew the use of normal plates as baseplates will be restricted to Creator. I would be very disappointed if normal baseplates were to disappear altogether. I certainly hope they continue in the modular house range, and I'm sure I'm not the only one worried about them becoming rarer in City and other lines.

Congrats on your first show LT. Looks like you did a good job. My train club likes to have as much custom stuff as possible but it is a huge workload for an individual (even for a club) which can take some time to put together. We also like to be able to show the current trains which you can buy from LEGO, because so many people are interested. Our club tries to share the workload of manning the display so we all get a bit of a break when we need it. Just a few questions ... How many bricks?, how much did it cost?, how long did it take?, that's not LEGO track is it?, what glue do you use? Where did you buy them? Now repeat every two minutes for two or three days and you can create the train show experience in you own home

I've had conversations about Australian pricing with a Lego employee oven on the AFOL 16+ group on Flickr. He informed me that the RRP in each region was worked out in negotiation with local retailers, and the wholesale price those retailers pay is pretty much the same all around the world. It is the local retailers who determine the price. There are markets which are targeted by TLG to increase sales and therefore have lower wholesale prices (and I assume the US might fall into that category) but otherwise it is the retailers that do the gouging, not TLG. As informed customers, we need to let the retailers know we don't like the higher local prices by only buying on sale, or buying overseas. More importantly help your non AFOL friends know and help them to also only buy when cheap. The retailers will lower their prices if they can't sell at the higher prices.

All the POTC sets in the dealer catalog which I got at the LEGO Australia AFOL breakfast at the Melbourne toy fair are listed as available in May (except the Black Pearl - October). Some retailers might get them a bit earlier I guess but it would be an outside chance.

If it waddles like a duck, and quacks like a duck ...

All the exclusives could potentially be sold at retail here in Australia. It depends if a retailer wants to take on an exclusive deal. Karen Owen from LEGO Australia explained this to me at the Melbourne Toy Fair, she said they get special permission to import a limited quantity for sale as an exclusive by a retailer because we don't have a LEGO brand store here. The Maersk train wasn't one of the exclusive sets that she showed me, so it won't be really soon, but I'd guess if we are really lucky, it'll show up at the mid year sales or before Xmas if someone takes it. I imagine Myer was pleased with their Emerald Night Exclusive, so I can't see any reason they wouldn't take the Maersk train if they get the chance. It is partly because the market is small, but mostly because these sets are designed as exclusives to support the S@H site and LEGO brand stores. Unfortunately that doesn't work very well for Australia. I wouldn't stress too much about the GE. In its first year the Fire Brigade was only at one retailer for full RRP, and sold out very quickly, in its second year it was far more widely available at retail here, often with good sales prices. I'm betting it will be the same with GE and it has just entered its second year, if not it will be available on S@H for at least a year if it follows the pattern of the previous ones.

No, it was no mistake. There have been many reliable reports that the dot codes vary from batch to batch.

I can't really see any logic in your argument. 10020 and 10133 were both available alone, so I can't see any disadvantage to someone who wanted two; they could just buy two. Had they had two in the set, that would have been a much bigger disadvantage to those (probably the vast majority) who only wanted one. The 10219 set is a bit different because it is a set with wagons, so you might argue that you get a bunch of unwanted wagons if you want two engines, but that goes counter to your argument again since those who want realism want more cars too. In fact exactly the reverse was argued about the Emerald Night, that it should have had more carriages. I'm pretty sure the reason we got the BNSF and the Santa Fe was because Jake McKee was championing Lego trains within TLG at the time, and he was targeting the American market. The Maersk train is clearly a promotional set so probably has all sorts of other factors in TLG's choice to produce it. The fact that it is a European company, a US style engine, and it will have appeal to collectors, will mean the set will have broad appeal across many niches. If your argument were valid it could just as easily be made for steam engines since they were also commonly run double headed, in fact it is not unknown that European electrics and diesels are run in multiples when moving around excess or faulty engines. The final point is you have been very selective in your choice of supporting sets, in the same time period we've had 4 city sets, at least one Hogwarts Express, a toy story train, and the Emerald night. Thats seven trains, only one of which is American, and none of which is diesel, so the data actually suggests TLG would rather not choose a US diesel. There's no doubt that we get train sets rather than individual engines and carriages (this was stated by Jamie Berard in his interview with Cpt Zuloo) because that is more profitable, but it's hardly a conspiracy against train lovers, but more trying to appeal to the broadest audience and maximize sales, something any business should be expected to do.

The new power functions motor is reported to have reasonable traction without much extra weight on it provided it has the newer clear rubber rings on its wheels. If not you can purchase O rings from a plumbing supplies place to fit. The older rings in grey or black or red have less traction but may be OK. This should allow you to place it wherever you feel best. One thing to note with the EN is that if you are not going to power it via the driving wheels, you can remove a lot of friction by removing the gears from the drive train. There are also a few mods which will stop it binding, and further lower friction, particularly doubling the length of the cylinders and changing some of the wheels from axle pins to axles. These are documented in older threads on the Emerald Night here so have a look around, there's a lot of info in the existing threads which will help you.

I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have had access to any TLG molds. TLG is said to concrete their old molds under their car park. Enlighten probably just built their own using measurements from a LEGO rail.

After a time the molds wear out, at that point the old ones are destroyed to avoid anybody else using them (and injuring TLGs reputation with bad parts). If the potential exists for a new mold to be profitable it will be re-made. In the case of the monorail that wasn't the case.

I've just opened my sealed box and there were 4 scientists in it so you were completely correct.

To go with the third surfer. I'd love a Prussian soldier too. I doubt it will ever happen though.

I don't know but when you find out I'm right in line behind you. A HK tag would look awesome and would be just the thing to show off to the others in the 'Who likes HK and motorcycles thread"