Younge

I couldn't agree more with you about dark orange, Aanchir! It's a great building color for the modular sets. I too have built a modular building using dark orange as the main color (it's an art-deco themed cinema. Dark orange bricks are so expensive that I decided to only do the front in that color, and the other three walls in tan). And like you, I will have to take a look at using another color now that the Town Hall set is being released.

I remember seeing your MOC at BrickExpo and loved it. In fact, I took photos of it for my brother - who is also an AFOL - as he had been toying with the idea of turning the PTS's tram into a monorail.

2012 is going to be expensive!!! And I thought I hadn't seen anything from the "leaks" so far that tickled my fancy!!! A funny thing I have noticed for myself with the modulars is that I built my own modular fire station a few years back - then Lego released the Fire Brigade. I then I had to convert my fire station into an apartment building. And for a while now I have been working on an art deco modular cinema. Now, although the Town Hall isn't a cinema, my MOC has been built with dark orange, so I will probably have to do some re-designing!!! Brickvention is coming up in about a week's time here in Australia, and I am wondering if we get any more details about this set during the event? I can't wait until March!!!!

Well done mate!!! This looks amazing. I have this train myself (currently running on 9V track/motor), and your stickers might inspire me to make it a PF model.

I ordered "soft", so hopefully it should be OK. I also copied your instructions into LDD, then modified them slightly to incorporate a Mindstorms touch sensor (long story behind this - a WIP experiment actually). Can't wait to build these for real. They are such a cool, small, realistic looking design!!!

G'day, my name is Garry, and I have been using the Train Tech forum for a long time now, and I only just realised that I better introduce myself on here!!! I don't have a lot of trains, but the first, best set I ever received was 7710 when I was a kid in the 80's (I still have that set, but it's not built), so I guess that counts me as a train lover. I am currently working on a mountain MOC with a train running on it. It's very early days, and I have had a few major ideas/revisions for the design, but in the last week or so I feel that I am really settling down to my final plan - with many thanks to various topics on this forum for giving me ideas and pointing me in the right direction (without anyone even knowing for the most part!!!). Look forward to conversing with many of you in the future (and hopefully meeting some of the Aussie members - I'll be at Brickvention in Melbourne later this month), and apologies for not introducing myself earlier!!! Garry

As a slight diversion, how do you go about getting the little "badges" (like 'LDD Builder' and 'train logo') that appear in some people's signatures? Don't worry, I found it here: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=33335

Does anyone know the range of the Mindsensors PFMate? Their website's FAQ mentions that it can be up to 75 cms, but I would prefer to get some real-world feedback on this number before making a purchase. I just bought the HiTechnics model and I am quite disappointed by the IR range (or lack thereof), considering that they are promoting the sensor as being able to be used with RC and PF train sets.

For the EOL buffer, can you recommend which shock absorber to use? On Bricklink some appear as hard, soft and normal varieties? Is there one more suitable than the others for an impact by a train?

A mate and I ordered our pet shops Tuesday night from Shop@Home. Should hopefully get them Monday or Tuesday next week (we chose express delivery). Speaking of express delivery, we received a bit of a rude shock from Lego after we placed the order. Express delivery from Shop@Home to Australia is $100 - it even states that on checkout. Anyway, my friend received an e-mail about 10 minutes after we placed the order saying that we had to pay an extra $20 as our order was over $AUD1000 (we ordered some other sets as well!!!). This is the first time this has happened to us - and we have ordered a lot of stuff via the Shop@Home website - and well over $AUD1000. My friend called Lego and they begrudgingly reversed the charge (although he did receive a $20 withdrawal from his credit card account, which he had to call up about again, but they fixed it up). Has anyone else had the rude Lego post-checkout price gouge?

x2!!! Google Streetview is a godsend when it comes to looking at potential building inspiration!!! For my art deco cinema I actually took several screenshots from Google Streetview of a real building (the building was too high to fit in one screen grab), then I used Photoshop to line the screenshots up to make one large image that I could then work with. Got to love technology!!!

Yep, know what you mean! I have been working on a modular art deco cinema based on a real building I saw. I have spent months on it (when I get some spare time I work on it). I have finally finished it in LDD, and it looks very much like the original building - even though the original wasn't a cinema. I used my own tricks and building techniques to get some of the look and feel just right, but, it has been a fun and educational process. I'm nowhere near Jamie's skills, however, I have much more respect for the guy now that I have tried building a modular building based on a set of self-imposed rules - which is what he has to do every time (number of bricks, type of bricks, size, etc.). I have also built an Apple store recently based on a 16x32 baseplate layout. For that one I set myself a constraint of keeping it under 1000 pieces - including minifigs - which I just managed to do!!! I've just started a modular bank as well, and again, this one is based on a real-life building that I have seen.

Wow, never noticed how much the pet shop ground floor looks like the GG ground floor!!! You could almost call that sloppy design, in terms of not keeping building techniques in the modular buildings as a unique exercise for each set. I am sure it will look great built next to a GG building, but, it could also stand out as looking very similar too. Overall I am liking the new set, but what cesium_salami has highlighted is interesting anyway.

I stopped building it because I had the equivalent of writer's block - LDD block?!?! I didn't delete what I've done so far, so I can always go back to it when I get some inspiration!!!

Glad I didn't get too far on my own town hall modular MOC (only started working on it last weekend too - before putting it in the too hard basket). For what it's worth, I was using the town hall from Back To The Future as my inspiration. Now to get back to work on my modular bank MOC!!!

I still see that as Tan, not light yellow...

Do those part numbers reveal sand blue???

BTW, is it really sand blue for the pet shop in this set? Looks more like purple to me. Maybe its just the lighting of the photos that have been taken. Would explain why some people are seeing light yellow (which I am seeing in the photos as the stock standard tan color rather than a rarer offering like light yellow). Either way, the sand blue (or purple!) and light yellow (or tan!!) look good and work well together.

My initial impression is that it looks pretty good. To be honest, when I first saw the FB and GE sets I didn't really like them, but, once I owned them and put them together I grew to love them. With this set, I definitely like it more than I had initially liked the two previously mentioned sets. My only criticism at this stage is that the buildings look a little "busy". There seems to be a lot of detail on the facades, maybe a little too much. I actually liked cottonwood's mock-up for this reason (less detail on the front). Saying that, I will be buying as soon as it comes available on Shop@Home next week!!! I have just finished building a 16 stud wide Apple store MOC, so this set will work out well for me - pet shop next to the Apple store and the GE (retail district), and the house section next to the GG (similar architecture so it should look great) and the CC!!!

2/ Pharaoh's Quest Curse of the Mummy - 2 points 17/ Atlantis Seafood - 2 points 18/ Treasure hunt on the river Nile - 1 point 28/ The Excavation of the Fortress of Ra Ahmin Ka - 2 points

Truly a work of creativity and Lego engineering ingenuity!!! Well done!!! I love the fact that it only takes up a 1x1 brick area on the "x" plane (obviously a bit more space is used on the "y" plane with those Technic parts). I would love to rip off your design and use it on my own MOC, but I wouldn't know where to start!!! Saying that, I can see TLG actually pimping your idea for a future passenger train set. You know what they say - imitation is the best form of flattery!!!

I like the idea of two 16x32 buildings. I currently have two of those already - I use only the 3 storey building from the Market Street set, and I have also built a 3 storey apartment building (was originally a fire station, but I changed the ground floor after the Fire Brigade set came out). So, my little town is going to have a great mix of large/wide and narrow/tall buildings... once I actually put it all together!!!

14 pages of utter speculation, and, the one frontrunner of the rumours - the pet shop - is based on hearsay. But let's speculate anyway, because it's fun!!! If it is a pet shop, there are plenty of animals available to "stock" in the shop, and also, the whole building doesn't have to be a pet shop - like the Grand Emporium - remember that only the ground floor of Green Grocer is an actual green grocer, the rest is a residence of some kind. And the Cafe Corner is a cafe and a hotel. So, if it is a pet shop, there could be some variation to what makes up the building. However, I don't think it will be a pet shop!!! My money would be on a bank!!! Only because there is some history there. Before any modular set was ever released by Lego there was a "test" set of a bank shown at a German toy fair or Lego exhibition - the photo of it is here: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/monorail/club-meetings/frechen-2007/frechen2007-24.jpg (it is on the right-hand side in the photo). It's not 3 levels like the modulars we know. Notice the angled roof - a bit like the GG, however, this roof is coloured in that Sand Green colour that is actually used for the walls on the GG set. I have looked on Bricklink for the sloped brick that appears in the photo, but, it is not listed as being available in that colour, so it must have been a special run of that colour for that part. So that is my 2 cents... (to put in my modular bank!!!)

I think there will be a lot of international orders from the US with this little set!!!