fred67

OH REALLY? I know that, that's why eurobricks is better... you've got Star Wars and everything else... so did FBTB, BTW... but I think there's probably more traffic on eurobricks Star Wars section than on all of FBTB and, I as said, it's my opinion that the over moderation is partly to blame. But I'm not trying to slam them, I'm just saying that, even though I go there most every day, I'll just shrug if it happens to disappear.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems people would get berated for starting a new thread on a subject when there was one from three years with 50 pages in it. Personally I'd rather have a new thread in such a case, instead of reviving dead threads with a million comments that had long gone off topic.

What was that one... the troll warrior set, with the little attack cart thing? I loved that... got a bunch on clearance to build up my Orc army. Yes, I said "Orc, " let's not mince words! For like $1.50 in the bargain bin, it was a great buy... and I have a bunch of parts now to build "real" carts.

Frankly, FBTB has such a draconian posting policy and moderators that it's barely worth visiting compared to Eurobricks anyway; it's only got a fraction of the traffic and it's way too SW centered. So, joke or not, I just have to shrug.

Well... no, they didn't. It's sort of an untenable proposition, though. They didn't sell well because few people even knew of their existence. It partly has to do with shelf space; WalMart is not the LEGO outlet store, they can only dedicate so much space. Believing that other sets will sell better, then, creates a self fulfilling prophecy. I mentioned this in the train thread... I know why they didn't sell well, but I can't offer a solution about what to do about it. Moreover, there is no doubt they will sell more Star Wars sets of the same size than they will trains or castles, so given production capacity, which do you think they will want to manufacture? It's just a sad truism at this point: LEGO won't give us what we want because it doesn't make financial sense for them to do it. No matter how much we like them, they are a profit driven company that almost went out of business, partly due to over production of items few people were buying. My suggestion for the former problem (shelf space) is that they try to market trains to Hobby stores. I don't know if or how well that would work, but I would imagine parents buying trains, and not knowing much about the hobby, might feel more comfortable buying LEGO sets for their kids than HO or N. And when they buy their sets, and see these modular selections of trains and tracks that they can expand with, they'll know to come back if their child likes the set. They could even go this route and offer town and other sets in hobby stores, as they can all build off a train set. Sadly, that does nothing for LEGO Castle. There's no "castle" stores, as far as I know. Well... there's a "Medieval Times" near me (that dinner show with jousting and stuff). Interestingly, it's in the same mall as our local LEGO store; but I digress... LEGO wouldn't exactly fit their theme, even though they sell figures and various "toys" (like wooden swords and so forth). In the modern age, shelf space shouldn't be an issue as long as people KNOW they can order stuff online. Maybe more inserts into sets advertising the existence of LEGO.com, including showing the variety of different themes available there. Unfortunately, most people throw away the "junk" without looking at it because they aren't fans like we are, they just got the set for their kid or something. For the "midi" scale modular castle pieces I'm working on, I'm thinking of just either using a 1x2 technic brick OR hinge bricks. Most will be technic bricks, but I'll throw a few hinge bricks in there, too. It may not be "perfectly" modular, but it'll be modular enough... and that way I can make it angle either way, depending on what I'm doing. Since it's a small scale, it's not a terrible amount of work to switch bricks or directions. I suppose if you planned it right, switching bricks or directions could be quite simple.

Oh. I thought your new building was going to be The Tower of Sauron. Love the blender... good MOCs. It would be cool to make the beach more sloped... I guess that requires an abundance of bricks, but you could use filler bricks. I also really like the other interior accents including the kitchen and bathroom.

But you've already said it, Dale... only, in addition to the modular castle that they are already releasing, they can release modules to extend it... another wall section, another tower. That way the kids still get their inexpensive ( ) castle, but it can be EXTENDED and modified to keep it fresh.

Quidditch is the only think I'm NOT interested in, but I'll probably pass on Dobby, too (unless I see it on clearance somewhere). I'll get the other sets; POSSIBLY multiples of some of them. The LEGO train layout I'm planning includes a Hogwart's Express going to Hogwarts, so... I'll be wanting those things. The car and the Burrow (while I don't agree they did a particularly good job of it) would be nice additions. I suppose I'll MOC a whomping willow to put the car in.

They don't sell very well because few people even know about them. If they had SETS on display, and Emerald Nights on display NEXT TO THE SETS, and extra cars on display NEXT TO THE Emerald Night, and they did this at stores BESIDES b&m LEGO stores, they would sell. Yes, I realize the problem... limited shelf space, but that they don't sell well is a self-fulfilling prophecy. What I think might be interesting is if TLG targetted HOBBY stores with their train sets. Edit: so parent goes into the hobby store looking for a set for their child, no knowing what scale is appropriate, and seeing LEGO trains... then it's "Oh, my kid already plays with LEGO, this would be GREAT!" And simply by having done that, they can buy the basic set, but will also know that those other add-ons (track, Emerald Night, etc.) actually exist. Edit 2: moreover, I think that could give TLG incentive to reproduce things like the trees bushes they used to sell, and perhaps more parts like "traditional" model trains have.

I know it will never happen, but I'd like to see them go back to a "My Own Trains" style, where you can pick engines and colors and rolling stock ala carte. I know it's not going to happen, I'm just saying. I would definitely like to see sets like the ones that are sold in hobby scales, like the old west style steam train that comes with four or five simple freight cars, or a four or five passenger cars. Or, if need be, more modern sets like the Metroliner/light rail/commuter train set. (like it, not "it"). I guess I'm just thinking "bigger." More cars. More rolling stock. Make it look like a "real" train.

I agree completely... you could buy a complete set of "modules" to make something, be it a keep or castle or small walled city that can be expanded. The beauty is that add-ons, like a blacksmith shop, would be an interesting small to medium set that one could buy regardless of whether or not they had a "walled city" to put it in.

It's a bit plain, but seems really good for being short on parts. I have tens of thousands of LEGO pieces, not including those I have in sets, and I still couldn't build something like that because I guess I have too much of a variety of pieces. With all my pieces, I could barely build the 16 stud wide modular wall from the community build (in the correct colors), so you've got my kudos for this very nice castle MOC. You even managed to squeeze in a few nice details on the outside (the plants and barrel).

I have the same problem... I bought some used clear macaronis and tried the hydrogen peroxide trick this week (with oxy-clean as a catalyst). It worked really well to get the yellow out; they still are not "new" looking. The hydrogen peroxide softens the plastic, too, so the first one I experimented on (the worst of the batch) looks I tried to dry it with sand paper (I was just using a tissue). I let the others air dry and am letting them sit to "cure" them. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I think your MOCs are incredible; The second one does have too many "straight" lines, which is why I personally like the first one better.

If you want to run the Emerald Night, and are not invested in 9V or 12V, then I would recommend PF.

"The Cave" MOC from the other day was inspiring me to try to do the entrance to Moria, then I saw this. Still may try myself.

I really like this a lot; I wish I was better at rocky walls and trees. Interesting use of SNOT, but in the close-ups you can see the gaps between the water's edge and the shore... was there no way for the "shore" to overhang the water so the gaps wouldn't be visible? This is one of those vignettes that really inspires me, thanks for sharing.

So, based on the community build wall, I built one in LDD to see what you could do with new parts. I couldn't get all the colors right, but I essentially got a nice light gray wall with black and dark gray accents. I would think you'd want at least 12 wall sections (3 on a side), with at least one of them being a gate... and four towers in the corners. The wall section, by itself, was like $37, but for well under 100 pieces, LEGO could release such a set for $10 or so. I think you could do a nice walled city with such LEGO modular sets (should they make them) for in the neighborhood of $250, but it would be entirely up to you since it would be modular. That's including having different color accents and the possibility of changing the build slightly (for different windows/openings) to give it variety.

I've never been able to get that set. It's not in our local LEGO store, and it's not available to me online ("not available in your country"). I just had to order a whole bunch off bricklink. Ok, that's a bit off topic; I've actually partially built a mini-castle (or, more correctly, mini walled city); and I used red roofs and thought it looked quite nice for a "good guy" city. Black... red... brown (wood) would be nice. I could go either way. My dilemma when collecting castle is this: I love the castles, but I also want a "layout," like a train layout (but without trains, in this case, for obvious reasons), and there's only so much you can put on a... let's say 8x4 foot table. I'll definitely be picking up the Hogwarts Castle, too... that one can actually be part of my train layout, though. I don't want to just keep putting them on my shelves.

I'm amazed at the pricing of the PoP sets... far and away a much better price that Star Wars; it's almost like Disney is subsidizing the sets as opposed to charging a licensing fee.

Hi, I normally hang out in the Trains forum, but I've gotten into the castle theme the past few years and Tyrant invited me to this thread based on another post. The modular idea is great; it relieves the stress from TLG for deciding who (which faction) to make sets for. Now, I'm coming from the point of view of what they did with the My Own Trains, so I'll repeat that here for those who didn't follow the train line at that time. My Own Trains included three steam engines... small, medium, and large. Each steam engine included a base set of bricks (train base, wheels, etc.), and each one had two ways to build it for a different look. In addition, you selected the color pack... the set of color bricks to compliment the train (there was like 5 or 6 colors), which ultimately created a HUGE amount of variations. So my suggestion was that modular pieces would be very much like what you guys have already suggested... a large and small tower, wall sections, gate sections, a stable, a blacksmith, etc. But then there could be "faction" sets that compliment them... it might include, for example, trim pieces in specific colors for the faction, and shields that get mounted on the walls as standards. Also, I think that the buildings themselves could come in variants of white, light gray, or dark gray. Definitely minifig packs, but again, instead of TLG taking the risk of creating whole sets when they don't know which factions will be popular, a generic minifig set and faction accessory sets could make it easier on them... the battlepack could include weapons, the accessory set would include armor, including shields and helmets (maybe a cape).

I actually got back into LEGO as an adult because of trains, but being a Star Wars fan, bought a lot of those sets... but being old, I don't like eps 1-3 and am not really interested in clone wars... I have a bunch of Star Wars ships, and never even considered Castle until a couple of years ago when I decided that it was the Star Wars line that was becoming old and predictable, and I discovered Medieval Market Village, Troll Warship, KIngs Castle... and that got me started on the Caste Fantasy Line, because I'd say at this point I'm a much bigger LOTR fan than Star Wars, and this is about as close as you'll get with LEGO. That said, I can see why people would feel that way. I'm looking forward to the new sets, but then I haven't been collecting them for 20 years, either. It'll be nice to stock up on humans, and I find it interesting that we seem to be getting factions instead of good guys/bad guys... which is very much more like "real life." So I understand the sentiment, but I'm happy they are continuing the line, and that every new generation of LEGO enthusiasts will have an opportunity to enjoy them. What I would like to see... I'm super impressed with the modular building sets, like Green Grocer and Cafe Corner. They really stepped up the quality of the builds with Medieval Market Village, but if they took the time to make Castle pieces in that vein, I think that would be really impressive. Ultimately, a modular Castle - where you buy the pieces separately, would be fantastic... you could buy towers, wall sections, interior buildings (black smith shops, stables, etc.) and put it together your own way... want a GIANT walled city? Just keep buying wall sections. Think of the community build, but with LEGO actually releasing the sets (of course, there wouldn't be nearly as many). I also loved the idea they used with the My Own Trains steam engines... there was a basic pack of bricks, and then a color pack to go with it. It let you build your engine in a variety of colors, and was a very modular approach that gave you only three engines, but with two builds for each engine, the option of including a tender or not, and like 5 colors or so, gave you a HUGE variety. So I would imagine that something similar, where you could get white, light gray, dark gray walls, for example, would be really cool... build your own castle out of castle section sets, in the color you choose.... wall sections, gates, small towers, large towers... all modular, and accessory kits, perhaps, for different "factions." And no more "cramped" castles (one of the adjectives used to describe the troll fortress). And that would be the beauty of my idea... it's harder for them to build a complete castle for each faction; if you could build your own out of modular pieces and then just get a much smaller faction "accessory" kit, that would be a lot easier for them and more flexible for us.

I wonder if it's possible to just make O-Gauge trucks compatible with LEGO.

I got an extra Emerald Night for the car; I was thinking of making a caboose for the EN in green using the extra pieces from the engine and tender, but I'm wondering if I couldn't use a few pieces for this BNSF caboose, too.

I'm loving these models; I have the BNSF and would love to build this caboose for it, but that green... that's not the green that's on the engine, if I'm not mistaken. On the engine (same as the Emerald Night), the color is 141, "Earth Green" off LEGO's color palette. Since LEGO doesn't sell those colors separately, I'm guessing your design is 28, "Dark Green" off LEGO's color palette. Just don't want people to be disappointed if they order this and it doesn't quite match; I'm not saying it's not still worth building, it's quite good. I think I'd add some tiles to smooth it out.

Cool... nice layout, too. Jealous of monorails. I hate being called "adult fan" of LEGO, though, but that's just me.