fred67

I'm with you; I also think these cars will be fairly easy to replicate (or at least close enough) to make a longer train.

That's what I've been saying... even just a curved tile, like they've recently done in 1x, but those segments have far too narrow radius. A 2x8, where I think 32 segments would make a complete circle, would be all we need to really get going. A 2x8 brick to match would make it even better.

Yup... @Hod Carrier I understand the concepts, if not entirely the math, and am already trying to plan around the probably failures. One of the things I do is use the 9v (square battery) adapter instead of the giant LEGO battery box, so that saves a LOT of weight. After experimenting with the levitation itself, I was going to make three small cars (smaller is better to handle curves); one with a 9v battery, one with the motor, and one with the drive (connected by a universal joint). I do not think it should be that bad, although I will likely resort to having the magnetic tape on the underside of the train and top of the track, as most of the videos so far have done. I've also been thinking a lot about the track, as I've run across a few more interesting videos: I've seen other videos using this concept, as well, and I wonder if metal LEGO train track - if not LEGO, then something ME models OLD metal track (which had solid metal rails, as opposed to metal plated) would work. This guy built a heavy duty LEGO car (on a home made track); he's using a lot more powerful magnets than me, though. To magnetize a decent length of track with magnets that strong would cost way more than I'm willing to sink into this. The concept is sound, though, and if I can do it with much lighter weight, I think it will work.

Yes... I just got out a handful of 2x2 round plates in reddish brown. They were fine when I was connecting them, but whenever I used a brick separator to try to take one off, it cracked. I'm not brutal or ham-fisted when it comes to these things - when it's only one color, and everything else is fine, it's not me, it's the part.

Well, I think I figured a way I can do what I want using the round bricks (as @MAB suggested, but it requires changing a few other aspects of what I'm doing). I also think I'll try @JACKATTACKS idea of using the 2x2 round with an open stud. In the interests of making EB more interesting (as I participated in that discussion, and agreed MOCs were great, but WIP posts could be a lot more interesting, stir up a lot more brainstorming, and generally motivate people to try things), I'll tell you exactly what I'm trying to accomplish instead of being secretive about it; I laid it all out in this thread on the train forum.

First (for the something-th time) I want to thank @LegoMonorailFan for starting the WIP thread on Monorails. I am hoping to finish cleaning up my new space and get back to work on it, because I had an idea I wanted to implement that I was hoping would give us smooth running monorails that can go on inclines. Instead of going off on that tangent, though, I was searching youtube for LEGO monorails, and ran across a few MagLev videos, demonstrating magleve using LEGO. I found two interesting ones: The problem here is that, while the poster talks about curves, he hasn't posted one (in fact, this one was nine years ago). The other problem - the elephant in the room, is that this is not propelled down the track by anything other than pushing it. Cool concept, but how can we make it work in LEGO? So I kept searching, and trying to noodle through how MagLev trains are propelled (and ran across some interesting videos on "aerotrains, but I won't digress). I looked them up and saw the general idea is using a linear induction motor over magnets to propel the train - the same way a rail gun works, and how Busch Gardens Cheetah Hunt roller coaster gets launched (for the record, I've been on it several times, and it's absolutely awesome). Then I ran across this, which actually is using a LEGO "car" with magnetic linear induction to move it - theirs is much more complicated than I would want; it's also far too bulky, although I think a smaller Arduino or Raspberry Pi controlled solution would work. So, I wondered, how could an electronics idiot like me make magnetic propulsion work? Well, in the future I hope to dig in to using an Arduino or Raspberry Pi; I have an electronics book, which came with a bunch of little components to play around and learn, so I should probably do that, too - so many hobby ideas, so little time. But in the meantime, I wanted to come up with something that anyone could do. I asked, in the General LEGO Questions forum if anyone could come up with a way to do something like this: I have magnets on order - both 3/8 inch neodymium magnets on order and magnetic tape (both "A" and "B" poles). The idea is that the neodymium disks would be put along the track (alternating poles), as the "real" method would do, but instead of a linear induction motor, I'd fabricate a magnetic "worm" drive by arranging the magnets inside the LEGO 2x2 bricks in a corkscrew pattern; the axis of rotation would be along the track. Each brick would have 4 magnets, alternating poles. I measured the inside space, and believe the magnets would fit just perfectly, and would be locked in by the piece that attaches below it. That would essentially give three stages, at any given time, assuming it worked (if the magnets are strong enough), would actually give fine control over speed and direction. You still need a LEGO motor, and that disappoints me - mainly because of the noise, but it seems like it should function. My example solution is kind of bulky; in another thread, @JACKATTACKS suggested using this: Instead of the round 2x2 plates in order to achieve the 45 degree offset twist required by the middle piece. A second one would do another 45 degree twist to get the third brick back to being aligned with the first one. In either case, these would both require glue to make sure pieces could not spin off their alignment with the other bricks. @MAB suggested I just use round 2x2 bricks, but I was being somewhat secretive about what I wanted to accomplish, and it wouldn't work for two reasons: first, you still wouldn't (in the interior of the brick) get a 45 degree offset middle piece; second, the round bricks have no interior space for the magnets. HOWEVER, after also ordering the matched magnetic tape, I figure I CAN use the round bricks - and just wrap the tape, in pair, helically around the 2x2 shaft. Other thoughts: my preliminary idea is to have outside containment/guides; it's based off of this: Two is better than one, right? So why not have both attraction AND repulsion floating your train? I was also thinking - again, for testing purposes, of just building up on train track; that way I'll have fairly easy curves to deal with, and the track will help keep everything aligned. Ultimately, I think this won't work well, and I'll probably end up with magnetic tape on bottom of the cars, and on the track. However, I'm hoping it works because I'd like to ultimately go back to monorail, and do maglev monorail: Then the top of the track could have the drive magnets. Anyway, wanted to throw this idea out there; I have two sets of magnets (discs and tape, and a bricklink order on the way. I was hoping some of you electronics hobbyists could suggest ways of doing a small linear induction motor - it would be awesome, fast, and quiet.

I see what you're going for, but I really don't want it to be any bigger than what's shown in the picture. Smaller is better. I know it's a weird request. Yes! I saw that a long time ago, but for quite some time I was wondering how I could motorize a car when the wheels had circular openings for the wheels to spin freely. Then I saw someone post a picture of a build and was like "OH!!!!!!" Surprising what you learn over time by seeing what others are doing.

I will start off by saying I understand I'm not a popular person around here (for various reasons). I joined in 2009, and I used to come back to EB several times a day to keep up with what was being posted. Early last year I stopped coming to EB pretty much at all. This year, because of something work related that actually gave me a bit more free time, I started reading EB again. I do not pull my punches - if I have something to say, I will say it, and I won't beat around the bush (but I also never name call or let my "discussions" devolve into flame wars, either - probably why I'm still around). I will tell you that, for me, there are various reasons. Often, the MOCs are really good and I have nothing to offer, and I don't like being one of all the "great MOC!" posts that don't really address anything. Sometimes I force myself to comment because I think a MOC is worthy of more attention than it seems to be getting, and if I see something that I think could be better, I will mention it - but generally I look and don't say anything. It's not that I don't appreciate them, it's that, as others have said, you're not building your MOC for me, you're sharing it with me, and I really shouldn't feel obligated to say something, particularly at points in my day/week/month where I'm very busy. I want to give huge props to LegoMonorailFan for starting his monorail thread; these are the kinds of threads I'm interested in, and will actively participate in when I have something to say or share. If it weren't for him, I probably would have browsed EB back in January.... and then not come back again for a long time. This is absolutely true, but also one of those things I hate complaining about. I have woefully little free time, or I would love to help out on something like that - it's not fair for me, then, to complain someone else isn't doing it. I'd add the straightshooters list in the buy/sell forum has not been updated in some time, and that forum is pretty much dead, anyway - very little participating, which is why I now trade on reddit. They have an automatic system that lets you know how many successful trades someone has. There is, perhaps, some apathy; if you have 1000 ships in your sticky ship thread, you may not feel like adding every new one that comes along. My problem with the embassy is that it seems like TLG just doesn't really care about us, anyway. What's the point in asking for something, or suggesting something you know you'll never get? The responses always seem to revolve around what kids want, and that TLG is focused on kids, and they won't do this or that because kids don't like it - then they turn around and release an $800 Millennium Falcon, and a $200 modular every year. I have to wonder how the Diner tested with kids. Anyway, this is one of those sore spots with me that I know bothers other people, and it's not for this thread, but the Embassy, indeed, doesn't seem to offer much anymore except what seems like the occasional link to a fairly useless TLG survey. That's wonderful, but I didn't know that - and how would I? When they changed forum software there seemed to be a lot of little things like this that popped up. I will answer the list of questions below, but because my interests are so varied, but to answer one here: I normally just go to the "show unread posts" link as my first stop at EB. Sure, there's a lot I need to skip through, but it's the quickest way to see new posts in all the forums I read. Only the new software didn't include a link to go to the first unread post... except it did, but there was no way I could have known that's what the little dot or star was until someone told me. Which brings me to another point - I think by now I've given this newer software a validly long time to grow on me. As a software developer, I'm well aware one of the biggest complaints about new user interfaces is that they aren't the old user interface. People could get things done faster with the old one because they knew how to use it. But I also know that we make changes for a reason, and hopefully people will ultimately not just adapt to the new interfaces, but see that they can do things better, more quickly, or with more options. But that's not the case, in my opinion, with this current forum software, and I wonder if you graphed participation in EB along a timeline, and noted when the forum changed to the new software, if there's any data showing people's participation slowed (or stopped completely). In any event: Would you like to see more contests? I often don't participate for a number of reasons - there are thousands of EB readers, but maybe only dozens who are really great at making MOCs, maybe hundreds that make pretty good ones. I'm generally not one of them. What is your opinion of Tags (those small images on the left <---)? A sore spot that I don't complain about, but since you asked: I've been here nearly 10 years, have posted a number of MOCs and techniques (see my signature for a few), and never got a tag for it. That's OK - my posts vary wildly from theme to theme, and I maybe haven't shown enough proficiency in any one thing to warrant getting one, and I'm OK with that. But there are other tags... like tags for women fans of LEGO. That's cool, too. But a few years ago we had an "older than dirt" thread for us aged LEGO fans 50+. I'm now in that group, and mentioned it in the thread. I, and several others, have posted there that we're now north of 50; Andy D (who started the thread) even asked for us to get our tags.... and nothing. Again, I didn't say anything, I didn't complain, but you you asked. Do you use, if ever, Eurobricks reference materials (ie. lists of Reviews, lists of MOCS, lists of Forums)? Not really. Sometimes I might take a look at a list of MOCs; I definitely look for reviews for some themes. I have bookmarked a couple of building topics for ideas/how tos. Reviews here are generally top notch - I don't often want to see video (except where things are supposed to have motion - like the roller coaster, or a train set); I want to see good pictures. Have you participated in games on Eurobricks (ie. Role-Playing, Mafia, etc.)? I did once, and it was kind of crappy - very loose, few rules, things broke down and I just didn't enjoy it all that much. That was a very long time ago, though; I normally don't participate because I can't guarantee that I will be able to come back every day. Joining and not participating would screw it up for everyone, and that's not really fair, so I just don't join. Do you use/visit the Eurobricks Facebook page? Eurobricks on Flickr? etc. No. I personally hate Facebook with a passion. I have to deal with it tangentially for work, I do have an account, but I haven't participated on Facebook in a very long time - since long before the last election, if you get my meaning, as I already saw how bad it was way back then. Do you post MOCs online? What hosting platform do you prefer to use? I have flickr, imgur, and a long time ago brickshelf. Do you prefer broadly defined threads or multiple specialized threads? Depends on the subject. I think threads should stay focused on a theme, at least, but I also think some threads are discussing something specific - a specific set, or someone has a question or topic for discussion, and I don't like when threads meander away from those points - if someone thinks of something interesting as a tangent, they should start a new thread about it. What is the first page you visit when opening Eurobricks on your browser? My bookmarked link goes straight to "unread content." For each set of pages it shows me (between the "load more content" link), I open the pages I'm interested in in new tabs. After I'm done reading or posting, I close the tab and go back to the new content list and do "load more content" until I'm done or exhausted (if I've been away for a while). Reasons I don't visit EB as often as I used to: 1) real life gets in the way. 2) sometimes my interest in LEGO just wanes a bit. 3) I'm simply not as excited about new sets as I used to be. I used to love Castle, but not Nexo; I was super excited about LOTR, but was completely disappointed in the sets, overall. I'm an old man and I love the original SW trilogy - I have all the ships, I don't need repeats, and I'm not interested in sets from the new films (particularly the prequel trilogy, which just sucked). I am a train fan, but TLG is not offering much for us older people (creator sets). I want to build a city/train layout, but the new creator 3-in-1 sets are awful. I used to love CMF before they doubled the price and started screwing around with us, like with Mr. Gold and the classic policeman. I have no new CMF, and I'm completely disinterested, whereas I used to buy a case for every new series. So this isn't EBs fault, but TLG has changed direction over time, and my interest overall in LEGO has diminished. Perhaps a discussion for another topic, but it seems like they are going really high end with really expensive sets for AFOLs (that I can't afford), and broadening what they're offering kids (which I don't want). 4) I get why you don't want to run afoul of TLG's lawyers, but the simple fact is we see pictures of new leaked sets much more quickly on other sites. 5) Too many threads get derailed. Let's talk about upcoming <insert theme here> sets turns into wish lists and "they should have done <this>", even when you know what the sets are - this is one of those times where the subject matter is clearly defined. If someone starts a "what would you like to see in <theme>," then hammer away at your "wants." 6) Over the years a lot of other sites have popped up, some of them quite good. They may not all be forums (blogs), but then that means the owners/moderators of those sites pick and choose the best MOCs to show, as opposed to wading around a forum. Perhaps there should be a MOCs forum with rules, like reddit, that people post the theme, like "[SW] Hoth Battle Scene," perhaps with some way we could sort by theme... I mean, I'd like to see all the trains, for example, is there a simple way to do it here? What could EB do to make me want to participate more? I don't know, honestly. I'm not thrilled with the board software. I certainly don't mind the moderators - there may have been a couple of cases where I thought they were hasty in shutting down a thread, but for the most part they've been great at keeping the peace. I don't know what JustToGood meant by "fakers," but I do feel like the signal to noise ratio has dropped over the years. Also, just from reading the comments above, I know you've gotten a lot of younger readers (in violation of EB rules) that might be very enthusiastic, but post a lot of not-helpful things (noise). Well, look - I really don't think these things would drive more traffic here, but they are good ideas nonetheless. I think a wrap up post that includes all the MOCs from a game could be cool; maybe a thread with JUST the MOCs would be cool, like they do for contests.

Not on it's own - but it's a great idea if I have to kragle, it reduces spacing to only one plate thickness, so I will definitely keep it in mind. Yes, unfortunately, it really needs to be the square bricks. The numbering was just so you can get an idea of the corkscrew effect I'm going for. This is for a functional build, not cosmetic. I don't really want to say too much about it, because it may completely fail, but if it works it will be really cool. Thanks for the help.

Makes me think TLG should do constraction with LOTR. These pieces are really cool, though.

Something like this. This has two 2L axles in the middle - stuck into the 2x2 bricks, though, it's not rigid - it could slip when spinning. Something that took less space would be ideal.... what would be perfect is if there were plain 2x2 bricks with axle holes - one type "+" and another "X" to make it as compact as possible. All the bricks with axle holes I can find have something else attached that make it not work. I think maybe two full bushings in the middle might take less space. The goal here is to make a sort of simple corkscrew... if each brick side were labeled with 1 to 4, all in the same direction, then imagine the brick on the left has 1 pointing towards you and 4 on top, the middle brick has 1 pointing over your head and 2 pointing at your keyboard (assuming you're sitting at a desk), the third has 1 pointing up and 2 pointing towards you. I'm a couple of weeks away from needing something like this for the idea I'm working on... I might kragle the axle into the bricks. It would "ruin" a total of only four pieces. If I thought I could do a good job of it, I might just kragle three 2x2 bricks together, if that's what it takes - it's just an experiment.

I have an idea in mind, but it requires me to stack 3 2x2 bricks, with the center one at a 45 degree offset. They do not need to be snapped together (obviously!), but need to be relatively close (2 plate offset, max), and need to be able to rigidly spin on axis. I may be able to use round 2x2 - they conveniently have axle holes, but I don't see one with an offset. Anything - putting some sort of plate or gear in between would work. Any suggestions? I'm looking through my gears and parts and can't really come up with anything. Again, they would need to spin rigidly on axis, so I don't want to rely on simple friction.

You guys aren't understanding my complaints well. It's not just "all track based" so it doesn't matter. This is a thread about monorail - the coaster tracks are not monorail. You could use the same argument that since they have "regular" trains, we should concentrate on those and not distract TLG with talk of monorail. There's many types of transportation, many types of rail based transportation; monorail is only one of them, and that's the whole gist of this thread - not trains, not coasters, not narrow gauge. Secondly, nobody here really expects TLG to bring back monorail after they've specifically said they weren't going to do it. Lastly, this is all great conversation for LEGO Train Tech - but this thread is derailed because of discussions about coaster track and narrow gauge... this is one of those pet peeves things, and why I'm reading LEGO subredits more than I'm participating here - if you want to talk about coaster track as a new modern means of city transportation, then make a thread, and I'll be happy to add positive comments because I think there's great potential - but it's not monorail, and it won't take the place of monorail. I don't like sounding so negative, I'm sorry if it bothers people. Simply put: No, I don't think coaster tracks are relevant to a thread about monorail. Period. The problem is the locomotive, powering it with PF, and having enough traction and running smoothly. I've seen the posts using that track, and the smooth running one looks cool, but needs two levels in order to run smoothly. IOW, it needs depth, and there are no matching curved 1x parts. On straight sections, it could run really well. If TLG were to make a new system, those rails might be a good starting point.

I agree - kids see an actual running setup at train shows and they love it - I don't know what goes on in TLGs focus groups. "Do you think you'd like a train?" and "Do you think you'd like a monorail?" are obviously not going to get great responses. I also don't think kids would get too excited about the Parisian Restaurant, if you catch my meaning.

Well, I don't want to start an argument, and I don't want to stalk, or call out, Artanis (because I believe he's a valuable member of EB), but that single line post just seems completely out of place here. He hasn't gone to every other thread about "wanted" sets/parts and posted it. The coaster track is definitely interesting, worthy of a topic on how we can use it to make transportation systems in our cities, or moon-bases, or however we want - but it's not monorail.

I don't think so. He said "If." There is something to it, though. The problem here is that monorail is just not popular on it's own, it's not that anything made needs to have a license - it's that monorail will not succeed on it's own. That's not just the impression I get, it's the impression TLG has from focus groups, it's the fact that Ideas projects, no matter how good they are from the perspective of monorail builds, do not succeed. So the question was asked (first post) what would it take, and I started us down this path that it would need to be tied to something else. Classic Space is great - but again, there is not enough nostalgia to make a project work just because it's tied to classic space. I feel like I've seen plenty of classic space ideas come and go on Ideas. The monorails posted have been really great, and I'm working on my own because they've inspired me, and that's awesome, I think. But if the question is what it would take to make a monorail project successful (success being defined as reaching 10k supporters), then it would require some other hook. Yes, it would. You may not like it, I may not like it (I'd much rather have a generic city themed monorail to run in my city than a Disney one), but it's just the reality. What does the roller coaster have to do with monorail? Does anyone really think a successful monorail would "distract" TLG from something else? I don't understand this at all - it's like someone suggesting we should bring back classic space, and someone else saying we should just pay attention to Star Wars - they have absolutely ZERO to do with each other, nor do they have anything to do with the subject of this thread.

Guys, I must be daft, so bear with me. I don't have this, or the Joker Mansion, I am not sure of the detailed mechanics of the cars, but it seems to me they are independent wheels, two per car (which is why they need three linked together that I would assume can swivel), and I'm not understanding why (even if the wheels are connected by axle) if the track spacing is consistent, what the problem with banking is. CDX can do it, and seems like a very similar system (although CDX doesn't have fixed track - the track spacers are a fixed width). In particular, after the first main curve (after the barrel roll), as it goes into the second barrel roll (it's behind the main tower and harder to see), it curves and does a second barrel roll. This is from around 10 seconds to 15 seconds into the video. It works because each car has only two wheels and the cars together can roll independently. I took the basic physics mechanics class over 30 years ago, so it may not have gotten that advanced, or I simply have forgotten why this wouldn't work with LEGO, but it seems to me simply that they've already made so many different track segments that making banked curves would just be too much.

What do you mean by "fixed axes in the carts?" If the width of the track was consistent, I don't see why cars wouldn't be able to bank. What am I missing?

Oh... I wasn't trying to be disingenuous; I know there were sets before that, but now it seems like multiple sets every year instead of one set every two or three years. It's their prerogative - I never said otherwise. On that note, anyone who wants to continue responding can feel free, and I'm happy to discuss LEGO profits and profit margins, and their ever increasing set costs in an age where most incomes are flat; but this thread is not the place.

It's all fair to complain a set is too expensive for most people - that doesn't mean anything except it's too expensive for most people, and that I don't like the trend towards these huge, really expensive sets, whether or not the "value" is there. Like I said, a Tesla might be worth $60k or more - that doesn't mean I can afford one, or that I can't point out that, unless the price came down significantly, I would never buy one.

Actually, a theme like this is much like the Winter Village theme. Unlike the city theme, where you pick and choose what you want, you get limited releases in the theme and make people want to collect them. Maybe they counterbalance the fact that there's not really a lot of sets that can go with this theme, in the long run, by having limited releases that cost twice as much. I don't really know, but I do know that the majority of kids I know would want this set when they walk into the LEGO Store and see it on display. And nobody is saying it's not fair game; a lot of us like to think TLG is above it all, but they are a profit driven company, and they do what they think will make them the most money, and there's nothing unfair about it. It's just, as I said, a lot of us are disappointed in the jump in set prices in the last few years - it started with sets like the Helicarrier, a $350 Ghost Busters set, now an $800 Millennium Falcon. The architecture series used to be small $20 sets - the value may not have been great, but I could easily drop $20 now and again for a new set - and they were sets I could display in my office, but then those sets ballooned into really expensive ones and I just stopped buying Architecture sets. Again, it's not that the value isn't there, it's that it's very difficult for a lot of people to spend $300 or more for a single set; it is also cognitively difficult to buy a $280 modular when all the other modulars have been below $200. The Ferris Wheel (I have) is a great, huge set - but it was still only around $200 - the coaster is nearly double. it's almost like a crack dealer - they get you hooked on a theme, then double the price.

It's not that the price per piece, or overall value of the set is not there - certainly you get a lot for the money. At the much heralded $0.10/piece, this set would have cost even more, so we are actually beating that price point despite having all these new track segments, a bunch of minifigures, and have most of the parts obviously NOT cheese-slopes and 1x1 plates and tiles, unlike so many other sets. The problem is that $380 for a single set prices it out of most people's reach. A Tesla car might be worth $60k or more, but that doesn't mean I can't afford one. So it's true that a lot of us complainers will spend a lot more than that on LEGO in a given year, but we'll end up with a whole bunch of sets, and not just this, and this is a great set - so we become disappointed we couldn't get it (the alternative is to be disappointed in missing out on several other sets) . I'm not asking for tears ; I'll get over it and buy a Pirate Coaster or two . Just saying it's a disappointing price point. A lot of people apparently have no problem spending this much on a single LEGO set, but there will be a lot of kids that won't be able to complete their Fairgrounds, too.

I'm sorry you feel that way - I'm not that pessimistic about LEGO, in general. I do feel bad that a lot of classic themes seem to have gone by the wayside - Castle, in particular, but also space, but newer unlicensed themes seem to work. City, and related, themes seem to be doing OK (the creator line has some spectacular things in it). We do still get the occasional train set, at least. The problem is that you take a subset of the population (those into LEGO), then divide it further and further into the tiny niche that wants a monorail, and you're just not going to get the support. Your ideas project is awesome - I supported the minute I saw it (before this thread), but it simply doesn't have the appeal most classic sets have, so even amongst LEGO enthusiasts it won't gain that much traction. It's sad that, in public displays, LEGO trains and monorails (original or fan made) seem to get a lot of "oohs" and "wows," but it doesn't translate in to sales.

Agreed... I don't think people appreciate, until it's too late, how large LEGO "scale" is compared to, for example, model railroading (HO, typically). I also know that I've gone to shows and seen these huge LEGO layouts and got really wide eyes and thought "someday!" But even those are built up by a number of club members - no one has the space for all of that. L-Gauge (I mention trains only for scale purposes) is more than double the width of HO, but since we're working in 3 dimensions, the total amount of space is 2^3 (8 times as much space, but actually a little more because L-Gauge is more like 2.25 times HO). Height of your layout typically doesn't matter, so even if we stick to to two dimensions, the table space you'd need to replicate an HO scale layout is four times larger. In any event, if you don't have that much space (I don't!) then Littleworlds suggestions are pretty good - you can rotate themes to not have as much going on at any one time. You can have a space theme at one point, a marina at one point... I always thought, when I get "permanent" space for a layout (right now I just do a Christmas one every year), I'd make the building process something I'd play with... start with a landscape, and just add something every once in a while... start with a construction crew building roads, maybe, then a few days (or weeks, depending on schedule) add a building, then another, instead of just piling it on all at once. I think doing it that way might give a more organic layout than just piling things on, because at each step you ask yourself what would be the best next thing to add. I know I will also need sub-displays for some things that simply will not work in a city layout. I have a few sailing ships that take up a LOT of space; I will certainly need a smaller table somewhere to display them all, and they don't work in the city theme. I have the huge Ferris wheel and am looking forwards to the roller coaster sets - they will take up a LOT of space, too.

Hmm... this is an awesome set, TLG finally releasing a roller coaster. If I was rich, I'd buy it (probably several). $380 is just too much. Being able to buy track packs separately (as is the rumor?) will allow me to make my own, I think, at a much more reasonable price - especially if I start with the pirate coaster set. Most of the play features look great, but I am disappointed they had to have the supplemental wheels there, at the top, to keep the coaster moving. It not only doesn't look great, but points to a poor track design, IMO. It seems more like how a flume ride would be laid out. I'm also not sold on the support infrastructure. Obviously I think most people will motorize it, but I wonder how many cranks it takes to get the cars to the top. I can picture a grandparent buying a child a set like this without understanding they should get the power functions with it. I don't know what else to say about it - it's awesome because it's a LEGO Roller Coaster, but it's expensive and feels like a first draft instead of a finished product.