pinioncorp

No, don't do that, minifigs always complain and move out. But it does need more railway, no Lego town is right without one going around the outside. Or a monorail for the more well-to-do, without crashing the classic town vibe. I do love the waterfront though, it really brings some life and scope to a town. Just needs some more trees and grass (green plate) over the roadplates to soften the concrete feel. Don't forget to make room for your new cafe corner either!

My stance on tiles is that if a surface is supposed to be smooth (ie. Floorboards, ceramic tiles, concrete) it should be tiled. If it's supposed to be textured (such as carpet, gravel or grass) studs are fine. That said, it can get really expensive trying to tile everything so some concessions have to be made.

Very similar to the last one. Better in some ways, worse in others. As already mentioned, the flatness of the nose cone is a killer - It should come to a sharper point. The engines look too gappy for my liking too, considering it is no more accurate or detailed.

Fantastic in both scope and detail. The seamless connection from street to platforms though the building is excellent, the ability to open it all up to reveal the juicy interior details is well done and to top it off you've made an attractive and technically brilliant train to go with it! Beautifully executed!

My inside sources have told me that Nintendo - not Lego - is against a partnership. They feel their products are in direct competition with Lego products and therefore have not cooperated with talks. I doubt this has changed.

I like it, very clean lines and heavy feel to it. The stripe down the side looks great too. The windows would probably be better with the glass facing outwards however. My only criticism would be that the back wheel is too far back. On a real bus there's quite a bit of hang over in the rear to allow it to still make a tight turn - something like this.

While many people complain about those that purchase sets to sell later at profit, remember that this is the only way for those now entering into the hobby to get the retired sets. It's the reason why something like the 10182 Cafe Corner or the 10189 Millenium Falcon command such high prices - because there is not enough supply from investors to meet the demand. The more common a set is, the less likely it will increase in value. But the more demand a set is the more likely it will continue to be sought after when it has long been discontinued. I see the Volkswagen Camper Van increasing in value quickly after discontinuation but flatlining after that, since it's more of a one off (similar behaviour to the Beetle). The modular buildings will probably not appreciate much to begin with as there's heaps of them on the market, but since the modular theme continues to be popular, it will keep interest in the older sets for a longer period of time, making the Fire Brigade and Grand Emporium continue to steadily increase in value. These two sets make up the modular street, the other is a one off and may be forgotten in time. This is, of course, entirely speculation on my part.

How many people do you want to exhibit? How much space do you have? Is it a kids show, or are you after more adult quality displays? What advertising of the event will there be? What activities will there be? These events need incentives for people to attend to exhibit their possessions. Would you be paying people to exhibit, or are you raising money for a charity? Without much information, very few will commit.

From memory, the extra addresses in the alternate mode do not accommodate all functions (the stop button being one). An official set will never need so many so they'll never introduce more frequencies (us AFOLs have to beg to get the basics!) Eight trains is a lot to control at once so simply removing the receiver and changing it as necessary is the best option.

Looking at it again, there's another thing that I dislike about this model (besides from the mismatched case and terrible car) is that the vertical "palace" sign is an art-deco feature. It would look just as good without it in my opinion, and leave that kind of feature open for later use. That kind of vertical sign is not on Grauman's Chinese Theatre as it isn't part of the style. That said, I otherwise like the model and I'm pleased to see them going in an unexpected direction.

While I agree, the most important thing for me regarding new sets is part availability. The problem with these sets is the constant supply of red and god-awful transparent light blue. Maturation of the themes would result in more variation in the palette.

The general consensus regarding inclines seems to be a maximum of two plates per piece of track, with a smoothing curve of one plate per track segment at the start and end (gradually build the incline, not from 0 to 2 plates but from 0, 1 then 2 plates). What that is in silly measurements I'm not sure. Depending on the weight of the trains you're running it may be prudent to limit it to one plate per piece of track. Also remember that a curve is more strenuous that a straight already, so it'll be hard work to pull a train around a corner and up a hill.

Looks pretty boring to me. Not a great deal of architectural detail and the mix of upper and lower case for the text is terrible. The roof would be better made from log bricks to keep it together, rather than having the plates through the middle breaking the texture. And yes, the car (limo? How is that a limousine?) is just revolting.

Not sure about New Zealand but here we only have a platform on one side per track (either an island platform, or one each on the outer side). You'd only have to extend the pedestrian bridge to allow a second track's passage. That said, the platform could be considerably longer.

The Emerald Night is a set that will only go up in price. Obviously that is the case (since it is retired) but even with a large amount on the market, at high prices, it continues to sell well. If Lego does not bring out another steam engine, it will be highly desired for being the only adult collector's steam locomotive. If Lego does bring out another steam engine, it will continue to be sought after as new collectors, having bought the new set, search for the retired set. If you don't have one, get one. I really doubt you'll regret it, and even if you do, they command respectable prices in used condition, allowing you sell it onwards for your money back. As for the carriage, it's not difficult to build in a different livery, or you can wait and hope that the parts become available again (tan windows).

My brother made a very simple one as displayed here. It's not as detailed as the ones above since it was designed more as a toy than a model, but it's so easy to build and can actually store goods without the inside being reserved for building techniques.

I've bought from Amazon.fr but it came from Germany anyway. Do compare the prices, they can sometimes vary between countries.

That is an awesome idea. But I do wonder if that much space could have been removed and still fit the batteries in.

The striping motif definitely makes it seem like an educational institution of some form. A college or university would be a perfect fit. I do think it looks a little top heavy - the front windows are too far down the wall. I'd add another row of 2×2 windows across the top to make it more open. A bit of order in the back would necessary too, especially the continuation of the nougat (medium dark flesh) stripe. The masonry bricks really do make a nice feature here, good work and I'm looking forward to seeing more progress.

Seems like a ridiculous amount of work for something so frivolous. Obviously it's my opinion, but I can't see the value of this. Does it matter that much whether a brick was from the set or not? The whole point of Lego is that it's a system of the same bricks. That said, a less accurate but considerably less time consuming method would be to filter brick moulding numbers by year, rather than by set. That way you can know that the bricks included in a used set are from the correct generation.

Except that the glass is trans-blue, making it useless for adult builders!

1920 × 1080 30 Mbit/s Maxthon 3.4.5 (which is IE or Firefox essentially) I want pretty pictures!

5. gid617 - 1 point. Clever build but maybe you should have been painting your room! The crossed leg looks great. 7. Krystel - 2 points. So simple. So well executed. Made me smile. But a bonus point for the inclusion of a cornice.

That motor brick is awesome! It'll have to be the new micromotor. I just hope it can work in both directions.

A hardware store, how novel! I think you need to lift the ceiling (and the roof) a little higher to give it more space inside. The yellow is really striking, but it needs a contrast colour to balance it - I assume you have a brand name to attach to it. I'd also change the side the door swings open. Keep it up "LT"!