ImLost

It's an eye doctor's office? Lol, I was waaayyy off! I said it was a psychic's den because I've seen tarot cards with eye balls on the back. Plus, eyeballs represent looking into the future, right? Also, the diamond pattern above the doors, as well as the building's color scheme looks kind of mystical to me. Guess I don't get the "cool points" huh? As for your buildings' interior- awesome. In the town hall, I love how the books on the shelves have different degrees of depth. I love the light gray jumper plates you used to create a metal cabinet. The winding steercase and the EZ-chair- both incredible. My only suggestion would be to add some decor to your interior's walls, such as a painting or something. Right now, sections of the interior's wall look a little empty. The soda shop looks great as well. I love the retro color scheme. The soda fridge is beautiful! Well done! If you have time, take some photos of the fish stand's interior too. I would like to see it.

Thanks again, Ralph. I'll order some dial-pattern tiles in the future but right now, I'm trying to hold off on buying more LEGO. After all, it took one 7208 Fire Station, two 7239 Fire Trucks, one 5867 Super Speedster, and one 7633 Construction Site just to build this truck. Total cost- over $250! I'm considering installing an extra wheel axle because if I'm going to add outrigger's, I'll need extra length to accomodate them. But I like the truck as it is so I'm kind of torn. I can't wait to see you build a ladder truck. I've seen your U.S. Rescue Pumper (you're talkig about the red, white, and blue one, right?). I love the SNOT technique you used to create the stripe pattern. The truck as a whole looks like a mosaic, which I love. Thanks, Lightningtiger. I can't believe it took me two weeks before I added a steering wheel! Thanks, Ras 74.

Are you talking about the building with the eyeball? I bet its where one of those fortune-telling card-reading psychics work. As for the town so far, I like it. Just because it doesn't have the fancy decor of other modular buildings doesn't mean it looks bad. Even though the town only has three buildings so far, it looks very lively and busy. Good work! I love all the little details such as the clock, the eyeball, and ofcourse, the fish sign on the beach. I would love to see some interior shots.

Well done, Castlelord. I like how modern it looks, a nice contrast to TLG's own line of modular buildings. Can't wait to see a finished interior! I love the little apartment on the third floor and all the little details such as the soap bottle next to the sink. But I have to admit though, if I'm living there, I would not want to have the toilet right next to the bed, without even a wall to separate the two!

Great car, Col.Brik. Very sporty looking. I must admit though, when I first saw your model, I did not recognize what type of car it is. I think if you can somehow replicate the chrome detailing found on the front grill of the real-life version, your MOC would be more recognizable. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking, two 1x2 grill pieces placed vertically side-by-side. Also, I feel the car is not deep enough and the windows are too tall when compared to its real-life counterpart. Still, it is a very nice-looking model. Detailed and race-ready.

Nice work, Willdog. Instantly recognizable as a Chinese restaurant. However, I think the building's dimensions are too similiar to that of the pizzaria. In the real world, when buildings are side by side, they typically have different heights and depths. I suggest you apply this concept to your MOC as well. Still, overall, good looking model. I love the arched doorway.

Thanks, Ralph. You are right in that any vehicle wider than 8 studs will not be compatible with minifigs, which is why I resisted the urge to make it wider. Still, compared to photos of real-life American fire trucks, my model looks too narrow in comparision. Main reason is that my headlights are too big. Oh well. As for the rest of the truck's body, I have redesigned the turntable to make it look more realistic and added some railings like you said. I also took your advice and added more detail to the pump control panel (see the bottom of this post for photos). But because I only have 1-stud round pieces to work with, I'm still not happy with how the pump control panel looks. BTW, I've seen your FDNY truck before. Just awesome! I'm tempted to make my truck with 6 wheels too but I'm afraid doing that will make my model too long for an 8-wide vehicle. Good advice JJ. I'm pretty happy with how my truck has turned out. But I'm one of those picky people who is never completely satisfied! Thanks, Delta 38. The grill was originally 4-wide but that pushed the headlights to the very edge of the truck. I felt there needs to be some space between the edge of the truck and each headlight so I narrowed the grill to 3-wide. Anyways, here is an updated version of my truck. A lot of the changes are inspired by looking at Steven Asbury's amazing 6-wide fire apparatus's. I completley redesigned the turntable to make it more realistic. The old turntable used to be from the truck in 7208 Fire Station. Although i liked how that turntable looked, I felt it was too bulky. Thus I made a new one that takes up half the space and look more life-like. I also moved the turntable to the very back of the truck. This allows a storage area in front of it. I have also added a new basket to the ladder that is much more realistic, based on Asbury's work as well as real-life photos. My original basket was too simple and doesn't look very safe! I have added more detail to the pump control panel. By detail, I mean I just saturated the plate with many 1x1 round stud pieces. I am not happy with how the pump control panel looks but I'll live with it. I have also added some tan plates on top of the pump control. Those are supposed to represent folded hoses. The back of the truck has recieved some minor refinements and the cab now actually has a steering wheel! Woohoo! This is still a work-in-progress. I'm thinking about adding outtriggers. The part of the truck I am least happy with is the section directly in front of the turntable (with the fire sticker on it). I feel it looks too bulky and lacks detail. Suggestions welcome.

Wow! Absolutely gorgeous. One of the best LEGO buses I've seen. I agree with Ricecracker about adding bigger wheels but everything else is so incredible, it is easy to overlook that one tiny problem. How many does it seat? I would love to see a photo of this bus full of passengers.

Beautiful! I love the brown and green together. I also love the sign with the word "fish" written in Chinese. But last time I checked, the bottom line is supposed to be solid, not dotted. Anyways, great scene. I enjoy the busy-looking atmosphere!

Nice station. I especially like the lamp and benches. But i think the station should be a lot bigger.

Thanks, Walrus Keeper! I love how you described the model as "cute" when another poster before you described it as a "monster" (but ihe meant it in a good way). Thanks, JayDuck. You know, I was tempted to make it even wider! If you look at photos of actual American fire trucks, my model still looks too narrow compared to its real-life counterparts. But I'll resist the urge and keep it 8 wide. Thanks, Fire-storm. One of my model's weaknesses is that the cab has a lot of detail but the rest of the truck looks too simplified in comparison. I'll address this problem soon. Thanks, MetroiD. An improved version will be up later this weekend. Thanks, marvinblue. If by "standard fire station engine bay" you mean the one found in 7208 Fire Station, then this truck is out of luck. But there is a solution: take 2 fire station bays, put them side by side and take out the middle wall. Then, stack two more bays on top of that. Simple enough renovation, right? Thanks, CommanderFox. Hopefully after this weekend, it won't be a WIP anymore!

Wow, I've never seen so much lego in one place! Great job. I love how the buildings in your town have such drastically different stylings and designs from one another. I also love your blending of 4, 6, and 8 wide vehicles together into one city. I can't get that UPS truck out of my head. You know, I've never seen a city with just a single skyscraper. You're gonna have to build more than one! I'm sure you can do it!

Speechless

Good looking MOC! The overall shape of the house is nice but I agree with Tiger- the model could use more props and details. Try to turn all that extra space on the base plate into a beautiful outdoor scene. Maybe add some fences, plants, a walkway, another structure, etc... Still, you have built yourself a solid foundation. Nice work.

Nice MOD! I especially like your custom decals. However, I think the front looks too bare. The bus would look better if it has a bumper that sticks out and some sort of decal in-between the headlights.

Nice work, Grimer. I love that the cab is narrower than the rest of the body- definately a lot more realistic.

What a unique MOC! I'm curious as to how far the skiers are actually launched. Do they fly way beyond the slope? If you have a video, I'd be glad to see it. Well done!

Thanks, Loganwan. I used 7 ladders total. 6 ladders are stacked in the front. Although the height is 7 ladders tall, the turnatable cannot support it! Also, when fully extended, the ladder bends like crazy. Funcationality is definately NOT one of my top priorities. I think 8 wide fits well with the city theme (although many would disagree). The mobile crane in 7633 Construction Site is 8 wide and I have seen people incorporate that vehicle seamlessly into town layouts. In fact, ACCURATEin's Lego City has plenty of both 6 and 8 wide vehicles coexisting beautifully. In real life, trucks vary greatly in width- the lego world should be no different.

Great scene, Mariko. As someone who has been pinched by a crab (more than once), this MOC was like looking in the mirror! I love how you constructed the water. And the fish sign on top the store is very clever! I have two suggestions: 1. I think the boardwalk would look a lot more "wooden" if you tile it with brown planks. 2. I also think the sand looks a little too flat. If you have more tan pieces, maybe adding some mounds and other elevation changes will enhance the overall look. Overall, a beautiful MOC. Nice work.

One of the best tow trucks I've seen. I especially love the splash of blue on the vehicle's bed. Beautiful colors and design!

I like it! I like it even better than the one in 7733 Truck & Forklift. Your MOC has both better shape and color than the TLG version. Now i suggest your next MOC be a truck to compliment this wonderful model.

I agree with Rufus that red tool boxes seem to be more common (in the US anways), but I think the light gray one you already built will still look good in any garage.

Thanks for the compliments, guys. I'm still not 100percent happy with this MOC, though. I think the front of the truck is proportionally incorrect. The headlights just does not look right, IMO. Also, the compartment section of the truck is too low. Plus, I feel the back is slightly too blocky. I'll try to make some improvements over the weekend.

What a beautiful set! The flatbed truck's colors compliment one another so well! And the tractor is both cute and realistic. That yellow truck is also very well designed. Beautiful work.

Thanks for the comments, everyone! Yeah, a lot of people are not big fans of 8-wide but after looking at photos of american fire trucks, I feel a 6-wide is way too narrow. I think as an 8-wide, the truck looks more proportionally correct. That is one of the major flaws of my model.. there is no room to fit a steering wheel or controls on the driver's side! I know how to remedy that problem, but I lack the pieces to do so. There are no outriggers unfortunately. I can't figure out how to build one at the moment. Suggestions would be great. I may have to go with "implied outriggers", which means I'll add some panels on the side to give the illusion that outriggers are behind them, when in reality, no outriggers exist. Yes! An 8 wide supporter! Glad I'm not alone! I agree that the pump control panel could use more dials and knobs and such. I just don't have the pieces for that right now. The pump control panel used to be populated with those little one-stud round gray pieces, but I had to use up all of them to make the truck's front grill. I'll definately try to add some out triggers but right now, I can't come up with how to do it. Good suggestion! I have a bunch of creator family homes and maybe I can make some sort of diaroma with this truck in action.