tedbeard

^ Wow, that looks great. Is it stable?

No they cannot "print new molds". Molds are made of steel and have to be carved out of solid blocks. Melted ABS plastic is injected into the mold and a plastic part is created when the ABS cools and hardens. The part is ejected from the mold, it closes and is injected again with more liquid plastic. The kind of 3D "printing" you are referring too makes plastic items one at a time and is used for prototyping (creating an experimental version of an element.) Some custom vendors use 3D printing (ie: Woody on Shapeways) but individual elements are far more expensive and slow to produce than using molds. There is no way to "print" with steel yet and even if they did why do you think it would be significantly easier or cheaper than using robotic cutters to carve the molds as they do now? But what this really comes down to is you are calling the LEGO company liars. You clearly do not believe them when they tell us that monorail lost money. You do not believe them when they say they cannot make money reviving this theme. You can choose to fight tooth and nail against the facts or you can find a new way to move forward. The brick-built monorail track idea is feasible and does not require a quixotic fight. Seems like a clear winner to me.

With all due respect you have missed a whole bunch of the discussion if you can conclude that the old-style monorail could be profitable. You have zero evidence to back this up and the company has years of market data showing it will not be profitable. Look at trains. The 9V train system was abandoned in favour of the current system. It has a fan base and barely sells enough that they have supported it until now. I hate to say it but monorail has less of a market than trains in general. There may be a way to get a monorail set or sets, but asking them to resurrect or re-design a failed system when it can be done without a lot of new and expensive elements is simply the smart way to go.

The cypress molds did not "break" they simply wore out. Over time all molds are damaged by the simple mechanics of the injection molding process. A friend of mine bought a ton of the cypress trees at the end of the production life. He could see a deterioration in the quality of the parts from the earlier trees he had purchased and the ones produced in the last gasp of the mold to fill as many orders as possible before the mold was retired. Think of a mold as like the land before the Colorado river carved out the grand canyon; over time water (or ABS) can wear away the rock (steel).

As I mentioned on the project page, there is a far superior project that has been developed by a group of AFOLs including Joe Meno (http://lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/487). I say superior only in the sense that it is more likely to be produced in that it does not rely on unique parts and is thus more easily expandable. In addition it does not require a series of new molds to be cut. These molds are expensive and given the small market, are not likely to ever generate enough revenue to justify the costs. Reviewing the discussion in such thread as http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=57138 should help you better understand why suggesting a return to the old monorail system is not going to happen. You can wish for an updated or improved set of tracks and accessories but the company has been adamant in their unwillingness to even consider it. Far better to work with a system that not only can work but has already worked in MOCs displayed at conventions. (see Joe's post here: http://brickjournal.blogspot.ca/2012/05/monorails.html The whole series was a total, abject failure that cost a lot of money to design and produce. They never made any profit on the sets. I have no idea if the molds have worn out (which all do) but if so they are certainly never going to re-cut the same money-losing elements again. The reason they did not sell well was the high costs of the set thanks to several unique elements including the motor and switches. The sets were thus very expensive and while I think they were awesome, not very many kids were able to even see these sets as they were not distributed widely (see high cost). With a low visibility and high price they were not able to find enough of an audience who liked the monorail and were able to afford to buy it. There is a way to find niche markets a little more effectively now but the cost factor still hits pretty hard. However, if they use stock parts (bricks, support, wheels, power functions engines and controllers) as proposed in the other project it might be possible to produce a set or sets at a reasonable price point.

Fantastic ship, hilarious pictures & commentary but my favorite detail has to be that musket rack. Brilliant!

Oh the sad state of education in [insert country here]! Don't they teach anything about mid-20th Century American pop culture? He was the "Lone Ranger" because he was the lone survivor of a party of Texas Rangers massacred by the bad guys. He buried all the dead and created a false grave to hide his real identity, becoming the anonymous hero. BTW according to what I have read about the movie this is a reimagining of the story with Tonto as the one who has the brains (a la Without a Clue.

Not pointed at, but certainly a lot of snickering and going quiet when you approach.

Not exactly. They used Market Street to launch the project but he did not design something and submit it. As I understand it they worked with him as a freelance designer not as in choosing something built on the LDD platform. The set was designed and produced before LDD was released publicly. The idea was to inspire people to build their own extra floors or entire buildings using LDD and buy them from LEGO Factory. As for the Modular House Standard (MHS), it was described on the LEGO Factory site and the "rules" as posted there were those used previously in the Cafe Corner and followed in all subsequent sets (ie: Fire Brigade, Grand Emporium) right down to the current Town Hall. So yes, they are all part of the same line. If you need any further evidence you need only look at the Mini Modulars (10230) which represents "the first 5 buildings in the Modular Building series". (Quote from S@H) Once again LEGO likes to mix-up and mess around with themes to the eternal confusion of collectors and those who like neat tidy lists. Cuusoo BTW is significantly different in that many can suggest but very few will ever be produced. LEGO Factory would produce anything you could design (within the limits set) so long as you were willing to pay the premium. The only submissions they ever produced for wide release were the result of a special contest run to promote the launch. It was never intended to be a regular feature of the program. Clearly the lessons learned from that have been incorporated into Cuusoo and hopefully it will produce a worthwhile line of sets over time.

OMG no way! Don't do it. The full convention fee is not that bad and you get goodies! Plus the public hours are a crowded zoo and it is worth it even if you can only be there one day. You can get into the hall before or after public hours and actually get close to the MOCs and talk to other AFOLs and avoid some of the crazy lines that form around the vendors. Do it quick so you can get your brick badge!

Booth: The last couple of years the LEGO booth has been nothing but a small static display usually including a new set they unveil during the con (ie: Kingdom Joust, Medieval Market Village and Imperial Flagship which were all unveiled at past BrickCons). Free Stuff: The con itself gives away a lot of stuff including lots and lots of door prizes and "thrown prizes" during the opening and closing ceremonies and the keynote. Public Exhibition: nothing vague about it. The public can come in for limited hours on Saturday and Sunday and it is a zoo. Best time to do things like the underground tour and other "off-site" activities. It can be fun interacting with the public but it does wear you out pretty fast.

Sadly this is the first time I will not be going since 2006. It is totally worth going and the usual van full of VicLUGers will be heading down from Victoria. Bring as much cash as you want to spend and keep in mind that just crossing the border drops prices 20-30%. Add in the usual convention discount and you will be paying around 50% of the regular Canadian price for brand new LEGO from the LEGO store. There are also vendors at the convention with BrickArms having a huge space and usually giving away some freebies. Expect to meet lots of interesting people, see lots of fantastic MOCs and listen to some informative and hopefully entertaining speakers. Sign up for building contests and ask someone to direct you to Pagliacci's Pizza and Dick's Burgers. The two favorite quick food places for my son and I when we go.

I prefer a "jungle" themed pack: 1 x jaguar = 5 points 2 x turtle = 6 points 2 x capuchin = 2 points 1 x toucan = 1 points Total = 14 points Demographic info: Canada, 45

Greetings from (probably) North of you! Welcome to Eurobricks from Victoria, BC.

That is fantastic. And if I may say, the kind of MOC that should be turned into a Cuusoo project.

From:Fair Play on LEGO.com:

What? You introduced yourself while I was camping near Parksville? Welcome from the Left Coast. I noticed you get LEGO news from limited sources. You should check TBB (The Brothers Brick) and BrickSet regularly as well.

Totally, I think an assortment of both would be the best solution, BF for mounted on the muskets and some BA ones for holding or mounted in BF belts.

Although I am a huge fan of BrickArms and love the muskets better than any others I have seen, I have to say the bayonets miss the mark. The BrickForge bayonets are far superior. Certainly the U-clips are a wonderful accessory but the sheer bulk in conjunction with the BA bayonet is absurdly huge. If you are going to be fair you really should compare the bayonets from the two manufacturers.

Have you considered something like the base8 modular landscape standard which was designed for such applications? http://www.copernicanstudios.com/landscaping/revision3/

Aww shucks. Thanks for that but you should know that the Canadian side of Niagra Falls is a touristy pit as well. "Museums" of all kinds (including what I understand is a rip-off "LEGO Museum") fill the Canadian side and while I have not been there in years I am sure you are just as overcharged for a hot dog as on your side. Now that said, if you want to come to Canada you are in for a treat. Quebec City is magnificent and for many it can feel a bit like visiting Europe. Out here on the We(s)t Coast you have spectacular coastlines and mountains. I always loved exploring Nova Scotia and the Maritimes are full of great sites to visit. Sorry to sound like a Canada Tourism commercial but I'm feeling particularly proud today.

Or even better, do a set based on the circus train as featured in the opening of The Last Crusade. That would bring in IJ fans, trains fans, circus fans and anyone who wants some new animals (assuming they did the giraffes, rhino and a lion).

I like these older torsos which are cheaper than the CMF Romans:

Talking about string is one thing but genuine ABS LEGO elements have "LEGO" molded into the piece. Avoiding BL because of fears of fake parts is absurd... oh wait on second thought... BL is totally fake, never ever buy from any of the hundreds of "AFOL's" because they are all secretly one guy in Taiwan with a factory and copies of every mold LEGO ever made. [Ahhhh, one less person to drive up prices by buying parts I might want.]

The price from PAB is retail, not the factory cost so don't sweat that part. As for the real world companies why would you go that route? For Cuusoo make up a company like Octan or the Cargo delivery company and use that branding. They can print stickers and people can use them or they can print their own.