roamingstop

Well then you never lived in the 70's and 80's UK where blue was the official colour of British Rail... most of the locomotives were Blue with white logo... and many pictures... But in the end, blue is a colour which most (modern) trains dont come in (for whatever reason) and most Lego models, whilst not scale / colour versions, will keep to schemes which work. How many blue cars do you see these days? In the 80's and 90's quite a few... but now? Bright blue has vanished; dark colours are more fashionable.

Wow. Wow. Wow. Need I say more? Wow. Damn it will be an expensive year.

With the success of places like Ebay and other auction sites, and people being able to readily see that some items sell for a lot of money, there are more and more people who think they can buy now, and sell in 5 years to make a profit. This kills the market potential. I know I did this with the Winter Toy Shop - I had a strong hunch it would prove very popular... but I also got stung as Lego re-released the model last year, and again this year. Maersk ships got re-released with slight changes, which for all but the most MISB collector, are no different. The modular houses etc became a surprise hit, so the early ones sell for a lot now; but that was more luck. Look how many times (different) Hogwarts castle has been released!. As mentioned above, buy MT / EN if you think that you will always like to have multiples of that model, even if it never goes up in price. I bought a few EN's for the carriages; and sold the locomotives (+tender) for about 60% the purchase price; which I believe to be fair. Similar with those selling the Maersk loco. I will shortly buy some more EN's - not for investment but I have a MOC of a 0-6-0 which uses the similar colours and pieces; the rest will be BL'ed.

Actually the one which (for me) would be the biggest boon is improved Instruction facility, allowing subgroups to be built first (user specified order perhaps?). Even if the subgroups use the existing automated design (which makes some strange decisions), it would greatly improve the way LDD can be used, especially for MOC's. A related feature to this would then be to have Instructions exported to PDF. Whilst callouts (and everything else) would be fantastic, they would not be necessary in a first version. After that; some of the selection tool ability would be nice; and perhaps a feature which allows you to look up whether bricks exist in that colour (as per Superkalle LDD Manager).

Dan Aubinhas some great models; and I think this is a particularly excellent colour scheme modification. Well done!

I have used a similar method of 2x2 tiles with single stud to offset seats in my LRZ Fire Train rescue system. Although not applicable for cars; you can also fit the tile and seat combination into a standard Lego panel 3 or 4 studs high; allowing minifigs to sit opposite each other in trains. However overall I think you have developed this concept really well; it looks like a Portfolio application!

Some form of creative commons license would seem fair. In the world of open source programing; you can build a script which does a specific set of functions, using common keywords. There are plenty of different ways for that script to work (implementation) etc, but in the end the exact coding you use is your copyright. If someone else comes along to extend or improve the algorithm, they should state in the copyright the original source, and that they are making an improvement. Often you cannot sell that source code; or the function built around that source code, without first contacting the authors for their permission. There may be technicalities with using a creative commons license around Lego bricks; but in the end those who are creating the instructions / models are building a specific concept, using a subset of common building elements. Someone could build exactly the same concept completely on their own, but it is unlikely to be the same build, unless it is a specific function (or algorithm) for which there may only be one or two solution. So a creative commons license would seem to be the most obvious solution. However there are many different flavours and it would be good to debate the differences. And in the end, the Ebay sellers probably have no idea of the CC license means; although it would be slightly easier for a take down request.

Personally I think it could be a fun thing; but you would need to decide between physical MOC or LDD equivalent? Then someone would need to specify scales; parts (available list or all possible), colours (available list or all possible). Some possible themes: Wild West Cargo Train Scenic mountain tours Inter-regional rail Old timer's rally (not just steam, but early diesel and electric) Fuel loading / unloading depot

Pretty sure I saw these today on a shelf in Mueller, Konstance Germany. Not my cup of tea; but seems to be available.

Mueller Konstance (Germany) had about 10 of these on the shelf for around 170 Euro; but im not 100% sure on the price. Anyone in the area should pop down in the next few days.

An interesting comment on Bricksetwebsite... Edit: mis-read the quote; I had thought 10173 would be re-released but guess im wrong.

I completely agree with you Shupp... but sometimes the challenge of using KFOL suitable pieces is more fun!. I rearranged axles again last night - but the main issue is the vertical axle needs to be 1 stud offset (maximum) from the horizontal axle, otherwise the truck will never turn inside the wheel arch. I think I will return back to the RC / 9V motor solution as it allows good turning without too much overhang... and the vertical space for the motor is reduced.

Brickshelf items need to be moderated before they are available as public. Sometimes it can take a while... but then it is up.

Looking slicker and slicker. For photos; get yourself a brickshelf or flickr account (I prefer flickr). You can then get BB code or HTML code directly from Flicker website and add into threads here. Search through EB and you will find various tutorials. Now the loco is looking pretty good; give yourself a big pat on the back.

well... what do kids play with most from the existing sets?... (and not what AFOLS' do). Trackside structures would be great, but do kids really enjoy playing with them? We did get a station last year, and a level crossing. We have had two AFOL designed models - EN and Maersk; so another high level design is unlikely for at least another 2 years. Separate cars / wagons never sold well in the past; and I am not aware of an iconic train in the world like Santa Fe (done), or Rio Grande equivalent which children love... Personally I would love to see a rendition of the 'Fire Trains (LRZ)' which I have various MOC's of. It would be a great cross over between train and fire themes. There are floating rumours of a charging system, so perhaps a simplified engine shed with a light could be an occurance?... and with the complete success of the 'Winter' theme, a relevant cross over could also be envisaged for 2012. But I doubt things will be announced before then.

For a MOC I am working on, I decided to try to use the split level train bases with a custom made truck / bogey which could be powered by a PF-M motor. Ive put together a couple of designs, but find that the train wheels consistently slip even when boat weights are added. As mentioned in other threads, fitting gearing mechanisms into the truck is not easy; so the solution currently only has one powered axle (the other is dummy) which probably does not help the traction. Does anyone have any suggestions? LXF file. I know of a solution which uses the standard RC / 9V (but not PF) motors, but this makes the base even longer (by another 2 studs from above image). In tests the RC / 9V motor combination has no slipping problems, and actually runs faster than with the PF-M motor... which I should probably live with. It is just going around Lego curves the massive overhang of the extra long bodywork is a bit of a pity. The other way is to power both axles (or build a 3 axle truck) but this starts getting pretty big when compared to other Lego scales. What suggestions do others have?

First contact the seller and explain that for you - 100% complete means that the model can be built as per instructions; replacement parts are not 100% complete (whenever I sell I always mention this). Next if no response; or a bad response indicate that you will open a resolution center. Be prepared to take photos of the items as they have been posted / packaged. See what happens... and allow the normal system to work. A year go I bought some models from USA; the photo clearly showed 2 sets of instructions under the models; but neither instruction was packaged. Some of the models were showing their 'good side' only... first the seller claimed that the instructions were not meant to be included... but I pointed out they had used the wording 'what you see in the photo is what you get'... Eventually I got a refund of about 15% of the purchase price; which I considered a suitable solution. The seller stopped their listings for a while.

For those impatient souls... I have started the LDD build. The rest of the submodels will be added over next day or two.

3677 Red Cargo Train: Theme Trains Models updated to LDD 4.2.5 by Sjuip, MANY THANKS! Complete set: LXF 4.25 or LXF 4.0 As always stickers are missing. The models are subgrouped inside the main LDD file; and for those who have difficulty opening it, the sub models are listed below. Locomotive LXF 4.25 old LXF Errors 9V motor and decorative sides instead of PF version Custom Battery Box Windscreens are wrong; no decorative sides. Unimog LXF old LXF Errors Some colours / parts are hard to differentiate (horizontal clips), and my need to be checked again. Work Wagon LXF old LXF Errors - None (except stickers) Coal Wagon LXFold LXF Errors - None (except stickers) Structures LXF old LXF Errors Conveyor belt is made from custom parts. Uprights are made from custom parts. Hazzard Wagon LXF old LXF Errors - None. Track LXF Minifigs LXF

If people are happy I hope to finish 3677 Red Cargo Train soon.... And done...

Yep... there I even heard of someone on Bricklink selling custom metal wheel sets (similar to those used in 9V motor) - but I never found the link. Within Eurobricks it was discussed some time ago. I used a search term for recifier... Search 1, search 2, search 3. Each is in a slightly different thread; which is worth reading up and down.

As in the photo links above - you build a large rectangular tube which the motor sits inside; with the body resting on the tiles of the truck. The 3/4 technic pins help keep stop the motor + bogeys falling out when the model is picked up. I had been playing with some different ideas; testing PF-M motor direct to the bogey's and whilst it drives well, it is relatively slow. Faster speeds can be found by using the normal PF train motors; but then 3 axles are no longer possible. I saw a link (somewhere) where the PF XL motor is used to drive a jacobs bogey (i.e. it connects between two base plates / cars) - this allowed larger gears to be used, but whilst I can visualise the photo, I have not found it again. I somehow think it was in a Tram model...

There are threads on it - try the advanced search. From memory you will need a diode rectifier bridge - so that the same polarity is producted no matter which way around the 9V motor is on the track. There is a drop of about 0.7V per diode; so expect around 7.6V from a rectified motor; then you would need the charging circuit to be integrated. If you plug into the connector on the rechargable box it would work... but if you take just a pure PP3 you would need the trickle charge circuit (removes spikes etc). Nothing too difficult.

I believe if you phone customer support you can request purchasing of specific items if you know the full Lego part code. You might have to be nice to the phone rep; and you might not always be able to get exactly what you need. You will probably pay slightly more than PAB which appears to be better for multiple different items. I would love to be able to order a specific part in a different colour (e.g. the split train bases in blue, or the new train fronts in black), but doubt this is possible without a minimal order of xxxx (thousends)... or through the twice yearly LUG requests. Does anyone know?

Well I think wrecking Spongebob whoever unleashed the creative potential; it looks much sleeker and more elegant.