roamingstop

I think you have come up with a great concept, and executed the ideas very well. My only question would be towards adding more colour. We know in the stone age colour was possible (red hand prints etc), and this would certainly help some of the builds. A dark blue-stone to match the inner henge for example. The river hut looks good - but have you seen some of the bronze age huts recreated in Swizterland or Scotland? There daub / adobe is used, allowing the walls to have a more tan colour with brown logs etc.

And perhaps there you hit the nail on the head. Look at all the marketing which went into Ninjago. It is a brand which is likely to flare brightly, and burn a lot of $$$, and then fade to glowing embers. A 2-3 year life cycle which can be relight with a slight variation (Bionicle -> Hero). Trains need a lot of long term investment. And SPACE. It might not burn so brightly, but will burn for a very long time. It is a completely different market strategy... but we might be seeing it with he AFOL Emerald Night and Maersk trains, some good designs for Cargo and Passenger models slowly feeding the fire. There is a good interview with the Product Manager of PF systems on Technic Bricks where it is mentioned that there is a 'long list' of PF type items planned, but only released when sufficient number of products require it. I agree the Arduino platforms can be a much better resource especially for complex sytems, but perhaps they would be in the realm of Education / Hobbyist much more than kids. Trains as a learning tool help many people; there is optimal scheduling of trains on a track (with disturbances such as late, accidents etc), optimal reordering of wagons in shunting yards (minimise time, cost efficiency).

Adding fuel to the fire may not be ideal. But I did make a MOC of a fire train based upon real ones we have in Switzerland (see my signature). I agree the presentation is not fantastic, but it is KFOL style. People like it, I have a few favorite bookmarks on Flickr and about 30 votes on Cuusoo. Now that is a real cross over theme and yet it goes nowhere.perhaps it needs more action on the photos - a flaming emerald night or trackside building, but you don't see that on official TLG marketing. I agree that Cross over has Strong potentiAl but as a product manager it is also necessary To tap into what the market needs. And the market is children, badgering adults and grandparents to buy them sets, not AFOL. A cross over Theme would require major marketing push which would cost a lot more than product development. Perhaps it comes in 2013, but right now we have had two cross overs: western train chase and ghost train. KFOL slightly, but still trains. How well do they sell? Do you own 5 copies of each?

Toungue in cheek So many people complained about copyright that it is clear the 30€ is to reimburse all the AFOL who previously considered their MOC to be the only true haunted house. There are some great building techniques used, some good humor and nice designs. This thread has far too many complaints, which is such a pity for such a great model, a flagship for TLG in 2012 and beyond. Literally breaking the mould of modular, city and seasonal themes.

Coming from the High Res Hero... that is GRogAll, I would hope this is a nice beast.

Some of the good MOC'ers on this thread use the enlighten track simply because it looks more realistic (brown sleepers). It is probably cheaper than the real thing... but was perfectly functional. However this is not the same for the enlighten models which tend to have a 'fall apart' quality to them (clutch strength is not the same). A friend in the US bought a load from Enlighten and was disappointed in their quality. You get what you pay for. An alternative would be to ask ME-Models how much their 9V compatible track runs to - this is a good combination of brown and metal track with potentially larger radius circles coming (one day). However once again shipping to China is the real problem. Personally I would make do with Chinese track; but spend the good $$ on well made models.

First The Winchester @ Cuusoo... Then the Vampire Castle... next Haunted House... and now The Winchester on Bricklink. I really cant wait to be able to build this in the flesh; and let the zombies attack.

The video indicates that the idea stemmed from a sketch done at the same time as the Vampire castle, and is based on the scary concepts of the Munsters House. Original Colour Pilot Image of Munster House Now clearly this is not the 'Munsters house' but a generic 'haunted property'. So perhaps the designer was inspired by the other photos. Im sure Lego have been inspired elsewhere. However normally there is a complete review process to ensure that official models are not copies from others... exactly for all the posturing now occurring on this thread. In the end the AFOL's will get a fantastic model which many will love; kids will definitely love and is wild and wacky. Heck - even girls may like the imagery and open up more market.

For me it is exactly the right look - frost encrusted remnants of sails, as she slips through the mists of the seas... this deserves to be part of the Monster Fighters line in 2013!

That gramophone , loft stairs. Steps. Walls. The 'coat of arms' (literally). I thought Modulars were meant to be detailed. This seems to be one better. Wow

Where is windy miller? Of course next door live Pugh Pugh Barney McGrue, cuthbert, dibble and bob. Nice entry... Well done

Maybe the pf motor for two axles, third on links? Or pf tender. You will need a blind wheel in center to navigate curves

Whilst most likely linked to the Monsters theme, it could be the start of the 'Winter' series for Halloween? A test model perhaps?

Can someone point to the correct place on s@h? Looked everywhere but apart from a battle pack nothing can be found. Perhaps country specific? TLG can (nearly) always choose to reissue if mould is not broken. Collectable for kids is not same term as afol understanding (future investment?).

Over the next months I will also go down this expensive path. However what pieces are best to order via PAB vs BL? It seems the roof pieces are still the best from PAB... but is there a good breakdown of part qty versus PAB / BL? I wont be building a direct replica, rather a mod (much like those currently being posted). Thanks

As Mrklaw mentioned, the new Technic and PF elements (Servo and L motor) could have an interesting roll in making more pistons, and steam locomotives... points (switches) and locomotives.

Exactly what I was thinking - it is not a traditional Lego style and the models were identical. It is however a nice teaser for the 'story'.

Bricks n Bolts made a nice post of how to use the 12V track with PF - which looks to be useful for your system

There are some real classics which are pretty heavy builds - railfaneurope.net can give some inspiration. Swiss / German Crocodile Locomotives? Or the Koloss?

Sorry for bumping; but does anyone know how many large bags (not the internal ones) are expected in this set? I received a damaged box via 3rd party, which had clearly been opened before. However inside all bags were sealed... However I dont know if any were missing? There seemed to be 24 bags in total; some clearly multiples (x4 e.g. bits for the towers). Does anyone know the correct bag count (excluding the bags within bags). Thanks RS

Reminds me of the Winter Toy Store which kept on re-appearing...

You mean the TV, Aug, Nov-Dec in a bright star... on the label of the Ghost Train.

Normally the addition of 'sun' helps. However I have bleached coloured items by this approach. Currently my favorite is to use 'Vanish Colour with Oxyclean' tech - plus a large glass baking tray. And plenty of direct sunshine. Normally whites take 1-2 days; and light grey about 1 day. Blues can take about 1-2 days, but keep checking them. Sometimes the Vanish trick leaves residue - so I occasionally clean them also with a bit of lemon juice before rinsing and drying. It can be quite satisfying seeing really old yellow whites turn... white. And it was much cheaper than having to buy Hydrogen Peroxide. Just slower.

Did you remember to select the images and then share -> bbb code and copy and paste? Did you set images to private?

Most of the parts seem to be structural infeasable - although one I would like is the 1x2 brick with transverse axle hole. Granted playing two 1x1 bricks side by side also works, but they tend to twist and bind on axles. In this era of studless construction most items seem irrelevant, and as mentioned, remove the skill of design.