Bryan, you’re not alone.

Those of us who are into trains know that Anthony Sava has been working on his Pennsylvania Railroad T1 Duplex (4-4-4-4) Steam Engine #5544 for a year and a half. We know this because Tony has been posting work-in-progress pictures, asking for advice and generally running an interactive development system for all this time.

Since many people seemed to enjoy my Anatomy of a Warehouse post where I went through some of my own building stages I think this post should appeal even more. Anthony has documented about 30 images as he has progressed in this project.

Right at the beginning he asked for advice and suggestions on the nose which elicited many responses. As one of the most prominent features of the train it is really important to get this right and I think Tony achieved this admirably in his final version.

Later on Tony used LDraw to mock up various components of the train. I assure you the vanity of the example selection was accidental.

As the train got nearer to completion (this picture is four weeks old as of today) the design began to settle down (note the differences from the CAD image above) and more refined details started to appear.

A final pre-production version was completed a few days ago. Just lacking the stickers and any final tweaks. Tony thanks many people for their help but I’d like to thank him for spending the time on this excellent creation.

And I think we can all agree this train has aged rather well since its inception.

The technique by itself is enough to warrant a mention on the blog, but the builder has included an action packed interior full of comical hilarity.

74louloute enacts all sorts of mayhem on some Wild West minifigs in this fantastic Red Light District diorama. Please zoom in and check out all the details. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

And in his words (slightly edited)

Formerly, the sherrif used to be the guarantor of the security and the peace in the city. Unfortunately, now he is totally outstripped… All he can do is watch the mess spread the city directed by women…

What’s not to love?

Victor Vitale takes steampunk into the Old West with this teeny tiny airship airboat piloted by a pair of U.S. cavalry soldiers.

As part of my Wild West Train project I’ve been trying to vary the presentation as well as produce useful instructions for each stage. The final stage let me try a new experiment: packaging the ‘train set’ in its own satin lined wooden box. Fabric is kind of difficult to render without special tools so I decided to go for satin as the easiest.

And of course there are instructions for each part of the train: loco, passenger wagon, lumber wagon, boxcar and caboose.

Starting with BrickWorld 2008 in June, each LEGO convention has revealed more and more new products and prototypes.

Thanks to the extra time he has now, Will has been churning out more prototypes in his garage than we can count — particularly for those of you eager for World War II accessories.

For your Allied minifigs, the Bazooka M9 (with M6 rocket) will pack a serious punch:

On the Axis side, the German Panzerfaust 30 anti-tank weapon and MG42 machine gun will complement the MP40 SMG and C96 Mauser:

One of the most intriguing new prototypes is the U-clip (”U” for universal). The U-clip can connect any two objects that can fit into a minifig hand.

The potential applications seem infinite, such as attaching a bayonet (also a new BrickArms prototype) to your Lee-Enfield SMLE, a Combat Knife (again, new) to your M4 Carbine, or simulating an M203 grenade launcher with a black LEGO lightsaber handle:

Between our earlier coverage and the Zombie Apocafest, readers should already be familiar with the Lewis gun and Combat Shotgun:

The current Lewis gun prototype solves a minor issue with the earlier version (the drum tended to pop off fairly easily) by attaching the drum to the gun with a clip-like stud. This does make the drum more secure, but it resembles T-21 blaster from Star Wars a bit less with the drum removed.

A couple of the more unique new weapons include a game-inspired gunblade and a Derringer:

The MGL (multiple grenade launcher) will enable your minifigs to take on Decepticons and Predators alike with ease:

Finally, fans of Western movies get two iconic pistols — the Colt Navy 1861 revolver and the M1917 revolver (which looks a lot like the Colt Single Action Army “Peacemaker”):

For those of you wondering when we’ll see all this great stuff in production, here’s the final word from Will:

The next mold (in black and/or bley) will include the Combat Knife and Combat Shotgun for sure, and most likely the MGL, Lewis Gun, and Paintball Gun, but the lineup is still being decided. Look for that mold in early 2009, perhaps even by BrickFest 2009 in Portland!

The swords and Colt Navy will most likely be added to a silver mold, sometime soon as well. I’m still coordinating the layout for it. The other items may be limited-edition “garage releases”, as time permits. All will eventually see production.

Did he just say swords and paintball guns? Yes indeed. Look for a preview of those in the next few days from Josh. ;-)

Don’t forget to check out GOMINIMANGO.com for more videos and a contest (details coming soon to a blog near you!)