Okay, I think this is mildly noteworthy, since it means the Imperial Star Destroyer™ is going away forever soon, but it also gives me an excuse to remind our loyal readers that running Brothers-Brick.com isn’t free, and your help is always very much appreciated. ;-)
If that’s not your thing, how about some of the following lovely products?
Matt Hamann has been steadily improving his rolling stock (trains and carriages) and this new Burlington Northern GP9 is a true masterpiece. The placement of details, subtle shape differences and clever tricks (check out the hands on the handrail) combine to make for a beautiful engine. Excellent work.
The second issue of Railbricks magazine is out for your perusal. It’s a high quality PDF magazine edited by Jeramy Spurgeon and dedicated (unsurprisingly) to LEGO trains and includes building instructions, articles and much, much more. Even if you’re not interested in brick railroads it’s worth a look for general building ideas.
It’s reader submission, day! :-D Peter Edwards sends us word of several new creations, including new racing pits for his track racers (above) and 4954 Model Town House rebuilt as a train station (below).
Another TBB reader, Garth Danielson, sent us an e-mail today to tell us that his blog is turning into a bit of a LEGO blog lately. I checked it out, and liked his “Bat out of Hell Express” so much I came right back here to blog it myself.
I figured the engine should be the first picture in the post, but I personally like the passenger car the most — very Art Deco:
Sekiyama (blog) is one of those builders I run very hot and somewhat cold for but this loco is most definitely hot. It even has working pistons (although some cutting may be involved) and gorgeous innards. Check out those arched windows too, tres bien.
EC40 was manufactured by Allgemeine Germany in 1912.She was the first electric locomotive in JNR.She was sold to private railway back_Keifuku TeKi512, and used until 1970.
Well that’s enough of his description, enjoy this wonderful and working creation.
Tim
The recent announcement from LEGO about the future of both RC trains and 9-volt trains has rupi approaching the issue from a historical perspective:
This actually brings up a good point, so I apologize in advance for using rupi’s vignette as an excuse to spout my own opinions. ;-)
Long before 9-volt Trains (in the 1960s through part of the 1980s), LEGO produced train sets that ran on 4.5-volt power. In other words, the transition from 9-volt trains to RC trains was not the first, nor do I suspect that the transition from 9-volt and RC to the new system will be the last. Who knows what kind of technology will be available to power LEGO trains 30 years from now?
Don’t get me wrong; I do understand the frustration of LEGO fans who’ve invested thousands of dollars in the current 9-volt system (and in my role as an Ambassador, I’ve passed along all the feedback of LEGO Train fans to LEGO). Still, I can’t help but feel that LEGO deservers some measure of understanding for the decisions that they’re making, that LEGO isn’t a non-profit organization whose sole mission is to provide parts and accessories for our hobby regardless of profitability for them.
But I digress. Let’s end this post on a lighter note, with rupi’s ultimate punch line to his little joke:
(Rupi’s vig via Biczzz. The opinion is all my own. ;-) )
Following up on their announcement a couple months ago, the LEGO Group has asked Ambassadors to pass this message along to all you LEGO Train fans out there:
Dear all,
As promised in the first communication from the 1st of October we, are informing you of decisions regarding the development of the new LEGO Power Functions train system. Using all the valuable feedback we received from the AFOL community, we have now reached some basic decisions about the scope of the future train system.
We are still working on the details of the new Power Functions train system; however, there are certain features that have been decided. Some of these features are a new designed remote control with speed regulator, a new size rechargeable battery box with a built in speed regulator and finally we are exploring and seriously considering new track geometries thanks to the use of plastic rails. As you know, this has been one of the most requested features from the AFOL community over the years.
In late April 2007 we arranged a workshop for a group of 5 AFOLs involved in the LEGO train community, and they worked on some of the possible solutions and defined the basic needs for a new LEGO Power Functions train system along with the LEGO design and engineering team. In this workshop it became clear what sort of elements and features to include in the new train system. The result of this workshop was the design of prototype elements. Detailed decisions about the specifications of the elements are still in discussion and will be for the next couple of months.
We wish to continue the cooperation with the AFOL community in the development of the Power Functions train system and in late November we had another workshop where we built on the experiences from the first workshop. In the November workshop there were ten fans from around the world: Denmark, USA, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, and United Kingdom. The idea was that the AFOLs and the LEGO team would build with the prototypes in order to determine what additional features to include, what to add to the concept and, finally refining it. This ensures that the new Power Functions train system gets input from the AFOL community and also ensures the features are as close as possible to what is requested by the AFOL community.
However, please keep in mind that the new train system first and foremost should be suitable for the use of children, and therefore it is consequently being tested by children as well as AFOLs. There is an established budget for the initial development so while we would like to address all needs that are expressed; there is a high likelihood that we will be unable to address all needs.
You will be updated on the results of the workshop and the continued development of the train system early in 2008. We continue to value and appreciate your feedback and suggestions with regards to this project.
Richard Stollery,
Head of LEGO Community Development
Feel free to comment here and I’ll pass along your thoughts to LEGO.
A Clikipiller of course! Megan Rothrock is known to build colorful and cheerful creatures and creations of all sorts. This one runs on a standard lego train track. I love the colors on the back of this bug.
Well I’m trying to be a bit better about blogging my own stuff relatively quickly. This loco is based on a die-cast model of a German HF 110C locomotive which is meant to have six wheels but since I wanted it motorised with the classic motor it only has four. If you look carefully you will notice that the boiler and rear coal tender are upside down. Hope you like it.
Well since Josh trumped me on “Lady” I better respond… Cale Leiphardt presents this lovely Reading B4a steam shunter. The stickers are very high quality too. I’m not sure I’ve blogged Cale here before but he has an impressive range of 8-wide steam trains made out of Lego. His style is quite original and highly successful.
I know, I know, I’m not the trainhead of our family but I felt the urge to post this. (Sorry, Tim!) Anthony Sava has really gotten into trains over the last couple of years and he just finished a beauty! Its a ten-wheeler built with some really interesting techniques. Check out that cattle guard for starters. I give you the “Lady”…
