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i bumped the greenberg thread – http://www.steelcitylug.com/forum/topic/nov-9-10-greenberg-toy-and-train-show/
Evan’s running the show. I agree, we need to become more adept in planning ahead instead of being reactive. Project Management training is on the agenda for Q4.
I agree, we need to become more adept in planning ahead instead of being reactive. Project Management training is on the agenda for Q4.
It’s a learn-as-you-go process. 🙂 Each time we do it as a group, we will get better at it.
North Pole Express. I have lots of sky blue, so I can make three passenger cars this size … I have lots of sky blue (not medium blue) bricks. The main drawback is that the base is only 24 studs long so it looks proportionally short compared to the cars in the book. As far as I can tell, straight bases only come in 24 and 28 and split level bases are 34. The engine is a last resort if we have no other engine to use.
I made the windows look trans yellow the cheapest way I know how … no paint, no ordering more parts … can you guess? 🙂
From what I can tell by looking at the illustrations in the book, the passenger cars of the Polar Express may be twice as long as the 24x train base that I used. I am pretty sure I can make a single passenger car with two bases, (48x total) end-to-end, and one set of wheels at each end. Are there practical limitations to the length of a single car? (I suppose it cannot be longer than the diameter of a half circle of track, but I would be nowhere near that.)
In looking at Tony Sava’s Polar Express, his passenger cars are about 40-42 studs.
Did you use a yellow light brick inside the passenger car to make the windows look trans yellow? Or did you use yellow celophane?
did you use yellow celophane?
correct oh wise one!
Tony Sava’s Polar Express, his passenger cars are about 40-42 studs
good to know; should I can keep the wheels in the same place and add 8 studs of length to each end?
oh, and my brain really won’t shut up about about an idea to make a mountain over one of the corners. not sure if I can do it or not…It would save on baseplates.
speaking of baseplates, perhaps we want to reduce it to only 96 studs deep, so we just use 2 48s or 3 32s, instead of the 128 proposed. depending on how everything fits, it might help reduce stress and improve our ability to produce quality. We can certainly deviate if desired, but I would think lowered expectations might help us in this first attempt.
random thoughts: Luke skywalker cutting up a tauntaun and a wooly mammoth in ice if I do the mountain side…
need a cow catcher for that train?
Possibly, but I am looking forward to Tim’s version. What I think I’m going to need a bunch more of are red train windows, even after raiding two Hogwart’s trains and a soccer bus.
an idea to make a mountain over one of the corners
What does this look like? Does the base of the mountain go to the table edges and with the peak at the inner corner? Would this be built on a DUPLO frame?
Luke skywalker cutting up a tauntaun and a wooly mammoth in ice
Cool! Do you have a design for the mammoth?
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Tim wrote:</div>
Tony Sava’s Polar Express, his passenger cars are about 40-42 studsgood to know; should I can keep the wheels in the same place and add 8 studs of length to each end?
Here is a good picture of one of Tony’s passenger cars: http://www.flickr.com/photos/savatheaggie/3283584455/in/set-72157613865755311 It looks like the wheels are towards each end with not a lot of overhang, so 8 studs of overhand would probably be too much.
random thoughts: Luke skywalker cutting up a tauntaun and a wooly mammoth in ice if I do the mountain side…
(Nerd Alert ON) It was Han Solo who cut up the tauntaun so he could put an unconscious Luke inside it to keep Luke warm. (Nerd Alert OFF) 😀
Josh wrote:
random thoughts: Luke skywalker cutting up a tauntaun and a wooly mammoth in ice if I do the mountain side…(Nerd Alert ON) It was Han Solo who cut up the tauntaun so he could put an unconscious Luke inside it to keep Luke warm. (Nerd Alert OFF)
Seriously, Josh. I don’t think we can even be friends any more.
But, I think I do have a Han Solo in Hoth gear which could be used for the Tauntaun scene… except he’s only worth like $20 if he stays in the packaging. 🙁
Could also do Luke hanging upside down from ice cave with his lightsaber just out of reach and the Wampa coming for him…
Josh wrote:
an idea to make a mountain over one of the cornersWhat does this look like? Does the base of the mountain go to the table edges and with the peak at the inner corner? Would this be built on a DUPLO frame?
Would the trains go through the mountain?!
should I can keep the wheels in the same place and add 8 studs of length to each end?
Glancing at Sava’s cars, I realized my idea will not work because the wheels also have the magnetic couplers, which won’t do much good if they are 8 studs from the end. 😛 But there IS a solution.
I want to do the mountain…can’t commit yet. In my mind, the peak is at the outside corner, leaving the cut out of the mountain as it slopes down on the outside. This will allow the sloping to be able to tie back in well with the (assuming mostly) flat sides of the rest of the build. I’m thinking putting some skiers on it, maybe a chair lift, if matt will let me borrow his NXT brick. and yes, the train would have to go through the mountain, so i’ll need to know exactly where the track is and how how the tunnel needs to be. again, a lot going on right now…I want to, but I can’t commit yet. Going to see what I can get done with the build day.
btw, I hate star wars. it could be jar jar binks for all I care. Just sticks out to me as a funny winter scene detail people will recognize.
Don’t have a design for the mammoth…just the tusks…you got something?
Tony Sava’s Polar Express, his passenger cars are about 40-42 studs
North Pole Express, take two. This one is 40 studs long and uses 1x2x2 clear panels instead of expensive train windows. 🙂
I like it Greg. The 1x2x2 clear panels look great. One suggestion, beef up the bottom of the car just a bit to eliminate some of the empty space and add a bit more visual heft.
BTW, love the staging to look just like the page from the book. 🙂
Because of the new resources, I believe this changes our short term and long term plans where displays are concerned:
The unsorted lots in my mind become the long term priority, and even more than has been suggested. Assuming we fully sort out one box per meeting and we meet every month, it will take almost two years to know what we have in LUG brick. Even if we fully sort two boxes per meeting as a group (and this would take a LOT of each meeting to accomplish), it will still take a full year to finish. And this is assuming we receive no more LUG brick during this time. My proposal is to divide the boxes now, send two or more home with each attending LUGer (those with tenure and earned trust) on the 26th with the expectation that the parts not pulled for the Greenburg event are to be sorted according to SCLUG standard and returned at the next meeting… minus one large PaB cup per box sorted as reward for the trouble. We’ll NEVER get the boxes sorted if they’re available only at central meetings where we’re obviously going to do other things with our time.
Even if we manage do this quickly, here is our short term answer. We’re better off simply building the sets we’ve been given and then integrating them into our displays as best we can, perhaps MOCing them into a unified theme where necessary, as is the case here. This is our best short term priority.
First, this is also obviously a major intention of TLG: to have LUGs indirectly plug sets that are available on the shelves. These sets were not intended to be MOC fodder. That’s what the boxes are for.
Second, it answers the question “What do we do with all these sets?”
Third, it takes some pressure off for now.
Fourth, we’re already using sets in the trains and ships we’ve displayed, modified or otherwise. So the originality concern has already flown the coop.
Fifth, only the other LUGs or LEGO hobbyists will care that we displayed some sets instead of all MOCs. And quite frankly, we’re not in competition with PennLUG or anyone else, especially since we’re being paid on relatively short notice to cover a very large space that is a multiple in size of any other display we’ve done before.
At this time, using the sets sure beats scrambling to fill giant spaces solely with high quality MOCs as we are attempting to do now. Expecting LUGers to produce high quality themed MOCs within eight weeks that cover nine baseplates… a bit much to ask of anybody, even someone who has LEGO as their only hobby.
Finally, over the longer term, we can’t build well if we don’t know what we have. Twenty-two unsorted boxes is far too much brick to lie fallow considering that the size of our individual and collaborative MOCs are growing quickly. That and the time crunch we are in now for Greenburg is why the unsorted boxes should be a longer term issue while we should make best use of sets right now.
Lots of good points, Rich. For the moment, I’m just going to draw attention to one:
Expecting LUGers to produce high quality themed MOCs within eight weeks
I’m guessing you’re backtracking to when the discussions began in earnest, but just to point out – we’re 4 weeks away now.
I have a lot of faith in our group to pull things together, but this is a huge display and Rich is right that we’re asking a lot of ourselves. I’m already fretting because many of my evenings & weekends are booked, leaving minimal planning/build time. Especially considering we’re trying stuff many of us have not done before (integrated track on MILS plates, etc.), this is going to be tricky.
All hands on deck, ready the cannons, full speed ahead!
I want to do the mountain
If you do a mountain, would there be room for a ski jump on the side of the mountain? The one I originally made was disassembled but its not hard to make.
I feel like we need an earlier planning meeting to coordinate efforts. Everyone has limited resources and we all need to prioritize whether we are working on buildings, vehicles, scenery, baseplates, etc. so we don’t have excesses in one area and fall short in another.
Btw, has someone determined how many straight and curved tracks are needed (I am assuming they will all be 9V) and whether we have enough?
Greg, you included a pic of your ski village and mosaic…is it reassembled??? That would be a killer corner, and I could back my mountain behind your mosaic in the opposite direction…I’m thinking it’s still in ruins though…
Evan, do you need help staying on top of the coordination for the event? We need to find out:
- how much track everyone is able to bring
- how much space each person is able to fill
- the resulting “blank” space that needs to be filled
- a thought through layout that attempts to blend those areas in a good display
- Who is able to set up, be present during display times, and tear down
ski village and mosaic…is it reassembled???
Its an old picture. The Alpine Village buildings are intact but Tim and I were planning to use them in the town(s). The mountain mosaic is basically intact, but a sturdy (wood) support system needs to be made for it.
Greg, how many 32×32 baseplates are you planning on using for the North Pole Factory? I can build the factory building to accomodate either 3 baseplates or 4 baseplates in a row. Thanks.
- how much track everyone is able to bring
- how much space each person is able to fill
- the resulting “blank” space that needs to be filled
- a thought through layout that attempts to blend those areas in a good display
- Who is able to set up, be present during display times, and tear down
Track – probably 50-60 each of straight and curved 9v track
Space – In the North Pole Section (labeled “Greg” on the latest map), I have one building that will be nine 32×32 baseplates (3×3 configuration) and another that will be either 6 or 8 32×32 baseplates. I can also contribute a few half timbered houses to help round out the Alpine Village houses that Greg has. If there is any time (and brick) left, I may also attempt a Santa’s castle but I only give that about a 25% chance of getting done.
In the Town Section (labeled “Tim” on th elatest map), I can cover a lot of space. I will try to inventory my buildings and provide a more definitive baseplate figure within the next several days. I can also provide much (if not all) of the black custom road for this section. Additional town buildings, vehicles, and minifigs would all be extremely welcome!
Staffing – I will be there on Friday to set up and am planning on being there both days. I may need to skip Saturday morning due to coaching flag football at the YMCA. Otherwise, I will be at the show the entire time.
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