This is the LEGO® Train Set We've been Waiting for... (maybe)

LEGO announced the results of their latest Ideas round on 25 October 2022. There were 39 submissions that achieved 10,000 votes this round and oddly enough, LEGO selected 4 to become sets. This is after rounds where we’ve had over 50 submissions and only 1 was selected. I’m not sure how they figure it out, but I’m excited as this time a train submission finally made it over the hurdle into being selected to become a set.

Fan Designer Thomas Lajon (aka LEt.sGO) from France built a version of the famous Orient Express using the Bricklink software Stud.io and it was selected to become a set. You can read his 10K club interview here.

The fan design looks good and I’m sure some of the photo editing skills help, but he does mention in his interview that the wheels he used don’t fit on the track so hopefully LEGO can fix this when they get to work. Also, his set is 2,991 pieces so if it stays that large, I could see this being a $300 set (or more with a motor).

Here is a top view of the engine. It shares the same color as #10194: Emerald Night, but hopefully the design is different enough that we won’t see a repeat of that set.

Here is a top view of the passenger car with the roof removed. I wonder if the set will come with options so you can turn the car into a passenger car or a dining car or a sleeping car. Or if LEGO gets really bold, the set could come with more than one car… whoa!

So LEGO…. how can you get this set right for fans?

1 - Make sure this train fits on LEGO gauge rails. I’ve been to multiple places where I’ve seen fans posting about their disappointment in #76405-1: Hogwarts Express Collector’s Edition. A lot of fans were super excited about a details, non-CITY train coming out geared towards train fans. There was a lot of disappointment when the community found out it couldn’t be run on your existing track and it was just meant as a display piece. So keep it on the L-Gauge rails LEGO!

2 - Additional coaches would be great. Or let me rephrase that…. Additional coaches would be great if I didn’t have to drop another $300 on a copy of the set.

3 - Make sure we can motorize this train. Does a motor really need to cost $40? While being able to display #10277-1: Crocodile Locomotive was nice, moving it to some LEGO track with a motor made it that much better. Oh and if you missed the Crocodile Locomotive set, I have one available in my Bricklink store.

To be fair, this is not an easy task. Build a product that does all that and that won’t cause me to break the bank. Don’t worry LEGO designers. I have faith in you! You can do it! I look forward to seeing the final product in a year or so.

In the meantime, happy building!

Not Exactly the LEGO Train Set I was Hoping for...

The rumors were swirling around for a while that we’d be getting a large Harry Potter themed set in 2022. Then the rumor changed to it being a Hogwarts Express and I was super stoked. I pictured a detailed train similar to #10194-1: Emerald Night with lots of details. We’d then get a full up train station and maybe even multiple carriages.

So then some fans in New Zealand accidentally got shipped this set when they ordered #10305-1: Lion Knight Castle. You can read about that here from a blog down under. And The LEGO Group quickly introduced this…

LEGO.com

In case you missed it, the set is #76405-1: Hogwarts Express Collector’s Edition. Unless you were one of the folks in New Zealand who got an early copy, it is scheduled to be released in the US on 31 August 2022. It contains 5,129 pieces and should retail in the US for $499.99. This works out to $0.097 per piece.

At a quick glance, I was super impressed. I’ve built #75955-1: Hogwarts Express, but that one has far fewer details. There are a bunch of minifigures as well which is awesome. So besides the price tag, what could be bad here?

LEGO.com

Oh wait… this set is 1:32 scale and oh by the way besides it being massive, it DOES NOT FIT ON L-GAUGE RAILS!!!!! Much like #10277-1: Crocodile Locomotive, this set comes on a display stand. However, you can transfer the Crocodile Locomotive to L-Gauge rails and run it with your other trains and add a motor. This one, not so much.

I was also hoping for more passenger carriages. Where are they? We get just one so often, but having a few would be much better. I can’t imagine how much it would be to build your own replica or to buy other sets to just get cars. Next time LEGO, more passenger cars please!

Also, the train station is not a train station, but rather a small chunk of structure. I was hoping for a lot more detail and the ability to actually connect it to a train line. This one will require a lot of building on your own with additional pieces to make that happen.

I can’t be all negative. You do get some cool train parts for MOCs, 20 minifigures isn’t too shabby, and if you don’t like it, you’ve got over 5,000 parts to use elsewhere. . For $500, I’m not sure I can bite the bullet on this one just to get some train parts and 20 minifigures. I’m a fan of the Potter sets and a train fan, but this set doesn’t seem to hit the mark. I’ll wait and see on this one.

What are your thoughts?

Happy building!

The Re-Birth of 9V Trains is Within Reach

All the way back in October of 2019, I mentioned that Fx Bricks was working on bringing back 9V compatible rails and motors for LEGO train fans. Well the wait is almost over. Watch this:

On 1 March 2021, Fx Bricks will be releasing some straight and some curved 9V compatible track. YES! I look forward to ending using batteries and just letting the trains run when I want them to run. I hope their proposed motor works out too. If you need more details or want some other opinions, check out the following:

-A review from Eurobricks user zephyr1934

-A review from Brick Model Railroader

Pricing is listed as follows:

#8832 - S32 Straight Track, 8 pcs : $69.95 USD, €57.95, $87.95 CAD

#8872 - R72 Curve Track, 8 pcs: $69.95 USD, €57.95, $87.95 CAD

Fx Bricks mentions that this is cheaper than you can get it at BrickLink right now. I agree with that. I also acknowledge that they need to recoup all of their costs and want to make some profit too. It does seem a bit high to me, but with no competition, they can set their pricing at this point. Either way, I suspect they will sell out quick as there is a lot of demand among LEGO train fans for this system.

One other note is that they have partnered with JB Spielwaren in Germany to sell the track to the EU. So shipping will be a lot cheaper in Europe versus having to order from Canada.

Congrats to the Fx Bricks team. I hope the product is awesome and the launch is successful. At some point, I will look to pick up some track to expand my very limited 9V set up.

What are your thoughts?

Happy building!

Expanding the Emerald Night (#10194-1) - Creator Expert Train

The last Creator Expert train was #10233-1: Horizon Express and it went off sale in the US in late 2014. Since then we’ve have a number of CITY trains and trains in other themes, but no Creator Expert-like trains. I’m super excited that #10277-1: Crocodile Locomotive is out although out of stock on LEGO Shop @ Home in the US. For those of you that are mad, don’t worry because at the time of the writing of this post it was also out of stock in Germany. I placed my order on day one (1 July) and I’m waiting for it to ship. It has been in “pre-shipment” status for nine days now which has concerned me. Hopefully it will ship shortly and arrive in one piece.

Before the Horizon Express we had the #10219-1: Maersk Train (available 2011 to 2012 in the US) and then starting on 1 April 2009 and ending on 25 November 2011 in the US we had #10194-1: Emerald Night.

Pictured above is the steam engine from the set configured for PF (minus the battery box in the tender). I think it is a phenomenal model and ranks up there in my book as one of the best trains LEGO has released. It was totally outside of what they have ever done before and it was a welcome sight along with the sleek color scheme. The design wasn’t quite perfect, but with the help of some smart AFOLs, I was able to modify the engine for better operation. The $99.99 price tag in the US for 1,085 pieces was reasonable and it included one coach shown below.

The downside to the set is it only includes one coach and that’s it. You could go on Ebay, Bricklink, or on the secondary market elsewhere to get another coach, but that gets pricey. So the benefit of LEGO bricks is the ability to build on your own. After purchasing this set, I did exactly that… or at least tried to.

I ended up building two additional coaches so I would have three total. The coaches I built look similar, but have a few key differences. You’ll notice the windows are not the same for the main part of the coach and the doors. At the time, the exact ones were too expensive for me on Bricklink. Maybe they are cheaper now, but I’m okay with the different set up. If you look closely, there is a small gap by the window on the door as I couldn’t get that design perfect so it doesn’t look as smooth. Also the door is not very sturdy as it is only held together by one stud on the outer edge of the coach car. It still swings open and shut though.

Additionally, there are two rows of darker brown plates on the original car. The color was not as prevalent at the time I built this so I just used the standard brown color. If I go for an update in the near future, I could easily replicate that.

Finally, at the time I built this, the 1x2 brick with a Technic pin hole in the middle in brown was very expensive to purchase (for me). It has reappeared multiple times since then so buying it now shouldn’t be an issue. I have 1x1 tan plates and could easily match the original coach.

The only other problem I have is the light gray plates on the roof has discolored with age. I either need to follow some of the methods online to restore them or replace them. Not a huge deal, but it would help the train to look a lot better.

And it wouldn’t be a complete train without a caboose. I built up a simple caboose design using the same color scheme with some of the same troubles as the coaches in terms of color matching. Additionally, you can tell the windows don’t exactly line up and the slight gap causes them to bow in a bit.

I wonder how it would look using the dark green on the Emerald Night versus the tan and brown of the coaches?

The picture above is how the whole set looks with the additional coaches and caboose. Despite the flaws in design that I have pointed out, I think the train looks much better with multiple coaches and a caboose. In the future, I may look to modify the coaches and caboose. Should I add other cars? A mail car? A sleeping car? A dining car?

Have you tried to build your own coaches or made any modifications to this set? What are they? Let me know in the comments or email me at store@bricksforbricks.com.

Happy building!

And We Have a New Train!!!!!

I’ve been pressing for a new Creator Expert-like train set for a while and it has finally been revealed. #10277-1: Crocodile Locomotive will be released by LEGO starting on 1 July 2020. It contains 1,271 pieces and will retail for $99.99 in the US ($0.079/piece). LEGO has done away with the Creator Expert line in favor of the new 18+ line with sets meant for adults. This set will join the growing lineup of 18+ sets.

One of my previous posts included a link to an interview with Jamie Berard and provided his explanation for why LEGO hasn’t made separate train sets. During the recent Recognized LEGO Fan Media (RLFM) days held virtually, Mr. Berard explained the reason for LEGO’s change of heart when it comes to trains. You can read the interview on Bricket.com or The Brothers Brick.

Let’s dig into the set a bit based on some pictures.

Official picture from LEGO

This set includes 2 new minifigures that both fit in the train at the same time. Not sure why the female minifigure doesn’t have the new hat with hair attached, but it’s all good.

The train can be displayed on an Architecture-like stand with brick built track or you can put it on standard LEGO track. Along with the display base, there is a stand with details about the set similar to the Star Wars UCS line. I am hoping this is a trend going forward. The recent gift with purchase #40370-1: Steam Engine had a similar set up. Adding the Crocodile Locomotive, the Steam Engine, and future models to a display shelf or cabinet could be pretty cool for some AFOLs. Hint, hint! LEGO! In case you’re reading this…

Per the interview, the set only comes with one sticker and that’s because printing on black bricks doesn’t go well. As an AFOL, I am happy to hear this as I’m a big fan of the printed bricks and I dislike stickers.

As mentioned, this set can be motorized with the Powered Up parts. You need #88013 Technic Large Motor ($39.99 in the US) and #88009 Powered Up Hub ($49.99 in the US) to motorize this train. So you almost double the price of the set. Not sure how I feel about this… we’ll have to see if I decide to motorize it or not.

Official picture from LEGO

The picture above gets another perspective of the train. I don’t recall seeing the rail piece before, but supposedly it is not new. I’m also glad to see the individual train wheels similar to the Emerald Night versus the standard LEGO train wheels from the LEGO CITY trains.

The buffers with the magnets are back too. This is compared to the Technic connections used on some past trains like #75955-1: Hogwarts Express.

There has been some debate about 6-wide versus 8-wide. This set is 6-wide train set and while some fans may scoff at this, I say that at this point, it doesn’t matter. I just would like LEGO to produce more train sets.

Official picture from LEGO

Ah yes, the hero shot… because no AFOL has a room that looks like that. Where are the plastic containers with bricks? The sets on shelves, the piles of unopened boxes. This picture isn’t realistic at all!

So what’s is negative about this release?

-Limited hope for LEGO Ideas train themed sets. The current review period (June 2020) has two train themed sets and I am not confident that these will get through the pipeline given LEGO is releasing its own train set on 1 July 2020.
-Expect set availability in the US to be less than stellar given the COVID-19 production impacts. The recent Technic Super Car (#42115-1: Lamborghini Sián FKP 37) didn’t last long at Shop @ Home. We’ll have to see if the 1 July 2020 set release even holds in the US.
-$190 to buy the set and motorize it. Yikes! The good part is you can buy the motor and hub and use it in future trains so you are not limited to one set and needing to buy motors for others. The downside is we need LEGO to stick to not modify the Powered Up app too much so that the hub lasts. If the app gets shut down, you can’t run your train anymore.

Enough complaining… baby steps. LEGO is producing a train and I’m excited. I don’t expect I’ll be a day one buyer as I will wait to see some reviews and to get detailed looks on the set first. Then I’ll wait for double VIP points or a good gift with purchase before I pick one up.

What are your thoughts? Is this a step in the right direction? Or not so much?

Happy building!

We Need Another Train - Latest LEGO Ideas Submissions

If you’ve followed my blog at all you may have seen some of my posts advocating for train sets. I’m a big LEGO train fan and I really want to see more Creator Expert type train models. As I have mentioned previously, LEGO doesn’t make a lot of money on these types of sets so they have stopped making them and they look for other ways to incorporate trains like with Disney or the Hidden Side.

Another option is to use the LEGO Ideas platform to bring a train model to the public. Currently the Toronto Rocket subway train by LegoVader217 is under review awaiting an announcement. Additionally, the creator BrickyBrick has a station he titled “The Train Station: Stud Gate” and it is rapidly approaching 10,000 votes (under 200 votes left at the time of this post). I wrote a post on that one here.

I don’t have high confidence that LEGO will produce either of these, but maybe they’ll get the hint given the number of train submissions on the Ideas platform. Or maybe they’ll move the train ideas to the BrickLink AFOL program now that LEGO has purchased BrickLink?

With all of this being said, there is another idea out there that I really like.

Train Collection by papat08
A Diesel-electric locomotive GE Dash 9-44cw BNSF on a track with some ballast on a display stand with the name on the front similar to the Architecture line. This one is a cool idea where you could just display the engine or use it as an engine on a train layout. There’s over a year left on this one and it has over 600 votes at the time of this post, but a lot more to go to get to 10,000. So go vote for this one. I think a train line for display would be awesome. So what do you say LEGO?

Is This The Train We're Looking For?

If you’ve looked at my blog, you’ll see that I don’t post on the latest and greatest sets out. I also don’t rush to get new sets or get sets shipped to me for reviews. I tend to look for sales or opportunities to get an expensive set with a deal like coming with a free set or Double VIP points. With that being said, I’m a big fan of LEGO trains and I miss some of the Creator Expert like trains that were released over the past 10 years or so. I’d like to see more train related sets come out and I’ve advocated for using the Ideas system to do that here and here.

There is a reason why we haven’t seen more Creator Expert like trains. An interview with LEGO Designer Jamie Berard, he discusses how LEGO doesn’t make the money they want on Creator Expert trains. He mentions how they try and fit the train theme in on other themes. We’ve seen it with Harry Potter, CITY, Hidden Side and now Disney. The goal is to get fans interested in another theme to get a train versus targeting train fans.

So #71044-1: Disney Train and Station was released to VIPs on 21 August 2019 and I believe 1 September 2019 is the release date to everyone else (in the US). The set is $329.99 and is 2,925 pieces ($0.113/piece). It includes a train, a station, 5 minifigures, 16 curved pieces of track and 4 straight pieces of track.. The set comes with motorized functions via the Powered Up app. There are lots of reviews on sites and YouTube so if you want more, check them out.

Enough about that… this is not a review and I have not bought the set. The real question is, does this train fulfill the need for a Creator Expert like train? It has close to 3,000 pieces, it looks to have a lot of detail on the train and station which is good. I have yet to build it so I can’t say anything about the building techniques, but it does not look like it is just stacking bricks one on top of the other. From an initial look, it seems pretty positive.

From a train fan perspective, I’m not sure if this is what I’m looking for. It is a great set to go around your Disney park, your castle, to go around with your minifigures, and to proclaim the greatness of Disney. It is not something that is going to roll through a train station next to the Horizon Express or the Emerald Night. It doesn’t seem to go with those sets. I’ve seen a few videos out there where people have had this train run by the Disney Castle and the Creator Expert fairground sets. So maybe if you’re going to make a theme park display, this one would fit in.

I have mixed feelings about this set and I’m not sure it is worth buying or spending my VIP points on. What are your thoughts?