Motorizing the Crocodile Locomotive

The latest installment of LEGO® Train sets is #10277-1: Crocodile Locomotive. I reviewed the set last month and you can see my review here. As mentioned in the review, the set is just the locomotive and a display track. It does not include the motor so if you want to motorize the locomotive, you need to do something separate. You can attempt to motorize it on your own using a Power Functions or 9V motor on a separate car. Or you can use the new Powered UP set up that is now available. I decided to give Powered UP a try so here are my thoughts…

The first step is to remove the crew compartment from the cab area. This section comes out very easily without having to disconnect any pieces.

The motor is the Technic Large Motor (#88013) and it is currently retailing for $39.99 in the US. It’s a little pricey in my opinion, but the good part is you can use the motor in other models or sets.

The motor fits in very easily without having to snap it in anywhere. The only thing you have to do is remove the small Technic pin and gear. You place the motor in and then slide the pin in place. It was a pretty easy process.

The next piece to install is the Powered UP Hub (#88009). This part retails for $49.99 in the US. While it is a bit pricey in my opinion, you do save by not having to buy a controller or an IR sensor. The downside is you need to have a device which can handle the Powered UP app. I thankfully have a device which supports the app so that was good. The hub fits in easily and connects to the motor without any challenges. The only small concern I ran into was making sure all of the cable from the motor would fit in with the top of the cab installed. Not a major problem, but you just need to make sure the cables are arranged appropriately.

While assembly was easy, operations were not as easy for me. I installed some batteries and the app and expected to try it out, but it didn’t work right away. The instructions said to make sure the batteries were all the same. I did that, but it still didn’t work. I guess my batteries were too old as I bought some new ones and it worked after I installed them.

The app is easy to use with a control for the speed, a brake, and then some sounds (train whistle, conductor’s whistle, and then a bell). It also has sounds effects for starting, stopping, and braking. The downside is you can’t operate the train unless you have the app on. So don’t have any plans to send a text or check something out online.

Others noted issues with train operation. I didn’t install the rubber bands and I had no issues on the oval track I built. Granted I didn’t have it pulling any cars so that might make up the difference.

Overall, it’s a slightly expensive proposition. Given the expansion of sets using Powered UP, I’m hoping I can use the hub and motor elsewhere. One other concern is that LEGO® decides to stop supporting the app and it can’t be used anymore. We’ll have to see how the system evolves as it grows.

Or more importantly… we can hope LEGO® puts out more train sets for us to put the motor and hub in…

Happy building!

Set Review - #10277-1: Crocodile Locomotive - 18+

The Crocodile Locomotive was released in the US on 3 July 2020. If you follow what I write, it took quite a while for it to finally get shipped here, but thanks LEGO for the extra 1,000 VIP points. This set contains 1,271 pieces and retails for $99.99. That works out to $0.079/piece which isn’t too bad in my opinion.

You can watch the official LEGO Designer video on YouTube here.

If you want a review from someone who is a big train fan and into LEGO trains, you can see the Brick Model Railroader’s review at their site here.

Finally, one last plug. There have been a lot of comments about this set in terms of its design. JANGBRICKS has a video where he explains some of the fixes he’s made. You can give your own opinion, but feel free to use his fixes or modify your set as you desire.

Onto the review!

Here is the box. It is the new 18+ designed box. It no longer shows the play features or minifigures. Instead it highlights the design with some shots showing the detail. The title of the set is listed on the front with a design around it. Finally the bottom of the box has a dark gray stripe of greebling which lists the 18+, set number, and number of pieces

The box contains nine numbered parts bags (2 one, 2 two, 2 three, 3 four), an bag without a number containing the large plates and train wheels, and then the instructions and sticker. The set has mostly printed elements, but the data plate has a large sticker for you to place.

The first set of bags builds the base. The base reminds me of the bases on Architecture themed sets with the one stud wide black tile around the edge. Instead of using the standard LEGO track, you build the track yourself which takes a bit of time repeating the steps and placing a lot of 1x1 plates. It is interesting that they chose to put tiles in the center, but plates on the outside of the rails. I wonder why that was?

There are two 1x4 bricks in the center for you to attach the locomotive to for display purposes. Also, you can see the sticker on the ramp piece which describes the set.

Here’s an up-close look at the sticker. I think I was mostly able to center it and I didn’t get any large air bubbles. There might be one small one, but it is not noticeable at a quick glance.

This set comes with two minifigures. A male with the old style had and a female with black hair (no hat with hair?). They both have the same torsos and legs. As shown, they have some tools available to hold which can also be stored inside the train. Nothing super exciting about these minifigures, but no complaints from me on them either. They go well with the set.

The second set of bags completes the center section of the locomotive. The build starts with the Technic elements needed to motorize the locomotive (if desired). You then build the cabin area and the control areas for the minifigures.

While the set is an 18+ set, the build was not overly challenging. This part went together pretty smoothly for me. I was thankful to not have stickers to place. From this picture you can see the fans in the compartment and then two printed tiles on the side of the section which repeat on the other side.

Two more pictures… first is a closer shot of where the minfigures sit. Each figure has a wheel, two dials, and a brake handle. There is also a clip directly behind them to store the toolbox and wrench. Not a lot of comfort here and don’t lean back or let the train stop fast to have a tool hit you.

The second is the crew seating area. This section pulls out easily so you can place the motor and Powered Up Hub inside the compartment. I like how easy this is as compared to the Emerald Night (#10194-1) which required some decent overhaul to motorize it.

Here’s a peak inside the compartment without the crew positions in place. You can see the Technic elements where the motor will go. Everything went together pretty easily and seems to run smoothly without the motor connected so we’ll see what happens with the motor.

The third set of bags completes the front and back of the compartment as well as the top. Most noticeable are the pantographs on the top. I placed one in the up position and one lowered. The pantographs took a bit of time to piece together and were a bit challenging to do given all of the small connections you have to make. They are pretty fragile as well so not something you’d want younger kiddos playing with. The top also had a bit of color with the red whip pieces as wiring and then a few spots of dark green to liven up the gray and brown color scheme.

The front and back have a one piece window frame that you insert a one piece clear window into. It makes the model look smoother and I can see why they did it, but it would have been interesting to see how you could have brick built the window screens.

Here’s a side view of the center section.

The last set of bags finish the set. They also build the front and back sections of the locomotive. These builds are identical and I built both sections at the same time. It was a bit repetitive, but for the most part this was the most advanced part of the build that provided a bit of challenge. Nothing crazy, but it seemed like more pieces and the use of different techniques.

I saw a few reviews where there were complaints about the black background of the instructions and the dark colored pieces. I concur that this was a bit of a challenge, but I managed to figure out the build okay.

Two more photos… one a side view of the whole locomotive and one is a front view so you can see the detail there.

Overall, I am pumped to have another train to add to the collection. It’s not my first choice for a set, but I can’t complain about having one. The build is not super challenging, but it was technical enough to keep me interested. The color is a bit bland, but that’s the least of my complaints. The price per piece is decent and the initial sell out seems to be over on Shop @ Home.

I can see why people have complained about the gap between the cab area and the front/back sections. It could have been easily fixed in the design process, but I agree that if it is that big of a deal to you, fix it yourself. For now, I’m okay with the locomotive as is, but I may look to change it in the future.

I have a motor and hub finally, but I haven’t installed it yet. Stay tuned for that post and I’ll give an assessment on how the locomotive actually runs. (here is my post on motorizing the train)

In the meantime, happy building!

LEGO® Customer Service at its Best

I ordered the new train set on its release date of 1 July 2020. #10277-1: Crocodile Locomotive was packaged up that day at the warehouse. When I placed the order initially, the gift with purchase set #40411-1: Creative Fun was not added to my order. Then when I received the order confirmation message a few minutes later it was listed. In that time I had emailed customer service asking what I missed when I placed the order to get the gift with purchase. Then I quickly sent a note saying I was good to go. About five days later I received an email saying they were sorry for the confusion and that they alerted the web team of the issue I had to make sure it didn’t happen again to others.

Fourteen days after I placed the order, the set remained in “pre-shipping.” I was getting concerned because that is very unlike LEGO for shipping in the US. I reached out to Customer Service again just to check on the status of my order. I knew it would take around five days for a response to come in and I wasn’t mad about it. I just wanted to make sure it didn’t get misplaced.

Seventeen days after the order was placed, the shipment started moving outside of the warehouse. I was glad to see it was on its way.

Then on 18 July (four days after I sent the message to Customer Service) I received an email from Svetoslav. It said:

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“Thanks for getting in touch with us.

I'm sorry we couldn't reply to your email sooner but as you might imagine we've been busier than usual helping fellow LEGO® fans from all over the world!

Looking into your request, I see that your order has already been shipped. I'm sorry for the delay but our colleagues at the warehouse and our delivery partners are taking extra safety measures to make sure your order arrives in the best condition and safest way possible which adds to the usually longer than residential addresses delivery time frame that applies to your shipping address. I hope this doesn't cause you or your LEGO® fan an inconvenience so I've added 1000 VIP points in hopes you'd give us another chance to earn your trust in the future. You can track your order by visiting USPS.com and using tracking number XXXX. I hope everything's alright now but please let us know if not or if you need any further assistance!

If you need anything else or have any further questions, please don't hesitate to get back in touch! :)
Stay safe and have an amazing day!

We want to make sure we're doing a good job for you, so you’ll always find the link to a four-question survey in our emails. Please tell us how we did today:

Please let us know if you need anything else.

Kind regards,

Svetoslav
LEGO® Customer Service”

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First off, I wasn’t mad and didn’t lose trust in LEGO. I just wanted to make sure the package didn’t get lost. I get it. We’re’ in the middle of a pandemic and warehouse procedures are probably different. No worries there.

Secondly, 1,000 VIP points!?!?!?! I realize with the new VIP system that’s ~$5 off and then points to the next $5, but wow! That wasn’t required at all. I appreciate the gesture though.

Hats off to the LEGO® Customer Service team! I know they’ve had to adjust to working at home and the volume of requests has gone up, but they’ve gone above and beyond to help customers out when the system isn’t working at 100%. Thank you all and keep up the good work!

Have you had any experiences with LEGO® Customer Service worth noting?

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!