Another LEGO Ideas Train Submission Reaches 10,000 Votes!

Back in July 2019, I brought up a submission by the builder Bricky_Brick on the LEGO Ideas platform. It’s an incredible looking train station with a train at the station. The details are impressive and the top clear piece is very cool. I’m not sure of the exact date (maybe 31 January 2020), but it achieved 10,000 votes and is currently marked as achieved support. Here’s a picture of the build, but go to the Ideas site if you want more photos.

Now we have to hope LEGO selects it for review and then actually picks it up for a set. While it would be incredible to have this as a set, I don’t have high hopes. We’ll see… maybe they just need an amazing set to change their minds and inspire sales. I know I would definitely be in line to buy this one if it came out.

What do you think? Should LEGO make this set and would it sell? Or is this just another cool AFOL design that will remain in electronic form?

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?

We'd be Silly to Not Make this the Next Train Based LEGO Set - LEGO® IDEAS

The Train Station: Studgate

So if you don’t regularly follow this blog or if you’re new to it, here’s the deal. I’m a huge LEGO train fan and I’ve been disappointed since the Creator Expert line ended train sets with #10233-1: Horizon Express all the way back in 2014. I posted a few times suggesting a few sets to vote for with LEGO Ideas. I was really excited when Ymarilego’s Chemical Plant achieved 10,000 votes and was disappointed when it was not selected (or the fast food stands for that matter).

If you didn’t see my post about it, there’s a video by the You Tube channel “Assembled” of an interview with Jamie Berard (my post with all the details and links is here). In the interview, Jamie says the Creator Expert line of trains ended as it was not as popular (I read profitable) for the company. They instead have tried to squeeze trains into other lines (read Harry Potter or the new Hidden Side theme).

With the odds not in my favor between one LEGO Ideas project with 10,000 votes not making it and Jamie saying LEGO is not interested, I haven’t given up hope. There is a new project out there and it is moving fast on LEGO Ideas. If you have yet to see it, then feast your eyes on this project:

This project was submitted by user Bricky_brick around May 2019. It is a 19th century train station with 2 track lines running through, a 2 car electric train (that can be motorized), 7 minifigures, and awesome use of some clear pieces that I didn’t even know existed in the collection. It looks incredible! If you go to the LEGO Ideas site, you can find it pretty easily as it is one of the top supported items. At the time of this post there are over 3,600 votes and climbing. The site for this set has some other great photos and shows what the set looks like in a pretty cool looking city scene.

So what are you waiting for… let’s make this one get to 10,000. Let’s show the LEGO Company that we are willing to put our money where our votes are to get some amazing Creator Expert-like train sets.

Thanks for your support in this matter!