Hey Everybody, I thought I'd share these with any of you all who might be Lego fans out there. In addition to model trains I also collect Lego, both current and vintage. Lately I've been in the process of filling some gaps in my vintage collection, having just received these... They will eventually get built once I have room for a larger diorama. I do have others from the 90's/00's currently in a small diorama in our bedroom. And my collection of first generation Star Wars sets, they get the special display case lol. More photos to come...
Some of the MOC's (My Own Creation) I've built using instructions from Rebrickable. If you're a Lego fan and want to challenge yourself (and your wallet!), try a community published MOC. I'll get some photos of the rest of my Star Wars diorama another time to share with you all.
Lego has been my main hobby for the last 15 years and I now have a collection that me as a kid could only dream of! At the start I mainly built Technic sets, but now I only collect the big Supercars as I've run out of space and the technic sets are so big. So I now try to concentrate on smaller sets. I collect the Speed Champions Series (have them all except the Mercedes Team Promo) and the Winter Village Series. I have a load of other stuff. My biggest set is the Eiffel Tower (boring to build but looks amazing) - I love Paris, so I had to do it. Current In Progress builds are : The Bonsai Tree, Concorde and The Spider Man Mask. I recently retrieved my childhood Lego from my parents - had to just pour it all into a suitcase to fly it home as they live in the UK and I don't. I don't know what the airport handling staff must have thought as it made a rattling noise every time you moved it - so glad the suitcase didn't break open!
I don't think you ever really "grow" out of Lego, everyone just has varying length dark ages lol. I've always had Lego growing up, although I started my own dark age through the end of high school and my early twenties. Town and Star Wars were always my favorite themes (obviously lol), but I also enjoy some of the Technic sets. Usually farm and construction equipment, some trucks and emergency vehicles. My wife has been getting into the hobby more and more. She also has the Bonsai, and really enjoys the botanical and Harry Potter themes. For her birthday at the end of the month I got her the Hocus Pocus House, and for Christmas I'll get her the D&D set. I truly wish I had some of my childhood sets still intact. For Christmas one year I got the Metroliner and Club Car re-release, and after seeing current prices for them on Bricklink, that one hurts lol. The majority of my childhood Lego has unfortunately been lost, leading to my Bricklink and eBay scavenging for sets from my younger years. My friend and I were talking the other day about pre-00's Lego just having more personality than the sets out today. I especially miss the old large set boxes with the flaps on the front that would preview the specialty pieces within. Being a kid in Toys R Us and just drooling over those massive sets was just a huge part of my youth. How's the build for the Concorde been? The wings looked a little repetitive, and that's coming from someone who collects TIE Fighters lol. I've been going back and forth between grabbing either the Concorde or the Orient Express at some point. My biggest set is the Venator, but that won't get built until we have a house and I have somewhere to safely display it.
I tried Lego once, when my son were young and we got him a lego set, a small house I think, and we began building it but we both got distracted and never came back! I can certainly see the appeal of it though it weren't for us!
It's not for everyone, so I get that. For me it's a nostalgic thing, mixed with a way to tune out whilst doing something constructive. To me nothing beats a snowy day off work, throwing a record on, and just putting together a model. I also severely lack the skill and patience required of regular model kits. There's a reason I send my trains out to get repainted! lol
That does sound great, and actually I do, do similar with the model railway. I should probably try lego again now, as both myself and my son were very young back then and it does look rather enjoyable, with some pretty amazing things to build! I like the sound of a Concorde mentioned above. Off to Ebay I go!
Very cool! Which ones do you have? They have a few collector series trains you might like as well. They've got a Swiss Krokodil locomotive, and a recently-released Orient Express display set. I have the Krokodil on my desk at home, when I get home from the in-law's I'll grab some photos of it for you Matt.
Looks very good, and I think that Orient Express one will go on my shopping list, along with the concorde. What I might do is get something a bit smaller, see how I get on and go from there. Sounds good mate (the pictures not the in-laws!), I'll look forward to it as they are rather interesting looking things!
I have the red phone box, the lighthouse and the friends central perk set. Truly amazing builds especially as they are fan voted
I grew up with Lego back in the 70s when you acquired a lot of bricks and just made what you wanted from your imagination as well as the simple models pictured on the box. I would make hundreds of things without plans and they stayed together for a few days until I broke them up and made something else. You can still do that now but the focus has changed more and more over my lifetime to one of themed sets where you build something once and keep it on your shelf. There have been many magnificent models available and it is far too expensive for me. My dad could never understand how Lego building became something for adults to do and not just a building blocks toy from when he started buying it for me and my brothers as children. We did get a few of the early Technic sets and we never kept the things built for long. I have a few things on my shelf, a select number or Creator 3 in 1 sets, a couple of big NASA models and a few small sets that friends have bought me plus I bought the VW camper for my wife and watched with great jealousy as she built it. There’s absolutely no chance of me taking my Saturn V rocket or lunar lander apart and building them again, enjoyable as it was to build them, and certainly wouldn’t make anything from my imagination now. I think the only reason we cremated my dad is to stop him from spinning in his grave at the way things have changed. He never got the appeal of Lego as ornaments for adults.
Here you are sir, as promised. Apologies for the dust... you never realize how badly black furniture attracts it until you see it from another perspective lol.
Wow, thanks for sharing! That is very nice, and certainly looks worthwhile doing, how long did it take you roughly? Don't worry about the dust mate, my mrs thought having a black fish tank would be a good idea! I have a got myself a smaller set on the way now, so we'll see how it goes!
I got some free time this week and made a layout blueprint using the free Blue Brick software. As far as layouts go it's a simple one, albeit large at 11' x 11'. It's loosely based off the original late 90's Lego Island PC game. There will be a freight train and passenger train, both 9V. Two passenger stops, a grade crossing, and a dock/container area. This will probably take me through next year to gather everything on Bricklink and eBay, with the bigger structures and two train sets being the most expensive, and the now-retired baseplates being the most elusive (at least ones in good shape).
The latest haul. I also have some parts coming from Lego's Pick-a-Brick service for some scenery item MOCs that I'm looking forward to share with you all.
My latest additions are the Speed Champions that came out today. I have them all (except the Mercedes Team Promo), so have to keep the collection complete. Also the Artemis Rocket. I don’t collect all the Space sets, but I do like the actual NASA ones.
i own 2 train sets the Crocodile and the Orient Express both where fun to make right now i am putting the Tuxedo Cat together
The Artemis looked huge in the promo photos. Certainly looks like quite the involved build, but fun nonetheless. I've been on the fence on the Orient Express. It looks like a gorgeous display model, but I'm thinking I'll wait to see if anyone offers it at a discount. How's the Tuxedo Cat been going? The reviews looked pretty decent.
I must admit the ones I ordered are still on the shelf next to me. Something tells me I have got the first Christmas presents for a couple of my grandson already! Oh well, I am glad you enjoy them and they do look lovely, that is everyone's on here.
I do have to say, I love the simplicity of earlier Lego sets. Nothing against today's complex and smooth builds but there is a certain charm to the older stuff. Probably just nostalgia though - I don't know. I have a bunch of custom 8-wide loco MOCs. I used to design and build them somewhat regularly but lately haven't been keeping up. Other stuff like my H0 layout have been chipping away at my budget. BNSF C44-9W ATSF 'cat-whisker' F7 BN GP 38-2 DR E91 47 (former Prussian State Railways EG 547)
I agree on the older "System" sets (hence why I collect them lol), they just had way more personality in my opinion. I think a lot of it has to do with the set designers working with a far less diverse inventory of parts, and simpler parts at that. I also prefer the box art of the time, using less computer graphics and more staged photos. I love the Blue Bonnet MOC, it came out far better than the old official 9V set. You managed to capture the curves perfectly.
I have to admit that the F7 is my least favourite of the bunch. The nose and window arrangement was inspired by various attempts I saw online - the windows use some very unorthodox thechniques (the glass is held by friction and pressure of the surrounding grilles only). I normally don’t do stuff like that but decided to give it a try since so many others do it. I really don’t get on with techiques like that I’ve found out; it’s fragile, a pain to assemble and (to me) doesn’t look proper. Looking at my Dash 9 for example - sure, the cab window layout is hardly prototypical due to its flatness, but I much prefer this classic take over these haphazard means to get all the curves and angles. That’s just my take on LEGO design philosophy though, there is no denying that the unorthodox techniques capture reality better than anything classic.
I just finished my first self-designed MOC builds this evening. Well, sort of self-designed. They are re-colored and slightly modernized versions of airport fire trucks from the 1987 and 1990 Lego idea books. I had the 1990 book when I was a child and always wanted to build the truck from it. With a classic Lego city build coming up in the future I wanted to have some yellow fire trucks to go with the airport I have planned. I'm pretty happy with the results, they certainly look better in yellow (yellow fire trucks are cooler in general, IMO). Most of the parts were sourced from Lego Pick-a-Brick, some of the retired pieces and sticker sheets were Bricklink'd.
My latest nostalgia haul. Slowly but surely I'm getting my list knocked down. In a couple months I'll get the first of two 9V trains on my list.
The latest additions... The two 9V train sets on my list are coming this week, along with a few other of the high ticket items on my list.
The latest additions, and the important sets for the 9V layout. I had the Metroliner and Club Car re-issues when I was in middle school; they were under the tree for Christmas the year they released. After paying what I just paid for them (cheaper than eBay, but still, damn lol) I really wish I still had the ones from when I was a kid. The freight set is new to me, but it was the most cost effective way to get a 9V transformer and good set of track. Plus I wanted a freight train to go with the passenger; I'm going for a Lego Loco PC game sort of vibe.
I own quite a few sets. But they are bloody expensive lol. I have a wishlist of ones I want etc. I built the ideas red telephone box recently and loved it. One of my favourite sets of all time. I also really want to get into technic more even if not the most dexterous. Ideas is my main theme I love
I didn't realize it's been so long since I shared updates to my vintage collection, I had to go digging to find the thread lol. Here's the latest additions; I've slowed down a little bit after spending so much on the biggies that I've shared previously. The good thing is I only have three more sets from the 9V Train theme, and about 30 (mostly smaller) sets left in the Town theme left on my list and then I am done with collecting the classics.
My wife has a few of the Ideas sets and really enjoys them. She actually bought me the Orient Express for my birthday; I was surprised at just how heavy the box was, never mind how large the assembled set ends up being.
Clone Army Customs had a great Black Friday sale, so I bought a few more troopers for my army... They even threw in one of their "Trooper Roulette" blind bags in my order for free, so I got this cool dude as an added bonus!
I used to own loads of lego, naturally as i got older i became more interested in video games and going out with my friends. i did actually buy the concorde for around £100 recently, and oh boy did constructing that take me back a few years
How was the build? The wings looked like they could get a little repetitive lol I got my wife and a few of my other friends into building Lego. We'll actually have the Lego version of a paint and sip where we each build a set, have a drink, put out some charcuterie to pick at, and chill out. It makes for a good night in!
i thought they’d get repetitive as well but they actually weren’t that challenging. keeping the main body balanced and not breaking anything off was the biggest problem
manuals for building lego trains example LEGO MOC Lego Train Ns Koploper by StijnD | Rebrickable - Build with LEGO Search | Rebrickable - Build with LEGO offcourse you need to have a lot of lego bricks but it sure is fun to look at all the different lego trains
I've used Rebrickable a few times for some Star Wars MOC's (scroll up, they should be up towards the top), and it's certainly a learning experience. Getting the pieces required isn't a horrible prospect; if you don't have enough/right pieces in your own collection to cannibalize, you can order from the official Lego Pick-a-Brick store or through Bricklink. I used a combination of both, using PAB for current pieces and Bricklink for retired/unavailable separately pieces. As long as the designer puts up an accurate part listing with correct quantities, you're usually good to go. The hard part with the pieces is organizing them before a build; I didn't realize how spoiled I'd gotten with numbered bags in official sets as of late, especially since I grew up in the 90's when that wasn't a thing lol. I found you need to be careful with certain designs, especially ones that don't have any actual build photos shown and only list a digital image. I have nothing wrong with designers using digital tools for creation, but it's really easy to miss structural deficiencies and design errors without actually building the model in person. Sometimes certain build orders and techniques that make sense digitally aren't always builder friendly in reality either. I've had a few MOC's where I've needed to modify or add parts to make it more structurally sound, or because the design was a little off. Instructions are another area to watch on Bricklink. I prefer sets that have PDF instructions versus ones that rely on the digital programs. Some are good, and others aren't completely clear. I also prefer to have paper instructions, and ended up using Lulu to have the PDF's all printed, some which required a little tweaking to be acceptable for printing. That all said though, custom Lego trains is getting to be a pretty big portion of the model train hobby. I'm starting to see more and more Lego train layouts at shows, and what some of these groups come up with is pretty impressive. I saw one group with a set of Budd RDC cars; I swear they must have used hundreds of the gray 1X2 grille tile pieces to portray the aluminum fluting, but it certainly paid off and looked fantastic!
This, absolutely. The models I designed usually ended up around 2000 parts and getting that all organised was a pain. And having designed my models digitally, I cannot imagine publishing it as a set without the physical build. None of the locos I shared above look like I initially designed them. All of them needed (in one case even extensive) redesigning when confronted with the actual laws of physics. None of them are user-friendly either, but that’s not a problem since they’re just my locos and I have no intention of sharing the designs. Have a look at this. It’s a German lego imitation. While they also have other sets, the only thing they’re known for (and probably the only stuff selling well if I had to guess) is their extensive offer of (mostly German) trains. They’ve also started moving away from a width of 6 to the (for MOCs) more common width of 8. I have some of their stuff - it looks great but the parts quality is not nearly on Lego-level and their corner-cutting for costs often impacts the structural integrity of their sets. Still, goes to show that there is a big market for it given their success.
Took advantage of Clone Army Customs Christmas and New Year Sale and grabbed some more troopers for my collection. This is probably it for troopers from CAC for me, at least until he releases something new I want or starts doing more Imperial troops. I will keep ordering their weapons, cloth, and accessories, however, as they make a huge difference in upgrading stock Lego minis.
It's been awhile, but I'm still narrowing down my list. I'm down to about 25 left of the City-themed sets and 4 of the '99-'01 Star Wars sets.
