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Happy New Year! Bob (Thanks by the way) reached out to me after he saw a display at the Western PA model RR museum. I Have collected legos for over 30 years and have a good many sets and spare parts though the years. I used to make displays in a library in an elementary school in Erie. I recently moved to Pittsburgh (Wexford) and only have set up two displays at the WPMRM. I am mostly into integrating existing sets into scenery. I am not sure I have anywhere the artistic talent of the other members.
The Lego Dude came from the kids in school when they saw me out with my wife. I was always the Lego Dude. I do travel for work from time to time, so I would like to help, but I sometimes have to be cautious of how much I commitTo a specific time or event.hey hey hey! The man behind the curtain! Greg sent me a photo of your display there and it looked great! Each year, I think, “Surely we’ve got the word out about the club to all the big fans in the area by now.” but each year, I get surprised at how much talent and ability is in the Pittsburgh area! GReat to have you join!
Should we call you LEGODude, or do you have a first name we should use?
Hey @legodude, glad to have you join the group! As we talked about last night, you’ll find a pretty diverse mix of interests in our members, so I’m sure you’ll find some common interests and fit right in!! And, we have a broad cross-section of members ranging from very active to very casual, so no pressure on commitment, just join in when you can and as you feel comfortable.
You might want to post some pics here of your (2) Western PA RR Museum displays to show others some of your work and get some dialog started!! To do that, you can use the Browse button below to pick files to attach. Just a heads up though that there’s a 3.2 MB limitation on file size for attachments, so you might want to check that before posting, or split the pics into several posts to stay under the limit.
The Handbook tab at the top of this page has some good info in it as to how the LUG works. If you have questions on any of that, feel free to message or call me anytime. Look forward to hopefully meeting you at our Q1 Meeting, which is tentatively scheduled for Saturday Feb. 29th.
I will have to shrink the other photos down to post them. The reality is I use a lot of pieces (and people) that I have to form a scene. Not near the artistic ability of some of what I have seen posted. Realized I lived in Erie, so my only access to bricks was store sets until the last 5 year when there was at least an eBay option for random bricks for me as I was not connected to a group.
Woah! Ladies and gentlemen, we have an AFOL. We coulda used that tunnel a few years ago, aye @philmatt24
Looks great LD. Was that a local library? All your design for the seascape? Have these all been taken apart?
We coulda used that tunnel a few years ago, aye @philmatt24
Hi, Len! This is a six~seven-year-old inside joke at my expense, regarding building a tunnel based on the Horizon Express (a train set I owned) and finding out on site at an event that other trains had longer wheelbases and therefore swung wider thru curves, knocking out the supports of said tunnel…
Based on what you’ve already done, you might be interested in some of the conversations that we are still having:
* We are discussing track and road standards for our larger displays.
* We are currently discussing the MILS standard as well as modular baseplates for different sizes and shapes of available display space.
* We are also discussing power options.In these areas, I’d say you already have some lessons learned from your own extensive displays that are different than what we encountered, and ideas for the next wave of evolution that we haven’t thought of.
I’m less familiar with the appropriate threads to discuss these things, and maybe our trainheads can help.
Welcome aboard!
I am not sure I have anywhere the artistic talent of the other members.
Hi Len! Welcome aboard. Don’t sell yourself short; that mountain looks great. I love your pictures, especially the 2002 ones. That almost looks like an old Lego catalog. Is that the Red Train Station I see in the one picture? And monorail!
This set-up took me about three weeks to complete due to the previous one being set up at Thanksgiving. There were lots of details missed.
The train “standards” would be a decent thing for me to help out with to sort of work my way into it. I will be out of town 2 of 4 weeks in January, but February should be better.
Make sure @greg sees your winter display. Greg loves himself some snow-covered buildings.
Make sure @greg sees your winter display
I saw it! I saw it! I like the snowy mountain and the ski slope and …
Len, how do you store your builds? I understand that major landscapes had to be disassembled in the move from Erie, but certainly a lot of those buildings are still intact, and we know that if you leave LEGO out for awhile, it collects dust.
Len,
I liked looking at the evolution of these larger displays. I like the Chili’s. I also like the combination of multiple modulars into the double sized Pet Store. I wonder how you managed the roller coaster over time, as we had lots of problems with our first roller coaster attempt.I notice that you use tunnels amid high angle slopes, and integrate multiple transportation systems in the same layout. These are things we can learn from.
I also notice that you use the old road plate system of six stud wide lanes. I always liked the style of those old plates, even though they demand tighter vehicles. With three different road standards available (the green curbed 6-wide, the DBG 8-wide, and blacktop brick built), it’s possible to create neighborhoods this way in our largest displays, and with a more polished sense of style between them.
I’m working on a modular system using a core of Duplo and System brick superstructure to create modular chunks for greater height and to save on bricks and expense. If you’d like, I can bring a sample at Q1 and we can improve the idea together, helping these cores act like modular buildings.
I’m not a City or Town builder, but I also know that many City and Town techniques will carry over to a larger Space build too. That integration of multiple transport systems you have is complex, and requires planning experience that we could benefit from.
Don’t be afraid to post more! Every build, every display worth its salt has something unique and special.
Make sure @greg sees your winter display
I saw it! I saw it! I like the snowy mountain and the ski slope and …
Len, how do you store your builds? I understand that major landscapes had to be disassembled in the move from Erie, but certainly a lot of those buildings are still intact, and we know that if you leave LEGO out for awhile, it collects dust.
I generally break down all the buildings and all the scenery and put them back in their boxes. I only have the modular building on shelves in my basement. Very little re-use of scenery.I use a paint brush to dust them every so often. There are a decent amount of old blocks in the the white snow, so watch out where those huskies go.
Because you have instructions for the sets, breaking the sets down gives you the fun of reassembling them later. With original designs, I am reluctant to take them apart until I decide that they no longer fit the current aesthetic. Many of my MOC’s are in boxes for months and years.
There are a decent amount of old blocks in the the white snow
I love reusing old parts, although some people are not so keen on using parts with a history. Of course with white, it can be unfortunately noticeable.
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