Modular Hills

Posted on November 7, 2006 by Mike Walsh

For a long time I have wanted to build some elevation into the NCLTC layout but have been reluctant to do so due to the large quantity of brick required to build decent looking landscaping. Building and storage were also a concern.

A while back I saw a thread on LUGNET which described the COLTC Modular Hill Standard. I have visted the BrickShelf Gallery a number of times thinking about how I could employ this on a NCLTC layout. As noted in the last part of the LUGNET thread, the corner modules as shown in the pictures would actually cause a collision and as such, aren’t quite accurate. Still, the COLTC solution was appealing to me as it is very much in the same veign I used to design my modular buildings for town layouts. I have buildings which can be mixed and matched to construct city blocks – they fit in either a 16×16, 16×32, or 32×32 foot print and are designed to fit next to each other to populate a city block. They can be reconfigured easily allowing the town layout to be changed without having to rebuild everything. New buildings can be added or retired one at a time. Storage and transport is pretty easy as well.

Concerned about my lack of green 2×4 bricks, I decided to see what I could build with 2×2 bricks instead. 2×2 green bricks were prevalent in the bonus tubs sold at Toys-R-Us, CVS, and Walgreens a couple years ago so I have a fair amount of them and they are cheap and plentiful on BrickLink. About a week ago I built a single straight module using 2×2 and a few 2×3 bricks and it worked out fine. I could now proceed without worry about where I was going to find a bunch of 2×4 green bricks.

1x5x4 archI followed the COLTC standard for the most part but have adapted it slightly to use 1x5x4 arches instead. I like these arches better and they can cross the span without having to use an inverted 1×2 slope like the COLTC standard does. You give up some rigidity but (a) I like them better and (b) I have a lot of them so I don’t have to worry about running out!

I now have three straight modules mostly complete and have started on a curve. I have deviated from the curve plan which the COLTC uses as I need to have adjacent curve sections fit on a single NCLTC table module which means they must fit in a 96 stud deep area. I need three curved modules and 3 straight modules for the NCLTC SHM Holiday Layout which goes on display in 2 weeks. I will post some pictures soon.

Posted in NCLTC, Standards | Leave a comment

Diagonal Train Track Layout

Posted on November 2, 2006 by Mike Walsh

I have been working on the layout plan for NCLTC’s Holiday Layout at South Hills Mall and I wanted to do something different. I don’t expect to build a bunch of new buildings for this layout but I do want to build some of the COLTC Modular Hills. I was unsure where I would place them on the layout but I am committed to build some of them! In the process of all of this mental planning I decided I wanted to add a diagonal run to the layout since all we have done so far is regular horizontal and vertical runs. I knew I had seen a write up on diagonal track geometries but couldn’t place my hand on it. A quick search of LUGNET resulted in this thread which ultimately lead me to Bill Ward’s excellent write up. Here is the result of my effort:

Posted in NCLTC | 1 Comment

9v vs RC – which to buy?

Posted on October 27, 2006 by Mike Walsh

Any questions or feedback recieved through the ILTCO web site ends up in my mailbox. When I receive them I either answer them if I can or forward them on the appropriate person. Yesterday I found the following question in my Inbox:

Dear Sirs,

Which Lego sets are better to buy for a Lego loving kid who currently has no Lego train set.

RC or 9 volt?

The Lego.com people say to get the RC since 9 volt is going away.

Thank you,

Confused
[Name Withheld]

The following is a paraphrased version of my response to this question.

What the LEGO.com people is sort of true, sort of not. LEGO is indeed focusing their internal design and marketing on the new RC trains. They have also stated that 9v trains components will be available through LEGO Factory. How long the 9v trains components continue to be available is unknown. There will be a new 9v train set available in the spring but it will be sold via the LEGO Factory as opposed to a traditional set. I would expect the LEGO Train items you will find in the catalog to be mostly RC train sets as the existing 9v sets come to the end of their production life. The 10173 Holiday Train which LEGO has just released is a 9v train although it doesn’t come with a motor, track, or speed regulartor. It can be purchased along with a motor and rail kit for about $175.

There is some information in this LUGNET thread regarding the future of 9v trains from BrickFest this past August.

This question is hard for me to answer as I personally am a fan of the 9v system but I am also highly invested in it. I have 4 children myself all of whom play with LEGO quite a bit. We have also had our share of battery operated toys. There are pros and cons to the 9v and RC systems but for me, the biggest question is around power. The 9v electric system requires a child to plug the unit in the wall. I would have no problem allowing my 11, 9, or 7 year old to do that but every parent is different as are children. One 9 year old is not the same as another.

  • Do you expect your child to build a train collection? If so, the 9v may be a better choice as pulling a long train is reportedly difficult with the RC motor.
  • Do you expect your child to have a layout set up for an extended period of time? If not, the ease of snapping together the RC track and getting a train running may appeal to you.
  • Do you want to run more than one train at a time? This is easy to do with RC (assuming you have 2 RC trains), harder with 9v.
  • Battery powered toys require batteries. Do you expect to run the train for long periods of time? If not, the RC train is probably just fine. If you want it to run for hours around the Christmas tree during the holiday season, replacing the batteries (even rechargables) every few hours will get old quickly. On the flip side, the RC train definitely provides the child (or adult) much more feeling of control. The LEGO 9v speed controller is pretty simple – you plug it in and you have a speed dial. The direction it points and how far dictates how fast the train moves and in what direction.

There is a Review of one of the RC trains on the ILTCO web site. LUGNET is also a good place to solicit an opinion on this subject.

I hope this information is helpful.

Posted in ILTCO, LEGO, LUGNET, Shopping | 8 Comments

Peeron Firefox Extension

Posted on October 17, 2006 by Mike Walsh

This is pretty cool … Dan Boger posted on LUGNET regarding a FirexFox extension he has been working on. It will scan the page for LEGO set numbers and in the background perform queries against the Peeron database. It’s pretty cool, try it out.

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Gearing up for the NCLTC Holiday Layout

Posted on October 17, 2006 by Mike Walsh

My motivation to do much of anything LEGO has waned over the past year. There are a whole myriad of reasons (see prior post) which I won’t go into at this point, maybe at some other time. However, I recently received a call from Tom Staley of Tom’s Train Station asking if we would set up the NCLTC layout at South Hills Mall for the Holiday season.

I really like these type of layout opportunities. All of the work setting up the layout can actually be enjoyed for a couple of months as opposed to a flurry of set up and tear down which typically happens at a train show. This layout will be up for at least two months – from Thanksgiving through mid to late January. Since GATS has disolved, there aren’t many show opportunities in this area so we haven’t done one in about a year. I need to get the track plan out and build something new instead of recycling the same things I have used for the last couple of shows.

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