Lego ideas trains?

[tweetsie12]

Hey everyone! now, I need your help! I want to build a Lego Ideas project based on a train, but I don't exactly know where to start! here are my preferences for the model: 1. It must be a steamer. 2. must be able to reach 10,000 supporters quickly, and 3, I want to be able to use Power Functions. I am currently thinking of doing the

Western Maryland 734 But I'm still a bit early, and I know you'll help me out! Note: image isn't mine and belongs to it's rightful owners.

Edited May 24, 2016 by tweetsie12

[KlodsBrik]

Why not start by just building some LEGO and have fun with it.

If someone else was capable of making this project for you im pretty sure they would put it on LEGO idea's themself.

I mean, basically, your asking for someone else to make "everything" for you.

Edited May 24, 2016 by KlodsBrik

[dr_spock]

Build what you like. The hard work will be in promoting it to get to 10K votes. Train related Ideas haven't been reaching 10K votes except for the Back to the Future train. That train didn't get approved in the Review phase. Good luck.

[Duq]

Hey, good question! I've been sitting on this idea for a steam train that's guaranteed to be a winner. I've just been waiting for someone to give it to...

Seriously. You want to create a project for Ideas? Create it.

You want a steam train to quickly reach 10k votes? Good luck...

[dulsi]

Design a really great project. Try appealing to communities outside of Lego groups. Most projects don't reach anywhere close to 10K. Don't expect to suddenly develop a working strategy that everyone has missed. Instead expect to work at promoting your project in an attempt to reach 10K. If your project doesn't succeed, try again with a different design. (In fact that might be needed while your project is trying to reach 10K as it may cause people to look at your other projects.) Frankly you need to enjoy the building process because your chances of success are low. My project has a low chance of success but I've still been working on a stop motion video for it. Not because I expect it to turn the tide and suddenly generate thousands of supporters but because it is fun.

[SavaTheAggie]

My steam engine project has been languishing for months. It's not going to reach 10,000, nor will any LEGO train ideas project that isn't attached to an existing IP.

--Tony

[xboxtravis7992]

Yes unfortunately the climb to 10,000 is hard for train related projects. The Back to the Future train and the Modular Train Station have been to date the only ones to reach the coveted 10,000.

Also the train community as a whole is somewhat diverse. Yes the Lego train community has a strong and loyal following, but it is small compared to the followings of say Lego Star Wars. Also since train releases are so few in Lego form the community has developed a very very strong "do it yourself" attitude, especially since Lego is unlikely to produce every train model we will ever want.

Furthermore your source engine; as a railfan I understand the appeal. It is a 2-8-0, not massive; but hard working and reliable. It dominated short line and industrial work until the diesel era began in full force. It is dirty, it is loud, and it is awesome. Unfortunately kids who are buying Lego sets rarely see those same traits a railfan would see. They don't care if the engine is a 2-8-0 or a 4-6-0 or a 4-8-8-4; they see a steam train. Although jet black paint is the iconic steam train look, most casual Lego train purchasers want their trains to look more like Thomas the Tank Engine with fantastic colors in hues of blue, green, and red. While a 2-8-0 will resonate within the rail fan community, don't expect everybody else to take note.

Furthermore even those who do appreciate a rugged freight train such as a 2-8-0; won't always be drawn to Lego. There is a reason rail modeling is such a diverse hobby, its because few people can agree on "exactly how it should be." Many people will settle for an HO layout. Others will argue N Scale is better, that a smaller scale somehow produces "more trains in less space." Others rush to O scale looking for huge detailed models. Some will painstakingly build a 7 1/2" gauge engine to recreate that 2-8-0; while others will join the actual historical societies and museums to work on the real thing. And with all the different interests in the community, those of us who take Lego to build that 2-8-0 are actually a small minority. As mentioned most will go to HO scale, and not surprisingly MTH has already made an HO scale model of that same engine.

Then there is issues of region to... Sure I love 2-8-0 engines, but I don't particularly care for the ones back east. The ones that ring familiar to me are the Union Pacific 618, the Great Western 75, the Denver and Rio Grande Western 223, the Tooele Valley 11, and the Nevada Northern 98. Those are MY definition of what a 2-8-0 should be. However I would not be surprised if you have never heard of any of those engines. The same for me with the Western Maryland 734, I have heard it mentioned, and on occasion seen pictures... but the numbers haven't stuck to my brain. I don't care when it will go down for its 15 year inspection or when it will return to service. I'm to busy following news on my local engines. And that will make it hard again for a Lego Ideas project to reach 10,000 votes based on one specific engine. You could do a set based on a generic 2-8-0, but you'd run the risk alienating supporters that way to, as most will want to see their specific prototype engine come to life, and not some generic model.

So again the best recommendation is to do it yourself. I took that path for the Tooele Valley 11; it is definitely a prototype that will never gain enough fame to be made into an official Lego set, but it was one I was passionate about and wanted to see in Lego form. So I started slowly working on it on LDD, and eventually finished a blueprint for the engine. Someday when I finally will buy the parts to build it, I can claim pride in that it is MY own engine. No one else in the Lego world has it, and the way it came together sprung forth from my own mind.

I'd recommend the same approach to the Western Maryland 734, if you have a passion for this engine, USE IT. Make something truly unique. When you show it off in the Lego community while not everyone will recognize the prototype, they'll be able to see your dedication to the subject matter. You can use inspiration from other Lego builds as a guide, but the ultimate product will be unique to you.

[Hod Carrier]

I'd be prepared to go so far as to speculate that no train will succeed on LEGO Ideas, although I'd happily be proved wrong.

They are looking for original ideas and the trains theme seems to have been sufficiently well explored already that anything "new" is likely to be merely a variation on a theme. Look at the sets that have succeeded on Ideas. They are either truly original (e.g. birds or the ball maze) or are predictable derivative sets based around highly marketable and merchanisable themes (e.g. Dr Who, Ghostbusters and Big Bsng Theory).

I'm probably just being an old cynic, but that's how things appear to me. By all means go for it and put something on LEGO Ideas if that's what you want to do, but be realistic in your expectations.

[ALCO]

...the community has developed a very very strong "do it yourself" attitude, especially since Lego is unlikely to produce every train model we will ever want...

...I took that path for the Tooele Valley 11; it is definitely a prototype that will never gain enough fame to be made into an official Lego set, but it was one I was passionate about and wanted to see in Lego form. So I started slowly working on it on LDD, and eventually finished a blueprint for the engine. Someday when I finally will buy the parts to build it, I can claim pride in that it is MY own engine. No one else in the Lego world has it, and the way it came together sprung forth from my own mind.

...if you have a passion for this engine, USE IT. Make something truly unique. When you show it off in the Lego community while not everyone will recognize the prototype, they'll be able to see your dedication to the subject matter. You can use inspiration from other Lego builds as a guide, but the ultimate product will be unique to you.

Nice rant! And I couldn't have described our unique community any better! Furthermore, Very eloquently stated!

[ShrikeArghast]

I'd be prepared to go so far as to speculate that no train will succeed on LEGO Ideas, although I'd happily be proved wrong.

Same. I still lament over the titanic failures of some truly superb Star Wars MOCs on Ideas, and those must enjoy far more broad-based support than a single engine. As I said in another topic, I find Lego Ideas to be something of a scam - it's a thinly-veiled marketing tool for Lego, and not much else. Ultimately, so many projects that have reached the 10,000 vote have been denied for reasons as silly as 'we don't think this would sell,' or 'we didn't want to bother trying to get the licensing' [seriously, how difficult would it be to get the BBC to sign off on a Sherlock model? Harder than getting Universal to agree to Back to the Future? Yeah, right]) that the entire process has become suspect.

I still support projects, but there's no reason for me to submit my own. Why climb a mountain that keeps extending invisible arms to hurl trekkers off, into the abyss?

[Hod Carrier]

Not sure I'd go quite as far as that. LEGO has a point in that sets must sell otherwise they won't justify the investment. After all, they are there to make money and not to pander to our whims. 10000 votes seems like a lot, but it's nowhere near the same as 10000 sales.

Ideas has thrown up a couple of really good original ideas, but the rest has just been derivative but highly saleable junk. I can't imagine that getting the rights for Sherlock would be any harder than getting the rights for Dr Who, but I just don't see that the two series share the same fanbase. The so-called "worth" of a MOC also seems to have little currency. Surely it's the idea they want, after all.

In conclusion, I wouldn't say Ideas was a scam. However, clearly LEGO have their own criteria for picking winning ideas with the voting only being one part for gauging potential interest.

[xboxtravis7992]

Nice rant! And I couldn't have described our unique community any better! Furthermore, Very eloquently stated!

Thanks! Glad my point got across.

[tweetsie12]

Hey, good question! I've been sitting on this idea for a steam train that's guaranteed to be a winner. I've just been waiting for someone to give it to...

Seriously. You want to create a project for Ideas? Create it.

You want a steam train to quickly reach 10k votes? Good luck...

I did a good rendition of the Polar Express, If you want to check it out here.

[Capn Frank]

I did a good rendition of the Polar Express, If you want to check it out here.

We're not going to discuss you MOC at two locations, so I revised the link from Ideas to your MOC's topic. Discuss tweetsie's MOC there please.