randomwalk

Thanks guys for all of the very informative responses to these questions. They are very helpful - a lot of things to read up on and think about. I didn't know that the passenger cars were the pricy part of the 10194. My main goal is to build my own cars and customize existing sets. I guess my plan of doing a PF version of the My Own Trains falls between the two.

Here is the story: I'm a long time AFOL and have collected many sets over the years, but somehow have resisted trains. However, over the past several months I think I have caught the train bug and purchased my first real train sets, despite collecting themes such as Technic, Star Wars, Modulars and others over the past 20+ years. Mainly, I've acquired the cargo trains 3677, 7939 and 7898. All three of them are very appealing to me and I enjoy them a lot. I was also fortunate to obtain a Santa Fe collection several years ago, however, with no track or anything else. One thing I really like about trains is how easy it is to play around with MOCs for train cars. This is in contrast to MOCing with technic, which I find to be challenging, especially after a day at work. As someone who is new to trains, but long time into Lego, I would be interested in the following questions: - Given that we are in 2017, what is the best way of acquiring track, accessories, train parts (bogie parts, train wheels, etc.)? So far my strategy has been to acquire three of these cargo sets at good prices, and then work from there. - I noticed that some 9V trains are still easy to obtain at sane prices on bricklink (e.g. 4559, 4561). Should I jump on these or avoid these? I understand that these are 9V and I mainly have PF trains, but I was wondering about the general opinion on those sets. - The two real ones I'm after are a Metroliner and the Emerald Night, however, these are just too expensive right now. Are these actually worth it, or should I just give up? - What software do train enthusiasts to create scale diagrams of their tables and trains? Similarly, what software do people use to generate those mini-train signatures I used to see? - I really like the "My Own Train" series. My plan is to BrickLink the parts for the tops, and then build the bottoms via the modern PF wheels / magnets. Does anyone here have experience with an undertaking like this (ie. BrickLinking My Own Train sets)? As far as a system to use, my sense is that it is no longer cost effective to pursue the 9V route, therefore it would be wiser to just BrickLink these with the appropriate modern PF style conversions. - Long time train enthusiasts: Any tips or tricks you would like to share to a newbie starting out? (My objective is not to have a MISB collection of these expensive sets - rather I would be satisfied with a decent and working collection to play around with.)

Much like many others, this wave seems quite bizarre to me. The upside to this is that I'll have more money to spend on other themes. 42069 looks ugly and 42070 is far too big and clunky as an RC set. 42068 looks fine, but isn't too inspiring either. Unfortunately, our reference point is 2016, which was one of the most significant for Technic, and these models are especially poor.

Anyone willing to give a hint regarding where to find pics of 42068 or 42069 (or possible a dm)? I've seen 42070. Maybe there is more to the 2H 2017 lineup than these three?

Overall I am very excited about these. My only one hope is that they change the Mercedes F1 set to a light grey + sand green coloring rather than the current (and very ugly) white + green. It is impossible to look at that set and think it looks even remotely like this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_in_Formula_One#/media/File:Hamilton_-_2016_Monaco_GP_02.jpg

The boat and the BMW motorcycle look good. I would probably skip the rest of them as they seem to be directed toward younger audiences.

Preliminary pictures seem to be available on Reddit.

It seems as if there are two main reasons for retiring and quickly re-instating the death star 1. To increase the price 2. To slap on a Disney logo Even as a "rerelease" this makes no sense since the original (10188) was available such a short while ago. Why not re-release something that has been off the shelves for at least 5 years? Maybe they are getting orders from Disney executives who don't understand the meaning of the UCS brand, and are just interested in the bottom line and pushing the Disney name? This and the release of Assault on Hoth are setting a worrisome precedent for the future of the UCS line.

The exterior colour scheme is excellent. Overall it looks better than the original!

It comes as no surprise to everyone that 75098 (Assault on Hoth) has departed remarkably in the wrong direction from the standard we are used to seeing in UCS sets. Universal complaints have arisen regarding its price, the fact that it is just a "4-in-one" collection of mini-sets, unworthiness for the UCS label and the seeming lack of effort in design and product execution. As adult collectors, we crave large, detailed and iconic representations of vehicles or objects that step beyond the standard playset designed to entertain kids. In the almost 9 years since the initial release of the 10179, we have witnessed an enormous drop in the UCS "brand" in terms of quality. Therefore leading to the following question: What went wrong? Does anyone with some bit of inside information know anything about why this set was produced? Is this a 1-time anomaly that they messed up, or is this a deliberate decision that is the beginning of a new style of "UCS" sets that are actually designed for children? I don't know the answer, but here are some plausible ideas: - We as AFOLs are oblivious to the actual purchasing patterns of the vast majority of Lego consumers (children). Based on market research, TLG has concluded that it is more cost effective to make these N-in-1 playsets rather than large 1-in-1 vehicles we are accustomed to. They have just slapped on the UCS label as a marketing tactic. Alienating the AFOL community is just a necessary evil in increasing their profits. - Disney has influenced the product design, pressuring TLG to make everything kid-friendly and ensure that anything with the Star Wars label ruthlessly pursues the bottom line. - Due to lack of organization or time, they hastily decided to rush this set through, without any thought. (Possibly something similar to the 10249 Toy Shop incident) - (Unlikely) The designers (including BrickCommander), came up with the designs for this set. I can't imagine why any self-respecting UCS Lego set designer would come up with an actual design like this. Watching the design video suggested that they are just doing their job, and inside they probably want nothing to do with this set. Unfortunately, looking at the trend of new UCS sets (e.g. 75098) and new modulars (Brick Bank and Detective's Office), I am fearing that TLG is alienating us AFOLs, with cheesy play-features, inflated piece counts (by including hundreds of tiny pieces), and rising prices. What ever happened to the days of Cafe Corner and 10179?

Makes perfect sense - I guess there are higher priorities at this point. Anyway, to reiterate - the 75060 was definitely one of the best UCS sets that I (and other fans I've talked to) have seen in a while. Amazing job @BrickCommander, and I'm looking forward to seeing what is in the future.

If Lego were to release a "modification kit" for the 75060, that would be the greatest thing ever. It could include: - Pieces to convert 75060 into Jango Fett's Slave 1 (I guess mainly the blue and yellow pieces) - Regular Jango Fett minifigure (with printed arms and legs) - Jango Fett clone minifigure - Young Boba Fett - 2 Kaminoans (Taun We + Lama Su) - Obi Wan minifigure If Lego were to produce something like this, it would be absolutely amazing. Currently there are no Kamino related sets at all (other than perhaps 7153), and that is my favorite scene from the prequel trilogies. @BrickCommander: Any prospects from something Kamino related in the future?

The level of complaint in this thread is quite disappointing. @BrickCommander: Thank you for designing such a great set - 75060 is one of my favorites and this "gap" issue is non-existent. It is obvious that the quality of construction of the UCS sets has improved dramatically over the years. I can't wait to see what is in store for next year.

Could a moderator please put an end to this? Occasionally I visit Eurobricks for interesting and relevant information regarding Lego and in particular Technic. Recent content on this forum has suggested that it is no longer worth visiting, considering that no one has anything intelligent to say.

Here are some of mine: - I don't really like the 10179 that much. It is not bad, but doesn't deserve the mania it has. I actually owned one, but I found that it was difficult to display. It is hard to put on a shelf, and looks flat at eye-level. - The early 2000's were some of Lego's best years. - I don't mind these weird themes like Galidor, Znap, etc. - I can't stand collectible minifigures. - Lego Ideas has been very disappointing lately. I guess the formula is to select a movie / tv show tie in, make some "exclusive" minifigures, and make a small and overpriced set. - At the end of the day, adult collectors need to step bank and remind themselves that Lego is just a plastic toy, with its main target audience being boys (and girls) ages 6-12.

I think that many adult collectors experience similar internal conflict regarding their LEGO hobby. There are some days when I think to myself "What am I actually doing? Why do I need all of this LEGO? They are just plastic bricks!". There are many good points raised in the above comments. Here are some things I found to help give myself perspective on the state of my LEGO hobby, and to help me from becoming overwhelmed. - Unless absolutely necessary, avoid getting rid your entire collection. There is something inside of you that is drawing you to LEGO, and that won't go away. - Take an inventory of what you have and organize your collection! You might be even surprised to discover that you own sets that you've forgotten about. I recently took one of my vacations to go through my entire collection. All complete sets were separated into zip-lock bags, and I made a google spreadsheet to keep track of the list of sets I own. Doing this was a lot of work, but it was definitely worth it. This process will force you to be reacquainted with the sets that you bought and you will reminisce about why you bought them. If you find sets you don't like, put them into a separate box for selling. - If you want to get rid of some sets, attach some sort of rating (e.g. 5 is the best, 1 is the worst) for each set in your list. Then decide to sell the bottom 20% or something like that. - Regarding acquisitions, make a list of sets or minifigs you would like to acquire (limit it to a certain number - say 5 or 10). Don't buy anything that is not on this list. You can also attach ratings to each set in this "wanted" list (5 - really want, 3 - nice to have, 1 - maybe). Restrict yourself to buying "really want" sets. - Avoid impulse buys, even if they seem to be good deals. The other day I went to pick up a set from someone selling on craigslist. It turned out that they were also selling many other sets (at excellent prices) for themes that I don't even collect. Soon enough I agreed to spend more than double of what I had originally intended. Since I didn't have enough cash on hand, I had to go to the bank. The trip to the bank made me realize that what I was doing was ridiculous, and thankfully I came to my senses and decided not to buy those extra sets (they weren't even on my wanted list). It is easy to get caught up in the moment - take a "cool off" time to think about whether you actually need to buy a certain set. - Restrict yourself to collecting only from certain themes. Again, this will help prevent unnecessary set collecting. If you have sets from a theme you don't like, get rid of them.

I recently went through the decision making process of which combination of mindstorms sets to get. In the end I ended up with the education set and the expansion set, but found that I did not need the software. If you have Matlab/Simulink at home, you can program directly from Simulink (this is similar to the EV3 software but vastly more sophisticated): http://www.mathworks.com/hardware-support/lego-mindstorms-ev3-simulink.html I have also played around with ev3dev and python-ev3. When you realized that these alternatives exist (Simulink, ev3dev, etc.), you realize that the question of education vs. retail software becomes less relevant.

I've really been hoping for a functional and realistic garbage truck in the Technic line. This looks great!

I'm curious to know what hobbies other people on this board have. Or do you find that Lego/Technic takes up too much time or money? How do you divide your time between your different hobbies and interests? Personally I am heavily into computer programming, coffee and downhill skiing.

Here is the first inside page (more available on the flickr page): For some reason, my rubber bands are in excellent condition. Could be that they were in storage for such a long time?

Thanks for the feedback. I didn't know that there was a reviewers academy. Unfortunately the link provided seems to require administrator access which I doe have.

(Since this is my first review on this site, please excuse any shortcomings, omission of valuable information and inclusion of superfluous information - comments and feedback are welcome). 7471 Mars Exploration Rover Review - Technic in all but its name Model Number: 7471 Name: Mars Exploration Rover Theme: Discovery Year: 2003 Number of pieces: 870 Full sized photos available at https://www.flickr.c...57645937216192/ There didn't seem to be any review of this set on this site, so I decided to add my own. Overall, this was an enjoyable build and I would recommend it highly to any Technic collector who is looking for something beyond the usual. It is important to note that this set is not a Technic set, but was part of the "Discovery" theme in 2003. This theme was quite short lived and featured 6 sets of varying sizes and complexity. The mars rover is the only one in the series that is a Technic style build. In fact, this is the most "Technicy" non-Technic set I have yet encountered. Among the Discovery theme, this set is also has the highest parts count (870). Since the set is quite old, it may be difficult to obtain or may command a high price depending on where you live. However, it seems to be the least rare one out of the Discovery series. Functions: There are two knobs on the top of the set - one for rotating the antenna, and another for steering. The steering mechanism is quite interesting in that the outer four wheels are steered using a combination of push-rods and the "flex" system. The design of the steering system is quite impressive. On the back, there are two knobs - one for rotating the camera, and one for extending the robotic arm. Additionally, the camera can be extended and retracted using a dampened spring (the same ones used for the doors on the 8448 super car). The solar panels can be folded up and released with another dampened spring (see pictures). For some reason, the folded up configuration didn't seem to be very stable (any minor perturbation caused them to extend), however, that could be due to the way I built it. Pictures: Instruction booklet: In addition to the instructions, there is also an informational booklet with various facts about the real rover: Various parts: Partial progress: About half-way: Fully constructed, but before solar panels: With solar panels: Panels folded up: Things I liked: Novelty: It was very refreshing to build a Technic set that does not fall into a typical category (car, truck, construction vehicle, plane/helicopter). It would be great if Lego would produce more sets like this, rather than producing n-th iterations of the usual vehicles. I suspect that most people on this forum would also appreciate this. Another novel aspect of this set was the color palette. Again, it was nice to build something that was not yellow or red. The set consisted mainly of light grey, dark grey and tan pieces. However, this choice (namely lots of grey) also has some disadvantages which will be discussed later. Complexity: For a non-Technic set, I was really impressed with the functionality of this set. It is evident that the designers put a lot of effort into making it. It isn't revolutionary, but given its part count I think they pack a lot in. Things I didn't like: Although I liked the non-traditional color choices, at times it was difficult to distinguish between the different shades of grey in the instructions (mixing up white and light grey, light grey and dark grey, dark grey and black). Occasionally I would have to go back a step since I realized that I used the wrong color. Summary: If you are looking for a medium-large Technic set off the beaten track, check it out. Among the Discovery sets, this one seems to be the one that is most readily available. I really hope that in the future Lego will introduce more Technic sets like this (non-traditional vehicles/machines and in non-traditional colors). This is a fantastic example of what the possibilities are when they step outside the realm of the zillionth car / truck / construction machine. Out of curiosity, if anyone knows other "Technic-style" sets that are not part of the Technic theme (like this one), please share.

This is really cool! Now you just need to build a module that assembles the tower blocks automatically