dtomsen

Almost spot on.

HA Bricks is up and running again! No custom sets this time around but Hein's own stuff and BrickTracks are finally available again

That's the point. I haven't lost affinity with the LEGO brand (at least not most of it). Which is why I love all of the wonderful 3rd party supplements available nowadays which greatly enhance my own enjoyment of LEGO in general and trains especially. And not only me but also seemingly the general public at exhibitions.I have found some affinity with other brands as well tho. But these different affinities are not mutual exclusive and do not in any way diminish my overall enjoyment of building with bricks in general. And why should it? The bitter part is that Hein probably was way too much of a LEGO purist to even consider alternative brands and kept the supplements to a bare minimum. And also why he proudly (and naively) displayed how pure LEGO his sets were Many good points Other generic or non-LEGO centric shows may not be that enticing for the average AFOLs collectors and even generic MOCers but some definitely are for us LEGO train builders, especially model railroad ones. Some of them are even huge and although they might not be LEGO centric the general public still know and love LEGO and basically any brickbuilt stuff.

Not necessarily so. One of the biggest AFOL events in the world currently, Skærbæk Fan Weekend, was called LEGO Fan Weekend when TLG actually ran the event itself. Since then the event has become an even bigger success with a lot more attendees and with less direct support from TLG. So it's possible and might even be advantageous. But yeah, the LEGO name has a lot of sway in our AFOL community. So much so that many AFOLs don't know or simply won't acknowledge (out of fear losing said privileges) that there are lots of opportunities elsewhere from brands to bricks to sets to supplement to exhibtions and beyond. There is whole world out there full of possibilities. And HA Bricks provided just that, new possibilities.

Small correction. The bricks supplied with Circuit Cubes sets don't have any branding on top so aren't authentic LEGO - at least not those in my Bluetooth Upgrade Kits. Great batteries, motors and all but the quality of the bricks supplied can best be described as adequate. Edit: I see @Toastie was faster than me

Yeah but we shouldn't disregard the LEGO part of the AFOL acronym. It's a fan community after all and thus the branding on top of the bricks do matter to most. Most AFOL exhibitions and communities I know allow 3rd party parts and accessories and have for a long time, especially due to us train builders (and the Technic guys) so things are slowly turning around (and in the process getting much more blurred). The model railroad community in general couldn't care less whether it's LEGO or other brands. It's all the same to them. So model railroad exhibitions have absolutely no rules in that regard when participating with LEGO train stuff which I actually find rather liberating and in some ways eye-opening regarding our many self-imposed AFOL rules and idiosyncrasies.

Many other brands do have licenced themes, everyday stuff like City and niche themes like trains, for example Mould King and BlueBrixx. Cobi, Gobricks, CaDA and others aren't exactly small manufacturers anymore either even though they are all clearly dwarfed by TLG.The point being, TLG does have serious competition in at least two of its main markets, Germany and China. And arguably the competition there is making headway on TLG's overall marketshare. Otherwise why the current judicial rodeo or the general ferociousness from TLG towards the competition? The crowd funding is primarily to show support to Hein Alkema himself and help him survive financially, not to make TLG notice. What a bizarre take.

Huge number of great news from Fx Bricks in the latest 2024 Update

Yep, except P40 switches and R72 curves they all fit fine. The correct ones that is.

Yes, afaik a cease and desist letter was sent by TLG before the case went to trial and HA Bricks did offer back a compromise to remove the custom ball bearings and printed minifig parts but this was refused by TLG as not enough. In court TLG refused to try another compromise when asked by the judge basically playing hardball and won decisively.

MAB: Question: Do you build your own LEGO train models or LEGO trains in general?

HA Bricks / Hein thought he had a strong case and could win in court. His lawyers too. Even so, if TLG demanded he basically close shop what else could he do than go to court and take his chances?

Afaik we do know second hand that the cease and desist letter had the exact same terms as those put forward in court and that TLG didn't want the compromise put forward by HA Bricks before the court (also known somewhat second hand) or first hand (court text) work out another even when asked by the judge in court. Make of it as you will but the TLG laywers sure seemed to me to want to make an example of HA Bricks and did. TLG was well within its right as things turned out but should we applaud it for doing it and in the way it did in this particular case?

Well, Phil B, this is where our opinions differ even though I do understand both (articulated) sides of the argument. As I wrote "because TLG can doesn't mean it should" TLG could have acted differently but chose not to. TLG could have picked a harder and more deserving target but chose not to. TLG could have put the hobby aspect above business interest but chose not to. This makes TLG the main villain in this particular case in my eyes.

You miss the point. TLG do target me (as the buyer) and our hobby (more correctly our train niche, not the wider LEGO audience as such) indirectly by making it next to impossible to buy modified LEGO parts commercially from small vensors be that custom painting, ball bearings or whatever TLG might fancy next. Yeah, I can insert ball bearings into LEGO parts myself if I want to but I sure as hell don't have the necessary and expensive equipment to do proper custom painting on bricks myself.