[MOC] Via Rail Canada - The Canadian - LEGO Ideas

[gvb2003]

5 minutes ago, NickLafreniere said:

I used studio to design the whole thing.

Can you tell me short how you made custom logo's etc.?

[Phil B]

1 minute ago, gvb2003 said:

Can you tell me short how you made custom logo's etc.?

Use the Part Editor that comes with Stud.io.

[Mr Hobbles]

I don't often support stuff on Lego Ideas (I should get better at that!), but I've supported this. :)

This is something that I could actually see being picked on Lego Ideas, assuming Lego is happy to put another train set into production:

1. Simple locomotive design, few specialized parts

2. Passenger cars similar to each other, not requiring too many different pieces between them

3. Piece count of less than 1,500 elements for the four car train.

4. I could see Lego perhaps reducing the set to locomotive + 1 car to keep costs down, similar to the emerald night. Extra cars could be built with similar pieces.

5. The VIA Rail license might not be too hard to get, and it opens up extra audiences for this set (souvenirs in train stations, etc).

6. Also appeals to US + Canadian market. The most recent Crocodile appealed more to the European market, so it mixes it up a bit.

[NickLafreniere]

I'm glad you're able to see the full potential of this set, not just as a model but also as a product for VIA Rail.

James Mathis also said that The Canadian is a bit of a modern-day reboot of the Santa Fe LEGO. I couldn't agree more, that's what I was originally going for. 

I personally think that The Canadian should come with cars and there shouldn't be separate sets just for the extra cars. Although it sounds like a great idea, I know LEGO isn't interested in having too many SKUs on their shelf. 

As for the piece count of 1500, The Canadian is 2312 pieces. I have already optimized the piece count, it can't really get lower than that. My other train, Via Rail Canada - The Corridor, is 1402 pieces. The Canadian will cost more than The Corridor, so some may opt for the cheaper Corridor train, or the more "deluxe" Canadian train. 

[Mr Hobbles]

10 hours ago, NickLafreniere said:

I personally think that The Canadian should come with cars and there shouldn't be separate sets just for the extra cars. Although it sounds like a great idea, I know LEGO isn't interested in having too many SKUs on their shelf.

I agree on the no-seperate-skus - I was however saying that Lego has historically been hesitant to putting more than one or two cars in the set to keep piece count down, especially if other cars can be built with mostly the same pieces. In effect 1) Lower piece count, 2) One car instead of three, 3) Drive sales of more sets (annoys consumers as they end up with redundant locomotives, but ah well).

If they do decide just to put one car in the set, perhaps they could be persuaded to put the extra pieces in so that the car could be any one of the three pictured.

10 hours ago, NickLafreniere said:

As for the piece count of 1500, The Canadian is 2312 pieces. I have already optimized the piece count, it can't really get lower than that. 

My bad, I missed that. :) Another incentive for Lego to put less cars in the set. However they have made Ideas sets with more pieces than that...

Edited June 26, 2020 by Mr Hobbles

[NickLafreniere]

I also do have the idea to make some additional alternate builds (instead of a baggage car, a dining car - instead of a sleeper, a regular coach - instead of the Skyline car, a Park car) and that would absolutely give the set more value.

The Emerald Night's biggest flaw is that you only got 1 passenger car. So if you wanted a 4 car train, you will have 3 extra locomotives. That is a huge complaint from the community, and I agree that was huge problem. I think LEGO should never ever do this again, since the customer could buy 4 of the same set and still not be satisfied.

 

Although my VIA Rail The Canadian will be about $250ish, I think the hardcore train fans will buy it and see tons of value in the set. LEGO hasn't really made a $250 train before, so this would the first time they try something like this. I think if consumers spend a huge chunk of cash on UCS Star Wars, this may be an appealing set. I don't think the Crocodile set is too inviting to new comers, but I think the VIA Rail sets will entice people a bit more.

My other train, VIA Rail The Corridor is 1402 pieces, about the same as the Horizon Express. That would be about $150. I also think that the Corridor will present a lot of value, as it is even more playable than the Horizon Express.

[SteamSewnEmpire]

I'm just hoping it gets through. The Canadian would be the first 6w train set I've had any interest in since the Southwest Chief. 

[NickLafreniere]

7 hours ago, SteamSewnEmpire said:

I'm just hoping it gets through. The Canadian would be the first 6w train set I've had any interest in since the Southwest Chief. 

I hope this can prove that 6w can be detailed and deliver all the details + functionality you'd ever want. 

I agree that many of LEGO's trains from LEGO City simply don't offer much in detail, or looks. They're simply just rectangular boxes on wheels. I tried to make the train as different from that as I could :P

[M_slug357]

On 6/28/2020 at 5:01 AM, NickLafreniere said:

...Although my VIA Rail The Canadian will be about $250ish, I think the hardcore train fans will buy it and see tons of value in the set. LEGO hasn't really made a $250 train before, so this would the first time they try something like this...

Uhm... the Disney Train is $330 usd, and the PuP freight set is $230 usd... oh and a motorized Krokodil is almost $200 usd!

While I think your set proposal is fantastic and I love how much support it’s getting, I don’t think you should stop trying to improve/rework your model. Really try and attack it from a set designers’ PoV. You should be asking questions like:  “How sturdy is this?” “Where can I cheat and use more stickers/prints?” “Is there room for some kind of action feature?” “How can I rework this to use even less/cheaper parts?” “What can I do with the budget leftovers?”

 

BTW, Does anyone else get the feeling that TLG is experiencing some of their 90’s (pre-bankruptcy) swagger again??

[zephyr1934]

1 hour ago, M_slug357 said:

While I think your set proposal is fantastic and I love how much support it’s getting, I don’t think you should stop trying to improve/rework your model. Really try and attack it from a set designers’ PoV. You should be asking questions like:  “How sturdy is this?” “Where can I cheat and use more stickers/prints?” “Is there room for some kind of action feature?” “How can I rework this to use even less/cheaper parts?” “What can I do with the budget leftovers?”

If you are thinking of making and selling instructions yourself for this model those questions make sense. If the model were ever accepted via IDEAS, Lego would completely redesign it anyway.

[NickLafreniere]

23 hours ago, zephyr1934 said:

If you are thinking of making and selling instructions yourself for this model those questions make sense. If the model were ever accepted via IDEAS, Lego would completely redesign it anyway.

As it is right now, making instructions isn't a viable idea since The Canadian requires about 30+ pieces to be made in new colors that aren't currently available. But if the project fails the review, I may consider it, who knows.

I hope that LEGO can professionally redesign the coupling and bogie system so that it is fully tested to run well on tracks. LEGO always has new pieces every year, so perhaps some new piece in 2021 can improve some parts of the model. 

[legocharles]

I like it a lot! you got my vote.

[Mr Hobbles]

On 7/1/2020 at 6:40 AM, NickLafreniere said:

As it is right now, making instructions isn't a viable idea since The Canadian requires about 30+ pieces to be made in new colors that aren't currently available. But if the project fails the review, I may consider it, who knows. 

If this project does get made (and I really hope it does!), Lego/you will have to get creative there - as a general rule, Lego set designers are allowed 2-4 unique new parts (or unique recolours, or unique printed pieces) per 1,000 pieces in the set. Basically any piece that takes up a new bin slot in the warehouse. Might have to be a few stickers instead! :)

Edited July 6, 2020 by Mr Hobbles

[NickLafreniere]

13 hours ago, Mr Hobbles said:

If this project does get made (and I really hope it does!), Lego/you will have to get creative there - as a general rule, Lego set designers are allowed 2-4 unique new parts (or unique recolours, or unique printed pieces) per 1,000 pieces in the set. Basically any piece that takes up a new bin slot in the warehouse. Might have to be a few stickers instead! :)

I wouldn't mind if nearly all the pieces I intended to be printed were stickers. I know that some people totally detest stickers in LEGO sets, but they are probably in the minority. There are also a few pieces where it would be nice to get in a new unique color, but will probably have to go with a more common color. 

While designing the VIA sets, there were some pieces that were not in that color at the time. But some new sets in 2020 actually did bring some of the pieces in colors I needed! So I hope that there will be some pieces in new colors for 2021 that could be used for the VIA train sets.