Lego 10277 - Crocodile Locomotive

[Duq]

9 hours ago, Vilhelm22 said:

And this thread alone shows the support for trains is out there - almost 2 pages on 1 thread in 15 hours. 

25 people in a forum dedicated to the target audience doesn't prove much about support or demand. We're a niche hobby inside a niche hobby.

25 minutes ago, Rijkvv said:

I actually think they use this part. And that would make the locomotive 7-wide. (partially in Dutch, but you'll get the idea)

 

In that same picture you can see that the hood is 5 wide with a 1x tile on either side so yes, 7-wide.

[*thomas*]

Very cool for train fans, but why didn't they just make a whole train? I'm sure AFOL would spend 170 USD / € / GBP on this train if it included some rolling stock.

Still, very pleased TLG is making this set.

 

[Vilhelm22]

We obviously don’t know if it can take power functions yet, but if it can, would be interested to see if lights can be fitted like they could be on EN, HE and nearly all City trains.  I’m also wondering if there are enough dark green pieces in TLG’s catalogue to replicate the exact locomotive in dark green as well.

Edited May 24, 2020 by Vilhelm22

[Bartybum]

7 minutes ago, *thomas* said:

Very cool for train fans, but why didn't they just make a whole train? I'm sure AFOL would spend 170 USD / € / GBP on this train if it included some rolling stock.

Nah hell no, I don’t have the money for a whole train, but I do for a loco

[Tcm0]

20 minutes ago, Vilhelm22 said:

We obviously don’t know if it can take power functions yet, but if it can, would be interested to see if lights can be fitted like they could be on EN, HE and nearly all City trains.  I’m also wondering if there are enough dark green pieces in TLG’s catalogue to replicate the exact locomotive in dark green as well.

According to https://www.stonewars.de/news/lego-10277-krokodil-lokomotive-im-sommer/

The set will not include powered up, but it can be added afterwards (like we have seen with the haunted house). However, they will not use the train motor, so no speed regulation with the official remote.

[Polarlicht]

Iam sure there is room inside for the ol' power functions stuff as well, with a small motor driving the 4 center wheels.

[paul_delahaye]

I don't think this has been discussed yet, but the sleepers, do you think we are getting a new piece 1x8 with 2 studs, 4 smooth tiles and 2 studs as a new parts, or do you think it's made up of 3 bricks, 2 of 1x2 brown plate and 1 of 1 x 4  tile?

At first I thought it was the original track which had ballast placed on top, but now I think we are getting single grey rails and seperate sleepers.

 

What do you think?  a new part of made of seperate bricks?

[Merlict]

18 hours ago, Zarkan said:

Whoops, I think you misunderstood, lol. I was replying to the member @1974. They're correct that this prototype is actually from the 80s, when Lego was preparing to transition from 12v to 9v. There were three others in the same batch of photos:



(The last one is particularly notable, cause it eventually became the most legendary lego train set ever: the Euro Express/Metroliner.

Wow these are absolutely fabulous for the era. Heck they're great for today.

Where can I learn more about those leaks / prototypes?

[Polarlicht]

23 minutes ago, paul_delahaye said:

I don't think this has been discussed yet, but the sleepers, do you think we are getting a new piece 1x8 with 2 studs, 4 smooth tiles and 2 studs as a new parts, or do you think it's made up of 3 bricks, 2 of 1x2 brown plate and 1 of 1 x 4  tile?

At first I thought it was the original track which had ballast placed on top, but now I think we are getting single grey rails and seperate sleepers.

 

What do you think?  a new part of made of seperate bricks?

No way, they are the grey single plastic rails and some brown 1x4 tiles and 1x1 plate!

[Phil B]

41 minutes ago, paul_delahaye said:

I don't think this has been discussed yet, but the sleepers, do you think we are getting a new piece 1x8 with 2 studs, 4 smooth tiles and 2 studs as a new parts, or do you think it's made up of 3 bricks, 2 of 1x2 brown plate and 1 of 1 x 4  tile?

At first I thought it was the original track which had ballast placed on top, but now I think we are getting single grey rails and seperate sleepers.

 

What do you think?  a new part of made of seperate bricks?

This is how the track is made:

[Polarlicht]

makes my wonder why no 1x1 tiles?

[legotownlinz]

3 hours ago, Duq said:

25 people in a forum dedicated to the target audience doesn't prove much about support or demand. We're a niche hobby inside a niche hobby.

In that same picture you can see that the hood is 5 wide with a 1x tile on either side so yes, 7-wide.

Every Lego subtheme is kind of a niche, but out of the niches, trains is one of the larger ones, which can be clearly seen by the number of third party products available. The Crocodile is a response to the strong competition by Bluebrixx in Europe, which also explains why they have chosen the Crocodile, a model very popular in Europe.

7-wide is a good comprise, I would like to see 7-wide to become the standard for all future trains.

 

2 hours ago, *thomas* said:

Very cool for train fans, but why didn't they just make a whole train? I'm sure AFOL would spend 170 USD / € / GBP on this train if it included some rolling stock.

 

It seems the Crocodile is both a display model and a play model. A smart choice to maximize the number of sales.

An extension set with a coach would be nice and could be sold multiple times to train fans, so it could be successful despite being more niche than the engine. Anyway, Lego has to figure out a way to satisfy the demand for niche products, otherwise they'll loose significant market share in the AFOL market (and subsequently in the toy market). Btw, I've started a thread on this topic here.

 

 

32 minutes ago, Coolusername said:

makes my wonder why no 1x1 tiles?

Maybe the studs should be the fasteners? Then they should be on both sides of the rail, though.

Edited May 24, 2020 by legotownlinz

[*thomas*]

1 hour ago, legotownlinz said:

An extension set with a coach would be nice...

Nice, yes, but silly. The CE6/8 was used for heavy freight. Hence, if they would have included three 2 axle goods wagons, it would've made sense...

[The Island Chronicles]

Lego, shut the heck up and take my money. I'm buying. 

Edited May 25, 2020 by Brandon Pea

[jus1973]

On 5/23/2020 at 10:28 AM, mapimi said:

It was on facebook, I saved the image, here's a link to it. If I'm breaking any rules I'll take it down. 

https://imgur.com/a/soTJJ4u

Thanks for the link.  
it’s an odd angle on the box and I can’t see if it sits on regular rails or not.  It might not and be an 8 wide over wider rails.  If it’s a 6 wide then I think it’s got to be sold as a static model, rather than motorised. 
If it’s motorised then the battery has to be in the central section, so I’m wondering how much traction it’ll have if the motor is in one of the ends. Can’t see any powered up logo either.

[Phil B]

12 minutes ago, jus1973 said:

Thanks for the link.  
it’s an odd angle on the box and I can’t see if it sits on regular rails or not.  It might not and be an 8 wide over wider rails.  If it’s a 6 wide then I think it’s got to be sold as a static model, rather than motorised. 
If it’s motorised then the battery has to be in the central section, so I’m wondering how much traction it’ll have if the motor is in one of the ends. Can’t see any powered up logo either.

See my picture a couple of posts earlier. There is a better picture on Facebook that shows more detail, from which I copied my image. Fits regular track, seems to be 7-wide, but the display track is made out of plates and plain rail tracks (the 1x16 part with the toothed surface).

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

6 hours ago, Rijkvv said:

I actually think they use this part. And that would make the locomotive 7-wide.

Super!

[paul_delahaye]

3 hours ago, Phil B said:

This is how the track is made:

 

I see that now from the first image, however in the second image circulating with the minifigures, the track looks slightly different.

I eually cannot believe that the image used on the box art they managed to perfectly align all those 1x1 brown sleeper plates, but I guess the images are digitally made now for the boxes?  so probably easy to align them on the computer?

[Polarlicht]

Small mods:

1. use a 1x8 plate and put the rail on top, so that the rail floats in the air between the sleepers.

2. replace red ball pins on the driving rods with black ones

3. or replace driving rods with technic beams and connect the disc (which should actually drive the wheels) between the wheels to it as well.

[legotownlinz]

1 hour ago, *thomas* said:

Nice, yes, but silly. The CE6/8 was used for heavy freight. Hence, if they would have included three 2 axle goods wagons, it would've made sense...

Coaches would be more appealing than freight cars and represent today's crocodile trains.

https://www.bahnbilder.de/bild/schweiz~e-loks~ce-6-8/1174293/100-jahre-krokodil-am-19-oktober.html

[dr_spock]

35 minutes ago, legotownlinz said:

Coaches would be more appealing than freight cars and represent today's crocodile trains.

https://www.bahnbilder.de/bild/schweiz~e-loks~ce-6-8/1174293/100-jahre-krokodil-am-19-oktober.html

It depends on what era you want to model.  Now it is mainly used for railfan trips. Goes to show that LEGO will never be able to please everyone whatever they do.

 

 

 

[*thomas*]

13 minutes ago, dr_spock said:

It depends on what era you want to model.  Now it is mainly used for railfan trips. Goes to show that LEGO will never be able to please everyone whatever they do.

It's not that I'm not happy, I just don't understand their choice to stick to just a locomotive.

The emerald night had a coach, the maersk had 2 pcs of rolling stock, the horizon express was a proper train, altough you had to buy 2 copies. But this is just a locomotive... TLG makes all the cool creator cars (mini, camper, F40...) so unless they do the same with trains, it's a weird choice from them.

[Rijkvv]

I'm surprised to see a seperate locomotive, but I'm surprised in a positive way. It seems LEGO expects (as do I) most people are interested in the locomotive anyway. I don't see them making a coach that even comes close to a realistic length, so I rather see a less expensive set with just a locomotive, where I can add something realistic to, than a more expensive set with a 6x28 coach or something ugly like that.

[dr_spock]

Maybe in keeping 10183 Hobby Train single loco precedence and allowing more folks to ride the nostalgia train at the chosen price point?

[Tcm0]

3 hours ago, legotownlinz said:

Every Lego subtheme is kind of a niche, but out of the niches, trains is one of the larger ones, which can be clearly seen by the number of third party products available. The Crocodile is a response to the strong competition by Bluebrixx in Europe, which also explains why they have chosen the Crocodile, a model very popular in Europe.

I think that they use the crocodile because it's one of the most iconic trains. Where do you take the information that they are afraid of bluebrixx or that it's strong competition? The set was probably in development before they knew BlueBrixx.