[IDEAS] Shiro-chan at the Farm

[M_slug357]

*A Lego IDEAS submission*

Frankie's Farm by Nick Jackson, on Flickr

Welcome to the farm!

 

This is a farm-themed freight train set that features the small diesel engine Shiro-chan.

Shiro-chan v2 (front) by Nick Jackson, on Flickr

There are three freight cars to transport cargo from the farm to your LEGO town. These are an all-purpose gondola, a tanker car, and a wood-paneled livestock car.

Gondola (v2) by Nick Jackson, on Flickr

Tank Car by Nick Jackson, on Flickr

Stock Car (open) by Nick Jackson, on Flickr

The farm consists of a barn with a loft, a mini tractor with a trailer, and a raised goods platform with a crane hoist.

Barn Full by Nick Jackson, on Flickr

Tractor (front) by Nick Jackson, on Flickr

Farm Platform by Nick Jackson, on Flickr

In the barn's loft there is a spot where a minifigure can take a quick nap next to the hay!

Barn Loft by Nick Jackson, on Flickr

Barn Open by Nick Jackson, on Flickr

Drive the tractor and trailer to haul crates' worth of goods and supplies between the barn and the platform. The cargo platform has attachment points in the base which allow you to rearrange the ramps and staircase. The barn can also attach to the platform.

For minifigures, there are two train operators, three farmhands, and an assortment of farm animals including cows, chickens, dogs and cats.

Barn, Tractor, & Minifigs by Nick Jackson, on Flickr

 

 

I built this digitally via Stud.io, but I have also built Shiro-chan (the engine) in real life. Depending on how the support campaign goes, I will attempt to construct the rest of the set. Not all of the parts exist (yet) in the colors depicted however.

 

Thanks so much for taking some time to look at my project!

 

**UPDATE** 6/28/22

So, I ordered some parts and set about building this in real bricks!

I think the set turned out rather well!

Can you spot the differences between the renders and the irl build…?

Edited June 28, 2022 by M_slug357
Updated w/ additional media

[XG BC]

wait didnt lego prevent you from submitting it for bs reasons? i guess they have realized the stupidness of their action now

[M_slug357]

@XG BC Tbh, I really don't know! It might not have been for the reasons I had originally assumed. I'm wondering if the IDEAS team secretly has like an "autoblocker" function to test how persistent you are when it comes to rejection...? Although I would need other users who've submitted recently to corroborate.

[Feuer Zug]

Nice concept, but I think it either needs to be a farm or a railroad for Ideas. Putting both together seems overboard. The locomotive is small and cute, while I like how you created the stock car. The gaps in between the boards are perfect.

[Brickwolf]

Great critter and I like the gondola.

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Fantastic project, I like the idea of matching the farm to the train ... it's original and all the parts are well built.

Beautiful tractor and beautiful wagons, even if I would have made the locomotive black coated on the side to hide the battery pack.

The farmhouse is a work of art both for the choice of colors and for the architectural structure!

[M_slug357]

@Feuer Zug Why is combining two sub-themes considered going overboard? Personally, I feel like I could have dedicated more of the overall build into the farm, but then the train elements would just kinda... be there too?

@Brickwolf Thanks for the praise!

@LEGO Train 12 Volts I chose the white& light bley colors to mask the battery box as part of the main engine body. I did do a few recolors when I initially started building this digitally

Spoiler

Shiro-Chan (blu/blk) by Nick Jackson, on Flickr

Spoiler

Shiro-Chan (blk/red) by Nick Jackson, on Flickr

 

[Feuer Zug]

4 hours ago, M_slug357 said:

@Feuer Zug Why is combining two sub-themes considered going overboard? Personally, I feel like I could have dedicated more of the overall build into the farm, but then the train elements would just kinda... be there too?

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I think your design for everything it great, but it mixes two themes. Sticking with one or the other to me seems the better way to go about marketing it. This, of course, is my opinion, and you are welcome to tell me to pound sand.

Also, you mentioned the LEGO IDEAS is auto rejecting submissions for extra info. To test this, I uploaded my rotary snowplow idea to them and it immediately was accepted with no rejections or issues. I don't see why Shiro-chan and the farm should be rejected. You've got crisp, clear pictures that are well lit. Best of luck to you getting it accepted. Once you do, let us know. I will still support it.

Edited February 6, 2022 by Feuer Zug

[Eki1210]

Great!

The telephone handset and the cup as greebling details are very nice.

[M_slug357]

@Feuer Zug I appreciate your feedback on the set!

It looks like you debunked my theory about iDEAS having some sort of hidden “auto reject” setup, which is good for everyone to know. I don’t understand why I had to resubmit like 3x but I’m determined…. My project has actually been live which is why I created this post on Eurobricks! You can find it fastest by typing in “shiro” in the search bar. Thanks again for your support!

@Eki1210 Thanks for the support!

 

[Feuer Zug]

@M_slug357 Supported. Link is: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/0bde23d8-17e6-4de1-8430-bcac974ffefa

[Pendra37]

Lego Ideas is dead. Doesn't worth the hassle because even if you do all the free marketing for Lego and get 10k likes, it will be rejected. I give you two reasons  why this will be rejected:

- It uses 9V rails
- It has play value

I'm sorry. 

But anyway I can give you a like here:
LIKE!

Edited February 7, 2022 by Pendra37

[M_slug357]

@Pendra37 I realize that Lego Ideas is essentially a terminus of sorts for anything train related, but that doesn’t mean we should stop trying! Plus there’s a (better?) chance for this to be picked up by that designer program on Bricklink.

Also, since when has play value become a bad thing…?

I appreciate your feedback!

[XG BC]

@Pendra379v rails arent the issue here since the locomotive itself uses the powered up system. why is play value an issue. lego is a toy at its core for crying out loud.

[Pendra37]

Let the Lego decisions speak for themselves. Out of 44 ideas sets, about 8 had play values. (Barracuda bay, Blacksmith shop, minifig Ecto1...)

16 were blatant IP licence cash grabs. (it resulted the shittiest Lego set in a long time, the Delorean)

16 purely display pieces (guitar, piano, typewriter, ship in bottle, starry night, NASA sets...)

2 SJW minifig sets, which they actually have rules against.

So bring up a possibility lucrative IP or make something that will be assembled once and never touched again (save for dusting it off) and you are a winner. A generic play set? Though luck. Lego long since abandoned the 'kids toy' image. It is all about riding the MCU, SW and other IP hype trains and crank out movie tie ins by the dozens. Also cater for the crazy show off ones who have more money than actual brain cells. "Like me, I just spent 3 grands on lego boxes I don't even plan to assemble, send the likes and subscribes to see more of my crazy lego boxes" Some don't even bother to take out from the brown cardboard box. Just put up a picture of the box and a picture of the manifest. 

I lost all my faith in Lego and AFOLs around the plastic flowers, bonsai fad. Talk about pointless junk yet people celebrated like they were the best sets ever.

 

Regarding 9V, as discussed in the other thread, Lego trains use batteries and battery boxes due to various reasons. If it comes with a battery box then why the metallic rails? Use plastic. Metallic rails are shunned by Lego.

 

 

Edited February 7, 2022 by Pendra37

[Clone OPatra]

@Pendra37 this isn't the place for a big post about Ideas overall. No need to air all of your grievances in this thread. A topic in General LEGO Discussion is for that:

 Or perhaps the Unpopular Opinions thread, if you like:

Please keep to the topic at hand. Thanks!

 

[Pendra37]

Sorry, I didn't mean to de-rail the thread. He asked for feedback why it is a failure as an [IDEAS] thing. If it was, say, a [MOC] thread, I would like it much more because it is a really nice [MOC] with neat play values and write nothing related to [IDEAS]. I actually wanted to write something more positive at the end  but for the life of me, I couldn't come up with a IP that would fit this in any way. Placing this on Rebrickable, er heck even selling it on Etsy or EBay, would be much more beneficial to everyone than placing it on [IDEAS]. 

Edited February 8, 2022 by Pendra37

[M_slug357]

I do understand your frustration with the IDEAS platform @Pendra37!

Honestly I just want to get my concept out there to see how viable it is...

Can this reach 10k? I sure hope so!

[Pendra37]

There are several ways to get the concept out in a more effective way.

Rebrickable is a pretty good start. You create the instructions, make some good images and text, get the word out and you will get likes, comments and if the stuff is good, sales.

Etsy and Ebay can also do that to an extent. 

You can also share designs and get comments on Bricklink but it is very bare bones. 

If you are really sure of the thing, you can actually make the box set sale happen. Create a box, print the instructions, source and pack the parts. Then sell it as a set on one of the above sites. You can put something like 100% original Lego parts inside if you feel like it. You just need to make very sure you do not put Lego logo or trademarks anywhere. As long as it cannot be mistaken for an actual Lego product, you are good. Remember, you can sell Lego parts as you see fit, but you cannot infringe on Lego owned copyright, trademark or patent and pretend you own it or are affiliated with it. Actually the Bricklink Ideas redux program is kinda like that. They get the parts, create a fairly simple box and release it for sale. Thou Bricklink is Lego owned now, you can consider that as Lego light or something because it is kinda, sorta official Lego. 

If it is good, people will get it. If it is not, people will ignore it. However, imagine you get 10k likes and Lego selects to release it. You will not know if people bought it because it is good or because there is a Lego logo on it and there are plenty of people who buy anything because there is a Lego logo on the box. 

Edited February 8, 2022 by Pendra37

[XG BC]

19 hours ago, Pendra37 said:

Sorry, I didn't mean to de-rail the thread.

someone is into puns i see.

[ivanlan9]

Supported.

And I like the white critter just the way it is; the blue and black recolors just don't do it for me.

[zephyr1934]

On 2/8/2022 at 2:44 AM, M_slug357 said:

I do understand your frustration with the IDEAS platform @Pendra37!

Honestly I just want to get my concept out there to see how viable it is...

Can this reach 10k? I sure hope so!

The biggest thing about submitting a train (or anything else for that matter) to IDEAS is to expect that it will not be selected. If you like that challenge (or are trying to find the secret sauce as to what could get chosen) then it is a good end unto itself. For the rest of the folks, recognizing that it is similar to a lottery, I would recommend only pursuing IDEAS if you are taking something you've designed or built for yourself and it is only a small amount of extra work to get it into IDEAS. All of that said, always good to see more trains in the 10k club so best of luck with this model

 

[garmsey]

I think this looks like a great set for kids and has a lot of play value to it.  I have supported it.

[BananaBrick01]

I’m in line with garmsey - that’s a lovely little loco, and shows what you can do with clever integration of the powered up battery box. supported! (though I would agree no harm in switching to the plastic rails to avoid confusion….)

[M_slug357]

Check out the update in the main post!