Best Monorail

[CP5670]

I love the big trans-red quarter domes. That's the one classic transparent color that piece never appeared in. It must have been a test mold.

[Piranha]

My vote goes to the unreleased "Aquazone" monorail, just because it was never released and would have added a 3rd theme to use the monorail.

But if we are talking about sets that were released, my vote goes for the Airport Shuttle. It was my favorite set as a child, not to mention my first motorized one. Probably made me stick mainly with the town theme too. I'm not big on space stuff, so I am a bit biased, but what can I say?! hehe

This is my favorite post so far! :thumbup:

I had no idea there was a Monorail that never made it!

It was shown in an article in Issue 6, Volume 2, Summer 2009 of Brickjournal. I believe it was referenced as a 'Sea-Tron Monorail' and was designed around 1990. The article itself was called 'The Truth About SPACE!' and was written by Mark Stafford. It included some great quotes from Jens Nygaard Knudsen and Niels Milan Pedersen. Worth checking out if you can get your hands on a digital or print copy of that issue.

I did manage to find a Brickshelf image of the scrapped set/theme.

And thanks a ton Davey for that pic and further insight

I am a Monorail Fanatic and this stuff I find highly interesting

Now I am sad however that they did not make it

[RileyC]

Wow that Aquazone Monorail looks awesome! Thanks for that great bit of info

[cagri]

Looks pretty interesting, space meets aquazone! I actually have that Brickjournal copy, I don't know why I didn't remember it ?? must be getting old :D

[Merkal]

I wanted 6399 and 6990 as a kid. I played with 6990 at a friends back the late 80's. I dream came true when I bought a motor, two bases and some rails online setting my bank account back atleast 100 euro. I build a metro inspired by 6399 but really wanting to go 6-wide for more detail. But I didn't think and build the tunnel modules before testing using up most of my black brick collection.. guess what... it didn't fit. . Another idea was to power it by power functions but didn't consider that there's allot of stuff to fit such a small vehicle I did fit it working head lights on both cabs though.

I for one would love to see monorail make a comeback

[Piranha]

I thought everyone would appreciate this here if you haven't seen it, but over in the Sci-forum we are officially discussing the unreleased underwater theme (where the Monorail is from) and here is a post by member Nabii that showed even more insight.

I wrote the Brick Journal Article. These are genuine LEGO concepts from the early 1990's that I was given special permission to use ONLY in Brick Journal (These images have been scanned in and used without crediting either Brick Journal, Joe Meno or myself and without any indication of how they have been obtained - ignoring the rudeness it is of a breach of Brick Journals copyright too!)

But putting that aside; the original article is in issue 6 and is an interview with Jens Nygaard Knudsen - the creator of the Mini-figure and LEGO Space (he headed LEGO Space from 'classic' space until the end of Ice Planet). Sea-Tron is one of the concepts that became Aquazone - the most interesting thing for me (and explanation of the 'tron' post-fix) was that it was conceived of as a space theme - it is an alien water-world, much like Ice Planet is a frozen water-world, hence the alien mini-figure. This idea was actually carried over into the final sets of Aqua-zone, but was never communicated to the public. This means that anyone who thinks they are LEGO-Space complete in their collections had better make sure they have the Aquazone sets!

And yes, in some ways the figure is the ancestor of Frenzy as it was the same LEGO Designer who sculpted both!

Cheers,

Nabii.

[MetroiD]

Wow, what an informative thread! Thanks a million to all of you guys for sharing that information, it's been really interesting for me to find out there was actually an Aquanauts Monorail in the making.

Anyways, back on topic here - my vote is pretty boring, 6399 all the way of course. The Airport Shuttle is probably the only set I'm actually dreaming of getting my hands on and keeping it intact... And I've decided that I will get a MISB one in the future - I just hope the prices won't have doubled by then

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

Such a tough decision! I have to say that even though I love the track of 6399, I find 6991 to have amazing colors and a high play value. You can play so long with it! I have to admit though, who wouldn't just lovee to own 6399? All three are amazing.

Edit: Wouldn't it be interesting to make another poll with the option to vote for the Seatron monorail? Love that one too...

Edited August 22, 2011 by johnnyvgoode

[Hrw-Amen]

Well I always wanted the 6991 when it came out but at the time I was just a child and could not afford it. So I have to vote for that.

[LEGO Guy Bri]

I voted for 6399 Airport Shuttle. I really wish I had one. I chose it because I am 100% into city and love the fact that it is elevated and very easy to add extra height. I love seeing large layouts with the shuttle passing by a second story window. I do like the 6391 Space themed one as well. It was the only one I ever played with as a kid. Unfortunately I haven't owned a single set. Still trying

[Mike Walsh]

I love the Airport Shuttle but the standard two car configuration is too short! I've modified mine to be six cars long and I have two more wagon plates so I can make eight cars long one of these days.

[Piranha]

wow that is awesome right there Mike

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

I love the Airport Shuttle but the standard two car configuration is too short! I've modified mine to be six cars long and I have two more wagon plates so I can make eight cars long one of these days.

That looks awesome! What is the maximum capacity of the monorail motor? I didn't know it could hold so much wagons without being damaged.

[Mike Walsh]

That looks awesome! What is the maximum capacity of the monorail motor? I didn't know it could hold so much wagons without being damaged.

No idea what the maximum capacity of the Monorail motor is but it has quite a bit of torque. I have no doubt that it can push/pull and 8 car monorail train. Mine has run for many hours over the years at various NCLTC train shows. I have 3-4 more motors but I am still using the one which came with my 6399 set.

If you are interested in building a multi-car Airport Shuttle, I actually put together instructions for mine although I never got them to a state I was completely happy with them. I also posted some more details about my Shuttle on my LEGO Blog.

Mike

[Section8]

Speaking from an unbiased position (I am looking from a design/feature standpoint, not which one I like best), I think 6399 is perfection embodied. The set is amazing; the stations are very creatively designed, yet still look realistic. The train is simple but still catchy with its red and white color scheme. The little things like the hamburger stand, the lights under the city platform, and airport/monorail directional signs at the airport station could have all been easily omitted. However, their inclusion shows the level of detail that the designers put into this set. It is truly one of Lego's best sets, if not the best. An additional bit of trivia: I'm pretty sure this is the only Town set that has a road baseplate, but no cars/vehicles with it.

As for the other monorails, they have their merits, but also their flaws. 6990 is a very striking set, as was typical of the Futuron color scheme, but the elevated base is practically useless. There's no real purpose to it and no play functions aside from the elevating radar dish, which would have been better as a person or cargo container elevator. The lower base is better designed with its transforming nature, though. The instructions lack distinct steps for building the on-track accessories and the track length is pretty small. You get two stations with a long straight track, then 2 inclines and a circle of curves. No wonder they made a dedicated track pack for it.

I own 6991 (as well as 6399) and let me say: yuck. The concept of a monorail that transfers its cockpits to other vehicles/places is neat and actually works pretty well, but the implementation is less than stellar. The set largely reminds me of what someone would build if they had a bunch of spare space parts. You get two gappy stations, a overly simplistic ground vehicle, and two supposedly independent, powered cockpits. The elevated station is my main problem with the track and stations. First, those BURPs are ugly and out of place. Would it have been so hard to just include another 2 stanchions? Next, the little command center could have really used more windscreen pieces. The other stations aren't bad, the lowest one does what it's supposed to do, give a cockpit 'wheels' (which, if they can fly as implied by the upper station, then why would you need wheels?), and the one on the baseplate is okay. It's no more offensive than 6988 in terms of gappiness or purpose; the spinning radar dish was a good idea. You get more track than with 6990, including the only switches in an actual set, but that can't save this set. You also only get 4 minfigs in this >$100 USD set, while 6990, a smaller set, gave you 5 and a bunch more were in 6399. And I'm not even going into the awful Unitron color scheme.

Anyway, there's my opinion/rant on this topic. As I said, I own 6399 and 6991 and I wouldn't mind getting a 6990 at a decent price, especially since I have enough track to make it interesting. I received 6991 before 6399, but even then, I acquired it with the intent to make some kind of city monorail with it. Fortunately, I later found a 6399 at a very good price and relegated 6991 to a track pack for the 6399. But since my 6399 is not currently built and I am nearing completion of my Blacktron II collection, I am thinking about making a B2 monorail from it. Now there's an interchangable-cockpit monorail that would look good!

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

No idea what the maximum capacity of the Monorail motor is but it has quite a bit of torque. I have no doubt that it can push/pull and 8 car monorail train. Mine has run for many hours over the years at various NCLTC train shows. I have 3-4 more motors but I am still using the one which came with my 6399 set.

If you are interested in building a multi-car Airport Shuttle, I actually put together instructions for mine although I never got them to a state I was completely happy with them. I also posted some more details about my Shuttle on my LEGO Blog.

Mike

Thanks! I'll have a look. Much appreciated!

[Mr Benn]

As for the other monorails, they have their merits, but also their flaws. 6990 is a very striking set, as was typical of the Futuron color scheme, but the elevated base is practically useless. There's no real purpose to it and no play functions aside from the elevating radar dish, which would have been better as a person or cargo container elevator. The lower base is better designed with its transforming nature, though. The instructions lack distinct steps for building the on-track accessories and the track length is pretty small. You get two stations with a long straight track, then 2 inclines and a circle of curves. No wonder they made a dedicated track pack for it.

You know that the elevating radar dish actually is a cargo elevator - the crates that go on the monorail slot right onto the bottom of that lift, the monotrail is designed to stop exactly where the container can be transferred on and off :)

[Section8]

You know that the elevating radar dish actually is a cargo elevator - the crates that go on the monorail slot right onto the bottom of that lift, the monotrail is designed to stop exactly where the container can be transferred on and off :)

Huh, I missed that in the instructions. Like I said, I don't have one myself. That definitely improves the playability of that station. Another thing 6990 has going for it is you can remove the battery box without ripping the car apart. Still doesn't make it better than 6399

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

Huh, I missed that in the instructions. Like I said, I don't have one myself. That definitely improves the playability of that station. Another thing 6990 has going for it is you can remove the battery box without ripping the car apart. Still doesn't make it better than 6399

Personally, I think that 6990's monorail train is much better designed than 6990's. However, 6991 has much more stations and playability, besides of having a longer track and including switches.

I wouldn't mind getting my hands on 6399 someday though. Only not at those awful prices...

[LEGOMAN132]

6399 since as a child i had the set and airport to go with it.

[mdelleman]

I voted for 6990 because I own it and it was also the first!