Archive for the ‘City/Town’ Category

Yellow Victorian House

Saturday, June 11th, 2011

This is the third of my LEGO houses that often feature in the suburbia section of BayLUG/BayLTC train layouts.

I built a couple of years ago, but like the last several posts, I never got around to posting about it here. There is a lot of detail work on the porch and bay windows.

Click the image below to see the set or view a slideshow.
Yellow Victorian House

Red House

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

This is one of those LEGO creations of mine that’s been around for years but never blogged about before.

A simple red house that I built a few years ago, which has been in may BayLUG/BayLTC exhibits but was never featured on its own until now.

Click the image for the gallery or view a slideshow.

Red House

Red Bungalow with Dormer

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

This little red LEGO bungalow with dormer was built about a year ago. This small house appears often in BayLUG/BayLTC train layouts, in the suburbia section.

Click the image to view the set, or view as a slideshow.

Red Bungalow with Dormer

White Trailers

Sunday, May 29th, 2011

LEGO Semi-Trailers made to go with my various tractors. Each one has a folding leg to support it when not connected to a truck, and all have the same interchangeable pin system for being towed.

Click the image for the gallery, or view the slideshow.

White Trailers

Cab-Over Trucks

Sunday, May 29th, 2011

Cab-over semitrailer tractors made in LEGO. Identical except for color, these trucks have been a fixture on the BayLUG/BayLTC city/train layout for years, but I never got around to photographing them.

Click the picture or view a slideshow.

Cab-Over Trucks

Double Trailer Truck

Sunday, May 29th, 2011

A double semi-trailer truck made out of LEGO, featuring tractor, two trailers, and a dolly to connect the trailers together.

I built this a year or two ago and it’s been at a bunch of BayLUG/BayLTC events but has never been photographed and blogged before.

Click the photo to view the gallery on Flickr or view as a slideshow.

Double Trailer Truck

Mail Trucks

Friday, May 27th, 2011

United States Postal Service trucks in LEGO. Designed by me in 2003, and featured on many BayLUG and BayLTC layouts since then.

Mail Trucks

I posted instructions to build this in 2007 on Brickshelf, but never posted any photos until now (except of course for the occasional candid shot in a club layout).

Click the photo to view the set on Flickr or view as a slideshow.

Fifth Wheel RV

Friday, May 27th, 2011

I built this many years ago (2003 or so?) but never posted it online before. It’s been on many BayLUG and BayLTC displays, though. I’m still fairly happy with it, though it could surely be improved in a number of ways.

The trailer attaches via a Technic axle to a bracket in the truck bed, and is a “toy hauler” – it contains an ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) for off road fun. It has two slide-outs, one in the bedroom in the front and another with a dinette in the center.

Click the picture to go to the gallery on Flickr, or view them as a slideshow.

Fifth Wheel RV

Admin note: Over the span of the next few weeks I plan to post a bunch of older models online. After Maker Faire I brought all the boxes of models that have never been posted into the house, and am slowly working through them doing photo shoots and blog entries, and in some cases to make LDraw files for building instructions. So while the quality of construction might not be as good as stuff I would build today, they’re still models I like enough to show at train shows and events like Maker Faire. I hope you enjoy them.

Log Cabin 3X

Tuesday, May 24th, 2011

I really like the relatively new LEGO Log Cabin set #5766 with its three different models of log cabins. I bought three of this set, and built each of the versions, and for a while had them setting on a table in my living room together. But as I was looking at them it seemed to me that they were just a bit too small, and that the parts from these sets could be combined to make a much bigger, nicer cabin. So I took them all apart and used the parts to make this:

Log Cabin 3X

Click on the picture, or view a slideshow to see all of the photos (including pictures of the cabin on display at Maker Faire last weekend).

Here’s a picture of the original set for comparison:

LEGO set 5766: Log Cabin

City Park

Monday, April 18th, 2011

At train shows, we (the Bay Area LEGO Train Club) have developed a standard city block system, where our downtown area is divided up into blocks that are 2 by 3 32 x 32 baseplates in size (i.e., 96 x 64 studs). For some time now I’ve shown my Blackburn Hotel and its accompanying city block (but I have never done a proper photo shoot of those buildings either, I just realized) at various shows and conventions and you have probably seen that featured here a few times.

For Bricks by the Bay and the upcoming National Train Show in Sacramento, I’ve built a second city block. But instead of tall buildings, it just features a city park. Each of the six baseplates has its own feature:

  • Tree and picnic/grassy area
  • Playground with swingset, slide, merry-go-round, and carousel
  • Life size (for minifigs) chess set
  • Flower garden
  • Basketball court
  • Tennis court

In addition, there is a fountain in the center and various tile mosaics and other decorative aspects. The whole thing is surrounded by a wrought-iron fence with gates on each of the four sides.

I haven’t done a proper photo shoot of the park yet, but I did take detailed pictures of it at the most recent BayLUG meeting. I hope to take better pictures soon, but for now, take a look at these (click the image to view the set, or click here to view a slideshow)