Building my train part 3

 I assumed that the train I have would be easier now that I'm able to pick out parts...the only problem is that there are so many pieces missing i can't even start blue unit b or the baggage cart.  I'm loving the train but the missing parts are hard to discern if they actually came vs I just lost it.  Here's today's progress 

Above: no roof pieces are present@

Above: not ready for these roof pieces because I dont have the plates

Above hard to get rear side and back pieces together without breaking the 3 sides

I sent an email and will wait for a response..they do move quickly to fix per reviews on internet!

Building my train Part 1

I have wanted the Lego santa fe set but cannot afford $500 for just one car.  I was thrilled to find letbricks had a version of it.

The only problem is that there were 3 bags but the majority of the parts were in bags withoug numbered bags, just mixed pieces. 

Above is the result of 2 hours of work which caused back pain and leg spasms (first day)

I learned from all this a few things 

1) I should have spent a few hours sorting the pieces in small bowls before trying to find pieces when I was building (2777 pieces)

2) keep pieces of blue yellow and gray/dark gray separated.

3) sort pieces that are transparent or pieces that are rarely used in a separate place

4) separate plates from beams

5) keep modified bricks separate 

After 4 hours over 2 days I came to this point

Trying the last 3 cars was a challenge as several pieces were missing...ive sent a note to let bricks so we'll see what happens..more to come!

I've got 5 more cars to go!

Lego Silver train cars 10022 and 10025

 Train cars 10022 and 10025

I have another post where I describe my fumbles of sets that I could have had, but either had second thoughts or no money to be spending on frivolous things.  The major ones that got away are the lego train cars. When the Santa fe engine and then cars were released in the 2002ish era, I had just started collecting legos as an adult so the cost was appearing too high.  I didn't quite have the $$ at the time, not that I really ever did...

I love the color and style of the train cars from times past.  I like the shiny finish, the look of multiple cars together, and I always wanted to ride in the observation cars!!  I remember as a kid going to sears and looking at the leegos and then the electric trains.  The silver cars were neat because they were bigger and the length was double the regular HO scale cars, but unfortunately the price was double and the track layout we had needed longer curves for the cars to run on...

I found a poster of train cars that were in existence at one time that shows the realism and details in the lego sets

But I think the fascination with the cars was the little silhouettes of people riding in the cars...what was going on through the window

Even the Hallmark car has the people

This car is a great example ..what are those people talking above???

Here are the train cars from lego

Lego has even recreated the people but these are minifigs where kids can create their own stories for the people in the window, the people we can actually see. 

D

I kick myself everyday for not buying those silver cars!!!

(Not the metroliner except for the club car)

Here are some other types of models of the lego train cars I've stumbled upon (Lionel)

The realism lego bought to these cars is unreal and even rival, if not beat Lionel trains

Foundational lego piece

 It seems like now days anyone who talks about legos has a certain style or theme of legos that they like and reference in their mind.  But I think there's a generation of builders that trace their lego memories back to one piece that wS the center and foundation of legos and that is the green baseplate.

It could be the foundation of a house, an uneven terrain for lego cars to manage, a massive car or wagon when 4 wheels were attached, or the balcony of a huge tower.  It was like kindergarten or a rite of passage where any lego collection started

Any model from lego or moc starts with pieces coming together in perfect order and sequence, the key is the solid foundation for all other blocks to build upon .

Excitement of mail order

 In this day and age it's so hard to think of having to wait for mail deliveries but thats how lego used to be even into the late 80s.  There were always service packs to order and here is examples of this...in reality I only ordered 1 time

Nowadays the catalogs are so different and wouldn't it be amazing to be able to buy these pieces again at the old prices!

Tribute to open lego buildings

 I touched on 493 set being the first open set in a prior post, but found some pics that really show this.  

I remember paying with the above sets, but the play was limited to bringing cars in and out of the bays for parking.  Then came the open bud concept started with set 493

The sets below really show how far this building concept has come

The word playability used to describe lego sets is sure enhanced with the open building concept!...also see the Disney castle and now the daily bugle set.

If the way to put legos is infinite, the same model can have infinite instructions

 I miss the lego 4 wide cars from the 80s...while I stumbled on the instructions on google images, I found the same car with multiple steps to build the same model

I included screenshots from repubrik, suncentral inc., bricks and brickinstructions.com, worldbricks.com

Well, the important thing is the car gets built regardless of how many different steps are needed!!!

This was one of the best lego cars ever...essentially the model t of legos...the double windshields,  the headlight bricks...people in this day and age dont realize how hard these type of pieces were to get enough of...and how we had to walk to school up hill both ways!!!man I'm old!