The Hogwarts Express is where it all began — where a young boy met strangers that became the best of friends and spun an industry that’s larger than life. It’s no wonder that Stephan Niehoff and his two daughters put special effort into recreating a beloved representation of an iconic element from their favourite franchise. Lifting elements from the LEGO set 4841, but improving it to give rough edges a more rounded curve and adding delightful details such as the handles of the carriages and a revamped undercarriage, all make this build a worthy representation of what could be a proper train set for a Harry Potter fan to truly appreciate. The transformation does not end superficially on the outside, but the carriages inside get a more appropriate facelift to the delight of our Harry and Hermione minifigure passengers!Tell all your friends! Both my father and my grandfather were train drivers, so you could say trains are in my blood. When I saw this incredibly accurate classic steam engine by Britishbricks, I just had to share it.
In Great Western Railway dark green, this beauty is very reminiscent of the classic British engines from the 1950s and 60s. There are so many things to enjoy about this beauty: check out the tip of the pirate hook and black sausage front buffer, along with the LEGO rubber bands as ribs around the boiler. From the working wheel assembly and Power Functions all the way to the tail of the coal tender, this spectacular replica has steamed its way into my heart. Christmas is coming soon! It’s time to set up your decorations, and if you’re like me, that includes your LEGO Holiday Village. This year, LEGO sent us a copy of 10254 Winter Holiday Train, available now. This great addition to your Holiday Village retails for $99.99 USD, and has 734 pieces. Click here to read more about the Holiday Train! Polish builder Maciej Drwięga has spent more than 3 years meticulously planning and building this mind-blowing railway diorama. This is one of those LEGO masterpieces which, once noticed, will make you fill a cup with your favorite drink, lean forward, and spend a good half-hour eyeing every little detail.
The highlight of the scene for me is an unremarkable but appealing model of an ST43 locomotive. I love that Maciej has put no logos or symbols on it. The result is a nifty train, featuring a winning combination of sand green, dark green, and yellow. However, it’s not just the trains and track that make the diorama, but also the surroundings. A couple of platforms, the train station building, goods storage with ramp, diesel fueling facility, a workshop, an engine shed — you name it, it’s there. Some stunning retro trucks? Truly magical things happen when night falls on the town. The longer you look at these pictures, the more clearly you can hear night shift staff servicing locomotives in the engine shed. And, of course, go and check the builder’s full album featuring more than a hundred pictures! Every year LEGO releases a large holiday exclusive set, and this year you can prepare to ride the rails with 10254 Winter Holiday Train. Although last year’s holiday exclusive, 10249 Winter Toy Shop, was a rerelease of a previous year’s winter village set, this year’s Winter Holiday Train is definitely a completely new set from the 2006 Holiday Train set.
The train has 734 pieces, and will retail for $99.99 USD when it goes on sale Oct. 1. Let us know in the comments what you think! Check out the full press release and details below. Click to read the press release and see more images For the first time, a locomotive graces our monthly cover photo in the form of this fine SBB CE 6/8 Electric (aka “Swiss Crocodile”) by Vedosololego. Want to see your own LEGO creation featured across TBB social media for a month? Then acquaint yourself with the submission GUIDELINES and submit your photo today. Keep up with the Brothers Brick by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter or Pinterest. And for occasional extra goodies, follow us on Flickr or subscribe to us on YouTube. After building two huge 1/16 Diesel locomotives, one of which we blogged in February, Dennis Glaasker (Bricksonwheels) has turned his attention to something rather more old-school: a Union Pacific 1941 `Big Boy’ steam engine. Its scale is 1/38, based on LEGO’s track gauge.
This is relatively small by Dennis’ standards, but the model is still more than 1 m long and took two and half months to build. The engine can run, albeit not on standard radius curves, and to get it to run, Dennis chose to include several custom and aftermarket parts. The wheels and the valve gear and side rods were 3D printed by Jaap Kroon (JaapTechnic). The model is driven by three (!) Power Functions XL motors, controlled through an SBrick and powered by a rechargeable RC battery pack. To top it all off, this behemoth is equipped with lights and electronics supplied by Brickstuff. Purists may be horrified by this cornucopia of high-tech non-LEGO parts, but I think it’s hard to deny that the end result is impressive. This elegant train, brought to us by Moko, is comprised of beautiful lines, delightful colors, and screams Steampunk. Or rather, given the refined nature of the train, perhaps it quietly states its Steampunk origins while giving a bit of side-eye out of a monocle.
Either way, it’s gorgeous. I particularly like the use of the One Ring to give nice color to the passenger car, between the windows, as well as on the engine. The gold, green, brown, and brass are a stunning color combination which make this train particularly eye catching. I also invite you to read our original write-up of Moko’s matching Steampunk car and mech. It’s wonderful to finally have a family portrait! There’s a real art in depicting decay and dilapidation in LEGO. The solid colors and straight lines of our favourite construction system tend not to lend themselves well to such subjects. But Maciej Drwiega has nailed it with this rusting rail truck. Smart color combinations and a clever sideways construction technique have created a convincing impression of battered and bruised metal. Whilst I’m not really a train guy, I’d heartily recommend a visit to Maciej’s photostream, where you’ll find excellent photos of more lovely railway models and layouts.