The set with this light rail tram came out in 2015 and I've kept it intact, because I rather liked its design, but I've kept it out of view because there's never been a place for it in either my current city or either of my previous ones.  Thanks to the Mellemby District project, there's finally a place for this to live for awhile, and in the last update for that layout I showed it actually rolling itself around the rail loop.  I'm sure this simple conversion has been done plenty of times by other people in the past three years, but a fair number of you wanted to see my version up close, so here it is (for what it's worth).Video: LEGO light rail tram + Power Functions motor & RC installed 60097Original linkOriginal author: theJANG

Two more New Jang City sub-layout updates went up over the past day or so, the first summarizing major takeaways from the initial idea-gathering phase for the Mellemby District.  This will likely end up being one of my most part-intensive projects ever! I have a fairly clear general direction to follow, and now I need to start to strategize a high-level plan of attack.  Similarly, I've reached the point where I'm ready to start on my fantasy prehistoric animal display.Videos:Update on Your ideas for my LEGO city's Mellemby District!Preparing for my LEGO dinosaur / prehistoric display!Original linkOriginal author: theJANG

This time around I slowed down a little and got the shed/shop buttoned up more correctly so I could be happier with it long-term.  I also threw down some quick desiccated foliage outside, but that'll be improved once I get some of the inner rail loop ballasted and then topographically texture the space between tracks a bit.Video: LEGO train yard & locomotive maintenance shop improvementsOriginal linkOriginal author: theJANG

Over the past couple of days I tore up my fingertips some more carefully putting down more faux ballast in a way that supports the track on a completely flat (tiled) surface while providing studded texture all around. It also helps keep everything from sliding around much whilst still allowing a bit of flexibility to account for table edges being bumped & such.Then I added this diesel shed/motive power depot/maintenance shop/whatever it's called in your local region or on the specific train-related sites you frequent :)  I realized while filming this that I had wanted this specific type of model building since I was quite young and first learned about HO scale trains.  Life goal achieved!Video: Custom LEGO train engine shed / shop / depot in the city!Original linkOriginal author: theJANG

I'm taking a big risk here, but I'm hopeful that with some thoughtful & caring guidance, as opposed to an unregulated popular democracy (i.e. certain catastrophe), the collective will of the viewers can be translated into something really fun!Video - Mellemby District kickoff: YOUR part of my LEGO city!Original linkOriginal author: theJANG

The last time I turned over the floor for suggestions on what to make from the 186-piece Building Better Thinking box, a ton of you yelled "Dragon!" while another sizable number cheered for a spaceship (partly my fault for accidentally putting it in peoples' minds).  I did the dragon pretty promptly, and rather than going through another round of comment-gathering, this time I just went with the previous runner-up.  What astonishes me is that all three build videos thus far have been within 1 minute of each others' length, a completely unplanned happenstance.Video: TMWTB #03 Spaceship LEGO build challenge results! (you Told Me What To Build)Original linkOriginal author: theJANG

Not a lot has happened since the last update video, aside from the addition of 16 MOCs I've covered in other videos.  There's been a little bit of work on terrain, both the big laccolith and the very flat freight train yard, but that's mostly it.Video: LEGO city status check-in / update Mar. 17, 2018Original linkOriginal author: theJANG

Sometimes the outcome of the imposition of a set of rules fails to match the original intent.  In these cases, either changing or making exceptions to those rules is the most constructive path forward.Video: Custom LEGO Container Ship MOC rebuild / hull transplant!Original linkOriginal author: theJANG

Alright I am definitely tying my hands a bit too much now.  The collection of non-negotiable requirements I placed on this build forced it into a fairly specific shape & layout that unfortunately could not look good.  Looking at it with the almighty hindsight I actually feel most of it was done right at a high level, with fine details always being debatable.  The problem was all in the constraints.  Without those constraints, though, I'd have a ship in official LEGO style, with the deck level area of the superstructure being 1/2 the height of a minifig, and absolutely no consideration for how figures could potentially get up to the bridge.  I have, in fact, begun to find some of the limits of what can be accomplished with LEGO, with consideration for minifigs, at a reasonable size.  Making everything much bigger would solve all of these issue, but also completely break New...

Still three more official LEGO City/Town vehicles got kicked out of my city for good in an abbreviated building session.  One of the replacements this time is indeed a as much of a duplicate as it appears above, but it still does its job!Video: Custom LEGO Jeep-style offroader + truck MOCsOriginal linkOriginal author: theJANG