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Subject:
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NELUG to show at Hooksett, NH Lion's Club Train Show
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.events, lugnet.loc.us.ct, lugnet.loc.us.ri, lugnet.loc.us.ma, lugnet.loc.us.vt, lugnet.loc.us.me, lugnet.loc.us.nh, lugnet.org.us.nelug, lugnet.trains
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Followup-To:
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lugnet.events
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Date:
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Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:15:14 GMT
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Viewed:
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30006 times
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NELUG will be showing a small train layout at the Hooksett, NH Lion’s Club Model
Train Show this weekend, on Sunday, April 20 at the Hooksett Cawley Middle
School in Hooksett, New Hampshire. Doors are open from 10am to 3pm. Admission
is $4 or adults, $1 for children 6-12, and free for children under 6.
The layout will include a small town, carnival, and farmlands, as well as
various rolling stock, steam and diesel locomotives, and general NELUG goodness.
If you’re in the area, please drop by and see us.
-Elroy
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Over the weekend, members of NELUG re-enacted the first
battle of the American Revolution. This was the second game for our second Year
of BrikWars. Our goal is to have at least six games by the end of the year.
The original scenario rules are
here.
Basically, the goal of the British team was to march from one end of the board
to the other. The goal of the Colonial team was to inflict as many British
casualties as possible.
This was our first attempt at using the 2005 squad rules, and was our first game
that was based on an actual event.
Dave brought along some raised baseplates, which made for an interesting board
setup. Not only did the British have to make it to the end of the road, they had
to weave through a narrow canyon to do it.
After the board was set up, troops were distributed in even numbers. 40 Brits
against 40 Colonials. A quick dice-off put Joe and I in charge of the British,
with Shaun, Dave, and Dan in control of the Colonials.
The game started quickly, with the proud ranks of British infantry marching past
Buckman’s Tavern, only to have one of Dan’s Colonials leap out from behind a
shed, taking a pot-shot at the British Officer. The Colonial then ran around the
front of the shed, only to be confronted by the entire British army. Picture Han
Solo running around the corner into a regiment of Storm Troopers.
The British squad, armed with muskets and bayonets, quickly stuck multiple
pointy things into the Colonial. I think it was at this point that the Colonials
realized how much damage a British squad could do. It was also at this point
that the British realized that if the Colonials didn’t form squads, it was going
to take a long time to pick them all off one by one.
Moving past the tavern and into the canyon, the British squads were forced to
narrow their formation, going in one squad at a time. The Colonials, all named
Tony, used this bottle-neck to rain fire down on the British. The British
returned fire, causing a couple of the Colonials to turn and flee.
Sensing that his troops were beginning to panic, the Colonial Officer moved up
to bolster his troops spirits. For the next few turns the pass filled with
blood, gore, and carnage.
Seeing that they were blocked at the pass, two British squads at the back of the
army formation left the road, flanking either side of the pass. Both squads
moved relatively unopposed until about midway down the board, when they were
attacked by rabid Colonials with pitchforks, sabers, and axes. One Colonial,
hidden in ambush behind the tavern, took an unfortunate shot from behind, caused
by a British squad in the middle of the board.
A few more turns of bloody combat ensued, until the Colonial blockade finally
began to break down. As the last Colonial in the pass fell, it was up to Dan’s
men to make their last stand. Armed with flintlock pistols, they charged the
British troops in a valiant effort to make a dent. One man did manage to kill
the British Officer, only to be kicked in the head by that Officer’s horse.
In the end, the British prevailed by killing all of the Colonials, though they
lost almost half their men doing it.
Overall, I thought the game was a success. The British acted like British, and
the Colonials acted like Minutemen would have. The moral rules seemed to work
well.
I think the reinforcement rules would have given the Colonials a more even
chance, but the game lasted about 20 turns, so they didn’t do too badly.
I think I left before the kill scores were added up, but due to the British only
getting 1d8th of a point for each kill, I have a feeling the scores were pretty
close.
Shaun Sullivan has photos of the game
here.
-Elroy
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Hi, everybody...
Sorry for the last-minute message... I’m going to be doing an event at FAO
Schwarz with some LEGO Master Builders next weekend, and after the show we’ll
need some people to help break down what we create. (See
here for an example of
the event... Same idea, different model.)
We need a total of 10 people (we have 5 already) to basically sort bricks for
about 2-3 hours on Sunday night around 8pm at FAO in Midtown. You’d each be
given a $50 S&H gift certificate for your help.
Would any of you be able to help? Or do you know of other local AFOL folks that
could also come?
I’m going to need to know pretty soon -- by this Monday! -- or else TLG will
have to go another route for some volunteers. Feel free to either post or
e-mail back.
Sean
--------------------
Sean Kenney
LEGO Certified Professional
http://www.seankenney.com
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Subject:
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NELUG to Disaply at GTE in Hartford, CT
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.org.us.nelug, lugnet.events, lugnet.loc.us.ct, lugnet.loc.us.ma, lugnet.loc.us.me, lugnet.loc.us.nh, lugnet.loc.us.ri, lugnet.loc.us.vt, lugnet.town, lugnet.trains
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Followup-To:
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lugnet.org.us.nelug
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Date:
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Thu, 1 Feb 2007 15:31:26 GMT
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Viewed:
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24072 times
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NELUG will be displaying at the
Great Train Expo in Hartford, CT
this weekend.
This layout will be a smaller than our usual layout, but will still provide
plenty of fun for the show. Please feel free to drop by and introduce yourself
if you are in the area.
Show hours are 10am to 4pm, Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 3rd and 4th. Admission is
$7.00, good for both days.
-Elroy
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On November 18th and 19th, NELUG put on a wonderful
display at The Great Train Expo in Wilmington, MA.
Our layout continues to grow, and this display was no exception. We filled a
13’ x 26’ layout with everything from water to carnival rides. Our city
section, full of skyscrapers and traffic, was a bit smaller than usual. This,
however, allowed us to expand our carnival section, allowing more space between
the many rides that were displayed. We were also able to expand our train yard,
giving us more room to display the trains members have been creating, including
several New England road names.
Being close to Thanksgiving, we included a Thanksgiving Day parade which seemed
to be enjoyed by the crowd. Not far away was a new river section, which made
it’s debut at our last show earlier this summer. The addition of a Duplo shark
was a big hit.
On the opposite side of the river, our town/residential area was well laid out,
allowing minifig residents plenty of room for backyard picnics and romping on
the playground.
One new addition to the layout was a small subway module. Without much more
room to go up with the skyscrapers, we needed to start going down to the
underground. The addition of the subway brought our total number of running
train loops to five, along with a monorail running between the city and the
carnival.
Photos of the event can be found at the
NELUG website.
-Elroy
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Hello all,
NELUG is planning to get together this coming Thursday May 5th.
We will meet at about 6:00 PM at the LEGO store in the Burlington Mall in
Burlington Massachusetts, and we will head out for dinner at the Macarroni Grill
at about 7:30 PM.
Come join us and bring your MOCs for all to see!
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Enjoy!
Stop on in!
Eric Sophie
SciBrick
LMHoF
GardenSLUG
Biomechanical Bricks
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Hey Eric,
Just stopped by the store today to check out your models, and boy are they
awesome! You really outdid yourself on them. I tried to take some pics of the
display, but one of the workers came out and said that taking pics is
illegal...wonder why? (She was cool about it, and even complemented your
models as masterpieces.) I was able to smuggle three pics that I posted on
Brickshelf. If you want me to take them down, please let me know.
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Hey Joe! I’m sorry I missed you! Glad you came down to the store. I’ll try to be
here next time if you let me know ahead of time, if you can.
About the pictures. yeah, its a Mall thing. Smuggle away if you can.
btw, can you give us a link to the pics on Brickshelf? I’m not sure where they
are. (I’m gonna go and try to search for them now)
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Anyway, I really like the store. The staff is very nice, professional and
most of all, helpful. The Pick-A-Brick is great, I love the selection. I
didn’t see you there this time, so hopefully the next time I go, I’ll say
hello.
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Hey thanks, I really like the people I work with too, as Team Lead, I try to not
only set a good example, but I am also responsible for product knowledge.
Our Manager Kim is big on Customer Service and we all enjoy talking to the
people who come into the store.
I think I might be unwraping the ISD, and the Rebel Blockade Runner - Tantive IV
demo models for a display in the center of the Mall next week. Should be fun.
Are you interested in displaying something Sci-Fi related?
Also, in the comming months, I hope to extend a display invitation to LUCNY when
the time is right. Maybe a possible partnership display between GardenSLUG and
LUCNY.
I’m working until 8pm on Saturday Jan 3rd. if anyone from GardenSLUG, LUCNY or
SILUG wants to come to the store.
Happy New Year
e
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Hi Everyone,
I have updated information to share.
I now have the basic coverage of the show and setup times that I needed. I want
to thank everyone who has volunteered and to tell those who haven't that there
is always room for one more.
I hope all of you will try to come down and see the show. It is being held at
the Big E in Springfield on Oct 11-12. Visit their site for more information:
http://www.greatamericantrainshow.com/maps/WSP10-03/WSPTInfo/WSPInternet%20Copy.htm
The layout is also coming along. I just finished a 64x64 convention center to
fill in one of the large holes and I'll be starting on the other 64x64 section
this week. Chris will be bringing his trains to the show so in addition to
mine, we will have two trains running and some extra cars to fill in the sidings
on the layout. It should be interesting to see an eight wide and a six wide
train running on the same layout.
If anything else comes up, I will update this thread.
Jonathan D.
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Hey Everyone,
I'm doing a train show for GATs at the Big E in Springfield and I could use some
volunteers to help man the layout. I would like to have at least one other
person with me during the show hours just to help keep the fingers off the
layout and pickup any trains that fall off after running over said fingers. :-)
The show times are:
Oct 11: 11am-5pm
Oct 12: 11am-5pm
I could also use an extra set of hands during setup, but I'm mainly worried
about the show hours:
Oct 10th 3pm-9pm
Oct 11th 7am-11am
As an added incentive (bribe) I have 9 extra passes to the show.
And if anyone wants to lend a hand with the design, it could use a little help.
The layout is missing some buildings, one custom train, and probably something I
haven't thought of. Feel free to make suggestions.
Just as a note, if you have something you would like to display, but can't make
it to the show, we can try and arrange a way for me to get it before the show.
http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/guigui/Layout/Springfield1003/springfield.gif
Jonathan Dallas
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Hi. I'm trying to help out a friend with a 10 yr old son who is a Lego fanatic.
Are there clubs for children located in Southwestern Connecticut, specifically,
Stamford and surroundings?
Thanks for any guidance you can give me.
Ellen Rozsa emcgrozsa@msn.com
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Hey All!
I was just curious about how many Moonbase builders out there might be
relatively close to me. Are there other Moonbases in or nearby New England?
The reason I ask is that although I plan to join in any Moonbase display at
BrickFest, I would also like to know what the possibilities are of local
displays as well. Anyhoo, how about a psuedo-roll-call of New England area
Moonbase builders:
1. Hendo, Greenfield, MA; 1 Module, Plans for 2-4 more.
Any others?
FUT: .org.us.nelug, just to keep it tidy.
-H.
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In lugnet.people, John P. Henderson writes:
> In lugnet.people, Ted Welsh writes:
> > Earlier today, I accepted a job at Westfield State College, in Massachusetts.
> > West of Springfield, east of Pittsfield, south of Greenfield, north of ENFIELD!
> > Once I get established (and get a Lego room set up), I'll start building
> > again. You have been warned.
>
> Cool! More builders in Western Mass! (I'm in Greenfield myself.)
>
> Congrats on getting the job!!
Yes, congrats indeed!
When you get setup, drop me an email and we can talk about getting a local
club started!
Jake
--
Jake McKee
Webmaster - B.I. Portal
http://www.bricksonthebrain.com/instructions
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In lugnet.loc.us.ct, Christopher Masi writes:
> I am in Worcester, and I have been telling myself that I need to get
> involved with NELUG. Lately, I have been concentration on getting my
> professional life in order (bummer). Once I have that stuff settled
> down, I would love to get involved in a club in Western MA or Eastern
> MA. Either location is equally (in)convenient :) I know, it is only an
> hour.
>
> Someone commented about events or lack of events in Western MA. Wasn't
> there a huge train show at the Big E fair grounds during the weekend of
> Feb 1, and 2?
There sure is, the Big E fair grounds hosts, from what I understand, the
biggest train show in the area. And yes, this year it was the first weekend
in Feb.
Jake
---
Jake McKee
LEGO Enthusiast
Webmaster - B.I. Portal
http://www.bricksonthebrain.com/instructions
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In article <HAHn8C.Fr@lugnet.com>,
"Jake McKee" <sink@countersinkdg.com> wrote:
> Hey all!
>
> I have been inspired! Would anyone have any interest in forming a
> Connecticut and/or southern Mass. LEGO Train Club?
>
> Jake
>
> ---
> Jake McKee
> LEGO Enthusiast
> Webmaster - B.I. Portal
> http://www.bricksonthebrain.com/instructions
I am in Worcester, and I have been telling myself that I need to get
involved with NELUG. Lately, I have been concentration on getting my
professional life in order (bummer). Once I have that stuff settled
down, I would love to get involved in a club in Western MA or Eastern
MA. Either location is equally (in)convenient :) I know, it is only an
hour.
Someone commented about events or lack of events in Western MA. Wasn't
there a huge train show at the Big E fair grounds during the weekend of
Feb 1, and 2?
Chris
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"Chris Phillips" <drvegetable@attbi.com> wrote in message
news:HAM156.Jp0@lugnet.com...
> In lugnet.loc.us.ct, Mike Walsh writes:
[ ... snipped ... ]
>
> I am certain that there is critical mass out there "in the woods" to put • on
> a decent train show. It shouldn't require special incentives to draw • people
> out; running a successful show is its own reward.
>
> - Chris.
Chris' last statement is really important. If you need incentives to do a
show, you are missing the point. Simply doing a show or public exhibition
should rewarding in of itself. Personally there are two aspects of a show
that I really enjoy:
1) Seeing the whole layout come together. I'll never (at least not any
time soon) have enough room at home to leave a sizeable layout up for any
extended period. Seeing everything together all at one time is very
satisfying.
2) The interaction with the public. I know not everyone enjoys this aspect
of a show but I do. I like talking to people as they take it all in. I
like answering the questions. I view it as a chance to evangelize our hobby
and hopefully, recruit some new members. The best part is seeing the
expressions on the kids faces when they realize it is all LEGO.
If I didn't enjoy doing it I wouldn't put the time and effort into that I
do. Doing a show is a great experience. But you really need to do more
than one. You can get lots of advice from the people and clubs that have
been through the process but until you have done it once, you can't really
predict how it will go. After you have done one, you know a lot of things
you would do differently so the second and third are typically much easier.
Mike
--
Mike Walsh - mike_walsh at mindspring.com
http://www.ncltc.cc - North Carolina LEGO Train Club
http://www.carolinatrainbuilders.com - Carolina Train Builders
http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=mpw - CTB/Brick Depot
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In lugnet.loc.us.ct, Mike Walsh writes:
>
> Don Heyse wrote:
> > Yeah, a small train club out here does sound like a lot of fun, but
> > that critical mass problem is a tough one to get past, way out
> > here in the woods of Southern N.E. I suspect it would take some
> > sort of spectacular event to coax 10 potential members out of the
> > woodwork.
>
> You don't need 10 people to do a successful train show. It helps but it
> isn't absolutely necessary. We here in North Carolina (NCLTC) have done a
> most of our shows with 3-5 people contibuting to the layout. We have some
> additional help with set up and tear down but the core group of builders is
> actually pretty small.
>
> There is no rule that says you have to have a 20'x30' layout for it to be a
> success. Our next layout is scaling back a bit, it will be 8'x18' but it
> will have some new features that we are pretty excited about.
>
> Mike
Mike is absolutely correct. NELUG holds our train shows with the
participation of typically between 6 and 8 members when we do our "large"
10'x20' layout. Next month, we plan to do a smaller 7'x10' layout with the
participation of only four members, although we will probably try to borrow
a few key MOCs from non-attending members. (We will also be displaying our
full 10'x20' layout at a different show the following weekend.)
I once brought in my trains and a couple buildings to work and set up a
rudimentary pre-holiday train display by myself. Although my layout was
absolutely laughable when compared to any LTC layout I've ever seen, it was
a HUGE hit with everybody who saw it. It doesn't take a lot of people to
put together a crowd-pleasing LEGO train display, it just takes one person
with the initiative to say "let's do it."
I am certain that there is critical mass out there "in the woods" to put on
a decent train show. It shouldn't require special incentives to draw people
out; running a successful show is its own reward.
- Chris.
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"Don Heyse" <dheyse@hotmail.spam.go.away.com> wrote in message
news:HAL7yr.KHD@lugnet.com...
[ ... snipped ... ]
>
> Yeah, a small train club out here does sound like a lot of fun, but
> that critical mass problem is a tough one to get past, way out
> here in the woods of Southern N.E. I suspect it would take some
> sort of spectacular event to coax 10 potential members out of the
> woodwork. I envision something like a once in a lifetime chance to
> shop at the internal company discount store, followed by a trip to
> the trolley museum for building inspiration just might do it, but I
> don't think the trolley museum is even open until spring. Maybe you
> could check out one of the NELUG shows in the meantime to keep the
> inspiration going.
>
> Don
You don't need 10 people to do a successful train show. It helps but it
isn't absolutely necessary. We here in North Carolina (NCLTC) have done a
most of our shows with 3-5 people contibuting to the layout. We have some
additional help with set up and tear down but the core group of builders is
actually pretty small.
There is no rule that says you have to have a 20'x30' layout for it to be a
success. Our next layout is scaling back a bit, it will be 8'x18' but it
will have some new features that we are pretty excited about.
Mike
--
Mike Walsh - mike_walsh at mindspring.com
http://www.ncltc.cc - North Carolina LEGO Train Club
http://www.carolinatrainbuilders.com - Carolina Train Builders
http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=mpw - CTB/Brick Depot
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In lugnet.loc.us.ct, Chris Phillips writes:
> In lugnet.loc.us.ct, Jake McKee writes:
> > I have been inspired! Would anyone have any interest in forming a
> > Connecticut and/or southern Mass. LEGO Train Club?
>
> First, let me say that I am located in southeastern Massachusetts, and would
> certainly consider driving for a couple hours to participate in train shows
> with you.
>
> But your very question tips another issue that has long been festering in
> the back of my mind. Did NELUG cast too wide a net? When we started NELUG,
> we chose a "New England" designation because we were not certain that a
> smaller geographic focus would contain enough AFOLs to support a LUG. In
> reality, NELUG is dominated by activity in eastern Massachusetts, despite at
> least a few past efforts to include members from other areas. Our attempts
> to organize meetings in western MA or to do train shows in southern NE have
> collapsed for lack of critical mass.
Yeah, a small train club out here does sound like a lot of fun, but
that critical mass problem is a tough one to get past, way out
here in the woods of Southern N.E. I suspect it would take some
sort of spectacular event to coax 10 potential members out of the
woodwork. I envision something like a once in a lifetime chance to
shop at the internal company discount store, followed by a trip to
the trolley museum for building inspiration just might do it, but I
don't think the trolley museum is even open until spring. Maybe you
could check out one of the NELUG shows in the meantime to keep the
inspiration going.
Don
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The "casting of a large net" is a very interesting topic. In fact I think it
is one of the most over looked concepts in the formation of a new club. In
the early stages of forming a club the biggest hurdle is achieving critical
mass. So by covering a large geo this is more achievable. However as clubs
mature and grow, so does the number of members. In PNLTC's case we have
grown to the point where the Portland and Seattle members (3.5hr drive) do
separate shows with only a small amount of cross pollination. We have taken
to meet in a small town mid way to have PNLTC train-fests so that we can all
literally get to meet each other. We've had 4 "joint" face-to-face meetings
in the last 2 years.
I think that it is important to understand this process and embrace the fact
that large geo's serviced by a single club will inevitably divide into
smaller sustainable clubs. It seems like 10 members is a kind of magic
number, where there is a critical mass achieved yet the inter-communications
are easily maintained etc.
I hope to flush out these ramblings in an article for the ITLCO web site; an
article about forming a new train club.
<shamelessplug>
These kinds of key learning's should be captured and shared. The ILTCO is
planning on having a resource area on the ILTCO.org web page for "Best Know
Methods", articles, fest presentations etc. If you are interested please get
started writting and let us know.
</shamelessplug>
SteveB
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