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Brian & All,
> We were pleased to be able to participate. ¬The
> excitment from the crowd was palpable. People are always amazed when LEGO > is present in any amount of size.
It is always nice to that interaction with the crowd, even if it is the 50th
time you heard it. : )
> We printed an "I spy ..." game on Legal-sized paper (8 in total) and taped
> them to the ropes that held the crowd back. ¬People loved to play, they
> would stay until they found everything on game.
It is great to have some interactivity like that in a layout - I need to do more
of that in ours.
> As a LUG we would appreciate feedback on what you like and where we can
> improve.
The most important thing to do as a LUG, in my experience:
1) Don't compare yourselves to other LUG's / LTC's - some clubs have been around
along time and have more assets than you can dream of. Set goals for yourself,
get inspiration, and work on those things. When I think of when MichLUG, or even
my own club, Michiana-LUG, started, it was pretty rough. It takes time, and it
is supposed to be fun, after all. If you work yourself to death, and dread
shows, it is not worth it. : )
> A few obvious places to improve are (All in due time):
> ¬1- Lack of a city
A city is what we have been lacking since our inception outside of a few
builders of ours. If anyone is wanting to contribute items for a show, see if
someone is interesting in starting a town. It doesn't have to be multiple
beautiful skyscrapers from COLTC or MichLTC, but a simple main street can be a
start. Details in a city are also a good way to expand your layout without
significant cost, such as traffic lights, trees, sidewalks, etc. I saw a
McDonalds set in one of the pictures - build that into a "real" McDonalds -
people always identify with national chains.
> ¬2- Too much exposed table
I bought a ton of green and gray baseplates for this area. Even having a couple
of roadplates going nowhere can help fill that. I also have a stock of buildings
I don't normally use in case we have gaps.
If you are short on cash, you could always use construction paper or felt or
whatever for water and/ or cement for rail lines.
> ¬3- The NXT brick exposed
Looking at your pictures, I am not 100% sure of what the NXT brick and the train
controller is doing, but you might want to build a front only building or
mountain to cover those up or integrate both into the building somehow.
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=311400
This picture is of Steve Ringe and his massive train yard - complete with
controllers, Mindstorms, etc. The mountain is his control station.
In our club, we just extend the wiring and put it on a shelf inside the loop.
And I am not pure enought to spend 150.00 on extended LEGO wiring when I can buy
a spool for 5 dollars and splice.
All in all, it looks to be a great start, and I wish you the best in your future
endeavors.
Sincerely,
Scott Sanburn
President, Michiana-LUG / LTC
http://www.michiana-lug.org
http://www.scottesanburn.org
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: ULUG Train Show
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| (...) Scott, Thanks for all the positive feedback. Getting started is very difficult. I was surprised at how challenging it is to design a lay-out at the show and then fill in the space with buildings, etc. Question to all Train Clubs. How do you (...) (18 years ago, 31-Jan-07, to lugnet.trains, lugnet.org.us.ulug)
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