Subject:
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Re: A story, and a new Trains website
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains, lugnet.cad.ldd
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Date:
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Mon, 19 Mar 2007 02:55:51 GMT
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Viewed:
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30152 times
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In lugnet.trains, Jordan Schwarz wrote:
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As we near the release of LDD 2.0, I offer the following tale...
Two weeks ago, I was visiting the Tyson’s Corner LEGO Store. Although the
store still sells 9V track and motors, they no longer carry 9V train sets,
which number only a few these days as LEGO transitions to the Hobby Train
model of train operations. I happened to overhear a parent in the store ask
what must be an increasingly common question these days:
“Where can I find additional cars for my child’s LEGO train set?”
I did not catch the clerk’s reply, and perhaps it mentioned the LEGO Factory
website. However, the Factory website makes it difficult to locate
high-quality models that fit well with existing LEGO trains. It does not
have the feel of an electronic catalog of quality MOCs but rather a hunt for
needles in a haystack of very small pictures. For the AFOL and the advanced
young hobby train builder, the Factory website does not meet the bill.
In response, I have designed trainbase, a website that (in my opinion)
makes it easier to locate quality train models,
http://jordanschwarz.com/trainbase
Presently the website features the models of seven builders whose galleries
on LEGO Factory encompass both quantity and quality of train creations. The
website describes each builder’s key models and styles of building and links
to each builder’s gallery. There are already over 150 train models linked
from this website presently with just seven builders. The difference is that
now, one need not sift through pages and pages of models to find good ones.
My hope is that the next time someone asks where they can find
inspiration and new cars for their LEGO train, they can check out the UTB set
and visit the websites for trainbase,http://save.9vtrains.com and, of
course, http://news.lugnet.com/trains. Although there is some redundancy
among these websites, I hope that since information is presented in different
ways, this will help LEGO Trains to appeal to broader and more diverse
audiences.
I welcome your constructive comments and suggestions of additional builders
to be listed on the website.
-Jordan Schwarz
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Wow, if AFOL’s continue to provide stuff like this site, LEGO will not have to
do any work. Get AFOL’s to design them, get AFOL’s to help people find them, get
help from AFOL’s to market them--just provide the parts. And even that is now
outsourced. Good business model by TLG if you ask me. lol
Don’t get me wrong, resources like this could really be valuable to the average
consumer. And it would be a good idea for the LEGO Company to have a list of
these resources to provide to their customers--either through handouts for their
stores or in magazines (such as perhaps BrickJournal) available at their
outlets. After all, it just points them back to the LEGO website. And it is also
probably in the interest of the AFOL’s to help them out so they continue to
provide the parts. I am constantly amazed at the passion of AFOL’s to help out
“Their Company”, a company in which they cannot even buy stock.. Not many other
brands engender such a passionate “help” attitude. Which is of course a credit
to the quality, adaptability, and philosphy of the “LEGO System”.I even find
myself telling people, “You really ought to buy your kid a LEGO kit”
When people want more of something, such as the lady Jordan overheard, it is the
first sign of being hooked. And you definitely want to keep a customer on the
hook. For there are a lot of other shiny lures out there vying for their
attention.So you need to set the hook firmly and reel him in, or he will shake
it loose, lose attention, and go feed somewhere else. lol
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Message is in Reply To:
 | | A story, and a new Trains website
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| As we near the release of LDD 2.0, I offer the following tale... Two weeks ago, I was visiting the Tyson's Corner LEGO Store. Although the store still sells 9V track and motors, they no longer carry 9V train sets, which number only a few these days (...) (18 years ago, 18-Mar-07, to lugnet.trains, lugnet.cad.ldd, FTX) !
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