Subject:
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Re: Toy vs Model...The real issue (was Re: Another 6wide/8wide ramble)
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Thu, 24 Feb 2000 23:53:13 GMT
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In lugnet.trains, Mike Poindexter writes:
> I say they should make what people want. If some people want 8 wide trains,
> then they should look at making them 8 wide, or at least able to be
> increased to 8 wide. If people want larger radius track, then make larger
> radius track. I would hate to hear them say, "Well, we could make wider
> radius track, better points with remote control, DCC engines and a train RCX
> that had a sound module for prototypical sounds, but let's not do that
> because those are model train things and we make toys."
>
> I want a bigger radius track curve. I want a points to be fixed so that
> trains can swap tracks point to point (and still have the track line up). I
> want remote control points.
>
> I see Lego as a toy that IS a model. Sure, it is not scaled properly like a
> highly detailed HO scale train set, but then again, those things are not
> perfect, either. They also have items that are not in proper scale and
> details that were left off because they were too small. Lego just doesn't
> have the resolution. Taken another way, take a photo and scan it in at 300
> dpi in 16 bit color. It is still a picture. Scan it in at 36 dpi in 4 bit
> color and it is still the same picture, but at a lower resolution. You
> can't say that it isn't a picture any more, or else a 2400 dpi true color
> will come along and make your 300dpi scan a "non-picture."
>
> True, Lego is a toy. But even toys have to have some sense of reality in
> some regards. I see people malign the 4559 train because it isn't based on
> anything real. It isn't realistic and looks stupid. Well, if it was just a
> toy, it wouldn't matter, but it does, otherwise, we would think the train
> wash was cool and the 4559 looks fun. So it has to be something more than
> just a toy with no relation to reality. It must capture some essense of
> reality to be good in our eyes. Hence, the 4558 passes and the 4559 fails.
> John and I (and a few others) just want a little more.
>
> I can take selective compression, but prefer to not have it. It just looks
> out of whack to me, and where possible, I avoid it. Many other toy
> companies also look to avoid it in favor of more realistic looking toys. I
> don't see Hot Wheels or Matchbox making cars that look like the ones I see
> in the 4561.
>
> Mike Poindexter
The problem with TLC is that they DO WHAT THE PEOPLE WANT. The old 12V trains
were too complicated for younger children and needed much care. Thus, they
were replaced by the easier-to-handle 9V ones.
The trend continues; modern sets consist of fewer, more specialized parts
which make them quicker to assemble but also less sophisticated.
Unfortunately, LEGO more and more loses the property that made it superior to
other building toys - the variability. (Or can you build a steam engine with
that 4561 nose?).
I think the reason why the new sets (4559 or 4561) are disliked by many LEGO
modelist is not that they look unrealistic or childish, but that these sets
don't contain pieces to build anything better from them. (Not even train doors)
In fact the best models I see in the net are made from parts from the 12V past.
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