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"HONGZ" stands for HO scale, N scale, G scale, and Z scale.

Post your non-O scale stuff here!

The LEGO Saturn V model is really nice and it is big, over 39 inches tall.  We have the Disney Castle which is very impressive with a lot of detail.  I am on the fence over the Disney station - don't tempt me.  I notice the trains have European style buffers.   I wouldn't mind a station only set.  I do have a pair of unbuilt LEGO special edition Sante Fe diesels.

The breakdown is Saturn $120 / 1969 pieces, roughly $0.06 a piece.  Castle is $350 / 4080 pieces or $0.09 per piece.  The station is $330 / 2925 or $0.11 a piece but has the power functions.

One problem with the big sets is they take up a lot of space, yet you don't really want to dismantle them.

LEGO just revamped the VIP program and it doesn't seem to be as generous as before.  But it is still a good deal and free to sign up.

Here is a photo of the Saturn.  It is approximately 1:110.  Imagine a 1:48 model!Lego Saturn V

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penn station posted:

One problem with the big sets is they take up a lot of space, yet you don't really want to dismantle them.

LEGO just revamped the VIP program and it doesn't seem to be as generous as before.  But it is still a good deal and free to sign up.

I had not intended to build this until I had room to display it, but feel almost obligated to do so after all the teasing. 

The space issue especially rang true with the latest issue of the Millennium Falco. It's huge. With it's 7541 pieces and a gross weight of 40lbs, the finished model measures 33" L, 22"W, 8"H. It requires days to assemble and would not be inclined to disassemble anytime soon. So the question is, what to do with it? It's remains sealed...as do many other LEGO sets...

I not all that keen with the changes made to the VIP program. Rewards are convoluted and difficult to redeem now. Oh well...

The Saturn was a must-have, but as one may guess, it remains sealed. Thanks for posting the pic, as I really gives an indication as to size. I'm envious of your atmospheric particulate remediation chamber. 

My reemergence into LEGO I blame entirely on my brother who gifted Falling Water. One of the nice things about the Architecture series is they require little space, until you have fifty-some of these little jewels. Curse my brother... 

Last edited by Mill City

Good, bad, or ugly we're heading for Guadalajara (Mexico's second-largest city) to buy one tomorrow. On the phone a toy dealer explained that he had 20 of them and sold 6 yesterday.

I am unhappy about the plastic axles. I am also concerned that the wheels on the "steam" locomotive have problems turning.

Lego replied to my question that YOU CAN operate this train with the remote controls from its two "City" Lego train sets. However these controls can only operate one train at a time. An online reviewer confirmed to me that this is true.

In my opinion, the oval contains far too few tracks. However, it is compatible with the "City" tracks and I had already bought two packages of them.

One reviewer spent seven hours assembling the entire set. Knowing me, this will keep me busy through much of September.

I just bought it for $350.44 in Mexico at a Lego store.

Here's the pre-review:

 

1) They had one already assembled, and I am surprised at how small it actually is.

2) It does NOT contain a remote, and you cannot buy a separate remote. The separate remote they sell works on some of their trucks but not on these trains.

3) Opening the box, I found no damaged pieces.

4) They had an excellent sales presentation. They showed the parts, and the motor and battery set-up is identical to their previous two "City" trains. The remotes on those trains will run the Disney train but they can only run one train at a time

5) $20 for a box of extra tracks. The tracks are compatible with the tracks from the two previous "City" sets.

6) I had concerns about the wheels on the unpowered locomotive (The motor is in the tender). But when I inspected the completed model, they seem to be sturdy and well-made.

7) $4 apiece for a variety of Disney figures that are about the right size for the train and station.

Here's Bag 1! 

I put on some good Christian music, made a big pot of coffee (I drank six cups) and spent three enjoyable hours assembling the first bag.

As with my other two Lego trains, I kept thinking that parts were missing. If that happens, just start sorting everything, and the part will turn up. I have never bought a Lego set yet that was missing any parts.

As they often do, Lego included a few extra tiny parts. Because I was careful during assembly, I know that I didn't miss anything.

SUNP0001SUNP0003                                           17 bags to go!

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Six and a half hours after I started (not counting breaks) and here it is!SUNP0002SUNP0005                                             And now for the review:

1) There were no pieces missing from Bag 2 (which is actually 2 bags)

2) The driving rods are attached only to the last set of wheels and the body of the loco. They do not touch the third set of wheels. For the record, this loco is a 4-4-0.

3) The train rolls smoothly but the third set of wheels often does not turn.

4) No matter how many times I disassembled it and studied the directions, I could not get the chimney and headlamp to fit. I finally added a square Lego block from another set, and it fits fine. They are stable and do not fall off.

5) I did have a problem with parts falling off, but it was because I had not snapped them tightly into place. Snapping them properly gets difficult for certain areas, but if you're careful, you can do it.

6) There were some small extra parts, along with two large wheels.

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It took me three hours to assemble the motorized tender because after I was done I had to disassemble the whole thing to install the two pieces I missed. The directions for using the remote from another train set were hard to find, but I had figured it out anyway.

It runs well enough, but the third set of wheels often get stuck while taking curves.

No parts were missing.

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Last edited by Vincent Massi

Bags 4 and 5 took me three hours, but the first passenger car is a beauty!

I was worried that the decorations would make the car too heavy, but it runs well with the loco and tender.

Horrors! One part was missing! It's a tiny red square with only one peg. Actually, two were missing, but one was in the small pile of extra parts from previous bags. I supplied the missing block from my other Lego supplies.

"Dale," the chipmunk brother with the pink nose, fit easily into the railcar.SUNP0002SUNP0003SUNP0004

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Bags 6 and 7!

It took me 2 3/4 hours to assemble the last railcar. It's a beautiful passenger car that offers the option of removing one side to display the elite and confortable seating arrangement.

No pieces were missing AND the missing piece from a previous bag was inside.

It's pretty heavy, but it rolls well and runs well with the train.SUNP0005SUNP0006SUNP0008

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Most of bag 12 (bag 5 for the station) consisted of the roof.

Some of the largest pieces were warped (I haven't stored them in sunlight or near heat) and I had some trouble snapping them into place.

And don't be alarmed that  I am spending between one and two hours per bag. I'm going slow, drinking coffee, listening to music, and enjoying myself.SUNP0001SUNP0002SUNP0004                                        One reviewer put the entire thing together in seven hours.

I've put in 19 hours and I'm 2/3 of the way through.

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Last edited by Vincent Massi

Successfully assembling bag 13 was difficult. The bag contains three different types of pyramid-shaped pieces, two of which are hard to tell apart. And even the illustrations in the manual made it difficult. After carefully disassembling my work several times, and using the photo on the front of the manual to help, I got a nice-looking room  on the second floor.

There were three extra pieces.SUNP0002SUNP0004                                                   There were also slight problems with the large pieces being warped.

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Bag 14 (bag 7 for the station) went pleasantly well. Except for the explosion.

I assembled a window section and pressed too hard while snapping it into place. It took a lot of searching and cleaning to find the three missing pieces, but there was no permanent damage.SUNP0004SUNP0007SUNP0005                                                After recharging the batteries (6 for the train and four for the remote control), the train ran like a champ. So I got courageous and ran it backwards for a while. There were no problems with the (unpowered) locomotive separating from the (powered) tender.

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FINISHED!

 

It took me about 28 hours (One reviewer did it in seven hours) of mostly pleasant, leisurely work to assemble the entire train and train station. Because my cheap camera can't take good photos indoors, pictures will have to wait until tomorrow. But here's some points:

1) The train station is not a good doll house. The flowers on the desk are too easily knocked loose, and after you add all the decorations, there is very little room inside.

2) The two model trains and model castle (all scaled down to fit inside the station) are separately installed and easily removed. If you buy other figures for the station, these three "models" don't look that good anyway.

3) The station is sturdy and easily moved without pieces breaking off.

4) The only missing piece was in the next bag. They included a pile of extra pieces.

5) Add-ons? Lego buildings are best built from the ground up, with the entire building being constructed at the same time. But there are a couple of places where you could easily attach a separately-built add-on. Legomaniacs are going to love that.

6) Bizarre problem: The entire building is beautiful. You might have a problem locating it where both front and back are visible.

7) Overall review: The train station is a beautiful, fun-to-build addition to your lay-out.

 

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