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BayLUG’s 8th Annual Holiday LEGO Show Opens!

Mark Benz — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 20:09:02 +0000

The 8th Annual “Living LEGO-cy” show opens this coming weekend in Palo Alto. Hosted every year by the Museum of American Heritage, 351 Homer Avenue, Palo Alto, California, the exhibit features a wide variety of amazing and innovative LEGO Creations and LEGO trains running through familiar city, farm, and suburban scenes, all built from LEGO bricks.

It opens on Friday, December 9, 2010 and runs through Sunday, January 15 2012 during regular Museum open hours: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11am to 3:30pm. It will be closed Christmas Eve and Day, and New Years Eve and Day. All ages welcome. General admission is $2 for the Exhibit, Museum Admission is Free (but donations are welcome). Current BayLUG and MoAH members are FREE! No strollers inside the exhibit, please.

The December 2-4 weekend was a busy one for many BayLUG members, setting up the exhibit. Members overcame a number of challenges in both setting up the train layout with under table clearances, and with installing displays. Everything was ready just in time for MoAH’s Member Holiday Party late Sunday afternoon, as you can see in the following pictures. Click any of the pictures to view a gallery of photos from the exhibit setup and party.

BayLUG/LTC Preps for 8th Annual Holiday LEGO Show

Bill Ward — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 01:11:03 +0000

The Bay Area LEGO Users Group and Train Club (BayLUG/BayLTC) and the Museum of American Heritage present the 8th Annual “Living LEGO-cy” Holiday LEGO Creation and Train Exhibit at the Frank Livermore Learning Center at the Museum in Palo Alto.

The Exhibit will feature a wide variety of amazing and innovative LEGO Creations and LEGO trains running through familiar city, farm, and suburban scenes. It opens on Friday, December 9, 2010 and runs through Sunday, January 15 2012 during regular Museum open hours: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 11 to 3:30. It will be closed Christmas Eve and Day, and New Years Eve and Day! All ages welcome.

$2 Exhibit Admission, Museum Admission is Free. No strollers inside the exhibit, please.

Members and Public Enjoy Bricks By the Bay

Mark Benz — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 20:03:58 +0000

Last weekend, many BayLUG members and more than 3500 others enjoyed viewing and discussing LEGO creations at the 2nd Annual Bricks By the Bay Convention. The event was organized by a non-profit company established by three BayLUG members, including former President Bill Ward. Held this year in the much larger Hyatt Regency Santa Clara adjacent to the Santa Clara Convention Center, record numbers of both convention and public day attendees turned up. Convention attendees, including many BayLUG/BayLTC members, provided the many fabulous LEGO creations on display, and participated in LEGO-related discussion and tutorial sessions, contests, and had fun. There was a BayLTC train/town layout in the center of the exhibit hall as well as many LEGO creations in a variety of themes and a showcase of old LEGO sets and products. Public attendees viewed and discussed convention attendee MOCs, interacted with LEGO and LEGO Education staff, and reviewed many types of products available from vendors. The event was another triumph for the company, and the community!

There is a nice BBTB Slideshow on CNET.

Members Vote to Update Bylaws

Mark Benz — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 22:33:21 +0000

At the recent February BayLUG meeting at MoAH in Palo Alto, members present voted unanimously to update the Club’s bylaws as discussed over the past few months. The revised bylaws will be posted soon.

In addition, the meeting featured a “Farm” build contest, and a Kids Activity that built and tested catapults.

The next regular club meeting is March 19th in San Leandro. The March Build Contest theme is “Creative Combinations,” in honor of the Bricks by the Bay convention the following weekend.

BayLUG’s 7th Annual Living LEGO-cy Exhibit at MoAH Closes

Mark Benz — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 06:37:18 +0000

After a month and a very busy final weekend, BayLUG/LTC’s 7th Annual Holiday Exhibit at the Museum of American Heritage in Palo Alto closed on Sunday January 9th. More than 3500 visitors toured the Exhibit this year which again featured many BayLUG members’ imaginative LEGO trains, and other creations for the holidays. Many visitors commented that they thought the exhibit was the Club’s best one yet.

The Exhibit was more refined and offered more variety for visitors of all ages and interests. MoAH provided improved lighting and nice fabric skirting for the display areas. This year’s train layout featured a larger downtown area, a Zoo, farm, ‘burbs and other scenic and humorous aspects, and unexpected surprises for visitors to find. Again surrounding the train layout were a wide variety of LEGO displays including exquisite large crane, VLA, ship and historic models, artistic works, classic sets, and many other interesting creations filled the display cases lining the walls.

Photos by Bill Ward.

The Future of Trains

Russell Clark — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:20:39 +0000

LEGO 9V Train CommunicationBillund, Oct. 1st ’07
Dear all,Many of you are aware of the on-going discussions on the 9V train system. We
would like to thank you all for the input you provided to us directly and
through different channels. Based on critical business decisions and the
consultations and discussions with various AFOLs we have decided to focus on one
single solution in order to avoid the complexity of maintaining two systems in
parallel and in order to solve the issues we have with the actual 9V system and
the remote control City train system. We envision one upgradeable train system
for all ages in the future.

The LEGO Group has considered the future of the 9v at length, and has come to
the conclusion that there is not sufficient demand for the product line to be
profitable and competitive. The existing machines need to be replaced and
minimum order quantities at external suppliers for motors and speed regulators
are so high that the investment The LEGO Group would have to put in, would not
be rational or reasonable compared to sales figures of the existing 9V system.

The implication of this is that the 9v elements sold now are the last of the
remaining stock and subsequent production of elements for the 9V platform has
ceased.

The LEGO Group will launch elements for a new train system based on the new
electric LEGO Power Functions system in 2009. Using the LEGO Power Functions
system the new train system will benefit from a set of electric elements that
are cross theme, widely available and not completely train specific which allows
us to amortize the development and on going cost across multiple themes. We are
at an early development stage of the new train system and several AFOLs are
already involved in the development process, to ensure that the new system will
accommodate the types of features and functions requested by the AFOL community.
This collaboration with AFOLs is very important to The LEGO Group and we strive
to involve the Adult Fan Community as much as possible.

Holger Matthes, Germany, currently member of the AFOL team which is involved in
the process of developing the new system explains the situation in this way:

“The LEGO train system has to fulfill different needs for different target
groups in a very special way. On the one hand it’s a toy for kids because it is
easy to set up and because of the playability in the kid’s room, and on the
other hand it is also for AFOLs who build huge LEGO train layouts with realistic
looking train models and functionality. The LEGO Group is aware of this and the
company tries to support both needs within the given restrictions (e.g. costs
for a niche product like the LEGO trains).”

Using the universal LEGO Power Functions system for trains will give The LEGO
Group the ability to match the demands and wishes of the AFOL Train community in
the future.

Steve Barile, USA – President of ILTCO (International LEGO Train Club
Organization) and one of the involved AFOLs says about the new train system:

“I am excited that the new universal Power Functions system can make track side
accessories viable and potentially automated and interactive.”

He continues:

“With the track being exclusively plastic the LEGO Power Functions Train system
has the potential for new and innovative track geometries and continued
innovation by both The LEGO Group and the AFOLs.”

These AFOL quotes give you an impression of what will be possible with the
future system and we will keep you up to date on the development of the new LEGO
Power Functions train system. We expect to have more information and details to
share with you before the end of the year.

Richard Stollery, Head of LEGO Community Development

Scale Rails Online LEGO Trains Forums

Russell Clark — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 00:47:41 +0000

The Scale Rails Online site has two LEGO Trains forums, one for general LEGO Train discussion, and one specifically for BayLTC discussion, which is sponsored by our club. I am a moderator of both forums, and I have been asked to help promote the LEGO forums. I would like everyone to take a look at the forums and let me know if you have any suggestions for either promoting them or enhancing the content, like more categories, etc. I have already placed links to them on both of our club LUGNET pages, and I would like links to them added to our links section.