TexLUG (Texas LEGO® Users Group) is hosting the first international AFOL convention in Texas next year, scheduled for June 30 through July 3, 2011. I’m part of the TexLUG club and will most likely be helping out with this event as well as attending it with MOCs to display.
Please check out the Brick Fiesta site for more info:
www.brickfiesta.com
I’m sorry, but I don’t have much to update 
I actually dug out the Pennybacker Bridge model (or the pieces of it, actually), assembled most of it, and repaired the damage done when I broke it down after the last show. I’m thinking of maybe displaying it in my house somewhere, but it’s rather large and I’ll also have to keep it out of reach of my kids!
Work, photography, and my home life has occupied my time. My sons and I have tinkered a lot, but I’ve not built anything serious since the bridge.
Actually, I do have a train project going. I need to finish it…
Formally known as “Project X”, I completed this model last weekend. Actually, I did not find the time to blog about it and properly tease viewers. Life got in the way.
However, the thing is done and I’ve put it in high gear and cranked out a proper webpage for it:
http://www.texbrick.com/model_pbridge
And here is another project that I’ve blogged about before. I’ve made a proper webpage for it, including a lot of photos and a write-up:
http://www.texbrick.com/10ftbridge
I’ve blogged about this project already, and I’ve finally gotten around to making a proper webpage for it on my site. Although at this point, the webpage isn’t finished yet
At any rate, I just wanted to announce it and get it out there:
http://www.texbrick.com/model_craneproj
My webpage for the Memorial Hermann tower model is done:
www.texbrick.com/model_mhtwr/index.html
TexLUG’s display at the Healthy Baby and Child Expo in Houston was a good success (see more info and pics here). Our modular tables (based on the MichLUG design) made their debut and worked quite well.
It was very nice to have a flat, level surface (roughly matching LEGO dimensions) to set our stuff on.
Finally… I have taken photos of my train work I’ve been messing around with two things. The first is an 8-wide bogie for freight cars.
I did a lot of test runs at the HBCE show, and the fatal flaw in the design is that the outsides of the bogie fall off. Their attachment to the inner frame is a little weak, and that’s something I’ll revise.
My other train work has been on a compact, powered bogie. This design will be useful to make a powered (using LEGO’s Power Functions parts) boxcar or perhaps a tender for a steam engine.
It’s problem is that the whole assembly torques to one side when running. This presents a problem when running through switches. I’ll work on debugging this design.
I’m making the switch to using PF trains and getting away from the old 9V system. One of my old 9V motors died recently, and it’s just the push I needed to move to PF. Aside from that, I’m really attracted to making PF trains because I get to design and build the drive systems. That’s Technic-related stuff and that’s what I enjoy.
And finally we have Project X.
More about that later
We’re already in the back-half of January 2010 and I honestly don’t know where time has gone. It almost makes a whooshing sound as it flies by.
My older son has been building a lot in the past several months. He’s built many small sets and has also started to use his imagination to make his own MOCs.
It’s been a lot of fun watching him build and play. A lot of my “LEGO time” is just being with him and helping him when he needs it.
So what’s new?
The complete Memorial Hermann tower model is pictured below. Sometime later, when they get the model in its permanent display, I’ll visit it to take my own photos.
I’ve been helping out our LUG (TexLUG) to build modular train tables. Here are some photos from Tony Sava.
I continue to tinker with PF trains and making powered bogies. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it before here, but I’ve been wanting to “upgrade” my existing trains to PF, and I’m experimenting with various wheel and gear arrangements to find something that works smoothly and is durable.
My crane project sits idle. I disassembled the base and plan on building a new turntable. Rather, I need to finish the design that I came up with last year.
I’ve not yet disassembled the 10+ foot long arched truss bridge I built last year. I’ve decided to re-use it for an upcoming TexLUG event in March. But I’m going to widen the bridge by 8 studs to make passage of TexLUG’s monster-wide trains possible
I think that’s it for the to-do list. Oh wait, there’s the white tower crane project as well….
So many ideas… too little time
Whoops… I’ve let a lot of time slip by. I’ve been sitting on a special project for a long while now. It’s done as of about two weeks ago, but I have yet to upload the finished photos. Here’s a sneak peak of the unfinished model.
This is a 1:130 scale (roughly) model of a new hospital building here in Houston. I was contracted to built it, and planning and construction took place this past spring. I ended up passing along a portion of the model to another builder, Kurt Baty, so the MOC is actually co-designed and built by us.
Aside from that, nothing LEGO-related has been going on around here since the 10-foot bridge. I’ve messed around with some custom trucks for my train rolling stock, and I’ve played along with my 4-year old son quite a bit. He’s into building his own MOCs
Ugh… sorry that it’s been over a month since my last post here. I have not touched my bricks lately because of a hectic, super-busy schedule (work, life, etc.). That’s just how it goes…
Plus I’ve got a load of stuff to break down and sort. I’m not looking forward to that so much
But hey, I built some trees for the train show last month. That’s something new here on the blog.
The big tree makes use of a bunch of different brown Technic connectors. These brown parts came mostly from all the old Starwars Technic sets I got years ago, and until now, I haven’t found a good use for them.
I also have a small back-log of ideas that I need to photograph and post here. Yep, I have plenty of house-keeping work to do!
On the side of serious building… I’m stuck in a rut. I cannot decide what to do. I’ve been wanting to build a new, very large crawler crane. I’ve built crawler cranes in the past, but I want to build the ultimate crawler crane MOC now that I have a lot of lessons learned and experience. The trouble is that everyone and their dog has built crawler cranes.
Sometimes I can’t get motiviated to build a MOC if there are too many similar ones out there by other builders!
