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Lego Classic Space Monorail

drdesignzdrdesignz Member Posts: 110
in Collecting
This is my classic Legoland Space collection from 1978 through 1987.  All original, first generation except for the monorail itself.  It's taken me five years to collect and put together this monorail layout.









Monorail layout on baseplates equal to 48 32x32 stud baseplates, or 192 by 256 studs, 49,152 studs total.

85 pieces of original monorail track:

  • 19 Monorail Track Straight Long (2671)
  • 16 Monorail Track Straight Short (2670)
  • 5 Monorail Track Monoswitch (2774)
  • 23 Monorail Track Curve Long (2672)
  • 3 Monorail Track Curve Short Left (2892)
  • 3 Monorail Track Curve Short Right (2891)
  • 3 Monorail Track Point Left (2890)
  • 3 Monorail Track Point Right (2889)
  • 5 Monorail Track Ramp Lower Part (2677)
  • 5 Monorail Track Ramp Upper Part (2678)

47 Classic Space sets (plus one Futuron)

  • 6991: Monorail Transport System
  • 6980: Galaxy Commander
  • 6985: Cosmic Fleet Voyager
  • 6972: Polaris I Space Lab
  • 497: Galaxy Explorer
  • 6971: Inter-Galactic Command Base
  • 6951: Robot Command Center
  • 6940: Alien Moon Stalker
  • 6929: Star Fleet Voyager
  • 6931: FX Star Patroller
  • 6950: Mobile Rocket Transport
  • 6930: Space Supply Station
  • 6780: XT Starship
  • 6928: Uranium Search Vehicle
  • 6927: All-Terrain Vehicle
  • 6892: Modular Space Transport
  • 6926: Mobile Recovery Vehicle
  • 6891: Gamma V Laser Craft
  • 6890: Cosmic Cruiser
  • 6750: Sonic Robot
  • 6881: Lunar Rocket Launcher
  • 6882: Walking Astro Grappler
  • 1499: Twin Starfire
  • 6872: Xenon X-Craft
  • 6880: Surface Explorer
  • 462: Mobile Rocket Launcher
  • 1580: Lunar Scout
  • 1558: Mobile Command Trailer
  • 6846: Tri-Star Voyager
  • 6874: Moon Rover
  • 1498: Spy-Bot
  • 6848: Inter-Planetary Shuttle
  • 6845: Cosmic Charger
  • 6847: Space Dozer
  • 6824: Space Dart I
  • 6842: Small Space Shuttle Craft
  • 6844: Sismobile
  • 6825: Cosmic Comet
  • 6820: Starfire I
  • 6822: Space Digger
  • 6826: Crater Crawler
  • 6802: Space Probe
  • 6805: Astro Dasher
  • 6807: (Unnamed)
  • 6823: Surface Transport
  • 1557: Scooter
  • 6803: Space Patrol
6806: Surface Hopper
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Comments

  • catwranglercatwrangler Member Posts: 1,894
    Wow. That is outstanding and I am very jealous! 
    AllBrickstluxkiki180703
  • monkyby87monkyby87 Member Posts: 316
    You, my friend, are a God among classic space fans.
  • BumblepantsBumblepants Member Posts: 7,624
    Beautiful work!
  • chuckpchuckp Member Posts: 684
    Impressive layout! Love the use of the 2x5 trans-yellow windscreens on the 2nd monorail car. The monorail fits right in with everything from the 80's. Nice work!
  • JudgeChuckJudgeChuck Member Posts: 1,581
    Awesome display and collection! :-)

    However, those green things impinge on the purity of the trans-yellow aesthetic... ;-)

    I agree with @chuckp, the trans-yellow / blue / white monorail cars are excellent and really fit in well.
  • Switchfoot55Switchfoot55 Member Posts: 3,351
    Really spectacular!
  • oldtodd33oldtodd33 Member Posts: 2,694
    Very impressive!
    Pitfall69
  • MattDawsonMattDawson Member Posts: 1,486
    As a monorail fan, I deeply envy you.
  • MaffyDMaffyD Member Posts: 3,527
    I can't figure out which one is the futuron set...
  • Legopassion8Legopassion8 Member Posts: 1,181
    edited March 2017
    Meh . A monorail would never sell nowadays....

    :P (wanna bet?)
  • nychromastonenychromastone Member Posts: 163
    *speechless*
  • madforLEGOmadforLEGO Member Posts: 10,787
    Legopassion8 said:
    Meh . A monorail would never sell nowadays....

    :P (wanna bet?)
    It has all be said before. Yknow, if I had a dollar for every comment lamenting how awesome the monorail would sell now, I could probably afford an old monorail set.

    Would it sell? Sure. Would it sell enough to justify LEGO having to design all new molds and a motor for a new monorail design? NO, not even close IMO (and I'm guessing LEGO's as well or we would see a Monorail set sitting next to train sets now).

    The price for Monorail sets back then was around 200 dollars compared to LEGO trains which I think were maybe 149.99 USD at most. A new monorail would likely cost 400 USD, and LEGO is not going into such an endeavor to sell what would likely be a 'handful' compared to what a typical set sells in a year.

    stluxMattDawsonAanchir
  • TikiLukiTikiLuki Member Posts: 64
    Fantastic layout...well done!
  • HokieJoe99HokieJoe99 Member Posts: 351
    Slap a video camera on that bad boy and give us a ride on YouTube. Great layout. 
  • LusiferSamLusiferSam Member Posts: 574
    I can't say that I'm much of fan of Space let alone the monorail, but this is a very cool layout.  It reminds me of a layout a family friend did with 12 V trains and Town sets.
  • ARo2891ARo2891 Member Posts: 114
    Go away.
  • AllBrickAllBrick Member Posts: 1,497
    Can I play?

    I say play, what I mean is, walk around staring at it for hours.
    sid3windrstluxcatwrangler
  • iso3200iso3200 Member Posts: 2,065
    Extremely arousing.
    AllBrickcatwranglermatticus_bricksjimmyp1982
  • catwranglercatwrangler Member Posts: 1,894
    edited March 2017
    If I keep staring at this I'm going to start buying vintage trans yellow parts on Bricklink, and that way lies madness. 

    *sits on hands*
    MattDawson
  • madforLEGOmadforLEGO Member Posts: 10,787
    It is a nice layout!
    I have a spare monorail chassis, motor and track, and other spare parts begging for a Blacktron version of #6990
  • Legopassion8Legopassion8 Member Posts: 1,181
    madforLEGO said:
    Legopassion8 said:
    Meh . A monorail would never sell nowadays....

    :P (wanna bet?)
    It has all be said before. Yknow, if I had a dollar for every comment lamenting how awesome the monorail would sell now, I could probably afford an old monorail set.

    Would it sell? Sure. Would it sell enough to justify LEGO having to design all new molds and a motor for a new monorail design? NO, not even close IMO (and I'm guessing LEGO's as well or we would see a Monorail set sitting next to train sets now).

    The price for Monorail sets back then was around 200 dollars compared to LEGO trains which I think were maybe 149.99 USD at most. A new monorail would likely cost 400 USD, and LEGO is not going into such an endeavor to sell what would likely be a 'handful' compared to what a typical set sells in a year.

    You are Mad.

    Put Disney and Epcot on the box. Cha ching. 
    TikiLukipharmjodMattDawson
  • Legopassion8Legopassion8 Member Posts: 1,181
    ^You should really think before you type. I mean your rebuttal is just a guess. You could go collect data and do a little research to come up with a logical statement to back your opinion and counter his. This isn't the ESPN comments, dude. The people here have brains!
  • TikiLukiTikiLuki Member Posts: 64
    Legopassion8 said:
    madforLEGO said:
    Legopassion8 said:
    Meh . A monorail would never sell nowadays....

    :P (wanna bet?)
    It has all be said before. Yknow, if I had a dollar for every comment lamenting how awesome the monorail would sell now, I could probably afford an old monorail set.

    Would it sell? Sure. Would it sell enough to justify LEGO having to design all new molds and a motor for a new monorail design? NO, not even close IMO (and I'm guessing LEGO's as well or we would see a Monorail set sitting next to train sets now).

    The price for Monorail sets back then was around 200 dollars compared to LEGO trains which I think were maybe 149.99 USD at most. A new monorail would likely cost 400 USD, and LEGO is not going into such an endeavor to sell what would likely be a 'handful' compared to what a typical set sells in a year.

    You are Mad.

    Put Disney and Epcot on the box. Cha ching. 
    I totally agree. I think it would do well. Disney fans are even more obsessive than LEGO fans.
    pharmjod
  • madforLEGOmadforLEGO Member Posts: 10,787
    edited March 2017
    Legopassion8 said:
    ^You should really think before you type. I mean your rebuttal is just a guess. You could go collect data and do a little research to come up with a logical statement to back your opinion and counter his. This isn't the ESPN comments, dude. The people here have brains!
    So... I have to come up with data and research to explain my opinion of why LEGO likely would not make it (which I think I did by the way), but your attitude of 'just make it cause it will sell' doesn't require any data or research to base why LEGO should/would invest a ton of money into a set a handful of people (relative to the overall LEGO consumer for other themes) wants?

    I think I made a pretty well thought out response to your 'intelligent' comment of (paraphrasing here) 'meh, it will not sell... wanna bet?'

    Your ignorant comments aside, I used logic to back up my opinion. The fact that LEGO has not produced a Monorail since 1991 I think is also pretty conclusive in my 'guess'. As for the rest of my logic for why it is unlikely that it would sell in huge numbers (therefore LEGO not making it), that is in my original response if you cared to read it all.

    Finally I said 'guess' and 'opinion' because that is all it is. Unless one works for LEGO and knows what they are thinking.
    Bumblepantsgmonkey76stluxsid3windrcatwranglerTheMaker37LusiferSamdougts
  • stluxstlux Member Posts: 2,450
    edited March 2017
    There's this lovely Why no more monorail? thread from 2012 where a TLG designer explains why the monorail is not coming back. Basically
    • Very expensive molds that need to be replaced (in that thread USD 2,000,000 was deemed not enough for the required molds)
    • The classic monorail sets, even at their high price point, were sold at a loss
    • In focus groups/testing kids don't express any interest in monorail and actually find it boring

    As with other themes/sets AFOL's would love to see make a comeback, forums like this one act like an echo chamber. However TLG needs a bit more than a couple of (ten?) thousand AFOL's to make this worthwhile.

    And I'm saying this as somebody who had/still has most of the 80's Lego sets, except monorail. Would love to have one though. My parents were very generous with buying Lego for us, but somehow we never got any of the monorail sets. Pretty sure we did ask for it...

    At this point your best bets are
    sid3windrcatwranglerPeteMAanchirmadforLEGOLusiferSamGalactus
  • ocv73ocv73 Member Posts: 2
    Great collection. The MOC monorail train looks really good. I can watch your YouTube video over and over.
  • ocv73ocv73 Member Posts: 2
    MaffyD said:
    I can't figure out which one is the futuron set...

    The Monorail Transport System (6991) is the Futuron set.
    MaffyD
  • OldfanOldfan Member Posts: 706
    ^well, #6990 is the Futuron monorail (while #6991 is the very cool-looking Unitron monorail set, not pictured here...)

    To the OP: This is a great display.  I had something similar set up on my bedroom floor years ago, don't know if I have the space to do it again right now...and your MOC is much better than anything I've created.

    Your setup reminds me of a show display from several years ago that I stumbled across at one time or another.  Here's the link; might be fun to try to coordinate this for Chicago's Brickworld someday...

    http://www.horseshoebendranch.net/mattslego/events/bf07flyin/index.htm


  • Legopassion8Legopassion8 Member Posts: 1,181
    edited March 2017
    madforLEGO said: ki
    Legopassion8 said:
    ^You should really think before you type. I mean your rebuttal is just a guess. You could go collect data and do a little research to come up with a logical statement to back your opinion and counter his. This isn't the ESPN comments, dude. The people here have brains!
    So... I have to come up with data and research to explain my opinion of why LEGO likely would not make it (which I think I did by the way), but your attitude of 'just make it cause it will sell' doesn't require any data or research to base why LEGO should/would invest a ton of money into a set a handful of people (relative to the overall LEGO consumer for other themes) wants?

    I think I made a pretty well thought out response to your 'intelligent' comment of (paraphrasing here) 'meh, it will not sell... wanna bet?'

    Your ignorant comments aside, I used logic to back up my opinion. The fact that LEGO has not produced a Monorail since 1991 I think is also pretty conclusive in my 'guess'. As for the rest of my logic for why it is unlikely that it would sell in huge numbers (therefore LEGO not making it), that is in my original response if you cared to read it all.

    Finally I said 'guess' and 'opinion' because that is all it is. Unless one works for LEGO and knows what they are thinking.
    Legopassion was replying to himself. Haven't you figured out that he's kinda...mad? Anyways you sure told me, bro. I'm broken :( :( :(
    1265
  • Legopassion8Legopassion8 Member Posts: 1,181
    Mad? F--king crazy is more accurate. 
  • The_Mad_VulcanThe_Mad_Vulcan Member Posts: 162
    I love it. Especially your MOCs which manage to use new parts while still keeping the feel of the classic era. Organizing the board into eras of classic space was also quite smart.
  • drdesignzdrdesignz Member Posts: 110
    You're all very kind, thank you.

    If there's any chance anyone here is attending Brickfair Virginia this year, I have setup a monorail collab.  I'm taking the custom blue train and all of my track.  It's enough for its own display.  But I'm inviting people to bring their track for a larger layout, which is currently planned to have it's own area, possibly an island.  Would love to have more neo classic space, if possible.  I'm going to try building a few things myself, including a monorail base.

    Moon base is also making a comeback, by the way.  Looking forward to it.
    MaffyDSwitchfoot55catwranglerJudgeChuckAllBrickEddieDoesntMind
  • Switchfoot55Switchfoot55 Member Posts: 3,351
    ^Looking forward to seeing photos/video of that display!
  • JudgeChuckJudgeChuck Member Posts: 1,581
    ^What he said. Good luck with the display!

    :-)
  • piratemania7piratemania7 Member Posts: 2,146
    Very impressive layout!  

    Question though for you @drdesignz , what do you use for the table(s)?  Looking to create a large pirate layout and looking for the perfect canvas to start.
  • drdesignzdrdesignz Member Posts: 110
    piratemania7 said:
    Very impressive layout!  

    Question though for you @drdesignz , what do you use for the table(s)?  Looking to create a large pirate layout and looking for the perfect canvas to start.
    Thanks. I used two doors.  I wanted something that would fit Lego baseplates well and be perfectly flat.  Doors will provide that.  32-stud baseplates are almost exactly 10" square.  In the US, standard doors are 80" in height and come in various widths (in 2" increments that I've seen).  So I bought the 30" wide ones.  At 30 by 80 inches, that gives me exactly enough space for 24 (3x8) baseplates (they overhang the edges by such a small amount it's hardly noticable).  Put a couple together and now you have 48 (6x8 like me, or long if you want, 3x16).  Then it's just a matter of setting them on something.  I bought trestles from Ikea specifically made for this purpose.  They're nice enough, but don't fold, so they're not the easiest to transport.  I'm looking for a different method of support for future public displays.  I think I paid about $30 for a door and $35 for a pair of tressels, so $65 per table, or $130 total for this setup.  I have a third in my hobby room as well.  If there's another way to create a table of this quality, for this size and purpose, with such little effort, for less money, I'm not aware of it.  But I'd certainly be interested.
    TikiLukiBumblepantsdatsunrobbie
  • drdesignzdrdesignz Member Posts: 110
    Very cool.  Modern LEDs are great.  I'm actually working on a project now with a couple hundred lights.


    piratemania7kiki180703mathewSprinkleOtter
  • piratemania7piratemania7 Member Posts: 2,146
    drdesignz said:
    Very cool.  Modern LEDs are great.  I'm actually working on a project now with a couple hundred lights.


    Please share when you are done!
  • GalactusGalactus Member Posts: 260
    @drdesignz Awesome display! And thank you for the table tips!

    @mathew Is that a LEGO made rock on that picture? It looks very realistic in this light.
  • redarmyredarmy Member Posts: 741
    That display annoys me immensely...only because you have it and i don't...i tip my cap to you sir...
    SprinkleOtter
  • mathewmathew Member Posts: 2,099
    edited April 2017



    Galactus said:



    @drdesignz Awesome display! And thank you for the table tips!

    @mathew Is that a LEGO made rock on that picture? It looks very realistic in this light.






    No, it's actually this:  https://www.amazon.com/TimMee-BATTLE-MOUNTAIN-Scenery-Display/dp/B0093ULTWG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491584659&sr=8-1&keywords=plastic+mountain

    To build something similar in Lego would require around 2,000 pieces and cost way too much.  Aestically I don't have a problem with blending non-Lego stuff as long as it fits.
    Galactus
  • BobflipBobflip Member Posts: 723

    mathew said:





    Galactus said:




    @drdesignz Awesome display! And thank you for the table tips!

    @mathew Is that a LEGO made rock on that picture? It looks very realistic in this light.








    No, it's actually this:  https://www.amazon.com/TimMee-BATTLE-MOUNTAIN-Scenery-Display/dp/B0093ULTWG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491584659&sr=8-1&keywords=plastic+mountain

    To build something similar in Lego would require around 2,000 pieces and cost way too much.  Aestically I don't have a problem with blending non-Lego stuff as long as it fits.


    I was gonna say... that isn't U enough to be a BURP. Very aesthetic!
  • SumoLegoSumoLego Member Posts: 15,229
    I'd put that under a nice plexiglass box.  (Just to fend off the dust.)

    Incredibly impressive!
  • drdesignzdrdesignz Member Posts: 110
    Thanks.  But it's being taken apart in the next few weeks.  Time for another project.


    SumoLego
  • SumoLegoSumoLego Member Posts: 15,229
    Thomas the Tank Engine-themed Duplo?
  • dragon114dragon114 Member Posts: 642

    SumoLego said:

    Thomas the Tank Engine-themed Duplo?


    nope but that would be funny
    SumoLegodrdesignzcatwrangler
  • drdesignzdrdesignz Member Posts: 110
    Looks like someone already did that:  https://youtu.be/WwbaCSqLKYE?t=2m39s
    catwranglergmonkey76
  • FrequencyFrequency Member Posts: 74
    Awesome!
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