Anyway, at the time, when I heard of LGB trains, they could only be objects of desire. We couldn't afford them, any more than we could afford a Rolls-Royce. Fortunatly, this didn't really bother me. After all, I wasn't interested in funny looking foreign narrow-gauge locos.
However, that would have changed if the LGB Lego wagon had been available!
I first remember seeing something like this at a G scale show. The society had a stand with some flat wagons topped with genuine Lego building plates, and kits were being encouraged to construct their own wagons.
I'm pretty sure we published an article about making the basic wagon in Garden Rail a few years ago, it's a simple project.
Anyway, time moves on, and LGB get in on the act themselves with the Building Block starter train set. Complete with a loco, two Lego compatible wagons, track and a controller, young Phil would have gone nuts for this!
The wagons are also available seperately, described as "building block cars", and that's what I have here. To be honest, I didn't know about the seperate items, and assumed this one had been split from a set and was therefore a bit rare. It pays to do your research, as I paid the full price, but don't get a box...
Not to worry, I'm still happy with the model. Yes, it's "knock-off Lego" rather than the real thing, but since the Danes lost the court rulling that opened the floodgates of "compatible" items, this is how it's going to be. I did get a bag of bricks with the wagon, so at least I can try it out.
Long term, I want to try this on some youngsters. The idea of using their favourite toys as part of a model railway seems clever, and a good way to stop they seeing model trains as "weird". It's a fun hobby, and if this can make show that, then it's a good thing.
Yes, these wagons are great: I bought that starter set during the first lockdown. It's also worth noting that Duplo will "mostly" connect to the wagons as well and have the added advantage of letting you pull in even younger enthusiasts and the figures are a much closer match scale wise to the locos as well -- my eldest always adds a duplo figure as a driver to the loco when we get our set out.
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