Ow, mate, I feel your pain!! When MILS plates first became all the rage, and then REALLY took off with the new road plates in 2021, I looked into them too, and realised just HOW MANY pieces you need to ballast train tracks, it’s such a huge commitment. With MILS roads, I’ve come to the conclusion the pavements are just a bit of a waste of space, all my Modular’s have pavements, and adding another 8 studs to them seems a waste. So I use 16x32 MILS road plates instead of 32x32… it saves SO much space!
@@mrorigen Thanks! I don't make train videos as often as I would like to, as they take so long to plan and build, but I really need to do more... I've got a modified Hogwarts Express coach ready to film, and I've also got an Intercity 125, and a BR Class 47 and coach in the pipeline, which are currently being planned! Thanks for letting me know!
I lay my train tracks on a black kitchen sponge base. That avoids the tracks moving around and absorbs some of the noise as well. My first Lego city had some things I didn't like, and I took notes on how to make my second city alot better. That's what's great about Lego, if you're not happy with a build, you just take it apart and start over. It's part of the fun and a learning experience.
Glad I watched this video, not just for the "I've saved money watching this" factor, but I actually did need some help on how to secure my curved track, and it's given me some ideas for how to do my own custom non-traditional roads and pathways, so many thanks for that. My regret is how I spent quite a bit on road baseplates, I thought they would look cool and the colour scheme I did like as it matched what I intend to build, but this is something.
Agreed, making the train tracks look nice is always expensive and frustrating 😄 But your tiled roads look great next to the modulars! Can't wait to see that Avengers Tower built with the Daily Bugle.
Hey Kev doesn't that seem like a very wide pavement area? If all of the modular sets already have the same built in pavement couldn't you just use that? You could slide the road tiles right up to the built in curb and have a hole bunch of space on the other side of the mils plates for green space and other scenery. Not trying to backseat build, just an idea!
I feel your pain. I seem to make the same mistake on every Lego project - it will ALWAYS end up at least twice as expensive as you think doing MOC projects…but so worth it 👍😀😬
Just discovered your channel through this video and I was wondering what the table setup was like. It looks like linnmonn and adils with additional sheets of wood on the bottom and another layer of table top on top, but what are those short legs called that the upper layer uses? And what is that upper table top called?
The upper level is a custom cut piece of finished mdf, and the legs are just kitchen cabinet spacers! The video before this one on the Lego city playlist goes into more detail
Although you had a rude awakening I’m glad you shared what you went through. I think this is also why I hesitate doing MILS under track. Great info as usual!
I’m all about sharing the ups and downs! It would have been easy to pretend it didn’t happen so I looked clever, but I think it’s more useful to share it to hopefully stop other people making the same mistake!
Have you thought of putting the road and rail together on 1 mills plate. Pavements are already on the modular building, so you could get away with building road, rail and 1 pavement. Although the rail is currently on the lower table, it's another idea.
I assume you're planning on just ballasting the visible sections of the track rather than doing each piece under the raised section? With regard to the pavements, are you including any ‘jumper’ plates (think they're part number 87580 in the dark bluish grey) to allow for a way to secure and position the minifigures or will they just be loose? All great experience though and the parts you don't use will certainly come in use. Keep up the great content!
Yeah, I won’t be ballasting the hidden bits, at least not initially. I do have some plans for the bit that’ll be under the platform eventually, but nothing I need to worry about now. And yeah, there’ll be jumper plates.
@@blockpartyukthat and minimum order values seem to be the biggest 'issues' when it comes to Bricklink. But heck, that's a small price to pay compared to LEGO directly at times. Pun very much intended! 😂😉
Cost a lot now, but separate and sort, and think of future savings. Cities are dynamic and ever changing. Time to unleash your fevered imagination. Should have some building sites with workers sitting about drinking tea.
tracks sit on plate directly onto baseplate that should bring your tracks level with road allowing you to make crossings only thing on mils is your buidings or landscape looks good
If there is one thing I know to be true - committing to building a LEGO city is not cheap and is a long steep learning curve … you’ll make mistakes, everyone does, it’s part of the fun 👍😉
How about just doing it on the visible part of the track? It's less than half your track length, and for the hidden parts, you only need to get the height right, right?🤷♂️
Forget spending on ballast just do your own thing its lego for goodness sake, Ive got a shunting layout made with lego unballasted it aint a problem, Theres a guy on youtube with 00 Vintage Hornby no scenic it looks and runs great, Just enjoy yourselves ❤
I think the road looks far too wide. Also it seems your wooden superstructure isn't wide enough. Rebuild it so that the total width matches the wooden structure. Either get other plates or cut them.
Art imitating real life! Transport construction always goes crazily over budget. Bad luck Kev :( We can see your disappointment. You'll sort it at some point, no doubt!
beteen your mils plate and road you should ils a block this line in grey and the white for lines and snot it to your road only 3 plates thick grey white grey and gaps in white or solid you tube it its there i seen it lately
I can't stream building everything, it makes the builds take so much longer! Hopefully there's an X-Mansion coming out later this year, so that will definitely be a stream when it happens.
Order what you need off brick link, use what you can of what you already have, list the rest on brick link yourself to recover some costs - or sit on what you have until you’re ready to finish them. ……. And to be fair, that seems like an easy mistake to make
You'd be better off buying loads of joblots of lego from Facebook/vinted before you start this kinda project. Build a huge inventory of pieces for as little as you can.
Hey you mention Bricksie, when it comes to pavements colour he changed the modular buildings to light gray rather than changing the colour on the road MILS plates.
That’s not a mistake , It’s inventory for the future !!
That's the spirit!
That's exactly what I thought! 😁
Ow, mate, I feel your pain!!
When MILS plates first became all the rage, and then REALLY took off with the new road plates in 2021, I looked into them too, and realised just HOW MANY pieces you need to ballast train tracks, it’s such a huge commitment.
With MILS roads, I’ve come to the conclusion the pavements are just a bit of a waste of space, all my Modular’s have pavements, and adding another 8 studs to them seems a waste. So I use 16x32 MILS road plates instead of 32x32… it saves SO much space!
I love your train videos especially your tankers. Your Duracell tanker is complete eye candy
@@mrorigen Thanks! I don't make train videos as often as I would like to, as they take so long to plan and build, but I really need to do more...
I've got a modified Hogwarts Express coach ready to film, and I've also got an Intercity 125, and a BR Class 47 and coach in the pipeline, which are currently being planned!
Thanks for letting me know!
I was thinking the same thing about the 16x32 . D'you have some studio plans I can cheat off-of?
@@bishopolis I'm afraid not, but it's basically just two of the 16x16 road plates, sitting on top of a 16x32 baseplate.
I lay my train tracks on a black kitchen sponge base. That avoids the tracks moving around and absorbs some of the noise as well. My first Lego city had some things I didn't like, and I took notes on how to make my second city alot better. That's what's great about Lego, if you're not happy with a build, you just take it apart and start over. It's part of the fun and a learning experience.
Glad I watched this video, not just for the "I've saved money watching this" factor, but I actually did need some help on how to secure my curved track, and it's given me some ideas for how to do my own custom non-traditional roads and pathways, so many thanks for that. My regret is how I spent quite a bit on road baseplates, I thought they would look cool and the colour scheme I did like as it matched what I intend to build, but this is something.
Ouch, that sucks. I've definitely ordered things without understanding all the instructions before. At least the parts will be usable elsewhere.
Agreed, making the train tracks look nice is always expensive and frustrating 😄
But your tiled roads look great next to the modulars! Can't wait to see that Avengers Tower built with the Daily Bugle.
Hey Kev doesn't that seem like a very wide pavement area? If all of the modular sets already have the same built in pavement couldn't you just use that? You could slide the road tiles right up to the built in curb and have a hole bunch of space on the other side of the mils plates for green space and other scenery. Not trying to backseat build, just an idea!
The road will probably be off centre a bit, but I want to have some space in front of the buildings for minifigs too.
It will look wide.
I feel your pain. I seem to make the same mistake on every Lego project - it will ALWAYS end up at least twice as expensive as you think doing MOC projects…but so worth it 👍😀😬
Very true!
Me looking at my plain train tracks - "Oh I will see what Kev does, that will be a great help"
😂😂😂
“6 hours of fiddling” - thank you for sharing your experience. I’m gonna fiddle after work with my FunWhole western Saloon 🤠 🇺🇸
Have a look at Robin Hood Bricks - he’s got some great quick-win train track ideas. The best I’ve seen.
Never been big on Lego but that Marvel end of the room looks awesome 👍😃
13:25 I'd leave the light bluish grey tiles on the sidewalks and add a bike route also using the bike route 2x4 tiles.
Just discovered your channel through this video and I was wondering what the table setup was like. It looks like linnmonn and adils with additional sheets of wood on the bottom and another layer of table top on top, but what are those short legs called that the upper layer uses? And what is that upper table top called?
The upper level is a custom cut piece of finished mdf, and the legs are just kitchen cabinet spacers! The video before this one on the Lego city playlist goes into more detail
Tis but a blip - expensive blip, but nonetheless you have improvised, adapted and overcome. Looking forward to seeing you expand this project. :)
Although you had a rude awakening I’m glad you shared what you went through. I think this is also why I hesitate doing MILS under track. Great info as usual!
I’m all about sharing the ups and downs! It would have been easy to pretend it didn’t happen so I looked clever, but I think it’s more useful to share it to hopefully stop other people making the same mistake!
@@blockpartyuk that’s why you’re a great TH-camr!
You could reduce the sidewalk on 1 side for either a bike lane or parking spots.
Yeah i came up with a FAR cheaper way to make those MILS plates for the Tracks. Its way to expensive for what it actually does lol
Have you thought of putting the road and rail together on 1 mills plate. Pavements are already on the modular building, so you could get away with building road, rail and 1 pavement. Although the rail is currently on the lower table, it's another idea.
I might be doing that on the bottom level, but there won’t be any rail on the top at the moment
Where did you buy all the clear containers for sorting? Thanks.
They’re from Amazon
I assume you're planning on just ballasting the visible sections of the track rather than doing each piece under the raised section? With regard to the pavements, are you including any ‘jumper’ plates (think they're part number 87580 in the dark bluish grey) to allow for a way to secure and position the minifigures or will they just be loose? All great experience though and the parts you don't use will certainly come in use. Keep up the great content!
Yeah, I won’t be ballasting the hidden bits, at least not initially. I do have some plans for the bit that’ll be under the platform eventually, but nothing I need to worry about now. And yeah, there’ll be jumper plates.
Dont feel bad Kev, the city is gonna be amazing anyway!
Why not using 2nd hand parts from Bricklink? Most parts are out of sight. It’s much cheaper 😊
I will do next time, but I always get put off by the postage costs on there, it seems impossible to find all the parts I need in one place,
@@blockpartyukthat and minimum order values seem to be the biggest 'issues' when it comes to Bricklink. But heck, that's a small price to pay compared to LEGO directly at times. Pun very much intended! 😂😉
You need to create lists of what you need and then it will show you the sellers with the most amount of parts you need.
Cost a lot now, but separate and sort, and think of future savings. Cities are dynamic and ever changing. Time to unleash your fevered imagination. Should have some building sites with workers sitting about drinking tea.
Can we take a moment for that one Goat that's keeping that plate down on its own. Its The G.O.A.T of all goats.
tracks sit on plate directly onto baseplate that should bring your tracks level with road allowing you to make crossings only thing on mils is your buidings or landscape looks good
I’ll figure out a combination that works somehow!!
That's why I designed my own road mils plate. Not to spend 500 bucks on unneeded parts.
They’re all useful parts, they’ll all get used.
@@blockpartyuk 👍👍
If there is one thing I know to be true - committing to building a LEGO city is not cheap and is a long steep learning curve … you’ll make mistakes, everyone does, it’s part of the fun 👍😉
Yeah, I'm learning that very quickly!
Definitely blame Past Kev for this!!!
I've lost count of the amount of times that man has stitched me up!
love your content
How about just doing it on the visible part of the track?
It's less than half your track length, and for the hidden parts, you only need to get the height right, right?🤷♂️
Do U not just need to do the track that you will see properly as 1/3 of it will be hidden behind a wall?
I'll need to at least do all the corners, because otherwise they wobble around and don't lay flat.
What are those clear containers you’re using for sorting?
I got them on Amazon, they're great: amzn.to/3Q5xCfM
@@blockpartyuk thank you so much!
Love watching your videos, are you in a creative job aswell
Content creation is my job, the bulk of my income is from my Football Manager videos.
what kind of train tracks use yellow, red and green? never seen those in the real world...
Forget spending on ballast just do your own thing its lego for goodness sake, Ive got a shunting layout made with lego unballasted it aint a problem, Theres a guy on youtube with 00 Vintage Hornby no scenic it looks and runs great, Just enjoy yourselves ❤
But I want it to look snazzy!
Following your journey has made me really rethink making a Lego city!
You should!
I think the road looks far too wide. Also it seems your wooden superstructure isn't wide enough.
Rebuild it so that the total width matches the wooden structure. Either get other plates or cut them.
With the mils plates it’s fine for them to overlap the wood a little bit
Yikes! I'm sure you could use the parts for something else!
Yeah, they’ve mostly found uses now
Art imitating real life! Transport construction always goes crazily over budget. Bad luck Kev :(
We can see your disappointment. You'll sort it at some point, no doubt!
beteen your mils plate and road you should ils a block this line in grey and the white for lines and snot it to your road only 3 plates thick grey white grey and gaps in white or solid you tube it its there i seen it lately
between*
Yeah, that’ll be the plan eventually. I don’t have those parts currently though
Ballast the bits on show and just raise the parts under the raised area….
That's the plan for now. Although eventually I have something planned for under the raised area, so it'll all need doing eventually...
I’d loved to see you build the marvel Lego but it looks awesome
I can't stream building everything, it makes the builds take so much longer! Hopefully there's an X-Mansion coming out later this year, so that will definitely be a stream when it happens.
Hey Kev, Have you watched Robin Hood Bricks before? He is a great UK Legotuber. Amazing content! Would recommend
I’ll check them out
Order what you need off brick link, use what you can of what you already have, list the rest on brick link yourself to recover some costs - or sit on what you have until you’re ready to finish them. ……. And to be fair, that seems like an easy mistake to make
Yeah, I think I'll keep it all, it's all generally useful stuff that I'm sure will get used!
/.😊camp fella in simpsons “oh no!”
But is there a carrot in your box?
😂
Just do it on the ones that will be on show
Yeah, I think that's probably what I'll do when I eventually get back round to it. It can all stay as it is for now though!
You'd be better off buying loads of joblots of lego from Facebook/vinted before you start this kinda project. Build a huge inventory of pieces for as little as you can.
I've got a big job lot that I just need to sort through.
Hey you mention Bricksie, when it comes to pavements colour he changed the modular buildings to light gray rather than changing the colour on the road MILS plates.
I’ll try both, but I think having the pavements dark with a light curb will look closer to real life.
Holy smoke 💨🥹
Watch Bob Brickman, he has very good ideas you can use.
Not come across him yet. I'll have a look, cheers.
expensive!
would you even consider a helper as i have loads of lego experience
Not at this stage, but who knows what the future holds!
Never been big on Lego but that Marvel end of the room looks awesome 👍😃
It'll hopefully look even better when its done!
Looking forward to seeing it develop