Attention all passengers! The LEGO Crocodile Locomotive 10277 is leaving the station for one more ride, all aboard!
Of course it will be making a stop at Light My Bricks HQ to have it's very own light kit installed!
LEGO have always done train sets really well, so we were thrilled when they announced the release of the Crocodile Locomotive. A set geared toward the more mature train hobbyist, who has an eye for detail and historical accuracy.
The original Crocodile Locomotive on which the LEGO set is based on.
Another 18+ blackbox release/set, this is more model train than toy set aimed at the vintage train enthusiast who has an eye for detail, as opposed to someone younger for whom playability ranks high on the list!
For this reason we had to take our time with both the build and then the lighting design, which we'll get into shortly. Almost as soon as the set arrived we had passionate locomotive customers reaching out to ask if and when we'd have a light kit available for the croc!
The advice from LEGO was to take things slowly with this build and let the process slowly, just like stepping back into the glory days of Swiss rail! And we're glad we did take our time with this one, it ended up being one of the more enjoyable builds we've experienced recently.
On to the lighting. Like we mentioned earlier, this was a unique lighting design to create. Minimal features to light and an importance on historical accuracy were top of mind, so we knew we had to slow down and really think this one through. There was no way we were going to disappoint those railway fans!
It became apparent quite quickly that we weren’t going to need too many components to accurately light this one. It wasn't going to be about maximising component count. We drew some inspiration from wartime/aeronautical museums and how vintage planes, trains and automobiles are lit for effect in these great spaces.
In total only 12 bit lights were needed to achieve the look we were hoping for, it was a great challenge for the team to mix things up and approach the Crocodile Locomotive in a more subtle and muted way, as opposed to say Ecto-1!
We were (very) briefly tempted to add in wireless connectors for the main cabin's roof. Maybe we were still buzzing from the Police Station! But in the end this proved too complicated and unnecessary for the kit. The Crocodile Locomotive is strictly a display piece and not designed for playability, which is what the wireless connectors help to facilitate.
Finally, a spot light was added to highlight the information plate. With that the design was complete! Perfect to display in any office, bookcase or memorial cabinet.