Lego outdoors?

[Annie]

I know there are huge outdoor Lego parks around the world where everything stays out in all weathers, but I would also imagine those parks have the budget to be able to replace things should they become too weathered and shabby. For model buildings outdoors Lego (and the various clone brick systems) would seem to me to be a really useful way to get a station area or a loco yard properly dressed and looking like a railway.
For the past two years I've had a Fisher Price plastic castle and wizards tower in the corner of the garden and they seem to be just fine. True enough they aren't in glaring sunlight and where they've been put is a more shady corner which is going to be kinder to the plastic, but all the same they've managed to survive.

I've got some parts for a Megabloks castle that would make terrific bridge supports and I suppose the basic bricks themselves would make great retaining walls and tunnel mouths.
So has anyone seen Lego used on a garden railway? - and by that I mean an ordinary back garden railway as opposed to the huge Lego park railways. I know Lego might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I'd like to give it a go since I've got such a huge amount of it.

A Lego station by Chris Edwards (wish it was mine).

[jim@NAL]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-pVJqHqy ... sults_main



heres a few idears for you

[Annie]

Thanks for the link Jim, that was a fun video and it put a smile on my face this morning

[jim@NAL]

no pros i recon lego should be fine outdoors you sould give it a go

[Woodfields Light Railway]

Erm..... I've heard putting Lego outdoors isnt the best of all ideas as it is not UV protected. I think you can buy Uv protection spray or something, but other wise the pastic crumbles...

[Big Jim]

Most plastics are affected in some way by UV light. I think the thickness of the lego blocks and the type of plastic used would mean that they would stay intact for a good long time although they may fade slightly Probably longer than it would take to get bored with building and use the blocks for something else!

[Peter L]

LEGO are generally pretty crazy about the quality of the bricks themselves. The bricks are pretty tough - this guy [http://phillipecantin.blogspot.co.uk/] has been building a series of ever improving test rigs to measure how long they last in use: http://phillipecantin.blogspot.co.uk/

[Enginehouse]

Some of the model boat enthusiasts have built very impressive and large fully RC and powered boats (including working tugs) with no problems whatsoever, and it seems one of the great advantages of this form of building is the fact that the large 3ft and over boats can be kept outside. No one seems to have had a problem with either sunlight or serious colour fading. For some time we were at the time, as live steam launch modellers, seriously tempted to build a working model steam tug from Lego. We couldn't find any real reason not to do so other than cost and weight. Lego is not lightweight to haul about in and out of cars etc. It would probably make a very nice loco shed etc.

[Enginehouse]

Some of the model boat enthusiasts have built very impressive and large fully RC and powered boats (including working tugs) with no problems whatsoever, and it seems one of the great advantages of this form of building is the fact that the large 3ft and over boats can be kept outside. No one seems to have had a problem with either sunlight or serious colour fading. For some time we were at the time, as live steam launch modellers, seriously tempted to build a working model steam tug from Lego. We couldn't find any real reason not to do so other than cost and weight. Lego is not lightweight to haul about in and out of cars etc. It would probably make a very nice loco shed etc.

[rebelego]

LEGO bricks don't like sunlight. The colors will bleach and get yellowish. Though, it will probably take some time before it crumbles. The Legoland parks use some UV protection spray. Still they rebuild and replace the models quite often. I don't remember the frequency, but I think it is like every 3rd year or so.