This is the big one! Buying FAKE Lego track to complete my secret hidden Lego City train layout around my Garden Office. Is it any good? Is it worth it? PLUS, the very first run of my Lego City Cargo train around the finished Lego City railroad track loop. I can finally build the Lego City railway from here!
How FAKE Lego track for my SECRET train layout helps in my Garden Office...
TRANSCRIPT: (CLICK PLAY ON THE VIDEO ABOVE)
THIS IS THE TRANSCRIPT - CLICK PLAY ON THE VIDEO ABOVE!
"Hello, welcome back to the Happy Hut. This is my garden office, if you've not been to the channel before. And, uh, this is a Lego City train track video because I'm in the middle of building a top secret Lego City train Railroad Railway layout. Uh, it's not so secret, 'cause you can see it on the front door, but the rest of it will be kind of hidden under the benches, behind the armchair, under there. I'm thinking of having two tiers and having two decks of tracks, but that's slightly a step ahead of where I'm at. What I'm going to look at today is, is fake Lego City train track any good? You know, the bootleg, knockoff Lego train tracks. Lego City track is perhaps one of the most expensive substances on the planet, it seems. Uh, it feels like it's going to cost the same as, uh, building HS2 here in the UK for me. But very exciting development because I looked on Amazon and discovered this. Should I open it? A little sneak peek. So I've got some fake Lego City track, but is it any good? Is it going to wreck my trains? Is it even going to stay in place? I don't know, but I'm going to open it on camera with you so we can, uh, we can compare the two tracks. Obviously, I'd really like to build the whole layout in the original official Lego Track. The cost difference is, it's so massive. Let me just see if I can compare the two now. You know the deal, if we're buying on Amazon, the official Lego City Railroad Track, the train track, it, it costs $20. It's reduced to $16, but for $20 you get eight pieces of straight track. Here's four pieces, just to give you an idea of the, the length. I put some of the flexible track on here. Uh, you get eight of these flexible pieces and four curves. Now, I don't, I don't need any curves because I've got a huge bag of Curves over there up on the wall, ready to curve me around the garden office here. But I saw this, it on Etarnfly: 60 pieces for $30, or in the UK it's £25. You get 60 pieces and they're all straight apart from the flexible tracks. This is really crude, but for double the money you get three times the track. That's just in, in terms of numbers of pieces. But what was really helpful for me is that it's just straights, and I really need straight pieces of track. And here it is. So, should we unbox this and see if it can connect to the the official track? And we'll also see what kind of quality we're, we're dealing with here. So the brand of this is called Etarnfly... Etarnfly. It's actually listed in the UK in its listing, but, uh, on the US site the word Etarnfly is kind of buried in the description. If I hold it up to the camera, this is the flex piece and it, it looks, I mean, it doesn't look far off. It's kind of got like a Dusty quality to it, which is the the same with all um pretend clutch brick play toys, where they they try and describe it without using the word Lego. Just on first holding, the the quality actually seems quite good. It clicks together really nicely. I thought that would be difficult. So I really can't see that much of a difference. So I'll hold it up so you can compare side by side. Underneath it kind of, it looks similar, whereas, uh, Lego has a shiny quality to it. The bootleg Lego has a kind of a Dusty Sheen to it, like it's, I don't know, just not, not polished. The the Lego bricks seem to just of their by their own accord, they line up where they've gripped together. So the sleepers or the ties are in alignment on the not, not Lego. I don't call it bootleg, that sounds like I'm knocking it and it's not, but on the pretend Lego it's kind of a bit wonky, which is probably where either the piece is bent or, uh, the clutch isn't quite as, uh, clutchy as it could be. And also the clutch should have a a hole in it, and some of the holes aren't punched out. So let's get going on the straights, which is the whole reason that I had to buy these, because I've got a long distance that I want to travel around the heart. So Lego on the left, uh, not Lego on the right. There's a a sprew cut from from on that stud there, but in other respects that looks normal. Sorry I'm not a Lego expert, so you'll have to help me out with the terminology. I'm sure you will in the comments. Does the official Lego Track connect nicely to the not Lego Track? So I'll put the camera up here not Lego let see if they snap together"
"Yeah, I mean, they clip together so easily. I, I can't see the difference. Let me give you a really close pan. I might have to go macro on this, but now we're not Lego territory. Hold me. I know you just, you just know, though, don't you, when you got the official stuff. This is going to be good for the big layout that I'm doing, and I have no idea if this idea to get a ring of track going around the garden office is going to last for more than two videos. I've got, uh, the previous video where we did the inaugural run of the cargo train over there, scared poor Casper the dog, but I've got that linked down in the description. Just holding it, seeing it, and clipping it together for the first time though, it seems pretty on the money. It's, it I'm, I'm glad that I bought it. I don't regret it at all, and it's great to have so much track as well. I think I'm going to tackle this side of the room first, mainly because over there I've got all my spaghetti from my PC, um, workstation, my battlestation. I think that would be quite easy. I'll just put a piece of wood up and have all the cables on top of it. So I'll make like a almost like a little tunnel over there, but I can't face doing that yet. I'll try and Tackle this. This is more of a clean with me video now, because I've got Casper's bed. I'll just pull that out. I've got a bung that I put up in the the chimney. This was a barbecue heart. I'm hoping that I can make it around the heart, so at least I'll have some kind of closure to this video. I can't leave you hanging on I've just bought some fake track, you want to see it working, don't you? So here we have my life I've never show on either of my two YouTube channels. I did half think of running you could run trains into here and have some kind of Depot under there. This is a stealth Lego City Railway. And if I fill this with track, I'm I'm going to really miss that storage space, so I think I'll just have one Loop just to start with and see if I can make it around the heart. So I'll pull this out. This is a laptop stand. It's actually quite cathartic finally cleaning this part of the heart that I haven't touched in years. And the idea with the two tiers was to maybe have a second layer here, but that would really block being able to see any, uh, train tracks underneath smooth this so I need to clean this up and we can start laying track and put the fake the not official Lego track down and see how far I can go into this corner and see if I can get it round to the back of the Ikea armchair here. I have not cleaned down here in over 5 years, if ever, and, uh, it's quite difficult removing there's quite a lot of spider home here that we're clearing. We absolutely plowing through the slum District in spider town. I am a little bit worried that once I put the Lego train tracks down that will be it and it'll be difficult to clean, but it'll add a bit of character to the hidden model railroad layout. Now I've, uh, just been down the end of the garden. I've built this really shanky, uh, there's a word for this isn't there? It's like a a tunnel that they use for stopping snow getting onto the tracks. It's just to cover the the tracks from all the leads down here, so if I install this tunnel, hopefully I can keep all the printer leads and cables just above the track level. I've now overdone it a bit and completely wrecked the heart. I know I can put it all back together again. This little tunnel has given me an idea that I could actually build a few more behind the armchair and that means I can run all my cables above the track and, uh, it's all unseen anyway, so the tunnel will help. But oh my goodness, the the spiders have kind of taken over and I I like the spiders in the heart because nothing that comes into the heart survives they manage to eat it all up, so it's really bug free in here generally. But oh, they make such a mess when they spawn. I don't if you can see that, those black marks would have had had the spider babies. So I'm going to try and clean all of this up and see if I can build a little tunnel system here. I see if I can turn this into a straight tunnel that will just be full of spiders at all times. It is now really late, so we've had dinner and I've got my son here to help me, which is it's just going to transform things. So the the happy h's not looking very happy at the moment, but I've got the box tunnel behind the armchair. So what I'm going to do now is ask my son to put together the straight bits of track and I'll add them to the official curves, the official Lego City curve track, and I'll try and clear the way ahead. I've got a try and clear a path behind the desk and sort out the cables there. I've got a fairly clear run under that bench there, and hopefully it will connect with the track that I built on the last video. At the end of this time Jump, we should have a loop of track and we'll run a train. So here we go. Go for a time Jump. Uhoh, it looks like we've lost Casper. Casper does not want any part of this. He knows this"
"Trouble. Okay, okay, so my son's gone to bed now because it's very late and he's managed to lay track all the way under. Uh, We've not gone all the way around the Hut yet, but come on, you want to see this, don't you? So, uh, let's find the Rope control. I've got it paired up, so I just take it back and this is for running it through the the tunnel. Oh, my son shot this, so he he built the track and he shot this footage of the train making it through the tunnel. He had to take the Pantagraph off the the top. I've adjusted the tunnel. I think the tunnel slipped when I pushed the armchair back. So, uh, I've adjust it now, hopefully it won't hit the ceiling. Let's see if it makes it through the armchair. Go on way you"
"Go. Yeah, now there's a, oh, I've run out of track. There is a problem here that illustrates the problem with the fake Lego Track though. Let me put some light down here. Locomotive actually derailed before it hit the end and it derailed on that curve there, on the flexible tracks. So all four wheels are properly on the track. I'm going to take it back. See if you can see on the flexi track, doesn't quite like the flexi track there. It kind of Skips over and derails. It's done that every time I've run it over those flexi tracks. I've got a couple of options here. First is I could put some kind of cushioning underneath and the second thing is I can nail the track down. I've got a feeling it's just something about the track that the train doesn't like on that curve. So I hit a problem behind the armchair here. I think the the Train's Pantagraph hit the the one of the roof boxes slipped. So I think what I've got to do is, uh, make sure I've got enough clearance. What I probably should do is to actually build something out of Lego, so that that would solve the problem, but for now I think I'm going to change the clearance so that I make sure that these wooden temporary box things don't slip and I put up a a stick of wood so that when the armchair is pushed back it doesn't disturb the height and I can see that the Pantagraph is going to clear at this level, but we'll see. I'd really like to get those Orient Express Blue carriages. They look huge. Let's go backwards full"
"Speed. Okay, I think the Tunnel of Love is a success. I don't know why I'm calling it The Tunnel of Love. I love it that's"
"Why. Ow. Frost. Okay, it's late so I'm filming this on my phone and I've got the track nearly round to where I need it to. So down here I have no idea, but I've managed to create an avalanche Gallery little tunnel here just that all my PC and this is like everything I use for my YouTube channels are protected from the track or the track is protected from the cable and this is literally all the track I've got left. I have three straight pieces and I've got a feeling I haven't got enough. I think I might be like one one track short. Oh my goodness look, so the end of the track is there coming out of the Avalanche gallery and I've got about a meter to cover. I put the the switch track the points there, so it goes all the way around the the heart completely hidden and I've just got this final section and would you believe it this this is all the track I have left. So I can put some flexi track there. I think I need to put in a lot of flexi track. I'm about four straights out. So I think the only way I can do this for now, uh, before I buy another box of fake track or maybe I'll buy the original I Don't Know But I've got all this flexy track left, so I'm just going to for now I think all of this has to be flex flexible track. Let's do a time Jump and hopefully the next shot you will see no scrub that I just wanted to show you this. I'm just about to complete the loop. You will not believe how close I am to completing the loop. So the track comes out of tunnel there and I've put some flexies in there and then put some flexi track here and look it's I am one flexible track piece over. So I've used absolutely abely every last piece of track bar this one this fake track has really helped me out of the hole there great we've done it that's the loop remote control here see if we can make history. We'll see if we can make the train go around. I'll put it on four and hopefully it won't hit a cable or something. Oh no ah I can move these cables and I'll pin them as well right so it's into the tunnel it's through the tunnel it's going under the bench it's so hidden I can't push the camera under we're across the front door that was the first phase and now it's going to go under this bench and it's going to go into the armchair tunnel will it make it out the other side yes we did it we did it I've done it"
"I wish it were lit better. I'll get you a let's get a light going hang got a nice light there. I've done it. I cannot believe after all these years of thinking about this that I finally managed to get the Lego City train tracks hidden a hidden layout all the way around the happy Hearts. It it looks really small, but it it's taken hours to try and pass this layout all the way around all the cables and boxing it in. I I just can't believe this train is doing top speed over so much fake Lego Track. The fake Lego Track the off-brand track works and it's magnificent and it has really got me out of a hole because this would have cost me a fortune to have done this with official Lego Track and even better the train runs really well over the flexi track over the flexible tracks the fake flexible tracks that's the section that has meant that I can link one end to the other and the train just Glides over it without hitch. I know what I need to do now. I need to get some kind of cork underlay I think just to help I don't mind the noise, but it would help it run more smoothly I think and I also need to now put in some some points. I can put in some station platforms and have some pass through Loops where I could put other trains. I can start buying trains now and I've got my eye on the Lego street car which I need to motorize. I am calling this a dad delivers success. Thank you for hitting the thumbs up or the Subscribe butt and it really helps me to keep this thing going and do you know what I think there might be one or two Lego train videos coming up in the future now this is running I can't believe it's still going"
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