Digital Lego City: Trains, boxcars, and more! | Episode 5

In this episode, I built some railcars for my Lego city. Most of the trains here are designed by Yellow.LXF, Brick Model Railroader, and Monty’s Trains.
This was made in Bricklink’s Studio and Blender.
City playlist:
• Digital Lego City: The...
Yellow.LXF SW1200: rebrickable.co...
Yellow.LXF Shipping Containers: rebrickable.co...
Yellow.LXF Dry van trailer: rebrickable.co...
Monty’s Trains: montystrains.net
Brick Model Railroader: brickmodelrail...
Revelbrick SW1200 close up: • LEGO Train - SOO SW1200
#blender #lego #digitallego
Other Blender videos I've made:
Backrooms: • Backrooms - Alone, sc...
Stop Motion Cooking: • 3D Deep Frying Tempura...
Connect:
Instagram: / canosielabs
Twitter: / canosielabs

[@primitiveairraid]

It's funny how while you are not spending tens of thousands of dollars on bricks and filling a room with your creation, this digital creation combined with your narration and presentation... well, it gives me goosebumps every episode. There is something just so incredibly neat and immersive about this, and I hope this project goes on forever, providing all of these urban details and anomalies reflecting aspects of the real world landscape. Bravo!

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks for the encouragement! I hope it goes on for a while too. Its been great fun so far.

[@gamertimertrue]

the video and editing makes it look REAL. which is freaky, but neat

[@mrbeaver6000]

The little wobbling as the train is running is so realistic, it'd love to see more animations of life in the lego city

[@teralfox4895]

it's the fastest i've ever clicked on a video when i saw yours pop up

[@CanosieLabs]

I'm glad you like the videos. thanks!

[@riaanpretorius3699]

I totally agree!!!!! This is just awesome looking buildings!!!!!

[@Polybius1]

Dude, this is so well made. The fact that the city looks so real makes me constantly forget that this is completely digital and I’m blown away everytime I remember. Amazing work!

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks!

[@f3li_chuy605]

I love this series, couldn’t wait for a new video!

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks!

[@Admre]

When I clicked on this video, I ignored the title and was completely caught off gaurd when you said “even if it’s only digital”. Wow! The realistic lighting and camera movements! Nice work👍

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks for the feedback!

[@MrKo1233]

Still cant get over the fact how real this looks!

[@JBBrickFanatic]

Phenomenal! I love how you credited all the talented builders so well. The community appreciates you!

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks!

[@MontysTrains]

Glad you like the IPD boxcars, looks like you reverse-engineered them very well! The PHD didn't quite make my list of the ones I plan to build myself, so it's nice to see that SOMEONE did that paint scheme. I do appreciate you linking my website in spite of the fact that I don't sell instructions. Suffice to say, this is some very impressive modeling all around!

[@CanosieLabs]

Thanks! Your train creations are pretty amazing! I especially like the tank cars as well.

[@IvanWarren-c4r]

The green CP rail boxcar is also a unique car it was used to haul wood related goods

[@YorickKnowledge]

looking forward to the next update, when Lego sees the completed construction they'll plainly have to give you all the products you need to make this into reality- it's the best Lego city and it's both not finished and not "built"!

[@CanosieLabs]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@ryancarrell3186]

I gotta say, I love the idea of a digital Lego city. Actually modeling it inside a digital room and with digital camera shake and depth of field is a really good touch too, you could have easily made it in just an empty void or endless green plain, to make it more like a Lego world, but making it into a digital Lego construction set in the real world is really fun!

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks for the comment! Seeing the train run in a real-world like environment has been fun.

[@Brightgalrs]

Why if it isn't my favorite on-going KZbin series. Right on time.

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks!

[@MackBricks]

This is incredibly impressive

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks!

[@bricks_in_space]

It really is amazing work that you are doing. All digital but looks so realistic with the camera work. Well done. Looking forward to future episodes.

[@CanosieLabs]

Thanks!

[@Fletcher-zt3dn]

I love this series so much

[@ethanlenning]

Man I love this series so much. Every new video is still an instant click for me lol Hope this is as fun to make as it is to watch! 😆

[@CanosieLabs]

yeah, its pretty fun to make, especially as the city size gets bigger.

[@eves.2825]

I enjoyed these videos so much. I really like your style and how peaceful and calming. It is to watch the video. This is such a pleasure to watch. Thank you for sharing this with us. The trains look very cute.

[@CanosieLabs]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@olafmesschendorp147]

This is amazing! I am looking forward to the industry around the waterfront

[@CanosieLabs]

Thanks!

[@DustyBoi92]

28 hours later 😂 I thought this was real, amazing work mate!

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks!

[@yellowsdotlxf]

I cannot put into words how excited I am to see all of this rendered out. Its truly amazing man. (also I see yet another thing of mine being teased in the end) 😉Can't wait to see more! If you ever need something designed, I am 100% down on doing it. (I've had Gunderson Twin Stacks on the build list for a long time)

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks for the kind words! Yes! that trailer at the end is your design too. I've put the link in the description just now. I also really like your straight truck designs.

[@studiobrickton4702]

I'm really loving this! Looking forward to the next episode!

[@CanosieLabs]

Thanks!

[@LarrysLego]

This is fantastic, given so much life to the city! Not sure how much work it took to get the stickers onto the models virtually but it's absolutely worth it.

[@curtishuang5534]

Absolutely amazing work. Looking forward to the next one.

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks!

[@maarten_smit]

They look so good 😮

[@BrickBuildersMD]

This is incredible, it’s crazy how real you make it look with the room background, it’s funny I was thinking While your not spending all the money on all these bricks, as a fellow designer and heavy studio user, I know your spending fortune in computer processing😂, you got a hemi in that tower?💪🤣🤣

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks! Takes a long time to render! I do whatever I can to make it take no longer than 2mins a frame. The video is at 30fps so even a single scene of a couple minutes can take a whole night lol

[@thatmikatho8136]

Man this is awesome. Brings me back to my childhood. Although I could never afford more than two trains. I'd be very happy to see how you create this and what your workflow is.

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks! yeah, I really really want to do a behind the scenes video, just haven't got the time yet...

[@Visuwyg]

Can you fully animate a scene, minifigs and all, as a test? Your videos look uncannily realistic, I think that would seem like a magic trick!

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks for the comment. I think mini figs can be walkable. That should be doable.

[@deadhead89]

They have amazing 8w intermodal well cars at Brick Train depot, it's worth a visit. Love the project, absolutely impressive.

[@CanosieLabs]

oh, I just took a look. Thanks for the info. They have a pretty good looking one there.

[@minnesotarailfan12]

Someone needs to build this in real life now…anyone else feel a little bit sad and cheated when finding out this was all digital because it LOOKS SO REAL!!! Your skills are incredible! But please, someone needs to make this IRL.

[@woodreg]

Welcome back, great to see some rolling stock and look forward to the next update - and kudos on the shoutouts for the excellent rolling stock builders out there!

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks!

[@boltonhill3740]

Love these videos so much. Just a suggestion to weather the rail cars a bunch to match the aesthetic of the industrial section of the city.

[@michanowacki9152]

Very cool work

[@Britishbricks]

Watching these videos makes me switch to digital, great work mate!

[@IvanWarren-c4r]

The car with the wheat symbol is a CNR grain boxcar from the 40s - 60s

[@CanosieLabs]

yeah. I like the look of it!

[@brucelucas1756]

I'm always excited to see more of your videos, but seeing the moving train makes it really interesting. When I get going on my digital layout, I'm wanting to get trolley cars and subways going through the city. I would love to know how to make it work, your setup is going great so far. 😃

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks! I really want to make a behind the scene video too. I just haven't gotten the time yet. ;(

[@brucelucas1756]

@@CanosieLabs Hey, no worries mate. I've been following a number of channels for building lego layouts and have found that the ones in Europe tend to be more original than alota the ones here, but what you're doing brings a whole new level of what's possible. I'm just glad to have discovered you. 😁👍

[@deutschesvolk]

Am I the only one that can't believe, that this is really CGI. It looks way to real.

[@BRLN1]

Everything about it make it feal so real. It is like the opposite of the uncanny valley: - He put his Lego 3D-City inside of the 3D model of a regular room (as if it were his home). - He also seems to use some sort of plugin to make the camera shake (as if it were a smartphone guided by hand). - The train shaked while driving along the tracks (as if there were tiny production irregularities in the track pieces). I was thinking tho write a comment that some scenes look as if he build it in reality and filmed it.

[@CanosieLabs]

@@BRLN1 thanks! Yeah, I did in fact create a 3D room, complete with power outlets, space headers, and random cables. I use a Blender plugin called Camera Shakify to make the camera shake. But I'm glad you noticed the train shaking as if running on real track. I really wanted to do that little effect.

[@michaeljamesbruun3859]

Its not real !? You blow my mind! Please let’s see behind the scenes, like screenings or whatever you call it… Again you’re freakin awesome 👍

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks!

[@archivedbynick]

finally a new episode!

[@CanosieLabs]

yes! been a long time. Life things delayed the last video.

[@fluminox13]

nice, you doing all the stuff I wanted to do, but never did

[@simplestuffmatters]

showed my wife - she would not believe this isn't real. it's crazy that even if you know it, it's hard to believe. If anything, maybe the water is just too even and smooth - real life Lego is not that perfect. Not criticism - just try to not go insane. The perfection of the builds, camera work an narration make it the perfect Lego channel. Beats the Lego Movie. Well done & thank you for sharing.

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks for the feedback and kind words!

[@Marcha-]

lets go i've been so excited for this

[@NSRailfan69-20]

Finally!!!

[@koparkowy9066]

finally new video!

[@lux_cz1986]

love it.♥

[@karremania]

Absolute freaking amazing once again. And finaly i found 1 box that looked 'less real' at 2:12, the little box inside the container with the 1x1 sloped look like they are from a solid piece and not 4 seperate 1x1 blocks. Its just awsome how real it looks :D You able to run this realtime, or does it require a ton of rendering?

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks! It requires a ton of rendering. I render it while I'm at work and overnights. I actually render each scene 3 times. Once at a very low quality but fast render just to get the timing of the scene and rough cut, then a medium quality render to see the little details and fix corrections. Finally I do the final render, which takes about 1 to 2mins a frame, at 30 frames per second. So a single scene can take the whole night.

[@WideSquareMedia]

This is fantastic, love the CGI approach. Are you using Mecabricks combined with Blender for this?

[@CanosieLabs]

I use Bricklink's Studio to build the buildings and then make the scene/layout in Blender and render in Blender.

[@MatthewUrso]

This channel breaks my brain

[@cyberneticwarmachine]

Since people put their models on rebrickable. Are you putting your building designs online? They look amazing. And would love to build my own 3D city.

[@CanosieLabs]

hi, I might eventually make the .io file available to download, but probably not on rebrickable. One issue is, for 3D rendering performance, the buildings omit most internal structural pieces you will need if you are making the buildings in real life. The other thing is most of the buildings are split across several .io files. They would have to be combined into one file. For pure digital cities, I guess that's not an issue. So perhaps when I get a free minute or so...

[@Coiledboat]

I need Lego trains like that

[@IvanWarren-c4r]

You have a unique train car

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks!

[@Czernski]

My brain still can not process any of this.

[@de00001]

I would like to see the layout in original LEGO colors. The colors in the video appear desaturated or faded.

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks for the comment! technically, I believe they are all real Lego rgb codes, I think the plugin uses the list from peeron to do the rgb mappings. I have questioned the look at times, but when I change the lighting they look ok compared to other real builds. So I think its a combination of the lighting and maybe some odd peeron color rgb codes that make it look desaturated. It's interesting it was something I was just looking at a few days ago... I'm not well versed yet to know how 'good' the peeron rgb values are..maybe they are actually considered desaturated in the lego community....

[@W.E1522]

yes the soooooo line

[@MTMLeipzig]

Nice. But I didn't understand how it works. How do you made this video with running trains? Is it stop motion?

[@CanosieLabs]

The animation was rendered in Blender, but it's not stopmotion animation.

[@mccabeteems4587]

you are the best

[@CanosieLabs]

thanks!

[@BRLN1]

did you guide the train and wagon across the train track carefully by hand for your train animation? ... or is there some kind of plugin that make the trains follow the tracks automatically?

[@CanosieLabs]

hi, Right now, the train is only going on a straight line. I did add random noise based to get the little bobbles lego trains do as they roll down tracks. However, I'm working on my next video that has curves. That's tricky since I have to split out the train axels from the body. The axels rotate independently from the body.

[@tylerlittle1315]

I would love to get my hands on the Rock boxcar. Any plans on making or selling instructions? Or at least the io file?

[@CanosieLabs]

Hi, I can't sell them since they aren't my designs, that Rock Island boxcar is based on one from Monty's trains. He posts some pretty detailed pictures on his website where you can get an idea on how to build it. montystrains.net That's what I did. Hope that helps!

[@kschag29]

What are you using for the train couplers? Is it modeled after an aftermarket piece or some digital file?

[@CanosieLabs]

great question! Actually, the couplers are modeled after a aftermarket knuckle style coupler from brickmodelrailroader. Its a custom 3D model I made in Blender. I used it b/c if I was creating a lego layout in real life, I would probably use those style than the regular Lego ones.

[@drangonclaw32]

Question are you going to make a video on how made the digital table and background if not can tell me

[@CanosieLabs]

I want to, just lacking time..lol :(

[@RyanRoyAranas83]

What program are you using to create your digital city

[@CanosieLabs]

I'm using Bricklink's Studio to build the buildings and then importing the .io file to Blender to make the renders.

[@Nowheres_Channel]

Wait, it's digital? *Always has been*

[@shavranotheferanox7809]

the only way you can realy tell its not a real lego moc is because all the loose details stay in place XD

[@JureTheSuper]

this is real lego city bc he has drawers and everything in the backround

[@TheAmish28]

AARRRRGGGGGG your renders look so nice! makes me mad! (im a professional 3d artist)

[@Nobody-ue5qs]

As a train nerd,it’s funny seeing that half the boxcars belong to extinct company’s or to company’s that would in no way operate close to eachother

[@mplouis]

He has to trick us... There is no way, that an animation can be that real. The camera movement, shadows and the rest looks too real

[@ZECZAR]

You must make more

[@CanosieLabs]

next video should drop this week...

[@Metylene]

Thank you for repeating many times "This is only digital". I'm still not 100% sure you don't lie so keep saying it, and continue your amazing project :D

[@TheAmish28]

do you bake your 3d models when youre done a building? how do you go abouts optimizing your city?

[@BRLN1]

this is not the first video, but the 5th episode in a series. I think he answered that question in one of the earlier episodes.

[@CanosieLabs]

No, I don't bake it. As the city gets larger, I have to exclude parts of the city that are not in the render for performance reasons. Right now, the entire city fits within a render but at some point, I'll probably have to only render the faces of buildings that can be scene by the camera or something like that...

[@BbBoY161]

Holy shit, I been thinking this is all real….

[@amirdapro3386]

Its 28 days later, not hours.

[@CanosieLabs]

lol you are right. Yes, its supposed to be 28 days later 😅 For some reason, I thought 28 days later was the sequel, and the original was 28 hours later. 😨

[@rc4lifebnsf]

Wait this isn’t real? But I see walls and plastic bins in the background

[@CanosieLabs]

nope, all digital! All the buildings are built in Bricklink's Studio and rendered in Blender. I also created a digital room the layout sits inside. You can see clay renders on my Instagram.

[@old_house_1906]

stopping at the switch is a big no no.

[@dugnt2980]

It could be cool if you add graffiti!

[@CanosieLabs]

yes, that would be pretty cool. I might add that at some point!

[@Tom-ll3mp]

When you say "Lego city", you mean switching layout don't you.

[@thereallLp]

the way i am confused

[@Ro321chile]

It's been a while

[@CanosieLabs]

yeah, unfortunately it has... :(