Virtual Micropolis

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====== Grain Elevator ======

**Designer:** Jennifer Heaton
**Designed:** September 2008

This was my first micropolis module. At the time Nathan was living in South Minneapolis and I was driving by the Hiawatha Avenue grain elevators frequently. [[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Harvest_States_elevator_Minneapolis_5.jpg|Hiawatha Avenue Grain Elevators]]

I've built several more industrial modules since then, and they all have a couple things in common. First, I do more research for these modules than most others. While I'm not concerned about replicating real life structures perfectly, I do want to make the design reasonably true to life. Since I know very little about industrial design, research is essential. Second, I like the way LEGO industry can (and should) look a bit gritty. I can use those old beat-up bricks. I don't have to worry about mixing old stone and blay (two almost but not quite identical gray LEGO colors) because I figure in real life someone would have come along and painted parts of the structure over and over using not-quite-matching colors. If I don't have enough of one color, I just assume the painters used something completely different and build it that way. Industrial design tends to be more about function than appearance, and the build can reflect that.

I put rail on this module because the city grain elevators I was driving by all had rail. Railroads are a problem in micropolis because they're straight. There's no easy way to do gentle curves, and you can't turn a rail line 90 degrees like you can a road. If you build rail, you have to connect it up with other rail and then figure out where it will go. You don't want it simply ending at the next block. Usually what I've done is set up the rail so it disappears into a tunnel, or occasionally simply ends at the edge of the display. 

{{gallery>?grainelevator_*.jpg&4&lightbox}}

{{tag>:modules:module nonconforming contemporary quarter_block rail}}
Virtual Micropolis

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