LEGO – Something entirely different

Posted on December 9, 2012 by Andreas

You may have seen some of my posts on the LEGO Classic Space Themes of the 1970s and 1980s – there are some of them around here. But this is something entirely different – and still LEGO (which shows just how diverse the use and the fun can be without having to buy expensive models off-the-shelf).

I found a book in the local bookstore just a week ago or so – it sparked my interest because I did not have the slightest idea that someone would be interested in writing (and let alone reading) a book on LEGO – I stand corrected.

This book is written by two guys – Joachim Klang & Oliver Albrecht – who are both very active in the German LEGO scene. Both are active members of the Modellbaufans Rheinland community.

Now what is this about?

This is about what I would refer to as “free-style LEGO construction” – which basically means “create your own world with the bricks you got”. While this may still be an expensive hobby, todays tools allow “virtual construction” and that makes for an entirely different cost factor: free! With the ideas provided from a book like the one discussed above.

Midi Scale – making big things small

LEGO itself builds their models around their Minifigs – which basically define the scale (and it is a scale that makes for very detailed but also very large models). Let’s take a mid-80s model as a reference: LEGO Set 6631 – a small shovel.

The set – as shown in the image below – is made of 42 pieces. As it stands there, it is 12.3 cm in length, just a little over 3 cm in width and about 5 cm in height. And it exactly matches one Minifig construction worker…

In comparison, I have created a shovel in the Midi format, following the instructions in the above mentioned book.

This one is made from 36 pieces and measures 7cm in length, 3 in width and about 4.5 in height. But is it the model of a much larger shovel than LEGO 6631… putting a Minifig next to it would make it look like it is fighting a giant…

So the idea of the Midi-Scale is to create models at a much smaller scale than LEGO itself is typically doing – with the goal to build much larger scenes. Like an entire city… or a port… or an airport…

Every man for himself

Now here, every man (and woman) is for himself (herself): there are no official LEGO Sets supporting the midi-scale. Ideas for the scenes as well as for the individual pieces needed do have to come from own imagination much more than from a given instruction.

Of course, there is a large community – and ideas are traded. Everyone is free to re-use, improve and develop them… some things eventually can’t be done any better – a perfect representation is a perfect representation. But there is so much to explore and develop… and while in reality it requires a good amount of money to get all the bricks for a large scene, the virtual reality does not come with these limits…

 

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LEGO – Classic Space Sets until 1981

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Andreas

While writing about my last eBay Win on LEGO Items I briefly discussed the box containing one of the small LEGO Catalogs that was places as a “by-pack” in the set boxes. This sparked the idea to go an look for the “real” LEGO Catalogs which I remember from my childhood.

And I came across a couple for the relevant time-frame 1977 – 1986 or so. This provides for a nice chance to use an “original source” to determine set names, year of introduction and – in some cases – the original set name that was used by LEGO.

1977 – No Space Theme yet…

In the 1977 catalog, none of the sets that are now commonly referred to as “Classic Space” are available yet. Also, the sets then current show that in the next one or two years, LEGO will make a big step forward – let’s take LEGO 712 – Sea Plane as an example.

This is an “old” set – look at the Mini-Figs – back then, LEGO had not yet introduced the more “modern” Mini-Figs with the movable arms and legs – also, these Mini-Figs did not have faces yet.

Beyond, the sets had been made up of “standard bricks” – bricks, plates and slopes. And although transparent parts are included, they are merely “transparent” regular bricks – including the “studs” inside.

As mentioned before, the Space theme had not yet been introduced – but a final set dealing with the “Space” topic was included – LEGO 565 – Moon Landing.

Once more, a set made up of “regular bricks” and quite obviously far from what was to come. One thing, however, it noticeable: the set already used the “blue” bricks as the later space theme would – despite the fact that a more reasonable “re-creation” of NASA’s Moon-Lander would have been made from gray bricks…

1979 – The Introduction of the Themes

While 1978 saw the introduction of the modern Mini-Fig with movable arms and legs, it was the year 1979 that held the big change: LEGO introduces the “themes” – though they call them “LEGOLAND series” in the original English catalog: Space, Town and Castle.

The image above is a copy of the German Catalog – for the following discussion of the sets, I am using the related images from the English Catalog. As you can see from the asterisk markings, all sets had been introduced in March of 1979 – and the Space theme started with 11 sets plus two base plate sets. Enough to get a small world started.

LEGO 885 – Space Scooter

Sorted by set number, LEGO 885 is the first of the new sets to discuss. It was made from 19 pieces, and resembled a small one-man space craft with red position lights and a slope brick with the Space logo.

The German set name was “Raumgleiter mit Astronaut”.

LEGO 886 – Space Buggy

The next set is LEGO 886, the driving counter-part to the Space Scooter. This was a 15-pieces set, complete with a white astronaut. The buggy was later re-appearing in almost every larger space station as a transport device.

LEGO 0886 - Space BuggyThe German set name was “Astronauten-Auto”.

LEGO 889 – Radar Truck

LEGO 886 is followed by LEGO 889. This radar truck is slightly larger than the Space Buggy and was made from 24 pieces including a red astronaut. The radar antenna could be moved up and down but could not be rotated.

LEGO 0889 with Red AstronautThe German set name was “Radarwagen”.

LEGO 891 – Two Seater Space Scooter

LEGO 891 is the big brother of LEGO 885 – a two-seat space craft for short-haul flights across the space station. It was made from 35 pieces and came with a white astronaut. The second astronaut to fill the other seat had to come from another set.

LEGO 0891 - Two-Man ScooterThe German set name was “Raumpatrouille”.

LEGO 894 – Mobile Signals Center

Helping with “mobile communication”, LEGO 894 was one of two sets that came with a trailer. The rear part of the tractor contained a small compartment with two doors that could be swung sideways. The interior was a single computer terminal the astronaut could stand in front of. The set consisted of 65 pieces.

LEGO 0894 - Tracking StationThe German set name was “Mobile Funkstation”.

LEGO 897 – Mobile Rocket Launcher

Next to LEGO 894, this is the second set with a trailer. LEGO 897 was made from 63 pieces including two astronauts – a red one and a white one.The trailer section contained a mounted rocket, which could be turned into an upright position using a hinge brick it was built on. The payload – a small satellite – was either separated from the rocket and mounted right in front of it onto the trailer – or connected to the top of the rocket.

The tractor part of the launcher was a three-axle extended buggy with a rotating radar tracking station on it. The German set name was “Mobile Raketen-Abschußrampe”.

LEGO 918 – One man space ship

Also introduced in the first year of the set was the famous three – LEGO 918, and its bigger brothers LEGO 924 and LEGO 928. The space ship came in the original blue-and-yellow scheme, had an enclosed cockpit section and a small cargo compartment in the back. One red astronaut serving as pilot came with it.

The set consisted of 85 pieces, the German set name was “Raumfähre”.

LEGO 920 – Rocket Launch Pad

This set – LEGO 920 – was sold in Europe under the set name “Rocket Launch Pad” whereas it was brought to the US as LEGO 483 – Alpha-1 Rocket Base. The set consisted of 170 pieces and came with three astronauts – two white ones and one red one. It was also one of two sets in 1979 that came with a Lunar Baseplate included.

The set featured a small control station with six computer bricks mounted and large yellow windows built from 1×4 transparent bricks. The rocket itself was placed on a platform next to the control station with a support structure that could the removed sideways. A complex rotating radar dish completed the set. The German set name was “Raketen-Abschußbasis”.

LEGO 924 – Space Transporter

The bigger brother of LEGO 918, LEGO 924 consisted of 166 pieces and came with a mid-sized space ship, a red and a white astronaut and a small forklift to load the cargo bay of the ship. While the smaller LEGO 918 set merely had two small door bricks that could be opened, LEGO 924 had two large cargo doors that could be swung sideways. The nose section seemed somewhat awkward but there had simply not been a brick that was able to bring the six-stud wide front to an elegant “ending” – so it looks a bit “stup-nosed”.

The German set name was “Raumtransporter”.

LEGO 926 – Command Centre

A set of 161 pieces, LEGO 926 featured the planetary Command Centre. It came complete with four astronauts, two red ones and two white ones. It also included two space buggies, one with a rotating computer section in the back. The set featured a large antenna dish and is only one of two that contains a special wall-brick – a 1x6x5 Wall piece with the picture of a floating astronaut. This set contained two “chairs” that differed from the “seats” used in later space sets.

The German set name was “Kommando-Zentrale”.

LEGO 928 – Space Cruiser and Moonbase

LEGO 928 is the largest one made available in 1979. It came with two Baseplates, one Lunar plate and one landing strip and consisted of 325 pieces. Four astronauts – two red ones and two white ones – came with the set that mainly featured a large spaceship with a cargo bay big enough to host a Space Buggy. It was the largest of three space ships, the other ones being LEGO 918 and LEGO 924. In addition to the space ship, the set featured a small command post with radar dish and computer stations.

The German set name was “Raumkreuzer mit Funkzentrale”.

 1980 – Not much that is new…

The Dutch LEGO Catalog for 1980shows only two additions to the Space theme: LEGO 6821 and LEGO 6841. Some sources claim that LEGO 6970 has also been released in 1980 (which is what the copyright in the original instructions says!) but the catalogs that I have show it as “new” in 1981.

LEGO 6821 – Geological Inspection

This set – LEGO 6821 – is a small 23 piece addition to the smallest kind of LEGO Space sets. It contains one white astronaut.

The German set name was “Forscherfahrzeug”.

LEGO 6841 – Mineral Detector

The other set of 1980, LEGO 6841, is a 34 pieces set coming with a white astronaut. It featured two sensor arms which could be moved left and right.

The German set name was “Fahrzeug für Bodenerkundung”.

1981 – Some significant Additions to “Space”

The catalog of 1981 – which I only have an English/French/Dutch version of – shows some significant additions to the space theme. Also, the copyright notices on the individual instructions showing a whole bunch of new sets in 1981:

LEGO 6801 – Space Scooter

This set – LEGO 6801 – which in some places is also named “Rocket Sled” is a small 21 pieces set with a white astronaut.

LEGO 6822 – Space Grab

LEGO 6822 – sometimes also referred to as “Space Shuttle” – is the second of the low-budget sets issued in 1981. It was made from 32 pieces and contained a red astronaut.

The German set name was “Schubgleiter”.

LEGO 6842 – Inspection Spacecraft

One of the mid-sized sets, made from 44 pieces – is LEGO 6842, sometimes also referred to as “Shuttle Craft”. The set came with a red astronaut.

The German set name was “Schwerer Schubgleiter”.

LEGO 6861 – X-1 Patrol Craft

LEGO 6861 is another set  that does not appear in any of the European catalogs I have seen. It was reportedly released in 1980 – maybe one of those sets not sold in Europe as well. It can easily be re-created from individual bricks as the set itself only features standard bricks – only the 1×2 Brick in transparent green might be a bit difficult to get hands on. An attempt on the set can be seen here.

LEGO 6870 – Spacecraft Launcher

Sometimes referred to as “Space Probe Launcher”, LEGO 6870 was a 52 pieces set including a red astronaut.

LEGO 6901 – Mobile Lab

LEGO 6901 has been sold in the US and Canada only which reasonably explains why it does not show up in any of the European catalogs I have seen. Given the brick list and instructions, it might be possible to rebuild this set from individual stones although it might be a bit difficult to get the transparent green bricks that originally have been used. The set is currently sold on eBay but prices are rather high…

LEGO 6927 – Mobile Tracking Station

As first of the larger sets, LEGO 6927 – sometimes also named “All-Terrain Vehicle” – was made up from 167 pieces. It was the first set of the Space series that featured the new blue-and-white scheme (over the old blue-and-yellow).

The new color scheme made these sets appear “a bit brighter” and lit up the space theme significantly.

LEGO 6929 – Space Transporter

This set – sometimes referred to as “Spacecraft Voyager” – introduced the first space ship in the blue-and-white color scheme. LEGO 6929 consisted of 243 pieces and included one red astronaut.

LEGO 6970 – Command Centre

The last set of 1981 – LEGO 6970 – with 254 pieces is the largest set released in 1981. It comes on a double lunar plate and features a command center building, mono-rail and a small ramp to launch a space craft. Included are four astronauts, two red and two white ones.

Note: On some of the set descriptions above, I had to use rendered images rather than photos although I own the original sets – I simply did not get around taking decent shots yet…

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LEGO – Some more Classic Space from 1983

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Andreas

Just a quick note of a package I have received today – as a result of a 60€ eBay auction. Offered (and won) was a set of LEGO set from the Classic Space theme – described as “not necessarily complete and not in best shape”. I still bid…

This one turned out to be a shoe box of partially assembled sets – and many loose bricks. Also a set of instructions, in reasonable shape. And one of the little catalogs LEGO used to put in their boxes. This one is copyrighted 1983.

The catalog is nice because you rarely find scans of these – you of course find the individual instructions scanned but not necessarily the “give-aways”.

Turns out that by examining the lot of bricks more closely, the following pieces are – at least partially – included:

  • LEGO 6801 – the Space Scooter – is in but lacking two of the three black gliders ounted at the bottom. Instead, I found two gray ones not used…
  • LEGO 6842 – the Shuttle Craft – is present by it’s instructions and about 50% of the bricks but none of the white top-cover pieces…
  • LEGO 6822 – the Space Shuttle – is present but the base of the flexible arm is missing…
  • LEGO 6870 – the Space Probe Launcher – is more or less complete, one while 2×3 plate is missing…
  • LEGO 6844 – the Seismologic Vehicle – is almost complete, one round gray 1×1 brick is missing…
  • LEGO 6927 – the All-Terrain Vehicle – is in there with about 80% of the bricks and the ones missing are of minor importance and can be replaced…
  • LEGO 886 – the Space Buggy – may not be in there but can simply be build from the remaining bricks – short one 2×4 plate….
  • LEGO 6823 – the Surface Transport – is in and complete…
  • LEGO 6821 – the Shovel Buggy – is in and complete…
  • LEGO 897 – the Mobile Rocket Launcher – is in and 90% – the missing pieces have temporarily been replaced by similar bricks…
  • LEGO 885 – the Space Scooter – is in but the two transparent blue 1×1 round bricks in the back are missing…
  • LEGO 6841 – the Mineral Detector – is in and 95% complete – the 1×6 plates are currently replaced by 1×8 plates…
  • LEGO 894 – the Mobile Tracking Station – is only in there with about 25% of the bricks… a write-off…
  • LEGO 918 – the Space Transport – is in there, about 90% of the bricks are present, the rest can be replaced. The critical bricks, the two LL 918 bricks and the slope brick if the logo are present…
  • LEGO 920 – the Alpha-1 Rocket Base – is present and 95% complete…
  • LEGO 926 – the Command Center – is present (this was the one I was mainly after) and about 95% of the bricks are present (those missing belong to the two buggy cars, the station itself is complete…

At the end of the day, the most wanted set, LEGO 926, is in reasonably good shape and I got an additional 13 sets with a high grade of completeness.

The astronauts are possibly write-off’s as well – their logos have faded and the entire lot of bricks needs a good cleaning. But it does extend the sets in my collection considerably and also adds to my spare parts… all in all, a nice win…

Looking at the scanned images of the old catalog, I can also say that I am owning all of the pictured sets now except LEGO 6803 – the Space Patrol – quite a few more than I used to own back in the early 80s…

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ORBX FTX EU England – Using the Flight Simulator to connect the Virtual Skies & History

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Andreas

ORBX has just released their brand new ORBX FTX EU England scenery, something many European Flight Simulation Enthusiasts have been waiting for for a long time… some high-quality flying “on our doorstep”.

A review of a different kind

A little while ago, I have written a Mission Overview document on a US Army Air Force Bombing Raid on Bremen & Kiel, historic date: June 13, 1943. With the new ORBX Scenery in place, this is a welcomed opportunity to combine this historic event with modern flight simulation: the 8th USAAF has been stationed mostly in the south-east of England, with the units of the 1st Bombardment Wing based in

  • Bassingbourn (91st Bombardment Group),
  • Alconbury (92nd Bombardment Group),
  • Molesworth (303rd Bombardment Group),
  • Chelveston (305th Bombardment Group),
  • Polebrook (351st Bombardment Group), and
  • Kimbolton (379th Bombardment Group

Today’s review flight of the scenery will focus on a tour of these (mainly now disused) airfields in the virtual worlds of Flight Simulator X. Takeoff and landing is from EGSU – the airfield of Duxford.

A trip in these historic footsteps calls for an aircraft of its own – one that matches the time and the occasion. And which one would more reflect upon the time and place than a B-17 Flying Fortress? Luckily, one is in stock for FSX – A2A Simulations has a B-17G in store.

This particular B-17, a G-Model, with the serial number 43-38414 and nicknamed “Heaven Sent” was assigned to the 100th Bombardment Group and was flying out of Thorpe Abbotts until she was crash-landed near Rochester upon returning from a mission February, 6th 1945.

In and out from Duxford

In Duxford, the Imperial War Museum is hosting a large collection of aircraft – and is flying some from the associated air field. Our B-17 – “Heaven Sent” – has been salvaged after the crash-landing and brought to Arizona. She was beautifully restored and is now roaming the – virtual – skies.

The runway in Duxford is not the longest one in the world – it is still sufficient to get the B-17 into the blue skies over England. For all FSX Enthusiast taking this as a review, please note that the season for the screenshots is set to “Spring”… give the nice yellow fields of rapeseed.

After reaching about 2000 ft. altitude, I am turing the old lady on a northbound course, passing the university city of Cambridge.

From the looks, the city is closely resembled by the land-classes used to define the various landscapes – but other than the Colleges area, the structures are auto-generated houses. That does not hurt the scenery, just might make you miss one or the other point of interest in case you are familiar with the area.

In times of data providers such as OpenStreetmaps, it is no longer a quality issue if a scenery includes the correct roads, rivers and coastlines – it is simply expected these days. So what makes me “feel” the scenery? The image below might give an idea.

England, to me, has a typical landscape and one of the things that I connect with the British landscape is the way fields and meadows are laid out: the fields in Germany are usually of regular size and shape, one bordering the other. You will small patches of wood but – being efficient as we are – we have tried to organize farming and make access and plowing of the fields as easy as we can – for example: little to no trees in or between fields.

England seems different: the fields are also of small size and maybe even of regular size: what is different is the frequent stone walls between the fields and also the fact that far more trees are allowed bordering them than in Germany… and that makes up a special “look” – one, I find very closely resembled in the scenery I am just flying across.

The other thing that needs to be mentioned is the crispness of the textures – you can see the rapeseed, you can see the carvings the plows have left, and you can see the patches of darker earth where the earth is moist… this scenery just “feels” real when you are flying across it!

But by all the fascination for the beautiful scenery expanding below – I also still enjoy the sights of the B-17G itself – flying through a blue sky as peacefully as she probably never did in her time.

I have specifically chosen this aircraft, not only because it matches the scenery with its historic relationship to it – I have also chosen it to remind everyone reading this review that there sometimes is more to flight simulation than just gaming… if we consider it more a simulation than a game, I think it only fair to also consider the history of the aircraft we are simulating… and what they have been used for.

Past the old Air Base at Kimbolton (which nothing is seen of anymore in real and in simulation), I am turning to the south-east, making my way home.

The old airfields at Polebrook, Chelveston and Bassingbourn – like the one in Kimbolton – don’t exist anymore – not even as “disused airfields”. Farms and local businesses have reclaimed what no longer was needed once the war had ended.

Two of the old airbases are still in military use – Alconbury and Molesworth. Both I have not found covered by the scenery – where military installations should have been, I found green fields…

Those green fields, however, come at a spectacular sight and details – as already mentioned above. Just see the image above… if we’d turn it sepia and possibly age it a bit, it would probably be hard to distinguish it from a real photo taken…

Another item that needs mentioning is the auto-gen… in many sceneries a matter of complaint, some people even switch it off entirely. But here, it is pure joy to see how the houses are aligned properly – following the roads and places of the villages and towns, matching in style and size what makes up just for a fantastic look.

My flight is coming to an end – I am already in landing configuration when I am passing the old airfield of Fowlmere, home to a P-51B Fighter Squadron in late 1944 and 1945.

From the ground, “Heaven Sent” is making a nice appearance when in full landing configuration.

I am carefully taking her “over the fence”, making a gentle touchdown at the beginning of the runway to allow myself all the space in the world to come to a stop and taxi in front of the Duxford hangars.

And while doing so, I continue to think about the idiot that has built his home right into the final approach to Duxford (see image above). In reality… it does not exist…

So my little trip is over – almost as planned (the detour around Cambridge is owed to the fact that I had problems sorting out the B-17’s auto-pilot…) and I have made up my mind on the piece of software I have just flown with (the B-17G: clear like!) and the piece of software I have flown over (ORBX FTX EU England: clear mega-like!)…

Conclusions

I have been critical in my past reviews of ORBX Products – this one comes at a price of roughly 41 AUD – probably around 30 EUR. It is a scenery covering a large area – all of England! It is not built to meticulously resemble a small area (like ORBX KJAC)!

But it is breathtaking. And it is the first ORBX Product that I would rate as “worth every cent I spent for it”. You’d like to fly in good old Europe, don’t mind the English weather and expect a top-notch scenery that is not a photo scenery? Well… here you are! Personally, I cannot wait for Scotland to come after the team has finished with Wales… expect me to buy those two as well… and keeping my fingers crossed to see ORBX cover Germany one day in the future…

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ORBX KJAC Jackson Hole Airport reviewed

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Andreas

It’s been a little while since I bought the last ORBX products – the last airport scenery was a small airport, Fall City (1WA6) which I had reviewed earlier. After a longer absence from Flight Simulator X, I decided it was about time to pick it up again – and I was looking for a new destination.

As always, I wanted something I am somehow attached to – and Jackson Hole reminds me of a visit in 1996 when I was passing through the area with a friend. So yesterday, I flew my virtual Cessna from Fall City all the way to Jackson Hole (with nothing but the ORBX Central Rocky Mountains scenery to cover the airport and surrounding area) – today I am adding ORBX KJAC Jackson Hole to it.

Purchase & Download

Once more, I have purchased the scenery from Flightsimstore’s Website at a price of 32.95 AUD. Not knowing the exact conversion rate yet, I am thinking this will turn out to be just around 25 EUR.

Fall City came at a download size of roughly 620MB, Jackson Hole is bringing 4.1GB(!) so I am somewhat grateful for my 100MBit Internet Connection…

Purchase and payment did not pose a problem – the download, however, picked up very slowly, suggesting a total download time of about 4 hours at first… a few minutes into the download, the performance got much better though. In the end, the download took me roughly 15 minutes with an average transfer rate of about 6 MB/s. That is a very good performance, making it easy to decide on a download product even of that size!

Installation

The installer comes in either three files or a single package (the one I downloaded). All files are to be extracted and placed in a single directory. As a result, you will receive three setup files (OrbxFTXNAKJAC100.exe, FTXNAKJAC100_Setup2.exe, and FTXNAKJAC100_Setup3.exe) which is funny because the readme file says “run the executable” – now, you got three of them 😉

And in the first version of this post, I said “You only need to run the first one…” – which ultimately is wrong: you need to run all three installers in sequence to get the full ground texture coverage (the second installer creates westsim_KJAC_PR_15cm_projected.bgl, the third one creates Westsim_KJAC_PR_1m_C.bgl and Westsim_KJAC_PR_1m_D.bgl) – if you only run the first one, everything will look OK but you are running on low-resolution ground texture (most likely coming from ORBX Central Rocky Mountains).

The installation does require the confirmation key I had by now received from the Flightsimstore as well as an Internet connection. With all information equipped, the installation went smooth and without issues (once I knew to run all three installers as mentioned above!)

Did it install properly? Well – at least the FTXCentral Software lists the new addon and also the KJAC Control Panel is available on the system.

Now it is time to fire up the Flight Simulator to see what has changed…

Location & Default View

The Jackson Hole Airport, KJAC, is located north of Jackson Hole, Wyoming and just south of the Grant Teton National Park. A bit further to the north, bordering on Grand Teton NP is Yellowstone National Park.

The default (or rather ORBX Central Rocky Mountains default) view can be seen from my post yesterday which includes a few screenshots of the airport itself.

Configuration

If you want to be fair with the developers (and the product), its a good advice to read the manuals first (I know, most of us rarely do but if you don’t, you cannot complain about bad performance or odd behavior). So here are the recommended settings based upon ORBX’s user manual:

  • Level of Detail Radius: Large
  • Global Texture Resolution: Max
  • Mesh Complexity: 100
  • Mesh Resolution: 5m (which is marked as the required setting)
  • Texture Resolution: 15cm
  • Scenery Complexity: Extremely Dense
  • Autogen Density: Normal – Dense (based upon ORBX Recommendation)
  • AI Traffic: 16%+
  • Road Vehicles: 16%
  • Leisure Boats: 1% – 16%

These settings comply with the ones suggested for 1WA6 so there should not be an issue…

Taking a first Look

With their beautiful sceneries, ORBX has been facing an issue: people cannot really explore them using FSX default methods! You can fly around them – but you cannot “walk” around them (after all, this is a “Flight” Simulator…)

ORBX has come to their very own solution to the issue: they have created BOB. BOB is an “aircraft” for FSX but a special one as it resembles a 1st Person perspective and can be used to “walk” a scenery… it can be downloaded for free on their website.

I am starting my tour at the helipad – seems to me the safest place to start exploring “by foot”.

First on my way is the passenger terminal – a Delta airliner is awaiting boarding, its passengers assembled outside, neatly in line to get on board.

These are “static” – but on the other side, a couple of people are actually animated with what ORBX calls People Flow. In my review of 1WA6 Fall City, I mentioned that there are too few people with animations to make a difference to me – here, in KJAC, there are a good couple more. If I will notice them when I am in my aircraft, taxing to and from the runway remains to be seen – but I have to admit they fit into the scenery very well and their movements are quite well animated.

Continuing a bit further down the row of buildings, I run across two fire trucks waiting for any accident or emergency that might call them to duty – so far, no such event is in the air but Jackson Hole is know for some accidents, especially during winter time.

Speaking of winter – I tried to switch from summer (making up for nice screenshots) to winter just to see if anything will happen to the static and animated people… well, I guess that emergency I was talking about draws closer: the poor folks are standing outside in the freezing temperatures with nothing but their short-sleeved shirts on… well, just a minor detail but I thought I’d mention it…

Following the line of buildings even more you will bump into a series of office buildings, maintenance shacks and gas tanks – all of these are modeled and textured in the ultimate ORBX quality – I have not come across any real photos of the airport yet so it impossible to say if the buildings and textures are accurate – but they sure look great. In front of the hangars, multiple people are working on aircraft, servicing them and cleaning them. There even is a US Government Jet parked in the far corner, complete with a set of limousines to transport some VIP to vacation…

Walking over to the runway, the magnificent scenery of the Grand Teton Range is taking all of the horizon – a beautiful sight.

I am crossing the runway – of course I have asked permission first! – to explore the far side of the area.

From here, you get a pretty good view of the apron area and the planes parking there – static and dynamic.

It is neat to see how well the static aircraft blend into my dynamically created AI Traffic coming from Ultimate Traffic 2 – things fit together very well and provide for the atmosphere of a truly busy little airport – not too much but also not dead with the occasional plane once every hour or so. This place is well alive!

Care has also been applied to the areas of the airport that you usually won’t see that close – like the approach system located next to the northern end of the runway.

When on final approach, you may catch a glimpse but usually you will be too busy to really care – still, it has been nicely worked out an textured – including “weathered” colors to not make it look brand new and flawless.

Done with the ground exploration, I decided to get onto a small glider and explore the area “from the air” – making several passes as lowest possible level.

As you can see – the modeled area does not end with the tarmac – it stretches beyond, to the other side of the buildings where the parking lot and other items are located.

Looking at the backside of the maintenance hangars reveals an old aircraft there – possibly a parked TA-6 Texan.

The picture also shows that the airport is quite busy with General Aviation traffic – many people stopping by in the region for rest & recreation take the trip here by their own personal aircraft. The ones better off fly in with their smaller jets although airlines will serve the airport with aircraft as big as a Boeing 757.

With the last look back at the busy little airport, it is now time to start exploring the area around the airport – especially the Grand Teton Range.

The planned route is pretty straight forwards: as Runway 19 is in operation, I will depart south, climbing to 15,000ft as quickly as I can. I will stay between the West Gros Ventre Butte and the East Gros Ventre Butte, following the river.

When intercepting Route 22, I will turn west and continue to climb. Crossing the Snake River, I will then turn northbound slowly, approaching the mountains which there tower about 10,000ft to 11,000 ft.

Climbing to about 15,000 ft., I will continue northbound, fly over Grand Teton (almost 14,000 ft.) and then take a “high country tour” around Moran Canyon and Eagles Rest Peak. I will then cross Jackson Lake to visit the Snake River again, around Oxbow Bend which I will have to approach flying from east to west for the best view.

Finally, the plan calls for a return via Leigh Lake, Jenny Lake and the Gros Ventre Camping Ground to the airport.

Once more, I am taking a Cessna T182T to the skies – she is waiting for me and my co-pilot in front of the hangar, parked between business jets.

After receiving the taxi clearance from the control tower, I am tying to the holding point off Runway 19 via taxiways Charlie, Alpha and Alpha Four.

As soon as we reach the holding point, the control tower acknowledges my takeoff clearance.

From here, I have a clear view of the mountain ranges to my right, a beautiful sight (and even more beautiful in real life).

At full takeoff power, I am accelerating down the runway and soon we are airborne. Next thing to do is to gain altitude as quickly as we can: KJAC lies at 6,400 ft., my target altitude is around 15,000 ft. if I can make it but at least above 11,000 ft.

The weather – like ordered for the sightseeing trip – is beautiful: no winds, not a cloud obscuring the view. Leaving the airport we are crossing a housing area with houses spread far apart – the scenery covers the area with an aerial photo and – given a high setting on the number of Autogen Objects – you can see that the scenery designers have really put a house “in every spot”… this is a quite beautiful view.

(Note: in the first version of this review I had remarked that that would not be the case – two things went wrong: the faulty installation caused the wrong ground image to appear and the Autogen slider was not set to the highest level).

The area remains to be beautifully modeled – the higher I climb, the more the photo-realistic ground texture becomes “real” – trees are put in every place where a shadow is casted on the ground, buildings are places appropriately – it is just a wonderful sight.

Having reached the southern border of the scenery just north of Jackson, I am turning west and this allows a first glance at the Teton Range – my co-pilot has the better view but I still enjoy it.

There is – by the way – still a bit of altitude to gain but I am making good progress. Stretched out before the mountains are Phelps Lake, Jenny Lake, a but of Leigh Lake and at the horizon Jackson Lake.

This image of “high country” is taken west of Phelps Lake – approaching Death Canyon.

By now, the Cessna has reached a hight above 12,500 ft. so from here on, it is easy going and keeping my height – I will pass Grand Teton on its western flank.

The mountain mesh is gorgeous – worked out in every details and lakes and canyons can be clearly seen and identified.

Passing Grand Teton at almost its own height – that is 14,000 ft. – a look back reveals the problems of photo-realistic scenery: the steep flanks of the mountain stretch the image mapped above it and produce very unnatural looks – but that is not the fault of the scenery or the ORBX team – this is merely the fact when using aerial images on meshes that cover high altitude changes in very short distances. Like mountains typically do…

At Moran Bay, I have taken the Cessna into the mountains, flying up the Moran Creek, then taking a left around Rolling Thunder Mountain, just to turn right and fly over Talus Lake.

After crossing the lake, it is back down to the lower levels of the scenery – a steep descend along Moran Creek takes me back down to Jackson Lake.

The descent from Talus Lake, starting at around 12,000 ft. down to around 9500 ft. not only takes me across small lakes in the high country – it also shows the beauty of the high-resolution ground texture (which was denied to be in the first flight because of the mentioned installation issues).

I am crossing the lake, making it to the other shore around Jackson Lake Dam. Trying to approach Oxbow Bend from “the other side”, I am taking a turn around Lozier Hill and then follow th Snake River westbound.

Having been there in 1996, I remember the area to be easily accessible from the road – not a problem getting to the river in short time.

One should, however, remember that this is a wild country – and the beauty of the nature makes it very easy to leave the worn paths and make own ones – especially if you think you found a shortcut back to the road… in our case, it was two things we found: water in front of us which disallowed us to get back onto the road just here – and a bear footprint in the mud right ahead of us… that is when you realize that the open country has given way to small trees and bushes and you do not really see anything around you… and you start wondering where the heck that bear is… well, I never got to see it but I am not sorry about it…

From Oxbow Bend, you have a wonderful view back to the mountains – Mt. Moran being the dark one dominating the view. This is the shot from the simulator – and here is the photo I have taken back in 1996 from about the same location.

Once more, I am crossing Jackson Lake, heading over to Leigh Lake. Jackson Lake is busy with small boats, even some bigger yacht is lazily cruising along.

The moon has come out by now, adding to the scenery and I am slowly taking the Cessna along that majestic panorama on my southbound course to Jenny Lake.

Jenny Lake, some people say, is the most beautiful lake in the park. I cannot personally agree to that – but when I was there, the sky was overcast and cloudy – so maybe not the best chances for the lake to convince me. There is a nice scenic walk around the lake though which is taking you to Cascade Canyon and Hidden Falls – if you don’t want to walk back, there is a shuttle boat across the lake.

From Jenny Lake, you can already see Blacktail Butte – a small hill just sitting in the middle of the plain in front of us (and actually making the inbound approach to the airport interesting…) – this is where we go next.

Flying around Blacktail Butte, I get the Cessna over to the Gros Ventre River – and to the camping ground.

When my friend and me got to Grand Teton NP in 1996, we did not have any reservations for the night and ended up sleeping in the car in just this very camping ground. It was a cold night – not too comfortable – but the next morning made up for it with one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen. The photo I had taken on this very morning is the cover image for this web page.

I am calling in to KJAC Tower for landing clearance – which is granted immediately.

Taking the Cessna around Blacktail Butte, onto a northern course and over Moose Junction and the Visitor Center, I am returning us to the airport. A 180° left turn, followed by a neat final approach is taking us back to there we left about 45 minutes ago.

Leaving the runway at the A2 exit, I am taking exactly the same image that I took yesterday – without KJAC installed.

From there, contacting ground control and going back to the parking position is not a big deal – the airport is not that big and there is really only one taxiway – Alpha.

Returning the Cessna to the lease agent and walking out of the airport, I am taking a last look back through the fence: the little bird has done a great job and I had a nice time exploring the area.

Conclusions

Even on my older system – an Intel Core2Extreme 9650 running at 3MHz with 8GB of RAM, an nVidia GTX560 Ti and Windows 7 64bit the performance of the scenery even when using a non-standard aircraft is quite excellent. It is easily flyable and smooth, on the airport, my system gives me a constant 12 – 15 FPS, in the air, I am reaching my fixed rate of 40 FPS most of the times.

Like other ORBX Products, the scenery is a very solid, high-quality development. The airport itself, with the extreme love to detail and the effects that various technologies such as PeopleFlow, NatureFlow or StaticFlow have makes that part of the scenery well above average. But then, on the other hand, you rarely will see those effects – when I was taking the Cessna out and in, I did not even recognize moving people or birds chirping of grass moving…I was busy taxing.

So what does that leave? The scenery covers an area of about 40 Km from North to South (that is from the south shore of Jackson Lake to Jackson) and 25 Km from West to East. Sounds huge but when flying it, this is quickly done with. So for a landscape scenery, it is small.

But Grant Teton National Park is probably one of the most gorgeous National Parks in the Continental US – combine that with the high-quality photo texture that even varies through the year as conditions change: it is a very neat place with sight seeing… even from the virtual skies!

The airport itself is meticulously built and shows a high skill of craftsmanship – but it is a rather small airport (despite it being busy and compare to 1WA6 still of a considerable larger size). It is – unless you have a special attachment to the airfield – nothing for everyday use.

It is certainly more than the eye-catcher that I think Fall City 1WA6 is – but is it something worth the 25€ that I spent for it? Let’s compare:

  • Fall City Airport (1WA6) costs the same amount of money, is much smaller and much less work than this scenery – I originally said it would be worth about half its price to me.
  • US Central Rocky Mountains (which is by the way required to run the KJAC Scenery!) costs about 30€ – and it covers a huge area with a bit lesser detail but on a much wider scope.

I’d say KJCA Jackson Hole is certainly above Fall City Airport but not that much worth to me than US Central Rocky Mountains – that leaves us between 12,95€ and 30€ – I’d say 25€ is close, maybe just a little bit high priced but say 20€ or 22€ or so would be certainly a fair price… and I am saying that being well aware of the huge amount of work that went into the scenery and the quality of it – it is merely a rating based on “weight”.

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