FAQs

How to use the word LEGO®
If something is made from LEGO® bricks then we say it is made of LEGO®, not LEGOs. The word LEGO® is a trademark of The LEGO® Group (TLG) and they prefer that the word LEGO® appear in all uppercase letters and if possible, with the ® registered word mark. I have adopted this convention on this site out of respect to TLG and to help promote its use in this way, especially on a public site like this one which does have some commercial activity related to the use of LEGO® bricks.
Does LEGO® endorse or support this site?
No. This is strictly a fan-based hobby site committed to sharing and enjoying the hobby of building LEGO® trains. In fact, TLG prefers the following disclaimer statement be used to qualify this status as follows: "LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this site"
When I buy a kit, what do I get?
Custom kit instructions purchased from brickdimensions.com are electronic PDF files with complete easy-to-follow build instructions for the model. Depending on the model, the PDF file may also contain graphics to print your own stickers to apply to the finished model. A diagram showing the detailed location of the stickers is also included. Your digital download will also be accompanied by a text and/or Microsoft Excel spreadsheet file containing a list of parts required to build your model. These electronic parts lists will help you identify and keep track of the parts you need to buy versus parts that you may already have.
Why is the kit supplied as an electronic download rather than a pre-printed kit?
Electronic delivery of the kit offers several advantages:
  1. Lower cost - Printing full colour instruction books which can contain over 100 pages costs a great deal. Rather than sell expensive paper books, I would rather offer low cost electronic files to make these instructions accessible to a broader audience.
  2. Rapid delivery - Once you purchase a custom kit, it is immediately available for you to download securely from brickdimensions.com. There are no shipping times and, more importantly, no shipping costs.
  3. More content - In addition to receiving a detailed instruction book, you also receive other electronic resources which add value to your kit. The download includes electronic parts list files to help you itemize and purchase parts. You also receive sticker graphic sheets, which you can print as many times as you like to build multiple copies of your model.
  4. Save paper - You are not obliged to print your instruction book in order build your model. You can view your instruction book on a laptop PC or tablet device as you build. This can sometimes be more advantageous since it allows you to quickly navigate through the instruction book and zoom in to reveal more detail.
What is a PDF file?

PDF (Portable Document Format) is a ubiquitous standard for transferring, viewing and printing high-quality documents on the web or via email. Kits from brickdimensions.com are supplied as PDF files. These files can be opened, viewed and printed using Adobe Reader, which is freely available from Adobe for any operating system or platform.

How do I get a kit?
Very easily!
  1. Go to the "Kits" section of brickdimensions.com and select your kit.
  2. Click on the "Add to Cart" button and your selection will be added to the cart at the top of the page. The store will automatically prevent you from accidentally adding more than one copy of a kit.
  3. When you are finished, select "Click to show cart" at the top of the page and then click on the "Checkout" button.
  4. You will be transferred to the PayPal payment processing page, where you can pay with a PayPal account or credit card.
  5. When your PayPal transaction is complete, you will receive an email to the address you provided. This email will contain a secure link to download your kit(s).
  6. Either click the link in the email or enter the link in your web browser address bar to download your kit(s).
  7. The kit(s) will be contained in a compressed "zip" file, which you can usually decompress by double-clicking on the file's icon (in a Windows Explorer window or Macintosh Finder window).
  8. Once your zip file is decompressed, you can open the PDF file and start building!
How can I pay for the kits?
Currently, all payments are processed with PayPal. PayPal is a secure and reputable payment service. You can either pay directly with a credit card or, if you already have a PayPal account, you can use funds in that account to pay. At this time, I cannot accept cheques, cash or money orders.
Can I share my kits with my friends?
While it is understandable that you may feel generous and would want to share your custom kits with a friend, please don't. I have invested a lot of time and money on the development of these custom kits. I cannot continue to offer you interesting, high-quality kits without your support–it is very much appreciated.
Can I get a refund?
Regrettably, downloadable products are unable to be refunded or exchanged. They are not in a physical form that can be meaningfully returned like an actual physical product in a box.
What happens if I accidentally delete or lose my downloaded kit?
In nearly all cases, you will be able to download your kit again. Simply contact me when this occurs to find out how.
Who is Vectis Research on the PayPal processing page?
In order to receive payments from PayPal, I use my engineering company's PayPal merchant account (Vectis Research Inc.). It didn't make sense to register a new merchant account and banking facility just to sell $10 LEGO® kits, so I simply chose to use my existing account facilities. Vectis Research and brickdimensions.com and are synonymous as far as banking transactions are concerned; don't worry, someone else is not getting my money!
Why don't you give away your kits for free?
I am aware that custom LEGO® kit instructions are available from many other sources for free. There are also many instructions available which you also have to pay for. It is really a choice made by the creator. I had never intended on making instructions for public release; however, after being asked repeatedly for instructions, kits, etc., I decided that there was some tangible demand. I took some time to learn the tools used to produce instructions, namely Bricksmith for model creation and LPub for document creation. After learning the tools, I recognized that making easy-to-follow instructions required redesign of some of my models. Even after creating the core instructions, I had to spend a great deal of time with illustration tools to make stickers, auxiliary diagrams, cover pages, etc. to complete the product. When you look at the time taken to author quality instruction documentation, it is not insignificant. I simply want to recoup some of the investment in time and energy. I know $10 kits are not going to cover my costs, but it should at least help subsidize my hobby and give me more pocket money to spend on Bricklink!
Will you sell kits including the bricks to build the model?
We'll see. It will simply be based on demand and whether the economics make sense. I'm not confident that there is sufficient demand to make it worthwhile. The time and cost of purchasing the bricks, kitting out the sets, packing boxes, inventory, shipping etc. will contribute to uncomfortable price points for most people. Would anyone be willing to pay $200, $300, or $400 for a LEGO® train model? I suppose one way of mitigating risk would be to offer kits for a limited production run with firm pre-order commitments; perhaps funded by a kickstarter campaign. At this point in time, I'll judge the market based on how instruction kit sales proceed and by the feedback I receive.