Beck Posted February 2, 2017 (edited) Hello Everyone, Over the last few months I have been working on my vectron in LDD. The main purpose of building this train was to be able to fit 2 xl motors (with gearing) into one unit. I finished the main body, but it looks a bit off and I'm not sure exactly what proportions are wrong. Any suggestions or ideas are very much appreciated. Here's what I have: The vectron locomotives have a slight slant to the front panel just below the windscreen, however I decided against making it since it would just make the model weaker and add unnecessary complexity, in my opinion. Here's what the inside looks like just to give you an idea of the space (or the lack thereof) I have. More photos HERE Reference photos: http://www.ilpendolaremagazine.it/news/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Vectron_Siemens_E191_Fuorimuro.jpg http://www.railcolor.net/images/basic/siem_21845_53.jpg Specifically, what dimensions are wrong? Thanks for reading Edited February 2, 2017 by Beck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jtlan Posted February 2, 2017 (edited) Building a proportional model without a scaling drawing is like working blind. However, overall you seem to have done pretty well. I made a scaling drawing to figure out where the discrepancy is: Click here for full size. The gist of it appears to be that, at the scale you're building at the Vectron's wheels are closer in size to Big Ben Bricks' medium drivers than they are in size to the flanged wheels. In fact, we could have discovered that by scaling down Seimens' quoted size for the wheels by the scale you appear to be using... In LDD, try substituting this arrangement for a medium driver: (Note: the hole in the medium driver is not the same distance from the axle as the holes in the pulley). Let me know how it goes. Edited February 2, 2017 by jtlan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted February 2, 2017 I was thinking the same thing ... maybe the medium BBB wheels are too big but they seem to be the right ones, otherwise it would be recommended the use of standard lego motor 88002. The MOC is amazing, body and nose are ok! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beck Posted August 9, 2017 (edited) Thank you both for the replies. With regard to the wheels, I decided not to use BBB med because the wheel is partially covered from the side, which would restrict the bogie's rotation. I would have to raise the bogie by approximately two to three plates to avoid this problem. Instead, I scaled the height from the bottom part of the wheel that contacts the rail to the bottom of the superstructure. I have used your scaled drawing to rework the loco. BTW, where did you find the lego grid to overlay onto the image? Here's what I have so far: I'm having trouble getting the front part below the windshield right, which needs to be 2 bricks tall. The part below the light needs to be about one plate. The light itself needs to be one brick tall. Yet all of this must be curved as well as slanted while keeping the blue stripe at the same level. I tried to solve the problem to no avail. If you have any advice please comment. I would really appreciate it! I also put the LXF in my bricksafe if you'd like to try to tackle the problem. http://bricksafe.com/pages/Beck/train_mocs/fuori-muro-vectron/wip-2 Thank you for reading! Edited September 28, 2019 by Beck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beck Posted September 28, 2019 Well, it's been over two years and I haven't updated this thread. I sort of forgot about the model as I hit a roadblock with regards to its design. Well during those two years I redesigned my TRAXX AC3 (which I will be sharing soon) using larger wheels. After finishing my TRAXX, I decided to redesign the Vectron using the new techniques I had learned with the TRAXX. About the Design: Although the larger wheels are more proportional, they did create several challenges. Unlike many North American locomotives, I have noticed that many European locomotives' bogies are mounted in such a way that the wheels protrude upwards into the main frame of the locomotive (Ex: Re420, Re460, TRAXX, Vectron, etc). In reality this is not really a problem because the minimum curve radius is so large and the frame's sides can be made very thin; however in lego it is very difficult to design a bogie and frame with sufficient rotational clearance to navigate even the largest of curves. I had to sacrifice a couple of details on the locomotive (ie: the recessed step below the door and the various holes along the side) to accommodate the thin side frame. I also chose to use thinner 3D printed wheels to allow for more clearance. Although I have not built the model IRL yet, I have tested a similar bogie and frame on my TRAXX with great success. Consequently the locomotive can only navigate R104 and R120 curves. It might be able to negotiate R88 curves, but I cannot test this as I do not own R88 curves. The second obstacle was the compromised structural rigidity of the frame. I ended up using the two L motors as structural members to compensate. I missed something in the second render. Can you spot it? I really have to thank @jtlan for suggesting to use larger wheels. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Roadmonkeytj Posted September 30, 2019 On 9/27/2019 at 10:27 PM, Beck said: Can you spot it? Hand grabs on the rear door. Very nice build do you plan to decal this then? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beck Posted September 30, 2019 9 minutes ago, Roadmonkeytj said: Hand grabs on the rear door. Very nice build do you plan to decal this then? Yes it was the handrails. Honestly I have no experience with decals and am not sure what I would do when I do eventually build this model. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XG BC Posted September 30, 2019 First of all i want to say that this is a really good looking model and i really like the look of vectrons. A thing you are missing is the pantograph of the vectron. If you build the diesel version then thats ok but you would need different sides for that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beck Posted September 30, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, XG BC said: First of all i want to say that this is a really good looking model and i really like the look of vectrons. A thing you are missing is the pantograph of the vectron. If you build the diesel version then thats ok but you would need different sides for that. I haven't forgotten about the pantographs. It's just that my pantograph design requires minifig hands to be inserted into cut 3mm tubing, which cannot be built digitally. Edited September 30, 2019 by Beck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted September 30, 2019 Beautiful large wheels! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paperinik77pk Posted October 1, 2019 I love this rendition of the Vectron!!! The use of larger wheels makes this really impressive! It is aggressive like it should be! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
XG BC Posted October 2, 2019 On 9/30/2019 at 10:02 PM, Beck said: I haven't forgotten about the pantographs. It's just that my pantograph design requires minifig hands to be inserted into cut 3mm tubing, which cannot be built digitally. oh ok i didnt know that sorry. Have fun with your vectron! XG BC Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beck Posted October 11, 2019 On 9/30/2019 at 1:18 PM, LEGO Train 12 Volts said: Beautiful large wheels! On 10/1/2019 at 7:31 AM, Paperinik77pk said: I love this rendition of the Vectron!!! The use of larger wheels makes this really impressive! It is aggressive like it should be! Thank you! I really tried to model the "aggressive" stance of the locomotive. On 10/2/2019 at 10:12 AM, XG BC said: oh ok i didnt know that sorry. Have fun with your vectron! XG BC No worries! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beck Posted January 21, 2020 (edited) It's complete! Only one change was made from the digital model; the cheese slopes along the side of the windscreen was lengthened by 1 stud to cover the side of the red curved slopes. I'm really pleased with the performance and appearance. If anyone has any ideas regarding the possible decals on the side, please let me know. I've ran it for at least a total of three hours now and an hour continuously without any mechanical issues whatsoever. I'll get to posting a video sometime in the near future. Possible Reference for the decal:https://www.modellbahnshop-lippe.com/article_data/images/97/264116_b.jpg Edited January 21, 2020 by Beck Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SteamSewnEmpire Posted January 21, 2020 Looks fantastic. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Man with a hat Posted January 22, 2020 Looks great. Nice to see it build in real bricks now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beck Posted January 24, 2020 On 1/20/2020 at 6:20 PM, SteamSewnEmpire said: Looks fantastic. Thank you! On 1/21/2020 at 11:36 PM, Man with a hat said: Looks great. Nice to see it build in real bricks now. I am too! It's taken me quite some time to be able to finally build it IRL, but I'm really pleased with the result. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
