TaltosVT

MOC: Microscale Timesaver Switching Puzzle

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Just finished up my latest, a microscale timesaver switching puzzle.

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This puzzle is based on the original HO version by John Allen. Most model railroaders have probably heard of the timesaver, and I've been wanting to do a LEGO version for some time. The idea hit me at work today to build it microscale so that it would be portable.

The goal of the original game was to move cars to designated spots in the least amount of time. The track lengths were design to hold a certain number of cars each (1, 2, or 3) so that the operator had to make a number of moves to attain their goal. I've attempted to do the same on my version.

Variations of the game include moving cars to designated spots using the least amount of moves. Due to the tight fit on the diagonals of my model, it's best suited to these sorts of games. You can see a simle example of move counting in my Flickr set

-Elroy

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Just finished up my latest, a microscale timesaver switching puzzle.

-Elroy

This is such a nice idea and really well executed. I'm smiling just at the thought of taking this along to pass the time while displaying a layout at train shows :-)

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Brilliant, this is quite simply brilliant! Following up on peterab's comment, are you selling these? :tongue:

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Wow, now that's sweet! I had one of those when I was young and loved it (it wasn't made from Lego though...). This is a great idea and beautiful rendition.

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That's just awesome... I'm a fan of mini trains, I've never seen micro. Well done!

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Awesome puzzle! I used to read John Allen's stuff in Model Railroader way way back in time. Maybe you can send a pic to modelrailroader.com

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Pretty clever puzzle Taltos, and you've done a fantastic job at creating a LEGO version. I'm interested in seeing how the train cars are attached on the other side. I think this is most unique and deserving of a front-page. :thumbup:

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This is a great MOC, TaltosVT! :thumbup: I think it would fit well with the current assortment of LEGO Games.

Too frustrating! Remove the trains and stick them back in whatever order they're supposed to be : )

:laugh: I don't think that could be done with real train cars though--they weigh too much! Giant hand-shaped cranes could be built to lift train cars all around a switching yard, but they might be prohibitively expensive. :tongue:

-Toa Of Justice

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:laugh: Giant hand-shaped cranes could be built to lift train cars all around a switching yard, but they might be prohibitively expensive. :tongue:

-Toa Of Justice

Yeah, but think how cool they would be, and they would be easy to model in smaller scales, in fact, you could use your own hands :tongue:

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Sorry to bump this but I was looking up plans for Timesavers in HO, and I couldn't help but notice your Lego adaptation. This would definitely save more space than the HO one could ;)

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