28 replies to this topic

[Bricktrix]

http://www.flickr.co...s/31223598@N08/ for more info.

Big thanks to Pete Waterman for the use of his superb layout again.

[Internets]

Looks amazing!

[Davey]

Wow!  Now THAT is a Hogwarts Express.  Very well done.  I love the pin-striping work and the pistons are amazing.  Have you tried running this for a long period of time to see if there is any binding once the axles and driving rods heat up?  

Great work!

-Davey

[broomhandle]

wow! thats amazing. great build. and what tracks are those on? O scale? its not the same as lego right?

[Matt Dawson]

broomhandle, on May 24 2010, 04:05 AM, said:

wow! thats amazing. great build. and what tracks are those on? O scale? its not the same as lego right?

Pete Waterman models in O scale, roughly 1:43 scale. He even has his own model making company, Just Like The Real Thing.

But that is one awesome Hall, Bricktrix!

When you going to show a GWR version? Or, more to the point, share instriuctions? I'm envious.

[Chromeknight]

broomhandle, on May 24 2010, 01:05 PM, said:

wow! thats amazing. great build. and what tracks are those on? O scale? its not the same as lego right?

No it's not the same as LEGO, but so very close.

This might be more than you need to know but...

People often confuse the use of the word scale.
In (model) railroading, the distance between the rails is the Gauge.
In the picture above is O gauge track, which has 32mm between the rails.
That's pretty much equal to the length of a four stud brick.

This means when Lego wheel sets are put on O gauge track, one wheel sitting on the rail,
the other wheel will be sitting just outside the other track. If you look closely, you can see the overhang http://www.flickr.com/photos/31223598@N08/3476434853/in/photostream/

(But wait you say, Lego wheelsets are four studs between wheels! True, but you need to add a little for the thickness of the wheels)

Anyway. All the scenery is in O Scale, which is the proportion that something is in the model compared to real life
In the UK O Scale is 1:43.5. That works out to be that 7millimetres of model is equal to 1 foot of real life thing.

Carl builds his trains in about this scale, so they look the right size compared to the things around them in the picture.
Have a look at http://www.flickr.com/photos/31223598@N08/3476433099/ as an idea of the similarity of scale.

For an idea about scale, take a look at http://www.flickr.com/photos/gambort/2700119117/, showing what size minifigs would be in real life if they were considered to be various scale models. O scale varies between UK, Europe and the US. In the US it's 1:48, pretty much spot on for minifigs to be about 5'6"

[missouri_bb63]

This is fantastic. I have been avidly following all your creations on Flickr during the past weeks.  The level of realism you are currently achieving is really inspirational! I can't wait to finally have an opportunity to start building again.

Edited by missouri_bb63, 24 May 2010 - 11:17 AM.

[Perfectionist]

When I first saw the pic, I though: No this can't be Lego, but - amazingly - it is!
Of course the setting also adds to that impression, but I have to say:
You did an outstanding job on it!
It's so smooth...  
I esspecially like the full and very detailed interior in a just 7 wide train!
Internal compartments are a great touch!

+

Chromeknight, on May 24 2010, 11:06 AM, said:

No it's not the same as LEGO, but so very close.

Interesting information, thanbk you!  

[Sinner]

Perfectionist, on May 24 2010, 08:25 PM, said:

When I first saw the pic, I though: No this can't be Lego, but - amazingly - it is!

Me too!   I must confess that I ignored this topic until TheBrickster frontpaged it; Harry Potter isn't an interest of mine. But this is beautifiul! Does it run as well as it looks?

Thanks for sharing.

[TheBrickster]

Perfectionist, on May 24 2010, 04:25 AM, said:

When I first saw the pic, I though: No this can't be Lego, but - amazingly - it is!

My thoughts exactly.  Well deserving of a front-page!  That layout looks fantastic as well.

[Quarryman]

Wow. Surely that's what a Hogwarts Express should look like.

[SamuelsBricker]

Cool

[lightningtiger]

That's the real deal, big wheels and all.....not that set thats passing itself off as Hogwarts Express later in the year.
It's BEAUTIFUL !
Keep on bricking everyone really keep on bricking !

[Matt Dawson]

You've been blogged at Brothers Brick!

[Toa_Of_Justice]

Perfectionist, on May 24 2010, 07:25 AM, said:

When I first saw the pic, I though: No this can't be Lego, but - amazingly - it is!
Of course the setting also adds to that impression, but I have to say:
You did an outstanding job on it!
It's so smooth...  
I esspecially like the full and very detailed interior in a just 7 wide train!
Internal compartments are a great touch!

+
Interesting information, thanbk you!  

You took the words right off my keyboard, Perfectionist. I totally agree with your comments.

-Toa Of Justice

[ZO6]

That is absolutely incredible!     What a beautiful creation!  

I really can't express all the positive feelings towards this train.  Everything just looks amazing.  The amount of detail and fascinating building techniques is just mind blowing.  The exterior looks fabulous, and the interior is brilliant as well.  

Lovely.  Thanks for sharing.

[Commodore Hornbricker]

It looks so real I did a double take when I saw it.  Totally amazing creation.

[greg3]

That looks brilliant... it wasn't until I noticed  the plates behind the buffers that I realised it was Lego!!! Simply stunning!!!

[Matn]

Like I said on Flickr, absolutely fantastic!   Even if it's not 100%, it's still awesome. I couldn't imagine how to make this train without using non-LEGO stuff. The details are amazing and it just looks like a model train. When I'll build my own Hogwarts train I'll use this a bit as an example for sure!    Great work!

[Bricktrix]

Thanks for all the great comments  
Its no secret that this is used in the new Harry Potter Lego game due to be released. I designed the game model, this is my personal redesign to allow it to run around curves, points, etc, plus I got to tidy a few areas up that I wasnt happy with the first time round due to deadlines, its taken 3 months of my limited personal time to make all the changes and get this build finished ;)

Davey, thank you, the longest this has been run without stopping is about 2 hours, with no problems. To be honest, with the type of shows I do, thats probably the max time it will ever run in one span, as I tend to swap the engines and rakes over often to demo them all.

MattD again thank you, a GWR version will be along at some time, but will probably be changed into a Castle class. I've uploaded the break down pictures of this tonight to my Brickshelf account, so they should be up within the next 24 hours.


Siegfried thank you, yes it runs well now, it took a lot of messing around with though to get it smooth through tight point sections (the type that TLG advise you against!)
The pistons and piston boxes are all pivoted, which allows them to angle outwards through curves, being pushed by the rear pony truck wheel. They then fall back into place on straights.
However, the weight of the carriages with interiors are extremely heavy, I had planned on doing 4 carriages, but these 3 are all it can manage with just 1 9v motor, if I could manage to cram more weight into the tender to stop the wheel slip when pulling extra weight it would be okay, sadly just not enough room in there now.

Brickster Petes layout is absoloutely stunning, certainly a sight to behold and the feature of many magazine and DVD articles. Luckily I'm priviliged enough to be welcome back there. His models are amazing also, they are scale weight and use working suspension, the engines "wheel slip" on pulling off and the right "clickety clack" sound resonates around the barn when they run.

[Randal]

That looks really good.

Edited by Randal, 25 May 2010 - 04:01 AM.

[Aeturnus]

Really nice work, or should I say legendary?
I think old Hornby and HO trains got me into lego trains in the first place.
I love steam locomotives.  

[Ras 74]

Not often I end up in here posting, but your train made me do so.
Trains are not in my biggest interest. Even so I got a few of the classic ones.
This version of the HE is a true beuty of what can be built with bricks.
I had to google HE to see some reference pictures as well, and I think you nailed it.
Thanks for sharing.

[peterab]

I think Bricktrix has done an awesome job, and even though he's used somewhat non-purist techniques which I probably wouldn't choose my self, I think the end justifies the means in this case. Oh and I'd like to point out that I really like this despite my general ambivilance toward British trains.

Ras's tags have also reminded me that I observed a while ago that the Train Tech forum has been quite restricted in handidng out tags, I think this is a case in point. A similar moc in any other theme would probably get calls for a Moc expert tag, so I'll be the one to suggest to Siegfried, Brickster and Ras, surely this deserves a train tag. I know we're a small group, and we don't put out a lot of Mocs by comparison to other themes, but I think this illustrates that part of the reason is trainheads are particular and our Mocs can take a lot of time.

[CommanderFox]

Incredible!   Just incredible!!
You really got the design perfect, and the background-layout makes it look straight from the movies!!
Great job   

CommanderFox