Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Posted

As a modeler of N. American trains, the lego buffer plates always sort of nagged at me. They certainly show the lego roots on the Super Chief, but when going for more detail the buffers get in the way of a North American design. I typically use the old style magnets and 2x3 plates with holes to get around that problem, but at some point I will run out of those magnets and there are some places where you simply cannot use the 2x3 plates, e.g., hanging off the end of a PF or 9v train motor. I've long wished that the buffers be made a separate piece held on by a single stud, while retaining the beam to prevent ingesting the magnets.

A month or two back I decided to put it to the test. Pulling out my trusty hack saw I made quick work of two unsuspecting buffers. I think the net result is good enough for my occasional use on train motors, so I thought I would share.

64424realized.jpg

Posted

Hi zephyr, have you used any technic thin beams? I use those in conjunction with the old style magnets as a solution sometimes.

I've had this problem enough times to complain about it as well, but I don't quite have the stomach to mod parts quite yet. I have considered the old Technic plates, but most of the time the problem is with the 3-stud length of the fishplate, in which case the Technic beams (and even the old 1xN Technic plates) don't help either, because they're all longer.

Posted

I could never find a magnet solution that I like, so I've been trying to create functional knuckle couplers out of purely legal parts for quite a while. If I'm ever successful, I will share the results with the community.

Posted

@garethjellis

Thanks for the tips, indeed, if I recall correctly you often make long coaches where you need the extra swing for the tight lego curves. This mod was just for the cases where I do not have room to use the 2x3 plates on the trucks.

@Commander Wolf

That's a good point, and thinking further, there is probably some combination of pins and technic pieces that could get the coupler out there in just the right spot with only one stud to do it from the train motor, but heckifIknow what it is. Still, I suspect it would not be as strong as the buffer plate though.

@Aaron

Oh my, functional knuckle couplers out of strictly lego parts!? The only ideas that come to my mind would be 4 studs wide... way too large for even 8 wide trains. Definitely post in a new thread if/when you have some progress on this immense challenge.

@greenmtvince

Good point, that potentially solves the availability problem... though I suspect Steve assumes one would use lego magnets removed from the black couplers. It would be great if he had a potential source for compatible magnets. Still, those do not solve my original problem of getting a coupler in the right place off of a motor in the minimum amount of spacing. Truth be told, I did this mod strictly out of curiosity. For the moment all of my trains with buffers off of a motor still have buffers off of the motor. It is little nod, true to the classic lego design.

  • 3 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...