MOC SAR 400 class (red hen), a design journey

[Adamskii]

Hello fellow train builders.

I wanted to create a local railcar from my youth that no longer exists, but has many memories for me. The South Australian Railways (SAR) 400 class , also known as a Red Hen due to its prominent colour.

A link to the Wiki on Redhens.. http://en.wikipedia..../Redhen_railcar

I wonder what steps other builders go through when turning an idea into reality so instead of just posting the final pics, I though maybe it would be interesting to show the steps I take ( some I am sure will be backwards).

SO firstly, I scour the internet for as many photographs of the model as possible - A solid reference library is a non negotiable. My local train museum happens to be the National one as well and will go back there in week or two, and take photo's and go for a ride on one of the working examples they have there!

here is an example of the vehicle to be modelled.

The next step for me is to identify sub assemblies within the model that lends itself to Lego construction. For example, what are the key character points for the vehicle? Do the bricks that best fit those characters come in the colors I will need? No point choosing to make something if there are no bricks in that color or shape to match. This idea has been mulling around for a year or two now so for some time I have tried to make myself aware of the colors and bricks that might be relevant.

So some of the key elements for this project is the curved roof, the doors (recessed), windows (frame colour, 2 part glass). Each item has a matching Lego piece or can be constructed, In the Reddish Brown color that best matches the train.

I don't have allot of reddish brown brick so Bricklink will be getting a visit. To create a shopping lis, firstly I need to make a plan / instruction.

I use Microsoft Excel to create a very quick design, I adjust the x and y axis to roughly meet the ratio of the Lego brick. By filling out the cells with borders and colours, I can plan out the train carriage to as best as possible maximise the proportions of the vehicle being modelled. Here is a screen grab :

I can get a pretty good idea of what type and how many bricks I need. I can also start to envision some of the design challenges. It is not a perfect method, it is however VERY quick, maybe a couple of hours.

I wanted to double check my design before buying all those bricks, so did a mock up build in rainbow bricks just to validate scale/ proportions etc. I choose to model in 6 wide at the carriage deck - the standard Lego train scale, I leave the 7 and 8 wide to the serious enthusiasts. Here is my mock up.

I worked out some issues with window scale, made a few attempts to represent some elements such as the wedges above the orange chevrons before settling on a modified plate, and the same with the lights, windows and even the heights of the doors.

Now I go off to Bricklink with my shopping list. The last week has seen me spend alot of money. although some parcels are turning up so have been able to very roughly assemble to the front end (albeit with a rubbish mess of bricks of different quality) SO this is the next step - as the bricks turn up, grow the vehicle !

Once the upper deck is complete (all the Reddish Brown turns up!) I will go ahead and work out the undercarriage. That A whole different ball game.

At this stage, as bricks arrive, I will also probably find flaws in design, or elements that don't look right and that will put me a loop of ordering new parts for alternative designs and so on. I expect this to last a few weeks.

This vehicle will be motorised and have an extremely limited interior.

I hope you enjoyed my design process so far. Any comments appreciated.

Adam

[Commander Wolf]

The thing I always like to find along with my many photos are engineering drawings. A lot of times photos distort proportions such that final models are less accurate than if modeled from drawings.

Why have you decided to do your CAD work in Excel as opposed to LDD or one of the other Lego CAD programs? That seems kind of odd to me.

[Adamskii]

Why have you decided to do your CAD work in Excel as opposed to LDD or one of the other Lego CAD programs? That seems kind of odd to me.

Thanks for the reply, I chose excel as it was quick, very quick... No brick selection, no "fitting" of parts, no libraries to go through, just click and fill cell with color. Also, I was making multiple changes on the fly at all levels/layers and its easy to delete a row of bricks, and easy to squash a line of bricks to plates. Its very easy to draw the front view when the side view has dictated the template. Same for the plan view of the base. Bottom line is speed not brick perfect accuracy. When MOC'ing, I find the the designs are fluidic at best anyways so would rather spend more time working on practical application and solutions. Furthermore, the point of the Excel wasn't so much as to create a virtual kit prior to build, but to generate a rough shopping list for Bricklink - as stated I have very limited Reddish Brown brick as wanted to get few orders off that night, and, as usual, on Bricklink, I don't just order the minimum I often clean out the seller on all the bricks that match the design in mind. So lots of room to make changes when parts arrive, and spares for other projects if not required!

Further more, I don't have a computer that would run LDD fast enough (working off a tablet). I can't run Blue brick (cant even find a working link) or anything like that so making the most of what I have that isn't pencil and paper!

Hope that clears it up and is a bit less odd.

Adam

[Lego Engineer]

Looking good so far. It's great seeing other South Australian builds on here. I would love to see more.

Edited January 24, 2015 by Lego Engineer

[zephyr1934]

It is neat to see your building process and the MOC looks great so far. You captured a lot of the details and made good work with those 1x2x2 windows to counter the normally low resolution of lego bricks.

[Adamskii]

It is neat to see your building process and the MOC looks great so far. You captured a lot of the details and made good work with those 1x2x2 windows to counter the normally low resolution of lego bricks.

Thank you for your comments. The windows are the greatest challenge for this project (essentially this is a square box with doors and windows). SO they have to be a key accurate feature so to speak. I note from many reference pictures the windows have a light grey (possibly chrome) window frame, and they are a two part design with an upper and lower section. There are some very old clear 1 x 2 x 2 lego bricks from trains that had this design painted on. but they are pricey to buy but could look very effective. Otherwise I have to Make up a two part window. The front two windows it must be noted are, single frames (driver etc) and the brown 1x2x2 work well. I am using them at the moment temporarily but will not be happy with them in the final design for the side windows !

Adam

[Daiman]

Came across this topic while considering a Red Hen build myself. invaluable thanks. I know this is an old topic but was wondering if you got to the completed stage. Fond memories heading out past Salisbury and Elizabeth to go to college on these, windows down, door slid open watching the ground whizz by. Not these days, kids don't know what they missed.

[Amoreternum]

Considering the OP has not been here since November of 2018, you'll most likely get no response.

[Daiman]

heh yeah I didn't do any legwork just took a shot, however mines well on the way.

 

[M_slug357]

@Daiman (imho) You should start a new thread to document your rendition, but also leave a link in that one to this one.

[Daiman]

On 3/1/2021 at 12:47 PM, M_slug357 said:

@Daiman (imho) You should start a new thread to document your rendition, but also leave a link in that one to this one.

Good idea but the parts arrived and I moved fast so Ill just post the pic so others can have a start to end in one thread.
Built on a shorter wheelbase (so less windows) otherwise this thing would be huge.

SAR Red Hen by Daiman