WIP MOC: ZSSK Class 363 "Pershing", 6W

[Murtin]

Hi everyone,

I've lurked on this forum for half a year and this is my first post.

I'd like to thank the community for the mere fact that it exists , the sheer talent behind many of the MOCs displayed here is mindblowing!

You have inspired me to make a stab at building my favorite electric loco: ES 499.1 of erstwhile Czechoslovak Railways, now the class 363 in the service of various Slovak and Czech carriers.

With its 1980s boxy design, this class might not be an exact eye-pleaser to every trainhead, but it occupies a special place in my heart!  At the time the two prototypes rolled off the production line (1980), they were the first kind of double-system locomotive (3 kV DC/25 kV AC) with a thyristor pulse regulation of traction motors in the world (says Wikipedia). Be that as it may, the pulse regulation worked at three fixed frequencies (33 1/3, 100 and 300 Hz), lending the loco its characteristic buzzing sound, which can be heard here: (video by Lookfromlok)

 

In the region where I live (as opposed to the rest of the country), the class was nicknamed the "Pershing" after the eponymous US intermediate-range ballistic missile, deployed in Western Europe in the late Cold War days . There was a heavy dose of sarcasm attached: due to then-frequent malfunctions of the pulse regulation, the class was perceived as capable of a lightning-quick acceleration but only a "short range" ride - just as the missile with the reputation for being less-than-reliable in its early stages of life. Later, bugs were identified and the technology tweaked, with these locos still being a common sight on both Slovak and Czech railways three decades later.

 

Here is the original:

 

I tried to render it in 6-wide because of the windscreen. (The moment I saw it, I thought - Pershing!)

0b6cc045de0c3c04054a968f24143064 (1) by Martin, on Flickr

tr02 by Martin, on Flickr

I intend to use stickers for logos, number plates and etc, but the coronavirus lockdown has put those plans on hold.

tr04 by Martin, on Flickr

Only a few test stickers have been applied to one cab, but the red color doesn't quite feel right. I'm still grappling with this

tr07 by Martin, on Flickr

The other side of the loco body has four round windows,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ČSD_Class_ES_499.1#/media/File:363_099-3,_Slovakia.jpg

but I opted to go with standard non-round Lego 2x2 windows due to size constraints

tr08 by Martin, on Flickr

tr09 by Martin, on Flickr

tr11 by Martin, on Flickr

tr05 by Martin, on Flickr

tr06 by Martin, on Flickr

What do you think?

Any constructive feedback/criticism welcome

 

Cheers!

 

 

[caiman0637]

This looks amazing! I agree, red doesn't seem right, but the real train has it. Dark red, maybe?

[ColletArrow]

That windscreen does match the LEGO part very well doesn't it, even though the angle isn't quite the same. The integration with the cheese-slope nose looks very neat, and I love the colour scheme and corrugated sides. The bufferbeam and roof detail is all superb too, it disguises just how "boxy" the loco is. Excellent work!

[Paperinik77pk]

Great locomotive - It's not an easy shape to replicate!!! Nice work!!! 

[Murtin]

Thank you all for your replies!

 

23 hours ago, caiman0637 said:

This looks amazing! I agree, red doesn't seem right, but the real train has it. Dark red, maybe?

Since I'm a rookie at this, it's been mostly an excercise of trial and error. I tried almost fifty shades of red and each came off the printer somehow mangled, less saturated. Well, I'll give it another try.

 

6 hours ago, ColletArrow said:

That windscreen does match the LEGO part very well doesn't it, even though the angle isn't quite the same. The integration with the cheese-slope nose looks very neat, and I love the colour scheme and corrugated sides. The bufferbeam and roof detail is all superb too, it disguises just how "boxy" the loco is. Excellent work!

Yep. The LEGO windscreen is more sloped, indeed, but those neat side windows look so close to the real thing that it triggered an instant attack of heartwarming nostalgia. And then, it's far from the only imperfection in angles/scaling of details, so I just chose to roll with it. Btw, I also wanted to add a bit more detail to the underside (was itching for sander hoses, train protection system sensors and so on), but quickly learned a lesson (the hard way) of how those PF train motors eat up most of the valuable 6W space. Thank you for the encouraging feedback ColletArrow, I appreciate it!

 

4 hours ago, Paperinik77pk said:

Great locomotive - It's not an easy shape to replicate!!! Nice work!!! 

Thanks, I'm glad you like it

 

[zephyr1934]

You did a great job capturing the prototype! As for the number on the front, I think the red is fine but the size is too large. Maybe make it 3 or 4 mm tall?

[Murtin]

On 3/31/2021 at 4:12 PM, zephyr1934 said:

You did a great job capturing the prototype! As for the number on the front, I think the red is fine but the size is too large. Maybe make it 3 or 4 mm tall?

The problem is that the red sticker is applied to a 1x2 metallic silver tile and that is too short to give it the right look (I think 1x4 would be the proper scale for the loco number plate). If I downsize the red, the metallic tile underneath, which was supposed to create the framing effect, would show disproportionately.

But hey, I like your idea! I could redesign the sticker entirely. Do the red in the right proportions, framed by printed metallic and then put the sticker on a blue 1x2 tile. Thank you, Zephyr1934!

[Feuer Zug]

Superb MOC. The detail work all around is excellent, and if one didn't know better, the side windows fit. The work on all the electrical connections on the top look fantastic.