[moc] BR A4 4-6-2 'Sir Nigel Gresley'

[LordsofMedieval]

There are a handful of pieces missing that need to be force-fit (not egregiously - we're talking like a quarter of a millimeter offset here), as well as 2 custom parts absent (going to use tiny custom triangles to fill in those gaps where the firebox angles down to the frame; will use the glued 2569 antenna technique to get small-diameter handrails). And, obviously, some stickers would be required. The entire pilot assembly is designed to swing, with roughly 11 degrees of play either way. That's not great, but a lot of people have engines that are limited to larger radius curves. 

I'm most please with the front. The A4s have this weird profile where the nose doesn't just slope inwards as it goes to the rear, but features very delicate up and outwards lateral flare. Obviously, a perfect 1-for-1 isn't achievable in Lego, but I feel like this is pretty close (with minimum gaps). And, finally, neither blue nor dark blue really quite match British Railways Blue, but I think dark blue is the nearer of the two (the real color is slightly more saturated, and probably one shade lighter).

 

 

[Darkkostas25]

Marvellous! Nice idea with the front part! Cool design and execution!   

[LEGOTrainBuilderSG]

Shaped beautifully! Love how the wheel flanges are hiding behind those cleverly designed curved sides. 

[Feuer Zug]

Awesome A4 Pacific! You've captured the look as best possible with LEGO. I don't even notice the parts issues and can easily overlook the color. Keep up the great work!

[LordsofMedieval]

3 hours ago, Feuer Zug said:

Awesome A4 Pacific! You've captured the look as best possible with LEGO. I don't even notice the parts issues and can easily overlook the color. Keep up the great work!

Honest question: do you think dark blue or blue are closest? BR blue was different from the blue that Mallard was painted (which is definitely normal blue).

Honestly, in terms of shade (but obviously not color), I think purple is closer to BR blue than dark blue is. But then everyone would be like 'why is it purple?'

Edited June 7, 2023 by LordsofMedieval

[Hod Carrier]

6 hours ago, LordsofMedieval said:

Honest question: do you think dark blue or blue are closest? BR blue was different from the blue that Mallard was painted (which is definitely normal blue).

Honestly, in terms of shade (but obviously not color), I think purple is closer to BR blue than dark blue is. But then everyone would be like 'why is it purple?'

Dark blue is VERY dark. I have some parts in my bin in that colour, and it's hard to tell them apart from black.

Looking at photos of Sir Nigel together with Mallard, I would say that they are both almost the same shade of blue. There isn't a huge difference between BR Blue (which really doesn't look purple in real life) and LNER Garter Blue. They look different because Sir Nigel no longer has the streamlined wheel and motion covers which accentuates the amount of black visible. It also has banding over the casing, whereas Mallard is simply plain blue.

Also, bear in mind that looking at photos online can also be misleading where colour is concerned, as there are any number of factors that can affect how it can be presented and reproduced. In some pictures, Mallard can appear almost azure. 

I vote standard LEGO blue for both.

I think you've done a grand job at capturing the shape of an A4. The only nit I would pick over the styling would be that the lower front casing should taper inwards on both sides where the buffer are fitted. I'm also a little confused about the configuration of the drivers. Do you not need more than one set of flanged drivers?

[LordsofMedieval]

3 hours ago, Hod Carrier said:

Dark blue is VERY dark. I have some parts in my bin in that colour, and it's hard to tell them apart from black.

Looking at photos of Sir Nigel together with Mallard, I would say that they are both almost the same shade of blue. There isn't a huge difference between BR Blue (which really doesn't look purple in real life) and LNER Garter Blue. They look different because Sir Nigel no longer has the streamlined wheel and motion covers which accentuates the amount of black visible. It also has banding over the casing, whereas Mallard is simply plain blue.

Also, bear in mind that looking at photos online can also be misleading where colour is concerned, as there are any number of factors that can affect how it can be presented and reproduced. In some pictures, Mallard can appear almost azure. 

I vote standard LEGO blue for both.

That's very helpful. Thank you. I struggle with colors a lot.

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I think you've done a grand job at capturing the shape of an A4. The only nit I would pick over the styling would be that the lower front casing should taper inwards on both sides where the buffer are fitted. 

Yeah, but there's only so much tapering I can do at this scale. Unfortunately, the nature of sloped parts is that almost none of them are complex double curves. There are a very small number that do this (the relatively-new 76797 being one such example), but none at the scale and with that little 'finesse' that I would need. Ultimately, I had to choose which curve I wanted to emphasize on the nose: those seen from profile, or those seen from the front. I went with side view.

Quote

I'm also a little confused about the configuration of the drivers. Do you not need more than one set of flanged drivers?

That was actually an error on my part when test-fitting wheels. I was really, really tired, and it wasn't until after I had spent the time rendering the images that I noticed that I had gone flangeless-flanged-flangeless. The engine was designed to accommodate flanges on the first and third drivers.

There was another error that crept in prior to rendering - that the tender is actually one plate lower than it should be relative to the loco - and, again, that was unintended and was fixed. It just takes a while to do renders, and I didn't feel like having to tax my PC further than was necessary (it's been having a lot of problems recently, and I want to get the most I can out of it before I buy another). 

[Sven J]

That's a magnificent rendition of the prototype's complex shapes!
I hope to see it built in real bricks soon.

On 6/6/2023 at 6:45 PM, LordsofMedieval said:

will use the glued 2569 antenna technique to get small-diameter handrails

Did you consider using strings instead?

[Feuer Zug]

21 hours ago, LordsofMedieval said:

Honest question: do you think dark blue or blue are closest? BR blue was different from the blue that Mallard was painted (which is definitely normal blue).

Honestly, in terms of shade (but obviously not color), I think purple is closer to BR blue than dark blue is. But then everyone would be like 'why is it purple?'

I'm going to vote blue. Especially with LEGO, the lighter shade will help bring out the details and make it more visually appealing.

[Murdoch17]

6 hours ago, Feuer Zug said:

I'm going to vote blue. Especially with LEGO, the lighter shade will help bring out the details and make it more visually appealing.

I third the vote for regular blue.

[LordsofMedieval]

Okie. I will do original blue. 

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

The curved line over the big wheels is amazing, beautiful level of detail!
The cabin and the tender are also very nice.
Unlike other users I think dark blue makes this model perfect ...it's just my opinion

[zephyr1934]

That is one prototype that is VERY hard to do well in Lego and you've done a great job with some clever tricks. I like the way you are using 1x panels to hide the parts necessary to support the grand curve.

 

On 6/7/2023 at 6:14 PM, Hod Carrier said:

I vote standard LEGO blue for both.

My first thought was stick with dark blue. Ultimately any lego build is a caricature of the prototype, so in my opinion if you don't have a perfect color match accentuating the color helps bring out that part of the character. However, in this case by using dark blue you do mask the beautiful coloring of the two tone pain scheme, so regular blue wins on that count. I think a strong argument could be made either way. Moc it up both ways and see which is better in your eyes. Or if it is strictly a virtual MOC, present both.

If it is still a WIP, you can post some non-rendered screen shots of the two variants and get feedback.

 

 

PS, on a semi-related note, I've always thought the Darlington "Brick Train" of the Malard is just asking to be built in lego

(source here)

[ivanlan9]

Wow.  That thing's awesome (the Darlington Brick Train).

[LordsofMedieval]

22 hours ago, ivanlan9 said:

Wow.  That thing's awesome (the Darlington Brick Train).

Looks tedious to build, to say the least. My guess is that it was done with computer assistance?

Edited June 26, 2023 by LordsofMedieval