Ferro-Friki Posted October 22 Posted October 22 Here’s my latest MOC, RENFE’s Series 269 locomotive in the Estrella livery. Designed by Mitsubishi, crew and train fans alike resorted to calling the S-269 “La Japonesa” (the Japanese). (Photo by Felix Serrano on Listadotren) Due to her versatility, there were 269s all over the country. By themselves they were adequate at pulling freighters, could always be coupled together for more power, and were more than fast enough for pulling passenger trains. One of the services they provided was the Estrella express night trains, which featured this iconic tan, brown and orange livery. Out of all their liveries, by far my favorite. Although RENFE has long retired these engines from its fleet, the Japonesas have found a second life working for private companies in Spain, most notably Alsa, which uses some of them for pulling historic tourist trains. (The design went through some minor modifications since the making of this render) This MOC is designed to be powered by two PF L motors and a BuWizz battery box, although it’s spacious enough to fit alternative power options. It has M wheels from HA Bricks geared 1:1 with the motors and can navigate R40 curves. I used silver TrimLine modelling tape for the windshield and side window frames, a detail that in my opinion really captures the look of the engine. Some of the part choices and techniques I’m particularly proud of are the whip pieces for the double heading cable, ribbed hose pieces for the secondary suspension, black sausages with minifigure hands for the brake and main air tank pipes, or the entire not-quite-flat, slightly angled cabin front. It also features a 9V era magnet from HA Bricks at the cabin 2 end, and a more realistic but non-functional hook at the cabin 1 end. Also, thanks to Flickr for not letting me post full quality picture links of photos that I uploaded myself. What is wrong with you :) Quote
Toastie Posted October 22 Posted October 22 1 hour ago, Ferro-Friki said: Some of the part choices and techniques I’m particularly proud of are the whip pieces for the double heading cable, ribbed hose pieces for the secondary suspension, black sausages with minifigure hands for the brake and main air tank pipes, or the entire not-quite-flat, slightly angled cabin front. OK. Honestly? Your list is way too short: The entire appearance of the locomotive? The simply >perfect< match with the original? The vivid colors? The choice of the original? The angles? The colors? This is so incredibly well "done" - "created" is much better - I am in total awe. Congratulations, and thank you very much for sharing. Best wishes Thorsten P.S.: If these are not full quality pictures, I am thanking Flickr - otherwise I may have fainted. Quote
L-Gauger Posted October 22 Posted October 22 (edited) I know these locomotives are really boxy, but I think I might have a new favorite Spanish electric locomotive. Lots of NPU all around - you did a fantastic job modeling this locomotive! I echo @Toastie's comments in this regard! I do have one thought regarding the couplers - I can't quite tell how you have everything arranged on the bufferbeam, but for my European-prototype MOCs I have chosen to forego magnet couplers. Instead I use plates with Technic holes like this: or this: For the coupling proper, I use a chain, 5 links: I incorporate one end of the chain into the model, and attach a Technic half-pin and a Pneumatic T-bar to the other. This system allows two coupling options, 1) attach the chain from one coupler to the Technic plate of another, or 2) use a 5-long Technic half-beam as a drawbar. Method 1 looks better but requires functional buffers and is best suited for wide curves, so normally I only depend of method 2 as a backup option. So far though, I'm happy with the deign. Maybe you can adapt it to give this locomotive a functional front coupler? So you can see what my coupler design looks like assembled, here's a link to my model of Thomas the Tank Engine, equipped with bufferbeams and couplers of the type I've described: https://www.bricktrainawards.com/entries/north-western-ry-no-1-thomas/ If I didn't make it clear, your work is excellent! I especially love how you were able to replicate the slightly angled nose... that must have taken a lot of SNOT! Edited October 22 by L-Gauger Quote
Sven J Posted October 22 Posted October 22 (edited) What a tremendous job with the livery, the angled fronts and all the details! Absolutely outstanding! One detail I really love is the design of the headlamps, with rollerskates above (no idea for what purpose they serve on the prototype). Only question, where did you get those white rings? Edited October 22 by Sven J Quote
Ferro-Friki Posted October 23 Author Posted October 23 13 hours ago, Toastie said: OK. Honestly? Your list is way too short: The entire appearance of the locomotive? The simply >perfect< match with the original? The vivid colors? The choice of the original? The angles? The colors? This is so incredibly well "done" - "created" is much better - I am in total awe. Congratulations, and thank you very much for sharing. Thank you! The colors really invoke a warm sunset as you wind down for a good night of sleep onboard. I don’t rule out building matching coaches in the future. 13 hours ago, Toastie said: P.S.: If these are not full quality pictures, I am thanking Flickr - otherwise I may have fainted. I was able to post links from mostly other places, but two of the pictures are from Flickr with lower quality… 12 hours ago, L-Gauger said: I know these locomotives are really boxy She is not beating the shoebox allegations 12 hours ago, L-Gauger said: I might have a new favorite Spanish electric locomotive. Well, I have good news for you then, because this engine has a sequel! The S-251. 12 hours ago, L-Gauger said: I can't quite tell how you have everything arranged on the bufferbeam Here’s the bogie with the magnet. It has a wide range of movement and is R40-proof. That’s a good solution for European couplers, the chain is certainly closer to the real thing, and the idea of working buffers is very intriguing. However, the magnets are the most versatile and convenient solution in my experience. They couple automatically, you can decouple them without even touching them just by pulling on the coaches, and are compatible with pretty much any Lego train, official or custom, ever made. Even if they are slightly toyish. 11 hours ago, Sven J said: What a tremendous job with the livery, the angled fronts and all the details! Absolutely outstanding! Thank you! :) 11 hours ago, Sven J said: (no idea for what purpose they serve on the prototype). They're the reflective tail signal holders, in case the engine has to be towed. 11 hours ago, Sven J said: Only question, where did you get those white rings? I got them from Webrick. They have many pieces in colors Lego has never produced. I get many of my bricks from them, I've never been much of a purist. Quote
Sven J Posted October 23 Posted October 23 Thank you for clarifying! I occasionally buy some parts in special colours from Webrick myself, but have refrained from building complete models using their bricks. Fit and quality are not quite up to Lego's standard in my opinion. However, these parts are quite handy: Quote
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted October 23 Posted October 23 10 hours ago, Ferro-Friki said: Wow, the locomotive is incredible...recreating the livery in Lego without using stickers is a miracle. Seeing this truck shows the level of attention and flexibility in finding unconventional solutions: the sausages used to simulate compressed air hoses are ingenious ...the red and dark blue hands are truly striking. Everything is an ode to detail! Quote
Shiva Posted October 24 Posted October 24 Thumb ups from me. I can not say more than the above have said :) Quote
zephyr1934 Posted October 24 Posted October 24 That is an amazing build. I must say, getting the roughly 2° angle on the front is crazy. That's a great MOC. You packed a lot of NPU into a small space and made it look easy. Though the sequel S-251 looks like it might go up to 11. Quote
L-Gauger Posted October 24 Posted October 24 On 10/23/2025 at 4:56 AM, Ferro-Friki said: Well, I have good news for you then, because this engine has a sequel! The S-251. See, this is why I say you need a functioning front coupler, so you can put both these magnificent engines at the head of the same train! Wait... is this S-251 a C-C-C wheel arrangement? I think that's the first of the kind I've seen. On 10/23/2025 at 4:56 AM, Ferro-Friki said: Here’s the bogie with the magnet. It has a wide range of movement and is R40-proof Thank you! You know, I think this would be easy to adapt to a chain coupling. The technic half beam already can serve as the coupling point the only thing left to figure out would be where exactly to anchor the fixed end of the chain. On 10/23/2025 at 4:56 AM, Ferro-Friki said: That’s a good solution for European couplers, the chain is certainly closer to the real thing, and the idea of working buffers is very intriguing. However, the magnets are the most versatile and convenient solution in my experience. They couple automatically, you can decouple them without even touching them just by pulling on the coaches, and are compatible with pretty much any Lego train, official or custom, ever made. Even if they are slightly toyish. On 10/22/2025 at 5:41 PM, Sven J said: I agree, the magnets are way more convenient. The only reason I offered the suggestion was because I was thinking that maybe you could keep the magnet coupler in the back while upgrading the front bogie to use my chain coupling. Then you would have a good-looking engine that also has some kind of functioning front coupler whenever that might be helpful (such as when running with the S-251 in a doubleheader, or when shunting.) Personally, I like making all my engines with at least some kind of excuse for a front coupler, because for whatever reason anytime I leave the front coupler out on a model, it is needed on a frequent basis. Quote
Ferro-Friki Posted October 25 Author Posted October 25 On 10/23/2025 at 12:15 PM, Sven J said: Fit and quality are not quite up to Lego's standard in my opinion. That’s true, although they are by no means bad. Still, when I’m sourcing bricks for a MOC and Bricklink tells me I need to order from 8 different shops, each with its own shipping fee… Reducing it to just 2 Bricklink orders and a Webrick order really makes up for the small quality difference. On 10/23/2025 at 12:15 PM, Sven J said: I’ve never seen these before. And Webrick sells them? Are the side studs sturdy and well aligned? I’ll play around with them, they look useful. @LEGO Train 12 Volts, @Shiva, @zephyr1934 Thanks! :) 21 hours ago, L-Gauger said: Wait... is this S-251 a C-C-C wheel arrangement? I think that's the first of the kind I've seen. Yup, it’s a 3 bogie B’B’B’ engine. They were a lot more common in Asia, but there’s a few of them in Europe. Nowadays manufacturers prefer Co’Co’ configurations. Middle bogies can be troublesome. 21 hours ago, L-Gauger said: Thank you! You know, I think this would be easy to adapt to a chain coupling. The technic half beam already can serve as the coupling point the only thing left to figure out would be where exactly to anchor the fixed end of the chain. Thanks, but I’m happy with my current bufferbeam solution. It works for me, and I like seeing a prominent hook on one of them. 21 hours ago, L-Gauger said: such as when running with the S-251 in a doubleheader Oh, the S-251 never double-heads trains. She’s way too power hungry. Two of them can easily shut down an electrical substation. At most you can occasionally see a broken down 251 being towed by another. Quote
Sven J Posted October 25 Posted October 25 30 minutes ago, Ferro-Friki said: I’ve never seen these before. And Webrick sells them? Are the side studs sturdy and well aligned? I’ll play around with them, they look useful. Yes, they`re great, and much sturdier than I expected. Webrick lists them as parts GDS-90190, GDS-90192, GDS-90193, GDS-90294 and GDS-2201 (don't mind that they call them "boards with panels"...). I used one GDS-90193 for attaching the double slope in the radiator of my Mercedes SSKL recently. A purist solution is much bulkier. Quote
L-Gauger Posted October 27 Posted October 27 (edited) On 10/25/2025 at 1:33 PM, Ferro-Friki said: Yup, it’s a 3 bogie B’B’B’ engine. Oops, I meant to say B-B-B. Thanks for catching my error! On 10/25/2025 at 1:33 PM, Ferro-Friki said: Nowadays manufacturers prefer Co’Co’ configurations. Middle bogies can be troublesome. I can see why, but at least they look cool! On 10/25/2025 at 1:33 PM, Ferro-Friki said: Thanks, but I’m happy with my current bufferbeam solution. It works for me, and I like seeing a prominent hook on one of them. Hey, no trouble! The solution you have looks great! On 10/25/2025 at 1:33 PM, Ferro-Friki said: Oh, the S-251 never double-heads trains. She’s way too power hungry. Two of them can easily shut down an electrical substation. At most you can occasionally see a broken down 251 being towed by another. Oh, wow! Didn't think of that, but what I had in mind was pairing a "Japonesa" with an S-241. Probably would short out the substation just the same, though... Edited October 27 by L-Gauger Quote
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