[MOC] [WIP] Shinkansen N700S

[sebulba56]

Hi ! About a month ago I teased this project, and now I’m opening a topic to follow the WIP of my Shinkansen MOC. My goal is to submit it to the BrickLink Designer Program Series 11 in April.

My inspiration is the Shinkansen N700S, the latest version of the high speed train that connects Tokyo to Fukuoka via Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, and more. It’s definitely not an easy train to reproduce in LEGO because of its proportions and overall shape. It’s extremely flat and very close to the ground. The nose is terribly very complex.

 

Let’s start with the front end. It took me several months and many iterations to achieve a result I’m satisfied with. I finally got something that works thanks to the many slopes, wedges, and curved slopes LEGO has released in recent years.

 

 

 

The second problem I’ve had to deal with so far is the bogies. On the real train, part of them is covered by skirts. That means I had to design bogies without using the LEGO parts normally intended for that purpose. Since I want to submit this MOC to BDP11, I can’t use unofficial parts or illegal techniques. So I had to get creative to design bogies with as little friction as possible. I’m quite happy with the solution I ended up with : the 7L axle only rubs on a single stud. I’ve done some tests and it rolls almost as well as pre-assembled bogies.

 

 

Here’s where things stand today. There are still a few challenges I already know I’ll have to face: fitting powered bogies into one of the cars (they are much larger than my custom bogies), and making sure seated minifigures can fit inside the train (there won’t be enough space for them to stand). My goal for the BDP 11 is to build, one end car, one intermediate car and one power car with the pantograph. Maybe I will build a second end car for myself to have a full 4 cars consist. If you want more frequent updates, you can follow me on instragram @sebulba_creations !

That’s all for now! Feel free to share any feedback, and I’ll be happy to keep you updated as the project progresses over the next few weeks. 

Edited March 16 by sebulba56
IG added

[Darkkostas25]

Interesting solution for bogies. And yeah, good that we now have new curves and you nailed using them for the beak/head of locomotive

[Shiva]

Nice Shinkansen. How well will those bogies run in the long term? I think it is good to have alternative boggi options.

[Feuer Zug]

The Shinkansen N700 design and the bogies are both great. Nice engineering.

[L-Gauger]

Terrific work on this model, @sebulba56! You captured the streamlined shape very well, and I especially like the way you figured out for making actual outside-frame bogies. 

[zephyr1934]

That is insanely complex. I don't even want to think about those curves on the nose (now I'm going to have nightmares). Crazy impressive how well you've tamed the wild curves.

[sebulba56]

Hi, first of all, thanks for all you feedbacks !

On 3/16/2026 at 12:14 PM, Shiva said:

Nice Shinkansen. How well will those bogies run in the long term? I think it is good to have alternative boggi options.

Thanks ! I have made some running test on an R40 loop for like 30 min and did not see any sign of degradation. With one power car with two city motors, I can push 2 non-powered car. I am not sure it can handle more.

On 3/17/2026 at 8:30 PM, L-Gauger said:

Terrific work on this model, @sebulba56! You captured the streamlined shape very well, and I especially like the way you figured out for making actual outside-frame bogies. 

Thanks ! Don't hesitate to try to reproduce the bogies and use it in your MOCs, maybe it will improve the design !

On 3/18/2026 at 6:38 AM, zephyr1934 said:

That is insanely complex. I don't even want to think about those curves on the nose (now I'm going to have nightmares). Crazy impressive how well you've tamed the wild curves.

Thanks for your feedback, this is a very difficult shape to model indeed. I am still working on making some adjustments to the nose tip. I fear i am falling in a endlessly unsatisfaction spiral ahah. I need to know where to stop :).
. 

[sebulba56]

Hi! I’ve made some pretty interesting progress over the past few days, so let me show you what’s new.

First, I reworked the nose : it’s now much cleaner and sharper. I now consider the end car done.

 

I also improved the connections between the cars to reduce the gap between them as much as possible using cheese slopes. While doing that, I took the opportunity to model the second non‑motorized car.

 

 

I’ve also worked on the interiors: first class now features dark red seats, and second class has blue ones. Each seat has an armrest and a small space for luggage.

Despite the limited room in the cab, I managed to fit enough space for the driver, who now has all the controls needed to race through the Japanese countryside at 300 km/h.

So that’s where things stand today. I managed to move forward quite quickly on these smaller tasks, and they really lead to some interesting results. I ordered this week-end a big lot of parts to build those two cars. The last big step is finishing the motorized car, which will carry the pantograph. I’ve already drafted the internal structure, but I still need to build the entire shell around it. Its internal design will be quite different from the other cars, even though the exterior will look identical.

To finish, there’s something I’d like to get your opinion on. As I mentioned in my first post, I plan to submit this MOC to BDP11. My original goal was tos use around 2,500 parts, but right now, with just the three cars, I think I’ll be closer to 2,000. I’m considering adding track with a simple, clean base. Would you find it interesting if I added a small section of platform for minifig interaction? Something similar to the Hogwarts Express 76405. I’m worried that adding just a tiny bit of platform might look awkward, but on the other hand, building a platform the full length of the train (around 1 meter) would be way too part‑heavy.

Part of me thinks “less is more” and that I should just keep the Shinkansen on its track, without extra scenery but it’s always tempting to add more details and fun elements.

Edited March 25 by sebulba56

[rjr]

That nose looks great this way!

[TeddytheSpoon]

Stunning! I cannot wait to see this in the brick (assuming you will build it of course!).

As far as extras goes, I think the Shinkansen is enough on its own as long as a few figures are included. A driver, conductor and a couple of passengers perhaps?

[Ts__]

Looks great! The shape of the nose really isn't easy—you did a great job!

 

Thomas

[sebulba56]

On 3/25/2026 at 3:54 PM, rjr said:

That nose looks great this way!

Thanks ! I think I will keep it that way now, i don't have much time until BDP 11 so I need to keep going in the direction I am in.

On 3/25/2026 at 4:12 PM, TeddytheSpoon said:

Stunning! I cannot wait to see this in the brick (assuming you will build it of course!).

As far as extras goes, I think the Shinkansen is enough on its own as long as a few figures are included. A driver, conductor and a couple of passengers perhaps?

Thx ! I made a big bricklink order to build it in real. I should make its first run in 7-10 days. I will obviously keep everyone updated. As for the extras, this is also what I had in mind. I'll make a base and will include 8-9 figures so driver + conductor + 6-7 passengers will be nice. To spice up the interior, I am curently designing some (japanese ^^) toilets, a conductor cab and maybe I will add a sort of engine room. It is a very sober train, that makes it hard to bring some fun inside it.

On 3/25/2026 at 5:06 PM, Ts__ said:

Looks great! The shape of the nose really isn't easy—you did a great job!

 

Thomas

Thanks for your support !

[sebulba56]

Hi,

I have made some big steps forward ! I've fully built the 3 car set, you'll see some pictures down bellow. I've encoutered some issues during this phase. I had to rebuild the bogies to make them stronger, they were exploding when navigating tight S curves at high speed. I have also added some reinforcement so the side windows as they were way too bendy. Sadly, the brick-built version does not benefits of those improvments. However, the digital version that I submited to BDP11 does, so everything should be okay. I'll be happy to read your feedbacks !

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Darkkostas25]

I wish it would win (go into production)  

[TeddytheSpoon]

My word it looks even better in the brick! I hope you take it to some shows, this deserves to be seen running!

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Absolutely wonderful!

The front is impressive, but the bogies are also noteworthy.

[Shiva]

Nice to see it in real bricks :)