Redimus Posted June 15, 2015 (edited) A couple of weeks ago, I was browsing eBay and noticed several knock off Lego trains by a company called Ausini, some with wagons or coachs very clearly based on old Lego designs, some with random new design coachs, all with locomotives that are different to existing Lego designs. One in particular actually looked rather good, and being very cheap (£25 inc postage), I thought why not? I received the set, and was happy to see that, while the bricks were far from Lego quality, they were more than good enough to blend in with proper Lego, and that the set was a fun build. It wasn't, however, perfect. The main problems were the asymmetrical cabs, naff under loco detail, stunted pantagraphs, doors that were too far inset and lack of motive power. I briefly mulled over just using what I had, but I knew I'd need a lot more of certain green and blue bits, and that proper Lego versions would stand out for not being the same shade. So, I decided to buy a second set (irritatingly, it had gone up £5... but still a bargain, considering I was getting another couple of wagons too, oddly enough, I looked after I ordered, and sure enough, it had gone up again by £5... strange strategy by the seller). I already had most of the general Lego pieces I needed to add, and the PF battery box and receiver, but needed a couple of motor bogies (which I duly ordered). Before. Cheating! I like my locos to have 2 motors because I like big heavy trains. Unfortunately, I have yet to pluck up the courage to open up the motors and reverse the polarity, so have generally had to resort to having one end riding on it's wire, causing the loco to wobble at speed. I decided to try something different... I cheated! I left a gap in the floor of the slight overhang the cab is built on at one end, and cut a bit of plastic off of the middle of the end of the (not-Lego) trainplate, to allow the wire to pass into the loco without anything resting on it. Other than that, the construction was a fun and easy process that happily took up an otherwise rather useless morning. The Finished Loco. Notice the use of dark transparent studs to indicate lights that aren't lit, both on the cab ends, and next to the currently not in use pantagraph. I also needed to come up with a way to fit in the sensor and the on button into the roof, which took some modifying of the original design (a shame because I liked it). I fashioned a free floating block of Lego with the round and rounded upside down plate at the bottom to act as the switch. Edited June 15, 2015 by Redimus Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dr_spock Posted June 15, 2015 Nice. Wish LEGO would make 6x2x2 curved windscreens. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Redimus Posted June 15, 2015 Not gonna lie, it was part of what attracted me to the set. Could do with being slightly lighter but beggars can't be chosers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cgarison Posted June 16, 2015 Nice. Wish LEGO would make 6x2x2 curved windscreens. I agree! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pirzyk Posted June 16, 2015 (edited) Cheating! I like my locos to have 2 motors because I like big heavy trains. Unfortunately, I have yet to pluck up the courage to open up the motors and reverse the polarity, so have generally had to resort to having one end riding on it's wire, causing the loco to wobble at speed. I decided to try something different... I cheated! I left a gap in the floor of the slight overhang the cab is built on at one end, and cut a bit of plastic off of the middle of the end of the (not-Lego) trainplate, to allow the wire to pass into the loco without anything resting on it. Why not use http://shop.lego.com...Listing=listing to reverse the polarity of one of the motors? You have to have enough room to hide the switch. I use it inside my Maersk (but with quite a bit of internal modding to make it fit). I do like your changes to the model, looks more like a creator knockoff instead of a city one :) Edited June 16, 2015 by pirzyk Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Redimus Posted June 16, 2015 Why not use http://shop.lego.com...Listing=listing to reverse the polarity of one of the motors? You have to have enough room to hide the switch. I use it inside my Maersk (but with quite a bit of internal modding to make it fit). I do like your changes to the model, looks more like a creator knockoff instead of a city one :) Hmm, I may well try that in my next mod or moc! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
THERIZE Posted June 17, 2015 Really nice! Definitely one of the better knock offs! Are the bricks strong enough. Some of my knock offs tend to fall apart very easily! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ashi Valkoinen Posted June 17, 2015 Assymetric driver's cab: http://i1106.photobucket.com/albums/h361/EA773/Captur1030111111111111.jpg Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Redimus Posted June 17, 2015 Assymetric driver's cab: http://i1106.photobu...11111111111.jpg Oh, I have no doubt asymetric 'modern' locos exist, hell, the UK had a loco known as the Co-Bo (one 6 wheeled bogie and one 4 wheeled bogie). I just didn't like the fact there was only one end with doors at all. Really nice! Definitely one of the better knock offs! Are the bricks strong enough. Some of my knock offs tend to fall apart very easily! The bricks hold together really well actually, the only real problem is when you have several smaller bricks together or bricks with large surface areas getting attached to each other, things get perhaps a little too tight (or plain don't fit at all, I had to remove a 2x4 tile from the bogies of one of the wagons because I simply couldn't get the connector pin plate to fully attach to it and the surrounding wheelsets). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
