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I'm still midway through my Santa Fe project, I need to get the files and everything uploaded to Rebrickable. I'm pretty sure I'm done with that, but I'm not sure what else to add to it before I get everything posted. For my new project, I thought I'd tackle the Polar Express! My collection is somewhat lacking in the train department, and given the difficulty of building steam in LDD, I decided I'd try to build the cars first. I had to sacrifice a few details for the sake of functionality, but besides that everything is pretty accurate and well proportioned IMHO. Some of these screenshots are slightly outdated, as I've moved the ladders to the bogies instead of the body, allowing for the couplers to be much closer since.

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This is the observation ending. This is the most recent screenshot of the car chassises, featuring the updated coupler and ladder positions. All the windows and doors are brick built, using transparent bricks, jumper plates, plates, and bricks. This allowed for the bodies to be much more accurate, with accurate window spacing and sizing. The base is also brick built, not using the standard train plates. One area I've always been self-conscious about is the rounded roofs on observation endings. I always experiment round for hours, playing with different combinations of tiles, curved plates, and cheese wedges. I'm still not 100% satisfied with the shape, but it seems to work for now.

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This is the interior. One of the biggest things I do when designing cars and locos is use jumper plates to put the seats, to give room for mini figures without using panels for windows and walls. This also allows for a larger corridor for mini figures and details. I tried to replicate the interior from the film, with the sideways facing seats, though there might be a table or two that I'm missing. I'll have to rematch the film for that detail. One of my favorite details is the SNOT for the back window, allowing for the three back windows present in the train car. I think this technique has merit for other prototypes, and you could modify it to make windows of most sizes while staying within the confines of 6 or 7 wide. There's also tiled floors, but you can easily delete the interior details to save cost if you decide to brick link them. If the maersk blue is a problem, it should be relatively easy to change to light blue, dark blue, or grey because it's all common bricks.

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Close up of the back windows, there's also jumper plates to stick figures in the back of the train. It's a bit short though, you may have to remove legs or only use short figs back there.

screen_shot_2016-07-29_at_2.53.17_pm.png

Close up of the diaphragm. I used jumper plates and more SNOT to get them 3 wide, the correct width, without leaving gaps in the walls.

screen_shot_2016-07-29_at_2.38.56_pm.png

I also added marker lights on the car ends, aside from the observation ending.

screen_shot_2016-07-29_at_2.38.34_pm.png

The regular observation car.

screen_shot_2016-07-29_at_2.38.04_pm.png

The interior of the regular observation car. I had trouble designing the seats, as I couldn't find dark red curved slopes, so I had to use cheese wedges and hinges to make the seats. Unfortunately, this means the seats are about a plate higher than I wanted them to be. If I could get some advice on that, it'd be awesome. My only complaint besides that would be that the observation ending platform is slightly delicate, as the floor and handrail is only held on by the tiles connecting it to the body.

Files:

polar_express_observation_car.lxf

updated_polar_express_passenger_ending.lxf

Edited by Lego Dino 500

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Regardless of the height of the seats, that's a really great design on the seats.

Which curved slope are you using instead of the cheese?

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Regardless of the height of the seats, that's a really great design on the seats.

Which curved slope are you using instead of the cheese?

Thanks. And wait: I got it mixed up. Dark red 2x2 and 1x2 curved slopes aren't available, so I had to use cheese wedges. Not the other way around.

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Looks like a great start. The 2 wide snotted door window is a great idea, really helps with fitting more detail in a tight space, I came up with that one too and use it a lot. To hide the seam from the tiles you can instead use a 1x2x1 trans clear panel for the window. You might want to look around at what other folks have done with this train. Two things I see is that many folks have used curved fences for the observation platform and I think the train cars in the movie had clearstory roofs. I like what you did to get the curved and sloping roof over the rear platform.

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On July 30, 2016 at 8:51 PM, zephyr1934 said:

Looks like a great start. The 2 wide snotted door window is a great idea, really helps with fitting more detail in a tight space, I came up with that one too and use it a lot. To hide the seam from the tiles you can instead use a 1x2x1 trans clear panel for the window. You might want to look around at what other folks have done with this train. Two things I see is that many folks have used curved fences for the observation platform and I think the train cars in the movie had clearstory roofs. I like what you did to get the curved and sloping roof over the rear platform.

I'd use the 1x2x1 trans clear panel, but the proportions are off. It's about a plate toot all for this build, which would require raising the roof, changing the proportions and design of the car. I have an update: I finally got around to using LDD again, and I think I've come up with a better seat design. It's a plate shorter than the original, and has slightly better proportions, though I'm stuck between three design variations. 

screen_shot_2016-10-22_at_12.25.55_pm.pn

 

I like the version on the far right the best, but at the same time I'm not entirely sure. Instead of bricks up they're all SNOT connected, and use a 1x1 technic brick to connect to a jumper plate or stud. It's about a plate shorter than the original design, and doesn't use any hinges or moving parts. This is what the car looks like with the updated seats.

screen_shot_2016-10-22_at_12.37.21_pm.pn

 

Any thoughts? The new seat size means that they aren't obstructing the windows anymore. There should be just enough room to cram a minifig into each seat, though I can't confirm since this ain't in the meat-space.

 

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