Hod Carrier Posted October 30, 2017 (edited) It was with a little dismay that I noticed that I haven't created any new builds since last year and that all I've shared with you guys are digital builds. There have been reasons for that, but one of them is that I've been struggling with this build for several months. However, the announcement of OcTRAINber over at BMR has given me the kick up the backside that I needed to finally push on and finally get this monkey off my back. The train is the greatly loved and much missed V250 Albatross which was operated jointly by the Dutch and Belgian railways to provide a high-speed service along the HSL Zuid line between Brussels and Amsterdam. Designed at least in part by Pininfarina ,built in Italy by AnsaldoBreda, branded FYRA and finished in a striking white, red and pink livery, the service was a huge success. No, wait. That's not right. Oh yes!! The trains were found to be poorly built, unreliable and prone to catching fire or shedding parts in service. The problem was so bad that it prompted a whole raft of legal action between the builder and the operators resulting in the total withdrawal and rejection of the fleet and the builder agreeing to refund the operators. All of this was too much for poor old AnsaldoBreda who were also suffering similar quality and reliablilty issues with the Danish IC4 fleet and the Sirio trams supplied to the Swedish city of Gothenburg. The company was sold in 2015 to Hitachi Rail. Anyway, on to the model. The train is built in my customary 4-wide scale but, as it's 8 cars in length, it is still something of a monster. Stud.io has it at 340 studs total length. This is my first attempt at using coloured vinyls to recreate a livery. Sadly there would have been no way to do justice to the train if I'd tried to build the livery using bricks, especially at this scale. However, it created another unforeseen problem that required two major redesigns and a lot of head scratching before coming up with a solution. The problem was how to go about applying the vinyl without it interfering with the windows. In the end I came up with a solution whereby the vinyl could be applied and the windows fixed later. Lessons learned there, I think. Headlights, door seals and logos are homemade stickers printed onto clear self-adhesive vinyl. Although the application of the vinyls was fiddly I'm actually happy with the overall effect, especially the oversize FYRA logo stretched across the two centre cars. I'm also happy with the new bogie design which is debuting here. It looks better and is much slimmer than previous designs meaning that they do not protrude past the body sides. OcTRAINber competitors may consider this cheating because I've staged the swoosh on 4-wide gauge curves rather than the standard R40 curves, but in my defence these are the standard curve in this scale. If I'd built this model at 8-wide scale it would have been twice as long and the swoosh would have been much more severe and pronounced on R40s. Anyway, I hope you like my model. Comments and criticisms are welcome as always. Edited October 30, 2017 by Hod Carrier Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zephyr1934 Posted October 30, 2017 19 minutes ago, Hod Carrier said: I Now that's a thing of beauty... well, from the backstory, perhaps an accurate depiction of the prototype. The MOC looks really sharp (when on straight track). You mentioned new trucks, please post photos. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hod Carrier Posted October 30, 2017 Yeah, the entire FYRA affair was something of a train wreck and became a cause celebre in both Belgium and The Netherlands, with plenty of media and political coverage. The entire fleet was dumped in the yard at Watergraafsmeer(?) pending a buyer and I believe most of the trains are still there, although I understand that at least one has made it's way back to the former AnsaldoBreda plant in Italy. The operators then ran the service using TRAXX electric locos and conventional ICr rolling stock painted in a facsimile FYRA livery, but the brand had been fatally damaged and it was quickly decided to revert to the yellow and blue livery and brand the service Intercity Direct pending acquisition of a new fleet of trains from Alsthom. I think I've got most of that right, but I'm sure one of our friends from the Low Countries will be along shortly to correct my understanding. In the words of one wag... Would you accept a render of the bogies? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daedalus304 Posted October 30, 2017 2 hours ago, Hod Carrier said: OcTRAINber competitors may consider this cheating because I've staged the swoosh on 4-wide gauge curves rather than the standard R40 curves, but in my defence these are the standard curve in this scale. If I'd built this model at 8-wide scale it would have been twice as long and the swoosh would have been much more severe and pronounced on R40s. If this is meant to be cheating, I'm afraid you've done a poor job of it - the point of cheating is supposed to be to make things easier for yourself!! I can't speak for the judges, but as a fellow competitor I can definitely say that you've done something really cool that I think really meets the spirit of the competition. This is one of, if not THE, best 4-wide builds I've seen. Best of luck to you! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hod Carrier Posted October 30, 2017 That's high praise indeed. Thank you so much. Wishing you and all our fellow competitors the very best of luck. I think I did make things easy for myself by making it a half-scale model. Trying to build this beastie in 8-wide would have been a lot more time consuming, expensive and the model really would have reached all the way down the hallway to the front door making it harder to photograph. Ha ha!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dutchiedoughnut Posted October 30, 2017 (edited) I dont think your build does the train justice. It is, in fact, far better. I bet it even runs really well and has no bits falling off when there is snow outside? Edit: yes, you got most of that right. Research well done! The FYRA trains were parked at Watergraafsmeer but are now sent back to Italy, I believe. I don't know about the Intercity Direct service... we have the Traxx locomotives running to Eindhoven while the Fyra never did. The new train acquisitions are for the replacement of general intercity services. Not (only) to replace the FYRA fleet. Edited October 30, 2017 by Dutchiedoughnut Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Feuer Zug Posted October 30, 2017 It's a nice model of a good looking train. Your decal work is top notch. Too bad looks don't count for much in real life service. The size is crazy even at 4 wide. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hod Carrier Posted October 30, 2017 53 minutes ago, Dutchiedoughnut said: I dont think your build does the train justice. It is, in fact, far better. I bet it even runs really well and has no bits falling off when there is snow outside? Edit: yes, you got most of that right. Research well done! The FYRA trains were parked at Watergraafsmeer but are now sent back to Italy, I believe. I don't know about the Intercity Direct service... we have the Traxx locomotives running to Eindhoven while the Fyra never did. The new train acquisitions are for the replacement of general intercity services. Not (only) to replace the FYRA fleet. That's very kind. Thank you so much. Well, nothing has fallen off yet although the liftarm and pin arrangement of coupling is a bit fiddly when joining the cars. Ha ha!! I'm pleased I got most of the details correct, and I'm glad that these trains aren't still cluttering up Watergraafsmeer gathering dust and vandalism damage. I bet you're all pleased to see the back of them. Thanks for the update on the Alsthom sets, though. I wasn't aware that they were intended for wider use also. 49 minutes ago, Feuer Zug said: It's a nice model of a good looking train. Your decal work is top notch. Too bad looks don't count for much in real life service. The size is crazy even at 4 wide. Thank you too. The vinyls took a while to get right and perhaps aren't quite as perfect close up as they appear in a wider view, which is why I haven't taken any close up photos. Ha ha!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ColletArrow Posted October 30, 2017 I presume this beauty doesn't have motors, that would be impressive but nigh-on impossible (although I did enjoy your motorized 4-wide loco you built a while back). I like the fact that you've thought outside the box a little for the competition, even if it does look (deliberately, and might I say beautifully) stupid on the standard curves. Here's another reason why we need more 3rd-party narrow gauge tracks! The vinyls are crisp and clean, and finish the model off perfectly, especially with the neat black windows. Overall, very well done! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hod Carrier Posted October 30, 2017 (edited) You're most kind. Thank you. Sadly no, there are no motors in this model. As with most of my 4-wide creations it's a static model only. That said, it did cross my mind to knock up a couple of barrier wagons, add some graffiti on stickers to the FYRA, tie the TRAXX on at the front and have it as a unit slinking back to Italy quietly and under the cover of darkness, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Edited October 30, 2017 by Hod Carrier Syntax Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ColletArrow Posted October 30, 2017 Ha! Excellent idea, I would love to see that... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hod Carrier Posted November 1, 2017 Holy smokes!! How did this end up on the Flickr Explore page? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted November 1, 2017 Absolutely stunning! The vinyls are the icing on the cake and the four studs format is very original! Impressive on curves Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
raised Posted November 1, 2017 Actually, 17 of the the V250's (the name that AnsaldoBreda gave them) have been sold to Trenitalia and are currently being refurbished and will start running on the Italian network June next year... http://www.railwaygazette.com/news/high-speed/single-view/view/trenitalia-agrees-to-acquire-v250-trainsets.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted November 1, 2017 What a news! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hod Carrier Posted November 1, 2017 That is good news. I was worried that I’d built a model of something soon to be extinct. I only hope the refurb the trains will get will sort out all the problems that they experienced during their time in the Low Countries. Thanks for posting the link. Are the proposed routes on which they are likely to be used prone to heavy snowfall...? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
