[MOC - IDEAS] THE OLD WORKHORSE - TRACTION ENGINE

[paupadros]

8 hours ago, Bricked1980 said:

Thanks. The first one is my favourite too. The sunset background contrasts well with the green and red of the engine.

Thanks very much. Actually this week it's also been featured in 2 other blogs that I know of. One called "Mike Shouts" https://mikeshouts.com/old-workhorse-traction-engine-lego-ideas/  and secondly in a Portuguese Lego blog https://oficina.blogs.sapo.pt/tag/bricked1980

Congrats again! I would agree with the Portuguese blog, it will be difficult to get to 10K, but if you get there, you have quite a good chance at being chosen.

8 hours ago, Bricked1980 said:

Well I'm doing all I can think of at the minute. I'm finding it harder to get votes now that it's dropped away from the top of the homepage. It's much harder now for people to find on Ideas unless they're specifically looking for it.

I've posted it on Reddit and have signed up to Instagram and twitter. Don't really know what I'm doing with twitter though and so far I've got no followers.  

I have been in contact with the editor of a magazine called Vintage Spirit. He likes the model and is hoping to run a feature about it in the next issue due out in August. This is a printed magazine aimed at Traction Engine and Steam enthusiasts. So who knows, that might generate some interest from outside the Lego community.

Did you see the image I posted in the Lego Ideas discussion thread yesterday? I had created a picture which included the Lego logos. I was going to distribute this on social media but decided to hold fire for now as I'm not sure if I'm allowed to use their official logos in my promotional stuff.

The box image looks AMAZING, but it's very likely you'll run into trouble. The sunset one would work just as well, I'd say. As for promoting, on Twitter, it's hard. Ask for retweets to related bigger accounts; back when I had an Ideas account, I asked Casa Batlló's account to retweet, and they did! . I haven't seen your post on Reddit. I think it's related to the content you've created, the more you post, the easier it is to be seen. Would you like me to post it as a "SEC", "Someone Else's Creation"?.

You could contact FlagsNZ on Brickset too as he does his Ideas Shocases or contact Huw himself for a showcase of your project, just like they did for Anatomini. 

[AnkTales]

Just wonderful! You have my vote!

[Bricked1980]

4 hours ago, paupadros said:

You could contact FlagsNZ on Brickset too as he does his Ideas Shocases or contact Huw himself for a showcase of your project, just like they did for Anatomini. 

I did send a message to brickset just using the Web contact form but haven't heard back from them. I might contact Huw or FlagsNZ personally though. Good idea.

4 hours ago, paupadros said:

I haven't seen your post on Reddit. I think it's related to the content you've created, the more you post, the easier it is to be seen. Would you like me to post it as a "SEC", "Someone Else's Creation"?.

If you wouldn't mind doing that for me, that would be fantastic many thanks. I think it's better received on reddit when somebody else posts the mocs as self promotion seems to get frowned upon a bit over there. Thanks so much for offering to do that @paupadros 

4 hours ago, AnkTales said:

Just wonderful! You have my vote!

Thank you very much. I really appreciate it.

[Bricked1980]

@paupadros I noticed you had posted it on reddit earlier. I'm really grateful for that. Thanks very much. 

Also I've just spotted that it had been featured earlier today on a Dutch Lego blog. https://www.bouwsteentjes.info/uitgelicht-lego-ideas-the-old-workhorse/

[neonic]

Great build. Like the colorscheme and all those details are great.
The trailer looks great too.

[paupadros]

On 7/15/2018 at 10:18 PM, Bricked1980 said:

@paupadros I noticed you had posted it on reddit earlier. I'm really grateful for that. Thanks very much. 

Also I've just spotted that it had been featured earlier today on a Dutch Lego blog. https://www.bouwsteentjes.info/uitgelicht-lego-ideas-the-old-workhorse/

Huh, it got almost no attention. Hope your endeavours will go better than mine 

Edited September 3, 2018 by paupadros

[LegoModularFan]

On 7/5/2018 at 2:58 PM, Digger of Bricks said:

...and now on The Brothers Brick! 

Congrats, @Bricked1980, that's a big but a well deserved achievement! 

On 7/13/2018 at 2:18 PM, paupadros said:

I'm starting to wonder what you're planning to do to get more votes 

On 7/14/2018 at 2:57 AM, Bricked1980 said:

Well I'm doing all I can think of at the minute.

Have you ever heard of Eurobricks? I don't know too much about it but it seems to be a Lego forum, you could post it there!  Ok, jokes aside, you can try to post it on Facebook groups. It looks like this one is popular! 

Edited July 17, 2018 by LegoModularFan

[Bricked1980]

On 7/16/2018 at 12:02 AM, neonic said:

Great build. Like the colorscheme and all those details are great.
The trailer looks great too.

Thank you very much and glad you like the trailer. I think this helps to add some playability to the model and hopefully make it appeal to kids as well as AFOLs.

23 hours ago, LegoModularFan said:

Congrats, @Bricked1980, that's a big but a well deserved achievement! 

Thanks. It was a really nice surprise to have it featured on the brothers brick. 

23 hours ago, LegoModularFan said:

you can try to post it on Facebook groups. It looks like this one is popular! 

I have considered using Facebook although I don't currently have a FB account so not sure it would be worth setting one up just to promote my ideas project.

Last week a guy who follows of on Flickr sent me a message to say he'd posted my model on a Facebook steampunk group he is a member of. Not really sure I'd class this as steampunk but even so, I did notice that my support count went up quite a bit on that day.

So I think Facebook is a definitely a good way of gaining exposure for lego ideas projects and mocs in general.

[Bricked1980]

My Lego Ideas project has now passed the 1000 supporters milestone.   Thank you so much to everyone who has voted for it, I'm very grateful. If you like the model please continue to vote and share it with anyone else you think might be interested. Thanks a lot guys!  https://ideas.lego.com/projects/2a2ec583-9836-4868-8dc7-6b3bb0a2fe80

[Roadmonkeytj]

You sir have gained another supporter ... I absolutely love traction Engines and this model has all the right elements to make it equally recognisable.

For what ever reason (which I cant see one) if lego doesnt use this ... I would still buy at minimum the instructions off you (I know it measly for your efforts) now that I've seen this I have to have it to grace my shelves.

[Bricked1980]

19 hours ago, Roadmonkeytj said:

You sir have gained another supporter ... I absolutely love traction Engines and this model has all the right elements to make it equally recognisable.

For what ever reason (which I cant see one) if lego doesnt use this ... I would still buy at minimum the instructions off you (I know it measly for your efforts) now that I've seen this I have to have it to grace my shelves.

Massive thanks for supporting  10,000 seems a hell of a long way off but I am definitely doing everything I can think of to try and get it there.

[Bricked1980]

NEW IMAGES

Hi everyone, I wanted to share a few newly created images of my LEGO Ideas Traction Engine. Hope you like them. Feel free to let me know what you think. 

If you haven't done so already and would like to support the model, then here is the link to the page on LEGO Ideas. 

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/2a2ec583-9836-4868-8dc7-6b3bb0a2fe80    Many thanks! 

[Rufus]

This is a beautiful MOC and something I haven't seen before in LEGO (though I'm sure it's been done!).  

I would love to see it in real bricks - though I notice there are a lot of parts in there in non-production colours.  Have you thought how you might get around that?

I wish you all the best with the Ideas project.   

This MOC would fit quite comfortably in Town, Special Themes, History or even Trains.  Moved to Special per OP's request.

[Bricked1980]

12 hours ago, Rufus said:

This is a beautiful MOC and something I haven't seen before in LEGO (though I'm sure it's been done!).  

Thanks very much. Pleased you like it.

12 hours ago, Rufus said:

I would love to see it in real bricks - though I notice there are a lot of parts in there in non-production colours.  Have you thought how you might get around that?

Yes I have used quite a few non-production colours in the model. Hopefully if this reached 10,000 votes and Lego took it on as a set then it would make quite a decent parts pack. 

I am currently working on a brick built version of the model. I've obviously had to change some of the colours for this version but I've spent quite a long time working out the best way of doing it and I've managed to create a recoloured version that I think still captures the look and feel of the original design pretty well.

Just waiting on some Bricklink orders to arrive and then I can get building.

Edited September 5, 2018 by Bricked1980

[Laura Beinbrech]

Really nice Traction Engine build you have here:  I normally tend to only build military & train stuff, but I have a soft spot for traction engines.  The fact that at least two major manufacturers of traction engines back in the late 19th & early 20th century were located in a nearby town: Peerless Traction Engines were made by Geiser Manufacturing and Frick traction engines were made by Frick Manufacturing, both of which were located in Waynesboro, PA... Frick still exists, but mostly makes industrial boilers & HVAC equipment these days.

Needless to say, thanks to this, you can find a lot of old Frick & Peerless traction engines, along with Case, Oilpull & others at local antique engine shows & other events & festivals in the area.

I'm definitely going to be adding my support to this project on LEGO Ideas, as soon as I can remember how to log into my LEGO Ideas account, that is.....

[Bricked1980]

8 hours ago, Laura Takayama said:

Really nice Traction Engine build you have here:  I normally tend to only build military & train stuff, but I have a soft spot for traction engines.  The fact that at least two major manufacturers of traction engines back in the late 19th & early 20th century were located in a nearby town: Peerless Traction Engines were made by Geiser Manufacturing and Frick traction engines were made by Frick Manufacturing, both of which were located in Waynesboro, PA... Frick still exists, but mostly makes industrial boilers & HVAC equipment these days.

Needless to say, thanks to this, you can find a lot of old Frick & Peerless traction engines, along with Case, Oilpull & others at local antique engine shows & other events & festivals in the area.

I'm definitely going to be adding my support to this project on LEGO Ideas, as soon as I can remember how to log into my LEGO Ideas account, that is.....

Thank you very much. Traction Engines are lovely old machines and it's easy to see why people flock to steam rallies and get so enthusiastic about them. Just like steam trains, they are full of charm and character and I decided to build this as it's something I've always felt would work very well as a Lego model.

Thanks a lot for offering to support the model on Ideas. The LEGO Ideas site has been closed for most of the day but it appears to be up and running again now.

[Bricked1980]

THE "LITTLE" WORKHORSE 

Mini Build and Free Instructions

Hi everyone 

I've created a mini version of The Old Workhorse, made up from just 82 bricks. I've made the instructions freely available under the "Updates" tab on my Lego Ideas page. https://ideas.lego.com/projects/2a2ec583-9836-4868-8dc7-6b3bb0a2fe80/updates#content_nav_tabs

Please feel free to use these instructions and have a go at building the model yourselves. The only thing I'd like to ask in return is if you could please support my LEGO Ideas project whilst you're there.  Hope you like this fun miniature version and enjoy building it. 

Edited September 11, 2018 by Bricked1980

[Bricked1980]

Last Thursday I was contacted by The Leicester Mercury newspaper who'd seen some of my promotional efforts for Lego Ideas. They wanted to run an article about my model in the newspaper. Of course I jumped at the chance for this but assumed it would just be a small article in the corner of one of the back pages.

I headed to the newsagents this morning though to pick up a copy and was greeted by this... My model splashed across the front page of today's issue (shame about the terrible article below it).

Then on page 3 there was a full page article all about me and my project for Lego Ideas. Warning!!! Face reveal below.

I'm really pleased about this? and it's nice to know some of my promotional stuff had been seen by the media. If anyone wants to read the full article you can find it here online. https://www.leicestermercury.co.uk/news/local-news/train-enthusiasts-lego-model-design-2002147

[sunhuntin]

Wow, thats awesome that the paper got behind you like that. Hopefully the support count will jump up. I have already supported, and going to have a try of your mini build if I have all the parts.

Keep up the great work. [ps: of your new images, I like the first one best]

[Bricked1980]

On 9/15/2018 at 11:42 PM, sunhuntin said:

Wow, thats awesome that the paper got behind you like that. Hopefully the support count will jump up. I have already supported, and going to have a try of your mini build if I have all the parts.

Keep up the great work. [ps: of your new images, I like the first one best]

Thanks very much.  I have noticed a jump in my votes over the weekend as a result of that article.

Good luck with building the mini version. All the parts should be readily available. The red technic wheels used as the rear wheels haven't been available in red for quite a few years but you can still find them on bricklink. I've used them on the brick built version of the full size model which I've almost finished.

Thanks a lot for supporting the model as well! 

[Bricked1980]

I'm really excited to say my model is featured in the new October issue of Blocks Magazine. A double page spread featuring an interview with me about my Traction Engine design and Lego Ideas. The magazine is in stores from today.  I'm really grateful to Blocks mag for running this article.

 

Edited September 20, 2018 by Bricked1980

[Digger of Bricks]

2 hours ago, Bricked1980 said:

I'm really excited to say my model is featured in the new October issue of Blocks Magazine. A double page spread featuring an interview with me about my Traction Engine design and Lego Ideas. The magazine is in stores from today.  I'm really grateful to Blocks mag for running this article.

My gosh, I am just truly boggled by all this media publication attention you've been receiving lately...  

[Bricked1980]

2 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

My gosh, I am just truly boggled by all this media publication attention you've been receiving lately...  

Thanks very much, I'm definitely trying as hard as I can with this project!   By the way the image above features the  brick built version of my model. I'll be adding some new photos of that soon.

[Bricked1980]

Traction Engine - Brick Built Version

Hi everyone. I've recently completed work on a brick built version of The Old Workhorse Traction Engine. I've had to swap some colours around to reflect Lego parts and colours that are currently in production. I've also made a few minor improvements to the design of the model which I will detail below. For now I've only built the Traction Engine portion of the set but I'm working on the wagon and other bits so I will post pictures of those too when they're complete.

 

Apart from the colour scheme, probably the most noticeable change to the design is the new style funnel. I've redesigned this to have the appearance of a brass cap and a tapered shape towards the top which is more true to how a real traction engine funnel should look. I've also redesigned some of the details on top of the boiler, behind the funnel to appear more realistic and to give added stability.

 

For the brick built version I decided to use a 2 tone colour scheme for the main body. The lower half is in earth green and the upper section of the cab and boiler are dark green. Unfortunately the spoked wheels are not available in red so I used reddish brown instead. I'm pleased with how the new colour scheme has worked out, it has quite a rustic look. My preference would still be for the model to be produced in the livery used in the original rendered model though, if ever it was lucky enough to go all the way on LEGO Ideas.  I do think the lighter shade contrasts nicely with the gold though. Let me know what you think.

Hope you like this brick built version of the model. Please feel free to let me know what you think. There are more pictures in my Flickr album including a short video clip of the model.

If you like the model I'd also be really grateful if you could please give it your support over on LEGO Ideas if you've not done already. Thanks very much.  

LEGO IDEAS - Old Workhorse Traction Engine

 

 

[Modeltrainman]

I really like the lighter green! It pops out and practically screams "I'm here!"