[MOC - IDEAS] THE OLD WORKHORSE - TRACTION ENGINE

[Bricked1980]

On 9/29/2018 at 5:29 AM, Modeltrainman said:

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

Thanks. I quite like the lighter green too. Last week I took the model to a Steam toy exhibition. It was displayed in a glass case under some LED lights and the brighter green colour really did stand out nicely. I would definitely prefer the spoked wheels to be red though. I was tempted to buy a second set of wheels and spray paint them red just to see how they'd look. The Lego purist in me is saying "no" to that idea though. 

[quilkin]

Hi, I've only just seen this; I've been away from Lego for a few months. I think it's a perfect candidate for Ideas. and so well presented. Pity you couldn't get the original colours you planned, I prefer it as it was. I did make a (somewhat bigger) traction engine about eight years ago (wow, was it really that long ago?!) and it's still up here if you're interested. Your design is so much more practical than mine! Well done.

[Bricked1980]

4 hours ago, quilkin said:

Hi, I've only just seen this; I've been away from Lego for a few months. I think it's a perfect candidate for Ideas. and so well presented. Pity you couldn't get the original colours you planned, I prefer it as it was. I did make a (somewhat bigger) traction engine about eight years ago (wow, was it really that long ago?!) and it's still up here if you're interested. Your design is so much more practical than mine! Well done.

Thanks very much. I do prefer the colour scheme used in my original model as well and it would still be my preference for it to be made in those colours if ever it succeeded on LEGO Ideas. Unfortunately I had to alter the colours for the brick version but I wanted to build it from bricks so that I've got something I can take out to exhibitions and also check that the model is structurally sound.

Just been looking at your Traction Engine model. It looks amazing. I like how you've added a canopy roof to yours. I might try a an alternate version of mine at some point with a canopy added.

A couple of weeks ago I took my model to a toy and steam exhibition at a local railway museum. I sent some photos to LEGO IDEAS and I was really pleased to see they included it as a feature in their weekly email newsletter that was sent out yesterday. 

[Bricked1980]

I've been really lucky over the past few weeks to have my model featured in Blocks magazine, my local newspaper and a couple of other publications as well. I also exhibited the model at a local railway museum which led to it being featured in the LEGO Ideas weekly e newsletter.

I've also been given one other great opportunity which I haven't mentioned until today as I wasn't sure whether it would all come together or not.

Over the past couple of months I've been in contact with an organisation called the FBHVC (Federation of Historic Vehicle Clubs). They might not be particularly well known but they are a large organisation who oversee vehicle clubs in the UK and look after the interests of vintage vehicle owners, helping to ensure that they can still be used on British roads. 

Anyway they have very kindly offered to help me in promoting my LEGO Ideas project as they feel it could be a useful tool for helping to get kids and younger people interested in history and steam heritage. My model has been included on the front cover and as the feature article in their latest magazine that goes out to around 240,000 members.

 

As well as this they have invited me to display my model on their stand at "The Classic Motor Show" at the Birmingham NEC next month. This is a 4 day event which is expected to draw in around 70,000 visitors. I'm not 100% sure about this bit but they had mentioned something about their display having some connection tying it in with the Lego brick 60th anniversary.

[Moguntia]

Congratulations on your great media Coverage.

To be honest, I don't have a clue, why your big media Coverage has not led to more supporters by now. I wish you all the best on your way to the 10k. I voted for you quiet some time ago.

 

On an other note: Have you thought about Posting your small workhorse on rebrickable? You could link from their to your ideas Project and could possibly get a few LEGO-enthusiasts to your ideas-side, who are not from the Leicester-area.

[Bricked1980]

16 hours ago, Moguntia said:

Congratulations on your great media Coverage.

To be honest, I don't have a clue, why your big media Coverage has not led to more supporters by now. I wish you all the best on your way to the 10k. I voted for you quiet some time ago.

Thanks a lot.   Well I always knew it would be a tough job building up the votes. I guess a project like mine is just not as popular with voters as space ships or models that are based on licensed themes. All I can do is keep plugging away and hope that it eventually pays off. I must admit I really thought my article featured in Blocks mag would have been a bit more successful, I hardly noticed any increase at all after that was published. On the other hand my article in the Leicester newspaper gave me my biggest boost to date, which I didn't really think it would considering it's only a regional publication and not Lego related.

16 hours ago, Moguntia said:

On an other note: Have you thought about Posting your small workhorse on rebrickable? You could link from their to your ideas Project and could possibly get a few LEGO-enthusiasts to your ideas-side, who are not from the Leicester-area.

That's a good idea, thanks for the tip. I've just signed up to Rebrickable and have submitted the model. Will have to wait for it to be approved before it goes live though.

[Bricked1980]

I've created a new MOC called "Miniature Steam Machines". It's a collection of 3 mini scale steam engines and is intended to be a kind of side project to accompany and help promote "The Old Workhorse - Traction Engine".

If you're interested in seeing more pictures and reading more about these models then I have created a topic about them over in the Train forum.

 

[Bricked1980]

BRICK BUILT MODEL - NOW FINISHED

A few weeks ago I posted some pictures of the brick built version of my Traction Engine. The engine only makes up half of the proposed set though. The LEGO IDEAS submission also includes a wagon and several other sides builds as well. I have now completed work on the brick built versions of the entire model. Hope you like these pictures. 

If you haven't done so already I'd be really grateful if you could please spare a few moments to head over to LEGO IDEAS and vote for the model. https://lego.build/2vRfVGL  Many thanks!

 

 

 

  

  

  

Edited October 26, 2018 by Bricked1980

[Bricked1980]

Really proud to say The Old Workhorse - Traction Engine is on display at Birmingham NEC for the next 3 days (9th-11th November) at "The Classic Motor Show".

The model is part of the FBHVC show stand. So if anyone in the UK is visiting The Motor Show over the weekend, you can see my model on display in Hall 5 right next to the Discovery Channel Live Stage.

Here are some pictures of the display, I've been helping to set up at Birmingham NEC.

[jimmynick]

Have you considered dyeing the necessary pieces dark green for your physical model? I love the attention you're getting because it's so charming and of cultural interest.

[Bricked1980]

On 11/9/2018 at 6:10 PM, jamesn said:

Have you considered dyeing the necessary pieces dark green for your physical model? I love the attention you're getting because it's so charming and of cultural interest.

I had considered doing that but I decided not to, as I'm not a big fan of painting or modifying LEGO bricks. I might buy a spare set of wheels at some point though and spray them red as I think red wheels would make a big difference to the look of the model.

[MAB]

Have you seen much of an increase in the number of votes after the specific events you mention? Having a readership of 240000 people for the magazine and 70000 visitors at the Motor Show, did anything happen after those events. I guess the magazine is hard to judge as they will receive it / read it at different times. But for the motor show, have you monitored if it had any effect on votes?

[Bricked1980]

33 minutes ago, MAB said:

Have you seen much of an increase in the number of votes after the specific events you mention? Having a readership of 240000 people for the magazine and 70000 visitors at the Motor Show, did anything happen after those events. I guess the magazine is hard to judge as they will receive it / read it at different times. But for the motor show, have you monitored if it had any effect on votes?

Well I had very high hopes that both these promotional efforts would gain me some extra votes. Unfortunately it didn't have the effect I'd hoped for. I created a unique web link for the article printed in the magazine and for the show last weekend. Using this I was able to track exactly how many page hits I'd received directly from the magazine and motor show.

During the week the magazine was mailed out my page hits went up by quite a lot but I didn't notice a significant increase in votes. Whilst I was at the Motor Show there were lots of people looking at the model and seeming very interested. They took leaflets away with them containing instructions on how to vote but I have hardly had any votes over the weekend at all which is a bit dis-heartening considering the amount of people that were there and the efforts involved with arranging it all.

One bit of feedback I received from people at the show who did vote was what a faff they thought it was. Most people didn't expect that they'd have to register their email address and then answer questions about how much they think the set would cost, how many copies people would buy etc. I think the fact that people have to sign up for a LEGO ID is a big hurdle that puts a lot of people off voting, especially when trying to get votes from people who aren't really LEGO fans in the first place.

Anyway although the results were disappointing, my model did catch the attention of some of magazines who were on site at the motor show over the weekend. So I'm hoping it might get featured in a couple more of these in the near future.

[escortmad79]

Having driven traction engines since I was 13, this is a very impressive interpretation. 

 

I have supported it

[Bricked1980]

12 hours ago, escortmad79 said:

Having driven traction engines since I was 13, this is a very impressive interpretation. 

I have supported it

I'm really pleased it gets the approval of a Traction Engine driver. Would love to have a go at driving one myself one day.  Thank you very much for supporting, I really appreciate it!

[Bricked1980]

I've created a 3 minute video showing all the working features and details of The Old Workhorse. You can watch the Traction Engine "In Action" on youtube.

 

Edited February 4, 2019 by Bricked1980