Blast furnace with torpedo wagon and slag cart

[Ymarilego]

Not just trains, but train related. I built a big blast furnace with 13k bricks a while ago. It took several weeks to build it all in LDD.  I tested the stability of the pipes i.r.l. with random bricks to be sure. When I posted those pictures, quite a few people asked for instructions so I decided to make a small blast furnace instead and enter it at Lego Ideas. It comes with all the main process features except the storage bunkers and crane. If you are interested in more pictures, please have a look at the linked page.  https://ideas.lego.com/projects/7e689689-cd51-4f10-9e9f-ead01adae6b8

blast furnace by Yvonne Strijbos, on Flickr

Blast furnace front by Yvonne Strijbos, on Flickr

Blat furnace real built 2 by Yvonne Strijbos, on Flickr

Blast furnace real built 1 by Yvonne Strijbos, on Flickr

 

Edited December 1, 2018 by Ymarilego
adding pictures

[deraven]

Hi Ymarilego!  Please do put some images and more info about your MOC here so this isn't seen as just advertisement of your Ideas project.

It sounds like you're talking about the paperclip/upload option on Eurobricks which only for very small images to be used in your signature line here on the board.  You only get 100K total, so even 1 regular image probably pushed you to the limit of available space.  For sharing photos of MOCs, etc., you'll want to use a 3rd party service and I think most folks would recommend Flickr, if not using a Lego-focussed image hosting service.

Here's a tutorial on linking/embedding Flickr images in your posts: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/97921-flickr-tutorial/

Your creation looks good - I bet the 13k brick version is impressive!

[Ymarilego]

Thank you deraven, that link helped :)

[Chromeknight]

It would be nice to see your brick version of this rather than your render/advertisement. 

And an idea of what it’d cost to replicate.

[Ymarilego]

Chromeknight, I often use the renders because my pictures tend to turn out rather bad. I am working on the small furnace as we speak. I cannot really say how much it would cost, because I have a fairly large supply so I had to order only a few bricks. It is 3000 bricks, with several large elements and a few baseplates, I guess it would be close to 400 euro?

 

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

I've just finished my steel plants with CAD and is surprising how have done an incrediblel work ...you're a genius!

You should work for the LEGO company!

[ProvenceTristram]

I'm going to make some suggestions:

1) Try to miniaturize further. I know you likely feel that this is as small/basic as it can get while doing the complete facility its justice, but it's still pretty hefty for an ideas set.

2) This is the big one: trash it up. Add greenery, garbage, and the general detritus of a working existence (I'd start by dropping the yellow and making it look more antiquated/rusty, rather than sparkling new [as an example, here is the Walthers blast furnace kit, which looks straight out of the 1950s - the general age of a lot of the world's steelmaking facilities]):

What gave the Old Fishing Store its appeal wasn't that everyone needed a fishing-themed business on their shelves - it was the fact that, no matter where you looked on the model, there were playful surprises; a story to be told. Simultaneously, it felt gritty and real.

What I see here is a set that is very niche, very functional, and very sterile. But, with Lego Ideas, you aren't just trying to sell a concept to random, otherwise-disinterested casual browsers - it also needs to catch fire with the people actually working at Lego. And, for this sort of theme, the more "slice of life" details you can cram in - even at the expense of some functionality - the better.

*Edit* And I am not criticizing the original. I think it is brilliant. I just believe - firmly - that when it comes to Ideas, you have to think less about personal taste, and more about selling a product. Because that's all Lego cares about.

Edited November 26, 2018 by ProvenceTristram

[andythenorth]

I saw these a couple of weeks ago.  They're really nice 

Like how they reference HO kits from Faller.  

I draw similar style stuff in pixels   http://bundles.openttdcoop.org/firs/releases/LATEST/docs/html/industries.html#blast_furnace

 

[Ymarilego]

Tristram, I am not entirely sure about what you mean with "slice of life".  I agree with you that the yellow looks a bit off. I put it in because, in general, LEGO likes bright and cheerful sets. The one I am building irl however is quite dark, grey and brown :)
I will post it when ready and on the update page as well of Ideas.
Adding more "crap" would make it look more rugged and used, I agree, but as I am on the limit of 3 k already, it will mean deleting a part of the process. I am a bit hesitant to do that simply because I would not know which part to delete. What I could do is remove the bricks between the tracks, or delete the torpedo maybe? That would free about 400 bricks to be able to change it to a more messy state.
Maybe you will like the updated version better :)

Andythenorth, those drawings look cool, some would be interesting to build with Lego as well!

[ProvenceTristram]

1 minute ago, Ymarilego said:

Tristram, I am not entirely sure about what you mean with "slice of life".  I agree with you that the yellow looks a bit off. I put it in because, in general, LEGO likes bright and cheerful sets. The one I am building irl however is quite dark, grey and brown :)
I will post it when ready and on the update page as well of Ideas.
Adding more "crap" would make it look more rugged and used, I agree, but as I am on the limit of 3 k already, it will mean deleting a part of the process. I am a bit hesitant to do that simply because I would not know which part to delete. What I could do is remove the bricks between the tracks, or delete the torpedo maybe? That would free about 400 bricks to be able to change it to a more messy state.
Maybe you will like the updated version better :)

What I meant was like vignettes - scenes within a scene. So, let's say you have a theoretical Lego beach boardwalk. The main scene would be the people walking along the boardwalk. But there might be some kids building a castle under the boardwalk... and some seagulls picking at a trash can next to the boardwalk... and then there's a guy selling ice cream... and another guy teaching someone how to fly a kite, etc., etc.

As I said: I wasn't being critical of your design - I think it's fantastic. This is more a general criticism of the way Lego Ideas is run, I guess. Because if one thing has become clear about the people making the decisions at Lego Ideas, it's that they want Lego sets... not 'sets made out of Lego.' In essence: they are looking for things that feel as if they were designed in-house, and that appears to be the only types of items that they feel comfortable marketing. This is sad, because as you and I both know, there are a lot of people out there designing stuff with Lego that surpasses even they stuff they are doing within their own brand (in some cases by leaps and bounds). But they don't want to sell that stuff - they want to sell stuff that looks exactly like what they would have designed themselves if they had been told "hey, go make a Back to the Future set," "hey, go design a Big Bang Theory set."

One thing you might consider is removing some element of the full steelmaking process and considering it to be an "off scene" portion of the industry. This is done a lot in model railroading in general - people just model one element of a big industry, and then imagine the rest occurring elsewhere.

[Ymarilego]

Tristram, nothing wrong with constructive critisism :) I get your point. I will see what I can come up with . Sofar, however, the project is not gaining votes as fast as I had hoped. Ever since the new set up of Ideas, I have been very hesitant to post anything. Visibility is horrible with all the stuff being posted in one giant mix. Still, I have not given up hope just yet :)

[alvinofdiaspar]

Amazing details in this and other builds @Ymarilego - I would be interested in picking the instructions up if they are available!