Cars for Trains! (6w to 8wide)

[Ron Dayes]

Hello train fans!

Over the years im continously focused on getting Cars into a correct minfig scale and i think i might have found a solution - or at least a new approach!
I allready shared it over at Town forum and flickr, yet since TRAIN is somewhat part of town and usually more layout and scale focused,
i think it could be of great interest here, even more than in town maybe! I guarantee its worth to read through all my pictures in this thread (or even better with optional zoom on flickr)

If you dont have time to read through my historic analysis of scaling here is basically what i did (but its more understandable in my write up on flickr, lots of pictures in great quality!):

• I set the scale for minfigs to be 1/43, based on many calculation and historic moulds from TLG.
• It works well with 8 wide trains, and even 6 and 7 wide trains benefit more from my 5 wide scale than any Speed Champion or City vehicle whatsoever.
• 6 wide trucks are perfectly in scale! Now thats a huge plus....

The only downside: You cant fit figs inside the car, at least not all of it. BUT i managed to integrate the minifigs heads + wigs into the design, so they look like
they are sitting 1+1 next to each other:

"Easy" 1/43 Porsche (with instructions in other pic) by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

easy mercedes 1/43 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

many new techniques, ways of buildings - i urge you to read my write up (again^^)

no 7 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

easy mercedes instruction by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

I also frequently post instructions to each of them in my TOWN thread or over at flickr

easy bmw E30 M3 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

old meets new by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

and finally the crossover of TOWN and TRAINS. (the train/wagon is not my model, sergio posted it here on the forum not long ago)
I think it looks great, there is a lot of detail in the cars, even minifig heads (2 of them per car with wigs) "seem" like they are inside, scale is working out.
No large and tall cars, ideal for train layouts.

car transport by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

no 9 /13 by Ron Dayes, auf Flickr

So what do you think? I know its a bit "controversial" to not fit a full minifigure inside, but during my analysis i realized, that a correct minifig scale makes it impossible to fit full minifigs in cars
and have correct proportions at the same time. Its literally what lego did during the minifig invention. No figs in cars, yet with trains back in a day it looked very on point. This is just an "update"
to the old TLG approach, using the newest parts and more techniques for greater detail. Its very fun to build as you can see in the instructions on my flickr pics. It also decreases the issue of 6 wide
cars and 6 wide trains scale paradox.

I think its great for builders, who take a lot of time with scaling their train locos, cabs etc and want everything else scaled accordingly in a full layout...

cheers!
 

[Phil B]

I think this is very clever and thought-provoking. I like it a lot.

Personally, I think there are 3 main options for how to scale cars (and vehicles in general) in LEGO:

1. Single figure seating - this gives 4w-6w cars, and is what TLG has been doing traditionally. Fits minifigs, but cars tend to be high and narrow.

2. Scale to human proportions - your solution above, which looks fantastic, but doesnt fit full minifigs

3. Reimagine how vehicles would look like if designed by minifigs themselves, to the same constraints as human vehicles. You get vehicles like the Ghostbusters cars - way too big compared with buildings, but full figs can sit inside, side-by-side.

 

i am definitely going to try your cars out ... thanks!

[zephyr1934]

Those cars are great

[Brick A Braque]

HI,

very nice cars indeed.

 

Although I must say for myself I prefer to make compromises on realism (scale modelling) and work with what I think of as LEGO world paradigms (like not having two minifigs sit next to each other in cars or trains, they're just too wide).

Of course, a lot of inspiration and formgiving comes from the human world, but in the end, it is another universe with different rules than out here.

 

Not to say that I don't appreciate LEGO scale modelling and some of the amazing stuff out there (like your cars @Ron Dayes)

 

[Man with a hat]

I really admire your cars, but that car transport is also great.

 

edit: I see now you modified @Sérgio car transport. He comes up with so many great ideas, it hard to keep track.

Edited September 25, 2019 by Man with a hat

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Ubelievable add on!

[sed6]

On 9/24/2019 at 11:31 AM, Ron Dayes said:

I think it could be of great interest here, even more than in town maybe! I guarantee its worth to read through all my pictures in this thread

I couldn't agree more, thanks for sharing! That's a fantastic read!

[Feuer Zug]

This is an interesting look at the conundrum we builders face. You definitely get realistic styling out of the vehicles and the ability to fit within a 6 wide setup. Thanks for sharing.

[Ron Dayes]

On 9/24/2019 at 8:06 PM, Phil B said:

I think this is very clever and thought-provoking. I like it a lot.

Personally, I think there are 3 main options for how to scale cars (and vehicles in general) in LEGO:

1. Single figure seating - this gives 4w-6w cars, and is what TLG has been doing traditionally. Fits minifigs, but cars tend to be high and narrow.

2. Scale to human proportions - your solution above, which looks fantastic, but doesnt fit full minifigs

3. Reimagine how vehicles would look like if designed by minifigs themselves, to the same constraints as human vehicles. You get vehicles like the Ghostbusters cars - way too big compared with buildings, but full figs can sit inside, side-by-side.

 

i am definitely going to try your cars out ... thanks!

Thanks, glad you took your time for the read through. Indeed, those are the options, yet option 3 seems to be very experimental. A train might need to be 12 wide then^^ But ey, its possible!

If you do, please share a pic, im interested in a real life build!

On 9/25/2019 at 7:33 AM, zephyr1934 said:

Those cars are great

thanks man

On 9/25/2019 at 12:50 PM, Brick A Braque said:

HI,

very nice cars indeed.

 

Although I must say for myself I prefer to make compromises on realism (scale modelling) and work with what I think of as LEGO world paradigms (like not having two minifigs sit next to each other in cars or trains, they're just too wide).

Of course, a lot of inspiration and formgiving comes from the human world, but in the end, it is another universe with different rules than out here.

 

Not to say that I don't appreciate LEGO scale modelling and some of the amazing stuff out there (like your cars @Ron Dayes)

 

Yep. even in scale modelling, sometimes its a compromise! Its definately prefence what we chose :)

On 9/25/2019 at 12:51 PM, Man with a hat said:

I really admire your cars, but that car transport is also great.

 

edit: I see now you modified @Sérgio car transport. He comes up with so many great ideas, it hard to keep track.

Thanks for the car praise, indeed that train belongs to 99% to sergio, my add ons are really minor...indeed, he is one busy bee^^

On 9/26/2019 at 12:27 AM, LEGO Train 12 Volts said:

Ubelievable add on!

thanks mate!

On 9/26/2019 at 5:36 AM, sed6 said:

I couldn't agree more, thanks for sharing! That's a fantastic read!

Glad you read it, always good to hear that it doesnt hit dull ears ;)

On 9/27/2019 at 8:10 AM, Feuer Zug said:

This is an interesting look at the conundrum we builders face. You definitely get realistic styling out of the vehicles and the ability to fit within a 6 wide setup. Thanks for sharing.

You are very welcome, thanks a lot (also for commenting on the original thread!)