Teddy Posted December 31, 2010 Hi Teddy, well, got my PhD about two decades ago , found a decent job , and speak rather fluently LDraw or better MLCad . If you need any help here, I'd be happy to fill in. Furthermore, I believe that this model deserves more than "just" an LDraw mpd file to live in - a full instruction is what it deserves, similar to the BR23 instructions available on the RailBricks website. Will also be a couple of months for me but eventually ... the only thing I can't adjust to is charging for it Best wishes, Thorsten Hi Toastie! If you are prepared to help me out with the digital design, I am saying yes please. And if you are even prepared to build instructions, I am absolutely grateful. Wow, I was blown away by all of the accurate detail before I even scrolled down and saw all of the engineering going on underneath... Holy cow. Combining both into the same package is an amazing achievement. Hi moc2, yes getting the locomotive to take switches and all the possible S-curves was a real challenge. That would be great, and I'll be happy to see them no matter how long it takes. Your design process seems similar to mine, just you seem to get better results quicker :-) Luckily I like the challenge so the time I'm spending is part of the enjoyment. Taking so long also avoids me having to invest in better camera gear Eventually I hope to post a bunch of mocs online but at the moment I'm still tinkering with most as I'm not completely happy. Most of the stuff I build remain part of my train layout so there's no rush for me to present them before I dismantle them. Hi petrab, it helps me to discuss a WIP via gmail or msn with another fan. Just to bounce some ideas. Kind regards, Teddy Edit: Today we had my girlfriend her family over for the new year celebrations. My girlfriend het grandmother is a big fan of my Lego so she wanted to make a movie. The color is slightly dark and the tiger print slippers are from Petra her Grandmother. At least now you can see it snake through a Lego track switch. Kind regards, Teddy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WesternOutlaw Posted January 1, 2011 Beautiful Teddy! I've always been a fan of big black & red German engines, since my HO-scale days as a kid. I think this is well-deserving of a front-page to start the New Year out right. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Captain Becker Posted January 1, 2011 (edited) Beautiful! I love every inch of it, details are awesome as usual and the lenght of this is impressive. Overall amazing job whit this, i really like it because im mostly in old steam trains than modern diesel and electric trains these days Captain Becker Edited January 1, 2011 by Captain Becker Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teddy Posted January 1, 2011 Beautiful Teddy! I've always been a fan of big black & red German engines, since my HO-scale days as a kid. I think this is well-deserving of a front-page to start the New Year out right. Thanks TheBrickster! That made me really happy, I'm really honored. Beautiful! I love every inch of it, details are awesome as usual and the lenght of this is impressive. Overall amazing job whit this, i really like it because im mostly in old steam trains than modern diesel and electric trains these days Captain Becker Thanks Captain Becker, glad you like it! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Admiral Croissant Posted January 1, 2011 Amazing! Comparing yours with the picture of the real one, it looks very real. Most of the techniques (at least, on the outside) don't seem very hard to do, but getting everything on scale and with the motors and stuff inside is very clever Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teddy Posted January 2, 2011 Amazing! Comparing yours with the picture of the real one, it looks very real. Most of the techniques (at least, on the outside) don't seem very hard to do, but getting everything on scale and with the motors and stuff inside is very clever Hi Admiral Croissant! Thanks for your reply. My life motto is: "keep it simple stupid!" So, I try to make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler. The same philosophy is applied in my Lego hobby builds as well. Some earlier iterations of this MOC were way more complex builds than the final version. I initially build several test versions of several parts of the locomotive, which I finally attached for the first complete version of the locomotive. It is still possible to dis-attach the wheel section from the rest of the body without much trouble. Under the hood there still is quite some SNOT going on, and some parts are slightly more complex builds than they may appear on the outside. Especially, to squeeze in all the PF equipment (2 M-motors, extension cords, and PF light cords) in a very tight space in the sleek 5.6 x 5.6 studs boiler, which has an internal space of only 4x4 studs, and make it sturdy enough so the motors wont tear it apart. To achieve this, I tried to keep the build as simple and sturdy as possible. Getting the train to take the Lego track switches was a real pain and required quite some work as well to get right. Kind regards, Teddy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted January 2, 2011 Wonderful MOC! I like your words: "[...] I try to make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler [...]" because before to realize the final version of my Br23 I have to build several test versions to respect the proportion and pass trough two reversed-switching-points joined together, like you. I wonder how you have put the two motors in a so perfect shape (I have to say that my favorite steam locomotive is the BR series )! The XL train wheels from Big Ben Brick modified with rubber band are really impressive (BBB should introduces that as a new standard). P.S. I think that I shall never see a superior masterpiece in 2011 . You have won first price! Note: My BR23 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teddy Posted January 2, 2011 Wonderful MOC! I like your words: "[...] I try to make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler [...]" because before to realize the final version of my Br23 I have to build several test versions to respect the proportion and pass trough two reversed-switching-points joined together, like you. I wonder how you have put the two motors in a so perfect shape (I have to say that my favorite steam locomotive is the BR series )! The XL train wheels from Big Ben Brick modified with rubber band are really impressive (BBB should introduces that as a new standard). P.S. I think that I shall never see a superior masterpiece in 2011 . You have won first price! Note: My BR23 Hi LEGO Trains 12 Volts, thank you for your compliments.Thorsten Benter wrote a really nice article here on EB on attaching O-rings to BBB wheels in which you already responded, but I am stil putting up a link here : Link to Tutorial Thorsten told me that BBB is contemplating making wheels with O-rings. Until than, Thorsten his method is more than good enough. That is a very beautifully designed BR23 and reminds me of Ben Beneke his design. But, I can see you made some changed and additions to Ben Beneke his core design. Kind regards, Teddy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted January 2, 2011 Hi Teddy, I'm me again ...your loco is amazing (I've also seen your short youtube-movie ). I've read and written my opinion weeks ago in the tutorial forum to modify BBB's wheels, but what I means is a standard production of a new wheel with rubber band: I'm talking about a new plastic injection mold. P.S. Today I've spent my time to see your several MOC ...you're a genius! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teddy Posted January 4, 2011 Dear all, today I uploaded a better video of my locomotive to youtube. It is still not top quality, but it is better than the previous one. It was shot by my girlfriend her grandmother who was over to celebrate new years day with the family at our house. She shot it with her standard camera. She mailed me the video yesterday, and I received it today. Not via email but via an actual CD in the mail! Along with other family movies and photos she shot that day ofcourse, but I am not putting them up on Youtube. Kind regards, Teddy Hi Teddy, I'm me again ...your loco is amazing (I've also seen your short youtube-movie ). I've read and written my opinion weeks ago in the tutorial forum to modify BBB's wheels, but what I means is a standard production of a new wheel with rubber band: I'm talking about a new plastic injection mold. P.S. Today I've spent my time to see your several MOC ...you're a genius! Thanks Lego Train 12 Volts. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted January 4, 2011 Hi Teddy, this new video is really awesome! I like the rear spot lights on the tender car. Have you planned to build some passenger wagons? I love your perfect style Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Admiral Croissant Posted January 5, 2011 Under the hood there still is quite some SNOT going on, and some parts are slightly more complex builds than they may appear on the outside. Especially, to squeeze in all the PF equipment (2 M-motors, extension cords, and PF light cords) in a very tight space in the sleek 5.6 x 5.6 studs boiler, which has an internal space of only 4x4 studs, and make it sturdy enough so the motors wont tear it apart. To achieve this, I tried to keep the build as simple and sturdy as possible. Getting the train to take the Lego track switches was a real pain and required quite some work as well to get right. Interesting.. Seems too difficult for me though. I think I'll stick with my ships Are you still working on the Victory?Anyway, nice train. Seems to work very well on the video Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Duq Posted January 6, 2011 Teddy, your drive setup is similar to my BR65, only you have two motors in the boiler (I have only one) and your boiler is narrower. Do you have better pictures or a ldraw file of how you built your boiler? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teddy Posted January 6, 2011 Teddy, your drive setup is similar to my BR65, only you have two motors in the boiler (I have only one) and your boiler is narrower. Do you have better pictures or a ldraw file of how you built your boiler? Hi Duq! I will see what I can do. I am planning to put a set of instructions online in pdf for free, but that will take at least another 3 months. As you can see in the photo below the motors are attached to a 4x4x4 studs technic cube, with a 2x4x(2/5) slot on top for the PF cable. The cube has attachment points for the curved slopes on 4 sides and Technic axle holes to connect the motors on two sides. At the core of that 4x4x4 cube is this technic brik (picture is a link): This brick provides the strength to hold the motors and the gearing together. A similar construction build via separate bricks risks being torn apart by the motors when the train stalls. Further in the tank I make 4x4x2 studs cores with the aid of these brackets to make the boiler tank stiffer (picture is a link): And at some strategic points I connect these bricks to interlock the four sides of curved slopes (picture is a link): Further I interlock sets of two curved slopes via 2x4, 2x6, 2x8, 2x10, 4x4, 4x6, or 4x8 plates running across the middle of 4x4 curved slope sections consisting of two 2x4 curved slopes (picture is a link): Click for larger photo on Flickr (picture is a link): That is roughly how I build it and the secret behind making the boiler two plates leaner in its diameter. Hope this helps. Kind regards, Teddy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teddy Posted January 8, 2011 Dear all, since I am planing to make instructions for this MOC, I have simplified the drive-train yesterday. Now only the 4 flanged wheels are powered directly via the two M-motors and the blind wheel is rotated via the coupling rods. Surprisingly the speed of the locomotive went up significantly. my guesstimate is about 20%. Especially in corners the speed has increased. Apparently there was quite some torque between the gears and the flex cables resulting in more internal friction than necessary. Now that about 4 gears are removed and the blinds are moving freely with the driving rods the entire driving train appears to move a whole lot smoother. Further, I have bought quite some 5 studs long flex cable and noticed that there is quite a bit of variety in their length. Some of them are about 2 mm too short, which is too much for the gears in the LEGO Universe. When I use those slightly too short flex cables, the locomotive just freezes up completely. The funny thing is that this variety can occur in the same stock of cables. On Bricklink most of them are listed as 5L. For someone building this model with flex cables as rods that are those 2 mm too short it may be a frustrating ordeal. I did notice that on BL they also sell 38.2 mm, 38.8mm, and 39.5mm flex cables. Probably, they are all listed as 5L at most sellers. The one needed for the rods to function properly is the 39.5 mm variety. With them the BR 01 1075 runs smoothly. Kind regards, Teddy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Duq Posted January 8, 2011 Thanks for the boiler explanation, I think I get it now... I might use this method for my next engine. I was going to use a variation on Sava's four-and-a-bit boiler but I need to get the motor(s) in the boiler as there's no room anywehere else. I had the same problem with 6L flex for another steam project; the flex cable is about 2mm short. With 5L and 6L becoming rare and expensive on BL I'm thinking about cheating and using pieces of copper wire. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toastie Posted January 8, 2011 Further, I have bought quite some 5 studs long flex cable and noticed that there is quite a bit of variety in their length. Some of them are about 2 mm too short, which is too much for the gears in the LEGO Universe. When I use those slightly too short flex cables, the locomotive just freezes up completely. The funny thing is that this variety can occur in the same stock of cables. On Bricklink most of them are listed as 5L. For someone building this model with flex cables as rods that are those 2 mm too short it may be a frustrating ordeal. I did notice that on BL they also sell 38.2 mm, 38.8mm, and 39.5mm flex cables. Probably, they are all listed as 5L at most sellers. The one needed for the rods to function properly is the 39.5 mm variety. With them the BR 01 1075 runs smoothly. Hi Teddy and all, that was exactly the same issue I had with my copy of Ben's 23. And it was much worse when motorizing it. Finding the right length is indeed some elaborate (and maybe costly) procedure. I guess I have figured out a rather straight forward way in getting the right length cables: Buy long flex cables. Two ends are already perfectly suited. Cut the wire exactly to length (Teddy's factional mm dimensions are indeed critical if you want to deliver power via a flex system driving rod - in this regard the flex tubing lengths are equally important). Then carefully carve out some sort of notch at the cut end with an exacto knife or the like, approximately matching the original shape on the uncut end. The shape is really not that important - the Technic Flex System Pin Connectors are rather tolerant with the notch. All that matters is that the cable is pushed in all the way into the connector. You can even close the connector without notch using a caliper, but then the cable may slip. All the best, Thorsten Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted January 9, 2011 Buy long flex cables. Two ends are already perfectly suited. Cut the wire exactly to length (Teddy's factional mm dimensions are indeed critical if you want to deliver power via a flex system driving rod - in this regard the flex tubing lengths are equally important). Then carefully carve out some sort of notch at the cut end with an exacto knife or the like, approximately matching the original shape on the uncut end. The shape is really not that important - the Technic Flex System Pin Connectors are rather tolerant with the notch. All that matters is that the cable is pushed in all the way into the connector. You can even close the connector without notch using a caliper, but then the cable may slip. All the best, Thorsten Thanks for the hint Thorsten! BR 01-1075 World Heritage!!! Teddy we are all waiting for your building instructions of this masterpiece (the front sliding mechanism seems to be too complex to understand from the general pictures). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mpec82 Posted January 11, 2011 Really impressive, it's like watching the real one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mjenk430 Posted January 16, 2011 I also had the same issue with the flex cable when building Ben's BR23. I was appalled at the prices for flex cable on bricklink and a little overwhelmed with the sizes available that were so close together. I decided to take the non-purist approach **gasp** and use copper wire. I had some 14ga romex wire scraps that I stripped the insulation off of and cut in small grooves at each end and the worked perfecttly with the flex-cable connectors. There was some trial and error though with the length in order to get the train to roll smoothly. I would imagine that the publishing of the instructions to Ben's BR23 may have contributed to the scarcity (and consequently the high prices) of flex-cable on bricklink. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Toastie Posted January 16, 2011 I had some 14ga romex wire scraps that I stripped the insulation off of and cut in small grooves at each end and the worked perfecttly with the flex-cable connectors. Nice! I like that. Never thought about it. I guess it is equally non-purist (maybe even worse!) to modify longer flex cables, as suggested before. Will try your solution out. I would imagine that the publishing of the instructions to Ben's BR23 may have contributed to the scarcity (and consequently the high prices) of flex-cable on bricklink. Damned. That was entirely unintentional, I swear. Nor do I stock any appreciable amounts of flex-cable, just cut pieces ... should have thought about that though, would have been rich beyond my wildest dreams by now ... All the best, Thorsten Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hoexbroe Posted January 17, 2011 A qorgeous build! Fantastic! Very good engineering of the pivoting parts and mechanical funcion in general. Thanks for the thorough presentation with detailed photos, which has given me lots of things to think about. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teddy Posted January 23, 2011 A qorgeous build! Fantastic! Very good engineering of the pivoting parts and mechanical funcion in general. Thanks for the thorough presentation with detailed photos, which has given me lots of things to think about. Thanks hoexbroe! Today I found some time to make a movie of the locomotive with the simplified driving train. This movie was shot with my webcam, so the quality is not all that. Hopefully, you can still notice the increase in speed compared to the previous movie. Kind regards, Teddy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted January 24, 2011 This is the best steam locomotive I've ever seen ...this is the third time I say that! In these weeks I'm waiting for my lego ordered on brick link trying to rebuild this loco Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
