Hickernator

Eurobricks Vassals
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Posts posted by Hickernator

  1. Posted

    I just wanted to write a quick post to say thank you to everyone who supported the Miracle Express. I am honestly grateful for all of your support. Reaching 10,000 votes is no easy task. It requires the time and effort that you'd give to a full time job and after the year long campaign/promoting of the idea, I am actually exhausted! :laugh:

    So honestly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for all your support this past year. It truly means a lot to me and I wish you all well and much success! :)

  2. Posted

    4 hours ago, adwind said:

    It actually ends on the first week of January )

    There's still time then :laugh: :wink:

     Congrats again adwind. I really do think your set has a good chance of getting through. It's such an iconic family film and would really fit in well with the modulars. 

  4. Posted

     Hi everyone!

     I've just made this assortment of builds depicting the sort of village fete that I used to go to when I was younger. It has various things, from plate smashing and a Punch and Judy Show to a pantomime performance of St. George and the Dragon!

     Let me know what you think of it!

     47458125521_6cff07ae8d_c.jpgSt. George vs The Dragon by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

    47458121481_3b6536b492_c.jpgPunch and Judy! by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

    47458119681_944f4e3179_c.jpgPlate Smashing by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

    33581890818_cb0b5a7977_c.jpgThe Medieval Fayre by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

    33581889968_9747e6f06c_c.jpgHere Comes the Dragon! by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

  5. Posted

    Been a while, but I've got a lot of new photos of my updated train which I wanted to share. Perhaps the biggest update is that it is now compatible with Power Functions! Took a long time to figure out. I've never really built with technic/motors before so it was a BIG learning curve, one which I had to compress over a 3 day weekend (with little to no sleep). :laugh:

     46575441524_d8d3a117e1_z.jpgMiracle Express MkII by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

    The MARK II Miracle Express. Compared to MARK I, this one is able to move around curves. It is also slightly chunkier than the original version, so that I could put the battery box and XL motor inside the main locomotive. 

    46727573664_0ab33c3e8c_z.jpgThe Miracle Express by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

     I'm now going to figure out how to add the third axle back onto the tender without making it derail. Going to be a challenge but will be more authentic to the original!

     One more pic

     47450641161_8e2fa00660_z.jpgThe Miracle Express by Adam Hickey, on Flickr



     Let me know what you all think!

     

  6. Posted

    Awesome build! Must admit, the first thing that sprang to mind was the Monty Python Cheese Shop Sketch :laugh: I do think you should add some little detail behind the buildings, like a dustbin or something. :classic:

  8. Posted

     Hey all!

     So some of you may be aware that I made a Lego Miracle Express which I have put up on Lego Ideas and has received a lot of positive feedback. I have since made a little short film featuring the train after I managed to fit it with power functions and I wanted to share it with you.

     https://youtu.be/ge-MR09udYU

     Queen were kind enough to give me permission to use their music for the film. 

     It was so much fun to make and was almost like filming an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine :laugh: It also reminded me of making Lego films when I was 10/11 on the Lego Studios Movie Maker. I enjoyed placing the scenery in different places to create perspective.

     Let me know what you think of the movie!

     Thanks!

    Hickernator

  10. Posted

    After much trial and error, I have finally figured out the problem. It was actually quite simple too!

     I was using the wrong technic pins to connect the train wheels to the pistons. I was using standard black pins whereas I should have been using those grey smaller pins. Runs perfectly now!

  11. Posted

    10 hours ago, Daedalus304 said:

    That is good, but it's not actually what quartering means. What you want to check is that the drive rod pins are at different positions on each side. If the driver's side Rod Pins are at 12 or 6 o' clock, the fireman's rod pins should be at either 3 or 9 o' clock. That is, they need to be One-Quarter rotation out of phase with each other.

    The problem you've described sounds quite a lot like the rods are not Quartered, and they're what's causing your lockup.

    I've given it another go and it's still jamming :cry_sad:

     What I've done is I kept all the wheels on the left hand side at 12, then on the right hand side I changed them to 3 or 9 to see whether it was because it needed to be clockwise or anti-clockwise. Neither solution helped. I've also been wondering whether it is due to weight because when I push the train along with my hand, the wheels with rods do turn, albeit quite stiffly. 

     I'm also wondering whether the connections are too stiff or whether the rod is too long or even if I need to add a second motor to give it more power (though I'm not too sure about this as my model is no bigger than the emerald night.)

     As mentioned before, the train runs perfectly fine without the rods attached. The wheels spin correctly and it can turn corners well. I've configured the motor arrangement as such:

     Battery Box in main engine

     IR Receiver in cab

     XL motor in tender, connected to one pair of driving wheels (one wheel either side an axle) - not sure if this could be the issue?

  13. Posted

    4 minutes ago, XG BC said:

    you could try adding the motor to the coal tender so it pushes the train just like you do when no motor is attached. the emerald knight set with the motorization according to the instructions isnt working that well either.

    XG BC

    Thanks! Seems to be the only option - seen that people have done that for the Hogwarts Express. Will give it a go :classic:

  15. Posted

     Hi everyone!

     I was wondering if someone could help troubleshoot a problem for me. I am trying to add power functions to my steam train. Without the motor (both medium and XL) the train runs perfectly fine along rails. I goes around corners with no trouble and the gears run smoothly. The pistons turn properly and are quartered. 

     As soon as I add a motor (following the instructions of the Emerald Night for gear configuration) the gears will jam automatically. I take the motor out and push the train along and it runs fine. As soon as I reconnect the motor, the gears just jam immediately. 

     I am unsure whether I am doing something wrong. If anyone can give some advice I would be most grateful!

     Thank you :)

     Hickernator

  16. Posted

    3 minutes ago, Kintobor said:

    33200717958_780694df28_o.png

    I remembered seeing your engine earlier and thought it was pretty cool. Seems as if though I wasn't the only one Hickernator!

    The official Queen Facebook page has posted a link to your Ideas page. Best of luck! :sweet:

     Thank you! I am at a loss at the moment. All of this has come across so suddenly! I'm still waiting for parts to motorise it :laugh: This has been so encouraging though and the response has been wonderful! Thank you again :)

  17. Posted

    Thank you both for the kind comments. The roof is my favourite part too. You can tell that my building skill improved over the two years once I had reached the roof :laugh:

     

    5 hours ago, adwind said:

    My favorite part of your creation - is a roof. It looks very realistic and complex, I like it! 

    Since I am a tiles fan - my suggestion would be adding tiles to the floor :) 

    Ran out of funds for the tiles :grin: Was gonna do it but needed to budget 

    BTW adwind I really love your Home Alone house! It is awesome!

  18. Posted

     Hey everyone!

     Here is a MOC of a Georgian style mansion which took me around 2 years to build. Not sure how many pieces it is but it is well above 2,000 at least.

    46147900055_41bc22cf8b_c.jpgGeorgian House by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

     There are 3 floors to the house. The Ground Floor, which houses the kitchen, dining room, living room and grand staircase. The Upper Floor which harbours the master bedroom, connecting bathroom, upper grand staircase landing, a balcony, corridor and a study. The third floor is an attic space, which contains lots of junk, the butler's bedroom, and a resident g-g-g-ghost... called Fred.

    Each floor is connected with a staircase and each room has its own colour theme. 

     Some pics for you!

    46337630324_5ac1ba3d08_c.jpgGeorgian House Staircase by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

     This is the grand staircase, which has some abstract paintings decorating the walls. 

     46337631764_fd42d797aa_c.jpgGeorgian House Dounstairs by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

     Ground Floor layout

    46337634824_1691e20562_c.jpgStudy by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

    Study on the second floor

    46337636084_ed312ca085_c.jpgLiving Room by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

    Living Room

    46337637864_095f4e9319_c.jpgLiving Room by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

    Living Room - featuring a piano and shelves

    47061732481_e48b7675b4_c.jpgG-G-G-Ghost by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

    G-G-G-Ghost!!!

    46147899445_0539066295_c.jpgGeorgian House by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

    Overview of the house

     Let me know what you think! More pics on the way :)

  19. Posted · Edited by Hickernator
    BB codes went wrong

    Thanks for the kind comments! I've got 80 votes and am thrilled with the positive response!

     

     I'm now moving onto stage 2 of this design, which is... motorisation! I am completely over-hauling the model and am going to add a motor to it to have it run around the tracks. Quite challenging but fun! First time ever working with motors.

     Here's some pics of the progress thus far...

     

    33145869938_512067a891_c.jpgMiracle Express Overall by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

     

    47021132631_02aa1bfb54_c.jpgMiracle Express Overall by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

     

     

     Any tips/suggestions would be most welcome :)

     

     Thanks!

     

    Hickernator

  20. Posted

    Just now, MAB said:

    It would be interesting if they put classic space sets on the shelves at the same time as Star Wars and see which one theme sells the best. My money would be on Star Wars, even now after 20 years.

    Even though I would love for the classic space to do well, I would probably have to agree with you.

  22. Posted

     Recently I've been looking through my collection of Lego and I started to wonder; what Lego minfigure in my collection is my favourite? It is quite a challenging question to answer as I have literally hundreds and hundreds, from the CMF series to licensed figures and even some custom ones. I also have the odd rarity too (trying at the moment to find one of those old ghosts in an orange colour).

     

     I think, though, my favourite figure I have has to be this Johnny Thunder which I obtained on eBay about half a year ago. 

    46085442355_6e5447c5ec.jpgJohnny Thunder Front by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

     

    46085443505_2f298503b0.jpgJohnny Thunder Back by Adam Hickey, on Flickr

     

    This is quite an interesting minifigure as it has the Lego Logo featured on the back on the torso, yet there is no hole in the neck for a keyring. 

     

     The Adventurers was one of my favourite themes growing up and I have many fond memories of coming up with adventures for Johnny Thunder and his gang!

     

     So, if you had to choose only ONE minifigure, which one is your favourite?

  23. Posted

    Personally I feel Star Wars has been going for too long. So many sets have been rehashed time and time again and I feel that the appeal for the theme is not as strong as it used to be. I don't think the theme should necessarily retire, yet I think it should have fewer releases to make room for more classic space themed sets.