Teddy

This is great stuff! Those are all really well done indeed.

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

This is a very well build locomotive and a good rendition of Jay Hurst his design! I am too very curious how it is powered and how it behaves in switch points in particular. Kind regards, Teddy

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

That is too bad. You could consider to align the locomotive in a straight line without tracks. Personally, I am very interested in a photo of the locomotive without the boogies turning. Kind regards, Teddy

Hi blueandwhite, that is exactly what I meant. Hi L-space, as blueandwhite mentioned, your work is stunning as it is. My comments are mearly meant as constructive criticism. This is another folder that shows some examples of random mottling by Milán Bikics: Link to Brickshelf folder Kind regards, Teddy

This looks very beautifully done. Do you happen to have a photo of the locomotive on a straight? It is hard to fully grasp the locomotive when it is crawling along curves making the tight Lego bends. Kind regards, Teddy

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 Thanks Lego Train 12 Volts.

That is an amazing rendition of the original building. Very well done indeed.

This is a really nice adaptation of Ben Beneke his design. I like the XL wheels under this machine. I am wondering how well the driving rods function, as they seem to hit each other at every rotation. Does this add to friction or noise? All in all a very nice adaptation of Ben his design with the BBB XL wheels. Kind regards, Teddy

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

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

Hi Patje! Scrolled right through all your photo sets, and I love your layouts! One can really see the progress both in size and quality over the years. And my girlfriend really loves your grey cat. "Ah, so cute! " Is what she said. Kind regards, Teddy

Thanks TheBrickster! That made me really happy, I'm really honored. Thanks Captain Becker, glad you like it!

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. Hi moc2, yes getting the locomotive to take switches and all the possible S-curves was a real challenge. 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

Kost U Grlu : 3 points Dix : 2 Points

Dear TheBrickster, When I was a kid I owned the 7722 Steam Cargo train set: My love for Lego trains restarted again in 2006 and 2007 with set 10173 Holiday train and the 10183 hobby train set. I currently own one 7722 Steam Cargo train set, one 10173 Holliday train set, two 10183 hobby train sets, two 10194 Emerald Night sets, and one 7939 Cargo train. Further, I currently own the 7997 train station, the 7937 train station, one 7936 train level crossing, and several rail switches and track piece sets. Last year I build my Terminus of the line railway MOC: And last year I build my mini scale train locomotive MOC: And this year I build a 1:45 minifigure scale BR01-1075 with PF motors: Kind regards, Teddy

Dear L-space, this is starting to look really good. There is some really nifty architecture in there! If I may give you some advice on a simple improvement. The mottling you've done with sand-green, tan, and dark (bl/g)rey is a good idea, but it seams a tat too regular now. As if it is a reoccurring pattern purposely put there. This is because you group all colors together every time you try to break up the regularity of the large grey wall. It would look better if you would scatter the sand-green, tan, and dark (bl/g)rey more randomly over the wall. Sometimes they group, sometimes they are alone. In my eyes, the grouping/pattern effect is especially apparent in the foto below. I hope this helps you with your great WIP. Kind regards, Teddy

Thanks Cinderbike! Glad you like it! Hi Petrab, I am glad you like my MOC. Currently, I got several requests for instructions already and am contemplating making them. But, I am a complete newby at LDraw and currently I have to finish my PhD and find a new job. So it will probably be another three months or so before I have sufficient spare time to start such a new task. Personally, I like a great many number of themes and like to build different things in Lego the best I can. When I start a new project I scavenge the internet for photos of real life buildings or vehicles (whatever the project is) and put those in one folder. Than I flip through that folder repeatedly to build an image in my mind of what and how I want to build it. For new building techniques and ideas I look at various Lego builds both official and MOCs, both related and non related to my project, and try to learn as much as possible from all the other Lego builders. After this tedious exercise, I start to build a first basic version of my current project MOC. Than I start an iteration process in which I try to mold the MOC further. Some MOCs take up to 20 iterations. So my goal is not to outdo other builders, but to learn from them and use that in my own builds. That way, I do not need to redo the same learning curve as they did. If my MOCs look good it is also a testament to all the great other builders from whom I learned by studying their Lego creations. Kind regards, Teddy

Dear all, thanks for all the nice replies on my MOC! I added a comparison shot between my MOC and the real BR01 1075 enigine to the first post: Hi Captain Green Hair! Thanks for your reply. As you can see I changed the casing of the boogies under the tender since the last photos I showed you. Hi Thorsten, thanks for your kind reply and thank you very much for helping me out with the O-rings on the BBB-XL wheels. I will try to make a movie of the train running, although I do not own a descent camera I will do my best. Kind regards, Teddy

Hi all, thank you very much for all the nice replies! It took me quite some time and iterations to get the train to its current form. So, I am really happy you all like it. Kind regards, Teddy

Five years ago, I told my girlfriend I wanted to buy a certain Lego set I could not afford as a kid. Surprisingly, she than encouraged me to buy it, and that is how I got out of my dark ages. I saw it on ebay and put in an offer and won the bidding for a relatively low price. After that event it kind of started to snowball out of control for a while, with me buying anything Lego I could afford or get my hands on. She likes the fact I am at home when I hobby with Lego, and she thinks about projects I can make. She even likes me to showcase my MOCs in our living room for family and friends to look at. She encouraged me to start my HMS Victory project and even organized a holiday to Portsmouth to see the real deal. I started my castle because she is into fantasy books, and my library MOC because of her book hobby as well. So I try to involve her into the hobby and she encourages me a lot. So although she is not an AFOL she is very enthusiastic and supportive. With my previous hobby as a coach and active sporter, I was away from home a lot for competition, training, race weekends, and training camps. So, she likes the fact that with Lego building I am close by. Kind regards, Teddy

Congratulations on winning from some stiff competition! That sure is a big cool price pack, and super cool addition to your collection. Kind regards, Teddy

Hi Rick, thank you for your reply. I agree with you Rick that digital more common. Hi TheBrickster, your organizing of the forum is highly appreciated by me. I completely agree with you on the usefulness of acronyms in the titles of topics. Hopefully we can get a clear acronym that helps organizing. Hi Toastie, thank you for your comment. Personally, I like your proposal better. As it now reads more natural and simple as: MOCD: MOC Digital MODD: MOD Digital Thanks! Kind regards, Teddy

For me personally the abbreviation MOD in a LEGO context means modification. The other definition does not come natural to me as a digital creation can also be a MOC (own design) or a MOD (modification). So I if you want to make a difference, I would sugges: My Own Digital Creation, MODC. And digital modification MODD. kind regards, Teddy