raised

Thanks a lot! I kept staring at it for a loooong time as well, just for other reasons. Mainly because I just couldn't get it working ;) Feel free to! The LKAB IORE is still somewhere on my list as well, that thing is such a beast. Massive loco. Your version will be diffficult to match! Thanks! Glad to hear, I always see it as a little game to include as many details as possible. It's one the the reasons why my building process is so lengthy though... I just logged in to EB after a weekend without internets, just to see my loco on the frontpage! I feel truely honored! So cool :) Haha thanks! You are right, the Traxx'es of NS were bought / leased because the V250 first was delayed several times, and then became permanent after NS and NMBS decided to cancel the V250-order alltogether. However, due to differences in level of ETCS between Bombardier (Traxx) and Siemens (as far as I know the supplier of the ETCS system for the whole HSL-Zuid) they still aren't as reliable as one would like. Even though I must admit, all the times I have traveled with them lately they run perfect on time without any hickups.

I forgot one option: The Power Functions® to 9V Battery Adapter by Iron Horse Brick Co. That one ofcourse is a solution as well, and can be bought fully assembled. You just need to dissasemble the battery every time and charge it again. So technically it's part of solution 1 from my opening post.

No worries, those guys know exactly how much injection molding costs. For their first kickstarter they actually had this in mind, but in the end it turned out the investment was way too high. That's why for the final product they switched to 3D printed. Now that the whole run has been sold, they are actually going to change again to injection molding, but manfuctured Asia. As per their blog:

Fiar points about some of us as current trainheads who have already invested heavily in PF, plastic track, 3D printed track etc. not going to invest again in a system like FX Bricks. However, when reading the pressrelease + blog and seeing the video, I have the feeling that their business model isn't just about us as current Lego Trainheads. What I think is so exciting about this system is the chance to really attract people who want to enter the L-gauge hobby, like Michael himself once did for example. I know from the Dutch model railway shows that a lot of railway modellers tend to look in awe at Lego models, only then to say "yeah but this is a toy, you cannot even control the trains digitally, there is no uniform track system, blablabla". The plans as FX Bricks have revealed them seems to hint at those people; younger and older adults with enthousiasm for model railways, who have always been intruiged by Lego, but didn't want to make the step into L-gauge because of the steep entry grade when it comes to the system of L-gauge. This does however mean a totally different target audience, and I'm sincerely interested in how Micheal and Jason are going to pull that one off. However, if you do manage to attract this audience, I'm pretty sure that the investments they are making now will be earned back in no time. Just think about the potential... /edit: I agree with @Daedalus304, the traditional railway modeller is a dying breed. However, I also see in our own hobby the tremendous ammount of young kids coming into the hobby. For example, in the LTC part of my LUG, most of the guys are age 18-25. Those youngsters have had far less of a Dark Age, have been interested in trains their whole life, and think traditional railway modellers are absolutely boring, but love to spend the equivalent of a LGB train as long as they can build it themselves. If FX Bricks is able to tap into those wallets (and the ones that still are hesistant to enter the hobby due to the above talk about the lack of a system) I'm pretty sure you can make a succesfull business out of selling this system.

True that. I hope that the second production run also means creating a better app for Android. Because this one is pretty laggy indeed. At one point I did by the way understand from Michael that this is indeed in the works, so fingers crossed. Aldo, they do have an API available but unfortunately I don't have a win10 pc so I can't use that unified control app (that uses their API) either...

So stoked about this! Btw they also released a blog post with some extra insights and explanations why they have decided to go this way. Knowing a bit Micheals background and his love for model railways, I'm pretty sure this system will, if it goes to market, make a huge impact on the hobby. While reading the documents I realized he is totally right, the reason L-Gauge is being percieved as a toy and not as a proper railway gauge that modellers can play around with are exactly because the catalogue of parts doesn't make sense from a model railroaders perspective. It's the lack of ecosystem that's currently holding us back. In the past I had several of these discussions within the topic "Bring back 9V", all of them boiled down to one thing: Yes, 9V track is nice, but as longs as there aren't any pherificals like 9V motors and transformers availble on the first hand market anymore, it will stay a niche and thus isn't profitable. Because who would invest in 9V track if the motors they rely on are a dying breed? No ecosystem means no future. Adding these different types of radii, lengths, switches, and new motors + power pickups would finally give the one-stop-shop that regular model railroad companies like Fleischmann and Roco are famous for. In that sense I also do see a future for Bricktracks; In H0 for example there are also almost 10 worldwide companies that produce those tracks, and at least two systems, AC (Marklink) vs DC (the rest). So for L-gauge I think the same would be true; Plastic (Bricktracks + 3D printed) vs metal (FX bricks). I'm glad they are going to produce it (partly) in China (or so I read it at least) to keep costs down. I'm a big fan of schemes like Buy America of Buy EU, but let's be honest, that's just way too expensive. Producing in China makes your product a lot more competitieve from a price point of view, which in turn gives FX Bricks a larger audience and thus more chance for a profit. I don't know of any big model railroad company that doens't produce in China at the moment. The idea that China still produces crappy quality just isn't right, almost everything that is injection molded comes from China nowadays! Also, I'm excited by the fact that this indeed seems to be the next 'logical' step after bringing the PFx Brick to market (which will get a injection molded casing in the second run!!).

I did this as well for quite some time, but I'm just not happy with the whole hassle of having to buy several battery chargers, having them lay around all the time during an convention etc. etc. When you are at a convention and your train runs empty, you just want to side it, plug in the charger and just wait for three hours till it's charged again. Not at Legoworld at least with that many visitors... However, I do agree that 88000 is at least a less big pain in the butt to dissasemble (if you indeed undo the screws beforehand) than the big technic box which I was using in the begin of PF. On the other hand, the AAA batteries have less capacity and run dry quite a lot faster when running big 8 wide trains is my experience. One of my fellow LUG members has several and he said they run for several hours, so that was good enough for me to buy a couple of them for that price. But this sounds like the scientific approach, so I'm looking forward to this! I'm really wondering indeed wheter the cells themselves are crap or not. Keep indeed in mind that chances are pretty big that lego has the same type of LiPo's in it, I think production costs of these things anyways aren't a lot more than 5-6 euros to begin with. With margin for Chinese resellers this prize would then make sense for a company like Lepin (clone bricks tend to be 2-4 times as cheap as well when produced and ordered in China...) TLC just sold them for ridiculious high prices, also because in the end they aren't an electronics company, they are a toy company, so most prob the knowledge for producing these batteries had to be outsourced / insourced to begin with, (partially) explaining the steep price.

That sounds an awefull lot like how ME-models did their track, and to be honest: that wasn't handy at all. Not for proper layouts (the only moment it's useful is when you have bridges and in maintenance sheds) but definately not as a standalone toy (that's also part of the hobby, remember) since it just falls apart all the time when the floor is just a little bit uneven and an engine runs over it. There is a reason why Lego switched to pre-molded sleepers after the 12V age ;)

@Sérgio Yeah I meant 'In Real Life'. Internet slang. Fair enough regarding the L-motors, I indeed don't think that changing the grills for panels will make it any better. It's just a thing to keep in mind; M-motors are just not as strong as you would expect them to be, definately when compared to L-motors. L-motors have double the torque with the same RPM. Very interesting to see. You do need to gear them properly though, but that's something you already did with your M-motors as well ;) Anyways, have a look here for some more info on the differences between both.

Forgot to tell, but my fellow LUG members bought some track to show off in the beginning of the year. I must say I was quite impressed with the extremely high level of engineering of the track. I was one of those guys that ordered ME-models track back in the days (hooray for glue, lots of glue), and I can assure everybody: @coaster's Bricktracks rails are definately from another league!

Looks like a great beast. Any plans to build in IRL? I would however (after my own experiences with M-motors) recommend to switch to L-motors. They are just a lot stronger and more versatile. But then again, that might be a problem since you only have a 5 stud wide hood...

Can't agree more with XGBC, this is a huge improvement over the first version. I really like the ammount of detail you have been able to cram into your model, definately because the model is 6 studs wide. What strikes me most is all the differences with the 10020 Santa Fe, which was released over 15 years ago, even though both prototypes have the same shape, you have managed to come up with a totally different build. Impressive!

I can tell you that all the guys with those 8 wide steam locomotives will be looking forward to this for sure! Same goes for people like me that have wagons that are over 80 studs long ;)

Dear fellow Trainheads, For some time there have been some high-quality instructions being released by Bricktraindepot, BMR*, Anthony Sava and others. However, being a EU trainhead, I can't help but notice that most of these are US loco's and railcars. Now, I know that we as Europeans used to not really have a lot of standardized rolling stock that could be used all over Europe, so if you would want to sell instructions of a Dutch steam engine, there would only be a potential of one small country that might be interested in buying these instructions, instead of a whole continent. So, I understand that, with the exception of German rolling stock, there aren't a lot of high quality instructions out there for European trains. However... Thanks to the privatisations of European rail in the last 20 years, and the standardization by the manufacturers, there have been some interesting possibilities coming up lately. For example the Bombardier Traxx, European Container trains, or even the Siemens Velaro D High Speed Train, for that matter. So, I think there are possiblities here. I'm just wondering why nobody has been releasing any of those yet while using the businessmodel of across the pond. What do you guys think is the reason for this?

Nice to see how 3D printing is trying to give 9V the opportunity to make a comeback! However, after some discussion with Cale last week we came to a pretty problematic conclusion: Yes, 3D track can be printed. But what about the 9V motors? There are only a definite number of those available, and they are getting harder and harder to find (and thus more and more expensive). Anyone already working on that? I know @coaster had some ideas about a metal wheel that could serve as pick-up to power PF, but as far as I know it hasn't progressed further than the first design stage at the moment. Or am I missing something here?

I like what I see, but I'm not entirely sure what I'm seeing, because of the videos... Would you be able to make some pictures of the whole thing? That most of the time is a better way of showing what you have build. Yes, it doesn't run at that point, but most of the time that's actually a good thing with models of trains ;) Also, I agree with Duq... Not really getting why you are bragging about the price. Everybody knows Lego is expensive, most of our builds have some way too expensive parts in it, that's just part of the hobby...

It has been a while since I posted something new here, but don't worry, I have been building regardless, I've just been lurking a lot ;) Anyways, today I want to present my rendition of a MaK / ABB DE 6400 in DB Cargo design. Formerly the main diesel workhorse of the Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS), nowadays a locomotive that also runs in Belgium and Norway, and which you can find even in Poland. I've always had a soft spot for these bulky machines whose design esthetics are mainly following the principles of modularity and usefullness (meaning they aren't styled at all to begin with) and to be honest, I already build it twice, but never to full satisfaction. I had several main goals while building this loco: Keeping it as closely scaled to 1:45, making sure the cab windows consist of 3 parts just like in the prototype (long live flags!), having it run on PFx Brick with it's own power, and hiding all the electrical components in such a way I didn't have to use any stickers for cover up. Also, due to the space available inside the loco, I knew I had to use the PF Lego Train Motor, which made doing proper shourding around the wheelsets a lot more difficult, since there is only one hole available in between the wheels. Thanks to a Lego Minifig Neck Bracket this turned out to be possible. In the end I think I managed to fullfill all objectives; I must however admit the loco only started to run properly after I bough a Lithium-ion rechargable 9V battery, because regular alkaline 9V batteries were emptied by the Lego PF train motor in less than 10 minutes. I never knew there was so little mAh in those blocks... Due to the way the frame is build it's actually a pretty stable locomotive, even though the hoods are only connected to the cab and only held in place by friction to keep them from wobbling. BTW, normally I model one particular number in the fleet, due to it for example having a specific name that reminds me of a town I used to live in. With the 6400 series this isn't really possible, since only several of them are named, and all of them after their drivers or people from within the company it runs for. (Acutally, three of them run with the same name as my grandfather, so maybe some day in the future it might become the 6407, 6434 or 6438!) NS 6400 #2 by raised, on Flickr NS 6400 #1 by raised, on Flickr NS 6400 #3 by raised, on Flickr Hope you guys like it!

Stephanix is Dutch so I don't think he is ;)

Ofcourse! See first below the shrouding and greebles of the motor, which have been altered a little bit (mostly the sandboxes) compared to this picture, to improve running conditions: Wheel set by raised, on Flickr And now the piece de resistance, the cab. Warning, it's a bit messy ;) Cab of 6400 - now with less clutter and more & clip by raised, on Flickr Thanks both! I have to admit the old designs of MaK and ABB aren't really mothers prettiest. The Voith Gravita for example is an absolute beauty compared to the DE 6400 ;) However, it really had a lasting impression on me as the main workhorse for the NS, exactly because of the ultiritarian design it has. The diorama is part of a collab build we did with several Dutch 8-widers at Legoworld 2018 in Utrecht. I'm still planning to write a follow-up about this over at BMR, but for the time being you can have a look at our Flickr Group for more pictures :)

There is also HA Bricks; https://habricks.com/ BMR are planning to release their first loco as a full kit as well, see details here: https://brickmodelrailroader.com/index.php/2019/01/05/the-first-locomotive-from-brick-model-railroader/ Brickmania also did a full loco kit, designed by BMR, but that one is sold out for the moment; https://www.brickmania.com/s160-locomotive-us-army-transportation-corps/ There is also Milton Train Works by Larry Pieniazek, he still is taking orders it seems: http://www.miltontrainworks.com/MTW/products/

@bartosz: Touché

You bring up an interesting point here. One of which only Lego knows the answer, but for us always is a black box: How much do we actually buy, and how much of the turnover and profit at Lego actually comes from us? In the creator expert line this obviously is a big chunk, but I'm inclined to believe that his isn't the case at all when it comes to sets like the Hidden theme. So, it makes sense to not tailor this train to us, since we are simply NOT the core demographic for these sets, not even so that we would buy them as parts packs! Interestingly enough, it also seems to depend a bit on the set designer; Mark Stafford (nabii) has said several times iirc that he on purpose added certain bricks in for example the Ninjago sets he was designing so that we as afols saw them as parts packs, in hopes of increasing sales. (Also, I think none of you have ever had a show where you have to put 4 8-wide carriages plus loco on tracks. If you had, you would be just as enthousiast for that re-railer as I am right now.. I can tell you, last year was hell without that piece. You don't want to know how much time an otherwise simple tasks as putting an train on track costs when there are like 100 kids around you that want to see that train running instead of seeing you fiddling around and trying to actually get it on the track properly)

Hooray, new trains! And even better, new track! Oh, and a new way of connecting wagons and keeping them connected, just like I'm anyways already doing because of the weakness of magnets when you run them for a whole day! You know, I don't mind what they look like, from which theme they are, or which colors they use. Every train that Lego releases is just another chance for kids and adults to get into the trainhobby and become a true trainhead. And that in turn again gives Lego the opportunity to release even more trains, and new track (New track!! Even though it's a super lazy element, it's new track!!) and all those other parts that are needed to build trains. (even more, I remember the dark years when there was a train coming out only every three years, or trains that didn't even run on track (I look at you, timecruisers!) so having a new one within a year of the new PuP trains isn't so bad to begin with, right? Also: Hooray, new trains! New trains!

You do know that "that guy" you are refering to (ie. the one that build the original model) is the same as the one that just posted that message you just have replied to, right? If not, please correlate usernames and you might figure it out ;) You are absolutely right about the above when it comes to "that's how lego is", but the other part of the hobby is being honest about where you took design ques from. For example, the way how you are using the flashlight piece as part of the railing is just a little bit too specific not to have copied. It's a typical Mijasper thing to use that piece, I'd say. Same goes for using grey instead of white. I think Mijaspers V60 is the only DB diesel I've ever seen that uses light grey instead of white for the all of the trimming. Oh, and the 1x2 "hook" brick you are using in the hood, and the recessed doors + railing. And again, yes, it's possible, and yes, you can have taken your design ques from other places, but that only makes me wonder more which the three other designs were you took inspiration from. BTW, making it a MOD instead of a MOC is no shame to begin with! It's about the fun you had building and being inspired by other builders, and just sharing that credit with them. Nobody here cares if you take parts from other peoples designs to improve your own, as long as you are honest about it.* In fact, if it actually is a MOD, it's a pretty nice update, using several pieces that 14 years ago just weren't available, and that you have correctly identified as being very usefull as subsitutions to make the model sleeker. *The problem here is ofcourse that you have posted it to Lego Ideas.

Amazing. Its really cool to see how a your entry in OcTRAINber ended up being a complete layout for Brickvention. Are you planning to integrate it into the MLTC layout, just like was done with the Puffing Billy layout?