Paperinik77pk

Hi all! Sometimes things break up, but throwing them away is always annoying for me. So I keep them, and in some cases I find a new use to them. This is the case of some red signals coming from 4,5v world - the stopping system was broken, the white plate broken and yellowed, plus the lever was prone to get stuck and not working properly. It can happen... So after dismantling the old signal, I tried to make it work again. the signal post has a metal lever inside, that is raised by the original plastic lever, basically sliding on a round surface. the red shell is composed by two parts. On this one, the bottom part was broken and split in half. I needed some glue to make it good again (I glued the interior side so nothing can be seen outside). I decided to use this signal on newer PF track,so to have some scenery. It has no more the stopping feature, since trains are now PF, but maybe it will have some in the future (a sliding color code, maybe? ). So I recreated with very few parts a new base and a similar mechanism to activate the signal. First I put some gel glue on one end of the metallic pole, basically making a "plastic tip" to slide on the small half liftarm (plastic vs plastic is better than metal vs plastic). I greased a bit the pole and the tip with Tamiya grease to make it work better. And here it is, once repaired. It's not so much work, there's no glue between the pole and the other bricks (it is just attached as a normal 4x1 brick). It is a nice vintage addition, if you have a steamer around!!! Obviously It can be used also on 9v track, just replace the dark bluish gray plates with dark gray ones and the light bluish gray Technic axle (3L) with a black one Ciao! Davide

Nice, nice, nice, really! Ciao! Davide

Another neat solution!!! Thanks for sharing!!!

Hi Giuseppe and welcome - sincerely the Aln668 has not progressed so far (so there are no more photos about it) and I never make instructions since I never consider a project as "finalized". If you send a PM to me I can give you the .io file in its latest version, so you can freely look at it (no problem at all). Let me know! Ciao, Davide

Hi all, I'd like to show you my Christmas Present (since it is not so economic to build) ! It is a 1:38 scale reproduction of one of the most representative classes of Italian diesel railcars, the ALn668 (Automotrice Leggera Nafta - 668). Since I like a lot all unlucky railroads of the world, I wanted to represent one of the railcars I've seen still working on one of the most underrated railroads in Italy, the CEVA-ORMEA (situated in Piedmont county - near Cuneo). This railroad is 35 kilometers long and ends abruptly in the little Ormea village. It should have continued reaching the sea, near the town of Imperia, but the project was never approved (it was really complicated). It is a pity, since it could have been one of the most spectacular railroads in Italy (from sea to mountains) and it surely could have been a great touristic railroad from the beginning. The railroad has a great curved bridge and several point of interests. It is the perfect kind of railroad for railcars. Grass, rocks, mountains, an apparently calm river (which already destroyed the a part of the track a few years ago), snow...there's everything one passenger coul possibly like to see from the window. The ALn668 and 663 ran on this railroad until 2012 - when the line was closed. But, after a lot of complaints from people, tourists and passengers - the railroad was revived by Fondazione FS (the Historical Foundation of Ferrovie Dello Stato) and it has become a touristic railroad. This MOC is dedicated to that little railroad, which I visited a lot of times, since it is near to my holiday home. When I was a kid, I saw an ALn668 starting from CEVA, on a dedicated dead track inside the station. I still remember the yellow plate, and the sound of the diesel motors. I designed it in 1:38 scale, so it can run on Lego Track. I'm working on it since LDRAW came out, but I've never built it. Since It's been awhile I'm looking at big scales, I gave it a try - and I finished it. Two medium motors, 1A-A1 wheel arrangement as the original one (but I can power all axles if needed). Chassis (in the photo, the current version) was needed to support all the weight of the body. I tried to keep its original function, and the motors position. It won't have any interior - and the windows are made to hide the internal mechanism. This is the second version of the chassis, featuring a two-speed gearbox (duplicated on both sides) . I'm currently understanding how to remotely control it (using a linear actuator - I think ). I hope you like it! Ciao, Davide

A beautiful set of photos - literally these represent the dreams of my childhood. Lovely! Thanks for sharing!!! Davide

Spectacular trains and very interesting transmission/power solution! Pity that those small wheels are not so smooth, but I see you mitigated the problem with some additional weight to increase traction! I love that white backround you are using for the photos , but also the "garden track" is really really nice!!! Ciao! Davide

I missed this post, looking at the red one in 4551 style...but it' never too late! These are both excellent creations and I think that also in blue/white scheme it would be gorgeous! 😍 Great work, really! Davide

Very nice design of the bogies! The motor/battery double choice (PuP/PF) s remarkable and the locomotive has a really smooth and proportioned body. I like the idea of the handbars tightened with rubber bands, I kept some transparent tight ones (used to package toys) and surely is something to be tried!!! Ciao! Davide

Really, really nice!!! I love the protruding stone in the waterfall and the snowy mountain!!! Good work!!! Davide

Elegant, smooth and very well designed!!! Ciao! Davide

Really nice job , finally this train gets some love! You kept the original feel of the real Lego train, making it less "cheap". I'd only try to fit the locomotive with a front bogie as big as the motor, making the body 4 or 5 studs longer overall. Good job!!!

Oooh this is a wonderful thing! Thanks for sharing!!!

Very very nice trams, I particularly like the Alstom one with its simple paint scheme 😍 It seems that the central element has sufficient room to fit a 9v motor , or a PuP one and a battery. Good work!

The level of detail is astonishing - all those decals are just perfect. But the part I like more is the detail on the underboby and the trucks! Beautiful! Ciao! Davide

A spectacular train! The study behind that "middle wheel" is impressive! Good work, really! Ciao! Davide

Very very very nice! I like the air reservoirs on the top, and the "pointy blade" solution you used!!! Ciao! Davide

I also have a red re-built motor going backwards, so this thread is very useful. It is a sort of "Frankensteeeen": A/B metal parts, upper hull and wheels are from a broken red motor (got in a bulk 12v sale many many years ago), while the rotor, metal contacts and lower hull are from a black motor (always in the same sale). The red lower hull was broken, so I replaced it completely (it cannot be seen from outside). I made the same error, mounting it in the wrong way...et voila - "suicide train"! I repaired other motors in those years, and figured out to remount them correctly - testing them in comparison to a working one (just putting tape instead of glue for keeping the lower hull in place during the test). But the red hull plastic is too weak to re-open the motor, so I'll wait for the glue to loose and then I'll repair it. It's a peculiarity of that poor motor and in some way I like it Ciao! Davide

Those wheels are a strange thing that always made me curious when looking at those old idea books!!!! It's something that can be "emulated" in 3D!!! Nice challenge for a boring rainy afternoon!

Spectacular steam tram!!! The 2x3x1 windows used as side covers are a perfect match - and the handrail is really a nice touch. A very clean design. Frontpage fully deserved!!! Two "fun facts": 1) We had something similar here in Milan too! It's called "Gamba De Legn" (Wooden Leg). 2) The second photo of the prototype you posted was the exact one that Inspired me for an old Moc I designed years ago! https://www.flickr.com/photos/138174786@N04/49888052277/in/datetaken-public/ Ciao! Davide

Yes, correct. It was a more generic consideration not so well explained. I'll try to clarify better. I prefer the PF system for its simplicity and analogic feel (with those adorable switch levers), but on many trains I use PuP, which allows a lot of things to be simulated via software (slow downs, accelerations). PuP - for me at least - It's less immediate than PF, but it's nice. In both cases - the small battery box with AAA batteries have serious problems of lastability, with big motors.

The M Motors and L motors are similar in speed, but as far as I could see - under heavy load the L motor is stronger. I normally use a stronger motor instead of two weak ones. I tried both L motor and XL motor (both PuP) on my G scale garden trains and the XL is a good beast, but also L is not so bad (better have an higher final gear ratio with heavy trains). For the battery box - absolutely go for the bigger one if you can. The small one is a space-saver but it is easily drained by bigger motors. Personally I still prefer the PF motors , still widely available if you don't mind to have "Lego" written on them Ciao! Davide

Great work!!! And I'd say...nice photo with the original , full scale one!!! Ciao!!! Davide

Hi all, it's time to make a small update! My personal "H0 department" (1 person) is making some research in order to have a working standard to make Lego trains run on H0 rails. Therefore, some objectives have been set: Try to move an H0 Lego locomotive in some way Standardize the wagons chassis more and more and more - trying to make them running smoothly and making the base adaptable to many wagon types. Avoid to destroy and adapt Lego parts or at least, keep the number as low as possible, eventually trying some 3d Printing and using "as is" common DIY parts that can be found everywhere. No more batteries, and full DC control directly from the rails What has been done so far - for the first bullet point - is to dismantle, revise and analyze a lot of real H0 old locomotives (Marklin, Lima, Piko...) and understanding how in the past these companies have found solutions to deal with big components and motors in a such limited space. They had big motors and poor plastic, but quite thin bodies. I have a big, solid body (which avoids to have a separate chassis), but small space inside it. the most effective and cost-friendly solution is still the Athearn and Piko rubber band drive. so let's start with this one. I bought two spare part wheels from Piko (the same used in 57013 and 57014 locomotives, which I bought some years ago), featuring two big wheels and a central plastic drum. Outer axles have a diameter od 2mm, perfect for my ball bearings (2mm inner diameter, 5mm outer diameter, 2mm wide) that can be found easily on most auction/selling sites. These ball bearings properly fit inside a Lego 1x1 round plate. Therefore, with the help pf two PF/PUP wheel holders, (modified cutting plates on one side to fit the rubber band), I could arrange a first idea of chassis: Again, our old friend Circuit Cubes motor is again the main actor in this setup. https://www.flickr.com/photos/138174786@N04/52542611329/in/datetaken-public/ And this is the result: https://www.flickr.com/photos/138174786@N04/52542613719/in/datetaken-public/ It works...but has a lot of problems, such as suboptimal traction, poor weight, and only one powered axle. CC battery is obviously external, at the moment. And that's all for the locomotive, at the moment. Let's see the wagons, now. The ball bearings chassis has been evolved and made really thin and smoooooooooth running, but the fake suspensions made using brackets is not very satisfying. One solution could be designing and 3D printing a 16mm fake suspension, based on brackets parts. The other one could be to create a full axle holder as we had for 9v/PF trains...but in H0. Using Tinkercad, and starting from a very good design found on Thingiverse (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2771793/comments) I cut down the suspensions and adapted them to a 2x4 plate. Then, I imported the results into Parts Designer. This wheel holder works as normal H0 wheel holders, relying on the outer "pointy" plastic and metal axles, not using ball bearings. Once prepared a s Custom part, I could redesign (again) the wagons chassis, and create a render to see how it could look on a MOC: I'd like to put a round Lego stud under the leaf suspension, to make it more...compliant to the Lego "look and feel". This is the situation right now! I hope you like it! Ciao, Davide

BR08 is great - it fits perfectly the 12v style!!! Great collection!!! Ciao! Davide