Hod Carrier

I'd be interested to know how this works in practice, but I fear that it won't solve the issue of slowing in curves and may make matters worse. Your design has a very short wheelbase that should have no problems with LEGO track geometry, so any sort of articulation should be unnecessary. If it's needed, the best articulation for this sort of vehicle would be steering axles rather than sliding ones to prevent the wheels scrubbing across the tracks, but then you have the problem of straightening up when off the curves and back onto the straights. But then, as I say, your design really shouldn't need it. If the tender doesn't roll freely, the best solution would be metal axles with ball bearings. Alternatively, if the loco is at the limit of it's power the train will always slow on curves compared to straights no matter what you do.

Forgive the boost, but I've been tinkering on and off with the Flirt. Initially this was to address concerns about it's structural integrity, but I thought I'd also have another go at addressing some of the design choices I had made with the original design. Most of this is around the driver's cab, as can be seen by this side-by-side comparison. One of the biggest errors was the angle of the windscreen, which I had made too steep. Some newer parts have helped me to get a smoother shape, although one or two cheats are needed to get the shape shown here. The cab now has a more curved profile that more accurately follows the shape of the real train. I've also addressed the side window, which would require a custom made sticker or printed parts. The head-on view makes the new design look a little bit too wide, but it's about as close as I can make it. On the positive side, the shape of the lights are nearer to the real train than the previous version. While I've been tinkering, I took the chance to use more recent pictures to correct the roof of the power pod. Unlike the diesel-electric Class 231 which has four diesel motor-generator units (MGUs), the Class 756 is a tri-mode train that operates mostly as a battery-electric train and has only one MGU. This means that the roof details are different, which I've replicated here. I'm still not sure about whether or not this model will ever get built. The idea for power and control was to have some manner of smart brick hidden in the power pod with wiring through the train for lighting, etc, but it seems that the state of third party supply has taken something of a dip. The ideal was the PFx Brick with a matching light board, but it seems that the focus on their track system has meant that the Brick has fallen off the table. It may be that the only option will be BuWizz, but it's expensive and not really ideal for my needs. Either way, here is the model as a virtual design at least.

You've been on quite a journey, but it's been totally worth it. I'm really glad that you've got it finished and are happy with the result. It's a testament to your determination. Congratulations!!

Oh no, I'm far too long in the tooth now to consider a career change. I'm happy just tinkering with LEGO.

As we say in the UK, there's always more than one way to skin a cat and, as someone whose garden has become some form of communal feline latrine, I'm always keen to uncover new ideas and ways to tackle a problem. ...but that's just me. @Ferro-Friki: I must congratulate you on your chassis design. Her Ladyship is a bit of a whopper and the bogies are quite far apart, but when I looked at the photos you'd posted I estimated that, with the amount of lateral movement you had given to the middle bogie, the outer bogies were likely to need only around half a stud of movement to be able to fit around an R40 curve. So I built a basic chassis using the same dimensions and layout to test the theory, and so it proved (just)!! It's a wee bit tight, but there is just enough movement to get her to sit nicely on an R40. As to the articulation, I'd had a very simple idea based on visualising what would happen with three bogies linked together with bars travelling around a layout. I'll admit that I wasn't hugely confident that such a simple idea would work, but I added a set of levers and pivots to the chassis and away she went. I set up some curves, straights and points/switches and hand-pushed the chassis around it, and it seems to work fine. The problem was always going to be how to centre the loco again after coming out of a bend onto a straight, but the levers take care of it admirably. This configuration should work fine for your model, although the position of the pivots can be moved to change how much each bogie will move relative to the others to suit other models. I'm unsure how you might want to incorporate this into your design, or even if it would be suitable. I know how little space you have inside the loco body, but it might still be possible.

Firstly, huge admiration for crafting a wonderful loco so full of detail and so faithful to the original. Loving your commitment to the curvature. I have given some thought to the B-B-B arrangement in the past and how it might be made to work with the track geometry we are given, and I came up to the inescapable conclusion that it wouldn't be enough just to articulate the middle bogie. You'd have to articulate all three. The problem with this is that you would need some kind of internal linkage to ensure that the loco stays straight, and that might mean space inside the loco body becomes a premium. Given that you have already designed and built your wonderful engine, this would unavoidably mean a wholesale re-engineering. There is a concept in my head that needs to be refined and tested, but I don't have much time at present to work on it. However, if you'd like, I can see what I can come up with which might help in your quest to run Her Majesty wherever you wish.

You may be interested to know that "The Badger", as the loco is affectionately known, still exists. I drove past it just today at Crewe. Your model is a very good likeness and immediately recognisable. Just one small observation, if I may. The pantograph is facing the wrong way and needs flipping around so that the elbow points towards the centre of the loco.

I'd just like to add my own thanks and appreciation for your time, effort and devotion. I wish you every success with whatever direction you take next.

I always think that if you're building a model of something real it would be good to include at least some of the more obvious markings and other decorations. How far down this particular "rabbit hole" you want to fall is entirely up to you, but I do think that a loco should have it's number and the railway's identifying crest/logo. Printing onto bricks is the Rolls Royce solution for getting logos, numbers and other decoration onto parts, but it is permanent and a bit pricey. May I recommend a couple of alternatives...? An option that I've made use of is printing my own graphics at home and then applying them to the finished model. Design and scale them on your computer and then print them onto self-adhesive inkjet vinyl (available in A4 sheets of white or transparent from retailers such as this one). Just a couple of tips with this technique. Leave the sheets for a few minutes after printing to dry before handling and then seal the print with some spray-on craft sealer before cutting and sticking. As well as the sealer you should also get a selection of Sharpies in different colours, as the white edge of the stickers will still be visible and may need to be coloured-in before applying them to the model. If you want to try to match your stickers to the colour of LEGO bricks, Rebrickable has this useful guide giving you the RGB code for each colour, although bear in mind that there can be quite a bit of colour variation between individual parts of the same colour and that your printer may not necessarily replicate the desired colour perfectly. The other option is to use waterslide transfers. Most LEGO train models are tolerably close to UK 7mm scale/O-gauge (a scale of 1:43.5) and you can buy sheets of crests, numbers, markings and lining that you can apply directly to your model. For British models, like your Ivatt 2MT, a retailer like Fox Transfers should be able to provide all your needs. Hope this helps.

I've done something along similar lines, although not exactly the same thing. Being primarily a builder of trains, I started off using luminous parts to replicate interior and exterior lighting, which has worked out quite well. With the basics covered, I moved on to using them to try and provide realistic lighting for enclosed spaces, much as as you might do for modulars and other similar builds. In my case, I applied the technique to underground and subway stations. One small innovation was to combine luminous parts with custom graphics to provide stencils to replicate illuminated signs. The closest that I have come to using luminous parts out-of-shot to provide a sort of lighting rig was when I fell down a bit of a 2001: A Space Odyssey rabbit-hole and created some artwork pastiches. Replicating some of the lighting effects from the original film poster (the lighting of the space station and the reflections on the helmet visor) required luminous parts in various configurations. As well as the original film poster pastiche, I recreated a couple of artworks released to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the release of the film that required the use of luminous parts. These included an alternative poster featuring the famous corridor scene in which the lighting is provided by luminous parts in-shot, and my version of the Dave O'Flanaghan Monolith scene on the lunar surface. One thing that I have struggled with is just how shiny the surface of regular parts are when rendered, forcing me to make heavy use of the rubber colours palette to create matt surfaces that wouldn't simply reflect everything like a mirror. Part of this might have been due to how close the parts were to the light source (e.g. in the London Underground scene) and also because I was trying to light a scene rather than a single MOC. Whatever the case, it looks as though you've not been hindered by any such problems enabling you to get some great results using this technique. Your renders certainly look a lot richer as a consequence of the interplay of light and shade that you've been able to achieve compared to the slightly less interesting results the standard lighting creates. I will certainly be looking into this a bit more as a result of your ideas. Thanks so much for sharing.

I investigated this issue a few years ago and there is quite a long thread detailing the process. I don't necessarily recommend you read the whole thing (unless it particularly interests you), but you can read my summary here.

Thanks folks. I'm not sure how buildable this design would be, as it uses a whole hill of SNOT (and I really doubt it would be strong enough to support a pot plant). I've spent a lot of time looking at it and fiddling with it and I'm still unsure about it. I had an idea about powering it, but that also is still just an unproven idea. I don't release instructions or files but am happy to share techniques. The track has sleepers/ties and ballasting using conventional methods with an added 3rd and 4th rail using clip tiles and flex tube.

Interesting. Not sure how many people are sticking to the part limit, but might be worth a tickle.

BBCode has been disabled, but you can still embed Flickr content by following the instructions in this post. Click Nice "Chopper", by the way. Good to see some triple grey.

Oops!! My bad. I have flagged the post and asked if it can be moved. In my defence, the descriptor for this board on the forum index does still mention "military" and probably was what stopped me scrolling any further down to find a better home for this thread. Thanks, Dave. Wikipedia are pretty good at listing surviving aircraft, so they may have a better list than me. The only two I am aware of are a complete Mk.X at the RAF Museum in Hendon (free entry) and an Australian Beau that has been under restoration to flying condition for more years than I can recall at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford (admission charges apply).