Sven J

Hi Davide, Welcome to the (until now, one-man-) club! Gorgeous locomotives! But you will need overhead wire to make them look really outstanding, I fear... If you need any advice for adapting Lego trains to 45-mm-track, I'll be happy to answer your questions. Your basic calculations are definitely reasonable. Regarding the axle steering, my two-axle wagons feature a considerably smaller steering angle (almost none at all), but I'm running my trains on 1200 mm radius. So I presume that, for your R1, your solution is very well-suited. It's a problem to couple Lego locomotives with LGB standard couplers. I therefore substituted these on my LGB rolling stock with link-and-pin couplers and developed a standard coupler design for the locomotives, which is basically a 3D-printed coupling rod (a thin liftarm works, too, but fits rather tight into the couplers) mounted 19 mm above the rail surface. As for the motors: I only use L-motors. Their rotational speed ist perfect for the use in trains without the need for gearing up or down. Besides, they are quite powerful: Using a BuWizz in "fast" mode (9.2 v) as power supply, three of them will provide enough torque so that the wheels of a locomotive with ~1.6 kg adhesive weight will slip when you accelerate too fast. Best regards, Sven

Good question. But as I use these lamps for the building phase only, and not for permanent display, I think it really shouldn't matter much. When it comes to lighting the whole room, not just the building desk, I strongly dislike LED lamps because of their (to my eyes, at least) strange color characteristics. So I continue to use strong 105W halogen bulbs and indirect illumination, which gives both brightness and a nice comfortable hue. Unfortunately, production and distribution of these bulbs is now prohibited in the EU; but I still have almost 100 of them in stock...

I have two of these on my desk: https://de.hama.com/00112297/hama-led-schreibtischlampe-sl-95-4-lichtmodi-timer-schwarz?bySearch=sl95 Not cheap, but really daylight quality (7000 K, but you can switch to lower color temperatures if you find this too straining) and very good color rendering, much better than the halogen desk lamps I used before.

And that's the whole point. Ask kindly for LDD or Stud.io files, build for your own pleasure, and you're most welcome. Try to make money with my models, or pretend you have designed them by yourself, and I'll have nothing but contempt.

Of course there is (JopieK), but the MOC Index apparently hasn't been updated any more since 2013.

@Zed_43 Is this person still selling other people's MOCs on ebay? Then I think you should contact him via ebay messenger and ask him politely, but unmistakably to stop his business. If he doesn't respond appropriately, report him to ebay (in which case you should be able to prove that his models are actually of your design, of course).

An awesome model indeed! But you should number it as 4014, in honour of this achievement: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-hGabZ3pPY

Ah, I understand. Then, inappropriate as his actions were, nevertheless I think we should forget about that case. He seems to have learned his lesson since then.

@Ashi Valkoinen Did this happen recently, or before the big discussion last spring? If it is a recent incident, I'll have to agree with @Daedalus304 ...

Very cute, as always! As you are the MOI (Master of Illumination ) for Lego train models, do they have tail and interior lights? Completely off-topic question: What is that magnificent station in the first image? Milano Centrale?

I promised to remain silent now, but have to break my promise... @snakebyte Thanks for your prompt reaction. I accept your apologies, so this particular case is closed for me.

@dtomsen I think we're talking about the same person. Yes, he credits the original designers (albeit, in my case, misspelled). But that does not affect my main two points. First, that I feel hoodwinked when someone asks me questions about my models without claryfing his intentions, and then I accidentally find instructions for my models offered on his website; and second, that I simply do not like to see people taking (ever so little) money for something that is actually freely available. And it's no excuse that this has happened with other builders' creations, too. Also, the community argument is not very valid in my opinion, for you can justify just any kind of plagiarism with it. Another thought: Yes, he has turned the original LDD files into instructions, and yes, this is a certain amount of work. But all the little tweaks and tricks that are required to get such a model really working - I doubt he was able to completely identify and incorporate them. For example, one issue regarding smooth running characteristics, which he explicitely asked me about, is NOT addressed in the instructions. Now who will people blame if their model doesn't work properly? At least partly me. Had they received the files directly from me, we could have cleared up things from the beginning - for, as I wrote, technical advice is included. To be honest, I'm tired of discussions like this. I'll be silent in this thread now, but will also draw my consequences regarding the future availability of detailed insight into upcoming models.

Dear trainheads, I’m bumping this thread because another person (again a not-so-active EB member) has surfaced who unauthorizedly offers instructions for two of my models. This time, he does not sell them, but instead asks for a "donation“ by those who download the instructions, "as it takes a lot of time […] to make“ them. Well, I strongly suspect it took considerably more time, money and mental capacity for me to design and build the models… Nevertheless, this person has neither asked me for permission nor offered any kind of share of his revenue. What especially upsets me is that he even asked me about later improvements I had incorporated in my models compared to the once-public LDD files, yet he never indicated that he intended to use this background information for more than just his private pleasure. Yesterday I contacted the person in question and asked him to remove the instructions for my models from his website. However, again this may only be the tip of the iceberg. So let me appeal to you: Please do not pay for instructions of any of my models! I have not authorized any monetary exploitation. If you like my models and would like to build one of them, contact me by PM. You will receive an LDD or Stud.io file for free, including technical advice if needed. Do not allow people to make money with other people’s ideas – basically, that’s the same shabby sort of thing that L***in has turned into its business model. Sorry for this rant, but I feel better now. With my best wishes to all honest AFOLs, Sven

Beautiful and very well-conceived, with all these accessories! Thanks for sharing!

Hi @snakebyte, Thank you for your appreciation of my models. However, please understand that, almost three years after building the model, I don’t remember all changes I made during the process, compared to the lxf file. Regarding the drivetrain, I think that the main change was substituting the central horizontal driveshaft with a longer one, including an additional bearing at its end. I think you will understand what I mean when comparing the photo of the drivetrain with the rendered cutaway beneath it. The drawbars should be replaced by one-piece, 3D-printed parts, as they are prone to fall apart. Zephyr1934’s valve gear bars (with a Technic pin as a „hook“ at the end) will be a suitable replacement. As for the piston rods, no, I didn’t modify the bars. The trick is actually to tinker with manufacturing tolerances: A very small percentage of the ½ Technic pins has a marginally larger inner diameter than the rest, while an equally small percentage of the 4L bars is ever so slightly smaller than average. I think I tried out at least 100 pieces of each type to find the 3 smoothest-running combinations. In addition to that, a drop of lubricant will help to further reduce friction. Two L motors provide a lot of power. You should check if all shafts and axles can rotate freely – make sure there's always a bit of play between bearing holes and bushes. Lubrication is essential here, too – but don’t use liquid lubricants, they will penetrate between the bricks, cause them to lose clutch power and thus affect the rigidity of the engine frame. Teflon spray, applied with a cotton swab, has yielded satisfactory results. Best regards, Sven

I think these are prepositions which take the dative. http://kliebhan.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/Mark-Twain-Awful-Germn-Language.pdf And with your tongue ending up as a Gordian Knot when trying to speak it...

I think there was a crank for the handbrake inside the cab. The main (compressed-air) brake was operated in the usual way by a valve.

To be honest: I've never heard the terms "Rotling", "Mintling", "Grünling" or "Buntling" before. Round here, they are still called "Silberling", regardless of the actual colour, or at least "Ex-Silberling".

Hi @LEGO Train 12 Volts, it's nice to read that you enjoy this model. However, it's not mine - I'm only presenting it here, as the builder is not active on EB. All praise ist due to Nikolaus, who built this beauty! Oh, and I haven't used XXL wheels yet. Best regards, Sven

Dear train lovers, German AFOL Nikolaus aka Mr_Kleinstein has posted a simply wonderful, large-scale (ca. 1:30) display model of the famous Prussian T3 in the German forum „Doctor Brick“. With his permission, I'd like to show you his masterpiece: (all pictures by Mr_Kleinstein) Take a look at Nikolaus' original thread (log-in required to see large pictures) or visit his Flickr account to enjoy this fantastic model, including a working handbrake (!!!) and a stunning LEGO rendition of the complicated Allan valve gear! Kind regards, Sven

Being a child of the Ruhr area, once, in better times, Europe's largest region of steel and coal industry, models like this almost bring tears to my eyes. Thanks so much for sharing this! Apart from the topic, also the build is great. I couldn't believe the building is Lego at first glance. Only the baseplate convinced me... What is that part above the windows? Now you need to build a coal mine headframe - in 1:33 scale, so that it matches my industrial locomotives...

Ah, thank you. I didn't know they exist in blue and orange, so I never thought of that possibility. But it's surely a clever solution!

Absolutely stunning! Great work! So have I... Good to see there are fellow enthusiasts!

Agreed! The front ventilation grille looks very interesting. I don't really understand how you built that... What part(s) is it?

I agree, they seem to be 6 studs in diameter (including flanges). Hard to tell how high the flanges really are - maybe 1.6 mm? That would indeed be much less than "real" model railroading wheels for G-scale! However, the shape of the wheels looks pretty poor to me. The counterweight and hub are kind of "sunken", whereas they actually should protrude a bit beyond the wheel rims. Or at least be more or less at the same level, as in BBB wheels.