Celeste

Thanks for the advice. I might mess with the height later on, but for now, I feel pretty ok about the proportions. What I do agree with you on, though, is that hideous wedge plate. I put it there originally to cover up some ugly stuff holding the windows up and to help give the angle of the front when viewing from the side. Also, I appreciate the long explanation of models and fantasy. It's interesting to hear where everyone falls on the spectrum and how they view the topic. Anyway, this comment gave me a bit of a boost to go back and revisit the Skunknose. In addition to those wedge plates, I also wasn't entirely satisfied with the rear of the loco and especially the roof above the grills. So after some work, here is a revised model. You can download the new stud.io file in the original link if you want to play around with it. There is also the old LDD file in that link too. And a picture of the new model with the black livery. EDIT: I am still super new to stud.io and I don't know everything about the program. After reading @ColletArrow's initial reply again (Right after posting my update above), I realized you can render in stud.io. I apologize for the fact that I have been giving you guys bad screenshots. Hopefully this will be nicer to look at. An A-A set with the black livery.

Congrats on getting featured on EB!!! Beautiful structure with lots of great detail! I like your Lego cat as well as your real one!

Glad I could help! It is nice to see that one of those LDD files I uploaded helped someone out. Your model looks fantastic, by the way! Love the slanted walls. Very cool!

Very cool! I like the addition of the center car! I think the modernization is cool with the new glass canopies and motor cover, but it still has a bit of the old model it it with the roof hinges and old train windows. I think it's a cool idea, but I feel like the old and new clash a little bit. Maybe that's just me. Anyway, great job!

Hello all. It's been about a month since I made this model and I've gone back to do some more work on it. After my Skunk Diesel MOC, I realized that I can no longer work on LDD, so I made the switch over to Stud.io. I've been super happy with the results and I'm sure I'm years behind other people at this point for making the switch, but I'm glad I did. Anyway, I put the Alco into Stud.io and made some structural changes and minimized excess pieces. I also took a chance to try out the instruction maker feature for the first time. I've uploaded a studio file of the model to my bricksafe page, along with a PDF of the instructions for the model. I'd love to hear what you think of the model or the instructions. Bricksafe Link: https://bricksafe.com/pages/Legownz/dl535-gp40-hybrid

Yeah, it is a bit of a cop-out... Ah that makes sense. Thank you for taking the time to explain. Thank you!

Looks cool! I like that you added that curved bit on the nose. Gives a distinct look and gives the front windows a nice shape. Did they ever make the horn piece in black? Either way, great job!

Thank you! I like the black livery a lot more too, but if I were to buy parts for it, it would not match the other locos in my fleet. Ah well. Maybe it's a special livery for my railway or something. After looking at it again, you're totally right about the nose. It has begun to grow on me though, and I tend to try and make my models based real life trains, rather than replicas/scale models. That way, if I don't like a certain aspect design-wise, I can change it to whatever I like (My railway is fictional, so why not the loco models too). I might keep it as it is, but later on create a copy of the file and try and get it closer to the source material and see what I like better. Out of curiosity though, why would you not want to use a model as reference material? (Sorry if that's a dumb question) Thank you for the feedback! That's a good thought. I'm a little hesitant to go back to those windows as trying to get them to play nice and be in the correct position in all axis's was a head scratcher. Thank you for the advice though!

In my continuing quest to procrastinate on things I should be doing and instead building on LDD, I have created a new diesel MOC! Originally, I wanted to build something heavily inspired by a Baldwin RF-16 "Sharknose" diesel. I remember seeing an A-A NYC Set for sale in a Lionel catalog a while back and for some reason it stuck with me. I had a lot of trouble with shaping and found myself going through multiple versions of the nose. Here are a few of my attempts, along with a windscreen attempt that ended up looking a little wonky. After getting past the windscreen though, the rest of the design went by pretty fast. However, after I finished and took a look at the completed model, I realized something. With the NYC inspired livery I was working with, along with how the shaping ended up working out with the nose, my sharknose ended up looking more like a skunk. It can be powered by PF and I used the same mock-up battery box and receiver as my Alco diesel. There is also a seat for a driver, but it is quite cramped. You can see a bit of how the windows are attached, though. I tried changing the livery over to my fictitious railway's blue and white, but it was no use. It still looked like a skunk. So that's basically it. I think I'm going to put this project on the metaphorical shelf and see if the skunk grows on me or if I end up redesigning it. It also was meant to pull a passenger train, so maybe I'll do some passenger cars at a later date. Here is the LDD file as well if anyone wants it: https://bricksafe.com/pages/Legownz/skunkshark-nose-diesel

I love the use of the ratcheting 1x3 as the front/handles of the maintenance doors. So cool! Love the detail!

Just a heads up, I don’t think those 1x2x2 and 1x2x3 girder pieces are lego. So if you look on BrickLink for parts, you might not find them.

Yeah, it definitely leans more in that direction, but I like it. Thank you!

I haven't posted on the forums in a few years as I got pretty busy and didn't have time to build a whole lot. However, I've found new free time and decided to come back to the world of Lego! For the past few years, I've been trying to make a freight diesel for my fictitious railway, but I never was totally happy with my designs which usually were simplified and "City-ized" versions of EMD GP-40s. With this attempt, I wanted to try something different. I always have liked the Alco DL535 and wanted to incorporate it into my design. My reference photo of the Alco DL535 (Not my photo) Reference photo of an EMD GP-40 (Also not my photo) There are some big departures from the DL535, such as the fact that it is not narrow gauge, but instead standard gauge, and that it is now a 4 axle loco instead of 6. Anyway, here it is: A GP-40 (Or something similar) mixed with a DL535. I used my fictitious railway's typical livery of white and blue, but tried to mix it up. Usually the car/loco is mostly blue with a white stripe, but with this one I tried making white the dominant color and having the blue come up at an angle. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. A rear view of the engine The rear section of the roof pops off with access to the battery box and the forward section of the roof contains the IR receiver. A big concern of mine was whether I was going to use PF or PU. Eventually I decided on PF since my other train is already done in PF and I can always tweak this one to work with PU. Since LDD doesn't have a lot of PF parts anymore, I mocked the battery box and receiver up with bricks and the train motor in the model is actually a 9v motor. I haven't looked at how expensive this would be to buy, but if I do bite the bullet, I'll most likely get one powered and one unpowered unit. If anyone wants the LDD file for whatever reason, here is the bricksafe link: https://bricksafe.com/pages/Legownz/dl535-gp40-hybrid (Note this contains files of both the powered and unpowered versions) Thanks for reading!

Hi everyone! Hopefully, this is ok to post here as I'm not really sure where else I'd post it. So recently, I had some time to build and I decided I'd build something ridiculous and absolutely absurd. So here it is: My basic idea was that it is a mobile base made for a few people after an apocalypse or something. Made from nearly 1250 pieces, it features a full interior living space for 2, crow's nest with a machine gun turret, 2 giant propeller engines, and the theoretical ability to float (Since this model is only in LDD, I have no idea if the boat hulls making up the pontoons would be able to hold the weight of the plane or not). Another view of the plane. Another goal of this build was to try and use specialized pieces in odd new ways. For example, using a helicopter blade and fence parts as wing detail. A closer look at the crow's nest. The door and ladder to get in and out, which is mirrored on either side. The small kitchen and dining area. There is also small storage areas with boxes and a chest. There is also a small bedroom in the back with bunk beds. I think my favorite part to build was the cockpit. It just has so many buttons and things to do in, plus it gives the plane it's unique dual windscreen look. I know it isn't perfect or stable, but it was really fun to build. I think it will go down as one of the most bizarre builds I've ever done. If you would like the LDD file, let me know. Thanks for looking!

Hi everyone! I haven't posted on EB in a while and this is my first time posting in the Town Forum. So a few months back, I decided I wanted to design a city bus based on a bus I saw in a Youtube video quite a long time ago: My final model definitely looks a lot like my inspiration, but I'd like to think I put a bit of my own spin on it as well. I tried to squeeze in detail in the front, which turned out alright, I think. The bus has seating for 16 people and a few small places for baggage. The doors can open as well, but for them to work in LDD, two parts need to be removed first. I'm not completely satisfied with the design, as I think it needs more detail and the door mechanism improved. However, I don't have too many ideas at the moment on how to solve those problems. If anyone wants the LXF file, let me know and I can send it to you. Thanks for reading!

@pirzyk Oh gosh, I remember seeing that train at BW 17. I still can't believe only one engine pulled that whole train, though it was shaking quite a bit!

Great job! That rolling stock gives me a serious nostalgia to the before mentioned blue tank engine.

According to Bricklink, it has never been produced in red. My best guess is that the builder made the train in a different color and used Photoshop to change the other color to red. It is also possible they just painted or produced the piece themselves...

I've almost ordered all the parts for this model and I'm super excited to get to building it. I did have to go back and modify the lead engine for Power Functions, so the previous instructions are only if you want a completely "push" train. However, I thought it would be cool if I could get detailing on the door, like this: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=4181px1&name=Door%201%20x%204%20x%205%20Train%20Left%20with%20White%20Stripe%20and%20Train%20Logo%20Pattern&category=%5BDoor,%20Decorated%5D#T=C&C=5 The only problem is, these doors are in red, and my train requires blue doors. What would be the best course of action for detailing like this? Should I make custom stickers or maybe send them to a brick engraver?

Fantastic models! And I love Living in a Box. One of my all time favorite songs...

Fantastic job! I always loved the colors that Chessie System used.

Thanks! I decided to add some roof detail, so here's another download link It's totally okay you used my nose on that other model and I'd love to see what the result is. I can create a public google doc that has a parts list (Part numbers, Bricklink links, colors, and quantities) and final LDD download link. Does that sound like a good idea?

It's totally okay. I think all the modifications are fantastic! The windows are not exactly what I wanted in the beginning, but now that I see them on the model, I like them a lot more. The only other thing is, I designed the locomotive's front wheel nose to be like the 10157's, but this one looks great too! I can totally do a parts list after maybe a few more back and forths with the LDD file and it'll make Bricklink orders easy if either of us want this in brick.

Thanks! I wanted to use the windows since they match with the doors and give the entire train the Metroliner vibe. However, if the windows are expensive, I can always change the color scheme to one that works with the parts. By the way, are these the windows you were talking about? On Bricklink, they're going for less than $.10 a piece. Maybe I'm misunderstanding... EDIT: Nevermind. I found the windows you were talking about. Since the link you gave showed a 4 wide panel, I was confused. Yeah. $1 for a window piece is expensive, and I have 4 on the passenger car and 6 on the "Club Car", this could pose a problem.

Thanks! The bottom nose that's right next to the wheels can't be raised anymore, as it would hit the train base and the bogies couldn't rotate. I just posted more pictures and a link in my recent edit of my post. Also, the train wheels can either be obtained through LDD Extended (Which is what I use to build) or import a model that has the train wheels and simply delete everything else.