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Toxic43

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Everything posted by Toxic43

  1. Toxic43
    Thanks for the compliment, although the idea of hiding the hub behind the doors dates all the way back to 2013 in the topic MOC: Small PF Shunter from @BrickPirate. I didn't come up with the idea on my own, merely appropriated the idea into my design. I can't take credit for it, although it is one of my favourite design features!
  2. Toxic43
    Hey Guys. I have been working on this project on and off since September of 2021. It is not my first MOC, but the first I care to show off here as I feel it is of a sufficient standard. Small Powered Up Shunter - Pybricks Control The brief was originally a clone of @BrickPirate's Small PF Shunter, and I was indeed using Power Functions parts in the beginning. As there were no instructions or files available, I reverse engineered what I could and went on from there. Then I decided I didn't want the smallest shunter ever, just the smallest on my layout. I also liked a more rounded styling and incorporated that into the design. The colour choice was pretty much determined by what I had to hand after designing a previous MOC (An Emerald Night clone in dark azure with a custom tender and 2L PF motors in the boiler). The white was to somewhat hide the Powered Up Hub in plain sight. The side covers are shamelessly ripped straight from the aforementioned MOC. I put a couple of round times with holes on the front long hood to allow the hub's light and power switches to be accessible. Previously I was removing tiles to access the power switch. Now I can use an axle or whatever I have to hand to power on and off. But there was a little unused space in the rear electrical box hood, so I made a little starting pin which can hide inside if I'm ever anywhere without a technic axle to hand! It just pops in the hole, then a couple of presses later the hub is powered on and the Pybricks program is started. The pin then gets stowed in the rear again until it is time to switch off. I originally had this on PF with a train motor in place, which I decided was just too fast and uncontrollable for slow shunting work. So I decided to put in a Powered Up linear motor. The medium was the only one which was able to fit. The square profile helps with fitment as it is only connected to the chassis physically by the axle to the drive gears. Otherwise it just sort of rests in there. The sided and rear short hood hold it in place against the back of the PU Hub. The wiring is a mess as it has nowhere to go but up in this configuration, but there's no room for a Minifig, so not too much of a sacrifice. The drive software is actually from another Train Tech thread. Control your trains without smart device - with Pybricks courtesy of @Lok24 With the custom profile they designed I can now move around the layout at reasonable speed pulling a consist, and then with a press of the centre button on the PU controller, I can switch into super low speed shunting mode. The benefits of the linear motor here are that the Hub will control voltage to keep the loco moving at the desired speed according to load. Plus the gear drive sounds a little bit like cooling fans spinning so I can pretend a little bit! Overall I'm quite happy with it for now, but I will probably end up changing out a few more things as time goes on. If I can get the motor mounted horizontally I may be able to get the drive line top a 4WD version, but I'm not holding out any hope. Poor little guy could really use 4WD! It can get stuck on points and does slip quite a bit if I load it up with too many pieces of rolling stock. I have custom traction bands on in place of the standard Lego ones for more grip but it does struggle for it sometimes. Thanks, hope you enjoy the pictures. I'll see if I can get a little running video together later on.
  3. Toxic43
    This is important. More folks would buy something like this as a display piece rather than to run on tracks. It would be popular with kids no doubt, so the option to add a motor so they can drive it is key also. But the most important is that there is a complete train, with al least 2 coaches. For Lego to pull something like this off, we'd be looking at prices higher than the current cargo train. I don't know what the rumours are around the newest H.P D2C this year, but of the price is on the higher end, we could be on the right track, so to speak. Or they'll just do the castle again...
  4. Toxic43
    I must say that this is the biggest drawback for the powered up vs power functions systems. I can run a PF train with two sets of lights and two motors for longer than a single motor and no lights using powered up. My trains with PF keep going while my eldest's PU train seems to need new batteries every couple of hours. Families would definitely prefer battery life over bluetooth and an app. Also app control is such a gimmick. Kids want a physical controller in their hands. We even put pybricks software in the Lego "app controlled" batmobile so the kids can use a regular controller instead.
  5. Toxic43
    They are in 60197 passenger train, 60198 cargo train and the Hogwarts express. I believe all were launched in or around 2018, so about 4 years ago. The Hogwarts may be the last source of these wheel sets. The Disney train and the hidden side train both came with the plastic wheels. Both those sets are now retired though, so it remains to be seen if the new city trains will have the full plastic wheelsets also.
  6. Toxic43
    The thing I'm most interested in will be if metal axles will be discontinued completely this year. If so, it will be time to start making a run on Bricklink for the axle holders etc. Can't stand the plastic on plastic newer style ones.
  7. Toxic43
    Yes, I do. Although seeing as I use Studio, it is an .io file. The io file is here. And an exported parts list is here: CSV File
  8. Toxic43
    Here we go. Tender all finished and on the rails! 7597 Mod in motion. Many thanks to @Murdoch17 for the inspiration and the LDD file, without both of which I wouldn't have spent all my money building this!
  9. Toxic43
    7597 Mods built in bricks Well, it's on the bench now and being built. Got the loco done last night and the bogies/frame done for the tender. Just have to finish the tender tonight then onto the extended bank car design to push it. I'll post that too once I have finished. The rods and the pilot truck geometry work well though. I'll see about getting a video this evening.
  10. Toxic43
    Back in January 2018 on the 2018 Lego Trains thread (Which I might add got to a whopping 59 pages!), by page 9 we had already seen leaked images. This was around the 2nd to the 4th January 2018. The toy fair had already been by that point, but the pandemic has changed plans somewhat this time around. Train sets that will launch in summer will be shown in the first half of the year for prospective buyers to stock in their stores. They'll be purchasing these sets in bulk for sale when the sets launch in the 2nd half of the year. I don't think we have too much longer to wait until we see something,
  11. Toxic43
    It has just occurred to me that we could possibly see leaked shots of the new City trains in January. The London toy fair is being held on Tuesday the 25th January. Looking back to 2018 when the cargo train was teased, I seem to remember leaked shots of a prototype from a toy show doing the rounds. We all know how that turned out, and that the model we saw bore little resemblance to the actual set when it launched. It will be interesting to see if something similar occurs here, or if they will have a more production ready model around this time. If, and it's a big if, they have a creator expert locomotive ready to go for a launch in March-June, we may even get to see that. The anticipation is palpable.
  12. Toxic43
    Something like this? Lone Ranger Pump Car
  13. Toxic43
    Thanks for the kind words. I wouldn't have even begun on it had you not posted this topic though! I will certainly update here once I have the loco and tender together. Heck if it works I'll give you the Stud.io file I have!
  14. Toxic43
    The BrickTracks wheels just came in and I have had one of the 5 Bricklink orders ship also. I'll of course update once I have it all together, and more importantly, if my geometry for the rods and pilot truck actually works!
  15. Toxic43
    Awesome! That is an effective use of space! A tram without a massive section filled with a battery box. Love the 9v tucked in behind the driver, making good use of the space inside the massive moulded piece.
  16. Toxic43
    Sorry for bumping but I had to let you know @Murdoch17 that I went ahead and worked on this a bit over the last few days. Great work! The LDD file was the kick I needed to tear down my kid's set and rebuild it into something they would be proud of. So without further ado: 7597 Mod post on Imgur
  17. Toxic43
    My 7 year old Son said almost exactly this. I tried to get him excited about a new Lego train and he said it wasn't very good, it was too small and wouldn't go on the tracks. I can see his point. Given the scale they haven't done a bad job, but I can't say I'm not disappointed, for both me and my son. He loves Lego trains and this was just not for him. If not for a 7 year old Lego train fan, then for who?
  18. Toxic43
    Ok, I saw the front of box pic. Looks 6 wide to me. Looks like a train door as the actual front window too. The roof piece there is a 6 wide piece. Those wheels look like the smaller ones with a pin connection so no hope of motorising this one.
  19. Toxic43
    Darn it. I don't have Instagram. Borrowed the wife's to search for it and I came to the realisation I have no idea what I'm doing.
  20. Toxic43
    It's a train and coming in 2022. It shows a little promise. But yes, only 200+ pieces does not usually a train set make. But then they suggest that two can be paired to make a larger train. I'm intrigued.
  21. Toxic43
    Guys... It's happening! "LEGO® Bullet Train 40518 (2022) | LEGO® price comparison brickmerge.de" https://www.brickmerge.de/40518-1_lego-new-hochgeschwindigkeitszug
  22. Toxic43
    That's a purchase from me! Just ordered the paperback from Amazon. I immensely enjoyed your last Lego train book and am still waiting for funds to become available so I can finish collecting parts for the EMD FL9 from the cover! Thanks for this, and keep 'em coming!
  23. Toxic43
    This is where Pybricks comes in. You can flash the firmware on the hub to Pybricks and include a program on there permanently. This is what I used to get it working. Control your trains without smart device - with Pybricks With the program, before you flash it to the hub, you can edit it. I chose to reverse the second motor's direction so both motors are connected to the same hub, on separate channels. With the program, they both turn at the same time, in opposite directions! I put both motors in one loco, with a few modifications. It is strong enough to break apart the magnetic couplings now. In fact, Lok24 included a second profile in his program which allows switching to a slower, shunting speed, program by pressing the centre button on the controlled once. This makes for a more realistic pull away from stations, then when you're away from the platform you can switch to profile 1 and floor it (so to speak) at full speed. With two motors it will just fly off the track in the first corner and take the whole train with it unless you're running larger radius curves. Now I can drive the lock with one hand, on one side of the controller and have the two motors running as I could before with Power Functions. Only downside is, no lights. Might have to find some space to fit a 9v battery box in there so I can get some PF lights hooked up too. I really like the low speed option as well. Makes it a lot more realistic (as one can achieve with Lego at least).
  24. Toxic43
    Holy Cow! That fixed it! Thank you! A little bit of knowledge goes a long way! It was the second hub button press I wasn't picking up. Now I know that, how do I switch between profiles for the slower speed running?
  25. Toxic43
    Thanks for the reply. I changed the 10 seconds to 20 to give the remote a bit more time to connect. I didn't enter anything for remotename. Definitely using the beta.pybricks.com address and "Include current program" was checked when I performed the firmware flash. The hub is stating up with a flashing deep blue light, not the white light of the remote, or the red you mentioned. The hub also isn't turning off after 10, or even 20 seconds even if I push the remote button or not. The remote turns off pretty quickly once it realises there is no hub to connect to, but the hub now sits there blinking intermittent blue flashes. I have to pull the batteries to switch off. If I flash the Lego firmware again it works fine and the remote connects right away. I can get the remote to connect on the Pybricks firmware, but as I said, it uses the mobile phone as a proxy so no direct connection. I don't know what is going wrong.
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