Paperinik77pk

Aaaah the VW Railbus!!!! Excellent build!!! It is a really, really a nice locomotive!!! Perfect for this thread!!!

Great trains, @Hod Carrier!!! And a big thank you to @Toastie and @JopieK! And to celebrate the new thread, I put here the FS E.424 in its original paint scheme from the late '40s, rendered just 5 minutes ago!!! Ciao! Davide

I cannot say other than...thanks!!! It will be great fun!

Aaaah I thought it was not possible directly here !

Great model, very well proportioned and detailed!!! It could be nice to have an additional roof to convert it to the full wagon version Great job!!! Ciao, Davide

It's an awesome build!!! I like the idea of an hot rod train!!!

Ciao Thorsten, thanks! I think this is an interesting way to build - functionality is really a pain for the moment, but maybe...something can be sorted out also on that specific aspect. So these things in 4-wide can really be intended as shelf queens. The idea of the "showcase base" was taken from an "Hachette" series of models that could be bought together with a sort of encyclopedia. This scale perfectly fits the simple IKEA shelves used for photos, pictures and small objects .I've recently put one of these in my daughter's room and I immediately thought about a "suspended" railway running all around (yes I'm not normal - I know ) I think you can easily reverse-engineer these locos and coaches, but just in case the .io file can be provided in seconds. UIC-X cars are the same also in Germany - only colors will change a bit (tan-red/tan-blue just to start). It could be nice to have a common showcase for all these 4-wide MOCs - maybe a Flickr group with trains from all countries? Thanks! My advice is absolutely to go on and try that because it's really fun to do!!! Thank you very much - I've always considered the "consist" part as...let's say - boring. I started knowing some of the Italian coaches starting these designs. For the moment I've used standard coaches models that can be found in all Europe - so it's a simple matter of re-coloring them with the paint scheme we like most. The problem will be to represent not standard country-specific coaches - but it could be a nice challenge Thanks , thanks, thanks!! Thank you!!! It's a nice scale, indeed - I'm re-descovering the love for H0 (not only in Lego)

Thanks! I completely missed that discussion - your models are awesome!!! I now see that the poles I prepared are made in the same way as yours (absolutely no blatant plagiarism intended)! In reality Italian poles are made more in "Lego 12v style" , but the parts used in the 80s for signals and so on are not available at all in light bluish gray, so I tried to make them in a fast way, and Technic was the only possibility. And wow, that track is great! I was thinking - but just thinking, to make the track 3 wide. but then, it would be a mess to stretch the bogies - It's something to be tried, I think!

Ciao all, you have already seen my E.656 topic last week, but after posting it, I realized both the locomotive and coaches were wrongly shaped. First of all I tried to build a mockup, and move it around some Lemax track - I had bad luck, since the radius is too tight and the locomotive is badly bent, looking unrealistic. So for the moment I decided to redesign it as a static only, more solid model. Plus, during the rebuilding the "nose" was redesigned so it's more pointy. The locomotive now is longer by one stud, due to central cover for articulation (I wonder which is the correct English term!) being now in exact 1:87 scale. Since I was already working, I prepared also the freight version, called E.655, which had a gear ratio adapted for better pulling power than speed (120km/h). Then I remade all the pictures with the coaches, since the UIC-X in Livery Red/Gray paint scheme adopted an underbody protection. The express train is now more precise than its first version and I'm more happy with it. Now it is the perfect replica of my Lima H0 train I had many many years ago! It seems very elegant with all coaches in coordinated colors...but in reality Italian trains of the era were composed by coaches in different color styles. Now, having made the famous "Caimano", I needed to go on , and design the "Tartaruga", or E.444 (yes, we have a nickname for quite everything ). Modern and elegant, the E.444 has been the fastest Italian locomotive for a long time. Having the possibility to play with colors, I tried to recreate some coaches in their various paint schemes, to recreate a typical Express train of the 80s. In the picture below you can find UIC-X coaches in "Grigio Ardesia" (a kind of dark "stone gray" well fitting the Lego Dark Bluish Gray), the already seen Livery Red/Gray UIC-X, and the colorful "Eurofima" in Orange. The "Grigio Ardesia" UIC-X are a bit older then the Red/Gray ones, but not all were converted, so it was not strange to see both in Italian consists. Older UIC-X do not have the underbody protection, as far as I could understand (please correct me if I'm wrong). Now that we've seen the E.656 and the E.444, let's go back to an older model, the great E.646 and its freight version, the E.645: This has the same base as my E.656 (in reality the chassis of the E.646 was then used as the starting point to create the "Caimano"), but has a more...boxy body and it's full of grilles of different shapes. It has some different choices for headlights due to the lack of some parts in green and Dark Tan. The first E.646 locomotives featured a body similar to the E.636 and E.424. Another step back in the family of articulated locomotives...and now we're coming to the first one of the dynasty, the E.636. In its "Castano-Isabella" paint scheme (Reddish Brown and Dark Tan), this was quite a mess for me. This model requires a slight modification (I cannot do in a better way) of the "tiles with clips" parts, holding the headlights: these parts must be sand-papered on one side to fit under the "nose". I tried it before drawing the final version. Other parts did not fit or were not available in right colors. I love this locomotive, but her cabin is a nightmare! Let's make her pull an end-of-the-70s express! The E.636 group of locomotives has a special member, nicknamed "Camilla". It seems a "Caimano" but it's not. The E.636.284 was involved in a fatal accident. Cabin was completely destroyed and the engineer lost his life. The cabins were designed in the 40s, so were not so secure. Nonetheless, the locomotive was not scrapped, since it was quite intact in all its main parts. Therefore, an experiment was performed (in order maybe to renew all the 636), and a cabin from an E.656 was fitted. A particular paint scheme was used. The nickname "Camilla" is due to the name written on the unfinished new cabin by one of the workers (after the name of his beloved grilfriend)...and became the official name of the locomotive, which remained the only 636 with this body. It still is operational and historically preserved. And now, last but not least, the smaller (but not less important, since it started the whole family of these modern shaped locomotives!) E.424. Same cabin as the E.636, so same needed modification to clips parts. This one is made in 80s "Navetta" color scheme , which was used in the last employment for this little all-purpose locomotive: Commuter reversible trains. For this reason the last (or first? ) coach was a semi-pilot one, with all remote controls for the locomotive. Here it is the Semi-Pilot MDVE type coach (all other coaches of the consist are MDVC type). It is nicknamed "MAZINGA" - which is the Italian pronunciation of "Mazinger", the famous big robot featured in the 70s Japanese cartoon. It was called this way, since it resembles a robotic head That's all (for the moment)! I hope you like these trains - I will try to go on with designs on this scale since these are really fun! Ciao! Davide

Haha! Great!!! This little locomotive for sure will master all kind of curves without any problem!!!

Great locomotive - It's not an easy shape to replicate!!! Nice work!!!

Very nice locomotive!!! I love the way you used the "arches" parts for the front part of the chassis!!! Great Job!!! Keep up the good work! Ciao! Davide

Spectacular locomotive, very detailed and full of great building solutions!!! I like the lights a lot!!! Ciao! Davide

The locomotive itself is very easy to build - the only parts which are difficult to find are the two blue windows 3x1x2 and the 12v motor. Reproduced stickers are available and train parts like buffers do not cost a fortune. 500 Euros for the 7760 , even with box, are crazy... but It's the market. Glad I bought it when it was not so rare!!!

Great Mod - well done!

Thanks!!! Currently it's not so easy but...all in all easier than it seems Thank you very much!!! Ciao! Davide

Thanks to both!!! Nice usage!!!

As far as I learned, it's all a matter of trial and error - regarding gear ratios and motors, weight and traction. Dimensions of the chassis are blatantly copied from the original LGB locomotive , so 14 studs wide and 26 long (then you've to add buffers) I can show you here how's the little M motor works with the faster gear ratio: Having some up and downs in the garden, I had to change the gear ratio and to add rubber bands for traction . But a bigger motor is HIGHLY recommended. Ciao! Davide

Thanks to you, Thorsten - you always have so kind words - it's really, really appreciated! H0 is a nice scale for real models - and I think a nice challenge in Lego. I'm seeing other locomotives that could be transformed...after all UIC wagons are common in Europe and can be coloured in different ways to create consists. The real challenge is to MOVE these things. Let's see... Ciao and thank you again! Davide

Thanks Emanuele for your support and kind words!!! Ciao! Davide Thanks sir! This is all in all a good scale, especially for dioramas. All my mini trains were at least 6-wide and it was a nice challenge! I'm glad you got the toy-ish feeling - it was one of my main goals - to be as less precise as possible due to brick forms but yet to give the general looks. Thanks!!! Thanks you very much!

Hi! And thanks for your interest! Sure, here's a photo of the motor: It's an M PuP motor driving one axle, and then rods are transmitting power to the other axle. Very simple and easy to do. In this photo you see the gears for normal operation (a little faster with medium pulling power - 1.667:1 gear ratio). In case of "mountain railway" you could either try an L motor (more torque) or a 3:1 gear ratio. I am currently using the M motor with 3:1 gears. These locomotives have a flat chassis, but being so big, you can make higher motors, and use also XL beasts I hope this helps!!! (Just in case, I'm here ) Ciao! Davide

Hi all, I would like to share with you my first attempt to recreate a Lego model in an unusual scale, which is the standard H0 (1:87). It all started from G scale wagon with studs from LGB. Marklin is offering the same solution on an H0 train, specifically the Marklin H0 29730 starting set, which is featuring wagon bases with studs. Recently this Marklin train has been also recalled here in the forum. So , having some old Lima trains in 1:87, I wanted to give a try to this scale. Not so much calculation involved here - I simply changed lenght of H0 models in studs. I prepared a design of a tipical FS Italian Express train of the 80s, consisting in an E.656 , plus some FS unified UIC-X cars in "Livery Red" and Gray paint scheme. Their doors should have been Gold...but the gold chromed part was too shiny and orange was not fitting at all. So I used a simple yellow All cars and locomotive are recalling the dimensions of the 1:87 models. One thing is not fitting at all, and is clearly visible - wheels and track are 4-wide as the rolling stock. The E656 is articulated and composed by 3 bogies as the original one. In this case, the central bogie is not the pivot point for the two halves of the locomotive as in the prototype. It is attached to one of the semy-bodies. This is due to the fact I wanted the two halves as close as possible. The coupling between them is made using the classic plates with towballs. The headlights will require a white (or transparent) 3l or 4l bar to be cut to fit the length of the red headlight holder brick. The E656 has a very pointy nose, very difficult to replicate, so I did not even try to reproduce it, playing with colors. This locomotive is static - at least for the moment. Bogies turn and can arrange a curve, but having them powered with small wheels...should require some 3d printing or ready made H0 bogies. Let's see - in the meantime the interior is completely empty so there's room for a small small motor (not Lego, as a matter of fact). This is another part of the experiment - it is the first E.656 I've ever designed. And now a look at the coaches, not so much to tell here, apart these CAN really mount H0 bogies (trough plates with holes) and recall the Marklin general idea. This is the FS UIC-X baggage car (Type D): This is the UIC-X Type A - First Class car: Then, a mixed 1ST/2ND Class UIC-X: And finally, a 2ND Class UIC-X car (Type B): The cars and locomotive are linked using this simple coupling (usilng 3L Pins with friction and 1L axle) . The "hook" can be rotated, allowing all cars to be coupled on both sides. For static display, cars can be coupled closer one to each other, simply substituting one of the 3L pins with a 1L pin with axle. And In the end, a bird's eye view of the whole Express Train. Luckily, the FS Foundation for preservation of historic locomotives, lines and rolling stock is recently very active and really motivated to preserve our railway old glories... ...and the E.656 is surely one of them. I hope you like it!!! Ciao! Davide

Perfect for City train size!!! May I ask you how did you recreate the doors handles? These are very , very interesting !!! Thumbs up! Ciao! Davide

A nice group of old glories here!!! I love that Garratt, it's smooth and colorful like all your creations. You've a personal style in recreating locomotives and rolling stock which may seem simple but it's not. I personally love it - it puts me in a good mood!!! And that Goose is very very nice - I was wondering how it could be "motorized" in some way - it should be nice seeing it going round the track! Ciao! Davide

I would like to add my 2 cents on this absolutely correct statement. I am sincerely open to all possibilities with Lego (and non-Lego) - I've always been a "purist" when it comes to 4,5v and 12v Systems and all old sets in general, because I understand they are nice THAT way. In general it applies for me also to cars and old computers. But new things can be better. And in some cases, enhance the original thing without losing it's feeling. Let's go on with the example - wide radius tracks. AAAAH, it's a pleasure to see trains gliding on large curves and not making L-turns like Automan's Countach . Welcome new tracks!!! There are so much nice third parties things around (the narrow gauge tracks with switches, wheels, motors, controllers...) that it's hard not to show at least some interest. And yes, there are Lego clones. A lot of "Compatible bricks". Some are nice, some are rubbish, some are so good that only miss the "branded stud" on top. Well, there are also "compatible parts" for any car (brakes, pipes, shocks...) which in some cases are better than the original brand of first equipment. These can be bought or not. But It's a choice, a free choice that can be done for whatever reason by anyone in any moment and place. Lego can be a way to play with your children, an hobby for adults and in case of this and other Forums and shows, an opportunity to meet people. Who cares if a train is bigger or shorter or not precise or not colored the right way or if it runs on three wheels (actually it can be done also on two )...we're not saving lives, we are building things with small ABS parts. so let's leave acid , angry, unpolite comments and bad feelings away. If it must be a stress...it's better to change hobby. One last thing - which has surely already been said. TLG is a company that needs to make profit. It's not out there to make people happy at all costs. I'd also love the 12v system back, but I'd be probably one of the few to buy it. It seems some things have no more appeal on children like they had in the past, like train models. So the new trains are probably more than sufficient for these young "customers", who like more the new themed sets based on super heroes, movies , videogames, and (sigh) smartphones with "virtual reality". It's a specific market, and TLG must adapt to it. What about the good'ol'Train AFOLs? Well...they are still there and are still building (and evolving by themselves with help of 3rd parties), so TLG can focus on other products . After all, "L-gauge" nowadays is more alive than it was in the past, even in golden ages. "POSSIBILITIES ARE STILL UNLIMITED". Ciao a tutti! Davide