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SteamSewnEmpire

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Everything posted by SteamSewnEmpire

  1. SteamSewnEmpire
    Thanks. I do think, ultimately, in the era of Pullman Green, that the Sand green is definitely the best choice. It probably is even more important once the cars start getting repainted to look like this: I really like that scheme, just not on the heavyweight rolling stock. Unlike that particular car, they appear to have painted the rooves dark green rather than black... which, IMO, is just a bit too much.
  2. SteamSewnEmpire
    Thanks. One thing you learn about the LDD flex tool as you use it is that the client suffers some kind of minor memory leak the more times you bend tubing on an open project. The best way to get the tubes to cooperate is to bend one however you like, save, and then reopen the model. The longer you go without doing that, the less cooperative the tubes become.
  3. SteamSewnEmpire
    These were equipped with like 3 different tenders over the course of their 40-something year careers (with the exclusion of the ones that were cut up to build O-7 and O-8 mikados, one of which I will be building next). The might be the oddest looking articulated locomotives in American history (these or the Triplexes, surely). That bare-table top of the boiler, the funny (what I presume to be) water heater on the front deck, and even the overall slightness of their frame (they were built in 1910, so were about Titanic-vintage) are all kind of jarring when taken together. Some were equipped with Vanderbilt tenders later in their careers, but I like the smaller car since it makes the whole package look even stranger.
  4. SteamSewnEmpire
    I think I'm going to go with sand green. The cars were definitely closer to dark green, and I wouldn't want the entire train to be dark green.
  5. SteamSewnEmpire
    That's the 4-8-4, right? Sigh. Heh. You know, they say that the average person, upon making an irrevocable choice, feels better afterwards regardless of what they pick. Basically, it's apparently human nature to experience confidence in one's own judgement. Unfortunately, I am apparently not normal, as I almost always second guess and regret decisions... like this one.
  6. SteamSewnEmpire
    There's a fair amount of sand green running around there after this: You don't think it's too light?
  7. SteamSewnEmpire
    Okay, thanks, that helps! I didn't know if there was some established pattern that people use that's more stable. Has anyone done a fixed rear truck that worked?
  8. SteamSewnEmpire
    IRL, I know that most engines used a fixed rear wheelset and an independent foward truck. However, in Lego this seems like it would produce results that are neither attractive nor practical. Is the most common approach to treat both wheelsets essentially like big bogies with the body connected at two points above? Would the connection points be at the center of the two flanged drivers, rather than the center of the wheelset itself? I have never done an articulated loco before, and don't want to start on the wrong foot. *Edit* Here is a little diagram to better illustrate what I am talking about:
  9. SteamSewnEmpire
    Nah - like you said: too many part conflicts.
  10. SteamSewnEmpire
    Unfortunately, as I said, I think this is misleading because both colors are much lighter than they are IRL. I dunno. :P
  11. SteamSewnEmpire
    Seriously... I'm struggling here. I've been working on a few new GN projects and... I just don't know. In LDD, dark green looks a lot lighter (at least to me) than it does IRL. So, too, does regular green... in LDD, it's almost neon, but in person it's, well, green. I feel like GN's color of choice sat somewhere between these two lego greens. But which one is closer?
  12. SteamSewnEmpire
    If stud.io grouped parts logically, I would. Not sure why they felt the need to reinvent the wheel, but it's like trying to move from QWERTY to Dvorak. At this point, I'm waiting to see if Lego's acquisition of Bricklink forces some kind of change in stud.io's development.
  13. SteamSewnEmpire
    Freelanced, but based on a few real cars. I did a full-length car this time, and went all out on the interior details: Bathroom with claw foot tub and tiled floor: His and hers bedrooms: Smoking room with humidor and pool table (obviously can only be played when the train is stopped): Observation lounge:
  14. SteamSewnEmpire
    G2s are sexy - looking forward to seeing it. Remember that you can use 3649 gears for the XXL wheels.
  15. SteamSewnEmpire
    My advice is twofold: 1) Try working on something much smaller to practice scaling and detailing - an 0-6-0 or or 4-6-0 or something along those lines. Smaller engines are a great way to hone abilities without facing burnout (you have less ground to cover, so you don't feel so taxed trying to 'fill in' spaces like you would with a big articulated engine). 2) Familiarize yourself with https://www.brasstrains.com/ . Without fail, it's my first stop when designing projects. While you cannot directly save the photos on their website, I enlarge them and then hit print screen and paste the pictures into MS Paint. Usually, I lift most of the pics associated with a given model. I then use the side-on photos to establish locomotive proportions (how long and tall the engine should be relative to the wheels I am using), and just start working up; wheels first, then boiler, then cab/tender. It seems to work really well in lieu of actual blueprints.
  16. SteamSewnEmpire
    Definitely better than my first engine. You invited me to comment in the 4-4-2 thread, and while there are areas that could be improved here, I don't want to be an *** and just run through them. I think this is strong, and could be superb. You are starting at a very high level. I like that you went with the fixed rear wheelset, even though it might hurt performance - it's what I would have done, too.
  17. SteamSewnEmpire
    I'm going to be doing some heavyweight Empire Builder/Oriental Limited cars in the next few days. Thanks!
  18. SteamSewnEmpire
    I knew I'd seen those before - not far from where we used to vacation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_Standard_Light_Rail_Vehicle#/media/File:MBTA_3424_at_Seashore_Trolley_Museum_405_(37559477741).jpg
  19. SteamSewnEmpire
    No problem - I figured that's what it was. Ironically, I recently became interested in another English Electric product: the Lightning: Weird to think that they built planes and trains.
  20. SteamSewnEmpire
    Have you considered using angled 15068s as the cab roof instead of the flags? Yes, it would make it slightly thicker, but the original locomotive's roof is noticeably contoured.
  21. SteamSewnEmpire
    Eh. I never seem to be able to make stud.io work. And my computer deep fries any time I try to render something. As for the cow catcher - I take any opportunity to use the toy-like one that I can... which is not very often. This was 'close enough,' which is why I went with it. For the more modern steam I typically build, it's so out of the question that I don't get to deploy it very much. I'm working on a much larger GN locomotive that has - frankly - been utter hell. I hope to post that one tonight at some point.
  22. SteamSewnEmpire
    Boy, the real thing is really weird looking - like a staving F-unit. I like how you did the windows.
  23. SteamSewnEmpire
    Caboose: Pretty happy with how this one turned out... although the roof of the cupola is slightly uneven. Also, I made some modest improvements to the steam locomotive (larger trailing truck with a custom wheel; raised boiler by one place; lowered cab roof by one plate; added more piping. I think this one is done now.
  24. SteamSewnEmpire
    Thanks! I'll be posting a small update (added further detailing to the loco, lifted the boiler and cab a plate) in an hour or so when I finish a little wooden GN caboose I am working on.
  25. SteamSewnEmpire
    It's a really interesting idea, at least. My primary issue comes from Lionel track. I love 2-rail O, but have always avoided Lionel because the track looks like something out of a roller coaster.
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