Thai bricks

If I had written in the text box then that would be sensible, even necessary. I guess their software is not sophisticated enough to auto-approve a tick only.

My tick is now awaiting approval... wth?

I don't know the layout of your room, but my advice is to swap everything around: put the train around the outside and everything else in the middle. The space under it can be used for storage. If this is at all possible it will transform your railway.

So, wide radius curves from an alternate brand are ok, but windows in a colour Lego decided not to make are not? That's confusing.

About 10 pix here: https://www.bahnbilder.de/name/galerie/kategorie/deutschland~dampfloks~br-382-3-saechs.html There is also a good picture and tech drawing in the Wikipedia article.

I have found only 3: German E69 by Ben: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=485964 Note: error in the instruction sequence. Leave out step 8 or you will take it apart again. GE Dash 8-40CW: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=253466 Pennsylvania Railroad GG1: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=247997 Again, a few sequence errors. Always look ahead a few steps and engage brain. :-) Regards, Peter.

I don't think "we" draw a line anywhere. Everybody has to decide for her/himself.

I like it and I was all set to buy it, but Lego went out of their way to make it impossible for me to buy it. There is no Lego store or online presence here in Thailand. The online stores do not ship to freight forwarders. On Amazon it was double the price plus shipping. The UK store mentioned above ships to Singapore and Malaysia, but not Th. I was really happy when I found it on Walmart with only $15 shipping to Thailand. I put in all my details, address, CC no., etc. Clicked checkout - sorry, due to Covid we currently do not ship overseas. Ok, I get it, I'm not meant to buy it.

I don't have a layout yet, so I can't tell. But the circuitry must make the actual battery cells smaller, no doubt. Then again, it's a shunter. Edit: there are two versions of these so-called 9V Li-Ion batteries: the simpler version gives the straight LiIon voltage of 7.4V. Then there is one with a voltage step-up circuit that converts it to 9V. This will give more power/speed, but there are 2 downsides: the circuit takes up more space and there are losses in the conversion process, meaning less capacity (runtime). It is always on, meaning they will slowly self-discharge, until the protection circuitry turns it off to avoid damage. I have the simple version and for a shunter there is plenty of power and speed. Pulling power is limited by wheel traction only.

My battery gets charged via USB cable from a phone charger. I was only trying to make a bit of fun out of you. :-)

For the battery connection I just bought a couple of cheap PF extension cables from Ali Express and cut them in half. Connect to a switch and the battery clip on the other side. On my Koef the battery is at the front, so it can stay in there for charging. I was wondering whether you were off picture, furiously rocking a switch back and forth! I like all the lighting work you have done.

Since we are now talking about other crocs, here is the RHB "baby" croc on metre gauge:

It looks great on those sweeping wide curves!

If you look carefully you can see a few differences between the two green ones pictured above. Let's not forget that at least some of them have been modified during their life times. After being replaced on the Gotthard line some were modified into shunters and the lower green one is probably one of them. But I'm with Phil B here.

Thanks - I am impressed. Especially that a loco with 5 driving axles goes around sharp bends without any articulation. I can foresee only one problem: starting a straight uphill after a corner I wonder whether the leading blind driver will not hook into the straight rail. In the video the overhang is not visible.

@Dirk1313, I just want to point out that the prototype picture you posted above is of a different version Krokodil. This one has a 2nd jack shaft near the front and a different side rod arrangement.

The thingy is called a jackshaft (German: Blindwelle). It is located higher than the wheels, so the connecting rod on this loco is triangular in shape.

I'll do that, but I won't hold my breath: they will mark it up and then it's a big box to ship. Buying from Asian BL stores is better for me, but I don't think the 'certified' Lego store in Singapore will carry it. We shall see. Thanks for the hint.

@3po : the video link takes me to my own videos, not yours.

I was so keen to buy this. My first Lego set I ever bought myself. But Lego in their infinite wisdom made this an exclusive set and so won't sell it to me, because I live in Thailand, where there is no Lego representation. I checked the US and UK sites and they explicitly state that they do not ship to freight forwarders. How sad. Maybe I'll buy the Bluebrixx loco shed instead. More than twice the number of parts for the same money. They post everywhere and the VAT I don't have to pay kind of pays for the shipping. I don't really need another loco anyway...

Looks like 4DBrix ran into the same problem and they gave up: https://www.4dbrix.com/blog/index.php?show=000004

Ausini brand from Ali Express.

Why not make the ties 2x8 plates, which people could just buy from Lego or BL? Except for the ends, of course.

If you are thinking of supplying NZ from Oz: I used to live in NZ until a couple of years ago and generally found it cheaper to order stuff from Uk or US, as shipping across the ditch costs an arm and a leg. The other way around would probably work better, but the local market is a lot bigger in Oz, of course. Just my 2c...

I can't stop thinking: if somebody needs more capacity you can relatively easily put 2 sets of 2 or 3 LiIon into the battery box, i.e. 2P2S or 3P2S. But you really have to get your wiring right!