PastyJo

Thank you for prompt response, and confirming I may be on the right / best glide path. I am a little further forward. Up to press, I have been building digitally, using LDD. It has taken forever to learn, and now i find this treasure trove site, the message appears to be, learn LDRAW and use its suite to publish instructions / renders etc. As a consequence of what I have read, in digital design section, regarding LDD's shortcomings, it is apparent that I am at the stage where i need to place my first Brick _ order. Now done. Lots of plates on their way. Along with a multitude of other parts I know I'm going to require. I now see that only by building physically, will i learn how much of a tolerance i have to play with, so as segments do not to bind up. At this juncture I am connecting them using 3176 and plate with arm up (short), figuring that the larger hole in 3176 and the much smaller diameter arm will have sufficient play in all directions. Lots of those ordered too. I also took the time to order a carriage / car. Not just to see what it physically looks like, when sat on its segment, but realising another reason possibly why this has not been done, tiny yes, this size, no. Simply Weight! This thing is going to be heavy. I'm a keen photographer, so i will endeavour to mark its progress with digital content. Plenty other things I can continue to design whilst I wait patiently for that order. Thank you again!

New to this, so bear with please. Believe I'm posting in right area. Am in the process of constructing a scale model Waltzer, my husband used to work on one. He ran away from home in the 60's and a showman's family took him in. We have a son, who is visually impaired, however through the medium of Lego, he can communicate in his grey world. We recently visited friends at Xmas and their was a fair on the common. We had several goes. Thomas loved it. It was then that we decided to try and build one for him.... My husband gave me a verbal picture, and i managed to translate that, with some video footage of actual put ups and tear downs into a plan. The original machines, had 9 cars, and later ones 10 cars.. In addition Andy has described the way the ride was packed, onto a, "pole " truck and draw bar trailer. The centre unit / paybooth, another draw bar trailer. all pulled by a Scammell Highwayman generator wagon. Needless to say I'm trying to faithfully recreate it as accurately as possible. Its a mammoth project and I don't expect to complete it any time soon. At this juncture i have wandered why such a thing as not been done before. I mean a Waltzer. Maybe i now know. I am struggling with the "ride segments", as its 9 cars i need 18, segments of 360/18 = 20 degrees at cheese wheel attachment, *smallest angle) Now I find there are no Lego 20' wedged plates. part#47397 3x12, comes close, but still gaps in circle. Looks like I will have to use a technic brick with hole and axles with bushes to make a frame for the above plate to sit on. Unless anyone out there has hit this issue, and found a satisfactory solution. The waltzer car, ellipsoid is on an 8x8 footprint so the sector "side" needs to be around 30 studs in length to accommodate. The real thing is 46 foot and this is heading for 92 studs wide. In my minds eye we are at the Mack Anthem size truck as a general size. This may have to decrease because of weight issues. Maybe 6x6 footprint for car and consequently much smaller much lighter segments required. I had considered (only briefly) cutting base plates, but then I had a rethink. Can't believe after all these years Lego haven't sorted out a suite of parts that fit together to create basic geometric shapes and produce certain angles. Any smarty pants out there who can help? Thomas would appreciate it for sure, Andy would get some peace and I may keep some hair! Final thought, perhaps there is a way to 3d print a segment / bespoke designed segment to required size, or have we hit that technology yet. Unlikely given immediately above statement. Apologies for length of post,