Hi everyone,
I've lurked on this forum for half a year and this is my first post.
I'd like to thank the community for the mere fact that it exists , the sheer talent behind many of the MOCs displayed here is mindblowing!
You have inspired me to make a stab at building my favorite electric loco: ES 499.1 of erstwhile Czechoslovak Railways, now the class 363 in the service of various Slovak and Czech carriers.
With its 1980s boxy design, this class might not be an exact eye-pleaser to every trainhead, but it occupies a special place in my heart! At the time the two prototypes rolled off the production line (1980), they were the first kind of double-system locomotive (3 kV DC/25 kV AC) with a thyristor pulse regulation of traction motors in the world (says Wikipedia). Be that as it may, the pulse regulation worked at three fixed frequencies (33 1/3, 100 and 300 Hz), lending the loco its characteristic buzzing sound, which can be heard here: (video by Lookfromlok)
In the region where I live (as opposed to the rest of the country), the class was nicknamed the "Pershing" after the eponymous US intermediate-range ballistic missile, deployed in Western Europe in the late Cold War days . There was a heavy dose of sarcasm attached: due to then-frequent malfunctions of the pulse regulation, the class was perceived as capable of a lightning-quick acceleration but only a "short range" ride - just as the missile with the reputation for being less-than-reliable in its early stages of life. Later, bugs were identified and the technology tweaked, with these locos still being a common sight on both Slovak and Czech railways three decades later.
Here is the original:
I tried to render it in 6-wide because of the windscreen. (The moment I saw it, I thought - Pershing!)
0b6cc045de0c3c04054a968f24143064 (1) by Martin, on Flickr
tr02 by Martin, on Flickr
I intend to use stickers for logos, number plates and etc, but the coronavirus lockdown has put those plans on hold.
tr04 by Martin, on Flickr
Only a few test stickers have been applied to one cab, but the red color doesn't quite feel right. I'm still grappling with this
tr07 by Martin, on Flickr
The other side of the loco body has four round windows,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ÄŒSD_Class_ES_499.1#/media/File:363_099-3,_Slovakia.jpg
but I opted to go with standard non-round Lego 2x2 windows due to size constraints
tr08 by Martin, on Flickr
tr09 by Martin, on Flickr
tr11 by Martin, on Flickr
tr05 by Martin, on Flickr
tr06 by Martin, on Flickr
What do you think?
Any constructive feedback/criticism welcome
Cheers!