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idlemarvel

Eurobricks Citizen
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Everything posted by idlemarvel

  1. idlemarvel
    I love the Kettle very detailed and a nice back-story for the design. In fact I love all your models.
  2. idlemarvel
    Excellent find @BillytheKid and you have made good use of the resource in your fine models. 1980 is my favourite Lego era. Thanks!
  3. idlemarvel
    @Toastie I could have written what you wrote. Almost complete agreement except for me Lego trains and Lego System rather than electronics and Technic. And I can relate to all the points raised by the OP, thanks for raising them. There's nothing wrong with plastic per se, its a wonderful material that can be hard soft strong flexible rot proof any colour any size any shape and recyclable. The problem is too much due to one-use plastics and lack of proper recycling. I don't buy large display only sets any more, rather parts that I can make something with - not necessarily a MOC but older sets from online instructions - I can relate to the comment about the lack of thinking required by modern piece by piece instructions - and then take them apart again. Instant reuse. My collection of bits does increase but only incrementally as I buy specific parts for a model I'm making, and I limit the palette of parts and colours and adapt my models accordingly. That's how I reconcile the joy of building with Lego while avoiding too big a plastic millstone.
  4. idlemarvel
    Agreed. If you want a scale model to sit on a shelf with little play value, using Lego pieces is probably not optimal, clever though it is.
  5. idlemarvel
    Thanks for your comments @Murdoch17. I get the point about Grey (and Dark Green) being possibly used for military vehicles but why just leave out the 2x2 brick? There are examples in other colours, e.g. 3895 Technic Brick 1 X 12 in Red (although that was in several sets in 1981). And @Alexandrina for your perspective on colours more generally. Regarding getting hold of 3003 in Grey (Light Gray in Bricklink), they are available cheaply in small quantities if I wanted to buy some. Thanks @JesseNight for the "contemporary" perspective that's very helpful. I think Brown was available but only for some Minifigure Utensil like 3836 broom. And @Hrafn for the history of the Grey 2 X 2 brick. I guess the conclusion is "it is what it is" and I'll just go with the information gleaned from the inventories for the sets available at that time. Thank goodness for Bricklink and Rebrickable! Thanks all again for your helpful comments.
  6. idlemarvel
    I am doing some research into what bricks in which colours were available in 1980. Taking 2 x 2 brick 3003 as an example, I have used Rebrickable and Bricklink to establish that it was available in the standard colours used in those days namely (using Lego names) Black, Bright Blue, Bright Red, Bright Yellow and White, but not Grey (a.k.a. Light Gray). It is curious that all the smaller standard bricks sizes (1X1, 1X2, 1X3, 1X4, 1X6, 1X8, 2X3 and 2X4) are available in all the standard colours but not Grey 2X2. There are many other examples of common parts not being available in all the colours but lets stick with this one. AFAIK this information is obtained from looking at the parts inventories of sets released in years up to and including 1980. Is it possible that Lego did produce this part but it just wasn't used in a set? Did they sell parts on demand in those days like Pick-A-Brick today? It seems odd they wouldn't produce this part in Grey but equally odd to make a part with no way of selling it! Can anyone shed any light on this? Thanks for any thoughts.
  7. idlemarvel
    Amazing level of detail. At first glance I thought it was the LGB model!
  8. idlemarvel
    Agreed. There's a line between helping newbies and treating people like idiots. Instructions from vintage sets really made you think and check before going on to the next step. Paradoxically I find I am more likely to miss a piece when the picture of one step looks almost identical to the next, and my grandchildren find the huge multi-volume tomes published with even modest sets off-putting.
  9. idlemarvel
    Excellent solution well designed and executed. I loved reading your extensive documentation which is very informative, even though I don't use PF. Thanks.
  10. idlemarvel
    My goodness you have been busy manipulating those electrons! Excellent models all of them. And you made the front page, well done. Are you planning to realise any of them in brick?
  11. idlemarvel
    I've looked at the powered bogie solution and it involves a major rebuilding of the tram set. It would be a good project for an "alternate build" but if you just want to motorize the existing set the "one powered axle" approach is much easier and it works fine. You only need a handful of replacement parts, all commonplace. This YouTube video (not mine) shows a similar modified tram running and provides part list and instructions on motorization. In this case the front car is motorized rather than the middle, and the coupling is left at 4L as supplied.
  12. idlemarvel
    You're right, if one's intention is to make money from a publication then offering it as a free download is not going to help. I offered my book as a free download to Eurobrick readers, with a link at the end for readers to make a donation to the charities that Lego supports if they wish. People still buy the paper copy though, although in my case in miniscule numbers!
  13. idlemarvel
    Not a stupid suggestion, the black 1×8 tiles you refer to could be removed as they are purely cosmetic, but they barely touch and IMO don't impact the running. The problem with the 2L connector coupling running over thrown points is not caused by the sides touching, rather the length of the draw bar being fractionally too short.
  14. idlemarvel
    There was an uphill incline on the return curve which adds to the slowness. A Jacobs bogie type solution would solve the wheelbase issue.
  15. idlemarvel
    Remarkable set of models. Astonishing detail it what looks like 6-wide models. And it runs so well. Kudos dude!
  16. idlemarvel
    I've build a first prototype of a motorized version using one axle of a train motor in the middle car. The externals of the middle car are more or less the same but the internals are rather filled with the hub. The seat at one end is preserved. This is shown with 2L connectors. It slows down on the bends I think because of the long wheelbase. Replacing a wheelset with the motor increases the wheelbase by half a stud. Anyway seems to work. As mentioned before with 2L connectors it will derail on a thrown point. Close-up of the middle car:
  17. idlemarvel
    If you're looking at my picture on the 30th July posting, that is not the platform included in the set!
  18. idlemarvel
    If you go back to April in this thread there were some ideas on how to motorise this set. A Jacobs bogie approach seemed to be favoured. That's what I'll be trying. With a City hub you could have a colour sensor to enable you to automate the tram.
  19. idlemarvel
    Update on the 2L connector option. It's fine for straights and curves but causes derailments on R40 points. 3L is okay though, as is 4L.
  20. idlemarvel
    Excellent point @Stereo. I must not forget that Lego designs these sets for kids and playability, not for grumpy old train and tram enthusiasts like me! The provided 4L connector is easy to connect and as they only provide 4 straight track sections and ramps they probably expect kids to run these around the carpet where the imaginary curves will be even tighter. And it's easy to fix if it bothers you. Here's the completed tram set. The rear car is an identical build to the front car, except for the minifig: Once I've built the tram stop, the next task is to attempt to motorise it.
  21. idlemarvel
    I have built the first car. Nice solid build. They have reverted back to wheels with metal axles. Despite the long wheel base (11 studs) it goes around R40 curves just fine. It looks good on track embedded in pavement. Not sure why they have used a 4L Technic lever arm for the coupling, I would have thought 3L would be more than enough like on the Harry Potter train. I've also built the second car. The gap looks a bit ridiculous. With a 3L coupling it goes around R40 curves even S bends with plenty of room. With a 2L coupling the sides of the cars just about touch on R40 but not enough to interfere with running I would have thought. UPDATE: 2L connector is okay on straights and R40 curves but not R40 points where is causes derailment.
  22. idlemarvel
    https://www.amazon.pl/dp/B0CYQ6DKM1 (My Lego book on Amazon Poland) Link to Kindle Direct Publishing https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/bookshelf
  23. idlemarvel
    If you want to have your work printed I can recommend Amazon (Kindle Direct Publishing). All you need is a PDF but you may need to tinker with it to fit in the printed area of the page size you choose. It's free to you and you can price it just to cover their printing and marketing costs or you can add a margin for yourself. They print on demand so no wasted print copies. You can make it available worldwide except for Australia and Japan for some reason. I have published a couple of books this way including one about Lego. You just need to invest a few hours in learning printers terminology (gutters, bleeds, etc!) and that's it.
  24. idlemarvel
    Nicely done especially in 6-wide (I think?). I travelled on something similar on my trip to Vienna recently. The "rounded" top deck passenger windows are clever, they look rounded at a distance, only in the closeup do you see they are made from angular slopes! Can you not fit a hinge brick somewhere behind the scenes to hold the front window in place at an angle?
  25. idlemarvel
    My 60423 City Downtown Streetcar set arrived today. Looking forward to building it tomorrow!
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