Ferro-Friki

What a stunning train! This is such a good recreation. You have no idea how happy it makes me to see more Spanish trains over here, specially the series 102/112, truly Renfe’s flagship train. The nose looks stunning! It captures the look flawlessly, those bricks built diagonally fit together so satisfyingly, and the way the gray stripe grows thinner at the tip of the head with what I assume to be the use of a bracket piece is brilliant! By the way, as far as I know, the tractor heads only have one pantograph each, I could be mistaken though, but I’m pretty sure they only need one since the train only runs on AC current. Also, I have a little issue with the color of this train’s roof (the real-life version). In some pictures it looks gray but in others it looks blue. For example, in that photograph it’s straight up blue, but in others it looks only sort of blue and sometimes it’s just gray. Maybe it’s reflective and in the right weather conditions it reflects the color of the sky, or maybe each unit has a different shade. Personally, I prefer it in blue, it makes it more colorful and lively. The funny thing is that I’ve been designing this same train too! (It’s such an irresistible train ). However, I chose to recreate it in the avlo livery. This is all I have to show for now. I’m not going to lie, the avlo version is not for everyone’s taste, but flashy unusual Lego colors are one of my greatest weaknesses. Anyway, I love this train, you’ve done an amazing job!

Hey everyone! I’m happy to share with you this little project I’ve been working on. It’s a MOC of the Talgo 250 operated by Renfe, known as ALVIA series 130 and nicknamed “El patito” (The duckling). If you haven’t heard of this train before allow me to tell you what makes it so unique. The Spanish railway is a bit tricky to run on. Currently we have two different track gauges, the wider Iberian gauge for conventional trains, and the narrower International gauge, exclusive for high-speed trains. In order to unify the network across the nation, gauge-changing technology is broadly used to allow passengers to travel all over the country without the need to change trains. Vehicles such as the series 130 are able to do so effortlessly by passing through a dedicated facility at low speed. Not only can this train run on two different gauges, but it can run on both 3kV DC for the conventional lines, and the 25kV AC for high-speed lines, the latter of which allows it to run at speeds of up to 250km/h. And that’s not all! If this train wasn’t enough all-terrain for your taste, by replacing the first coaches on either side with special cars equipped with diesel engines, it can be (relatively) easily modified to run at 200km/h without the need for overhead wires at all! (At this point we’d be talking about the series 730, but that’s a topic for another time) Enough geeking out, I think you can understand now why I might want to build it in Lego form. As expected, the nose and cockpit were a bit of a challenge. I’m happy with how they came out, though I might revisit them in the future. The technic modified liftarm 32250 does the job at capturing the shape and the side windows surprisingly well. Since the model is 7 studs wide, the best piece for the windscreen I could find is 51239. It isn’t available in black yet, but it doesn’t stand out too much in dark brown. If you are familiar with Talgo coaches you already know that their wheel configuration is quite unique, and, as a result, a bit of a headache when attempting to build it with Lego. The axel on the left is a prototype I know for a fact works reliably. It’s a “simplification” I made of a design for Talgo axels by GONZO http://gonzo.teoriza.com/307 (Check out his Talgo tilting train, it’s still impressive today!) However, in order to have the smallest gap possible between coaches I modified it even more (The design on the right) I haven’t had the chance to test this second iteration yet, so I can’t guarantee it will work, let alone navigate R40 curves. I still have to figure out how to cover the wheels with convincing detailing, not an easy task since there is barely any space and almost no studs to work with. Besides, the structure that holds it together is admittedly weak. This is the part that needs the most reworking before I can bring this model out of stud.io and into the real world. That’s all I have to show for now. If you have any suggestion/idea on how to fix the axels between coaches please let me know, I could really use some help.

Hello everyone! I’m Ian, from Spain. Like many other people over here I’ve been lurking around for quite some time, you all inspire me so much! And I think it’s about time I started participating. I’ve been interested in Lego trains pretty much all my life. My first ever Lego train set was 4837 3 in 1 Mini Train which was gifted to me when I was a kid. By now I only have a handful of the original pieces, but the nostalgia I hold for that tiny plastic toy is immeasurable. It was soon followed by 7597, which provided me with my first train-specific Lego bricks, and by the time I acquired 7939 (We’re talking recent history here folks!) I realized Lego trains just hit different. I’ve never really experienced a “Dark Age” (I know you guys like to call it that ). Each passing year I wanted to take my Lego trains to the next level. The city trains wouldn’t cut it anymore, and the proper Lego trains they produce like the Horizon Express or the Crocodile Locomotive take forever to be released, so I took to MOCing to fill that niche. The perfect product to bridge that gap was the “Express Train grey blue” from BlueBrixx (TGV Atlantique), an entire train set (No pitiful half train) with realistic proportions and decent detailing. I modified it to match its cousin, Renfe AVE series 100, the first ever Spanish high-speed rail service (A must have!). Currently I have a MOC in the works, Renfe ALVIA series 130, which I’d love to share with you all as soon as I think it’s ready.