Aaron

I don't mind $10 per wheel. I'll probably get the metal ones for my diesels and plastic for the coaches. Right now I ordered 8 plastic ones, as I have student loans to pay off, but I'm sure down the road I'll order at least 16 metal ones and more plastic. It's worth it to me.

It's time for a Santa Fe reboot. I think I'm going to whip up a little something for Ideas.

Can't wait to see this one in bricks.

Edit: These are perfect. Going to buy them.

Oh yeah, I can see why two different versions would be desireable. Sorry if I'm being a bit too fussy over tenths of millimeters. I have Aspberger's, and I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to scaling and fine details. :P

I wouldn't worry about making them smaller in diameter than LEGO's wheels. Not necessary, really. Nothing to get in their way. ;)

I'm definitely interested. I have ME Models R104 curves on the way, and I'm probably going to design and print my own R208 curves and switches eventually, so there should be no risk of derailment. My scale is 1:38, and I have coaches with 36" diameter wheels and diesels with 40" diameter wheels, which translates into 3 studs in diameter (24mm) and 26.73mm respectively. Even just a standard 3 stud diameter wheel with more realistically scaled flanges would probably work for everything. Not sure if there would be much of a noticeable difference on the Alcos if the wheels had a difference of ~2.73mm.

Thank you for making these! I build American diesels, so I've been wanting non-spoked wheels with Technic axle holes for a long time. The metal is especially appealing, so I'll probably buy a bunch eventually. I do kind of wish for a version where the center of the wheel is larger in diameter compared to the flange, more to scale with real train wheels, but still retaining the 3 stud diameter. My trains are heavy enough not to derail. Any chance this could be done? I'd buy a ton of them for all of my rolling stock.

I hope some of my longer cars (85 studs) at least function on R104s. I guess I'll find out soon enough.

I don't run into space constraints since I build in 10-wide, but if you gear down an L motor, you can come close to the torque of an XL motor. There's a way to do pretty much anything with the current lineup, and I'd say the L motor is about as "Goldilocks" as they get as far as compactness and versatility goes.

To be honest, a more powerful rechargeable battery is all that I could really ask for. While I do love the LiPo batteries and use them in all of my trains, they are only 7.4V, thus are unable to make use of the full potential of the motors. 11.1V is possible, as it's still within the safety threshold of power functions motors. It would definitely reduce the need for some people to use custom batteries. It would be interesting to see if they do add anything new over the next few years, but even if nothing changes, the system they have now is still my favorite because it allows for the LEGO trains to have their own power source, much like real trains.

I have not had any issues with their track coming apart. It holds together just as well as the first generation LEGO track, since it's of similar design. They will also be releasing solid plug-and-play track soon, which would give them the same integrity as the current power functions track. Having used every type of LEGO track produced, at this point I honestly cannot recommend anything other than ME Models track, even for new or casual builders. I think it's just as beginner friendly as LEGO track, if not more, since you aren't forced to buy flex track along with it. It's beautifully designed track.

I received a pack of double wide straights today. I thought I may as well just order something while I'm waiting for my main Kickstarter order. I must say I am impressed by the quality.

If I were you, I wouldn't even bother with Lego's default track anymore. They've all but neglected their track system, and if you ever wish to buy track separately to expand (even casually) your layout, ME Models track is your best option. It is a far more flexible option, and a much better value. I wouldn't even consider it to be generic at this point.

You could always just use normal plates with turntables. It would give you more freedom that way.

I have that set. Those are the old type, but 3-high. They now have double-wide variants of the 2-brick high panels with side-supports, which would be perfect for cars like these:

I just hope that whatever train set they come up with has 1 x 4 x 2 panels as windows in transparent light blue. They'd look much better than using two 1 x 2 x 2 panels side-by-side.

Those rails are looking great! I'm very excited for my R104 and double straight rails to arrive! I'm going to ballast the curves, and it should be fun!

I can think of at least two reasons why he can't.

Given the scope of this project, it actually went along rather quickly. Considering it takes LEGO much longer than this just to create a new CUUSOO set using existing parts, the progress ME Models has made in just less than 3/4 of a year is nothing short of remarkable. I'm really excited for my track. I definitely plan on being a recurring customer as well.

I love the XL motor, and the current power functions system works perfectly for me. I'd really hate to see it go.

I love the baggage car. I was going to do some Santa Fe heavyweights in that color. I'm glad to see that the dark green and black looks nice.

ME Models will begin selling their products soon. They've got the best tracks on the market right now, in my opinion. If you've ever wanted to be able to buy individual straight rails at a good price, and curves that are wider than LEGO's standard, I think you would really like what they have to offer.

These are very nice. I especially like the interaction with the buildings. Very clean builds.

The sides of most rails are almost always brown. The surfaces where the wheels touch are usually shiny due to the wheels of the trains constantly removing any potential rust, dirt, or whatever else may discolor the rails. For enlighten rails, painting the tops silver would look the best, though I still find the brown ties difficult to ballast nicely, since most ballast is usually gray, and ties are more accurately represented by 1 stud lengths with 1 stud spacing rather than the stock 2/2. Hiding the dark brown studs on enlighten track just doesn't work very well, from my experience. ME rails are nice because they're separate, and all that one would have to do is place the individual rails on whatever plates are used for ballast, using tiles for ties.