LM12V

Thank you very much Michael for the reply. We therefore await the new products. Overall I trust you a lot, you are doing something wonderful and extraordinary. I leave these considerations on Lego and FX wheels to the readers of the forum. I would also like to know other people's opinions. I'm actually waiting for these wheels to light up the wagons (and convert all the old 12v to Fx). And in fact you can use just one for wagon by combining it with the original Lego ones, but in that case the color is not guaranteed to be homogeneous. In any case, I'm in no hurry. I just hope that special lights will be made for passenger trains in the future. I completely understand the idea of focusing on the essential things at the moment. Instinctively though I would say that the FX metal wheels will be used much more for lighting than for running engines. In fact, those who have power up or power function engines have ultimately chosen batteries. Of course he can decide to switch to electric, but at that point perhaps he is better off buying an old 9v engine or waiting for the new 12v FX engine. Buying FX bricks tracks and then running the PF and PU motors on them thanks to the FX wheels, I don't know what use it will have in the long run. It can only be something interlocutory and ultra-minority. The situation is different for old 12v trains. If there is currently no plan, due to cost issues, for an engine capable of replacing the 12v ones with connecting rods, the only option is to connect the FX bricks wheels to the old 12v engine. I already have the tender ready for the old 7727. And this makes sense, because then with a decoder you will be able to exploit a lot of the FX potential, even with this hybrid solution (in fact, I think that Micheal said that the FX wheels are also ready for the DCC). The real problem in this case is that the 12v engines from the 1980s are increasingly older and sooner or later will still need a replacement. From a friction point of view, Lego wheels, also taking into account non-original and third-party ones, I believe can be classified as follows, from worst to best: original large and small wheels with cross hole and technical plastic axle old original 12v wheels with plastic axle (type 7740) New original wheels without axle (Orient Express type) non-original wheels with Bricktracks metal axle original 2878 wheels with metal axle (Maersk train type) Non-original Bricktracks wheels with metal axle and ball bearings. Now Micheal says that the Fx wheels have some friction due to the tab to get the electricity. However, I don't think the friction is that great or it wouldn't make sense to do it that way. It would be interesting to know, before purchasing, at what level on the scale I made, the FX wheels fit. I believe they are between the 2878 of the 9v era, and those with ball bearings. In the future, taking into account that Lego wheels are terrible at friction (2878 with separate metal axle), the problem of the FX tab could be overcome with identical wheels without a socket. It shouldn't cost any new molds. Because wheels with bearings, however good, are not professional and are often mounted poorly, not too symmetrically. Finally, in the future, it would also be nice to have professional and large fx wheels for Orient Express and Emerald Night. These could also be done without the need to draw electricity, or in both ways.

Incredible! The exchanges didn't last a day, they're already sold out. I hope we don't have to wait another year to see others that last a day. In any case, I hope to see the new products put on sale all together, because for shipping costs it is better to place a single order than multiple orders. I ask @michaelgale: 1) - wasn't it better, for the wheels, to make a box of 4 or 12 or think of more modes? If you think of a train at least you need 10-12 wheels. I'll take about 80. 2) - Do I see this strange segmented track in the photos? Is it perhaps the prototype of the traffic light track? 3) - Shouldn't the power supply also include 12v? I'm aiming for your brand new engines and it would be annoying when they come out to have to change the power supply. 4) – I see the 4x6 plate but not the 5x6 one you announced. There are many 3rd party manufacturers making 4x6 and I doubt the fx pricing will be competitive. Wasn't it better to focus on the 5x6 that would be truly original? 5) – The wheel cover of the lego engine is really ugly and not very realistic, is a restyling planned in view of the release of the FX engine? 6) – I'll ask you again about the conversion of old 12v trains: when the intelligent engine comes with everything integrated (with the first one it's not worth it), why not make a red and black version with connecting rods for the old freight trains of the 12v era? (A 12v-9v adapter cable would also be useful, although I had them made. Thanks to the FX wheels you can run the old 12v motors on the 9v track, but you cannot use the professionalism and torque power of the new FX motors)

Sorry, regarding Brick Model Railroader (BMR), does anyone know if it's still active? The website has been down since 2023. The store, however, dates back to 2025. I placed an order for wheels, but no one has responded.

All products will be DCC ready, even simple wheels. Unfortunately, however, the times seem biblical. We are always still. We hope to see something by the end of the year.

Looking at the wheels they don't look very black. Let's hope that the black problem has not been solved with something in between.

The wait is unnerving, because Michael hasn't been heard from in these columns for some time too. In the meantime I have made progress with 9v-12v adapter cables. As soon as the wheels come off I can easily adapt the freight train 7727. I can't wait. For the adapter cables I used the bntechgo cable. It works great.

Hi thanks interesting. But I don't want to upgrade my 12v. I would just like to convert it to the FX system without too much trouble, an adapter plug would be enough. It can also be done without it and I'm already half successful, but I would gladly get a professional adapter. Also it can be done in any case for train like 7740. But for 12v trains with red motor and pistons, this is impossible. I hope Michael thinks about it. That's all. I'm enthusiastic about the project and even if it's late I think the important thing is that it's worth it. We await the wheels.

an update is out. In short, we are still on the high seas at least until the summer. There are already adapters for 9V and power functions, nothing for 12V. Yet he closes the post with the yellow-red train of the golden era

They inserted instructions to motorize the exchanges. Apart from the fact that I haven't yet understood whether they will subsequently provide their own personal control, but in any case this motorization is not good for parallel crossovers because it surpasses the 8 studs with which the system is built

Dear Michele I had already written to you on your site's email but perhaps you weren't able to read it. I've read everything about your project and I find it extraordinary and I don't care about the prices because I'm sure you'll do as well as you can. I'm writing to you about the old 12V trains, because it seems to me that we often talk about converting the old 9V trains into your FX system but neglect owners like me of the old 12v trains (I have the 7740 and the 7727). Now I absolutely agree with you when you say that we need to look ahead and the DCC fills me with joy, however I don't think that looking ahead means cutting out those who have the old 12v trains at all. It's true, those who have the old 12v trains have the best system anyone has seen before yours. But this does not mean that we are not interested in advancing into a truly professional system like that of fx. I guess I'm not the only one of the old 12v owners who can't wait to turn all our old 12v into your fx. To do this, however, the engine you are preparing must take us into account. Your FX motor will be 12v black and identical externally to the old 9v motor. Inside, however, it will be a technical marvel. Now for most old 12v trains this new engine of yours will be fine. In December I will buy your wheels similar to the 9v ones (I already got the track and I will be among the first to get the new R120 and R136: what a spectacle!) and I will put them in place of the old ones. The covering of the wheels with brakes etc. is also aesthetically more beautiful. Furthermore, I am sure that your wheels will run even better than those with bearings and the fx motor will easily tow the 7740 even with the postal carriage (7819) and the sleeping carriage (7815), something that the old 12v barely did (in fact it took 2 motors and 2 transformers). The problem for older 12v trains starts with the plungers. There are few old 12 volt trains with black motors and plungers (for example the 7735) but the old red 12 volt motors have almost all plungers. Now I think that if the first FX engine was made with a hole in the middle for the third wheel and with holes for the pistons in the driving wheels like the old 12v it would be good for everyone, 12v and 9v. Whoever wants puts the third wheel and whoever wants covers. It seems to me that you want to tailor it only for the old 9v trains. Now I ask you: as said, it's not a big problem for 90% of the old black engine 12v trains. However you do it the engine will be fine. But since you are also planning the red engine later, I ask you to make it compatible with the old 12v trains like the 7727. Or think about a limited edition with these specific characteristics for the pistons. Because it's a shame not to be able to see old 12v trains like the 7727 shine on your tracks in all their beauty. Finally I have 4 curiosities: 1) I see someone is automating your trades. I don't think it's particularly difficult, but I would prefer to wait for your official automation. You just illustrated the control box upgrade. So I ask you: is there an official automation of the fx exchange with the relevant command? 2) How will the traffic light work in your system? From the update in 2025 we will finally be able to deploy the power of the FX system, but we will hardly be able to do it with two trains at the same time. 3) Converting old 12v trains to the fx system would also need a special plug with the old 12v socket joined to the new fx socket (i.e. the old 9v socket). There are videos that show how to do it, but I would prefer something professional done by you. Is something like this planned? 4) Someone criticized your exchanges because for a cross over or the return curve R64 still needs a half straight S8. I believe this criticism has its reasons. Notwithstanding the fact that I got two boxes of S8, however I believe that instead of thinking about the S16 (completely useless in my opinion) it would be better to think about the S40, sending the S32 into retirement. The S40 seems like the perfect straight to me for your system and with the S8 plus it doesn't need any other straight. Thank you, best regards and good work. And don't rush, even if I would have liked the engine this year, you're right to do things the way they should be done.