patmat2350

Tangential discussion: I used to restore Wen-Mac Texaco Tankers from ~1961. I purchased sad old toys and fixed them up with new self-made parts, sometimes nearly as good as new. The tankers had two white "houses" made from polystyrene, and I found a huge range of conditions on these parts. Some were hopelessly yellowed, some yellow on one side (I assumed they sat for years on a shelf exposed to a window), and some so white that they must have been kept in the original carton for 6 decades. But that whiteness ruled out simple oxygen exposure, it had to be the light. What to do? The yellow was not deep, and some parts benefitted from light sanding and polishing. I also tried a popular remedy: Coating parts with hydrogen peroxide and exposing to MORE UV. Seemed to have some effect, but not enough to fix my parts. Usually the only solution was white paint. And it affected the light gray parts as well. When I got started, I matched a gray paint to found parts- it was a gray with a tinge of green, which I used to paint 3d printed replacement parts. Later I found that the gray was UV affected too! Unexposed parts are a "pure" gray with no green tint. Had to get a new paint... A badly yellowed example: A nice example, un-yellowed after 60 years: A restored tanker:

New-ish here and still learning my way around the forum. But I'm interested in 3D Printing, and have been using it for years in my non-Lego scale models, it's been a game changer. Now I know it's anathema to most Lego fans, but I don't mind modifying bricks when needed, or even making my own where a desired design doesn't exist. So I looked, but didn't find much here yet...is there a subforum where liked-minded creators hang out? Example: Here are some custom loco drivers, and a bucket load of nonexistent slopes, all from my resin printer. Took some developing, but I've managed to get some pretty good clutch right off the printer.

Shay Locomotive 12032 This is my first brick loco of any brand. I love Shays and other geared locos, so this was a must-have, regardless of the shortcomings (both thanks and apologies to @marbleman if this is your design). Main issue: Fragility. A number of small parts barely hang together, and some major structures too. The long frame does not have rigidity, so it flexes and separates. The bogies' frames too. And the fixed connection of bogies to frame just falls off. Result- loco couldn't even be picked up, much less run. So this was the first brick set where I resorted to glue, and even some screws (to allow for some disassembly). But once it was made stronger, the loco runs just fine! Especially when using the app, which allows for speed control (unlike the on-off remote). The fixed bogies are a disappointment, and make for difficult running on R40 curves. I'd love to see a modification with swinging bogies and sliding universal joints.