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cgarison

Eurobricks Knights
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Everything posted by cgarison

  1. cgarison
    Very clean building style. Great details while also being very functional. Good Job.
  2. cgarison
    Very nice layout and that OBB Taurus is super fast.
  3. cgarison
    Really nice work!
  4. cgarison
    Super nice LDD design. The only thing of note is that you may want to attach the front bogey in a manner more like that of the Lone Ranger Constitution train or the Emerald Night rather than attempting to use a turntable as a point of axis for the wheel set. I learned this lesson last year when I was building my 4-4-0 locomotive with a double pivot that did not survive running on a layout for an extended period of time very well so I converted it to front bogey that moved similar to Emerald Night and then upgraded the train to much larger 4-6-0 style locomotive. Also, I used flanged drivers on the first and last axles and put the blind drivers in the middle. I have to admit that I had issues when I tried to use the blind drivers on the first axles as it caused the train to derail in the turns. Yea... You have that right. My current sci-fi themed project is slowly turning into a money pit, but that is the cost of building a great model.
  5. cgarison
    I have been staring at my base frame with trucks and motors for 5 months trying to come up with an idea on how to fill that much frame with that much locomotive. This past weekend, I got a brainstorm on how to build the cab along with my color scheme (which will be similar to a "classic" sub-theme in the past.) So I have jumped on Bricklink with the first set of orders. With other building projects also in queue, I expect to have the the beta done by the end of March and the final completed model ready at the end of April for Philly BrickFest. If I am very, very nice, Cale and Nate might just let me try it out on PennLUG's big sweeping curves. I guess I will have to work extra hard setting up the layout at that event.
  6. cgarison
    According to Nate, a version of his hanging monorail has been creates that runs on the powered track (I think he said 12 volt, but I could be wrong.) The hanging monorail is a blast to run around our moon base. I has a cute little wiggle as it comes out of the turns. After three years of use on the layout, it has developed some uniques characteristics that need to be sorted out when starting it out every morning but those do not detract from the experience of running it around the track. The locomotive in the picture is Peter Morris's "Space Train" which has sadly left our display when Peter moved down south this past fall. I am currently working on a replacement locomotive for the moonbase and have built used my "Ghost Train" as a prototype for our new and improved running gear for the locomotive. With the Ghost Train passing its second full scale test with flying colors (the first test was a total failure), the time has come to build another sci-fi styled locomotive that is worthy to set next to that fabulous beast once the two have a chance to meet.
  7. cgarison
    The reason why we use the AAA (and in the occasional AA battery box) is that it takes much less time to charge Eneloop batteries in our Maha charger than to charge the PF Li-Ion batteries. In 45 minutes we can have 8 re-charged AAA batteries for a train that has 110 minutes of run time vs. the 4 hour charge time for the Lego battery pack. For us, this get us a better turnaround ratio for our batteries. Here is a link to the press release for their recent rebranding (From Sanyo to Panasonic) for the Eneloop battery. http://www.panasonic-batteries.com/eu/news/panasonic-launches-eneloop-rechargeable
  8. cgarison
    Wonderful work! It looks like the classic C&O train station in the town I grew up.
  9. cgarison
    I have also built a copy of Masao Hidakas' monorail as well, but currently it is not part of any of my LUGs' layouts dues to space (pardon the pun) constraints and interference from the other trains and monorails that are already running. But when you are displaying Nate Brill's "hanging monorail," the version I built just does not have the character to compete.
  10. cgarison
    I have seen a bunch of magenta slopes that were exposed to heat and florescent light (while the bricks were being sold in a pick a brick wall) that had turned to a pink/tan hue from the poor conditions due to both heat and light. Also, I have a large pile of brick for a project that was the post 2006 white that turned tan from bromine oxidation and then the owner of the brick tried using Retro-Bright to fix the brick which worked for about 6 month before the ABS suffered from a "bloom" of oxidized molecules which turned the brick into a strange variation of tan. So you could experiment with some combinations of color and Retro-Bright to create the very bad "bloom" oxidized effect. As far as 2009+ white brick vs. older white brick, I have seen lots of issues with all ages of the brick. It is natural for the fire retardants to oxidize with age and personally, it is rather hard to complete prevent that from happening. And I have seen far worse oxidation of white brick in environments that did not have any natural UV light and near perfect humidity/temperature than brick in my personal collection that was stored in less than optimal manor for 20+ years. In the end, my only words are " Your Mileage May Vary" (YMMV.)
  11. cgarison
    SanFran uses original PCC's along the Embacadero. I did a double take when the first one I saw was 1055 painted in the Philly livery complete with PTC logo.
  12. cgarison
    Very nice, sleek running locomotive. Great job! I can't push my 4-6-0 into turns like that as it has a propensity jump the track and cause all kinds of damage.
  13. cgarison
    Very Nice Train. You cannot go wrong using Anthony Sava's creation as a starting point for your MOC. Well, maybe that would be a problem for me as I sit in the same room as Cale for our monthly LUG meetings. Hmmm... I bet my new creation won't make that green turn either at 8 studs wide and 42 studs long.
  14. cgarison
    My exact words when I was chatting with a Lego Store employee last week, "Is Lego going out of business? I have not seen this many blank spots on the store selves outside of the Christmas season, ever." (The following is from an American point of view so please don't flame if I am totally wrong.) I don't think that Lego is dying, but I am certainly noticing less inventory being produced and less product in the US stores (including many retail outlets as well as Lego Retail stores.) I think this is as a result of the issues in the European economy and Lego taking a "defensive" position so they are not caught with a ton of product in their warehouses if things across the pond (and America a few months later) take a turn for the worse. I know here in America, the decrease in oil prices has been a double edged sword and put some extra money in the pocket of consumers, but many people are laid off because it is no longer financially viable to continue exploring for oil in parts of the US. So the extra few bucks not going into the gas tanks could also contribute to the reduced inventory, but I do not think there is that much extra money the pockets of Americans.
  15. cgarison
    Kibosh, that is a great starter set for anyone just getting their first rechargeable batteries. I purchased that set for my mother a few years ago and then got her a few additional dozen packs of Enenloop AAA batteries for special occasions so she would have plenty of batteries in case of a power outage. Be sure to watch the daily deals on Amazon because they do toss Eneloop batteries onto that page regularly for about 1/3 off. I just picked up a dozen AA gen IV Eneloops for less than 20.00 last week. Only problem is there is a limit of 1 deal per customer. Finally, there will be a day when you will want to invest in a better, faster charger and the Maha Powerex MH-C800S is really a great charger because it can quickly charge 8 batteries without destroying the cells with excessive heat like most other fast chargers. I had a bunch of those Energizer 30 Minute Fast Chargers over the years and they simply thrash the batteries and reduce their usable life by 50%. Consequently, it is worth the investment for a better, not quite as fast charge to keep those batteries running long into the future (if you need more than a 4-6 hour charge time).
  16. cgarison
    Very nice MOC. FWIW.... Philly runs PCC-II's on the Girard Line in the city.
  17. cgarison
    Very nice detail on the cab details. I have to admit that I shy away from that much detail on my train mocs due to some bad experiences where couple trains that I have run for an extended period of time start dropping pieces along the tracks as they run.
  18. cgarison
    Very nice train! Nice details through and through esp. on the back of the train cab. You must have learned that I am working on the replacement locomotive for this other nuke train..... The only problem is that we learned that nuclear powered space trains and galactic space ports do not mix well and end in "Big Booms." (There is a hint as to what what is going to happen on the Moon Base this year.) So the new train may have a different fuel source.
  19. cgarison
    I got a gallon bag full of those last fall at my local lego store. They will go into one of my MOCs someday. I am grabbing 1X1, 1X2, and 1X6 brown tiles on bricklink every chance that I get so they will have some friends.
  20. cgarison
    Wonderful MOC. Very Nice build. I agree the detail work on the trucks is amazing.
  21. cgarison
    Nice Build. Pizza always makes for a great cafeteria MOC.
  22. cgarison
    Cragratulation to Josh and Stephen. Two people in the Lego community that I am proud to call friends! And congratulations to the rest of the winners as well.
  23. cgarison
    Great work! The use of the pearl gold pieces really set off the look of the MOC!
  24. cgarison
    Very nice build. I like the fact that this model is playable and not just a display piece.
  25. cgarison
    That is super sweet.
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