Davey

This build was my contribution to George Kemper’s ‘Project X’ (aka The Matrix @ Brickworld 2010). It was designed to go with Mark Kelso’s subway scene from The Matrix. The collaboration was really cool and drew a lot of attention on the public days. Since The Matrix was filmed primarily in Sydney, Australia and features the Sydney Metro System, I decided to try and model my subway train off the Sydney Metro. The cars are 8-wide (my first 8-wide ever) and 42 studs long. The corrugation of the sides was achieved with the 1x2 profile bricks in a metallic gray color. The rest of the coach is made using old light gray pieces and a number of vintage train windows in yellow and old light gray. It’s a double-deck design and the full train is two coaches long and powered by two LEGO 9V motors. More pictures are available on my Sydney Metro Train Photostream. Big thanks to George Kemper for asking me to be a part of Project Matrix. It was fun being part of a collaborative build and George did a great job coordinating. -Davey

Stacy and I put ours in plastic hanging file-folder totes and each set has its own folder. They keep the instructions very nice and safe. -Davey

Great work and congratulations Benny! I love the roof details and your locomotives are really well built. Overall the diorama is very well done and you have managed to capture the look of the scene in real-life quite well. Great work and best of luck in the rest of the competition. -Davey

I dropped some comments on your Flickr Photostream, so I'll keep it short here. Great build, lots of subtle details that draw your eyes in. Lots of good stuff to look at. And a really 'cute' ship. Nice work Shads. -Davey

I'll throw my two cents in here. I agree that if you get inspiration from a builder, borrow a technique they used in a MOC, or use another MOC as an inspiration...then a nod to the builder(s) that inspired you is a courteous thing to do. I know that some AFOL's and TFOL's fight about the origin of various building techniques...but who really cares. This whole hobby is all about community...not who can come up with the most whacked-out building technique or MOC. More sharing and positive comments will make this community grow bigger and stronger. -Davey

Great thread Brickster! I too have the 'Stunt Copter N' Truck' set and it was one of my favorite kits as a child. They really don't make 'em like they used to. The new Helicopter Transport set is nice, but I'm just not a fan of the six-wide vehicles. That being said...the white trailer base is great for train building. -Davey

Aww. Thanks for the kind words and the frontpage mention! I didn't expect to make it to the EB frontpage twice in one week. And thanks to everyone else for the kind words and constructive criticism. I love being a part of this community and it is so wonderful to be able to share what we are building amongst each other. -Davey

Hey Brenden! Thanks for the heads-up on the AC6000 info. I've had a few people tell me it looks more like the ACXXXX series than a next-gen GE-EVO. I think when I was building it I was looking at pictures of both and so I suspect some aspects of both locomotives showed up here. I also haven't seen an ES44AAC in anything but the "dark future" paint scheme...I just don't like that paint scheme as much so I went with the older YN2. -Davey

I built the XP-38 Sky Viper as part of the Brickworld 2010 Vic Viper Fly-In in memory of the late nnenn. I wanted to build something that met the 'Vic Viper Standard' but melded it with the look and feel of a classic WWII aircraft. My design is supposed to be reminiscent of a WW-II fighter aircraft and I envisioned something like a cross between a P-38 Lightning and a Rostock F2B Sanka Mk. B from the movie ‘The Sky Crawlers’. I also took some design cues from the XP-55 Ascender built by Curtiss-Wright Corporation in the 1940’s. The XP-38 Sky Viper features contra-rotating three-blade pusher props that are spun using Pratt & Whitney R-2800 WASP engines pumping out 2,800 hp each. Each engine features a turbo-supercharger arrangement allowing power to be maintained to over 44,000 ft. Fuel is standard AVGAS 115/145 and allows operations at up to 65 inHg without damage to the engine. The XP-38 can also carry enough fuel for a four hour patrol stint. In-flight refueling capability is still in development but should be available by late-2010. This engine arrangement allows maximum level speeds of 550+ mph to be achieved with a cruise speed of 408 mph. Rate of climb is around 6,000 fpm and roll rate is 120° per second. Cooling for the engines is achieved by a large radiator mounted on the rear of the aircraft. Airflow is directed to the engines and to the radiator via the large air scoop mounted underneath the fuselage. I hope you all enjoy my first go at some Sky-Fi building. More pictures are available over on my Flickr Photostream for the XP-38 Sky Viper. -Davey

I have posted ballast options for LEGO straight, curve, and switch train track on my MOCPages account. You can check out all three at the following link. Track Ballast Studies I hope you find this information useful. -Davey

Thanks for the front-page Brickster and thanks for the kind words. I have to give credit to Swoofty though for all the inspiration he has provided me. His trains are real masterpieces and I just try and learn from him. Talltim is also the designer of the 'slider-trucks' which have been a godsend in terms of getting this thing to navigate the standard 9V curves. -Davey

I just posted one of my newer 6-wide trains over on Flickr. It's a GE ES44AC in CSX livery. It is 6-wide and features slider trucks (design courtesy of talltim on Flickr). Much love to Swoofty for inspiration to build this. His stuff is amazing and you should really check it out. Anyway, enough chatter. Here are some pictures. More over on my Flickr Photostream. Thanks for checking this out! -Davey

For all that are interested, the builder of those is Brian Darrow of IndyLUG. Here's a link to his MOCPages page. Brian's MOCPage He is also the man responsible for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway MOC and the Blacktron Intelligence Agency. -Davey

Sorry Sean. I probably jumped on you more there than I should have. My biggest issue is that the attendees (all 790+ of them in 2010) put so much time and effort into painting the canvas that is Brickworld and I don't like to see their efforts marginalized...especially when this year was absolutely bigger than 2009. I would ask you to do two things. 1) Try not to get hung up on huge displays and layouts. Some of the coolest MOC's out there are less than 8x8 studs. Get out there and learn to appreciate the small details. In the end...the small details are what make large layouts and creations interesting. 2) Think about your fellow attendees before making comments like this. I know you were an exhibitor this year as well and I ask you to think about how you would feel if somebody was marginalizing the display that you poured your heart into. Now that we're past that...let's look forward to how we can make Brickworld 2011 even better than 2010! I'll be excited to see what your LUG comes up with in the next 11 months. -Davey p.s. Your pictures from BW are great! I love the ones of 'Max'.

Happy birthday all! Hope that it's a day filled with LEGO. -Davey

Well, sorry to hear you had such a shitty time. As for the skyscrapers...Adam decided not to bring them to allow other people more room to display. I for one thought that was pretty nice of him. In terms of the GBC...you clearly didn't make it to the River Room where Monster Chess was...because GBC was there as well. And speaking of Monster Chess...how does it get more epic than that? Seriously...if you thought 2010 was not as good as 2009, you must not have made it around to see everything. I thought the caliber of MOC's was better this year than in 2009...but that's just my opinion. My review of Brickworld 2010 4.8/5 (0.2 point deduction for the setup SNAFU by the hotel). -Davey

I still can't believe you managed to pull it off. When you dumped that pile of rubble onto the table...I died a little inside. I...like many others...thought there was no way you would get it all back together in time. Especially with all of your coordination and presentation duties. But...you showed us all what real determination is and your display was awesome! Over the next year we just need to work on your train and I think we'll be all set. Fabuland FTMFW!!!!! -Davey p.s. I miss you already.

What can I add to this thread that hasn't already been said. It was another successful Brickworld and I believe a good time was had by all. Aside from the Load-In SNAFU, which was quickly sorted thanks to a lot of help from volunteers, it went pretty smoothly this year. The displays this year were exceptional and I heard many comments from TLG employees about how the caliber of MOC's continues to go up. I didn't get to many presentations, but I heard nothing but good things about them. Stacy and I had a blast meeting all sorts of new friends and connecting with old ones...especially after hours. Our displays were fun...but I am so sick of 10 hour setup and 4 hour tear-down times. I'm thinking we might bring something else next year. The Charity Auction was a lot of fun and we managed to raise over $11,000 for charity while having a great time! Even though I am a walking zombie right now, I am counting the days until Brickworld 2011. -Davey

Stacy and I are all packed and leaving tomorrow morning at 9 am. We'll be updating our Flickr stream periodically with photos of the journey. See you all soon! -Davey

Isaac: I think Stacy and I have some room on the table we are using to put our other non-town MOC's on. We would be happy to share with you. -Davey

We finished all of our lighting tonight and started packing. Should be able to get packed by the end of the day tomorrow and then relax on Sunday and Monday. I've got a couple MOC's I'm finishing up but I think I'm pretty much good...assuming everything makes it to Chicago intact. Only a couple days! -Dave

Safe journeys everyone! Stacy and I are finishing up lighting on our layout and will start packing on Saturday (hopefully). We're leaving Tuesday morning for Chicago and should get there by mid-afternoon. Can't wait to see all of you!!!! -Davey

I would be thrilled to see this come out in 2010 as a re-release! I missed out on the first one as I was just coming out of my Dark Ages so this would be an awesome score. Ill be keeping my fingers crossed here. -Davey

In Heather's defense...when I shipped it back and packed it to my standards...it still arrived in pieces. UPS is not kind to LEGO MOC's. Plus, her creation had a lot of large, unsupported walls that were just waiting to buckle from a good jolt. Since that whole episode, I think I've learned a few things about building for transport...and packing/shipping. -Davey

Tony: I did the 1x7 liftarm fix and even with that, it still locks up after 3-4 hours of solid running. I am also attempting a fix involving teflon pipe tape and I will let everyone know how it goes after BW. -Davey