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zephyr1934

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Everything posted by zephyr1934

  1. zephyr1934
    Very nice, I like the use of 1x4x1 panels for thin rails and the detailing around the tunnel opening
  2. zephyr1934
    Okay, that's cool!
  3. zephyr1934
    Hum... this might have warranted its own thread, but since it's started here I'll go with it. These are very interesting, and brilliant idea to use the otherwise sub-optimal plastic wheel bogies. I have burned out many 9v motors but I don't think I've ever burned out a PF train motor. As I think about it, the internal power pickups in the 9v motors might be their weak spot.
  4. zephyr1934
    Oh, that's another thing I did. I made brick built trucks with three rigid axles, no flexing no bending no sliding. For the outer two wheels I replaced the traction bands with thicker O-rings, then on the middle axle I left the normal traction bands. That half plate of extra lift allowed the middle axle to clear switches and R40 curves without problems. But if you were building long trucks, I'd recommend the train motor plus pivoting 3rd axle that others have suggested.
  5. zephyr1934
    It depends on the scale and level of accuracy you are aiming for. If you don't mind keeping a "Lego" feeling in the model, at 6 wide a quick and easy "3 axle" bogie simply uses three wheel holders with axles in only two of them. At 8 wide you could build motor frames for the same effect. I've got a non-lego soluition where I make motor sides with fake axles, but they are a little pricey and the style might not match your prototype. It all depends on how long your equipment is and what size curves. If you are using normal lego curves (R40) you'll probably need couplers on the bogies, if you are using wide radius curves you might be able to do couplers on the cars. Best way to find out is to MOC up a few flat cars of the desired lengths and see if they work through all of the switches and curves you want the train to work through. The flatcars will let you quickly prototype ideas without the risk of having to massively rebuild a MOC. Then once you get it, you can keep the geometry as you move to the actual cars and locos.
  6. zephyr1934
    That looks great
  7. zephyr1934
    Excellent micro-working!
  8. zephyr1934
    Someone long ago came up with a sequence of elements such that you COULD cross the wires in the PF system. I think it used a AA battery box without batteries. The battery box shorted the outer and inner wires on the PF cables. The net result was almost Rube Goldberg but it was pure and it worked.
  9. zephyr1934
    Cool! And indeed, looks like a scaled down and updated version of 7938. Not bad looking and neat that they actually put it on rails. Hard to hide a motor, but might be able to use circuit cubes to be more discrete.
  10. zephyr1934
    Doh! That's what I get for typing faster than I can read. Still looks good
  11. zephyr1934
    looking good so far
  12. zephyr1934
    You did an excellent job capturing the difficult angles of this not quite square prototype. I also like the look of the beam cars
  13. zephyr1934
    I'm just saying it is an old problem. Any flaws in the bricks are not your fault and unless you are doing any extreme stress on the parts in your build you should not let Lego's faults keep you from selling instructions. If you start looking at your built sets or MOC's that have been around for a few years you will start seeing these fractured 1xN here and there
  14. zephyr1934
    No, those results are typical. About mid 2000's Lego reduced the cycle time when molding bricks and so the newer bricks have weak spots where the flows come together. I've seen it on 1x bricks, plates, tiles and slopes. Back when I was an Ambassador I complained to the forum about the quality control, here's the example I used in 2011. There was no unusual stress on any of the parts.
  15. zephyr1934
    Though as a counterpoint to building, "two wagons because they have more visual effect than just one." To my American eye it looks like you only built half a tank car because the dome is on the end (which my brain knows is accurate and prototypical for the car) rather than in the middle (which my brain expects to see because that's all I ever see here in the US). The result being another visual effect.
  16. zephyr1934
    Ah yes, guard rails just like real railway bridges (and especially drawbridges)
  17. zephyr1934
    Your builds look great! True of so many things (grin) they should have done that with the Eiffel Tower
  18. zephyr1934
    Ah, design constraints to satisfy the consumer... (grin). I do like your brick built solutions and there might be a way to either fill the gap at the end of the rail or use the tiles to nudge the wheels over, but at some point it is pragmatic to just get to playing. If the 2 stud offset ever bothers you you can probably get fractional track lengths from TrixBrix or similar to bring it back into grid. The rule of thumb I've heard and live by is to have at least one straight segment between a curve and a switch to prevent trains from "picking the switch," i.e., derail. The curve right into the gap might give you a similar problem on the near side of the above photo. At any rate the design looks great
  19. zephyr1934
    Looking amazing. Now you just need about 100 PFE reefers and you're all set
  20. zephyr1934
    As others have said, trains are fine with a short gap, placing the rails one stud apart actually results in almost no gap because the connection point of the rails overlaps. If you are pegging to baseplates it could be a problem though... ... and this solution works well. I've made brickbuilt track for street running (see below) so you could use brickbuilt track and make the gap that way without getting out of grid
  21. zephyr1934
    I wonder if the gray wheels will have the traction bands on them. Hopefully they will appear elsewhere, otherwise they will be crazy expensive being a UCS exclusive.
  22. zephyr1934
    I've seen 3mm tubing used for angled supports like this if you can get it in the right color. Rubber bands or string could also work.
  23. zephyr1934
    Just remember, you have to put all of the "Lego" logos on the studs facing the same way (seriously though, there was a builder in my club who practiced that technique)
  24. zephyr1934
    Lego trains are surprisingly robust and often very forgiving (they were designed for kids after all), that means they are robust to some unusual circumstances. Best way to find out if something will work is to build it up and see what happens. I've never worked with the 12v system, but it probably shares a few aspects with the 9v system: the controller probably can power at most N motors, and the further the motors are from the power connection (as measured in # of track segments) the more power is lost to the resistance at each joint in the rails. The power distance can be improved with more power connections. The max number of motors is a limitation of the system. I THINK the system is safe to try just about anything reasonable, but if a train does not move or something else unexpected happens, shut off the power and diagnose the problem. Hope this helps
  25. zephyr1934
    You nailed it. The subtle slopes and curves on that locomotive look impossible... and yet you made them possible.
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