Jump to content

zephyr1934

LEGO Ambassadors
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    4,464

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by zephyr1934

  1. zephyr1934
    I think they showed the 12v trains because swapping C-cell batteries would have been prohibitively expensive. I don't remember much, but I think the first time they did it they did not even sell any train sets (which is why I came up with 4-wide monorail track- no curves- for my town, I NEEDED trains), and it was only a later display where they had the 4.5v sets. As a kid I did not notice (or maybe didn't care) that the display trains were track powered and the sets were battery powered. It was already clear that the display was way beyond anything I would ever do (NMRA has since proved that wrong, but that would be decades into the future). At any rate, the 4.5v sets on sale there were standard European sets, I believe with stickers on the box for different warnings/guidance. As such, the contents were intended for Europe so the catalogs inside were from the wrong region. It was seeing those and learning that somewhere in the world someone could get a lego track powered train set, that was when my mind exploded. I wrote to the lego customer support in the US and got them to send me the large train catalog of the day, probably this one: Oh the hours I spent looking through that.
  2. zephyr1934
    Powered up is NEVER batteries included and the image shows a button battery. It is almost certainly the lights. It doesn't look like it has much in the way of traditional train parts. I think the windows on the car are snotted 1x4x5 windows. It is interesting the mix of lazyness (same uninspired smokebox and stack as the EN) and ambition (tapered boiler) that went into this build. The car looks to be 54x10, which is the same proportions as 32x6. At that width I would hope for a longer car. They could have left the wheels at 6 wide and still built the train at 10 wide. I think the car to track width ratio would actually be pretty close to prototypical for the US and only slightly too wide for the UK. Regardless, well built 10 wide trains look amazing on standard lego track. I bet they deliberately made it non-standard gauge because there is too much in the design that is not compatible with R40 curves. Sure, most of the folks on this Forum could MOD around it (or run on R104 curves) but enough casual Lego builders would not be able to. Which leads to another question, why isn't there a warning on the box saying it is incompatible with standard Lego track??? I bet there will be a lot of upset people who buy the set thinking they could run it on their layout. As for the huge wheels, yes, it would be fantastic if they did F-B-F bagging... but would Lego really be that forward thinking?
  3. zephyr1934
    In the early 80's my local department store (in the US) had a large lego train display of first gen gray era in their auditorium that included 12v trains. They sold a selection of imported 4.5v trains (7720, 7818, most track packs, and maybe the station or level crossing). These sets included the train catalog that showed the 12v trains. The agony of knowing about but not having 12v trains
  4. zephyr1934
    That could be a city set... no, too good to be a city set, but it does look like it could meet the criteria to be a city set.
  5. zephyr1934
    Welcome aboard! That's a great story about finding your first train set, and indeed, having the collection the younger you would die for. Looking forward to seeing your comments and posts in the forum.
  6. zephyr1934
    Good to hear, and also neat is your experimental approach- you are willing to risk danger but not seek it out. I'm the same way with my trains at shows. I know that every now and then something will fall off the table, but I do not seek it out.
  7. zephyr1934
    Modeling the modern steam rather than historic steam. I think the biggest reason mainline steam in the US has a diesel is simply to ensure the mainline will never be blocked by a disabled steam engine. The margins are so thin that even a 1 hr blockage can be an immense cost to the railroad. Still, it would be nice to have the ability to do away with the diesel when you wanted to. For me at least I would prefer an unpowered diesel model, or at least the steam be powerful enough that it did not need the diesel. But I'm more a fan of historic steam, in any event, there's no wrong way to do it. The model is looking good regardless.
  8. zephyr1934
    You are the edge
  9. zephyr1934
    What a fun little experiment. For the sake of common viewers, is the train stable at full speed on one controller, without banked curves? If no, does banking the curves solve the problem? Now for the more nefarious viewers, show closeups of the train leaving the track, with lots of angles and slowmo (AlmightyArjen is an inspiration for anyone who does not mind permanently damaging their lego trains). Also, having something to brace the track and keep it from sliding as the train goes around the curves might help, e.g., a low lego structure that pushes against the wall or furniture. Looks like fun stuff.
  10. zephyr1934
    That's some crazy challenging snot you've done there. Amazing work. So how are the brown ingots on the corners of the windshield held on?
  11. zephyr1934
    I think those are only for LDraw based programs (including studio)
  12. zephyr1934
    It might be a little much for a typical 8 y.o., but the way many of us make sure we are ordering the parts we need is to first build the model virtually. stud.io is probably the most popular virtual building tool.
  13. zephyr1934
    @m_tintin have a look through this entire thread and get a feel for what is involved in the custom monoral. Do you find yourself saying, "I can do that" and "I have the parts" then that could be where you want to start. If you don't have many parts and parts are hard to get, you might want to start with one of the city train sets. A lot of people love the vintage monorail (lego has not made official monorail sets for over 20 years, so they are expensive). The new roller coaster track is also an option, but that can be expensive on a per part basis, but there are several sets that have enough of a loop, e.g., the recent small creator pirate roller coaster. If you like monorails more than trains, a cheaper option than the two wide monorail track featured prominently in this thread are the duplo road sections that offer a nice curve for an effectively 4 wide monorail guideway
  14. zephyr1934
    Looks like you've got it, and you do have to scroll through the parts to find everything. See the instructions for working with bluebrick for the rest.
  15. zephyr1934
    I believe it is an 8 stud spacing for the gap, or 16 studs center to center (but verify with FX before you purchase or invest in planning). As for track planning, Bluebrick is the most common way to go. The track style used on the box art (above) is available in BB here. I believe Michael Gale (of FX) made that artwork. Elsewhere (I think on the main BB site) you can also get a wide array of TrixBrix track that includes most of the FX geometries
  16. zephyr1934
    I posted that more for the readers than for you guys. As I recall, a headlight next to a normal brick requires a bit of force to get a plate on top of and that is a connection that probably will eventually crack something if left long term (hence my sanding suggestion). Though as I think further, you could do a headlight facing a technic 1x1 brick and even though the holes are off by some tiny amount, the pin cuff on the technic brick has plenty of room for the stud on the headlight. One could also do a headlight facing a 1x1 panel but then you lose any clutch there and you have the rounded corner on the panel.
  17. zephyr1934
    Enough pictures of the prototype, show your MOC... oh... that IS your MOC (grin). As we've come to expect and appreciate, it is always hard to tell your build from the real thing. Great work
  18. zephyr1934
    These are looking good! Just one warning about the headlight bricks, in real life I think they are a fraction wider than a brick, so a headlight brick facing a normal brick will have some pressure (nothing a little sand paper can't fix, <evil grin>, but that's impure). If you flip the snotted tiles around on Sven's most recent design and go with only two vents it solves this problem. Oh, I've got another idea for thin vents... possibly too thin. You could use the end of a log brick,
  19. zephyr1934
    Nicely done and perfect fit for the tiny train wheels
  20. zephyr1934
    You come up with some of the strangest little prototypes, that critter contest must have gotten under your skin. Meanwhile, that does seem very Swiss- brilliant and complex all in a tiny package. Your rendering is great given the tiny size of the prototype. Now to my eye, the most prominent feature of the prototype are the buffers sticking out beyond everything else, but on your MOC the headlights and coupler both go past the buffers. What about using an old 9v buffer beam without the magnet holder installed and use headlight bricks or similar to mount the headlights? You lose the lantern of the original, but to do that in lego requires enlarging the feature so there is no perfect solution. Alternatively, what about moving the buffers out one stud or making brick built buffers? Google turned up this image, With the vents I think has is a similar thing, no good way to get them the right size in lego, it might be worth seeing what it looks like with no vents... actually, what if you used the sides of studs up headlight bricks or the end of a 1x2 tile with grill? If this will strictly be a digital build, what about changing the base of the lever to brown? Otherwise, if there are no 4 long bars, what about cutting down a 3mm hose to 3 studs for the handle? (ugh, I did not mean to write so much, don't get me wrong, your build is great)
  21. zephyr1934
    On a normal 9v motor the wheels and power port are hard wired. On the FX motor The wheels are hard wired to one power port on the top of the shell and the other power port (on the other end of the motor shell) is hard wired to the motor. There are jumpers on one end of the shell- see the two extra "bumps" on the right of the mock-up motor below. Leave them in and it works like a 9v motor. Pull them out and the two power ports on the top of the shell are isolated, allowing you to put an IR receiver, FX brick, S brick or whatever you like between the two to allow you independent motor control while the track is always at full power. Obviously some people will want that and some won't. Michael LOVES the old 9v connectors and they will be used throughout this system, so that is how you will get power to/from these motors. Now I don't remember the details of DCC, there might have been direct support for DCC on the dumb motor, I don't remember. But the bottom of the motor will be screwed on so I strongly suspect those who are handy with soldering irons will be able to add DCC on day one. I believe the smart motor will essentially have an integrated FX brick, not DCC. I'm not sure at what point in the system DCC is supported, but it is in Michael's roadmap and I believe one or both of these motors will support it, but nothing is on the market yet so wait for details as these get closer. Finally, I think I said this earlier, there will be a 3rd variant of the motor shell without the motor to serve as a power pickup. Single axle power pickups are in the plans for the future, but since it is a simple and obvious extension with the motor shells, they should be available sooner in the process.
  22. zephyr1934
    The RC motors had HORRIBLE traction bands on the wheels, very loose. The part number and design haven't changed with PF and PUP, but the bands have improved greatly. So just keep that in mind (test them before using, or pull the bands and use them for non powered wheels, or ...)
  23. zephyr1934
    Amazing work Paperinik77pk at recreating the prototypes that never left the Lego design studio! You do such a great job capturing the era.
  24. zephyr1934
    I think the axles might be rust resistant (but try at your own risk). They are a big pain to pop out and back in but it is doable. The magnets I know do rust. I've had a few in storage that showed rust when I pulled them out (they were probably bought used on BL and might have been cleaned by the seller). The rust wasn't bad, but it was there. They functioned just fine. If you are really concerned, perhaps there are non-water based cleaners that are safe on plastic. If it were me though, I wouldn't bother about the magnets being dirty, instead, I would start with the magnet holders. I'd also try one or two wheel sets without taking them apart, dry thoroughly (leave outside on a hot day?) and check in two weeks for any evidence of rust.
  25. zephyr1934
    No, the dumb motors sound like they will be released late this year or early next. The smart motors did not have a date, but he said they were designed at the same time as the dumb motors so it might not be a long delay thereafter. Not sure when DCC would be officially supported, but once the smart motors are available you might be able to do it yourself right away. Also, I forgot, the dumb motors will support a "poor-person's DCC," as in, they can serve as a power pickup to an intermediate controller (FX brick, SBrick, IR receiver, etc) that then has control of power to the wheels. Unlike the 9v motor, the FX motor has two ports on the top. The default is that they are wired together via jumpers, but remove the jumpers and then they become independent. The only problem I see is that you then need to get not one but two wires to your motor unit. Doable, but a minor hassle (and for some models impossible) Maybe, but it would take up a lot of space and instead of relying on pushing the train yourself across a single joint, you would be relying on the train going fast enough to have sufficient momentum to get across a large gap. If you have sufficient space you would probably be better served with three blocks- loop 1, loop 2, and an intermediate section that could be switched between being coupled with either loop by way of a polarity switch.
×
×
  • Create New...