HoMa

The work on my Vollert Robot DER 100 Critter continued. After solving the mechanical and motorized functions I concentrated on the design of the body and the wheels' cover. Therefore I started to build a second copy using brick-build dummy motors instead of the Curcuit Cube motors. The biggest challenge were the corner of the body between the hinged front/back and the side walls. But the little gap of the windows on the sides allow a droid arm to hold a dark grey double cheese slope at the top of the corner. Internally the droid arms are put in position using the "bar with 1x1 round plate (32828)" elements which are highly recommended for builds off the grid. Getting thinner and thinner the way down I decided to use just a 4L bar and a 3/4 Technic pin on the top. Not ideal but the best compromise I could realise at this point. I had the same thoughts like @zephyr1934 on the ladder steps on the sides. First I wanted to use the grille tiles but they stepped out to much. The flush solution came using 2x2 modified plate/tiles with 2 studs (33909). That means I will lose the "grille" effect. But never mind, the real one shows a very clean and flush design covering the wheels. I also played around with bars for the handrails on the side doors but ended up using inverted brackets to get a thin dark grey stripe on the all yellow side of the Robot. The 6 studs height of the door fits nicely in the 5 brick rows height on the side. I only had to replace a part of the dark grey "baseplate" with some tiles. But stability is still fine. Next: Squeeze in the Curcuit Cube and make it accessible to turn it on and off easily. And stickers? Stay tuned …

You might find my review of the famous 7777 idea book helpful: https://brickset.com/article/25119

Great that you like my book :-) Back in 2010 or earlier Kai built his Thalys LEGO dark red was a new, rare color. No way to build such a MOC. These days it should be possible, even of dark red is more expensive then classic red.

Dark red looks really good for the Thalys! 11 (!) years ago a friend and I realized a huge train layout at LEGO Fanwelt in Cologne. The old video shows Kai‘s Thalys and my ICE 3

Work on my "Critter" continued today with testing the functions. Both Curcuitcube motors are placed inbetween a chassis build by 2x 1x10 Technic bricks. One axle is driven, but I hat to cut a 2L axle a bit to make it a 1.5L axle so it fits well in the motor. The second motor drives the linear actuator which moves the magnet in and out. Yes, this idea is not my own development, @Selander did a great job on this technique already. Even with one buffer as counterpart the wip test shows that this concept works well. I need to add more guidance for the actuator when it moves out and in. The pulling power of the Curcuitcube is phantastic, one diven axle and moreless no balast on the Critter is enough to pull an old heavy 8-wide freight waggon. For a better clearance between the drive motor and the rails I replaced the original O-rings with larger ones from the sanitary department of the local DIY store. The have an outer diameter of 17.8 mm. The picture below shows the difference: Beside the extra clearance those O-rings also have more grip and I've been using them successfully on my BR 10 and other trains. Stay tuned ... And a big THANK YOU to @Ts__, @Asper, @Feuer Zug, @Tenderlok, @Paperinik77pk, @XG BC, @Hod Carrier, @zephyr1934 and all the others taking part in this years OcTRAINber challenge. Great to see all your Critters coming to live following your wip stories.

My contribution for this years Octrainber "Critters" is Vollert Robot DER 100 "Leonhard Weiss", a tiny little modern shunter engine I saw the other day in real live traveling from Stuttgart to Nürnberg in Germany. A quick google search brought me to www.eisenbahndienstfahrzeuge.de with some pictures and additional information about this a bit strange looking "thing" on rails. The shape looks a bit odd but it might be a challenge for a LEGO model, especially the dark grey triangle next to the front windows. But yes, not another KÖF, but something modern. And Circuitcubes Bluetooth controlled mini motors are waiting here to be used in a train MOC. The prototype was build by the German company Vollert. Vollert does offer a few shunting robots from very tiny to mid sized locomotives. The Robot DER 100 has a total length of 5,45 m and a total weight of approx. 44 tons. It has a pulling capacity of 2,400 tons. This robot is powered either electric (cable or battery) or diesel-electric. As option it can operate in explosive atmosphere environments, e.g. chemical plants. The version I saw is operated by the German construction and building company Leonhard Weiss which is well known in railway construction. The LEGO MOC also will be powered by battery electric but I will not pull 2,400 tons of rolling stock ;-) But it will (hopefully) offer enough space for at least 2 Curcuitcube mini motors to power the drive and as special function a decoupling unit. If this works, I will get a remote controlle shunter with a high play value. Attaching a small linear actuator directly to the motor seems to work. Now I need to squeeze in everything in the dark grey/yellow body of the Vollert Robot shunter. A few years ago I already integrated a decoupling unit powered with PF in a 12 Volt MOC engine. So I already have some knowledge to integrate LEGO set 7862 in a locomotive. Stay tuned for the further development of my LEGO version of the Vollert Robot DER 100 ...

... my full loop of R88 curves (four packs of FxTrack 8888) also arrived today. Thanks to @michaelgale and European distributor JB Spielwaren. From the first quick look the R88s come in the same high quality as the R72s and S32s I already got. Looking forward for more great FxTrack stuff!

Great little engine @Asper ... I just saw the real thing the other day at the station here in Bamberg. Highly recognisable. The V60 also seems to the prototype for the old LEGO set #7760 Great to see how LEGO train designs have developped over the years and fans like you and me and many others create LEGO MOCs even closer to the real thing.

Great MOC and very close to the real train. I also like the roof using the door-rail plates. Never seen such a design before.

Every Spaceman is Awesome I love the idea and the set #40516 ... and couldn't wait to build a Spaceman version ;-))

The geared down motors should not be the problem, when lifting up the loco everything runs fine at a reasonable speed. I guess, the motors have not enough torque an the way from the middle section to both driven axles is to long and complex. The connecting rods also add resistance, maybe because the first "M" wheel is not using a 6L axle going through but rare black Technic pins without friction. I had to do this because the coupling of the small wheel is centered at the first "M" wheel. I am thinking of some nice cars for this locomotive so one can get another train motor as shown in the video where another engine is pushing.

... it has been a while, but now I can give you some update on my ongoing LEGO 12 Volt MOC project: LEGO 12 V Crocodile MOC After the hype around the LEGO 18+ Crocodile 10277 I thought of a 12 Volt compatible version, in 6-wide only, but showing all the iconic charateristics of a Crocodile engine. Of course, I looked carefully at the old prototype of a LEGO 12 V crocodile which shows a pretty long version using two 12 V train motors: As only non LEGO element I've choosen BigBenBricks wheels in size "M" (same size as it was used on the #7750) from @benfleskes. My 12 V version is powered by two old 12 V Technic motors which are located in the middle section. Some gears and axles bring the "power" down to the center wheel of the 3 larger ones. Sorry, I had to cut the 3L axle with stop to make it a 2.5L version. The power for the motors and the 12 V lights in the front and rear are picked up by some old power pick-ups from the 70's. Unfortunatelly the resistance of the gears, axles and especially the connecting rods is very high, so the maximum speed of this Crocodile is rather poor. For more speed I need to add a second locomotive with a regular 12 V train motor pushing this engine. I am quite happy with my simple solution to keep the dark grey boat studs in place in the 1x4 arch bricks. At the bottom the vertical boat stud edge is held in place by a 1x2 grille tile. And when the arch is attached this is a nice and sturdy solution. Finally you can see this Crocodile in action over at YouTube: Other 12 Volt MOCs While I had set up a little test loop I took some scences of some more of my 12 V Train MOCs (and the famous #7740) ... enjoy: And don't miss the 12 Volt train powered by Power Functions using 3D printed wheels in 12 V style on a regular Power Functions train motor:

@Enrico7676 thanks for sharing your work in progress on the Roundhouse and the turntable. Isn't this a masterpiece to build for each LEGO train fan?! Remembering building mine I can say: beware off the size. The roof and the back wall will eat a lot of elements (but it's worth it). And keep room for gaps, you can not measure everything in advance and the copies of your segments might not go together as easily as you might think in theory. Height adjustable tables helps a lot, less pricy then raising everything else then the turntable. Are you going for electric lights and remote opening doors? Good luck and patience with your Roundhouse :-) Holger

@Vilhelm22 and all others, here is my YouTube version of the clip you've mentioned. I digged out some very old 9V MOC rolling stuff and 8-wide and rather simple build engine (all done in the eary 2000's) and gave it a go on Fx Track. About the availability I know that JB Spielwaren is the reseller partner for Europe (including the UK, no idea since Brexit). On fxbricks.com JB Spielwaren is mentioned as official reseller for the EU, hmm. And on fxbricks.com the R72 curves and S32 straights seems to be sold out already. Fx Track is a very, very good third party product, probaly the best I've ever seen. The quality is supereb, starting with the box design and ending when running the trains on it. I started this post here when Michael announced the Fx Track idea at Brickworld 2019 in Chicago. Back then he handed out a prototype piece of the upcoming S32 straight. Compared to that the final product did another major step ahead: better color matching to dark bluish grey, Fx logo on the studs, special identification on the studs about the radius or lenght. Highly recommended! Now I am looking forward to the large switches and for power pickups or motors … (I got my R72 and S32 as review kit directly from @michaelgale, only had to pay the custom and shipping fees)

A very realistic and nice engine you've designed! Thanks for sharing.

Great industrial MOC! And great that you have studied how the oil is processed. Now you need some customers who will use all the oil, e.g. to run diesel train engines or a factory producing plastic stackable bricks with studs ... Best regards Holger

Nice expansion of the original sets. I like the zic-zac shape of the bridge and the little stand and the telephone box. The "control tower" looks like Classic Space ;-) I quess, the original from 7824 was designed by someone who designed Classic Space sets as well back in those days. Minifigures and trains are missing, maybe you have another chance for a photo session?

The wires get twisted, 180 degrees in both directions is the maximum. Which is enough. But I will think of a purist solution to run the wires throught the center. Ideas are welcome. I should work to get 2 wires through the middle axle hole of the 40 tooth gear in the middle.

12 Volt Roundhouse full front view Back in April I presented some will received train MOCs in 12 Volt grey era style. Recently the Brick Train Awards caught my attention and this contest was a good reason to pick up on my 12 Volt Roundhouse project which started 2016/2017 but was never finished. So time was limited, the deadline came closer. But I made it. Now it's time to share the 12 Volt Roundhouse with you folks. I named the Roundhouse "Bamberg", the city I live in. And close to my place there is the ruin of the real Roundhouse. Nothing more to see there and the place is prohibited to visit. So my Roundhouse is just a phantasy model, like the 12 Volt grey era trains sets are also "phantasy", but pretty close to Deutsche Bundesbahn locomotives and waggons. The Roundhouse has 7 segments, one for each official steam engine of the Grey Era from 1980 - 1986 which are: 7710, 7715, 7722, 7727, 7730, 7750 and 7810. The side and back walls are build entirely with 1x2 and 1x1 plates in red and dark-red to model the characteristics of red brick walls. The segments are modular in a 3-1-3 configuration for easy transportation. The turntable is operated remote controlled using a Electric, Train 12V Remote Control 8 x 10 with 2 Circled Arrows Pattern which fits nicely with the more standard remote controls for signals and switches. An old 12 Volt Technic motor is integrated in the bottom of the turntable. The 2 cables are used to power the motor and the electric middle rail on the turntable. The cables are not placed well, the should go in the centre of the rotation point. Hmm, I need to think of a purist solution for this issue. If you build a turntable, the complete track level has to be elevated. So the complete layout (except the roundhouse and the turntable) is elevated by 2-3 layers of brick. This is really eating my basics and plates in old dark grey, dark tan and black. But it was worth it. Using an elevated brick build ground it was easy to hide all the cables for the good old 12 light posts and the power supply for the tracks in the Roundhouse. Finally some typical 1980's style vehicles and other accessory bring back the typical charm from this time. Trucks were only 4 studs wide ... long time ago. Enjoy the video and the pictures :-) Stay safe and healtyh and keep 12 Volt alive! Holger #7730 and #7727meet just outside the Roundhouse The blue workers are busy unloading the new #7750 train wheel from a #7720 platform waggon. A MOC diesel V36 engine brought in the valuable delivery. No social distancing required for LEGO blue work-men The backyard has an additional access by rail and by road. Can you spot the statue of the founder of the Roundhouse? Back door view through the Roundhouse. Can you identify the steamer on the turntable? My green Mallet steam engine on the turntable. #7750 (derailed, opps) is getting fresh coals. This graphic shows the wiring diagram. The 12 Volt trafo powers the turntable and the selected track. The V36 MOC engine has some trouble. The hood was lifted off so the blue mechanic man can fix this issue. It's getting late, but the blue workers are still busy. Not very secure to keep the lights on while weltering the mast? Top view of the Roundhouse at night. All pictures also in my Flickr album https://www.flickr.com/photos/holgermatthes/albums/72157715067356186

https://www.1000steine.de/de/gemeinschaft/forum/?entry=1&id=439037#id439037 over at 1000steine you can find same pictures from the instruction book how the motor is attached.

@dtomsen no, I was not involved in this product from BlueBrixx. But I assume that BlueBrixx had a close look at my website and the detailed pictures I've shared here. Mine VT 11.5 is 7-studs wide, comes with head-, front and interior lights and real train windows. Dark red and tan as colours work really well, but I was happy when the LEGO Harley showed up a while ago with these dome elements in dark red which I have used for the nose. So maybe I give it a try to convert my VT 11.5 from red to dark-red?

Thanks @zephyr1934 for your good summary of the #10183 Hobby Train history and other train related developments in the mid 2000's from TLC. Being one of the Hobby Train contributors I still have memories about that time. It must have been more then 3.500 emails in our group and steps forwards and backwards. First we had to sign the NDA of course, then TLC send over a bunch of LEGO elements in many, many different colours, a few real "train elements". First prototypes looked like a MOC build by a 4-year-old. (can' remember who build this high-speed engine) My contribution from the first colour palette we received from LEGO The AFOLs in the group argued, that this kind of colour palette will never work for a universal train building set. At least we could compromise on a basic main colour (which became standard red rather dark red which we all favoured), black as standard train colour for trucks, boggies etc. and a few other colours like white and grey for some highlights. So the second palette of elements (which is the one to be found in the final set) worked much better. Of course we told TLC that dark red/dark green would be even more cooler and more attractive for AFOLs then red. But no way, no new elements for such a set, it was not Star Wars or Bionicle, it was an experiment in the train niche. From that point of view, we got out as much as we could. The second palette of elements was better, still not perfect. LEGO did not send out all elements for the second, final palette of elements so we had to use stuff from our own collection. As you see, 2x2 airplane windows in red were not in my collection back then. Finally the Crocodile arises and was elected amoung the AFOLs from the Hobby Train group as flagship model for this set. So it became the largest one on the box and the only model LEGO made printed instructions. And we were fighting delays and the official end of 9V was announce before the hobby train set was released. so the Box front pictures shows all the MOCs with the old 9V motor. And extra label was introduced to point out, that the motor is no included. But there was no chance to rebuild everything for the upcoming bridge-technology RC trains (which sucks). Another reason for the delay was a simple element like the 2x4 plate. Very close to the end we were told that the yearly production of all 2x4 plates for all sets in this year is over and there are no more 2x4 plates for the Hobby Train set. It should be easy to replace a 2x4 plate with a 2x 1x4 plates (which were offered instead). Hmm, that would have worked for half of the models, the other half would require 2x 2x2 plates as replacement better then 2x 1x4 plates. And noone in the group felt like to have enough enthusiasm to rebuild all the models again. The only option was to postpone the release date again and wait till 2x4 plate were produced in the next production run. Sometime even the simple things can get annoying. Similar thing happened to the instructions. There was no budget to make a book of instructions for all models, in the sametime the "LEGO Digital Designer" was launched and the Hobby Train set should promote the new LDD approach. The instruction for the flagship model – the Crocodile – was finalised so late in the process and all the boxes were already packed. To this set is maybe the only official LEGO set were the instructions comes separately outside the box. So beware if you are able to get a MISB box of #10183 expecting a printed instruction *inside* the box: there is none. Looking back in history the Hobby Train set was a great demonstration how LEGO started to interact with a group of fans (rather then single fans designing sets like the #3739 Blacksmith Shop or the fantastic Santa Fe cars #10022 and #10025 from James Mathis and some other later). And it started a few AFOL workshops were fans were invited to Billund/DK to share expectations and build with LEGO designers. During one of these workshops the "flex track idea" was born, a compromise asking for larger curve radii which LEGO didn't want to make. So the flex track sounded good, but as mentioned before, it could not fulfill the expectations. We were also playing around with (back these days) *new* Power Function stuff and the design of the 4x8 PF battery box is heavily influenced by train fans asking for something which can be integrated in a 6-wide train rather then the huge AA PF battery box which was used many in LEGO Technic. And we asked for a train compatible remote control rather then the #8885 bang-bang remote used in Technic. So the #8879 speed remote control was born. All history … these days we see the next generation Power System (Powered Up) and I will not become a friend of that technology. And it still seems unclear how LEGO will keep trains alive. Clip in wheels are horrible, trains in LEGO city hardly exist. On the other side the upcoming Crocodile shows that even LEGO designers can create great looking, AFOL-like trains. But I do not expect so see other great engines over the next years like the do with iconic cars. Even not talking about "just a passenger coach" set where you can buy multi sets to create your own train. But as a LEGO train fan each LEGO set can be a train accessory set providing elements I can use in my LEGO train MOCs. And the third party market is getting better and better providing switches and curves in sizes, rods and other stuff we just could dream of back in 2007. I hope this gave you an more inside view about the Hobby Train set and the time it was developed and release. Feel free to post further questions ... Holger P.S. I found an old FAQ about the Hobby Train set (links will not work anymore, the FAQ was written back in 2007): What is the official name of this set? It is called LEGO Hobby Train. The project to develop this set was called Ultimate Train Builders (UTB). How many pieces are included in this set? 1,080 LEGO elements. Why didn't you use dark red, dark green, or dark blue? None of these colors were available in sufficient number of different elements to make them a main color. Dark red is represented in the set. Why red, black, gray, and white? These colors are available in a large variety of shapes. How were you guys chosen? LEGO asked ILTCO, represented by Steve Barile, to suggest a group of the 10 best LEGO train designers in the world. Steve suggested a list of great train designers that he had experience with that represented an international group. This list was then reduced to the six open slots by the original four AFOLs on this project, some outside consulting AFOLs, and the LEGO employees on the project. The group assembled certainly represents some of the best LEGO train designers but we are among a much larger group of great LEGO train designers. And we also want to acknowledge that the level of quality achieved has been the cumulative work through interaction of the greater LEGO train community. What did you get for your efforts? Each designer got 3 LEGO Hobby Train sets and a large bulk assortment of LEGO elements. Why is there a picture of the 9v motor and track on the box if it's not in the box? The decision to show each design on a piece of track and some of them with the 9v motor was made because it looked good. In retrospect, we realize that it can be interpreted as if tracks and motor is included, which they are not. This is also communicated on the front and the back of the box. How much does it cost? USA: 99.99 USD Canada: 129.99 CAD Australia: 149.99 AUD Europe (Euro zone): 99.99 EURO UK: 69.99 GBP Why is LEGO counting each wheel set as four pieces? Because the elements are not preassembled. A wheel set is included as several individual elements in the box. Who picked the models? The 30 models were picked from 76 designs through voting among the 10 LEGO hobby train fan designers. Who picked the parts? Within the limitations of available parts, the selection was a collaborative effort between the 10 LEGO Hobby Train fan designers and the LEGO Group. Is this set only available in the US? No, it will be available in all markets where LEGO Direct To Consumer is present. Is it right that no Building Instructions are included and they will be offered (for free) as download. A printed building instruction for the main model will be available with the set. This one and 29 additional building instructions will be available for free download from March 19th on http://www.LEGOFactory.com/buildinginstructions Do I need a special software to use the Building Instructions I've downloaded? You need LEGO Digital Designer 2.0 which will be available for free download from March 19th on http://ldd.lego.com How was the box art developed? Please visit http://www.ldraw.org for further information on the development of the box art. (Update: You can still find PDF instructions for all models at http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=306136) Why is a letter-tile used at the front side of the main engine, the crocodile? A letter-tile is not only a letter tile. It also could be a plate showing technical data of the loco. While using the same palette of elements for various models you have to be creative in the way you use certain elements. Someone even was able to build a truck out of elements dedicated to be “train” elements. Can you describe the development process of this box, e.g. what did it make for a part to be in the box or not? Please check out the article in BrickJournal #7 at http://www.brickjournal.com for more background information.

My 2009 MOC Crocodile has articulated bodies and a M-motor in each "nose". For the wheels I use drivers with and without flanges. See Flickr-Video https://www.flickr.com/photos/holgermatthes/3903589445/ in album https://www.flickr.com/photos/holgermatthes/albums/72157622196010661 The first/last wheel also articulates. Let's see how all this is done in the Crocodile LEGO set?

The German promobricks.de just posted an announcement that the crocodile will become a set: https://www.promobricks.de/lego-eisenbahn-krokodil-10277/101499/ Available from July, 99 €, ready to include Powered Up motorisation.

Totally correct. The German end cap on Silberlinge was tan/blue and the rest was unpainted metal with a silver shine (when new). The grill bricks from Santa Fe wagons work well here. Holger