HoMa

@Ludo, yes still reading this thread! In Germany it is similar to other EU countries. We have 19% VAT (called Mehrwertsteuer) on most products. If I buy within the EU I pay the price marked in the country selling the product (plus shipping, which is in general much more expressive then shipping inside the country). If it is an EU country which has no Euro currency as in Germany I have to consider the exchange rate. But inside the EU this is more less stable, not comparable with Euro to US $. If I buy from outside the EU the parcel is normally not delivered to my front door. Instead a letter from the local customs office tells me that a parcel is waiting to be picked up. The letter also says to bring the original invoiced plus records of the payment, e.g. PayPal emails. At the office you are asked to open the parcel and then they check the content. An invoice with the same amount should be attached to the parcel or should be found in the parcel. Then the officer disappears behind his desk and calculates the extra costs for importing the product. You need to pay the 19 % Mehrwertsteuer/VAT on both the product and the shipping costs. If the total value is higher then (something round about) 150 Euro, you need to pay an additional import custom tax (I don't know the exact percentage because I avoid expensive shippings from outside the EU). These days customs also keep an eye on clone products, IP misuse and on conformity. I heard about people who could not get their Big Ben Bricks wheels imported because there was no CE sign and not letter of conformity. Also worse if the plastic stuff in the parcel is labeled as a toy. (Model railroad parts, 16+ seems to work better then just 'toy') To summarize all this: it's no fun buying stuff from outside the EU. I was lucky that my friend who lives in the USA took my BrickTracks R120 circle in his luggage when he came home for last Christmas. But this could not be a regular service, normally travel luggage doesn't offer much space for extras and waiting till he comes over the next time can be long. Unfortunately I don't have any good idea how to help both the customers in the EU or worldwide outside of the USA and the business producing the required stuff. @coaster, on Bricklink I am just a buyer, but I can ask in the German forum at 1000steine.de if there is a German based Bricklink shop which is interested as a European hub for BrickTracks. HoMa P.S. Request posted at 1000steine: https://www.1000steine.de/de/gemeinschaft/forum/?entry=1&id=393378#id393378

Looks great your 12 Volt style MOC steam engine! It fits really good in the line of "large" 12 Volt steam engines. Hmm, shouldn't call it a line, we only know the 7750 and it's bigger sister 7777 (which is a 7750+7810). Why not call yours a 7780 (50+30=80)?

The landing plate is actually an official LEGO product, but rare these days. Bricklink knows it as cloth08 https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?G=cloth08&name=Storage Cloth, Space&category=[Storage][Space]#T=S&O={"iconly":0}

35 years ago LEGO Classic Space 6980 Galaxy Commander was released. So I decided to rebuild this set. But something went wrong … hmm, maybe not a good idea if a trainhead who prefers trains in 7- or 8-wide starts building Classic Space sets ;-) But now enjoy some pics … … and some more over at flickr

You can find several brickshelf galleries with instructions for 10183 models. For example here are some good step by step pictures for all models: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=328898

It might help if you replace the original thin rubber ring in the wheels which are attached to the motor with slightly thicker ones. A good resource is your local DIY store, search in the sanitary department for sealing rings.

For the middle back window: What about a black hinge vertical roof holder? https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=4214#T=C The upper part of this element without the roof counterpart shows done nice tiny details which can be used as windows frames. Btw, great that you work on that prototype as a real model. I remember seeing this prototype before but can't remember where? BrickJournal or RailBricks magazine?

Over on brick model railroader the vintage 12 Volt system also is in focus these days. Latest article id's worse reading if you ate a gray era train fan: http://brickmodelrailroader.com/index.php/2017/09/14/lego-trains-are-put-to-the-test-1984/

Lots of questions I also would like to know the answers. Unfortunately I can not help with further details. But yes, there must have been a good team in the late 70s which had the task to develop a better train system for the minifigs which just started to walk, drive cars or fly out in space. The track geometry didn't chance compared to the blue era, but it was advanced using a middle tie, clips and the holes you've mentioned to screw it down on a wooden plate. And of course the color did chance to become more realistic. And I believe that this train system was focusing the German market. Even if it would not have been called a licence, but the DB (Deutsche Bahn) stickers are used on more less every train or wagon. And some trains are kind of modeled after the real prototypes, e. g. the 7740 which is even called TEE (Trans Europa Express) on the German catalogue. Maybe the designers were Germans? Or the German LEGO headquarters in Hohenwestedt (near Hamburg) ordered this series? Another indicator for targeting the German market could have been Playmobil which also came up with a toy train system (based on LGB Lehmanns Garten Bahn) and the ever strong brand Märklin. Märklin focused on model railroaders 65+ and managers in Billund might have seen the chance to offer something similar for the younger audience. Afree a strong of the gray era in 1980, it faded out from the mid of the decade. 1986 the last new releases came out and there were no special train related catalogues any more (at least in Germany). Accessory sets seems to be available till the beginning of the 90s, some came in redesigned boxes and you might find a 1989 copyright on such boxes. Unfortunately we didn't see any further development of sets. Already in the late 80s the 12 Volt system was dead when LEGO started the 9 Volt system first with "Light & Sound" in same emergency vehicles and space vessels. You might find this brick list over at brickset helpful: https://brickset.com/sets/list-15314 For the library at brickset I've provided various scans of the train catalogues I got: https://brickset.com/library/catalogues I will be in Skaerbaek for the LEGO Fan Weekend. I will try to find some LEGO employee who knows more about the gray era or design processes back in the 80s. Holger

Looks great, keep going! For the interior check the building inductions from 7838, 7839 and police/fire/space stations from that time to find some inspiration. Nothing to do with 7777, but MOCs like these two green ones also might fit into your 7777 project. Best regards, Holger

@coaster, finally I was able to set up a test layout to see your 3D-printed switches in action. They work so well, fantastic. And my trains love to change over to the inner track on your switches! Any plans to make the R104 switches in molded ABS in the near future? Is there another kickstarter comming up for the switches? Great work! I need a pair of left switches now :-) HoMa

What about a 7745-4558-cross-over? If rebuild the famous 7745 in the colors of the 4558 Metroliner ...

Great to see 7777 comes alive, thanks for sharing! And don't miss my article about about 7777 on brickset showing my childhood version of the grand layout with the yellow bridge: https://brickset.com/article/25119 This layout will be on display at LEGO fan weekend in Skaerbaek 2017. Holger

Thanks for sharing this here ... The English version well not only be a translation of the original German version. I added a few more pictures and renderings and I've added a section about the latest developments in third party products. amazon.com and amazon.de list the English version for pre-order. Looking forward to your feedback! Holger

Looks great, you've catched the iconic style from the early/mid 80s very well! Compared to today's LEGO sets and MOCs that era proved that building with limited colors and shapes wasn't a limitation in creating both great toys and model railroad. Looking forward to see more of that stuff! Holger

Great Mallard engine! You've captured the real one very well and seeing it in motion with front lights and moving rods is LEGO train MOCing at it's best! And your other models are also impressive. Thanks for showing. Holger

Great news and sounds like a valid plan. R120 - wow, definitely something I am interested in. And R104 switches in molded ABS would be fantastic. And yes, go for Power Functions first to make sure to serve the needs of the largest group. Good luck, Holger

I also use 2x4, 2x6 or 2x8 Technic Plates to attach the pin of a train motor to my train base plates. If they are build in odd width, I use jumper plates or 1x2 Technic bricks with either 1 or 2 holes to get a stable half stud offset. Here is an example: Another good option are 1x8 or 1x10 Technic plates with holes on the end if you want to attach a 4x6 boogie plate to an odd width base plate of a locomotive or wagon. Holger

I also ordered a bunch of XXL drivers and blind drivers. Shipping was quick and no stress with extra tax because the DHL parcel came from the Netherlands to Germany ... both (still?) in the EU. The wheels look amazing and it is a totally new experience to build with such huge wheels. So much space below the center axle. Some Technic holes seems to be a bit too loose so the wheels slip on the axles. But this is just a minor issue, I can chew on the ends of the axles to get more fiction. Unfortunately I can not show pictures, just started to work in a Pacific style engine. For me and other German stream train heads red drivers with standard spokes and the counter weight would be a great addition. But overall: great that we have a chance to purchase such helpful add-on for our LEGO hobby! Holger

My me-models Kickstarter timeline: 2014, April 17th ... pledged 85 US$ for a full loop of metal R56 rails 2014, May 17th ... the Kickstarter project was funded, estimated date for delivery was announced for September 2014 2014, September ... nothing happened 2015, January ... ABS rails became available in the regular me-models online shop. I purchased all radii of ABS rails. Shortly after I updated my website with a little report 2016, July 17th ... special pre-order option for metal R104 and metal R88 for those who didn't received rails from the Kickstarter campaign 2017, January 7th ... email with shipping confirmation and tracking number from me-models 2017, January 26th ... picked up my rails from the local customs office here in Germany, had to open the parcel and present the contents too the officers. "Is this LEGO?" "No, but it is compatible with LEGO." "Ok, please pay 19% tax on the amount for the rails and the shipping." (Yes, this is the way it works in Germany if you buy outside the EU). Finally got my reward from the Kickstarter campaign and the stuff if ordered last summer plus a little extra conversion rails. Unbelievable, almost 3 years waiting and now finally receiving a very valuable add-on to the LEGO train hobby. The weekend is ahead, so I might find time to set up the metal stuff and see how it performs? I hope everyone with a similar history with me-models and Kickstarter will finally end with all ordered rails very soon. Holger

Great idea! Unfortunately I can not help because I am over the pond at the other side and I even won't be able to visit Brickworld this year. For the grey era layout I would suggest some trains and buildings from #7777. Good luck, can't wait to see the pictures! Holger

Hi, the RC motor is very weak and does not perform very good as a train motor. The cable is not fixed attached to the motor, the cable is the old 9 Volt cable. It requires a special train plate to provide enough space for the cable connector between the plate and the motor. The Power Functions motor is much stronger, it comes with a fixed cable which has a Power Functions connector/plug. Also the holes were to insert the axle are orange. Checkout this page for detailed technical information about LEGO motors: http://www.philohome.com/motors/motorcomp.htm Holger

Hi Shupp, thanks for sharing your efforts making even bigger train wheels available. I am interested and I need to figure out if I can order them from outside the USA? Did you contact Ben Fleskes if there is an option to co-work and make ABS versions of the XXL train wheels? Would be great to see these wheels in ABS in black and red! Holger

I got a shipping notification email from Mike from ME Models back on January 7th. Will see how long it takes to ship the rails from the US to Germany?

For me the book itself is the compensation for all the stupid people who try to make money misusing somelese's intelectual and creative work. Maybe it sounds to negative. There are such bad people around from time to time, but the majority enjoys to rebuild a MOC from someone else for their own pleasure. And similar to Tony, I want to share my way of building and hopefully my instructions are not only instructions to rebuild my MOC 100 % but also are inspirations for own models for other. The publisher dpunkt in Germany discovered my LEGO hobby related website and straight away they offered to write a book about LEGO trains. Stay tuned, the English version of my book is on it's way ... Holger