Commander Wolf

There's actually a lot of wide radius footage in the video, just most of it is R56... what you're looking for is probably these timestamps for R120: https://youtu.be/CwOQEIaV2QA?t=75 https://youtu.be/CwOQEIaV2QA?t=630

Hello all, bit of a necro here, but I finally had the chance to convert the Leader to PF and compile a ton more footage into a video: This took a while to get to mainly because I didn't have any spare motors, but also because I incorrectly thought the obvious PF implementation was a double M motor configuration, since the internal cavity is mostly four-wide. After tinkering with it on and off and on and off in LDD, I couldn't find a way to fit the battery box and receiver, so it kept sitting. Eventually I bought a bunch of extra PF motors (since PF is going away ) and I found out that a single XL was the perfect form factor for the engine and it's basically the power equivalent of two Ms. The engine was so heavy in the end that it hasn't needed rubber bands yet. There's no change to the external appearance of the locomotive (save for needing a receiver bump), and I attribute it to building the body and chassis in two separate parts: it makes it much easier to do drivetrain swaps like this, despite having to do some minor modification to the body. Now that I've been able to run it more my biggest gripe (after the inaccurate under-body curve) is the overhang on R40 curves, but there is probably nothing I can do about it at this point, and at least in my LUG wide radius curve is becoming much more common (thanks @M_slug357 ). Thanks for looking! EDIT: Instructions for this model are now for sale on Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-63417/NonsenseWars/148-southern-railway-bulleid-leader-v2-power-functions

Thanks for your thoughts guys, I really appreciate it! I really liked the way this one turned out. A couple more random thoughts: I originally thought it was a close call between using red or dark red for the roof, but after building it in dark red, I'm glad I did because I think it's way better than straight red. I'm digging the use of the "flag" piece for small railings. I was again iffy on it at first, but I think it works well even though it's nothing like a railing. Battery still isn't that easy to change since you have to pull the receiver and the associated wiring... but at the same time the geared 9v motor sips power so you shouldn't have to change it much. It's also a good place to put old alkalines that have a partial charge; my A6 beforehand was also a dumping ground for those B1s were originally built as semi-permanently coupled pairs (BB1-3): the side without the deck was the coupled side. Therefore the deck side is nominally the "front", which is good because it's the side where the overhang is greater. BB1-3 had both overhead (AC) and third-rail (DC) variants, but when the units were split, all were converted to overhead power.

Hi all, wanted to share this MOC as I "teased" it many years ago but did not finish it until now. I started building the B1 in an effort to build the smallest possible 1:48 scale PF model, but ended up building the slightly smaller A6b, and then later on the even smaller EMD Model 40. Since then the B1 has been sitting in a folder on my computer gathering virtual dust. Last year someone inquired about the model and I decided to finish it once and for all, and this is the result: This is a pretty simple model just by virtue of the small size: the build is basically the same as that of the A6, just larger due to the larger scale size of the locomotive. It actually has a lot of volume compared to something like the Model 40, but the shape of LEGO motors and electronic components means that you can basically never fully utilize the 6-wide space in an 8-wide model. The part of the model that stumped me initially was connecting the massive side frames to the body. I had tried a couple times to find a solution over the years, but I finally cheated by cartooning the tanks on the sides of the locomotive with plates such that I could fit structural components behind them. The pantograph can also move up and down! Anyway, here is my video going into more detail about the model, as well as a Brickshelf gallery (when moderated). EDIT: Instructions for this model are now for sale on Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-48349/NonsenseWars/148-pennsylvania-railroad-b1-power-functions-9v

Another 5AT! I built one of these (slightly smaller scale) way back before they canceled the project... so sad that it never got anywhere. Definitely looks a lot sleeker with all the new(er) curve slopes though.

Back with another GBC module: this is inspired by a KNEX set called the "Clockwork Rollercoaster", though there's nothing really "clockwork" about that set or this GBC: Again, I'm not making instructions at the moment, especially when this uses a handful of old parts, but I can provide an LDD file for folks who want to play with it.

Ah, sorry for the late reply... I'm probably not going to make instructions unless people are willing to buy them, but I can send you (or anyone else interested) close-to-final LDD files if you want. DM me.

Ah, that's just so people with slower connections don't get hammered by trying to load everything at once... sorry if it was confusing! Yaaa... I didn't realize he had done some similar things until after I had made the respective modules. Still, I like to think of these as more accessible versions of what Aki's done. I'm a little torn on trying to research or not research other modules before building my own... on one hand I would like to avoid the influence of other designs in my own design, but on the other hand, sometimes the thing you think is original isn't.

Hmm, it seems fine to me, so it might be an issue on your end... unless other folks are having the same issue?

Thanks! Was super happy I could use those Bionicle liftarms too

Thanks! It was definitely on my mind to try to build both unique and minimalist for some of these while I'm building up the parts inventory to do more involved modules.

Hello all, I recently started building GBC modules and wanted to share a few original/semi-original modules. Split-level Stepper Extensible Tower Not-Scissor Lift Some perhaps fancier ones to come soon! Bonus:

Thanks guys, someone asked for the LDD file, so I will add it here: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/BradlyColin/Miscellaneous/gbc/190328a_gbc_train.lxf (The heights might be a little off, but they should be easily adjustable)

Something different for once...! Ever since I bought a used 7722 a few years ago, I've been wanting to use 4.5v train/Technic stuff in a contemporary application. Originally I wanted to build an Actual Train Thing, but my Bulleid Leader has not worked out, at least not in a 4.5v context. Recently though, @jtlan and I have been getting into GBC, so of course I had to shoehorn the 4.5v train in there somehow. Anyway the Simple GBC Train has a bunch of mechanical features which are better explained in a video: For those of you who don't know what GBC is: http://www.greatballcontraption.com/wiki/Main_Page Anyway, I put this in Train Tech because while it is GBC related, I think it's more train than Technic. Furthermore, GBC might be the intended application, but this system could also be used for other automated train loading/unloading sorts of things if you are into that. No Brickshelf gallery as there's not really much more to see than what's in the video, but I can provide a LDD file if anyone is interested. Otherwise have a nice day!

Dunno if anyone is interested in this sorta thing, but some commentary on drive train revisions on older MOCs... been doing a lot of this sort of thing in the last year. A lot of times when I do a new build, I don't know what the issues are until I run the engine more often and for long periods of time, and only then can you even start to debug or make improvements. Building a new powered tender for the T1 Changing the gear ratios and motors on the QJ Have a nice day!

That would be too easy

That is indeed my T1! ... it's roughly the same scale. You can see the original thread from 2014, though it has been updated a bunch since then!

I do have the unicycling lion... I think? At least this was what I saw on someone's model... though whether or not that model was accurate, I'm not sure I don't want to mod the 4.5v battery box car, so point to point will probably have to be for a future (smaller) model, but it is still on my bucket list! This one will probably get converted to PF (or maybe powered up!). One thing you can do with the 4.5v motors is wire them in series and then run them as pairs off the PF controller via the 9v extender/adapter. That's probably what I'm going to do if I want to keep the 4.5v motors in this loco, but they need a lot of gearing down and so far I haven't found the space to fit the PF battery box and receiver without compromising structural integrity. I'll definitely update the thread if I get around to it though.

Hello all, long time no post! This project is kind of a wash at this point, but I think it is still worth a share. Perhaps that's appropriate as the SR/Bulleid Leader is best known for being a total flop, an unconventional design with a lot of new features that of course proved too complicated and unreliable to even see regular service. Five of the 0-6-0 + 0-6-0 articulated locomotives were laid down, but only one was completed, tested, and deemed unsatisfactory before the whole lot was scrapped. I usually only build American trains, but I make exception for the Leader as I have a fondness "advanced steam" designs like the ACE 3000 and the 5AT. Also like the 5AT, I had built a mediocre model of the Leader a long time ago and wanted to revisit it... Like almost all of my train models, the Leader is built at roughly 1:48 scale, and the chassis can navigate all the normal LEGO R40 track geometries. At this scale the locomotive should really be 7-wide (as should most British engines), but I fudged it and made it 8-wide such that the body would not be wider than the trucks, which I could not narrow due to the huge greebles on their outside frames. Also due to the trucks I had to compromise on the lower line of the body: the prototype has a very long sweeping curve over the two inner drivers, but I could not get enough clearance between the wheels and the cowling to make this work on R40 curves, even with the pivots right next to the center axles. For now that line is just abbreviated, which is sad. The roof has a bit of a hodgepodge of different curves. The 2x8xN bow is a good approximation of the actual look, but I had to use other combinations of parts to model the various features on the top of the loco. I think the mix of implementations does a good job defining the shape but also giving it some texture, though there are some cracks especially around the bunker that possibly could be smaller. Moving on to the internals! This model has a pretty unique drivetrain and this was one of the main reasons I wanted to build it: when I bought a used 7722 a few years ago, I noted that the 4.5v system had a feature that has never appeared again on any subsequent train system, and that is the ability to run a train point to point** I thought it would be really cool to build a nice model that could leverage this functionality, but it would have to be a locomotive that could realistically pair with the two-axle 4.5v battery box, so revisiting the Leader seemed like a good choice. Furthermore, I wanted to try out an interesting articulation mechanism for the Leader proposed by fellow builder @jtlan, which would theoretically work well with the large outside frame greebles. Unfortunately it's this 4.5v drivetrain that really hasn't worked well. It seemed to work fine in the ample testing I did prior to finishing the model, but the shell turned out to be really heavy, and the motors have trouble moving it at a meaningful speed while pulling a meaningful train. You can see some of the test beds and the final product in this short video: Ultimately, I've tried to tweak it to no avail, so this will probably have to be converted to PF for it to work well, and I don't really have that much motivation to do that as 4.5v was the whole point. So for now, that's that; there are a few more pics once the Brickshelf folder is moderated, but otherwise have a nice day! ** What I mean by point to point is in the video at 0:10

Yeah, I'm aware of the previous posts... someone contacted me trying to get the file, but I don't have the original anymore, so I was hoping to be able to get someone to recover it from that post. If that's not possible, oh well.

I figure this is probably more appropriate for a DM, but I don't know who to contact. I'm trying to download an old attachment from this post: But everytime I try to save it, it comes up as an empty file. Would it be possible for an admin or mod to recover it for me or is it lost forever? Thanks!

Just wanted to share some pictures of the finished model. Was generally quite happy how it turned out: All the turrets and such can rotate: And as shown previously it can be displayed as a waterline model: Couple more pics in the Brickshelf folder once moderated. Cheers!

... and here's one of them: ACE 3000 PF Tender When I built my ACE 3000 model in 2013, I had very little experience with Power Functions and chose to power it the traditional way: pushing or pulling it with a 9v power car. Fast forward a few years and we are using 9v less and less and I thought it was time to do a PF conversion! I knew exactly what drivetrain I wanted to build too: between then and now I built a PF baggage car with XL motors, but due to various limitations, I was never really able to unleash the full power of the XL motors. Even with a mild up-gearing (2:1), it had way too much torque and not enough speed. I had been looking for an opportunity to better utilize the XL motors, and the huge size of the ACE tender made it the perfect application. That being said, it wasn't actually that easy to fit everything that I wanted into the conversion. Problem number one is that while the ACE tender does have a ton of space, a lot of it turns out to be not that useful due to the positioning of the bogies. There is literally no way to place the two motors anywhere but where they currently are, and thus any structural construction that went through those spaces before have to be rerouted. It's especially true in the front where there just aren't as many studs as I'd like holding the whole mess together, especially since the top needs to come off to change the batteries. Problem number two is the three-axle truck. There's been quite a few three-axle truck designs thrown around, but I was adamant about using the frames for structural integrity since there would be a lot of torque going through the trucks. In addition to using the frames and accomodating the sliding axle, the truck also needs to support a gearing-up stage because there isn't enough room to fit it in the body! The extra up-gearing is of course important to being able to tap more of the high power output of the XL motors, which is the whole point of this build. These trucks are admittedly not a very elegant construction and they actually extend pretty far into the body, but they are as strong as I'd have hoped and it's one way to use up all that space that I have! You'll notice that the center axle has two degrees of freedom: it can slide side to side and pivot (very very slightly) up and down due to the triangle only being pinned on one side. This very small amount of play combined with the fact that the center axle doesn't have a tire allows the bogies to not lose traction on the outer axles while going over uneven track. Here's a pic of the mechanical side of the thing. The frame here is designed such that the battery box pushes the motors down and the weight of the assembly rather than friction on an axle keeps the gears meshed. There is practically no change to the external appearance of the tender except for the trucks, which use my new favorite bogie-frame element, the 1x4 plate with two studs. The locomotive side has also been tweaked a little since 2013: at some point I cleaned up some of the strange construction in the chassis and some of the greebles attached to it. This was mainly a fix for reliability: the chassis needed to have some more play built-in such that it wouldn't derail over uneven track (there's a theme going on here), but hopefully it's a cleaner mechanical and aesthetic design as well. Everything together, and of course a video: 0:00 gears and such 0:24 low speed 1:00 top speed 1:24 NMRA train show

Ha ha, not what I was expecting at all. Cute!

Finally had the chance to stitch together more clips of the cars... this time with the side-dump car as well Bonus video with clips from BayLUG's annual Christmas show (does have the older two cars again though!)