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Commander Wolf

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Everything posted by Commander Wolf

  1. Commander Wolf
    Well, it took a while for all the orders to arrive this time, but I finally got one unit together and ran it for a while at the local LUG meeting. There were some shenanigans in the trucks, but for the most part the LDD design worked(!) without any big modifications. It definitely feels more massive in person than LDD would suggest. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about the pinstriping along the nose... even if I continued forward from where it currently ends (after the door), I can't go past the edge of the tiled surface, so it'd be weird either way. Now that I look at it, it could use some number boards too. With the big battery box there's plenty of low-end torque and traction, but the top speed isn't that high with the 1:1 gearing. Admittedly the RF-16s were mainly freight locomotives, so a low top speed is relatively appropriate. I think the ideal ratio might be something like 1:1.5... not that there's any room to add more gearing in the thing. There's a lot of wasted volume in the 1-2 stud gap in the sides of the locomotive though. Full gallery. ... and of course if anyone lives in the greater Bay Area, myself and jtlan will be displaying stuff with BayLTC at the Great Train Show in Pleasanton on the 22nd, so come see us and our trains!
  2. Commander Wolf
    I'd like to know as well, especially if you did it yourself!
  3. Commander Wolf
    I was too lazy to turn the gears and make them work in LDD, but here is my mockup in brick. Nothing too fancy since it's 1:1 in two-axle bogies: Thanks mate! I'm leaning toward an A-A set as well, but I did get around to making the B unit in LDD: ... and here is an A-B-A!
  4. Commander Wolf
    Well another month another MOC! This is actually my first non-steam loco MOC, and, as far as I know, the first Lego model of this loco as well. Produced between 1950 and 1953, the RF-16 was an early diesel electric locomotive built by the soon to be extinct Baldwin Locomotive Works. While the RF-16 is typically synonymous with Baldwin's awesome "sharknose" trim (the main reason I wanted to model this loco), the styling had already been used on the earlier DR-6-4-20 and DR 4-4-15. 160 RF-16s served on the B&O, NYC, and PRR for about 10 to 15 years, though two units were running on the D&H up into the late 70s, and I believe the pair are still stored on some shortline in the boonies today. I've ordered parts to build at least one unit in a PRR black with pinstripe livery (the pinstripe and livery will probably be a sticker) - I would have really liked to do dark red with pinstripes, but dark red doesn't come on nearly enough parts. The part I'm least happy about is the windshield; Lego just doesn't have the resolution and doesn't make anything in the right shape to capture that funny windshield shape. From the start this unit was designed to run on PF unlike my T1 tender where the PF was kind of an afterthough. I've got two M motors geared 1:1 powered by the big battery box. The grate at the rear of the loco is a ladder such that you can shoot PF signals to the receiver behind it. And finally you can see some of the shenanigans used in the sharknose. Since I didn't have to mess with a complicated articulated chassis as in a steam loco, I haven't actually built any of this in brick, so it'll be interesting to see what happens when parts come. EDIT: Instructions for this model are now for sale on Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-47470/NonsenseWars/148-baldwin-rf-16-sharknose
  5. Commander Wolf
    Yeah, the second pic looks pretty legit. Did you make any changes to the loco besides the (what we've been calling) "breadbox" in the front?
  6. Commander Wolf
    It's funny you say that because I feel like 9v power cars were the defacto way of driving trains with unpowered locos for a long time. Now with all the PF locos running around it seems like 9v power cars have become a relic... I still prefer running trains on 9v, though - you can't get as much low rpm torque, but I like having the high rpm power without having to chug batteries. And yeah, not my cat.
  7. Commander Wolf
    Way to call the final update. Here is the entire train complete and in bricks: ... and some final T1 video, first some older clips with 10015s, and the P54s at :
  8. Commander Wolf
    Everything else equal, this is true, but a two-axle car with the axles very apart (ie 10+ studs) will have more rolling resistance through turns than a four-axle car with two sets of two axles very close together (ie in bogies). This is the proper 'Murrikan way to do it; pretty much all American container trains are made up of articulated double-stacks.
  9. Commander Wolf
    Blasphemy... 'Murrika can't into two axle cars! Nice logos though.
  10. Commander Wolf
    Well, if you are talking about the side windows, the plan is to eventually replace them with the framed ones when I can get a bunch of 'em cheap, so I'll probably just leave them for now. I made these to go with the PRR T1 in my sig, but now I'm also building an RF-16, which may end up in PRR colors as well. That brings me to: Bonus content #1: 9v power car based on a NYC Express Car. Kind of a second-tier model because a lot of compromises to fit 9v motors, including having to use the coupler piece when Murrikan stock doesn't have buffers. Surprisingly complex interior for being just a box on wheels, mainly because of the 1LU ridge at the bottom. That being said, I like the prototype because I think it's generic enough to match a wide variety of American and Euro stock, passenger and freight. Bonus content #2: One of the three cars was supposed to be a combine/RPO (center). It didn't get built when it seemed like I might only be pulling two cars due to excessive friction. With the steel axles working wonders now, I might yet get to it. Bonus content #3: Incomplete CAD model of the stainless cars I originally wanted to build. They turned out to be too long and looked too strange on standard radius curves, though.
  11. Commander Wolf
    I've had this problem enough times to complain about it as well, but I don't quite have the stomach to mod parts quite yet. I have considered the old Technic plates, but most of the time the problem is with the 3-stud length of the fishplate, in which case the Technic beams (and even the old 1xN Technic plates) don't help either, because they're all longer.
  12. Commander Wolf
    ... and barring some additional window stuff, they're done! That box and those underside greebles that nobody will ever see. These trucks hardly look any different on the outside, but it was literally a week's worth of iterations to get it to work around the rails and steel axles. Centering the axle covers over the axles was the biggest pain. Jtlan originally suggested a SNOT solution with the rails facing down, but I couldn't make it work well. The covers pretty much can't be moved relative to each other, so that meant that the rails holding the axles both had to face the same direction to keep the axles a multiple of 1 stud apart. That means that the frames have to be moved instead, by 1LU horizontally using the SNOT thing in the middle. They also need to be shifted a multiple of 1/2LU vertically, because the steel axle sits between two plates, and this is done with the jumper plates. They still aren't quite centered, but it's close enough that the ends of the axles slide freely in and out of the hole at the top of 1x1 brick with 4 studs on the sides. Overally, the cars run pretty smoothly on the steel axles; with only a drop of lubrication the rolling resistance of the entire rake of 3 cars is less than that of the T1 and its tender. All three cars together: In a line: In a curve! Because of the tapered ends, the cars can actually be connected just 1 stud apart: ... and finally a full gallery once moderated: If anyone is in Palo Alto tomorrow afternoon (saturday), come see myself and Jtlan at Saturday's BAYLUG meeting at the Museum of American Heritage!
  13. Commander Wolf
    Lol, my LDD files are actually wrong because of stupid things LDD lets you do that you can't actually do... I can show some pics of the setup though: The general gist is that the panels at the end are held on by clips in order to get an angle, and you basically try to adjust that angle by shifting the connecting point in and out.
  14. Commander Wolf
    I for one would love to see a commemorative re=release of another classic train set a la the 10001 Metroliner. I doubt they'd remake any of the 12v equipment, but like another 7740 would be awesome.
  15. Commander Wolf
    Spent a bunch of time cutting stickers yesterday: Short of an actual punch, I think those portals are pretty good. So I set up a test where I rolled cars with different bogies down a ramp and onto a section of straight track to see how far each car+bogie set traveled. For the most part it looked like the rail solution was beating out the Technic solution by a pretty good margin, so I spent a ton of time trying to make rail bogies where the wheels were still centered in the 1x1s with 4 studs. But after having built them now it seems like the difference in friction is a lot less, so I'm trying to debug it... I'm surprised that in your experience the Technic setup rolls better though. I would not expect that. Do you grease your axle/holders? If so with what?
  16. Commander Wolf
    Holy crap, I wish I had seen this before I just bought my 24 small PF wheels... how are the wheels kept on the axles or does this only work with the old wheel and axle? Yeah, I'm keeping my eye out for a bigger punch. Might go to the local Micheal's today and see if they have anything. Until then, I think my interim solution will be with some sort of black and brown sticker. Friction is actually a huge concern for me. I really wanted to make the bogies with the stock wheelsets, but I couldn't find anything I was happy with. I've done enough testing to be confident that a rake of 3 cars won't be popping couplers, but along with the T1 itself, I think 2 cars might be the maximum that my 2 9v motors can sustain for extended periods of time - even with all greased the axles. I'm definitely going to try to make something work with Sava's solution above.
  17. Commander Wolf
    So I did actually build some of these this weekend. No panes yet, though. Still trying to figure out what to do about the round windows... it looks like a hole punch is too small, so I'm trying to print black circles, but I'm not sure how happy I am with that solution. Still need to get the size down too. So I was originally going to wheel these with BBB smalls, but it looks like I can get official smalls for less than half the price on Bricklink. If I remove the tires the rolling performance seems to be just as good as the BBB wheels... is there any reason that I shouldn't get those official wheels over the BBBs?
  18. Commander Wolf
    When I was a kid I was really good at asking for Lego trains every Christmas, but as the official sets got derpier they got less exciting. My biggest regret is not getting an Emerald Night when I was in college. 4.5v/12v 7715 Push-along train 7813 Shell Wagon 7839 Car Carrier Platform 9v 4559 Cargo Railway 4561 Railway Express 4564 Freight Rail Runner 4563 Load N' Haul Railroad 10022 Santa Fe Cars Set II 10170 TTX Intermodal Double-Stack Car 2126 Train Cars 10025 Santa Fe Cars Set II 3225 Classic Train 4552 Cargo Crane 4543 Railroad Tractor Flatbed 4536 Blue Hopper Car 4525 Road N' Rail Repair 4533 Train Track Snow Remover 3744 My Own Train - Green Kit 3747 My Own Train - Dark Grey Kit 3741 My Own Train - Large Engine 3741 My Own Train - Large Engine 3742 My Own Train - Tender 10020 Santa Fe Super Chief 10133 BNSF GP-38 Locomotive 10027 Train Engine Shed 10128 Train Level Crossing 4557 Freight Loading Station 4553 Train Wash 10173 Holiday Train 10001 Metroliner 10183 Hobby Train Set The little handcar you got from the Lego Loco PC game (it counts right?) rc 7898 Cargo Train Deluxe pf 60052 Cargo Train MOCs currently assembled ACE 3000 DRG T18 PRR T1 Assorted rolling stock
  19. Commander Wolf
    Missed this, but sadly it's not actually that exciting, just a handful of 2x2 corners: Well, I was on the fence, but you guys have convinced me; I'll pick 'em up if I can get 'em cheap. So it seems like for the stickers the consensus is to get it done professionally... or barring that, use ink on white rather than ink on clear. I will probably just keep doing the latter then. For the windows I do think a regular hole punch will make a hole of the right size, so I'll do some testing on that... the more I think about it, the more sold I am on that. Good bit of history there; I called 'em P54 because the site from which I got the model pictures called 'em P54, but that might've been the LIRR designation? Re-reading the Wiki article does suggest that PRR only called 'em MP54(X). Anyway, the BL parts are coming in; hopefully I can build a complete one this weekend.
  20. Commander Wolf
    So this actually brings up a good point: for those who are making decals how/on what do you usually print? I've been printing stuff with a normal inkjet printer on 3M "full sheet shipping labels" and its pretty much impossible to color match anything, and everything comes out super desaturated... ie the reddest red I can print is still many shades away from actual Lego red. On the flip side, if you were to print on something clear (such that you don't have to color match background colors), you'd need something that prints more opaque than an inkjet. I also haven't been able to find anything that's adhesive and clear (instead of "frosty"). What have people been doing to mitigate these kinds of issues if anything? EDIT: I just thought of something else: I'm making a baggage car-power car with 9v motors, but the geometry of the train motors is less than optimal: I want to have the coupler thing (red) in the position shown, but the only part I know of that can get it there is the actual buffer piece. This isn't too bad of a solution, but 'Murrikan trains don't have buffers. Is there some other piece or method that I'm not thinking of that will work? I can't use a fishplate on top of the motor with the coupler thing underneath because it'll be a plate too high. I can remove the crap behind it if need be.
  21. Commander Wolf
    I assume you guys are running PF trains on the plastic track? What do you do about batteries, just keep swapping them out? Does it become a problem in a continuously operating layout?
  22. Commander Wolf
    Now that you mention it, I'm not actually against making round window stickers or something in principle... if I can cut them accurately enough I think I'll give it a shot. The lack of frame-and-pane side windows is just economics... I've got a budget for maybe $50 per car, and the frame-and-pane windows are about 30 cents per frame and pane. 124 of those would be about a quarter of the budget. The new 1x2x2 panels with the reinforcement work pretty well though... plus we got a ton of them (like 100s) for free from our local LUG -_- It should really look like this: This has a new box too.
  23. Commander Wolf
    Hmm, the greebles weren't in any of my drawings, so I just kinda put stuff there based on the prototype models, but now that you mention it that box does seem really big too. 1x4 seems like it might be a little too small though. I'll take a look at it.
  24. Commander Wolf
    EDIT: See post 39 for the final pics. Hey all, I'm building some "matching" passenger cars for my PRR T1 and I wanted to get any thoughts before they're actually built. This is the first time I'm trying to build nice rolling stock! These are PRR P54 cars built in the early 20th century; they came in a variety of flavors, most commonly (I think), an MU version, many of which lasted into the 70s. I'm referencing models of variants built for the LIRR, which was owned by the PRR during the first half of the century. I had originally wanted to model corrugated lightweights, which I feel are more timeless and less distinctly American (so I can pair them with other locos), but I couldn't find any such cars that weren't 70+ feet long - too long in my opinion. While I say the cars are "matching" it's "only" in period and railroad... whether the T1s actually pulled these types of cars I'm not entirely sure. The actual cars are 65 feet long and 10 feet wide, which make the models 45 studs long and 8 wide at 16.5" per stud. There's about 700 parts per car. For now, these are purely LDD models, but I finally have parts on order for three(!) of them. One thing that really annoys me is that Lego doesn't have a good small, round window. I feel like there's been several occasions where I've wanted it and haven't gotten it. In most variants the outside windows are round. I thought these bogies did a good job of capturing the angled flanges inside the actual bogies, but my friend didn't like them too much. Currently the plan is to use BBB smalls, but I'm concerned that the rolling resistance of all three cars will be too high. I've been trying to design trucks with the stock wheelsets, but I haven't found anything I'm happy with. There are some greebles on the bottom. No interior though; interiors are overrated. EDIT: Instructions now available for sale on Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-81265/NonsenseWars/148-pennsylvania-railroad-p54-coach-v3/#details
  25. Commander Wolf
    Thanks for the comments, all. I think the the actual top speed is in the realm of 7mph, (about 100mph scaled), which is probably pretty accurate... not so sure about the acceleration, that's probably less so.
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