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Showing results for tags 'real world moc'.
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Originally, me and my dad made me a passenger train way back in the early 2000's as my first train MOC. At my request, he got rid the bright colors of the original 1980's train sets it was inspired by with more subdued tones. The black and red are what became the standard color scheme for my fledgling railway for a good many years. In 2024 I added the newer windows and a different 4-6-2 'Pacific' steam loco... well, now I added bogies to all the coaches (they were originally just two wheeled cars) so they roll better and put a brand new 4-6-0 'Ten Wheeler' steam loco at the head end. I decided to downgrade the loco from a fast main-line express loco of the 4-6-2 variety to a more laid-back 4-6-0 because the train isn't an express - it's a local on a branch line. You can see the original Pacific-type loco here. The whole train together. This oil-burning 4-6-0 steam engine is in a throwback livery that's based on my first custom train from way back in 2002-ish. The MOC is also slightly based on my first steam loco MOC I designed and built (circa 2012) that was constructed for the same train this engine pulls. Granted, that original MOC was technically a 4-4-0 and a total failure (no real world pictures exist of it), but I learned a lot from it! The rear of the loco. This baggage car is inspired by set 7722 (steam cargo train set) and the red / yellow guard's van. These three coaches were inspired by the red and blue coaches of set 7715. (Push along passenger train) The observation car is my own design. ...and here is what it all looked like originally. (picture circa 2017) The diesel at bottom left is long scrapped, but the original 0-4-0 steamer survives to this day. This tiny loco was inspired by set 7722 (steam cargo train set) while the steam engine's tender was inspired by 3742 (My Own Train series) from 2001. Thoughts? Post updated 6/26/26 with new steam engine and updated passenger cars. The whole post has been changed around too. -
The Flying Scotsman with it's train of four coaches. I did not design this 7-studs wide steam engine, but I instead heavily modified it to suit my tastes from some instructions by Eurobricks user @damangos. I did, however, rework my original 7 wide Emerald Night tender from 2014 instead of the 6 wide tender used by damangos in the original model. You can see his version in his thread. The rear of the loco. The three set 10194 style coaches are all identical. The brake coach, which was inspired by this Rebrickable MOC. Here's the inside of the passenger cars with the roof segments removed. There are three copies of the coach on the right. The brake coach is shown on the left. Thoughts? EDIT 6/16/26: Real world pictures added and first post totally restructured!
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"You are now entering the Blacktron sector! This is the absolute limit of the Classic Space quadrant! You have been warned!" ...sorry about that. Had to get the legal stuff out of the way first! Anyway: Blacktron long-range fighter "Buzzard" Above is the two copies of the Blacktron XL-15, which are now dubbed the "Buzzard" type starfighter. So back in January of 2023, I decided to convert the XL-15 spaceship from the film "Lightyear" into original Blacktron colors. The blue became yellow, and white was turned to black, with all the trans-green removed. I added laser blasters under the wings where some technic pins are and put a different control tile in the cockpit. I was thinking about building a second ship, but then again, getting some of the parts from Bricklink was a total pain due to extremely low quantities in the needed color. (I'm talking about you, 3 x 3 wedge plate in yellow!) Thankfully, I bought one too many of both kinds of the yellow 12 x 3 wedge plates, as they are very rare as well with only one store selling four of each kind in the USA, which made making the second one easier later on. Blacktron command vessel "Executor" In addition to the two Buzzards, I wanted a Blacktron capitol ship. I had no ideas of my own ship, so I spent most of the afternoon of 10/5/23 taking Benny's beloved spaceship from The Lego Movie and corrupting it into a twisted, evil version. I revamped the nose, removed the expanding wing assembly and snub fighters. Of course I then recolored it almost exclusively in black and yellow. (some gray was unavoidable!) I armed it with a turret on the top rear where the sensor array once was, and put the commanders office below where the wing mechanism used to be. To keep with the one-word naming scheme of the original Blacktron, I borrowed the name of Darth Vader's Super Star Destroyer, decreeing this ship the Blacktron Executor. I struggled to think of an engine flame color that fit OG Blacktron, but eventually trans-light blue was selected. Since the wings don't extend anymore, I added a third section for figures with a turret on top in their place. The rear-most section lifts away, but the rest of the roof sections are supposed to fold open. The ship seats seven troops and 1 commander. Blacktron cargo transporter "Vendetta" The Blacktron Vendetta is finally finished! I combined the Renegade with a new cockpit modified from the Blacktron Cruiser GWP, with added parts from a free Rebrickable MOC's instructions for a Cruiser / Renegade adapter . The cargo pod is reverse engineered and modified from one posted in a Brickset article. You can view the Rebrickable MOC by user Brickstertwo here while the Brickset article about modifying 10355 is here. The rear of the vessel. I changed the engines flames from trans-red to trans-light blue to match the rest of my fleet. Same thing with the yellow technic wheels becoming light bluish gray. The cockpit seats one mini-figure, and has two laser cannons just outside the canopy. The removable cargo pod is inspired by one in a Brickset article from late December of last year. It works beautifully with the ship's drop mechanism. The top lifts open on a hinge so you can put cargo inside. Blacktron two-man snub fighter "Avalanche" These ships are Blacktron 1 versions of a classic Star Wars speeder design is mostly taken from set 75204 - Sandspeeder, with portions taken from other snow-based versions of the type as well. All this is wrapped up in a new black and yellow paint job with a trans-yellow windscreen from 75414 - The Force Burner Snowspeeder. I call this ship type the Avalanche class snub fighter, and they will be going with my heavily modified Renegade set and the rest of my Blacktron 1 MOD's. Rear view of the two ships. This type of short-range fighter is usually assigned in massive quantities to defend critical planets with Blacktron bases on them, whereas the much more capable and deadly Buzzard type is usually for capitol ship escort duty, and can take on much bigger vessels with only a dozen or so fighters. The inside seats two figures. Blacktron armored ground transporter "Marauder" The 2021 Star Wars set 75311 (Imperial Armored Marauder) has been transformed into a Blacktron 1 version, complete with revised guns instead of those annoying flick-fire things. I couldn't use space seats inside this one, but there are plenty (four) 2x2 modified tiles with just enough room for air-tanks in the model... at least I hope that will be the case! The rear of the hover-vessel with the laser turrets rotated. There are eight total opening hatches on the all four sides and top to place figures / store cargo. One figure sits in the rotating rear turret, two troopers sit in the main body of the vehicle, while the last fig sits in the drivers seat. Blacktron giant robot "Destructor" For this model, I used parts and ideas from the Eternals line's "In Arishem's Shadow" set 76155 (body / head / upper legs / upper arms) along with claw from the old Agents 2.0' "Robot Attack" set 8970. The lower legs and laser arm are (modified) holdovers from the "Build Better Bricks" Iron Giant instructions. (I need to fix the laser arm's elbow joint but I keep forgetting!) Blacktron "Shadow Runner" space car Recently, while I was on my Blacktron kick, I decided I needed a vehicle for the commander. So, after a few false starts with other models, I dusted off this old TRON Legacy Light Runner model and went to town modifying it. The model originally was made five years ago (was 2018 really that long ago?!?), and is based off the two-seater TRON set 21314 MOD that was made by BrickBrosUK and posted on Brickset here. The name Shadow Runner is a play on the Light-based vehicles from TRON. Blacktron minifigs 1x commander 4x officers 19x troopers 1x robot (E.D.G.A.R.) (Thanks to my brother for giving me ~10 of his unwanted Blacktron torsos from the old GWP that were purchased from Pick-A-Brick back in 2023.) Blacktron robot "E.D.G.A.R." This model is recolored and modified from the E.R.I.C. robot from set 76831 - Zurg Battle - from the Pixar film Lightyear. I call this one E.D.G.A.R. which stands for: Electronic Data Gathering / Assimilating Robot Blacktron space base "Outpost 13" This sandwich-looking model was built from an 2002 Alpha Team set 4795 (Ogel Underwater base and AT sub) but heavily modified to fit into the Blacktron I theme. I had to fill in the spots where the flexible plastic "window' pieces were, replace the skull logo with the upside-down Tri-Force logo of Blacktron I, find ways to make the model almost totally "air tight", and add on a radar dish instead of a harpoon gun. I also made the building a lot deeper - about eight studs. The rear of the model. I took out the fancy spinning wall of the original set and replaced it with a bank of windows. The radar installation and it's tower are my own design. As on the original set, the logo folds down, where it can be used as a ramp. Also as on the original set, the MOD folds open to access the inside details. Special shout out to Jon Mo who designed the brick built Blacktron logo I used on my model (thanks also goes to EliteGuard01 for finding that logo design and recommending it to me). The inside was very hard to figure out, as most space furniture is for me. I decided on six computer stations and a desk for the commander. Another source of trouble was to make the building open cleanly and close without holes. The original set struggled with this, and it failed miserably - however I feel I managed to fix that issue. Inside of the rear with the commander's desk front and center. Blacktron hover tank "Havok" I modified 25 year old Star Wars set 7155 (Trade Federation AAT) into Blacktron I colors. Before that, the original set was very much a mess of too many colors, but now these two look elegant and refined in my opinion. Here is the rear of one of the tanks with turret rotated. The hatch is opened with control details visible and barrel elevated. Thoughts? Snub fighter added 1/21/26
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Nine small 1950s freight cars of seven designs. Each was built to a length of about 16-18 studs per car with two bogies per vehicle. (Originally they had just two fixed axles when originally built, but this was recently fixed to be more prototypical for American freight cars.) The whole train going into a tunnel. These freight cars are (Left to Right): - cattle car - boxcars (x2) - flatcar with bulldozer load - Octan petroleum tankers (x2) - flatcar with load of rails - bathtub gondola with coal load - caboose This livestock car was heavily inspired by the one in 2014 CITY set 60052 but with a roof for more realism. I can now understand why LEGO left it open top in the set, but I managed to make it work. The roof (which was designed with the same look as the boxcars) is even removable and the ramps fold down so you can take out the cow. These two identical boxcars were inspired by set 7597 from the 2010 Toy Story 3 line. They were expanded in length and had the roof trapdoor removed. Here we see a small 1950s-looking bulldozer on a flatcar. The construction equipment was inspired by CITY set 60140, except in yellow with 46 technic links as the caterpillar tracks instead of red with rubber one-piece tracks. Other things such as headlights and gears (for the treads) were added, and the blade was shortened in width by two studs. These two oil tanker cars came from my own imagination, and are made in Octan livery. This is an older MOC of a flatcar loaded with rails updated to have bogies instead of two fixed wheels. This bathtub gondola with a load of coal is entirely my own design. This caboose model is slightly inspired build-wise by the Katy Caboose (as in, "The Caboose who got Loose" from the children's book) model I copied in late 2021 from @zephyr1934's MOC. Thoughts? EDIT: Post updated 12/14/25 with two new freight cars and revised first picture - bathtub gondola and flat car with rail load are now added!
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Built by General Motors (GM) / Electro Motive Division (EMD) in 1939, this is the diesel that showed the way to the future, signaling the start of the diesel era. This particular engine (FT 103) was originally owned by Electro-Motive as part of a four unit demonstrator. After proving diesels were the superior to steam by way of a whirlwind tour of a whole heap of railroads, it was later sold to the Southern Railway and the lead A unit was eventually placed in the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri where it resides today, under cover and out of the elements. (the other three units were scrapped before they could be preserved, sadly) My MOC is heavily drawn from the 2002 LEGO set 10020 - Santa Fe Super Chief. As that loco is a F7 from the same basic design as the earlier FT, not much had to be changed on the body outside of window placement and a few other things. The roof however, was completely revised to use the same design as 2013 LEGO Inside Tour set 4000008 - Villy Thomsen Truck. This was due to the needed parts as used in 10020 not being available in black in quantity. The rear of the locomotive. This model was first designed by me in 2013 in a very crude way (as seen on my Flickr here), but was heavily upgraded and modified over the years until finally being built last month when the final part - the windscreen - was released. The inside features the engine and control cab, and the roof is removable. Here is the real loco circa 2018, with the FT B-Unit from the Roanoke Transportation Museum behind the original A-unit. (This B-unit was at the St. Louis museum from 2015 to 2020 as part of a loan, but has since returned to Virginia.) Thoughts?
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This through-truss bridge design was originally downloaded by me (I don't remember the name of the original designer who created the bridge) from the LEGO Factory / Design By ME page in 2010-ish and was never built in real life due to questions about it's strength. I came across it again while looking at my MOCpage account's older files and made it into the version seen above using newer parts and a longer frame quite a while ago. (and as to those original questions about it's strength: It's built like a safe, yet I can pick it up with a single finger by the top.) More recently, I revised the deck where the track goes to be able to take the RC track up and be able to put down 9V down more easily. (We run 9V trains at shows in Gateway LUG.) In short, the track is now more easily removable to become 9V, 12V, or even a road bridge. The bridge fits any of my trains, and should fit all official LEGO trains except for double stack containers such as sets 10219 (Maersk Train) and 10170 (TTX Intermodal Double-Stack Car). Comments, questions, and complaints are always welcome! UPDATED 5/29/25: Sorry for the six-year bump, but this model has been torn apart to be made double track! Here we see how it will look when finished, as viewed in LDD. ...and here's the current progress on my double track revamp of my Western truss bridge. Most parts have arrived, but one of the orders is still out... not sure when that's gonna arrive. Thoughts on this new development? EDIT 6/29/25: Sadly, this project is dead. I tried to get it together and couldn't manage it (something was wrong with it), then I had to move and the box of parts got dropped outside. So this upgrade isn't happening. sorry everyone!
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This MOC of author H.G. Wells' time-traveling vehicle from the novel 'The Time Machine' (specifically this MOC is inspired by the excellent 1960 movie version) was designed by user D3ner over on Rebrickable. You can see those free instructions here, though it requires major modifications to be buildable in real life. My brother re-built that MOC digitally in Studio and edited it for me to make it more stable and look better. This model completes my Time Machine collection* and has technically been built since mid-December, but wasn't completed until today when my brother found me an Steampunk Inventor fig from CMF series 27 at Walmart. (Thanks bro!) The Inventor fig fits perfectly with the time machine, and his hat just barely fits over the top of the seat, almost like they were made for each other. *My five time machines include: Bill & Ted's Phonebooth The TARDIS BTTF Time Train BTTF DeLorean H.G. Wells' Time Machine Thoughts? (Also, @Peppermint_M, if you think this belongs somewhere else, feel free to move it where you see fit. I honestly wasn't sure where to put this MOC.)
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This vintage automobile was inspired by two other builder's car MOC's. One is @The Reader who builds amazing Adventurers stuff over in the Action & Adventure forum, like this, which has instructions here. The other builder is @SERVATOR, who makes a ton of old-fashioned cars like these ones here, here, and here, among others. The front of the car, with it's owner. Any resemblance to any fore-mentioned person's sig-fig is purely coincidental. Rear view of the vehicle. The car seats two figures. Thoughts on this MOC?
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For this car model I took a set of free instructions from Rebrickable user @Leewan and modified them in several major ways. (You can view the original MOC here.) For my changes I turned the color from white to red (yellow and black copies have also been built, with pictures coming soon!), replaced the Speed Champions wheels, saucer hubcaps, and teacup headlights with other parts that suit my tastes more. I also substituted the older one-piece Racers grille with cheaper parts as well. The car without the driver, who can fit in the seat - but just barely. This is because there aren't many hairpieces that can be used with this car due to the low roof. Originally I wanted Cruella De Vil to be the driver (as this looks very much like her car), but she doesn't fit due to her hair being too big. The back of the car. The 3x3 round dish is supposed to be a spare tire cover. The removable roof design was also changed to be stronger. There is a bit of space behind the headrest for some luggage. Thoughts?
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I never really liked Adventurers' Orient Expedition set 7424 - Black Cruiser. It's just too small and doesn't look like something the nefarious Lord Sam Sinister would drive... so I made my own! Unlike the original set, it seats two people using the Adventurers cockpit piece. I also vastly increased the part count from the dinky 24 parts of the original set. Full disclosure - The person this design was slightly inspired by is one of an Adventurers car by @The Reader, and you can view his MOC here. The rear of the car. Thoughts?
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First: a personal note to explain why this MOC exists: This film was my early childhood: Twister (1996) was a film I watched everyday from age 3 to age ~6, and I could quote the entire film by heart by age 5, as attested by my parents on multiple occasions. Twister fell by the wayside once Thomas and the Magic Railroad was released to home video in 2001 or so.... which is probably a more kid-friendly than Twister is! I still love this film, and wanted to make my own model of one of the vehicles from the movie for many years. Thus, the first time I set eyes on the red truck from LEGO Ideas set 21354 The Cullen House, I wanted to make it into the yellow truck from the Twister - and now, eight months after the set was released, I have! I modified it to have the lightbar and bracing of the Jeep Honcho from the film, and of course the Dorothy 1 probe was also a must. The bed of the truck has also been heavily modified from the original set to better model the actual truck from the film. The rear of the truck with Dorothy 1 unloaded and ready for deployment. NOTE: Dorothy's design comes from this Rebrickable MOC's version of the probe. Thoughts?
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Both of the models featured in this thread together. This 2-10-0 'Decapod'-type freight locomotive was built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1918 under contract with Imperial Russia as part of an 1,200 strong order. Needleless to say, after the Communist Revolution the last 200 or so locos were not deliverable. Twenty of these orphaned engines were subsequently purchased by the St. Louis - San Francisco Railway (also known as the 'Frisco') - including this loco, 1621 - and modified from Russian 5 foot gauge to the standard 4 foot, 8 1/2 inch gauge, among other changes. After working on the Frisco for many years it was purchased by Eagle-Picher Industries to haul lead ore to it's smelting plant in Oklahoma, before eventually being donated to the Museum of transportation in St. Louis, Missouri as a static display in 1961, where it still resides today. The 1621 also has a operational sibling (1630) you can see / ride behind at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois. My LEGO model of the 2-10-0 is 7 studs wide, and is not lettered for Eagle-Picher like the real engine is currently. I have instead chosen to label it how it was before the recent remodel, with the only road name visible being Frisco. Truth be told, I borrowed a lot of the design for the 1621 from an earlier loco of mine from this same museum, a 2-8-2 lettered for the Chicago & Illinois Midland. I stretched out the engine's frame, added two more drivers, removed the rear pony truck, and revised the tender and cab quite a bit. (The boiler is brand new however!) The rear of the engine. Sadly, this will most likely be my last loco using small drivers, since Big Ben Bricks is closing / going away at the end of this month... and before anyone asks, I refuse to use 3D printed parts! A view inside the cab. This is a LEGO model of an St. Louis - San Francisco Railway (also known as the 'Frisco') wood-sheathed caboose from 1942 that used to be at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, MO. Not much about this rolling stock is known (or at least I can't find any info!), as it was scrapped in place in 2012 due to being totally beyond saving. This model is an approximation of the former caboose based on pictures from when it was scrapped and pictures of other Frisco cabooses from the 1940s, as I've been unable to find pictures of this specific car in it's glory days. NOTES: The 1621 steam loco MOC has spurred the re-model of it's stablemate, 4-8-2 'Mountain' type Frisco 1522, into 7 wide with some accompanying upgrades. Keep an eye out for this revised model, coming soon! Thoughts?
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In the middle of last month I finished digitally reverse engineering and modifying the Morticia's Cottage (set 76786) as much as I could from the few pictures available. I have added a few things such as stairs and a conservatory, and I also replaced the drab coloring with yellow walls, green window frames, and white trim. Now, a month after the design was finalized, the model is finished in the real world... and it seems some newlyweds have just moved in! The front of the house without figures or car. The rear of the house features a back door and 'glass' conservatory. The house opens up like a dollhouse in two sections to get at the interior, then locks shut using Technic pins when closed up again. In the left section is the following rooms: downstairs: dining room and conservatory upstairs: music room In the middle section is the following rooms: downstairs: entryway with staircase upstairs: staircase landing and hallway In the right section is the following rooms: downstairs: living room upstairs: bedroom This Ford Model T was inspired and heavily modified from an incredible MOC made by user Calin, as seen here. The rear of the car with spare tire. The car seats one figure. ...that's all I got. Thoughts?
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In 1948 the Whitcomb Locomotive Company of Rochelle, Illinois built this 65-ton industrial switcher, model 65-DE-17-A for American Steel Foundries - specifically the Granite City Works (of Granite City, Illinois) as their locomotive number 8. The diesel has a B-B wheel classification, cost $49,775 when new, and was built with two Hercules, 4 cycle, 6 cylinder diesel engines that each produced 240 horsepower, for a total of 480 HP. (These were later replaced with 200 HP Cummins engines, giving it 400 HP.) The loco has a top speed of 41 MPH and was donated in 1980 to the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis by American Steel Foundries. My unpowered LEGO version is 7 studs wide with both the front and back ends being identical. Is this the front, or is it the rear? Nobody knows for sure! Thoughts?
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Fantastic Four: First Steps - Fantasticar - real world MOC
Murdoch17 posted a topic in LEGO Licensed
This model is NOT my creation, but is almost totally from this free Rebrickable MOC by user legoswoda, which was itself based on set 60789 (Flying Moon Car) and the Fantasticar from the upcoming MARVEL film about the Fantastic Four. The front view of the '60s retro-futuristic car. The rear of the vehicle. I added the 2x3 and 1x3 plates to the bottom of the MOC to reinforce it. Also, the wheels are easily removable for flying mode. ...and now for some fun! (Because what would the Fantastic Four be without Galactus?) The Thing: 'Hit it Reed, Galactus is right behind us!" Human Torch: 'Maybe if I got out and pushed...' Invisible Woman: 'Must go faster, must go faster!' Mister Fantastic: 'Hands at ten and two, use turn signals and obey all traffic laws... Oops, this light is red!' -
This 2-10-4 'Texas' type steam locomotive MOC I have made has two older ancestor LEGO models that were both 2-8-4 'Berkshire' types by other builders. Parts / techniques / ideas from these two models were mashed together to design my own loco. For the first ancestor loco, we have to go back to 2012, when I bought @SavaTheAggie's 8-stud wide 2-8-4 Polar Express loco instructions. I then spent the next three years heavily modifying the model I made from them, eventually ending up enlarged into a 2-10-4 'Texas' type. This revised loco also had a very similar color scheme to my new loco, with an all-black look with red box on the tender. This original 'Texas' type loco was destroyed long ago for parts. You can buy the original loco instructions by Sava here. For the second engine, we move forward to 2021, when I bought some Rebrickable instructions by @Plastic_Goth for a 7-stud wide 'Berkshire', from which I took the boiler and cab areas and made the rest of the loco myself using principles and ideas gleamed from the first loco 9 years prior. this design was modified and used several times in 4-8-2, 4-8-4, 2-8-4, and more wheel arrangements over the years. You can buy the instructions by Plastic_Goth here. Now in 2025, I have designed a 2-10-4 based on a stretched Plastic_Goth boiler with the paint scheme of my modified 8-wide version of the Sava Railways engine and my own loco running gear + tender. I think I did a really good job mashing these ideas together and making it into my own MOC. The engine rolls beautifully without any major issues except one: when being pushed backwards the engine can collide with the tender. Grabbing the loco itself and pushing the tender back (instead of dragging the loco behind the tender by holding that) bangs the cab roof into the top of the tender. It's my design's fault, and I can't seem to sort the issue out, unless If making the cab roof shorter in length. (which I don't think looks good and won't be doing.) The rear of the loco. Apologies for the one tile not being pushed down all the way - it has since been fixed. The cab of the loco, with firebox and gauges. The engine is 7 studs wide from this point back through the tender, while the boiler is 6 wide, not including the overhang for the walkways. Thoughts?
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A little less than a month or so ago, my brother designed me a 6-track long functional (I.E. weight bearing) single-track train bridge. This model was designed and built by him in less than a day after I expressed a need for another small-size bridge. I then added railings and recreated it digitally just in case I had any issues with it or wanted to modify it. This MOC is designed to be slung between two tables, and worked beautifully as a single track bridge. More recently, I decided to add a second track and as such two more sets of latitudinal supports were placed underneath to make it even stronger now that the load it has to carry has doubled. The longitudinal supports were also lengthened to support the larger bridge deck and the second track. This thing is built using many layers of overlapping plates and bricks and it is STRONG. Underneath, where all the structure's strength is. The bridge on my layout. It is SOLID, with only slight bending at the extreme ends due to the construction method used. Thanks again to my brother for designing such a beautiful bridge! Thoughts?
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This VIP / railroad executives' train consists of several different late 1800s / early 1900s vehicles in a variety of color combos. I did the because I got tired of making a few passenger cars for one train all in one or two colors, so i decided to go with every color scheme I could think of that would work on a train from this era. Because of the multiple color schemes used, I dub this 'the amazing Technicolor train'. From front to back, right to left: - dark blue 4-6-0 steam locomotive + tender - tan / brown baggage coach - dark tan / tan sleeper - dark red / dark brown dining car - sand green / dark tan observation car This early 1900s / late 1890s-era dark blue 4-6-0 steam loco is modeled after the bones of the engine in set 7597 (Western Train Chase) from the Toy Story 3 line. I stretched out the frame slightly to include a third driving axle, added a loco tender of my own design, along with new pistons and new studs-up boiler. Rear view of the engine, which is numbered '9'. (To be honest, this tender design I made has been used quite a bit for my early steam locos... but if it ain't broke - don't fix it!) Inside the cab. The tan / brown combination baggage / coach is for my railway executive's train. This car's purpose and paint scheme is actually inspired by a car owned by the (fictional) Wasatch and Nevada Railroad in the 1975 Western / thriller 'Breakheart Pass', based off the novel of the same name by Alistair MacLean. This dark tan / tan sleeper car was great fun to design. Figuring out a good color scheme while playing off the other three cars in the train and deciding on the fancy woodwork near the base of the car were the highlights! The dining car. I already had the dark red in my collection, but the trouble was deciding on a good secondary color. Eventually (after much thought) I realized dark brown looked best for this car, and thus this model was finalized. This sand green / dark tan observation car was based off the same source material as the baggage car, which is the film Breakheart Pass. In the film, the car was named 'Fairchild', after the fictional Nevada Governor played by Richard Crenna in the film. As to why Abraham Lincoln is standing at the back of the car even though he is actually long dead by the early 1900's, I have but one answer: because I forgot to take him off the model before taking pictures! Thoughts?
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This fictional train station was originally inspired by Grand Central Terminal in New York City, and this MOC on Rebrickable. (although me and my dad's is slightly smaller in depth, is done differently and has a second floor). This station was created to go with my dad's two massive 48x48 passenger canopies, and I designed the first floor for him along with some of the roof, while he designed everything else. Showing how LOOONG this station is! (It's really not long enough, actually - the Santa Fe Super Chief sticks out the other end by a whole two cars + engines!) The street-facing side of Union Station. The station is modular building compatible. There are three lines of train tracks inside this shed. After I took these photos on Sept 13th, he modified the model so the canopy tops can come off to get at the insides. My dad has built two of these 3-track long train shed canopy models, with the inside of both shown here. The completed canopy is 7 tracks long when all placed together and 3 tracks wide. Inside view of the upper floor with roof removed. (there are no interior details for any of the building yet) Inside the lower level. This lattice work has been removed since these pics were taken in mid-September. UPDATE 10/6/25: Whole post revised with the second floor and station canopy segments added in, along with next text and all-new photos. Thoughts?
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Fifteen years ago, I bought instructions for @SavaTheAggie's '2-8-0 Consolidation' six-wide steam locomotive. I never really used them beyond learning techniques for useful building steam engines that could actually take curves - unlike my own late 2009 4-4-0 MOC that worked well only on straight track! You can see Sava's original 2-8-0 model here (in red / yellow with oil tender) at his new online home for his awesome instructions at Brick Train Depot. This older model got an additional axle on the new front bogie, making it a 4-8-0. The loco features a non-Sava tender, pistons, and cab. The only things that survived from Sava's instructions are some portions of the boiler. As for the coaches, they are inspired by 24-year old set 10015 (passenger wagon) from the 'My Own Train' series. I made a baggage car and three passenger cars for this train using as many new parts as possible - except for the doors, as I had no good alternatives for that part. The front of the steam engine, which was a 2-8-0 until a few weeks ago. The rear of the loco. Inside the cab. The baggage car which is half my own design and half inspired by 2001 set 10015. Two of the three mostly-identical coaches. The third coach carries the red marker lights for the rear of the train. Thoughts?
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steam locomotive coal and water towers - real world MOCs
Murdoch17 posted a topic in LEGO Train Tech
My father built his original old grey water tower in this style way back in the late 1990's / early 2000's. When he built my first LEGO train (it was a set 7722 inspired steamer, which gave me the idea for my original red & black color scheme) in 2006, he built me a matching water tower to go with it, but it wasn't until 2014 when I built myself a long-awaited coaling tower using inspiration found on the internet. The two refueling towers were taken apart around 2017, and were subsequently replaced with much bigger versions in a grayscale color scheme. Several years later in 2024, I rebuilt the water tower digitally, but in the original color scheme my Father built his (not the black and red of my original copy), with the addition of a bather up on top, Petticoat Junction style. And finally, in 2025, I've got the design finalized for the reworked coal tower in a matching color scheme. In addition, my brother designed the coal chute as I couldn't get it to look good on my own. The front of the coal tower, with the chute lowered and ready to fill a waiting steam loco with fuel. The rear of the coal tower. The front of the water tower, with the bather up on top in the tank. The rear of the water tower. "Honey I shrunk the steam loco refueling towers!" Size comparison between my nearly a decade old XL fuel towers (in back), and my new smaller ones (in front). Thoughts? -
A while back in December 2024, my brother took 2023 set 60423 (Downtown Streetcar and Station) and recolored it in Studio into the classic red, white, blue, and light gray Metroliner (sets 4558 and 4547) color scheme from early days of LEGO 9V Trains. After seeing that image, I fell in love with it. So I asked him to take his model and tweak it a bit for me (as I don't use studio), with this being the result as built in real life. (Thanks bro for all the work you put into this!) I originally had a second middle car on this train, but the rolling resistance was so great it wouldn't move very far at all. So it was removed and scrapped. Side view. I added a second pantograph to the model as it always bothered my me the 60423 set just has one, while the dual setup is much more common on real trams. As an additional measure based on real world practices, I spread the electric pickups out by placing them on both of the cab cars. Inside view. The other drivers cab is not shown, but is identical to the one seen here. Thoughts?
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So back on May 5th I managed to digitally reverse engineer and expand upon the upcoming Creator set 31167 - Haunted Mansion. I gave it a back half, some furniture, a removable modular base with a pine tree, and a ghostly inhabitant: Dr. Henry Pepper. Who was that you ask? Stay tuned to find out! The house in all it's spooky glory. The base with the house removed. The house removed from it's base. This is the front side. The rear portion of the house. The inside of the house in the front features a dining room and drawing room on the lower floor, with a large music room upstairs. The inside of the back half features a living room on the lower floor, with a bedroom and library on the second floor. Harold Pepper, PhD, was a professor of geology at the University of Chicago. I say 'was', as his mysterious death at his family home in St. Louis in 1894 was most puzzling for police, as no signs of foul play were discovered, and no suicide note was ever found. Even his cause of death was undetermined, he just simply dropped dead after eating breakfast. Suspicion focused first on the breakfast and later, on a mysterious, odd-looking doll found in the garbage pail that no one in his family has recollected seeing before. After the funeral, it appears the late Dr. Pepper refused to leave the premises and move on. His spirit has occasionally haunted the house ever since, with most sightings being around his date of his death. However, in the family is it generally said that if he is seen outside that date, someone in the family's death is near. As of 2025, the house has been abandoned for ten years, with the windows boarded up and doors locked. Urban explorers have entered the premises illegally, and have reported the ghost of Dr. Pepper to be quite agitated at the intruders and or the state of the house's decay. He might even be considered a poltergeist, chasing one group of vandals from the house by throwing things at them as they ran away. The mysterious doll. (NOTE: The above story is totally fictional. Any relation to any real persons, living or dead, is unintentional and completely coincidental. The ghostly Dr. Pepper mini-fig is named after two things: my favorite soda and the Pepper's Ghost illusion technique.) Thoughts?
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I remember when the original BNSF Lego set 10133 was delivered back in 2004 to my dad's house. (for him - not me, sadly!) That set, along with the complete Super Chief he already owned from two years prior, got me even more psyched for LEGO trains. Granted, I couldn't afford the set at the time, but now I'm 20 years older and have money - yet still can't afford it! Thus, I decided one day late in March to redesign the 9v Train set 10133 - Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) GP-38 Locomotive into the modern black / yellow / orange color scheme. It turned out nice in LDD, but then I decided to make something else from it's basic shape. I looked around, and saw an high-hood ex-CB&Q SD24 repainted into the Burlington Northern cascade green / black paint and fell in love. This MOC is the result of that love. Burlington Northern SD24 No. 6240 pulling a BN wide-vision caboose. The front end of the diesel loco, with the high short hood. The real BN loco number 6240 was scrapped long ago, but it lives on in my MOC. The rear end of the locomotive. I'm missing the trio of 'torpedo tubes' (air reservoir tanks) up on the roof, and I'm not sure if this bulge on the left side was on the actual SD24 locomotives.... but beyond that, it looks pretty accurate in my eyes. The cab roof comes off to place an engineer fig at the controls. The three-axle truck with the floating middle section is mostly my own design. I based it a bit off a much longer version seen in the Alco MRS-1 sold by Anthony Sava. Built in 1969, this Burlington Northern caboose was the home away from home for the train's conductor and brakemen. This specific sub-type of Caboose is called a wide-vision caboose, which was a type that became prominent after World War II when taller than usual freight cars became common. The new extra-wide cupola allowed the crew to see around these obstacles, but the life of the car was rather short, having last been last used in the 1980s when it was donated to my local train museum. You can find the real-world version of this specific caboose at the Museum of Transportation in St. Louis, Missouri. (You'll be seeing a LOT more freight cars from this museum some time soon, so stay tuned to Train Tech for when I post that thread!) The rear of the caboose. Thoughts?
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I've had this MOC (originally inspired by the bank from set 79109, Colby City Showdown from the 2013 Lone Ranger theme) made in the real world for about a decade, and I thought it was high time to redo it into a modular style, as it is very close to that scale / size. I added a new neon sign out front that says 'piano bar' to the model, as the old 'saloon' one was removed seven years ago and it didn't look good anyway. You can view the original 2015 neon sign here. The 1890s-style building has two floors, a flat roof, and a removable base for easy conversion from modular to non-modular. The rear of the building really hasn't got any details. On this level are the bar where drinks are served, a few tables, and the stairs to the second floor. Of course, with this build being set in the 1920s, all the drinks are non-alcoholic. (...or at least they're supposed to be!) On the second floor is the piano and more tables. I can just about hear the piano player now... Thoughts, comments, questions and so on are welcome!