legodac Posted July 5, 2011 Posted July 5, 2011 (edited) Coffee TinTunnels, Was created the same time I decided to build a Lego train set running through my living room,then my bedroom and closet as well. The hardest part of building the support structure was not how I was going to drill through the walls of our home, butwas in fact, getting my wife to allow any train running through her livingroom. The support shelf is chin level, mine that is, so that, well, lots of reasons, I will cover that later in following MoC’s. Yes they really are Coffee Tins, an 8 inch hole saw was used to cut through the three sections of wall where I wanted the tunnels. I then used a product to insulate the wall after making most of it expand into dust. Large MaxwellHouse coffee tins were then incorporated. Both ends obviously needed to be cutoff, then, cut down the side to reach the desired dimension. Once spread and placed in the Hole in the Wall, they were fastened with wood screws. The interior of the coffee tin was also spray painted flat black. There is about a 3 inch gap created when spreading the tin, your hole when drilled in the wallmust allow for this, in other words, you first drill your 8 inch hole about 2inches below your finished grade. I think you’ll see what I mean from the pictures that follow. Feel free to ask any construction questions. I hope you enjoy the pictures, I’ll be showing my finest Lego moments soon on “The Train Set My Wife Let Me Build in Her Living Room” P.S. She loves it, and the Grandkids go nuts for it. Thanks, if I overloaded my perimeters, I will make amends. Oh, almost forgot the closet shot Edited July 5, 2011 by legodac Quote
icy brick Posted July 5, 2011 Posted July 5, 2011 Now I think this should be in train tech but if not then I´m incorrect anyway NICE ! Quote
Zorbas Posted July 5, 2011 Posted July 5, 2011 Topic moved in the Train Tech Forum. Now, this is pretty impressive. Having a LEGO train running around the house by opening holes on the walls is not something I see every day. It seems that you've made a great job when it comes to the holes and their support and I love the fact that you've built a tunnel facade. Well done legodac and kudos to your wife! Quote
LEGO Train 12 Volts Posted July 5, 2011 Posted July 5, 2011 Absolutely wonderful! I love these tunnels: they seem too real! I like the electric wires for the lamps (beautiful pictures in the dark! ) and the details of the cables inside the tunnels! I love the atmosphere of this room, also the dust is amazing! Quote
mrblue Posted July 5, 2011 Posted July 5, 2011 that's what I call great! I am one of those who thinks that mixing lego with classic train dioramas material is good! if you make a moc, I agree you have to stay with what lego offers, but in this case, it adds a touch of reality that our loved bricks can't give! simply great! have a nice train lego day mrBlue Quote
L@go Posted July 5, 2011 Posted July 5, 2011 This is probably what everybody who's into Lego trains ultimately dreams of doing, but only one will ever do. Who hasn't dreamt of drilling holes between rooms, having trains up on shelves running all over the house? Kudos for making this a reality. You're crazy (as is your wife!), but it's the kind of crazy we love :) Quote
splatman Posted July 5, 2011 Posted July 5, 2011 I have thought of eventually cutting holes thru walls for Monorail track. The holes would have (non-LEGO) doors that can be closed when they're not in use. Holes in walls are also great for other things, like if you need to run Cat5 cable to a computer in another room. Quote
WesternOutlaw Posted July 6, 2011 Posted July 6, 2011 It's always neat to see LEGO incorporated with non-LEGO elements. I don't believe I've ever seen coffee tins used for train tunnels, but the finished product(s) look really good. Very clever use of the tins and I like how you recessed the red bricks/plates. Really clever idea! Quote
Eilif Posted July 6, 2011 Posted July 6, 2011 Great job! Really reminds me of the classic LEGO layouts in LEGO pamphlets that incorporated modeled scenery with brick-built elements. Quote
dr_spock Posted July 6, 2011 Posted July 6, 2011 Very nice. How did you convince your wife to let you cut holes in the wall? Quote
greenmtvince Posted July 6, 2011 Posted July 6, 2011 (edited) Very nice. How did you convince your wife to let you cut holes in the wall? I'd be more interested on a tutorial on this than I would be on the construction of the tunnels themselves. Perhaps you could get it published in Railbricks. I forgot to mention that I love the use of fall foliage colors on many of the trees on the layout. Reminds me of my favorite time of year. Edited July 6, 2011 by greenmtvince Quote
baard Posted July 6, 2011 Posted July 6, 2011 I have to say -WOW! When I was building my new Lego room I was asking my (NLSO) wife If I could make a hole in the wall to allow trains to run an extra round on a deep natural shelf in the next room the answer was: NO. And so be it. Thanks for sharing this wonderful layout. I have something to show my wife. Now she will be convinced I am not the only train enthusiast enjoying tunnels through walls around... Cheers, Bård Quote
LEGO Guy Bri Posted July 7, 2011 Posted July 7, 2011 Awesome layout 'Legodac'. The tunnels are wonderful! I love corrugated tunnels on real tracks and in the H scale. Very realistic, excellent job Quote
legodac Posted July 9, 2011 Author Posted July 9, 2011 (edited) Please take me seriously when I say that reading all your comments brought tears to my eyes, but then again, so does a good episode of the Simpsons. Thanks again, though it wasn't that a big a deal to convince my wife to allow this, for there is always a trade off, the trick is finding the right one, like building a dog bunker for 3 large dogs and an Arctic Wolf (Shh, don't tell anyone eh). I've been at my laptop all day compiling pictures and MoC's so that I may show you some more cool stuff. I also really enjoy looking at all the cool creations here from all of you, I learn something new every time I do. http://s681.photobuc...esktop032-4.jpg http://i681.photobuc...esktop032-4.jpg <ahref="http://s681.photobucket.com/albums/vv176/legodac/?action=view¤t=desktop032-4.jpg"target="_blank"><imgsrc="http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/vv176/legodac/desktop032-4.jpg"border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> Please forgive this little test, the pic you see wasposted in another topic here. The MoC links and lines are all the same, I’mtrying o figure out which one works when copying and pasting into a Worddocument so that it shows up as picture instead of text. I would have done this privately but Eurobricks doesn’t sending messages to yourself like other sitesI belong to. btw, anyone know why every time I use word, write, copy and paste, some of the words are linked together? Edited July 9, 2011 by legodac Quote
prateek Posted July 9, 2011 Posted July 9, 2011 Great idea using the cans, but I'm not so sure about cutting through your walls At least you can now transport things between rooms without actually moving Quote
splatman Posted July 9, 2011 Posted July 9, 2011 Great idea using the cans, but I'm not so sure about cutting through your walls As long as you don't cut thru any load-bearing studs, there should be no issues. At least you can now transport things between rooms without actually moving Yeah, like Gravy from the kitchen to the dining room. "The Gravy Train has arrived". Quote
peterab Posted July 11, 2011 Posted July 11, 2011 Yeah, like Gravy from the kitchen to the dining room. "The Gravy Train has arrived". I know a guy who has an LGB/Playmobile train running past his kitchen window, down the side of his house and around his backyard. He has sushi ans Saki trains. Quote
Decknar Posted July 19, 2011 Posted July 19, 2011 Very nice way to recycle. I think this will help with my underground/overhead lego subway. Very nice Quote
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