Craig Strader

Kind of why I designed this track. It is so no one will have to redesign the track system when they can just go for a simple solution.

Hello everyone, I am back with a rather unique concept. I present to you the Baseplate Adapter Track. As we all know baseplate are NOT like your standard plates. They are smaller and therefore can only be used for stacking purposes, which to be fair, a baseplate was only meant for display. This has been in the works for some time now, for I was inspired by the enormous library of train tracks that Trixbrix uses. I for one use their products for my layout for whenever I am going to display my Lego train layouts at tractor shows. However, going from ground level to a baseplate is challenging to say the least which is why I designed this piece of track. Say you have a 60050-train station set, and you want it on a baseplate. You can do that yes, but more problems arise when you do that. When it comes to train tracks on baseplates, straightforward is literally the only way to go, going up or down is even more treacherous. I'm pretty sure that I was not the only one experiencing some frustration because of such limitations. With this piece of track, you can connect the track on ground level and the tracks on the baseplate. You can see that the track goes up slightly because as mentioned before, baseplates are smaller than the actual plates. This piece of track was designed to bridge the gaps for those that want their stations on baseplates and still want their trains to take curves. Here is the video of the track in action https://bricksafe.com/files/Strader987/trains/VID_20240618_170120127.mp4 Let me know what you think of this.

Good news everyone. I have got different sizes for the disc drivers in the works. Currently the only sizes designed are #17, #18, and #19. I will get all the way down to #11 in good time. I have intentions to finally start selling more parts (Disc Drivers included) by the time Summer hits.

I believe the C should be replaced with a B. Is this the kind of reference you need?

I'm pretty sure the Bracers can be useful; the slope pieces will be available in different sizes in due time (Current status quo is 8-stud for the boiler on 3463), and even then, they may have to be made as a single cast piece if you want it round like it was designed for. I've also got Universal Disk Drivers in the mix. Those have yet to be fabricated, but I'm pretty sure a 1/35th scale ATSF 3415 would look good with those one. I also have more parts to showcase: Brickettes: This piece is quite straightforward in terms of what it does. It is ONE-HALF the size of a standard Lego brick and for those who do not want to overextend the height by using 2 studs. I also have corner brackets: Again, the application is straightforward here to. I designed this part because I myself experienced frustration when it came to using brackets on corners. I have 4 (working) flavors: Standard is just 2 brackets rotated 90 degrees, Sealed is Standard but with the extra support at the end, Squared which is Sealed but has a square in extension of sealed, and Cheese Slope has an extension of sealed but with a cheese slope that goes 90 degrees (The variant in the picture below). Squared and Standard corner brackets actually go good together. Offset plates: I have 2 types with this one. Type 1 uses the standard plate but the stud is offset by 1.6mm or .2 studs. Type 2 has a base extension and the stud offset by 1.6mm (.2 studs) and 3.2mm (.4 studs) compared to the original plate, respectively.

Here is progress as of March 3rd, 2024. More resin will be here soon, which means no more work until further notice. At least we are going in the right direction. The giant will soon ride the rails. If things go smoothly, we could get steamed up by the time Summer rolls around.

Now that you mention versatility, I have thought about the slope bricks I proposed. I don't think that those I presented will work in the long run. I have an older design that DOES WORK with standard slope bricks. They are also smaller so that their application can be applied in more places and ways. I also made slope parts for the standard 2 x 4 slope pieces, though they have a smaller profile on the backside. Could you work with this one? Could you work with this design?

Hello again everyone, if you find this, then this means that I am starting to unveil some new plans moving forward on this side of the channel. First off, I started a company called Strader's Custom Bricks on eBay a while back with the intention of manufacturing and selling custom parts compatible with the likes of Lego. I was under the belief that if I could benefit from making my custom parts for my custom MOCs, then others could benefit as well. We will also see why the parts are being designed in the first place. Unfortunately, I am not going to be selling parts for the time being, I will most likely start selling my parts when my current college semester finishes at the of the second week of May. In the meantime, I will keep testing more parts in my spare time so as to give quality parts. If anyone has any ideas or concepts that could be of use to your projects and others that you would like to see take to the rails in this case, send me some photos or rough drafts of some parts on this topic and I can see about creating some prototypes. Let's start off good and strong on this one: I have perfected (to the best of my abilities) my Baldwin Disc Driver. It now features the inset that makes it iconic, and if you look closely the lettering turned out rather splendid. I was originally planning to use ball bearings like the one I posted around Christmas of 2023, but that proved to be more tedious than what I was willing to tolerate then, so I went back to the old fashioned cross-axle. The only size available is the #19 size or 62.4mm. I have more sizes planned, but for a few good reasons, I have yet to build those. Blind versions of the wheel with a 25 degree turn has also been constructed as well. Next up: Bracers. The purpose of this piece is the same as with standard Lego tiles, only difference between Tiles and Bracers is that the bracers work with the studs to create the flush surface instead of covering it altogether like the tiles. Because of that, it is one-half the height of the tiles. Next one is to be used with the round plates and tiles: I will call these Inverted Slope Bricks. The purpose of this is to work along round plates and tiles to create a much more uniform circle compared to using standard Lego Slopes. Because of its unique design it WILL NOT WORK with standard inverted curved slopes (I have already designed the special inverted slopes to go with this part and even different sizes to go with the one you see below (the one in question is for 8-stud wide round plates). They have holes so as to work with a special sloped piece with a hole as well as the technic plates as shown below. To complement the Inverted Slope Brick, we have a normal version as well. This one serves a similar purpose to the Inverted Slope Brick. Bar holders are included and my take of an LFM 6-Chime whistle with this design. Again, It WILL NOT WORK with standard Lego Slopes and already have special Slopes in play with different sizes designed from 5-8 stud wide plates and tiles. Here are some miscellaneous parts that serve their own niche purpose. From top to bottom we have a familiar face with the 3 x 8 Liftarm. The 2 parts below have a purpose of their own. They are meant to have the axle bricks offset not just by length, but height as well. To use these parts, you simply take the axle brick behind and raise it by one stud. They are fully compatible with standard lego axles and pegs. Now why are these pieces being showcased, because they are going to a locomotive that for the longest time has been on my to-do list to get done: Santa Fe 3463 in 1/35th scale. Going from this: October 2021 To THIS (Mostly): Some parts have already been fabricated to look like the prototype. Build date has yet to be determined. More parts are still in the works and they all revolve around the locomotive. The locomotive is my Guinea Pig for testing the parts you seen. Here is the current status quo of the locomotive: February 25, 2024 Let me know what you all think.

Of my own design yes. Technic bricks have an opening that is too small for the bearings. I didn't want to use a heat gun, so I went for designing the bricks to accommodate the bearings.

I made a version for accepting eccentric cranks rotated at 25 degrees right and left. The one you see before you is for your run-of-the-mill connector pegs Those will be applied in a similar fashion like an O-Gauge train. The tires in question are not those red/white "donut" bands, but a full on black cylinder with a rather big inside diameter. 50.4mm to 52.4mm for ID to OD respectively.

As far as the drivers and the special crossaxle required to accommodate the steel axle go, yes. Ball bearings are model F682ZZ, Lego gear is a standard 12 teeth bevel gear

I fixed it. Better?

Hey everyone, I'm back and boy o boy have I got something for you all to bear witness. I created the Baldwin Disc Driver a while back as a means to potentially offer more wheels aside from traditional Spoked and Boxpok or Bullied-Firth in some rare instances. But the reason I am posting this is because not just of general wheel improvements, but also how smooth the wheels turn as well. These Baldwin Disc Drivers are indeed utilizing ball bearings exactly like what you would put on rolling stock, only this set has locomotive drive wheels and has a gear. I'm thinking about setting up a shop next year selling custom parts like these. Not just the Baldwin drivers but also everything else. The wheels are undergoing further testing and if I can, I might make some kits where the ball bearings are STANDARD in them. But for now, what your see before you is a prototype. Let me know what you think of this Here is the lettering of the wheels Here is the video link to the wheelset in action. Watch the smoothness roll.

If you want to use steam engines and utilize some realism, might I suggest going with the Swiss experiment with an 0-6-0 shunting engine. The experiment utilize pantographs to heat the boiler.

What kind of resins are utilized to fabricate custom parts, tough resin? I am looking to produce some parts for a project of mine and I want them to be as durable as BrickTrainDepot's wheels to where they will not chip and/or break apart.