tunamint

Hey Eurobricks! I thought you'd might like to see a few of the goodies I'm selling on eBay: NOTE: My auction descriptions by default indicate that I'm only willing to ship to the United States. While US shipping is preferred, I will ship to other countries if notified before bidding. Thanks! (: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180569205167 <----- This is a custom, German style 12v powered diesel engine I built for a layout I unfortunately cannot finish. It was part of a complete train MOC I completed back in May and featured on classic-town.net! It needs a new, useful home ..can any Eurobricks members help me out? I also have MISB copies of Raindance Ridge http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180569574464 <---- and http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180569576280 <--- Bandit Ambush for sale! Happy bidding! There's more to come soon ;)

Absolutely gorgeous. I'm in love with the platform roof and the overhead wiring! The escalator and the guard's booth ..all wonderful. Hope to see more from you (: !

Positively love the light-up skating rink! What a creative idea.

VERY nice! Excellent use of the Prince of Persia arches, and a diverse entry into the long-lived modular building craze. I personally love the size variation compared to the official sets, and combined with a few MOCs to 'transition' itself I feel it would look right at home. Great work!

Fantastic work on the house so far -- accurate, efficient and attractive. Love the way you built the door! :D

After recently acquiring (or using a term I endearingly apply, 'rescue' ,) the remnants of two disused copies of 7722, a manual Level Crossing, a good deal of 4.5v track and a 12v motor on eBay, I decided to have another shot at creating a full MOC consist after not being too terribly thrilled with my first attempt last month. So after cracking open both of my 10183s (with a little assistance from 4996,) I give you the Classic Goods Train! (: Looks like the morning haul is heading through town. The locomotive - a small diesel mechanical model of German prototype, based heavily around the blue 7760, but drawing some influence from 7755 and incorporating 4563's 'pinstripe' color scheme. Normally I'm not a huge fan of decals, but I felt that they lent a fair amount of detail and interest, in this case. I wanted to keep a small, stocky, and stubby appearance throughout the loco's profile, reflecting it's classic influences. Tiles cover the running board and hood, resulting in a mostly studless design. The loco from the rear. The original 1980's style magnet coupling has been fitted to both pairs of buffers to better authenticate the classic feel. A typical feature from sets of the day was the ability to easily lift the roof away from rolling stock in order to place minifigures inside, and this has not been overlooked here. The roof (and doors!) lift away in a single piece, connected only by the studs at the bottom of the doors themselves, which provides a surprisingly sturdy connection while in operation but still retains easy removal. The cab windshields are mounted upside-down to the body of the loco by fitting a jumper plate into a headlamp brick with the 'rear' facing vertically. Here's a ballast wagon, fresh with shiny new 1x1 tiles. A tiny piece of rolling stock at only six by twelve studs. I designed the wagon to resemble various similar types of mineral trucks frequently found in classic European trains. The car is even complete with a detailed braking system, as was typical of prototype! Here's a completely brick-built working tipper wagon. Tipper wagons were staples of the blue era, yet oddly made no appearances during the grey era and were largely replaced by the hopper wagon during the 9v era. As is fairly obvious, turning the wheel at either end dumps the load. Unfortunately with my limited supply of parts on hand (95% of my collection is currently 2,000 miles away from me at the moment!) the tipper capacity is rather shallow.. Here's a covered goods van, complete with ladder, detailed underframe and 'locking' doors. What could such a van be carrying? Why, a Small Car of course! Some lucky owner in town must be having it shipped direct from the manufacturer. Costly indeed! Yard sorting duties.. And heading out for another run! 40 mph winds are not great conditions for LEGO photography, but I didn't let that deter me. While attempting to stage a braking mishap in the sidings (as seen in the lower right hand corner) the wind finally decided to toss my whole setup around! Such is the railfan's peril. I hope you've enjoyed and I hope to bring you something better next time!

Once upon a time during the 12 volt era, when Lego produced a plethora of train-related accessories many enthusiasts would clamor for modern versions of today (which, due to costs, will likely not be seen again, if the company's current but sensible 'as few train specific elements as possible' stance) a set was produced for just such a situation! Though I personally do not own and have not used the set, to my understanding, when the toggle was pressed, small grey "grabs" took hold of the bottom of one set of magnetic couplers (presumably a consist to be detached from a locomotive) while the loco itself could then continue on, minus it's train. This was made possible by the old design of magnet holster used during the era, which employed a small 'bar' on one end, hanging downward, to more aesthetically resemble (at the time in which the prototype stock of the era was in use) European coupling proper, as shown here, contrasted with the later 9 volt/RC design, which omitted it completely: From what I hear, however, the 12 volt automatic decoupler was not an efficient means of preforming said task, and didn't work more often than it did. Even so, it's application today is more or less limited to a 12 volt layout (or section of layout) running classic 12 volt stock, which is far from practical for most layouts and MOCs, which usually have their roots in 9v (and the vastly more common new design of coupler!) For the creative and technically minded, a modern solution is more than likely possible - has then ever yet been something proved unsolvable with LEGO? Unfortunately, I am not one of those brilliant minds - but I imagine that accomplishing such an action would depend upon your intended usage - do you intend to build a section of track that decouples all type of stock (with standard magnetic coupling) or a specific piece for a MOD or MOC designed to uncouple a special design of coupler? The latter should be fairly simple to find a suitable answer to with standard pieces, but as for the former, I suspect that electronics and programming would probably have to be involved, such as any of the Mindstorms systems and/or the new Power Functions system (which I believe go hand and hand currently, IIRC.) Here are a few pictoral solutions from various Brickshelf users, primarily utilizing the 9v electric system. Hope this helps, and good luck with your dilemma!

Firstly, I would like to precede with a concern: if this topic is mislabeled as an MOC because it's piece content is almost universally from one set, please correct me. This is my first creation in over five years, and my first ever posted to the internet. Hey, Eurobricks! As a train buff who recently rediscovered his love for the brick, I'd like to present my first creation since 2004, which I named His Majesty's Mail Service on a whim. Upon returning home from Brickworld Indy, I was determined to build something out of absolute necessity, and this is what resulted from that need. I promptly cracked open one of the copies of 10183 I'd snagged there, but instead of planning out a precise MOC based on a real prototype, I decided to pay tribute to my childhood by opening each of the bags into a pile on the floor and building from my head. Initially, I had fooled around with a curved SNOT bufferbeam in the style of British steam locomotives, as never outside of an official kit from TLG had I practiced any similar techniques. I initially considered building a 2-6-0, then an 0-6-0 pannier tank, before liking the bufferbeam piece so much that I created another copy of it and decided on building a symmetrical locomotive. Deciding to take design cues from 7720's battery-powered switcher from 1980, I decided on an electric steeplecab look. Somewhere along the way, I settled on trying to give the engine a 'streamlined' feel by forming the frame with tiled 'skirts,' roof tiles, SNOT, half-stud tiles and cheese slopes. Here is the front of the locomotive, from which the bufferbeam concept grew. The headlight is formed by a stud-down Technic 1x1 brick, fit into the tube of a 1x2, secured by the back of two 1x1 headlight bricks mounted behind the 2x4 red slopes for stability. Although a bit hard to see in the daylight, the headlamp as well as it's symmetrical backing counterpart are both lit by a Lifelites Jr. in the cab. At this point during the build I decided to keep my creations 6-wide in order to create a consist that would harken memories of a 4.5 volt era train set. The locomotive is of the B/Bo wheel arrangement, with the wheels themselves fastened to the undercarriage without their outer suspension fairings (as the 'skirts' along the sides of the locomotive are attached by mudgaurds, resulting in a fit too narrow for the fairings.) I took a cue from various builders and brickbuilt the chassis as many have their freight bogies to achieve a greated degree of realism - although mine was purely for the sake of functionality! Not counting magnets, the locomotive is 20 studs long. The frame built up from the skirts sits around the chassis and attaches via four internal studs, resulting in a not-so-sturdy loco - but such is the negative aspect of 'freestyle' building. The cabin itself is fairly undetailed, save for 1x4 control panel tiles on either side of the cab, and a centrally located driver's seat on a turntable plate, seated above a 2x4 plate and 1x2 bricks which help keep the length of Lifelite cable down. In front of the seat in the forward section of the loco is the Lifelite brick itself, which can be reached by opening the cab door and sticking a finger inside. The roof is piece together from dark bley 'vehicle roof' plates, under which are two more Lifelite lights to illuminate the cab. Other than a red-lensed backing lamp, and red 1x2 tiles instead of letters with seals, the rear end of the loco is identical to the front. This combination open transport/covered cargo wagon is loosely inspired by the rearmost wagon from 7720. The chassis is built up from a number of regular and Technic plates, with a length of 18 studs. This parcel van was largely inspired by and is a slight imitation of the one seen in 7722 from 1985. A black and red scheme with burgundy trim has been adopted in place of red and yellow, but aesthetics are kept very similar. The chassis, however, is freelance. Inside a small sorting office can be found in the rear of the wagon, and a transport area behind the sliding doors. Stepladders reside on either side of the wagon for no other purpose than for being frilly. As I own only one Elite Jr at the moment, the rear lamps on the wagon aren't illuminated. An overview of the station platform and parcel truck, all built, along with the train, from one copy of 10183 save for minifigures, the Brickforge Vespa, and two of the old stle 2x2 plates with permanent axle and wheels. Close-up of the parcel truck. Keeping with the 1980's train set theme, I wanted to create a small, 4-wide vehicle, which posed a few interesting design challenges. Most of the truck's body and wheel arching are framed with SNOT around a 2-wide base. Two 1x1 horizontal clips allow the tailgate to lift down for package loading and unloading playability. I have much to learn and much to practice, but nevertheless I'm glad to finally have something to show the world for my hobby. I hope you enjoy my first proper MOC, and look forward to creating and sharing more! (: -Mike.

Great work, Selander! It's always a pleasure to see Mathis' designs, and your version is just as lovely. Love the SNOT windows in the midsection! A faithful reproduction - I like your use of slopes as opposed to the 'vehicle roof' pieces used in James' render, it lends a more 'classic' feel to the locomotive. Keep up the awesome work! :D

Hey all! As a new Eurobricks member, after introducing myself, I wanted to make sure I signed the Train Tech Registry. (: As a life long railfan and LEGO enthusiast, naturally those two interests went hand in hand. My first set was a Samsonite copy of 7722, which still holds many fond memories for me. As an American, I sadly missed out on the 12V era (not to mention I was born as it was ending!) but was able to enjoy many of the 9V greats. I sadly entered my dark ages period around 2004 and have only recently come out of it - and how I regret not stocking up before 9V ended! Unfortunately, I am currently without most of my LEGO collection, as I could not afford to bring it with me as I moved across the country. I hope to be able to truck it out here someday soon, however - as I have not completed an MOC in five years! My collection is as follows:

Hey there, everyone! I'm Michael, but most everyone calls me either Mike or Tuna. I've been lurking Eurobricks' front page for the better part of two years now, but had never joined the forums, seeing as I hadn't yet met certain age requirements. As said complications are now behind me, I've decided to join the community! This is my first (proper) venture into the LEGO fan community. I received my first set much later than most of you did, in 1998, and became an absolute brick fiend between then and 2004, after which time I encountered a relatively short "dark ages" period where I left LEGO behind. I would rediscover my love for the brick while attending an NMRA show in 2008, where several ILTCO clubs had displays, where I saw a whole new world and purpose, and discovered the hobbyist side of the community. Aside from collecting a few sets and putting together a few MOCs, I was able to produce little, however, before having to move across the country, leaving my collection behind, save for some minifigs. I will someday soon be able to afford to truck my collection over here, so that I can start building again, though! I attended Brickworld Indy this past weekend and had the pleasure of meeting and conversing with Jeramy Spurgeon, who I'm sure you all know as the founder of RAILBRICKS. It was an immense honor and inspiration to speak with him in person, and thanks to him I most definately wish to pursue the hobby further. I've much to live up to! :D As you might have guessed, at heart, I am a railfan. My first train set was 7722 from 1985, which brought back a flood of memories after watching a copy (albeit sans smokestack, unfortunately!) putz around INDYLUG's huge layout while Jeramy's 9V consist ran circles around it. I also had the pleasure of owning the Metroliner and it's compliment car, the Freight and Crane railway, and several other 9 volt wonders - how I wish I had stocked up before I went into my dark ages! I'm ecstatic to hear from Jeramy that PF works so wonderfully, which calmed my fears about future creations. So inspired was I by Brickworld Indy that I eagerly blew a few paychecks, with which I purchased Lifelites and a few copies of 10183 Hobby Train from Milton Train Works to keep me occupied whilst in the absence of my collection. I am also a big Town fan - especially Classic Town (both the theme and blog!) and many of my creations were centric of such. I occasionally dabble in other themes from time to time for variety, too. I've recently gotten addicted to the idea of vignettes and even Miniland scale, of which I've crafted some LDRAW creations, but I'm not positive if such things are allowed to be posted here, in lieu of actual bricks. Regardless, I look forward to starting off in the community and meeting the rest of it's many talented members! Hello Eurobricks, one and all. (: