Maersk Train in different colours

[zephyr1934]

Well chaps I have finally started my Lego trains Journey.

Welcome aboard.

I just have registered on Bricklink and see how you call up an inventory list for the Maersk Train. Can you elbaorate on how you find from there who has the parts to fit the inventory?

I suspect it'll take a bit of patience and searching to get all the bits together for the complete Maersk train but I'm not particularly fussy on the paint scheme. I always wanted to go Norfolk Southern black scheme if I cant go the Maersk colours. Its the containers and their carriers that I really want to add to my rolling stock.

If you are looking to build the identical form factor but in a different color (or even the same color) you are probably better off building a lot of it from scratch and making part substitutions to keep the costs down, e.g., if you do not care about the diagonal stripe necessary for the Maersk pain scheme but irrelevant for NS, you can use bricks for that part of the locomotive. Or maybe the original had a lot of plates to get a horizontal stripe in that you don't care about, etc..

If you are comfortable with LDraw or LDD, I'd suggest getting the instructions for the Maersk (see lego customer service) then build up your own virtual version while keeping an eye on the parts prices on bricklink or what you already have in hand. The train bits and PF are expensive no matter what, but other parts you can often find cheaper alternatives with small redesigns that yield the same shape. In this fashion you can also add in detail that you might like (I personally prefer different cab windows than the stock Maersk has) or delete detail that you do not care about (e.g., the fuel tanks can be simplified).

I recently finished building a repaint of the Maersk but I am waiting on the stickers before posting about it. I had to do some part substitution because some of the parts were never made in the colors I needed. So instead of using panels to build up the exhaust stack, I wound up using an upside down 1x2 brick in the color I needed and the 4x4 turntable bases had to be replaced, I used a BNSF style plate with arm.

[legocharles]

Here is another picture I found of my CN engine based on the maersk model. You can see it from the rear. Aside from the colors, I believe I followed step by step the original instructions of the Maersk train:

[Richfilth]

I just have registered on Bricklink and see how you call up an inventory list for the Maersk Train. Can you elbaorate on how you find from there who has the parts to fit the inventory?

1. Log in to Bricklink
   
2. Select Catalog Items from the top menu, and search for the set you want
   
3. On the catalog page, under the On Wanted Lists section, click Part Out
   
4. On the new page, deselect certain items (instructions, minifigs etc)
   
5. Add To New Wanted List, and enter a name for that list
   
6. Check the box - Set My Minimum Desired Qty for each Item to Qty of Items in Inventory
   
7. Click Submit for Edit, and confirm the pieces
   
8. Download Brickficiency
   
9. Open up Brickficiency and click Import to download your wanted lists
   
10. Select your new Wanted list and click OK
    
11. Click Calculate and select your desired countries and min/max number of combinations (more sellers = cheaper parts, but you pay more for shipping)
    
12. Click Calculate and let Brickficiency do its thing.
    
13. Once you have your Brickficiency report, click each seller's name to access their Bricklink store
    
14. On the left hand column of each store, under the title, click Show All Items this store has on my Wanted List (All Items)
    
15. Select your Wanted list from the drop down menu
    
16. Click Auto-Fill Cart Min, then Add Selected items to cart
    
17. Repeat this for all stores in your brickficiency report
    
18. Click View Cart for each seller, and confirm that you haven't ordered the same parts from two sellers, or that you haven't ordered both New and Used parts from the same seller
    
19. Click Checkout on each Cart and pay for your bricks
    
20. Receive bricks and assemble!
    

The only downside here is that once you have a list in Brickficiency, it's not easy to add new parts to the wanted list - you have to add the parts in Bricklink, then download the list again, and probably save it to your PC to make it easier to open later. I generally end up with half a dozen variations of the same Wanted list, with a few bricks removed or added to see how it affects the pricing, based on unique parts availability, colours etc.

Edited March 20, 2015 by Richfilth

[LegoMavrick]

Many thanks for the warm welcome Zypher1934. Thank you for pointing me in the direction of LDraw, thats very handy indeed.

Richfilth thank you so much for the step by step guide. Im going to give it a bash right now.

Oh dear wallet watch out!!!

[pirzyk]

I finally finished my Illinois Central Maersk Version:

Modeled after http://www.railpictu....1299518324.jpg

I did have to move the 4x6 and 6x12 plates around to be able to handle the Operation Lifesaver decals. Internally it has been hacked up to handle the PF switch so I can have the front and rear motors running in opposite polarity on the same channel. The two headlights on the roof of the cab are lit by brickstuff lights attached to the battery box, so when the unit is on, the lights are on.

Edited March 28, 2015 by pirzyk

[zephyr1934]

And I just finished my blue Conrail version, but more on that in a new thread.

[medib]

I am sorry that I'm bringing up this topic from a couple months ago, but I am 95% done with my version of the Maersk.... in Medium Azure. Just missing a few parts here an there that I accidently forgot to order. I had the plans done up a few months ago, but I was waiting since May to get all the parts for it (that I ordered).

I also apologize for the slightly large, blurry photo down below.

http://www.brickshel...un/100_1631.jpg

Edited July 13, 2015 by medib

[dr_spock]

I am sorry that I'm bringing up this topic from a couple months ago, but I am 95% done with my version of the Maersk.... in Medium Azure. Just missing a few parts here an there that I accidently forgot to order. I had the plans done up a few months ago, but I was waiting since May to get all the parts for it (that I ordered).

I also apologize for the slightly large, blurry photo down below.

http://www.brickshel...un/100_1631.jpg

I hope you get a chance to photograph it with the original Maersk for comparison. I'd be curious to see. How much did you have to spend on medium azure pieces?