BrickTracks: different curves, PF/9V compatible

[Ludo]

Glad to read that's not dead. 

Don't rob liquor stores, when they catch you there won't be 9v or PF tracks. 

I can imagine that you don't have a lot of time for it, but how's the status of the 9V track?

Problem solved?

 

[coaster]

52 minutes ago, Ludo said:

I can imagine that you don't have a lot of time for it, but how's the status of the 9V track?

Problem solved?

Yep, like anything though, I just need money for it. 

[Q3671]

@coaster, can we help ?

[coaster]

2 hours ago, Q3671 said:

@coaster, can we help ?

Of course.  Money makes the world go 'round, and that's the limiting factor.  It's not a tremendous amount required, but more than I have to spend.

[Q3671]

We can order and pay, you got the time to produce.

[legoboy3998]

On ‎8‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 4:44 PM, coaster said:

Of course.  Money makes the world go 'round, and that's the limiting factor.  It's not a tremendous amount required, but more than I have to spend.

Could you do a Kickstarter with a lower goal, or not a "all or nothing" goal?  I pledged on the Kickstarter and would be willing to back again if you have other sources of funding to make this a success.

Sal

WFB, WI

[coaster]

First batch of R56s have shipped!  I'll get the rest out this weekend.  Thanks everyone for sticking with me through this.

If you've been waiting for the R104s and R120s, they'll be back in stock on Monday. 

On 8/19/2018 at 12:56 AM, Q3671 said:

We can order and pay, you got the time to produce.

I appreciate the offer, but I'd be worried about how long you would have to wait before there were enough pre-sales to afford the tooling.  Don't worry, I'll find a way.

 

On 8/19/2018 at 9:01 PM, legoboy3998 said:

Could you do a Kickstarter with a lower goal, or not a "all or nothing" goal?  I pledged on the Kickstarter and would be willing to back again if you have other sources of funding to make this a success.

Sal

WFB, WI

I've got a few things lined up, but if they fall through, I could do another Kickstarter with a lower goal.  Kickstarter doesn't allow partials though; they're strictly all-or-nothing.

[ivanlan9]

Kickstarter doesn't do partials, but don't they allow stretch goals?  That's how the Aria anime funded the dubbing of all three seasons.

Probably this wouldn't overperform so spectacularly, but it might be worth thinking about.

Metta,

Ivan

 

 

[coaster]

51 minutes ago, ivanlan9 said:

Kickstarter doesn't do partials, but don't they allow stretch goals?  That's how the Aria anime funded the dubbing of all three seasons.

Probably this wouldn't overperform so spectacularly, but it might be worth thinking about.

Metta,

Ivan

They do, but stretch goals are really meaningless.  It would be like me saying, "well we need $100k for the switches, but if we hit $120k we might be able to do double crossovers as well!"  There's no guarantee of those nor anyway to pledge towards them.  So, yes, I could post stretch goals to show what else we've been working on, but I don't think there'd be a lot to gain from that.

[M_slug357]

On 8/24/2018 at 1:45 PM, coaster said:

They do, but stretch goals are really meaningless.  It would be like me saying, "well we need $100k for the switches, but if we hit $120k we might be able to do double crossovers as well!"  There's no guarantee of those nor anyway to pledge towards them.  So, yes, I could post stretch goals to show what else we've been working on, but I don't think there'd be a lot to gain from that.

Maybe stretch goals are the way to 100k...?

I get that you're trying to bundle all five parts together in a kit, but maybe you should try a campaign where they're split up?

Say the new campaign starts at $40-50,000 -- the total from the previous kickstarter run.

Tier 1) Just the base switch, both L & R

Tier 2) The ground throw + the half straights, at $60-70k

Tier 3) The turnout curves + The siding curves, at $80-100k

Tier 4) That double crossover! At $120-150k?

I understand that from a technical standpoint, you may've arranged the molds so that one L switch kit or one R switch kit may be injected at one time -- much like how lego did the mold for the steam driver wheels. But I'm kinda hoping you future-proofed it to where each component can be produced separately, in the interest of individual sales and/or inevitable parts' replacements.

 

What do you think @coaster ?

 

p.s. Just got my confirmation for those r56's! YaY

Edited August 26, 2018 by M_slug357
grammar!

[cptkent]

I’m disappointed the switches didn’t get up this time, but I just ordered some R56 & R120

Not that I need it (though it certainly will be used) but I think that any extra support for bricktrcks.com, the only place I see injected tracks being made, can’t hurt.

I’m looking forward to getting some brictracks - keep it up coaster! (And bring on the 9v ;-)

[coaster]

14 hours ago, M_slug357 said:

Maybe stretch goals are the way to 100k...?

I get that you're trying to bundle all five parts together in a kit, but maybe you should try a campaign where they're split up?

Say the new campaign starts at $40-50,000 -- the total from the previous kickstarter run.

Tier 1) Just the base switch, both L & R

Tier 2) The ground throw + the half straights, at $60-70k

Tier 3) The turnout curves + The siding curves, at $80-100k

Tier 4) That double crossover! At $120-150k?

I understand that from a technical standpoint, you may've arranged the molds so that one L switch kit or one R switch kit may be injected at one time -- much like how lego did the mold for the steam driver wheels. But I'm kinda hoping you future-proofed it to where each component can be produced separately, in the interest of individual sales and/or inevitable parts' replacements.

 

What do you think @coaster ?

 

p.s. Just got my confirmation for those r56's! YaY

The problem is the numbers would have all been really high, even dropping some of the components.  Even at $80k, we were only halfway there.  But, despair not, we are hard at work at an alternative.

 

13 hours ago, cptkent said:

I’m disappointed the switches didn’t get up this time, but I just ordered some R56 & R120

Not that I need it (though it certainly will be used) but I think that any extra support for bricktrcks.com, the only place I see injected tracks being made, can’t hurt.

I’m looking forward to getting some brictracks - keep it up coaster! (And bring on the 9v ;-)

Thanks Captain!  Your tracks are already packed and waiting for the post office to open in the morning.

In other news, I made some instructions for ballasting the new R56s.  You can find them on our Flickr page right now: https://flic.kr/p/2atUyWk  We'll make similar ones for the other tracks and post them on our site once we finish. 

 

 

[supertruper1988]

36 minutes ago, coaster said:

In other news, I made some instructions for ballasting the new R56s.  You can find them on our Flickr page right now: https://flic.kr/p/2atUyWk  We'll make similar ones for the other tracks and post them on our site once we finish. 

Does this mean you might have Ldraw parts available for these?

[coaster]

1 minute ago, supertruper1988 said:

Does this mean you might have Ldraw parts available for these?

No, it was easier to just recreate the LEGO parts in CAD.  Of course, if one wanted to create such Ldraw parts, how might one go about doing it?

[supertruper1988]

Just now, coaster said:

No, it was easier to just recreate the LEGO parts in CAD.  Of course, if one wanted to create such Ldraw parts, how might one go about doing it?

Oh haha! The Ldraw thing is tricky to say the least. There is some info out there, but it basically says "all the good parts designers are to busy designing to bother to make tutorials" IE Get stuffed for wanting to join in. 

I know there is/was a program to help convert STL files into DAT files but I couldnt get it working. 

More info can be found here in the parts authoring section and in my experience our own @Philo seems to be very knowledgeable and may be able to help. 

[supertruper1988]

Got my R56 curves today! These look great! Thanks @coaster

[Jedi Bert]

I also got my R56 curves today! Same quality as your R104 and R120. Thanks @coaster

[Philo]

On 8/27/2018 at 6:37 AM, supertruper1988 said:

I know there is/was a program to help convert STL files into DAT files but I couldnt get it working. 

Yes, the tool of choice is stl2dat (command line tool) that does work fine... just remember to use the proper scaling (1 ldraw unit is 0.4mm, so the scaling factor depends on the unit used in your stl file - may be mm, cm or inches). If you prefer a windows gui, stl2dat is also available in LETGUI distribution.

[BurkusCircus]

Could someone who got the R56 curves send out pictures?

[supertruper1988]

4 hours ago, BurkusCircus said:

Could someone who got the R56 curves send out pictures?

What kind of pics are you looking for?

[BurkusCircus]

8 hours ago, supertruper1988 said:

What kind of pics are you looking for?

Almost anything works.

[coaster]

@BurkusCircus These help?

 

 

Edited September 1, 2018 by coaster

[Deeks]

Can anyone from Canada who has bought these tell me what shipping and duty was?

[lego9vtrainfan]

Canadian here. Shipping can be calculated from the BrickTracks shopping cart and depends on the size of your order.

I purchased about US$260 of BrickTracks products a few months ago. There was no duty since the tracks are Made in USA, so I only paid GST/PST and customs processing fees upon delivery, which amounted to about C$49 on this particular order.  But really this was just unlucky on my part, as it seems to be the case that only about 10% of packages that cross the border with USPS/Canada Post are assessed fees by customs, so you may pay nothing at all.

Shipping costs are disclosed upfront and shipping is via the regular postal service (which was the lowest probability of being assessed customs fees/taxes), so I would buy with confidence from BrickTracks.  Hope this helps. 

[Deeks]

Thanks! It’s the random things that get that customs assessment. I’m just setting up in a new house and have much more room :D

Edited September 1, 2018 by Deeks
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