Holger Matthes' Crocodile colour issue.

[Redimus]

So I've decided to take advantage of the instructions provided by his book, but I've run into a colour issue.

Which brown is it? I had assumed Reddish Brown, but the finger joint hinges simply do not exist in that colour (at least according to Bricklink). Is it meant to be the old Brown (which they do exist in, but I'd suspect some of the more modern parts don't)? Is there a suitable alternative to this without completely redesigning the ends (the modern ratcheted ones are too tall)?

As is usually the case, I'm finding the building a parts wanted list on Bricklink frustrating as all hell (I'm not sure why the hell we need to identify what kind of piece we're looking for when we have the number already), and I want to get this parts list *right* so I can share it, meaning everyone else who has the book doesn't have to go through the same fart on.

Edited January 26, 2018 by Redimus

[BrickMusher]

Well, I think the best way to figure out is to ask @HoMa himself?

[Redimus]

I didn't realise he was on these boards!

[HoMa]

I've used old brown for my real brick build crocodile engine, except the 1x2 bricks with grille. They were never made in old brown, only in reddish brown.

For the instructions on the book I used red because of printing quality issues with brown vs. black. But the bill of materials will list all color relevant elements.

I know that this model uses some hart to find elements, but the model was build years prior then the book was written and the crocodile engine is an example for a complex expert model.

For long time I thought it is not possible to build a dark green version. Dark green does match perfectly with most of the real engines. But Axel proved that it is possible, even without jumper plates which were not available when he build his dark green version:

 

This is a great example of my intention of the book: inspiration to go ahead further and find your own solutions. And not sticking brick by brick with the photos and instructions I've provided.

Hope you enjoy the book anyway, even if you have done struggles with a 1:1 build of the crocodile.

Holger

P.S. The "fact sheet" on pages 186/187 does mention brown (and not reddish brown) a several times.

Edited January 26, 2018 by HoMa
Fact sheet mentions brown

[Redimus]

Cheers for the quick response! :)

[sed6]

What book we talking about?

Edited February 6, 2018 by sed6
cnat spele

[Younge]

16 minutes ago, sed6 said:

What book we talking about?

Holger's Lego Train Book.

https://books.google.com.au/books/about/The_Lego_Trains_Book.html?id=s6_aAQAACAAJ&redir_esc=y&hl=en

[sed6]

Thanks! Ordered! Got it from Amazon here in the US for $16 :)

[Haddock51]

On ‎2018‎-‎01‎-‎26 at 6:14 PM, Redimus said:

So I've decided to take advantage of the instructions provided by his book, but I've run into a colour issue.

Which brown is it? I had assumed Reddish Brown, but the finger joint hinges simply do not exist in that colour (at least according to Bricklink). Is it meant to be the old Brown (which they do exist in, but I'd suspect some of the more modern parts don't)? Is there a suitable alternative to this without completely redesigning the ends (the modern ratcheted ones are too tall)?

As is usually the case, I'm finding the building a parts wanted list on Bricklink frustrating as all hell (I'm not sure why the hell we need to identify what kind of piece we're looking for when we have the number already), and I want to get this parts list *right* so I can share it, meaning everyone else who has the book doesn't have to go through the same fart on.

I built the Be 6/8 in Reddish Brown.

To solve the colour problem with the finger joint hinges, I ordered them in Brown and moved them "inwards" 1 stud, thereby hiding them. On the outside, I used  plates 1x2 in Reddish Brown. So there is no visible colour or design difference.

One more advice: When running the Crocodile through standard R40 curves, you notice that the locomotive does not move smoothly. This is because the outer studs on the front parts of the body get in touch with the other two sections, thereby creating some friction between wheels and rails. To avoid this problem I replaced the plates on the front parts with tiles and now, the Be 6/8 runs smootthly through curves without any problems.

Edited May 7, 2018 by Haddock51