Brinklinking a 7725 MOD

[Heppeng]

Its interesting where a twisting road can end up, or the story of what seems to have turned out to be an unusual version of 7725!

I already have a 7725 which I have owned from new - Birthday present from my parents IIRC. Having recently come out of the dark ages and starting to expand my old 12V system, I managed to rebuild this and to my surprise it was 99% complete with only a couple of minor bricks missing. Now on my much larger railway it was looking quite short. And seeing as it looked like it was supposed to be some kind of multiple unit, I thought it would be a bit different to build an unmotored version that I could couple to it to make a total of six cars. The idea being that without the motor I could probably bricklink it at a good price.

So the first step was uploading the parts inventory of 7725 to a bricklink wanted list, removing track, instructions etc, and then removing motor, motor base plate, weights and so on and adding the extra wheels, bricks and of course seats to convert the motor cab car to the non motorised version. Then I removed from the list all the parts that I already had from my modest lego collection.

I then started searching shops using the brickficiency tool to get the best price, which despite not having a motor in it and a few other parts was coming up at prices only a little cheaper than a second hand set. So as it was only going to be a 'dummy' 7725 I decided that some substitution with cheaper similar parts would be acceptable, and so the long process of ultimate cost reduction was begun!

First task was identifying the expensive bits that were pushing the price up. You would have thought that the train being in plain red and grey would mean that unlike 7740 there would not be such a premium on windows/doors as the parts must surely be pretty common and cheap by comparison. Well a look at the prices showed how the laws of supply and demand put that notion to bed! It even threw up some surprises – I had no idea that a 3x3x1 grey slope was so rare, only being used in this set, one other rare 12V loco, and one small space set and priced accordingly. I was somewhat pleased that I had not lost any of the four from my original set! So this was substituted with a 3x2x1 and a 3x1x1 at a much lower price.

Wheels and couplings were a little expensive too, and needing 8 pairs and 6 sets at somewhere around £2 ish per item was pushing the price up a bit. Now I already had some black motor wheels as spares from motorising my Horizon Express, which when put on technic axles look only slightly different from the 12V versions. They are also significantly cheaper than the 12V version on bricklink, even taking in to account the technic axles and so an that would be needed – although again much of that could be supplied from my existing spares. They may well have higher friction, but the 12V motor is pretty powerful so I do not expect any problems.

Couplings, well you can save a little by going for 9V versions instead of 12V – the principle difference being that 9V versions don’t have the stalk on the bottom which I believe is needed for the 12V remote uncoupler to work. I don’t have one so it is not necessary. Even so, the couplings were one of the more expensive items, and worth further cost reduction. As the train would not normally be uncoupled, magnetic couplings would only really be required under the cabs. So I replaced the intermediate couplings with a 5 long half thick technic lift arm, with half pins and a modified 3x2 plate with hole which fitted perfectly in the position previously occupied by the magnets and buffers and cost only pennies. I tested it on my existing 7725 to make sure there were not any issues and it worked excellently in both pushing and pulling.

I tried bricklinking the ‘economy’ version, but the doors and windows – particularly the small red 3x2 on the centre car were still pushing the price up to more than I wanted to pay.

So it was looking like I might shelve the idea – I already have one 7725, so the desirability of another one was not quite the same as if I did not have one to begin with.

But I did not really want to. So the final answer was to change the colour to something cheaper. Whilst it would be nice to have a matching pair, it was not unusual for full size trains to be run in different coloursThe colour would be dictated by what colours doors were available in, and how expensive the matching windows were, and if they complimented the existing red version.

I started looking at plain doors, the idea being a simple complete overall colour change. And although savings could be made I did not feel particularly inspired by the colours.

Then I looked at decorated doors. The range was a lot bigger than I expected – train doors got used on lots of sets besides trains, often in unique colours considerably increasing the scope!

I found an interesting rare door, which was slightly cheaper than a plain red one – presumably there is not that much demand for the one set it is used in, but more importantly the matching windows were much cheaper than the red ones!

With these changes the price was now close to as low as physically possible, and with the unusual colour scheme I decided it was worth it and it the project was go!

It took a little while to rearrange my wanted list to take account of the change in colours, but the orders are now placed, and the end result (bar the doors since there are only plain in LDD) should be something like this:

And for a net cost of under $65!

[ronenson]

Nice story, and a good read. I actually like your modded version better than the original, assuming the doors continue the pattern.

[Heppeng]

Cheers, Thanks!

Yes the doors do continue the pattern - I chose the doors first and then altered the colour of the train to match the pattern on the doors. Here is a picture of the door from bricklink:

Edited September 8, 2013 by Heppeng

[questforcastle]

Great project!

As someone who is building the 12V 7740 Inter-City Passenger Train from new and old spare parts, I can sympathize with your thinking a lot. I recently calculated how much of the 7740 set is still available as new (and thus also in more recent used) parts, turns out 51%. (The calculations here: http://questforbrick...an-you-get-new/ ) Sure, the transparent plastic in windows has changed a little and train baseplates have slightly larger holes than they used to, but other than that a pretty sizeable bunch of train parts is still manufactured.

By the way, Ambroise did something similar than you with his re-creation of a 12V set: http://www.eurobrick...0

[Heppeng]

Interesting read questforcastle, thanks! I wonder what 7740 would look like in alternative colours? And just in case anyone is interested, this is the one and only set the door is used in, which also conveniently has the small windows in white:

Edited September 9, 2013 by Heppeng

[questforcastle]

Now, there's an interesting project for some - 7740 in alternate colors. The images of some of these famous sets, your 7725 included, has been etched in my mind so vividly that alternate colors seem almost blasphemous...

Never thought of it until you showed your idea. It works! Great inspiration from a door there. Looking forward to seeing pictures when you finish the train.

[Heppeng]

Don't tempt me! I am already thinking about playing around with one in LDD, but there is a little more restriction with 7740 depending on how much compromise you want to make - ie if you want to keep the original type of locomotive windows, you will just have a choice of red, white or yellow if you want a sensible price. If you want to keep the working headlights then you have a choice of red or black only for this brick. You will also have to move the weights inboard if you want a colour different from red or black in this area too. Building it in 7745 Express Passenger train colours would probably work quite well in this case. Metroliner colours could work well with the black light brick, but you may want to substitute a different type of locomotive window to get a suitable colour. You will have to bear in mind door availability as 7740 has twice as many doors as 7725, and you will probably want to add matching sleeping car, mail van etc which would certainly put me off using the same colours as I have above! I wonder if it is worth compiling a list of windows and doors by colour in ascending order of price so that it is easier to work out a cheap combination?

Edited September 10, 2013 by Heppeng

[Heppeng]

The bits have finally arrived! - Well at least all the ones I remembered to order, I am missing the black inverted slopes and a couple of others, but otherwise it is assembled and looks like this:

I think the colours look pretty good on it - it even seems to make the original look a little dull! I am not sure about continuing the stripe between the headlights mind, I think the front end may look more tidy without it - what do you think?

As far as running is concerned, the technic axles add even more friction than I anticipated, and are noisy too, to the point where I might consider replacing them with 12V ones. The 12V motor still seems to be able to haul it all around at a good speed none the less, they do seem to have some power! You also need to add a couple of extra magnets to extend the couplings between the two cab cars, as with the overhang of the lights they would otherwise foul on the corners. But overall I am pretty pleased with the result!

Next project - a red 7760 shunter!

Edited October 4, 2013 by Heppeng

[LAKAbricks]

This is brilliant, Heppeng. And it is good to see a project like that made in bricks. I like the idea to build the train in new colours. It really gives the impression that the train has been modernized.

I think you are right about the red pinstripe between the headlights. It will look more clean without it. Also given that the bricks holding the lights (don't know what they are called in English) don't have the stripes.

Thumbs up for new train. Citizens in your Lego City are lucky to have an extra suburban train to ride

[Heppeng]

So I have taken out the stripe, I think it does look better!

And with an extra 'unit' it is helping with the rush hour crush, especially as with two non motor cab cars you are more than doubling capacity as there are three extra seats compared with the standard 7725.