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Ladies and Gentlemen! Children of All Ages! Step right up! Enter the World of
Brickling Brothers International Traveling Circus!
Last month, I finished my latest theme train/playset. Inspired by a Duplo
giraffe that I found in a mixed parts bin, I began building the train last
February after NELUG’s show in Hartford, CT. Parts of
the train were previewed in March at our Wilmington, MA show, and the final
train made its debut appearance at Brick Blast last month in Vermont.
Parts for this MOC came from several different countries, and it was primarily
built to travel as part of our train shows, thus the International Traveling
part of the name.
Taking the train one bit at a time:
The
Locomotive
Brickling Brother’s circus required a long train to haul the troupe and
equipment. Long trains require powerful locomotives, so I decided to go with a
steamer with at least six driver wheels. I wanted to build a steamer, with
working drivers, without using Big Ben wheels, which provided the main
challenge. The solution that I came up with was to use large wagon wheels,
which were the correct size. The problem with the wagon wheels is that the hubs
accept pins, not axles, which made it difficult to make them spin. The solution
was to add a shaft, which pushes against the wheel spokes, connected to gears
within the locomotive. The gears are driven by a technic motor which is
connected to the train motor at the front of the locomotive.
The wheels float a single plate above the track to alleviate binding in the
curves. The resulting 2-6-2, while not based on any sort of prototype, works
very well, and looks nice while running. The only problem I’ve seen is that the
drivers don’t like to spin in reverse.
The
Tender
I wanted a large tender to go along with the large locomotive. Early on, I
decided that the full train would have an alternating red/yellow color scheme,
to keep the cars bright and festive. The tender is loosely based on photos of
tenders that I found with prototypical 2-6-2 locomotives. The Brickling
Brothers decal was applied to help break up the yellow wall affect, as well as
to name the circus.
The Wagon Cars
Band
& Giraffe
Monkey & Snakes
Birds & Magic The wagon cars were actually the first cars built for this MOC.
Every circus needs a parade from the train to the Big Top, and circus wagons
provide the color and excitement needed to lure in the crowds. I did a lot of
web surfing looking at various vintage circus wagons, and I did my best to give
a feeling of the mixture of bright colors, elaborate carving, and exotic feeling
of the real things. Since I’m a six-wide builder, this wasn’t easy to do, as
each wagon had to stay within the boundary of four studs wide.
As for the wagon cars themselves, they are basic flatbeds, with
ramps that can be lowered for loading and unloading of the wagons. Chains are
used to hold the wagons in place during transport.
Next up are the
Livestock Cars. The next two cars house the horses that are used to pull the
wagons, as well as the Ringmaster and Magician’s horses. Each car holds four
horses, as well as a feeding bin with hay. The cars each come with a shovel and
broom for cleaning the stalls, and each can be
completely opened to allow the horses to be removed.
Following the Livestock cars are the
Flatcars These are just basic flatcars used to carry cargo. The first car
carries two folding bleachers, while the second carries a folding bleacher and
cannon (for the Human Cannon).
The Big Top
The next two cars carry the supports and canvas for the Big Top tent. The first
car, strategically stacked, is a simple
drop
bed which holds all of the supports. The second car,
a
simple boxcar holds the canvas. The door of the boxcar is based on a design I
found on Brickshelf, which, in turn, was based on a design by Chris Masi, so, in
a sense, I just brought it back home to NELUG. The top of the boxcar is
removable, allowing the canvas pieces to be placed inside.
Passenger Cars
Two passenger cars carry the Brickling Brother’s troupe. Both the
yellow and
red
car are built the same. Each is built on a drop bed frame. Each car holds
eight passengers, with storage beneath for items such as horse saddles,
barbells, and other miscellaneous equipment (including 2x3 plates to help
minifigs stand on carpet). Like the boxcar, the
top
is removable to allow access to the minifigs.
Finally, the train is finished out with a simple
Clown Caboose. This car is where Brickling’s clowns travel. Since clowns are
not particular about their traveling arrangements, there is no interior to this
car. The top is removable, and the clowns are tossed inside. This does have
the advantage of being able to stuff a large number of clowns into a small
space, however.
To give a sense of the length,
here is a patched together shot of the full train.
Once the train reaches a town, and is unloaded, the wagons and troupe
parade through town, inspiring patrons to attend the evening show.
Six wagons make up the bulk of the parade:
The
magician’s wagon, driven by the Magician’s assistant. The rear of the wagon
can be
opened by removing the back fence piece, allowing the magician to store his
equipment.
The
Band Wagon provides the parade’s music. Like the Magician’s wagon, the rear
can be
opened to provide storage for instruments and headgear.
The
Snake Wagon, can also be
opened, allowing the slithering serpents escape.
The
Exotic Bird Wagon, has been nicknamed “The Joker Wagon”, thanks to the color
scheme.
The
Giraffe Wagon, which is what inspired this entire project, uses some SNOT work
in order to enclose the giraffe, who turned out to be three wide at the base,
making it difficult to fit into a four wide wagon.
The
Monkey Wagon holds a single caged monkey, with storage space for bananas.
Once the parade has finished, it’s time to set up the Big Top. The simplest
piece of the Big Top is the
entrance. Pieces for the entrance are stored beneath one of the passenger
cars. Next come the
bleachers, which, when
unfolded provide comfortable seating for patrons. Finally, the tent itself is
set up. The tent is made up of several
pieces which, when assembled, create a structure of
Supports and Canvas. The canvas pieces are hung from the supports, creating
the Big Top.
Several acts are featured during the show. The participants include the
Ringmaster,
the
Bearded Lady and Strongman,
the
Magician and his Assistant, and
The
Human Cannonball.
The Human Cannonball was a fun mini project. At technic belt stretched across
the front of the cannon allows a minifig to actually be fired from the cannon.
When loaded, a ladder pieces holds the minifig’s feet in place. When the ladder is
pulled, the minifig flies from the cannon, much to the delight of the children.
The main acts are supported by
Clowns,
the
Brickling Brothers Band, and
the
Drivers who act as support staff. There are also Engineer and Coalman figs for
the train, but they regretfully did not show up for the photo session (I later
found them in a box from the last train show).
The
Full Show
This was a fun build, and it’s a fun set to play with, even in between train
shows. The best part for me is that it can be displayed as a train, a parade,
or a circus. At the last show we even set up part of the big top while the
train itself traveled the layout.
And to answer the big question: Where is the elephant?
The only elephants I own are from the Adventurer’s sets, and they are huge.
They are about 7-wide at the feet, and wider with the ears. They are also very
tall, scaling to about the size of Jumbo the elephant, who, I believe, was the
largest circus elephant ever. So, to answer the question, there is no elephant
because they are just too big. If I ever get a Duplo elephant, I may add an
elephant car.
As always, comments are appreciated.
-Elroy
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Message has 5 Replies:
 | | Re: Brickling Brothers International Traveling Circus
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| (...) That is by far one of the coolest things I have seen in a long time. The train caught my attention right off the bat because I have been trying to get those wagon wheels to work as drivers myself. Your solution puts my feeble attempt to shame. (...) (17 years ago, 27-Aug-07, to lugnet.trains, FTX)
| | | Re: Brickling Brothers International Traveling Circus
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| (...) Major Snippage... Beautifully executed! This MOC was a real pleasure to see and enjoy. I never knew wagon wheels came in so many colors. It must have been a very fun project to build, and you hit is spot on. Good job! -Matt :) (17 years ago, 27-Aug-07, to lugnet.trains, FTX)
| | | Re: Brickling Brothers International Traveling Circus
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| (...) Wow. That is just fabulous. I generally detest the bright, kid friendly colors of lego is known for, but you've used them perfectly in my mind. Excellent use of color. The creations are great on their own too. In addition, though I snipped it, (...) (17 years ago, 29-Aug-07, to lugnet.trains, FTX)
| | | Re: Brickling Brothers International Traveling Circus
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| (...) Elroy, Really creative theme and creative use of various pieces. Well thought-out, inspiring, and very nicely done. (...) I do have one very minor comment/suggestion... (...) (URL) In the context of the full train, the caboose goes with color (...) (17 years ago, 29-Aug-07, to lugnet.trains, FTX)
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