Subject:
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Re: Pictures of 8mm:1ft scale trains
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Wed, 10 Sep 2003 20:59:52 GMT
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Viewed:
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1916 times
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In lugnet.trains, Mark Bellis wrote:
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In lugnet.trains, John Neal wrote:
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In lugnet.trains, Mark Bellis wrote:
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Even on British trains (more so on American), the wheels are less visible than
with 6-wide Lego trains due to the vehicles being wider than the track. For
some of the engines I haven’t been able to put the wheels where they should be
due to the constraints of using standard motors and having to articulate the
bogies to get round 40’ scale radius curves (I space the curves out but points
have 1.5 curves at 40’ so the whole bogie has to get round that).
Given that the wheels are not in the right place, I’ve hidden them behind the
bogie side frames and put yellow dots where the real wheels should be. Very
few people are any the wiser!!
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Trock Trick! :-)
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That said, I also am working on a new scale which I call Lgauge1, which
utilizes gauge 1 track and trucks and comes out to be 12 wide for standard
gauge at 1:32. In the past I have dabbled in some 14 and even 16 wide cars,
but I am settling down on 12 wide, which is, ironically (to me, at least),
almost the perfect scale for Jack Stone figs:-) I have 1 car completed which
I still need to photograph, and a few more are on the drawing table. I also
utilize some modified minifigs for my townsfolk-- I’ll really have to get
some pics up...
All of this 1:32 business is directed towards creating a garden railroad, a
la the trains in Miniland (which also utilize non-LEGO track and trucks).
So, it appears that I build slightly smaller as well as slightly larger than
you:-)
John
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I thought “wouldn’t it be nice in the garden with plenty of space?” but then I
remembered the weather, birds etc... and that reliability isn’t perfect (I
connect the 2 motors in big engines with a wire to improve pickup reliability
and spread the load better to avoid motor burn-out).
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I agree wholeheartedly. I would never leave LEGO track outside at the mercy of
the elements, which is why I’m going to utilize G scale track which can and is
designed to do.
And BTW, I’d never heard of connecting dual motors together-- does that really
work?
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Seeing the Miniland trains, they seem to be a metal chassis with some Lego
plonked on top. A shame really, but for year-round reliability I suppose it’s
necessary.
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Yes. There are basically metal frames powered by a motor with large,
rechargeable batteries covered in a skin of LEGO.
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Conversely I try to use only Lego with no paint or stickers and a minimum of
glue (only for sticking points back together after modification for
motorisation by micro-motor). That is, except for the electrics - once I get
beyond the feed wire there are some 12V plugs and a beefy dual 3-Amp power
supply.
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The slope is very slippery...;-) Though I am trying to keep my 8wide layout
“pure”, I will be using some suped-up transformers designed by Jeff Titchenal of
the SPLTC eventually....
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The advantage of our larger scales on Lego track is that the same physical
speed is a slower scale speed, which is more prototypical. I notice that DCC
is used for American trains to get better crawling as they are slower (and
longer) than most British trains. To scale, my Pendolino will to 78mph at
about 7 or 8 Volts before coming off on the corners. The BR standard class 9F
2-10-0 steam engine will do 90mph - its prototypical maximum design speed!
Also, the minifigures seem to fit better in 8mm scale - they’re too fat for
6-wide.
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lol check out this pic of a 1:48 figure and a minifig:
Yeah, they’re fat! :-) But in my 8wide scale stuff, I use them anyway to
acknowledge that I am not trying to count rivets, as it were, but to create as
realistic looking trains as I can within the context of the minifig scene
(ooh, that sounds far out, man!)
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I have built my first prototype American engine chassis, for a 4-8-4 Northern
engine. I need more pictures and drawings before continuing though. It will
have one motor under the firebox as the wheels are 6’ apart and 2 motors under
the tender. Two 9V Technic motors will turn the Model Team driving wheels,
which are suspended off the rails like the ones on the 9F.
It’s great to know someone else builds to a larger scale, or for that matter
takes the time to consider the scale in Lego. I chose 8mm:1ft because the
track is to scale and most model railways begin there.
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But don’t forget that there are different gauges within particular scales. What
you have chosen is true for standard gauge of 4’8.5”, but LEGO track could also
be used to simulate a narrow gauge at larger scales such as 1:25 or up. Brian
Williams has done some work at Belville scale using LEGO track as narrow gauge
(Feldbahn). That is why I use the dimensions of the LEGO wheels to dictate the
scale rather than the track gauge, and why I am deciding to abandon LEGO
altogether for the use of couplers, wheels and track, because they are simply
too small to simulate 1:32.
The dimensions for Lego models
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don’t have to be more accurate than the nearest 6 inches, especially since 4mm
is the smallest designed offset for bricks. It takes a lot of engineering to
get other offsets.
Keep me posted on your stuff - I look forward to seeing the pics.
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Sure will.
John
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Pictures of 8mm:1ft scale trains
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| (...) This has been (URL) discussed before> but I totally agree that A: Six wide is a bit too narrow to represent anywhere B: American trains need to to be wider, they are so much bigger than UK trains(with mainland Europe somewhere in between) If I (...) (21 years ago, 12-Sep-03, to lugnet.trains, FTX)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Pictures of 8mm:1ft scale trains
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| (...) Even on British trains (more so on American), the wheels are less visible than with 6-wide Lego trains due to the vehicles being wider than the track. For some of the engines I haven't been able to put the wheels where they should be due to (...) (21 years ago, 10-Sep-03, to lugnet.trains)
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