Subject:
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Re: Acela ver2: Magnetic nose coupler
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Mon, 30 Oct 2000 22:59:33 GMT
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Viewed:
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2011 times
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In lugnet.trains, John Neal writes:
> Okay, I've had it-- James, your designs are so cool and innovative that it
> kills
> me to see you building 6 wide instead of 8!! All I can think about is what
> you
> would be able to do with the added freedom of building 8 wide. Won't you
> please
> try building something 8 wide, just for the fun of it ? Try it, you'll like
> it!
> [1]
>
> In Awe,
> John
>
> [1] Any Alka-Seltzer fans out there who haven't forgotten that one?
I remember "Try it, you'll like it!" Funny :-)
There are reasons, however silly or irrelevant they may be, that I build six
wide.
Here are some that I can think of (not necessarily in any order of importance
nor significance):
1. LEGO releases sets that are six wide => I build six wide to "fit-in" with
that LEGO "standard". I have in the past had the ideal that I should try to
build set that "kids" would enjoy playing with. I used to tote my models over
to a family friend's house to let their kids play with them. I'd then get to
see the "wow" factor, the "toughness" factor, and the "playability" factor. I
would then redesign according to the outcome.
2. I like the constraint of six wide. Hmm, rather I like the challenge of 6
wide. There is certainly freedom in every construction, regardless of build
width. The 2 wides and 4 wides have shown to me that modeling knows no bound
but that of the imagination...and brick-size resolution. But, anyway, the
level of detail and the resolution afforded by 6 wide is appealing to me.
3. Piece count: I think that a move to 8 wide requires more pieces. (duh) The
reward to go 8 wide may be greater resolution in surface contours and features,
but the price to be paid is in greater piece-count. I may have quite a
collection of pieces, but I would rather spread them over more models.
(now, maybe a "try" at 8 wide is in order. We'll see. I don't see it
happening anytime soon, though.)
4. Perhaps I constrain myself, but I feel that some of the pieces LEGO makes
are just made for 6-wide: like 4 wide windshields. (When it comes to piece
design philosophy, I am particularly disappointed by the 4 wide airplane
nose/tail complex slopes. I have always wished for a split symmetry to
allow variable width choices. Anyway....)
I really appreciate the "cool and innovative" compliments, and I thank you for
the vote of confidence in pursuing the world of 8-wide.
I would, however, rather invite you to build an Acela in 8-wide! I would be
more than pleased to see what current experts in 8-wide could do to scale a
6-wide creation up to 8-wide.
In some ways, I think a move to 8 wide could be dissappointing from me. I do
not necessarily think that it follows that if someone is good at 6 wide, they
would be good at 8-wide, or anything else. I think 8 wide opens up many more
dimensions than just "2 studs" ;-)
I get so much inspiration from this newsgroup. There are always numerous fresh
ideas tucked away in the new MOC's I see here. I know that I have certainly
benefited from your (plural) creations.
I hope that the more detailed photos I take of the construction are useful to
others' inspirations, too.
Play well.
later,
James Mathis
> James Mathis wrote:
>
> > Acela HSEL locomotive version 2 items of note:
> > 1. nose piece is attached by means of magnets.
> >
> > 2. two Acela locomotives made
> >
> > 3. two Acela locomotives attached nose-to-nose
> > a. magnetic "bar" used to couple the two locomotives nose-to-nose.
> > b. range of motion in the coupler limits track configuration (hard- "s"
> > curves derail the train. see note below).
> > c. The limitation is primarily due to the coupler being located on the • nose,
> > rather than the front bogie. This results in the nose tip swinging far out
> > through curves.
> >
> > 3. special black roof piece found in RoboForce set #2152 Robo Raptor to
> > interface black cab slope into gray slope roof line.
> >
> > 4. cargo box added near nose/cab area of locomotive #2
> >
> > 5. alternate blue underskirting added to locomotive (hangs too low in my
> > opinion- will likely not be used in final model).
> >
> > 6. pantagraph and "electronic" roof line details under study.
> >
> > http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=1831
> >
> > One of the pictures viewable via the link above shows a track layout. The • two
> > Acela locomotives coupled nose-to-nose have successfully negotiated this • track
> > layout for a duration of approximately 25 minutes. Each locomotive had a • 9volt
> > train motor beneath the nose area. The train set consisted of only the two
> > nose-to-nose locomotives; no additional rolling stock was attached.
> >
> > Another track layout shows two "s-curve" types. These are negotiable by the
> > nose-to-nose coupled Acela locomotives.
> >
> > I wish the design could navigate any track geometry.
> > I encourage someone else to figure that out, as I'd love to see a solution, • or
> > any other designs!
> >
> > Build on!
> > later,
> > James Mathis
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: Acela ver2: Magnetic nose coupler
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| James- All of your reasons are perfectly valid and, frankly, I wouldn't expect to convince you to build in any particular form. I just thought it would be cool if you took on an 8 wide project for the new experience of it. Actually, it's not all (...) (26 years ago, 31-Oct-00, to lugnet.trains)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: Acela ver2: Magnetic nose coupler
|
| Okay, I've had it-- James, your designs are so cool and innovative that it kills me to see you building 6 wide instead of 8!! All I can think about is what you would be able to do with the added freedom of building 8 wide. Won't you please try (...) (26 years ago, 30-Oct-00, to lugnet.trains)
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