The model has full backhead detailing inspired off the preserved locomotive, and is powered by two circuit cubes motors hidden in between the frames. The gearing is 1:1 for a decent pace and plenty of torque.
Lego GNR Stirling Single!
One of the hardest engines to build in lego, purely for it's massive 8' driving wheels and giant splashers. This model is one of the later singles with the larger cab and toolboxs behind the splashers.
WIP Stirling Single
Coming along nicely
DCC my beloved
Taking a break from the E1x bodyshell to build these Parkside kits
He gained extended tanks and sentience
They’re the wrong kind of coaches, but the vibe is there
Alright, I come to this app at a time of great need. My 3D printer has been leaving these weird splotches in between the supports. You can see how the bottom edge is wavy and uneven, and it’s worse the closer the part was to the bed.
Model is printed at a 10 degree angle.
How can I avoid this?
Good news! The body printed with no issues
Bad news, the firebox LED on the chassis sticks out a hair farther than I measured, so the front cab wall hits it.
But everything else fits flawlessly!
Here goes nothing
Shell-ifying and connecting everything so it can print. I’m still salty I had to delete the detailed smokebox saddle cause the motor wouldn’t fit inside it.
The boiler in the background was made by JamosTrainos, and I'm using it for topology reference
I gave up using FreeCAD, I'll just suffer in blender with modelling insanely high poly
You better believe I made a new Lego Thomas after poking around the E1x blueprints.
Rare IRL posting from me.
Look ma! I’m driving a train!
It was 3 degrees F this morning and the flangeways were solid ice. The thing was slipping in place, with sand, just to carve its way to the turntable
Update: making compound curves in CAD is infinitely harder than doing so in blender
So begins the process of modding the Rapido E1 into an E1x. I've got a rough mockup of the motor in CAD and a mockup of the E1x body in blender. I just need to basically transpose the blender model to my CAD software and I should be golden
hit 'em where it hurts!! 🥰✨
The model is motorized via Circuit Cubes, and uses all legal building techniques
Lego 1:48 Steam Motor, loosely based on ES&N #2 and "Mule's Relief"
Get real
The evolution from "Thrown together with spare pieces" to "Properly designed and thought out"
So.. Lego Dalek V3. The only real change was to the shoulders, they're slightly shorter and more proportional, at the cost of being more square. But, the new design has given way to extra variants that would've been extremely difficult in V2
I've already ordered parts for the Hive Supreme irl
These things have been calling to me like the green goblin mask
Inspiration finally struck
A narrow gauge 2-6-0 mogul locomotive designed by me in 2018. It was largely based on a 7 1/2" gauge kit that I had seen online.
The same Mogul, redesigned in 2025. The model incorporates way more details and technical accuracy, I went so far as to calculate its theoretical power output of 21,524 lbs of tractive effort (yes I am that big of a nerd)
Its fun to think that these two models, separated by 7 years of modelling and real life RR experience, are meant to be the same locomotive. It's wild to see where I started (And that I still have this 7 year old screenshot)
To wrap this thread up, a pre-pandemic video of my NYC suburban tank engine. One of the few "real" engines I've modelled. One day I'll model this engine again, either in Blender, lego or Gmod again. Big mainline tank engines tickle my fancy
Venturing back to the pandemic with this one. I was testing and showing off my latest build at the time, a custom designed Cab Forward engine. The chuffing sounds weren't working right but everything else was finished.
