LEGO Hogwarts Express (2018 edition) motorized with Power Functions

In my review a couple weeks ago I expressed my desire to attempt a motorization of the latest (and best) Hogwarts Express, but shortly thereafter I began to lose faith that I'd find the time.  Thankfully a very productive week left me with the better part of a day to work on this (and motivation to boot!).

• Video: LEGO 2018 Hogwarts Express motorized & running! 75955

In the video I discuss some of the viable options for attempting your own conversion, along with pros & cons, and I partly dissect my attempt to fully show off the arrangement of components & methods of connection.  I believe my choice of M motor + PF 1.0 IR receiver in the locomotive & battery in the tender is one of the more difficult setups to pull off, but it allows remote speed control, provides good driving traction, and leaves the passenger car completely untouched for a fairly clean look in motion.

LEGO City 2018 Passenger Train set review! 🚄 60197

It's a huge relief and joy to have now built, tested, & reviewed both of the 2018 LEGO trains, two major releases I've looked forward to for months!

• Video: LEGO City 2018 Passenger Train set review! 🚄 60197

This gets me very near the end of the review queue from my June 1 haul, but New Jang City fans can't celebrate yet; the next release drop is just around the corner.

LEGO City Cargo Train 60198 review

I was finally able to buy one of these sets from overseas at a lower-than-ripoff price! This is my first time getting hands-on with the new Power Functions 2.0 or "Powered Up!" electronics system, which uses Bluetooth instead of infrared for communication and integrates receiver & speed controller circuits right into a battery box that's no larger than the one it replaces.

• Video: LEGO City 2018 Cargo Train review! 60198

LEGO Amtrak EMD F40PH MOC

First shown on Instagram shortly after I started, this is another little piece of my childhood brought to life in LEGO form!

• Video: Custom LEGO Amtrak EMD F40PH locomotive engine

How I motorized the LEGO 60097 City Square tram / train

The set with this light rail tram came out in 2015 and I've kept it intact, because I rather liked its design, but I've kept it out of view because there's never been a place for it in either my current city or either of my previous ones.  Thanks to the Mellemby District project, there's finally a place for this to live for awhile, and in the last update for that layout I showed it actually rolling itself around the rail loop.  I'm sure this simple conversion has been done plenty of times by other people in the past three years, but a fair number of you wanted to see my version up close, so here it is (for what it's worth).

• Video: LEGO light rail tram + Power Functions motor & RC installed 60097

More progress on the train yard

This time around I slowed down a little and got the shed/shop buttoned up more correctly so I could be happier with it long-term.  I also threw down some quick desiccated foliage outside, but that'll be improved once I get some of the inner rail loop ballasted and then topographically texture the space between tracks a bit.

• Video: LEGO train yard & locomotive maintenance shop improvements

New Jang City freight train yard upgrades

Over the past couple of days I tore up my fingertips some more carefully putting down more faux ballast in a way that supports the track on a completely flat (tiled) surface while providing studded texture all around. It also helps keep everything from sliding around much whilst still allowing a bit of flexibility to account for table edges being bumped & such.

Then I added this diesel shed/motive power depot/maintenance shop/whatever it's called in your local region or on the specific train-related sites you frequent :)  I realized while filming this that I had wanted this specific type of model building since I was quite young and first learned about HO scale trains.  Life goal achieved!

• Video: Custom LEGO train engine shed / shop / depot in the city!

LEGO Creator Winter Village Station review 10259

I might not have gotten the UCS Falcon, but here's another set that was released in stores today, and I think it's quite nice!  It costs 1/10th as much and comes with just two fewer minifigures :)

• Video: LEGO Creator Winter Village Station review! 10259

More onboard video from trains around New Jang City

This is I believe the 4th or 5th time I've published footage of a camera riding around on my train tracks, but the first time I've done a video with nothing else.  I experimented with a brand new simple Power Functions-based servo turntable (shown at the end of the video), but rotation cannot be fluid because the PF system deals in distinct steps of input and power.  I may discard this whole concept and stick to the far more stable static mount I used previously and in the inner loop segments in this video.

• Video: Ride the trains around my LEGO city! 📹🚆

The Little Engine That Could in LEGO

I had a reprint of the original version of The Little Engine That Could when I was probably 3 years old, but I completely forgot about it as an adult!  I've been on the lookout for a good opportunity to make a tank engine style steam loco, and somehow this thing happened out of the (medium) blue.  It runs very well, but my depletion of parts for the Blauhaus Building forced a bunch of aesthetic compromises.  Most importantly, the boiler should be a bit taller and it should have a more consistent cross-section.  Perhaps eventually, once I have more parts, I'll revisit this, but for now, I must consider it a very successful and happy little project!

• Video: Working LEGO Little Engine That Could 🚂 tank engine MOC

Finally, a red LEGO Rail Rider

Red had to happen, and I wanted purple to happen in some capacity as well, so I went ahead & killed two birds with one stone.  (Disclaimer:  No actual birds were harmed in the making of this video.)

• Video: LEGO Rail Rider Magna - racing train MOC

Trains, trains, more trains, always with the trains

After focusing on train-related items with my custom builds over only the past week six days, I've already started getting complaints from viewers that "all" I "ever" do anymore is train stuff and I "never" do anything else.  In spite of such dramatic over-reactions, I'm going to continue doing what I enjoy and taking advantage of every bit of building inspiration I can, whenever I can!  I may do more train-related builds for another agonizing six days, or I may suddenly switch back to watercraft, or another building, or even just random minifigs to increase the population of New Jang City.  Sometimes the imagination is like the proverbial box of chocolates, and I'm okay with that!

• Video: Five new custom LEGO train flatcar MOCs

Duh-duh duum, duum, duum... another one bites the dust!

The final box-stock holdout among my modern locomotives has at last been sent to the scrap heap and from its remains, new life has sprouted forth!  The build of this switcher did not go at all as I had planned; it actually went much better.  About a third of the way through I made a pretty significant change to the design concept that turned everything around (both literally and figuratively) and led me down the path to a very different aesthetic style than I expected to pull from these parts.  What started out as a string of experimental failures, then, morphed into something very unfamiliar, yet personally satisfying.

• Video: Time lapse & run ⏩ LEGO switcher/shunter train locomotive custom MOC

Another day, another LEGO train MOC

I wish this was about 5% less blocky looking, but it does me a great service by displacing an official LEGO loco from my layout.  Now I just need to deal with the engine from set 60052, and I'll be in great shape!

• Video: Build & run ⏩ New custom LEGO train locomotive MOC

Stops Copies Me's

It's deja vu all over again as I duplicate (and ever so slightly improve) a locomotive I first introduced back in 2014. When it comes to train stuff, multiple is almost always better than one.

• Video: Time lapse ⏩ Copying a LEGO train MOC + running it in real time

LEGO Rail Rider Blast - Classic Space inspired locomotive MOC

I love it when a plan comes together, but sometimes there's no particular plan and I end up happy anyhow.  I had earmarked the windshield of a spare set 1580 for a Rail Rider, but there were no further forethought.  An old gray base color seemed like a natural match, and after hours of throwing parts at a 9V train motor, what do you know, a bunch of them actually stuck.

• Video: LEGO Rail Rider Blast ⏩ Classic Space racing train MOC

LEGO Rail Rider RODd - Racing train MOC #2

...And then there were two!  Of course you know what that means.  We need a race!  Not to worry; for this video I've figured out how to make that happen.

• Video: LEGO Rail Rider RODd ⏩ Racing train MOC

First in a new LEGO racing MOC series: Rail Rider "Azul"

Inspiration struck, and with nothing else hogging up the MOC-building table, I was able to go for it immediately.  This is going to be a series of vehicles, each with a distinct color scheme and style (hopefully), in the vein of my old "Hero Factory Racers" lineup.  I think the next one will be yellow & orange, we'll see; it'll depend upon what parts jump out at me first.

• Video: LEGO Rail Rider Azul - Racing train MOC

New custom LEGO Covered Hopper MOCs hit the rails

I love it when things go according to plan, even when there isn't so much of a plan as a nostalgia-painted ethereal idea bolstered by some random Google Images action.  This older-style, externally braced design isn't intended to replicate any one specific real-life hopper.  Rather, it takes inspiration from as many of them as needed to extract something semi-believable out of the very limiting proportions (and color selection) of LEGO parts I had on hand.

• Video: LEGO Covered Hopper Rail Car MOC

I was able to make two of these before running out of 1x2 mod plates.  I wouldn't mind having another couple of 'em eventually.  For now, though, I'll be turning my attention to something different.

One more (big) update on train noise in New Jang City

This is the culmination of at least 20 hours of research & work (plus a hefty new investment in equipment) to tackle my LEGO train performance & sound quality issues that first brought up last week.  The majority of commenters feel the overhaul has changed the game and will allow me to now record live narration with trains in action as desired.  My own position is a bit more guarded, as I don't think the progress was as significant as it needed to be, but I'm satisfied that I made a solid effort with noticeable results in multiple areas.

• Video: Last LEGO city train noise update for now - Feb. 10, 2017