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Author Topic: Best Of Polar Express build  (Read 24252 times)

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Lemosteam

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Re: Polar Express build
« Reply #90 on: January 06, 2015, 09:05:07 PM »
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Installment thirteen... Track power, and a hobo on the roof!:

Got the trucks wired up and the roof installed and applied track power to the observation car for the very first time, sorry for the poor lighting:

 



Installed the lighting/flicker fire circuit board into the sleeper coach, drilled a hole through the roof to install the fire, "melted" away the "snow" around the fire and repainted a hobo:

 

 



Next I will be adding the fire spit and coffee pot to the fire and adding the ladders and grabs to the roof of the observation car.  Thanks for looking!
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peteski

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Re: Polar Express build
« Reply #91 on: January 06, 2015, 09:20:18 PM »
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John, that is just awesome!  It keeps getting better and better every time you post an update.  This thing would be a great hit at any N-Trak layout (at a model RR show).
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Jeff AKA St0rm

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Re: Polar Express build
« Reply #92 on: January 06, 2015, 10:38:46 PM »
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Quote from: Lemosteam on January 06, 2015, 09:05:07 PM
Installment thirteen... Track power, and a hobo on the roof!:

Got the trucks wired up and the roof installed and applied track power to the observation car for the very first time, sorry for the poor lighting:

 



Installed the lighting/flicker fire circuit board into the sleeper coach, drilled a hole through the roof to install the fire, "melted" away the "snow" around the fire and repainted a hobo:

 

 



Next I will be adding the fire spit and coffee pot to the fire and adding the ladders and grabs to the roof of the observation car.  Thanks for looking!

Well this sucks now i have to trash mine  :(. Well done great build
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Lemosteam

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Re: Polar Express build
« Reply #93 on: January 07, 2015, 12:42:22 AM »
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Peteski, thanks!

Stop it Jeff!  I just wanted to see how far I could take this. The cool stuff is only a result of Peteski's help and yours!
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Jeff AKA St0rm

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Re: Polar Express build
« Reply #94 on: January 07, 2015, 01:16:19 PM »
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Quote from: Lemosteam on January 07, 2015, 12:42:22 AM
Peteski, thanks!

Stop it Jeff!  I just wanted to see how far I could take this. The cool stuff is only a result of Peteski's help and yours!

I know. Just having some fun :D
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chicken45

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Re: Polar Express build
« Reply #95 on: January 07, 2015, 02:05:39 PM »
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That's amazing, John. Just...wow! You really should join up with an NTRAK group. My life is actually better since doing it. Get out there and run some trains! As Seusscaboose told me, " PUT THAT ******* GG1 OUT THERE AND ******* LET 'ER RIP!"

Back to the Observation car. This is pretty nitpicky, but I wear the a$$hat (size XXL) with pride and must point it out:



Initally I thought you needed to move that rear truck further inward, but it may just be a bad angle. I think if you put that little "lip" on the bottom of the deck, it'll go from a 10 to a 15 (on a scale of 1 to 5).
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Josh Surkosky

Here's a Clerihew about Ed. K.

Ed Kapucinski
Every night, he plants a new tree.
But mention his law
and you've pulled your last straw!

Alternate version:
Ed Kapucinski
Every night, he plants a new tree.
He asks excitedly "Did you say Ménage à Trois?"
No, I said "Ed's Law."

Lemosteam

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Re: Polar Express build
« Reply #96 on: January 07, 2015, 02:31:28 PM »
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Josh, you are a lousy nitpicker!  You'll notice that the trucks on the movie image are two axle.... :trollface:

This is one build that CANNOT fall under Ed's LAW.  :D
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chicken45

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Re: Polar Express build
« Reply #97 on: January 07, 2015, 02:53:29 PM »
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Quote from: Lemosteam on January 07, 2015, 02:31:28 PM
Josh, you are a lousy nitpicker!  You'll notice that the trucks on the movie image are two axle.... :trollface:

This is one build that CANNOT fall under Ed's LAW.  :D

Not only am I a lousy nitpicker, I'm also a horrible human being!
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Josh Surkosky

Here's a Clerihew about Ed. K.

Ed Kapucinski
Every night, he plants a new tree.
But mention his law
and you've pulled your last straw!

Alternate version:
Ed Kapucinski
Every night, he plants a new tree.
He asks excitedly "Did you say Ménage à Trois?"
No, I said "Ed's Law."

mmagliaro

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Re: Polar Express build
« Reply #98 on: January 07, 2015, 05:52:50 PM »
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John,
GREAT JOB!    This will be so much fun to own, I'm sure, but just wait until next Christmas!

If you have good photos of this, I would serious consider writing it all up for an article in Model Railroader.
this is just the sort of universal/popular appeal + fun + good modeling + clever engineering + SEASONAL INTEREST
thing that I bet they would love.  If you sent it in now, and they accepted it, there is still enough time for them to get it into the December issue at the end of 2015 (they have very long lead times).

Folks, am I right?  Can you not just see "The Polar Express in N Scale" listed in an MR table of contents or
mentioned on the cover  of a December train magazine?

I love this project. 
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craigolio1

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Re: Polar Express build
« Reply #99 on: January 07, 2015, 06:28:31 PM »
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Agreed
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strummer

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Re: Polar Express build
« Reply #100 on: January 07, 2015, 11:12:15 PM »
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Absolutely.

Mark in Oregon
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peteski

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Re: Polar Express build
« Reply #101 on: January 07, 2015, 11:23:46 PM »
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That sounds crazy enough to work!  That would be something!
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mmagliaro

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Re: Polar Express build
« Reply #102 on: January 08, 2015, 07:11:59 PM »
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My evil thought is that is appeals to both sides:
It is good modeling, it is creative, it is original.

AND...

It cashes in on the name "Polar Express", and at Christmas time, almost anything with that name
on it sells big.  And I'm betting that the staff of Model Railroader would see it that way.  An
excuse to put the name "Polar Express" on the cover of their magazine would sell magazines,
and after all, that's how they stay in business.

By the way, I really don't mean to make light of John's hard work.  It is excellent modeling.
But getting into a magazine requires doing excellent modeling and also having a subject that they
think will be of interest to their readers so they can sell magazines.  It's only fair.

And I think this project is a natural for covering both elements.

And no, I don't work for Model Railroader, or Kalmbach, nor do I have any friends there, or anything
like that.  This was just my take on how this project might appeal to them.
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Lemosteam

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Re: Polar Express build
« Reply #103 on: January 08, 2015, 07:42:51 PM »
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Max, I understand completely.  I am truly considering it.  I think the article would only need a smattering of build/construction pics, so even though those aren't that great of shots, I can redo all of the other pics and since the roofs are remaining removable, I can still take better shots of the guts.  Then a couple of photo simulations of the move, i.e. the song on the obs deck, and a full shot of the whole train, might be all it needs.

By the way, I REALLY appreciate EVERYONES (even Josh's  :trollface:) help and commentary thru this thread.  It really has been challenging and fun coming up with everything together.  Learning how to make a circuit board, crude as it is, and soldering the components and seeing it light from track power, well that was just plain cool. 

I still have much to do though. 

As I mentioned earlier the cars in the movie have two wheel trucks so I am waiting for some Kato two axle trucks, to try to improve the rolling resistance. I don't think that berk will be able to pull the set, but we'll see.
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chicken45

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Re: Polar Express build
« Reply #104 on: January 08, 2015, 08:45:16 PM »
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Depending on the trucks you ordered, you could pull some off the Broadway and replace those.

As far as my nitpicking goes, I believe this scene from Mean Girls sums it up:
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Josh Surkosky

Here's a Clerihew about Ed. K.

Ed Kapucinski
Every night, he plants a new tree.
But mention his law
and you've pulled your last straw!

Alternate version:
Ed Kapucinski
Every night, he plants a new tree.
He asks excitedly "Did you say Ménage à Trois?"
No, I said "Ed's Law."
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