Look, I’m not a train guy. I can barely tell a caboose from a boxcar, and yet even I am in awe of Smile Leo‘s amazing LEGO train, depicting a China Railways DF11G locomotive. The first thing to notice is the variety of angles at which the bricks and plates all fit together for the smooth, rounded angles of the train’s nose. Next, check out the intricacy of the machinery around the wheels. With another model, I might just classify it as a bunch of greebling (you know, little mechanical details that are there just to look cool rather than have any particular function), but it’s clear that every meticulously chosen element mimics an actual train part. I can almost hear the churning of pistons and the whine of wheels on rails.
Do you typically post models with 3rd party bricks? I dont think I’ve seen that on this site before
We do and we have, yes, although we try to call it out when we see it — we’re The Brothers Brick, after all, not The Brothers LEGO, heh. But by and large both the builders we feature and the readers who follow us are ultimately LEGO fans. Sounds like we may have missed some here. Which non-LEGO bricks did you notice?
It’s a cool build; long and wide. Only the wheels look odd (what is the deal with them?). And, yes: the windshields must be transparent.
P.S. Funny, how “greeble” seems to be explained in every article on this site where it’s used.
About the 3rd party bricks: it’s the 2×3 wedge-plates without knobs in blue (?) below the headlights. And the spanners used at the bogeys don’t come in blue from lego, afaik.
The tracks look non-lego-ish as well and there is some misalignment looking at the wheels… handsome model nonetheless.