The idea of building this train as a LEGO model isn't new for me. But I never came up with a solution I was satisfied with. The nose of the train is a real challenge, but using 6x6 dishes as front windscreen and some of the new sloped elements coming in some LEGO car sets helped a lot to get the shape right.

The ICE 3 is the latest version of the famous German high speed passenger trains. As the real one, my LEGO model comes in 8 units. This type of train doesn't differ between locomotive and waggons, the electric motors are based underneath every second car.

[With kind permission by Claudia Franke www.ICE-fansite.de]

The end-waggons are 56 studs long, the middle-waggons are 52 studs long. The whole train is about 3.5 m (~11.5 feet) long. Due to the fancy SNOT use of the curved slopes the width of the train is a bit more then 7 studs, but less then 7.5 studs.

The second and 7^th unit have a pantograph.

The units are coupled together using car coupling, no train magnets.

The characteristic ICE 3 nose – using LEGO to build this is quite a challenge.

Front view.

Countless "Slope, Curved 2 x 4 x 2/3 No Studs" (see the element at www.bricklink.com) were used to build the roof.

The onboard restaurant called "BordBistro".

Most ICE trains carry a name of a German or European city. I choosed "Stuttgart" which is the next bigger city to where I live. The train number is Tz 337 and each waggon carries it's own number, 403 037-5, 403 137-3, 403 237-1, 403 337-9, 403 837-8, 403 737-0, 403 637-2 and 403 537-4.

This is what the train looks like underneath.

A slice of the waggons shows how all 8 waggons are build.

The roof structure is the heaviest part.

1x4 bricks with studs on the side help to attach some of the sloped curved bricks/plates.

The walls of the waggon are attached to the roof section and the center section. It's a nightmare to build this because you can not hold bricks inside the waggon.

SNOT windows using James Mathis' design.

See how everything fits together.

Baptism of a train: the Tz 337 is called „Stuttgart“ now.

Upps ...

The baptism of the train. Some expensive champagne was poured over the trains name sticker. Some very important folks from the train company talked for hours ....

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