ER0L Posted June 26, 2016 (edited) Hi all, I've wanted to build a chopper with working rotors in minifig scale for a long time - however, since I knew it would be tricky, I hesitated for quite a while. Now that it’s done (building time about 5 weeks) I can say I had a lot of fun - at least most of the time ;-) The two major issues were the angled tail (especially making the tail rotor spin more or less smoothly) and the position of the battery box. It took a while to understand that it’s too large to be hidden completely within the fuselage and that it must be accessible via the sliding door to turn it on and off. Another major feature might be the tilted rotor axle. Regarding the main rotor I used some ideas of other builders (see credits), however, the fixation of the blades might be a new aspect. I tried to use the TLG Coast Guard color scheme first, but for whatever reason it didn’t work for me plus the white and red color scheme of the U.S. Coast Guard is quite intriguing. It can be very well combined with the blue lettering of TLG Coast Guard stickers. Specs: Power Functions gear: XL motor (main rotor), M motor (tail rotor), battery box, IR receiver Weight: 690 g (batteries included) Length (fuselage): 39 cm Rotor diameter: 44 cm Scale: 1/43 The model fits a crew of 3 minifigs: 2 pilots and 1 winch operator. It’s prepared to be operated via a pushback (e. g. the “Goliath” motorized tug, see http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=134369). Credits: Forex (the radome is a mere copy, couldn’t think of anything better): www.1000steine.de/de/gemeinschaft/forum/?entry=1&id=476 Mad Physicist: https://www.flickr.c...ist/2409098303/ 100% Lego. More pics: Video: You may find some more detailed pics of the chopper on Flickr if you're interested. Thanks for looking! Edited June 28, 2016 by ER0L Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MaxSupercars Posted June 26, 2016 (edited) Very well done helicopter. Nice details. And motorisation of such a model is also great. Very good work... :) Would it not be the medium motor sufficient for the main rotor? Max Edited June 26, 2016 by MaxSupercars Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BrickMonkeyMOCs Posted June 26, 2016 This would be a fantastic MOC even without the motorization, so congratulations on pulling that off as well. I particularly like the main rotor hub and the construction around it at the top of the fuselage. It would be nice to see Lego making more properly brick-built helicopters like this, instead of using prefabricated parts for the cockpit and fuselage. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ER0L Posted June 26, 2016 Very well done helicopter. Nice details. And motorisation of such a model is also great. Very good work... :) Would it not be the medium motor sufficient for the main rotor? Max Thank you! That's a good question, of course the M motor would have enough power. The lower rotational speed of the XL motor (about half the speed of the M motor, according to http://www.philohome.com/motors/motorcomp.htm) is the important factor here - if you take a look at real choppers you can see that the tail rotor spins much faster than the main rotor. By using XL motor plus M motor you don't need an extra gear unit between main and tail rotor which would be much too space consuming here. Plus the blades might fly off at full speed which I haven't tested. This would be a fantastic MOC even without the motorization, so congratulations on pulling that off as well. I particularly like the main rotor hub and the construction around it at the top of the fuselage. It would be nice to see Lego making more properly brick-built helicopters like this, instead of using prefabricated parts for the cockpit and fuselage. Thank you, glad you like it! There definitely is a gap between the rather simple Town helis and the much more complex, but large Technic choppers. But well, nobody keeps us from combining the best of the two worlds ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BrickCurve Posted June 26, 2016 Amazing MOC! I am impressed that you have managed to fit all the motors in there as well as an incredible MOC. Best mining scale helicopter (thats motorised) I have ever seen! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sebitsena Posted June 27, 2016 Great work here! The PF are box, motor and axles are very well integrated :D Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
polarstein Posted June 27, 2016 Very nice ER0L, your builds have such an elegance at minifig scale, combining realism with a smooth design! Cool video. Funny how the helicopter shakes when the engine ramping up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sarles Posted June 28, 2016 Great build. I love the rotor blades. They are way more authentic looking than some of the ones that Lego uses. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ER0L Posted June 28, 2016 Amazing MOC! I am impressed that you have managed to fit all the motors in there as well as an incredible MOC. Best mining scale helicopter (thats motorised) I have ever seen! Thank you, glad you like it that much! Great work here! The PF are box, motor and axles are very well integrated :D Thanks a lot! Very nice ER0L, your builds have such an elegance at minifig scale, combining realism with a smooth design! Cool video. Funny how the helicopter shakes when the engine ramping up. Many thanks, nice to hear that! I can tell that it didn't look that smooth from the beginning ... Yeah, its hovering behaviour can be improved - perhaps it needs a second monorail post. Great build. I love the rotor blades. They are way more authentic looking than some of the ones that Lego uses. Thanks! Yeah, the ordinary blades would look rather funny here. I'm very thankful that we have the 2x2 curved slopes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BrickJagger Posted June 28, 2016 Excellent work. I like the propeller blades, as well as the fact that you took the time to motorize this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ER0L Posted June 29, 2016 Excellent work. I like the propeller blades, as well as the fact that you took the time to motorize this. Thanks a lot! As an addition, the Sea King together with the other aviation MOCs so far: Many thanks all for commenting and viewing! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Th3_Br1ck_Kid Posted July 1, 2016 That is one of the best Lego helicopter I've ever seen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ER0L Posted July 2, 2016 That is one of the best Lego helicopter I've ever seen. Thank you! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
