10 replies to this topic

[Lasse D]

I might make 12 studs wide Model Team trucks all the time, but I still have very little experience building cab-over designs. There have been a lot of prototypes before I ended up with this design for the Octan truck:



(The brickshelf gallery)

The truck uses a lot of SNOT-techniques from the front to the windows in the sleeping cabin and slopes for the stripes. I can't remember the last time I used so many different in such a small space!

The biggest challenge was without doubt the windshield. The 2x6x2 windscreens are very low and look good on a truck like the old American Freightliners, but not on this more European like, so I have tried to give it a lot of "make up" around the windows to make them appear taller.  


Click on the following picture to get to the gallery with some of the many prototypes

[Asuka]

Wow, pretty cool....  *y*
That curved cabin design´s great and that front grill looks very impressive, with a very
smart opening system. The interior´s also very decent, and those prototype pics´re
interesting, especially  the one with that Mercedes-Benz logo. A marvelous work, beautiful. :'-)

[SirNadroj]

Very, very, very cool!!! I love Octan LEGO MOCs! I espically like those octan balls in the back!  *y*

[Sinner]

Another excellent truck.  *wub*  You have a real talent for them. I like the engine and that radiator must have taken ages.  8-° If I was to pick on it, I would say that the Octan tanks seem a tad small, but feel free to ignore me; I've never even made a Lego ball before.  :-$

[ZeekyBoogeyDoog]

Great job, you rendered the model very realitically X-O

[Lasse D]

> Azuka
If you like the one with the MB-logo, you should have seen it in person - it was terrible!
But thanks for the comment. The opening mechanism was needed because a tilting cab design wasn't strong enough when you pull the truck around from the top.

> SirNadroj
I'm happy about the balls as well, but it is a problem that they take almost all my spare green and red plates  8-°

> Sinner
Yep. The trailer does look small. A bit too small. I wanted the truck to fit my other trailers while the trailer should be minimalistic with round balls which resulted in this relatively low design (relatively since it looks fine in height with 5580).

I could make a more streamlined trailer (or actually I couldn't because I'm almost out of red and green plates  X-D ), but that must wait until next time.

> ZeekyBoogeyDoog
Thank you, but there isn't a real life truck that I tried to resemble. It is more a mix of different styles: some Renault and a little bit of Mercedes Benz.

Edited by Lasse D, 11 September 2007 - 07:53 PM.

[Asuka]

Lasse D, on Sep 11 2007, 08:50 PM, said:

If you like the one with the MB-logo, you should have seen it in person - it was terrible!

Well, perhaps, but the way you did the logo was pretty smart....  *y*

[Lasse D]

Yeah. I stole that idea from the Mercedes trucks in LEGOLAND  :-D

For a long time I thought the Mercedes Benz logo was the only one for which there' a good resembling brick, but when I went to LEGOLAND earlier this year, I saw some peugeots where 1x2 grilles were used. It was only like ½ stud that was exposed, but they looked real.

[simonwillems]

Great truck!

I like the way you made the cab really look round, a very tough and difficult thing to do, but it works well with those rounded-top parts.
My only (tiny) point of criticism would be the wheel/nob on top of the cab, with the rest of the truck being made so realistic I think that looks a bit out of place. But, one has to steer somewhere.  ;-)

Keep them rolling!

*y*

[Norro]

Octan! The pinnacle of Lego civilization! Great work!

God Bless,

Nathan

[Lasse D]

simonwillems, on Sep 14 2007, 10:42 AM, said:

(...)
My only (tiny) point of criticism would be the wheel/nob on top of the cab, with the rest of the truck being made so realistic I think that looks a bit out of place. But, one has to steer somewhere.  ;-)

The cross axle is connected to a joint so it comes off easily, but the it can't steer as you mention. I could have used a spare wheel on the back like 5590, but it would be inaccessible if the truck had to pull one of the larger trailers like the ferris wheel. A smart solution would be to have a coupling for the steering inside the real coupling like I did on the old police HQ, but that would require that all my large trailers we modified for this and I would still end up with a knob on the top somewhere.


The next truck will not have a steering knob. This will be the first time ever that any of my trucks doesn't have one.

Edited by Lasse D, 15 September 2007 - 11:31 AM.