15 replies to this topic

[BrickBox]

V-LF-7B

Hello everyone, I'd like to share with you the very first MOC I created after I've recently come out of my dark ages.

It's the model of a german fire engine that is used in almost every fire department in Germany. In reality, the vehicle is manned by 9 fire men, forming an autonomous tactical unit called a 'group'. And because I wanted my model to be very close to the real thing, I decided to make it 10 studs wide so that 3 minifigs can fit in side by side. Because of this, it grew slightly out of minifig scale (maybe I'll do an 8 wide version of it some time). I focused much on the interiour and the equipment that is carried by the vehicle, I guess there is quite some room for additional detailing on the outside.
You can check out more pictures on brickshelf. There you will also find some reference images as well as prove of the versatility of this excellent fire engine (apparently german fire fighters aren't the only ones who appreciate it...)

I hope you like the MOC, feel free to ask any questions and let me know what you think about it.

Edited by Phred, 23 January 2012 - 07:48 PM.

[MdrnMrvls]

Very cool! I just love how you displayed all the little tools that can be thrown in the compartments.

Great work!

[BlueBard]

Really impressive!   Not only the vehicle but also the "group" and all that great tools  

[Holodoc]

Very, very cool Brickbox!

The detailed interior and the equipment is outstanding!

Two little things though:
- the front is white? I´ve never seen any (german) fire engine with a white front.
- I think the engine is too wide for it´s length. The proportions don´t seem to be right.

Thank you for sharing the pics.

[Rick]

Holodoc, on Jun 5 2009, 10:53 AM, said:

- the front is white? I´ve never seen any (german) fire engine with a white front.

Check his Brickshelf folder  

Holodoc, on Jun 5 2009, 10:53 AM, said:

The detailed interior and the equipment is outstanding!

I think the engine is too wide for it´s length. The proportions don´t seem to be right.

I second these comments. Especially the equipment looks really cool. Too bad though it isn't exactly minifig scale. I've been building a European fire engine too, and I know how hard it is to stick to minifig proportions. My engine is 6 wide in the front and 7 wide in the back. Also, I restricted the number of compartments in the back to two (instead of the usual three) per side. As a result it holds a lot less equipment and people (only 4) though.

* going back to checking pictures to see if there are some ideas I can 'borrow'...

Edited by Rick77, 05 June 2009 - 09:02 AM.

[BrickBox]

Thank's for your comments, I'm glad you like it.

Quote

the front is white? I´ve never seen any (german) fire engine with a white front.

The main reason for the colour sheme is that the window pieces I used for the cabin can only be found in white colour. But as Rick77 pointed out, you can find an example of a white/red fire truck in the brick shelf folder.

Quote

I think the engine is too wide for it´s length. The proportions don´t seem to be right.

I agree, but I really wanted to have all 9 of the fire men inside the vehicle   I'll have to redo it in true mini fig scale, and I'm dreaming of a modular fire station that could house several of them...
I'd like to build it like this one I saw in Finland:

Edited by BrickBox, 05 June 2009 - 09:53 PM.

[andy16806]

Nicw debut after returning from the dark ages.    Cool fire engine, and really nice details and equipment. I'd also like to see a 6-8 stud wide engine som day....
good luck with the fire station.  

[BrickBox]

andy16806, on Jun 5 2009, 11:54 PM, said:

good luck with the fire station.  

Thanks,  rest assured that I will post the result here when it's done... some day... probably...

[prateek]

i decree this the best minifig scale fire truck MOC ever!!!

[Klaus-Dieter]

That's a totally awesome MOC, BrickBox!

I really   it!

This fire engine (finally a German one after the so many other ones already seen brick-built!    ) looks absolutely realistic and the exterior as well as its interior are stunning!
The only thing which I miss are some car doors in the front.
Otherwise it's perfect. The most I like the interior and all that much accessory you added to it.

Very, very well done!   

And btw: Very, very late but nevertheless: Welcome to EB!   (I hope I didn't already mention that - but with the many new memebers joining EB week for week   you partly loose the overview. )


Klaus-Dieter

Edited by Klaus-Dieter, 06 June 2009 - 08:16 PM.

[Gouns]

OMG !  

I were a Young Fire Fighter during 5 years ( 2003 -2008 ) and your MOC is a beautiful copy of the reals German Fire Trucks .

Any details are rights ! Number of place ( eight ), etc ...

Congratulations !!!       

Edited by Gouns, 06 June 2009 - 09:22 PM.

[Holodoc]

BrickBox, on Jun 5 2009, 09:40 PM, said:

I'd like to build it like this one I saw in Finland:

Have you started to collect sand green roof bricks yet?

I´d love to see that fire station finished in Lego!

[Ralph_S]

I have to agree with most of the other comments. It's a nice fire engine, I love all the equipment stored in it and it is a great way to get out of your dark ages. I have a thing for fire engines, and while I most often build American ones, it's good to see the off European one as well.

I personally also think it's rather a bit too wide to be considered minifig scale. The problem is that minifigs are much too wide for how tall they are, so if you build a truck that accommodate three figures sitting side-by side you'll end up with a truck that looks much to big with the figures standing next to it. You'll obviously have to compromise, and which choice you make will probably depend on what you'll want to do with it. My minifig scale fire engines are built to be part of LEGO city layouts with buildings, other cars, cyclists and pedestrians around them. In that case a fairly small scale works well, so my minifig scale fire engines are 7 studs wide. They look reasonable with the figures standing next to it, but it has the obvious disadvantage that I can't get many figures into the cab. If you build a stand-alone MOC or you want to add a lot of play value, a bigger vehicle is fine, I suppose.

Cheers,
Ralph

[BrickBox]

Holodoc, on Jun 6 2009, 10:23 PM, said:

Have you started to collect sand green roof bricks yet?

Well, actually... no I guess I'll have to do a digital version of it anyway for the time being...

Ralph_S, on Jun 6 2009, 11:08 PM, said:

The problem is that minifigs are much too wide for how tall they are

That's exactly the point. My engine certainly does not fit into a whole city layout (except there is an army that could use it as a tank maybe   ). As a kid I was always a bit annoyed by the lego fire trucks having no more than one fire fighter sitting inside. I was a big fan of fire fighters and rescue services (I still am as you might have figured out), and because my lego city happened to have huge disasters quite frequently, a LOT of fire men were needed. But every single one of them coming to the scene by his own car? Imagine that in real life...  

And btw. Ralph, I really like the vehicles you created, especially that british fire engine and ambulance!

Edited by BrickBox, 07 June 2009 - 02:26 PM.

[Ralph_S]

BrickBox, on Jun 7 2009, 03:12 PM, said:

That's exactly the point. My engine certainly does not fit into a whole city layout (except there is an army that could use it as a tank maybe   ). As a kid I was always a bit annoyed by the lego fire trucks having no more than one fire fighter sitting inside. I was a big fan of fire fighters and rescue services (I still am as you might have figured out), and because my lego city happened to have huge disasters quite frequently, a LOT of fire men were needed. But every single one of them coming to the scene by his own car? Imagine that in real life...  

And btw. Ralph, I really like the vehicles you created, especially that british fire engine and ambulance!

Thanks. I am glad you like them. They were fun to build and I'm sure I'll build more minifig scale vehicles, whatever that scale may be  
The awkward proportions of minifigures compared to real people are part of the reason why years ago I simply stopped using minifigures. I look at my Lego building as a form of model building, and you don't really need figures with models. However, in recent years I've been taking my models to public events and became involved in some collaborative city building and I've begun to realize that figures really add  a lot of character to a display, even if it is just a line of cars parked on a table. So, for my larger vehicles I've started building brick-built figures (somewhat similar to those in Legoland parks) and have been building a lot of minifig stuff -even if it does mean working around their odd proportions.

I look forward to seeing what other things you'll be building.

Cheers,
Ralph

[LEGOMAN132]

I like it alot and how it can fit all those tools.