[MOC] Boris RC tank

[sanderverkuijlen]

When I got out of my dark age 1.5 years ago it was partly because of seeing 42009 at a friends' house, but also in no small part by the great tanks created by Sariel and Tommy Styrvoky (among others).
Once my collection felt large enough that I didn't mind taking some sets apart I started looking at building something of my own.
After a few failed attempts I ended up with Boris here, the first moc that I find presentable enough to post here..

It's powered by two XL motors hooked directly up to a sprocket on their respective side (I've had problems with slipping gears on earlier attempts).
Speed is decent enough and there's no lack of torque, but unfortunately the standard lego tracks don't provide much grip.

There's also one M motor to provide rotation to the turret, while another M motor drives a small LA that sticks through the turntable to control gun elevation.
As you can see from the bottom-shot I'm still horrible at building in compact spaces so the Sbrick proved to be very valuable. (both for space and LoS concerns)

 

 

I've actually finished this moc a few months ago.
My reason for posting it now is that it'll soon be scrapped to provide parts for it's successor.
Here's a sneak preview of the new prototype, Boris for scale:

 

Edited October 31, 2016 by sanderverkuijlen

[BobSmithHello55]

Nice!  This is the kind of full-function tank that kids would LOVE to build.  Sariel's and Tommy Styrvoky's tanks are great, but they are often beyond the reach of most Technic fans.  Is there any chance that you could make Building Instructions for your "Boris"? 

[Victor Imaginator]

Nice one. I like second chassis variation with overlapping wheels. And agreed with matthewclso.

[Tommy Styrvoky]

If you want to work in smaller spaces, I suggest getting a AAA or rechargeable battery, as that helps a lot with conserving space for other components. Maybe also use L motors for the drive sprockets, as XL may be a little too powerful for the size of the model, and you could have potentially better performance/reduced size with L motors (the model doesn't have to be 13 studs wide to accommodate the XL motors.)

I guess we all have to start somewhere, and I can say some of my first vehicles weren't the prettiest. Skill comes with trial and error, So build a few more renditions, and you will eventually become more familiar with solutions, and refine your design. 

Edited November 1, 2016 by Tommy Styrvoky

[sanderverkuijlen]

@matthewclso

I'm afraid I have to disappoint on the matter of instructions. I'm new to all of this so I haven't done anything of the sort before.
On top of that I've already started taking Boris apart. Perhaps for the next build.

 

@Tommy Styrvoky

Thanks for the suggestions! I've kickstarted the buwizz project so hopefully I'll have a nice compact battery and control solution in a little while.
As for the L motors, my new prototype already features those =)

 

And lastly a general question: I don't suppose anyone here knows of a tiny "linear actuator" construction that's considerably smaller than a small linear actuator?
I've found this after some googling but after 2 evenings of tinkering I still can't get that to fit in the new smaller chassis...
(the problem is height, when in the lowered position the axle sticks down further than grond clearance will allow)

[Tommy Styrvoky]

7 hours ago, sanderverkuijlen said:

 

And lastly a general question: I don't suppose anyone here knows of a tiny "linear actuator" construction that's considerably smaller than a small linear actuator?
I've found this after some googling but after 2 evenings of tinkering I still can't get that to fit in the new smaller chassis...
(the problem is height, when in the lowered position the axle sticks down further than grond clearance will allow)

I think that's about as small as you're going to get, though the problem is when you rotate the turret, the 1/2 bush will move upwards/downwards. Also it will be kind of difficult to make a compact means of driving it from below, it would be better to have the input at 90° to it. If there were more photos of the chassis, I could potentially see an 8z/worm gear cam mechanism being mounted below. 

Edited November 7, 2016 by Tommy Styrvoky