1980SomethingSpaceGuy Posted March 31, 2020 Posted March 31, 2020 (edited) Thanks again Jim for this new TC! I want suspension in my build. So I started with the front axle, seems the biggest challenge to start with. This is what I have yet: The steering wheel is for demonstration purposes, it will most likely be moved, as will be a lot of other surrounding parts. I'll probably the steering on the other side of the axle, gearing it down and taking advantage of this to put some offset. Suspension uses 2 white rubber bands (true Lego), and are fully independent. Since the wide tires are the only ones I have at hand, this whole has to be quite compact, but I'm happy with how it started. Cheers! Edited April 15, 2020 by 1980SomethingSpaceGuy Quote
Rudivdk Posted March 31, 2020 Posted March 31, 2020 Nice suspension solution! I have the narrow Corvette tires and it was already challenging to get it to fit in 15 wide... Good luck, hope to see more of these smart solutions Quote
TechnicRCRacer Posted March 31, 2020 Posted March 31, 2020 This solution is quite unique! Haven't started on the steering for my model and it seems most people have gone for a different route. Quote
msk6003 Posted April 1, 2020 Posted April 1, 2020 Suspension with steering without ball link? Great! Quote
1980SomethingSpaceGuy Posted April 1, 2020 Author Posted April 1, 2020 (edited) 13 hours ago, Rudivdk said: Nice suspension solution! I have the narrow Corvette tires and it was already challenging to get it to fit in 15 wide... Good luck, hope to see more of these smart solutions Thanks! I seize the opportunity to tell you I love your work. Especially the P38. One of my favourite prop planes IRL, and you really nailed it. 10 hours ago, TechnicRCRacer said: This solution is quite unique! Haven't started on the steering for my model and it seems most people have gone for a different route. So it seems. But that's what I like building Lego: trying new stuff. I find it more frustrating to copy existing solutions than seeing my experiments fail and having to restart. 8 hours ago, msk6003 said: Suspension with steering without ball link? Great! Yes! Thanks! The only ball link arms I have at hand just don't fit, so I have to be creative. Just now, Jurss said: Interesting solution. How well it works? It works surprisingly well! Yesterday, I lowered the rubber bands' top attachment point one stud lower because the suspension was a bit stiff. It's even better now. The vertical 3 studs pins (the ones with their middle part exposed) play an important role in the stiffness. Yesterday, I started working on the rear axle. The only differentials I have at hand are old school 4 studs wide. They just won't fit between two wide tires and still allow the usual double universal joint axle solution. I could offset the diff and use longitudinal axles, but it made no sense in my mind. So I gave up independent suspension and will suspend the whole rear axle. In order to keep something fun about it, I figured I could use a pullback motor (rules ban electric motors ). I very seldom use them, so why not? This is what I got: It's quite compact. I love when moving parts have so little clearance but still are perfectly safe. As usual, the way the shocks are setup and the rear axle connected to the chassis is only for demonstration purposes. Cheers! Edited April 1, 2020 by 1980SomethingSpaceGuy Quote
msk6003 Posted April 1, 2020 Posted April 1, 2020 Yyyeeeesssss. Now all I thinked came out.(2,4 speed transmission, virtual pivot steering, pull back motor) I wonder what awesome function come to other entry... Quote
Jurss Posted April 1, 2020 Posted April 1, 2020 2 hours ago, 1980SomethingSpaceGuy said: I figured I could use a pullback motor Not a good idea to use it with steered car. I onece did it, but I had steering lock, so it could be used together with that pullback. Quote
1980SomethingSpaceGuy Posted April 1, 2020 Author Posted April 1, 2020 33 minutes ago, Jurss said: Not a good idea to use it with steered car. I onece did it, but I had steering lock, so it could be used together with that pullback. Notice how I geared down the motor? It's not going to jump like a rocket. It's more pacing. But indeed, I'll probably need the steering to return to straight on its own (rubber, spring..) No problem. Only challenges! Quote
amorti Posted April 1, 2020 Posted April 1, 2020 Glad to see a pullback motor in the competition Great solutions especially by only using what was available Quote
TechnicRCRacer Posted April 1, 2020 Posted April 1, 2020 6 hours ago, 1980SomethingSpaceGuy said: Notice how I geared down the motor? You geared it up. That thing is gonna go super fast! Quote
1980SomethingSpaceGuy Posted April 1, 2020 Author Posted April 1, 2020 (edited) 12 hours ago, TechnicRCRacer said: You geared it up. That thing is gonna go super fast! Way not enough torque for that! But I guess it's called "up" indeed, since usually we care about the motor and start counting from that. You're right. I meant I geared down the back wheels to the spring to get a long push instead of a kick. But it's not working well, it barely moves. I'll try other ratios, cheers! Edit: I tried different ratios and the best is.. 1:1. A bit of anticlimax, but well... I assembled both axles and this is current state: I now have to decide where I'm going with this. My idea was an electric race car. Edited April 2, 2020 by 1980SomethingSpaceGuy Quote
1980SomethingSpaceGuy Posted April 3, 2020 Author Posted April 3, 2020 One more white rubber band to center the direction, correct rear suspension setting, a couple of seats, a steering wheel, I think I have a chassis! Just for fun, I've cast a few panels on it. I don't think it's going to look like this in the end, but I like the simplicity of it. Quote
1980SomethingSpaceGuy Posted April 5, 2020 Author Posted April 5, 2020 (edited) I was not satisfied by this rear axle and the pullback motor solution. I figured I needed more Technic: independent suspensions and a gearbox. So I reconsidered using longitudinal swingarms and a fake engine. This is was I have now: It's sturdy and everything works fine. Edited April 6, 2020 by 1980SomethingSpaceGuy Quote
1980SomethingSpaceGuy Posted April 6, 2020 Author Posted April 6, 2020 (edited) That steering wheel needed more grip. The size of the seats was a bit off. Because of the size of the gearbox, those still are a bit to high and spread apart, but there's not much I can do. Also, since I let my kid play with it, the front needed to be a bit stronger. That brought me to this: Full independent suspension, steering, gearbox, fake engine, check. We've seen a lot of mini fake engines lately. I think it makes sense if the objective is replicating an existing model, but when building freestyle, I prefer the classic one. I rather have a crankshaft and rods than lots of over-simplified cylinders. The number of cylinders then becomes the measure of size of the engine block, rather than matching the count of cylinders in a typical engine of a similar real life vehicle. I'm old school Technic maybe.. With that large differential, wide tires and no specific suspension parts, I'm not sure I could put the seats a lot lower without expending the wheelbase. These constraints and the result they produced are somewhat comparable to a 1920s car, so I think it's telling me it wants to be a hot rod. Now I can move to body design! Edited April 6, 2020 by 1980SomethingSpaceGuy Quote
1980SomethingSpaceGuy Posted April 7, 2020 Author Posted April 7, 2020 (edited) I have a body ! I like those white fender parts but the only color I have enough panels in is dark azure, so I kinda have to make do with two-tones. The doors and the engine bay open. Cheers! Edited April 14, 2020 by 1980SomethingSpaceGuy Quote
1980SomethingSpaceGuy Posted April 7, 2020 Author Posted April 7, 2020 (edited) A few more tweaks.. Thanks for watching! Feedback is welcome. Edited April 9, 2020 by 1980SomethingSpaceGuy Quote
Jurss Posted April 8, 2020 Posted April 8, 2020 Intersting car, there is something. Don't You have those quartercircle axle connectors in black. I would use them for windshiled. Also, exhaust pipes disappear. I would try to arrange something lower, so that they stand out more, it would add to look. In existing I would put rear lights. But those are just my suggestions. Quote
1980SomethingSpaceGuy Posted April 9, 2020 Author Posted April 9, 2020 18 hours ago, Jurss said: Intersting car, there is something. Don't You have those quartercircle axle connectors in black. I would use them for windshiled. Also, exhaust pipes disappear. I would try to arrange something lower, so that they stand out more, it would add to look. In existing I would put rear lights. But those are just my suggestions. Thank you very much for the feedback! I agree with you, there was something better to do with the windshiled and the rear. Update: The difference is not huge, but it sure looks better. Cheers! Quote
Rudivdk Posted April 9, 2020 Posted April 9, 2020 These are the kind of finishing touches that make a difference: nice update, it 'flows' a lot better now . All in all you've put quite a lot of functions in there, it has become a good solid model! Quote
1980SomethingSpaceGuy Posted April 9, 2020 Author Posted April 9, 2020 4 minutes ago, Rudivdk said: These are the kind of finishing touches that make a difference: nice update, it 'flows' a lot better now . All in all you've put quite a lot of functions in there, it has become a good solid model! Thanks! The whole thing is built around the concept "I don't have the right piece for that, let's find a workaround." So it's not perfect in any sense, but in the end, I like it even more, I think. Of course, it's not easy to get people feel the same; what they tend to see is just an inappropriate pile of random parts... It looks like you did not: this makes me very happy indeed! Quote
Rudivdk Posted April 9, 2020 Posted April 9, 2020 Although I personally have a very large selection of parts at my disposal and almost always have 'the right part' at hand, I always want to build a core that is pure technical/functional. Achieving that with a limited selection of parts is something I can really appreciate, even more so than stunning looks without 'guts'. Guess it's a matter of taste... Quote
1980SomethingSpaceGuy Posted April 9, 2020 Author Posted April 9, 2020 3 hours ago, Rudivdk said: Guess it's a matter of taste... My thinking exactly.. I knew you were a great builder already. I discover you're also a great person! The pace my (recent) parts pool grows has sped up a bit lately, but it's still quite modest. And I just don't have a lot of room, living with wife and kids in a flat. All the available parts hold in this box: On the plus side, I have zealous testers. My son thoroughly tests robustness: And my daughter cares about playability (this is how I found it after this morning's conf-call): Sharing the fun! Quote
Rudivdk Posted April 9, 2020 Posted April 9, 2020 I am in the blessed position of having a dedicated Lego/home-office room for myself. My two boys (7&5 y/o) love Lego as well and have accumulated a pretty fine collection for themselves already. But having them 'test' my models and play with it gives a better feeling than building them. As long as you're having fun and if you're even able to share that fun, you will be happy and whatever you have will be enough. That's what a hobby (and life?) is about as far as I'm concerned.Those last two pics say it all. Enough philosophical ranting, back to competition modus now I guess... Quote
1980SomethingSpaceGuy Posted April 9, 2020 Author Posted April 9, 2020 (edited) Yep, we digressed a bit.. But to get back to contest matters, that gave me inspiration for this entry's name, which is nice! Edited April 9, 2020 by 1980SomethingSpaceGuy Quote
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