[TC22] Power Crane

[1980SomethingSpaceGuy]

A couple of months ago, I modded my 42098, removing the trailer and moving the ramp to the truck itself. Which left me with those:

For some reason, they reminded me of my 8854 set, back in the day. I figured I could build a crane that size, at some point.

Now with TC22, the time has come!
So I've started working on a little crane truck, with the above as the boom. The size is pretty small, but I wanted a least as many features as the original.
I managed to pack that in and eventually also added a working fake engine.

It's a lot less impressive than 8854 was in my memories, but all features work so I'm happy with that.

Thanks for watching!

Edited May 7, 2022 by 1980SomethingSpaceGuy
Updated topic title

[Paul B Technic]

That is really nice and well built.

[Jurss]

Original way of routing rope.

[1980SomethingSpaceGuy]

5 hours ago, TangersTechnic said:

That is really nice and well built.

Thank you!

2 hours ago, Jurss said:

Original way of routing rope.

I went for the simplest solution with that. At that scale, it's just too bulky to have guides and pulleys all the way, so I figured rubbing against rounded surfaces was acceptable considering the mechanical constraints.
Do you think I could improve this aspect? What would be the standard way?

[Jurss]

Standard way is over top, but if it works, then it is OK

[1980SomethingSpaceGuy]

Ok, thanks. I wasn't aware of that. It's routed below on 8854:

Thanks for the insight!

Edited April 14, 2022 by 1980SomethingSpaceGuy

[mpj]

Very cute little model!

[Thirdwigg]

I confess I desire a little bigger tires. But other than that you added great functions, and kept the feel of 8854. Well done; it looks great!

[1980SomethingSpaceGuy]

45 minutes ago, Thirdwigg said:

I confess I desire a little bigger tires. But other than that you added great functions, and kept the feel of 8854. Well done; it looks great!

So true! I would have loved to use bigger tires too. But alas, I have none between those and the 43.2, which are obviously too big for this scale.
On the other hand, those wheel arches simply wouldn't have worked with bigger tires.. 
Using those tiny ones pushed the design towards the "cute" side and away from 8854 a bit, but I tried to keep details like the color scheme, the HOG, downward pointing headlights, etc. true to the original so that the reference remains to be noticed. Glad if it works!

Thanks for your comment! 

Edited April 14, 2022 by 1980SomethingSpaceGuy

[SaperPL]

Ok, this is actually brilliant on how it depicts the roundness of the cab, that slight angle there to match the round panels on the side and to angle the dashboard and steering wheel at the same time - awesome attention to detail here :)

[1980SomethingSpaceGuy]

On 4/14/2022 at 12:48 PM, mpj said:

Very cute little model!

Thanks a lot!

On 4/14/2022 at 6:25 PM, SaperPL said:

Ok, this is actually brilliant on how it depicts the roundness of the cab, that slight angle there to match the round panels on the side and to angle the dashboard and steering wheel at the same time - awesome attention to detail here :)

Thank you! Indeed, I was feeling the interior deserved some more attention: I raised the HOG one full stud, this allowed the universal joints to work smoother and made room for the second seat. I also tweaked the round tiles to stick out a bit less, and changed the way the lower liftarm is attached. The inverted 2x2 plate blends in nicely with the rest of the dashboard and holds it well enough.

Other than that, I put a touch of yellow in the wheels as well as a few color swaps here and there, and managed to reduce friction in the transmission.
Which is quite exotic, but about the only way to connect the rear axle to the engine.

Of course the HOG barely deserves its name here: it is quite obvious.
But we all love this double universal joint setup, don't we?

Dimensions are (WxHxL) 11x17x24, which make for 4488 cubic studs.
This means two of them would still fit in the allowed volume, yay!

Thanks for watching!

Edited April 28, 2022 by 1980SomethingSpaceGuy

[Nazgarot]

Amazingly good looking for it's size!

Really love how you used the "steering arms" with the pin with ball to make the A-arms. This really is the dot over the i on a good model, and in combination with the slim and almost cute front it give the model a real personality. 

Only thing I would change is the hand of god steering knob. Maybe this part could make it fit better with the scale of the model.

 

_ED_

[1980SomethingSpaceGuy]

I decided to reboot the micro crane.
The small turntable and actuator simply were not strong enough, even for the scale. Moreover, the transmission was a bit sketchy and the wheels too small.

So, with an upgraded turntable and actuator, I also upgraded the hook for the metal one from 8854 and the wheels.

I tried to stick to the round and cute style of the first iteration. I'm not completely satisfied with the looks, but the features now work much better.

The doors open, it has a classic fake piston engine, Ackermann steering and with 15x22x30=9900, it's just within bounds.
The model is quite simple, but everything works and is strong enough to be played without too much care. It survives a table fall with grace.

Thanks for watching!

Edited May 7, 2022 by 1980SomethingSpaceGuy

[Thirdwigg]

I love the bigger size, and the crane looks much better. Are you able to move the rear axle back at all? That rear overhang is a touch too long. Also, the hood could use a little more refining to my eyes, but the overall improvement is great.

[Jurss]

I like this. It is somehow cute.

[1980SomethingSpaceGuy]

5 hours ago, Thirdwigg said:

I love the bigger size, and the crane looks much better. Are you able to move the rear axle back at all? That rear overhang is a touch too long. Also, the hood could use a little more refining to my eyes, but the overall improvement is great.

Thanks for your message! I totally agree. My Idea was to mock up 8854 on that: crane right on top of the rear axle. I added the outriggers module after I had those built. And it ended being too long in the back.
Yeah, not only the hood could be improved, the whole cabin is coarse. Even more: the crane part needs better thinking; I have this boom to use since that's the plan, and the only actuators I have are the very small one of the first iteration, which is too weak to use in a crane (it clicks and stops moving when overloaded) and the bigger one of the second version, which is almost as big as the boom itself. I started with the actuator nice and vertical as the pneumatics in 8854, but this lead to a much too tall crane part. I then gave it an angle to win a couple studs, but the result is a bad tradeoff. I want a good solution instead.

2 hours ago, Jurss said:

I like this. It is somehow cute.

Thanks! Reminds me of what I say to my kids when they show me their work and it's a bit clumsy but at least they tried.. And I totally agree with that :)

[Nazgarot]

Looks like someone took a cute little crane truck and did a offroad makeover on it. I like it!

That tiny cabin with widened fenders, new front bumper and larger wheels is almost comical, and it is perfect! Gives the model a real original look!

And the improvements to the crane are very good, but is it possible to make a longer, or 3 stage boom?

 

May I suggest something like this?

This is a very old crane for a unimog, using old pneumatics and a chain for extending the 3rd segment. It should be possible to build much more compact using string rather than chain, and dropping the pneumatics.

_ED_

[1980SomethingSpaceGuy]

13 minutes ago, Nazgarot said:

Looks like someone took a cute little crane truck and did a offroad makeover on it. I like it!

That tiny cabin with widened fenders, new front bumper and larger wheels is almost comical, and it is perfect! Gives the model a real original look!

And the improvements to the crane are very good, but is it possible to make a longer, or 3 stage boom?

May I suggest something like this?

This is a very old crane for a unimog, using old pneumatics and a chain for extending the 3rd segment. It should be possible to build much more compact using string rather than chain, and dropping the pneumatics.

_ED_

Thanks for your message and the suggestion! I was thinking of using some scissor style structure, but 3 stage is also an option indeed.

[1980SomethingSpaceGuy]

I scrapped the whole thing again yesterday.
I went for a narrower and shorter chassis, simpler crane part (so I dropped the idea of additional telescopic complexity in favor of sturdiness) and reworked the outriggers module.

I'm finally coming up to something I'm really satisfied with.

[Jurss]

Crane looks much better.

But You don't have to change cabin, it really looks cute, in a good meaning.

[Thirdwigg]

I like all the different iterations. The rear end of the truck looks much more balanced now. And I like the cabin so far.

[1980SomethingSpaceGuy]

7 hours ago, Jurss said:

Crane looks much better.

But You don't have to change cabin, it really looks cute, in a good meaning.

Thanks!
I think you'll like the new version even better. At least I do.

I seized the opportunity offered by that big amount of space under the cab to also connect the steering wheel: it now has both working steering wheel and HOG.

I managed to shape the cab to give it a bit more of that 8854 touch, and a bit less of that cute/clumsy feel.

Dimensions now are 15 x 24 x 27 = 9720

This time I feel happy with the result. All functions work flawlessly (equal or better than official sets).
It has been quite a burden to restart 3 times, but definitely worth the effort.

Thanks for watching!

2 hours ago, Thirdwigg said:

I like all the different iterations. The rear end of the truck looks much more balanced now. And I like the cabin so far.

Thanks! And now that it's finished?

Edited April 28, 2022 by 1980SomethingSpaceGuy

[Jurss]

Now it is angry :)

[Thirdwigg]

Looks Great!

[Erik Leppen]

Good to see the evolution of this model. I think you're certainly going in a good direction. The bigger wheels are much better. Also good to see you worked an engine in there.

One thing I don't really like is how small the boom is.  It feels out of proportion with the rest. If you check the original set, the crane is what extends forward the most, even beyond the cabin. So I would suggest using regular parts to build a boom, instead of using the prefab element.