Frankenstein buggy

[Lixander]

In the summer of 2022, I started the my first Lego RC off-roader project, based on the 42124 set - Off-road buggy; my goal was to create something simple and robust, but very powerful and with off-road capabilities.

I considered the pretty new 42124 set as a good starting point; for powering the wheel I considered that at least a buggy motor will suffice, but I observed that a similar MOC already exists, so I said that there is only way to go - to put 2 motors in the small structure of the 42124 buggy, something pretty rare to see , even to this day; choosing 2x buggy motors for traction meant that for steering I could only put a Power Functions Servo-motor, being a far more good option than the new motors, that need the new Lego battery hubs, which limit your motor options (in my opinion).

I analysed the newest and greatest MOC that I had (I still consider it a master-piece) - a RC baja-truck, and put the knowledge that I gathered in creating the rear axle and modifying the front structure.

When I first tested it, in my flat, I was surprised by the speed and agility of this thing - it was something monstrous comparing it with the original set, that is what gave me the idea of the name of the MOC; after that, I went in a park multiple times, testing and playing with it, until I could called it done.

Being so impressed by the agility of the MOC, I wanted to measure the maximum speed it could achieve; I thought at the cheapest and fastest way to do that, and I found, on the internet, that a smart-watch would do just fine; I strapped the smart-watch on the buggy and set the watch to record a bicycle exercise . I was pretty proud of the speed achieved: about 11km/h or 6-7mph.

Moving to the specs, it has:

• 2x buggy motors for traction (geared at 1.67:1)and 1x servo-motor for steering
• positive caster angle, as the original had 
• 4x 6.5L hard shock absorbers, for the fully independent suspension in front and rigid axle type suspension on the back

Edited January 10, 2023 by Lixander

[howitzer]

While Eurobricks won't host your photos, you can embed photos in your posts by linking them from Bricksafe or another hosting service.

[Lixander]

27 minutes ago, howitzer said:

While Eurobricks won't host your photos, you can embed photos in your posts by linking them from Bricksafe or another hosting service.

Thanks for letting me know!

[mla2]

Nice work. It looks like you used the outer axles of the buggy motors, is that intentional? It will be quite a bit faster if you use the inner ones.

[Lixander]

2 hours ago, mla2 said:

Nice work. It looks like you used the outer axles of the buggy motors, is that intentional? It will be quite a bit faster if you use the inner ones.

Yeah, it is intentional. The inner one gives more speed, indeed, but takes torque. The outer one gives more torque, but coupled to a wheel hub portal, gives a decent speed. I think it is ideal to have a mix of both, for being able to have decent speed but decent torque too.

 

Edited January 8, 2023 by Lixander