[TC25] 8464 B-Model

[Saruzeufel]

For my first contest I participate in I decided to recreate my absolute favorite christmas present ever, the B-model of the 8464 (also sold as 8439 or 8459). It is some weird machine that resembles a skidder crosssed with a log loader.

It has more or less all the functions of the original: fake V6 engine with moving pistons (driven in the original set by the front wheels only), articulated streering with HOG in the beacon (had to get creative and add the yellow half bush to grab onto, because the rest turns freely on the axle), pneumatic claw with a gear mechanism (those hoses are a nightmare on this small scale, they refuse to bend...) and a function to raise and lower the arm with a linkage to create the weird angles (had to swap from pneumatics to gear driven, because there was neither space, nor did I have a second mini cylinder... and the force required to lower the arm is quite high due to the hoses not bending well, so the pneumatic version would have struggled anyway). I also tried my best to recreate the interesting design of the original (especially the front with many fancy shapes and angles).

Any constructive criticism welcome, I really struggled with some parts of the design and feel like I could have done better but perfectionism and frustration are starting to kick in so I decided to stop here and get some feedback.

Edited July 12, 2023 by Saruzeufel
typos

[Jundis]

This looks really cool!

The first pics I thought the size difference would be that big, but it sure is!

Does the light work well as steering? Seems like it could fall off easily, maybe the cone with axle groove would work better, but then would be that close to the original...

Edited July 12, 2023 by Jundis

[Saruzeufel]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention: it is shrunk to around 60% (determined by the wheels).

The steering works OK-ish if you grab the half bushing or only apply little force to it. I thought about using that cone piece (I originally thought the round one had axle grooves too but I was mistaken) but as you said, it would look even less authentic... very conflicted on that piece

[SaperPL]

Nice pick, I had this set ages ago.

I don't like how your lever is oriented though with that connector on the side. I would either plan to have it oriented outwards or close it behind something and make a proper lever outside.

Anyway it looks really good, but you should make better photos because there's a lot of black coloured parts together and it's hard to see some details there.

[Saruzeufel]

26 minutes ago, SaperPL said:

how your lever is oriented though with that connector on the side

You mean the one for the pneumatic valve? Yeah, I am a bit unhappy with that too but I could not find a better way to fit the valve and those hoses into the small space available. I tried to replicate the original version with the connector on the side to use the pneumatics. sadly using a 2L axle did not work because the valve has almost no friction so it just fell out.

 

33 minutes ago, SaperPL said:

you should make better photos

I'll try and find a room with better light and different background and take more pictures. My phone's camera is not the best, I know.

[SaperPL]

2 hours ago, Saruzeufel said:

Yeah, I am a bit unhappy with that too but I could not find a better way to fit the valve and those hoses into the small space available.

Try to figure this out. There's still a lot of time to do so.

2 hours ago, Saruzeufel said:

I'll try and find a room with better light and different background and take more pictures. My phone's camera is not the best, I know.

Try getting some morning light or go outside in the morning to do the photos. Also some photos in the natural background may look better as well if you don't have a good studio background.

[Saruzeufel]

On 7/12/2023 at 5:12 PM, SaperPL said:

Try getting some morning light

Thank you for the advice, I think this helped a little. Took some more pictures and the details are a bit more visible (I hope).

I slightly overhauled the the area around the pump and added some additional guides for the hoses so they get stuck less often. Also original tyre from the 8464 set for scale: