[TC26] Arctic Harvester

[artemisovsky]

Hello everyone.
Thanks to Jim for organizing another interesting competition.
My idea for entry is modification of Komatsu 901 XC forest harvester.

All functions will be operated manually, without using pneumatics and motors.
Assumed functions:
- all wheels (and tracks) drive
- pendular suspension for wheels
- oscillating bogies suspension for tracks
- working fake engine
- articulated steering
- height adjustable snow plow
- rotating substructure with cabin and main arm
- the arm will likely have a blade that rotates as the vehicle moves or a gripper, haven't decided yet
Photos:


Snow plow:


Current progress of the vehicle with the plow connected:

[Alex Ilea]

Nice progress so far. I like just how detailed that orange blade is, and how you managed to cover up those track spokets.

[Seasider]

Interesting build so far. How are you going to make sure it’s not the Komatsu ? Remember one of the rules is not licenced.

[1gor]

That looks interesting

[SaperPL]

This looks really neat. Especially the snow plow with those teeth and edges detailed out and great proportions between tracks and wheels at the back.

[Lego Tom]

Interesting build!  Looking forward to updates.

[artemisovsky]

2 hours ago, Alex Ilea said:

Nice progress so far. I like just how detailed that orange blade is, and how you managed to cover up those track spokets.

Thank you. Limiting the color to orange in this contest is great for me because I have the most elements in this color (excluding neutral colors).

1 hour ago, Seasider said:

Interesting build so far. How are you going to make sure it’s not the Komatsu ? Remember one of the rules is not licenced.

Yes, good that you pointed it out. Maybe I expressed myself wrong but I meant that my entry loosely will be based on the type of chassis used in forest harvesters (gave the name Komatsu as an example). The appearance (completely different colors and proportions, tracked first axle) and functions (any real harvesters hasn't blade for snow plow, mechanism on the lifting arm will not be used for processing wood but for crushing ice) would be different significantly from existing machines. So I think the model doesn't break the rules. BTW, I was also thinking about making a snowbine harvester (like in Top Gear) but it would be difficult to design interesting functions for it.

1 hour ago, 1gor said:

That looks interesting

Thanks. Hope I can complete this project as planned and it will also remain interesting when completed.

[Thirdwigg]

Cool build so far. It reminds me a little of McLeach's truck from the the Rescuers Down Under. I like the oversized plow so far as well.

Keep it up....

[artemisovsky]

On 11/5/2023 at 1:24 PM, SaperPL said:

This looks really neat. Especially the snow plow with those teeth and edges detailed out and great proportions between tracks and wheels at the back.

Thanks a lot! Inspiration for making this plow was the same element used in Top Gear Snowbine Harvester:

On 11/5/2023 at 1:24 PM, Lego Tom said:

Interesting build!  Looking forward to updates.

Thank you.

On 11/7/2023 at 10:22 PM, Thirdwigg said:

Cool build so far.(...) I like the oversized plow so far as well.

Thanks for the praise. Hope you will also join to contest with some version of arctic tracked tractor or with something else crazy.

In the meantime, worked on a preliminary version of the cabin:

[Maaboo the Witch]

This is shaping up to be seriously awesome!

[Thirdwigg]

2 hours ago, artemisovsky said:

Thanks for the praise. Hope you will also join to contest with some version of arctic tracked tractor or with something else crazy.

I would like to join. I'll see when I can get a build started.

I love the cabin!

[artemisovsky]

On 11/9/2023 at 8:32 PM, Maaboo the Witch said:

This is shaping up to be seriously awesome! 

Thanks for the kind words. I'm still thinking about the functions and appearance, so everything can be changed.

On 11/9/2023 at 9:53 PM, Thirdwigg said:

I love the cabin!

Thank you!

I already have inline 6 cylinder engine and gearbox. The idea is that the crushing blade located on the adjustable arm can be driven by the movement of the vehicle or manually. After turning off the wheel drive it will be powered by the knob with also engine running. I also tried to add a warning light on cabin top but it didn't look good so it will be removed.

[artemisovsky]

During the design process, an idea came up to attach a large saw to the arm:

Tried building a blade out of bricks and panels with somewhat poor results


The saw was too heavy and ineffective, so changed it to a much smaller elements. Blades can move with the movement of vehicle or manually after shifting the gearbox.
Current photos:

[Thirdwigg]

Great addition! The blade is totally unnecessary, and thus perfect! 

[1gor]

With blade it looks like some vehicle from Mad Max movie or something like that... other looks very good

[artemisovsky]

Final version is done! Thanks Thirdwigg and 1gor for commenting, your feedbacks mean a lot to me.

Video:

Photos:

[2GodBDGlory]

Nice job! I think this is one of my favorite entries, because of the polished looks and large amount of functionality

[artemisovsky]

8 minutes ago, 2GodBDGlory said:

Nice job! I think this is one of my favorite entries, because of the polished looks and large amount of functionality

Thank you, I think that your project is the best (at least at the moment) so it will be fun to see the voters verdict.

[Thirdwigg]

Well done. This is just the right amount  of weird for me. Glad you were able to finish it. 

[1gor]

It ended up very good. I like color sheme (reminds me on my Unimog )

[Maaboo the Witch]

I can definitely see this 🐕 drilling in a cavern deep beneath the ice. Great job!

[artemisovsky]

Thirdwigg, 1gor and Maaboo the Witch, thanks again for your kind words and feedbacks.

I managed to design the entire vehicle in Studio - after minor corrections model has 1067 parts:

I also already have a graphic with the arrangement of mechanisms (without actuators):

I will make instructions for this entry but I may not be able to finish it before the end of the contest.