[MOC] CK's building adventures wip wheel loader

[CK28]

Hello guys!

Let me start with a little confession, before I recently signed up I was one of those “ghost” on Eurobricks. I have been surfing on the forms from time to time for several years now, being amazed by a dozen of MOC’s, reading reviews, following rumors about new sets and enjoying discussion and modification / improvements topics. So before I start, thanks everybody for the great and helpful content around here! 

But alright now about me, I am a 27 year old fellow living in the Netherlands, I played a lot with Lego when I was younger but never really got into technic at that time. I grew older and lost interest, but then at a sudden moment Lego came with the Volvo L350 (42030). I work in the civil engineering field and have always had, and still have , great interest in construction equipment. I bought the set and really enjoyed the build and playing around with the loader. A while later it was my birthday and my little brother gave me the mining dumptruck (42035) which really kicked of the technic addiction for me, now we are several years and a lot of sets further!

From day one I dreamt of building my own great MOC’s inspired by some of the best you can find here on the forums. The wheeled volvo excavator (42053) is one of my favorite sets and at that time I decided to buy 2 so I could make a complete pneumatic excavator. I started with a boom section but never really got of to something bigger until a good 1,5 year back. I rediscovered the relaxing but also at times challenging process of building your own Lego technic creation and step by step finally completed my first moc, a volvo EC 250 El excavator. 

It was quit the journey with one total restart, a bunch of steps back but for now I am quit satisfied with the result. Although I do have some point of self criticism: 
-    the battery box is not really easily accessible meaning you have to remove quit a bit to replace the battery’s when needed, also when rotating it can collide with the tracks; 
-    the understructure is still a bit to weak for my taste, nothing breaks or is under to much stress but it sometimes feels and looks a bit wobbly..
But after seeing Lego’s go with the electric EC230 I have to say that I am quit proud of myself 

Anyway enough talking, time for some photos:

The pneumatic functions are power by two small pups driven with a PF L-motor, there are three levers on the back of the machine for the main and second boom parts and of course the bucket. There is also a fourth lever hidden in the site (hence the double hoses) which I wanted to use for a griper or “tilter” for the bucket, those are just not yet there… 

Some more WIP pictures for the enthusiasts:

You can check out the full gallery here.

Hope you guys liked what you saw, i already got something new i am working on but well i am not a really fast builder... 

Edited December 6, 2024 by CK28

[Maaboo the Witch]

Nice job! At least you used a single bucket - TLG couldn't even manage that with the EC230. 

Also, great to see a fellow Penguins of Madagascar fan around here!

[Paul B Technic]

Really nice work and progress with this.

[Timewhatistime]

I really like the used of system part on the boom's first and second section, as well es the way you made the angle.

Especially the pump/switch section looks very compact and sturdy, though I intuitively prefer the switches to control the boom and the bucket by moving back and forth instead of moving sideways.

Can't wait to see the extension with double function instead of the bucket!

Do I see it correctly - the upper structure can be turned simply manually, without a knob, HOG or something similar?

[Jundis]

*slapsLego* "That's how to do a Volvo excavator!"

Jokes aside, really great job, especially the boom and the substructure. Seems also very functional and cleanly built. Dumb battery Battery+Pneumatic is always great to play with :-)

[CK28]

Thanks for the kind words guys! 

20 hours ago, Maaboo the Witch said:

Nice job! At least you used a single bucket - TLG couldn't even manage that with the EC230. 

Also, great to see a fellow Penguins of Madagascar fan around here!

Well analysed private!  Yeah it's a real shame, when the first leaks happend i was real excited about this set but seeing it now and reading about the downscaling they did to the truck and trailer that turned more into disappointment... although i will probberly buy it anyway for some of the parts and mod'ing fun.

10 hours ago, Timewhatistime said:

I really like the used of system part on the boom's first and second section, as well es the way you made the angle.

Especially the pump/switch section looks very compact and sturdy, though I intuitively prefer the switches to control the boom and the bucket by moving back and forth instead of moving sideways.

Can't wait to see the extension with double function instead of the bucket!

Do I see it correctly - the upper structure can be turned simply manually, without a knob, HOG or something similar?

Yeah i can get behind that, moving them to the front and rear does feel more "natural" than going side to side in case of a boom, but i wanted to get as close to the orginal dimensions as possible and this way i won 2 studs.

Yes you are 100% correct, the functions stop after the pneumatics, the HOG just pushes gentle from the side in this case  

[CK28]

It has been quite a while but i recently restarted with a project i had in mind for quite some time now. The aim is to make one of those bigger scale technic wheelloaders, going for something that has to look like the volvo L260H. I started this project right after the EC250, but then TC27 happened and things kinda came to a hold. About a week ago i decided to go back to what i made before but couldn't really find myself in the dimensions, things where simply to big. So i started over (again, i do that a lot actually ) and now i am quite satisfied with the way things turned out. 

Old (left) and new side by side:

I took some heavy inspiration from Erictrax's Doosan for the rear axle, the turning mechanism is a placeholder for now to just test things out. There will be 3 motors (pf) attached for driving, steering and lifting the bucket, the fourth motor will be hidden in the front.

[CK28]

Motors and battery box are in place, the rear structure is taking shape:

[Jundis]

Nice and structurally sound

Which tires are you intend to use? Maybe go for the newer hubs:

3468c01 or 46490c01

 

[CK28]

On 12/8/2024 at 10:53 PM, Jundis said:

Nice and structurally sound

Which tires are you intend to use? Maybe go for the newer hubs:

3468c01 or 46490c01

 

Thanks though i wasn't totally satisfied so i went for the "third time's a charm". I will use the volvo 94.3 x 38 R tires, when i started this project i did not yet own enough of the newer hubs and i kinda like the smaller size of these ones, maybe i will change them later one if they cause issues, thanks for the suggestion!

 

So i had a little break althoug i did not stop building technic, i bought 42145 second hand form a colleague and really enjoyed the build. Futheremore i made a red version of 42139 which was fun aswell:

When i found out that lego would release a new technic volvo wheel loader the urges to continue with this moc returned. I wasn't 100% satisfied with the proportions of my latest version so i went on to do my favorite thing, start over again. I finally figured out an axle for the back that was just the minimum 7 studs long and from there on i continued with a improvised version following the earlier design that i made. My initial plan was to put one motor in the front but that seemed a bit more trickyer than i anticipated so the new version has all four motors in the back:

 

 

More detailed pictures can be found in the bricksafe folder

 

[Paul B Technic]

That red version looks really good.

[CK28]

On 6/17/2025 at 1:12 AM, Paul B Technic said:

That red version looks really good.

Is does indeed, i think you can go wild with different colors for 42139 and most of them will look good. Sadly i could only find a blue one when i searched on the web for inspiration.

Did some improvements on the wheel loader, made the first part of the rear fenders and started on the front. I am planning to make the whole back section one big opening hood to access the battery box, just like the real machine has.

 

[Paul B Technic]

That is coming along really well.

[1gor]

How much is the reduction from PF XL motor?

[CK28]

21 hours ago, Paul B Technic said:

That is coming along really well.

Thanks, glad you like the progress!

16 hours ago, 1gor said:

How much is the reduction from PF XL motor?

For now i use 1.67:1 to not go fully snail mode but it could be changed into 3:1 if more torque is needed. 

[1gor]

11 minutes ago, CK28 said:

Thanks, glad you like the progress!

For now i use 1.67:1 to not go fully snail mode but it could be changed into 3:1 if more torque is needed. 

I suppose 12 -> 20 tooth...usually more torque is needed in machinery; I have one model (not front end loader) that uses coupled XL motors upgearing 40 to 24 tooth, then 20 to 28 tooth gray differential like yours and hub reduction from 42099 set on wheels. Try using as short as possible axles and axle joiners to make them longer, also use this axle instead of regular 4 studs long to prevent axle twisting because XL motors are verey very strong

[CK28]

1 hour ago, 1gor said:

I suppose 12 -> 20 tooth...usually more torque is needed in machinery; I have one model (not front end loader) that uses coupled XL motors upgearing 40 to 24 tooth, then 20 to 28 tooth gray differential like yours and hub reduction from 42099 set on wheels. Try using as short as possible axles and axle joiners to make them longer, also use this axle instead of regular 4 studs long to prevent axle twisting because XL motors are verey very strong

Thanks for the advice and sharing your knowledge! I guess i should do some more down gearing which would also make place for a 24 clutch gear. I am currently using the 4L's with center stop to go from differential to 2L joiner to 4L with stop that connects the hub to the axle. Will give the build some looks on long axles, i have used a 6L straight out of the XL motor so that should be a clear point for improvement. Double XL motors must be real heavy, i am guessing something like a rough terrain vehicle?

[1gor]

12 minutes ago, CK28 said:

Thanks for the advice and sharing your knowledge! I guess i should do some more down gearing which would also make place for a 24 clutch gear. I am currently using the 4L's with center stop to go from differential to 2L joiner to 4L with stop that connects the hub to the axle. Will give the build some looks on long axles, i have used a 6L straight out of the XL motor so that should be a clear point for improvement. Double XL motors must be real heavy, i am guessing something like a rough terrain vehicle?

Actually it is (my interpretation of) JCB Fastrac...when I finish it, I'll publish it in my topic with some development steps...

[CK28]

On 6/23/2025 at 10:31 PM, 1gor said:

Actually it is (my interpretation of) JCB Fastrac...when I finish it, I'll publish it in my topic with some development steps...

That's also an interesting machine for a moc, looking forward to your presentation!

I used 1gor's advice for some improvements and worked on the front, made a first version that i wasn't 100% happy with so started over and now i have got something that is starting to look like a wheel loader. Not 100% sure about using the panel fairing as a mudguard but i wanted to try something different from the usual beambuild fenders.

 

 

[1gor]

Looks sturdy, simple and clean build so far.