[MOC] [WIP] LEGO 6542 Launch and Load Seaport Bigger (Ship Drafts!)

[2GodBDGlory]

Nice work! Have you considered these rims?

Part 44292

I don't have them, but as I understand it, they support Bronco tires (and all the others that size), and also wheel hubs. They're only available in different greys, but if you only use them for the inner front wheels, I suppose they wouldn't be visible anyways

[Jundis]

Functionality should always go over form. So the top fork design should be the better way for the weight goal. With motors or battery box in the back, I think the tipping over isn't a problem.

Bronco tires and the inner rims like @2GodBDGlory mentioned, is the way to go here. Didn't even think about these :D

Also with the long linear actuator it should have enough power. Maybe do some prelim tests first with the weight.

*Edit: With that longer wheelbase, a big steering angle should be also top priority

Edited January 3 by Jundis

[karmadrome]

This is such a cool project, Kyle. I love this set, too, I recently had it for the first time in a bulk lot, together with the smaller 6541 and 6540, as well as the 6543 Marina. This is definitely the best Town set of all time. Seeing this come to life in Technic is brilliant, I'm eagerly following this thread :)

 

I love the coupling mechanism for the fifth wheel - would you mind sharing this design? 

Edited January 12 by karmadrome

[Thirdwigg]

On 1/3/2026 at 11:13 AM, 2GodBDGlory said:

Nice work! Have you considered these rims?

Part 44292

I don't have them, but as I understand it, they support Bronco tires (and all the others that size), and also wheel hubs. They're only available in different greys, but if you only use them for the inner front wheels, I suppose they wouldn't be visible anyways

Thanks for the idea. No, I did not consider this part. I don't have them either, but I am going to try a different size wheel first. I would like to use current part if I can, but I'll keep this one in the back of my mind.

On 1/3/2026 at 3:01 PM, Jundis said:

Functionality should always go over form. So the top fork design should be the better way for the weight goal. With motors or battery box in the back, I think the tipping over isn't a problem.

Bronco tires and the inner rims like @2GodBDGlory mentioned, is the way to go here. Didn't even think about these :D

Also with the long linear actuator it should have enough power. Maybe do some prelim tests first with the weight.

*Edit: With that longer wheelbase, a big steering angle should be also top priority

I have been tinkering with some ideas, but nothing is perfect yet. I'll keep at it, but the top fork design, is gaining some momentum with me. I'll give the forks a little more work.

1 hour ago, karmadrome said:

This is such a cool project, Kyle. I love this set, too, I recently had it for the first time in a bulk lot, together with the smaller 6541 and 6540, as well as the 6543 Marina. This is definitely the best Town set of all time. Seeing this come to life in Technic is brilliant, I'm eagerly following this thread :)

 

I love the coupling mechanism for the fifth wheel - would you mind sharing this design? 

Thanks! I'm glad you like it, and I hope following this project does not lead to disappointment for you. I never had 6540 or 6543; I figured after my parents got 6542 that was all I needed to ask for.

I'll see if I can add a little render of the coupler. It's really quite simple. 

OK, I think the truck is done. I have made a final part order (with some ship and forklift parts thrown in as well), and I'll get it published soon. I couldn't decided on a 2 or 3 axle, so I make both! This is why projects take me so long.....

I have a couple of details to fix (mirrors, dashboard, wheel hubs), but I like where this ended. There are 2478 parts for these three. I hope you all like it too, and I hope you see some of the truck from 6542 coming out in the design, while giving a little update and technification to the build.

[Thirdwigg]

The Truck and Trailer are done!

Instructions are available at Rebrickable.com. 

Now this project is starting to feel like it is more than just containers. The full truck and trailer is just over 60 cm long and features the following:

Truck

• Steering with HOG
• Rear wheel drive with fake I5 engine
• Working fifth wheel with spring loaded HOG
• Tilting cab
• Opening doors
• Opening grill

Trailer

• Designed to hold two 6542 Bigger containers
• Front container locking mechanism with HOG
• Rear container locking mechanism with HOG
• Three axle trailing arm suspension
• Mach Anthem compatible fifthwheel and kingpin

And a little video to show all the functions.

Also, I posted a little video that show more about the tractor as well. Sorry it was a little late.

 

Now I'm going to get back to the forklift and ship. And the crane.

[Jundis]

Fantastic, both truck and tractor.

Even though I'm an adult, there is suddenly the inner urge to maneuver the fully loaded trailer backwards into a narrow space ... :D 

[XTN]

The whole project is impressive and the result so far is amazing.
I really hope you will finish the whole harbour with all components and have the opportunity to show it somewhere to a greater audience.

Personally I love that scale, almost all my vehicles share it too, so I'm really hyped about it and the first impression already was jaw-dropping.

The truck and the trailer are awesome. A two axle truck and a three axle trailer resembles perfectly what we see on European roads. I am happy you chose that combination.
What impresses me most, is that, even if the MACK is long gone now, you still come up with improvements like your fifth wheel mechanism.
That mechanism is not really crucial for the project, but it's simple and adds so much playability, that I ask myself: Why hasn't this been invented years ago?

Another cool detail is the steering of the truck using that unusual orientation of the rack. That's another genius solution that is simple and saves a lot of space and gears.
And... please correct me if I'm wrong, but... does the geometry of that solution even add Ackermann characteristics to the steering?

Imho so far every component of the whole project is a little gem on its own and could easily be an official set.

Keep up the great work!

Edited January 25 by XTN

[Thirdwigg]

21 hours ago, Jundis said:

Fantastic, both truck and tractor.

Even though I'm an adult, there is suddenly the inner urge to maneuver the fully loaded trailer backwards into a narrow space ... :D 

The number of times I have done this in the past two months is bonkers. You're not alone in that desire.

6 hours ago, XTN said:

The whole project is impressive and the result so far is amazing.
I really hope you will finish the whole harbour with all components and have the opportunity to show it somewhere to a greater audience.

Personally I love that scale, almost all my vehicles share it too, so I'm really hyped about it and the first impression already was jaw-dropping.

The truck and the trailer are awesome. A two axle truck and a three axle trailer resembles perfectly what we see on European roads. I am happy you chose that combination.
What impresses me most, is that, even if the MACK is long gone now, you still come up with improvements like your fifth wheel mechanism.
That mechanism is not really crucial for the project, but it's simple and adds so much playability, that I ask myself: Why hasn't this been invented years ago?

Another cool detail is the steering of the truck using that unusual orientation of the rack. That's another genius solution that is simple and saves a lot of space and gears.
And... please correct me if I'm wrong, but... does the geometry of that solution even add Ackermann characteristics to the steering?

Imho so far every component of the whole project is a little gem on its own and could easily be an official set.

Keep up the great work!

Thanks @XTN, I'm glad you like the project. I too, hope I finish the whole project, including the harbor.

Yeah, the scale was the right decision. Even if I don't finish the whole project, I'm getting some nice MOCs done that match well some of my other builds. 

I came up with the steering rack orientation a long time ago as it solved a lot of problems with builds with the engine right ahead of the steering axle. I'm not sure if it correctly does Ackermann, but the wheels are not parallel throughout the rotation.

Hopefully I am able to continue making fun solutions as the project continues.

Thanks for the continued encouragement everyone. 

[Thirdwigg]

Alright, I still have a lot to do for this project so we keep moving forward.

Due to the scale of the project, I am completing projects in the order of least to greatest part investment. Thus, the forklift is the next on the desktop.

I was able to spend a couple of hours on the forklift over the last two weeks, and the result was significant. I first started with an actual scale document to figure out what space I can use. It was clear scaling up the original 6542 forklift was going to be too short to be able to add the functions I wanted and not tip over. So I'm going a little longer. I used this image from Hyster, and plugged it into Sariel's scaling tool.

Note the size of the container is almost perfect when the scale is set for the 68mm tires from LEGO. This confirmed the question I had a couple of posts back about what wheels and tires should I use.

I'm going to use this tire.

I built two drafts, and came out with a chassis and fork that I think will work.

Above, you can see the general idea loaded with the lightest container. The PF battery box is placed low, and as far back as I could get it. Steering runs just above the BB, and has about 50 degrees of pivot to each direction. The turning diameter is pretty great, even if the rear frame could be a little stronger.

The gearbox on the top will run an up and down selection for the forks elevation (close in photo) and the fork angle (far in photo). When I tested everything last night, the functions move too fast, so I am going to relocate the clutch and add in a reduction gearset at the back.

I was most concerned about the weight the forks could handle while holding a container, and I think it will work. I put great care into the rigidity of the boom mount, and the first stage. The result was worth the care as I think this is going to work. I put no care into the fork stage, so I will pick up some more rigidity of the full assembly with some changes to that part. With a little more work here, I think the complete fork head will work just as I want.

Then I loaded up the forklift with the heaviest container and tested that. The forklift tipped until I gave it three tires of counterweight, and cleared another container (a build priority).

This tells me this setup will work, and I have some work to do to add more weight on the build. This should be fine. Though as I build the body work, it will be a situation where when there are three or four different part options that will work for the project, use all of them to get a little more ballast. Hopefully the bodywork will be able to reference the original design too.

I now feel comfortable enough to start on the Studio file for this build as I will help me optimize the frame, functions, and part placement.

This was good day. I was concerned I was not going to be able to get this to work the way I wanted.

Next up, I'll show you the draft of the boat, and what I'm thinking for the crane.

[Thirdwigg]

This project keeps going, albeit slowly. For now I am happy to present the 6x4 Truck.

This was actually the original design for the truck, but I felt like it did not fit the theme as well as a 4x2 tractor unit would. But this one looked good, and was mostly done, so I wanted to share it anyway. I like the trailer with the 4x2 better, but the 6x4 looks pretty great on it's own.

Like the 4x2, this truck has the same features.

• Steering with HOG
• Rear wheel drive with fake I5 engine
• Working fifth wheel with spring loaded HOG
• Tilting cab
• Opening doors
• Opening grill

As always, instructions for the MOC are available at Rebrickable. 

Below you can see the engine and the HOG for the fifth wheel.

Below is the truck with the trailer.

And finally, with the trailer loaded.

I hope you enjoy. The finished forklift will be posted next!

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Very nice work!

What's the spring under the cabin for?

[Thirdwigg]

13 minutes ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

Very nice work!

What's the spring under the cabin for?

Thanks! It's for the fifth wheel release HOG: push down for release, springs up for lock.

[Thirdwigg]

OK, the forklift is about done. I have a couple more details to work out on the file; the boom chain, cabin details, and an exhaust. But the main build is about there. Everything works the way I want it to, and it doesn't tip over. I'm not set on the yellow wheels. They reflect the original well, but look a little goofy to my eyes. Sometimes 90's LEGO City can come across as a little cartoony, and that is not really the vibe I want to have.

Here is the other side, with black wheels. Any opinions on what I use for the final build: yellow or black?

I also finished another container. I lacked any imagination to make this one more creative than this, but I guess I need to let some parts of the project settle into the "good enough" category.

So now I am two steps closer to finishing this project. Things may move slower now, as the remaining builds will require a lot of trial and error. And parts.

The current part count is at 10,822. My collection is 238 11x5 LBG panels short right now.

High Res of Below Photo

 

[langko]

What an insane project, but I love all the progress so far. Everything is looking great!

I think the black wheels looks cleaner on the forklift. 10+ years of working around them/on them and I don’t think I’ve ever seen yellow ones in real life. 

[Thirdwigg]

On 2/25/2026 at 3:22 PM, langko said:

What an insane project, but I love all the progress so far. Everything is looking great!

I think the black wheels looks cleaner on the forklift. 10+ years of working around them/on them and I don’t think I’ve ever seen yellow ones in real life. 

Thanks! Black is what I went with.

The forklift is done. Instructions are at Rebrickable. 

I'm please with how this turned out. The original forklift looks quite short compared to this, but I needed a bunch of mass behind the front axle to have it not tip over.

Features:

• Steering with HOG
• Two stage lift powered by PF L motor
• Fork tilt powered by PF L motor
• Opening doors
• 650 gram lift capacity
• Rear gearbox for control

The forklift had to be able to lift each container, and it is able to do that.

It's able to load the truck with no issues.

The lift height allows for stacking of two containers. 

Also, I finished another container for the build. You may find instructions for the 6542 Bigger Container with Tanks at Rebrickable.

And a video showing the functions.

Finally, I am slowly acquiring all the panels needed for this project, and I now have enough to make two of the container boxes. Now the truck looks like it should.

I have drafts on my desk for the Ship, the Tug, and the Crane. I'll need some help making some decision about each, so I'll be back here shortly with another build update.

Also, I can't get over how big the ship is so far.

 

 

[ord]

It's so satisfying watching this come together. Looking great and with all the playable features you are fitting in there... Simply brilliant!

[ludov]

In just want to say this project is absolutely frickin’ awesome. 

I have many of your builds in my to-do list and you’re not making that list any shorter. 

[Thirdwigg]

16 hours ago, ord said:

It's so satisfying watching this come together. Looking great and with all the playable features you are fitting in there... Simply brilliant!

Thanks! It's pretty satisfying for me too! I'm glad you like it. 

4 hours ago, ludov said:

In just want to say this project is absolutely frickin’ awesome. 

I have many of your builds in my to-do list and you’re not making that list any shorter. 

I'm happy this project is bringing you such joy!

I hope you get to build a lot of these, and sorry for making so many things you want to build. But I'm not gonna slow down 

[Jundis]

So incredible, Kyle!

This is exactly what I want for Lego to bring to the table: Compatable models in the same scale for interplay.

Not just same scale cars but a tractor working with a harvester, a excavator with a dump truck or a semi/trailer combo with a forklift.

 

[Thirdwigg]

On 3/13/2026 at 10:28 AM, Jundis said:

So incredible, Kyle!

This is exactly what I want for Lego to bring to the table: Compatable models in the same scale for interplay.

Not just same scale cars but a tractor working with a harvester, a excavator with a dump truck or a semi/trailer combo with a forklift.

 

Thanks! I really do like these projects where so many things need to tie together. This one, though, might be a step too far. Maybe me and TGL need to just focus on the tractor/harvester and truck/forklift pairing.

I finally finished the Marine Engine Container. This took me far too long, but I'm pleased with how it turned out. This means all the containers are done. I think it honors the original well. I'll post instructions for this on the first of April.

Time for the ships. They are going to be big.

This was the first draft of the container ship. You can see the outline of the hull, and the general placement of wheels. It was about here that I found the 68mm wheels were going to take up too much vertical space.

I changed the wheels and have 12 43mm fixed wheels and 6 43mm steering wheels. You can see the simple HOG just behind the second container below.

I have some bowing in the frame, so I'll need to fix that. The bow will take some work to get the shape right. But it feels good to have something started in real bricks.

Let's talk about the Pilot Boat.

I confess I never really liked this part of the set. As a child I didn't know what a pilot boat was, and I did not have Google to figure it out. I thought it was tug boat, but it didn't have a string, so it always sat to the side of my play. Additionally, I never found this boat terribly attractive like I found the similar boats from 6338 and 6540. So as I thought about this project, right from the beginning, I knew I was going to need to figure out what to do with this part of the project.

One of the reasons I build the harbor tugboat this past fall was to try some ideas that I was already having for this project. A tugboat seems more mechanically interesting, more attractive to my eyes, and will keep my interest through the roughly 2000 parts that the MOC will need.

So I do not want to build a pilot boat. I want to build a tugboat.

Any objections?

I have been scouring the internet learning as much about tugboats as I can. I want to make one that honors the colors of the boat, and references some of the design features (rear biased cabin, white "sail," Blue). As I am finding tugboats to give me ideas, I'm getting a lot of ideas: some with a long "nose," some have the "sail" look of the original, some simply look like the original, and some I very much like. I'm sure some of these design ideas may find their way into this MOC.

But of particular interest to me are the Robert Allen Z-Tech 7000 and Damen RSD 2315 tugs that have a single primary winch on the front of the boat which pushes the cabin and wheel house further to the rear. I'm interested in heading down the path to see what can be made.

The scale of the boat calls for 73 modules long, and 23 modules wide.

This length to beam ratio is much more in line with a pilot boat rather than a tug boat.

So I scaled up the Z-Tech 7000 to try and get an idea of the size and proportions.

Then off to a draft.

I tried to keep the colors, and added in some panels that I thought would reference the "sails" and the forward cabin. I'm not sure I want keep the red waterline colors, but the blue will stay.

Then I changed the hull shape a little to increase the length/beam ratio (71/25), added one of the engines, and tried a little different cabin shaping.

I'm not really pleased with where things are at right now. The colors will work, but I am wondering if I need to fully embrace the tugboat and follow a tugboat design (if that's the case, I'm making this one). The proportions here are trying to fit within the 6542 Pilot boat, and maybe I need widen the beam, shorten the length, and design a tugboat that is blue and white. Also, I need to be a little careful, because this boat cannot look too big next to the container ship. I'm open to any suggestions here.

Anyway, here is a photo to give you another sense of the scale, with the ship from Pirates of Barracuda Bay.

Thanks for following along.

[Jundis]

7 hours ago, Thirdwigg said:

I confess I never really liked this part of the set. As a child I didn't know what a pilot boat was, and I did not have Google to figure it out. I thought it was tug boat, but it didn't have a string, so it always sat to the side of my play. Additionally, I never found this boat terribly attractive like I found the similar boats from 6338 and 6540. So as I thought about this project, right from the beginning, I knew I was going to need to figure out what to do with this part of the project.

One of the reasons I build the harbor tugboat this past fall was to try some ideas that I was already having for this project. A tugboat seems more mechanically interesting, more attractive to my eyes, and will keep my interest through the roughly 2000 parts that the MOC will need.

So I do not want to build a pilot boat. I want to build a tugboat.

Any objections?

Same here. I always thought this was just a boat for fishing with a rod (silly me little kid). As I come from a farmer/craftsman family, I didn't know what a tug boat was, either :D

But you tug boat idea is way more suitable for this set actually.

[2GodBDGlory]

I love to see ambitious projects like this!

[Thirdwigg]

On 3/15/2026 at 6:41 AM, Jundis said:

But you tug boat idea is way more suitable for this set actually.

Thanks for the affirmation. Yeah, it seems right to me.

On 3/15/2026 at 12:55 PM, 2GodBDGlory said:

I love to see ambitious projects like this!

Thanks! Glad you like it.

I did some work on the tug this past couple of nights, and was able to make some changes that I like. I shortened the length to 65 studs, and increased the beam to 27 studs. I shortened the cabin and the wheelhouse as well. The proportions look better now. I like what I have enough that I wanted to play around with some of the structures and colors in Studio.

I have steering and drive, with two engines. The steering HOG will be above the wheelhouse. I'll try to add some design themes of the Marine Engine into these engines.

[Johnny1360]

I have been waiting with anticipation for this part of your build, the boats, glad to see you are there now. It looks like you are off to a great start, can't wait to see the finished ships, they are quite large, great to see.

[Paul B Technic]

I love this, it is very impressive.