[TC30] Trophy truck and Rescue helicopter

[Zerobricks]

For my 8000th post, I'm presenting my model ideac for the TC30.

I got the idea for the models by watching Bajd and Dakar racers, especially from the perspective of the helicopter. The same helicopter that records the races could also be used to provide support and rescue.

One of the models will be a trophy truck with the following functions:

• Independent suspension in the front
• Live axle in the rear
• RWD with a fake V8 engine
• Steering actuated by a spare tyre in the rear
• Full interior with 2 seats and a steering wheel
• Opening doors and hood
• Monster livery

Here's the current digital progress. I'm using the new large, thin tires and suspension parts to keep the model as compact as possible.

The rear suspension uses a ball joint to attach to the rest of the bodywork. The angled spare wheels provides the HOG input.

I am really proud of the following drive and steering solutions. The driveline basically goes directly from the axle to the fake V8, while the steering system uses linkages to transfer the steering input from the spare tyre to the steering rack. I think this is a more compact, and a cleaner solution than using gears.

This being a trophy truck it needs some proper suspension system. Currently the suspension system is compressed a lot, so the physical should have a much higher gorund clearance. The front suspension is sharing a single shock absorber which is placed longitudally between the wheels. The rear suspension is an interesting hybrid of a ball joint and a trailing arm suspension. The suspension arms not only center the rear axle, but also act as levers for the suspension system, supported by hard shocks in the rear:

 

That's the plan for the trophy truck, I will build and weigh it soon. it should just be under 300 grams according to the Studio.

 

The second model will be some kind of a Rescue/camera/support helicopter which supports the race by providing video coverage and a means to a rescue if needed.

The idea is to implement the following functions and features:

• Spinning rotors using a gear or a hidden rack trigger mechanism
• Collective control for the main rotor
• Winch with a ratchet mechanism
• Foldable landing gear
• Add lots of cameras, sensors, antennas, etc.
• Colorful livery, using neon yellow, red, white, black, etc.
• Modern styling with lots of curved surfaces

Current progress so far is the basic concept of the collective control uisng a small turntable. Basically the central axle can move up and down and thereby change the angle of the rotors:

So far that's all, I will update the topic as I go along.

Edited Tuesday at 03:18 PM by Zerobricks

[Jurss]

Nice truck. Helicopter also looks promising regards functionality.

For HOG that angle for u-joint looks allready on limit. As not much rotating needed could be OK.

[Aurorasaurus]

Very nice, I'm a big fan of these trucks. Im curious how the heli will turn out too.

[N1K0L4]

Very nice trophy truck, like the color scheme.

Can't wait for the heli, will it be around the same scale as the trophy truck?

[Zerobricks]

Today I built the trophy truck which required the following changes:

• Front suspension now uses 1 shock absorber per wheel
• Rear suspension had to be adjusted for better responsivness and shock abosrber position/geometry
• Steering mechanism was switched from links to gears to reduce part count and weight
• V8 engine was expanded and recolored to red
• Rear wing was removed to stay in the 300 gram weight limits. It was a bit unrealistic anyway, since most trophy trucks don't have much in the rear.

Here's a few quick, dirty photos of the finished trophy truck:

The doors and hood can open to reveal a full interrior with two seats, steering wheel and the V8 engine:

Bottom view showing the mechanics and the total weight:

I'm really happy with the progress so far, I think this is as functional as you can get with 367 parts and 300 grams. Next, the helicopter!

[1gor]

IMHO this trophy truck is the best I have seen so far in TC30.

Edited January 17 by 1gor

[Timewhatistime]

10 hours ago, Zerobricks said:

 

• Steering mechanism was switched from links to gears to reduce part count and weigh

These news make me a little bit sad.

I really liked the solution with the double linkage instead of the usual arrangement with an idle gear. 

What is the consequence in terms of slack - does the gering increase with the gears? (Which should be no problem, as the steering wheel isn't turned by a big angle anyway.)

[Zerobricks]

On 1/17/2026 at 9:32 AM, Timewhatistime said:

These news make me a little bit sad.

I really liked the solution with the double linkage instead of the usual arrangement with an idle gear. 

What is the consequence in terms of slack - does the gering increase with the gears? (Which should be no problem, as the steering wheel isn't turned by a big angle anyway.)

It was a good idea, but since weight is very important here, I used the gears instead. There's not much difference in slack, since there are only 3 gears, but that's 3 parts instead of 10!

Edited January 18 by Zerobricks

[Thirdwigg]

Great ideas here so far. The little truck looks fantastic, and has some great features. I'm looking forward to see how the helicopter turns out. 

[Zerobricks]

Had a very productive today and finished the 3D model of the helicopter and built a prototype.

Colors are inspired by 42145, I really like the neon yellow highlights. Note, the a winch mechanism with a ratchet on the left side.

Here's how the helicopter looks from the right side. A couple of cameras are visible along with the worm gear that controls the landing wheels. Notice the orange colored beam which activates the propellers.

Pushing the rack inside spins the gears, turning both rotors. The green glutch gear is placed on a movable beam that acts like a one-way ratchet.

Collective control is controlled by blue half beams and by a lever inside the cockpit. The linkage carries the movment to the suspension arm, through a fake engine rod and up to the rotors.

Turning the axle with an 8 tooth gear and a worm unfolds the landing gear. By using the worm gear, the mechanism becomes irreversible so that the landing gear can't collapse under the weight of the helicopter. Due to limited space I used a simple 2x2 round tile as the front wheel.

Winch is moved using a couple of 12 tooth gear. 8 tooth gear with the combination of a connector and rubber elements forms a one way ratchet which can be released at any time.

All the functions have been succesfully implemented in the prototype so the only thing now is to record both models in action!

Edited January 22 by Zerobricks

[2GodBDGlory]

I like the use of the connecting rod for the collective!

[Zerobricks]

18 hours ago, 2GodBDGlory said:

I like the use of the connecting rod for the collective!

Thank you for the praise. I could have built a longer part out of pins and axle joiners, but I wanted something more robust. Also I made a mistake, it collective control not cyclic.

[1980SomethingSpaceGuy]

I'm looking forward to seeing the ratchet mechanism at work; cool play feature.

Will the rack return automatically (using a rubber band or similar) ?

[Zerobricks]

47 minutes ago, 1980SomethingSpaceGuy said:

I'm looking forward to seeing the ratchet mechanism at work; cool play feature.

Will the rack return automatically (using a rubber band or similar) ?

Indeed, a rubber band returns the rack.

After further research I noticed, I messed up the side of the control stick, so I put it on the correct - left side. I also switched the side of the winch and the cameras, since most helicopters seem to have the winch on the right side.

[Jundis]

You packed so much clever small details into the car, this is just brilliant combination of all the goodies from Offroad-Vehicles at this scale, just wow!

[Zerobricks]

Here are the final photos and video of the completed models.

 

 

 

I do love these challenges, because they allow me to push myself out of the comfort zone and do something new, different and fun!

[1980SomethingSpaceGuy]

Nice video, good job!

[gyenesvi]

Nice amount of functions in that helicopter too, it's a great duo! The looks are pretty cool as well!