Nico71's Creations

[gyenesvi]

Really cute build, great shaping, and I love how much mechanics is stuffed in there, that transverse front engine is really neat, I would not have thought that it could fit along with the steering. Clean interior, and the convertible top is also a nice addition. Great work!

[nico71]

Hello, 

thanks for your comment !

It has been possible to create like that because the size of the tire, and the overal proportion of the car, which allows 7 studs between the two steering center. So with the frame, I have 5 studs, which is enough to fit a 4 cylinders engine, as long as the gearing is inside the engine, here is the trick.

This model was designed about 1 year ago, so now I think I could make even better with heavy CV join and split connector as I do on my upcoming 6x6 truck (yes the floating Toggle Joint is inspired from your Ford :) )

Edited November 18, 2024 by nico71

[Thirdwigg]

Great job on this @nico71. I have fond memories of a little Del Sol when I was younger, and your managed to get the look and feel of the car very well.

I love the removeable engine. This is such a silly feature, but I love it when it can be done. Keep up the good work.

[gyenesvi]

4 hours ago, nico71 said:

This model was designed about 1 year ago, so now I think I could make even better with heavy CV join and split connector as I do on my upcoming 6x6 truck (yes the floating Toggle Joint is inspired from your Ford :) )

Nice looking truck! Interesting solution for connecting the spring to the lower towball arms! This small scale has a so much potential :)

Yes I know about that heavy duty CV joint technique, I haven't used it yet but plan to test it in the future. Glad you got some inspiration from mine as well!

[nico71]

Thanks Gyenesvi, 

I embed the picture here for everyone : 

So this is a WIP truck, 6x6.

The picture of the front axle underneath :

Which is a combination of several small trick to obtain a strong and steerable / drivable axle at this scale with using heavy CV join. I have make some research to find the original author / inspiration to credit them :

• Floating U shape connector (remove one U join, very useful with the long reinforced CV join) I inspire by you but in fact this is way older : https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-119108/Bricklab2006/mini-4x4-rc-offroader-buwizz-30/#details (from 2022)
• Use of split connector + heavy cv join : I discovered here but in fact it exist for longer time here : https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-149669/Apachaihapachai/terracotta-pickup-truck/#details (from 2023)
• The double gearing on the center is very old technique, I can remember when it popped.

For the rest of the technique, I do not know if I am the original author but I just use like that when building. As you mentioned, the spring is attached to the arms, as this is a live axle (5 links), the spring as only to work up and down like a trailing arm and so not complicated build to enable crossing axle.

The arm with towball is attached underneath the axle, so on heavy load, we can think it can be taken apart but in fact there is a bar with balls above which secure the towball pins, and where a links 6l is connected (not present on the picture). so it gives the 4 links. The last one is a panhard rod on the front.

Then, the front part of the axle is composed of layer of half beam and 7L beam the closer it is possible to the drive axle, in order to avoid the wheel to camber ot much. As there is no attachment point underneath. Not perfect, but better than everything I have seen before at this scale.

I need to connect the servo motor for the steering. But I would like to avoid join so direct actuation with link, but I want also a removable working engine so I have to make compromizz on space. Then a two-speed gearbox, a proper design and it will be ready for testing :)

Indeed, this is my preferred scale (1/20 and 1/17) for trucks.

Edited November 19, 2024 by nico71

[jorgeopesi]

Very nice front axle and truck. I already saw the same configuration in a Nissan Patrol by electro, I always think how to build small drive and steer axles but I did not achieve this solution.

[nico71]

3 hours ago, jorgeopesi said:

Very nice front axle and truck. I already saw the same configuration in a Nissan Patrol by electro, I always think how to build small drive and steer axles but I did not achieve this solution.

This Patrol is very recent, mostly inspired by other, surely by Apachaihapachai.

Indeed, that is not easy to create a small driven and steerable axle, but the part combination is only one side for the solution. The other side is to containing the weight and the axle geometry to keep low the taken-apart force.

[jorgeopesi]

6 hours ago, nico71 said:

This Patrol is very recent, mostly inspired by other, surely by Apachaihapachai.

Indeed, that is not easy to create a small driven and steerable axle, but the part combination is only one side for the solution. The other side is to containing the weight and the axle geometry to keep low the taken-apart force.

The part I like most from this design is the extra stud for the wheel, I can not use designs with only one stud for wheels.

[nico71]

New creation !

A fully mechanical bilateral letter scale, with dual dials from 0 to 175gr, ideal for antique objects enthusiasts or to decorate a desk.

How it works ?

This machine is used for weighing letters or small objects, inspired by Columbus Maul scales. It rely only on mechanical components, with connecting rods, levers, dials and counterweights. It measures 20cm (L) x 10cm (W) x 28cm (H).



The upper tray is connected to each pendulum side with connecting rods, which share a coaxial rotation axle. When weight is applied, the two pendulum sides move apart, the greater the weight is. One pendulum side holds the cursors on it, the other holds the dials.

The bottom cursor indicates the weight from 0 to 80gr. It is placed further from the center of rotation of the two pendulum sides, and with an angle between the connecting rod and the pendulum closer to 90°, which makes the measurement more sensitive and linear.

The upper cursor displays the weight from 70 to 175gr, with the same functioning as the previous dial, but at a less distance and an acute angle between the rods and the pendulum. This causes less displacement of the cursor as the weight increases, allowing a non-linear scale and a reading of a greater weight.

This combination of functioning and dials enables a fine reading of the weight on the bottom cursor, and a rough reading of larger weights on the other cursor, with keeping the symmetry of the scale which is important for its functioning.

If you want to read more about Letter Scale, please visit this excellent website.

Regarding the design, the most complicated things was the symmetrical weight despite different side (one with dials, one with cursors), with keeping a nice look to be a decorating objects. The sticker was also not easy to draw as the scale a non linear so a lot of try and retry to find the correct setup. 

Regarding the accuracy, I would say it is something like 5g for the fine reading (0-70gr) and 10g for the large one (70-175gr) with a maximum error at the max due the friction (bar work well at low angle), with a good repeatability as long as you center the mass on the tray, and a minimum weight of 5gr (below it is not very repeatable measure).

See it in action (with some tips and tricks) :

Links :

📕 Instructions on my website : https://www.nico71.fr/product/letter-scale/

🧩 Bill of material and instructions on Rebrickable : https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-202559/Nico71/bilateral-letter-scale/#parts

🎁 Complete kit (Genuine LEGO parts) : https://buildamoc.com/products/bilateral-letter-scale

 

Let me know you though about ! 👍

Edited November 28, 2024 by nico71

[pleegwat]

Impressive.

[nico71]

New creation that I design in 2024 for a customer, now officially released with instructions !

Oreca 07 LMP2

This is a 1/10 replica of the Oreca 07 LMP2 in LEGO Technic, features rear wheel drive with V8 fake engine, steering with HOG and steering wheel, front and rear double wishbones suspensions, and removable elements to reveal all the internal details. Available exclusively on Buildamoc (instructions and kits).

Specifications

• Scale : 1/10, dimensions :  49cm x 21cm x 13cm
• Rear wheel drive, V8 engine with exhaust and oil radiator on the side, no gearbox
• Front wheel steering with removable hand of god and return to the steering wheel in the cockpit
• Detailed cockpit with offset seat and dashboard/button on the side
• Front suspensions with double wishbone and vertical spring on rocker liftarm
• Rear suspensions with double wishbone and horizontal spring with connecting rod and rocker liftarm
• Removable rear center part to reveal the engine and the rear suspension mechanism
• Removable rear part with the side to reveal the detail on the engine
• Removable / openable front assembly to see the front suspension mechanism and steering
• Openable doors
• Custom sticker sheet with Team Turkey Livery

I have unfortunately not real picture as I do not build the final model, only the prototype.

The original model (Team Turkey ) :

You can see in action in the video below (prototype) : 

Kudos to RS BAKKER to design the sticker livery

Instructions and complete kit available at Buildamoc Exclusively. Partlist available on my website (xml, csv, pdf and rebricklable list).

Let me know what do you think ! I personally think this is the most beautiful 1/10 car I have made, with great result considering the low amount of parts 😀

Edited March 5 by nico71

[LegoTT]

On 11/19/2024 at 10:07 AM, nico71 said:

 

• Floating U shape connector (remove one U join, very useful with the long reinforced CV join) I inspire by you but in fact this is way older : https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-119108/Bricklab2006/mini-4x4-rc-offroader-buwizz-30/#details (from 2022)

Paave was the one to teach it to me, from 2016/08/31 11:19:02

I love minimalistic yet technic setup like this, I am impatient !

Edited March 5 by LegoTT

[nico71]

8 hours ago, LegoTT said:

Paave was the one to teach it to me, from 2016/08/31 11:19:02

I love minimalistic yet technic setup like this, I am impatient !

Thanks for letting me know !

[Jundis]

On 3/5/2025 at 4:13 PM, nico71 said:

Let me know what do you think !

I think you got no comments on this beauty because everybody was just speechless at the level of perfection you achieved :D

[nico71]

10 hours ago, Jundis said:

I think you got no comments on this beauty because everybody was just speechless at the level of perfection you achieved :D

Thanks ! Indeed, there is not so much reaction since the social media advent, but some people are still on forum or use rss feed so I post here.

[bruh]

Wow. Very nice. Super detailed.

[Thirdwigg]

Great job again. I'm a big fan of LMP cars, and this Oreca looks fantastic. I like the openings you were able to recreate on the front fenders. Also the sidepod shaping - so difficult to get just right - is perfect. 

[nico71]

On 3/7/2025 at 11:03 PM, bruh said:

Wow. Very nice. Super detailed.

Thanks !

20 hours ago, Thirdwigg said:

Great job again. I'm a big fan of LMP cars, and this Oreca looks fantastic. I like the openings you were able to recreate on the front fenders. Also the sidepod shaping - so difficult to get just right - is perfect. 

Thanks ! Indeed the sidepod was really difficult to do, that is why the scale matter. Bigger, it would have not be that clean I think, here the different size of lego elements matchs well the shape.

[nico71]

A new creation quite unusual, a 30ft workboat, based on Jemar Norpower 30ft boat, with dual winch with ratchet and probe, front winch, seismic element supports, and opening engine cover.

Specs and History :

• Dimensions : 46x19x25cm (without end probe), scale 1/23, 1789 pcs
• Dual winchs with 2/4mm hose with ratchet mechanisms on each
• Front winch with ratchet (no anchor)
• Two seismic probes
• Retractable side sensor (sliding mechanism with two sections)
• Articulated rear gantry for support the probe hoses
• Articulated side arms for probe hoses recovery
• Openable rear guardrail
• Openable engine cover
• Articulated rudder (non functional)
• Detailed offset cabin with interior
• Support Frame

Original Model :

This boat is used for seismic exploration using acoustic probe in the sea. The 1 km cable is unloaded with the winch and pull in the sea, where the end probe can move to adjust its direction and depth and communicates with the boat directly though the cable. 

After the data acquisition, the boat use the telescopic cable lifter and the two flaps to lift the cable from the sea to wind back and get the probe. The cable lifter can also be equipped with fixed acoustic sensor (displayed on the LEGO model). You can see the real boat in action here

 

In action :

 

 

About the model :

This model was designed in 2022, based on Jenmar Norpower boat with Sercel Livery. The aim was to display in a showroom to show the functioning of the boat. That is why it doesn’t float and is not motorized.

It was nevertheless quite a challenge to reproduce the boat, especially the hull and the colored decks with all the details, as well as the seismic specific functions to be functional without affecting the sturdiness of the model.

After some demands and good feedback on the overall design, I decided to make the PDF instructions as it can be easily modified to accommodate other purpose such as fishing, rescue, research etc.

The instructions is available on my website and rebrickable.

 

[nico71]

A small post to let you know I issued 3x free instructions for 11l motorized front axle using the news 3l suspensions arms from the Bronco.

Background :

The release of the new 3L suspensions arm is a very good news for axle building. The previous 5l arms was too big to create short width axle with gearead hub. So it was mainly use for 1/17 truck with 62.4mm wheel.

After buying a LEGO Bronco, I start making 11-stud width axle which opens a wide range of LEGO Truck. Indeed, for trucks which have large tires compared to their width (for instance 13R22.5 14R24 or 16R20 like heavy hauler, logging truck, offraod truck, or military one), it is mandatory to reduce the width of the axle by 2 studs to comply with the scale if using the 62.4mm wheel. 

So here are the result, a 11-stud wide motorized front axle for truck with big tires at 1/19-1/21 scale, with free instructions and 3D models.

Available in 3 Versions : 

No Onboard Servo :

Onboard PF servo :

Onboard PU (control+) Version :

Specs :

– 11-stud width (knuckle to knuckle), 13cm wide with 62.4mm wheel
– Geared hub + CV-join (only two needed, other are standard CV-Join)
– Inclined underneath suspensions arms (can be considered as illegal but give better ground clearance and differential secured)
– Equipped with a 28t simple bevel differential, No onboard version compatible with all the differential. Onboard version NOT compatible with red 28t of yellow 22t crown
– Steering with rack and pinion, 4 studs distance from the knuckle axis to use 180° of rotation of the Servo motor without forcing on axle end stops
– Suspended with 3 or 4 links (2+1 central or 2+2 lateral) + 2 springs with lateral movement constricted (can be replaced by harder if needed), no need of Panhard rod but you can add one for better stability
– Simple chassis for suspension mounting included (can be used for car depending of the scale, like pickup truck)

Downloads :

PDF instructions and 3D model (Ldraw+Studio) for building convenience

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-236196/Nico71/11-stud-motorized-front-axle-no-onboard-servo/#details

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-234780/Nico71/11-stud-motorized-front-axle-onboard-pfs-servo/#details

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-236302/Nico71/11-stud-motorized-front-axle-onboard-pu-servo/#details

Have a nice build with these, please credit me if you reuse the model in case of commercial use 👍

 

Also, for tracking, here is the dedicated topic to my 6x6 Offroad Truck released in May if you missed it :

 

[gyenesvi]

Nice axles, I knew someone would start using these parts for good :) And great that you cover multiple steering options.

[1gor]

Nico, I made similar axle for my upcoming project with CLAAS tires and it worked with daytona differentials, they are just fit inside curvature of PF servo  motor, but lower suspension part should not be angled, but straight (I use Unimog uirque tube and 2 black 5 x 7 liftarms)...

But your idea us also great

[Jundis]

Oh man completely overlooked the beautiful boat!

And the simplicity and compact form of the axle is really cool, too :D

[nico71]

On 10/3/2025 at 9:05 PM, 1gor said:

Nico, I made similar axle for my upcoming project with CLAAS tires and it worked with daytona differentials, they are just fit inside curvature of PF servo  motor, but lower suspension part should not be angled, but straight (I use Unimog uirque tube and 2 black 5 x 7 liftarms)...

But your idea us also great

Thanks ! If I fit the Daytona diff, it collides with the servo, so I think you raise by one stud the servo on your model, which is not possible here because on the top it should be room for the fake engine, so I have made to compromize. If you have link on your work, let me know. For the suspension arms, there are angled to have more ground clearance and better secure the cv join and axle inside the diff. It is not illegal to my understanding as it doesn't force on the part but use the natural play, but clearly "out" the grid system. 

On 10/3/2025 at 9:59 PM, Jundis said:

Oh man completely overlooked the beautiful boat!

And the simplicity and compact form of the axle is really cool, too :D

Thanks !

[1gor]

3 hours ago, nico71 said:

Thanks ! If I fit the Daytona diff, it collides with the servo, so I think you raise by one stud the servo on your model, which is not possible here because on the top it should be room for the fake engine, so I have made to compromize. If you have link on your work, let me know. For the suspension arms, there are angled to have more ground clearance and better secure the cv join and axle inside the diff. It is not illegal to my understanding as it doesn't force on the part but use the natural play, but clearly "out" the grid system. 

I also look for as compact as possible solution...I'll see when I'll have hour or two time to post it in my topic and we can compare them...If your is one studs lower than I have solution for my problem...because of slack in CV or universal joints on 4 steering model aftont and rear axle are not allign after some time...