[MOC REVIEW] Madoca's Wing Body Truck

[Blakbird]

Even though I built Madoca's Wing Body Truck more than 4 months ago, it occurs to me that I never really wrote a proper review of it. I posted some pictures and thoughts in the original thread, but I had a lot more to say. So I'm going to start with what I wrote there as a baseline and then add lots more pictures and explanation. Read on!

I should point out that AFOL1969's building instructions were not available when I built the model, so I used Madoca's photo instructions which are very well done. I then modeled the whole thing in MLCAD and used that to come up with a parts list and compare it to Madoca's.

I apologize in advance for the photos. I used my iPad which apparently has a big smudge on the lens. Bigger versions of all photos at my Bricksafe account.

Here is a shot of the massive pile of parts. I don't think I've ever seen more liftarms or panels for a single model. At the time this photo was taken, I was still expecting one more Bricklink shipment with more than 200 parts, so this isn't quite everything. All told, the model has more than 4100 parts.

    

Now we'll look at some of the parts more closely. Random Technic bits and gears:

Pins and axles:

Liftarms:

Half liftarms and actuators:

Power functions elements and panels. The statistics here are amazing:

• 1 PF battery box
• 3 PF LED lights
• 2 PF L motors
• 4 PF M motors
• 1 PF servo
• 2 PF XL motors
• 1 PF polarity switch
• 11 PF extension wires
• 4 PF receivers
• (For those counting, that's a total of 39 PF connectors to find a place for.)
• 75 Technic panels.

Here is the rear chassis. On the left are the two driven rear axles and suspension. In the back is the lift. It translate forward and back on gear racks and then lifts with another motor using a 4 bar linkage. A worm gear slides along a 32L with the racks allowing the lift to operate at any position. The travel is exactly right to reach the ground or be level with the box.

Now I've added a bunch of motors. There are 6 motors in close proximity on the right of this image! Right now the wires are hanging loose. You can see the LED wires going to the back bumper.

Now the two steered, suspended forward axles have been added, as has the V-8 engine and receiver tower. Right in the middle of the chassis you can see the PF switch. This is actually used to turn the lights on and off and is powered by a motor so it is controlled remotely. You can also see where the battery box sits.

Here is an image of how carefully the wires are routed. Madoca's photo instructions are VERY good. Every wire has a support so none of the connectors are hanging loosely.

The IR tower. This was tricky to get right, but it sure looks good when done.

The back of the IR tower shows more PF connector storage. Everything has a home, but getting the extra length to fit within the confines of the tower was tricky. It can't be sticking out in front or back or it will interfere with other structure.

The completed rolling chassis. Side leuvers are hiding the motors and wiring. The model is totally drivable at this point. Neither the box nor the cab have any wiring or motors in them, so they can be added as modules.

Final model before the box is added. We now have a cab which can be pivoted forward with a motor to reveal the engine and allow access to the battery. Note the two axles sticking up in the middle of the chassis. These are the only mechanical connection to the box for opening the wings.

And the completed model. The box is truly enormous, but well within scale for the model. Oddly, I didn't seem to take any pictures with it open, but we'll solve that problem with renders.

    

Here are some render views showing the distribution of motors and mechanical functions to give you an idea of the complexity. Wires are not shown.

Finally, here is a render with everything open.

I don't throw around the word "perfect" very often, but I think this might be the perfect MOC. Every part is braced, every part has a purpose. Everything is lined up, strong, and functional. Everything looks great, even the wiring. Occasionally I would find a section that was different on one side than the other and I would think "Aha! I finally found a mistake!". But in every case there turned out to be a very good reason for the asymmetry and it was in fact genius. My congratulations to Madoca on an incredible model. I can't think of a finer building experience I've ever had, and I've built hundreds of models!

Motorized Functions:

• Translating lift platform
• Lifting platform
• Opening left and right wings
• Opening cab
• Drive
• Steer
• Lights on/off

[Blastem]

Oh my God. This is simply Awsome.

I was looking yesterday for the impressive Instructions, and this is one of the models I plan to build this summer.

Thanks for showing us the complete "living" model and thanks to madoca and AFOL1969 for make it possible too ^^

[jantjeuh]

Truly Madoca's magnum opus so far. Always looking forward to his latest MOC, he's a Technic genius.

Edited April 23, 2014 by jantjeuh

[garethjellis]

What a fantastic model!

[Rishab N]

Nice review i wish i had the money to buy all the parts

[DrJB]

I must reckon I initially thought the truck was rather 'bland' when I first saw it .... but this thread made me rethink it totally. Rather impressive build, I'm just 'mesmerized' as to the commitment some of us put to bring such projects to completion, whether the original builder and the many who pay him tribute ... not sure I have the patience to sit through 4000+ parts. That said, if I ever build it, gotta try a different color scheme ... the FLL Senior Solutions kit (which I got at a decent price) comes in handy with 28 black 5×11 panels ... but that is less than a half of the 58 needed ... :( .... I may try tri-color though, by adding panels from the unimog and tractor (black/green/gray)

Nice review i wish i had the money to buy all the parts

Heck, I wish I had the time to commit to such build.

[Blakbird]

On 4/23/2014 at 9:10 PM, DrJB said:

I must reckon I initially thought the truck was rather 'bland' when I first saw it .... but this thread made me rethink it totally. Rather impressive build, I'm just 'mesmerized' as to the commitment some of us put to bring such projects to completion, whether the original builder and the many who pay him tribute ... not sure I have the patience to sit through 4000+ parts. That said, if I ever build it, gotta try a different color scheme ... the FLL Senior Solutions kit (which I got at a decent price) comes in handy with 28 black 5×11 panels ... but that is less than a half of the 58 needed ... :( .... I may try tri-color though, by adding panels from the unimog and tractor (black/green/gray).

Black huh? Your comment got me thinking so I tried it out. It is impossible to make the whole box black because of the 5x7 frames, but it still looks pretty good. I also changed the chassis to gray from red.

[legolijntje]

Nice review Blakbird.

Everytime I see you making yet another MOC it makes me wish I had that amount of money to spend on Lego. Well, while I do get more and more Technic, there's always that 1 special part you don't have or that 1 part you don't have in a ridiculous amount. You don't have these problems, because you buy everything new again and keep everything build up

But, it is a wonderful MOC. Madoca did a great job on the model and afol1969 on the instructions

I don't like the black version though.

[afol1969]

I don't like the black Container either. But there's a Wing Truck with a red cabin http://www.ramadbk.com/japanese-used-mitsubishi-fuso-super-great-trucks_33611.html , so it would be easier for them who do not have lots of white parts (I'd to buy the cargo plane to get most of white parts)

@blakbird:

"Every part is braced, every part has a purpose. Everything is lined up, strong, and functional. Everything looks great, even the wiring."

100% agree!

While controlling the instruction steps, the building needed one week, so I had enough time to see, if something needs to be to modified - and I come to the conclusion too that's a perfect MOC.

Greetings

Alex

[DrJB]

Black huh? Your comment got me thinking so I tried it out. It is impossible to make the whole box black because of the 5x7 frames, but it still looks pretty good. I also changed the chassis to gray from red.

Looks very nice, thanks for the 'preview'. I'm not fond of grayish trucks as I almost got hit/smashed by one once ... He literally came out of nowhere ... well, he was a grayish that blended very well with the surroundings during a gray overcast day. No wonder they call such color 'neutral' ... but that's a different story.

@SR71 ... any chance of a pic of the truck next to the 42009 or other iconic set ... just to get an idea of the sheer size?

Edited April 25, 2014 by DrJB

[OzShan]

That cab is just awesome.

[RohanBeckett]

You've always wanted TLG to make a UCS Technic set... I think something like this would be a PRIME candidate!

RB

[afol1969]

@SR71 ... any chance of a pic of the truck next to the 42009 or other iconic set ... just to get an idea of the sheer size?

See the photo from terenshi at page 196 in the instructions.

Greetings

Alex

[750ACE]

Why hasn't the hall of fame entry been mentioned. Has all criteria been met? This is a fantastic moc with hours of hard work behind it.

[jantjeuh]

Why hasn't the hall of fame entry been mentioned. Has all criteria been met? This is a fantastic moc with hours of hard work behind it.

Well, with Blakbird singing its praises I'm sure it's just a matter of time before it pops up in the Hall of Fame.

[Lakop]

TLG could add a small remote fork lift to load and unload into it. It's certainly one for the hall of fame. It's a great model.

H