Grum's Shed

[Zerobricks]

Agreed, a proper V6 or inline 4 would look more realistic and would probably work smoother. Otherwise it's a very good and unique set and a very pleasent building experience.

[grum64]

On 9/9/2022 at 1:30 AM, DrJimbo said:

The 1 stud/axle scale used here may be close to the true cylinder scale, but exposed in the ‘fake engine’ used here it feels / looks too small to me. 
Using standard Lego cylinders fills up the engine compartment in a way that is aesthetically pleasing, to me at least. 

 

16 hours ago, Zerobricks said:

Agreed, a proper V6 or inline 4 would look more realistic and would probably work smoother. Otherwise it's a very good and unique set and a very pleasent building experience.

I understand Lego's choice of engine may be a better in terms of scale but as you say the original block & piston setup fills the engine bay and will look better when the bonnet's lifted.

I've been looking at the instructions and as far as I can work out it should just be a case of changing the angle of the steering column with shorter / longer axles. Should just be...

[grum64]

Building Days 8, 9 & 10 / Building Time - 12.5hrs / Total Building Time - 39hrs

Firstly, I’ve decided not to replace the engine at the moment. I said at the beginning of this build that I wanted to build it as per instructions first and then rebuild it in Pimped guise and will then see about replacing the engine.

Marrying the front and rear axle proved to be more difficult than expected. Getting everything lined up was a little tricky and after almost an hour of wriggling about (the assemblies, not me) I decided that, to save my sanity, a different approach was needed. I removed the two blue 3L pins and replaced them with 6L axles in the  lifarms they just slid into place and I got it locked together. From then on I didn’t have too many problems, It's amazing the difference remembering to plan ahead makes. The only real pain in the proverbial was connecting the UV joint but then again, they always are.

So far this is proving to be one of the most enjoyable sets I’ve built for a long while. Sets can be quite repetitive and I find that can spoil the building experience but the Defender stands out (to me anyway) as not being so. 

Also, I don’t recall building a set with so many gears. For the first 8 days it seemed I was fitting gears on everyone of them.

Apologies for the amount of photos.

Edited September 14, 2022 by grum64
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[grum64]

After a great deal of thought I've difficult decision to remove this and subsequent posts to help my return to these pages. I hope you understand.

Edited March 22, 2023 by grum64

[Jundis]

Hi Grum,

at first, I'd like to express my condolences. It brought a tear to the eye reading your story with your father and your experiences and adventures together. Lost my father early, so I know the struggle and the memories all brought back in such hard days of him passing away.

Have you thought about building the model yourself and take your time to make it a personal experience? I am sure your Dad would be proud of a model from yours, even if there are better and more experienced builders out there, who would build a better MOC...

Kind regards,

Johannes

[grum64]

Thank you for your condolences.

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. It seldom matters the timescale, the loss of a loved one is just that, a loss and the pain although buried through time, never leaves us. 

Edited March 18, 2023 by grum64

[GerritvdG]

Condolences Grum....

I've found two alternate models of the 42128 heavy duty tow truck that could be a starting point:

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-114100/OldOlneyLego/daf-f2800-hookloader-42128-c-model/#details

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-111919/OldOlneyLego/daf-f2800-crane-truck-42128-b-model/#details

Maybe it's possible to build one of these and mod them with the correct colors and version of the 2800... 

 

 

Also found these system build, but without any background about the builder, etc...

 

Edited October 18, 2022 by GerritvdG

[vliet]

The bottom truck looks like one from dutch builder Arjen Jansens his DAF trucks are regularly on www.thelegocarblog.com and maybe on Flickr

[grum64]

50 minutes ago, GerritvdG said:

Condolences Grum....

I've found two alternate models of the 42128 heavy duty tow truck that could be a starting point:

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-114100/OldOlneyLego/daf-f2800-hookloader-42128-c-model/#details

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-111919/OldOlneyLego/daf-f2800-crane-truck-42128-b-model/#details

Maybe it's possible to build one of these and mod them with the correct colors and version of the 2800... 

 

 

Also found these system build, but without any background about the builder, etc...

 

I've seen the one in the second picture, it's by a builder called Arian Janssens. I've messaged him via Flickr and Instagram to ask his permission to base a build on his work as it looks ideal but haven't had any reply.

Thank you for taking the time to help me. I'm very grateful.

[brickless_kiwi]

Condolences Grum.

I spent many years trucking with my dad. From being a nipper in the passenger seat through holding a class 5 and driving in convoy with the old man.

I think a eight wide or ten wide in Model team would be possible. I will have a bit of a try tonight and see what can be done. 

mack anthem scale can be done later... 

regards Matt 

 

[grum64]

12 hours ago, brickless_kiwi said:

Condolences Grum.

I spent many years trucking with my dad. From being a nipper in the passenger seat through holding a class 5 and driving in convoy with the old man.

I think a eight wide or ten wide in Model team would be possible. I will have a bit of a try tonight and see what can be done. 

mack anthem scale can be done later... 

regards Matt 

 

PM sent 

[grum64]

Post removed with the agreement of the company.

Edited April 7, 2023 by grum64

[suffocation]

@grum64 and @Jundis - I'm so sorry for your losses.

You're both terrific people and the kind of sons a father would be bloody proud of.

Clive, that's awesome news about the 2800! Looking forward to seeing some pics.

[vliet]

Thumbs up for the diecast company

[grum64]

After talking to and with the blessing of the company involved I've removed this post to help my return to these pages.

Edited March 18, 2023 by grum64

[weavil]

That's glade to hear and your build is looking good.

[grum64]

Building Days 11, 12, 13 & 14 / Building Time - 17.5hrs / Total Building Time - 56.5hrs
Hello My Friends

It’s been quite sometime since I was last on these pages and longer still since I’ve done any building. I didn’t stop because I’d lost my passion for it, far from it that’s as strong as it’s ever been and so, with a Defender to finish, I’d best get on with things.

Upon reacquainting myself with the Defender I was pleased beyond what many would consider natural or would admit in the presence of those not touched by our affliction.

I intended to keep the number of photos down I really did, but my intention seems to have got up, scampered off and disappeared down a rabbit hole to who knows where. I'll try harder to reduce the number in future posts, maybe taking pictures of larger assemblies. 

On the subject of photos. My mobile, the trusty old S7, is no more after some twit in a wheelchair ran it over and pretty much destroyed it. I’ve bought a new one (ouch!) and am still getting used to the camera on it so some photos might be a bit iffy (or more so than usual) so my apologies.

Anyway, when I left off building I’d completed the bulk of the chassis so from here on it’s the interior and bodywork.

The front seats, each made up of around 50 parts, look great. I’m afraid I can’t say the same about the rear ones. The backs are fine but the seat base just doesn’t look finished, it’s too short front to back in the middle section. I did wonder if maybe it was done to allow a view of the gearbox. The two black 5L Liftarms at each end do add depth to the seat base but not being the the same colour the they don’t show up very well. I know they’re there to enable the seat to tip forward while helping to add some rigidity to the body and to fit the rear quarter panels to but I think it could have been done, dare I say, more elegantly. Maybe. But what do I know it’s irrelevant at the moment anyway as I'm building the Defender as designed so it'll stay as it is for now. I’ll make changes when I rebuild it to jb70's Pimped version.

The only other niggles are the outer ends of the rear bumper. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to refit them and they’re not very easy for me to do.

While trying to fit a black pin, admittedly with increasing frustration, it somehow flew off, ricocheted off the underside of a shelf and disappeared into the rear gearbox. Thinking nomadic pins in gearboxes to be a bad thing I began rigorously sliding the build back and forth on the table but failed to free the little bugger. Wedging my hands under the front & back and lifting the build up I gave it a good shake which still didn’t free the pin but did cause a bumper end assembly to break loose and deposit itself inside the sleeve of my jumper. Here, despite me doing my damndest to give it its freedom, it decided to stay until some 20 minutes later when Mrs Grum appeared with a cup of coffee and removed the troublesome assembly. Refitted, it’s been threatened with a healthy application of glue should it depart its position again.

One thing, amongst several, that stopped me building was a few weeks of unseasonably hot weather which turned my shed into something not too dissimilar to a kiln but at the moment we have a spell of very cold weather which is fine, I’ve a heater in my shed so it doesn’t stop me building. It’s just a shame some of my countrymen aren’t so inclined to be productive.

Now, those of you in Northern climes will be familiar with cold weather at this time of year, it’s called Winter. Or at least it used to be. That may be a strange thing to say but you need to understand that I reside in the UK where some of the population appear to know only Spring, Summer and Autumn. I really don’t think they know or remember what a Winter is.

I’m serious. If they see a minus symbol or a snowflake on the weather forecast they have a nervous breakdown, crawl under the nearest duvet and stay there until mid April. Those in charge of infrastructure breakout their insurance documents, throw a hissy fit and immediately stop the trains & buses running, close airports, schools, public buildings and roads telling everyone to only travel if absolutely necessary. Then there’s the newspapers who go into Scare the Public Sh*tless mode and replace the headlines about the past loves, lives and indiscretions of the latest menagerie of Love Islanders with those about hospitals forced to close due to an outbreak of runny noses, emergency departments shutting their doors to the hoards turning up with grazed knees & elbows after slipping on the first patch of ice they encounter and an over stretched power station that exploded because Mrs Brown at number 10 boiled a kettle for her evening mug of Horlicks. The television news is no better. Rosy cheeked reporters up & down the country tell how bad the conditions are showing footage of snowdrifts almost to doorstep height, buses on their sides, HGV's in fields and bemused motorists standing at the side of the road watching as their car is pulled out of a ditch by a tractor. All this because there's been an inch and a half of snow overnight.

Oh what have we become.

Edited March 28, 2023 by grum64
Removed duplicate photos.

[grum64]

Building Days 15 & 16 / Building Time - 9.5hrs / Total Building Time - 65hrs

Another day another pile of parts cobbled together, suprisingly, some even correctly. 

I don’t know about you but seems to me that the Defender’s been going on for an eternity. I know I’ve had a few months out but even so I still can’t help thinking it’s taken a very long time, 65 hours to this point. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind one little bit because it’s a build I’m really enjoying, it’s simply an observation.

For reasons that, try as I might to remember, completely escape me I've started counting the number parts used in some of the Defender’s assembly's. I first did this for the front seats and found each had over 50 parts which was a surprise. I did the same for the roof and how many do you think it had, 60, 70, 80 even? No, I was amazed to find it had 129. Now, I'm no expert on roofs, Technic or otherwise, but 129 parts. Astonishing. It does look good though

Some of you may have noticed I’m not getting the stickers applied to the Defender. I used to get them put on most builds but not now. I’ve had too many start peeling or fade and with them being difficult to remove it’s just not worth it. I do always buy a spare sheet when I buy a new set though in case I sell it at some point in the future and the buyer wants to apply them. When they start peeling etc, which they almost certainly will, they'll have a replacement sheet that might otherwise be hard to get.

For this build, as with the GT3 and the Chiron, I’ll be using custom printed parts and will be using them when I build the excellent Pimped version of the Defender. They're from Steindrucker and are excellent quality, completely indistinguishable from the Lego originals. In the Defenders case they have the added bonus of the Hi/Lo being the right way round. Although they're not cheap personally I think them to be a worthwhile expense for what I consider to be special sets. If you're interested you can find them here: 

https://www.steindrucker.com/defender-42110-custom-package

To avoid any misunderstanding I'd like to make it clear that this is my own opinion. I'm not affiliated with the company in any way nor have I had or would accept free stuff in return for reviews etc.

Good heavens, I almost sound professional. Nah.........

Edited April 4, 2023 by grum64
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[grum64]

oops…

Edited April 11, 2023 by grum64
Problems with photo links

[grum64]

Building Days 19, 20 & 21 / Building Time - 13.5 hrs / Total Building Time - 86.5hrs

A few more days building all of which have gone pretty well with I think a reasonable amount of progress made. I'd have gotten more done had it not been for the pesky 15100 Pin with Pin Hole used on the doors. As with the rear one, they took a property stupid amount of time. There were times that if I could have found a way around using them I would quite happily have done so because they were a right royal pain in the proverbial.

Steps 478 & 479 and 480 & 504 along with the last part of step 566 drove me completely nuts. I couldn't get a hold on them to keep them in place. Every time I tried fitting them one or other would just flip up or one would fit in place and then of course the other was never going to go where it should. A whole heap of time, more patience than any one person should possess and an immeasurable amount of bloody mindedness proved the key to getting them done.

There's one thing I'm miffed about with this set so far and that's the number of missing parts. The set was brand new and sealed but up until the end of bags 3 there's been 5 parts missing.

1 x 33299 Liftarm, Modified Crank with Pin 1 x 3 & Axle Holes - Black

1 x 60483 Liftarm Thick 1 x 2 - Axle Hole - Olive Green

1 x 11946 Panel Fairing #21 Very Small Smooth - White

1 x 44 Axle & Pin Connector Toggle Joint Smooth - Black

1 x 15462 Axle 5L with Stop - Reddish Brown

I’ll have to see if they turn up amongst the contents of bags 4. Luckily I could replace them from my spares so building wasn’t delayed too much. I wouldn’t mind quite so much if this was an isolated occurrence but last year I had parts missing from a few sets, like the Defender all were new and sealed. I think Lego do an absolutely amazing job sorting all the necessary parts that make up a set and it's inevitable that there'll be a few missed parts along the way. That said, whether it’s 1  or 20 parts missing it doesn't make it any less annoying

[grum64]

Building Day 22 / Building Time - 5hrs / Total Building Time - 91.5hrs

Just one days building this time if for no other reason than to keep the number of photos down. See how i look after you 🙂.

Progress would have been greatly improved today had I played Spot the Difference as I built. As I didn't a couple of silly and what I now see were pretty obvious mistakes went unnoticed until it was way too late and I lost loads of time putting things right 🙄.

I won't bore you with the what, the how & the all too lengthy rectification. Instead see if you can spot what I didn't. It won't be difficult.

Edited April 18, 2023 by grum64
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[weavil]

On 4/1/2023 at 1:42 PM, grum64 said:

I don’t know about you but seems to me that the Defender’s been going on for an eternity. I know I’ve had a few months out but even so I still can’t help thinking it’s taken a very long time, 65 hours to this point. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind one little bit because it’s a build I’m really enjoying, it’s simply an observation

Looking great! It's always nice watching you work at it and see your progress. Don't worry about how long it takes you to build it. You're keeping active where as a lot of people with conditions give up and just sloth along in life. We here might not comment on each post, but enjoy your determination! 

I've been away from Lego and here for a month now and probably another month, as I'm helping my mom with her broken leg. So time away helps clear the head for ideas.

[grum64]

On 4/17/2023 at 3:47 PM, weavil said:

Looking great! It's always nice watching you work at it and see your progress. Don't worry about how long it takes you to build it. You're keeping active where as a lot of people with conditions give up and just sloth along in life. We here might not comment on each post, but enjoy your determination! 

I've been away from Lego and here for a month now and probably another month, as I'm helping my mom with her broken leg. So time away helps clear the head for ideas.

Thank you for your very kind words. I’m sorry to hear your Mum has broken her leg. I hope it heals very soon and wish her all the very best.

I look forward to seeing the results of your ideas.

Edited April 18, 2023 by grum64

[Zerobricks]

Thank you for these updates, in my opinion this is one of the better modern sets and I enjoy reliving it through your perspective. 

[grum64]

21 hours ago, Zerobricks said:

Thank you for these updates, in my opinion this is one of the better modern sets and I enjoy reliving it through your perspective. 

I completely agree about the Defender being one of the best sets of recent years. It's also, to me anyways, one of the best building experiences of recent years.

I'm very grateful for your kind words.

To be completely honest it never ceases to amaze me that people even look at my posts let alone take the time to read and comment on them as I just write whatever comes into my tiny, chaos filled mind at that moment and that’s what gets posted. I don’t plan what to write, I can’t, if I did I’d just tie myself in knots , nor do I edit anything which is why my spelling sometimes goes unchecked and my posts tend to go on. And on...

Edited April 19, 2023 by grum64
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