Grum's Shed

[Maaboo the Witch]

30 minutes ago, grum64 said:

Hello My Friends

I hope you are all well.

I’ve heard tell that the CAT’s blade raise/lower is something not dissimilar to glacial and so would like to speed it up at bit if possible. I’ve been looking through the instructions (which is all I can do for a while 😠) and was wondering if swapping around the gears on pages 386 & 387 would provide the solution.

May I ask if anyone has tried this and if so does it make a noticeable difference in speed?

Thank you.

I'd leave it as is. There's usually a reason sets are built the way they are, particularly in relation to gear ratios. Plus, it's not like the actual D11 moves like a greased antelope.

[Saruzeufel]

15 hours ago, grum64 said:

was wondering if swapping around the gears on pages 386 & 387 would provide the solution.

May I ask if anyone has tried this and if so does it make a noticeable difference in speed?

I just tried it out for you and sadly the gearbox induces so much friction into the system that with this swapped gearing (assuming you ment step 386, not page) the single motor is barely able to move the actuators. It is now much much slower and at times the motor stalls completely. Maybe this works with some of these powerful rechargable NiZn batteries that provide higher voltage than regular batteries, but I would not count on it working well either.

[grum64]

18 hours ago, Maaboo the Witch said:

I'd leave it as is. There's usually a reason sets are built the way they are, particularly in relation to gear ratios. Plus, it's not like the actual D11 moves like a greased antelope.

Good thinking, build as per instructions it is. Thank you for taking the time to reply. 

2 hours ago, Saruzeufel said:

I just tried it out for you and sadly the gearbox induces so much friction into the system that with this swapped gearing (assuming you ment step 386, not page) the single motor is barely able to move the actuators. It is now much much slower and at times the motor stalls completely. Maybe this works with some of these powerful rechargable NiZn batteries that provide higher voltage than regular batteries, but I would not count on it working well either.

That’s very kind of you. Thank you very much. This echoes what Maaboo the Witch said ‘There’s usually a reason sets are built the way they are, particularly in relation to gear ratios.

Thanks again.

 

[Lego Tom]

I think I would have been tempted to throw a couple wheels on the axle to confuse the med staff. Of course they might have taken one look and sent you off to see a mechanic instead.

[grum64]

I think the poor staff were confused enough. They seem to got over that though. Today during a check to see if all’s healing as it should the Doctor said he'd had a look at the CAT online. He'd also downloaded the instructions but nowhere in said instructions could he find the step that said to fit one's hand to the model 🙄

[williamyzfr1]

You inspire me I don't post often anymore, I recently purchased the Yamaha motorcycle but it hasn't arrived yet. My ultmate goal is the Lego bulldozer which you are currently building.

[grum64]

Thank you for your very kind words.

I too have the Yamaha on order. Strangely, considering I have a life long passion for bikes I've only ever built 3 Lego ones, the 857 Motorcycle & Sidecar, 8838 Shock Cycle and the 42007 Moto Cross Bike so I'm very much looking forward to building it. 

I hope you do get to build the CAT. Although I'm yet to finish mine I know it's going to be a really nice set and is proving to be a really enjoyable building experience.

[brickless_kiwi]

On 9/11/2023 at 3:55 AM, williamyzfr1 said:

You inspire me I don't post often anymore, I recently purchased the Yamaha motorcycle but it hasn't arrived yet. My ultmate goal is the Lego bulldozer which you are currently building.

Love the username.

Owned a 08 Yzf-r1.. not really a fan of the modern bikes. More the classic Supersports of yesteryear... 

No more accidents grum... else the OHS lady might ban you from Lego...

[grum64]

I'm all for not having accidents and don't go looking for them, however history suggests they seem to have very little trouble finding me 🙄

Edited September 13, 2023 by grum64
Spelling

[grum64]

Build Days 11 & 12 / Building Time - 8hrs / Total Building Time - 42.5hrs

I’m more than a little happy to say that a couple of days ago I was given the OK to resume building. It seems to be an absolute eternity but the Dr did say it would likely be a couple of weeks or so which my mind interpreted to mean I’d be back at it in a day or two which I guess was wishful thinking on par with the woodcutters desire for sausages.

With the green light given I’ve had the last couple of days reacquainting myself with the poor neglected CAT which was great especially as everything went really well. Right up until the time when it didn’t.

What you see in the last photo is as far as I got today because when taking said photo I noticed that the actuator assemblies looked different and upon closer inspection indeed they were. You can see for yourself that the right one has the 12T bevel gear at the front and the other not, it’s at the back. At this point the sensible thing to do would be to:

A) consult the instruction book to confirm there’s an error and set about correcting it or

B) consult the instruction book to confirm that all’s as it should be and carry on with the build.

I did neither. No, I chose instead to consult the instruction book only after spending 45 minutes or so carefully moving the left side 12T bevel gear to the front because that’s where I thought it should be. And then spent almost an hour moving it back to where it was in the first place.

There are times when sensible I am not.

Edited September 23, 2023 by grum64
Removed duplicate photo

[grum64]

Hello My Friends 

My apologies if you were expecting an update on the CAT. I've had no time to build for the last few days but should be back in the shed sometime in the next few days.

George and I are planning a project for after I've finished the aforementioned CAT and besides nearly 2500 parts I've got coming from BL we need some Scottish WWI minifigures. The trouble is the figures are only available from United Bricks store in Castle Douglas, Scotland. 

From what I understand the figures are shop exclusives and not fo rdelivery and I can't ring the shop as it's closed until Thursday.

In case they really don’t deliver I need a plan B and that's where I hope one of you good people might be able to help me.

Do any of you live near Castle Douglas or know anyone that does and if so would you/they be able to help by going to the shop to get the figures needed? I'd go myself but my 'chair hasn't the range nor do I have an extension lead long enough.

Obviously I'll pay for the figures and any costs incurred and for your time.

I really appreciate you taking the time to read this and would be grateful beyond words if someone can help.

Thank you.

Edited October 1, 2023 by grum64

[suffocation]

Missed quite a few updates. Top-notch pics as always, Clive, and your storytelling always makes my day

I do hope your hand has healed nicely and that someone lucky enough to live in Scotland can help out with the minifigs.

 

[Maaboo the Witch]

Stuck in England, soz.

[williamyzfr1]

26 minutes ago, grum64 said:

Hello My Friends 

My apologies if you were expecting an update on the CAT. I've had no time to build for the last few days but should be back in the shed sometime in the next few days.

George and I are planning a project for after I've finished the aforementioned CAT and besides nearly 2500 parts I've got coming from BL we need some Scottish WWI minifigures. The trouble is the figures are only available from United Bricks store in Castle Douglas, Scotland. 

From what I understand the figures are shop exclusives and not fo rdelivery and I can't ring the shop as it's closed until Thursday.

In case they really don’t deliver I need a plan B and that's where I hope one of you good people might be able to help me.

Do any of you live near Castle Douglas or know anyone that does and if so would you/they be able to help by going to the shop to get the figures needed? I'd go myself but my 'chair hasn't the range nor do I have an extension lead long enough.

Obviously I'll pay for the figures and any costs incurred and for your time.

I really appreciate you taking the time to read this and would be grateful beyond words if someone can help.

Thank you.

Is it this store? They advertise delivery (free over £75) and worlwide delivery?

LINK

 

[grum64]

5 minutes ago, williamyzfr1 said:

Is it this store? They advertise delivery (free over £75) and worlwide delivery?

LINK

 

Good Evening and thank you for your interest in this quest.

The shop has a separate website. 

United Bricks Scottish shop link

[grum64]

39 minutes ago, suffocation said:

Missed quite a few updates. Top-notch pics as always, Clive, and your storytelling always makes my day

I do hope your hand has healed nicely and that someone lucky enough to live in Scotland can help out with the minifigs.

 

Hello My Friend

Thank you for your kind comments. 

The hand is on it’s to being healed. I'm having to be careful and wearing a fingerless leather pushing glove when pushing axles through parts helps with that. Just as well looking at the instructions for the carriage assemblies.

Edited October 1, 2023 by grum64

[grum64]

Hello again I'm delighted to say that I've just had an email from United Bricks Scottish store and they've agreed to post the minifigures . 

Thank you so much for your messages and your PM's with advice and offers to help. I'm extremely grateful to you all.

[williamyzfr1]

On 10/2/2023 at 4:41 PM, grum64 said:

Hello again I'm delighted to say that I've just had an email from United Bricks Scottish store and they've agreed to post the minifigures . 

Thank you so much for your messages and your PM's with advice and offers to help. I'm extremely grateful to you all.

Glad you got the outcome you wanted.

[grum64]

Build Days 13, 14 & 15 / Building Time - 11 hours / Total Building Time - 53.5hrs

Hello Again

The carriage assembly has taken a good deal longer than expected. Putting the curved panels together proved to be difficult and time consuming but that’s pretty much a given for me, I have trouble with any curved panels and parts. But by far the majority of the extra time was because of silly mistakes, I put an axle in the wrong place and did the same with two pins. Both errors went completely unnoticed until either a part needing fitting found no means of attachment and when one did it was in the wrong place it was in the way of another part needing to be fitted. While I’m in the confessional, I also used a 13L Liftarm instead of the required 15L which only became apparent when it came to attach the ‘side assembly’ to the rest of the carriage and, well, it didn’t fit. Honestly, I think I spent almost as much time disassembling parts as I did putting them together. The upside, if indeed there is one, is there’s another carriage to build and I shouldn’t make the same mistakes again. I say shouldn’t.

Apologies for the number of photos. I wanted to show the assembly of the carriage in one post rather than spread over several and although I didn’t take as many as I could have done there’s still an awful lot of them. The good thing is that as far as I’m aware, besides one being for the left and the other the right, each carriage is the same so there’ll be no need to inflict another endless stream of photos upon you. That is of course unless anyone has a particular yearning for photos of a dubious quality in which case let me know and I'll be happy to oblige. Anonymity assured.

Edited October 10, 2023 by grum64
Photo correction

[Maaboo the Witch]

Your photos look pretty good, so don't worry about that! Great to see you back building.

[grum64]

19 hours ago, Maaboo the Witch said:

Your photos look pretty good, so don't worry about that! Great to see you back building.

Thank you, it's very nice of you to say so. I'd really like to take better pictures but I have do with what I have, my Samsung a52s and a Lamicall phone stand.

[lcvisser]

I think I said it before but I really like your abundance of photos: it really shows how the sets go together. It’s  fun to follow, because  many of them I don’t own. Keep them coming. 

Edited October 11, 2023 by lcvisser

[grum64]

On 10/11/2023 at 8:44 PM, lcvisser said:

I think I said it before but I really like your abundance of photos: it really shows how the sets go together. It’s  fun to follow, because  many of them I don’t own. Keep them coming. 

Thank you 

Some time ago I considered just posting photos of the finished models but because some members have said pretty much the same as yourself I'm happy to keep posting photos showing the assemblies etc.

[Mikdun]

@grum64, you story telling qualities makes reading this thread fun. And then there is some Technic as well. 

Keep it coming!

[grum64]

7 hours ago, Mikdun said:

@grum64, you story telling qualities makes reading this thread fun. And then there is some Technic as well. 

Keep it coming!

You’re too kind. Thank you.