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Hi all,

as you might know I’m a car builder mainly, however, I’m interested in practically everything in the Lego City world, boats, trains (and monorail, of course!) included.

One of the subjects I’m very fond of is Lego aviation. Of course, we won’t see those heavy brick-built aircraft fly high in the sky. But even grounded planes are quite interesting, especially passenger and cargo planes, just because of their size which allows lots of special functions you won’t be able to include in smaller vehicles. Plus an airport is in fact a place where lots of different vehicles can be watched: crash tenders, pushbacks, pallet and belt loaders, jet air starters, refuelers, extra-wide buses etc. etc.

Since there are quite a few MOCs now concerning aviation I will put them together in this thread. This can also be regarded as a contribution to the idea of a more technical Lego city where any space available is used to include functions or light to get more interesting Lego City layouts.

#1 Faun 8x8 Crash Tender (ARFF/FLF)

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8w ARFF, equipped with 3 flashing lights (9 Volt Light & Sound) plus battery box. Fits 2 minifig firefighters.

The Faun has its own thread: http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=96949

#2 Canadair Waterbomber CL-215

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Wingspan 80 studs, weight 1050 g, equipped with 3 PF M motors (2 for the engines, 1 for the flaps), battery box and IR receiver. The rudder is coupled with the nose wheel. Fits 2 minifig pilots. Since 2014 the Canadair has undergone some changes, e. g. it has smaller propellers nowadays.

Also the Canadair has its own thread: http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=95522

#3 Turbofan

A possible design of a spinning turbofan with PF M motor I've developed some years ago:

Sorry, I only have this blurry video of it. This design hasn't been used on an aircraft model yet, maybe I'll build something around it in the future.

#4 Pushback/Tow Tractor/Aircraft Tug “Goliath”

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Not the most beautiful vehicle I've ever built, but it does its job: moving relatively large aircraft on a Lego airport which is rather rare to be seen, I guess. Equipment: PF M motor, IR receiver, battery box + Light & Sound flashing lights. Plus it has a storage compartment to keep the tug bolts.

The pushback has a front wheel drive (with worm gear) and is able to push or pull Lego aircraft up to 1,5 kg (tested), maybe more, on a straight path - I wasn't able to build in a proper steering.

More pics:

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Fixing the engine:

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Video:

Thanks for looking, more to come (there's another aircraft in the pipeline).

[Edit, 26 June 2016]

#5: Sea King Coast Guard Helicopter PF motorized

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The chopper has its own thread: http://www.eurobrick...26#entry2596441

Edited by ER0L

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This looks just amazingly realistic! Great work! Also that yellow waterplane reminds me a lot on a certain cartoon series from the 90s :wink::thumbup:

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Very nice builds ER0L! The tow truck looks quite realistic and that it's even operational is a nice touch. Given its scale, I wouldn't be surprised if you show us a jumbo pulled out of a hangar next ...

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This looks just amazingly realistic! Great work! Also that yellow waterplane reminds me a lot on a certain cartoon series from the 90s :wink::thumbup:

Thumbs up on the Talespin reference, I just started my daughter on the show and she loves it just like I did at age 5 and still do at 34

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This looks just amazingly realistic! Great work! Also that yellow waterplane reminds me a lot on a certain cartoon series from the 90s :wink::thumbup:

Thank you! To be honest, I didn't know "Talespin" before. Now I do. :wink: A yellow Canadair CL-215 rather reminds me of a certain episode of "Ice Pilots NWT" where the pilot mixes up the runway with a lake which leads to a rather unusual landing ...

Very nice builds ER0L! The tow truck looks quite realistic and that it's even operational is a nice touch. Given its scale, I wouldn't be surprised if you show us a jumbo pulled out of a hangar next ...

Glad you like them! Regarding the scale: Even if it is matching more or less, you're right - of course you wouldn't operate a relatively small plane like the Canadair with such a giant pushback. But it might be difficult to build a smaller movable tractor, the PF gear is pretty space consuming. Regarding a Jumbo: Fellow builder Steffen is the one with the big airliners. I don't know if I'd be capable of building something as excellent as this.

Thumbs up on the Talespin reference, I just started my daughter on the show and she loves it just like I did at age 5 and still do at 34

I didn't even know it, but it seems to be quite funny.

Nice work. All looks great, especially the CL-215!

Thanks a lot!

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#6 Stunt Plane "The Flying Sharks" (31076 MOD)

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Maybe this would have been something for the "Vehicles for AFOls" thread (https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/100860-mocs-pimp-your-town-ride-or-city-vehicles-for-grown-ups/), but since it's no Town ride but a Creator plane this thread may be suitable, too.

This is my take on the new biplane set 31076 (https://brickset.com/sets/31076-1/Daredevil-Stunt-Plane) which amazed me at first sight with its great "Patrouille de France" colour design, nice shaping and lots of useful parts. In spite of being a Creator set it is minifig scale and includes a great fig. (For what you get I think it's rather inexpensive, also regarding the fact that you can get it on discount already.)

A great detail is the V angle of the (lower) wings of the biplane done with hinges which I wanted to keep though I had a monoplane in my mind which required a different solution for that (I kept the clips for the "support cage" though, so that this can still be turned into a biplane again). Anyhow I guess the plane builders are as happy about the new cutaway curved slopes as are the car builders ...

The idea behind this is that it would be nice to have some smaller aircraft on the airfield of the joint Route 66 layout, too. Though not the main attraction, a rogue of some colourful stunt planes named "Waldo Pepper* and his amazing Flying Sharks" or something would probably be an eye catcher. 

More pics on Flickr. Thanks for watching!

*At least in German-speaking countries it is obvious that the fig is in fact Waldo Pepper, because here the set is called "Tollkühner Flieger" which might be a reference to the German title "Tollkühne Flieger" of the 1975 US movie "The Great Waldo Pepper" ... ;-)

 

Edited by ER0L

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Great looking stunt plane! I really like the engine (adds so much to the barnstormer-feel) and the shaping of the fuselage. :classic:

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17 hours ago, Littleworlds said:

Great looking stunt plane! I really like the engine (adds so much to the barnstormer-feel) and the shaping of the fuselage. :classic:

Thank you! At this scale, some more greeble was necessary at the frontend (the design of the radial engine being rather common, I guess). However, I was very glad to be able to use one of my favourite parts - the VLCS (very long curved slope) - on the fuselage to get a sharky shape. 

9 hours ago, Blk69 said:

So is any of the brick sof 31076 in this moc?  Looks great

I didn't count, so I have to guess: Roundabout 70% of the set parts are being used in the MOC. Of course you have to add quite a few parts to get a more realistic shape and especially a larger footprint (the plane in the set is a smallish biplane designed for children with a rather chibi appearance - looking great nonetheless).

The question behind this (like on the "AFOL vehicles" thread mentioned above and also regarding the modified Speed Champions) is: How can Town or minifig scale related sets designed for children be turned into something also AFOLs can use on their layouts - instead of building everything from scratch which requires a lot of time and effort? A Creator set like this with its great parts choice (much better than your regular City vehicle) can be used very well for such purposes in my opinion.

6 hours ago, danimarroquin said:

Love this Mocs 

I’m currently working on a 727 , and just finish the A320. 

Thank you! Looking forward to that. 

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1 hour ago, ER0L said:

Thank you! At this scale, some more greeble was necessary at the frontend (the design of the radial engine being rather common, I guess). However, I was very glad to be able to use one of my favourite parts - the VLCS (very long curved slope) - on the fuselage to get a sharky shape.

They are great for airplanes indeed. Just the right proportions.

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6 hours ago, Littleworlds said:

They are great for airplanes indeed. Just the right proportions.

I absolutely agree. However, for this new version with canopy I had to omit them: 

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Only a few modifications are required to install the canopy, the pilot fits in nicely.

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4 hours ago, ER0L said:

I absolutely agree. However, for this new version with canopy I had to omit them: 

 

Looks neat!:classic:

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amazing !

really wish LEGO could revise the large passenger passenger  plane cockpit piece   , and make it similar to a A330 or 787 . Also , take advantage of the under carriage to store luggage just like a real airliner . 

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On 23.5.2018 at 12:22 AM, Littleworlds said:

Looks neat!:classic:

 

On 23.5.2018 at 12:15 PM, Man with a hat said:

Looking nice again. And great job with the colour scheme as well.

17 hours ago, danimarroquin said:

amazing !

Thanks all!

17 hours ago, danimarroquin said:

really wish LEGO could revise the large passenger passenger  plane cockpit piece   , and make it similar to a A330 or 787 . Also , take advantage of the under carriage to store luggage just like a real airliner . 

Since I'm trying to build in a more realistic scale the cockpit pieces (which I think do look quite nice) aren't very useful for my purposes. Maybe the large fuselage parts (nose and rear included), combined with brickbuilt wings, could be used to build a small passenger jet. At a width of 8 studs in roughly 1/40 scale this could be something like a Canadair Regional Jet (quite similar nose) or an Embraer-ERJ. Could be an interesting project, especially with working engines. With a brickbuilt bottom of the fuselage also a luggage compartment should be possible.

Many thanks all for commenting and viewing!

Edited by ER0L

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#7 Stunt Plane "The Flying Sharks" (31076 MOD, biplane version)

Here the biplane version:

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Stunt Plane (31076 MOD, biplane version) by ER0L, on Flickr

Building a biplane version was less trivial than I had hoped, especially because two minifigs had to be seated (in the set the pilot himself walks the wing which isn't very realistic, I guess). Some features: 

  • Measurements are similar to a Boeing Stearman in 1/40 scale, thus it can be called a scale model even if it does look quite different than a Boeing Stearman. 
  • The lower wings are slightly "dihedral" (angled) like on the monoplane version. 
  • I was glad to be able to use that ring part I already used on the engines of the Canadair waterbomber (see above) - guess this is a nice part also for this type of aircraft. 
  • The wing walker has a device to hold on to. 
  • I'm not so satisfied with the "cage" part carrying the upper wing - it provides a lot of stability, like in the set, but doesn't look very authentic, maybe I'll change that in a later version. 

Viewed from the rear:

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Stunt Plane (31076 MOD, biplane version) by ER0L, on Flickr

Thanks for looking!

 

 

Edited by ER0L

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That's a very nice little biplane there.  I like the way you've achieved a more subtle dihedral than the original set, and the second seat and curved horizontal stabilizer profile are great.  Also, the extended empennage is much better than the stumpy rear fuselage assemblies that official sets always have.  However, It's a little disappointing to see that the ailerons and wheels no longer move, and the outboard struts look pretty flimsy.

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10 minutes ago, icm said:

That's a very nice little biplane there.  I like the way you've achieved a more subtle dihedral than the original set, and the second seat and curved horizontal stabilizer profile are great.  Also, the extended empennage is much better than the stumpy rear fuselage assemblies that official sets always have.  However, It's a little disappointing to see that the ailerons and wheels no longer move, and the outboard struts look pretty flimsy.

Thanks for your estimation, glad you like the MOD as a whole! Plus it's nice that you point out some aspects you think are well-made. Regarding the criticism: The idea behind this is to find ways to turn sets designed for children into something useful for AFOLs. Sometimes (not always) this may result in a reduced play value in favor of a more realistic design. Regarding the aspects mentioned: The ailerons are movable (though not as freely as before, especially not upwards), wheels are moving if the tires are fixed correctly, the struts stay in place even when the model is swooshed around. Thus the MOD more than fulfills my requirements as a layout model - as a toy for children it might not be suitable any more, but it doesn't have to.

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Nice plane indeed! And an inventive solution for the wing struts. I would have wondered too if they are really strong enough, but what works, works (and the main load is probably taken by the center struts anyway).:classic: They definitely look realistic and more elegant than trying to fiddle something together with telescope-pieces or lightsabre hilts. That's always a compromise.

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7 hours ago, Littleworlds said:

Nice plane indeed! And an inventive solution for the wing struts. I would have wondered too if they are really strong enough, but what works, works (and the main load is probably taken by the center struts anyway).:classic: They definitely look realistic and more elegant than trying to fiddle something together with telescope-pieces or lightsabre hilts. That's always a compromise.

Thanks for your estimation! Regarding the struts: The main load is indeed taken by the roll cage part, that's why it can't be replaced easily. However, even if I agree that it's more elegant than the alternatives you mention, I don't find it very realistic. But well, since it provides the necessary swooshability, I guess it may be accepted. :wink:

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