Anto Posted June 19, 2017 (edited) Since a little moment, I wanted to make a Citroën DS for 2 reasons: This car has a very particular design and it had an innovative mecanic It has not prevously been made in Technic. So I can be the first! ^^ I wanted to reproduce all the features: Suspension Steering with the headlights moving with the wheels Height adjustment using pneumatic (Just up/down, not intermédiary) Gearbox (not defivitive yet, see below) Openable hood, trunk and doors Perhaps the body will be detachable (like the Nico71's 2CV) And a nice design! Actually, I did the chassis. It is not finished, but almost. And it was very complicated to make, this chassis! On the real car, almost all the macanic is in the front part of he car (under the hood). The problem is that it's not really possible in Lego, furthermore I wanted a chassis' height of 3 studs. So, I put the gearbox in the back of the chassis. That is working, but it's not realistic. So can you answer this question: do you like this construction, or do you perfer that I try to put a 2 speed gearbox just under the engine? Here, you can see the headlights moving with the wheels: It's simple, but we don't see that on supercars. There is not HOG yet. I don't know if it will be the steering wheel only, or if there will be one other on the dashboard. The chassis height adjustment allows almost put it down. The suspensions are soft. They give to the car a "boat" effect. And the gearbox: It is linked to the front wheels, but not actually to the engine. I wanted a DBG body, but the parts don't exist in this colour. So, it will be white. Tell me what you think about this begining! Edited September 4, 2018 by Anto Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jurss Posted June 19, 2017 Good start with that all functionality. I'm building Isetta. Main mechanics was somehow easy, now stucjked on body. This also will be hard, if only made with flex axles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seasider Posted June 19, 2017 looks good so far. Have you included the fact that the car can lift one of its rear wheels clear off the ground and still drive around on the other 3 ? I think as well as lowering the car it can also jack itself up slightly from "normal" position Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Didumos69 Posted June 19, 2017 Nice start! I'm a little concerned about the max steering angle though. The Citroen DS had a quite narrow turning circle despite its length, but the LEGO CV-joints will only allow for slightly more than 0.5 studs movement in the steering pivots. 5 minutes ago, Seasider said: the car can lift one of its rear wheels clear off the ground and still drive around on the other 3 Like this: 6 minutes ago, Seasider said: I think as well as lowering the car it can also jack itself up slightly from "normal" position I can confirm this. Btw, normal position = normal driving position. When parked, the suspension pressure drops and the car defaults to the lowest position. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TechnicRCRacer Posted June 19, 2017 Nice! I think that if the car is a four-speed, leave the gearbox the way it is. Form the outside, nobody will see where it is (most likely). Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teflon Posted June 19, 2017 Wow, this is a nice task. I am looking forward to see the final product (I like Nico's 2CV). Of course DS could be driven with only 3 wheels. It's a French car - they do tend to occasionally lose a part or two. (Don't get mi wrong - I have a French car and I kind of like it:-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anto Posted June 19, 2017 4 hours ago, Seasider said: Have you included the fact that the car can lift one of its rear wheels clear off the ground and still drive around on the other 3 ? I'll see. That would be great, but it will be necessary to have the good balance and a very rigid chassis. 2 hours ago, teflon said: It's a French car - they do tend to occasionally lose a part or two. (Don't get mi wrong - I have a French car and I kind of like it:-) Hey, I'm french! Don't say bad things about the french cars! I'll work on the bodywork. And I'll see for the chassis, if it's necessary to make another one or if I can change this one to make it better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teflon Posted June 19, 2017 Sorry, no bad jokes about French cars. Regarding the gearbox - it's a tough dilema. I remember discussing Nico's 2CV with my kid ad we were absolutely blown away by comparing radar pictures of actual 2CV with the Nico's one. And DS is a bit further down the iconic lane. But I would say leave the gearbox as is. The function is in my opinion of greater importance than the proper positioning. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
offroadcreations Posted June 19, 2017 Looks very promising. That bodywork looks like it will be quite tricky, though. And I think you should stick to the original gearbox, meaning the one you have in it now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leonardo da Bricki Posted June 19, 2017 Looks like a good start, I like the simple method of linking the front lights and wheels. Definitely keep the gearbox how it is, don't change it unless you absolutely must. And good luck with the bodywork! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lipko Posted June 20, 2017 (edited) How is the gearbox connected to the engine or the front axle? I only see one axle running from the gearbox to the front. The placement of the gearbox is okay, even if it's not realistic, but a gearbox which doesn't actually change gears between the engine and the wheels is pointless. EDIT: now I see the axle running on the right side, I guess that will connect the engine to the gearbox. Anyway, the chassis looks awesome so far. Edited June 20, 2017 by Lipko Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WvG_853 Posted June 20, 2017 Cool! One of the most beautiful cars ever build. Looking forward to the result! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anto Posted June 20, 2017 11 hours ago, teflon said: Sorry, no bad jokes about French cars. I was jocking, you tell can everything about the french cars! So, I'll keep the gearbox as it is now. @Lipko Yes, the gearbox is not connected to the engine. To do that, I have to work on the bodywork before. Then, I'll can know how to hide the gearbox's axis by the interior. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seasider Posted June 20, 2017 23 hours ago, Didumos69 said: Nice start! I'm a little concerned about the max steering angle though. The Citroen DS had a quite narrow turning circle despite its length, but the LEGO CV-joints will only allow for slightly more than 0.5 studs movement in the steering pivots. I can confirm this. Btw, normal position = normal driving position. When parked, the suspension pressure drops and the car defaults to the lowest position. That's what I meant. The car has 3 suspension positions. Car on its lowest setting for "Off" / "parked", Car on "Normal" setting for driving, and finally "raised" setting for extreme of suspension travel. The "trick" of the car driving on 3 wheels is you could make it individually raise and lower a wheel so you could set 3 to "raised" and one to "low" where the "low" would appear to be retracted into the body Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anto Posted June 21, 2017 I started a little the bodywork. The only thing I have to say is that it's very difficult ! The doors will be especially difficult to make. To be closest to the reality, the have to get a slight curvature from the front to the rear. But in Technic, with the existing parts, it will be difficult difficult ! But not impossible ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jonfensu Posted June 21, 2017 You could use the Technic, Panel Curved 3 x 6 x 3 (24116) for the doors Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AkiyamaWataru Posted June 21, 2017 Anto your goddess looks technically solid and the body work seems good. Just one question: Did you leave out the directional lights of a DS on purpose? Or is it not fitting in this scale? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zux Posted June 21, 2017 On 6/19/2017 at 1:16 PM, Anto said: The chassis height adjustment allows almost put it down. The suspensions are soft. They give to the car a "boat" effect. Looks great. I could only suggest not to trust suspension behaviour at this point as your model will get heavier. So if you have soft setup right now you won't have any suspension with a body attached. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Paknaloid Posted June 21, 2017 Oh this is going to be a very good looking vehicle, if that small amount of bodywork is anything to go by Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HorcikDesigns Posted June 22, 2017 I'll really enjoy to watch this car grow. Personally, I would not be afraid of using also system elements (curved slopes, especially) to achieve fluent lines. :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1gor Posted June 22, 2017 When speaking about this classic don't forget him https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_de_Funès (model looks nice and you chose correct tires ) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jeroen Ottens Posted June 22, 2017 Very interesting model to watch a WIP thread from. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teflon Posted June 23, 2017 @I_Igor: yes, Luis de Funes was very popular in our (ex)-country but I do connect him more to 2CV than DS. But I was looking at google image search and I found this. I hope this will be available as an upgrade kit:-) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1gor Posted June 23, 2017 (edited) 3 hours ago, teflon said: @I_Igor: yes, Luis de Funes was very popular in our (ex)-country but I do connect him more to 2CV than DS. But I was looking at google image search and I found this. I hope this will be available as an upgrade kit:-) It was sister Clotilde usually driving and recycling 2CV. BTW I was always watching ORF ( Austrian tv). jugoslavian tv was komunistic propaganda and their legacy is even today toxic poison in every Country that raised after fall of jugoslavia - preventing notmal life and humanity in new Countries. Upgrade kit looks a bit like submarine For this model I prefer look from 1950s - first generation models... Edited June 23, 2017 by I_Igor Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anto Posted July 12, 2018 While waiting to make the video of a new MOC, I'm working again on this project! (finally) So I have restarted this project at a smaller scale. When I have seen Nico71's new Citroën 2CV, I have thought that this scale could be good for my project. And I have never worked on a car at this scale, so I wanted to try this. The functions are almost the same as for the first version: Steering with the headlights turning with the wheels Adjustable pneumatic suspensions Openable hood, trunk and doors At this scale, obviously I can't keep the gearbox and the working fake engine. Actually, you can see a really nice color vomit. I thought it would be possible to make the bodywork in dark azure, but the flex don't exist in this color. So it will be orange or white (I just need to change the panels on bottom of the front doors). As the scale is really small, I couldn't make a suspension system with shock absorbers + a system to adjust the height of the chassis. So I use mini pneumatic cylinders and they work as shock absorbers (this way it's closer to the system of the real car). And there, you can see the rack used to move the wheels and the headlights: To be continued... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites