[TC12] Dastardly Dodgem

[Seasider]

So time for me to do a WIP topic. I'm going to make a Dodgem (or Bumper Car depending on where you're from) well that's the starting idea. I was originally planning on a full manual setup but soon changed to PF.

Ive just started by trying to work out the 3 main mechanisms, drive, steering and then the other function. As you'll see below I've started on 2 of them.

im going to try and get the function worked out next ... most probably some deployable side bumpers.

then I'll start reducing the size of the mechanisms and then get a Chassis up and running.

more progress next week hopefully, unfortunately away this weekend.

 

[mocbuild101]

Interesting... If I understand the photo right, it looks like you are making a very tall vehicle!

[1gor]

If I remember correctly Dick Dastardly was one of character in cartoon wacky races...and of course his dog Muttley as a standard equipment in his car...let us be surprized...perhaps you will record a sentence "do something Muttley" 

[Jurss]

Interesting how this will look at the finish, because now it doesn't seem even close to bumper car.

[Seasider]

3 hours ago, mocbuild101 said:

Interesting... If I understand the photo right, it looks like you are making a very tall vehicle!

It's tall at the moment as I was just playing around with the mechanism and where parts sit relative to each other. The final model will be a lot shorter.

 

[JDL1967]

Looking forward to your build. I think i  this contest we will see a lot of weird stuff. And i am looking forward to that also..

[Seasider]

Some updates from an hour during the week and then a good 3 hours this afternoon. Thank heavens some old engineering companies don't work on a Friday afternoon.

Updated mechanism for the above ... this did lead me to having the revelation that not all large turntables are the same and in fact I have a type 2 and a type 3. I still had the original (see initial thread post) assembled as I was refining it to this version and wondered why the gearing didn't work. I also worked out I need 2 of the same turntable for what I want to do.

Some form of mechanism on some sort of frame. The white frame at this point was for sizing.

An outer ring? Couldn't build this till today, thank the Lego gods that my bricklink order arrived today.

And where I ended up today. I even mounted a servo motor and the rear wheels.

Plan for the weekend is to try and mount the front wheel mechanism (see pic no1 in this post) and then perhaps start on the body work. I've bought a very special Lego piece for that ... a piece that got me thinking along the lines for this model to start with.

For those of you interested the vehicle is currently 41 studs long and 23 studs wide

Next update from me on Sunday

Edited September 8, 2017 by Seasider

[Leonardo da Bricki]

Cool. I like the shaping of the fenders. Which motor is for drive?

[Seasider]

1 hour ago, Leonardo da Bricki said:

Cool. I like the shaping of the fenders. Which motor is for drive?

The one with the light grey gear and red tube. Hopefully it'll run ok on a single motor.

[Leonardo da Bricki]

37 minutes ago, Seasider said:

The one with the light grey gear and red tube. Hopefully it'll run ok on a single motor.

It is not a huge racer, so it should be fine. Slow for sure, but it should drive.

[mocbuild101]

Looks good, and I see you have made a punching mechanism too, I can't wait to see how well that works!

13 hours ago, Seasider said:

I've bought a very special Lego piece for that ... a piece that got me thinking along the lines for this model to start with.

Hmm...

[Seasider]

Some more progress this weekend. Took me 6 iterations to get the front wheel setup how I wanted it. Took ages to work out the optimum wheel size for the position i needed t to be. Then took a while to work out where this mounted in the Chassis and then had to strip the Chassis apart a few times to get it to fit. So it's all positioned ok. Just that it doesn't work when I place it on the ground! I can see the steering drive is opening up on the top (should be easy to fix with some bracing) but the drive is also going click click click and I think that's hidden underneath in an area that's going to be difficult to add more bracing.

oh I've also been reworking the side bumpers as I think they're flexing too much and causing a misalignment but I haven't got those built into the Chassis yet, just sitting randomly on the lounge carpet.

next build time for me will be hopefully Tuesday night (most probably while listening to the House of Apple talk about new phones)

[Seasider]

Bit of an update from me ... 

reworked the drive area and started to block in some panels.

still think it might be a little slab sided but hey.

Hopefully will get an hour of build time tomorrow as I'm now away on business next week. Got to "unfortunately" drive some cars.

[TechnicSummse]

Is this silver panel from the "red beast" set?

And if so... do those things fit to regular pinholes?

[Didumos69]

It's starting to look like it! Nice work! I see some resemblance with this (which is good btw):

Edited September 16, 2017 by Didumos69

[Aventador2004]

1 hour ago, Seasider said:

Hopefully will get an hour of build time tomorrow as I'm now away on business next week. Got to "unfortunately" drive some cars.

Do you test drive cars?

It is very good looking against the original so far.

[Seasider]

@TechnicSummse yes it's from the Red Beast, I found it on Bricklink while having a buying session after looking working out what I wanted to do ... a Dodgem because as a kid they were the coolest vehicles to drive, and I thought for this competition a vehicle that only has a forward gear but the drive wheel can rotate 360deg would be fun. Strangely I saw precisely the picture @Didumos69 has posted above and thought how similar it looked and so that what set me down this path.

oh yes normal pins appear to be able to hold it in place. It has 2 of them with a pin spacing between them horizontally between the main profile on 2 levels (poor description sorry)

@Aventador2004 no I don't officially test drive I've cars, but I do work in the car industry. I work in design engineering for a well known British car company. I do occasionally get to drive them tho, hence being away this week, off to Frankfurt motorshow to be precise ... a long drive from the UK!

[Aventador2004]

1 hour ago, Seasider said:

@TechnicSummse @Didumos69

@Aventador2004 no I don't officially test drive I've cars, but I do work in the car industry. I work in design engineering for a well known British car company. I do occasionally get to drive them tho, hence being away this week, off to Frankfurt motorshow to be precise ... a long drive from the UK!

Mclaren? Jaguar? Land rover?

Edited September 16, 2017 by Aventador2004

[aminnich]

Ford, Chevy, Dodge?  

Im only teasing, those my my vehicles (trucks in particular) 

[Aventador2004]

1 hour ago, aminnich said:

Ford, Chevy, Dodge?  

Im only teasing, those my my vehicles (trucks in particular) 

Not British, sorry for off topic.

[mocbuild101]

It's looking better, but...

Is it just me, or is this starting to look more like an entry for the battlebots contest? (not that it matters, it will still be wacky!)

[Seasider]

@Aventador2004 - good guesses but wrong. I'll put you out of your misery ... Bentley.

@mocbuild101 - you are right to some extent, a lot of models will be a fine line between a Wacky Wheels and a Battle Bot. Lots of entries have weapons of some sort, as per the rules of something to gain advantage over or hinder an opponent. In my opinion it's about making it look like a vehicle for this competition. My Battle Bot was a plain rectangular box, very similar to lots in UKs Robot Wars, this is going to (hopefully) look like a Dodgem/Bumper Car.

 

[Seasider]

Some news for you all ...

 

I'm withdrawing from this competition as I've fallen out of love with this model. I just can't get the side profile or back to work how I want it and I'm just not loving it anymore. So I've gone back to making the 2 Extreme Adventure models (official one and one in Orange with wheels).

I thought about building a new entry and even started to think about what I'd do but I don't have the time as in just over a week I'm off on holiday (finally).

At the moment the model is still in the state you see above and it'll stay that way at least for the time being (unless I need bits off it for another model).

[doug72]

1 hour ago, Seasider said:

I'm withdrawing from this competition as I've fallen out of love with this model.

 

 

 

Shame you can't carry on it was looking good.
I know a good driver  with 10 mins of experience !!

Edited September 26, 2017 by Doug72

[Seasider]

@Doug72 I don't think the model is a dead project as such. Just no longer have the inclination / dedication / enthusiasm / time to finish it for TC12.

I think it may well live on at some stage as an MOC where I remove the deploying side bumpers and make a large scale standard Dodgem ... it's not going to leave the shelf for a while.