[MOC]/[MOD] Winchester's 6-wide trucks and things

[Winchester]

After some fits and starts with figuring out the render process and the like, I'm finally ready to post some of my work. Let's start with something kind of plain, and see where it goes:

LXF File

This is a full-length European-style truck and dolly/trailer combination, based heavily on the "LEGO City Scania Truck Instructions" video by "custombricksets" (the front of the cab mainly), and the official 3221 Delivery Truck set for the trailer, but with my own flair on it (three axles and a ball socket at the back so you can connect another dolly if you want), and the truck has a ramp that's based on a MOC by Are Helseldal I found on LEGO Ideas. 

It's built to a 1 stud = 40 cm scale, which works out to six studs wide, and 62.5 studs long for a 2.5 x 25 meter truck, which is pretty much spot on. The truck is around 28 studs long, the trailer is 33, and there's 1.5 studs of room between the ramp and the trailer. 

[koalayummies]

Very nice and realistic design. 6-wide is where its at for City. 

[Winchester]

Thank you! Working on some less plain trailers at the moment, attempting to use various techniques I found for making containers. Also trying to restrict myself to bricks that actually exist, which makes things difficult since LDD doesn't have a complete color table for some parts. I also need to work on some more truck cabs...

In the mean time, have a fire engine (clickable image this time):

LXF File

This is entirely a MOC from one end to the other, a Swedish Scania P-series fire truck as used by my local fire department. In Sweden, the national organizations for fire fighters and for municipalities got together decades ago to bash out some standard layouts for fire engines, which today are known as the BAS system. This in particular is either a BAS 1 or BAS 3, the difference is whether all the wheels are powered or not. 

I'm not entirely happy with this as it stands, the equipment locker proportions are way off (it should essentially be a six-wide in front of the axle, and a three-wide behind it, but those frames and shutter pieces only come in one with and it would have looked way too short if I only used one locker in front of the axle). Also, the most recent versions of these have the ladders in encapsulated bins on top which slide over the rear edge and hinge down for access, which I couldn't replicate in this scale. But at least it looks more like a real fire engine than the official stuff... :) 

Oh, and since fire departments in Sweden tend to pick one supplier of the automotive components and then stick to them for their entire fleet of heavy vehicles, I ended up getting a lot of mileage out of that cabin. I'll share some more of those later. 

[AllanSmith]

3 hours ago, Winchester said:

 Also trying to restrict myself to bricks that actually exist, which makes things difficult since LDD doesn't have a complete color table for some parts.

Hi, if you use LDD extended mode (the right hand black tab) you build in red bricks that include ones that are no longer produced as well as newer bricks up to last  LDD update. You then use the paint tool to get the color you want from a full color palette. That is how I design all my LDD vehicles as I use the Speed Champions mudguards and they do not show up in LDD normal mode (the left hand blue tab).

[Winchester]

I'm well aware of Extended Mode, I just only use it when I'm forced to because I need something that I know exists in real life but that isn't available in normal mode. Like the 2x2 turntables and such. It really helps make sure that my models are actually buildable in real life, because the Extended Mode would let you do stuff like build the whole model in weird colors which have ridiculously limited parts selection in real life. Also, I tend to use the "filter by color" tool instead of painting with the bucket most of the time.

I'm currently working on a cargo handling facility to dock my trailers at, which is looking promising. I just have to stop trying to make them in realistic scale, because 8 trailer docks x 10 studs wide (the trucks are 9 wide over the mirrors) = an 80-stud wide building...

[Winchester]

I'm not sure whether to post the LXF file for this, as it's another MOD based really heavily on work by custombricksets:

Basically, I built a lowboy trailer based on Smigol's from Flickr, which was excellent (not entirely 100% buildable in LDD, but close enough), and then tried attaching it to custombricksets' Scania Heavy Load Truck that he posted to his Youtube channel a couple of months back. Except it wouldn't fit - custombricksets had put the fifth wheel two studs too far forward, and it was two plates too high as well. 

So I rebuilt the entire back end of the vehicle, including converting it from 2 + 2 axles (which I couldn't find real life pics of) to 1+3 axles (much easier to find), and lowering it the two required plates. And fitting in a 2 x 2 round plate under the round tile so that the hook fits properly. 

I'll probably wait to post the LXF until I've built my own cab for it as well and made it completely mine, but I figure a picture should be OK to post. 

[koalayummies]

19 hours ago, AllanSmith said:

Hi, if you use LDD extended mode (the right hand black tab) you build in red bricks that include ones that are no longer produced as well as newer bricks up to last  LDD update. You then use the paint tool to get the color you want from a full color palette. That is how I design all my LDD vehicles as I use the Speed Champions mudguards and they do not show up in LDD normal mode (the left hand blue tab).

Agreed, its so much easier to find parts and design this way and paint as you go. But also a good idea to keep Brickset or Bricklink open in the background to check whether selected pieces are actually made or available in desired colors.

As far as sharing the mod build, if the original file is freely available and or you attribute the original creator/inspiration credit its usually fine, that red and white cab looks great. 

[Winchester]

Finally got back to actually playing with this again, I was running on a too small CPU fan for a while and it wouldn't have been a good idea to try and render anything until I got a decent one installed. 

As a warm-up I started building up some official LEGO City semi-trucks to get a feel for how they go together, which went fine until I got to the recent Mobile Command Center truck, 60139. The tractor unit from that is so short it kind of breaks the rules on how semi-tractors are put together to allow full articulation of the trailer, and if you try to use a different trailer on it, you're kind of stuck. So I rebuilt it:

LXF file

All I've really done to it is stretch it two studs, then moved the rear axles half a stud forward again by replacing the 1 x 4 axle units with 2x2 parts. And added rear lights, because the original set was missing those. 

Personally, I think this looks like it's supposed to be a Scania T-series - an earlier model of it from before they started slanting the hood so much. 

Edited March 22, 2018 by Winchester

[Winchester]

Time for a bit of a WIP:

This is the business end of a truck stop I've started working on, to give my trucks somewhere to refuel. It's modular in construction (not quite in the same way as the modular buildings are though), and built in sections that are six (basically the pump sections), ten (the roof inbetween the pumps), and two (the end sections) studs wide, allowing extension to the kind of massive ten- or twelve bay (or bigger!) truck stop fueling stations I found when I was looking for inspiration. 

It is of course done up in the "Octan Energy" color scheme, and uses modified gas pumps from LEGO's official 60016 Tanker truck - I shortened the pump to fit on a 2x4 by removing the refilling cap thingy, changed the attachment of the refueling handle, and added some color to the top to indicate natural gas (blue) and diesel (yellow). It looks from some of the pics I've found online that I should change the yellow to green though. 

I'll make another version for regular cars which has a gasoline pump later, I think. Maybe a three-mode where I use one yellow, one green and one blue brick at the top? 

After that I will of course have to make a decent-sized main building for this, with a convenience store at one end, and an eatery at the other, 

Anyway, now that I've made the *easy* part, does anyone have any suggestions? An LXF for what I've built so far is available on request, didn't want to upload the unfinished version unnecessarily. 

 

[Winchester]

Work on the truck stop continues:

Click the link for a bigger image.

This is based on the biggest truck stop in my home town, currently a Circle K (formerly a Statoil station). It's not the most spectacular location in the world, but it has three diesel pumps for trucks, four multifunction pumps for cars, bathrooms, trailer- and van rental, a car wash, etc. I've done it up in Octan colors because they're easy to remember. I haven't gotten started on the interior just yet, except for blocking out the rooms etc, will need to study more official sets and things before I get cracking on that.