8081 - Extreme Cruiser - MODs and Improvements

[sirslayer]

my chassis minus the tires and rims is 17 wide!!!!  Is that good or should I start on version 4?? 

Edited September 13, 2019 by sirslayer

[johnnym]

I took me a while to get to where I wanted, but I think I have some WIP shots to show now. This 8081 mod is actually derived from an 8081 RC variant and at the beginning I wasn't sure if I'll get something useful for the RC variant - which I'll rebuild after the contest - out of the contest. But the contest was a good incentive to "improve" things! I finally got the links placed right on the front axle and found an alternative to links on the rear axle. The rear axle basically allows for nearly zero lateral movement, but still the wishbone arms have enough flex to allow for good suspension travel on each side - in my limited understanding. Actually they also do a good job to limit the excessive suspension travel at the rear axle. Suspension travel on the front axle is not as good due to the placement of the shocks there. But more travel would anyhow collide with the steering axle, which has to move deeper into a liftarm when the shocks are compressed, and the room is limited there.

I also added a brick-built interior and trunk lining. Front and rear end are also brick-built. The front was changed from the four round headlights of my early version to two tinted "rectangular" headlights to give it a more "modern" look, the back was totally overhauled. As this version is meant to be a more rigid ride than the original 8081, the A pillars were strengthened and a third A and C pillar was added, too. The hood is held shut by a rubber part.

Not everything is finished yet, e.g. it's still missing an engine and HOG steering, but I already have some ideas, although I don't have much experience with building those - I actually started this technic building stuff only earlier that year.

BTW I think I'll stay with the current body and not change it to a pickup for the contest. Enough for the description here are the pictures - hope you like it:

Edited September 22, 2019 by johnnym
Updated picture URLs

[sirslayer]

Ok, I didn't know on the original Lego set 8081 had a smaller wishbone setup...   well i went ahead and still used the newer wishbone and reduced the length from 17 wide down to 13L wide!!!  I hope this is allowable and its also driven by the drive shaft..You know your in a good mood when you have many ideas that keeps on floating in your head....  you can't be creative when your in a bad mood!!!!!!!  check out the video!! 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 14, 2019 by sirslayer

[sirslayer]

Update on Lego 8081 advanced front independent suspension

 

  Here is a quick update on my advance Lego 8081 front suspension (by sirslayer) with steering installed with no toes issues at all!!! (your welcome , folks ), the steering have a good turning radius , a soft style suspension and I was able to engineer a drive shaft into the suspension frame to take the Lego 8081 to the next century!!!    Using Lego's original blueprints , I was able to install the single spring(shocks) on top and use current 21st century Lego technology. I was able to use wheel hub and a similar steering connection from the 42093 corvette to give the Lego 8081 a fighting chance against the current contender (Land rover Defender) Its a easy upgrade to any ones 8081 and plus its able to be powered with and Legos RC offerings ..  A short video to show the suspensions excellent performance .. and you can pass the trophy to me after watching the video.. :)

  

 

 

 

[rm8]

 

[Zerobricks]

Looking very modern, rm8, especially with those lights.

[Thirdwigg]

My design is a little more evolutionary rather than revolutionary. 

The driveline is in, with 4x4, dual live axles, V8, and HOG steering. The roof is one stud higher, which looked better for the length. Hood, tailgate, and all four doors open. I need to work on the front and rear bumpers and the rear suspension is still not perfect. I'll get there.

I'm still not sure about the roof rack/roll cage. When it was black, it looked a little washed out, but I am not sure I like the LBG. Whatever I end with will match the bull bar on the front. I'll keep working on it. Suggestions are welcome.

I am still working on the Sport Pickup, but it is taking a backseat to this MOD right now.

[rm8]

Very good. I think I also need higher roof.

16 hours ago, Zerobricks said:

Looking very modern, rm8, especially with those lights.

Thank you Jerry, join us

[Zerobricks]

Just now, rm8 said:

Very good. I think I also need higher roof.

Thank you Jerry, join us

Working on it ?

[HorcikDesigns]

I am working on it too. Just hope that 8081 successor built completely from scratch fit the rules of this contest. My MOC should carry on original model's spirit and basic functions. I also decided to stick with almost original drivetrain, so my car is RWD, with V6 in the front.

I had to give up the black colour, because with it the car looked plain and too monochrome, and also because I wanted to play with "windows area" divided from the rest of the car by it's colour. Clean conceptcar look is nice bonus. 
Rear light are inspired by the original car, but also by some real vehicles. 
 

sketches of supposed original model and  my version with early WIP shots (were shared in another topic yet:

 

Almost current version

 

 

Rear end and frontend on current state of this MOC.

Hope you like it. :)

[johnnym]

@rm8 You already wrote it on YouTube and yes, "Lexus" was the first thing that came to my mind, when I saw that uber-grill. Very massive. Have you already tried it in black on black? I.e. like this mockup:

I think that would "remove" a lot of its massiveness and look cooler IMO. Hey, maybe the 2L half beams in chrome silver as a highlight? And why does the front look so narrow? Is this the effect of the huge grill?

I like how you incorporated all those angles - I still find it hard to do anything non-standard in my mods/MOCs.

****

On 9/17/2019 at 3:11 PM, Thirdwigg said:

My design is a little more evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

It  really looks different from this angle compared to the first shot - I mean the roof height and doors.. I hope you'll provide a digital version of the truck, too.

On 9/17/2019 at 3:11 PM, Thirdwigg said:

I'm still not sure about the roof rack/roll cage. When it was black, it looked a little washed out, but I am not sure I like the LBG.

Chrome silver would be a little expensive. Why the step between the roof rack and roll cage?

On 9/17/2019 at 3:11 PM, Thirdwigg said:

Whatever I end with will match the bull bar on the front. I'll keep working on it. Suggestions are welcome.

If you want to have sort of a narrow front bumper that opens the view to the front wheels, I found the old spoiler part a nice fit below a tilted grill (by using these slopes) on my 8081 comparison build (or second 8081 mod if you like). I'll try to provide some comparison shots with my actual 8081 mod on the weekend.

****

On 9/17/2019 at 4:40 PM, HorcikDesigns said:

I am working on it too. Just hope that 8081 successor built completely from scratch fit the rules of this contest. My MOC should carry on original model's spirit and basic functions. I also decided to stick with almost original drivetrain, so my car is RWD, with V6 in the front.
[...]
Almost current version

Interesting look! Unfortunately the white color of the car drowns in the white background, so it's a little hard to grasp all the details. IMHO the wheels look a little too big, but concept cars are usually shown with huge wheels. Does that car already have rear fenders?

These transparent axle connectors as head light are cool, as are the transparent laser swords on top. Is that transparent axle connector a standard part? Then I think I need to get some of those, too.

The car has a nice shape, please provide additional shots - maybe with darker background, so the details are not lost.

****

If someone not yet into the contest needs some ideas, I recently found these pages here:

• http://www.moc-pages.com/moc.php/348938
• http://www.moc-pages.com/moc.php/335226

...with some nice looking 8081 mods. The short-cab pickup is a obvious mod target.

[sirslayer]

Just wanted to share some more ideas for Lego technic 8081 mods....   check them out 

Cool model but It looks like a mad pug!!!

Friends forever! <3 <3

 

[HorcikDesigns]

On 9/19/2019 at 10:07 PM, johnnym said:

Interesting look! Unfortunately the white color of the car drowns in the white background, so it's a little hard to grasp all the details. IMHO the wheels look a little too big, but concept cars are usually shown with huge wheels. Does that car already have rear fenders?

These transparent axle connectors as head light are cool, as are the transparent laser swords on top. Is that transparent axle connector a standard part? Then I think I need to get some of those, too.

The car has a nice shape, please provide additional shots - maybe with darker background, so the details are not lost.

Thank you! I know, that the color does not go well with the background, but because my car is still in WIP phase, these photos are still more a teaser than real presentation. sorry for inconvenience. The original car also had oversized wheels IMO, so my interpretation of it has to have them too. Rear fenders are not shown yet on any photo. :) 
The headlight are made from ExoForce optical fiber. Trans clear 4L lightsabre blades are too expensive on BL right now.  The transparent connector piece should be original, it only appeared in one set (according to BL https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=32016&in=S)

I'll make more photos as I think that the car is finished, and I hope it will be soon. 

 

@sirslayer Wow, that fenders look really good on your car! Good job!

Edited September 22, 2019 by HorcikDesigns

[johnnym]

5 hours ago, HorcikDesigns said:

The headlight are made from ExoForce optical fiber. Trans clear 4L lightsabre blades are too expensive on BL right now.  The transparent connector piece should be original, it only appeared in one set (according to BL https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=32016&in=S)

Aha, good to know!

Quote

I'll make more photos as I think that the car is finished, and I hope it will be soon.

Looking forward to them.

****

I today made a few shots (1) to compare my (first) 8081 mod to a another 8081 which after some visual updates - mostly a facelift - due to missing parts became my second mod of the 8081 set and (2) to show off the current state of this second mod:

Marketing blabla ON:

As @rm8 correctly pointed out, the 8081 Extreme Cruiser has lost its appeal compared to other current offerings on the SUV market. But we shouldn't forget that this model is still loved by lots of people for its simplicity and utility. We therefore decided for mainly a facelift and improvements for some of its shortcomings.

To be completely honest, the 8081 Extreme Cruiser never was a good off-roader, so we don't even try to convince anybody that our newest offering will be a good off-roader. We instead focused on its non-off-road qualities and gave it a much more sportive look: new headlights keeping our beloved look of the 8081 Extreme Cruiser's original headlights, newly designed front bumper and spoiler that opens the view to the new fantastic low profile wide tyres on newly designed rims.

The new 8081 also offers fashionable exterior sun visors that also act as spoilers and the new sporty sideskirts complement the lines of the front.

We had complaints about the small rear lights of the old 8081, so we put in the largest rear lights we could think off and still kept the great original rear shape intact. On daylight they are just red, but at night they illuminate in lava red - careful, these lights are hot! At the same time we also removed one of the main shortcomings of the original - the too small third door - and gave it a real third door that allows easy access to the trunk.

We also rethought the engine. We could have gone for a V8 but we know what our V4 is capable of, so we added two turbochargers and intercooler to unleash all of its power. Recent technology breakthroughs also allowed us to use transparent aluminum - yes, exactly, the same stuff you saw in Star Trek IV - for the cylinder heads. Check the new engine in all its glory:

The rear suspension was replaced with a standard live axle. Pictures show the soft shock absorbers installed, but each new 8081 will ship with an extra pair of user-installable hard shock absorbers - if you want that extra hard feeling when hitting the road.

Marketing blabla OFF.

What do you think about the current state?

I think I should make the bottom of the rear one stud lower to continue the line of the side skirt. All in all I'm happy with it, for the few hours I invested in it. I would have liked to use trans-red parts for the rear lights, but as these parts don't exist in this color, I used red parts. Because of that I also had to remove all other red parts from the body, which explains the nearly completely black in black look. The white stripes at the side should break that up. I also tried white stripes instead of the red stripes on the hood and roof, but wasn't fond of the result.

Edited September 22, 2019 by johnnym
editor stopped working (no newline/carriage return)

[johnnym]

Now the comparison shots of mod #1 and mod #2:

I personally think, both mods are in the same scale. So @rm8 and @Thirdwigg, is mod #1 valid for the contest?

[rm8]

8 hours ago, johnnym said:

Now the comparison shots of mod #1 and mod #2:

I personally think, both mods are in the same scale. So @rm8 and @Thirdwigg, is mod #1 valid for the contest?

yes, of course they are in the same scale

[sirslayer]

@HorcikDesigns thank you and I got to learn to use the fenders and it blends with the hood and the rest of the truck. too bad its only available in 3 colors :( I really think the fenders makes a big step forward towards to the Lego set 8081!!!) My current chassis is 4 wheel independent suspension with 3 diffs..!!!  on a 13 wide wheel to wheel !!   

 

 

..I really liked your first truck design !!! @HorcikDesigns  My current SUV is based off from yours!!

 

 

 

Even if you have the medical condition called 

 Trypophobia, you'll feel safe with my MOC !!!

Technic, Panel Car Mudguard Arched 9 x 2 x 3 Item No: 42531

Orange▼   Color Images Large Images

[rm8]

I decided to move from Range Rover style to Lexus. So front bumper with lights moved up 1 stud together with front windshield, that was moved one stud forward. front arches should be rounded with flex axels now, because they are too big now.

[sirslayer]

I don't think my mod can be any more ugly then it was..  Introducing the all brand new ..  The year of 2020 ....  The  Lego 8081 PUG S.U.V .. !!!!

 

 

[johnnym]

On 9/28/2019 at 3:11 PM, rm8 said:

I decided to move from Range Rover style to Lexus. So front bumper with lights moved up 1 stud together with front windshield, that was moved one stud forward. front arches should be rounded with flex axels now, because they are too big now.

Hm, can't decide what looked better, old look or current look. But the black hose over the grill definitely defused it for me. Looking forward to the remainder of the body.

BTW the white (lower body) and black (upper body) color scheme on the second car on:

...works really well, I like that!

[johnnym]

Two changes for today:

Now that I have enough Tumbler tyres - yet still not enough for @Madoca 1977's Avtoros Shaman - I wanted to see how they look on my 8081 off-roader mod. What do you think?

Maybe they're a little too much for this version (especially in the front shot), but for the exploration outfit I have in the pipeline, they might fit well as low-pressure tyres. Nearly forgot: the shocks are now rotated 90°, so lifting a wheel doesn't bend them anymore. Took me some time to figure that out. I assume the bottom mount point of the shocks at the front is still not perfect, but it should be definitely better than what I was using in the initial version.

Sorry, no progress for the engine and steering.

****

For the 8081 facelift I added 1 stud to the bottom of the rear end. With that change I actually wanted to continue the line of the side skirts, but I noticed, that that was already the case with the unmodified rear end. I still believe the current rear end - also with "lengthened" fenders - looks better when holding it in your hands, though. Suggestions welcome - at least it gives it a phat look.

 

[sirslayer]

Here is an easy 2 speed transmission for any 8081 AWD mods!!!  Using the new 20 tooth gear for hi gear and a 1:1 low gear .

 

[sirslayer]

another 2 speed transmission with center diff. lock 

 

 

[grego18f]

Oh wow, wonderfull MODs guys 

I think my favorite is @rm8's.

[Arioh]

Hmmm... i wonder - Defender's rims - hit or miss?