[HELP] Building Exterior/Interior for Chassis

[StudWorks]

After finally building a functional chassis for my MOC I'm ready to start on the exterior and interior detail. Since this is the first time I'm making a 1:8 sports car, I would really welcome some advice from the community.

When looking at the chassis photos please note that the EV3 IR sensor will not sit on the large motor for the final product.

My car MOC is a 1:8.3 scale replica of the Lexus LC500 in Porsche 911 GT3 RS orange. The most challenging parts for me will be replicating the body with panels (I never replicated the shape of a car for an MOC), as well as the headlights, taillights, center console, and an engine cover with details under the hood. I will also be putting a medium motor in the trunk to power the small retractable wing as seen on the Premium Package for the LC500.

Chassis Pictures:

Blueprints and exact measurements (in inches) for the MOC according to Sariel's model scaler:

Thank you.

 

[Gray Gear]

I always do the Bodywork first, the Interior is about the last thing I do when I build a car lol

[doug72]

I suggest it would be best for you to create a single topic about your MOC, showing progress and for asking for advice / help rather than multiple new topics for each query.
That way your build will be easier to follow and allow others to locate, read your posts and reply with comments & advise..  

[Lakop]

I would suggest you put the driver and passenger seats in. Then maybe work on your front grille and lights. I see there's quite a gap from behind the engine towards the steering wheel so you have room to cover up those gears if you wish. I think the seating will help you work out the height the roof would need to be and take it from there.

Good luck

H

[Gray Gear]

1 hour ago, Horace T said:

I think the seating will help you work out the height the roof would need to be and take it from there.

Whoa, I wouldn't do that. I'd keep using the Model Scaler, and make some fitting seats when the bodyline is done.Don't fit the roof to the seats, but the other way around, is what I am trying to say.

[Jeroen Ottens]

I'd start with the bodywork as well and fit the interior later. Start with the defining lines in the design. Use axles and flexaxles to get these lines wrapped around the car. Then you can see how to fill the ares inbetween with panels. At some point I usually drop the scaler and concentrate on getting the LEGO model right. A cluttered area that perfectly fits on the scaler looks worse than a clean surface that is slightly off. The only exception are the defining lines, these should be as clean as possible in the LEGO model so that you can also see them in the LEGO model.

Have fun with the building process

[T Lego]

IMO starting with the interior or exterior is not really doesn't matter. In terms of part usage for a good looking bodywork, there is a recipe wich IMO gives the best results.  Use as many panels as possible in addition with some flex axles, (angled) connectors and system bricks (mainly slopes and tiles). Furthermore it is really important that you avoid liftarm stacking. About scaling you should defenitly use Jeroen's advise.

[Lakop]

Keep us informed on the progress.

H

 

[StudWorks]

Thanks for your helpful replies, I will certainly benefit from all of your great advice. I'm currently trying to find a way to replicate the engine cover of the car with bricks, it's a really complex shape and I have to make it as slim as possible.

I understand it's not going to be perfect, but whatever works will do.

Edited January 23, 2020 by StudWorks

[Lipko]

For defining the main lines: in my opinion the angles of the lines are more important than exact lengths.

[Jeroen Ottens]

5 hours ago, Lipko said:

For defining the main lines: in my opinion the angles of the lines are more important than exact lengths.

Agreed

[Bartybum]

I can’t build supercars for smack (never tried) but I sure do love critiquing designs  All I can say is flex axles flex axles flex axles. They’re key for the body lines, and imo shouldn’t be left to panels unless you can get the shape just right. Don’t settle for straight lines that should be slightly curved either, because they’ll be noticeable. Another thing is proportion. I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever seen a single Bugatti Chiron MOC I’ve liked, solely because they all fail to follow the lines of the front accurately. I think it’s okay to leave a few gaps in the body instead of trying to fill them in completely and sacrificing the shaping.

[StudWorks]

Good points, thanks for your replies.

So I was attempting to start measuring my car with @Sariel's Model Scaler when I came across a confusing situation.

The wheel/tire combo used on the MOC car is 3.21 inches, and according to the blueprints, the real car's wheel/tire combo is 27.7 inches.

When I enter everything on Step 2 with the Model Scaler (10.2 stud wheel/tire, and 27.7 inches) it calculates the scale at 1:8.3.

However, 27.7 divided by 3.21 is 8.6, not 8.3. What am I doing wrong or missing? I appreciate the help, thank you.

[Sariel]

You're not doing anything wrong, it looks like a rounding error somewhere in my scaler's calculations. Sorry about that.

[StudWorks]

14 hours ago, Sariel said:

You're not doing anything wrong, it looks like a rounding error somewhere in my scaler's calculations. Sorry about that.

No worries, thank you Sariel. 

[StudWorks]

Hi @Sariel,
Could the rounding error on the scaler be fixed? 

[Sariel]

I thought you've calculated the correct scale already?

[StudWorks]

I did get the right scale myself but it’s not going to work with making measurement lines for the blueprints on the scaler because it got the scale calculation wrong.

Edited February 15, 2020 by StudWorks

[StudWorks]

On 2/15/2020 at 1:54 PM, StudWorks said:

I did get the right scale myself but it’s not going to work with making measurement lines for the blueprints on the scaler because it got the scale calculation wrong.

@Sariel The “measurement lines” I am referring to are the lines that show the measurements (in inches, studs, etc) when you make them on the scaler.

Thank you for letting me explain this. At my experience level I really rely on the scaler for a simple way to get precise measurements.

[StudWorks]

Hi @Sariel...

Just wanted you to know there wasn't any issue with the scaler at all. I just had to ignore what the scaler told me the scale was (in this particular case, 1:8.3 was not the scale) and place the measurements I found feasible for 1:8.6 scale.

Here's a measurement chart I made in studs.

Happy building!

[StudWorks]

I'm now working on the car's grille and need a bit of advice...

I made the bottom part of the grille, on a slight incline just like the bottom section of the grille on the Lexus.

My finger is pointing at one of the inclined beams right against the light gray frame piece. Is this the right way to build this? It works at keeping the grille in place at an angle but I'm worried if the pins holding the beam grille become loose from the beams pushing against the frame piece.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Lasse D]

Hi @StudWorks,

I realize that no one got around to answer you, so I hope that you have made some progress without help.

Since that part of the grille is surrounded by the angular chrome sections, you can leave it flat and it should look just fine. This allows you to make the whole section stronger and keep the sensor. This in turn should make it easier to angle and reinforce the important bits - those being the the chrome surrounds.

There is an LC500 parked in the underground parking garage where I live, so if there are details that you would like close-ups of, then please just ask. This is, in my humble opinion, the most beautiful car currently being produced, so I would love to see LEGO versions of it. Unfortunately it is also remarkably difficult to recreate in LEGO due to the crazy angles and unique design elements that don't really lend themselves to LEGO.

[StudWorks]

Thank you for your reply. You’re so right, I have shelved this for a while because I know it’s going to be so difficult but I must figure it out. The hardest part is the exterior and I have never done one so I am struggling with where to start. Any advice?

[Jeroen Ottens]

At this point I would set the chassis aside and make a mock chassis with just 4 wheels at the right place and a central structure connecting them. Really very simple, not even steering. And then start modeling the outside. You can use all the space on the inside to make structures that can hold panels in exactly the right position and orientation. Once you have finished sculpting the bodywork you can either put it in a Lego-CAD program (including all the structures that you needed to position the panels and flexaxles). In CAD you can then remove the structures and see if you can find more simple solutions for attaching the panels that also fit to your chassis. Or you can start copying the bodywork to the chassis that you set aside and then work out the solutions for the panel positioning IRL.