[TC18] McLaren F1

[letsbuild]

Hello everyone,

I am so excited for this contest, it's right up my alley! I'll be making a McLaren F1 LM, which should be interesting. I have a 1:18th scale model which is only 14 studs wide, so I can use it for an almost 1:1 replica for the lego model.

Of course, I've only just started the build process, but here is my wheelbase mock-up inside the restrictions box. I don't think I'll be needing the latter for too long seeing as the car won't be tall enough or long enough to defy the space.

I plan to have:

fake V10 engine;

Rear wheel drive;

Opening doors;

Realistically opening engine covers;

Steering with working steering wheel;

Independant suspension on all corners.

[Rudivdk]

Another iconic car. This contest is getting better and better by the minute! Good luck, will follow your progress.

[letsbuild]

Day 1 progress:

I have the beginnings of a chassis, having completed the front axle and gotten most of the way through the rear axle and engine assembly. 

I encountered one main problem, which I'm still unsure how to complete. I need to attach the drive from my rear axle to my engine.

As this picture illustrates, the engine's input is below the axle's, and the latter moves up and down. This is truly a proper challenge. I'm considering building out the back to allow for a couple of u-joints before turning the output 90 degrees. 

Anyways, this is tons of fun! I'll see if I have time to work on it tomorrow (I have a college exam).

Edited April 1, 2020 by letsbuild

[letsbuild]

Day 2 progress! I forgot to post yesterday, so here it is.

Today I completely redesigned the rear axle setup and got it all working, then realized I'm supposed to have a V12 in the back, not a V10. Not sure what I'm going to do about that, seeing as making the engine bigger would mean completely redesigning the back of the car again.

So far the car's looking really good, and all the features I want to include are working out. I might even be able to shoehorn a small gearbox behind the rear axle.

[letsbuild]

Now that I have moved to bodywork, progress has slowed. My weakness is definitely shaping, but of course I need to do it to complete the car.

The A-pillars took the most time to make because they had to be able to act as the hinge for the doors. 

I'm almost certainly going to redesign the roof scoop to allow the engine cover to open.

 

That said, the profile looks really good!

[Qukie]

It looks great an I am very much looking forward to the finished model 

[letsbuild]

Well, I have been silent for a couple days and haven't gotten much done.

I spent some time refining the rear end.

I'm still undecided on those rear quarter-panels, but on the bright side the engine covers can be opened/removed easily!

Speaking of opening, the front hood also opens, but not by much...

After spending time trying to build the front fenders I decided that the front end will look very disproportionate. The hood will be too high and the fenders too bulky. 

The rear end will be the opposite: too low. I don't yet know how I'm going to fix it, or even if I'm going to fix it at all :/

Finally, I thought I didn't have to worry about the 41-stud length limit, it turns out my car is currently at 39 studs. Thankfully it doesn't have to get any longer 

On 4/6/2020 at 4:24 AM, Qukie said:

It looks great an I am very much looking forward to the finished model 

Thank you, this model has so much potential!

Edited April 12, 2020 by letsbuild

[letsbuild]

There are a huge number of competing entries right now. This is great! 

I've been doing a lot of college work in the past few day, so I didn't get too much done. Nonetheless, here's my progress!

I basically finished the rear. I will no move over to the front and then the sides. 

The rear engine cover opens now, and the rear panel (I don't know what to call it) can be removed when the engine cover is open. Otherwise it is locked in place.

Black is a really hard picture to photograph. 

I decided to use the 3x13 curved panels over the wheels for the sake of simplicity. Anything else would have weighed a lot more and been overly complex. I don't really mind them, so they're staying.

Finally, I recently got a shipment of the small fender pieces (like from the Corvette) in white. I might make another entry for TC18, then decide which to use. Again, we'll have to see when I finish this one.

Edited April 14, 2020 by letsbuild
Video

[ChrisO]

Looks good so far. Btw you are not building a McLaren F1 LM but a McLaren F1 GTR longtail

[zux]

Haven't spot interesting solution you've used for A pillars. Also the overall shape look nice too.

[apachaihapachai]

Looks pretty nice so far

[letsbuild]

On 4/14/2020 at 12:01 PM, ChrisO said:

Looks good so far. Btw you are not building a McLaren F1 LM but a McLaren F1 GTR longtail

Thank you, I have corrected it. 

On 4/14/2020 at 12:54 PM, zux said:

Haven't spot interesting solution you've used for A pillars. Also the overall shape look nice too.

Thanks!

On 4/14/2020 at 1:27 PM, apachaihapachai said:

Looks pretty nice so far

Thank you!

 

Well, I come bearing bad news. I have given up.

I don't know how to design the front end. Bodywork really is my weakness. I built a good chassis, but functions alone don't win the contest.

Here's where I'll leave it.

The doors do look pretty cool though.

The rear suspension is a system I'll use again: it's reliable, compact, and fairly ingenious.

Anyways, thank you to those who followed this design process. I'm sorry I couldn't pull through. 

Good luck to the other contestants!

[MangaNOID]

Boo! There’s so much I could say about you not finishing things  ... but c’mon your almost done and it looks amazing so far. Just finish it even if it’s not for TC. 

I understand the bodywork thing as I’m struggling with it myself at the moment but better to finish and ‘fail’ than to give up.

[FX6000]

don't give up right now, your model is very, very promising... and you have time to finish it 

[jorgeopesi]

36 minutes ago, FX6000 said:

don't give up right now, your model is very, very promising... and you have time to finish it 

I think the same I liked very much.

[Tomik]

I also think it would be pity if you gave up now. You did good job so far and your model looks very promising. If I go so far with my model I know I will finish it in any way...

[agrof]

@letsbuild let's build!

It is looking too promising and too cool to be abandoned. Take couple days off, don't even think of LEGO, and than with fresh head it is easier to get fresh ideas.

[vascolp]

@letsbuild! Don´t get chicken! LETS BUILD!!! NOW! 

You have a very nice car, it just needs a final touch! Don´t give up now, at least do something to go to the contest and then take more time to finish it as you would like...

 

[Jurss]

It looks already good. Just work more on that front. I think almost noone here creates body at first attempt, there are more attempts with corrections.

[letsbuild]

On 5/9/2020 at 8:22 PM, FX6000 said:

don't give up right now, your model is very, very promising... and you have time to finish it 

On 5/9/2020 at 9:06 PM, jorgeopesi said:

I think the same I liked very much.

On 5/9/2020 at 9:34 PM, Tomik said:

I also think it would be pity if you gave up now. You did good job so far and your model looks very promising. If I go so far with my model I know I will finish it in any way...

On 5/10/2020 at 1:40 AM, agrof said:

@letsbuild let's build!

It is looking too promising and too cool to be abandoned. Take couple days off, don't even think of LEGO, and than with fresh head it is easier to get fresh ideas.

On 5/10/2020 at 5:10 AM, vascolp said:

@letsbuild! Don´t get chicken! LETS BUILD!!! NOW! 

You have a very nice car, it just needs a final touch! Don´t give up now, at least do something to go to the contest and then take more time to finish it as you would like...

On 5/10/2020 at 9:14 AM, Jurss said:

It looks already good. Just work more on that front. I think almost noone here creates body at first attempt, there are more attempts with corrections.

Okay, your words of encouragement worked. I had already mostly disassembled it by the time I read these comments but I decided to finish it anyways. 

On 5/9/2020 at 7:12 PM, MangaNOID said:

Boo! There’s so much I could say about you not finishing things  ... but c’mon your almost done and it looks amazing so far. Just finish it even if it’s not for TC. 

I understand the bodywork thing as I’m struggling with it myself at the moment but better to finish and ‘fail’ than to give up.

I'm taking this personally. But it's true. I have a very bad habit of not finishing my models 

Here it is! 

I'm really not happy with it, but as most of you said, it was almost done. I just had to throw something together.

I'll go write my entry post now.

[NoEXIST]

On 5/15/2020 at 4:24 AM, letsbuild said:

Okay, your words of encouragement worked. I had already mostly disassembled it by the time I read these comments but I decided to finish it anyways. 

I'm taking this personally. But it's true. I have a very bad habit of not finishing my models 

Here it is! 

I'm really not happy with it, but as most of you said, it was almost done. I just had to throw something together.

I'll go write my entry post now.

Wow, once Itried to building this car, I could not build it, you were able to do it very well and convey its shape, this is a very cool model!

[MajklSpajkl]

Excellent shape overall, to bad it is missing at least a little something that implies front mudguards...

[letsbuild]

42 minutes ago, MajklSpajkl said:

Excellent shape overall, to bad it is missing at least a little something that implies front mudguards...

Yes, I think that is the biggest letdown with the model. Unfortunately, with the doors right behind the wheels and the fact that the wheels are already too big, I couldn't put any. I thought of using construction paper or something of the like, but that would be against the contest rules.

2 hours ago, NoEXIST said:

Wow, once Itried to building this car, I could not build it, you were able to do it very well and convey its shape, this is a very cool model!

Thank you, it did turn out very well. 

[letsbuild]

Is there any interest in building instructions for this model?

I could make a 3D model if enough people express interest.

[Qukie]

I was trying to recreate part of it based on the photos so an instruction would be nice