MOC Mclaren Senna 1:8 (2nd version finished!)

[Scoar Sonander]

Any chance we can get a picture of the engine bay? 

[langko]

Ok the weather turned out alright, so here we go.

Full list of functions:

1/8 scale.

7 speed + N + R gearbox, with blocks at either end.

HOG shifter with responsive paddles.

RWD with fake V8 engine.

Ackerman steering with HOG and working steering wheel.

Active rear wing. Controlled by the drivetrain and the gearbox. Its moves at different speeds depending on the gear the cars in, and in neutral it stays fixed in place.

Active aero flaps at the front. Controlled by they steering. Steer left and the left flap opens, steer right and the right flap opens.

Independant suspension on all wheels.

Butterfly doors. 

Almost useless opening hood and no luggage space, just like the real car.

Detailed interior (including a 3 stud wide centre tunnel).

More photos here: https://bricksafe.com/pages/langko/mclaren-senna-v2

Don't know why I didn't make a brick safe account sooner 

@Zerobricks @Jerry LEGO Creations @LvdH Thanks guys, I appreciate the nice words. Hope you enjoy the rest of the models presentation. (Not much more with the bunny as he's not always cooperative )

@Scoar Sonander Check the video/photos in the above link. It's nothing too fancy. I didn't want to cover up the pistons and making something removable was difficult with the space. There is the cool aspect of being able to see the engine through the window between the head rests though.

[astyanax]

@langko Awesomeness has been achieved! I can't find anything else to say. I'm just gonna go and drool over the gallery again... 

[LvdH]

Wow, this is amazing!  The dark azure Senna was great, but this is even better. I love the moving paddle shifters. It was also one of my favourite functions in the “488 Pista” by Bruno. I see some linkages. Do they also shift, or are they purely aesthetic? All of the active aerodynamics are really cool as well. A masterpiece to be proud of! 

Can I ask the forbidden question? Are you going to publish instructions for this? This is one I would really like to build 

[Jeroen Ottens]

Fantastic model. Clear improvement over V1

What is exactly the mechanism of the rear wing? It sounds intriguing.

[Jerry LEGO Creations]

Very nice, quite a bit better than the first version! I really like how the yellow looks on this car

[brunojj1]

Great job, thank you for sharing your work with us finally ! Especially the top view looks stunning . The center console being only 3 studs wide impresses me. The "glass" pieces are very cool to have there. 

Some minor critique points, obviously moaning on high level: stacking beams more than 2 rows isn´t desirable, as well as using so many system pieces for decoration - it ruins the looks a bit in a subtle manner due to the square edges, inevitable.

We can witness that all your struggles for the V2 were worth it - I like that attitude of refining and tuning a lot. As others said, the functionality would be interestsing to have a closer look at.

Now I will recolor my Senna in Forza to yellow and go for a lap of honour for you .

[2GodBDGlory]

Fantastic work! You've got all the "basics" of a manual supercar refined very well, plus the paddle shifters, aero flaps, and active wing. I'll second Jeroen Ottens' question: How does that wing work?

[Scoar Sonander]

2 hours ago, 2GodBDGlory said:

Fantastic work! You've got all the "basics" of a manual supercar refined very well, plus the paddle shifters, aero flaps, and active wing. I'll second Jeroen Ottens' question: How does that wing work?

And I'll third (I guess?) 

[langko]

Thanks everyone! Appreciate you taking the time to comment.

@astyanax cheers bro, I only wish I had some nicer scenery as a backdrop like you have 

@LvdH Glad you like it so much. The shifters are purely aesthetic, the linkages only work 1 way. The way the car is the whole area around the steering wheel is very cramped, especially towards the centre where the console is, it's almost impossible to fit your fingers. So I figured this was a good trade off between playability, looks and functions. As for the instructions, I'm not too sure. It would be a honour to have you make my model, but I feel you would be one of the few. I also don't really want to make a hobby feel like work, because then you loose the enjoyment of it. 

@Jerry LEGO Creations Thanks! I like the yellow too, using genuine lego, yellow and all black (I personally think that would look terrible) are currently the only options...

@brunojj1 Huge thanks! Although I haven't made any of them, your models have been a big inspiration for this so thank you. 3 stud centre is necessary to keep the seats so close together, I'm glad I could make it work (just enough space to run a single axle through)  

I agree on both points with the beams and system pieces, although I do feel I've keep it to a minimum here. (no stack of 15 beams across the bonnet like the original ) The main use of system pieces is on the front lip of the bonnet. I originally had these panels instead, but they stuck out too much... And I couldn't push them back a stud by taking the beam out, because then you only have the centre attachment point... So the system pieces were the next best option to get the look.

And if I may offer my thoughts, the amount of rows that look bad depends on the beams. A bunch of smaller liftarms stacked (like the front of your Pista) look quite good, but the longer beams can sometimes look bad even over 2 rows. You will notice the beam stacking on the underside shot, on the outside between the doors and the wheels. This was done to keep a round edge near where the bottom of the door closes, thus avoiding it getting stuck when the door opens. So pros and cons to everything. 

@Jeroen Ottens @2GodBDGlory @Scoar Sonander Thanks guys, here's a bit off an insight on the wing for you and anyone else wondering.

This is a crude and very quick example. A mechanism like this sits above the the rear differential. 2 9l linkages connect upwards to the wing. Every time the axle does a rotation the wings moves up and down by a stud. The wheels run the drivetrain, which goes though the gear box and into the fake engine just like most technic cars. The difference is another axle comes out the other rear end of the fake engine and is then geared down to the above mechanism. The wing then does what ever the pistons are doing (just at a slower speed while keeping the same ratios). Because the pistons don't move in neutral, neither does the wing. It all braced properly and runs smoothly, it was in 1st gear when shown in the video.

The rear suspension system I showed in the page back was crucial, with everything being a stud lower I was just able to fit the mechanism and gears under the bodywork. 

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 2021 by langko

[Lukes_Brick_Studio]

I just can say WOW, this looks so amazing, great job. Even better than the first version, the yellow looks perfect on this car. Congratulations!

[SpiritNL]

Realy nice car. This is a car i would pay for the instructions. Wow what a nice moc you made.

[LvdH]

3 hours ago, langko said:

As for the instructions, I'm not too sure. It would be a honour to have you make my model, but I feel you would be one of the few. 

I think you’ll be surprised.  

But I won’t push you. It is a lot of work and you most likely won’t profit much (if at all), considering the time spent. 

[proran]

I generally don't like 1:8 supercars

And I hate yellow color

But..... 

Oh my gosh! This is incredibly beautiful. One of the finest panel work I've seen!

The rear air intake and quarter panel are so elegant. I want to say simple but it's clearly not. The headlights are gorgeous too. Even the underside has some juicy bits like the spoiler. It's so smoothly curved!

Amazing work!

[langko]

@Lukes_Brick_Studio @SpiritNL Thanks to both of you, much appreciated  Glad you both like it.

17 hours ago, LvdH said:

I think you’ll be surprised.  

But I won’t push you. It is a lot of work and you most likely won’t profit much (if at all), considering the time spent. 

Potentially... but with the price that it would cost to make I still think the audience is still quite limited... Just for some idea i've got a parts list for just the yellow and rebrickable is saying its worth just short of $500AU. Of course the estimate is inflated by the bricklink stores that sell for ridiculous prices, but that doesn't even include the other 3000+ pieces you need. I didn't spend that much (bought a chunk of them much cheaper direct from lego) but there is no way around some of the really rare and expensive parts...

If I do make instructions you'll be the first to know 

17 hours ago, proran said:

I generally don't like 1:8 supercars

And I hate yellow color

But..... 

Oh my gosh! This is incredibly beautiful. One of the finest panel work I've seen!

The rear air intake and quarter panel are so elegant. I want to say simple but it's clearly not. The headlights are gorgeous too. Even the underside has some juicy bits like the spoiler. It's so smoothly curved!

Amazing work!

Wow that is a huge compliment then! Glad I could win you over  With the exception of cars, I honestly don't even like yellow on much else either... This must be the only yellow thing I own haha. 

That rear quarter section came quite naturally with the panel composition... getting it all on the right angle was another battle. The first rendition that section bulged out too much, but I managed to fix it better with this version. The other parts you mentioned also took a lot of refining to get right, but it was worth the struggle in the end. Thanks again for your nice words 

[Gray Gear]

Big improvement over the first version for sure. Some great panel work, and the working active aero is also very cool.

I think your MOC is as ugly as the real counterpart, so you did a good job 

But I respect the quality of this build.

[2GodBDGlory]

On 9/27/2021 at 5:37 AM, langko said:

 

@Jeroen Ottens @2GodBDGlory @Scoar Sonander Thanks guys, here's a bit off an insight on the wing for you and anyone else wondering.

 

This is a crude and very quick example. A mechanism like this sits above the the rear differential. 2 9l linkages connect upwards to the wing. Every time the axle does a rotation the wings moves up and down by a stud. The wheels run the drivetrain, which goes though the gear box and into the fake engine just like most technic cars. The difference is another axle comes out the other rear end of the fake engine and is then geared down to the above mechanism. The wing then does what ever the pistons are doing (just at a slower speed while keeping the same ratios). Because the pistons don't move in neutral, neither does the wing. It all braced properly and runs smoothly, it was in 1st gear when shown in the video.

The rear suspension system I showed in the page back was crucial, with everything being a stud lower I was just able to fit the mechanism and gears under the bodywork. 

So, if I understand you correctly, the wing cycles between up and down as you push the car along?

It's a cool mechanism, but I feel that it would be more meaningful to have it linked to the axle for shifting, so that higher gears would have lower wing angle, while lower gears would have a higher angle, or vice versa.

[Dazzzy]

@langko   I'll echo what @Gray Gear has said about the McLaren Senna being ugly (it is, in my opinion). But you've captured it's likeness to perfection!  This is probably the best (and my favourite) rendition of a 1:8 scale supercar i've ever seen!  It really is superb quality.  

 

[astyanax]

I know the feeling... I spent a lot of effort trying to improve the Sian model, until I realized it was hopeless to make it ever look good, because the real car is an ugly beast to begin with... 

[LvdH]

12 hours ago, langko said:

Potentially... but with the price that it would cost to make I still think the audience is still quite limited... Just for some idea i've got a parts list for just the yellow and rebrickable is saying its worth just short of $500AU. Of course the estimate is inflated by the bricklink stores that sell for ridiculous prices, but that doesn't even include the other 3000+ pieces you need. I didn't spend that much (bought a chunk of them much cheaper direct from lego) but there is no way around some of the really rare and expensive parts...

Tell me about it  Let’s hope Lego releases something in yellow next year. A yellow supercar is well overdue. 

[langko]

20 hours ago, Gray Gear said:

Big improvement over the first version for sure. Some great panel work, and the working active aero is also very cool.

I think your MOC is as ugly as the real counterpart, so you did a good job 

But I respect the quality of this build.

Cheers! I won't argue with that 

17 hours ago, 2GodBDGlory said:

So, if I understand you correctly, the wing cycles between up and down as you push the car along?

It's a cool mechanism, but I feel that it would be more meaningful to have it linked to the axle for shifting, so that higher gears would have lower wing angle, while lower gears would have a higher angle, or vice versa.

Yes correct, at different speeds depending on the gear selected, neutral it doesn't move.

I did think about that but if you want the wing to be flat when the car is in neutral then it doesn't work, as neutral is obviously not in the middle of the shifting sequence. Regardless of that, there's no room to continue the shifting axle through the gear box and up to under the wing. You'd also have to make sure all the gearing is in the right ratio... each shift of the gear axle would have to rotate the wing axle by 1/16th of a rotation. Any less than that and you won't get the full 2 studs of wing movement, any more and the wing angle would start to go the other way again... All that extra gearing would also increase the friction in the shifting mechanism as well, which is undesirable. 

From a playability and toy perspective I personally think it looks cooler having it move when the car is getting pushed along anyway. After all it is called "active aero" and not "car is at a standstill while your shifting through the gears aero".   just my 2cents

13 hours ago, Dazzzy said:

@langko   I'll echo what @Gray Gear has said about the McLaren Senna being ugly (it is, in my opinion). But you've captured it's likeness to perfection!  This is probably the best (and my favourite) rendition of a 1:8 scale supercar i've ever seen!  It really is superb quality.  

 

Don't worry you're not the first to echo that  Thanks very much for the compliment!

13 hours ago, astyanax said:

I know the feeling... I spent a lot of effort trying to improve the Sian model, until I realized it was hopeless to make it ever look good, because the real car is an ugly beast to begin with... 

Yes... I'm sure most people would've preferred an Aventador... Maybe a future project for you? 

12 hours ago, LvdH said:

Tell me about it  Let’s hope Lego releases something in yellow next year. A yellow supercar is well overdue. 

Yes, fingers crossed. There's not many sets that are worthwhile as a part donor for yellow parts... This years jeep is next to useless in that regard haha 

[Supercar Enthusiast]

I dunno if anyone else has asked yet or if its answered, but how does the moving paddles work?

And also how do the doors work?

Edited May 8, 2022 by Supercar Enthusiast

[langko]

4 hours ago, Supercar Enthusiast said:

I dunno if anyone else has asked yet or if its answered, but how does the moving paddles work?

And also how do the doors work?

Go back to page 2 for a link that will help with the paddle shifters. Mine works in a similar way to the model I posted.
As for the doors the hinges are in the same places as the real car, and there is a linkage on the inside of the door that acts like a gas strut - keeping the doors in the open position. 

[Fuzzock]

On 9/28/2021 at 8:51 AM, langko said:

Potentially... but with the price that it would cost to make I still think the audience is still quite limited... Just for some idea i've got a parts list for just the yellow and rebrickable is saying its worth just short of $500AU. Of course the estimate is inflated by the bricklink stores that sell for ridiculous prices, but that doesn't even include the other 3000+ pieces you need. I didn't spend that much (bought a chunk of them much cheaper direct from lego) but there is no way around some of the really rare and expensive parts...

If I do make instructions you'll be the first to know 

The model looks fantastic, well done!

If you ever do instructions, or even a breakdown of the mechanics to allow us to reverse engineer, put me at number 2 in the list (And I won't be the last!) 

Ian...