[MOD] My digital City vehicles

[Cumulonimbus]

Hi all. Until recently I resided only at the EB Technic subforum. For several reasons (which I won’t elaborate here) I’m taking a break from Technic. Instead I found joy in building City vehicles in LDD and improving them as I like. My main motivation is the nostalgia for the times I had a Lego city and some of the vehicle I had a fascination for as a kid. Small disclaimer: This all just for fun, I have no plans for building any of the following vehicles with real bricks.

I would like to kick things of with the first series of vehicles: some utility trucks inspired by the cherry picker in the upcoming 60306 Shopping Street set. l liked the proportions, colors and general look of the original, but missed some play value. So I tweaked the nose, modified the cherry picker for bigger range, added outriggers and some tool storage. This is the result, next to its source of inspiration:

The ball got rolling and I built two version of this vehicle, a contractor truck towing an air compressor and one featuring a snowplow.

When the cherry picker and the contractor are at work it looks something like this:

I hope you like them, I'm currently working on another series of vehicles

Edited January 13, 2021 by Cumulonimbus
Fixed the image links and changed topic title

[The Brick Boss]

Wow! A power subtheme of vehicles. Now that's something that hasn't been done before. Well, actually it has. Only indirectly though. 

[Stuartn]

They look great. It is amazing to see what can be done to improve existing sets. I really like that trailer, and I have most of the parts (that I can see for it). Do you mind I try replicating your design?

[Cumulonimbus]

32 minutes ago, Stuartn said:

 Do you mind I try replicating your design?

Not at all, I'm glad you like it. I haven't checked if all parts exist in the colors I chose, but you'll find a way. Below are some a close-ups that can help you recreating it. Can you share a photo once you have built it in real bricks, I'm curious how it turns out.

[Stuartn]

36 minutes ago, Cumulonimbus said:

Not at all, I'm glad you like it. I haven't checked if all parts exist in the colors I chose, but you'll find a way. Below are some a close-ups that can help you recreating it. Can you share a photo once you have built it in real bricks, I'm curious how it turns out

Thank you for the close up pictures. The main parts I an not sure I have in those colours are the drawbar piece, and the slope piece which the 1x1 cone attaches to. For those I am sure I can replace with a different colour drawbar, and use a cheese slope instead on a 1x2 tile instead. The only other part where I am not sure I will have the correct part is the yellow hinge tile which the cover piece connects to. I might have to just change that colour somehow or find a different part. I will be happy to upload a picture when complete.

[Stuartn]

 

2 hours ago, Cumulonimbus said:

Can you share a photo once you have built it in real bricks, I'm curious how it turns out.

Here is my final version. I have used 1x1 clips on jumper plates to attach the cover piece. Doing so meant I had to build the structure below it up on the other side, in order to incorporate an interior, so I added the extra light yellow stripe.

Using clips also means there are space below the cover. I used a 1x2 tile attached to another jumper plate in the interior to close the middle gap, but there are still two gaps on either sides of the 1x1 clips. I will try to change them to yellow to better match your original design.

In order to make the interior work because of the jumper plate arrangement, I had to change the design slightly. Your interior does look more realistic, neater and detailed, but as I will be using this with the lid closed it shouldn't matter too much.

Once again, thank you for the design, it looks great.

Edited January 12, 2021 by Stuartn

[Cumulonimbus]

5 hours ago, Stuartn said:

Here is my final version.[...] Once again, thank you for the design, it looks great.

You're welcome.Your version looks good, I like the two tone line. During modelling, I was thinking about a hose or string piece to connect the jackhammer and the compressor, but since the lego jackhammer piece has no studs, I dropped the idea and the added advantage is a cleaner look on the trailer.

[Daanski]

Great (digital) build. I think those vehicles look fantastic!

[Stuartn]

13 hours ago, Cumulonimbus said:

Your version looks good

Thank you. I am currently building a small construction site moc, and I needed some detailed equipment mocs to add detail and interest. The trailer was perfect for that.

13 hours ago, Cumulonimbus said:

During modelling, I was thinking about a hose or string piece to connect the jackhammer and the compressor,

Your two piece jackhammer moc is very nice as well, I like the use of the harpoon piece.

[jus1973]

Love the reworked trucks.  Remind me of the large pickup style trucks in the US.  Lots of different bodies on the back.  We don’t get much like that in Europe.  We get lots of Transit van style things instead, which all look the same.

[Cumulonimbus]

14 hours ago, Stuartn said:

Your two piece jackhammer moc is very nice as well, I like the use of the harpoon piece.

I can't claim all the credit for this idea, it was inspired by a set from my childhood: the 6667, which had something similar:

3 hours ago, jus1973 said:

Love the reworked trucks.  Remind me of the large pickup style trucks in the US.  Lots of different bodies on the back.

I completely agree, it is fascinating that those pickups can be used as a basis for just about anything. Fancy an ambulance? The set reminds me of the Ford E350 RV I once hired on a holiday cruise and I am considering building an RV based on my modified set. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Cumulonimbus]

My next collection of vehicles are some expedition trucks. These are obviously inspired by the truck in the 60160 set and by a youtube movie with three MAN KAT trucks. The series consists of three vehicles which bring all the tools you need for your expedition:

Here are some details about each truck:

4x4 Scout: the most compact and lightest of the three trucks. It can plan a route through the terrain to the next campsite, carries a kayak for river exploration, has a winch to get out of trouble and living quarters to set up camp when it reaches the destination.

6x6 Mobile lab: the brains of the bunch. It has a laboratory for chemical and botanical studies, storage for specimens, satellite and other data links, ladders for tree exploration and a workshop for repairing test equipment.

8x8 Equipment carrier: the muscle. This vehicle brings all the other resources needed for your trip like fuel, tools, dirt bikes, food, etc. It has a compact crane to load an unload independently.

I hope you like this trio.