[MOC] Ionos Sports Sedan (Free Instructions)

[MinusAndy]

On 1/14/2021 at 2:04 AM, Thirdwigg said:

Yeah, for this car the transmission is where it fits and allows for flexibility. The manual fits in the front and the shifter is at hand for the driver, so that's were it goes. The sequential is wider, so I tried to tuck it between the rear seats. 

You are correct, most cars have the transmission right next to the engine for simplicity, but some do place it in the rear as part of the drive axle for better balance, as noted by @2GodBDGlory. The Austin Martin Rapide and Maserati Quattroporte are two examples of sedans that have this configuration. 

I think the Porsche 944 had a rear mounted gearbox and a front mounted engine, as did some Alfa’s. 
Ford did the opposite with the rs200 and it has a mid engine with prop shaft running to the front mounted gearbox. 

[Thirdwigg]

Glad you like it @Scoar Sonander. @MinusAndy that RS200 is a crazy car and I didn’t know that about the drivetrain. 

My TLG pick a brick order from January 4 finally arrived, so I have a bodywork draft ready to go. 


The above bodywork is a rough draft, but it has some features that I would like to keep, like the curved roof, the long hood, and the fender flares. I’ll keep toying with the grill, I have nothing for the rear yet, and the C pilars are a mess, but I’ll get there. 

I need to remain flexible as each major component keeps changing in small ways, affecting other parts. Change a part here, and something over there needs to be changed. I thought I was done with the chassis parts, but I need one more rebuild on the sequential transmission chassis (draft 4).

The floorpan is done.

Seats are in, but I need to finalize the colors. They are mounted to the body, which was the right decision. 

My next build session will focus on the rear. 

I realize I’m late to the party, but that Dark Azure really looks good. 

[johnnym]

Looks nice and muscular! Did you ever thought about making it a fastback, because this would look really great as fastback IMO (e.g. like Audi A7). I mean even if you would only elongate the roof lines into the rear with a very short rear end it would already look great.

Curious for the next steps.

[Scoar Sonander]

Great! What about sticking some liftarms on the side of that 3x9 panel on the front there?

 

[Thirdwigg]

6 hours ago, Scoar Sonander said:

Great! What about sticking some liftarms on the side of that 3x9 panel on the front there?

 

Not sure where you mean. The front immediately forward the tires? I'll close it up, but I need to finalize the interior a little more before I commit to too much of the bodywork.

8 hours ago, johnnym said:

Looks nice and muscular! Did you ever thought about making it a fastback, because this would look really great as fastback IMO (e.g. like Audi A7). I mean even if you would only elongate the roof lines into the rear with a very short rear end it would already look great.

Curious for the next steps.

I generally do not like the fastback look for sedans. Too many of them (including the A7, but others like the Kia Stinger, Honda Accord, Taycan) look like the long front hood is dragging around a limp rump. To my eye, cars (coupes and sedans alike) that look good have a slight forward visual tilt: where the car looks like the muscular rear is pushing the rest of the car forward.

However, the fastback look does translate well to LEGO as it limits and flattens the curves needed. C pillars are hard to do when they have sharp and tight curves. As I play with the rear, we'll see what fits best. The rear bumper location is now fixed, so this is the only hardpoint that restricts the design at this point.

[Scoar Sonander]

Here's what I mean.

800x480_LI | Scoar Sonander | Flickr

Maybe some 5x1 Liftarms where the red line is, or something like that!

 

[Thirdwigg]

On 2/10/2021 at 5:14 PM, Scoar Sonander said:

Here's what I mean.

800x480_LI | Scoar Sonander | Flickr

Maybe some 5x1 Liftarms where the red line is, or something like that!

 

I see. Thanks for the explanation. Something like this will work, so I'll see where it lands.

[langko]

I like the draft for the bodywork a lot! 

[Thirdwigg]

Another successful, if inefficient, build session this weekend. Below you can see the first draft of the bodywork.

Below is the second draft. I tried a number of different ideas for the C pillar, and the rear bumper/quarter panel area. I worked a lot on the C-pillar which now has a flat line (psuedo-fastback, with a small deck), and a little black filler to keep the visual arch. I raised the trunk lid a stud. I like the little spoiler lip, but it's looking a little busy. I'll come back to this.

The rear bumper is a hardpoint as the rear shifter for the sequential transmission chassis is at a certain elevation and position behind the rear axle. As such, the manual version (shown below) needs to fit this other version. But by fleshing this out and removing the #13 panel the rear looks considerably longer. I like this look generally, but the first version looked faster and angrier, which I liked. Part of this change was due to arching the fenders back toward the center of the car behind the rear wheel; leaving more more rubber exposed.

This part is tricky for me. I want to keep the rear hips highlighted and wide looking, so I'll keep this area in "pencil" while I work on other parts.

 I'll try to wrap the lights around the sides a little bit, and give the underbumper a little more flash (diffuser/exhaust/lights).

 

[johnnym]

Looks a little like an RX-8 from the side (even more the first version). Good work with the C pillar!

[Jeroen Ottens]

Interesting build that I followed since the first post. Looking good so far. Have you considered swapping the 5x7 panel in front of the rearwheel the other way round so that the angled side is at the front?

[Thirdwigg]

21 minutes ago, Jeroen Ottens said:

Interesting build that I followed since the first post. Looking good so far. Have you considered swapping the 5x7 panel in front of the rearwheel the other way round so that the angled side is at the front?

I haven't. Do you mean rotating the part 180 degrees so the point is on the bottom left (rather then the upper right as it is currently) to cover the current open black triangle void between the two doors? I'm not opposed to this, but it will take some figuring out. The two biggest issues will be trying to figure out how to mount the door on a pivot. Second, how to mount the 3x7 curved panel to keep the beltline would take some figuring out.

I'll see what I can do.

38 minutes ago, johnnym said:

Looks a little like an RX-8 from the side (even more the first version). Good work with the C pillar!

Thanks, for the time being I'm please with the C-Pillar. RX-8 isn't a bad car to replicate....

[Thirdwigg]

Back with another little update. Build time has been a little scarce, and I’m at the point of the build that takes lot of time. Trial and error, build and rebuild, on and on....

I tried a number of different ideas, but the bumper and the quarter panels remain. I need to clean up the lights and the trunklid, but I think I have something workable here. I’ll need to work on the trunk rear/license plate mount a little more. And I’m not sure I like the bumper and diffuser as is so I’ll come back to that as well.

We’ll see if I can get some more build time this week.

[Thirdwigg]

Well it has been 6 months since I worked on this project, and it's time to bring it back up.

I'm happy to report that Thirdwigg motors has reached an agreement with Octan Racing to provide the power packs for the Ionos Sports Sedan. The engines are final, and I'm slowing working on the rest of the studio file.

Below are the Flat 6 Hybrid, V-8, and I-6 power packs.

[Scoar Sonander]

Nice! Really look forward to seeing those beauties in action!

[Bony_em]

you have been cool 

Edited September 17, 2021 by Bony_em

[Thirdwigg]

I have doubled down on this project as my interest has been reinvigorated in the past weeks. I am working quicker now, and finding small changes to make as I create the studio file of the whole car.

Below you can see the final floorpan and the final RWD Engine tub. The floorpan connects to the engine tub by two removable pins, and to either transmission tunnel with four removable pins. Each engine tub connects to a transmission tunnel with six pins, two of which are the red ones below. Additionally, the floorpan connects to the unibody between the doors. Each connection point increases the rigidity of the final car, while allowing for quick modular swaps.

 

I finalized the bodywork for the car last week, so I am now going through the unibody to make sure all the connections are legal, and the build can be replicated by others. Below you can see the first 200 parts of the unibody, and how it fits with the AWD Hybrid Engine tub. The front will connect to the two red pins at the front of the engine tub.

As I was starting the manual and sequential transmission tunnel studio files, I found a couple of bracing and strength issues that I think I can improve. I'll try to get to those this week, and post those final versions soon.

I am loving this project, particularly as I get near the end. With each passing day, it feels good to be finalizing more and more of it. I missed my deadline of May, but the result seems to be better for it.

[Thirdwigg]

OK, I have now finished the Studio file for the Ionos, so the final presentation of this car is coming soon. I'll work now on finalizing the instructions, as well as photo and video the MOC. I guess I should not have planned to get this done by May, but the end of December is my new goal. That I'm sure I can meet.

In the meantime, here is fun little render. The wheel arches will be the soft hose 16L and 19L, but I could not get the shape right in Studio, so this will have to suffice.

 

[Gray Gear]

I love all the exhaust piping!

I suggest to switch to the other type of wheel hub where the balljoints are not part of the hub. These don't allow for any brakes, and they are more expensive too I think.

Edited November 22, 2021 by Gray Gear

[Thirdwigg]

1 hour ago, Gray Gear said:

I love all the exhaust piping!

I suggest to switch to the other type of wheel hub where the balljoints are not part of the hub. These don't allow for any brakes, and they are more expensive too I think.

Yeah, that wheel hub will be in the final partlist. I keep going back and forth on brakes or not. The wheels do make seeing parts inside easy, so maybe I'll need to add some brakes. 

[Gray Gear]

34 minutes ago, Thirdwigg said:

I'll need to

Need to? It is an opportunity m8! I think a sport car's look be improved a lot with a nice brake setup. Just use a nice and agressive color, like yellow, so the brakes can be seen easily in the black wheels.

I myself can't look at the Porsche 911 wheels any more because they don't have brake discs. I know this is a luxury problem, but once one of your cars has brake discs all the others look bad in comparison  And now I have started to get 3D printed wheels for my cars because the brakes are nice but the Bugatti/Sian wheels arn't really that good looking... Well, you see where this is going 

Edited November 22, 2021 by Gray Gear

[Daniel-99]

Very nice to see a project in 1:10 scale! Also, i have not seen 4-seat sedans in this scale for a while! 

I think, that im too late with my comment, but still, it seems to me, that the wheel base is a bit too short for a sedan with 4-seats. Din you use the proportions form the real prototype? I build a 1:10 scale car and it has a longer wheel base, but my sport coupe has only 2 seats (should have, but in fact there is not sits, since it is a light RC model)

[Thirdwigg]

On 11/22/2021 at 1:44 PM, Gray Gear said:

Need to? It is an opportunity m8! I think a sport car's look be improved a lot with a nice brake setup.

You're right. I'm working on it. It's not a hard fix.

19 hours ago, Daniel-99 said:

Very nice to see a project in 1:10 scale! Also, i have not seen 4-seat sedans in this scale for a while! 

I think, that im too late with my comment, but still, it seems to me, that the wheel base is a bit too short for a sedan with 4-seats. Din you use the proportions form the real prototype? I build a 1:10 scale car and it has a longer wheel base, but my sport coupe has only 2 seats (should have, but in fact there is not sits, since it is a light RC model)

Yep, not enough sedans from my perspective, but if the international car market is any indication, my interest in sedan's is certainly the minority.

Yeah, I used the proportions of the Alfa Romeo Guilia as the measurement donor, and the wheelbase is actually longer by one stud than needed. But now the I-6 fits, so it was worth it to me.

[Daniel-99]

7 hours ago, Thirdwigg said:

Yeah, I used the proportions of the Alfa Romeo Guilia as the measurement donor, and the wheelbase is actually longer by one stud than needed. But now the I-6 fits, so it was worth it to me.

It is always helps having a real car for proportions ;-) 

Also I really appreciate the usage of the rims. There are still a lot of project with old rims on sport-cars, but the new one has a better view and steering geometry! Cant wait for this rims in White and Light Gray colors!

[Thirdwigg]

16 hours ago, Daniel-99 said:

Also I really appreciate the usage of the rims. There are still a lot of project with old rims on sport-cars, but the new one has a better view and steering geometry! Cant wait for this rims in White and Light Gray colors!

Yeah, these rims were the whole reason for the project. I keep watching pick-a-brick to see when the Light Bluish Grey ones are available.

OK, both transmission files are final, which means the two IRL cars are done, both Studio files are done, and the instructions are being worked on. I'm getting closer now. Four speed manual on the right, and four speed sequential is on the left. The gear switching mechanism is on the rear bumper. Red is downshift, grey is upshift. 

@Gray Gear I added some simple brake calipers.