[MOC] LEGO 8850 Rally Support Truck Update

[Thirdwigg]

Alright, another update for an old LEGO set! This time another one with Technic Figures: the iconic LEGO 8850 Rally Support Truck from 1990.

After finishing the 8640 Update, I wanted to keep the theme going, so 8850 was a natural follow up. The MOD is the same size as the original and keeps each of the original features. It has a V-6, steering, front independent suspension, rear live axle suspension, and a trunk door. Also, it had to have the Technic Figure, so the driver is present.

The size and dimensions are the same as the original 8850, but with better ground clearance.

I used some new parts for the suspension. I made it rear wheel drive, but the front drive axle will fit the axle I did for my 4x4 8081, so maybe in the future, I'll update this again. 

This is MOC #2 for me in Bricklink Studio. While I think I am getting better, I made some mistakes in this MOC. I am getting the hang of subbuilds and angled parts, but I still have some things to learn and get better at. Also, I need to get quicker. Feel free to find Free Instructions at Rebrickable. 

An a video for your viewing pleasure.

I hope you all enjoy.

[caiman0637]

Wow! This looks amazing!

[1974]

Very nice! I always felt this could have the suspension as used in 8858. Are you gonna do the others in the Rally theme too?

[emielroumen]

Great remake!

I was browsing through the instructions. Is the long 15 beam properly placed, or should it be moved 1 hole backwards?

[howitzer]

It is a fine model on its own and without any obvious flaws, but I think it really loses some of the rough no-nonsense feeling of the original one. Lack of studs and balloon tyres instead of the original foam tyres change the look quite a bit, and I'm not at all sure that the open body design of the olden days works as well with studless beams, some paneling might help in that regard, but that would take it even further away from the original. For some reason the modernized versions of 8865 and 8868 had much more of the original feeling still there...

[Jundis]

Such a cool remake! I remember my childhood days scanning through the Lego catalog and seeing this cars which seem so technical I could never believe how they could be designed with this unusual angles in contrast to System/City cars.

Thanks for bringing back memories :-)

[SaperPL]

Awesome modernisation.

Also this is a perfect example of how much Lego Ideas is loosing by not accepting MOCs that are too close to the sets they have or had in the past. This could be a sure winner for nostalgic Technic fans :)

[gyenesvi]

That's a pretty cool remake, it did bring back old memories, I used to love this set! I really like how you managed to make it full suspension, the front section is a tight build, well done. Although it's quite faithful to the original, I kind of agree that the front came out a bit too rounded and looses a bit of it's rough style (it's like the difference between a classic Land Rover and the new SUV-like one). Maybe some system pieces at the front could bring it closer to the original square look?

About studio, don't worry, you can get used to it quickly and your speed will improve a lot! Do invest in learning to use submodels as they help a lot, also for you when you build it, and makes the instructions cleaner as well. I flicked through the instructions and have some tips for improvement if you don't mind. The layout of the pages could be improved by decreasing clutter. Sometimes you try to cram too much info on one page, like two steps, or too much zoomed in. And the part list and page numbers often overlap with the model itself. Try to reduce that with moving things around, setting the zoom and rotation properly. It is quite a bit of tidying up boring work though..

Also, in quite some steps (especially when it gets dense, like in the front part), it's hard to see where things go and how the new parts are attached to each other and to the existing build. Submodels and showing their assembly in callouts (assembly of a few parts in a few steps in a sub-window on a page) help a lot with these. Also, rotating the model appropriately to make new parts clearly visible helps a lot. And sometimes you just have to rethink the building sequence just to make it easier to follow in the instructions. I think it's an art in itself, not something trivial :)

Thanks, and keep up the good work!

[Thirdwigg]

18 hours ago, emielroumen said:

Great remake!

I was browsing through the instructions. Is the long 15 beam properly placed, or should it be moved 1 hole backwards?

Oh my goodness! You're right, thanks for finding this.

8 hours ago, howitzer said:

It is a fine model on its own and without any obvious flaws, but I think it really loses some of the rough no-nonsense feeling of the original one. Lack of studs and balloon tyres instead of the original foam tyres change the look quite a bit, and I'm not at all sure that the open body design of the olden days works as well with studless beams, some paneling might help in that regard, but that would take it even further away from the original. For some reason the modernized versions of 8865 and 8868 had much more of the original feeling still there...

Fair points. It's hard to do a remake as so much is tied up with the old designs; memories, nostalgia, emotions. Yeah, the open body is hard to replicate, and does not translate well. Regarding the tires, I tried the mini unimog wheels and the tires from 4212, and both looked off.

@Jundis I'm glad I brought back some fond memories.

4 hours ago, SaperPL said:

Awesome modernisation.

Also this is a perfect example of how much Lego Ideas is loosing by not accepting MOCs that are too close to the sets they have or had in the past. This could be a sure winner for nostalgic Technic fans :)

Thanks, but I have lost all hope for Ideas and Technic.

2 hours ago, gyenesvi said:

That's a pretty cool remake, it did bring back old memories, I used to love this set! I really like how you managed to make it full suspension, the front section is a tight build, well done. Although it's quite faithful to the original, I kind of agree that the front came out a bit too rounded and looses a bit of it's rough style (it's like the difference between a classic Land Rover and the new SUV-like one). Maybe some system pieces at the front could bring it closer to the original square look?

About studio, don't worry, you can get used to it quickly and your speed will improve a lot! Do invest in learning to use submodels as they help a lot, also for you when you build it, and makes the instructions cleaner as well. I flicked through the instructions and have some tips for improvement if you don't mind. The layout of the pages could be improved by decreasing clutter. Sometimes you try to cram too much info on one page, like two steps, or too much zoomed in. And the part list and page numbers often overlap with the model itself. Try to reduce that with moving things around, setting the zoom and rotation properly. It is quite a bit of tidying up boring work though..

Also, in quite some steps (especially when it gets dense, like in the front part), it's hard to see where things go and how the new parts are attached to each other and to the existing build. Submodels and showing their assembly in callouts (assembly of a few parts in a few steps in a sub-window on a page) help a lot with these. Also, rotating the model appropriately to make new parts clearly visible helps a lot. And sometimes you just have to rethink the building sequence just to make it easier to follow in the instructions. I think it's an art in itself, not something trivial :)

Thanks, and keep up the good work!

Thanks @gyenesvi. I agree, the front (an important part) did not keep the original well. I tend to like a more fluid, rather than blocky, design, so this may be my bias coming through.

Thanks for your comments about Studio. Learning this is still very much WIP for me, so I appreciate your suggestions. Submodels are tricky for me, but yes, I need to invest some time here. Thanks for the comments about layout as well. It's helpful to know how these read, particularly your comments about moving around and rotation. Also yeah, the partlists and page numbers need to improve.

Yeah, sequencing the parts is difficult for me. When building in Studio, placing the parts do not always go well with how it will order in the instructions, so I'll need to keep working on this. I'll double down on the submodels to improve this as well.

Thanks for the feedback. This is helpful. 

[SaperPL]

56 minutes ago, Thirdwigg said:

Thanks, but I have lost all hope for Ideas and Technic.

Yeah, that too, just saying that I wish there was a chance for builds like this to become lego sets :)

[gyenesvi]

3 hours ago, Thirdwigg said:

When building in Studio, placing the parts do not always go well with how it will order in the instructions, so I'll need to keep working on this.

Yeah, but that's normal, don't even expect to get the order right at first. What I do is I first place all the parts of a bigger unit quickly, using tricks like mirroring the sides to speed things up, and then go back to do the ordering into steps (using the step view, to see what will come in each step), thinking about how it would be logical to build it. It takes some getting used to..

Edited May 6, 2021 by gyenesvi

[Brickend]

Thanks for sharing. It's interesting to compare this to the latest jeep in terms of part count to functions. 

Some good comments on the aesthetics being lost a little in translation - that's not a negative comment against your build though, more to do with the more rugged appearance of studded in general.

[Thirdwigg]

1 hour ago, Brickend said:

Thanks for sharing. It's interesting to compare this to the latest jeep in terms of part count to functions. 

Some good comments on the aesthetics being lost a little in translation - that's not a negative comment against your build though, more to do with the more rugged appearance of studded in general.

I didn't think about the comparison to the Jeep. Yeah, the part count is similar, but the functions are much different.

Yep, studded is a little more rugged, which I like a little less. Maybe this is why the update build is something I have enjoyed a lot recently.