RiGi

[TC20] 8872 Forklift Transporter

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So with everyone taking the chance to rebuild their favourite childhood sets, this seemed like the perfect opportunity to take on my own favourite - the 8872 Forklift Transporter!

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I'm torn between keeping it at a 1:1 with the original, or making it slightly larger and adding one or two more functions, most likely a small engine and tilting cab in the truck, that way the extra functions will be kind of hidden so it can still keep the looks of the original. 

I'm leaning towards making it slightly larger, and this is my (very basic) initial progress so far:

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I'm not 100% sure the wheelbase is quite right on the truck with that size wheel, I think it may need to be 1 or 2 studs longer.  I'm hoping I can dig my original transporter out of storage over the weekend to do a side by side comparison! :grin:

Edited by RiGi

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That is a very nice choice of model if you have the parts in the right colors, and all those wheels in the right sizes.

7 hours ago, RiGi said:

I'm torn between keeping it at a 1:1 with the original, or making it slightly larger and adding one or two more functions

I have the same dilemma, and leaning the same way as you. Btw, do those small wheels have modern equivalents at all, or in that case, would you use the original ones?

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41 minutes ago, gyenesvi said:

That is a very nice choice of model if you have the parts in the right colors, and all those wheels in the right sizes.

I have the same dilemma, and leaning the same way as you. Btw, do those small wheels have modern equivalents at all, or in that case, would you use the original ones?

Thanks! I've now realised, having got my hands on the original version, that my choice of wheels aren't quite the same proportion as the originals. My trailer tyres are ~1.4x larger in diameter than the originals, but my truck tyres are only ~1.1x larger in diameter than the originals, so the overall proportions of the whole model will be bit a skewed if I stick with these wheels.  Think I'll have to do a bit of experimenting to find a decent balance.

I do have the original small wheels, but I also ordered some of these in white which are the closest modern equivalent:

55982c03.png

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=55982c03#T=C

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One of my favorite sets!

Tire 43.2x14 (56898) is as close as I think you'll get to the original truck tires, plus they're still used on current sets.

The tread on the tires you're using looks better, but the proportions are a bit wide for dual-ling up - the modern TLG stud-less approach would be to go for singles. 

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13 minutes ago, RiGi said:

I do have the original small wheels, but I also ordered some of these in white which are the closest modern equivalent

Thanks, good to know, seems like the similar ones I have are one size bigger than these..

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On 5/29/2021 at 11:27 PM, Brickend said:

One of my favorite sets!

Tire 43.2x14 (56898) is as close as I think you'll get to the original truck tires, plus they're still used on current sets.

The tread on the tires you're using looks better, but the proportions are a bit wide for dual-ling up - the modern TLG stud-less approach would be to go for singles. 

Yeah, after some tinkering I have to agree that those tyres are just too wide to have them doubled up on the rear axle.  Which is a shame because the tread pattern is perfect for the truck!  Thanks for the heads up on the 43.2x14 (56898) tyre, that's definitely more truck-like than the other 43.2x14 tyres I currently have.

After a bit of experimenting with some even larger tyres (32019 62.4x20mm) that work perfectly in proportion with the 43.2x14mm tyres on the trailer, I decided that the overall scale of ~1.4:1 just seemed unnecessarily big for the extra features I was considering adding and didn't seem in keeping with the spirit of the contest.  So instead I'm going to stick with as close to a 1:1 scale as I can using the 43.2x14mm tyres, and this is my progress on the truck so far:

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And a little side-by-side shot with the original:

800x600.jpg

The overall length is identical to the original, but it's 1 stud wider and the wheel base is 0.5 studs shorter.

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Now I've seen it, I think those tires look equally good - they are a bit more contemporary and closer to how modern studless trucks look.

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This is one of my favourite Technic models of the past! The wheels are the correct scale, don't forget to use the right colors to have the best resemblance of the original.

I like how you made the fuel tank!

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By my understanding, this starts to look like one of the closest to the idea of contest.

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21 hours ago, mpj said:

This is one of my favourite Technic models of the past! The wheels are the correct scale, don't forget to use the right colors to have the best resemblance of the original.

I like how you made the fuel tank!

Thanks! The fuel tanks are probably my favourite detail so far.  I'll definitely be ordering a set of wheels in white to match the colour of the originals.

21 hours ago, Brickend said:

Now I've seen it, I think those tires look equally good - they are a bit more contemporary and closer to how modern studless trucks look.

Yeah I know what you mean, the current tyres do fit better with the modern technic style trucks.  I think I'll get a set of the 56898 tyres when I do my BL order and see how they look on the model and then decide which looks better.

12 hours ago, Jurss said:

By my understanding, this starts to look like one of the closest to the idea of contest.

Thanks! It's always tempting to try and add extra features/details, but I'm gonna try and stick as close to the original as possible.

Here's a couple of update photos:

800x600.jpg

800x600.jpg

(Needless to say, some of the colours will be changed eventually! :laugh:)

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Thanks!

The truck is pretty much finished now, apart from some colour changes and a couple of missing system parts for the lights/HoG steering (and possibly some minor tweaks in a couple of places):

800x600.jpg

I'm a little bit torn on the side of the cab though.  The 9L arched mudguard (42531) would fill the space above the wheel perfectly (albeit with a bit of tweaking to the front grill to fit it in) and would suit a modern studless style truck, but I'm not sure it would be in keeping with the original model :sceptic:  I think for now I'll stick with keeping as close to the original as I can, then maybe see how it would look with the mudguard once the trailer and forklift are done.

The trailer is starting to take shape now as well:

800x600.jpg

As with the truck, it's one stud wider than the original model, but the overall length is identical.  The wheels use the same style set-up as the original a well, with the 3 wheels on each side connected to a single liftarm that pivots around the centre axle:

800x600.jpg

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I think you should use a mudguard. The contest is about recreating the model as if it was designed today and I'm sure Lego would use mudguard or some other sort of cover. Great progress for the other parts!

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Thanks!  That was my thinking with the mudguards as well, but I've just re-read the contest information topic and the emphasis is actually really on replicating the original model as closely as possible, so I think the mudguards will have to be left off in this instance.  That said, I'm thinking about maybe making another version after the contest in a more modern technic style, so I can save the mudguards for that one!

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Update time!

Finally got round to doing a BL order this week, so I have pretty well finished the truck and trailer:

800x600.jpg

I had to slightly modify the end of the coupling of the trailer from the original so that it works reliably with the coupling mechanism on my truck, but it stays locked in place nicely now:

800x600.jpg

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Overall I'm pretty pleased with how it looks! I decided to stick with the modern style tyres, I think they look better overall and match better with the trailer tyres and the modern, studless style.

There's still a couple of bits I'm not entirely happy with though.  I'm not too keen on the 11x3 panel at the front of the trailer to mimic the 10x2 plate of the original.  It just looks a bit stuck on and awkward to me :sceptic:  It's annoying the 7x3 panel doesn't come in red, as that would have been ideal with a couple of 3L liftarms to fit between the main liftarms rather than sitting on top of them.  I could stack a bunch of 2L liftarms or some connectors together to fit between, but that feels like a bit of a cop out solution.  Hopefully I can come up with something better eventually!

The other thing is probably really minor, but it's kinda bugging me :laugh:  The seats in the truck don't have an arm rests on the outside of them, just the one in the middle:

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Unfortunately it's right where some half-stud height offsets meet from different directions and there's not a lot of room to work something in, so it might take a bit of reworking in some areas for something that I'm probably being unnecessarily picky over :laugh:

Next job: Start the forklift itself!

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I’m looking forward to the forklift. It always seemed like the forklift was too big for the truck. Are you going to keep the scale the same?

The trailer looks very clean, but I agree about the 3x11 panel. Hopefully you can find something good. 

The truck still needs something above the front tires. Maybe a fender or something. Something arched would be great.

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On 6/13/2021 at 1:02 AM, Thirdwigg said:

I’m looking forward to the forklift. It always seemed like the forklift was too big for the truck. Are you going to keep the scale the same?

Yeah, when you look at real life forklift transporters they can quite often carry 2 forklifts at once, so I know what you mean! That said, in this instance I'm going to keep to the same scale as the original.  I've made some progress on the forklift, mainly setting up the proportions and working out where the functions are going to fit in, but I've also got some of the bodywork started on the rear portion:

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As with the truck, it's 1 stud wider and the wheelbase is 0.5 studs longer than the original.  Currently it's the same length, but I think I might make it slightly longer (probably only by 1 stud), as the back of the cab is currently 1 stud further forward, so it's a bit off proportionally.

The original has quite a few small 45 degree angle pieces which are proving a bit tricky to replicate, but I think the panels work pretty well.  (Needless to say, I don't have all the parts in yellow at the moment! :laugh:)

On 6/13/2021 at 1:02 AM, Thirdwigg said:

The trailer looks very clean, but I agree about the 3x11 panel. Hopefully you can find something good.

Thanks! I've come up with a better solution for the trailer, although I'm still not 100% happy with it:

800x600.jpg

(As usual, I've run out of the right colour parts!)

On 6/13/2021 at 1:02 AM, Thirdwigg said:

The truck still needs something above the front tires. Maybe a fender or something. Something arched would be great.

I know what you mean, but the original model actually has quite a big gap above the front wheels, so I think I'm going to leave it in keeping with that.  The red 9L mudguards from the 42098 Car Transporter actually fill the gap really well, so I may well make a separate version of the model outside of the contest that uses those wheel arches and has a more modern technic feel to it.

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Seems like something that has chance of winning if executed perfectly.

I would try to close the sides of the cabin/wheel arches a bit and maybe put the seats further away to add the armrests to them.

For the forklift front wheels - why not go for wider 43x2x22 wheel instead of doubling them like in original - 1 stud of space is a lot when it comes to figuring out mechanics.

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Forklift is a good start, and has the right look. The panels on the rear look great. 
Looking forward to see how you do the lift. 

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On 6/19/2021 at 4:22 PM, SaperPL said:

Seems like something that has chance of winning if executed perfectly.

I would try to close the sides of the cabin/wheel arches a bit and maybe put the seats further away to add the armrests to them.

For the forklift front wheels - why not go for wider 43x2x22 wheel instead of doubling them like in original - 1 stud of space is a lot when it comes to figuring out mechanics.

Thanks! This is my first contest and only my second MOC (since coming out of my dark ages at least) so my expectations are pretty low :laugh: I'm just enjoying the challenge and the nostalgia!

Looking at the wheel arches, the gap on mine is slightly higher than the original, so I think I may be able to rework them slightly which hopefully will make it easier to add the armrests.

To be honest, those wheels hadn't even occured to me! Although as it happens, I'm alright for space at the front, so the double wheels aren't an issue. Plus I think the double wheels are a key part of the original model and one of the things I'm keen to maintain if possible!

On 6/20/2021 at 1:52 AM, Igor1 said:

Looks really cool. Very nice attention to detail!

Thanks! :classic:

On 6/20/2021 at 2:12 AM, Thirdwigg said:

Forklift is a good start, and has the right look. The panels on the rear look great. 
Looking forward to see how you do the lift. 

Thanks! The lift is the next thing I need to figure out.  At the moment I'm planning on keeping the mechanism the same as the original using the link chain, but I need to work out the best way of attaching the forks to it.

I've largely finished the bodywork of the forklift now (albeit with colours needing to be changed):

800x600.jpg

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I also decided to reconfigure the structure at the rear so I could add a grey half bush like the original (although mine is purely cosmetic unlike the original):

800x600.jpg

It's a small detail, but to me it didn't feel right not having it there!

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Looks very good :-)

As you are going for precision: The rear end of the forklift is a little too wide.. only 1 stud liftarm in the middle and the panels on the side should look more like the original, though there is no half stuf bushing then ;-)

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