Recommended Posts

Hi,

As I already mentioned in my Lexion topic, I have a couple of commissions to do as well. This is one of them, a 1:8 replica of the Aston Martin Valkyrie:

aston-martin-valkyrie-2021-970-7.jpg

I am actually quite exited for this design as this is an insane car. It is basically a formula 1 car for the road. The design is nothing more than a bubble in which the driver and the passenger sit, a motor tucked behind that and two axles attached at the front and the back. The bodywork simply wraps as tight as possible around all the components. Except for the underside, where everything is shaped to maximize the downforce, direct the flow and minimize drag. It will be a massive challenge to even make the bodywork, without even trying to fit functionality inside...

To start I wanted to have a proper suspension setup. This car uses a pushrod system, very similar to F1 cars. The rear suspension was a bit of a challenge as there needed to be a lot of room for the massive Venturi ducts in the rear:

valkyrie-exterieur-interier-10011.jpg

So the lower wishbone is attached at the same level as the driveaxle:

51568671151_fe51aee980_c.jpg

The diagonal pushrod is attached at the same height, so that will also not interfere with the Venturi duct either. The other challenge was to fit a differential below the springs, while keeping everything as flat as possible. In the end this was achieved by mounting the pushrod upside down (which has the added benefit that it will now press itself tighter when pressed down.

The front suspension was a much harder challenge. There really is almost no space to work with. So I wanted to have a suspension that is form-locked as much as possible, fits within 5 studs height (and lower at the front) and had some sturdy connection points to the monocoque behind it. Here is a close-up of the setup:

51569600305_011ff42174_c.jpg

It has taken me dozens of iterations to come to this point, but now I am quite pleased with how it is. As you can see the suspension arms are nearly horizontal in the lowest position. So I will have some space on top to build the bodywork. Since I only use one spring per wheel I do expect that, once the car is finished, the springs will be compressed a little. The weight will hopefully be a little less than usual for a 1:8 car given the tight bodywork.

There are still quite some challenges ahead as the real car has active aero wings at the front and at the back, and it has an 7 speed gearbox. Lots of fun ahead so to say :laugh:

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wow, I'm looking forward to this one a lot. I have considered making this one as well, but in the end I chose something different. It's an amazing car, and I can't wait to see how you'll tackle this one!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Looks great. Looking forward to seeing progress and eventually seeing it finished.

Edited by LvdH

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Great to see another WIP topic from you!

It's trivial that with this particular car the final model will be compromised to a larger degree that normal. That doesn't mean we can't expect a masterpiece as usual in the end, but this model will require to push your creativity to new levels, so I am very excited to see what solutions you will come up with!:excited: 

One thing I've noticed before: the 1:8 Lego rims are too wide for the front wheels, resulting in much bulkier wheel houses on the Lego version.  Perhabs this could be minimized by using virtual pivot steering, but that together with all the space limitations of this model will be virtually impossible I suppose.:shrug_oh_well: Inspiration: 

I presume you will generate pretty much all of the longitudinal stiffness from the sides of the monocoque (?).  There is space for a single beam running between the seats but this won't be enough of course. Have you thought about the placement of the gearbox? It may be necessary to design a new kind of lay out in order to place it higher in the car (without moving the v12), to keep the ducts underneath spacious. 

Looking forward seeing this evolve, good luck!

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Looking forward to seeing more of this.

 

I remember similar challenges when I made my F1 car in Red Bull colours. Iirc at one point I had to adjust the rear suspension since it sagged a little too much under the weight of the car (1,7kg). Luckily had space for an easy fix: change a 3L liftarm to 4ish (2x4 L-liftarm). My suspension geometry was slightly different from yours and I think yours can handle more weight, which the bodywork, v12 and gearbox will probably need.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Suspension looks accurate IMHO. Very good (despite that I prefer front independent with transverse leaf spring and rear deDion axle :laugh:)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Good luck with this project! It sure looks like a challenge due to the lack of space, and the rounded bodywork won't be easy either. 

I will be looking forward to your solution for the front splitter. I made a rear diffuser for my Mazda RX-7 FD MOC, and I ended up using plates and tiles, as 1 liftarm height was too thick. Seems this will ba a similar case. But since it is only mounted using these 2 mounts in the front it will be even more difficult to get a strong design.

Edited by Gray Gear

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Nice work so far!

I agree, this is going to be a major challenge, but I'm sure you can do it!

@1gor Man, those suspension choices do sound juicy! There's a lot of suspension designs I'd like to model (Tatra, twist-beam, deDoin, pushrod, transverse leaf, etc.), but no cars using them I want to build!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
18 minutes ago, 2GodBDGlory said:

Nice work so far!

I agree, this is going to be a major challenge, but I'm sure you can do it!

@1gor Man, those suspension choices do sound juicy! There's a lot of suspension designs I'd like to model (Tatra, twist-beam, deDoin, pushrod, transverse leaf, etc.), but no cars using them I want to build!

Yes, they are, and just imagine how do sound (like symphony) and look (as a work of art) cars that use them and construction is 100% recycling (no plastic except some of them have perspex side and rear window). Even engine with few carburator changes can use alcohol :wink:

(So much about new agenda or may I call it new religion - climate, Ecco etc; reinventing the wheel)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Update time...

Here is a first sketch of outer dimension with some of the paneling in place:

51618458338_1cffa1e542_b.jpg

I've said this before, but this is just an astonishing car to recreate. There is so little space inside to fit anything in that every cube stud needs thinking. I've added a 8D+N+R gearbox (yet another, even smaller, incarnation of @Anto's compact gearbox), pushed the motor on top, pushed the gearbox as low as possible and then the engine just, just fits below the roofline. Unfortunately the suspension setup is now too high, so I'll probably have to go to the drawing board again with that one.

I also tried to keep the width of the gearbox minimal (especially at the bottom). The bottom of the car is like a boat hull now. Wide in the center and then tapering off to both ends. This does mean that I can't get a lot of stiffness from the sides, as these are all angled panels. Instead I've used three 5x7 frames in the center that run from front to back through the cockpit. It is thin, but still offers a lot of stiffness.

The rear suspension sits a bit too high because of some interference with the massive rear diffusors that run under it, that will need to be sorted out with the redesign of the rear suspension:

51618227646_45aea806e0_c.jpg

So still a lot of redesigns ahead. The thing is, that with such a compact design everything you touch immediately cauliflowers throughout the structure.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Loving following the progress both in the build and your thoughts on this. Also your final sentence made me smile, in English I’d use the phrase it “snowballs throughout …” but the use of cauliflower is great as you can immediately picture it. I might use it at some point as I love using quirky language 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

As expected, lowering the differential & rear suspension pushrod required a complete redesign of the whole rear area :cry_happy:. But, as there was still some free space, it does fit, so I could then work on the esthetics of the rear side. One of the items I definitely want to capture are those nine protruding rear lights:

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRKVXjaOvNX2fCAkAelutx

After a day of tinkering I came up with the following solution:

51625761374_3773e1671f_c.jpg

The lights are a bit too thick, but I couldn't think of a thinner transparent piece that I could use. If anyone has a suggestion, please let me know.

I also was able to create the covering for the exhausts. A bit better visible under this angle:

51625761339_c67f87c107_c.jpg

Next steps are rebuilding the gearbox + rear suspension and working on the engine covering.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
33 minutes ago, Jeroen Ottens said:

I couldn't think of a thinner transparent piece that I could use.

For lego parts limitations, looks good.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

May i suggest using the transparent ice lolly pieces instead (30222 / 32981).  I think those would suit it better though i think they may be the same thickness, but i think the lozenge shape of them would look great.  Much prefer this new shape of the rear diffuser too. My only concern is with the width of the front wheels. i know it's something that can't really be helped, but i do wish LEGO would differentiate between front and rear wheels. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
23 hours ago, Dazzzy said:

May i suggest using the transparent ice lolly pieces instead (30222 / 32981).  I think those would suit it better though i think they may be the same thickness, but i think the lozenge shape of them would look great.  Much prefer this new shape of the rear diffuser too. My only concern is with the width of the front wheels. i know it's something that can't really be helped, but i do wish LEGO would differentiate between front and rear wheels. 

I was unfamiliar with that piece so I took a look at BrickLink and OUCH those are expensive ($4 each)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, Hrafn said:

I was unfamiliar with that piece so I took a look at BrickLink and OUCH those are expensive ($4 each)

It sure is! It appears to be exclusive to a Scala service pack, and not even one of this set is for sale on Bricklink!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Wow. Words can’t convey how excited I am for this project. But… is it me or is the wheelbase a seem a little too long?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 10/24/2021 at 5:00 PM, LvdH said:
On 10/24/2021 at 7:35 PM, Dazzzy said:

May i suggest using the transparent ice lolly pieces instead (30222 / 32981).  I think those would suit it better though i think they may be the same thickness, but i think the lozenge shape of them would look great.  Much prefer this new shape of the rear diffuser too. My only concern is with the width of the front wheels. i know it's something that can't really be helped, but i do wish LEGO would differentiate between front and rear wheels. 

Thanks for the suggestions guys. In the end I chose this one to try an alternative solution:27257.jpg

Here is the result after days of tinkering (the lights are 1.5 studs apart horizontally, something like 0.7 studs vertically and they are staggered from left to right, that is just so difficult to make):

51638489103_1960577ae5_c.jpg

To be honest I am not too convinced myself. The construction is quite weak, the 3L bars stick out and interfere with the panel above it and the pointy ends of these speartips are a bit too small compared to the real lights. But what do you think?

On 10/25/2021 at 9:01 PM, sm1995 said:

Wow. Words can’t convey how excited I am for this project. But… is it me or is the wheelbase a seem a little too long?

This car has a really long wheelbase of 3.06m. Even the Pagani Huayra has a shorter wheelbase of 2.8 m.

I've also started to sketch the upper bodywork:

51638489198_8ffffdc709_b.jpg

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I think you'd be better off with 1x2 tiles for the brake lights.  They could be offset longitudinally using jumper plates so that the middle one protrudes more.  Looking at the real car, the rows are not offset horizontally, but the middle row protrudes; when viewed at an angle it makes it look like the rows are horizontally offset.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
4 minutes ago, Hrafn said:

Looking at the real car, the rows are not offset horizontally, but the middle row protrudes

So basically the exact way he made it on the pic above? I think this solution looks better than 1x2 tiles.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
3 minutes ago, technicmath said:

@Jeroen Ottens A possible solution for the rear lights is this:

https://bricksafe.com/files/technicmath/aston-martin-valkyrie-rear-lights/Rear lights_1.png 

https://bricksafe.com/files/technicmath/aston-martin-valkyrie-rear-lights/Rear lights_2.png 

https://bricksafe.com/files/technicmath/aston-martin-valkyrie-rear-lights/Rear%20lights_3.png 

The .ldr file can be found in the same folder: https://bricksafe.com/files/technicmath/aston-martin-valkyrie-rear-lights/Rear lights.ldr

Thanks. It has all the offsets needed, however the spacing vertically is 1 stud now, whereas I am looking for a solution where the vertical spacing is more like half a stud. Ideally it fits in a vertical space of 2 studs including the supporting structure.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    No registered users viewing this page.