[MOC] Unimog U423and U530 1:20 Scale

[gyenesvi]

On 12/10/2022 at 4:59 PM, Thirdwigg said:

It's a little hard to see, but are the headrests any better @gyenesvi? I can do the 1x2 think liftarms too.

Yes, I like that one more! Although that has some support in the back as well, I think it should look better from also from the side, as the support can be made thinner and less pronounced and kind of more optically separated from the headrest itself :) Sometimes that makes a big difference in the perception at least for me.

[Thirdwigg]

It's done! My 100th MOC on Rebrickable. To celebrate the truck, snow plow, gritter, and crane are all available free!

First, thanks to all here on this thread for the feedback, and for all of you on Eurobricks for all the support over the years. This group has been a great place to refine my ability, and encourage me to be better with my builds. To so many of you I am particularly grateful. I'm pleased with my palmarès even if they don't result in followers on Youtube/Rebrickable/Instagram. I'm in a place where I have found the types of MOCs I like to build, and I'm having so much fun building these last two years. 

OK, on to the truck.

The truck features:

• Steering with HOG
• RWD with portal axle
• I2 fake engine
• Rear pendular suspension
• Tilting cab
• Three way tipping bed with left side radiator HOG
• Opening doors
• Front PTO with On/Off Rear and Center PTO
• Front, Rear, and Bed attachment Points

Like a dummy, I didn't straighten the Mercedes star.....Ugh

The rear bed is easily removeable....

Then the fun begins.

I cheated a little and used the crane from the Off Road Truck and made a little flatbed for the crane. A little front winch is available as well. 

Finally, the snow package!

The front plow features:

• Lift
• Tilt
• Caster wheels
• Two axle simple front attachment

The gritter features:

• Internal auger
• Rear spreader
• Opening hopper
• Four axle simple attachment

The gritter internal auger connects to the center PTO, and the rear spreader connects to the rear PTO. The on/off switch allows to turn the gritter on and off. Simply slide the gritter on, fix the four corner axles, and you are ready to go.

The gritter is designed to work with 1x1 round plates, and it works....kindof.

But I think it looks great! That blue!

I'm less enamored with the plow, as the gaps are a little large for my liking, but it fits.

And here it is with the Off Road Knuckleboom truck.

Finally, a little video to show you how bad the gritter works.

I'm not sure I'm done with this as I would like to build a front sweeper, and and a front roadside mower, but we'll see if and when those happen. I'll post more updates here.

Again, thanks for all the support, and here's to the next 100!

Edited December 20, 2022 by Thirdwigg

[1gor]

Beautiful 

[mpj]

I think I'm going to build the tipper version + snowplow in front. 

My compliments for this one and the other 99 mocs, you are really a Lego Technic master!

And thanks for the free instructions.

[steph77]

Probably your best unimog!

I love the scale of it and the overall density of the build. No need of bigger model now, as this one is top nocht.

Also, i am an absolute fan of those model with a ton of playabilities. Interchangeable tools, fake engine, liftable cab, etc...

Just imagine if you could see this on shelf. Honestly.  It would be an instant buy.

This state of mind also translates into the instructions. It reminds me the old good time (1985-90) when you really had to be focus on your build because of dense and really technic instructions.

Love it.

Really.

Steph.

[Seasider]

Great little model, it flashed up on my instagram feed yesterday and then I saw who created. Your small/mid scale models are great.

[Mikdun]

Fantastic model!

[Celeri]

The truck is already great in itself, but with the other modules it is really an awesome pack! And I cannot express my gratitude to share all this for free: thanks a lot!

Just wondering: are the different configurations easy to install/remove once they are assembled?

[gyenesvi]

Really nice end result, smooth looks and great functions. I like the snowplow version, nice color scheme, and the gritter is a cool addition! Congrats on the 100 MOCs!

[Thirdwigg]

19 hours ago, 1gor said:

Beautiful 

Thanks again, and thanks for your feedback through the build process. 

16 hours ago, mpj said:

I think I'm going to build the tipper version + snowplow in front. 

My compliments for this one and the other 99 mocs, you are really a Lego Technic master!

And thanks for the free instructions.

That's my favorite version too. That's the one currently displayed in my office. Thanks for the kind words.

6 hours ago, steph77 said:

Probably your best unimog!

I love the scale of it and the overall density of the build. No need of bigger model now, as this one is top nocht.

Also, i am an absolute fan of those model with a ton of playabilities. Interchangeable tools, fake engine, liftable cab, etc...

Just imagine if you could see this on shelf. Honestly.  It would be an instant buy.

This state of mind also translates into the instructions. It reminds me the old good time (1985-90) when you really had to be focus on your build because of dense and really technic instructions.

Wow, my best Unimog. I'm glad you like it, and yeah I agree, they don't need to be any bigger. In fact most Technic MOC don't need to be very big.

Yeah, I try to keep the instructions readable, but sometimes the functions are tricky to translate to a easy to follow manual.

4 hours ago, Seasider said:

Great little model, it flashed up on my instagram feed yesterday and then I saw who created. Your small/mid scale models are great.

Thanks again. Sometimes I'm not fully clear how far my Instagram reach extends. Glad you saw it.

4 hours ago, Mikdun said:

Fantastic model!

Thanks!

3 hours ago, Celeri said:

The truck is already great in itself, but with the other modules it is really an awesome pack! And I cannot express my gratitude to share all this for free: thanks a lot!

Just wondering: are the different configurations easy to install/remove once they are assembled?

I'm glad to share instructions, so I hope you are able to give it a build.

Yep, the configurations are simple to remove. For the front, just put two 5L axles with stops, and for the beds, just pull for 3L axles with stops at each corner, and slide the bed off.

2 hours ago, gyenesvi said:

Really nice end result, smooth looks and great functions. I like the snowplow version, nice color scheme, and the gritter is a cool addition! Congrats on the 100 MOCs!

Thanks again, and I'm happy with the colors too. Orange and Blue work perfectly together.

I still feel like the snowplow could be better, so I'm happy many of you like it the way it is.

[Seasider]

Just downloaded the free instructions for all the models. Wonder where you got the idea for the trans-blue from 🤣 it actually works really well on your images 

[Thirdwigg]

39 minutes ago, Seasider said:

Just downloaded the free instructions for all the models. Wonder where you got the idea for the trans-blue from 🤣 it actually works really well on your images 

Yeah, I try to tell anyone who will listen that I got that idea from you. It works so well in so many situations. It won't be the last time I do it.

Thanks again.

[1gor]

@Thirdwigg there is not a slightest reason not to help someone if I can; specially when I can't find time to upgrade my Fastrac to reduction hubs...and I have some ideas about Unimog...

[Thirdwigg]

18 minutes ago, 1gor said:

@Thirdwigg there is not a slightest reason not to help someone if I can; specially when I can't find time to upgrade my Fastrac to reduction hubs...and I have some ideas about Unimog...

Yeah, I appreciate your help. I have literally never seen an U300/400/500 in real life. I saw an old 406 in my city once, and a 437 in Grenoble once. So I need to rely on the expertise of others. 

[1gor]

Just now, Thirdwigg said:

Yeah, I appreciate your help. I have literally never seen an U300/400/500 in real life. I saw an old 406 in my city once, and a 437 in Grenoble once. So I need to rely on the expertise of others. 

I see orange U530 every day on my way to work; but U4023/5023 is something else, since Unimogs are used here for street work ... somehow it is kund of evergreen IMHO. Friend of mine (who together with me had rebuild few old Mercedes cars has one 406 with 5.7l diesel... and years ago I stumbled on one with petrol M130 single carburetor engine (but engine was dead after several overhauling)... I have lots of plans, but time is not my friend...

[Thirdwigg]

Just so I could go the full Mini 8110 with this MOC, I made a rear crane to attach to the back of the U423.

Free instructions are at Rebrickable.com.

Features

• Quick attachment lock
• Dual outriggers
• Boom lift
• Boom reach
• Boom extension

 

Rear tires lifted.

Full reach

All folded up. And a little video to see it all work.

I hope you all enjoy.

[GerritvdG]

Nice, a lot of functions packed into this attachment, I really like the quick attachment lock, very elegant with the cam pieces!

[Thirdwigg]

19 hours ago, GerritvdG said:

Nice, a lot of functions packed into this attachment, I really like the quick attachment lock, very elegant with the cam pieces!

Yeah, at some point, I couldn't get my fingers in to remove the pins to take the crane off, so I tried some different ideas. This worked the best, even though it makes the rest of the build a little less rigid. And now I take the crane on and off all the time!

[2ndgen]

Very cool, I really am enjoying this scale of technic. I recently signed up to your web stuff, it's all very well done, even the unfinished has some more then interesting items lol.

[Thirdwigg]

22 hours ago, 2ndgen said:

Very cool, I really am enjoying this scale of technic. I recently signed up to your web stuff, it's all very well done, even the unfinished has some more then interesting items lol.

Thanks a lot. Yeah, I'm more comfortable now abandoning some projects if they are not going anywhere, but I still like to record some of the ideas just in case they provide value in another MOC. 

[2ndgen]

1 hour ago, Thirdwigg said:

Thanks a lot. Yeah, I'm more comfortable now abandoning some projects if they are not going anywhere, but I still like to record some of the ideas just in case they provide value in another MOC. 

Not a bad way of recording good ideas that lost ones interest.The old man does the same with his art works that didn't make the cut. 

I sure would have liked to see what land rover that was going be though. Lol. 

[Thirdwigg]

This little U423 project turned out to be a great project for me. I loved the design, and some design features allowed for it to expand into a number of other supporting projects. However, at some point I wanted to design a long wheelbase version of this MOC, and I finally was able to finish it this spring.

Like the U423, the U530 has all the same features, but in a longer wheelbase. The longer wheelbase allows for a pneumatic pump to be included in the frame to power a rear pneumatic pump for trailers and the like. The full feature list is as follows:

• Steering with HOG
• RWD with portal axle
• I2 fake engine
• Rear pendular suspension
• Tilting cab
• Three way tipping bed with left side radiator HOG
• Opening doors
• Front PTO
• Rear and Center PTO with On/Off switch
• Front, Rear, and Bed attachment Points
• Rear pneumatic PTO pump

All the other U423 attachments can be used on the U530, except for attachments that require the same bed length. The U423 has a 15 stud bed length, and the U530 has a 19 stud bed length. This does mean that the U4000 beds (such as the camper) may be used on the U530. Below is the rear crane.

Or the Snow Plow.

The rear Pneumatic PTO allows for pneumatic trailers to be used as wanted, such as the Atmos Dumper.

Here is the truck all opened up.

And here are both trucks together. 

Instructions are available for the U530 if you would like at Rebrickable.com. And the U423 instructions are still freely available. 

Finally a little video to show you all the truck in action.

I don't have anythings else planned for this project at this time, but we'll see if that changes. I hope you all enjoy.

[1gor]

U530; looks very nice in blue actually. Could engine parts from new Kawasaki Ninja help you make 4 cylinder engine in U423?

Perhaps, I'll make 1:18 scale U530 with (orange cab and) 68.8 wheels and some motorisation...but would have to completely redesign front portal axle to make it narrow enough. 

[Thirdwigg]

On 2/24/2024 at 1:56 PM, 1gor said:

U530; looks very nice in blue actually. Could engine parts from new Kawasaki Ninja help you make 4 cylinder engine in U423?

Yeah maybe. The issue will still be height, as it has been with the Axle with Stop engines. It looks like the these new parts still need 5.5 modules of vertical space, which is more than the 4.5 needed for the old piston parts. The half module offset of the old crankshaft still works really well when space is at a premium.