[TC24] Special Delivery

[2GodBDGlory]

I'm excited to be starting another contest here at Eurobricks! To start off this topic, I'll try to do a little backstory for my MOC:
 

In the year 22--, the Galactic government, and specifically its police force, was in a sorry state. Decades of corruption had led to an impotent government, which, though not particularly oppressive, no longer had energy to actually govern. The politicians in charge of the galaxy had no interest in ruling; but rather in simply enjoying the most luxurious lifestyles possible. Finding themselves in need of more money to fund these lifestyles, they gradually became more and more influenced by the various intergalactic criminal organizations, who were glad to provide money, so long as a blind eye was turned to their operations. Agreeing to this proposal, the so-called leaders appointed a succession of police commissioners that were just as lazy and hedonistic as they, and repeatedly slashed the peacekeeping force's budget. As the years went on, criminal gangs grew in power, as this galactic police force shrank. Along with these budget cuts came greatly reduced salaries for officers, a complete lack of new equipment, and worthless leadership. Under such conditions, all but the most dedicated peacekeepers left to find other employment, leaving behind only a grim core of officers determined to maintain order in the galaxy in spite of aggressive attacks from the powerful criminals that effectively ruled most territories, and despite the complete lack of encouragement from their superiors. Armed with nothing but whatever equipment they could salvage, piece together, or confiscate; admirable courage, and unyielding determination, these brave men and women would stop at nothing to protect the galaxy's innocents from rampaging criminal warlords...

 

My model takes inspiration from two main sources: Space Police III's 5972 Space Truck Getaway

and this ship, the Droch-class boarding ship, from Star Wars: The Clone Wars, where it appears in a few episodes, mainly in Season 1:

 

This ship's goal is to impale an opposing capital ship, cut a hole in its hull, and then deploy battle droids inside.

My plan for this MOC is to design a boarding ship for the galactic police of my world, reflecting their poor financial situation and resourcefulness. It will be a sort of space transport truck like that Space Police set, with essentially a shipping container on the back (And the anachronistic earth-truck cab design of the Space Police set!). However, the shipping container is not just a shipping container; but is detachable via hidden engines on its rear. After it is launched, four spikes like those on the Droch-class boarding ship extend from the rear of the container, but all slid towards the center to make one big spike (I'm pretty sure the CW one did this too). After impaling a criminal warlord's ship, the spikes will slide out towards the corners, ripping a hole in the hull, and allowing the Peacekeepers inside the container to invade the ship and capture its leaders. After jettisoning the container, the space truck unveils a hidden cannon from inside its "hood" area and gives air support.

Anyways, I haven't made a whole lot of progress yet, but I wanted to show what I have and type out my worldbuilding, so this is what I've got: 

The container

Rear doors blown off as spike extends

The other end of the container, with the engines and a door to allow the crew to pass from it to the cab.

 

I'm looking forward to making more progress, and seeing what others come up with!

Edited January 21, 2023 by 2GodBDGlory

[Berthil]

Good start, that's going to be a big one looking at the scale of the container :)
I looked at the 5972 too for inspiration as I don't have a lot of white or blue in Technic but have not enough concept ideas to come up with a model.
Good luck with the progress!

Edited January 15, 2023 by Berthil

[Jurss]

I suppose that rebuild in technic is not forbidden. At least, build something similar. So this is good option to get ispiration

[2GodBDGlory]

I've made some solid progress lately, and have essentially finished the container part of the model!

This is the container in its disguised form, but by turning a knob on the side, this spike will protrude, blowing out the rear doors!

By turning another knob on the top, the four parts of the spike slide out in four different directions, tearing a hole in the hull of the enemy ship and allowing the container's crew to disembark into the ship. I've got a video of this action down at the bottom.

These mechanisms were fairly hard to realize. I used two mirrored linkage setups to link the spikes into two pairs, and then controlled them with these two long 15L liftarms, which are driven by the square inner profile of a 28T turntable to allow them to function like a long extendable axle (Something similar and simpler could probably have been done with 16L axles, but I only have one real one that I can use in this contest, and I'd need two). Because of the square profile on the stationary part of the turntable, though, the turntables could not be rotated when the beams were slid back in for a stowed spike, but this wasn't a problem, since the spike doesn't have to expand until its extended all the way anyways.

Spoiler

Also, I think this model will go quite nicely with my one Technic figure, who happens to be a police officer! Matched with a black helmet, I think he'll look pretty good!

 

My next step will be to start building the "truck" that'll be carrying this container!

 

[pow]

nice mechanism! would it be too complicated to have both mechanisms controlled by just one knob? By using a differential maybe?

[2GodBDGlory]

2 hours ago, pow said:

nice mechanism! would it be too complicated to have both mechanisms controlled by just one knob? By using a differential maybe?

I'm pretty sure it could be done in theory, but there'd be some practical problems. For one, both of my mechanisms are already a little finicky because of the tight space I allowed for them, and a more complex mechanism really wouldn't help that. For another, I didn't want to take up too much of the interior space, (behind the spike) because the crew needs some room too! That's also why I didn't use motors.

[Jim]

On 1/15/2023 at 1:42 AM, 2GodBDGlory said:

In the year 22--, the Galactic government, and specifically its police force, was in a sorry state. Decades of corruption had led to an impotent government, which, though not particularly oppressive, no longer had energy to actually govern. The politicians in charge of the galaxy had no interest in ruling; but rather in simply enjoying the most luxurious lifestyles possible. Finding themselves in need of more money to fund these lifestyles, they gradually became more and more influenced by the various intergalactic criminal organizations, who were glad to provide money, so long as a blind eye was turned to their operations. Agreeing to this proposal, the so-called leaders appointed a succession of police commissioners that were just as lazy and hedonistic as they, and repeatedly slashed the peacekeeping force's budget. As the years went on, criminal gangs grew in power, as this galactic police force shrank. Along with these budget cuts came greatly reduced salaries for officers, a complete lack of new equipment, and worthless leadership. Under such conditions, all but the most dedicated peacekeepers left to find other employment, leaving behind only a grim core of officers determined to maintain order in the galaxy in spite of aggressive attacks from the powerful criminals that effectively ruled most territories, and despite the complete lack of encouragement from their superiors. Armed with nothing but whatever equipment they could salvage, piece together, or confiscate; admirable courage, and unyielding determination, these brave men and women would stop at nothing to protect the galaxy's innocents from rampaging criminal warlords...

Now I know who I need to address when I need a backstory for a future contest  

Nice work on the model. Looking forward to more progress.

[pow]

On 1/22/2023 at 12:53 AM, 2GodBDGlory said:

For another, I didn't want to take up too much of the interior space, (behind the spike) because the crew needs some room too!

Ah I see. I am very much looking forward to the result.

[2GodBDGlory]

I made some more progress the other day, starting on the body of the "truck" that will be hauling this container.

We've got an unload function based on a track section at the rear, which links with the container through two 2L pins, and unloads it using two coupled pullback motors. (I've decided to keep this model manual, and it's always fun to find a good use for trusty pullback motors) There's a few little wheels along the sides to help support the container as it slides off. (No, this doesn't make it a space car!), plus some rather Y-wing inspired booster engines alongside the container.

Spoiler

I also built a gun that will be hidden under the hood. It's based on the 6-shooter piece, and will hopefully be aimable with a joystick and able-to-be-fired with a knob. I didn't grab a picture of it, so that'll have to wait until the next update!

[2GodBDGlory]

My latest progress has mainly been on the front section. The plan is to make it look vaguely like a classic semi truck cab, which is obviously anachronistic for a spaceship, but then so was a lot of the Space Police III lineup that I'm mainly inspired by, so I'm going to go with it.

Anyways, I slapped a few plates on a little frame at the rear to rough out the "sleeper" area, with extra crew seating. I'm not sure I love using these System parts, but I'm running low on black panels after using them on the bottom of the container, so they might have to do. The lattice plates do have a nice connection to the window stickers on the Space Truck Getaway set, and I think some extra details should help make it look more complete back there. Most of my progress has been on the front, though. I added a "hood," that is split down the middle and coupled with gears so it can fold down, revealing a massive gun!

There's also a little hole in the grille so that the gun can shoot before dramatically revealing itself, if necessary. This gun is mounted on a turntable, and while it doesn't have the greatest range of motion, it can be controlled for rotation and tilt with a two-way joystick.

I'll be working on hooking up a control for the firing of the 6-shooter part, but I'm quite pleased with what I have so far, for the simple reason that rather than holding the DBG housing in place and rotating the yellow trigger, like every Lego set I know of, I've fixed the yellow trigger in place and driven the housing, so the shots will always come from a fixed place at the top, and the whole thing spins dramatically.

It was a little tricky to figure this out, but I got it figured out. The housing is driven via a 28T turntable, and the center is fixed using a 3L axle with stud stuck into a 1L beam, with a 1x1 plate on the other end. This plate is stuck into the LBG part of the turntable, locking it in place on the square profile there, and then allowing me to lock that yellow part in place.

Anyways, I'll be working on figuring out the cab and firing controls, and then potentially landing gear, locks to hold the container in, and generic detailing.

[2GodBDGlory]

It's been a while since I posted any updates, but I've been busy, and I believe the truck is now in its finished state! 

 

 

Features:

• Spring-loaded landing gear
• Removable cargo container
• Container eject function
• Rear door on container
• Extending rear spike
• Expanding rear spike
• Split opening hood
• Hidden two-axis joystick operated six-shooter gun
• Opening cab doors
• Sliding rear "Ray door"

 

Aesthetics:

Because this truck was supposed to be a sort of cheap beater modified for service by my cash-strapped Space Police officers, it's a bit older looking, and has some details added that I thought would add some character, like the "Legoland" brick used on the left side of the sleeper, and the checkered flags. I added my classic KO 55M4NN license plates from the Arocs, a random stamp on the rear of the container ("Shipping label"?), and then raided my stash of former-custom-laptop stickers (now replaced with ones printed on more durable paper) for an "I Heart Motorized Bicycles" one with the motorized bicycles part being completely illegible, a Republic logo (Because there's still Star Wars fans in the distant future!), and a big 'ol Eurobricks Technic sticker for the side of the container. Other than that, what we've got here is a weird amalgamation of classic big rig style, Y-wing engines, a shipping container, and some little winglets holding headlights and keeping the wheelless nose from looking too awkward. The red stripe was a late addition, but makes it pop a bit more. I'd've (Dual contractions are the height of conciseness and lucidity) liked to add some red 1x8 tiles on the grille plates to continue the line, but ~95% of my System collection is back home in Canada and inaccessible to collegiate me. 

Spoiler

Interior:

There ain't much, but there's two front seats, a steering yoke, and a couple sideways rear benches, plus some weapon storage.

Spring-loaded landing gear:

The landing gear is of a design where it locks into the stowed position with the rubber band, but when nudged will spring down. The front two legs are on their own system, but the rear four are connected via a bunch of 16T gears inside the track. They're nothing too fancy, but are helpful to support the truck!

Spoiler

 

Removable Cargo Container:

The container can be removed...

Also, bonus pictures of the door on the rear, allowing access for the crew to pass between the truck and container when they're attached

Spoiler

Container eject function:

Two pullback motors and a spiffy ratcheting system provided (just barely) enough torque to run a big conveyor belt, which would eject the container sitting on top of it.

I was also very pleased to use a couple of my old 2605 springs as a belt tensioner!

Rear Door on Container:

See two things above. Only mentioned here to keep my outline consistent!

 

Extending Rear Spike:

This is where my design begins to take inspiration from Star Wars: The Clone Wars' "Droch-class boarding ship," as mentioned in my first post. The big 'ol spike extends out the rear when a knob on the side is rotated, busting off the rear doors (which are mismatched colors because, as everyone knows, it's hard to recover doors that you just ejected randomly into space while conducting a hostile incursion into a criminal warlord's flagship, and even harder when fleeing after said incursion, necessitating frequent replacement)

Spoiler

This is my rather satisfyingly weird geartrain to run the rack gears to extend it:

 

Expanding Rear Spike

You may have a handy container to eject from your ship, with its own rocket engines capable of steering it at an enemy ship, and a massive extending spike you can use to impale said ship, but if your spike can't expand outwards after the impalation, you're going to have a hard time getting your boarding crew inside. Thankfully, this MOC suffers from no such problems!

Spoiler

Handy crew passage

This mechanism was harder to make work, and is probably best elucidated (Meaning "made clear," BTW. I like using strange words, dang it! I guess I like people understanding me too...) via these three images from this MOC's WIP days:

Spoiler

These 15L beams function as extendable driveshafts, driven by the turntables, and capable of sliding through them so long as the spike is in the closed position, where the beams are aligned with the square profile of the stationary half of the turntable.

They then run these weird linkages. Maybe to get an idea of their geometry, open these two images in new tabs and toggle back and forth, tracking the motion with your eyes, like a lame two-frame stop-motion animation.

 

Split Opening Front Hood

No, this isn't some weird strategy for engine access! Anachronistic as the general style of this truck is, Space Trucks don't generally bother lugging around useless engines, though the odd space trucker will keep it around for the sole purpose of creating clouds of black smoke at whim. Carrying around sufficient oxygen in space is problematic, though, and although our intrepid Space Police Officers toyed with the idea of using such a scheme as a smokescreen, they decided the needed the space for other more... aggressive... purposes.

In this case, that more aggressive purpose is a big fat gun, the joystick for which can be used to open the hood via a swift pull rearwards, which can move the gun up with enough force to open the hood. Alternately, manual grabbing/moving/releasing can also work. The two halves of the hood are geared together so they open simultaneously.

 

 

 

Hidden two-axis joystick operated six-shooter gun

See preceding image /\

The gun could rotate on a 60T turntable, and be tilted upwards as well, while retaining remote firing capabilities.

Spoiler

Joystick in cab:

(I couldn't usually get that much rotation out of it via joystick, but here I moved it manually )

Cunningly placed grille holes allow for firing of the gun without doing the whole dramatic "Oh-look-I've-got-a-big-exciting-transformation-function-and-a-super-intimidating-gun-fear-me-and-perish!" routine each time.

Incidentally, such a scheme wouldn't work if I was using the 6-shooter part in the typical way, with the DBG part fixed and the yellow trigger rotating, but as I described in one of the WIP posts, I set it up in an unusual way that did the opposite, allowing for all shots to come from the top, as the whole body rotates.

Perhaps the following images can shed some metaphorical light on how the joystick linkages work:

 

Opening Cab Doors:

This function is too complex to explain within any finite time period, so I'll just include a picture:

 

 

Sliding rear "Ray door"

I had the door on the container to allow access, but if I left a big 'ol hole in the back of the cab to allow access to it, any pilot would soon begin feeling a degree of difficulty in breathing due to the hasty exodus of his atmosphere into the vacuum of space. To prevent this lamentable occurrence, I added a sliding "Ray door," to the rear.

Spoiler

I was very pleased to finally find a good use for that 12T gear with axle part!

Bonus Weapons Demo:

I built a few different guns for my Technic figure to hold, just like I did for minifigures in my more youthful days... I then posed that figure with them around the truck

Spoiler

Anyways, I'm pretty pleased with this model, and all the wacko functions I got to think up and include!

If I neglected to include any images, you can check out the whole gallery here: https://bricksafe.com/pages/2GodBDGlory/tc25-space-vehicle (Yes, I embarrassingly named the page after some future TC25 )

Video here:

 

[Jurss]

Functions in this are really interesting