[TC25] 42054 Claas Xerion 5000 Trac VC

[Ngoc Nguyen]

I did say I would drop out of the contest, but a few days after that I just started this model on a whim. And I had fun with it, so why not. I might not make it in time for submission, but in the end what's important is that I have fun with what I do and feel good about my creation.

 

Functions done:

- 3 steering mode
- Rotating front fender
- Rotating cabin
- Rear hitch up and down movement
- Crane rotation
- Crane outriggers
- Drive train for crane elevation.

 

Remaining problems:

- Mini LA for crane or not? The turntable is already placed higher than normal.
- Cabin lifting while rotating. This might not matter in the end because the cabin can already rotate, but if it can be done then why not
- Hood
- Front hitch movement
- Inline 4 fake engine
- Crane arm second movement
- Crane grappler

[MangaNOID]

I really thought 42054 had diffs so I didn’t want to try it. I should have referenced better…

Look forward to see what you come up with.

Can you show the 3 steering modes (someones going to ask if you have mentioned it of course) I have been working on a tractor for a few months with 3 steering modes in a compact area (got it working now) so curious to see how yours is implemented in this small scale too.

 

[Ngoc Nguyen]

3 hours ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

Cabin lifting while rotating. This might not matter in the end because the cabin can already rotate, but if it can be done then why not

I'm skipping this because the HOG goes directly straight through the cabin.

1 hour ago, MangaNOID said:

Can you show the 3 steering modes (someones going to ask if you have mentioned it of course) I have been working on a tractor for a few months with 3 steering modes in a compact area (got it working now) so curious to see how yours is implemented in this small scale too.

 

 

[1gor]

With tires from Jeep it could end up great. I'll keep an eye on this project.

[SaperPL]

9 hours ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

I did say I would drop out of the contest, but a few days after that I just started this model on a whim. And I had fun with it, so why not. I might not make it in time for submission, but in the end what's important is that I have fun with what I do and feel good about my creation.

I wonder if you'll manage to source the parts in time if you're starting now. Unless you have inventory where you can steal the parts in required colors from the models.

I don't like the idea of coming in at last week before the deadline and rolling out the whole progress while knowing what others are building, but I suppose it isn't against rules as long as you can show the progress in the thread and not just drop the finished MOC thread at the last minute (which happens often in my local LUG for the MOC of the month contest, which is why I don't like it).

But well, at this point with all strong contenders with complex mechanisms, it's going to be hard to compete, but still I want to see how your build will come out, so keep pushing it forward :)

[Ngoc Nguyen]

1 hour ago, SaperPL said:

I wonder if you'll manage to source the parts in time if you're starting now. Unless you have inventory where you can steal the parts in required colors from the models.

I do have a bunch of models to get the parts from. Most of the parts involved are common parts. The only new parts that I use are the 3x5M flipflop L beam and the black 7M flipflop beam. I think I can get them from the NASA thing.

 

1 hour ago, SaperPL said:

I don't like the idea of coming in at last week before the deadline and rolling out the whole progress while knowing what others are building, but I suppose it isn't against rules as long as you can show the progress in the thread and not just drop the finished MOC thread at the last minute

The most important part is that I have fun while working on this model. That is why I can whip up this thing in a couple of days, while I didn't make any improvement on the Airbus.

 

On another note, second iteration of the crane. I managed to lower it by two studs. Still not sure if I should use mini LA for crane elevation.

 

11 hours ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

- Inline 4 fake engine

I'm thinking of not doing this and instead put a front hitch movement knob under the hood.

Edited August 8, 2023 by Ngoc Nguyen

[Jurss]

That crane is becoming too massive, I think. Outrigger could be simply flippable, not with some common gearing, I think. But this is Your build.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

57 minutes ago, Jurss said:

Outrigger could be simply flippable, not with some common gearing, I think.

The reason outriggers have gearing is that there is no pin hole for direct input into the rotational axles,

[1gor]

And if you use two thin liftarms 5 L with axlehole at both end from mini Xerion? Could that help you?

[Ngoc Nguyen]

59 minutes ago, 1gor said:

And if you use two thin liftarms 5 L with axlehole at both end from mini Xerion? Could that help you?

I dont get it

[1gor]

I thought maybee instead of using 5L thick liftarm for outriggers, you can use pair of those if you want to make stabilizers like on 8069 set...but for me it is ok the way you made it...

[Ngoc Nguyen]

 

Crane done.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Whipped up the hood.

 

I'm very pleased with how the shaping turns out to be. I managed to capture the curve line on the side that flows around the front wheel just like the real thing without having to use flex axle.

 

It's too blocky for my taste but at this scale there is little else that I can do. At least I managed to make the shape recognizable.

[lcvisser]

I'm really liking the tractor! The crane is less convincing in my opinion. It seems out of proportion... Admittedly, the original wasn't great either, so maybe you rendition is accurate after all ;-)

[Jurss]

 

9 hours ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

without having to use flex axle.

Good, but axles would be closer to original. There are for this scale lime axles. I used them in my mini xerion.

Maybe for claws operation better use not those 2L axle connectors, but some gears, and use then shorter axel?

[Ngoc Nguyen]

I added the front part under the hood.

It's a very tight space, being only 3L wide, 3L tall, 4L deep, and have to serve multiple purposes. The must be a structural block going through them to support the backbone and the front attachment. I also want to put some fake engine details into that space. But certain cells are off limits because they accommodate the steering movements. 

In the end this is what I decided to with.

 

 

There is a space of one stud between the grey supporting liftarms and the hood when closed, so I want to put something in there. Originally I wanna put a fan, because of this image.

 

 

But there are only a couple of fans, wheel covers, and discs that fit the 1L deep 3L wide and 4L tall. The fan piece I like the most is this part, but it doesnt fit.

 

So I ended up just mimicking the black grill wall. 

 

[1gor]

When I see red gear on this topic I hoped to see it in real bricks, but it seems that I have to be patient...lower part of hood looks very good, but part with headlights is IMHO to bulky... I understand that without stickers it would be very very hard to replicate real hood in such small scale

[Ngoc Nguyen]

13 minutes ago, 1gor said:

When I see red gear on this topic I hoped to see it in real bricks, but it seems that I have to be patient..

That day will come, cuz I'm itching for the real build too. But I need to finalize the design first.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Front weight holder + Holder elevation done.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Took a break from designing to work on instruction. This would ensure that my model is actually buildable and the building experience is rewarding. Made some little changes here and there during the process.

The only thing left is design is the cabin.

[brickless_kiwi]

I'm loving seeing the creative genius of this competition. Lego really should be taking note maybe to revisit sets at this detail in the smaller scale... it will look good next to its big brother 

[Akassin]

I never cease to be amazed at how fast you create your creations (competition entries and alternative models). It's sad that work on 42145 stopped, but this mini Claas is a worthy replacement. 

[Ngoc Nguyen]

The design phase is complete.

 

Initially the next phase is to acquire the parts and build the real thing. But there is one thing I'm still not quite satisfied with.

 

The cabin when turned doesnt go as far as it should be. According to the real model it should go as far as the right end of the tractor.

 

In order to achieve that the turntable has to be moved back by 1 more stud, which would interfere with a lot of structural parts and require a chassis redesign. I'll give this a try in a couple of days, but if I can't find the solution I'll go with the first photo.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

I created a copy and moved the turntable back one more stud, then redid the steering system and the whole supporting structure. I then pulled the cabin for a swing.

The cabin will block the steering mode selector and hit the knob for the rear hitch as well as interfering with even more structures around it. I think I'll drop this direction and go back to the previous iteration as the finalized design.

[Akassin]

Considering how far some official Lego sets are from their real prototypes (let's not point fingers at 42146), then your problem is not even worth paying attention to. Especially on such a small scale.