Orinoko

Looking good! did you build something in for the counterweight as yet? I found that the inertia was the issue if you were trying to slew the bucket a small amount. The torque would build up in the mechanism until it overcame the inertia, at which point the bucket would swing a long way. Not useful if you only wanted to move one bucket width to the left or right. With 3 it was OK, but 4 would have given a much finer level of control. As it turned out when I put it on display I didn't rotate the structure at all so it wasn't really an issue.

Not built "to scale" as such. The proportions are based on the size of the 42055 bucket matched approx. against the scale of the real bucket. Everything else from an overall dimension perspective is based on the size of the wheel. The minifigures are "too large" against the scale of the model (as are the dump trucks), however to make that work it would have had to be 3 times as large, and then the buckets would have been 3 times too small. I took quite a bit of creative license taken when building it, however it was not intended to be a "scale replica" but rather an attempt to build a more satisfying BWE than I found the 42055 kit to be.

Hi All, Back at the beginning of the year I exhibited at Brickvention 2018 in Melbourne. Below are some photos of the exhibit! Video:

Hi All, The various feed belts were operated independently using their own motors, and the speeds were synchronized using the configuration options in sBrick. Each belt could be stopped and started using individual control. Cheers Tony

Hi All, I've completed the "official" video, added some more formal pictures and uploaded the build album - accessible from the front page of the thread. Enjoy! Tony

I put the first pieces together in August 2016, so nearly 12 months. I had a couple of months off in the middle earlier this year (my workspace was being renovated.)

There are 9 42055 kits used for parts (about 31K pieces) and I had probably 1-2 of them left over (lets say 2 being conservative) which leaves 23K and I purchased about 5K individual pieces as needed. So it probably comes in somewhere around the 26K mark. Some of the channels are shared just to distribute the load - there are 2 XL's in each tracked section (total of 6 for drive). 3XL's for superstructure rotation (and to be honest 4 would have been better, there is quite a bit of inertia in moving it.) There is a channel for the 2XL's on winch duty, one channel for the Bucket Wheel itself. There is a channel doing the extend/retract of the out-feed, and quite a few grouped together to make the outfeed belts work.

Thanks Everyone for the great feedback and I'm sorry I have been absent for a few weeks (juggling full time work, university study, home renovations and a family doesn't leave me much time for my favourite hobby!) I'm uploading an album of build photos which I will share when they are finished copying up. I've also switched the photo hosting from Photobucket to Flickr. In the coming weeks I'll be doing a more formal photoshoot and a new video. Lego Australia have shown some interest in the MOC and I'd like some better pictures. Thanks again for the kind comments! Tony

With about 25,000 pieces I don't even want to attempt making a manual for it. I used GIMP and PaintTool for Mac - pretty primitive, but got the job done :) At the beginning I thought I would need them to stiffen the styructure but it turned out to be strong enough without them. They add some bracing but only in one direction as in the other they just pull apart. I considered gluing them into a single unit but in the end it was not necessary. Hi Teflon, At the beginning I thought i could do it with only 3...however that kept going and going as the true scale of the build got going. I have a considerable stock of technic parts already but I was not sure of the long term plans for this build and I did not want to sacrifice my other kits for it. Ironically I have never actually built the 42055 model.. The scale is based around the size of the buckets actually - it seemed like a good starting point as the diameter of the wheel and the bucket are known values. From memory its approx. 1:80 though I have taken some creative license in many areas. Thanks for the great feedback :)

Thanks for the welcome and the kind words everyone - I have added some video (which has been uploading) - it's not Hollywood grade, but should give you a good idea of what happens! I'll also add a screen shot of the iPad controls.

Hello Everyone, This is my first MOC which I am now ready to share. When the 42055 BWE was released I was very excited, but also quite disappointed at the same time - so much potential that didn’t really meet my expectations of what a BWE should look like.. So foolishly I embarked on building my own, loosely based on the 42055, and the Bagger 288, with a few "improvements". It's taken almost a year of building on and off. Some statistics: I’d estimate somewhere around 22,000 pieces, though I didn’t count them! Consumed 9 42055 kits for parts, plus quite a few others 13 XL Motors 5 large motors 1 medium motor 5 Battery Boxes Crew of 25 Dimensions 110cm high 320cm long 34cm Bucket Wheel 680cm of conveyor belt 22kg Dismantles for storage in a wardrobe! Functions: Operated by 5 Bluetooth SBricks Main superstructure and Outfeed tracks all function (albeit crawling very slowly) Main superstructure rotates 360 degrees Winches raise and lower the bucket wheel arm up to 30cm The outfeed hopper moves in and out for discharge The outfeed truss extends and contracts by 70cm 5 conveyor belts Rotating Bucket Wheel It's fully functional, controlled via an iPad or other touch device. It also disassembles for transport (and hiding in the closet.) all the red pins that a visible are the key pins for dismantling it. I encountered many problems along the way - the track section in particular which as the model got heavier required several rebuilds and redesigns to cope with the weight and still be able to move correctly. I have a substantial number of build images which I would be happy to make available if there is interest. So here it is! More photos in this Flickr Album: https://flic.kr/s/aHsm5mZT1M The Build Log / Album: https://flic.kr/s/aHsm7Ci25n The Official Video: The Unofficial Videos: The (very) slow motion of the tracks: From the bucket to the discharge: The Out-feed: