johnnym

Nice one, totally missed that model so far. About the hose: Can you maybe make room inside the secondary arm, so you could place the pneumatic cylinder upside down?

So I'm about to finalize this model. Yesterday I did continue adding details and made some structural improvements: The loader now in addition has: oscillating tracks (tracks also moved one stud lower for better clearance, work well on carpet) warning lights step and fuel tank cap (left side) shovel movement extremes increased Rear and front were also finalized and the side panels are now "one piece" and easy to remove as a whole to get a view inside the engine bay. Today I finished up the engine: a twin-turbine. It's not working nor connected to the tracks, but you can at least move the two impellers. And it works as counterweight to the arm and shovel. Current measurements are: 26 27 (L) x 14.5 14 (W) x 19.5 (H) = 7351.5 7371 Well, I think this is it. There is still a good amount of parts left, but I don't think they'd add anything good to the loader. I'll give the design a little time to settle though.

Thanks for your kind words. Much appreciated, also the advice. I also like the new tracks. I tried them on my mining excavator, too, but they look much better on the loader.

I didn't expect more than 2 meters, geez... Amazing!

Looks very beautiful - best with 3rd party wheels! I don't see a suspension though, is there (n)one? Looking forward to a video from your overland expedition, hope you'll link it here.

Very nice, almost looks like a scale model. Also nice to have both PU and PF versions available.

I think the cabin from 42121 would be a great fit here, too. Nice functionality. From the color, should this be an Euclid grader? Waiting for the final pictures. Will you grade some sand maybe?

@Thirdwigg The excavator is definitely my favorite of your models for the contest. There is so much going on in that small machine, just awesome! And indeed the new panel(s) has/have some uses, I'll most likely put them to use in future cars. Will you enter the contest with both models or decide for one or another?

@MangaNOID: Are you happy now? The loader now got: four tracks headlights (2 x fixed and 2 x adjustable with handle (same as on the 3 x 42121 mining excavator - well, it comes from the same company)) rear lights air filters a wider rear a shorter arm a more closed hull

Wow, that got huge! How many meters of pneumatic tube have you installed? Man, I think I can just stop with my entry, the competition is just too far ahead with everything....

In that size and with the limitation of 2 x 42121 inventories I don't know if this is easily possible. I mean yeah, I can most likely build those differently - they are actually already different in some details - but what should that accomplish? If a solution is good as is, why should it not be used in a model? I am pretty sure, that a lot of small solutions or mechanisms in use in this contest were already used before and by someone else. Thank you. It became more of an excavator style loader. The rear looks like a spider butt in my eyes. I like how the shape of the curved slopes and the panels flow into each other almost organically. Those part designers at TLG do a very good job.

@Maaboo35: Thank you very much, glad you like it! The scenery also helps a little I think. Actually, I never tried out the B model but just yesterday watched the video from @kbalage about it and find its features (e.g. working engine!) very cool.

Enough for today, this is what I did accomplish until now: And these are more detailed shots of the loader: Tracks and turntable base and cabin are still from the dump truck/42121 A model. I might keep all of them as is because the base just works great (and I don't see a reason why to change that then) and the cabin is needed to keep it in scale with the other models. I think it looks a little like 42094. I still have lots of parts available and a lot to do. The rear end will become wider and has to become heavier to keep the balance better with the large arm. The mechanism to control the shovel is a pretty massive, I hope I can "thin" that out a little. Not yet sure if this is the way to go, but it's definitely something different then the usual.

I would have loved to use my mining excavator as entry for this contest, but as it was already pretty finished it was a no-go. I therefore will try to create something new for the contest. My plan is for a tracked loader out of the parts of 2 x 42121. As my mining excavator (which needs about two copies of 42121 and another shovel) isn't digitized yet and is also needed in real for another planned photoshooting of the functions and I don't have enough copies of 42121 available - yeah I know, luxury problems - I need to disassemble my dozer and dumper 42121 alternates for the loader. I'd like to have kept the dumper at least as companion for the loader but that will have to wait until later I'm afraid. So these are the parts I have available: I think I will start with the basic functionality of the loader and setting the dimensions. It's already late now, but I couldn't make time earlier because of other stuiff. We'll see if this goes anywhere until the end of the contest but I hope for the best. Fingers crossed...

Now that JM Mining Co. received its brand new groundSHOCK 10K SXT mining excavator its mining operations could be largely intensified: The picture series shows the finalized model (with the following changes to the initial pictures: upper arm movement can now be controlled from both the gear in the lower arm or the upper knob at the rear additions for stability of the superstructure additional moveable headlights ...) in action with the original 42121 (modified for better arm movement and less wiggling in the arm mount point in the superstructure) and my two existing alternate models. It now looks like only a tracked loader is still missing...

From looking at how well both fit - BTW the normal 12z bevel gear also fits in there making the whole thing 1 stud thick - I'd say this was not done by chance. I.e. there is this recess around the whole of the 28z idler gear and the 12z bevel gears both have a protrusion on the non-bevelled side that fits in there pretty well.

Yeah, sure, but is hasn't seen any new mods since early 2020. It seems like it's actually too strong for my rear axle. For "bracing" I started with a half bush, but then went for the 20z bevel idler gear. It fits well inside the 28z idler gear making the whole thing 1.5 studs "thick". I then used a 20z bevel gear mirrored and the 28z double bevel gear. Inside a 7 x 5 frame I assume this would work pretty well - even better with a fourth gear as @2GodBDGlory mentioned - but my rear axle is not strong enough to keep all gears in place when trying to climb a wall with one front wheel or going over obstacles with both rear wheels at the same time. Interestingly it works when moving over the obstacle backwards. Plus my gears are pretty damaged already which doesn't make things better. I now went on to the fast variant #3. UPDATE: Ah, sorry, I didn't notice that you were actually asking @2GodBDGlory. But maybe it's still helpful.

@2GodBDGlory: Ok, I tested it on some hard obstacles with 12z against 28z in the axles and it might be already too much for the rear axle. But it also showed me a weak point there, which I'll look into and see if fixing that makes a difference. I'll also again look into the third variation of the drivetrain, as I just had an idea for a police brawler - because it seems to share the scale with my Turbo Racers.

That could indeed work at the rear axle, though to make it not protrude any further at the back I could only use a friction-less 2L pin with axle for that 4th gear and that's not ideal. Don't know how it would look with the original hood, but it should be possible to install it by loosing the center pillar of the front window(s). And it is definitely better than the ones I showed in 2019 and I found a way to prevent the tracks to turn over easily which was a big issue with the old version. Now I still need lots of rubber inserts as I just had enough for two tracks. Hey @Thirdwigg, maybe it's about time to revive that 8081 mods thread with some new additions? @rm8, are you listening, too?

@lmdesigner42: Just had an idea: It could be interesting to see, if 12z double bevel against 28z double bevel with 28z doubel bevel from new diff as "counter"? gear for support could work reliably. This would eliminate "weak" gears on the axles. I'll check that out. And I have to correct myself, upon closer inspection of the 20z half bevel gears I see some damaged teeth, too. Though I can't say if the damage is from the drives in the video or from before because I have this setup installed since over a year and a half maybe.

Thanks! I have tried the new diffs in there, but it didn't work out well. I'm unsure if this was due to the diffs (the red gear isn't really fixed well to the diff housing) or because I am not using a 7 x 5 closed frame around it. Whenever I faced a considerable load there, the black 12z double bevel gear pushed the 28z double bevel gear from the diff housing. "Lost" two new diffs that way, or let's say two of the red gears got a new tooth design. This Something similar also happens with the current locked axles if a wheel gets blocked - gears jump teeth, heard the occassional clicking in the video sequences? - but so far I haven't seen the damage I saw on the red gears. I would like to checkout the planetary hubs, but they won't fit on the front axle I believe. And they also cannot be driven by an axle, right? Could an older CV joint work? Well, I don't have the planetary hubs either, so it's theoretical thinking anyhow. Apropos 8081: I still need to create comparison photographs with the 8081 A model, hopefully I have all needed parts available.

Some of the future additions have now been already photographed, though still with non-final coloring: functional tracks shortnose variant featuring a high-power LED band instead of normal headlights (coloring not final) I also created pictures showing the approximate approach, breakover and departure angles of both body variants: ...and I have a new favorite body variant now.

Some might still remember this offroader I started sometime ago in 2019 and showed earlier versions in the 8081 mods thread a while ago. Well, I finally "finished" it now and created digital models for it. I call it the COMMANDO and it is "sold" by MM (Mars Motors). People that follow my Turbo Racers series and my series of 42093 scale cars with swappable engines should already know MM. To show its capabilities I made a trip to a special location and examined what it can do there. Have a look into the video to see what it possible: The configuration in this video has all axles locked and uses the drivetrain variation #2 (see below). The COMMANDO started as the glorious 8081 A model and went through lots of modifications - especially to the front and rear axles and also to the outer hull - on the way to the final result. I created three versions so far: with 1 x PF AA battery box with 2 x PF AAA battery boxes with BuWizz 2.0 ...from which the BuWizz one was used during the video and also most of the time I drove it so far. Here are a few more detailed pictures showing it in that terrain: Here are two pictures showing the chassis construction (click to magnify): ...and here are the three drivetrain variations that can be used (click to magnify) More variations are possible and the gearing can be changed with relative ease, as the motors are not an integral part of the construction: #1 is used for the PF versions and #2 is used for the BuWizz version. #3 can be used to examine the effects of open differentials in offroad situations. The COMMANDO can use various tyres and clearance should be good enough for all of them: 45982 81.6 x 38 R Balloon tyres 18450 81.6 x 44 R (Tumbler) tyres 69912 81 x 35 Tractor (Zetros) tyres I have also already designed a few addons that will be released at a later time - need to create the digital models first - and I have even more ideas for it. So far I have available: front winch rear PTO exploration gear tracks So stay tuned for additions. I hope you like the COMMANDO and I hope it is a worthy successor to the 8081 A model. If you're interested, the - free of charge - digital models (Studio files with detailed steps and submodels) and more pictures are available on Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-111591/johnnym/mm-commando/

Nice work! And cool way to implement the blade functionality. For the cabin I think axle connectors and maybe rigid hoses for the curvature at the front is the way to go.

Looks pretty good! And features are impressive so far.