Hrafn

And we would all have a lot more money. They don't call it Cracklink for nothing.

In engineering school, when I was given a problem stated in English / Imperial units it was easier to convert everything to metric, solve it, and convert it back, than to do all the calculations in English. Give me Joules over BTUs, kilograms over slugs, and Newtons over pounds any day.

Fantastic! It looks and sounds just right. Are you going to add more cars to it? Will you be showing it to the public at any events? This would make a spectacular centerpiece to any show. I shudder to think what your budget must have been - black may be relatively cheap but that's an awful lot of beams and pin joiners!

On Bricklink, the "clamp plate" is called "Tile, Modified 1 x 1 with Clip"; the "rigid tube" is "Hose, Rigid" which comes in various lengths (each with its own BL entry) and can be cut.

Oh yeah! I forgot about that part. You could sandwich it between two parts with pin holes, like this: That's just to sketch out the idea - I'm sure there's a way to design something with a good range of motion and good strength.

Neat! It looks like some sort of schoolbus on steroids, to me, because of the yellow color. Maybe a schoolbus for Antarctica?

While a uniball joint would be nice to have, I can't see TLG changing the dimensions of the towball. It's a long-established standard part that interfaces with existing parts (and the coming Mixels joint parts as well). So for there to be a uniball joint, you'd need to have a set of completely new parts; and while that's possible it seems unlikely.

Probably nothing, just a few odds and ends from Bricklink - but the upcoming non-technic "Mixels" line is supposed to have some new mini towball parts that could be very good for suspensions. Then again, the full details on the 2014 releases aren't out yet...

No steering, 4WD with a PF-M geared up 20/12, and a winch? Hm. Is it part of a trailer? If it weren't for the lack of steering I'd think maybe it was going to be an airport tractor / tug.

Would it be possible to print a flexible axle that didn't have the stops on the ends? That is, a flexible axle that could actually transfer drive to gears and wheels? Or are all the material options too fragile?

Very nice! Will you have any opportunities to integrate it into a minifig-scale diorama, at a show or something? It would be the perfect blend of Town, Train, and Technic!

I've checked the-blueprints.com and was unable to find blueprints for this truck. Bedford has been out of business for a long time, so I can't download technical data sheets, and there appear to be no electronic copies of manuals for the truck(s) available online. Does anyone know where I might find blueprints, or at least some dimensions (tire size, wheelbase) and basic information (suspension type, gearbox, etc.)? Thank you!

Nick, Much obliged, thank you!

Do you have any photos of it from other angles? I'm having trouble understanding how it works. Thanks!

Doc, Thanks, that's a great idea! Often it seems like photos of vehicles are only front 3/4 shots - I hadn't thought of looking at walkaround videos. For now I think I'll have to put this one on the back burner and focus my energies on my current project.

Thanks, that's good info! I've been looking at the feasibility of doing a Truck Trial version of one of the highly decorated Pakistani trucks ("jingle trucks"), and longnose Bedford J series seem to be the most common foundation for those. RWD with leaf springs is not really Truck Trial material, though. It doesn't look like the MKs and RLs were ever used as commercial vehicles in South Asia, sadly. Oh well. I'll keep looking to see if there are any 4x4 or 6x4 jingle trucks out there.

I missed this topic the first time around, or I would have posted then to congratulate you on your model. This is really an extraordinary creation, packed with more features than I would ever have guessed could fit in such a compact package.

Great, thank you! When you say multi leaf springs, do you mean that both front and rear axles were suspended on one longitudinal leaf spring per side? Are both axles powered, or just the rear? Thank you, that would be great! The main things are - wheel and tire diameter - tire width - wheelbase (not absolutely needed but helpful as a check) I think I can estimate the other dimensions from photographs.

That's the way I would go. It's got great visual impact now, as a huge unbroken wall of orange panels; launchers etc. would detract from that.

If you're using any normal-length (2L) friction pins, make sure none of them are the old ones (the ones without center slots)! Those are hard enough to pull out one at a time.

Who wouldn't? I think Burf is going to be surrounded by kids and adults wanting a turn on it, if he takes it out in public.

In both cases, I applaud the effort but can't say I much like the results - though the Prowler without its bumpers is much better than the stock one.

Me too, though I don't like the term "dark ages" - I spent my teens and 20s and early 30s doing many things, and the lack of Lego hardly made them "dark". When I get access to a proper workshop or another hands-on engineering job, I'll probably put the Technic away again - but for now it's a way for me to get to tinker when my day-to-day life doesn't offer much opportunity to do so. That said, 8043 was technically brilliant and complex, but the M-motors were really inadequate for giving the model much play value. Building it was a good learning experience, but I took it apart again quite quickly for parts.

I like it a lot, you've done a great job of capturing the shape. The two things that stick out to me as areas for improvement - besides the front quarter panel - are the top of the trunk (which is higher in the real vehicle) and the fact that the model does not have a ground-hugging fender below the front bumper. Still, excellent work overall.

I believe the new owner of BrickLink is soliciting ideas for changes, and as Conchas said this should be a simple one to implement. If you want it as a feature, now is a good time to contact BrickLink about it.