ukbajadave

Nice work Am I correct in thinking the linear actuators on the trailer are connected by an axle to the cab unit? I guess the large LA is to drop the bed but what is the function of the small LA underneath? I look forward to seeing a video of all the functions.

Are you tying the string directly around the axle? I would think it is very hard to get it tight enough. When I built a winch I tied the string onto a pulley first, then drove the pulley with an axle.

How about string that winds up around a driven axle and pulls a lever connected to the battery box switch?

I suspect no two people will sort the same but my method has developed over time, now it makes sense for me and I can find the parts I want. I don't have a separate pot for every single element but rather types so a small pot for half bushes, a pot of gears, a pot of clutch parts etc. If I have a lot of one type (pins) they get further divided, Frictionless, Blue, Black, and so on. I'm mainly a Technic builder but you could do the same with system bricks i.e. wheels, windows and doors, minifigs and then bricks and plates further sorted by size or colour.

As far as washing Lego goes I'd think any soap safe for your hands should be ok. Make sure you give it a good rinse and leave it to gently air dry, I don't think extra heat or UV are needed and might eventually damage your bricks. I usually sort by type too unless I have lots of something (Beams are sorted by colour and then by size) or very little of something. If I have only 1 or 2 of a part a separate pot is a waste, I'll put it with something of a contrasting colour. Dark grey bits with yellow rather than black for example.

You could use a tray (or the dining room table) for a new model when the parts are already separate. Once the parts get shuffled in with the rest of your collection its hard to beat food tubs for convenience and value, and all the half filled tubs will stack on top of each other to save space when you aren't building. This is the only divider box I have. I use it for beam/connector type bits and they can be awkward to get out. Thinking about it this type of box may work much better for larger elements like beams and axles?

I find the biggest problem with these kind of boxes is accidentally pulling out the divider, then having to shuffle it back into place without disturbing the two different contents. It can also be difficult scooping little parts out. I generally use takeaway food containers. Super cheap in bulk and big enough to hold 15l beams.

I'd say keep the nosepiece. It's a big feature of the real car and the element you used captures it nicely. Regarding the proportions it is subjective but I wonder if moving the windscreen one stud forward would help? Also maybe some SNOT would let you put a tile in the gap behind the headlights. Overall your model is recognisable as the real car so I'd consider it a good starting point for some further refinement. Thanks for sharing :)

It seems like there might be something built into the pumps already. Not too scientific but I took a small blue pump and put it on my tongue. Compression forced air out but extension didn't pull my tongue in. Same with the big blue pump. I suppose that if air could siphon back into the pump any connected cylinder wouldn't stay extended.

They were 180° opposed and connected to a T. It occurs to me now that they may have just filled each other with air so maybe simultaneous would have been better :) Ebay silicone tubing for cars tends to have thicker walls (2mm) so I got some medical tubing from China, I think AliExpress or wish. Try searching "2mm food grade silicone" as a starting point. You want 2mm internal diameter and 1mm wall thickness for a 4mm outside diameter. Lots of pretty colours, you can buy metres at a time and you don't have to cut your Lego hoses. The rigid black pipes were RC car aerial tubes, just about the right size to fit Lego clips and fit through the middle of pins.

Schwifty! You've really captured the shape well with those small panels at the back. How about one of these for the top? (Ignore the colours, I only had the modular pet shop handy)

Great work on getting so many functions in such a compact package. It's always nice to see an interesting subject for a model. Did your instructions show how to operate the functions?

Thank you all for taking time to look at my model with fresh eyes. I guess by fenders you mean what I would call wheelarches rather than bumpers? I did try a couple of solutions in dark grey to match the front but I couldn't make them secure whilst only keeping them 1 wide. In the end I came up with something in black which I agree adds visual interest to an otherwise plain panel. The winch is definitely something I'm going to re visit. I think I'm going to turn the motor 180° and try to fit in a 2L clutch so the string can pull out freely. By far the best My first after my dark ages was this little beauty, specifically made to fit 2 horses and 2 minifigs side by side (as long as they hold hands) Note the skillful use of 70s and 80s bricks with teeth marks from my personal collection. I agree. Ultimately I was limited to the parts on hand but having seen how cheap panels are from Pick A Brick this is also something I might improve. More parts is always nice, right?

It is with great pleasure (and some trepidation) that I present my first Eurobricks worthy MOC. A tow truck! The inspiration came after I built the excellent 42043 C model mobile-crane by M_longer. As I took it apart I thought the boom reminded me of the tow trucks that have rescued me many times. I pulled all my sets apart, put the elements in a big pile and when I had spare time I would try and turn the image in my mind into brick built reality. This is the end product after many months of building and rebuilding and pulling apart to change around. Power Functions: 1X XL motor for drive (RC) 1X Servo motor for steering (RC) 1X L motor raises/lowers boom (RC) 1X M motor drives 2 output gearbox (RC) 1X M motor with switch for winch PF lights The gearbox is manually switched to either extend/retract the boom or raise/lower the rear platform. The cab is based on 42043 with the doors and windscreen virtually identical. it was much too tall so I changed the front and door bottoms to lower it (and make it a Volvo ) and changed the roof to integrate the IR receivers. I had to remove a massive amount of the internal structure to make room for the servo motor and M motor under the seats but it is still a very sturdy model. The yellow and grey 3X1 half beams near the winch motor are to switch the clutch for the M motor under the cab. Once the side panels are in place it is not easy to access. It's all quite a snug fit with no wasted space. Many times I had to undo work I had already done in order to add a simple support or change things around. The boom is extended by worm gear. thanks again @M_longer and the drive to the end uses a sliding 8 tooth gear. Purists should skip to the next paragraph now..... (I didn't have the sliding variant but I did have a regular one and a Dremel) So why was this a learning curve? Because I really gained a lot of insight into creating my own models. I had to get around part limitations like not having steering hubs for example. I also spent a lot of time undoing things I had already done so for my next MOC I'll try to plan a lot more digitally and as a whole, rather than making a rear axle and then making a boom and then making a front axle and then trying to mash them all together. I might even try another tow truck where everything is a little more organised. There has been some very interesting discussion lately about making Eurobricks more active and using feedback as a way to improve which is why I'm now posting rather than lurking. Any and all comments are welcome. As a reward for reading to the end of my post here is the essential underneath pic. And of course a functions video. Enjoy!

I suspect I am like many others "Team reads much, posts rarely" Edit: 15th post in 8 years!