ukbajadave

The only car which was allowed to adorn my teenage bedroom wall! I already have one of these in my display cabinet though.

Are there any parts of the dragon that might be hard to bricklink?

Your build will be a very impressive model when it's finished! Starting with 62.4x20.5 tyres gives a scale of about 1:15 so a Mercedes Tourismo M/3 would be about 21x30x107 studs. I mocked up a dimension box next to 42128. If you are using larger tyres and a bigger scale your build will be a beast! I think I'll leave mine on the future plans list as I'd be bricklinking an awful lot of panels

Thanks for posting what you have achieved so far, a bus has been on my build list for ever as I've worked with them for 30 years. Firstly I'm intrigued as to why you chose the Jumbocruiser? I am more interested in the functions of a model so would probably choose something like a Mercedes Tourismo where I could still include features like air doors, powered locker doors, kneeling suspension and ferry lift, tag axle lift etc. At what scale are you building? 25 studs wide suggests a nice easy 10 studs/metre (about 1/12th scale?) so the build should be 180 studs (1.4m) long. 22.5 tyres are roughly 1m diameter so 10 studs. Once you have larger tyres you may be able to get more room between the chassis bottom and the interior floor. This would help get the seats below the window line. I see you are using Power Functions motors. Would there be any advantage to switching to Powered Up? I wonder if it is possible to have the steering axles driven by 2 motors at different ratios from a single input using software. I suppose achieving the same result with PF would be in using different gear ratios. I wouldn't worry about having suspension in a model like this, it's not a 4X4. Not knowing enough about the prototype I suspect a kneeling step or tag axle lift wouldn't be fitted either so that makes things simpler. I think the engine is fantastic, there are some great details with the belts and pullies. In your original post you say it is from a previous MOC so I understand the reason for using it but as a bus nerd I would want to add the 2 extra cylinders of a Mercedes OM442. I will be following this WIP with interest to see how your build develops and you have inspired me to make a start on my own (possibly a slightly smaller one!)

When I read this I thought it was surely some mistake in translation. After all nobody would make an actual variable exhaust nozzle right? Then I watched the video! Congratulations on the absolutely amazing number of features you modelled. All topped off by looking better than an official model. Well done

@howitzer That's exactly the video I was thinking of! Whilst searching for it I found This 2015 Eurobricks thread where people are discussing whether or not Lego CV joints are actually constant velocity so it seems we are not the first

I vaguely remember a youtube video where someone had lots of universal joints out of alignment to demonstrate the cumulative effect. I only have 4 of the new bigger "CV" so probably too few to be noticeable, but if someone else has lots how about an experiment?

@Stereo That seems logical so I'll do that, cheers Interesting point, is part 52731 Large CV Joint actually a constant velocity joint or instead a larger universal joint? I mean sure, Lego calls it a CV but on actual cars they are a little more complex and full of ball bearings and stuff.

Is there a trick to aligning big CV joints like universal joints? My specific example is this new CV to UJ

2x XL motors side by side replacing the outer chassis rails. Gearing is a problem with an odd spacing and the need to couple the outputs. According to rebrickable I have 30,000 parts but not a single 28T gear... My Jeep driver is going to have a frankly massive coolbox

Perhaps OP is planning something like this?

Here's where I'm at so far. Orange pieces are placeholders for unowned parts and scaffolding. The chassis is very much following the instructions from rebrickable with the following changes: PF servo replaced with PU L motor. 2x PF L motors replaced by 1x PU XL motor. Some pin swaps due to motor pin hole differences. 1:1 Gearing due to meshing constraints. Now I have a feel for how the chassis goes (11 wide) I'm considering trying to squeeze in 2x XL motors. This may change the distance between motor and drive axles and allow me to select a lower gear ratio. Once the body is built I can only imagine the hub sitting where the rear seats would be.

It's interesting to see how the three chassis have developed as features have been added. I think I'll build as per your original instructions and then look at how to fit C+

Thanks for making instructions for this cute little model. I've downloaded them and I'm going to see if I can use Control+ as I don't have a Buwizz. Is the new chassis change just colours? I'm going to have to make some substitutions anyway.

Gentle thread bump, is there a mods thread for this set? I've searched but can't find one.

Can't help with the Hydrogen situation but I see this is not a cheap part, £40 or thereabouts. I'd be cautious of anything I thought might damage it permanently so for paint have you considered plasti-dip? You can usually peel it off after painting.

@jainser Any chance of pics? I'd be interested to see where you were starting from and how you work as I have a few similar boxes.

Do you know what all the sets are? If not post pictures of the chunks you currently have and people will easily identify them. In my experience it can be better to sort by type. It's easier to find that LBG 3L bar in a box of other colour bars than in a box of LBG everything.

Not only have I returned from Germany but I have also returned to Eurobricks! Thanks to everyone for the info. For anyone coming across this thread in the future don't worry, driving in Germany is nicer than the UK. The roads are better maintained and standards seem generally higher. Note that people don't indicate until they are leaving roundabouts, so no signal means give way. We did find a bit of derestricted Autobahn in our rented Clio, and when you check your mirrors before an overtake bear in mind that tiny tiny car you see a mile back may catch up quicker than you think.

Hello to all the European members from a former European (but enough about Brexit ) The family and I are heading to Germany next week and plan to hire a car for some trips around. Apart from driving on the wrong side is there anything the locals all know that us foreigners could benefit from? We'll be in the Black Forest area.

I don't usually wander into the train forums but I thoroughly enjoyed your description of the build process and various iterations as it is something we all go through if we MOC. After all that does your 6 year old appreciate the accuracy or do they just like the big train?

Yep, I bought a new 42145 and built the helicopter first. 42145 is one of the best Technic sets I've built in a while, lots of gears and interesting linkages and actually very realistic in terms of function

PEW PEW! It's a big beast when it's built, it won't fit my display cabinet so I'm thinking about hanging it from the ceiling with some fishing line. This was a challenging build but never annoying and I'm still amazed that it is from a single set. Well done!

Is the black part on the end a 2L axle connector? I thought they had a stop in the middle which would stop a bar going through.

I'm not familiar with the real thing (I'm more Hotshot/Boomerang era) but I very much like that fake 540 motor at the back