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US Truck T1 MkII with instructions (US Truck T1 revised)
2LegoOrNot2Lego... posted a topic in LEGO Technic, Mindstorms, Model Team and Scale Modeling
Here is my latest project/MOC. Again it is a re-release and also with instructions. Check mocplans for the instructions and rebrickable for the parts list! Cheers, Ingmar Spijkhoven Introduction: Model US Truck T1 MkII with LEGO® Power Functions® which is a rebuild and revised version of US Truck T1 I finished back in 2009. This model represents the more aerodynamic US truck models like for example the Freightliner Cascadia. Like with all my models this is build in scale 1:17,5. This specific model comes with building instructions available at mocplans.com plus the inventory list available at rebrickable.com. This model features: solid axle suspension on all axles, PF powered driving with power transmitted independently to both rear axles, Ackerman geometry on steering axle, Servo powered steering, fully functional fifth wheel, modeled engine, detailed cabin interior and 3 light units. History of this build To start with a little history on how this model was designed and developed in the first place and how US Truck T1 evolved into US Truck T1 MkII. Back in 2009 I started building US Truck T1 and I really wanted it to have this more aerodynamic looks. From the very beginning of building MOCs I always tried to implement as many realistic features as possible. For example both version I and II of US Truck T1 features full solid axle suspension, Ackerman steering, realistic and working fifth wheel, openable hood, PF drive, PF steering and 3 light units. Design & development process Like with all builds, first a couple of design decisions had to be made: A) First of all I choose not to build this model after a specific brand or type. What I knew is that it had to be a typical US style truck with aerodynamic looks. Inspired by all the amazing US truck brands I just started designing my own truck. Because of my love for work and heavy duty trucks, specifically the Kenworth C500, this will always influence my builds. B) What scale to build in is another obvious quest when building models in general and also for building models using LEGO®. Since most work trucks have a little bigger and heavier wheels my favorite scale for building models became 1:17,5 because this suites me best. Also did I decide to build all my creations in this specific scale. To me it works great when models can be combined. C) I had to figure out what color scheme would work best for model US Truck T1. To start with I do not like building with Black colored items what is the obvious color for the chassis. Never the less this trucks chassis was build in black. With the color of the chassis set I could move on to the colors of the body work. D) Solid Red it became for the body work and I decided not to add any others. Basically because back those days I was very limited in how to add colors to models because of the way I build. Developing as a builder the abilities to add more color increased. I have been told the color of this first edition was a little boring and I agree on this. Why US Truck T1 MkII? In time my building skills develop and so did many solutions I could apply to any build. This specific model could be so much better if I would have build it these days. Because of so many improvements I thought it would be so nice to rebuild this creation. Rebuilding this MOC made me decide to name this updated version US Truck T1 MkII (it is based on US Truck T1, but revised in so many ways). Also did I decide to make building instructions available for it as well! Since 2009 the year in which I finished my first build ever I have been asked for instructions so many times. The process of creating instructions basically forced me to completely revise and rebuild it. Because of this process this new version is way much better and therefore very nice to build. This all together gave birth to US Truck T1 MkII and I am happy with both products: The revised truck itself and the instructions I sell for you to build this model too. Solid axle suspension This truck, US Truck T1 MkII, is build with full solid axle suspension on all three axles, so including the front steered axle. For this suspension to work I did a lot of research, trial and error and engineering. One major problem I noticed was the quite large size of LEGO® Technic Shock Absorber 6.5L. There was no way I could jam six of these into a chassis that is only four studs in between both chassis beams together with everything else that should be in there. Quite rapidly I came up with the idea of using Rubber Belts instead. To achieve this the movement needed to be converted so I came up with a lever constructions. Normally a spring is pushed in and comes back, but a rubber belt is stretched and comes back. Color scheme As I mentioned before I have been told the color of this first edition was a little boring and again I agree on this. Developing as a builder the abilities to add more color increased as did the urge to actually do so. So I started to combine different color combination with this solid Red body work of the model. Always keep in mind to check the availability of parts in a specific color. This forced me to change the color scheme a couple of times. Some key parts in a design may not be available in a specific color or some others might be very hard to get. With the instructions in order to make others build this model as well in mind hard to get parts is an unwanted side effect. Finally I ended up with the addition of both Dark Red and Dark Bluish Gray. These colors really brighten up the Red and give US Truck T1 MkII a classic feel to it. Steering system with Servo A part that I have been looking out to for so many many years is finally available. The LEGO® Power Functions® Servo (part #99498c01) has been release since August 2012. This amazing new electric motor enables the opportunity to create a much more realistic steering system that is also less space consuming. Aligned with the trucks chassis the Servo is sitting inside of the cabin right behind the modeled engine in between both seats. With a 90 degrees conversion the motion of the Servo is transferred to the steering axle. One other improvement to avoid the use of hard to get parts was applied. In order to give the steering axle the Ackerman geometry I initially used Gear Rack 1 x 12 with Holes (part #32132). This has been replaced to make building US Truck T1 MkII with the instructions I sell more attractive to others. Modeled engine inside As mentioned above the Servo requires less space and is sitting inside the drivers cabin. Because of this US Truck T1 MkII is provided with a modeled engine. This truck model is powered by a CAT® CT15 with this very appealing yellow color to it. With the hood opened it really catches the eye. External air cleaners would decrease this model's aerodynamics and with it the full efficiency so these are not mounted. On top of the CAT® CT15 engine there is this internal air cleaner system. The modeled engine is a small object that really improve the realism of this truck model. The engine is very nice to build and to give it those realistic looks a total number of about 120 parts is used. Engine is detailed with for example engine oil dipstick, fan, fan belt, pulleys, hoses, oil filters including by-pass oil filter, turbo, exhaust manifold and so on. Together with much more engine bay details which are added the looks are phenomenal. Openable hood Even though my models are not entirely smooth, so LEGO® studs are allowed to be visible, the hood does not show any studs at all. This really makes the hood elegant. With hinges the hood is openable and not without a reason. What is the use of a modeled engine siting inside if it is invisible. Like with the original version US Truck T1 MkII has an openable hood to give access to both engine bay and engine. With the hood opened one can clearly see the inline 6 cylinder engine with a displacement of 15.21L. With a horsepower range from 450 up to 550 HP and this engine has a torque range from 1550 to 1850 lb-ft. (1202 - 2508 Nm) at 1200 rpm peak torque. Together with the engine a lot more engine bay details are visible. These include break fluid reservoir, windshield washer container, internal air cleaner system and steering shaft. Easy battery box access One key feature that is important when building models with electric features is how to access the battery box as well as the on/off switch located on top of it. In order to make this build achievable for as many builders as possible I sticked with the battery box with 6x AA batteries, LEGO® Power Functions® Battery Box with Orange switch (part #59510c01). Easy to get, used in many sets and a part with a nice price tag to it. The battery box is sitting inside the sleeper. Easy to access by removing a hatch on top of the sleeper. It basically is a part of the roof that can be removed and the battery box is in sight as well as the on/off switch. For those who rather use the LEGO® Power Functions® Rechargeable Battery Box (part #84599) the model can easily be modified. Final improvements One of the noticeable improvement is the windshields window frame. First build used Bar 4L (part #30374) which are basically to small for the job. The new approach looks solid and is therefore more realistic. When TLC released LEGO® Power Functions® IR Speed Remote Control Unit (part #64227) back in 2009 I was really excited about it. First builds also used a XL Motor like this model to drive but with the use of Power Functions Remote Control Unit (part #58122c01) one has to be very careful. Because of the enormous strength of the XL Motor the drive line could be damaged easily. For this very reason the drive line was geared down quite a lot. US Truck T1 MkII has less gear reduction and is therefore quite a bid faster then its predecessor. With the use of the Speed Remote Control Unit both driving and steering became very realistic and therefore the playability of this model is extremely increased! Building instructions To give you an idea of how the instructions for this model will look like here is a preview. Creating these instructions both quick progress on your build and being easy to understand were the main goals. Early in the building process you will see what it is that you are building. You will be very excited from the moment you start the build of T US Truck T1 MkII till you finish it with a total number of parts of about 2250 pieces. To achieve this a lot of floating items are used, with added arrows to show where these items are suppose to be. Together with a lot of so called call outs (the smaller windows within a step that shows the assembling of a smaller sub part of the build) together with multi part steps (not only one part at a time) the build will be in a flow. Check mocplans for the instructions and rebrickable for the parts list!