Appie

Such a cute couple with nice functions Great work! Really getting a "this could have been real sets" vibe from these.

No problem @aFrInaTi0n, thanks for taking the time to look into it and thanks Jim as well of course.

Since I am already on the subject of dark mode shenanigans: The added rule is practically invisible on dark mode (selecting the text makes it readable obviously, but still). Edit: just noticed it's in the OP as well, I wondered where the line about 300gr went, but there it is at the top

Make another piece of gym equipment with another gymnast as the second MOC? That would follow the rules I think?

Ah, I see A white line here and there I don't mind (like the disclaimer line is still white, but I think that's a good thing), just this massive white block was quite a jumpscare

Now it's the normal dark background, thanks!

Completely unrelated to the contest, but: I don't know if this is a setting for making a comment or if it's just some Eurbricks back-end shenanigans, but I use dark mode for a reason and this sudden white background is very annoying in that regard.

Took a while to do it, but I finished the Stud.io file for my PoweredUp modded 42209: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/21n7a9za4qd1z113nrhur/42209-Complete.io?rlkey=v34usx3elijzz6bj532gskd3z&st=sznimknd&dl=0 The front is 95% identical to the set. Main difference is that I added my mod for the boom. The RC mod works with the original boom, but you will have to adjust bucket tilt and boom while going up and down like you would with the set. That's not an issue with the movement mod. I decided to have the file show some sub builds to make it easier to build it from just the file (since instructions might never happen ) and a completed model for reference besides it. Another thing for reference is the wiring, it's tightly packed, so I hope these photos help: The 2 wires closest to the wheel are the L-motor wires. One goes to the top of the hub and 1 at the bottom. And obviously the same for the M-motors: L-motor wires need to be tucked away like this to not touch any gears and then route them towards the rear under the L-motors and above the M-motors: The tile above the gears from the M-motors is to protect the wires Placing the wires like this will avoid them touching the tyres even when the pendular axle is tilted. Or you can just have them hang at the top over the hood (L-motors) at the rear as a quick method. Your call If anybody decides to build it: enjoy

Very nice truck. Works great and yay green Chassis looks solid, nice axles. Slightly puzzled by the placement of the fake engine (under the hood would be normal for this truck no?) but I understand it might make the drivetrain for steering and drive more complex by having the steering motor and the fake engine swap places.

While I like normal green as well, I like seeing bright green return in Technic since the Le Mans car all those years ago. I'd definitely consider picking one of these up as a parts pack.

Thanks all It's based on piece size, the bushes fit through a 1 stud space, the gold doesn't. The difference in size is minimal, so the machines required a very narrow operating window. The DBG cilinder machine (Mahj's) worked better than the white machine (mine). Both had a 100% succes rate of not getting gold in the pile of bushes on the side, but for my machine there were more bushes in the little (dark blue) retainer meant for only the gold at the end. Mahj's machine had like 1 bush in that gold retainer when it was full vs my 10-15 bushes in my gold retainer when it was full. Mahj tells me it's because this is my first version of this machine and he's on version 3 Either way, stuff to tackle for a new version

I could also make the blade from the undercarriage yellow, in fact I could make the whole undercarriage yellow instead of partial black. And instead of the yellow line I could make that whole upper part (above the yellow line) of the superstructure yellow as well, more in line with the bulldozer. While I kept the design of yellow at the tracks like the bulldozer, I went more with the design I used in my offroad dumptruck for dark blue as main colour, a yellow line and some white accents which I quite liked how it worked out for the superstructure of this excavator (imo of course). Both break away from the colour design of the bulldozer though, but I don't want to change the bulldozer to this colour design, nor change the dumptruck to the bulldozer's colour design The excavator is the hybrid between the two I guess and I can swing either way on it actually Keeping it as it is now or put more yellow in the undercarriage, blade and superstructure, either way looks pretty nice to me I think. No worries. It gives me a new perspective on the model, so thank you and Jundis. Thanks. I don't like what the 42215 is either, but I did actually read through the instructions of the 42215 for some ideas on how to tackle some things on this model (or how not to? ) Of course I also revisited the 8043 set, a.k.a. still the king of excavator sets (flex axles on the cabine are pretty much there as a tribute to that set and obviously because I thought it looked good ) and alot of excavator MOC's on the internet that already exist were very interesting to dissect. A sunbathing excavator for your viewing pleasure would be sufficient? Thank you very much for the compliment I also made a quick video (no sunbathing though) and just uploaded it to youtube, nothing fancy, just a little demo of what it can do. Enjoy I will also add it to the OP. I will play around with the suggestions made for the colours and arm in the next few days probably, so thanks again for the suggestions.

The bucket (this version) comes in yellow and DBG, between the two I thought this was the "more fun" colour, because yellow would return in the superstructure and undercarriage as well. The sprocket I have in yellow, black and white. The other parts of the undercarriage are available in different colours as well (the 3x19 frame) like black and DBG. Switching that up wouldn't be too hard. I chose yellow, because of the similarities to my earlier bulldozer, since the plan is to make this a group of vehicles. But that bulldozer has more white and dark blue is more an accent colour than on this excavator, so I can see how it is different for this one. I'll see what I can do to fix that third section of the arm.

I see @Jundis, thank you for the feedback. What DBG do you mean exactly, from the LA's, tracks or both? For the tracks I thought the undercarriage would be too much black with black tracks, but that choice was made before I even had a superstructure, so maybe I should revisit it again. As for the DBG of the LA's, I have black LA's which I didn't try actually, but those also have the DBG section and I think I like the LBG of the current LA's more on the model. I agree the third section looks a bit thin, I wasn't sure how to make it thicker and the dark blue section of the arm kind of disappears into the white in the second section (which I like) that I did not want to reintroduce that colour in the third section, perhaps I should look into making it thicker around the LA with just white, maybe on the underside of the stick as well?

Thank you very much @Jundis! I understand that the looks are a little different from a conventional look for this kind of excavator (usually they have a higher and shorter rear and the superstructure as a whole is shorter compared to the tracks). Earlier in the build I did consider the hub and motors in a upward position on the superstructure, but this layout I ended up using (especially for the motors) turned out better and this also worked better as a counterweight for the arm. It not being based on a real life excavator, gave me some freedom to build it like this, but no problem of course if you don't like how it looks. Something specific you don't like about the looks or just in general?