Tommy Styrvoky

Great model, it seems to perform pretty well in the snow, and congrats on 1,000 subs. I'm only 14 shy of 500.

I think this one is smaller... or it feels smaller, as I can't mount 2 XL motors. I do have far future plans that will make this or all of my current models look small, and they will use 4-6 XL motors. And even a monster with 8... The only ones to solve the torsion bar setup were the germans, if you look at a tiger or panther or Kingtiger, the road wheels are symmetrical, the only difference is the way the swing arms are facing.

well here's some progress on the hull Lego IS-2 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr I decided to put a 2 differential steering mechanism (subtractor/adder) It is temperary, as I want to make my own subtractor, not use Sariel's. I may use a 3 differential steering box, though I need to do some digging and find out if the vehcle has neutral steer (turns in place), that will clarify what one to use. Lego IS-2 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr here it is next to a reference model, my ISU-152, it uses the same hull as the IS-1/2 the automatic track tensioning mechanism the red arrows indicate the movement of the road wheel and idler Lego IS-2 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr And another interesting thing I would like to point out to others. With most torsion bar vehicles, the torsion bars cause an offset in the swing arms and road wheels, as you can see by looking at the 6 stud long tile, the springs and axles aren't in line. This is often overlooked on models, as the torsion bars run the whole length of the hull, thus this causes the offset. Lego IS-2 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr

The IS-2 was one of the largest soviet heavy tanks that was in service to the end of WWII, it was designed to take on the heavier german tanks (Tiger, Panther ). The IS is for Joseph Stalin, it was based off of its predecessor's hull, the IS-1, but it is up gunned to a 122mm cannon. A photo of it in Berlin A photo of the IS-2 with the old style frontal plate, the newer style is the one in berlin, I will be replicating the newer style plate. Features and functions of the model functions for Sbrick/IR recivers 1 left track control (XL) 2 right track control (XL) 3 turret traverse (L) 4 gun elevation/depression (L) other functions manual gearbox for linking turret traverse to DShK machine Gun ( options for rotating turret or rotating MG separately or having the mg parallel to the hull.) Fully sprung suspension auto tensioning track with first road wheel Led lights Finished model The model is complete, I added some decals to it and tweaked some parts of it. The model can tear through the snow and it is probably one of my most reliable models, in only walked the tracks off twice during filming. Lego IS-2 Heavy Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego IS-2 Heavy Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego IS-2 Heavy Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego IS-2 Heavy Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego IS-2 Heavy Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego IS-2 Heavy Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego IS-2 Heavy Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego IS-2 Heavy Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego IS-2 Heavy Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego IS-2 Heavy Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego IS-2 Heavy Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego IS-2 Heavy Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr The gun in the travel lock position Lego IS-2 Heavy Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Slogan on the vehicle was created in gimp, as there isn't a font like that, I manually drew it. It says "For Motherland" Lego IS-2 Heavy Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr The DShK machine gun turned out pretty well. Lego IS-2 Heavy Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr I finally understand the reasoning behind having a MG mounted in the back of the turret, as it can be used when the turret is rotated around. Lego IS-2 Heavy Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr suspension Now I just have to wait for Jim to unlock the Entry topic... blueprints scaled using Sariel's handy scaler Lego IS-2 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr some new BL parts I got for christmas will be useful. Christmas loot by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr

After the idea for the Sbrick contest was announced, I downloaded the app for ios. Even though I don't own a Sbrick ( I plan to buy one in a couple months), I felt like playing around with the controls and seeing if modifications would be possible with a file viewer. So after some messing around I found the images and created my own profile with a custom skin, it was based off of Sariel's and it has images for the controls that will match my [TC6] entry. Sariel's original profile Sbrick app custom skins by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr screenshot from Ipod 4th gen (part of it is cut off because the app recognizes it as a Iphone 5 Sbrick app custom skins by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr my new profile Sbrick app custom skins by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr screenshot from the app (I didn't really bother to create new images for the joysticks, I just changed the hue) Sbrick app custom skins by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Ok now onto modifying the profiles yourself. 1 download a file viewer for a IOS device, there are many different ones, I used Ifunbox to edit my files http://www.i-funbox.com 2 connect device to computer with Sbrick app installed 3 Open Sbrick app contents on file viewer 4 open documents folder Sbrick app custom skins by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr The profiles folder contains all the .json files for the setup of the profiles. The resources folder has all the images for the profiles 5 renaming profiles open profiles folder, and select the profile you want to rename. Then you can copy the .json profile to your computer, then open it with a text editor. Then change the names to whatever you want, then drag it back into the profiles folder in the file viewer. Sbrick app custom skins by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr 6 creating new skins open up the resources folder in the documents folder Sbrick app custom skins by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr 7 select all files from the resources folder and copy them to a new folder on your computer. 8 open up the files with a image editing software of choice, I personally prefer GIMP http://www.gimp.org/ 9 edit the photos or create a new image of the same size After editing the photos keep the original name of them and export them as a .png file, with some cases in gimp it has a bug where it will give a error message, but to solve this export the file as a .sgi and then reopen it in gimp and export as a .png 10 Remove the .png extension If this is not removed, the app will not use the files 11 place edited files back into the resources folder This will replace the original images for the profile you just edited, to back up the original files, just make a copy of the resources folder that you copied from to your computer and if you want to revert to the original skins in the app, just replace the new files with old ones. here's a video for just one file, I didn't bother to actually place the edited file back in the resources, but this covers everything else. (sorry no commentary I was using quicktime screen recorder). https://flic.kr/p/qiFBXB other thoughts I think it is possible to change the position of the joysticks or the skin. the coordinates for them are viewable in the .json files. the frame is where the image is located at in the corner. Sbrick app custom skins by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr It might be possible to customize the profile further, possibly by copying slider/ joystick from another profile into the new one. Though I don't know if this works so back up the .jason profile if you plan to do this as it may mess up the profile.

I figured out how to modify profiles on iOS and create custom skins for it. I will be making a post on that tomorrow. I am wondering, with my 4th Gen IPod, the app is recognizing it as a IPhone 5 and thus a portion of the screen isn't visable. Is the 4th gen IPod not supported or does the app need to be optimized for it?

So constantly running motors separate of the IR/Sbrick are ok, I plan to use this for a fake engine.

if anyone was wondering how the battery box gets turned on, heres a image that shows how it works. Crank start function by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr

So is it only 4 motors or can there be only be 4 motorized outputs off of the s brick being controlled or can the battery box or switch for other motors, like continuously running motors for compressors/ fake engines, this rule getting confusing.... and would it count has having each track being motorized as a function, or would that just be driving as 1 function. Could someone clarify that its a requirement to only use all 4 outputs of the Sbrick, and other motors can be used outside of that, or is it only 4 motors in total?

I'm just planning, as most of my models feature this function, now I will find a solution using differentials.

I'm guessing that there can't be a 5th PF motor attached directly to the battery box for a fake engine... Or what about LEDs? I shall finally be able to enter one of my tanks into a contest.

Lego M6 Heavy Tank 1/15 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Well I present my last model of 2014, it is probably one of my best vehicles yet, as it contains some new mechanisms for some vehicles next year. This is also probably my record for the fastest time I have built a model (10 days). It features a 2 speed transmission, full HVSS suspension on all road wheels, 6 cylinder radial engine, turret traverse, gun depression and elevation through a mechanism that can allow the turret to spin 360° without having to worry about cords, and the gun doesn't change position as it rotates, and it features a crank start function for turning on/off the battery box. The M6 Heavy Tank was prototyped during WWII to counter the threat of the later war German tanks, as the M4 Sherman was under armed and armored to deal with the threat of heavier vehicles. most of the video is 2X as the batteries were weak because of driving out in the cold (it was 18°F or -7°C) when I was recording) Lego M6 Heavy Tank 1/15 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M6 Heavy Tank 1/15 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M6 Heavy Tank 1/15 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M6 Heavy Tank 1/15 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M6 Heavy Tank 1/15 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M6 Heavy Tank 1/15 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M6 Heavy Tank 1/15 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M6 Heavy Tank 1/15 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M6 Heavy Tank 1/15 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M6 Heavy Tank 1/15 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M6 Heavy Tank 1/15 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M6 Heavy Tank 1/15 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr IMG_4661 by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr IMG_4664 by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M6 Heavy Tank 1/15 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr 2014 models by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr This model concludes my 17 builds of 2014 Lego M6 Heavy Tank 1/15 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr some photos of it in the snow Lego M6 Heavy Tank 1/15 (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr

great model, I love the shaping on it.

You could just mount an XL motor to each axle and that would provide a sufficient amount of torque if they are geared down to a 3:1 or 5:1.

One solution is to have a tug of war, but both vehicles need the same tires... and see what gears snap first

Great model and video, too bad you don't have any snow to drive it in.

you could go to the extremes of using mini linear actuators and this part http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=92911 and this to connect with it http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=92910

here's some internal photos of the Technic chassis Leg AEC MK. II internals (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Leg AEC MK. II internals (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Leg AEC MK. II internals (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Leg AEC MK. II internals (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Leg AEC MK. II internals (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr

Theres also this part http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemPic.asp?P=33243

It's somewhat heavy, approximately 5 lbs and it requred 4 yellow hard shock absorbers for the rear axle.

it's 25x65x21 studs

Lego AEC MK.II Armored car (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr I present my first 4x4 vehicle that I have ever built, It features a 2 speed gearbox that is driven by 2 XL motors. The HI-gear is a 1:4.5 and LO-gear is a 1:12.505 (portal hub reductions included.) Both axles are fully suspended and allow the vehicle to crawl over obstacles. it has 2 m motors for controlling the traverse of the turret and one for gun elevation/depression. It was an interesting build because all of the electronic components had to be kept in a central column of the body, in order to make room for the odd angles of the hull. With this model I was also able to take it outside and drive it in some snow, It handled relatively well, though the lego tires would slip quite often. Lego AEC MK.II Armored car (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego AEC MK.II Armored car (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego AEC MK.II Armored car (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego AEC MK.II Armored car (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego AEC MK.II Armored car (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego AEC MK.II Armored car (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego AEC MK.II Armored car (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego AEC MK.II Armored car (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego AEC MK.II Armored car (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego AEC MK.II Armored car (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr

A small teaser of what to come tomorrow... Tomorrow... by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr

interesting model, I would suggest using different new tracks or custom ones , as the old ones are to prone to falling apart. You could always make some foam trees out of foam insulation and fell them.

a small update, and possibly my last, until the model is finished. The rear hull is finished and I added 2 more stiff shock absorbers to the rear axle. Lego AEC MK. III Armored car (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr