Ngoc Nguyen

Very nice!

There's no way it will have live axle suspension at that scale.

42227 Jeep® Wrangler Rubicon SUV has more parts than 42122 Jeep® Wrangler (665 parts), so hopefully it's not a 42122 reskin. But I can't imagine what new features can be done to the previous iteration. Maybe new tires? Or maybe the front suspensions of the Bronco? There's a remote possibility that it may have a new kind of CV joint that allows a compact combination of differential drive and steer for a 15L width model. That would be groundbreaking. Of course there's also another remote possibility that it will simply be a 42122 reskin...

Hi everyone, this is some geometry trickery from RacingBrick

Mini 42082 + Bronco tires looking very good. Too bad the tires interfere with the steering.

HI everyone, this is a shock-ing change from RacingBrick

Im not sure if I've seen this magazine build posted in this thread before.

Hi everyone, this is a short extra video from RacingBrick

It's a new month, so it's time for another mini replica! This time, another Mercedes Benz joins the replica collection. Like every mini replica, this one also has a story to tell. DEVELOPMENT Doing mini replicas is not just a hobby but also a chance to change the original model to my liking. 42177 to me is kinda like 42129. They look cool, and their builds are enjoyable, but they dont really look like the original vehicle they are supposed to represent. It's taller and shorter compared to the proportions of a real Mercedes Benz G. Another part I want to modify is the gearbox. I think the supposed order is that engine -> DNR -> only D connects to Lo-Hi -> middle differential. At least that is the setup in 42210. The last part is the differential lock. I'd like them to be coupled, and since I already found a solution for that in the Mini 42129, I used the chassis of 42129 and developed from there. THE GRILL The grill is the most distinctive part so I had go get it right. I have a space of 2 studs, and I have to fit 4 bars, or 4 thin things between it. This is the solution that I found. I used 4 clip holders attached to a bar. Since the space is 3 studs wide, one group is put horizontal, and another group is put perpendicular. THE FACE You can notice that the headlights are put 1/2 studs higher than the grill, while in the original 42177 the headlights are on the same line as the grill. Actually in my original design I put the headlights on the same line too, but then I realized it just felt off. Below are the two options. In the real vehicle, the headlights are put a bit higher and closer to the hood than the grill, so it actually makes sense to move the headlights up. THE EXTERIOR Thanks to the new #7 connector, I can make the slanted doors. All doors have working handles, just like in the original model. DRIVETRAIN I replicated the inline 6 engine, the DNR and Lo-Hi gearboxes, and the 3 differentials from the original model. The engine goes to the three 8z gears, which connects to the DNR gearbox on the driver's side. The tan gear is for reverse, so it goes directly to the differential through gearing down. The white gear is for drive, so it connects to the LoHi gearbox on the other side. In the LoHi gear box, the orange gears drive the differential at the ratio of 1:1, while the blue gears drive the differential at the ration of 1:3. STEERING The steering transmission goes on top of the gearbox to reach the HOG steering on the roof. It it also transmitted to the driver's side to make a working steering wheel, just like in the original 42177. DIFFERENTIAL LOCKS I use the knob gears to offset the transmission by 45 degrees so that it can be routed to the rear axle and also to route the control to another knob on the roof. It works very smoothly. Check the GIF below to see. TIRE(D) CHOICES This is the problem that I struggled with the most, surprisingly. I mentioned earlier in the General Part Discussion thread that the 49.5 truck tire is very awkward to scale around, as its diameter is only 6.2 studs. Usually for models that use this tire, I have to scale the model around having a tire diameter of 7, which makes the wheel smaller than it should have been. Back then when I was working on this set, the only tire that has a diameter of 7 studs is the Jeep Wrangler tire. It doesn't really fit a luxury SUV, but 49.5 tire doesnt feel right either. Therefore originally the model looked like this. This is how it compares to the real Mercedes G. Overall I'm very happy with how this turns out at the end. Instruction: https://reb.li/m/231550

My mini tractors:

Do backhoes qualify for this thread

The PF RC Conversion mod is finished. https://reb.li/m/231183

Plenty of space for 4 L motors + 1 battery box + 2 IR receivers after the original gearbox is removed.

Let's start the PF conversion.

Not totally relevant to Technic but still relevant nonetheless, Mattel has acquired the licenses for DC characters, and Lego seems to have no DC sets for Jan 2026. This probably means Mattel has acquired exclusive licenses, and Lego will not feature any DC-related products, which means there won't be any Technic batman's vehicles in the future.

It sounds quick but it's only quick on Studio. In the real model, if the model is already built, a lot will have to be disassembled because of all the reinforcement and axle blocks.

It wont Step 169 and 171 are for the direction switch between the two rows of 16z clutch gear so they dont affect anything. Your suggestion for step 133 matches what I suggested above.

It might be possible, but it's not gonna be a quick fix. The space between two frame is 15 studs. Battery box is 9 stud wide, and one motor is 3 stud wide, which adds up to only 12. But if you put the battery box in the center, there will be no way to reach it to turn it on. So it's better to put both motors on the right side. As discussed in the main thread, the main cause to the slow speed is this portion. The transmission from the output to the row of 16z clutch gears goes to three instances of gearing down: 16/20*12/24*12/16. This setup causes a x0.3 reduction in speed. I just came up with a quick fix: changing the first pair of gear (16-20) into 20-16, and the second pair (12-24) into 16-20. The new ratio would be 20/16 * 16/20 * 12/16, which effectively cancels the first two pairs and only reduces the speed by x0.75. Those changes already take into account the surrounding structures. I have my copy of the set but I'm unlikely to build it any time soon, so maybe someone else with the set can test this out. Maybe @kbalage can do a video about how to fix the speed problem.

The transmission to the heavy arm gets its own extra gearing down after its switch is selected. The highlighted parts has a reduction of 12/20 then another reduction of 16/20, which adds up to be x0.48. Taken together, the transmission from the motor to the switch gets a 0.3x in speed, then the part from the switch to the LAs gets a x0.48 in speed, which in total leads to a x0.144 in speed. Then the internal gearing down of the LAs happen, and the result is a whooping 44 second of movement. At the very least, if the transmission is already geared down before reaching the switch, there should be enough torque to allow simultaneous functions.

I got the functional parts done. This is the exploded view for the transmissions only. There are a couple of interesting things. 1. The most ingenious part is the arm that has 3 transmissions running through it. Previously the only other set with 3 transmissions in the digging arm is 42100, but the arm in 42100 is much wider and contains motors inside. Before that, the maximum number of transmissions running through a digging arm is 2, and that only appears in 8043. Because the width of the digging arm in this set is mostly just 5 studs wide, only one transmission go through the mounting point (highlighted). The other two transmissions sit above the mounting point, so as the arm moves, the length of those transmissions also change, and therefore can only be done with the new long CV joint that first appears in the Zetros. This explains why the mounting point of the digging arm is lower down and closer to the center than the arm in other Technic excavators. 2. The transmission through the last section of the digging arm is very cool too. The right one is off center. 3. The transmission from the motor is unusually geared down. The motor's output goes through a pair of 16/20, a pair of 12/24, then another pair of 12/16 before reaching the red 16z clutch gears. That leads to a x0.3 of speed before any function is selected, while there doesn't seem to be anything that requires that much gearing down.

I wanna use only standard Lego PF components.

Actually...

I think I'll try both setup once I start: slew+track+coupling, and slew+track1+track2. The second way is clearly better, but since I havent built the Studio model I dont know whether there will be space for that.

Yeah what else can I do