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Didumos69
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Everything posted by Didumos69
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From the beginning of this project I assumed that keeping the center of gravity of the mid-section below the turn table rotation centers, would give this car straight line stability. Now I probably won't succeed in that, so I figured I will probably have to add a kind of return-to center with silicon bands to keep it straight. Not too tight though, steering should still be easy. But since a few days I started to doubt this whole line of thinking. Suppose the center of gravity of the mid-section lies below the turn table rotation centers. In that case gravity will add to straight line stability, no dougbt about that. But when making turns, the centrifugal force will compensate for the gravitational force or even overcompensate. In the latter case the driver will have a hard time when pulling the steering wheel straight again after a turn. The car wants to keep on turning or even turn sharper, until speed (and thus centrifugal force) drops of course. I reckon a mid-section with a center of gravity at the same level as the turn table rotation centers seems the most wise thing to do. And probably a return-to-center mechanism for straight line stability. Any other thoughts on this forces matter? -
Thanks! A wheelie function sounds nice, but the middle and front segments would hang in the air free to rotate. I wouldn't know how to shorten the wheel base, but I reckon the 4-wheel steering will give the car a very nice turning radius. I think I will leave it at the turning function. Problem solved: I now use two bent liftarms instead of the 4 thin beams. See the liftarms embracing the seat. EDIT: I also changed the front lights a little. The slanted red lines running over the front are a little less blurred this way.
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I'm currently checking parts availibility, have a problem with 4 red thin 6L beams that I want to use, but after solving all that I will order parts and build it. That should be in about two weeks or so.
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I think @kodlovag's model is quite remarkable and his work is what got me started. I hope his model will work out fine in real life. It's been quiet for a while on his thread. I think I'm enough pacifist to favor models that are designed to win without actually affecting other contesting vehicles.
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Thanks! Haha, to be honest I had to google what a PTO is. LOL. Maybe it reveals there is a secret feature. But for now it is for manual drive, in case one would not want to push this model around. I might add a 12t gear: HoG driven, Hand of God driven, sounds wacky
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Wacky and classy, that's a nice marriage! And if it doesn't look wacky, the driver's experience sure will be . @Thirdwigg, I tried to add some 'width' to it, also with the small panels you suggested, but everything I try deviates from the concept. I managed to add a single wide element (wings above the rear wheels), but it would only fit if there was more width in the other sections too. And that's where it would lead to compromises, because the middle section must be able to tilt without touching the ground. So it has to be narrow, at least at the bottom side. So I decided to leave it as is. I did some final form-locking to live up to my own standards and in that process I also added pedals (yellow). The pedals can actually be reached in case you were wondering where the driver's feet should go.
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Thanks. The lights themselves can rotate (the pins with pinhole they are attached to), but the (+0)-liftarms are attached to a secured axle with their +-sides. Also in the second image the (+0)-liftarms switched places with two adjacent red bushings.
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So I'll go with the lower lights. I had the same feeling and I guess I prefer buggy over creature. So far all my models have been referred to as buggy, haha. I played with a miniature buggy as a kid, maybe that's why . I think you have a valid point. I'll see if I can do anything simple about it. Thanks! Thanks! This is exactly what I will do. I might give it a very small touch here or there, but in essence this is it. It's a V4 go-cart with a wacky turning function. In the end, the contest is a race, so getting there fast and keeping speed in turns while not loosing any parts, is this guys sole purpose.
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Added simple head and tail lights. I think I leave it at that. EDIT: I have two options for the head lights. Which one is better? I slightly favor the second image, because it looks less messy.
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I added exhausts. I have tried many things, but I simply don't like screeming exhausts. I've also tried to add exhaust pipes but it makes the whole engine block to massive and detailed compared to the rest of the model. So I think I'll stick to a set of modest exhaust that stick up from the bottom of the rear segment.
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The sills in the first image look more sporty to me. I also prefer the panels above the rear wheel in that image.
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Haha, no, no DBG chassis. I would like to have it DBG, but it would be too visible and I prefer having 2 colors. Black and red works fine imo. Two contrasting colors give the opportunity to emphaszie the elements that define the perceived shape. Btw, I'm happy that you see the resemblance with my rugged supercar, both in style and rigidity . Here you go (also the inclined lines in the go-cart's nose are similar to the ones on the supercar's trunk door): Yep, copy and past. In LDD that is. I started with stacking a few tires and than clicked the rest of the car in. Btw, as the ants can only drive forward, the middle layer had to face backwards to actually contribute. These ants are smart .
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It is what they do, but I'm not serious about implementing this of course. It would go beyond my budget. I was just trying to intimidate the other contestants
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Which would look something like this:
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One thing about ants; they are known to work together very well. And they stack together to survive big threads. You make book of that !
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Impressive exhausts seems like a very good idea, I will work on that. No flames though. Sofar this design meets my desire to make sure nothing will fall off easily, not even during some rough handling. I would like to hold in to that. I might develop it further, but I'm afraid not with bionicle or other non-technic stuff. I might use flex axles if they ressemble something that is supposed to be flexible. Just don't want to use them to mimic something rigid. Thanks to all for your feedback! I'm glad you like it!
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No problem, and this one is quite different from the others in following a blueprint in which you did an excellent job. I find myself using wheels that are way out of scale (too big) over and over again, simply because it immediately adds to road presence.
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Thanks! I secured the seat and managed to have it sit really deep. Also did some work on form-locking several structures, which resulted in a cage around the seat and two inclined lines running over the front axles. I did some work on the color scheme as well, but nothing is final yet. Finally I gave this thing a name: Fire ant. It is red and it consists of three segments (just like most insects): the head, the thorax and the abdomen.
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Yea, I want to keep the center of gravity of the tub below the rotation points. If that fails I will make some kind of return to center, probably with silicon bands. I want to obtain straight line stability. I'm very curious how it will feel when all can be operated using the steering wheel. Intentionally, but in my cart the difference will be less.
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And I was thinking I was doing something new . I didn't notice your entry back then. It doesn't have the looks, but it sure has a very nice wiggle steering feature ! I just shot a short proof of concept video: Thanks!
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I just reread the info topic and it states: The second requirement is that it needs to have at least one wacky function besides driving and steering. This function can be anything to gain an advantage in the race. Of course it can also be function to hinder your opponent. Anything goes! I know most TC12 entries interpret the wacky function as something to hinder opponents or simply disturb them with something wacky. I opt for something 'out of the ordinary' to gain advantage on my opponents instead. So my tilting tub is my wacky feature.
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I could not have phrased it better . And in addition to that I tend to not use flex axles in my builds. And of course it's a wink at Paul's studless logo. I was hoping the tilting frame would do ... it will give me such a good roadholding (together with the 4-wheel steering) that I will win the race
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If you follow the tilting movement with your hand, I suppose it will be easy. Actually, I expect to be able to steer the vehicle by tilting the cabin / seat, which would add to playability imo. This image shows more detail of the steering mechanism. The steering wheel drives the turn table to which the front axles are connected. The rear axles simply follow the position of the cabin. Btw, the angle of the steering wheel in this image corresponds exactly to the steering angle made by the axles. I didn't know that one, but it seems related indeed. Only my version has a working steering wheel.
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Thanks! I might give it a little more 'face', but I got my go-cart inspiration from the Wacky Wheels game, so I don't think it will get much wackier . Btw, thanks for the hints on using POV-RAY. I'm using POV-RAY as it comes with Stud.io and there doesn't seem to be a way to feed it with your settings. But I will keep it in mind for when I start working with POV-RAY itself.
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Fire Ant - Tilting go-cart Instructions are available on rebrickable. Entry topic can be found here. A big thank you to everybody involved in this topic ! One-minute pitch With its wacky turning feature and inclined V4 engine, this vehicle is extremely fast and highly manoeuverable. A perfect fit for a race in an urban area. Don't forget this contest is in fact a race held in LEGO City. This race-cart finds its way through the mess created by its large and heavy opponents, without giving in on speed. And like with real ants, a Fire Ant never comes alone. Their determination and willingness to serve fellow ants that stand a better chance to win, will drive other contestants even more nuts than they already are . And to make the ant analogy complete: this model consists of three segments: The head - With its steering controlled head lights pointing into each and every turn, the front section makes sure the driver won't miss a thing and allows him to anticipate unexpected situations. The thorax - The driver section, which tilts in turns, compensates for the centrifugal force the driver is exposed to. An experienced driver can make the car turn by moving his weight into the turn. The abdomen - Equipped with a V4 engine, inclined to ensure optimal lubrication under acceleration g-forces, the rear section gives the car enough power to stay ahead of all of its opponnents. Admit it, you want to ride this animal! Base features Rear wheel drive Working steering wheel Working fake V4 Adjustable rear-spoiler Wacky feature Turning mechanism which offers 4-wheel steering and makes the driver section tilt in turns. It works like this: The driver steers the front section using the steering wheel. Steering the front section makes the driver section tilt, which in turn makes the rear section counter-steer. More qualities High manoeuverability. The turning feature combines excellent road-holding with a very small turning circle. Straight line stability. The front and rear segments are stablized with silicon bands to keep the car straight. Everything in-system. All inclined constructs rely on perfect fits derived from the Pythagorean triple (3, 4, 5). Kid-proof. Each of the three segments has been build with a high level of form-locking. Nothing will fall off.