suffocation

This is an impressive undertaking. I say stick to the AT-AT - you've already proven your outstanding technical and creative skills, so the best thing to do is seize the opportunity to push yourself and take up the greater challenge.

I absolutely love how this is coming along! Thanks for sharing all the WIP pics.

You've come so far so quickly! Keep up the good work, enjoy yourself and never stop learning.

I'm terrible at explaining stuff The gearbox will drive the horizontal arms of the middle and rear outriggers, whereas the compressor will drive their pneumatic (vertical) rams. The rear spade outriggers (I wish I knew the exact name) don't have to extend outwards but just dig down into muddy terrain, so all I'll need there are a couple of LAs.

Hi Jim, the compressor will drive the outrigger rams. I feel way out of my comfort zone building at this massive scale, so hopefully it'll drive me to learn some new (for me) techniques.

After more or less coming to terms with the failure of my first MOC, I started looking around for another model I could try my hand at and eventually came across Zblj's off-road crane. I thought it was pretty cool but I still wanted to build another tow truck, so I scoured the web for something that might be a cross between Zblj's off-road crane and a wrecker. Luck was not on my side, however, so I decided to just wing it and not worry about how unrealistic my model might be. Since I love building by trial and error but am not too keen on piecing together massive models only to have to tear them down because of some silly design flaw, I took a sort-of-modular approach. So far I've got a very rudimental rear axle, some outriggers and a distribution gearbox. This is the rear axle (the pics suck big time as usual). I'm not too fond of those 2x1 rubber bricks, so I took advantage of the space and used soft shock absorbers instead. The setup is basically a heavy-duty version of the Actros 42043's. Down-gearing is 3-to-1. Nothing special about the outriggers: And this is the heart of the truck-to-be: This module has 5 L motors. Four are hard-coupled to provide propulsion to the vehicle; the fifth will drive the various functions through the gearbox, which is just a basic distribution system with each segment driving a function either way (42042 style). The functions should be as follows: Right side, top to bottom: - tow arm - tow fork - tow winch - front winch Left side, top to bottom: - cabin tilt - middle and rear outriggers - rear spade outriggers (I don't think that's their real name - anyway, the same kind of outriggers on the 42038 truck) - compressor (one-way switch, of course) I went with L motors rather than XL ones since the former are easier to incorporate into a build and are less likely to tear apart the U- and CV-joints. The model will probably be around 100 studs long and 23 or 25 studs wide, so I expect it to weigh around 5 kg, which the four L motors should be able to handle comfortably. To prevent excessive friction and power loss, the crane (whenever I get round to it) will have its own motor and battery box. Hopefully I'll get the truck done by the end of the year and also be able to take some decent pictures at long last.

She's gorgeous, Grum. I can't get enough of these WIP pictures - they really let the beauty of the build sink in.

I think you're getting carried away by the excitement of building big. I'm guessing you're pretty young and inexperienced and that's absolutely fine - we've all been there. Why don't you start out with D3K's offroad modular truck? It's smaller, more manageable and - most importantly - it's a great learning experience. I also recommend Sariel's book (new edition coming out soon, Sariel?).

I love these two! The crawler crane is one of the most educational sets out there thanks to its intricate gearbox and impressive structural reinforcement. The Actros is pure building enjoyment, what with the modular assembly and the brilliant suspension system.

Hope you get well soon, mate. As for the rear axle, have a look at the axle thread for ideas. You can also check out Zblj's solution here.

It looks like a decent start. You'll have to reinforce the structure, though. I'm not too sure about the geometry of the rear axle - as far as I can see you've got a ball joint at either end and a turntable in between. This basically turns it into a (rather unstable) pendular axle. As for the front axle, have a look at this: bricksafe.com/pages/hateofallhatreds/front-axle-with-portal-hubs

Recent studies suggest that different people may or may not like different things.

Thanks for the terrific review, Blakbird. Your renders are out of this world! Regarding the price, I managed to get it at a discount (due to slightly damaged box) for £130.00.

It's been out for less than a month so maybe folks need some more time to turn that humungous pile of pieces into MOCs.

Dude, the set's been out for less than a month.

amazon.co.uk is selling the Arocs (42043) for 110 quid.

Looks promising! I checked out your website and was blown away by some of your models, especially the CAT 323D.

Seconded - fun build, great learning experience, awesome donor if you're into MOCing and really good value for money. (They've got it on amazon.co.uk for less than 69 pounds, by the way).

Love seeing my favourite set ever coming along so nicely. Cheers mate, keep up the great work.

That set's been out for more than a year; in any case, I got it for far less in Germany and Switzerland. In fact, I've bought quite a few sets in the past 12 months and I've always found way better prices abroad rather than in Italy. VAT and overall taxes here are beyond ridiculous.

You're better off buying it from amazon.de or some other foreign website. New sets become available later than in most other EU countries and when they do they tend to be ridiculously overpriced.

That's a masterpiece. Any chance of a few detailed belly shots?

Thanks for the stunning review, Jim. You really know how to capture and convey the experience through images as well as words. Cheers!

That's a clean, really good-looking build. I just wonder if the steering ratio between the two front axles is a bit off - then again, it might just be the angle of the first picture.

I don't know about the scale and stuff but I think your model looks terrific. Keep up the awesome work.