Void_S

@Davidz90, nice truck, and clever pullback motor usage. It reminds me of the "desert truck with a ramp" from Fast&Furios move (the one where they stole the cars from a train), with the same high-raised platform, and suspension oscillation.

They are 1*2 plates with a pinhole, that hold the rubber-springed "ratchets" which have these 1L beams in DBG to stop the 12T black gears.

Wow, nice thing! I had an idea of a semi-rigid chain, which is a "normal chain" made of a rectangle or elliptic pieces. A normal chain when extended but when "compressed" the sections hold each other and act as a single rigid rod. So, you may push something with this chain as with a kind of linear actuator but when you pull it, it will work as a flexible rope. The only disadvantage is that the "sections" are really huge so far...

Great to see you returned! I love reading your "lego-blogs" here, with your sometimes unusual thoughts on sets and technics used in them

Just to highlight how authentic the model appears (compare it with the video above ). Well done, @Akassin!

Hmm, interesting thing. I guess it may also be used (with some changes) as not helio- but some other sky object. Moon, or other "nearby" planet "guider"... I have an automatied telescope tripod which may track the selected object by transforming the incoming GPS mark (its own location) and date-time into polar coordinates (rotation and tilt) of the desired object at the current moment. Just to note, the "heliostat" is a device which allows to keep the reflected solar rays at the target obejct constatntly, compensating the Solar and Earth movement. Heliostat - Wikipedia

Ouch, indeed! I have never thought about it... Same thread pattern, same diameter, harder rubber - amazing replacement!

I saw the same photos, they are over-contrasted, with the darkest black color, DBG (under the container and rails) is slightly lighter than black, and LBG looks like DBG "under normal light". The half-pins here are equal in color to 2L axle connectors at the container handler "hand", and they are LBG, as seen at the box images...

@McMarky, nice! I love how it works and especially the validation of the rear suspension. Real trucks have a possibility to lock rear diffs to avoid such troubles but it is impossible for the given scale. Is it a Control+ system used, or WeDo-PoweredUp? I think, having a little tricky seqence of the traiiler loading/unloading (to move the contailer along the trailer side not touching it and not moving too far) it may worth to set the seqence as programms of loading and unloading action. I tried to make it fully manual, to use only a single HOG knob but it requres a huge distibution box, similar to the container itself...

Amazing model! The only one thing makes it "made of LEGO" impression (sometimes, some MOCs really makes me hardly trying to distinguish them from the real machines, such detailed and accurate they are) - A-pillars and windshield are too inclined... I would raise the rear part of the cabin a bit (1-plate height is enough) to slightly tilt it forward - and you will get fearsome-100% accurate truck

Well, if you have extra pieces iy may turn the tables: they both have the Hub and 2xL motors, so you may run both the applications for them. Only need to build the model itself. 42124 Off-road Buggy quite a "straigth-forward" car which can be built without Rocket Sience of part borrowed from any set with double wishbone suspension. The only "required" parts are 15L altrentae-holed beams. 42140 Tracked Vechicle is even simplier if we're talking about its arcitecture: beams, tracks and a few gears. But not so many sets have such a big number of tracks pices, the unique (yet?) gears are better than ther elder double-beveled brothers, plus a lot of brigth panel recolors. I would take 42140 and, if needed, rebuild it later into 42124 just to see how it rolls. It should take not so many efforts in additional part finding rather you will convert 42124>42140.

Hmm looking at the raised to the highest position outriggers, an idea has come to me: what if the outriggers' "knees" may lock the crane turntable, so it stays even more stable in the "transport" position.

If I'm not mistaken, they are from 42108, I see the red ball "handle" even. As they were too small for the original 42108 crane, how they perform here, with smaller crane but heavier boom and counterweights (I love them, BTW)?

@Akassin, just if you need pneumatic parts for Stud.io, feel free to take mine: https://bricksafe.com/files/Void_s/studio-models/42128 - American Tow Truck.io (V2 bug pump, V2 valves, V2 cylinders, all with working mount pin and axle holes and hose sokets made of bars). Great log loader BTW, I only afraid if the boom made of many small parts may appear too flex.

Mmm, old-good blue seats

A ventilation fan Actually, it's a spare part which will be used in the B-Model "Mack LR" that has two identical driver places (Left + Right-hand driving possibility). Did you put the black "pin with ball connector" on the trailer? Four of them should be mounted to Light Blush Gray "positions" where the container stands, to keep it in place by limiting it from all four corners: P.S. I have restored my HDD but the file was corrupted, so I need some additional time to re-compile the building steps for the "double-tired" trailer MOD. Just a few days and it will come))

Nice Wrangler! For a minute I thought it is FWD only and rear axle powering for some mystical reason didn't fit here. Now it's all OK now in my mind Well, if I'm not mistaken, Wranglers have RWD with an attachable front axle driveshaft, so your scheme is quite realistic.

There is one more point here, US trucks have around 50/50-equal weight distribution between the fifth wheel (read: truck's rear tandem axles) and trailer's tandem axles. Yes, they have equal 8-wheeled confuguration (2 axles * 2 wheel hubs * 2 tires-"doubles"), so it provides a better grip and traction for the truck. The best-optimal configuration for the given requirements. Meanwhile EU trucks usually have only a single rear axle and three single-tired trailes (the axles are even closer to the center of the trailer), so the truck takes a less part of the whole load, while the bigger goes to the trailer. As a result, this combination has better maneurability (shorter truck, trailer and total wheelbases), better fuel economy (only a single axle to power and to carry when no trailer is attached). But it looses some traction and dynamic stability on highways. I have heard about "hybrid" attemts to run US trucks + EU triailers or vice versa, and they completetelly worse than proper combinations: US trucks use 12V electrical system, while EUs are 24V. EU truck + US trailer will have to run half-empty, or get the truck's rear axle overloaded. US truck + EU trailer, however, will have not so many disadvanages - only total length will be a limitation, if operated in EU region.

I don't think "making all the people equally happy" is relevant, in my opinion. As cars and trucks lover (I don't like build air- and sea- things made), I completelly happy to see how the people challenges here. I mean if the current challenge theme is not applicable for some people, it doesn't mean they will be guarantted unhappy. Someones are, yeah, but someones may try something really new. I was a strong fan of LAs and never even touched pneumatic. But, after getting 42053 and 42128 sets I changed my confession and full of ideas how pneumatic could be used. So, give the limitations and some Inspiration to find a really creative way to get rid of them.

@SaperPL, interesting ideas, thank you for sharing. As for me, so far my ideas more conservative and still car/vechicle based but different from the mainstream "TLG PullBack Idea": 4-motors pullback car with two motorized axles and syncronized ratchet locks: they have independent ratchets (so front, rear or both axles at ones can be charged) but the "go, baby, go" lever unlocks them both. As a result, it should be the AWD car with amazing speed and torque but no necessity to charge all four motors at once (that could be difficult for "young racers"). As a side effect, if you change only front or rear axle, you may also get FWD or RWD car and make some interesting tests of how they perform and which config is better. A car with two pullback motors but one has additional gearing, so it winds up slower and still keep pushing the car when the 1st motor is done and top speed is achieved. I beleive this configuration will start slower that regulare twin-pullback setup but may have better top speed. Like 1/4 mile vs 1/2 mile runners challenge. Pullpack caterpillar-ed "Ripsaw" idea has alrady failed - tracked chassis has too much friction and rolling resistance so stops immideatelly when the pullback motor stops. A kind of KERS analogue. I had some ides of "buster" connected via the gearbox or some other RC-activated trigger but it would be too heavy, so now I like more the idea of always-connected Pullback motor. When it is not changed or has alrady done its job, it does nothing thanks to it internal ratchet clutch. But when charged, it will always try to help the PC motors(s) to rotate the driveshaft, and I see it as a prefect idea of a "start-booster": It will assist in reacing the the top speed from zero acting as one more motor sued only during the start. The motor with a huge torque) Such assiatnce will not only additionally push the model better but also make the RC motors life easier by decreasing the current peak when the motors start moving the model at full voltage. That's the list of my thoughts so far.

Hello folks, just a minute ago found that TLG started a campain "hack to Pull-Back", with some really non ordinal use cases of Puall-back motors. pullback - LEGO.com US Yeah, they still can't beat amazing clockwork MOCs presneted here, but all these machines are really someting new that comes from TLG these days. As for me, they somehow remind me old multifucntional sets from 90'ths years. So far the ideas are: Paper plane launcher (inclined ramp with wheeled "grabber" which throws the paper planes). Helicopter (actually its main propeller only) launcher. Crazy machines inspired rope lift driven by the rear axle of El Loco Torro set Somehow it reminded me the truck turned into the dynamo machine in the "Predator" movie, when it was running the electric generator via the belt connected to the rear wheel as a pulley.

Wow, that's really a diamond in a scuh limited scale. Since we have more and more 42098-Transporter comptible models, will it worth to have some common tag for them, for ones who wants to see all the possible cars which could naturally* fit here? Like "TC18", or "42098-compatible", so a simple click on it will open all the compatible models. * I mean the vechicles which can normally roll into/over the Car Transporter with no tricks, wheels removal, etc. Like TC18 restrictions were.

Well, some HDD failure casued a bad thing to my files Most of them are already recovered and the one with updeted trailer is still waiting for its queue. Hopefully it wasn't broken badly...

Does it steer somehow? I doubt such bug wheels could steer here. At it it looks like it

In such articulated hauler, yes, it is. For Volvo ones, there is a module of engine+gearbox under the hood and cabin. Then, still at the front "half-frame", the central differential is mounted sligtly behind the front axle. Its front output goes directly into the front axle, and the rear goes to rear axles via cardan(s) at the frame pivot point. So, thechically it has a fully-mean central differential with axle differentials. Actually, this central differential is moved as close as possible to the front axle.