grum64

You’re right about the car being jam packed with features. Personally I think it’s Jeroen’s best work. As for details. Jeroen will be posting a few more clues between now and the 24th when the car will be revealed so ‘watch this space’

Thank you for another clue/feature Jeroen. That’s a detail even I haven’t seen yet .

A model of my Gandalf complete with access mods would be brilliant.

They will indeed but they’ll have a long wait if I keep making silly mistakes.

Bugger! I don't know how I missed that one. It's going to be a job to correct. Very well spotted my Friend. Thank you for pointing it out.

Hello My Friends I’ve spent the last few days sorting out the extra parts needed for MODs on my next 3 builds. The Pimped Chiron, Jurgens Ultimate 42082 and the Volvo L350F Front Loader. Whilst doing so I've been debating which of the 3 to build first. They're all sets I've been really looking forward to building but I couldn't make up my mind which one to build first. Thankfully the decison was made for me by young George (7), bless him, who saw a front loader working at a major infrastructure project not far from here and was fascinated by it. Anyways, he asked if I’d build the one I’ve had sitting on the shelf in my shed for the last 3 years. So 42030 Volvo L350F Wheel Loader it is then. Having read many reviews and watched many build videos it’s clear that using the servo for the steering leaves room for improvement. With that in mind I’ll be including effermans excellent steering MOD using an M Motor and a pair of Mini Linear Actuators. Along with smoother steering it’s closer to that used on the real L350F. Thank you effie. I’ll be replacing the receivers with an Sbrick (A huge thank you to Tamás and all at Vengit). I did this with the Ultimate 42009 and 8275 and Jake, George & I have had so much fun with them. With the 42030 so equipped we can enjoy our very own construction site. I'll also be adding PF lights front & rear and, if I can remember where it is, a flashing beacon made for me a couple of years ago by Zmei_gorini4. Building didn’t get off to the best start as when the contents of the box were emptied onto my sorting try it was clear that the previous owner had been less than honest when he assured me that the model had been completely disassembled. It was anything but. The guy had broken it down only enough to fit in its box. After being repacked it was taken over to my lovely Sister-in-Law to be taken completely apart. It’s something she really enjoys doing and of course it wouldn’t be fair of me to deprive her of that. I know, I’m all heart After a night spent in a bowl of Milton Sterilising Fluid it was dried off and was ready to assemble. I wasn’t happy about losing a days building. I know should have checked the contents of the box when first it was delivered but I didn’t so I’ve no one to blame but myself. Hey ho, lesson learnt. On with the build. This one’s for George. Build Day 1 - Building Time 6hrs 20mins - Total Build Time 6hrs 20mins With my car taken in for service I’ve had plenty of time to build and as all’s been pretty straightforward I’ve had a fairly productive day. There was only one thing that had my blood boiling (actually that should be two things) and that it was that which almost always causes me grief. Building the diffs. You wouldn’t believe the trouble just these few parts give me. Now I’m not a paranoid man, far from it, but I’m starting to believe that 12T Bevel Gears we’re designed specifically to annoy me. An irrational statement maybe, but there are times when I’m convinced it’s true. They’re evil little sods. I swear I can hear them mocking me while I struggle to get them where I want them to go. I‘m also of the opinion that they’ve got suicidal tendencies because as soon as I do get them in place they take that as a cue to hurl themselves off the table! The ramblings of a mad man? I think not. You may notice that the four 3L Yellow Liftarms that are supposed to join the 7x5 Frame and Steering Portal are in the wrong place or rather are orientated incorrectly. This has been rectified. Apologies for the lack of pics of the first few stages of building. To be honest I got so absorbed in it I clean forgot to take them. Today’s Pictures.

This was from a set I bought used. I usually use Duracell Ultra or Varta Industrial AA’s in mine as they’re guaranteed leakproof for upto 10yrs (the key word here is ‘upto’). Until now I’ve had no reason to doubt these claims but I’ll have to see what’s inside my boxes when they’re checked.

Opened up the battery box from my 42030 and this is what was inside Now getting all the batteries taken out of my PF sets and spare battery boxes. Shudder to think what’ll be found.

Outstanding! Great work.

Opps... I’ve obviously come to through to flippinamazinghumungousgreatcranes.com instead of Eurobricks. My bad.

Wecome to Eurobricks. I could answer your question but as you're new here I'll spare you my inane ramblings. Instead I'll let Tim dispense a few words of advice...

Thank you for your suggestions as to what the model is. They’ve all been very different, but are any correct? All will be revealed on the 24th so set a reminder on your calendar. Between now and then Jeroen will be giving you a few more clues so please keep posting your suggestions. A big thank you to Jeroen for posting the clues. I’d have happily done it but we all know what that would have meant . something

I’m not a MOC builder so I don’t have call to modify parts or use those of a non-LEGO origin but that’s not to say I haven’t done so. Admittedly the modification was only slight but, slight or otherwise, a modification it was. I hated getting it done and only did so as I could find no adequate way to accomplish my goal otherwise. Let me see if I can cobble together an explanation that a. Makes sense (no guarantees ) b. Doesn’t involve you needing to book a day off work to read A couple of years ago a Cousin saw a LEGO version of a car he was (and still is) restoring. As he liked it so much and his 50th birthday was on the horizon I decided, with the original builders kind permission, to build him one. The real car had chrome rollover hoops and I wanted the model to have as them also so flexible axles/pneumatic hose etc., were out of the question. I asked my Uncle, an engineer, to make them from brass rod which he did and I then had them chromed. As you can see below they look great. The problem was how to mount them. As those of you who are still awake can see from the last picture the hoops were mounted in three places each requiring a different part to hold it, a 3062 1x1 Round Brick with Open Stud, an 85861 1x1 Round Plate with Open Stud and a 3794a 1x2 Modified Plate with Stud. The 3062 was fine for one ‘leg’ as it was nice and deep, but the parts for the remaining ‘legs’ didn’t have that depth to sit in and be held adequately in place. WARNING: Some of you may want to skip the next paragraph as it contains descriptions of parts being modified that you may find disturbing. It was at this point that our brand new cordless Dremel made its first appearance. With a suitably sized drill bit selected and secured in the chuck, Jakes youthful hands guided the 12v LEGO killer toward the respective parts and he proceeded to let it devour its way through the closed bottom of the stud hole on the top of each and straight down & through the stud on the plate underneath. I then had some nice deep holes to hold the rollover hoops tightly in place. Disclaimer: Although this was something of brutal act I can assure you it was it done with the utmost care and consideration for all parts involved. In case you’re wondering, the finished model wasn’t posted at the request of its owner. He has though given permission to use the cropped pic above.

Compact and functional. Great work.

That’s some serious climbing ability! In the words of Sir Jeremy Clarkson ‘What a Machine!!!’

My Fellow Eurobrickers I’ve been a member of Eurobricks for almost 9 years. That’s 9 years of me rambling on about something I’m building or leaving less than imaginative comments about other people’s. Oh how time flies when you’re having fun. I’ve said many times that Eurobricks is the friendliest place on the ‘net and I stand by that (OK, so stand wasn’t the best choice of words but sit just didn’t sound right ). In my time here I’ve made many good friends and have received a great deal of support and much kindness. One such act of kindness came from Jeroen Ottens who contacted me a few months ago with what can only be described as an extraordinary offer. To design and build a model of my choosing. To say I was blown away is an understatement. As it came completely out of the blue and because for the life of me I couldn’t think what I’d done to warrant such an offer I dismissed it as a hoax but after an exchange of messages Jeroen convinced me the offer was indeed genuine. After a great deal of thought and knowing the enormous amount of time & effort that would be involved, I declined the offer. It was simply too much. Jeroen however, wouldn’t take no for an answer so I decided that this most unexpected offer, so very generous in its giving, could be made to benefit more than just myself so I said yes but on condition that the completed model be auctioned and 100% of the proceeds be given to the Fairy Bricks charity. Jeroen agreed. For those that don’t know, Fairy Bricks is a wonderful charity that raises money to enable them to buy LEGO sets and donate them to children’s hospices and hospitals. You can find out more about them here: www.fairybricks.org All this was several months and many, many emails ago but I’m pleased to say that the design & building of the model is now complete. I think it’s a beautiful build and something Jeroen should be very proud of. The auction is now live Pagani Huayra BC Charity Auction

I'm sensing a theme...

That has to be the most ludicrous looking car I've seen in many a year. I love it!

An excellent use of the 42055's parts. It looks good and functions really well. You’ve done a terrific job. It'd be great if TLG were to add C models. They could at least make sure all their B models are as good as this. Congratulations on the competition. I've not looked at the article yet but the 1st & 2nd place builds must have been quite something for your brilliant build to come 3rd.

I'll be building the 42082 some time soon and when I do it'll be Jurgen Krooshoops Ultimate version . I built his 42009 and it's terrific.

Thank you Jeroen. As I’ve said many times, it’s as much stubbourness as it is determination. I find a healthy mix of both gets the job done.

I had a local graphics company make me some replacement stickers for my Lego 8461 Williams F1 Team Racer. They came out really well (after a slight misunderstanding with the size meant they were A2 sized!) and were die cut so we’re easy to apply. Just in case of problems I bought a ‘backup set’ from ZacParis on eBay. They’re great quality & even with delivery are reasonably priced and are quick to arrive (UK). Since then I’ve had many stickers from him and had nothing to complain about. You can find his 8461 stickers here. Williams 8461 Replacement Stickers If you have any problems with the link here’s the item number: 131673430707

That’s nice to hear. Thank you. I’m not sure what my next build will be. I’ve a few in mind but I’ll take a few days to think about it. I’m not sure about my posts sounding exciting but if that’s how you feel I’ll take it . I don’t know what to build next I’m going to take a few days to decide. I won’t be long making my mind up and so will be back building and posting soon so if I were you I’d enjoy the break . Thank you Igor. I’m really pleased with it. The mods really do make a big difference to the finished build and jb70’s excellent instructions enhanced the whole build process. It was great to have to really study each page when building, having to your brain and your eyes. LEGO’s instructions are becoming ever more simplified and as a result at risk of becoming of War and Peace proportions.