grum64

Hello My Friends I'm not entirely sure about posting this as rather than it being an update about the CAT as you may have been expecting it’s an update about my health. My last post was at the back end of February and many of you have been messaging asking if I'm OK. Well, the answer to that is no but I will be. As you may remember from my last post, I'd had a chest infection which knocked me for six. No sooner had I recovered & resumed building I became ill again. I now know that somehow I'd contracted Flu which, despite seeing numerous medical professionals and my pleadings, went undiagnosed for too long and so was quickly joined by Pneumonia. Being unable to cough means either of these is bad news, having both together, particularly so. I became very ill very quickly and ended up spending the next 3 weeks in Intensive Care on a ventilator while my lungs were cleared of what was described as ‘a seemingly endless amount of ‘chewing gum like crap'. After that it was almost 5 weeks in High Dependency. As I’m sure you can imagine, this has been really tough, particularly for my amazing family but we're back in our own home and starting to settle into what is now our new life. Things are different but we’ll just do, together, what we’ve done for the last 40+yrs. Get on with things and just keep laughing. I can’t write this without acknowledging the incredibly hard working and dedicated staff of the Intensive Care & High Dependency units and the Respiratory Physios both at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge and at The Royal Papworth Hospital also in Cambridge. Without their tireless efforts I wouldn't be writing this now. As for my building. Yes, I'm determined to get back to it but it's not going to be for while. Finally. It's incredibly humbling that so many of you, most of whom I've never met, messaged, WhatsApp'd, emailed etc. A huge thank you to all.

Looks fantastic! I really enjoy the attention to detail, I especially like the rear lights. Excellent work.

Hello williamyzfr1 Thank you for your very helpful reply. I purchased A C's instructions for his modded CAT several weeks ago after seeing them on Rebrickable. I chose these as minimum disassembly is needed to implement the changes. As it is I'm building the CAT to LEGO's instructions and will then build A C's so the false actuators will get replaced with proper ones. Thank you also for letting me know the correct length for the Linier Actuators. I'm pretty sure mine are fully extended so I'll adjust them accordingly and then re-run the initial calibration accordingly, deleting the app and reinstalling it if necessary. Once again, thank you for taking the time to help me.

Thank you for your kind words. As for tears following a mishap, that's only happened once.

I’ve a few favourite sets. 8258 Crane Truck - This was the very first Technic set I built and as such was something of a challenge to say the least. As I recall it took 20+ weeks to build but at the end of it the feeling of accomplishment was indescribable. I still get a warm fuzzy whenever I think about it. 8043 Excavator - This one was the second or third Technic set I built and my first full PF. I was completely blown away by what I saw as the complexity of its design, I certainly did some head scratching trying to fathom which gears were going to operate which function as I built. The overall building experience and its playability just made it a great set. I keep saying I’d going to rebuild it. Now it’s back in my mind maybe I will one day soon. 8880 Supercar - I'd had this set sitting on the rack for a couple of years but I always put off building it. The biggest studded set I’d built until then was the 8275 but the 8880 was in a different league altogether and was very intimidating. With so many complex shapes and structures, (especially the engine cover!), it was by far the most difficult set I’ve built and easily the most frustrating but having said that it’s those things that in the end made it absolute joy to build.

Good to hear from you Bart, it’s been a while. I'd not thought much about it before now but you're right, I do seem to have had a few 'incidents' with the CAT but I can't think it's any more than with any of my other builds. I think the majority of those I have had have been a result of how I build. I think it's safe to say I'm a bit more heavy handed if that makes sense. Where most people fit parts delicately and with nimble fingers I find a lot of the time I have to use more force, more of a line it up & shove it approach. It's not quite a crude as that, at least not always, but you get the gist and it’s that extra oomph when my hand slips or something similar that propels things rather than maybe just dropping to the table if a softer approach were used 👍🏻🙂

Build Day 26 & 27 / Building Time - 8hrs / Total Building Time - 110hrs It’s been a good deal longer than expected since last I posted due to a very unwelcome chest infection that arrived unannounced, rudely bypassed ‘under the weather’ and went straight to knocking me off my circulars completely for 10 days. I then fell victim to my own ineptitude which delayed things further. With the cab now finished in, even if I say so myself, pretty good time (stop laughing 🫤), it and the body assemblies must now become one and hopefully reside happily ever after. It was almost 17:00 and I was tired & about to call it a day but with the cab already atop the body of the CAT I couldn’t help thinking it would be a good idea to secure the assemblies together. After all there was only one yellow 5L Axle and four red 3L Pins with Stop Bush, two of which were already in place awaiting a push into position. It wouldn’t take long so that’s what I decided to do. Unfortunately, this decision proved almost as disastrous as any one of those occasions when seemingly sensible women looked at Henry VIII and thought ‘that’s the man for me’. Pushing the first pin into place it soon became obvious that it was going nowhere, at least not without a fight. I had one hand up against the front of the CAT and my other pushing the pin but it was still unwilling to move so I pushed harder. Then much harder still. Upon reflection the ‘much harder still’ was a mistake because before I knew what was happening my hand slid up & off the pin hitting the cab and sending it bouncing end over end across the table, a trail of pieces in its wake, and landing on the chest of drawers. This sent my VW Beetle, Caterham and two Racers Ferrari Race Trucks (both awaiting disassembly!) to the floor where an explosion of colour like a firework display flew off in pretty much every direction 🤬. Also two Racers Ferrari cars disappeared down the back of the chest of drawers. On the upside, disassembling the Race Trucks won’t take so long . Surprisingly, the cab escaped a similar fate, All it lost was the screen & instrumentation pieces from inside the cab, a few bits & pieces from the roof, both extinguishers and the ladder assembly which required a little attention. Mercifully the body of the CAT escaped damage. It travelled across the table at a rather impressive rate of knots & came to an abrupt halt after bouncing off the window. I’m sure it would’ve gone through it had the window not been double glazed Parts from the CAT retrieved and refitted, the two assemblies secured together (according to the instructions this time) and it was time to put the ripper together which proved to be fairly straightforward. In fact it took a great deal longer to fit it than it did to build. I can’t say I’m a fan of the false actuators. Besides having a stud length of the grey axle showing they just don’t look very good. I’m far from an expert but there must have been a better way of doing them. I’m not blind to this being my own stupid fault (once again). Had I fitted the axle before the pins as per the instructions none of this would’ve happened. I was tired but that’s no excuse. I made a complete and utter horlicks of things by not paying attention to the instructions and taking shortcuts. Something that won’t happen again. My digits will remain hypothetically entwined. I've recently read that the final calibration has a hissy fit if the extension of the Linier Actuators isn't correct. I don't know if this is right or not but I'd rather not take any more chances. Because I use digital instructions I'm wasn’t able to use the respective picture in the instruction book to set the correct length of said Linier Actuators so just wound them out to their longest. May I ask if anyone can shed some light on whether this was correct and if not what the correct length from the instruction book is please. I'll be most grateful for any help or advice. Thank you.

I know this isn’t to do with Lego directly but please bear with me for a few minutes If the moderators think this being here is inappropriate please move it where you think it best to be I’d just like to say a few words about Steve Wright, a UK radio DJ and TV host who very sadly passed away today To some of you he’ll be unknown, but to me and many others he was a voice and later a face that took us through our teens and accompanied us onward through adulthood I for one have listened to him almost every day since 1979. Even when I was away at sea I still managed to listen to his show on the endless supply of cassette tapes recorded by my Sister that, no matter where I was in the World, greeted me each time we docked Until last year, when he 'left' his afternoon show, it was he and his team I'd listen to every day especially while out in my shed with my Lego. It may sound strange but he helped me through some very difficult times when something I was trying to build wasn't going right. I carried on listening to his other show but sadly that's all now come to an end Thank you for the laughs Steve. May you rest in peace.

You’re very kind 😳

Hmmm… any chance it can be changed to 24 weeks? 😉

Brilliant! Who doesn’t love a Warthog 👍🏻🙂

Fantastic! The more I look at it the more I’m impressed. Easily one of the best 1:1’s I’ve ever seen.

Build Days 24 & 25 / Building Time - 9.5hrs / Total Building Time - 102hrs I thought it best to start the day by removing the mangled 1L Pin with 2L Axle before I clean forgot only to find it buried under a pound and a half of plastic when I eventually did remember. Shoving it with an axle soon had it out which was much easier than anticipated. Replacing said part turned out to be every bit as frustrating as anticipated. To protect the ‘fragile’ Pin end I slipped a 2L Pin Connector over it while I heaved, huffed, puffed and tutted the axle into place. It took a while but it’s done and, thanks to the easily removed connector, is in prestige condition. A first for me and a lesson learned. The rest of the building went well. The only fly in the ointment was trying to fit the 2L Liftarms to each end of the angled name plate assembly. This proved to be ridiculously time consuming and a real pain in the proverbial because no matter how careful I was, every time I tried to fit them the rest of the assembly fell apart. I put it back together eleven times before I’d got it done 🫤. It was at this point I thought this was getting a too photo heavy so grouped this assembly's parts together to help keep the number down. Stable doors and bolting horses come to mind 🙄. I've just noticed that a thin Liftarm is missing from the top of one of the doors. Yes, I forgot. Yes, I will fit it. Yes, I am stupid 😵‍💫.

Thank you very much but honestly, I don’t do anything special. I just build a little differently to most 👍🏻 🙂 There’s a lot of building left to do yet so just resign yourself to the fact you’re going to be building your own dozer soon. When you do please post it here. Myself and many others would like to watch its progress 🙂 Thank you for your encouraging words. I’ve lost count of the number of the little blighters I’ve damaged beyond use since I first came across them. The last I remember it was over 50 but that was sometime ago. Good job I’ve got plenty of spares. 🙂👍🏻

Build Day 22 & 23 / Building Time - 9hrs / Total Building Time - 92.5hrs Hello My Friends Hope you all had a great Christmas and 2024 has started well for you. I can't believe how long it's been since my last post. The way things are going I’m pretty sure I’ll still be building this next year. This is just a quick update as besides being short on time, things went quite well. No flying or free falling parts and thankfully no personal injuries although there were a few near misses. As the build of this, the upper rear part of the chassis and cabin progresses, fitting parts and assemblies to it is getting quite difficult. It’s really unwieldy to handle and the 4 vertical liftarms (which have poked me in the eye, been up my nose and in my ears more times than I care to recall) get in the way. All this has caused much tutting and gnashing of teeth. Anyway, that's it for now. I’ve got a few free days over the next week or so so hopefully I’ll get time to get some more building done should be back soon. Before going any further I need to get this mangled 1L pin with 2L axle (circled) replaced because if I go too much further I’ll not be able to get to it. Should be fun.

Firstly, welcome to Eurobricks. It’s good to have you with us. WOW! This is really something special. The level of detail is very impressive helped by your clever use of parts. I especially like the use of the Robot Arms for the Davits and 1x4 Gear Rack for the Gangways. As for you’re not posting for all this time because you lacked courage. The very fact you took on this project in the first place shows courage. It’s clear you’re a very talented builder, you just need to believe that others will see that. The comments on this page prove that. Keep up the great work. Glad to see you there. It’s an honour to be so and very well deserved.

I'd like to wish you all a very, very Happy Christmas and a happy & healthy New Year. See you in 2024.

Thank you. She has been given a tour of my shed but looked distinctly unimpressed. Maybe next year 😉

Build Day 20 & 21 / Building Time - 10.5hrs / Total Building Time - 83.5hrs Hello My Friends It’s been a while since my last post (sorry williamzfr1 😉). I do have a very good reason but more on that later. And no, it’s nothing to do with a certain bearded travel writer. Or at least I hope it’s not else questions will be asked! After the time lost correcting last time's mistakes, I took extra care this time to ensure I did things right first time and much to my surprise, and no doubt yours, I did. Crikey! The only real problem I had was fitting the 12L bevel gear, axle connector with axle hole & 3L liftarm thin with axle holes shown in photo 12. I spent 2.5hrs, trying every which way, before they were in place. 2.5hrs and even then I think it was much more luck than ever it was judgement. Frustration doesn't come close. Speaking of frustration. I’ve just noticed that I damaged the black 2L axle with pin shown in photo 8. I hadn’t noticed until I just looked at the last photo and saw the pin is misshaped. Bugger! I struggle getting the little blighters fitted at the best of times and have rarely done so without damaging them. They seem to be made from a softer type of plastic to other parts and the axle is much harder to push through parts. Being where it is, it’s going to be a sod to replace but that’s for next time. My apologies for the quality of some of the photos. In the background you’ll have noticed that I’ve got models lined up on my table. It’s dark in that area anyway because of the shadows cast by shelves from the overhead lights and the dark coloured models add to the problem. I’m looking at getting some under shelf lights which should help and getting the models moved. The models are only there because I’ve got no room left on my shelves. I keep putting off getting them sorted out, some have been there for a good while and I want to get dismantled & put back on the racks. Some I might sell. Might sell. Either way something’s got to be done & soon as I’ve got several still sealed sets I want to build but with nowhere to put them… A few days after my last post our youngest Son and his Partner welcomed a beautiful baby Daughter into the world, their first child and our forth Grandchild. Mum, Dad & baby are doing really well. She’s gorgeous, a tiny little bundle of absolute joy who has us all utterly spellbound.

Build Day 19 / (Re)Building Time - 7hrs / Total Building Time - 73hrs Before rebuilding there was some dismantling to do which being easier said than done takes far longer than it should. I'm always mindful of damaging parts but as careful as I tried to be a few parts, particularly the two 5L Liftarms, did end up marked & scratched so were replaced. This picture was taken when, in my finite wisdom, I concluded that a complete dismantling wasn’t needed. It’d save time and would be easier. As is usually the case with my ideas, reality proved otherwise. Still annoyed at myself for the error that caused all this extra phaffing about, I was determined to make no mistakes this time. And promptly made exactly the same one again. On the upside I noticed it at the start of building so was easily rectified. Honestly though, I don’t know what goes on in my head sometimes. I wouldn’t mind so much but I can’t even blame Bill Bryson this time. Anyway, I checked and rechecked each step and all’s as it should be now. I hope.

And there was I thinking the out of box build was complex

I had problems when running the calibration test on my D11. The screen showed it was meant to be doing one thing, the D11 was doing another. I checked everything was OK with the build, checked for answers online, reinstalled the app, checked for updates and asked the good people here but could find no reason for it so just left it as it was and hoped for the best. I ran the calibration test again a couple of weeks ago, just out of curiosity really and this time everything did what it should. Don’t figure.

Build Day 18 / Building Time - 4hrs / Total Building Time - 66hrs I'm an idiot. I know this is hardly a startling revelation but should there be any doubt... In case the cause of todays stupidity isn’t immediately apparent don’t worry you’re not alone. I missed it completely and I was building the thing for close on 4hrs . Look at the two Red 1L Axle with 2L Pin in the first picture. They should be on the opposite of the frame, so facing down. Bugger. No matter, it would be a simple fix, just move them to their correct position, so I was happy. Happy that is until I realised it wasn't going to be simple at all at which point happy got up & ran crying out the door leaving in its wake a big lingering cloud of stupid. The problem was the two Yellow 1L Pin with Pinhole which should be ‘Pin upwards’ to allow the 1L Axle with 2L Pin to go through the frame and 5L Liftarm. As they are that’s not possible so I need to dismantle it and start again but that's a job for another day.

Yeah, let's go with that 😉

It’ll surprise no one to hear that it’s not the first time I’ve been described as ‘one of a kind’ 🙃