Brickend

You're absolutely right - I was thinking out loud without the benefit of the tires in front of me - it would be insanely massive.

Great thread and a very interesting technical challenge. I hadn't realised that the engine was mounted longitudinally; I'd always assumed it was transverse as per the Cilo V6, so learnt something new today. Without wishing to be controversial, is increasing the scale out of the question, perhaps using tumbler tires on the rear? I'd always prefer to see the smallest possible solution, but it feels as though you've tested it and Lego gearbox and engine parts are just too large to achieve a technically accurate end result in 23 stud width. I'd really love to see a solution with the gearbox out the back, it's really a key feature of the car.

Thanks It sounds weird but I don't really have an interest in revisiting it, at least not until a better wheel / offset solution arrives. The obvious answer at the moment is to 3d print some hubs, but that kind of goes against the whole point of it...and I also don't want another MOC ending up on Aliexpress, but that's a story for another day.

Thanks - unfortunately this was dismantled 11 years ago and I'm not sure I kept any video files (which I now regret!).

The front suspension - I'd kind of forgotten myself, but in a photo I didn't post because it was too similar and with a poor white balance, it's easier to see the front springs. Springs doubled up because I didn't have access to harder springs at the time: img_8126 by Brickend, on Flickr The tires are so important to the look and you are right about proportions; modern lego tires tend to be overly wide, with tread that is too shallow. The proportions of the latest tractor tires are a step in the right direction towards greater realism though I guess. At the time, I suppose the only special pieces that would have worked were on 8880, but then you were limited to those tires. Certainly, functionally, there is no question that studless produces a more robust and functional model and I guess we at least have the option of making 'resto-mods' now!

This used to be on the MOC pages, but following that services demise, I thought I'd post it here, after holding off posting for a decade because I couldn't be bothered with the resizing! This was built in 2009. It contains a lot of the Lego bulldozer set 8275 - I think this was the first time I had gotten hold of 3L universal joints, without which, achieving the correctly scaled width would have been impossible. It has 2 XL motors for drive, 1 M motor for steering, is all wheel drive with independent suspension and the leading 4 wheels steering. Looking back, there are a lot of connections and constructions that seem inexplicable with today's Lego, but I will say that overall, the aesthetic still suits my personal taste. Whilst I appreciate the skill of some of the smooth 'fill all the gaps and hide all the studs' builders, I generally enjoy Lego that is not afraid to show it's 'Lego-ness'. Somethings that may seem odd at first is the configuration of the drivetrain, with the two driveshafts running the length of the vehicle, powering each side and then going into a single differential to connect them to the two XL motors. This was done to mimic the original vehicle and to my knowledge, none of the other Lego Stalwarts that I have seen replicate this. Looking at the drivetrain, with modern pieces in mind, it appears to be something of a disaster, but in reality, functionally it was not too bad - the older style tires have much less grip than modern equivalents and introduced an element of slip that actually meant it never broke a gear or UJ. If you read about the real thing, you'll see that also had a similar issue with drivetrain wind-up. Bump steer and wheel offset was a real issue however but I'm sure this could be easily remedied with modern pieces. Hope you enjoy this retrospective dpp_0008 by Brickend, on Flickr dpp_0004 by Brickend, on Flickr dpp_0003 by Brickend, on Flickr dpp_0006drive by Brickend, on Flickr dpp_0007 by Brickend, on Flickr

Inspirational - think I'll have to attempt my own version. Does modern white Lego stay white, or is it as bad as the old stuff when exposed to sunlight?

Looks amazing and moves really well for the size, I guess limiting the driven axles keeps the drivetrain losses to a minimum? Was it difficult getting permission from Liebherr to reproduce their logo for sale?

Love the way this looks and an interesting problem! I have a theory which may well be incorrect, but I wondered if the bending action is due to a torque reaction from the vertical driveshafts, applied over a long lever (legs)? This is made worse by steering due to the increased load on the driveshafts? Stalling the drive train at a point just before the wheel stations without a driven wheel connected may prove or, more likely, disprove my theory.

I don't mind the gaps at all, I think you've done a really good job capturing the 'movement' and lines of the body work

That doesn't sound as quick and easy as the competitors. I appreciate a well crafted presentation as much as the next person, but we've now got generations used to the ability to instantly share and who live through their phones - the screens also aren't that small when you think about the resolutions we used to work with. A clear theme emerging in this thread is that people are short on time due to work/family etc - they don't have time to sit at a computer which is where mobile browsing comes in. With facebook etc., you can be working on a MOC, take a photo on a phone, and it's instantly uploaded. Rather than having to down tools, upload to hosting site, copy links between sites etc.

I've just tried viewing this forum on a phone; it looks awful. I tried to upload a screenshot but obviously it was over 100kb so the forum wouldn't let me. If you're used to Facebook / Instagram / Youtube etc. where the site is optimized for mobile viewing and converts the file for the user, I can see why people would skip a site where they have to go through multiple processes. I'd imagine the next generation of people getting into Technic are used to being able to do everything from their phone, fairly efficiently. The other thing to note is all the above sites are also extremely visual and easily scroll-able; you don't have to click through numerous text links to find something that interests you.

Chris, why do you feel it is necessary to spread interest in Lego aviation? Do you not think it'd be better to pull together the $10 needed to build the above glider and have a go, rather than trying to build some sort of 'foundation'? I personally pay much more attention to those who put their thoughts into actions, rather than listen to those talking about theories and getting others to do the work for them.

Not to be controversial, but why don't you move on from lego if your priority is performance? It is always a compromise, even more-so for an AFOL and will never compare to an a more bespoke system, of which I'm sure there are plenty to choose from.

Why not start with the solid lego tyres? No beads to worry about then.

A two stud wide motor that powers LAs directly would be my guess.

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What you need is called a 'light tent'.

Could you try removing the steering system? It would lower the center of gravity significantly and would maybe allow for the front wheel to self centre, like a riderless bicycle? It might be though that Lego tyres lack the weight to provide a meaningful gyroscopic effect at the speeds achievable. I've never tried it, but I've wondered if the action of spinning a M-Motor, unconnected to any sort of steering mechanism, either left or right would have enough of an effect on it's own to cause a turn.

I don't think the problem is other people's assumptions: they are speaking from practical experience. Whereas this model has never turned a wheel in real life; I would counter that it is your assumptions that look dubious.

Is it possible to see the axle spacing in plan view?

A thread which is basically discussing the new releases? Do we need another one of those?

The 'real' version has the ability to crab, although I like your steering solution very much.

My worst sets are any set that used the flex system, this view is due to it's fragile nature.

I think the Unimog tyres are proportionally too wide, meaning that to allow the axle bogie to rotate 360 degrees, the bogies will have to be spaced unrealistically far apart. The old 24 x 43 seems proportionally the better tyre, but maybe not tall enough for the scale required.