JLiu15

UPDATE 9/8/18 The MOC is about 85% complete. The only thing I have left to do now is the cab, so this will be the last update before I publish the MOC. Since the previous update the rest of the chassis has been finished, with battery box, steering system, and fake engine all in place. I've also modified the boom a bit - I've changed the angle of the mini LA controlling the second part of the boom so that its maximum angle is 180 degrees. I've also added rubber grips to the claw, since large objects often slip out. I have to say, though, that the building process between now and the last update was overwhelmingly discouraging. Even as I tried to make the chassis as reinforced as possible it still bends. It's not too noticeable but it made it very hard for me to stay motivated on the build. I also had a hard time bracing the battery box and routing the steering mechanism around it. The I6 engine takes up a lot of space, extending beneath the battery box which meant the vertical axle for the HoG steering has to work off center. The final steering mechanism is linkage-based, with two links working in opposite directions to steer the wheels. There's still a beam which connects the wheel hubs to ensure the wheels remain parallel at all times. HoG steering is controlled by turning the warning beacon. I originally used a I6 instead of a straight-4 because I planned to make the cab a Volvo FM. However, since I'm starting to get busy with school and college apps I'm taking a step back on this project. I'll just make a simple cab that can be tilted to expose the engine. I also changed the name of the project to "Grapple Truck I6" referencing the engine, as simply calling it "Grapple Truck" seems kinda boring to me I plan to get it finished and filmed this month as next month I will be moving. After this MOC I will focus mainly on smaller projects until next year, as I do not have as much free time anymore. If you guys have any suggestions for me, please let me know Photos:

UPDATE 8/31/18 Well not everything has gone as planned. As I got into building the front section of the chassis I got into a ton of issues - mainly structural. The steering linkages were a major issue - the space they took up meant no room for vertical reinforcement in that entire area. I've put so many things in there that the entire design became too troublesome to continue working with, so I decided to just chill out and take a step back. I've realized this entire time that this model is just begging to be built into a cab-over. With the current proportions building it into a longnose just does not seem right. The looks of it right now seem to best fit trucks such as the Volvo FM, which gives me a change of ideas: Instead of a red US-style truck I will be modeling the Volvo FM 13, probably in yellow since I have a good amount of yellow System pieces from the Caterham set. Such a design seems to work much better with what I've got so far. As for what I've done in this update, most of it's enhancements to what I already have. I know not everyone is a fan of stickers, but I kinda got carried away here and added various stickers to it. I've upgraded the rear wheel arches with System pieces, which look more realistic and follows the recent trend with Technic increasingly using System pieces. I also added whatever those side things are - the pairs of black beams attached to the sides of the chassis. I modified the outriggers' linkage a bit to make them extend farther and fold up nicer. Last but not least, a pretty small feature I added is a chain that prevents the rear gate from opening too far (and subsequently flipping over into the dump bed). If you guys have any suggestions for me, please let me know Photos:

In the video you can see that the interior has lots of 5x11 panels (part 64782) in the tan color. This part has never been released in this color before, so is there a chance this “unreleased” color version starts circulating on bricklink once this model is taken apart? Or is this a sign that a future set is coming with this part in tan?

True. It is quite expensive and I hesitated from getting it until last fall. Finished chassis should be coming in the next update. The entire steering mechanism and fake engine should all be in place by then.

Honestly, I kinda want it to fit "Lego Standards" I generally consider weight distribution for RC MOCs that simply need the battery box flipped on - in fact, I seldom use the AA battery box on RC MOCs but instead use the rechargeable battery. It's smaller, lighter, and is rechargeable of course. But here since the gearbox switches between functions instead of directions, I want the battery box at a convenient location so it can be flipped easily.

UPDATE 8/29/18 A little bit of progress on the chassis. The chassis has been extended to accommodate the battery box bracket and steering mechanism. The battery box is attached in a way that will allow it to be easily removed for battery replacement, although I don't think I would ever need to. This is really just to keep up with how official Lego sets allow the battery box to be removable for battery replacement. As for the steering, it will be all linkage based, without any rack-and-pinion mechanism. The key element here is a 5L axle with 24T gear + part 98585 + 5L beam. It's kinda hard to see, but once finished it will have a beam connected to either end of the 5L beam, the right one controlling the steering linkage and the left one controlling the working steering wheel. The decision to use a linkage based steering is because recent official truck sets (e.g. Arocs and Mack) have been omitting the rack and using linkages instead to work the steering. The greater degree of complexity and the presence of a working steering wheel should make steering much more interesting to operate. If you guys have any questions for me, please let me know Photos:

Of course! I’ll see if I can try out such a design on some MOC soon. Question: are you planning on using 49.5x20 wheels on that WIP you showed me? Because I have a MOC in mind that will potentially use double of those wheels on rear suspended axle.

As I said in the summary, I already tried a ton of solutions in the windscreen section that seemed to work out much worse (e.g. holding the entire roof at an angle). Place the top ends of the A-pillars one stud forward, the windscreen is at an even worse angle. I don’t see how the angle of the windscreen is off either. If anything it could be worse, as I mentioned. I did not foresee the issue of proportions until I modified the tracks and got rid of those oscillating parts, which was when the build was 80% complete. I’m not taking apart the entire model just to fix some proportions issue. I’ve looked at many pictures of the real thing, and sure this thing has its drawbacks but I don’t see how it’s way off.

Thanks! It is in fact a farm machine, because it’s modeled off a real vehicle. Look it up.

That seems like it would work. But I don’t feel like rebuilding 1/3 of the model from scratch just to include this feature. I never planned to give it suspension anyway. Maybe on my next truck MOC.

Thanks, but there’s two issues associated with that: 1. The spacing of teeth on the 16T gears would mean that the mowers would never be aligned perfectly. Easily overlooked issue as it’s negligible, but I don’t like it. 2. I wanted the mowers’ not only to be foldable, but also be positioned at any angle in between. I don’t care if 9393 and 8284 has them manually folded without any mechanisms. I strongly oppose using gear trains on any mechanism where precise angle is very important, a good example is steering mechanisms. The offset is negligible, but offset is offset.

Thanks

Me too but it still bends when the springs compress. Two of my previous MOCs that used such a suspension had a pair of beams and frames in that area with a stud in between them, so essentially 3 studs thick worth of support above the gap. Maybe I’m doing something wrong or the problem goes away as the build progresses, but I try to stay on the safe side and not assume an area will reinforce itself naturally as more stuff is added in.

Lmao you have to make a giant gap in the chassis and make sure the supporting beams are strong enough if you want a decent truck-type live axle suspension. Just didn’t seem worth the time for this MOC.

No suspension. Too much work for a truck meant to be kept simple

Thank you! It currently looks similar, but that isn’t my plan. My plan is a longnose truck with a red body.

UPDATE 8/27/2018 Lots of progress here! The entire rear half of the chassis is 100% complete, with the two rear axles and dump in place. Note the wheel hubs - I did not feel like using a super long axle to connect the double rear wheels so I decided to use hubs instead. The dump is simple but very robust, and can be detached by pulling out 4 pins. I decorated the rear of the dump with warning pattern tiles, custom printed by EclipseGrafx I got at BrickFair (hence the EclipseGrafx brick on the arm). Because the dump function is connected to the ring with a 5:1 reduction, the action is slow but has plenty of torque. In fact, the L motor never seems to struggle at all when driving this function. I've also added side outriggers near the arm, which are unfortunately deployed manually via worm gears. They are dead simple and similar to those on the 9397, and although I doubt they will be able to lift the vehicle off the ground they nevertheless complement the arm pretty well. I've made the area near the outriggers sort of a "control area", directing the gearbox switch right next to the outriggers' worm gears. The MOC is progressing at a pretty fast pace, and I anticipate finishing it by early September. If you guys have any suggestions for me, please let me know Photos:

Thanks! Glad you like it! I’m pretty happy with the end result too, despite its shortcomings. Yup! I suppose a section of custom-built track using many 2L beams could have worked, but it’s thick, heavy, and parts-costly do not ideal for such a project. Thank you!! Haha, CLAAS MOCs are interesting. The best part in my opinion is getting to use the lime pieces

True, I can see that with the curved sloped pieces. I did mention that it was the most challenging part of the build, so I had to compromise at some points. Not entirely happy with it either, but gets the gist of it I guess.

This MOC was originally planned to be a third submission for BrickFair VA 2018 - after finishing my Red Beryl GT I realized I still had a month before the expo, and seeing that I had an abundance of lime pieces I decided a CLAAS tractor would be a perfect build. However, problems soon arose when I overestimated the amount of pieces I had, and I had to begin compromising parts of the build. When I realized the number of compromises I was making would greatly hinder the model's functionality and aesthetics, I decided to put it off until after the expo. The original chassis only contained M motors, had a poorly designed rear PTO and an inaccurate fake engine. However, after taking apart my BrickFair MOCs I was able to use the two L motors on my Red Beryl GT as the propulsion motors for the tracks. They sit side by side, driving the front sprockets with a 5:1 reduction. This left ample space in the rear of the chassis for the rear PTO and elevating mechanism. I originally wanted to include an inline-6 fake engine under the hood connected to the PTO motor, but due to lack of space, concerns of overloading the front end and the absurdity of an engine connected only to the PTO, I decided to omit it and simply connect the motor to the rear PTO. A driveshaft passes down the center of the chassis linking the M motor to the PTO, with a clutch gear and 3:1 reduction at the motor. The elevating rear attachment point was a modular build, which included a worm gear driving a pair of levers that uses links to raise/lower the attachment. This mechanism also uses a M motor with clutch gear and 3:1 reduction. Despite originally being a modular element, it fit into the chassis very well. As for the aesthetics, the hood was the most challenging part to model. I spent the bulk of my work on this project before BrickFair on modeling the hood, trying to get it as close as possible to the real thing. The curvature and combination of lime/white were especially challenging, and I ended up "marking" the bottom curvature of it using lime flex axles and used System pieces at various points. It was not perfect, but I was pretty satisfied with it as to how it compared to the real thing. The cab was much easier, but getting the proper angle with the front windscreen was also quite challenging. Restricting myself to only using black axles was the main obstacle - as I could not use beams due to the angle towards the bottom of the cab. I also had to make sure the roof was not placed at an angle, since I'm not a fan of roofs that angle downward to accommodate the windscreen angle. I ended up attaching the front windscreen to the roofs with beams at an angle - not the prettiest but better than a leaning roof I guess. The rear attachment, simple as it is, was very fun to build. I decided not to go too crazy with it, so I made something similar to the mower attachment on the back of the 8284. The mower blades are manually folded with mini LAs which also allow them to be angled. The red tiles with the "DANGER" print are custom printed pieces I got at BrickFair. The model, of course, has its share of drawbacks. The main one being the rear of the tractor, as I was simply too lazy to get the complex curves back there. I used panels to sort of get the curves, and left the battery exposed in the rear. Not everyone's favorite solution, but if they do it on official sets (e.g. 8043) then whatever I suppose. The lack of larger Technic sprockets was another problem - the tracks ended up "flatter" compared to the original tractor. I initially built the tracks with pairs of oscillating sprockets to sort of prevent this look, but this proved to be very bad as it would always cause the model to tilt on its front end. I eventually connected all the sprockets to a solid beam which solved the problem, but I cannot help but think the tracks are a bit out of proportion. I also had issues with the clutch gear in the rear PTO - it slipped with too little torque. This caused the mower blades to stop when bumped against anything. Adding another clutch gear or removing them altogether would have remedied the issue, but I simply overlooked it while building. Despite not having fulfilled its original intent as a BrickFair submission, I was nevertheless very satisfied with the result. It had its drawbacks, but in my opinion this was a great experience with modeling a real vehicle. Such projects allow me to actually consider how the real thing looks before choosing what piece to use, which makes the building process much more interesting. Video: Photos:

UPDATE 8/20/18 The CLAAS Challenger 95E has been completed! The majority of it was built in the last 10 or so days, but the idea of it was conceived over a month ago due to plans of bringing it to BrickFair. Although this project never made it to BrickFair due to the unforeseen parts shortage, I am still satisfied with how it turned out despite its shortcomings. Photos should be uploaded in the next couple days to my Flickr. There were definitely some parts of the model I was not really happy with or just didn't turn out the way they should have, but overall it still seemed like a valuable build to me. I have made one of those mower-like attachments very similar to the one on the 8284 to accompany the tractor. The PTO transfer drive to the blades while the blades can be manually adjusted with mini LAs. Note the large amount of ribbed 2L axle joiners - acquiring a brand new 8289 set at BrickFair gave me a ton of those, so might as well use them. The 1x4 tile with the "DANGER" prints I also got at BrickFair. Photos:

UPDATE 8/19/18 Tractor is now about 90% complete. Cab with full interior is now complete, and a rechargeable battery sits behind it. The tracks have also been modified to solve the tilting issue - the oscillating road wheels are now attached to a solid beam for the track to remain "flat" at all times, preventing the forward tilt. Currently only things I need to do on the tractor are the rear paneling and side rails, as well as some final touch-ups. The tractor should be finished in the coming days in which I will do another update. I will spend the rest of week working on a rear attachment, and then the MOC will be complete. If you guys have any suggestions for me, please let me know. Photos:

I agree.

I've already compromised a ton on the hood so I had to leave out some part ig I should be doing an update in the next few days featuring the completed cab. Thanks! That was definitely the hardest part imo.

UPDATE 8/17/18 Lots of progress over the past couple days. All the motors are in place - a M motor drives the rear PTO and another controls the rear attachment. Both mechanisms use the 24T gear w/ clutch to protect the motor. I did decide, however, to omit the piston engine. There's little space under the hood and the model is front-heavy enough already. It also seems pretty absurd for a piston engine to be connected to the PTO mechanism only and not in any way connected to the tracks. The hood was built as its own separate module and then attached to the chassis. It forms a very robust connection with it so there's no problem with picking up the model from the hood. I did, however, have to compromise on some parts of it, hence the gaps on its sides. Like my Kenworth T600, I'm using a fair amount of System pieces in combination with Technic to model some of the details that are harder to do with purely Technic. The front counterweight, for instance, is essentially just a couple of bricks but held on strong enough that the model can be picked up by it. I may also put lime green tiles on the side beams (whatever you call them) to cover up the pins. At this point I've also added plenty of "detail" elements - from items as small as the fire extinguisher (which is just a minifig gun attached to a red pin joiner by a half pin) to the large exhaust and air intake (I think) on the right. Despite being just a couple elements, they seem to have greatly helped the aesthetics of the model. Unfortunately I've encountered a significant problem at this point of the build: the model currently tips forward due to how front-heavy it is. To be fair the cab, battery box, and rear section are not in yet, which should help balance the weight distribution, but I may have to play around with things a bit before I can call the tractor finished. The rear attachment will definitely balance it out, and my guess is the front-heaviness is actually crucial to maintaining balance when there's a rear attachment, but then again these tractors don't seem to tip over even when there's no attachment. Looks like lots of experimentation coming my way... My goal right now is to finish this MOC by the end of the month, right before school starts so I can get it all filmed and stuff before I get busy with school. Please let me know if you have any suggestions for me Photos: