Nazgarot

Sent you a PM. Contact me if you are interested. _ED_

Good to have you back!

That is a great solution!

Hi. Seems like a good model, but I get a feeling that the bed is a bit to high above the rear wheels, and that the front trackwidth is a bit wide... Would like to see some more pictures form all sides of the truck. All in all what you have shown seems like a real compact and well thought out build.

String can, but you have to "fasten" it correctly. A "winch" where you wrap the string around 3-5 times should make sure it works even if not tensioned. But I do love your idea! Just hope you have time for some "prettying up" as this model really deserve a chance in this competition. I thought of something like this myself, but found it would be to time consuming. Quite amazing what you have managed to make in a short time! This will sure pick some points!

I love contest time, and how the forum is bobbling over with positivity and creativity. I would be sorry to see it subjugated to a separate forum, but the majority decides... And I agree with allanp; I can post MOCs all year, and they still drown in sulking over official sets that don't live up to the expectation. The best time to post a moc if you want views is straight after a competition. At that point there is a very high activity with participants and voters, but not that many new posts, so why not drop it then? _ED_

Move it over. The more the merrier!

Technic to the rescue...

Amazingly good looking for it's size! Really love how you used the "steering arms" with the pin with ball to make the A-arms. This really is the dot over the i on a good model, and in combination with the slim and almost cute front it give the model a real personality. Only thing I would change is the hand of god steering knob. Maybe this part could make it fit better with the scale of the model. _ED_

Long axles mounted right also make for good leaf springs. Using a 12 L axle with two 6 L axles connected to it could work. I've used something similar for a heavy load truck with a leaf spring setup, and that worked nicely. The lime parts are 2 L liftarms with cross and hole, cross down to the 12 L axle. This should allow for quite a bit of flex as well as some actual suspension, but the flex will be pendular... That is however very close to the actual thing. PS: You should swapp the 6 L axles for 5 L to allow for more pendular motion. For more flex the 12 L axle could be replaced with two 6 L axles without connection between, but this needs more of the red parts to keep it in place.

Some updates. I've decided to go with a Cat 216b as a base for the model. This involves using large LAs and making it quite a large model. I have to do a resize to 18x27x20 studs from the 17x28x21 I was planning for. Some progress - finally happy with the base of the vehicle, and pleased with how I managed to compress and cover up the adder/subtractor drivetrain. I've started work on the rear of the model and concepted a solution for placement of the last two motors. The last is giving me some challenges, but that is why we do this, isn't it? EDIT: Another small update: I needed to move power from a motor to a function (LA) to the opposite direction, 3 studs up and 3 studs to the side, and am quite pleased with what I came up with. As it might be of interest to others I will post it here. It uses one somewhat exotic part that I happen to have a lot of for some reason, and solves my problem for placing the motors within a very tight space. This solution holds the motor as well as the whole drivetrain in place, and only requires 4x3x3 studs. It also prevent gear skipping by holding the lliftarm in place with a 1x1 modified round plate. It makes for a super compact placement of the motors that will allow me to keep a somewhat realistic look within the limited dimensions. Now all I have to do is coming up with an equally compact solution for the other side... Then I'll have solved most of the mechanical issues, and only aesthetics are left. By the way, there is also the issue of placing the PF-power switch that I use to reverse one of the drive motors, and did not originally plan for... It's almost the size of a motor! _ED_

The plan is to drive the rear wheel through chain drive from the front wheels. This gives a lot less backlash then using gears, but I have to test it to see if the chain can handle the stress. If not I might have to convert it to tracks...

As you say, those would be to small for the scale I'm going for. As for only using two motors, a part of the challenge I set for myself was including a adder/subtractor. Fitting only one motor for each side would allow for a much smaller scale, and would make it way easier... It being hard is a part of the reason I do this I'll try uploading through a different service. Give me a heads up if it still doesn't work.

Finally a competition has drawn me out of a lull. Haven't really had time to build much the last couple of years, and lately I have laced the motivation to build anything at all. Then comes TC22 and I'm bubbling over with ideas. The first thing I thought of reading the rules was a skid steer loader. I'm going for a fully RC loader using BuWizz and 4-5 small PF motors. I'll also try to include an adder/subtractor to make it easier to steer. This is what I'm gunning for: I'm going to use the 42122 as a parts source for tires and a few other parts I lack. If I can solve the drivetrain issue... If not it will be a tracked loader. For now, this is what I have. I'm trying to keep within 17 studs with, and will compensate the other axis to keep within the allowed 10 000 cubic studs. I will update with more build pics as soon as possible. Haven't had time to do physical testing yet... EDIT - A few updates after starting physical build: It seems the completed size will be real close to the max 10000 cubic studs. Right now my goal is to keep within 28x17x21 = 9996 cubic studs. It's very hard making it less wide with these tires, and I will be needing the length to make sure the full bucket is within the box, so all I have left to play with is height. I could swap for some slimmer tires, but I feel these fit the model very well. But if I have to there are some alternatives. I decided to use an exoframe rather than an internal frame, and this allowed to make the adder/subtractor much more compact, and allowed me to switch to the one stud longer large motors. The plan is to use a chain to connect the front and rear wheels as this gives way less backlash. Now all I have to do is finding a way to implement the other two motors... Test build/prototype: First edition base after physical testing: _ED_

This would look great in white! I really like the idea of a 4 Runner with this setup, but I hope you would consider redesigning the axles for better ground clearance. It is possible to achieve far better clearance for the rear diff by angling the A-arms down like you would on a independent setup, and locking them in place. Otherwise this seems like a good start. _ED_

That is an amazing build! Instantly recognizable, and seems true to scale. I especially like the rear end! Very nicely done! _ED_

A bright green line above the white would really make it pop, and introduce some Italian flavor. Very nice build, and one of the best roof solutions I've ever seen. And both the front and the rear are also excelent! Great work! _ED_

Really cool model! Very innovative and non standard solutions that seems to work very well. Does the front setup allow some flex (suspention) by design? I would like to try a fully suspended version based on you initial design. I think I might had a solution for the rear end. Thanks for the inspiration! _ED_

This is amazing for the scale! Exeptional build, very nice technique, and a full interior to boot! Very well done to realize this in a physical build! _ED_

Nice build. Only problem I can see is that the steering pivot is to far from the center of the wheel, and not compensated by an KPI angle. This makes for a unstable model when turning as the wheels move a lot forward/backwards as they turn. Maybe a different hub for connecting the wheel could solve this by moving the pivot closer to the rim, and including a slight KPI and Caster angle. Maybe event flipping the wheel (gets about a stud closer) could reduce the problem. Apart from this the solution is brilliant! Good work! _ED_

Thanks for the link! :)

These seem to be ideal for use with chains. I could see some good uses for them. The new 12 tooth is a very good replacement for the 8 tooth in this regard as the profile of the 8 tooth is to small for the chain to run smoothly, and the 16 tooth often is to big for the smallest applications.

If you could make your own models, the buggy motor, BuWizz or china replacements for this is an option. But they do not work with the PU system. For your own models, I would suggest you buy a BuWizz 2 or 3 with one of their buggy motors and a few second hand PF (Power Functions - what we had before PU) motors (at least 1 servo). This will give you a good start for mocing all kind of high speed models. Just have a look around in this forum and you will find many good examples. _ED_

Amazing that you could find enough parts in that set to make this! Looks great!

Really nice build! I love the way you have shaped the front and rear of the car, and the doors are perfect. The only part that doesn't seem spot on for me is the roof. It just doesn't seem right. Is there any way to tilt it a bit down towards the front? Great work! Can't wait for the next iteration! This is shaping up to be an epic moc!