1980SomethingSpaceGuy

Monster trucks it is! Good thing is it shouldn't be impossible to be more creative with our builds than with our theme selection, I guess. Won't be able to start with this right away, but I should be able to get something done by August 31. Nice to have a new TC and happy building everyone! I think Jim was pretty clear; no other restrictions. Lego sells boats with hulls and keels made to float on water; I think it's fair to assume they think people have access to water. I see no good reason why you should be prevented from putting water in pneumatic elements. I think it's rather creative. But I also see why Lego didn't do it themselves; should the system leak or one hose snap, then you have to re-bleed all elements, which are neither designed to hold a lot of pressure, nor being bled in the first place. I think this would yield low reliability and a poor end user experience. But since you're no ordinary user, you could build something reliable out of that idea I'm sure!

Animals, B-models, monster trucks; all good ideas! Let's have a new TC!

A true work of art! Brilliant!

Very nice! Love it

I'm thrilled to get on the podium, there were once again a lot of beautiful entries. Thanks a lot guys! Thanks again for hosting this contest, @Jim and @Milan ! Those TCs really give me the extra motivation to build, which I other times find hard to muster. I'm now looking forward the next one!

Weight and size limits really spice up those TCs I think. Thanks again @Jim and @Milan!

The trailer is not included in the TC entry but it'll eventually go along with Whirl and Wheel on the shelf, so it had to be on par in terms of design and features. Which are quite basic of course, but needed to be made light and reliable. I adapted the support wheels' gear ratio to minimize input rotations per transition and implemented a release button in the back for the helicopter attachment system. The latter locks the heli in place and allows to grab either it or the trailer to transport both. It'll even sustain shaking. The heli can be placed on the trailer and a push on the button will lock it, or through a single move, similar to a ski boot locking into bindings. The coupler is 2 studs long to prevent the trailer from detaching on a doorstep or carpet, since no locking mechanism could be implemented on the truck's side. The front axle has some slack to accommodate pitch when on support wheels. Finally, I added a few details like air tanks and pipes to match the original model. It's definitely not the most impressive build ever, but it really binds the duo into a meaningful set with simple but perfectly reliable play features. That concludes this project, which I very much enjoyed. The work around weight reduction on the truck and the more creative features for the helicopter were both interesting and fun. I'm happy with the outcome; a very solid build that handles a table drop with grace, reliable play features that even young kids can enjoy, some creative solutions I'd never seen before and a wink to a legendary set of my childhood. Thanks again to the admins for organizing this TC!

Too bad...Hope you'll finish them some day; I think you had a good start. All the best with work and everything, may those allow you some more build time soon!

We've entered the grace period after the official deadline of the TC; you may still post your entry if you do it soon, @Jurss. Will you make it? It would be a bummer not having you in...

Last minute update; Whirl's flight controls were made more realistic with proper sticks and collective and the cockpit got a few tweaks. Nothing major, but I had to shoot some more photos this morning.

Yeah, I though it might but couldn't figure out for sure only looking at the pictures. Well it seems the solution you implemented is the best compromise once again...

This indeed brings joy! I'm happy to see this little guy complete. I figured you could use those: instead of the 1 x 2 plates on the sides of the front to move headlights up there in stead of on the bumper. What do you think?

You're welcome. This was not in the rules yet yesterday when I did my photo shoot so I skipped it, but I was going to raise the subject on the TC discussion topic when you timely intervened.

Yes yes, I got it and complied already. See my entry post:

Very cool idea for a MOC and good start! Looking forward seeing this play!