1980SomethingSpaceGuy

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.

Thanks a lot! A trailer was needed to put that MOC on the shelf anyway, so I had to... Thank you! Yes, that may be the aspect I'm most proud of in this build; it is rock solid and perfectly reliable. The use of 2 springs (shock absorber + hockey block) create a proper trigger mechanism that I find quite satisfying. This starting a reasonably long rotation of the blades make for one of the most swooshable thing I've ever build, for sure. Thank you very much! The scale I chose to get proper wheels/differentials and the weight limitation pushed towards a minimalist design with no panels for the body. I figured since one was needed for the spoiler on the truck's roof, I could use a pair on the heli too. I agree, those old school ones with "air intakes" do a good job of dressing up the rotor base. Thanks a lot Jim, means a lot to me! Sure thing. Done! (in the entry as well) I must admit it was quite a head scratcher to get this truck into the weight limit. But once it was done, that same rule also helped preventing me from endlessly tinkering with the build; I knew I could not just add one piece here or there and none could go easily, so I was able to leave it be and feel happy about it.

Whirl and Wheel Technic reboot to 5590 from 1990. Wheel: 2 steered wheels with HOG 4 driven wheels with 2 differentials 1 fake driving wheel fake V6 engine exhausts, mirrors, seats Whirl: pull-back motor with trigger to whirl the rotors retractable tricycle landing gear fake flight controls, seats, search light Video: Topic:

Thanks a lot! And agreed; I kinda miss the pure, naked vibe of old models sometimes... Anyway, here's the video:

After some last tweaks, I shot the final images for the entry. Of course this truck could benefit from more dressing up, but I hit the 300g limit. And altogether, I like it this way: stripped down to the essentials. And the helicopter: Together: A short video will come soon.

Thanks @TheLegoRoleplayer! Yes, it's a spring box; an uncommon part I initially bought to use for a pull-back MOC with steering. The spring was a little stiff for the purpose so I had to adapt ratios, but here, it does the job very well. Only drawback is the trigger has to be strong enough to push this away from the 24t gear (hence the strong spring shock absorber) and the whole system ends up taking a lot of space. But it's 100% reliable and does not grind parts, which is my priority. So I kept this and integrated it the best I could in the tail.

Those two turned out great; neatly built with matching scale, style and features. Top class entry!

I totally agree with you on that. Motorcycles used to be simpler in TLG's range, so I was just making an hypothesis as to why they don't catch as much public attention as cars. One could argue that car suspensions have come a long way and are more interesting than a motorcycle's but I'd say; first, it's mostly due to dedicated parts and second, creative suspension systems can be implemented for motorcycles too, your MOC above being a perfect example. On a side note, I totally agree with you about recent car gearboxes; I absolutely don't get the trend to implement a gear bonanza taking up all the inner space for just one feature that is too often unreliable and offer absolutely no more play feature that a 1-N-2. Moreover, their mechanical implementation being so far away from an actual gearbox. I hope you’ve had the chance to recover from the negative feelings this experience have brought, and that you will continue to find happiness in your design work.

Very clean design! I was expecting the bird to really work, but I guess it would be too hard to do... Maybe you could use those side knobs on the orbiter to actuate each of the 2 outermost rings ?

Nice video, good job!

May be. But anywhere else, it's just static images. Here, human interactions still are a thing.

Chill, @Time77; no one felt obliged to buy anything...

Custom portal hubs, wheels, fabric roof... That's usually not how I want to build myself. But man, this Hummer is awesome! Great job capturing both interior and exterior, this MOC looks fantastic.

Yep, it's definitely not how I feel about MOCs; I like all sorts. But it's a fact. Cars generate more views, comments and, ultimately, sales. It's even noticeable here. TLG, as profit-based company, just follows the trend. We often complain about their marketing choices but they only reflect the actual market. That's why I design MOCs as a hobby and why I like EB; this community shows interest for any type of contraption and I'm happy to share and build, away from commercial concerns.

I feel the frustration and I'm sorry your job project did not come to fruition. Dropping everything else for it was a bold move that deserve respect. Outside being an actual TLG designer, earning decent money from designing Lego is really hard: selling MOC instructions on the mainstream platforms usually does not even pay for the bricks. Also, working as a designer at Lego comes with a lot of constraints; most of the time you'll be far off free building. Out of TLG, the happy few people that I know manage to make money from their builds are mostly famous designers that get contracted by companies for specific builds. Your WIP all look very good though; maybe focus on one car (popular theme) and try to optimize parts to maximize marketability and achieve good sales. This could help getting better referenced for the following builds.

New image links since the previous ones got reset by OneDrive...

I totally agree with you, my friend. Indeed, one does need to have an actual crane of their own to be interested in building one out of Lego. Yet it's not the first time I see that motorcycles tend to draw less attention on EB than their 4 wheeled counterparts. Maybe the fact that most Lego motorcycles used to be rather straightforward in terms of mechanical complexity... My point was: don't blame your design, it's really good.

Very creative project, I'm looking forward seeing how this turns out. Welcome to EB and this TC in particular, always nice to see people taking part!

I own four motorcycles and ride them a lot; on and off-road. So I consider myself a bike guy. But you know; most motorcycle enthusiasts outside of the US are not that much into choppers, which may be difficult to legally register, are very expensive and basically only good at looking nice and driving straight on a flat road. I guess people geeky enough to enjoy building Technic while at the same time enjoying the inherent inefficiency of a chopper is rather niche... Still, it's a motorcycle MOC (and a beautiful one), which we don't see enough here, so you have my full support!

Hyundai make blue lawn mowers: Considering their WRC pedigree, printed fenders could be a thing...

What a beautiful build! So much detail, I'd be gazing at it same as the kid..

Hi @gheneli! Very nice bike you have here. I love motorcycles and we definitely don't have enough around... I especially like the creative solutions in your MOC; inverted cylinder bricks, rear suspension and I think the gearbox with a efficient 1-N-2 is neat. Modern gearboxes with steppers and more gears tend to take too much space for such a naked bike. Part usage for the fuel tank is spot on. I'm not a huge fan of choppers myself, but I like their aesthetics and yours work really well. I think you could skip the mirror and one lever to get even slicker with no compromise to what's done with actual chopper builds, but that's just my humble opinion. Anyway, welcome to Eurobricks and congratulation on this beautiful MOC!

Both turned out great! The blower reminds me of my uncle's; love it. I'm glad you managed to get those finished.

Hello @TechnicModlr and welcome to Eurobricks! Your tractors look great! However for this TC, I'm afraid it's not a perfect fit. As the name says, it's a Technic contest so the amount of System parts used in your models will not match the criteria. See the rules here ("Some studded System parts are okay, but model team is not permitted"): Also, even if they are different from each other, both are the same sort of vehicle, with very similar features. It's definitely not against the rules, but it might be a good idea to add a bit more diversity. I really hope you wont feel bad about this; I'm just trying to help. Have a look a the other entries in progress; search [TC30] (no dash) and maybe get some inspiration! Anyway, it's nice to see another contestant, thanks for joining us!

Si señor.