1980SomethingSpaceGuy

A lovely little machine! Looking forward to see it finished.

Thanks! I'll give this a try. But I think I'll stick with the new design for that MOC. The added complexity makes it more relevant for a TC, saves some weight (the added gears and structure are lighter than the servo) and the PF controller's buttons better match motors actions.

Thanks! Funny how the more they get updated, modified and rebuilt, the more MOCs tend to get modular.. Thanks Paul! Disaster struck! My PF servo stopped working. I could get yet another one but it's the third of those getting the same issue: not returning to the center. So, since there's still enough time, I decided to update the design: I'll be using both L motors separately and drive the model like a tank. For the steering/skis to operate, I'll implement a subtraction differential setup with a clutch and a center spring (I reckon ice hockey and snowmobiles are a good match). This should actually make this MOC a tad more "Technic", but impacts the whole design; I'll have to redesign the tracks too, adding one stud in between to prevent collisions and making them independent in traction. First iteration was compact enough, but the motors' output shafts not being align proved to be too much of a drawback. So I laid the motors longitudinally and put the differential/clutch in between. I only allowed one extra stud in length (the black 20 gear) to draw power from the motors for the steering gearbox, in order to minimize the gap between the skis and the tracks. I've tried to RC the model with the above system and it works nice. Driving is a bit unique but at least buttons on the controller match motor output and performances are good. Now I have to redesign the body...

Small video: I need fresh batteries. These should be easy to swap because the build is modular enough: The head, with all its angled panels, is rather simple and solid in the end. It holds with the 2 blue 3L pins in the bottom as long as the steering axle (universal joint): Naked snowmobiles don't look as good as naked motorbikes. Cheers!

Thanks for sharing this piece of pure love. Cheers to Mrs Grum and yourself!

Nice model! You seem to be using onedrive; select the image you want to share in onedrive, look for the "</> Embed" feature, click "Generate" then select 1024px and copy paste the yielded link to this editor; it'll automatically display the image. If that's what you did and it produced the above links, clear your browser cache data. Hope this helps!

I like how you think

I keep refining details here and there; face lowered by 1 stud, now integrating dashboard a couple panels added to fill the gaps footrests put at an angle to look less bulky front section of the sled modified to better match actual snowmobiles design Most importantly, the suspensions stiffness is good and the model is fun to RC. Speed is really ok for a stock PF build. I'll make a video soon. Meanwhile, I'm getting out of ideas for details to fix or improve so I took the time today to shoot nice photos. Thanks for watching!

Thanks! Inspiring others to build is one the greatest satisfaction Thank you! Since I chose to implement PF, the required scale dictated the use of 2 parallel tracks. This ended yielding a larger model than initially pictured, after the multiple iterations to improve proportions mentioned above. Still, I'm not perfectly aligned with the proportions or even the exact shape of Ski-Doo's current lineup which served as an inspiration all along this build. I chose to give my model more of a "heads-up" look than modern snowmobiles; I wanted my design to evoke a horse or a motorcycle. In french, we literally call those vehicles "snow motorcycles".

Thank you! Since there's always room for improvement and I received a couple parts from Bricklink, a small update: DBG main gears New dashboard Improved skis, side body, handlebars, seat and tail design Bad news is, with the additional weight of the body, it no longer slides on the thick white carpet I meant to use it. Since skis don't work on wood flooring (my only alternative at home), I was forced to integrate small round rubber thingies to the skis. Basically, they only allow the model to be played with indoors. I would have loved to try the Snow Horse on actual snow, but it'll be hard to find in this season. So I hope I'll be forgiven this little bend to the rules... As always, thanks for watching!

Now that I'm happy with the face, I realized the proportions were not that good. The front legs were too long, the tail too short and narrow. I tried to fix that: This allowed me to bury the battery box one stud lower into the tail, which also corrects the seat height.

Thanks a lot! Yeah, those are basically giant cheese graters to rub all ice and snow sticking to your shoes and to offer a decent grip in all conditions. For once, showing holes made sense.. Yes, roughly 1/6; an action figure would fit on; I tried with Darth Vader but his lack of faith in the light side of the force legs flexibility prevents a decent posture for a shot.

Thanks a lot! I figured it looked a bit old school with the headlights on the handlebars, so after a facelift, it shows a more contemporary style: Also, it has gained a name; the Snow Horse.

Update on the body! I still need bigger gauges...

Interesting B model and thanks for the instructions!

Thanks! Thanks, I'm still not fully happy with it so I keep iterating...

Some progress here. I struggled a bit to get working geometry, adequate suspension stiffness and global proportions, but things are coming together... The body is still WIP, so see you soon! :)

As a motorcycle rider and enthusiast, I like building bikes. I figured the closest thing to a motorcycle that has tracks is a snowmobile, so that's what I went for. I want it large enough to use good old PF, for added RC fun. First iteration for the front: Compact enough, but the skis lack a degree of liberty. Second iteration: Now I'm looking into the tracks. Snowmobile track suspension system is a lot less trivial than it looks: I'm not sure I'll replicate all the subtleties, because it involves a compact torsion spring which simply does not exist in the Technic world. My third iteration on the tracks suspension is a basic parallelogram, so I'm still unhappy: And that's the status for now.

Another contest! Great news! Thanks Jim I'd like to build a snow mobile. It's not technically a half-track, but I understand it's borderline. On the other hand, the hinge system to attach the skis is a nice Technic challenge.. Please?

Merci beaucoup! :) Thank you very much!

Thanks for watching!

The model and the journey are equally impressive! Great job, Clive!

That looks a lot of fun to drive! Well done!

The Useless Box Designed and built in one day Robust Interactive with four random different behaviors Fun Absurd Original topic:

I'm a bit late to the show, but I figured there were too few entries to this contest. I was pretty busy lately so I was sadly going to skip yet another TC but I managed to get a bit of free time today, so I figured I could go for a speed build. I went for something simple yet interactive and fun. And absurd. Which I usually welcome. - A useless box. It all started this morning with a sturdy switch: Then some thingy to push it back down: After lunch, I could starting building the box itself: At the end of the afternoon, I could start programming: And just before the sunset, let my son do the early testing: The box has 4 possible different responses when the switch is turned up, which happen randomly. Since shooting the video, I've been tuning the parameters a bit to make it more lively, I hope to shoot the final one tomorrow and I'll post the entry then. It has been a blast building Lego today. I'm glad I'm able to humbly honor our fellow staff members who take on themselves to organize these wonderful TCs. Thanks!