MP LEGO Technic creations

Hi, as it has been more than a year since my last update, I'd like to share some further progress (most of which is at this point 1+ year old as well ). I have been mostly trying to get rid of things that got somewhat messed up in previous iterations. The largest part of bodywork missing in the previous update has to be the bonnet, which now (finally) uses completely legal building techniques. On the other hand, I had to ditch the bulge, as it was ridiculously thick. My new approach preserves the characteristic shape while remaining completely flush. The rear window is now 2 studs wider (both C-pillars are 1 stud narrower) and feels closer to the original. Apart from the bodywork, now there's an (unfinished) interior. My goal was that it looks great either form outside and inside. And to make the interior more accessible, the roof is no longer firmly connected to the car, yet the frame still has most of its strength. I have struggled to find a suitable steering wheel, for now I've settled with this strange wheel. But hey, since it's the only way to operate the settering, at least it's comfortable. I might've been carried away when integrating totally unnecessary features - such as light bricks in glovebox and each door, of course operated automatically when opened. The central lever (drive selector) is used to disconnect the fake engine (currently non-existent) from the wheels = no reverse, only drive + neutral. Additionally, the lever is held in drive position by a spring. Please ignore the dust. In the front doors, the light brick illuminates a door compartment while in the rear it's behind a trans-clear brick (in the past I have been enjoying this feature so much that the batteries already need to be replaced). As it would be a terrible waste of space, I decided to incorporate the logo of Bentley into the underside. Although a bit brick-ish, so is the whole car. Meanwhile, the increasing weight required me to add another shock absorber per wheel. I'm particularly satisfied with the front suspension setup, which due to lack of space uses two shock absorbers kind of behind each other. Apart from that, I've found a way to elegantly mount wheel hubs at an angle. Might be completely pointless on such a model... Instead of toying around, the anti-ackermann geometry should rather be resolved. I guess the new-ish 8L links could be helpful in that matter. And the ridiculousness of my suspension setup continues - I have nowhere to route the drivetrain between the diff and each of rear wheels. All in all, the whole suspension setup is going to ne a complete overhaul. To make myself happier in all this chaos, I've made a cute suitcase to go with the car. Featuring retracting handle... ... and a 2x6x6 studs cargo space. I am still aware of issues with the roof's lack of curvature and wrong angle of A-pillars. Thanks for reading & have a wonderful day!

The issues are not caused by the bodywork itself, rather by the design of the chassis. You see, I would like it to be detachable (as that is the whole thing one would get from R&R back in the days), however, its current construction allows only about 1 stud of suspension travel. Therefore the lowering can not be done as simply as one would hope for.

From looking at the date of my previous update, it seems almost unreal how quickly the time flies... Anyways, I have made some further progress on the bodywork. The main improvement has to be the (again) completely remade front part, which now is a bit curvier, though still looking somewhat flat compared to the real thing. I still feel something more can be done, maybe there's an issue with the grille? Unfortunately, the triangular pieces do not exist in dark blue so far (but hey, this thing is far from being completed, so I have my fingers crossed). As I couldn't make the hood lines work with any combination of wedge plates / slopes, for now, I have given up and settled with a significantly simplified solution. The connection of the tail fin's sections has been finally streamlined enough, though the whole rear part remains mainly unfinished. I am aware of the oversized triangular window as well. I agree the car still sits a bit too high (especially visible above the front wheels), yet I haven't decided to sacrifice the suspension travel for the time being. My intentions are to complete the whole bodywork before moving onto the interior + functions, therefore there is currently rather nothing inside. Maybe I should reconsider another colour of the interior? Thanks for reading & have a great day!

I have not encountered any serious steering issues. The fully loaded machine weighs about 10 kg and I guess about 2 kg of that weight is supported by the front axle (including lifted harvesting unit, which is not documented in the last, now already three-year-old update - thanks for a reminder to shoot a few new photos ). The steering angle is limited by the axle's structure to about 30 degrees to each side, though it has nothing to do with the motor's strength. Steering is always easier when the vehicle is moving but the motor manages it even when stationary. I suppose the LAs internal clutch will cause problems sooner than the motor itself in some heavier applications. In that case, you might want to use 2 linear actuators instead of one. On the other hand, the stress will then be directly translated to the motor itself, therefore a stronger one may be needed. I have used both solutions in my models, the one with 2 small LAs in my other WIP model looks like this:

Possibly a few new technic elements in dark green. #4 135° angled connector and Liftarm bent 3x3 is included in (?) Pearl gold.

Here is a photo of the current state of the chassis. Somewhat limited playability has been slightly improved by switching the steering gear ratio right before the medium LA from 12-12 to 20-12, since less steering force is required when the steering wheel is fixed in place. Otherwise, I have started with the drive shaft (I was very pleased with how barrel pieces can hide those large CV joints ). More importantly, after almost a month, I have finally figured out (at least partially) solutions to some of the issues. Since reinforcing the connection in between rims and wheel hubs themselves proved to be tricky, I have implemented another recent thought which crossed my mind. Specifically stabilising the wheels against their axle and (potentially) decrease the forces causing the wheels to fall off. Like one would limit the amount of play in any turntable, these wheels are large enough to fit a similar solution. I went with 'round girder', because a circle made of small curved gear racks (though these offer more favourable mounting points) of the same size would presumably tend to split into pieces and as the rim's beams slide directly on the surface of the support, any roughness will likely prevent rotation. The specific distance of the support is achieved by some bars, bushes and 1/2 pins. Additionally, this whole contraption required further reinforcements, therefore a 6L link has been placed under both steered wheels. The rear axle utilises the same solution, the lack of steering allows easier bracing. All in all, after some initial testing the stability seems to be about twice as good (and the wheels still eventually fall off). The yellow support rings will be replaced with DBG ones. And let's not forget that now this ridiculous contraption better resembles the brakes of the original while not introducing that much of friction. Furthermore, positive caster has been increased as well. Apart from that, the A-pillars have been significantly rebuilt and a bit of work has been also done on the doors (now with a working lock and a door handle on a completely wrong spot). Thanks for reading & have a great day.

Since the initial post, I have made the door slightly larger, as suggested by @Michael217. According to my measurements in Sariel's Model Scaler (based on car's aforementioned side profile photo), the door should be 185-190 mm tall and about 210 mm wide to form an ellipse. So far I have achieved a symmetrical round-ish shape by inserting 3L thin liftarms in between each of curved segments. Thus the diameter has been increased to 23 studs (184 mm), which means a difference of 2 studs. Additionally, the brick-built cover of this technic structure has been rebuilt in order to leave no visible curved gear racks behind, therefore, I believe, it is possible to talk about a total size increase of 3 studs. The surrounding black frame has also undergone a few changes in order to accomodate the larger door, the most significant of them being the B-pillar, which has been moved towards the rear by two studs. Unfortunately, I do not think there will be any way to make the door elliptic (rather impossible) or oval, as this would require some significant changes to the whole frame. My further intentions include moving the doors' hinge further forward, as well as replacing the current door with something less crude and colourful looking. Although my Bentley looks quite good next to this RR, here is a size comparison with the only assembled 1:8 vehicle from my collection

Thanks for clarification

It has been a while since I took a part in a contest, yet I cannot recall seeing a discussion about such matter. As I would like to understand this (at least for me) new voting rule, I have tried searching the forum as well as manually scrolling through some pages. Could someone please explain it a bit more / tell me which thread should I focus on a little more next time?

Admittedly, I have not checked the size of the doors, as this is their very first version. I indeed agree with you, an increase in size is necessary. Initially, I thought the large curved gear racks would be sufficient, yet that proved to be false. Longitudal size can be increased fairly easily by inserting a few studs to create an oval shape, while the real car seems to have rather elliptic doors. By doing so on each side, I am afraid the door would take a square-ish shape instead, therefore a completely different approach might be needed in case of a complete reshape. On the other hand, I have checked the shape of both front and rear wheel wings (I hope either of us meant those aerodynamic wheel cowlings/mudguards) according to a 3D model I have found online in the very beginning. The visual impression could be caused by some of these factors (or all of them): • Wrong interpretation of the model's curves when creating the 'reference brick sculpture' I have compared it to afterwards. • Insufficient curvature of the wings' edges that makes them look taller. • Too much of ride height or mudguard clearance that gives the model such a tall stance. Of course, I might be completely wrong

Thanks! Initially, I've thought about unicorn horns but the parts you have suggested seem to have a thinner top with smoother surface, therefore suit the purpose better. The question is, will these fit under hubcaps or are they going to stick out more than acceptable? A few screws could also be utilised, otherwise I indeed se no other purist way than using a turntable. So far, I feel I have been careful enough with the amount of stress on each part (apart from the wheel hubs, apparently), though Studio shows many pins painted red when checking for stability. However, it even happens in so strange places, that I find hard to believe is accurate. Thank you! The only less stable area of the initial digital design turned out to be the A-pillars, which, due to their angle, are not capable of supporting additional weight when put on the roof. I believe I have solved that by adding another support to form a triangle. The first version of the steering was using a planetary wheel hub and a gear rack. Due to the car's weight was the steering influenced rather by any roughness of the floor than by the steering wheel. Therefore, it was clear that I needed another solution. In this situation, a worm gear does not seem to be robust enough, so I opted for a linear actuator. You are absolutely right with the gearing. Previous 20-12 gearing was removed as the steering felt somewhat heavy. Now it takes like 10 rotations to each side to turn the vehicle, yet it is smooth and light enough even when the car is stationary. But let's be honest, a meter long car in itself cannot be considered a very playable and practical toy

Hi everyone! I am back with yet another WIP topic. In search for a rather special classic vehicle about a month ago, I have found this one. What can be more splendid than a one-off coachbuilt Rolls-Royce in a spirit of art deco is? Equipped with its eye-catching circular doors, it is sometimes referred to as the Rolls-Royce Round Door Coupe. More info about this vehicle can be found on the website of Petersen Automotive Museum. As I intend it to be somewhat monumental, the largest wheels and tyres in production are the clear choice for me. I also planned to use a 3D model for reference, yet I have faced some issues when exporting the model as a new part to Stud.io. Therefore, I went with another option - let Studio generate a sculpture (or whatever it is called) form basic parts and use it instead. The whole frame is being designed in modules (differentiated by colour) and bodywork can be easily separated. The current version: approximately 102 cm long weighs about 8,5 kg about 7.000 parts (note that the car is now mostly hollow) I do not have any firm list of wanted features, howewer, I do not want the model be enormous just for the sake of being huge, so some functions can be expected. Steering - now via a medium linear actuator Suspension - the original has leaf springs, I have opted for an imitation with classic shock absorbers Openable doors, hood and trunk Openable individual sunroofs Removable bodywork in one piece - this vehicle will in fact be a 2-in-1 model, as I would like to be able to show the chassis separately - the 'rolling chassis' is everything you would have got from Rolls-Royce in this time period anyway Manual gearbox On the other hand, my main concerns are: Model being too heavy for wheel hubs to handle - this proved to be very true after about first meter of rolling the car along, 3 wheels just came off Bodywork looking too flat and blocky The whole model being large for the sake of being large Too bad that the light bulb does not come in tan And yes, I am aware that the Spirit of Ecstasy should not be an angel, yet the broom is so perfect for this purpose In order to compensate for such a heavy car, I constructed both axles to have a small positive camber angle (though it didn't help that much). And a comparison with my recent (still WIP) Bentley Turbo R LWB. I am pretty sure I would like to write a few more lines, even though I cannot remember, what it should be about Anyway, thanks for reading & suggestions and critique is welcome.

87408 recoloured for the first time, supposedly in dark tan?

What about this one?

There seems to be a bunch of 90° technic connectors (#6) in tan as well. I don't know whether anyone ever missed them, still could be useful, though.