2GodBDGlory

Yeah, that should totally work!

If I were doing this, I'd probably just design and 3D print a bunch of these weight parts in two halves that can be glued together, with designed-in slots to put nuts or washers inside them. I might even try making weights that are twice the height of the stock ones, to enable more metal to be put on the inside relative to surface area

You could try downloading an APK for an older version of the app from somewhere like APKPure--I've done this before for non-Lego apps, and maybe it could work for you Thanks!

Very, very impressive! I've got a lot of sympathy for making overly complex models like that, even when playability suffers, so I like it a lot! Of course, the careful modeling of the body helps a lot too!

Fun project! Maybe not much cheaper than an AliExpress PF remote/receiver combo, but definitely interesting. Are those 3D-printed PF connectors? I had tried modeling and printing some myself, but with mixed success. If there's a file available for those, I'd love to see it!

Interesting! Doesn't seem very practical, but that's cool that that can be done in Lego now!

Sariel's Gear Calculator app is a great tool for that!

Looks amazing! Model Team style construction equipment always impresses me a lot. That's an interesting choice to use two PU train battery boxes instead of a Technic hub. Was that done to allow for simpler remote control without a phone go-between?

Very nice work! I saw it on YouTube today, and at first glance assumed it wasn't Lego--until I realized it was! I think the tires were probably the main thing creating that illusion, but the great bodywork certainly helped maintain it! Also: 250 hours on presentation and instructions‽ That's pretty intense! It definitely shows, but phew, I wouldn't want to do that!

Well, it's been a long struggle, but I think I'm finally done with this trial truck! (I love this picture! No fancy camera or editing, just awesome nature and sunset lighting! It's currently my desktop background) In the end I saw reason and realized that a mechanically cool but unreliable vehicle with a gearbox wouldn't be as fun to actually drive as a lame, single-speed one would be, so I converted to single-speed. The funny thing is that the gearbox itself seemed to work fine, but the only possible gearing that would fit and reduce torque enough to be safe was the maxed-out 40:24 ratio, leaving me no lower alternatives for the other gear. I also converted to knob wheels in the axles, which are stronger than the bevel gears I had, and then tried swapping my portal axles from 12:36 back to the 8:40 I had originally had to gain torque, but then I just shredded the carbon axles I was using to connect the 40T gear to the wheels and snapped the 8T gear on the other side, so I decided that much torque was intolerable. I think what I really learned here is that if you want a vehicle with high torque, you must have the two axles running on separate systems, so a given wheel can never take more than half of the total torque. In this model, that's not the case, because it was designed for gearbox compatibility, and as a result, my total torque is quite a bit lower than I'd like, since adding more will break parts when applied to only one or two wheels. The upside of this is that I now have a lot of speed, so as long as the race course isn't overly hard I should be in good shape, but it's not like I have no torque at all, so I think I should be alright. Anyways, my final function list is: 4WD with four PF XL-motors with 40:24 gearing in the chassis, 1:1 knob wheel gearing in the axles, and 12:36 gearing in the portal axles 4WS with two independent PF L-motors (one on each axle), with parallel gear systems to spread out torque, and a rack with two pinions Dual live-axle suspension with ball joints and 9.5L hard shock absorbers LED headlights, taillights, and running lights Custom 3D-printed battery pack housing three Lithium 18650 cells, for a total nominal voltage of 11.1V (Just above 12V at full charge!) Mouldking 6.0 battery pack to run the steering motors and LEDs, allowing for easy proportional control from joysticks on a physical remote Here's some more pictures from that shoot! As usual, I've got more pictures at my Bricksafe: https://bricksafe.com/pages/2GodBDGlory/lada-niva

Just a thought, but I wonder if you could download an older, compatible, version from an APK website. I run PU and Control+ on my 2017 Moto G5 Plus, but it's old enough now that future updates for PU at least aren't supported, and I assume that if I deleted it, I couldn't re-download it. I was trying to download Microsoft OneNote for it recently, and it wouldn't work, so in the end I went to APKPure (or something like that), and found an older version that worked on Android 8, unlike the new version that only works on Android 9+, so maybe a similar thing could be done with Lego apps?

I spent a while this evening breaking up the Stud.io model into submodels and then steps within the submodels, so I think it should be more user-friendly now? Some of the steps do have a lot of pieces in them, but I can't say I feel like putting any more time into breaking them up, so hopefully what I have is workable? Anyways, if any of you want to take a look at the model (In the same Bricksafe folder linked above) and let me know how the steps look, I'd appreciate some feedback while I learn the program! (I definitely see why it would have been easier to do this while I built it!)

That doesn't worry me so much, since I'm comfortable soldering up generic rechargeable batteries and using 3D printed housings. Of course, not everyone is willing or able to do that, and it doesn't keep the original Lego look, but it's definitely doable. Perhaps one day there'll be a market for third-party rechargeable batteries to fit things like Mindstorms, perhaps made by hobbyists with that skillset (Kind of like that one a guy had on Kickstarter for the PU box recently) ? The good thing with 8878, at least, is that there's an equivalent AAA battery box to use instead, but things like the latest Mindstorms could be problematic

Yeah, that's the one I mean https://www.lego.com/en-ca/product/simple-medium-linear-motor-45303

Very nice idea! It's certainly large, so probably not something that will likely be seen in scale models, but I assume you're going for more of an industrial machine, so it's not a problem! The indefinite expandability is a nice feature, and it certainly does look cool in operation!

I've used those AliExpress receiver/remote setup quite a few times now, and it works very nicely! It's more reliable than my aging collection of PF receivers, and has great range. They do feel a little cheap in the plastic quality, and the levers on the remote don't move as far, but I've been quite happy with them. The modern M-motor doesn't have encoders, does it? It's just rarely used in sets (so expensive on Bricklink), and was very expensive from Lego (2X the essentially identical PF one? I think), though it appears to be retired on at least their Canadian page

Sounds good! I was expecting PyBricks to be Bluetooth based for it like with PU, but cable-based is probably quicker anyways. It sounds like maybe that's what I was looking at before; I just didn't realize it was PyBricks at the time. Thanks!

Thanks for the detailed reply! I'd imagine that PU would have been easier to incorporate and more accessible for builders, but then you wouldn't have had enough ports to add those touch sensors (though I imagine you could do without them?) However, the EV3 makes it a much more unique MOC, and I like that! I wonder if the requirement for four M-motors is turning people off? Putting bigger motors in would be pretty impractical, but I don't imagine a lot of people have that many of that motor lying around, given that a kit only came with one. You're right, you can get a lot of Mindstorms for not much money sometimes! I spent $90 CAD ($68 USD, if that's any more meaningful to you) to get all the electronics from the base kit except for a touch sensor and a cable or two, after my brother found it, with some other parts at a thrift store for $70 CAD! I've now bought a couple cables, an NXT motor, two NXT touch sensors, and a NXT ultrasonic sensor to add capability, and can hopefully get started on it once I finish up some other projects. You mentioned programming it with PyBricks- I had been planning on using Python for programming, but the documentation I was finding online was all for an official solution that involved putting alternate firmware on an SD card and leaving it in the EV3 indefinitely. Are you familiar with this option? If so, do you think it or PyBricks is the better choice? I've used PyBricks just a little for some PU stuff, but hadn't really thought about it being compatible with EV3

Cool! What advantages did you gain by building it with EV3 as opposed to PF or PU? It's definitely a powerful system, and I'm looking forward to learning to use the EV3 I got recently, but it seems very bulky for this model, and maybe overkill? It looks like you're using it hands-off at one point in the video, so that level of automation would be a real advantage, especially working with other machines.

I just watched Sariel's review, but I'm a bit bothered that he referred to the ball socket parts as being new, when they've been in Spike Prime sets since 2020. Of course, this set will bring them more into the mainstream, but it's not like the part was just designed for this set.

Yeah, I'd be happy to have some help to get instructions done. Thanks! Got it, thanks

Alright, good to know! Like I said, I've never done this type of thing in Stud.io before, so I wouldn't know. Do you know of a good example of a finished Stud.io model with these steps and sub-assemblies in it that I could refer to? Thanks! Thanks! Honestly I'm not sure it's all that worth recreating, what with a few parts I couldn't reinforce adequately, and the usage of some rare old parts, like the distribution block. Still, I'd be honoured if anyone wanted to try!

Cool! And thanks! Hmm, ok. I've never done that before, but it's probably worth learning, and I might as well learn it now! I am feeling slightly time-crunched to finish my Lada Niva WIP for a race in two weeks, but hopefully sometime I'll get to that Well, the bed is my trademark LBG, but it's not the main color, so yes, I have effectively broken my tradition! Thanks! A mini Arocs set would have been pretty cool, though I wonder how simple it would have ended up. 8067 is a pretty good example of a lot of functionality in roughly this scale, and probably a mini Arocs could have had more than this, but it certainly wouldn't have had as much as mine, due to their pesky "standards" :) . I'd actually be really interested to see somebody with a style (and reliability/durability standards) closer to TLG's take a stab at that idea!

Well, I've just finished building this model in Stud.io! It's the first time I've built one of my MOCs digitally, so it's a bit messy (I couldn't get the hoses for the windshield to bend the way I wanted to; I left out all the pneumatic hoses; and the pneumatic cylinders aren't connected at both ends), but it should be enough should anyone want to try building a copy, though I'm not sure it's built to a standard that other people would enjoy! I think you had at least asked about instructions, though, @johnnytifosi, so if the Stud.io file is good enough for you, it's on my Bricksafe page: https://bricksafe.com/pages/2GodBDGlory/tc25-mercedes-benz-arocs Also, this is a 738-part model, which sounds like an awful lot for the scale!

I think there were some guidelines in the first post in this topic, if that helps