2GodBDGlory

I suppose there could well be a piston engine, just as something fairly simple to add, though it would have to be driven by only one drive motor, or through an adder.

Yeah, it is a little confusing. Pick a Brick has almost no selection, but is significantly easier to find than Bricks&Pieces, which is accessed through the "replacement parts" button in the customer service section, I believe.

Well, a physical controller would be ideal for the vast majority of users, but for me at least, the only attraction of PU is the programmability, which allows for modeling of more complex features than was previously possible in Technic, unless one could put up with enormous Mindstorms hubs and motors. Perhaps a physical remote with a smart-device option would have been the best. At least the lack of a controller might keep the cost of PU sets a little closer to reason than it might otherwise be!

How do you even type one of those! Yeah, there was a very informative topic on here I remember reading not too long ago.

Good work! Before switching my automatic gearbox strategy to PU programming, I ambitiously tried a similar project to make an 8-speed automatic, in which the servo motor would operate a "paddle shift" sort of mechanism, requiring a return to center cycle, also controlled by a switch. My design was much more complicated though, and didn't work at all, unlike your much more reliable design!

Where can I learn more about these higher-strength parts?

I'm not sure; I just remember seeing a YouTube review by either RacingBrick or Zerobricks (one of those "bricks" people). You should be able to find it with a search.

I just voted, and, this being my first contest, I was surprised at the lack of secrecy! It's kind of weird seeing how each individual rated our models! I don't mean to complain, though; I don't really mind.

8: 10 5: 6 6: 4 15: 3 9: 2 24: 1

I believe a company already has for the AAA box!

True, though it would sacrifice some versatility. I wonder if they could take advantage of the extra-short axles of the ball joints with 1L axle and make the hub attach with axles instead, though I doubt they will.

Curious! I'm a bit dubious that they could fit the new CV in a hub of that size, though, because on the planetary hub, the DBG part of the hub is clearly thicker than one stud.

You used a foam ball as suspension! Now that's a new one!

I highly recommend that guide! A few hours spent reading it and trying each block to see if it did what I expected, and I was able to start making my own codes!

I recently finished a small-scale Jeep Cherokee XJ using Powered Up, with a four-speed gearbox that can function either manually or automatically. The program is somewhat crude, but I may add it here in the near future.

I wonder if it could ever be economical for Lego to buy the rights to fan B/C models for sets, provided that they meet Lego's durability standards, and then provide online access to a number of fan-designed alternate models. If this were done right, it could result in more available alternate models, and more interesting alternate models, with less investment from Lego.

Also, PU seems like it has had little performance upgrade over PF, and the protections in the hub may even make it worse, so if we assume that Buwizz V3 improves on V2, while PU is similar to PF, the difference in performance should only increase!

Both it and the Hydraulic Excavator have very reasonable prices in Canada!

I always have some needle-nose pliers on hand, as well as a short metal shaft (from a screwdriver from a fake Meccano set), which is great for poking axles out of holes or simply prying in small spaces. Of course, I also have the obvious blueprints, desk, chair, calculator, and audio. (Before I had the pliers I used a pair of scissors as pliers, leading to small slits on my axles. Not my best idea, but it worked!)

Looks quite interesting! The attempt to combine huge performance with serious complexity looks quite unique (Well, Sariel's Pagani Huayra was a little similar). What color do you plan to build the physical car in? Are you actually building it in white with 911 RSR wheelcovers without the print, or will it use 911 GT3 RS wheelcovers in some color or other?

Now that I finally figured out how to hook up my high-powered motor to Lego without harming pieces (much), I'll have to make some fast off-roaders! Maybe I should wait for spring, though. That looks like quite a fun toy!

Fun! I don't know if I've ever seen someone take mixing colors in a Lego model that seriously! Not a Technic one, at least...

Thanks! I'm not actually building MOCs quite that quickly as it looks, though, because I have been catching up on all the backlog of models I made before I joined Eurobricks. I'm finally done that job, though! Thanks! I liked the character those panels have it, and I always like seeing rainbow-colored trucks on the road.

This model was a follow-up of sorts to my '95 F-150. It used the same joystick 5+R manual transmission, but with a much less complex model overall. I am pleased with how well it drove, and with the appearance. Functions: -Front independent suspension -Rear live axle suspension -RWD with two Buggy motors and a V8 piston engine -Steering with a PF M-motor and working steering wheel -5+R RC manual transmission -Opening doors, hood, and trunk -Folding rear bench More details: Aesthetics: I was quite pleased with the bodywork. The car's boxy profile made it fairly easy to model, and I believe I built 99-100% of the bodywork in a single day! Opening stuff: Interior: Suspension: Nothing special here Drive: The car was driven with two RC Buggy motors, powered by a Lego rechargeable battery and a homemade Lithium battery. There was a V8 piston engine under the hood (under the battery) Planetary hubs on the rear axle helped a lot with gear reduction, and its driving ability was impressive, with strong performance in all gears, and enough torque to push stuff around in the low gears. With the car's weight, it was never going to be fast, but it was nimble enough to be enjoyable to drive, something that cannot be said for many of my models. Steering: The steering was done by a PF M-motor through a complicated drivetrain to a small linear actuator, which moved a lever, which moved the linkages that moved the wheels. The steering wheel was driven off of the motor's shaft through a worm gear, some universal joints, and a pair of bevel gears. The steering system was reliable, but there ended up being quite a bit of backlash, largely due to the tiny hubs' location of the steering attachment so close to the steering pivot. Gearbox: The gearbox was taken complete from my Ford F-150 model. It is a manual 5+R design, with reverse slower than first, but instead of working the lever by hand, it is controlled by two PF Servo motors, one for sliding the lever left/right, and the other for rotating its axle. Sariel originally came up with a similar idea years ago, but I know of no instance of its incorporation into a model. When controlled from a joystick on the controller, it becomes a very cool, very slick way of shifting through the gears. All gears on the gearbox performed well, though reversing the drive motors in fifth gear sometimes caused some skipping. Images of the loose gearbox show the gearbox used in the F-150; there may be slight differences between it and the Mustang version. Controller: Overall, I was quite pleased with this model. Complexity was low, which allowed for a better-looking, better-performing model than many of my others, and the gearbox was a lot of fun! Images at: https://bricksafe.com/pages/2GodBDGlory/1983-ford-mustang And with that, I am finally caught up on posting stuff, for the first time since I joined EuroBricks, nearly a year ago! Yippee!

This model featured a few unusual functions, such as its joystick-controlled, RC, 5+R manual gearbox, its Twin Traction Beam front suspension, and its full complement of working controls in the cab. It was designed to look like the kind of truck a rural, American(or Canadian) teenage hooligan might drive, and thus had a number of mismatched body panels, oversized tires, and a lift. Functions: -Twin Traction Beam front suspension -Floating-axle rear suspension -Opening doors, hood, and tailgate -Drive with two buggy motors and a V8 piston engine -Working gas pedal with a PF Servo motor linked to the drive motors -Steering with a PF L-motor and a working wheel -5+R manual gearbox with working lever, controlled by two PF Servo motors -2H/4H/4L transfer case with working lever, controlled by PF L-motor -Pneumatic brakes (disc/drum) with working pedal -Clutch with working pedal, controlled by PF M-motor -Parking brake (rear drums) with working pedal -RC pneumatic compressor with PF M motor You may note that this model actually uses ten independent IR channels, which is not possible with original Lego. My little secret is that I used a knock-off receiver and remote, which happen to operate on different channels than Lego ones do. Here are some more details: Aesthetic: I was fairly pleased with the aesthetic, though it could surely use some polishing. Thankfully, the boxy design of these old trucks makes bodywork relatively easy. One little feature I liked was that the entire bed could be lifted off after disconnecting the battery on/off switch and four pins. Opening stuff: Suspension: The front suspension was the Twin Traction Beam design used on Ford/Mazda light trucks in the 80s and 90s. It is similar to a swingarm (Tatra) design in that wheels are attached by only one pivot, and thus undergo camber change, but rather than having the differential between the swingarms, it is housed on one of them, allowing the suspension pivots to be placed further from their wheels, minimizing camber change. This image from a Ford Ranger (taken from this website: https://www.therangerstation.com/tech/ford-ranger-dana-44-ttb-conversion-faqs/) demonstrates the principle fairly well. Note the universal joint between the two swingarms. My design worked fairly well, and was sprung with one 6.5L hard shock per side. The rear suspension was a much more conventional live axle design, sprung by flex axles simulating leaf springs. Drive: Two coupled buggy motors drove the truck, along with a V8 piston engine. Each motor had to have its own battery, so I used my Lego rechargeable box and my camera battery. A Servo motor was coupled with the drive motors to move the gas pedal. In the end, performance was awful, with the truck only driving grudgingly in 4L, second gear. Steering: Steering was done with a PF L-motor, which ran a worm gear to a 24T gear, which moved a beam left and right, which steered the wheels. The top of the worm gear drove some 8T gears, which drove the steering wheel. Gearbox: The gearbox was somewhat similar to a design Sariel displayed years ago, in which two PF Servo motors would control a six-speed gearbox. My design used instead a 5+R transmission I designed, with the reverse gear placed after fifth. One Servo motor ran some bevel gears to rotate the axle the shifter was on, and the other moved a 6L link left and right to slide the lever. This could be controlled with a two-way joystick on a PF remote, and was a very cool, very authentic, way to shift the gears, and it was especially cool to see the stick in the cab move realistically. Transfer Case: A PF L-motor ran a small linear actuator, which moved a 2L beam, which rotated an axle, which pulled (with a rubber band) a selector into 4WD, and then shifted the truck into low range. It is quite a complicated mechanism to describe, but it merely functioned to shift the truck sequentially through 2H, 4H, N, and 4L. There was also a lever in the cab that moved a bit as the case shifted. Brakes: The front wheels had basic disc brakes, with one small pneumatic cylinder for each. These brakes weren't especially strong, but were much stronger than any huge-backlash mechanical solution I could have come up with. The rear axle, being a straight axle, was much easier to brake, and also much stronger. It used a long, skinny pneumatic cylinder to press 2L rubber axle joiners against drums. Drum brakes were new for me! A small pneumatic cylinder on the same circuit moved the brake pedal. A PF M-motor flipped two pneumatic valves to engage this function (Two valves were needed, because the rear brake had to be on a separate circuit in order for the regular brake and the parking brake to both work). Clutch: The clutch was a simple affair with a transmission driving ring, controlled by a PF M-motor through a complicated linkage. The clutch pedal moved, thanks to semi-rigid tubes and string. Parking Brake: An additional M-motor flipped a single pneumatic switch to engage only the rear drum brake as a parking brake. A setup of string and semi-rigid hoses worked the foot parking brake. Compressor: A PF M-motor ran a compressor to power the brakes, but it proved totally inadequate (Not that the truck needed any help stopping...) Controller: The controller was massive! Overall, I was quite pleased with the truck, except for its disinclination to drive. It packed a lot of interesting functions into a mid-sized model, and it had a lot of character, too! My favorite feature was the simulated manual gearbox, which was deserving of a more driveable car (said more drivable car is finished and on my desk right now.) Images at: https://bricksafe.com/pages/2GodBDGlory/1995-ford-f-150 Imagine this die-hard Ford fan's chagrin if he were to ever discover the Chrysler references hidden in his grille!