XTN

Thank you very much. I'm so overwhelmed by your positive feedback, especially because this vehicle has been a passion project I've had in my mind for a long time. The POC for the front fascia was sitting in a box for months, but the release of the Bronco and its fender pieces gave me the final push to start on this project. So happy TLG sells the Bronco in red. Btw there's another exclusive part from the Bronco that made it into the fire engine. Look at how smooth connector#7 follows the shape of the curved panels in the roof. So satisfying...

Thank you very much. Well, I dunno if it is that "many". Tbh, I'm always short on parts. Then I spend a lot of time finding compromises for building solutions or swapping parts from my existing vehicles, if e. g. I need a part in a certain colour. You remember my car transporter trailer? In the beginning it wasn't supposed to be blue, but at that time when I needed 10 3x11 panels of the same colour, blue was the only way to go. For refilling my parts stock, I choose carefully which sets I buy. Some of them even more than once, if they are good parts packs, like the 42078 Mack, the 42098 Car Transporter, the 42108 Crane, the 42128 Rotator and recently the 42213 Bronco. In individual cases I have also ordered from PaB, for example the narrow truck tires or recently a handful of rounded panels for the fire engine. The good thing is that this way you always have an answer to the question of what you want for your birthday.

Thank you very much. Maybe you also like my latest addition to the garage: 1970 American LaFrance 900 Series "Pumper" Fire Engine [MOC] More details here:

It has been on my mind for sooo long, but only the Bronco fenders made it possible: 1970 American LaFrance 900 Series "Pumper" Fire Engine American LaFrance Pumper - Bricksafe It features: HOG steering with reduction fake V6 engine openable doors for driver and co-driver openable storage compartments: 2 * 4x2 studs, 4 * 3x4 studs ladder, hoses, fire extinguishers, axes, boxes (fit in the compartments, can be filled with all kinds of fire fighters' equipment) It's in "MACK" scale, like most 15 studs wide trucks. As said before, it heavily benefits from the new fender pieces from the Bronco. The only downside is, that the inner arches are available in black only. If they come in red or lbg, these are the ones I will swap. At first I was afraid, that the mounting point one stud inwards, compared to without the additional inner arch, might make the wheels collide with the chassis when turning. But everything works fine with the narrower truck tires. I will use these too to equip the rear axle with twin tires, but I need to order some first. Here are some more details: Thanks for reading. If you like it, you can find more pics on my bricksafe page American LaFrance Pumper - Bricksafe

Western Star 49X with log trailer WS 49X Log Trailer - Bricksafe Just in time for the end of the holidays, I was able to complete another project close to my heart. This is the complete overhaul of my logging truck. For a long time, the tractor unit was a conversion of @M_longer's Mack Granite with the same tail as my K100, and the semi-trailer was just a collection of spare parts from the Mack era... I got inspiration for the headlights from LEGO MOC Western Star 49X by Ronald_Rumf | Rebrickable - Build with LEGO and this has hit me that hard, that I knew this was the model I need to build in Mack scale. Now I present to you my all-new Western Star 49X tri-axle daycab with log trailer. It features: HOG steering with reduction fake inline-six engine driven by axle 3 and 4 via differentials a lift axle openable hood and doors... the hood opens in 49X style with the grille remaining upright a cool liftarm-built Western Star logo at the tip of the truck's nose Her comes the picture-heavy part... The truck: When opening the hood, the grille remains static. Unfortunately I wasn't able to connect the headlights to the hood like in the real truck without corrupting proportions. In my model they are connected to the bumper. For the lift axle I challenged myself. For playability when steering, the use of only one solid axle for both wheels was not an option, it had to be one small axle for the left and one small axle for the right side. But with twin tires, if the axles tilt too much, it looks weird. So I wanted at least two bearing points for each side, those being as far as possible from each other. Here's my solution: The brown cross axle with stop is the pivot point for the lift axle. The blue pin is where the small LA is connected. The trailer: The protection grille can be removed easily Thank you for watching. If you made it this far, here's a small reward: A family photo of my long-nosed trucks:

Thank you. Of course they all fit on my car transporter trailer. Unfortunately, I can't call them "car transporter gang" because this term is already taken.

A recent change in my collection concerns my muscle cars. Muscle Cars - Bricksafe White Muscle Car [MOC], generic design, inspired by muscle cars of the 1970s. This one remained unchanged except for minor cosmetic changes. Red Muscle Car [MOC], front end inspired by the 1965 Pontiac GTO. It adds parts of the greenhouse area of the former orange muscle car to a new chassis with a new front end, resembling the 1965 Pontiac GTO. It features: HOG steering with removable knob fake V6 engine driven by rear axle via differential openable hood and trunk The black Porsche rims allow using pulleys to visualize brake discs and drum brakes: Orange UTE [MOC], inspired by the 1968 Chevrolet El Camino. The front end of the former orange muscle car received a new rear end and was converted into a UTE, heavily inspired by the 1968 Chevrolet El Camino. It features: HOG steering with removable knob openable hood and tailgate Here some pictures of the whole family: I hope you enjoy watching as much as I enjoyed building. :)

Finally the wheel loader got its fake engine. Okaaaaay, I know, the chain should connect the crankshaft with the camshaft, not the drive shaft with the crankshaft, which is technically total nonsense. But firstly there is no camshaft in my loader and secondly watching the gears (thank you, bush plane), the chain and the pulley spin is so fun for the kids and really satisfying for me. And i added a shovel holder with a shovel.

Thank you :) Especially the use of the panels was the result of trying to build something of the few parts I had at this time. Here's my first model of 2025: Articulated Wheel Loader Wheel Loader - Bricksafe The idea of a brick-built loader bucket crossed my mind again and again, and after I finished it and liked the shape, I created a wheel loader for it. In this case, form follows pretty much the availability of parts, so i chose the blocky design of wheel loaders from the 1970s or 1980s, maybe with some inspiration of the CAT 918. The loader and its bucket are 15 studs wide and match the scale of the rest of my garage. The loader features: articulated steering via HOG with working steering wheel openable engine bay fake engine (not finished yet since this is a WIP, the engine bay is still empty right now) pendular rear axle liftarm operated via small LAs tiltable bucket removable bucket All the potential action is marked yellow (liftarm and bucket movement as well as the cross axles for removing the bucket). For the steering, the new 9L flipflop beams from the bush plane came in handy, so i could transfer the rotation from the HOG knob over the steering wheel to the articulated steering and add a rotation reduction.

The boat is finished... finally . Rigid inflatable boat (RIB) "POLICE" 2008 Ford F250 Crew Cab - Bricksafe The steering was tricky. I wanted to steer both the wheels and the engines via HOG. I tried a few variations with gears, but every possible solution ended up with an offset of one tooth or with reversed steering direction. The final solution has two levers, one for the steering parallelogram and one for the engines. The engines can be folded in for transport. The propellors can be operated manually by spinning the red connector. I did not connect them to the wheels, bc every solution for that was way too bulky, and when playing on the floor or any other hard surface, the engine gondolas are too low to aloow the propellors to spin. The sunroof can be easily removed.

As the year is about to end, most of my projects are finished and found their way to their folder on bricksafe, it's time to rest, to enjoy, to cheer, to chill and to publish the updated vehicle list. Here it is: HEAVY VEHICLES, HEAVY TRUCKS AND BUSES Heavy vehicles, heavy trucks and buses - Bricksafe Mack Anthem [42078 sub model tractor unit] with car transporter trailer [MOC] Kenworth K100 [MOC] with 40ft split axle / spread axle / tandem axle flatbed trailer [MOC, alt of 42078 sub model trailer] Mack Granite [mod of alt of 42078 Mack Granite snow plow by M-longer (eb/rb)] with log trailer [MOC] Peterbilt 281 "Needlenose" [MOC, inspired by the yellow truck by efgen86(eb)] with 28ft reefer trailer [MOC] Kenworth W900 Rotator Tow Truck [mod of 42128] Peterbilt 379 Heavy Duty Tow Truck [MOC] Mack Cruiseliner Holmes Tow Truck [MOC] International 4900 Rollback Tow Truck [MOC] Mack LR Garbage Truck [42078 B model] Mack R Series Dump Truck [MOC] Concrete Mixer Truck [mod of 42112] US School Bus [MOC] Forklift [42079] LIGHT VEHICLES, LIGHT TRUCKS AND PASSENGER CARS Light vehicles, light trucks and passenger cars - Bricksafe Light Duty Tow Truck [mod of 42075] Pickup Truck inspired by 1977 Ford F150 Stepside [MOC] Pickup Truck inspired by 2008 Ford F250 Crew Cab [MOC] with boat trailer [MOC] and rigid inflatable boat (RIB) "POLICE" [MOC] Hummer H1 [mod of Hummer H1 by efferman(eb/rb)] Jeep Wrangler Unlimited [MOC] Muscle Car (orange) [MOC] Muscle Car (white) [MOC] Sports Car (red) [MOC] Kit Car [MOC] Bortnick's Buggy [mod of Buggy by Bortnick(rb)] x 2 Offroad Buggy [mod of 42164] Hot Rod [MOC] Custom Van inspired by 1970 Dodge Tradesman [mod of 42098 B] Go-kart [MOC] x 2 Quad [mod of quad bike by _.lego._.technic._(rb)] Chopper [mod of mini chopper by efgen86(eb)] x 2 Dirt Bike [mod of mini cross motorcycle by efgen86(eb)] OTHER Ultralight helicopter [42057] Car Lift [mod of car lift by fuwlz(rb)] PULLBACKS Red Shark roadster [pullback, MOC] Escape buggy [pullback, MOC] Police buggy [pullback, MOC] Killer Bee buggy [pullback, MOC] Happy New Year to all of you!

Thank you both

Peterbilt 281 "Needlenose" semi truck with 28 ft reefer trailer Another passion project was this semi truck with trailer, based on the yellow TC27 truck from @efgen86 as shown here: [TC27] Lime dump truck - LEGO Technic, Mindstorms, Model Team and Scale Modeling - Eurobricks Forums Here's my version, it takes hood, grille and doorsteps from efgen's truck. The truck features: HOG steering openable hood and openable doors inline six-cylinder fake engine Thetrailer features: pendular twin axle openable rear doors similar to the MACK container retractable landing gear, operated by spinning the small tanks under the frame compatible to all MACK-ish saddle plates Here are some impressions from this real-life beauty: Here's the gallery: Pete 281 Reefer Trailer - Bricksafe

Just before the end of the year, here is an update on my garage. There have been a few revisions and new additions in the last few months. Bortnick's Buggy: I created my own version of it, based on the parts I had in my inventory LEGO MOC Buggy by Bortnick | Rebrickable - Build with LEGO Rebuild the Hot Rod from scratch. It features HOG steering with working steering wheel, V8 fake engine, openable trunk. It is not wider than 13 studs, even though it has the fat tires in the rear, so it fits on the car transporter trailer. Using big panels and only few liftarms, it looks really clean in the end. A highlight are the wheels, the usual rims in combination with a black disc create a super classic look. Roadster Kit Car Inspired by cars like Caterham 7, Panoz Roadster and small kit cars It features HOG steering with working steering wheel, openable trunk, openable doors. It is not wider than 13 studs, so it fits on the car transporter trailer. The tricky part was creating the front wheel arches that move with steering as they hav to allow a decent steering angle and must not collide with the nose. With #1 and #2 I finally own enough small cars to fulfill one wish I had for a long time: Fit seven cars (excluding pullbacks) on my car transporter trailer and have the center part of the upper ramp in the lowest position.

For each taillight they printed four round lamps on a 4L curved slope... I got used to printet taillights and i understand the use of these if a supercar has complex taillights with special lines, but here? Four round tiles on each side would look so much better.

I was kinda hoping it was the classic stingray...

Finally my LEGO PaB order arrived yesterday - after five weeks of waiting. I'm sooo hyped now! Time to update the rear axles of some of my trucks from super singles to dual tires... This is how (simple change of few parts, no change in frame structure needed, old (left) vs new (right)): And this is how it looks (old (left) vs new (right)): While modern trucks as the Anthem look okay with super singles, they look weird on classic trucks. So the first one to get this treatment was my K100. Here the creepy version as it has been for years now: And here the version with dual tires: The difference is enormous, like between a toy and a model. I didn't touch the front axle yet, that's another chapter.

Really cool alt, beautiful shapes in the front. I'm getting FUSO vibes.

Since I completely fell in love with your design of the legendary Pete 281, I had to try if I can build one too with my parts. I found the right parts in white, but just as many as needed for hood and cab, so I made a two axle semi tractor of it. I took your design of nose and grille, which imho can't be made any better, put in an inline-six-engine, made a slightly different cab, used the fenders design from my yellow Pete tow truck and the rear chassis design from my K100 - just shorter. I promise I am going to wait until TC27 is over before posting images. And ofc I will refer to your design. Thanks again for sharing your pics and giving me the chance and the inspiration to add such an iconic truck to the garage.

TLG made things right with this truck. After watching the speed build I was impressed by the way the truck chassis is built. Looks like this chassis can be the base for many different trucks. I really like the use of the new fake engine elements and the design of the front axle/engine area, and I love the fact they used the narrow truck wheels. I did a quick check on the LEGO website and I saw the narrow truck wheels (tires and rims) can now be ordered via p&b again. They've been unavailable for a while. https://www.lego.com/de-de/pick-and-build/pick-a-brick?appearsIn=42175&perPage=400 The negative side of the wheels being available is, that now I feel myself forced to order some to update my fleet.

Aaaaand it's gone. That was quick Thanks again @Murdoch17

I'm sorry to hear that this happened to you too. I just didn't recognize the "report MOC" link before, thank you for that hint. Reported just now. Thank you very much!

Today I found one of my models on RB. Here's the RB link (posted July 28, 2024): LEGO MOC 42112 Concrete mixer truck american type by GU | Rebrickable - Build with LEGO Here's the EB link to my garage (posted March 31, 2021): XTN's garage - LEGO Technic, Mindstorms, Model Team and Scale Modeling - Eurobricks Forums That makes me mad bc: That guy didn't ask for permission - which I probably had given him bc I have no experience in making instructions. He wants money for the instructions - I can take pics from every angle you want for free if you're interested in building it. For me that's the most annoying part, bc I'd never want money for my designs, especially if they are not really polished due to my parts inventory at that time. I didn't expect stolen designs showing up on RB - I wonder if it has already been on other sites. We all know about designs stolen by chinese brick manufacturers, but RB always felt like some kind of safe space. More than three years later? Really? What took him so long? The set isn't even available anymore. Please tell me your thoughts and maybe your experiences about that.

Oh. Tbh, 42023 is the only Technic excavator I've had in my hands so far. Maybe geared slewing is pointless for an excavator with a wheeled chassis when you have a HOG steering for the wheels. But turning a tracked chasis whithout some kind of mechanism will require touching the tracks, otherwise you only rotate the superstructure, which isn't a good solution in my eyes. I've had an idea for a solution, but I can't upload pics bc the prototype is waiting at home for me returning from vacation.

Is there a knob or a gear for rotating the superstructure versus the tracked chassis? Or is the superstructure rotated just by touching it and pushing it, like the kid in the clip does? As far as I remember earlier excavators had one, and TLG usually has a lever or a knob for all kinds of functions - not counting doors and hoods. Without such thing it might be difficult to steer the excavator around corners or just rotate the chassis.