Lixander

That is a real breakthrough! One the first of these, if not the first actually, of such RC to Lego ”hubs” projects that will be easily available in Europe (I hope). Good luck! Also, I didnt understand exactly if it can use also a 2S Li-Po (max of 8.40V). If yes, then how is the connection of the RC Deck - battery made and is there any battery size limit (mAh or cm)?

I see. Thanks for the answer! Also, if I cant fit the gear reductor on bigger motors........can I take the original setup to off-roading, maybe even some crawling? (I mean if the motor and ESC that are in the original setup will withstand the conditions of such usage, especially the ESC)

Nice and practical product. i am interested at least in the differentials, but I want to use other brushless motors with them in off-road builds. So the gear reduction frame, differentials and the wheel hubs (probably the ones for 1/8 because I dont want to move to full RC wheels yet) work with a brushless Surpass Hobby F550 3800KV with a 90A ESC (on a 2S Li-Po battery)? https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005016153941.html?spm=a2g0o.cart.0.0.53bc38daKb1S9H&mp=1

Let's hope it will be that way. And also I hope it won't have steering problems :/

This has nothing with the other Flat baja`s in common, just the name because it is pretty flat. New W.I.P.. in the stash..........here is the Flat baja-truck MAXX. The chassis is based on the looks and ideas of the HPI Jumpshot SC RC baja. It has 4x4 drive from using 2x buggy motors and 1x servo for steering. As main features, it boasts a (pretty big) positive caster-angle, independent suspension on all arms, consolidated steering rack, space for lights in the front and in the back, plenty of space for the battery hubs, detachable body and, the cherry on the cake, the distance between the suspension arms is 0 studs, enhancing the suspension behavior and travel. I will come back with more specs in a new topic with all my W.I.P.s posted in there.

Well, making new projects is pretty fun but not when you realize you have at least 4 to finish and you cant even continue the majority of them because of the pieces and mainly time. In other words, I added another ”W.I.P.” to the stash - a retro styled buggy that uses a modified front frame of the Flat baja II with bigger wheel hubs.. As motors, it uses 1x upgeared buggy motor that will probably wont work because of the upgearing and its 740 grams ( 26.10 ounces ) and also 1x PF servo-motor. It also has independent suspension and wishbones on all arms and detachable body with a huge wing that will probably make the model tip at the back. As inspiration, I had the Tamiya Avante RC buggy, mainly the old Mk. 1 of the model.

Interesting model duo :) I really like the small model more, but the base is good too. Both are packed with functions and the link between the 2 models is a very clever solution. Keep up the good work!

Great idea! Looks really good and seems really promising on the functional part too. Looking forward to see it finished.

Thanks for the appreciation. Well, I want to use metal joints, but I usually connect the wheel-hubs directly. In other words, they will be useful but everytime I replenish my parts my mind skipps the metal joints. The battery hubs should go in the back or in the middle of the chassis, I still didn`t figured where I should put them.

When I started to build the BBX, I encountered huge problems with the rear suspension arms. So I kind of canceled it. But the idea was too great to let it just be an unfinished concept. So today I returned at the 2nd model file I made, which had 2 motors and an updated rear swing-arms, but visually it was a mess and I think that didn`t work as well. In any case, as a 3rd attempt I integrated the 2x buggy motors in the chassis and tried to create robust wheel-hubs frames. Also, I put 6.5L shock absorbers at the back too for a more affordable model, but I had to figure a way to ”fill” the gap made by the smaller shocks. For this, I made some fake shock absorbers. I really hope that this rear arms will also work properly and also look better in reality. Also, here is the link for the older renders and screenshots: https://bricksafe.com/pages/Lixander_A./bb-01-buggy-wip/archive

Approaching the final version. I still have to test it properly outside, but the main problems seem to be solved. You can find the new digital file on Rebrickable

Also, here are the .dat files for a 540 size RC motor and an RC axle adaptor. They need to be edited in the Studio Designer, to put the connections. https://bricksafe.com/pages/Lixander_A./miscellaneous/rc-adaptors I made the conversion of the 3D files with the help of this program https://github.com/Nexusnui/stl-to-dat-improved He also made a tutorial. The original 3D files: https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/tool/540-motor-mount-for-lego-technic https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/gadget/540-motor-to-lego-axle-adapter

I see. Good that you know the problem before it even appeared.

Try to avoid long axles made from one piece, especially with such a setup (motor power). But the for the win, get he metal axles........even if they are not so cheap, for such a model they are a must, as you saw :)).

I see. I would suggest to start a simple body-work, but taking in account that you made a pretty complicated chassis, I dont know...just build and test :))) Good luck anyway! Yes it is. The RC shock absorbers have a larger suspension travel and can be adjusted to the desired stiffness and height, from what I know. Also, the large Lego shock absorbers are expensive, especially the 9.5L hard and extra-hard ones.

I know the pain when you made a good chassis and you still have to do the body-work. Some months ago, I started to look for inspiration for my body-works, especially for the techniques not the shape or the pieces themselves. So, I put here some videos and a Rebrickable baja-truck that might help you with the body-work. https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-4874/RM8 LEGO Garage - BrickGarage/baja-trophy-truck-double-trouble/#details

Even with these wheels, it looks excellent! Great job!

I improved a few things, especially visually. For example, I made the motor frame narrower. I still need to recreate the last version in real life, because the real version differs from the last, which is often digital; even if they are the same theoretically, the last (digital) version has small improvements.

I thought how to find a more convincing purpose to this build........so I turned the baja-truck into a ”baja-responder” - I think it sounds better ”baja-responder” than ”baja-first-responder”. Even if I just added a ”storage space” at the back, which adds to the weight too, this gives more purpose of the build in the Arctic theme (my opinion). I tinkered at the chassis too; as late as tomorrow I will post the real progress.

I tried with the Part Designer too, but the same things happens. I will see what I can do with the file from the Philos site. Thanks anyway!

Nice......you did a great job! One question though - how do you managed to get the tires in the Studio program? I tried files from 2 sites and both of them cant be used because of some errors in the file or because the program doesnt recognize the files.

The result is pretty discreet, having no space for a proper system with tracks/ conveyor belts and another motor, but still, the small wheels protect the under-side and limit the damage done to the pieces.

Thanks for the ideas, I really appreciate it. Now, I feel encouraged to replicate the system , or at least the principle, of a Toyota project that came out this month.......I am talking about the Toyota "FJ Bruiser" and it's system for getting over the tall obstacles. Basically, it has a track underneath that can get the truck out if it is stuck.

New body-work on the way.......by the end of the week I will post some real-life photos with it. Also, here is a more refined version of the new body-work with a hub frame for a BuWizz 3.0 (I managed to put it because of the bigger space at the back).

I had an idea of making a small baja-truck for some while and with the Artic vehicle contest it was a perfect match. Here is the concept, made in a Studio file. So, the ”functions” are those of a normal RC car - detachable body, steering and forward/ reverse. For this, the model has 1x servo-motor and 2x buggy motors; with 1x battery hub, it should weight around 800 g or about 28.21 oz. I still didnt found a secure way to attach the battery hubs in the back but I am already thinking of making frames only for BuWizz 2.0 and the MouldKing 4.0 hub, because BuWizz 3.0 has a greater chance of hitting the motors and takes more space too. Also, the suspension travel is pretty big in the front and in the back too, although I have reduced the travel for the front arms because of the over-steer. Here is the almost finished front of the original variant of the model, which had a big over-steer issue. I had to modify the motor frame too. The first 2 images are the concept version and the 3rd image is the last variant, with longer liftarms that allow the suspension to work (you can see the swapped 5L liftarms and the soft springs, which were too soft, obviously). I dont like the current body-work, so the amin thing on the ”to do list” for the Ice baja is to modify the body-work as much as it is possible. Anyway.............in 2 days I kind of managed to finish the chassis. As I only have one buggy motor ”functional” (is partially burned too), I cant test it properly, but I will see what I can do; until then, I am pretty pleased with result of the chassis. More photos will follow with the progress of the new body-work at least, but if I find something to improve on the chassis, then it will be with the chassis too. (The tires in the last 2 photos will be replaced with official Lego ones in the next photos; also, those tires are messy, so sorry for all of that :/ )