Blakbird

Would it have been possible to keep the same mechanical functions and the same overall shape with fewer parts and less density? Sure, probably. But as Sheo said, then it wouldn't be his MOC any more. One of the things I like about building MOCs as opposed to official sets is that different builders do things totally different ways. What makes this MOC great is not only that it is a cool shovel, but also that it is quite unlike anything else I have ever built.

Read through the last couple of pages of this topic. Gerger made a bunch of changes to improve the model AFTER the original files were published. I am comparing before and after. All of the most recent posts are about the newest model.

Interesting! I've heard professional photographers say the opposite: basically that RAW is useless and it offers no advantage but makes the files a lot bigger. Maybe it is different for different cameras. http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/raw.htm I really like Ken Rockwell and find a lot of useful photography info on his page.

I assume some changes besides just the panels themselves were necessary to support the panels (longer liftarms, more pins, etc.) so the extended boom instructions won't be quite right. I plan to do the same thing. Were you able to use regular LEGO string with studs on the end for this, or did you need a custom solution? I already noticed that and was going to ask about it. I've already started working the file so I can't download your new version or I'd end up overwriting, but I'll fix the diode placement. I also noticed you reduced from 3 LED sets to 2. I have assumed you need 1 short PF extension and 2 long extensions. Is this correct? I've finished creating the parts list, posted at my Bricksafe. There were quite a lot of changes. Some interesting statistics: MK I version was 3540 parts. MK II version is 3503 parts, so it actually has fewer parts despite the improvements. Much of this is due to pins. If you've already collected for the old model like I have, you'll need 289 new parts for the MK II version. None of the new parts are particularly rare. If you've already collected for the old model like I have, you'll have 326 parts you don't need any more.

Driving is very slow, but that's probably realistic. Works well enough on a hard surface. It has some trouble turning on carpet due to the drag while skid steering. Note that I am using V1 receivers so I don't know if it would be any stronger with V2. Slewing works awesome. I am using a speed control remote for that function which I like because it allows me to accelerate and slow gradually. No need for speed control on driving because it is so slow anyway. Balance on the turntable is very good so there is very little prying. Arm works really well. Sheo implemented the system which the real excavator uses to keep the bucket level while the arm lifts and extends, and it works perfectly. The L-motor struggles a lot to lift the boom, but it works. The other functions have plenty of power. Because the bucket tilt actuators are actually in the bucket, the drive system has to run along the whole arm through a lot of u-joints. This means this function can jam if the u-joint angle is too high. It is also important to get the orientation of the u-joint ends right so that the non-uniform rotation speed inherent in u-joints (cardan joints) is minimized. Overall, I think it is an amazing creation. No complaints at all about the arm or base. One thing I would change about the superstructure if I could is a bit more pathways for wire routing. The other thing is that it would be nice if the batteries were removable. I've been studying that and I think it may be possible with some work. If I take them out, I will replace them with some brick-built counterweights and then power it through a tether.

It will be difficult. If you want to use only one receiver and one battery, I'd eliminate the LED lights and use the existing pole reverser for the convertible top instead. Then the wiring changes would not be very big. 8275 drove 2 XL motors off one receiver, but not on the same channel. I think you will get low performance from this configuration, but it should work.

I'll delete the versions I have on my Bricksafe so people will go only to your master files. I built the base last night and thought I would share my experience. Here is the pile of 1000+ parts just for the carrier. The completed superstructure sits in the background on it's homemade stand. Here is the core of the base. You can see that I had to use red 3x11 curved panels because I didn't have any black ones. I had intended to use the older style panels which I do have in black, but I can confirm that they won't work. The design uses all those holes as structure so they are needed. Furthermore, the parts cannot be changed back to black later without completely disassembling the unit. They are locked in solid. Red is not ideal, but I think it looks OK. As usual, you can see how firmly Sheo locks every single part. This thing is very solid. A view from the bottom. The 1x1 plate you see holds in the central axle that will pass up into the superstructure. I removed this plate to allow the axle to protrude when I was working on the assembly upside down so it could sit flat on the table on the turntable. You can see the two diffs which form the subtractor. The XL motor drives a worm gear through a pair of 24 tooth gears into the diff ring gears. The L motor subtractor drives the other inputs, pointing up in this image. The outputs are the 16 tooth gears barely visible at bottom. Now the "wings" are taking shape. I think it looks like Cylon technology at this point. Here the track supports are nearly complete, seen from the bottom. Now I just need to add the road wheels and drive sprockets. This is complete, shown from the bottom. The protruding axle will get pushed out when I attach to the superstructure. You can see the pendular road wheel bogies. Completed base unit with tracks installed. It is very large! This shows the method I used to attach them together. The turntable has been separated and used to build each assembly. The 12L axle is part of the superstructure. When upside down, I was then able to add the clutch gears as you can see in the picture sticking out of the turntable. The axle you see sticking out of the carrier is just there to hold the worm gear in place and will get pushed out the bottom by the 12L axle. Now I just invert the base and snap it on! Finally, a completed model! This has been sitting on my table unfinished for a long time, so I am happy to see it done. I can't decide if I will go back and change those base panels to black, but it would be a lot of work to do so. I'll repeat my thanks to Sheo for all the work he put into the desiging the model and preparing instructions to share with all of us. I love this model.

Thanks Gerger! I'll get started on paginating the instructions. For the superstructure, is the intent just to use the old instructions for the extended boom? It looks like your version is one 3x11 curved panel longer than the default. Are there any other changes I should know about?

Glad you like the renders. By the way, the method I use to export from LPub is to export all the pages to PNG images. Then I use Acrobat to combine them all into a PDF. This seems to generally result in a smaller, higher quality file than if you export to PDF directly. From studying your model, I can see that I was foolish to try to use the "regular" 3x11 curved black panels. The newer version with extra holes are required and I don't have any! That means I might have to wait until next week to build. I'm not sure I could survive. I could always use the yellow panels from my crane and switch them out with black later, but it looks like it is not really possible to remove them after the model is built. I am also working on a good way to join the top to the base. If building scratch, the best thing to do is build the base first and then build the superstructure on top of it. However, this is a bit hard to do. It is easier to build them separate, but then they must be combined. I looked at whether or not a coupler could be used to join two shorter axles going through the turntable, but it won't work. It would be very dangerous to leave the 12L protruding axle out of the upper part because the end of it goes into a 16 tooth gear deep inside the model. If that axle were to get pulled out, the gear could fall out of place and could not be recovered. On the other hand, the same axle going into the base only needs to pass through a worm gear. So I think I will leave the axle in the top part, and I will insert a short axle through the bottom of the base to hold the worm gear in place. When I join the top and base together, I will use the 12L axle from the top to push out the axle through the worm gear in the bottom. I think it will work. I hope that made sense! Of course, building the top and bottom separate also requires that the turntable be separated. This happened because you used !LPUB PART BEGIN IGN before you inserted the track submodel. I think you did this because you did not want the tracks to appear as a callout or on a separate page. The way to solve this is to copy the tracks out of the submodel and insert them directly into the main model. Then you will get the 48x in the parts list.

Not counting the time it takes to prepare the file, render time for images 2-4 at 1280x960 resolution was about 15 minutes each. The first one at 1920x1080 and a higher quality took about an hour. I am using a 3 year old i7 laptop. Sheo, I noticed that the file size for the instructions for your base is a bit large (127Mb for 183 pages). I exported your file from LPub at a higher resolution (300 dpi) and then made a new PDF and was able to get the size down to 64Mb with an improved quality. You are welcome to use my file if you like.

I've finished a full set of renders. Full size versions at my Bricksafe account. 3/4 view (suitable for wallpaper - 1920x1080) Man height view from front Man height view from back View from inside the operator's cab

Here are a couple of views showing the mechanical functions. The second view also adds the electrical components.

With a Tatra suspension system, each half axle is a swing arm which changes angle as the suspension compresses. On a real Tatra vehicle, the suspension is set up such that at nominal compression the wheel is perpendicular to the ground, so you won't see a real Tatra with such extreme angles just sitting there. This would only happen with an axle fully compressed or extended.

I'm not complaining, it was just a question. I thought your screen capture instructions were very good. It's incredible that you were able to learn the LDraw tools so quickly. I see that you even made use of one of the more esoteric functions: buffer exchange. This takes some practice to master. I have completed adding the base to the master file and am working on some renders now.

Wow, thanks for all the work! I see that you did things a bit differently this time. You've posted an LDraw file instead of an LDD which means I don't have to convert it. You also appear to have used LPub for the instructions of the base. They look really good. Did you go back and do the same thing for the rest of the model, or does the superstructure still use screen shots? Doesn't matter to me because I've already built that part! The extra time you put into the instructions for the base is much appreciated. I'll start building tonight. I'm working on it.

I exist outside of normal space and time. Thanks for the heads up. Maybe I will steal one from 42030.

I took some pictures of my build of the Tumbler, paying special attention to the Technic parts. There is quite a lot of Technic here. Here you can see the tires, some beams and bricks, and a whole lot of frames. the parts are in numbered bags, so this only shows Bag 1 which has the bulk of the Technic stuff. Here you can see that the whole base is a block of Technic. The rear axle assembly is entirely Technic, although it will later be locked into place with some regular plates. Here are the wheels, hubs, and panels. Here is a good collection of connectors. Finally, here is the front axle support for those of you who were wondering how it goes together. At 2 studs thick and built with panels, it is very rigid. The joker watched the whole thing from his perch.

Having just built the Tumbler, I can tell you that this solution won't work. The problem is that the tire is much wider than the wheel and is already touching the support arm. In order to add even a little bit of steering, you'd have to move the whole wheel inboard one stud. To get a good steering lock, you'd have to move more than that which would throw off the scale of the model. To keep the wheels where they are, you'd have to change the support arm to be only one stud thick instead of two which would be too weak in torsion to support the weight.

9398 is older and will go out of production sooner. If you think you might eventually want both, get 9398 now while you still can. 42030 is brand new and will be available for a couple of years.

There are no external sub-models when you use an MPD file. All the submodels are now part of the master file. You should be able to delete all the external submodels. You can edit the internal submodels in the MPD file by just selecting them in MLCAD. There is a drop down menu to access them right above the main window. When you downloaded my file, you should have seen everything all in one file. Feel free to PM me if you need specific help with MLCAD.

There is generally little to no published information on prototypes. Your only hope is early images, leaked pictures, or maybe something from the Technic blog. There was video about the development of 8275 a while back. I took a screen capture of the prototypes:

Anyone know how to contact Patrick? Does he participate in a forum somewhere?

It's still a LEGO part so still perfectly pure. I'm prepared to order the newer part if it turns out I really need it. Or I'll just intercept the shipment destined for your house, now that I know it's coming.

Got it. There is some information here on the error including some conflicting resources, but I'm afraid they are way over my head. Faulting application name: brickstock.exe, version: 1.2.7.0, time stamp: 0x53a5db97 Faulting module name: brickstock.exe, version: 1.2.7.0, time stamp: 0x53a5db97 Exception code: 0xc0000005 Fault offset: 0x000a93c1 Faulting process id: 0x25a4 Faulting application start time: 0x01cfbbf265c3fc14 Activation context generation failed for "<snip>\brickstock.exe". Error in manifest or policy file "" on line . A component version required by the application conflicts with another component version already active. Conflicting components are:. Component 1: C:\Windows\WinSxS\manifests\x86_microsoft.windows.common-controls_6595b64144ccf1df_6.0.7601.17514_none_41e6975e2bd6f2b2.manifest. Component 2: C:\Windows\WinSxS\manifests\amd64_microsoft.windows.common-controls_6595b64144ccf1df_6.0.7601.17514_none_fa396087175ac9ac.manifest.

For the base, I ordered the regular 3x11 curved black panels (62531) instead of the newer version with 10 holes (11954) just because they are a lot easier to get (and cheaper). I hope they still work.