Thirdwigg

It's been a productive couple of days in Thirdwiggville. I spent some time working on the Cab, and it now has a working internal structure. It is no longer flimsy, and it has a mounting point for the hood, seats, dashboard, and all the decorations. Plus, now it tips. I have tried a couple of options for the mirrors, but I'm still not pleased with any of the options.

You are not wrong @jorgeopesi about the rear axle. It is not robust. I rushed this build a little bit, and as such, the rear axle is not great. I wanted to see if there was a good way to add a fake electric drivetrain, and halfway through this project, it was clear this was no the solution. I have another idea, and it should allow for a stronger axle.

The Wheelbase has not changed, nor has the length of the bed, but both the bed and the cab have moved forward one stud. I have not yet moved the HOG axle which may give the impression that that the proportions are off. I'll move that next, and repost. I'll keep playing with light ideas, so we'll see what comes.

Even Thirdwigg Motors is not immune to the regulatory change of vehicular electrification. The first electric car features steering with HOG and wheel, independent torsion suspension, and rear electric drive.

OK, a little update to the truck. I moved the cap forward another stud, and lowered the fenders a stud as well. The proportions are a little better now. I'm not sure what to do about the hood yet, but we'll see what come to me in the next couple of days. I tried some ideas for the front. I like the front bumper shape, so I'll clean up the mounting of it next. The SRT will need a bold grill, so a placeholder is on now. Not sure about the lights. Since everything has moved a lot, I'll need to rebuild the chassis soon. Maybe next.

@tom1 Instructions have been posted. You may find them here.

We Americans do a lot of silly things. But one of my favorite silly American things is the sport pickup. Take a pickup, which is functional, heavy, slow, and inefficient, and then make some changes to make it less functional, more sporty (which is diametrically apposed to heavy), faster (again, heavy ), and even less efficient. You end up with a vehicle that is not sporty, but more sporty than a pickup. The result is heavy, has no steering feel, and has no traction at the driven rear wheels, but is unlike any other automotive option in the world (OK maybe the Sport Ute). And yet, I love them. The 90's and 2000's had some great ones. The Dakota RT, the SVT Lightning, the bonkers STR-10 Ram. So I had to make one, and decided it could be designed as a MOD of 8081. The first draft came out OK, but looked a little disproportional. Then I got distracted by the 110 Pickup design. After this was taken apart I picked the Sport Pickup project back up. First the stance of 8081 is going to have to be changed significantly. From the first draft, I moved the cab forward a stud, and it will need a little more. I'll need to raise the beltline a little more, fix the rear overhang, and shape the cab and bumpers a little more. But I think I can make something work. I'll try to keep some visual connection to 8081, but I may need to do some significant reshaping of the fenders, doors, and hood, each of which I find significant visual connector to 8081. We'll see... but they whole time I will be asking myself, when is a build a MOD, and when is it a MOC. Below is some idea of where I am heading. I'll post more progress here.

How do the axles get attached? Pivots or fixed? Where do they go on the front with the sliding axle as shown? I'm still confused on the benefits over the challenges listed by @Zerobricks

@HorcikDesigns Thanks again. I was surprised with how clean it turned out. Taking it apart reinvigorated my interest in the sport pickup version of 8081. More on that soon.

@Mechbuilds I have never heard of something like that. What kind of application would you use it in? Why does the diff need to be fixed, and the portal axles need to slide with no other movement?

I think it's fair to charge a small fee. Making instructions is a lot of work, and for those who value building your MOC, it's fair to ask them to cover some of the work put into it.

@Mechbuilds Is this what you are looking for?

@johnnym and others, instructions have been posted.

@tom1 I'll see if I can get to them this week.

Great job with your continued work on this project. You are making some good improvements, and each iteration has more connection to 8081. As much as I understand the desire to cover the holes on the liftarms, adding tiles on each section distracts from otherwise simple lines.

Back for TC15, @Lipko came up with a simple idea for a variable pitch propellor. It was something I thought would be perfect for a little helicopter. I stared a little Chinook, that never really went anywhere. I didn't like the colors, and the way the panels were shaping around the rotor mounts was not right. But the idea was too good to let go, so I set it aside to come back to later. I started a small little helicopter again this week as a break from the U500 project. And again, I like the idea, but I am not too happy with where it is going. The hope to have the helicopter about the size of 42092, but it has creeped in size, so not the tail and the main rotor look too small. The helicopter has working rotors, moving landing gear, and a working swashplate. I'm stuck on the colors, stuck on the size, and stuck on the shaping. Maybe I should go back to the Chinook, or try another idea.

Just a quick update. Tipper works (bed need to be cleaned up). PTO on/off works (fuel tank, right side). Winch is routed but does not work. Pneumatic works. Those mirrors look gross. Next I'll work on the winch, and some visual details. Maybe an implement.

Great job. The gearbox is pretty cool. I also like how the top panels fit together near the door.

@Jundis Glad you like it. Yeah, there are parts of 8110 that look a little harsh. @I_Igor I have some of the blue parts, but before I decide on the A pillar I need to determine how the mirrors are going to be added. Below is another draft, and I still don't feel great about the mirrors. The upper mount need to be lower, and the lower mount needs to be higher, so maybe some attachment on the A pillar is an option. @HorcikDesigns I now have a full set of four tires, so I looks a little better now. I had a little building time yesterday, so added in a winch and ran the pnuematic hoses. I'll need to work on the controls for both next. Also, at some point I'll need to work on the front again. And the cab.

Got it. I'll work on it. Thanks @T Lego. I'm glad you like it so far.

@I_Igor do you mean the part below the windshield or including the windshield? I still have some work to do on the bottom part, and the windshield is one of those weird ones where your eye notes the glass, but the A pillars are the only part I will build. I am interested in the 7 x 11 frames. I'll try a couple and see if they provide any benefit without compromising any of the features.

I have not tired 45803 and 45568 but the flexible rubber connector do not work for a torsion type suspension as the axle does not receive much resistance. In fact you can turn an axle around in the connector with a moderate amount of force.

Great job. I love LMP cars, and this one does not disappoint. Like others I have said I like the shifter integration. I find myself prioritizing playability in MOCs more than authenticity when it comes to controls. This is why I think all MOCs should have a HOG. So having an external control for the shifter is much better than having paddles on the steering. While it is functionally impressing to get paddle shifters, I hate having to contort my fingers just to execute the function. Your solution is clean and functional. Perfect. The body work looks great do, and it looks like all the orange parts are available in Dark Azure. It would be great to see a version in this colorway. Again, well done.

OK, after some busy time with family and friends, I am back to this project. Sorry the pictures are a little small, but you may find the full res here. Below you can see some of the changes that have occurred in the recent days, which almost entirely chassis work. I guess it's good to get this perfect at the beginning. From left to right is Chassis v2, v3, and v4. V1 was basically a placeholder chassis in the first picture of the thread. V2 added the features that I wanted to make sure they could all fit. They could. V3 in the center reworked the front and rear frame for improved stiffness with consideration to all the features added. It was here that I decided to move the Pnuematic pump to a vertical orientation. The side orientation was slick and visually clean, but it was tricky to get a finger behind the fuel tank, and it required another hand to stabilize the truck. The placement is "within" the cab, so some changes were needed to the bottom frame of the cab. Other than that no additional visual changes to the cab were needed. V4 here on the right is not complete, but has since been completed (I'll post soon). I was missing an on/off switch for the rear PTO, which has been added on the right of the truck; otherwise there are no other changes from v3. V4 loses a little frame stiffness, so I am trying to bring that back up to snuff. Next, I'll work to get all the controls set (Pneumatic Valve/PTO switch) in a way that is visually and structurally better. Then I'll finalize the frame. I am not yet sold on the on/off PTO switch, so if I cannot get the frame to where I want, I'll take it out. Below is the cab in the current iteration. I'm not sure I like the front yet, and it will change slightly since the tilt function does not work perfectly yet. I still need to find a stronger solution for the side mirrors. The interior needs some work, but I'll finalize the exterior first. I like the three seats, so I'll keep that. A little more work today, and I'll post current state of the whole project.

Thanks @Gray Gear, during the build process I came to this photo: To me, the bottom WIP version had the most correct proportions, but I could not get headlights into this version without lengthening the front which is what ended up happening. But I think you are right, the car is very wide for the length and wheelbase, so the front overhang really only matters in the side view. I agree, the 3 1x1 round headlights looked great, but it made for a chunky final look, and raised the hood too much. Maybe I'll revisit it...