drdesignz

Hello again, it's been a while, but I'm back with yet another hot rod. This time I created several versions of the same design for my third Cuusoo project. The first is a large scale classic American hot rod and the second is a mid-scale custom hot rod pickup truck. I think my latest idea here is even better, because it's not just about one specific car. It's about designing your own hot rod. This is what "Hot Rod Garage" is all about. I am proposing a set that truly captures the spirit of hot-rodding. This model, intended to be in the style of the Creator theme, includes extra pieces, so that you can customize your ride however you'd like. Choose your own body style (convertible, coupe, pickup, or sedan), wheels, tires, bench seat or bucket seats, regular doors or suicide doors, unlimited engine modifications, shift knobs, suspension height, and more. You could choose to have door handles, or a "shaved" design. Add a supercharger or keep it naturally aspirated. Place the side view mirrors at the bottom or top of the window pillar. Remove a few bricks for a "chopped top". The possibilities are endless. There could even be a sheet of various stickers you can choose from, including license plates, gauges, and paint graphics (flames, for example). I think it would be amazing if you could even choose your own color. Although, that may be asking for a bit much (it can't hurt to try). I think a modular design would work well, so that you can easily swap the engine for another and change the body style. I tried my best to come up with a product that people would be excited over, that hasn't been produced before, and is not based on intellectual property. Even if it never becomes an official product, I'd be happy enough if this inspires people to build their own versions. You can see check it out on the Cuusoo website here lego.cuusoo.com/ideas/view/52918. This is the first version. It's 100% Lego, including the spark plug wires. Here's the converitible version, with an added supercharger. Here is the new version compared to my pickup truck version. They are built to the same scale, to show the possibility of changing body styles relatively easily. The wheel base dimensions are exactly the same. This is the picture shown on Cuusoo to reflect the title "Hot Rod Garage". The idea isn't to include all the items in the picture. Although I suppose it could be neat to include a tool box and other accessories. The picture's purpose is mostly to show the potential of the proposed product. This is one of my favorite views. Here's a view from the rear. I forgot to Photoshop a license plate, but it's pretty obvious that's what the white piece is intended to be. This view and the next especially remind me of my 1:8 scale version. I reused the minifig skull for a shift knob and Photshopped gauges onto 1x1 round tiles. You may have noticed already I'm reusing the engine from the hot rod truck, to show that the engine is easily swap-able. Here's another version with a different intake. And with an added matching trailer, obviously. The following pictures have been Photoshopped, to show the potential of customizing with different colors: Well, that's it. I hope you enjoy my idea. If you support it also, I greatly appreciate it. Thanks much!

It's sold out! This is an email I received a few minutes ago: "It's great to hear you're interested in 41999 4x4 Crawler Exclusive Edition. The demand for this particular LEGO® set has been high. That's the reason why this set is now out of stock. Unfortunately, since this item is in limited production we will no longer be offering it thorough LEGO® Shop At Home. It will now only be available through our LEGO Brand Retail stores." Well, that was quick...

I took today off, so I could build this set. I have # 10,853, bought early Aug 1st in the US via S@H.

I missed this one, somehow. It's awesome!

I ordered both the 41999 and the BTTF sets July 31st at about 11:30PM (EST) in the US. They shipped the next day and should arrive tomorrow. I haven't bought anything since the release of the UCS X-Wing, so I'm excited.

Awesome design!

Yahoo decided to make flickr "awesome again", but many users are very upset. There are a ton of Lego fans there, who are also here. What do you think about today's flickr overhaul?

Not very well, actually. It needs work. The gears slip and will jump out of gear. Thanks, yeah I'm thinking in the style of a big early to mid 1960's American car. Something like a Lincoln Continental, Ford Galaxy, or Chevrolet Impala. I've thought about a convertible, but I'm not sure yet.

This is my remote controlled conceptual lowrider chassis proof of concept design with functional "hydraulics". I built it months ago. But I haven't had the time to build the body, so I figured I'd share my work in progress. I've seen several Lego lowrider cars with working "hydraulics", but not with a full four-way independently controlled design. It seemed like a good challenge for me, so I built it. I think it works well. But I'd like to incorporate clutches to keep the gears from grinding when the suspension travel limit is reached. The chassis also has a simple two speed transmission built in. The steering wheel will be functional too. I've already built that and some more since this video was taken. There are four actuators, each with its own motor. The new servo is used for the steering and two L-motors power the rear wheels. Three receivers will be required. One big concern I have is when the car is finished, I wonder if it will be too heavy for the actuators, especially with the battery box. I suppose I'll find out, eventually.

Great job!

Looks great, and impressively functional too!

Just noticed this, the Cuusoo Blog has moved to a new address: http://blog.lego.cuusoo.com/ (sorry if that's been mentioned already, I didn't see it).

Yes, but it's quite common for hot rods to have such tall engine configurations.

Well, yeah, I could, if I had any. I just returned from the "dark ages" in late 2011, for the first time since the early 90's. All of the Lego I have now has been purchased in about a year and a half, and the vast majority of what I bought is new, so I only have the latest blue versions of the Technic 43093 and 6558 pins. I used Bricklink for my other MOCs, but for this latest build I only used what I had in stock. It wasn't really planned either... If this was an idea I had for a while and was going to plan out the entire build I would have ordered all sorts of parts. But the F1 car was just a random thought I had when I completed the 42000 model. I had new suspension parts and wheels/tires from the Grand Prix Racer, and a ton of yellow bricks from my big hot rod project, so this is what happened. It only took me a week (the hot rod took me about six months) with just the parts I had (the hot rod required several dozen Bricklink orders in the hundreds of dollars). The car has a few faults, but it turned out better than expected. Don't worry... for my next big planned build I intend to have all the right pieces in the correct colors :P

Thanks for the compliments! Oops, I thought I photoshopped the few blue pins I used so they wouldn't be obvious. I see I forgot a bit :P

Nah, it's not RC. This is just for looks, basically. I couldn't include all of those electronics within the geometry extents.

I'm not really an F1 fan, I'm mostly into classic American cars. But I am a car guy and can appreciate all sorts of vehicles. I recently bought the Technic Grand Prix Racer (set 42000), mostly for the parts, and after building it I thought I'd build a new one from scratch. I didn't model it after any particular car. I noticed when looking at Formula One cars there are many different designs, which gave me a lot of freedom to come up with my own version. I built the chassis first, with studless Technic beams. The suspension is functional and closely based on the original 42000 configuration. The steering is also functional. The car is exactly twice as long as it is wide, 32 by 64 studs, which is slightly shorter than the 42000 model.

I'm almost done with my F1 car, coincidentally. I recently bought a 42000 myself and took it apart the day after I built it, so that I could use the suspension parts to build my own design. I'd say it's a modern design, but it's also my own, so it's not based on an actual car. It might be considered too unrealistic for you. But you could get ideas from it anyway. I should have it finished tonight, or maybe tomorrow. I'll put pictures up when I'm done. In the mean time, look up RoscoPC on flickr. He has the best Lego F1 cars I've ever seen. Very impressive work, and also based on real life cars.

Yeah... my big hot rod was fifty shades of yellow :P

Looks great! I just bought the 42000 this week. I've been thinking about redesigning the body myself.

Awesome work!

I recently bought several Model Team sets, owning them for the first time ever, including both Custom Rally Van and Magic Flash. I never realized it before I built them, that their construction is very similar. Then I got lucky and found Big Foot 4x4 (5561), new in an unopened box, which also has some similarities.

That was awesome!

I saw the FebRovery event on flickr and enjoyed looking at all the unique rover creations. Classic space was one of my favorite themes as a kid, so I thought I'd build a little Lego rover and join in. It only took me about an hour or so, which wasn't enough for me. That's when I built this mobile space crane. It's somewhat functional, with manual controls. The crane rotates 360 degrees and goes up and down.

Nice, I love hot rods (in case you can't tell :P). I used the same wheels/tires front and back for my large scale hot rod. I'm not aware of a better combo at this scale.