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UPDATE - March 2023 - INSTRUCTIONS are still available via PayPal donation - just let me know or write me a mail to boonatix@gmail.com :) Prevously: Working on the instructions is close to the finish... WIP - Instructions by Brickmasta on Flickr UPDATE - FINISHED on 22nd of April The Batwing - Front by Brickmasta on Flickr See the Album with details and more: https://www.flickr.c...th/13973416094/ ----------------------------------- I would like to present my current WIP to you all and love to get some feedback on it As soon as I saw the first Trailer for "The Lego Movie" I was in shock... a childhood dream coming true. With so many awesome creations in it. And one was standing out the first time I saw it: "The Batwing". I immediately knew that I needed to build this asap. Even though I just came back out of the dark ages by end of last year and was very fresh to all the building processes, parts and stuff... I thought It can't be that hard with having the model right in front of me on the screen. But it wouldn't be as easy as I thought... I researched all the internet for more pictures / trailers, fortunately there was more released with special scenes and stuff for this Batwing. I did frame by frame analysis and took a whole lot of screenshots, scratching my head how and where to start. I had the best material of one of the turbines, so I just got to work on one of those! But then I was kind of lost... not enough details, not enough shots of the Batwing. And then somebody on Flickr linked me a video to the Lego Movie Videogame. Woah! There was actually a building process you could unlock in there for it. I had to get the game, started gaming until I was able to unlock this plan and rebuild it over and over to see how they did it. And got to the point where I finally started with one of the wings! The Batwing - WIP #003 by Brickmasta at Flickr And the first challenge occured and I knew it would not be that simple / as easy as I hoped. The wing consists of 4 sections. And each section basically just featured 1 connector, making the whole wing completely unstable, bending and nearly breaking apart. That did not look good. So I got to understand that I won't be able to do a 1:1 true copy of it. The physics in the movie and the videogame are just easier / different because there is no real physics So I got to work again and tried and tried and thought and planned... and found a solution! First step was to double and exchange the connections for each section: The Batwing - WIP #004 by Brickmasta at Flickr But that was not quite enough and after some more thinking I had another idea, so I took the shot and gave the second wing a try with new elements in it and a stabilizer under the wing, connecting the sections and holding them together... and it worked out! "The Batwing" is going to be huge...! That is my progress so far. I am now starting to work on the cockpit and will try out the connections from wing to cockpit asap because I have a feeling they also won't hold up that good... each wing weighs around 260gr wich is around 0,6 pounds. That is quite a lot to be held together by slim Lego connectors. Lets see how this will work out then Let me know what you think! Appreciate every comment and input
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I decided to do this thread because I am tired to open new ones again and again, so enough speaking about me lets go for the almost MOCs. It seems that we are on dumpers time because I am working on this massive small truck. It will be very simple, only 2 axles steering and bed tipping but I had some problems... the angle and weigh of the bed due the lack of room when the steering work, bed itself also was a problem with technic parts and the scheme color will be a imposible to solve problem at least for the real MOC. I think I do not have to say which the truck is. -
Here is a project that I have been maturing for 4 years and which finally takes shape from this year, inspired by a french comic strip from Arthur De Pins.. Throughout this topic, you can follow the progress of the project and the WIP. This first post will bring together only the completed games and winks to the universe. For those who do not know Zombillenium, visit Dupuis, the editor of Arthur de Pins (link in french): https://www.dupuis.com/seriebd/zombillenium/3204 Park map: 1. Gretchen and his Mini Cooper S : 2. Carousel with skulls : Great inspiration from those found in the comic strip park, but which I found a bit repetitive, especially this one. 3. "At work !" : Zombillenium - "At work !" by Stephle59, sur Flickr 4. "Cheeeeers..." Zombillenium - "Cheeers... Creepy family photo !" by Stephle59, sur Flickr The family photo, with from left to right: - Sirius Jefferson the skeleton - Aton Noudjemet the mummy - A demon worker like Aurelien Zahner - Francis Von Bloodt the vampire and director of the park - Blaise Canilhac the werewolf and director of human resources - Gretchen Webb the witch 5. Candy shop : Zombillénium - Main Street, Candy shop by Stephle59, sur Flickr To be continued...
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Hi everyone, I present to you my second version of the Renfe S-130 like Ferro-Friki did some time ago. I wanted to remake this train that I made first in 2018 with not the best result so I now made this version in 7 studs. LEGO Renfe S-130 DEF [MOC] by Imanol, en Flickr The set is heavily detailed even in the rear of the power cars and end cars LEGO Renfe S-130 Testeros Interiores [MOC] by Imanol, en Flickr I have made a reduced train set of only 7 cars instead of the 11 that has in real life but it has one of each of the different cars that form the real train with detailed interiors. First the "Preferente" end and "Preferente" LEGO Renfe S-130 Lateral Extremo Preferente [MOC] by Imanol, en Flickr LEGO Renfe S-130 Lateral Preferente [MOC] by Imanol, en Flickr The interiors of "Preferente" cars LEGO Renfe S-130 Interior Preferente [MOC] by Imanol, en Flickr The "Preferente" adapted car and it´s interior LEGO Renfe S-130 Lateral Preferente PMR [MOC] by Imanol, en Flickr LEGO Renfe S-130 Interior Preferente PMR [MOC] by Imanol, en Flickr The cafe car and it´s interior LEGO Renfe S-130 Lateral Cafeteria [MOC] by Imanol, en Flickr LEGO Renfe S-130 Interior cafeteria [MOC] by Imanol, en Flickr And the Turista cars which are the same as preferente but with 2+2 seating arrangement LEGO Renfe S-130 Lateral Remolques Turista [MOC] by Imanol, en Flickr LEGO Renfe S-130 Lateral Remolques Turista [MOC] by Imanol, en Flickr And now that I presented it I want to ask for help to build it as it will be my first lego train in real life. The car coupling mechanism that I have installed is only for aesthetical purposes and will not work in real life. Another problem is that i have seen many models in which all of the rear of the locomotive or power car pivots and I don´t know if it could be necesary to do in this case. Lastly I want to know how to motorize it, being so long I would suppose I would need the two power cars to provide power but I don´t know. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this project as much as I enjoyed designing it
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All my bus models up to this point have been of buses currently in active service. However, my next bus model will be of an older, retired bus: Metro Transit's 2003 New Flyer D60HF. Metro Transit, the transit operator in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area, ordered a large number of New Flyer D60HF articulated buses in the 1990s and 2000s, with the final buses in 2006 being the last high-floor articulated buses ever built in the US and Canada. Over the years, they have been gradually replaced by newer New Flyer D60LFR and XD60 articulated buses, and the final D60HF buses were retired by 2021. A number of units were bought by private owners after retirement, such as #3143 (a 2003 model), which was exhibited at the 2022 NJ Historic Bus Festival. My plan is to make my model be of bus #3143; the simple yellow/blue livery should be easy to build in LEGO so the amount of custom stickers for this model should be minimal (only the fleet numbers, Metro Transit logos, and destination signs come to mind). Thanks to the high-floor design and the boxy build of the original bus, it should be easier to incorporate mechanisms into this model as opposed to my New Flyer XD60 model as New Flyer Xcelsiors are low-floor buses. The chassis can be reinforced much better (I could probably make it 5 studs high throughout the bus, same as the rear section of my XD60 model), and I may even be able to place all electronic components and mechanisms in the chassis without placing any (e.g. the doors mechanism) in the roof. The model will use Power Functions motors and will be controlled by SBrick. The tentative list of functions/features for this model is: Drive (with two XL motors; my XD60 model with one XL motor felt a little underpowered) Steering (with working steering wheel) Pneumatically opened doors (one of these per door) Cummins engine model (with new engine elements from 42170 Kawasaki set) Bike rack (removable) The design process starts out by using my New Flyer XD60 model as a base to determine the locations of various features (axles, bellows, etc). I plan to use 49.5x14mm tires for this model, as they offer better proportions than 49.5x20mm tires. The middle and rear axles with double wheels can also be spaced further apart, allowing me to use a 5.5L axle with stop and thus prevent the half shafts from pulling out from the differential under load, an issue experienced with my XD60 model. I still need to determine the seating layout of the original bus, which will make it much easier to design the chassis without needing to make adjustments later on for the passenger seats. I also plan to use the new engine elements from the 42170 Kawasaki set in the Cummins engine model, as the axles-and-bushes design is a bit noisy and I've found it to jam a few times too when using it in my previous bus models. Side note: I have found the new Kawasaki engine pistons to not "click" properly in place to a liftarm, stud or the crank disks in Stud.io - maybe this is just due to these parts being new and not having been really refined yet in Stud.io? Would love to hear any other experiences with this. There's still much to be done, but I'm looking forward to this MOC. I've already built an articulated bus model, and this one should be more straightforward with the high-floor and boxy design. I strive to add something new in every one of my bus models, and I'm curious to see how the pneumatic doors turn out (all my previous bus models used mini linear actuators or a worm gear for the door). If you guys have any suggestions for me, please let me know. -
Hello EB friends! Today, I'm getting to work on a new project - a 4x4 rock crawler to compete in our upcoming Toronto Truck Trial in August. I've always wanted to try my hand at a rock crawler, but somehow never came around to it until now. It seems like the perfect opportunity to make the best offroad vehicle - faster than a large 6x6 or 8x8 trial truck, but still having excellent offroad capabilities with large ground clearance, huge suspension travel, oversized wheels, and the perfect excuse to omit bodywork entirely and make a light, nimble machine. To make the best rock crawler I can, I'm going to draw inspiration from a couple of my past creations (the parts of them that went well) as well as from some other builders' MOCs. First of all, I'm going to reuse the general axle design I used in my Praga 6x6 Trial Truck, which was inspired by @Attika's design in his offroader: To power this crawler, I want to get the best power-to-weight ratio I can. Since I'm limited to 2 x buggy motors and a BuWizz 2.0 - that's all I've got and I don't plan to invest more money at the moment - the only solution is to keep the truck as lightweight as possible. In my latest RAM pickup truck I was very pleased with the performance it achieved in low gear using 2 buggy motors and planetary hubs. Because I will be using larger crawling tires, I will reduce the ratio further for this build compared to the pickup, using the same 12-tooth bevel gear, 28 tooth bevel gears pairing as in my Praga at the axle, for a ratio of 2.33:1, rather than the ratio with the 20-tooth bevel gear, 28-tooth differential, as on my pickup, which has a ratio of 1.4:1. Overall, because my 3rd party crawler tires have about double the radius of the 62.4 x 20 tires on the pickup, and so double the circumference and double the speed, the ratios will more or less cancel out and the crawler will have the same speed and torque as the pickup, which was plenty. Indeed, it may be a bit faster, but it will also be lighter to account for it. If I got any of that math wrong, please feel free to correct me, but it makes sense to me that the speed is proportional to the wheel circumference and therefore the wheel radius, by the formula 2 * pi * r for circumference. Next, I'm going to just omit differentials entirely. I think the truck should be light enough to not need them, although the grippier tires may slow it down in the corners where diffs are necessary. For the suspension, I want to try my hand at building a four-link triangulated suspension, partly because it looks fun, and partly because it offers the advantage of being able to connect the axle to a small body, that doesnt need to extend all the way over the axle to accomodate a Panhard stabilizer rod. I think I will take inspiration for that from @PunkTacoNYC's awesome Chilli Crawler: In summary, then, here are the current specifications, ideas and goals for this build: 2 x buggy motors mounted in the body for drive, PF servo in the front axle for steering; BuWizz 2.0 for power Lightweight build overall to keep weight minimal and improve power/weight ratio - little to no bodywork, and short wheelbase Triangulated 4-link suspension to enable a smaller, lighter body, using the suspension links on the front axle to create a mild caster angle Planetary hub live axle suspension, as from my Praga truck, inspired by Attika - I just can't think of any way to improve on these, they're so simple, robust, and elegant, and have very precise steering and great ground clearance The first step is to adapt the front axle for this build. I will make it two studs wider to account for the larger tires, and I have to figure out mounting points for the suspension links and shock absorbers. Other than that, I will leave it untouched, as it just has it all. The planetary hubs and bevel gears together create a mechanical reduction of 12.6:1, which is excellent for how compact it is. The hub + defender rim combination keeps the pivot very close to the center of the tire, making the steering more effective. Attika's clever design gives it excellent ground clearance. And, importantly, mounting the servo on the axle gives it excellent precision with return-to-center steering, something rare for a heavy-duty axle, and it is very robust with the double-racked steering mechanism - I can't remember who recommended that to me in the past, but it's brilliant. Here, then, is the beginning of the front axle, widened by 2 studs: I'm excited for this build - I think it's going to have some nice performance! As always, I'm happy to take tips and suggestions from you guys - please pitch in! -Teo -
I have to say, the Dune Ornithopter is probably my favourite new set in many years. But of course it is a bit rough and the bright colours are as always annoying. So I sat down in Studio and tried to make the Thopter look a bit smoother. Regarding the following picture, my modded version does not have the spring installed, that's why you can see the large gap next to the top right wing. In the finished product, it'll be there, of course. Side by side, you can also see that my mod is about 6 studs longer. Might look a bit funky with the wings folded in, but the overall proportions do look more like the movie thopter. If anything, it probably should be even longer, but then the wingspan would be more out of whack, so I figured that this was a good compromise. I'll have to see how it works in real life though. All in all still not perfect of course. It's just very hard to get a smooth surface. Plus, I wanted to keep all the functions and there was only so much one can do regarding the large gaps in the central section due to the folding mechanism. The tail construction is a bit wild, but it should be almost as sturdy as the original tail. Next step is to get the parts and try to build the thing. There might be some fine tuning needed which will only become obvious when dealing with real life bricks.
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Hello, long time lurker but never contributed anything. I been considering ideas to let my 12v trains also use the 9v/RC tracks and one of the problems was to make the 12v curved rails fit I guess other people have tried this to, but I realize by removing in total 4 stud I would get a snug fit and also a more convenient way to build track layouts. I also modified some straight tracks to be able to connect them with 12v rails switch points etc... I made as short video showing the process using cheap RC tracks and the next step would be using copper tape (and I need a extra set of 9v contact points) for the 9v system, not sure if I want to tape the 12v switch track but I guess I can test it out on a "broken" track. I thought that traction could be a problem but it seems to handle it well (test drive at the end of the video), there is some spinning when starting the train with "high" voltage but at soon as it moves it's coping quite well.
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While I'm waiting for the parts to do my mod of the official Dune Ornithopter Set, I decided to play around a bit more and try to do the smaller thopter which Paul and Jessica used in the Dune Part 1 to escape the Sardaukar. This is of course still a very early stage. I started with the cockpit and then tried to design a downsized version of the flapping and folding mechanisms which I've basically taken from the official set. I will not include the the cool landing gear though. For one, it would take up too much space and secondly, the landing gear on this thopter works differently than on the one which was the template for the official Lego set. Maybe I can think of something really smart, but in the end, I'll probably just use ball joints, so that the landing gear will have to be put into place manually. Which means that from here on out, the main challenge will be to shape the exterior. One thing I have to admit to is that I have cheated with the colours. Unfortunately, these trans-yellow pieces don't exist. In the end, I'll have the choice between trans-clear and trans-brown. I think trans-brown will look nicer. Here's an interior shot of the cockpit with trans-clear windows.
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I have been busy the past few months, so I have not had much time to build despite much larger MOCs sitting at 95% completion. It was difficult to get things rolling again as I had not planned any MOCs for a long time. With Brickworld Chicago just over a month away, there wasn't much time to plan anything major especially with a 6000-piece MOC nearly complete. There's a number of things I've been wanting to try for the past few months, and one of them is the new elements from the 42160 Audi set. The new hubs from the set are perfect for double wishbone independent suspensions requiring heavy duty CV joints, and the tires are a great fit for any off-road vehicle. Since acquiring two RC buggy motors I've only configured them to drive a single wheel/track each and never with a proper drivetrain, so for this MOC I decided to do that - the drivetrain consists of two RC motors placed with their inner outputs connected, and drive is connected to a differential before going to the rear wheels. I've also thought of doing a 4WD setup, but figured it would overcomplicate a vehicle designed primarily for speed. The use of a proper drivetrain also means I can connect a piston engine to it - an inline 4-cylinder fits perfectly into the space in the rear, and because I went with clear engine blocks the pistons' movement is visible from all angles. When I tested it, the pistons move very fast as there is no gear reduction from the RC motors' output. I decided to go with a dark blue color scheme for this model as it's a color not commonly used in Technic and I have a good amount of dark blue pieces from the 42083 and 42154 sets. I've also considered red, but since I have just made a trophy truck MOC in red last summer, I figured it was too soon to go with red again. I also wanted to keep the design here unique and not look like a copy of my Azure Racer XL MOC from a few years back, but there are already plenty of internal differences as this MOC has a double wishbone rear axle and a piston engine in the rear. I'm looking forward to how this MOC performs - it has a piston engine connected to the drivetrain like my original Azure Racer but also has full independent suspension. It'll be interesting to see for sure. If you have any suggestions for me, please let me know. Photos:
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I wanted to continue with my current Dune obsession but there really isn't all that much inside the Dune universe which lends itself to be transformed into Lego. But I figured that a sandworm + rider would be a nice challenge. I have gone into Stud.io and tried to come up with something. While I do like the current look, I'm not sure if I continue down that path. The damn thing is just too big. It sits on three 32x32 base plates. We're already at more than 3600 pieces and the rear end is still missing, plus I only have a rudimentary support structure for the sand dunes. So I expect a final design to end up quite a bit north of 4000 pieces which is just unreasonable. Still, it was fun so far, so I might at least finish the design in Stud.io. But I doubt that I'll take it any further than that.
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I'm trying to design a realistic 5-link axle for an upcoming crawler idea. I wanted to make a genuine 5-link with as much travel as possible and a differential locker. I think I have the geometry 99% there. I also plan to add pneumatic shocks to complement/dampen the coil springs. Lego's new springs were appealing and compact, but the 9.5L springs have much more travel needed for high axle articulation. Let me know what you think/how it can improve: Here you can see the coils, the shock and most of the suspension links. This is a close-up with the pneumatic cylinder removed. The axle is designed for ~1:9-1:11 sized mocs and can be fitted with either a portal axle mounts (pictured here), or traditional ungeared mounts. Here you can see the lower control arms, the panhard rod, and diff locker. Here's a picture of the underside. I based this design off of Madoca's Dacoma axle. This was originally designed to accommodate a power ball joint for a more trophy truck-like suspension, but I have converted it into a 5-link axle design and scaled it up for 1:10 models. Finally, the underside of the chassis contains the upper control arms, mounting for panhard (bottom), and the driveshaft As you can see, this was formerly a powerjoint setup and can be converted back if desired. -
Some progress photos of my new project, a 1:8 scale s15, one of my favourite cars. The goal is to make it as realistic as possible, but I havent decided if I will motorise it or not. At the moment I think it will either have a manual 6spd stick shift gearbox, or else no gearbox and buggy motors. So far I have built a front steering and mcpherson suspension set up, much like the real car. Currently the steering is not perfect, as the wheels have slight toe in due to the length of the steering arms. I need to order 2 of piece 80477 and hopefully that will help the issue without having to rebuild the steering system. <a data-flickr-embed="true" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/200629697@N03" title=""><img src="https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53704948148_98829451dc.jpg" width="640" height="480" alt=""/></a><script async src="//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js" charset="utf-8"></script> not sure if those photos are gonna work its my first time using flickr silvia 1 by dan.vperger, on Flickr Silvia 2 by dan.vperger, on Flickr silvia 3 by dan.vperger, on Flickr silvia 4 by dan.vperger, on Flickr silvia underbody by dan.vperger, on Flickr
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I’ve been scouring for days on any Lego references for the B-50-15 style boxcars with the slanted supports on the side but can’t turn much up… I’m trying to keep most of the stock for my SP stuff around the 40’s-50’s but I can’t work out a design that works, much harder then then B-50-18’s so if anyone can point me in a good direction I’d appreciate it!!
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Hey everyone, CrazyKreations Here is my entry into the Tc27 Moc Competition, an Aussie pickup truck with a camper trailer! We have always wanted to create a small-scale truck with 4WD, Control Plus and a special rear tray that replaces the traditional ute bed, giving this truck a more Australian style. In WA there are sooooooo many of these beautiful vehicles that go offroad every single day! (they are just pavement princesses) I wanted to add my spin on the classic pickup truck and show how this purpose-built vehicle is useful and cool, so please follow the thread below everyone, I would really appreciate it! I want to have at least the basic features below: Opening Doors, Partially opening hood Springless Front Torsion Bar suspension with inbuilt motor for steering Springless Rear reinforced axle using Torsion Bars 4-wheel drivetrain with locked differentials Multiple front bumper attachments, (3+ different bumpers to choose from) Snorkel Running Boards Fog Lights Detailed Interior Tradie tray with 5+ opening compartments including a; slide-out drawer 4 opening compartments Large canopy with separated sections for storage Slide out coffee machine and table that folds out of the tray. (Yes, it's a must) I have a few photo examples of the sort of design that I am going for and one of them looks like this: Anyway, I have this week off and next off, so I will use this time to build as much as possible and update you guys. So, my first update is the axles I am using... I wanted to incorporate springless suspension because it is more compact and also is better for the weight of the vehicle as all the attachments will make the vehicle a bit too heavy at the back. The front and rear axles are here below, I'll probably update the chassis later today or maybe tomorrow actually but please stay tuned. (I have time on my hands so I decided to put this image through Canva and mesh it into 1) Both axles are around 13 studs wide and fit the wheels that the competition allows. -
Hello guys, today i present to you my lego winter ski resort Layout. it consists of a working ski lift, lit up houses and a shuttle train with automatic reversing (details in the train tech subforum soon). everything is still very much work in progress. overview of part of the layout. i dont have that much space to work with so i only had space for a non loop track. the ski lift is fully working and has a counterweight in the top. the bottom station is the drive station. the parts lit up are the two buildings, the street light and the liftshacks and the lifts motor room. one end of the layout.there is a platform in the works for the train. the reversing switch is similar to a magnetic reed switch. hope you like it so far!
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A new project I started working on. It'll be a model of a classic dump truck, with a pickup truck style body and two axles. It'll be something similar to the following: https://www.thedrive.com/news/33102/ive-already-been-humbled-by-my-55-year-old-ford-dump-truck So far I've only done some preliminary Stud.io modeling, but I already have a general idea for the cab. The model will feature a lime green cab with a gray or black dump bed, two axles with pendular suspension, and BuWizz (not for speed, but to save space as the battery/controller are all in one unit), a fake engine with mini cylinders under the opening hood, and lights. I'll either use the tires from the 42122 Jeep or the the tire/rim combination from the 10279 VW Camper Van and 10290 Pickup Truck. I've wanted to make a lime MOC for a while now (haven't made one since my CLAAS Challenger 95E MOC from 2018). I've expanded my collection of lime pieces a bit after getting the 42138 Mustang set at BrickFair this year, so I decided to make at least the cab for this model in lime. I'm definitely planning to further expand my lime collection in the future, especially with pieces from the 42115 Lamborghini Sian set. Photos:
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Hi, everyone, I'm happy to share with you a project of mine that i've i've been working on and off for quite some time now. I've been improving individual modules repeatedly to improve performance. I am now fully satisfied with it functionality-wise. Some info about the model: The model is driven by 4 motors in total: 2 PF XL motors driving X and Y-movement Each motor is triggered by a Power Functions polarity switch. Both polarity switches are linked to the joystick in the middle. 1 PF L Motor - Chain Lower/Raise + Pneumatic pump 1 PF Servo Motor - Pneumatic Valve Both of these motors are connected to a third polarity switch, which is directly linked to the black lever on the right. The aim was to control both Claw Open/Close and Raise/Lower at the same time. I was trying to have both functions driven by a single motor, but it never worked reliably, so i decided to switch to a two-motor approach. Personal goals for this project: I wanted to have a clean look as much as possible; All motors except the Servo Motor are located in the base (black part) in the legs of the stand. This means that motion of the motors is transmitted through axles running the full height of the model, and then through series of 32m cross axles (the longest ones available) The 32m axles define the moving range of the claw, since the mechanism is "threaded" on those axles as they need to be continuous. Future plans: Change the color of the exterior to yellow. The control panel needs to be finished aesthetically. Comments & Feedback are welcome! -
Some attempt at making a spooky train for this Halloween in Stud.io Open to ideas and suggestion
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Just playing around with a few ideas for a Treebeard moc. Thinking if I can get him done I might put it on Lego Ideas as a "UCS" version. He's not really based on the movies, more my interpretation of him from the books. Except for his moustache, he's surprisingly sturdy, clips and bars hold everything in place pretty well. At the moment I'm not sure about his eyes - they're pearl gold but I think they need to be brighter... or maybe I've overdone his eyebrows. Here's a slightly earlier version... Part of me prefers them slightly simpler. Thoughts and suggestions welcome!
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Last year, I built a MOC of the NJ Transit New Flyer XD60 Articulated Bus. That model was a huge success, so back in August I started working on another bus model: the NJ Transit 2016-2022 MCI D4500CT Commuter Coach. I anticipate this model having a lot more functionality than my XD60 model. There will be 6 motorized functions total, 4 of which are controlled via a 4-output distribution gearbox. The model will use Control+ electronics, with a single hub powering 4 motors (1 C+ XL for drive and 3 C+ L for steering, gearbox functions and gearbox switching). The 4 motorized functions controlled via the gearbox will be opening/closing the passenger door, extending/retracting the wheelchair lift, raising/lowering the wheelchair lift, and opening/closing the wheelchair door. The model will also feature suspension on all axles. I believe the real MCI D4500CT have independent front and tag axles and a solid driven axle (not 100% sure), but a such a setup might be too complicated so I went with a live axle suspension on all axles. I also plan to include a model of the Cummins X12 engine with mini pistons, which can be removed from the chassis as the pistons won't be visible when the engine model is inside the bus. Only the 2020-2022 (plus a handful of 2019) models have the Cummins X12 engine (previous years had the Cummins ISX12 engine), so my model will be of a 2020 or newer unit, most likely 2021 as the 2021 order was by far the largest. I started designing the model in Stud.io shortly after BrickFair VA back in August, focusing primarily on the chassis. The biggest challenge was making sure the wheelchair lift can fully extend/retract from the chassis and not interfere with any other mechanisms. The wheelchair lift's transverse range of motion takes up almost the entire width of the bus, so it was difficult making sure I can squeeze all the functionality in there without compromising on looks. Making sure I had the space to fit everything was also a challenge, as the distribution gearbox and Control+ hub both take up a lot of space. I have a preliminary version of the chassis modeled in Stud.io, and have begun building the physical model. The chassis is a very dense build, with plenty of mechanisms running through it. I also have the "stainless steel" side panels (all metallic silver - definitely won't be cheap) and seats in place in the Stud.io model. The Stud.io model is already over 4000 pieces, so I think this model will easily surpass the part count of my XD60 model. Just like my XD60 model, because I am modeling it in Stud.io, I plan to publish instructions for this MOC when it's finished. I've included some photos of the physical model as of right now (I mostly just have the gearbox section done), and some screenshots of the Stud.io model showing its progress since August. Photos:
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...so here's a half-finished one! ...hey, it's more than there were before, I call that a win. I used my usual inelegant method of throwing bricks at the wall and seeing what shapes work. The main thing I'm not happy with is the nose, I think it needs to be shorter but not sure what I can remove. Also not thrilled about how gappy it looks. I am happy with how I managed to add the little blue Ford logo in front though. I really don't want to change that. Also happy with the mosaic-like build on the roof. Suggestions welcome! Also, does anyone have pictures of this van's electric motors? I saw one picture but it doesn't show exactly how long they are or much details at all. (This is Ford's all-electric Supervan 4) Supervan 4 WIP by Henchmen4Hire, on Flickr Supervan 4 WIP by Henchmen4Hire, on Flickr
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I've always been impressed by crusader castles. They are massive and they have a unique look due to the merging of European and Oriental architecture. The most famous example is of course Krak des Chevaliers, but I didn't find an angle to turn it into Lego without blowing it up to 10,000+ pieces. Instead, I took inspiration from the Fortress of the Knights Templar in Acre. I still had to shrink it a bit in order to not have it grow out of control, but I feel like I found a good compromise. I wanted it to fit onto two 32x32 baseplates which I just about managed to do. I'm close to finishing the model and I'm currently sitting at 4644 parts. I'm still looking to improve some details, the cobblestone in front of the castle is for example still very primitive and I might add more of a slope to the ground outside. Then there are still some gaps that I might be able to close better. Obviously, it's not minifig scale, that would have required a model that's at least three times as large. Also, it's not modular. While it would be easy to have removable elements, it would be difficult to build any interior at the scale I'm working at. So I saved pieces by having the caste be completely hollow on the inside. Anyway, here are some pictures of where I'm currently at. -
WIP - I have installed a platform and layout in my Modular Town to include the new Eiffel Tower. I built some trees and a monorail station for the 6399 Airport Monorail and added steps from the street level to reach the platform of the Eiffel Tower. I also plan to remove the micro-sized lamp posts and some of the miniature foliage. I think this will help with make the minifigures seem more comfortable in this space, so they don't feel like Gulliver in Lilliput. I also plan to shorten the TV/Media antenna, so that I can fit the Eiffel Tower on a table and in a room with a low basement ceiling. Also, there is a Carousel very close to the real Eiffel Tower, so I plan to install the small Carousel from Winter Village Market (10235) near the Eiffel Tower display. This will balance out the presence of the Airport Monorail station. I would love to hear more about this subject: -How do you plan to display the new Eiffel Tower (10307)? -Will it be part of your LEGO Town or Modular Display? -How do you plan to deal with the micro-sized lamp posts? -Will you make modifications to lower the overall height, so that it will fit inside your house? -What buildings do you plan to display nearby, if any? By Ogelsbob, aka Legodt Check out my WIP on Flickr:
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I missed out on the 5571 Black Cat as a high school kid (other priorities...), but ever since I got my hands on it a few years ago, and inspired by Andrea Grazi's truck and Ingmar Spijkhoven's trucks, I wanted to build a "Black Cat v2". An upgraded version with modern parts and more functions, such as full suspension, working engine, pneumatic pump for trailer attachments and a working fifth wheel coupling. This is turning into a "Magnum Opus" for me, since I've been working so long on it, rebuilding again and again various parts. Now that I have a rolling chassis, I felt it was time to share. I'm building digitally also, mostly to assess what parts I need to purchase and try out things: The differential that's peeking through the chassis is intended to have an idling engine by the PF motor (while e.g. the pneumatic pump is running) and that is "added" to the motion of the rear wheels. I posted the rear and front axles before. The fifth wheel coupling is adapted from @functionalTechnic Scania-inspired truck. Since I now got a rolling chassis that I'm happy with, I hope to make progress a bit faster and provide updates. Feel free to comment in the mean time; advice is always welcome too.
