2LegoOrNot2Lego... Posted November 9, 2010 Posted November 9, 2010 I am new to this forum so please help me with anything if that is what you want... In this topic I do like to share the build of an Elphinstone Easyloader Road Train. Basically it is a WIP, but I am not far from finishing. For those who wonder what a Elphinstone Easyloader Road Train is: These pictures below are from a couple of month ago. With this I determined what to order on BL. In the last couple of weeks I have rebuild it completely and this is what it looks like right now: I'll be back soon with movies on YouTube to show that is actually works... Please tell me what it you think, feel, know about this creation...thanks... Quote
efferman Posted November 9, 2010 Posted November 9, 2010 what i think is: respect, that looks greatand if it works like the real one, i call you a god Quote
jantjeuh Posted November 9, 2010 Posted November 9, 2010 (edited) When I saw that video a month or so ago I was wondering how one could make that work with LEGO Technic.. will be very interesting to see a video of the finished thing! Edited November 9, 2010 by jantjeuh Quote
rjk1977 Posted November 9, 2010 Posted November 9, 2010 (edited) very nice made, realistic what is going to pull it???the truck on the pic? Edited November 9, 2010 by rjk1977 Quote
dhc6twinotter Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 Looks great! I've been tempted to try building one of these as well, but this is just awesome! Looking forward to seeing your final result. Quote
dr_spock Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 Very nice. Can't wait to see it work. Quote
dolittle Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 Hi It is great see how the prototype in mixed colors became all blue like the original, good thing we have BL for the rescue, otherwise most mocs' colors would be off. Hurray for the effort, nicely done Thanks, Noam Quote
grohl Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 I am completely satisfied with your MOC. Great details and colour scheme. You are IMHO one of the LEGO truck kings. Quote
Sam42 Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 (edited) Ingmar i checked out you progress on brickshelf, originally i thought the thread on the easyloader could be your inspiration but apparently not.. EPIC progress though, i thought it'd be a while before you updated again, the properly coloured trailer looks sweeeeeet.. EDIT- just noticed the timescale in the text in your op, still epic progress though! Edited November 10, 2010 by Sam42 Quote
Tobbe Arnesson Posted November 10, 2010 Posted November 10, 2010 Cool concept, had not heard of Elphinstone previously. Your MOC looks like it will be great, looking forward to that video! Quote
Tony1970 Posted November 11, 2010 Posted November 11, 2010 Cool concept, had not heard of Elphinstone previously. Your MOC looks like it will be great, looking forward to that video! Elphinstone Engineering originated in Tasmania, Australia. I attended school with one of the owners sons (Grant)in the mid '80s, where, for a metalwork project, he built an awesome scratch built truck and folding log trailer out of metal. It looked simply awesome. Quote
2LegoOrNot2Lego... Posted November 11, 2010 Author Posted November 11, 2010 Wow, thank you all so much for the very kind words. Like I wrote, I'm new here and this is not what I had expected... When I saw that video a month or so ago I was wondering how one could make that work with LEGO Technic.. Well to be honest that's what I was wondering too when I saw that movie the first time... In the months that came I spend some time thinking and figuring out how to solve some issues on this one, but did not start building yet. Finally after about a year, last July I started building and developing this model (in mixed colors). what is going to pull it???the truck on the pic? This is a trailer solo project. My previous projects were truck/trailer combinations. Because this trailer is so special and quite expensive as well I decided to go for a solo project. As with all my trailer, and trucks as well, they are compatible with each other. With this concept I am able to pull it with ever truck I like... It is great see how the prototype in mixed colors became all blue like the original, good thing we have BL for the rescue, otherwise most mocs' colors would be off. You're absolutely right about this Noam. Building it in blue and white was a great next step and yes without BL it would still be mixed colored and not that good looking. ...originally i thought the thread on the easyloader could be your inspiration but apparently not... No, but there is this topic on the Dutch LowLug forum that did insprire me though. About the progress, it is for the mixed colored version that I managed to develop it as it is right now. The blue and white colors are only esthetic but off course very important. Quote
2LegoOrNot2Lego... Posted November 12, 2010 Author Posted November 12, 2010 How this LEGO model works I'll show in a couple of YT movies. Starting with two explaining how the first trailer works. Basically it does the same as the real deal, but off course I have translated it into LEGO solution. These solutions are mainly quite simple, but they do the job well. When sliding up the second trailer unto the first one the fourth U shaped log holder pushes the others to the front of the trailer. I have absolutely no idea how this works on the real thing, but I managed to get the same functionality and that is what it is about. This wasn't that hard to figure out, but how on earth do I get them back in place? It took me quite a while but in the end I managed. For this mechanism I used this Lego item and that works just great. With this elastic string the holders are pulled back in place. What drives it is an endless chain using Technic Chain Links I realy enjoyed building and developing this system. There where quite some bumps to take, but hey I don't mind, what else to do with my spare time... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3KRzjvNfjDk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6TMpyHQoyc Quote
Tobbe Arnesson Posted November 12, 2010 Posted November 12, 2010 Simple and effective, I like it! Quote
JunkstyleGio Posted November 12, 2010 Posted November 12, 2010 Impressive build. Can't wait for the readybuilt-video! Quote
Blakbird Posted November 12, 2010 Posted November 12, 2010 Excellent! How many chain links did you have to use? How did you attach the bungee cord to the individual log support sections to that the spacing would be correct? Quote
2LegoOrNot2Lego... Posted November 12, 2010 Author Posted November 12, 2010 Thanks again for the kind words to start with. More updates soon, please keep checking... Excellent! How many chain links did you have to use? How did you attach the bungee cord to the individual log support sections to that the spacing would be correct? I did not count the chain links, there are quite a lot, about 200 I'm afraid. About the spacing of the log supports: I locked the supports with the correct spacing using axles and axle joiners. Before attaching the cord I stretched it as far as it could (this was an exiting moment, will it brake or not). Lucky for me the cord has this point it does no longer stretch. I am afraid I'll have to replace the cord once in a while. There is one drawback with the use of a cord. While unloading the trailer I have to keep in mind there is a cord that I don't want to be damaged... Quote
Zerobricks Posted November 12, 2010 Posted November 12, 2010 Thats a great loading mechanisem! You trully are master of these trucks! Quote
Crtlego Posted November 14, 2010 Posted November 14, 2010 I really really really like this model.. When I first saw the video of the truck in real life I was amazed at them being able to do that in the first place but now for somebody to build that with legos.. That's truly outstanding... And it actually works! Not only does it look perfect it works and works well! I've seen most of your other trucks on Brickshelf and they are remarkable. The level of detail and functionality in any one of yours trucks is utterly superb!! You should go to Lego and create a new Theme just for your creations. Quote
2LegoOrNot2Lego... Posted November 14, 2010 Author Posted November 14, 2010 Thank you both very much for the kind words. I hope you all out there like me sharing the progress with you. What I mostly do is display a finished model and I will do that as well, but getting you all involved in the build it self sound fun to me... In the next days to come I will share some more. I will explain a little about the second trailer and share a movie one it as well... Please come back and have fun building in the mean time... Quote
jantjeuh Posted November 15, 2010 Posted November 15, 2010 Thanks a lot for the videos, they show a lot of detail. I always love the ingenious creations LEGO Technic builders come up with to model real-life systems Quote
2LegoOrNot2Lego... Posted November 15, 2010 Author Posted November 15, 2010 At the start of thinking about building a model of this quite complex trailer I knew simplicity would be the key. Looking at the real trailer for inspiration, but immediately let go of it and find my own unique ways in translating it in to building with LEGO. What I basically did was writing down all of its functions and figure out which I could combine. From the very beginning I started to reduce the use of motors and stuff like that. With this in mind two major decisions where made: 1) the model will not have its own power supply and 2) only one PF IR Receiver will be used and so only two functions with there own motor Both decision basically had to do with the limited space in this model since it has an open structure. This single Receiver is build in the first trailer close to the king-pin. The trailer has to be connected to the truck since it has no power supply of its own. From here both functions are distributed to both first and second trailer using PF extension wires as well as the older type of wires. Well, let us get back to the second trailer. As far as I can see the real trailer has a divided braking system. The second trailer holds its breaks while the truck backs-up with the first trailer and dolly. With this the dolly is moved backwards to reduce the second trailers length. This is not how I solved this problem, let me explain what I did. Inspired by the first trailers chain to move the U holders I came up with the idea of moving the dolly using a similar chain. About five years ago I noticed both these items fit and I knew a gliding system was born: At the moment I didn't have any clue what to do with it, but I knew it would become quite handy one day. As you may have noticed viewing the pictures I started this topic with this basically is what the gliding system is build with. With this chain the dolly can be moved back and forth as needed. This moving is powered using a single M motor. With a worm gear powered at the same time with the same M motor the U holders are lowered and raised. Because of the worm that is needed to reduce the speed tension is created to keep the U holders up and steady. Please watch the movie to see how it works, thanks for your interest and let me know what you think. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2dFHHq4Unk Quote
Zerobricks Posted November 15, 2010 Posted November 15, 2010 I'm a bit confused now... You made 2 trailers, each with a different system? Quote
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