JLiu15

9. Sikorsky S-64 Model of an iconic American skycrane helicopter. Functions: Motorized rotors (connected to motor at all times) Motorized winch (connected to motor via engagement of a driving ring) HoG steering Video: Photos:

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Thank you guys!

UPDATE 2/14/19 The Sikorsky S-64 has been completed! Functions: Motorized rotors (connected to motor at all times) Motorized winch (connected to motor via engagement of a driving ring) HoG steering Photos:

The order arrived yesterday! I finished the MOC last night and I'll be uploading the photos and video shortly.

UPDATE 2/10/19 The core of the helicopter has been completed, with the rotor and winch in place. The rotor is powered at all times by the motor and the winch is engaged by a driving ring. I know the old metal hook might be a bit too large but I prefer it over a tiny plastic hook. I'm not sure what the lifting mechanism looks like under a real Sikorsky S-64 as pictures often have whatever cargo they're carrying blocking that region, but I guess this setup does its job. The building process is essentially just coasting from here on out. Most of the complex mechanisms are in place and the only mechanical element that is missing right now is the tail rotor. I still have to add the rear "legs" (whatever you call those things with the rear landing gear), the rest of the body and some body panels/details, but there isn't anything really challenging left in the build and I anticipate finishing the model this coming week. Unfortunately it's been a week since I placed my Bricklink order and I still have not received it. The status does not seem to show much progress either. I'll see what happens - I may have to compromise and buy some sets from local stores for parts if the order doesn't arrive by the middle of the week. I will be away this coming weekend so I'll have to have the MOC done by Friday in order to get it in before the contest closes. If you guys have any suggestions for me, please let me know. Photos:

Thanks! I placed a Bricklink order for some orange pieces today, and I'll post an update once some more progress is made.

UPDATE 2/4/19 I've made some decent progress here - the cab is complete and work is starting on the main body. Despite my initial concerns with structural integrity the body as a whole is very robust. I know the battery box takes up some space - there wasn't anywhere else good for it. I know there are some shortcomings with the bodywork, especially with the odd placement of panels and other details. I left some gaps in the bodywork on purpose - I'm trying to build it loose rather than "fill everything in". The 20T gear on the roof turns the front landing gear, and although the main rotor will be in the way when it is installed, there is no need to steer the helicopter when it's "in the air" so it shouldn't be a problem. The exposed motor and gears aren't too visually appealing, but as I add details beneath the main rotor they should be covered up. The double set of clutch gears prevent the heavy rotor from slipping too easily, but ensure the motor can keep running even when the rotor is obstructed. The drive axle for the rotor will also be connected to a winch mechanism that can be engaged with a driving ring. I anticipate finishing this project by the end of the week, or sometime next week. This will leave me with plenty of time to film before the deadline. If you guys have any suggestions for me, please let me know. Photos:

Hey guys, here's my submission for the TC15 contest. I know I came in pretty late as it's been over a month now since the contest started, but I've been busy for the past few months and only recently found some time to build. My TC15 submission will be a model of the Sikorsky S-64, which I actually thought of building back in 2017 but later abandoned. I actually had a rotor setup ready back when I planned on building this, so fortunately I'm sorta able to "pick up where I left off". I plan on including a simple battery box/motor setup, where the motor powers the rotors at all times and a winch with the engagement of a directional gearbox. It will also include HoG steering, which will allow better control of the helicopter when rolling it around. I don't anticipate this being a very difficult project, and I can see myself finishing this easily in 2-3 weeks. I will have to order some orange parts (as this model will need lots of orange ofc), but other than that everything should come pretty easily. The only difficult parts I see are getting all the functions inside a tight space and making sure the helicopter has plenty of structural integrity. So far I'm about halfway done with the cockpit section. I still need to add an interior and some more orange pieces, and then it's on to the nitty gritty stuff. Photos:

The axles are built with similar dimensions as other official Technic supercars that use wheel 15038 with tire 44771, so I doubt anything will look way too off in the end. A lot of people were complaining of my Red Beryl GT being too long during the build. Its proportions turned out fine. Sometimes it's just a matter of things not being the way they seem before the model is finished. Thanks for the good suggestions! As for keeping things low, the roof will literally be immediately above it, so the height of the SBrick is probably gonna be as high as the car's gonna be. As for 7x5 frames, there's two black ones supporting the gearbox, which are kinda hard to see since they're black lol. I realize the central column is way too oversized with there essentially being a wall between the seats, but unfortunately I did not foresee this and I would literally have to restart from scratch if I were to modify it. I've placed most of the motors and other electronics in already; this includes the battery, SBrick, 2 L motors (drive), a servo motor (steering), and a medium motor (shifting the gearbox) As for putting the servo in front of the front axle, again, that would involve a total rebuild of the front section, which is not worth it for a small modification. I will look into more advanced shifting mechanisms in the future, but I'm keeping the simple mechanism here. Its structure is already overflowing so no point in making its space issue worse. Incorporating such a mechanism would also involve a major redesign, which I don't feel is worth it. I am considering a 4th function for the unused port on the SBrick. It will either be motorized gull-wing doors (both will be synchronized as there's only one remaining port) or it will be a motorized rear wing. Currently I'm leaning more towards motorizing the doors as there's a perfect amount of space behind the floor panels for a motor/mini LA setup or something. Thanks! You should also check out my Red Beryl GT which I brought to BrickFair Virginia last year. There's many design crossovers between the two.

Hey guys, here's a project I've recently started working on. It's been a while since I built anything as I've been quite busy for the past couple months. Anyways, this will be a supercar project. My 4th supercar so far, hence the name "Supercar IV". To be honest I've run out of creative names after giving "Red Beryl GT" to my BrickFair 2018 MOC, so I'm happy to take suggestions if any of you have a better name in mind. From the photos below this may seem like a mere rebuild of my Red Beryl GT, but this MOC comes with several upgrades: A 4WD drive system A 4-speed gearbox, controlled remotely This will be my first supercar to contain such features, and if everything turns out well this could be my most mechanically advanced supercar MOC up to date. The presence of a 4WD system makes it easy to install a 4-speed gearbox, as I took advantage of the two gears of different sizes on the old differential serving as a central differential. I wished that I was able to make the shifting mechanism smaller or use a stepper mechanism for it, but a stepper mechanism is a bit too big and complex to fit in the available space and there is too much structure around the gearbox to make the shifting mechanism any smaller. Although the mechanism appears obstructive as of now, building seats and a roof over it should help conceal it. I am also planning on installing Brickstuff LEDs to this MOC, as well as potentially adding a 4th motorized functions (such as motorized doors or a motorized rear wing). If you guys have any suggestions for me, please let me know. EDIT: I've decided to name the MOC "Red Beryl X", as it's essentially an upgraded sequel to my Red Beryl GT. Photos:

Because it's easier to just rotate it by hand at the angle I was recording it from, as the lever is on the other side. It's also kinda fast so it's hard to land it directly above the apple. I motorized rotation only because nearly every advanced Technic set with a crane arm has it, and it seemed kinda stupid just to leave it out. Honestly, this reminds me of the 42054 where every motorized function could be operated manually. Two of them were turntable-based (similar to here) and one was a mini LA which is easily extendable/retractable by hand. I didn't bother to turn on the battery box when swinging the arm when my hand is much more precise.

I overlooked the space issue and it was all filled in with mechanisms by the time I realized! I didn’t feel like making the gearbox more complex either. IMO it’s much more important to motorize tipping than outriggers.

There didn't seem to be any functional issues with it, although I do feel I could have concealed some parts of it better. Haha I was thinking of that when building it!

It's been a while since I finished this MOC. I've been super busy the past month so I never had a chance to film it, but I had some time recently to get it posted. Anyways, it's a truck model with a fully functional crane arm and rear dump, and features a distribution gearbox that controls 4 motorized functions. There are also a variety of manual functions that complement them to give this model plenty of functionality. This project started off with connections to my CLAAS Challenger 95E in its WIP stages. I spent an entire day working on a crane and grabber attachment with a compact directional gearbox that would be connected to a PTO when finished, but I completely overestimated the size of the resulting crane. It ended up being so large and out of proportion that I had no choice but to abandon the crane. It felt like too much work to get rid of, so I decided to create an entirely new MOC just for the crane. I immediately knew that this model will be that of a grapple truck, as the design of the crane is optimal for such a model. The weeks leading up to BrickFair I worked on a distribution gearbox that would serve 4 function - 3 of them are already on the crane (boom elevation, 2nd section, and rotation) but the 4th function I was unsure of. I played around with various outrigger mechanisms but realized the bottom of the crane is too filled in for any additional mechanism, so I attached the 4th function to tipping the bed. The tipping bed can be removed by pulling out 4 pins and can handle plenty of load. In fact, the motor does not even struggle to unload objects such as a book. I initially thought of making the rear in the style of a logging truck but thought that would be too similar to the 9397, so I went with a tipping bed. The entire gearbox is driven by a PF L motor slightly behind the front axle. Behind the gearbox sits the two rear axles, with double wheels connected by hubs. A long driveshaft runs parallel to the chassis up to the front where it drives a I6 engine, hence the name. Because the driving rings are located at an inconvenient location for shifting, I ran linkages through the chassis that connect the changeover catches to control levers by the outriggers. Since the outriggers are manually deployed it essentially formed a control area behind the front axle, with the outrigger knobs and gearbox control levers placed conveniently next to each other. The driveshaft connects to the piston engine in its front, as there is not enough space in the back of it to run gears up to. I initially decided to model this after a real truck which is why I used a 6-cylinder, but timing issues made me scratch that idea. The front section of the model was the most challenging part, requiring several rebuilds to get everything working right. Due to the weight distribution the model bends where the crane sits, and even in the final design it still bends a bit, although not noticeably. The steering mechanism was also challenging to get right. Since the piston engine sits right in the middle of the HoG steering's path I used a linkage mechanism that drives two levers in opposite directions which connect to the front hubs via links. The left and right hubs are still synchronized with a beam to ensure they don't turn at unequal angles when one side isn't cooperating. Turning the steering knob takes some force, but there isn't any noticeable play in the mechanism. Aesthetically the front section featured a simple bumper with LED lights that turn on when the motor is running and a cab that tilts forward to reveal the engine. Although this model had many aspects kept simple, it was a fun building experience for me and it was easier to manage than a model full of motors and remote controlled features. This model demonstrated that even simple elements can add up to a realistic-looking model with superb functionality. Video: Photos:

You could have clicked on one of my WIP pics and that would have taken you to my Flickr... I also have all my links in the description of all my recent YouTube videos, so I don’t think I have to link it here again.

Yeah I kinda BS the cab. The functions are really nice though, so good playability. Also the rear dump mechanism can handle extreme loads with no problem. In the upcoming video I might even do a gym scene with weights tests if I can

Yeah, I wasn’t intending to put them here. I’m waiting till I make the MOC topic and I’ll have them embedded in there. I took the pictures today so I decided to upload them now rather than wait till the MOC topic.

UPDATE 9/15/18 The Grapple Truck I6 has been completed! It was mostly a plan-as-you-build MOC, but in the end everything combined nicely and the functions are phenomenal. There were definitely some "rough patches" in the building process, especially as I was creating front section of the chassis where I was trying to get the steering to work smoothly and reduce bending on the chassis. At that point I basically came to the "just get this over with" stage, but as I finished everything off the bending became less noticeable. The highlight of this project is the functions - all motorized and manual functions work very smoothly and make the MOC very playable. I will try to get it filmed and uploaded in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, you can check out photos of the finished project on my Flickr.

5: 10 3: 6 1: 4 10: 3 12: 2 6: 1

Yup! The aesthetic of this MOC may not be the best, but all the functions work phenomenally and I expect it to be a very playable MOC.

UPDATE 9/8/18 The MOC is about 85% complete. The only thing I have left to do now is the cab, so this will be the last update before I publish the MOC. Since the previous update the rest of the chassis has been finished, with battery box, steering system, and fake engine all in place. I've also modified the boom a bit - I've changed the angle of the mini LA controlling the second part of the boom so that its maximum angle is 180 degrees. I've also added rubber grips to the claw, since large objects often slip out. I have to say, though, that the building process between now and the last update was overwhelmingly discouraging. Even as I tried to make the chassis as reinforced as possible it still bends. It's not too noticeable but it made it very hard for me to stay motivated on the build. I also had a hard time bracing the battery box and routing the steering mechanism around it. The I6 engine takes up a lot of space, extending beneath the battery box which meant the vertical axle for the HoG steering has to work off center. The final steering mechanism is linkage-based, with two links working in opposite directions to steer the wheels. There's still a beam which connects the wheel hubs to ensure the wheels remain parallel at all times. HoG steering is controlled by turning the warning beacon. I originally used a I6 instead of a straight-4 because I planned to make the cab a Volvo FM. However, since I'm starting to get busy with school and college apps I'm taking a step back on this project. I'll just make a simple cab that can be tilted to expose the engine. I also changed the name of the project to "Grapple Truck I6" referencing the engine, as simply calling it "Grapple Truck" seems kinda boring to me I plan to get it finished and filmed this month as next month I will be moving. After this MOC I will focus mainly on smaller projects until next year, as I do not have as much free time anymore. If you guys have any suggestions for me, please let me know Photos:

UPDATE 8/31/18 Well not everything has gone as planned. As I got into building the front section of the chassis I got into a ton of issues - mainly structural. The steering linkages were a major issue - the space they took up meant no room for vertical reinforcement in that entire area. I've put so many things in there that the entire design became too troublesome to continue working with, so I decided to just chill out and take a step back. I've realized this entire time that this model is just begging to be built into a cab-over. With the current proportions building it into a longnose just does not seem right. The looks of it right now seem to best fit trucks such as the Volvo FM, which gives me a change of ideas: Instead of a red US-style truck I will be modeling the Volvo FM 13, probably in yellow since I have a good amount of yellow System pieces from the Caterham set. Such a design seems to work much better with what I've got so far. As for what I've done in this update, most of it's enhancements to what I already have. I know not everyone is a fan of stickers, but I kinda got carried away here and added various stickers to it. I've upgraded the rear wheel arches with System pieces, which look more realistic and follows the recent trend with Technic increasingly using System pieces. I also added whatever those side things are - the pairs of black beams attached to the sides of the chassis. I modified the outriggers' linkage a bit to make them extend farther and fold up nicer. Last but not least, a pretty small feature I added is a chain that prevents the rear gate from opening too far (and subsequently flipping over into the dump bed). If you guys have any suggestions for me, please let me know Photos:

In the video you can see that the interior has lots of 5x11 panels (part 64782) in the tan color. This part has never been released in this color before, so is there a chance this “unreleased” color version starts circulating on bricklink once this model is taken apart? Or is this a sign that a future set is coming with this part in tan?

True. It is quite expensive and I hesitated from getting it until last fall. Finished chassis should be coming in the next update. The entire steering mechanism and fake engine should all be in place by then.