Tarix819

Thank you very much!

Thank you! Without a doubt, the tracks are the most monotonous part of the whole build, and you end up with sore fingers afterwards. I am currently working on tracks with almost twice as many parts as these ones!

Thank you!

Thank you! I was honestly very surprised it worked when I first designed it.

Thank you very much! I think historical accuracy is one of the most important features to have a this scale.

Thank you! I am hoping to get them done in the coming few weeks. Thank you! I am glad you like it.

Hello, My latest model is the Panzerkampfwagen. I Ausführung B, a German Light Tank developed during the inter-war period. Building Instructions are available to purchase over on Rebrickable: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-119345/Tarix819/pzkpfw-i-ausf-b-light-tank/#details HISTORY The Pz. I was the first widely successful tank to enter service in the German Army. The Ausf. B model, the successor to the Pz.Kpfw. I Ausf. A, featured a number of upgrades including a new water-cooled Maybach six-cylinder engine, which required the hull to be lengthened to accommodate it. The crew count remained two men (Driver and Commander). MODEL FEATURES -A custom brick-build sprocket design inspired by the work of @Milan -Weight: 5.2kg. -Scale: 1:8. -Full drive, each track driven by two PF-XL motors. -Twin PF battery boxes for powerplant, the model is controlled using two SBricks. -Working and historically accurate suspension - the frontmost roadwheels are suspended on pivoting arms which connect to a coil-spring, whilst the remaining road wheels are paired together on four bogies suspended using leaf-springs. -Working headlamp. -Functional track tensioners. -360-degree rotating turret. -Elevation and depression of the main guns inside the turret. -Accurate detailing, including sledgehammer, storage box, exhaust, aerial and vision slits. BUILDING THE MODEL I chose to build the Pz. I because it was a relatively simple, straightforward design; there was no heavy firing mechanism or bridge deployment mechanism, basically just a chassis with a rotating turret and moving guns. The real aim behind it was to test out the new sprocket designs, and to see how they would run on a tracked vehicle weighing above 5kg. In the end I was very pleased with the performance of the sprockets and I will likely be using them on future models. As I will explain, they are an enormous upgrade to the rubber tyre system that I was previously using to engage the tracks. Otherwise, the tank is sturdy and looks good, although the suspension is somewhat fragile. I am very happy with its overall performance and I hope that fans of early German inter-war and WWII tanks will be pleased to see it. SPROCKETS As you may already know, my specialty here is large-scale tanks and tracked vehicles, weighing in the range of 4kg upwards. Building at such a large scale allows me to incorporate a great amount of detail and functionality into my models, however this requires me to use custom Lego tracks built from axles and lift-arms instead of the conventional Lego-produced caterpillar tracks, which are limited by their width and sprocket size. I have been using these types of tracks for about four years now, however since there was no specific sprocket design available for them, and certainly not at the required sizes (10st/12st/14st diameter), I have instead used Lego wheels with rubber tyres as the driving wheels, since, at least for lighter models, the friction between the tyre and the track is enough engage the track and drive the model along. In April 2020, I built my A34 Comet tank model, the weight of which was roughly 5.9kg. It was driven by two PF-XL motors connected to tyres at the rear, but had some trouble steering and reversing as the tyres were slipping on the tracks. The solution to this problem was provide front and rear drive, increasing the number of PF-XL motors to four. I first used this setup in my Vickers Mk. E model in August 2020, and the slipping problem was fixed; it worked very well on that particular model. But since then I have built a variety of other vehicles of different weights and sizes, using the same setup, and a number of problems have come up: 1) Weight Distribution -My most recent model, the AMR 33, was particularly rear-heavy as motors had to be installed at the back (in addition to the front), where the turret was. 2) Historical Accuracy -There was excessive bulk on my Matilda I model caused by the front wheels requiring a drivetrain connected to motors. The front lower glacis on that model is too far forward to make room for the drivetrain. This was not necessary on the real-life vehicle, which simply had idlers. It was a similar case for the rear idlers on my Vickers Light Commercial tanks models. 3) Track Tensioning -Having track tensioners means the motor, direct drive connection and the wheel itself all need to be movable, which adds unnecessary complication. 4) Heavy Vehicles -Even with both wheels driven, heavier vehicles will still suffer slipping between the wheels and the track, especially on rougher terrain. My Bridge Carrier model weighed between 7.7kg and 9.4kg, was powered by six PF-XL motors and suffered from this a lot. Moreover it could not actually drive onto its own bridge because the wheels kept slipping and the tracks would come off. 5) Steering -Tracks of course would not always be locked in properly by the rubber tyres. This wasn’t a problem on most of my models, but I remember my T.13B3 and Vickers M1937 occasionally threw their tracks when making tight corners. The solution to these problems was to develop a sprocket that would engage with the custom track properly. And here they are: https://imgur.com/a/q71kRuh (I will try to make some building instructions for these) I had not yet come up with a design due to the complicated geometry of custom-built wheels, and the difficulty in building with Lego elements accurate to the millimeter, however with some inspiration from Milan’s excellent Brick-built wheels book, I have designed two sizes (12st and 10st diameter) of custom sprocket that work smoothly with the custom track. Everything is built from 100% genuine Lego elements, no illegal connections or 3D printing is required. The first that I built was the 12st diameter sprocket. This uses 1x2 plate hinges arranged in a decagon, which is held taught by rubber connectors fitted in the center. Each tooth is built using two Bionicle pieces. In between each tooth there is a rubber connector which helps keep the track round as it traverses the sprocket. The principles of the 10st diameter sprocket are the same, however the hinges are arranged in a nonagon, and each tooth is made using one Bionicle piece and a 1x2 flat lift-arm. There are only four teeth on this sprocket, meaning there is a gap of two on one side. This has no effect on the sprockets performance so long as a gap is left every link on the track rather than every two links. It is this size of sprocket that my model of the Pz.Kpfw. I Ausf. B uses. These sprockets certainly have great potential and I am confident it is possible to construct them from at least 8st diameter and upwards. With the correct arrangement/modification they should also be able to fit any width of track of at least 5st, and any arrangement of track teeth (Either one row in the center or a row on each side). This will be extremely important for my future models as historically tanks have had sprockets of a great variety of different sizes. IMAGE GALLERY More images can be found over on Imgur, I shall put some up on my Flickr shortly, too. https://imgur.com/gallery/jyhtIhN

Thank you! My main objective was to capture the details of the vehicle and combine it with basic functionality.

Thanks very much! I think dark tan is the perfect all-round colour offered by Lego for military vehicles, considering price, environment, etc.

My A34 Comet model that I built in April 2020 weighed 5.9kg was powered by a single AAA battery box with three Trustfire 3.7v 10440 Li-Ions and performed decently well. At full battery you shouldn't see a difference in performace compared with 14500 (AA size), but 10440 (AAA size) have much lower capacity and you will need to be constantly recharging them, especially since there are only three real batteries in the battery box instead of six. I suppose it all comes down to how intensively you intend to use it, three tiny batteries with less than 1000mah between them isn't really sufficient to keep a 5.9kg tracked vehicle going.

That sounds amazing! Not sure what else to say. It's exactly the same as putting regular batteries inside a Lego PF AA battery box, but instead of putting six standard alkaline or rechargeable batteries (6 x 1.5v = 9v and 6x 1.2v = 7.2v), you put in three Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) 3.7v rechargeable batteries of size 14500 (equivalent of AA battery size) and then three dummy batteries to complete the circuit, and you've now got a 11.1v battery box (3 x 3.7v = 11.1v). In September I built a Bridgelayer that ran on two 11.1v battery boxes which weighed 9.4kg, and still had decent mobility. Dummy batteries can be found second hand at various places, the six I use I got on eBay. As for Li-Ions, I used to get mine from a UK website called Ecolux.com, but I purchased some Nitecore Li-Ions last year and they are far better quality. Li-Ions are mostly used in vapes and torches, etc. Hope that helps!

Thank you for the feedback! I'm well aware that whilst interwar vehicles are my area of interest which is why I have focused so much on them, they are generally considered the least interesting aspect of the history of tanks and armoured vehicles due to their simplistic nature and design, and as a result I have received so many requests for WWII and Cold War vehicles. You are right that by 1940 standards these types of vehicles were obsolete but I still find them interesting nonetheless. The AMR 33 entered service in 1933 and was by the standards of that time quite a good weapon. The fact that it was used in WWII at all was purely down to the French Army needing every tank, no matter how obsolete, it could get a hold of. There are plenty of more interesting and unique inter-war tanks such as the French FCM 2C, the British Vickers Independent or the Soviet T-28, but I usually save these sort of big projects for the summer when I have more time. A vehicle like the AMR 33 is one of the simplest types of tanks produced between the wars, so I can just about manage to build it over the Christmas or Easter break and get a video out. If I were to start a vehicle like the T-28 at Christmas, I likely wouldn't have it finished until July/August/September the following year due to commitments at work, university and home, but I can have it built by the same time if I start in May/June.

Thank you, the battery boxes are each fitted with 3 AA dummy batteries and 3 Nitecore 14500 3.7v Li-Ion batteries, giving them average 11.1v per box. Its like a Buwizz but for a fraction of the price, and I still get to use my SBricks with them. I've gone into more detail about this on some of my other topics I think, but its also worth saying the camera used to film my AMR 33 really doesn't do justice to how fast the thing is, check out the video of my Vickers M1936 (also 4.9kg), that model was filmed with a basic mobile phone, but it really shows the speed of the vehicle more. The AMR 33 is actually faster that, since it uses 12 stud diameter drive wheels compared with the Vickers' 10. Naturally, the lower torque means offroad performance is a bit worse than some of my other tanks, but I wanted to capture the speed of these Light tanks. Thanks you guys!

Thanks everyone! This was a just a Christmas project, I hope to build some bigger and more unique vehicles over the coming year!

This is my latest model which I have managed get done over the Christmas period - The Renault AMR 33, a Light Cavalry Tank used by the French Army from 1933 to 1940. History The Renault AMR 33 (Auto-Mitrailleuse de Reconnaisance) was an early French Light Cavalry Tank designed between 1931 and 1933, entering service with the French Army in the latter year, and would be used up until the fall of France in 1940. It was a two-man vehicle designed for reconnaissance and equipped only with a MAC 31 machine gun, in a similar manner to the early British Carden-Loyd Light Tanks that were entering service around the same time. Model Features -Weight: 4.9kg -Scale: 1:8 -Full drive, each track driven by two PF-XL motors. -Twin PF battery boxes for powerplant, the model is controlled using two SBricks. -Working and historically accurate suspension - the central bogie is suspended with vertical coil-springs, whilst the front and rear roadwheels are suspended using the French crank-bell system, which in this model uses a rubber band (Though the vehicle is quite back-heavy, so the rear roadwheels are assissted also by coil-springs). -Working rear light. -Functional track tensioners. -360-degree rotating turret. -Vertical and horizontal traverse of the machine gun inside the turret. -Accurate detailing, including spare wheel, grills, exhaust, hatches, vision slits. Building the Model This vehicle was another one which I was very constrained on time to build, which was the reason I chose such a small, basic, machine. I was back from University for just three weeks over Christmas, and whilst I already had a plan and even a very early chassis ready when I came back, vehicles of this size usually take me at least a month to build and have filmed, so another week or two of refinement wouldn't have hurt. The rubber band suspension for example is one thing I would have changed had I had more time, but it works well enough as it it. In the end I was pretty happy with how the model looks and functions, and the vehicle was an appropriate choice for my first model of a French Tank. Like some of my other models I intend to make instructions for this vehicle, which I have about 60% built in Studio 2.0, but since I haven't had the time, I will finish these later in 2022. Images More photos can be found over on this Imgur album: https://imgur.com/gallery/tYodhmr There are also some in-development photos of this model on my Instagram account, (tarix819technic) going back to October 2021. I will also post some others on my Flickr in due course! Thanks for reading!