MOCs: Pimp your Town ride or City vehicles for grown-ups

[ER0L]

Models in this thread:

#1: Wrecker (60056 MOD)

#2: Container Truck (60027 MOD)

#3: Ice Cream Truck (70804 MOD)

#4: Joe the Plumber's Badass Step Van (70811 MOD)

#5: Sunshine Surfer Van/Volkswagen T2 "Bay Window" Camper Van (Creator 31079 MOD)

 

Hi all,

while everybody seems to be freaking out about "alternate models a 7-10 year old could build" I have a different suggestion to make: alternate models for grown-ups - we're AFOLs after all, aren't we?

Of course what I'm thinking of are no real alternates - you will have to add quite a few parts. But what you - hopefully - get are more elaborate City vehicles that are supposed to go well with the modulars.

As we all know Town vehicles are primarily designed for Children, they lack the complexity of the CC buildings. On the other hand they often have attractive colour designs plus great functional elements that are worth preserving.

Thus what I'll try to do is to modify some vehicles according to the following rules:

• using the typical design elements of Town vehicles (windscreens, mudguards etc.)
• omitting most of the studs
• fixing holes where possible
• keeping all that’s nice and replacing all that’s too simple
• using not too fancy building techniques, models must be easy to reproduce
• use of stickers from the set allowed
• keeping or even enhancing the playability
• functions must be functions, devices shouldn’t be movable just by hand
• seating at least one fig - but under no circumstances in the center of the cockpit ;-)
• 100% Lego, no third party stuff allowed

By saying no fancy techniques there is one - very important - exception: the wheels (but more on that subject later).

This is the actual range of widths I'm building all my vehicles in:

#1: 60056 Custom Wrecker

The original model of this wrecker (see http://brickset.com/sets/60056-1/Tow-Truck) is one of my favourite town sets of the actual range. I really love its nice colour scheme plus there are some great design elements which I've tried to preserve as you may see.

As said, wheels are very important in my opinion, that's why I try to avoid the usual City wheel/mudguard combination which leads to a certain monotony in town layouts, especially due to the fact that the same combination is being used on passenger cars and on trucks which makes no sense to me. Thus I try to use as many combinations as possible. Another advantage of this is that you get different types of wheels with many different diameters suitable for quite a few purposes.

Another important aspect of this model is functionality - a tow truck should be usable for towing purposes. The original set is already quite functional, however, I wanted to have separate functions for the boom and for the lifting cradle. Plus both should be functions in the above mentioned sense, that means, not just movable by hand. That's why some technical stuff is built in - which is much easier with a 7w than a 6w form factor, as you may recognize.

That's the way it works:

Thanks for looking, some more pics on my Flickr. More vehicles to come.

Edited May 4, 2019 by ER0L

[glendo]

I call that "americanise my ride", as it's the only place on earth that still thinks chrome is king

[Colossus]

Love that black muscle car! Truly Road Warrior-worthy.

[ER0L]

I call that "americanise my ride", as it's the only place on earth that still thinks chrome is king

You're from Australia, right? You know what an Australian "road train" looks like? No chrome, huh?

If you take a look at the original model (http://brickset.com/...056-1/Tow-Truck) you may recognize from the shape of the hood and from the typical exhaust pipes that it's meant as an American truck. That's why I opt for as much (Lego, not third party) chrome as possible on this model - it simply meets the style. But there's no reason why it shouldn't be omitted if you don't like it - I guess the only reason it was omitted on the set is cost.

Love that black muscle car! Truly Road Warrior-worthy.

Well, that's what it is. But here it's only a part of the width range, it stands for sports cars in a 6w+ scheme.

[lightningtiger]

AWESOME heavy wrecker 'ER0L'.....keep them coming and Brick On Truck On 'ER0L' !

[kibosh]

I'd loooooove to see more of that wrecker! It looks fantastic.

And I love this idea for a contest! This is generally how I MOC, too. Take an existing LEGO set, and just make it better.

[ER0L]

AWESOME heavy wrecker 'ER0L'.....keep them coming and Brick On Truck On 'ER0L' !

Thanks a lot LT, glad you like it - in spite of its chrome ... ;-)

I'd loooooove to see more of that wrecker! It looks fantastic.

And I love this idea for a contest! This is generally how I MOC, too. Take an existing LEGO set, and just make it better.

Thank you very much. Yes, from time to time I like to modify an already existing design - you may learn much from that. Didn't think of a contest - but yeah, I guess we could have a lot of fun with that.

[talex]

They all look great, but the black convertible is awesome! Made me think of a Morgan car.

Edited October 3, 2014 by talex

[ER0L]

They all look great, but the black convertible is awesome! Made me think of a Morgan car.

Thank you. Well, it's there to symbolize a typical "oldtimer car" or "vintage car" which I build in a 6w+ scheme. Those are among the very few vehicles where the usual "Town mudguards" are looking quite nice in my opinion.

[andyscouse]

Nice vehicles! Yes, the tow truck is very true-to-life.

Edited October 4, 2014 by andyscouse

[ER0L]

Nice vehicles! Yes, the tow truck is very true-to-life.

Thank you very much. I think we can have more realistic City vehicles by just changing a few aspects.

Thanks all for commenting and viewing. More PYTR vehicles to come.

[ER0L]

#2: 60027 Custom Truck and Trailer

Still a WIP right now, but since there are quite a few problems to solve and since it's connected to another project (involving containers, more on that later) it might be interesting to see how it will work out.

It's based on the Monster Truck Transporter #60027, see http://brickset.com/...ck-Transporter. Although the original tractor is a bit basic I quite like its colour design plus the fact that it's a long-nose truck which makes it easier to be converted into a 7w+ vehicle. As you can see I have tried to preserve quite a few details, however the proportions are quite different, especially the front axle which in my opinion is set back too much on the original model had to be moved forward a lot.

As said above wheels are most important, so designing proper wheels was crucial on a setup that probably will be used on more than just this model. For some reasons I opted for axles with spring and twin tires, made of the well-known old tires turned inside out to get some kind of profiling. In my opinion this looks much better than the usual tires with the "offroad" profile.

An early version with 8w container (now 7w) and some other vehicles plus fig to get a size and scale comparison:

C&c welcome as usual, more to come. Thanks for looking.

[lightningtiger]

'ER0L' that's what I call pimped to the max.......I these latest trucks of yours,,,,,Brick On Truck On !

[eurotrash]

I'm not sure how I missed this thread when it first came out, but there some great looking vehicles there ER0L. I agree with you in that it's time to build grown up versions.

[princeofgonville]

Wow! I am going to have to re-build all my vehicles now. These are awesome!

[ritztoys]

EROL,

Your mods and creations are great, those trucks look so much better than Lego intended.

Can you share which wheels ( I think I know, but just checking ) and tires you used on these MOCs?

I have a bunch of those 'sprung' wheel assemblies and have been needing a use for them, now I have one!

[ER0L]

'ER0L' that's what I call pimped to the max.......I these latest trucks of yours,,,,,Brick On Truck On !

Thanks a lot LT!

I'm not sure how I missed this thread when it first came out, but there some great looking vehicles there ER0L. I agree with you in that it's time to build grown up versions.

Many thanks Eurotrash, I guess your 76015 version aims in a similar direction.

Wow! I am going to have to re-build all my vehicles now. These are awesome!

Thanks a lot! Hopefully there aren't that many vehicles yet ...

EROL,

Your mods and creations are great, those trucks look so much better than Lego intended.

Can you share which wheels ( I think I know, but just checking ) and tires you used on these MOCs?

I have a bunch of those 'sprung' wheel assemblies and have been needing a use for them, now I have one!

Thank you! Regarding the wheels:

• Wrecker: http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?P=56902 + http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?P=87697 (some stretching required) together with http://www.bricklink...gItem.asp?P=x85 + http://www.bricklink...Item.asp?P=4073 (chrome silver) on a Technic axle http://www.bricklink...Item.asp?P=6587
  
• Truck: front axle: http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?P=56902 + http://www.bricklink...m.asp?P=132-old (inside out), other axles: http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?P=55981 + http://www.bricklink...m.asp?P=132-old (inside out), Technic pins http://www.bricklink...Item.asp?P=4274 inside the rims
  

[ritztoys]

EROL,

Thanks for your links and suggestions ...................now I need a bunch of those old tires, I've got everything else..............

[ER0L]

Thanks for your links and suggestions ...................now I need a bunch of those old tires, I've got everything else..............

You're welcome. You'll need 22 of them for a rig like this - spare tires not included ... Fortunately they're quite cheap.

[ER0L]

Update:

The prime mover is nearly finished, some detailing has been added:

Still a lot of work to be done on the trailer, though. At least there is a technology to lift containers from above now:

This so-called spreader, mounted to a reach stacker, is able to lift a container from above, not via the sides, so that close stacking will be - hopefully - possible. The spreader is locked to the container via two holes in the roof (see above) by turning the gear on top ("functions must be functions").

More information on the container project see here.

Thanks for looking, more to come.

[lightningtiger]

That prime mover....... ......I can't wait to see it's trailer and what you have planned next 'ER0L'....Brick On Truck On !

[ER0L]

That prime mover....... ......I can't wait to see it's trailer and what you have planned next 'ER0L'....Brick On Truck On !

Many thanks LT!

I'd like to add an actual photo that shows the difference between the usual City scale and what could be called "Larger City Scale". Please keep in mind that the 7w+ rig would be considerably longer with a sleeper cab. Anyhow you may spot the difference.

[ER0L]

Some updates:

Wrecker: Inner Workings

efferman has made an LDD file (see attachment) with a 6w+/7w+ version of the wrecker with quite a few improvements regarding the technical aspects. What might be even more interesting is the way he hides the functions via small doors:

Semi Truck: The 5w/6w switch between front section and cab.

Here you can see how decoupling works. I've done a little research but it seems quite difficult to find solutions for this, at least in Town scale, though I think it's an important aspect of a Semi Truck and Trailer. Here again the small Technic linear actuator is a suitable feature. The landing legs lift the trailer a little so that the tractor can move away. Due to the spring axles the rear wheels stay on the ground. Coupling is a bit more difficult since you don't see where the kingpin is from above. But well ...

Thanks for looking, to be continued.

ER0L's Tow Truck_ldd_by_efferman.lxf

[lightningtiger]

Cool engineering there 'ER0L'.....I might have to download those lxf files.

Brick On Truck On 'ER0L' !

[ER0L]

Hi all,

first off, some updates regarding the previous models:

#1: Wrecker (60056 MOD)

Like nearly all of my models the wrecker has gone through various minor changes, this is what it looks like as of today:

 

#2: Container Truck (60027 MOD)

 

Here you can spot how coupling is working:

The container truck is also part of a larger container project (with the Train and the Technic department involved), but more on that later.

 

Now for a new vehicle:

#3: Ice Cream Truck/Ice Cream Van (70804 MOD)

I wanted to do this for a long time - and actually did it right now before summer is over. In fact it's not a mere mod of the Lego Movie set (see https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/90096-review-70804-ice-cream-machine/) but a completely new 7-wide vehicle. However, I've taken over all those nice typical details like the cones and of course all the stickers from the set. Additionally, I found those great old wheels which fit quite nicely here, I guess. 

As you may spot, the shaping is derived from the Police Command Center:

For a comparison of scale and proportions I've added the stripped original model from set 70804 (which looks much better with details and stickers applied, of course). It's surprisingly tall, even with one layer at the roof omitted like in the pic. 

Even if I don't refer to the original shaping (which is quite nice as such but not very typical in my opinion) it's great to have all the needed details, stickers and - last but not least - proper minifigs for a special type of vehicle in one set (instead of being forced to make several BL orders for it). That's why I'm taking a closer look to any new minifig scale vehicle - even if it may take years to use it like on the Ice Cream Truck. However, it's also true that not all City sets have the same quality regarding part choice, minifigs, and stickers as a Lego Movie set like 70804. 

100% Lego. Thanks for looking!

Edited August 26, 2017 by ER0L