[MOC/MOD/LDD] 60068 Forest Ranger SUV

[ThePlasticWerks]

I think the Swamp Police SUV in 60068 is one of the best out-of-the-box minifig scale offroad vehicles Lego has ever designed, looks-wise. It's a marriage of a Land Rover Defender and Dodge Ram with a lifted Jeep's proportions.

I took the design and pushed it just a little more. I was inspired by the US Forest Service's and Border Patrol's paint schemes, as well as then open-sides look of the Jeep Wrangler Hardtop Concept:

My mod is probably 95% similar to the original model. The front end has been played with, giving it a contemporary LED-style light bar in place of the original model's four round lights, and a winch in place of the original bumper's tow hook. The headlights and grille are more generic (or perhaps closer to classic Nissan/Suzuki shapes). Aside from the obvious replacement of the rear windows, the rear is identical to the original build. The roof rack was an interesting sketch that plays out beautifully.

I will be making this for real at some point soon, I have near total confidence that all the dark green elements exist. I'm torn on which windshield to use though. Any thoughts?

[XAxles]

Digging it. Can I mod it some more to have ball-n-socket suspension?

Edited January 6, 2015 by XAxles

[ThePlasticWerks]

Go ahead - this is just a mod of a Lego design, so I lay no claim to originality here.

I've done live axles with other builds:

http://www.eurobrick...topic=90846&hl=

Would love to see if the new Mixels ball-and-socket joints would make my designs more stable though. I got axles popping off every which way.

Edited January 6, 2015 by ThePlasticWerks

[XAxles]

I actually had made a chassis like the one I described, and it's below:

Though I think I did it wrong (attached the bumpers and wheel arches on the axles where in fact they shouldn't).

[CityBuilder]

Cool park ranger, I would stick with the split windshield though.

[ER0L]

I agree that it's a nice set with a very good-looking offroader worth modifying. Those vehicles have a decent size compared to the usual trucks and passenger cars. My only point are the wheels which are much too big for my taste, but that could be changed easily, too.

Adding a winch is a nice idea, the roof rack is done nicely, too.

Another suggestion regarding movable live axles:

[Hrodebert]

Thanks for posting that solution ER0L, I just rushed to add it to my modded 4437 truck.