[TC9] Combine Harvester and Hot Rod

[lcvisser]

What do we think about hot-rods? I came up with this yesterday and today:

I'm fairly happy with it, although I'm doubting if the headlights are a good look. I might remove them. It has a V8 engine driven by the real wheels via the differential, HOG steering and 2 seats that don't look totally horrible considering the parts I had available.

The engine works smoothly going forward, but sometimes gets stuck when going backwards. It's the first time I build an engine like this, so I guess it needs some tuning The limited part selection didn't help either.

I used about 70% of the parts of the harvester, which is not bad, I think.

[Jurss]

Looks pretty OK, especially for B-model.

Maybe tray to put lights somewere in front.

[lcvisser]

How about without the headlights? I can't find a way to mount them in the front with the parts I have available...

[BusterHaus]

The rear wheels seem a bit skinny, but otherwise the shape is very nice. I really like the engine.

[TinkerBrick]

I like the hot rod. IMHO it is better to have A&B model from completely different categories. Makes it more fun.

[2LegoOrNot2Lego...]

This hot rod is excellent...!!!!

[lcvisser]

Thanks guys!

I agree that the rear wheels should be fatter, but it's a compromise for having good wheels for the A-model. I don't think fat slicks look good on a combine harvester

Now, find some time to finalise... Good photo's and a movie of the hot rod and if possible rebuild the harvester with the bigger unloading auger. I think I'm gonna make it

[lcvisser]

Photo's of the final models. I put the bigger unloading auger on the harvester. There's probably a ton of other small things I can improve, also on the hot rod, but I have to draw a line somewhere I'll try to make instructions for the harvester, maybe incorporate some improvements along the way.

More images:

http://bricksafe.com...mbine-harvester

http://bricksafe.com...b-model-hot-rod

Can one of the moderators change the topic title to "[TC9] Combine Harvester and Hot Rod"?

Edited January 15, 2016 by Ludo Visser

[muffinbrick]

Very nice and clever builds, one of the favourites, IMHO.

[aminnich]

Very nice. Only concern is if the auger pipe for the harvest is longer than the harvester head. basically does the pipe extend farther than the header. Being from a farming community is is true of 99% of combines. This is so the truck that is receiving the grain can just pull up next the the combine.

[lcvisser]

Very nice. Only concern is if the auger pipe for the harvest is longer than the harvester head. basically does the pipe extend farther than the header. Being from a farming community is is true of 99% of combines. This is so the truck that is receiving the grain can just pull up next the the combine.

I know that now Fully sideways it extends 2 studs past the header. Probably not enough for a tractor to get under, but if I make it longer it extends behind the back of the vehicle and I exceed the 10000 cubic studs. Trade-off For the post-contest instructions I'll but a 15L beam (this is a 13M).

[aminnich]

I could not find a good picture to show you, but I have a solution to make it more realistic. When the combines header gets really long, the out pipe gets longer too. When the combine is in transport with the header on the trailer. The pipe actually folds. Basically once the pipe gets to the end of the combine, the rest of the pipe folds to be against the back of the combine.

[lcvisser]

I'm not sure how to get a nice folding mechanism at this scale... Also I couldn't find any examples

[aminnich]

Here ya go, The combines are being transported on a train in this picture, but the same thing happens when the combine is being transported by anything else or is just driving on the road.

Edited January 18, 2016 by aminnich

[lcvisser]

I see what you mean. I saw pictures before where there was a "seam" at the area that they fold, but I couldn't find a picture of where they were actually folded.

[aminnich]

I under stand why you can't do this at the scale you build, but it would be a nice addition

Edited January 18, 2016 by aminnich

[lcvisser]

I've made instructions for the A-model. If anyone is interested: http://rebrickable.com/mocs/ludovisser/combine-harvester

Feedback on the instructions is also appreciated

Edited February 1, 2016 by Ludo Visser

[lcvisser]

Thanks to all who voted for my creation

I also asked after the previous TC8, and I will ask again: where could I have improved? I was quite proud of my creation, and I won't deny I was slight sad to see it "only" made 12th place. The other entries were awesome, of course, so it was a tough competition. I'd just like to learn what I might do to increase the appeal of my builds. I think my style is a bit too old-school maybe, but I'd love to hear your opinions, positive and negative

[muffinbrick]

Well, it WAS tought competition.

There was many great entries and only 6 to vote for. So it was very hard for everyone choose top six and there was many factors, which influenced final decision.

For me, your A-model is flowless, very nice and clever use of parts, nice apearance and functions in that small scale. On the other hand, B-model was little tricky and besides you made great job with it, it lacks something to make it perfect model. In top 10 there are many great A-models, but those B-models are almost equal, some of them maybe even better, then A. I think its has something with models, which you choose to build. Some of those combinations are easier to build, some of them are more complicated. Maybe, if you would made more obvious decision to made tractor for B-model, you could got more from it because of parts, you had from A-model. So I think, that winners don't just have great building skills, but they also have great skill to decide what to build to make it as good as possible.

[Appie]

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Between some awesome builders who entered and people who's criteria to vote is nothing more than "oh that looks shiny, I'll vote for that" without looking at any more information about the functions provided for the model(s), your entry could have been just as easily in the top 3 instead of being 12th.

Have fun, do your best and ignore the result of a vote if it isn't in your favour.

[lcvisser]

For me, your A-model is flowless, very nice and clever use of parts, nice apearance and functions in that small scale. On the other hand, B-model was little tricky and besides you made great job with it, it lacks something to make it perfect model. In top 10 there are many great A-models, but those B-models are almost equal, some of them maybe even better, then A. I think its has something with models, which you choose to build. Some of those combinations are easier to build, some of them are more complicated. Maybe, if you would made more obvious decision to made tractor for B-model, you could got more from it because of parts, you had from A-model. So I think, that winners don't just have great building skills, but they also have great skill to decide what to build to make it as good as possible.

Thanks I think your right about the B-model. I wasn't too excited about it myself, although I think I did well with the parts that I had available. I initially tried to build a tractor, but in the end I didn't manage to come up with something satisfactory. Makes you realise how hard it must be for TLG designers

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Between some awesome builders who entered and people who's criteria to vote is nothing more than "oh that looks shiny, I'll vote for that" without looking at any more information about the functions provided for the model(s), your entry could have been just as easily in the top 3 instead of being 12th.

Have fun, do your best and ignore the result of a vote if it isn't in your favour.

Thanks I had a lot of fun and am proud of myself for creating something that actually worked as I intended . I'm not worried, just seeking advice on how to improve.

[BusterHaus]

I also asked after the previous TC8, and I will ask again: where could I have improved? I was quite proud of my creation, and I won't deny I was slight sad to see it "only" made 12th place. The other entries were awesome, of course, so it was a tough competition. I'd just like to learn what I might do to increase the appeal of my builds. I think my style is a bit too old-school maybe, but I'd love to hear your opinions, positive and negative

Much like you, I think a little introspection is necessary after each contest. I like to examine what worked, what didn't, and how to improve for next time. I already went through this exercise with my entry and won't hijack your topic to talk about it.

For your entry, I think your photos could show more details. They are a bit underlit and the colours aren't too saturated. Try over exposing them next time - use your camera's manual settings to do that. It will reveal more details in the dark areas of your model and make the picture brighter.

On a more general note, this contest was won by models that featured very prominent mechanical play features. Models that had hidden features didn't fare as well - just look at Zblj's entry: a technical marvel that "only" placed fourth.

I don't know if adding visible play features is the key to winning a contest every time, but it sure doesn't hurt.

[lcvisser]

You might be right about the "visibility" of the mechanics. Everything was inside...

Regarding the photos: I was actually really proud of them On my computer (MacBook with Retina screen) they look really good in my opinion: on the final photo of the harvester a few posts above here I can see even the black details of the cab and the lifting mechanism under it.

But I guess I should take some effort to learn more about my camera. Usually I just use the "auto settings"

[BusterHaus]

I went back and you are right, the photos are pretty good. The lighting is consistent, there aren't any reflections on the plastic, and the colours are more saturated than I remembered. I still think the pictures could be lighter to show the details better:

Maybe it's just a matter of taste, but I prefer the lighter background as the model stands out more and the grey and tan pieces are more visible.

[lcvisser]

I see what you mean! The second photo looks way better. What did you do? Just some balance/saturation/... settings or did you actively edit the photo (remove background/shadows...)? I need to learn how to do this

Edited February 25, 2016 by Ludo Visser