Tommy Styrvoky Posted January 10, 2016 Posted January 10, 2016 (edited) Lego M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Well this model is a major change compared to my older MOCs. This Is my first Modern Main Battle tank that I have built. There are several reasons why I decided to build a MBT. Most modern vehicles have a much larger space between the tracks/ have smaller tracks. This allows me to mount XL motors closer together, so I used this extra space to mount 4 coupled XL motors. ( 2 coupled with 1:1 ratio to each of the tracks) With the remaining space in the hull, there is 2 AA battery boxes mounted in front and behind the turret ring. There are 2 sets of PF led lights mounted in the front hull and the tail lights. 3 IR receivers are mounted above the XL motors in the rear of the hull. There is a single L motor mounted in the hull to traverse the turret. The turntable features a coupling that allows me to remove the turret from the hull for getting loose pieces that fell in there maintenance. The suspension is torsion bars on 12 of the 14 road wheels, as on the last road wheel there was clearance issues for torsion bars, and the rear of the vehicle had a majority of the weight bearing on it, nearly collapsing the suspension, and causing the rear of the vehicle to sit lower. The front most torsion bar fixing point is as tight to the side of the hull wall, as there is lots of weight there too. The turret of the MBT is rather large, but slightly taller than it should be, as the turret houses the massive Technic driving ring firing mechanism inside of it. This model was based off of the mechanism of my ISU-152, and uses the newer Technic driving ring to eliminate the issues with the clutch gear disengaging because of too much strain of the rack under load of rubber bands. This new mechanism seems to be much more robust and durable, I was able to apply enough force on the bolt to stall the L motor, so I decided to use only a single rubber band, rather than 2 that would stall the L motor. I was able to create a Ldraw model of this and used that to animate it in Blender, this better shows the internals and their operation. This was a fun process, as I had to determine the rotations per frame for each gear. The shooting mechanism features a M motor to elevate the gun slightly, as there isn't much room for the gun to move in the turret. I think this model is one of my most impressive so far, it's not incredibly complex, but it's powerful and impressive. This year there will be a lot of different vehicles built, such as some halftracks, a 6x6 armored car, and maybe a AT-TE from Star Wars. Enjoy, Tommy Styrvoky Lego M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Render 1 by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Cutaway by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Lego M1A2 Abrams Main Battle Tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr turret back by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr turret facing by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr back of turret by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Teaser by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Teaser by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Edited January 10, 2016 by Tommy Styrvoky Quote
BusterHaus Posted January 10, 2016 Posted January 10, 2016 (edited) Good Lord, you have really outdone yourself. The tank has incredible performance and looks great. The video is fantastic,from matching the music rhythm to the cuts to having the animated mechanisms. Kudos. Edited January 10, 2016 by BusterHaus Quote
Kelkschiz Posted January 10, 2016 Posted January 10, 2016 Like it a lot. Looks like a proper beast. Quote
nerdsforprez Posted January 10, 2016 Posted January 10, 2016 Great job Tommy...... love the cut-away photos.... Quote
Edwin Korstanje Posted January 10, 2016 Posted January 10, 2016 Stunning Abrams Tommy :thumbup: . Also the pressetation is superB. Quote
JJ2 Posted January 10, 2016 Posted January 10, 2016 Great tank Tommy! I love the blender and cutaway images- videos! One nitpicky thing I dont like about this is the XL motors not covered in the back. Quote
Rishab N Posted January 10, 2016 Posted January 10, 2016 Great work! Your presentation is also very well done Quote
Tommy Styrvoky Posted January 10, 2016 Author Posted January 10, 2016 Great tank Tommy! I love the blender and cutaway images- videos! One nitpicky thing I dont like about this is the XL motors not covered in the back. I wasn't too fond of that either, but if I covered them up it would have been too thick. Quote
MaxSupercars Posted January 10, 2016 Posted January 10, 2016 (edited) Toomy greatest tank from you! I liked the M1 Abrams a lot. Great functions and design. I like the shooting mechanism. Sariel has to make some work to catch you... ;) Max Edited January 10, 2016 by MaxSupercars Quote
Nasty2650 Posted January 10, 2016 Posted January 10, 2016 I would very much like some instructions for this beauty... VERY nice job. Quote
grum64 Posted January 10, 2016 Posted January 10, 2016 WOW! What a Magnificent build. I'm at a loss as to how you build so fast. Quote
Tommy Styrvoky Posted January 10, 2016 Author Posted January 10, 2016 (edited) WOW! What a Magnificent build. I'm at a loss as to how you build so fast. Well this was built in a week and a half, I finished most of the hull in 3 days, then was on vacation for 5 days, returned and completed the hull in 2 days, the turret was built in the remaining 3 days, leaving the last 2 days of my break to film it. Though it was very busy weeks... no time for video games, and a couple nights that I stayed up to 2 AM... but it was worth it and was a fun process. Luckily I was able to get the shooting mechanism to work the first time and not have to spend another day working on that. The hull was rather easy to build, the only difficulty was laying out the internals. The turret was more difficult, as the shooting mechanism took up a majority of the space used for it, and the elevation mechanism. The shape of the turret was not too difficult, but It's a little bit taller than it should be because of the shooting mechanism.I had thought about this model a little bit prior to finals, as I was debating on building a IS-7 or Abrams, I decided to go with the Abrams, as it was spacious, and I lacked a couple parts for the road wheels of the IS-7. Someday I will build one, as I figured out a solution for the rounded turret by using flex axles and technic bricks. Edited January 10, 2016 by Tommy Styrvoky Quote
grum64 Posted January 10, 2016 Posted January 10, 2016 (edited) Well this was built in a week and a half... OMG. It takes me nearly that long to get the box open Edited January 10, 2016 by grum64 Quote
rollermonkey Posted January 11, 2016 Posted January 11, 2016 I'm so disappointed that you didn't make it in tan. I'm sure there are a lot of parts not available, making that impossible. Quote
Tommy Styrvoky Posted January 11, 2016 Author Posted January 11, 2016 (edited) I'm so disappointed that you didn't make it in tan. I'm sure there are a lot of parts not available, making that impossible. I don't have the funds to make something all in tan or the time with break, it was a big enough issue that I wasn't sure if the XL motors and IR receiver would arrive in time... I know enough of the minifig scale tank builders complain about how rare some pieces are in tan. I will let Sariel figure that out when he builds an Abrams in tan. Edited January 11, 2016 by Tommy Styrvoky Quote
Sylvian Posted January 11, 2016 Posted January 11, 2016 Absolutely awesome,... you truly are the master chief when it comes to building tanks,... really enjoyed it watching plowing thru some snow :D Quote
Tommy Styrvoky Posted January 11, 2016 Author Posted January 11, 2016 Absolutely awesome,... you truly are the master chief when it comes to building tanks,... really enjoyed it watching plowing thru some snow :D Driving through snow is fun, but I had a few issues with ground clearance, and bottomed out the hull a couple times. Quote
power1369 Posted January 11, 2016 Posted January 11, 2016 Another amazing piece of work Tommy. As mentioned, you really are a master of Lego tanks. Quote
Lakop Posted January 11, 2016 Posted January 11, 2016 (edited) Great tank! Looks really heavy duty. Amazing presentation too, I enjoyed the video. H Edited January 11, 2016 by Horace T Quote
M_longer Posted January 11, 2016 Posted January 11, 2016 It is quite good, but your model is build without proportions of the real tank? Quote
grum64 Posted January 11, 2016 Posted January 11, 2016 (edited) It is quite good, but your model is build without proportions of the real tank? I know we all have our own opinion on things & that's as it should be but honestly, quite good?! Are we looking at the same model? Also, if you read the text accompanying the pictures and the buiilders subsequent comments you'll find he's very well aware of the models proportions in relation to the real thing and explains the reasons for them. Edited January 11, 2016 by grum64 Quote
Sariel Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 (edited) What's the weight of the finished model, if I may ask? I know we all have our own opinion on things & that's as it should be but honestly, quite good?! Are we looking at the same model? Are you saying "quite good" is too critical? Edited January 12, 2016 by Sariel Quote
Tommy Styrvoky Posted January 12, 2016 Author Posted January 12, 2016 (edited) It is quite good, but your model is build without proportions of the real tank? Ok you're somewhat correct, but to start off first that is a M1 Abrams you overlaid. There are some differences between the M1A2 and the M1A1 and M1. First it's missing the turret bustle , second it has a 105mm gun (it's longer) as opposed to the 120mm gun the M1A2 has, also it's missing CIP panels, and the CITV next to the commanders hatch. This photo shows the differences, between the M1A2 and M1A1 and M1 Abrams The blueprints I used were of a M1A1, but I changed my mind to making a M1A2, as it is newer. I questioned making a M1A3 Abrams, but not enough reference material was available. I also used a model of a M1A1 Abrams for some references. Blueprints for Abrams by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Blueprints for Abrams by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Blueprints for Abrams by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr A reference for the sizing of the side skirt panels. blueprint for abrams by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Here's the reasoning of why how large the turret is, I also acknowledge that the barrel is too short, but it starts to bend too much. The hull is nearly perfect, but the turret is the most flawed in the model. Lego M1A2 Abrams Main Battle tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr Here's another look at the top of the turret showing how little space there is for me to work with. There's a battery box in the front left corner, IR receiver in the right, and the trunnion is covered up by some plates. There were some protruding bits of the turret's shooting mechanism that were covered up as best as possible, this caused a couple components to be shifted around to avoid having to make the turret a extra plate taller. Lego M1A2 Abrams Main Battle tank (RC) by Tommy Styrvoky, on Flickr What's the weight of the finished model, if I may ask? Are you saying "quite good" is too critical? Im not exactly sure, but it's the weight of 4 XL motors, 2L motors, 2 AA battery boxes, LIPO battery box, and maybe a couple pounds of bricks. I don't have a digital scale at my house, and the mechanical one my parents have is probably very inaccurate in terms of tolerance. My guess would be something around the weight of your Leopard 2, as it's roughly the same size. Edited January 12, 2016 by Tommy Styrvoky Quote
grum64 Posted January 12, 2016 Posted January 12, 2016 Are you saying "quite good" is too critical? I'm not a MOC builder or an expert builder in any way. Far from it, but to me 'quite good' doesn't do this amazing build justice. I'm genuinely in awe of the abilities of the builders who post their MOCs on these pages and maybe that's why I get a tad irked when it comes to comments like 'quite good' for something I can only dream of building. As I said previously, I wouldn't know where to start. Quote
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