Project M- Crawler Crane

[ZCerberus]

Crawler Crane-

The crawler crane is probably my favorite of all the construction builds.

The construction was sped up by not needing to reinvent the wheel… or the tracks as it were. Since these builds are all in the same world, I figured I could take the basic track design of the excavator and move on from there. I took the excavator design and made the tracks 2 studs longer and 2 studs wider. I also recycled the SNOT design for the base from the excavator.

I knew my big hang up would be the boom itself. I had settled on making it 4 studs wide which would provide a challenge since the obvious LEGO element to replicate the look is six wide. This would mean I would need to design my own sections. My solution looks pretty good, but there are far fewer cross braces than you would normally see in a boom, even of this size. I am satisfied with the boom overall, though it is a bit bulky.

I also found the design looked a little muddled when I made the back counterweight black, so after a little experimentation I settled on dark gray. It seems many of the counterweights on these cranes are a different color anyway. I also could then use the erm… bottom tile (inverted tile?) piece thingies so there weren’t any anti-stud showing where the counterweight sticks over the crane top. This is the first time I also used a sticker on these builds- but they are real LEGO stickers from collected sets and I think they really work well here.

I couldn’t really tell by looking at all the crane designs what each side of the crane contained. I figured the engine and most of the machinery must be in the center of the crane, but I couldn’t really tell what was typical. I took this to mean I could have a little liberty with my design. I made the section behind the cab a bit bigger which in my mind is a place where a lot of the machinery could be housed (hence the placement of the exhaust stack behind the cab side). The main thing I wanted to achieve was the ability to operate the crane without having a bunch of knobs hanging out the side. With that in mind, I designed the side of the crane opposite the cab with two windows with shutters designed to resemble access doors. The shutters can be opened to allow access to the two knobs which control the winches/functions of the crane. One of the winches actually cranks the hook up and down while the other raises and lowers the boom.

You can also tweak the boom position using the technic lift arms by sliding the one closer to the boom forward or backward. Not only did this design allow me to run the string for the hook through the same area as the string for the boom, it also allows for some quick adjustment of the boom without having to access the winch and slowly crank it up or down. A real crane would have tons of cables and other bits here to really anchor the boom and reinforce it. That might be one of several areas I can explore someday.

As I said, this is my favorite build, even though there may be some realism issue here. I like the colors and shaping and functionality. The one thing I did notice is that when placed next to the excavator, it actually makes the excavator look bigger than I would like, even though the excavator isn’t as wide or long as the crawler crane.

Check out the rest of Project M here.

[Jody Meyer]

This thing is awesome, also my favourite construction vehicle.

[dr_spock]

Nice. BTW, Flickr is saying many of the photos are no longer available.

[BrickMonkeyMOCs]

I really like your integration of the black cockpit area into the yellow body.

[ZCerberus]

Nice. BTW, Flickr is saying many of the photos are no longer available.

I updated the photos with "cleaner versions" they still show up for me, though I am sure the images are cached on my end. How does it look now?

[BrickMonkeyMOCs]

I updated the photos with "cleaner versions" they still show up for me, though I am sure the images are cached on my end. How does it look now?

When you update photos in Flickr you change the URLs for the images, so you will need to update the OP with new links.

Edited June 9, 2016 by BrickMonkeyMOCs

[ZCerberus]

When you update photos in Flickr you change the URLs for the images, so you will need to update the OP with new links.

I thought that too, but it still all worked on my end. Like I said, must have cached the images or something. Are they all there now?

[BrickMonkeyMOCs]

I thought that too, but it still all worked on my end. Like I said, must have cached the images or something. Are they all there now?

Yep, all good now.

[ER0L]

Very nice and sleek design! Also the construction of the boom looks quite smart - you wouldn't think it's stable without Technic elements going through, but pin connectors on studs are a strong connection, too.

Now can it lift something and stay upright, even without a real counterweight? Just asking since the boom alone looks quite heavy. Or are weights involved?

And another question: Did you think of a PF equipment? There should be enough room for an m-motor (plus worm gear probably) to operate the winch for the hook. Plus the battery box would be a natural counterweight.

[ZCerberus]

Now can it lift something and stay upright, even without a real counterweight? Just asking since the boom alone looks quite heavy. Or are weights involved?

It, of course, depends on how much the object weighs, but it can lift a LEGO vehicle without much issue even without any real weights. I did consider U.S. currency coins (dimes) as potential counterweights, but for what I am using if for now, there was no need. I also do have a few old boat weights, but the ones I have a taller than I would like for this model.

And another question: Did you think of a PF equipment? There should be enough room for an m-motor (plus worm gear probably) to operate the winch for the hook. Plus the battery box would be a natural counterweight.

Great idea! I am no stranger to the PFs as I have used them quite a bit in castle models (no joke), but it would require some real modification to work. I will likely leave this one as is, but a future project might start with that as a goal and I'll see what I can do.

[soccerkid6]

Sweet crane The knobs hidden in cargo areas is genius Great boom design too

[ZCerberus]

Thanks Soccer! Ready to abandon castle for the construction truck revolution?!?

[soccerkid6]

Thanks Soccer! Ready to abandon castle for the construction truck revolution?!?

Abandon castle, never!

I would like to do some real life vehicle builds though

[ZCerberus]

Abandon castle, never!

I would like to do some real life vehicle builds though

Sweet! Good builders are good builders. I think you would do great!

[Xon67]

Great design! I really like the brick-built boom. (Hah, say that 5 times fast... :-) )

[ZCerberus]

Great design! I really like the brick-built boom. (Hah, say that 5 times fast... :-) )

Thank you! This on really is my favorite.