[MOC] Subarute

[VKTechnic]

I'm back with my latest model, a lifted bugeye Subaru chopped into a ute!

Subarute by VKTechnic, on Flickr

First off, the features:

• Remote control drive with 3-diff AWD, central differential lock through a lever in the cabin, and fake boxer 6 engine
• Remote control steering with linked steering wheel
• Opening air-shock hood, doors, and liftgate, all with latching mechanisms
• Headlights, foglights, and taillights, with an in-cabin switch for foglights
• Fully adjustable seats, with under-seat lever to move seat forward and back
• Front McPherson strut and rear trailing arm pneumatic suspension
• Custom flags representing Axial (maker of the Ripsaw 1.9 tires) and Mighty Car Mods (the main inspiration for the car)

Subarute by VKTechnic, on Flickr

This model was a fun one for me. After seeing what Mighty Car Mods could do to a 2002 Subaru WRX wagon in less than 3 days, I wanted to take my own spin on the Subaru ute concept. The first main challenge was suspension, as I had to design a McPherson strut with drive, and the rear trailing arm suspension was completely new to me. I did have to compromise -- using CV joints in the suspension meant I could get everything compact, but the off-road performance tanked. Definitely a little disappointing, but I think I made up for it with all the other fun features.

Subarute by VKTechnic, on Flickr

Every opening feature of the model has a latch on it. The hood has an air shock, and can be released from the driver's side footwell. Door handles were based off an old design by Nicjasno (aka LPEPower), which I managed to slim down to fit within 2 studs of the door panel. The tailgate latch is probably the least realistic since it's activated from the inside of the bed, but I mainly did this to keep the continuity of the bodywork.

Subarute by VKTechnic, on Flickr

The seats were also something new for me, and it's an area I've struggled with in past models. I did manage to make these seats fully adjustable, with a lever under the seat to slide them forward and backward. Aside from that, the cabin also has a lever to lock the central diff, and a switch for the front foglights.

Subarute by VKTechnic, on Flickr

Overall, I'm happy with how the model turned out. I think I captured the bugeye look fairly well, and all the manual functions were fun to try out. Of course, it is disappointing that the model didn't perform too well off-road, but I can say for sure that my next model will destroy everything off-road!  

P.S. I did make a video of the functions, thought it would be short but it turned out to be almost 10 minutes. Enjoy!

 

[super-jaschka]

The beard grew), and the cars are getting better every year

[BrickbyBrickTechnic]

Beautiful (As always)! You are super duper talented!

[JJ2]

Amazing model, I really like how you took the time to make realistic extra functions, like the door-hood and tailgate latches.

The rear tail lights look very good, they almost look like 1 molded piece for this MOC.

 I'm curious about your next model you mentioned in the video.

[agrof]

It is a great MOC, and clearly seen, that You are coming from engineering point of view. 

Still, there are some constructive remarks from me: such huge wheels connected only on one axle doesn't look elegant and sufficient in comparison to the other solutions of the Subarute. I also find the roof - door combo very off, actually... don't have Subaru's (at least these) frameless doors?

Edited March 24, 2017 by agrof
grammar

[1gor]

Very, very good MOC, but out in the snow - do you have propper winter tires 

[Didumos69]

Great MOC with some very nice features, such as the McPherson strut suspension, the trailing arm suspension and the pneumatics of course. But I do think it could have been better. The bodywork is not consistent, some areas are perfect (tail lights), some are off (doors and roof). And I keep wondering whether the CV-joints in the front drive will stay inserted in the diff over time. At least these CV-joints could have been secured better, for instance in a way similar to this:

[Leonardo da Bricki]

Top-notch model! The functions are great, McPherson strut, trailing arms, working door, hood, tailgate.  However, I think the doors and roof need work, because they do not flow together very well, and there is a big gap between them. But overall, this is an excellent car!

[VKTechnic]

Thank you all for all the comments, positive and negative!

19 hours ago, JJ2 said:

 I'm curious about your next model you mentioned in the video.

There's a WIP thread

13 hours ago, agrof said:

It is a great MOC, and clearly seen, that You are coming from engineering point of view. 

Still, there are some constructive remarks from me: such huge wheels connected only on one axle doesn't look elegant and sufficient in comparison to the other solutions of the Subarute. I also find the roof - door combo very off, actually... don't have Subaru's (at least these) frameless doors?

Thanks for the remarks. I kinda agree with the axle point, but as of now, LEGO doesn't have a good solution for wheel hubs (at least, not when it comes to making realistic suspension geometries). I could go with something like the modified hubs Nicjasno uses, but I'm not sure I'm ready to jump that far...yet   I also agree with the door point, and I think you're right...Subaru doors don't have a frame around the window. The roofline was probably the one part of the bodywork (aside from the wheel arches) that I wasn't entirely fond of.

11 hours ago, I_Igor said:

Very, very good MOC, but out in the snow - do you have propper winter tires 

They are a softer compound

9 hours ago, Didumos69 said:

Great MOC with some very nice features, such as the McPherson strut suspension, the trailing arm suspension and the pneumatics of course. But I do think it could have been better. The bodywork is not consistent, some areas are perfect (tail lights), some are off (doors and roof). And I keep wondering whether the CV-joints in the front drive will stay inserted in the diff over time. At least these CV-joints could have been secured better, for instance in a way similar to this:

I agree with you on the roof/doorline remarks for sure, could have been better. The CV joint issue I was having was that they would separate (the light bley part would pop out of the dark bley), and I couldn't secure it in the way you describe since I needed the axle to slide when the suspension compressed. If I learned anything from this model, it's to stay away from CV joints in the last bit of the driveline.

35 minutes ago, Leonardo da Bricki said:

Top-notch model! The functions are great, McPherson strut, trailing arms, working door, hood, tailgate.  However, I think the doors and roof need work, because they do not flow together very well, and there is a big gap between them. But overall, this is an excellent car!

Again, ditto on the doorline. Could have been better, and definitely room for improvement there.

Thanks again everyone for the comments!

[JJ2]

7 minutes ago, VKTechnic said:

There's a WIP thread

Ugh, I think I even read that thread, completely slipped my mind

[Criosphynx]

Awesome! I was about to ask if you saw this on mighty car mods, and you did certainly did, even got the flags on there. Small world!

 

 

 

 

[TechnicRCRacer]

AWESOME! This truck is so cool! I wish I had one like it! I am just too lazy to order 3rd party tires. It looks incredibly fun and the flags are a nice touch!

[1gor]

On 3/24/2017 at 8:52 PM, VKTechnic said:

They are a softer compound

[DamonMM2000]

I watched both episodes from Mighty Car Mods and Roadkill! This model is awesome 

[VKTechnic]

Speaking of Mighty Car Mods, they posted this today:

We did it boys by VKTechnic, on Flickr

I made myself known, just waiting for a reply from them! Either way, this is pretty cool  

[1gor]

4 hours ago, VKTechnic said:

Speaking of Mighty Car Mods, they posted this today:

We did it boys by VKTechnic, on Flickr

I made myself known, just waiting for a reply from them! Either way, this is pretty cool  

Congratulation