[MOC] Blacktron "Liberator" MBT

[Kelkschiz]

This is my Blacktron “Liberator” main battle tank (MBT). It was designed to be the backbone of the Blacktron land forces. It is a relatively small and fast attack vehicle with heavy armaments, capable of devastating hit-and-run attacks. At the moment it is just a prototype being field tested but as soon as this design enters full production Blacktron HQ expects to be able to take the initiative once again.

 

With it's completion I have finally realized a long term goal that I have had since I started making LEGO tanks, namely making a LEGO tank that has both the core functionality and the performance of an actual tank. 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 13, 2017 by Kelkschiz
adding images

[Jeroen Ottens]

That is superfast incredible

And that suspension is just awesome

The turretrotation is limited right? Or can it do full 360 rotation as well?

I am sure the Blacktron will seize the initiative with this one

[Beck]

With that type of traverse speed your tank could be repurposed as a g force simulator.  In all seriousness, I really love it! Did any of the four Buggy motors overheat after driving the tank around for some time?

Edited April 13, 2017 by Beck

[deraven]

Fantastic!  The speed is quite surprising, but I suppose those Blacktron engineers have had years of secret development time!  

Great overall design (aesthetically and technically), and it looks like a lot of fun!

[MajklSpajkl]

This is awesome! Speed is indeed great. I really like the use of the new curved panels in the front - makes a really nice curvature of the "mudguards". What did you use to juice those four RC motors?

[Littleworlds]

Looks extreme!y good! Sleek, mean and with just the right amount of colour accents. Well done!  

[Kelkschiz]

4 hours ago, Jeroen Ottens said:

That is superfast incredible

And that suspension is just awesome

The turretrotation is limited right? Or can it do full 360 rotation as well?

I am sure the Blacktron will seize the initiative with this one

Thanks ! Yes the turret is indeed limited. I could have placed an extra battery and receiver in the turret but that would have increased it's size and weight, and the main aim on this build was to make it as light as I reasonable could. 

3 hours ago, Beck said:

With that type of traverse speed your tank could be repurposed as a g force simulator.  In all seriousness, I really love it! Did any of the four Buggy motors overheat after driving the tank around for some time?

Haha, yeah I wouldn't want to be in it traversing at full speed... Nope no overheating on the buggy motors. I get the impression that those buggy motors are put together pretty well. Of course I was using them outdoors on a sunny but cool spring day. 

3 hours ago, deraven said:

Fantastic!  The speed is quite surprising, but I suppose those Blacktron engineers have had years of secret development time!  

Great overall design (aesthetically and technically), and it looks like a lot of fun!

Hihi yeah, they have been at it for a while . And yep, It is great fun indeed, thanks!

2 hours ago, MajklSpajkl said:

This is awesome! Speed is indeed great. I really like the use of the new curved panels in the front - makes a really nice curvature of the "mudguards". What did you use to juice those four RC motors?

Thank! Yeah those new curved panels are awesome. When I put them there for the first time, I saw that it was perfect and life was good . Those RC motors are pretty hungry, I used two sets of two (S2) Lipo cells. Only 7.4v but all the amperage they can guzzle! Keeps them going pretty well. 

Thanks for your lovely replies!

Edited April 13, 2017 by Kelkschiz
aesthetics

[AFOLegofan66]

nice tank and it's speed is amazing!!

[Attika]

Amazing design and build.  I guess once you "tasted" the Lipo's there is no way back to the battery box.  Did you use substractor, or simply connected the motors to each side? 

[Leonardo da Bricki]

Excellent model! The speed is just incredible! How did you connect the four motors to the drivetrain?

[Kelkschiz]

1 hour ago, Attika said:

Amazing design and build.  I guess once you "tasted" the Lipo's there is no way back to the battery box.  Did you use substractor, or simply connected the motors to each side? 

 

32 minutes ago, Leonardo da Bricki said:

Excellent model! The speed is just incredible! How did you connect the four motors to the drivetrain?

Thanks guys! Similar questions so I'll try to answer both at the same time. There is no drivetrain to speak of. I designed this tank for optimal speed and ruggedness. Going off road with LEGO is asking quite a lot. In my experience a complex drivetrain like a subtractor doesn't do too well in that kind of environment. Going for a simple gear reduction isn't a problem, but I didn't really need that for this model. So I just went for the quick and dirty (and efficient) direct drive. Each of the four sprocket gears are attached to a dedicated RC Buggy motor. Very efficient and powerful, and with an Sbrick you can get the same level of control that a subtractor would offer using the custom UI app. Don't get me wrong, I love subtractors and complex mechanisms in general. But there is a time and place for everything, and this was the place for simple and robust.   

[Attika]

1 hour ago, Kelkschiz said:

 

Thanks guys! Similar questions so I'll try to answer both at the same time. There is no drivetrain to speak of. I designed this tank for optimal speed and ruggedness. Going off road with LEGO is asking quite a lot. In my experience a complex drivetrain like a subtractor doesn't do too well in that kind of environment. Going for a simple gear reduction isn't a problem, but I didn't really need that for this model. So I just went for the quick and dirty (and efficient) direct drive. Each of the four sprocket gears are attached to a dedicated RC Buggy motor. Very efficient and powerful, and with an Sbrick you can get the same level of control that a subtractor would offer using the custom UI app. Don't get me wrong, I love subtractors and complex mechanisms in general. But there is a time and place for everything, and this was the place for simple and robust.   

Fair enough, and the reasoning behind does absolutely support your decision. Not to mention the reliability.

Edited April 13, 2017 by Attika

[BusterHaus]

Fantastic build, it could probably be an entry in the BattleBot contest.  It's incredible how quick it is, too.   

[mocbuild101]

19 hours ago, Kelkschiz said:

Those RC motors are pretty hungry, I used two sets of two (S2) Lipo cells.

Are they Lego Lipos or 3rd party? If they are 3rd party how did you connect them to the SBrick?

[Kelkschiz]

12 hours ago, BusterHaus said:

Fantastic build, it could probably be an entry in the BattleBot contest.  It's incredible how quick it is, too.   

Thanks! I thought about the contest for a second, but apart from it not conforming with the spirit of the contest it also does not conform to the rules on at least two point. Unfortunately it's not a speed contest 

11 hours ago, mocbuild101 said:

Are they Lego Lipos or 3rd party? If they are 3rd party how did you connect them to the SBrick?

They are indeed 3rd party Lipos. Attika made an excellent video about how to connect them to an Sbrick. I just followed that for the most part: 

 

Edited April 14, 2017 by Kelkschiz

[shadow_elenter]

mooi ding man! Ik deel je voorliefde voor het zwart-geel kleuren schema 

[Kelkschiz]

15 hours ago, shadow_elenter said:

mooi ding man! Ik deel je voorliefde voor het zwart-geel kleuren schema 

I think I remember seeing something like that on your Youtube channel. Perhaps time for a Blacktron MOC? Or is that something from before your time? 

[shadow_elenter]

Just now, Kelkschiz said:

I think I remember seeing something like that on your Youtube channel. Perhaps time for a Blacktron MOC? Or is that something from before your time? 

Blacktron is before my time, but that never stopt me from liking it. I owned one set as a child witch I got from an older cousin after he got "to old for it". I remember after getting it I instantly started building MOC's that matched it's looks.
Nowadays, my focus is mostly on complex studless technic MOC's and it's hard to get an authentic Blacktron look with very limited studded style parts.