(MOC) - Cavegod's UCS Sandcrawler

[zmarkella]

Just started collecting the parts for this beauty, but looks like that the reddish brown 1x4x3 panel's price is astronomical.

Any replacement suggestions? Checked newer moulds (60581) or other colours (i.e. brown), but no luck.

Lego Bricks and Pieces seems to be offline at the moment, but a couple of days ago these panels were out of stock in the desired colour.

[AfolFree]

30 minutes ago, zmarkella said:

Just started collecting the parts for this beauty, but looks like that the reddish brown 1x4x3 panel's price is astronomical.

Any replacement suggestions? Checked newer moulds (60581) or other colours (i.e. brown), but no luck.

Lego Bricks and Pieces seems to be offline at the moment, but a couple of days ago these panels were out of stock in the desired colour.

I believe it was said the panels could be replaced with good old bricks (3 1x4 stacked). However I don't know if anyone actually did it and had some feedback on the impact of the added weight.

[zmarkella]

43 minutes ago, AfolFree said:

I believe it was said the panels could be replaced with good old bricks (3 1x4 stacked). However I don't know if anyone actually did it and had some feedback on the impact of the added weight.

Yeah, that will be my fallback option.

I like the 'panelised' look though. The search continues.

[Ragni Norgrimson]

1 hour ago, zmarkella said:

Yeah, that will be my fallback option.

I like the 'panelised' look though. The search continues.

I just bought a couple of the first Sandcrawler Set. They are used about 50€ without minifigs. They also include a lot of brick you are going to need anyways. 16 Panels in Reddish brown come with each Set !

[zmarkella]

10 minutes ago, Ragni Norgrimson said:

I just bought a couple of the first Sandcrawler Set. They are used about 50€ without minifigs. They also include a lot of brick you are going to need anyways. 16 Panels in Reddish brown come with each Set !

Thanks! 50EUR is a great price.

I'm in the UK, but used prices for 10144 seem to be quite high. Like £120+ high.

Bricks and pieces is back online, but most of the panels in the required colour are out of stock.

[cavegod]

Use bricks, i only used panels because thats what i had when building it. People seem to think that because its in the instructions then thats how it has to be. Mine isnt built to the instructions quite a lot of the large plates are smaller plates i just used the larger plates for easiness.

[zmarkella]

1 hour ago, cavegod said:

Use bricks, i only used panels because thats what i had when building it. People seem to think that because its in the instructions then thats how it has to be. Mine isnt built to the instructions quite a lot of the large plates are smaller plates i just used the larger plates for easiness.

Thank you for chiming in! I have taken some liberties already with the build, but I actually quite like how the panels break up the big surface. Might mix the bricks up with some 1x2x2 panels as they seem to be available at a reasonable price.

[Redbird11]

I used a mix of the full panels and the 1x2x2’s, I made sure to utilize the full panels strategically on my build to be as close to the original build as possible. The dark brown pieces are the ones that are going to be hard to find, you’ll have to be a bit creative because there are a few pieces that are either expensive or non-existent. You can see some of the areas where I used the larger and smaller panels

 

[viptouge]

On 7/25/2019 at 12:24 PM, bricksmarlin said:

@viptouge

How is it going?
All problems figured out?

Sorry for the late reply. Yes, no more issues here. Just needed that missing piece. Thanks

Just completed the Sandcrawler a week ago and it was a blast to build.

 

 

 

[GeoffC]

Hey guys! First time posting, I have been building the Sandcrawler for about a month now and am about half way done. Props to Cavegod and Christian for a truly exceptional model and instructions! 

Earlier in the posts, Bricksmarlin mentioned an issue regarding the need to remove a 4x4 and a 1x8 plate to allow the body of the Sandcrawler to sit flush over the chassis? I noticed that if you remove the 4x4 plate, the structure underneath has a tendency to fall off. Therefore the 4x4 plate seems to be structurally necessary. has anyone found a way to mitigate this issue?

Also, does anyone have any schematics for the lighting, motor or battery placement? I'm not quite there yet, but I see it on the horizon...

[bricksmarlin]

15 hours ago, GeoffC said:

Earlier in the posts, Bricksmarlin mentioned an issue regarding the need to remove a 4x4 and a 1x8 plate to allow the body of the Sandcrawler to sit flush over the chassis? I noticed that if you remove the 4x4 plate, the structure underneath has a tendency to fall off. Therefore the 4x4 plate seems to be structurally necessary. has anyone found a way to mitigate this issue?

Underneath is nothing that could fall off!?

[GeoffC]

When I removed the plate and then set the top section onto the chassis, the entire brown under section (shown in your photo above) fell off. I reattached it and just connected everything again and it all seems to be holding together so maybe I was overthinking it. 

[GeoffC]

I'm curious if anyone knows whether part 2449 in brown is extremely rare or if it doesn't exist? I can't seem to locate it on Bricklink or Brickowl. 

[Hold0511]

I think its only available in reddish brown and dark brown - I assume the difference in the image you show is perhaps reflecting its the dark brown colour?

[cavegod]

Just use whichever colour beown you can get, 

 

I don’t understand why people get so hung up on following the instruction colours exactly because I didn’t!

[zmarkella]

1 hour ago, cavegod said:

I don’t understand why people get so hung up on following the instruction colours exactly because I didn’t!

Because it says 'Instructions' on the first page as opposed to 'Recommendations'. 

In all seriousness though, it is very hard to collect the required parts unless you start looking through the whole model, trying to figure out what's used where and is it important to match the colour. Or stuff like 'is it structurally important to have a 1x12 brick there or can I substitute it with 2 1x6s or 3 1x4'?

With a smaller MOC you can 'digest' the instructions, see where the designer was going and put your own spin on it if needed. But with your Sandcrawler - well, it's in a league of its own.

Edited September 13, 2019 by zmarkella

[GeoffC]

If part 2449 existed in original brown, I think it would be a nice addition as shown in the PDF instructions. Regardless, I have come to the conclusion that it never existed and therefore replaced it with the reddish brown variety.

For whatever reason, I like to build models in their entirety before making modifications, but I really don't see myself making many modifications to the exterior of this model. In my opinion, this MOC is truly exceptional for the following three reasons:

 1) Size (obviously) - it's essentially a massive canvas that Cavegod has done an amazing job filling up

 2) The balance struck between the shiny flat brick/panels and the intricate greebling - we see this in other models, but rarely does a model create this effect from so many different angles

 3) The use of the three different browns (as well as the normally occurring variants within reddish brown) - besides providing for a certain authenticity, it creates another level of depth that is difficult to produce

I am really enjoying the build, though I will admit I am looking forward to regaining some space for other projects when it is completed!

[GeoffC]

Bricksmarlin, would you mind sharing how you were able to invert the two 1x1 slopes on the left and right front side of the cockpit just above the opening for the ramp? I tried a 1/2 pin, but the top of the pin shows a little.

[GeoffC]

I removed the lip from the 1/2 pin, which allowed me to connect the first 1x1 slope. For the 1x1 slope (closest to the ramp), the pin is too long. If I cut it, it falls out. Just curious how you solved that issue...

[cavegod]

I drilled the inverted 2x3 slope so that the tech 1/2 pin pushes in fully.

[GeoffC]

Thanks Cavegod, I think I'll do the same.

Maybe some day TLG will release an inverted cheese slope. One can hope.

[Cjd223]

Can't believe I've missed so much of this thread, love all of the recommendations and heard all of your concerns with the manual. I was planning on doing a renovation of old manuals, which the sandcrawler would be included (Hint Hint at new AT-AT legs soon), but unfortunately the laptop I used to make the manual crashed and the files for the Sandcrawler were largely lost (I was able to save about 3,500 pieces worth of the file but that's merely a quarter of the manual).

I would strongly agree with Cavegod and substitute parts where you can such as panels and slope colors, etc. Remember, this is the Sandcrawler we're talking about, a bit of random colors and mixed browns and faded parts make it all that much better! It also helps on a scale of 12,000+ pieces to cut down a few hundred dollars simply with some part substitutions...

[zmarkella]

4 hours ago, Cjd223 said:

Can't believe I've missed so much of this thread, love all of the recommendations and heard all of your concerns with the manual. I was planning on doing a renovation of old manuals, which the sandcrawler would be included (Hint Hint at new AT-AT legs soon), but unfortunately the laptop I used to make the manual crashed and the files for the Sandcrawler were largely lost (I was able to save about 3,500 pieces worth of the file but that's merely a quarter of the manual).

I would strongly agree with Cavegod and substitute parts where you can such as panels and slope colors, etc. Remember, this is the Sandcrawler we're talking about, a bit of random colors and mixed browns and faded parts make it all that much better! It also helps on a scale of 12,000+ pieces to cut down a few hundred dollars simply with some part substitutions...

I am in the process of building the Sandcrawler based on the manual, supplemented by the digital model.

Would you be interested in my notes I'm taking as I'm building? I have found that there're a fair amount of 'conflicting' steps in the manual; steps which should be in different order or would need a replacement part because it is simply impossible to build it. (This is not to belittle or criticise the work you've done - I know how hard it is to create a manual for a massive model like this.)

[Cjd223]

12 hours ago, zmarkella said:

I am in the process of building the Sandcrawler based on the manual, supplemented by the digital model.

Would you be interested in my notes I'm taking as I'm building? I have found that there're a fair amount of 'conflicting' steps in the manual; steps which should be in different order or would need a replacement part because it is simply impossible to build it. (This is not to belittle or criticise the work you've done - I know how hard it is to create a manual for a massive model like this.)

Absolutely that would be fantastic.

[treffer21]

9 hours ago, Cjd223 said:

Absolutely that would be fantastic.

I think everybody likes to see your notes....thank you!