Dear LEGO fans!
I present to you my LEGO MOC, my all time favourite armored vehicle, the M60A1 AVLB - Armored vehicle-launched bridge.

When I first saw this video of the real machine, I was mind-blown. Being a mostly Technic builder, I instantly wanted to try building it fully functional. There are some fantastic Technic models already out there. But most suffer from abstract looks of the bridge in particular, due to obvious weight problems. Well, unfortunately I learned about it the hard way, as the plate & tile clad bridge was just too heavy for the launcher to be able to lift it, even when the bridge was stripped of all the cladding. (Here is the link to some photos of my fallen Technic Mastodon, if someone is interested).

To heal my wounds after Technic debacle, I decided to try it out in minifig scale, trying to make it as accurate as possible with at least manual functionality of the real machine. The result is in front of you. I must admit, I am very satisfied with the result, and this is why the model is still sitting on my shelf in my LEGO room for almost two years now (I usually disassemble all my creations very quickly). So after almost two years I finally managed to edit photos and also make instructions and a short video.

So, about the actual MOC...

I must admit that I was at first heavily inspired by this fantastic M60A1 Brickmania's Cody Osell. This video and a couple of their photos was the only brick built reference material, so the only similar thing might be the looks of the underside and it was helpful to determine the size of the tank and the bridge afterwards.

According to dimensions of the real one I found on-line, it is built in approximately 1:33 scale and is a completely manual model, although the cores of both the tank and the scissor bridge are made of Technic bricks. It has some moderate play-ability, like independent torsion suspension of all road wheels, but it is more meant to be - and I absolutely love it that way - a display piece. Since I decided to go for more or less authentic looks and not so much for the actual functions, the bridge is actually heavier than the launcher, so I hope it is clear, that the tank cannot hold the bridge in raised position by itself. I used two pillars made of trans-clear panels below the hinges of the bridge to support it. The loose end of the bridge on the other hand is only supported with a string - "steel cord/cable" on the hinge. There is some photo editing done on the raised bridge photos to look like it is elevated solely by the tank. I hope you don't feel too fooled by that. 

I'm sure that those readers and fans, that know much more about the M60A1 AVLB, than I do, will find many details not accurate, but overall, I think that the main presence is there. Enough writing. I'll let the photos speak.

The V12 engine is only indicated with visible 6 pistons, the other 6 (nonexistent in the model) are "deeper" under the hull :-)

Here an example of IRL display, where translear pillar is visible to aid keeping in the position on those slippery tiles. Also, when bridge is carried on the tank, i used a special brick-built pedestal to aid the rather soft independent torsion suspension of all road wheels. It was my wish to see it on some diorama, alongside a ruined bridge or something... who knows, maybe someday...

Some data of the model are in order as well I guess...

The final part count came down to 2233 parts (1100 for the bridge 1133 for the tank) in 266 different lots + 2x 30 cm of non LEGO stiff and strong (non elastic) string + some short thin string to attach some of the clutter on the tank. 

Launcher dimensions (LxWxH): 20,5 (24,5) x 11,5 x 11 cm or 26 (31) x 14,5 x 14 studs with the launching arm put over the hull. Launcher weight: 546 grams

Bridge dimensions (LxWxH):  57 x 14 x 3,6 cm or 71 x 17,5 x 4,5 studs when extended. Bridge weight: 738 grams.

Here are some comparisons with the sketches I found on-line. As you can see on the second one, the height on the tank is close, but I wasn't able to keep the bridge thin enough to perfectly match the scale. I guess the road wheels could be a bit bigger too, but it is LEGO after all and with smaller scales compromises are inevitable.

I also prepared a short video presentation with some nice animations from stud.io, although I admit photos do this model more justice:

 

With this creation, I decided for the first time to seriously venture in creating a digital model, some renders and building instructions by using Stud.io designer. It took some time and ended up consisting of 420 pages and 627 steps in total. I didn't get into modelling of the strings with other CAD software (I found this is the only thing to improve in Stud.io at the moment), so I enhanced the instructions with some photo and text guides as well. This said - the string for "steel cable" for the hinge is the only non lego part of the build. The instructions can be found and purchased (yes trying to get on the money train , not that I'm too optimistic) here on rebrickable.com. Below I add a couple of renders used to "enrich" the building instructions and some pages of the actual instructions as well.

Thank you for taking time to read this through and thank you in advance for your constructive criticism and support. I hope someone decides to build it as well.

Best regards,

Miha

 

 

 

Found this photo together with the big Technic Mastodon failure i mentioned in the first post. Interesting size comparison  Also note the sag of the suspension due to bridge weight. I guess I could lock the rear road wheel but decided to build a small pedestal to put it under the hull and keep the fully suspended road wheels.

Best regards.

Simply fantastic!

This is awesome! Was the bigger one featured in a beyond the brick video at some point? I remember seeing something similar with the whole thing functioning with Mindstorms.

7 hours ago, JintaiZ said:

Simply fantastic!

Thank you ;-)

5 hours ago, TheBeeze said:

This is awesome! Was the bigger one featured in a beyond the brick video at some point? I remember seeing something similar with the whole thing functioning with Mindstorms.

Thanks. No, the bigger one was definitely not featured anywhere. This is the first time I mentioned it, it was a failure, bridge was way to heavy to be able to operate with LA's - but there are some fantastic and functioning models presented on YT indeed. I just wanted to much detail which added to much weight...but I guess it was a learning curve that led me to this one :-)

Wow! Aesthetically and functionally flawless, it is a pity that it does not have the interior cabin, which would have made it a perfect MOC!

12 hours ago, ParmBrick said:

Wow! Aesthetically and functionally flawless, it is a pity that it does not have the interior cabin, which would have made it a perfect MOC!

Thank  you very much.  I agree - having an interior would be really great. Maybe I abandoned the idea of the interior of the tank too soon. As an excuse - quite a big portion of the volume of the chassis is taken by the suspension and of connections between technic parts and system parts.  Igues I could steal a couple of plates height inside but not enough for the whole minifig to sit in.

 

By the way, does anyone have to much tan and dark tan bricks??

Edited October 9, 20204 yr by MajklSpajkl
Desert storm livery render added

Man, this is one sweet looking model! Fantastic build, I especially like the visual looks of the  "turret" area, all the attention to the details in the drive-train also! Can't wait to see this beast in some military diorama! 

@KRocans Thank you very much. I hope someone might use it for a diorama, I am affraid I won't be able to do it, as I practically have not enough bricks to make such a big diorama. Maybe in (long) time...