8868 Air Claw Redux Now With Free Instructions

[Cardboy]

Finlay finished the instructions you can now download them for free here Air-Claw

With a new Pneumatic truck possibly on the horizon, I decided to give the Redux treatment to one of my favourite models.This is due to its complexity and that it was the first large model that i bought for myself that was not a Christmas or Birthday present.

And judging from a recent post on the forums a lot of you like it as well.

I have still to model the tubing from my IRL model but  I may have to switch to LDCad as stud.io is still not the best at this.

As with most of the models of the old studded times, to convert to studless you have to switch the width from even to odd so the truck is now one stud wider. I have tried to keep as many details from the original and made changes where the new beams demand it or where newer parts allow a better build.

With the redux models I make I always try to use the most current parts available so people who don't have the original have a chance to build it as well.

Please let me know what you think especially the front of the truck as I have employed a few odd techniques to keep it looking like the original.

Plans will follow eventually when i get the tubing done.

Edited May 11, 2021 by Cardboy

[Jeroen Ottens]

This looks really good. It was the model that brought me back from the dark ages, so I have fond memories about it. What is the part count compared to the original?

[Cardboy]

1 minute ago, Jeroen Ottens said:

This looks really good. It was the model that brought me back from the dark ages, so I have fond memories about it. What is the part count compared to the original?

The part count at the moment is now 1213 this will go up with all the tubing and T connectors required so possible 20-30 parts Brick set has the original as 954 so a bit of a jump up

[teflon]

Wow, this is really nice. I don't know is due to the studless design or splendid pictures. I hardly wait to see it in bricks, since original one had very interesting pattern with pneumatic hoses. It always looked a bit like alien.

Regarding part count. I guess it has to be larger since original used studded bricks and did not need a lot of pins to hold it together.

[HectorMB]

This is very nice, indeed. The 8868 is also one of my favorite models and was the last one before by dark age. Also, i was thinking about the same, converting to studless construction and make it again with the current pieces. 

[astyanax]

Delightful project! @Cardboy have you considered putting two actual white air tanks on the sides? It's probably overkill, but I'd be soooo tempted to make those white cylinders actually functional!

[KevinMD]

I just picked one of these up for my brother last week and was thinking of doing this (tho I’m not sure I am talented enough), so it is a pleasant surprise to see this thread. 
looks great!

[amorti]

That's brilliant!

How about control+ motor and hub? If you're making it modern, may as well go the whole way.

The lbg #1 connectors on the claw might pull apart in use, a 5L beam would fit just the same.

Edited February 24, 2021 by amorti

[Jurss]

Nice project. Like it.

You need reconsider turntable connection to chassis, it will be pretty weak, even wobbly, especially back/forward.

[Cardboy]

8 hours ago, astyanax said:

Delightful project! @Cardboy have you considered putting two actual white air tanks on the sides? It's probably overkill, but I'd be soooo tempted to make those white cylinders actually functional!

My aim was to be as faithful to the 8868 as possible so i didn't add air tanks I haven't measured the gap so not sure they would fit. With the new V2 compressor and the power functions motor it seems to deliver better rate of compression from the original and will probably make the turntable even more uncontrollable.

Back when i first got this I tried to tape up the fuel tanks to make them air tight how little i knew back then about air pressure

2 hours ago, amorti said:

That's brilliant!

How about control+ motor and hub? If you're making it modern, may as well go the whole way.

The lbg #1 connectors on the claw might pull apart in use, a 5L beam would fit just the same.

I did think about it. Though I would probably consider the the dumb box and a motor as control + would be overkill for one "on" function. As i like to make all these models for real when i build them and don't have access to that part, like many I'm not paying £30 for it and would have bought the Osprey but we all know what happened to that

2 hours ago, Jurss said:

Nice project. Like it.

You need reconsider turntable connection to chassis, it will be pretty weak, even wobbly, especially back/forward.

Actually its quite robust as the crane superstructure is not that heavy. The claw doesn't have too much closing pressure and that will fail before the turntable. This could be why the original never had out riggers as its not a heavy lifter.

The other issue is the tubing there are 6 pipes that need to feed past the turntable and it needs to rotate freely.

As i said before I do build all of these for real but I show you the CG images for two reasons. 1) I don't have a good set up for tacking pictures and I'm quite rubbish at photography. 2) I don't all ways have the right colours available so my prototype looks a bit odd.

[pleegwat]

Looks nice! I've actually been working on something similar for the B model, though I took some more liberties moving things around.

[suffocation]

This is brilliant I'd love to build it.

[howitzer]

One of the greatest sets of all time, the only one I keep assembled in my shelf.

Your redux version looks great, but at the same time somehow odd, like something from the original was missing. Maybe it's the lack of studs (which gave the original a bit rougher feel), maybe it's the tyres or maybe the altered width, which changes the proportions slightly... The missing tubing also probably changes the looks in the rear side.

[kieran]

Love this model, original and this rework 

[CrankyCraig]

Love it, great job. 

I too have fond memories of this set, and began doing exactly as you have by re-building it with modern bricks. I didn't get far into it before realising just how much has changed since then, and shortly after confined it to the realm of future projects. Great to finally see a modernised version of it, although one concession I wouldn't be able to make if I were to re-build it are those iconic wheels/tyres. With those and the tubing, it'll begin to look a lot less clean, and even closer to the model we remember.

[Cardboy]

Now with Tubing!!

It took most of the week but here it is with the tubes all in place

I just noticed that i forgot to add the rubber band to connect the engine together I may re-render the front but its not that important at the moment.

Now the long process of turning it into some plans.

[P McCatty]

LOVE this! All time favorite. Can't wait to see how it performs. I've been working on something similar, but not quite as true to the original as your model. Well done.

[Cardboy]

Have uploaded the instructions to rebirckable Air-Claw

It now has 328 steps up from the original 32 so maybe not as brutal to build as the original

Hope you enjoy the build. I had some fun with the instructions as stud.io doesn't seem to like pneumatics too much but if there are errors please let me know.

Edited May 11, 2021 by Cardboy

[gyenesvi]

This is such a cool project, this set used to be one of my favourites as a teenager! I really like the way you redid it, just by looking at smaller images first, I totally thought it's the original one :)