[CADA] CADA General Discussion Topic

[Alex Ilea]

2 hours ago, brunojj1 said:

Obviously any variation looks better than the original counterpart, without the useless indents. Also I love the distinctive rounded edges on the newer triangular panels of all sizes and they got rid of some useless indents as well.

Useless to us, but useful for LEGO as they save material and make more money :)

[amorti]

13 minutes ago, Alex Ilea said:

 Useless to us, but useful for LEGO as they save material and make more money :)

They may be the reason why Lego panels are much less flexible than the equivalent CADA panels.

Any flat part which is too flexible can be strengthened by adding indentations. For example...

But as noted above, is it a bad thing if they bend? They're never going to be structural anyway, so why not let them be forgiving to fitting "nearly" on the grid?

[LvdH]

1 hour ago, amorti said:

But as noted above, is it a bad thing if they bend?

Not necessarily, but when I built the Jesko I noticed some were bent a bit out of shape. I’ve had it happen a couple of times with some #5/#6 or #17/#18 panels from TLG. I also don’t like how they look from the side. The smooth surface however is better looking than the TLG variant.

[msk6003]

CADA make Alfa romeo F1

[Jim]

Wow, that looks pretty sexy to me!

Do you have a link to a product page?

[msk6003]

12 minutes ago, Jim said:

Wow, that looks pretty sexy to me!

Do you have a link to a product page?

No only uploaded in cada's facebook group. It seems don't have product page yet.

Edited August 24, 2023 by msk6003

[brickphisto]

Promotion video: 

 

[langko]

Slick printed tires, different width front and back?? Might just be the best parts CaDa has ever made. Exactly what everyone wanted on the LEGO Mclaren F1 car.

Rest of the model looks really good as well, even though I’m not an Alfa Romeo fan.

[nintiendo]

17 hours ago, Jim said:

Wow, that looks pretty sexy to me!

Do you have a link to a product page?

Here you are https://decadastore.com/products/cada-alfa-romeo-f1-team-orlen-c42-c64005w

[LvdH]

Those wheels and tires are amazing looking. $150 is not too bad either especially if you consider other Chinese resellers will be selling it for even cheaper. For around $100 I might give that one a try, even as a non-Alfa Romeo fan  

Edited August 25, 2023 by LvdH

[brunojj1]

And the winner of this race is ....

[MarkyMark42]

I just bought the Alfa F1. I'm in Australia so I'll let you know when it arrives and report back for anyone that might be interested.

It will be a nice "toe in the water" exercise for me before the AMG is released

[R0Sch]

Man that Alfa Romeo F1 car is pretty. Another clear win for CaDA over LEGO. I will get this set at a nice discount or second-hand like all the other 1:8 in my garage.

[Mikdun]

2 hours ago, brunojj1 said:

And the winner of this race is ....

For me Alfa is much better. 

[R0Sch]

@amorti For comparing objectively the strength of axle and pin connections you could measure the torque needed to push a pin/axle trough the hole with a simple beam connected to a PU motor axle. I would increase the voltage / rpm until the friction is overcome and record that value.

[Melooo]

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV11u4y1e7JG/?spm_id_from=333.337.search-card.all.click&vd_source=64e1a3969543fd2676ad1cedb1011355

This video provides a great introduction to Cada's Alfa Romeo C42 in Chinese. And this product even recreates the Venturi channel of the F1 car, if you compare Lego and Cada's F1 car product.

[LegoHoops]

A 22 minute video on the Mercedes AMG One (in Chinese), but plenty of detail

https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1cG411f7Tu/?spm_id_from=333.788.recommend_more_video.16

 

[Aerolight]

Surprised the suspension is not realistic, the whole build seems week too the whole front end flexes with steering (bad mechanical limits). The whole hybrid system is a simple motor charged operation idk why. I guess its all on Legos next supercar flagship now (fingers crossed for realistic duel clutch now they have the elements)

[MarkyMark42]

Mine is only going to be a shelf queen anyway so I'm not overly bothered about the performance of the systems. Don't get me wrong, I still want them to work as intended

[amorti]

17 hours ago, Aerolight said:

Surprised the suspension is not realistic, the whole build seems week too the whole front end flexes with steering (bad mechanical limits). The whole hybrid system is a simple motor charged operation idk why. I guess its all on Legos next supercar flagship now (fingers crossed for realistic duel clutch now they have the elements)

Unrealistic suspension? At 4:19 in that the original car has two shocks there, but there's only so much you can do with bricks. Maybe a new BMW rear shock could have worked for the suspension, but in brick-world there's a differential in the way. Bruno used that special long spring across the wheels, so for me it looks pretty decent within what's possible in bricks, especially for RC where it needs to be solid.

Also - Lego is not better, with double wishbone suspension on the front of the GT3RS, an extra shock each corner on the Sian, etc etc.

The whole build is weak, really? Did you get as far as 19:30 in the video? You'd be brave to try that stuff with a Lego 1:8.

Steering being mechanically limited isn't ideal, it's hard on servos. I get it though, if you don't want gaps around the wheels then steering angles are going to have to be limited to <90 degrees output. Would have been nicer to see it geared down though. Bruno's other AMG does have the same 'cheat'.

The shaping and panelling stands up very well to the comparisons with the real model, and the licensed tyres are a real USP.

Can't wait to build mine, which arrived today 

Edited August 30, 2023 by amorti

[T Lego]

Let's just wait for the designer himself to present the model and to hear more about the background story of this unique build. I am excited for it from what I have seen but won't jump to conclusions too soon. I bet there is a lot to learn and to discover regarding the innovative approaches/techniques.

7 minutes ago, amorti said:

Would have been nicer to see it geared down though.

Servo steering is always tricky for AWD cars due to the CV joints constraint. Gearing it down will generally off-center the gears, which means adding more gears to recenter, resulting in increased slack and reduced straight line stability. You could introduce positive caster but I don't know how much it would affect the performance in practice. 

[brunojj1]

Spoiler alert: we are having AWD or RWD optional. I recommend to build the RWD option for better performance both in steering and driving. CV-joints popping out while driven and steered at the front axle are a problem, as some of you Technic guys will know by experience . 

The suspension is indeed different in the real car, very complex and sophisticated. I found it´s not possible to recreate properly with bricks within the limited space. The diagonal shock has a compressing section and a second section which is being pulled instead of being compressed. It basically acts as an anti-rollbar. Cudos to the engineers !

Our fellow comrade @Zerobricks had done some research on it as well: 

 

[Alex Ilea]

A superb build from Bruno, I really like how professional the chassis and the doors are, really impressive stuff. I won't sugar coat it, I expected a bit more from the front end. I mean, the headlights could have used some more bricks to shape them in a more authentic fashion, but I guess they are stronger that way.

[amorti]

First of all - this is a sponsored post. CaDA has kindly provided me with a review copy of the Mercedes AMG One so that I can share the experience with the Eurobricks community and the wider English-speaking audience. Even so, my opinions are my own and are not subject to review.

The DHL man stopped by yesterday - how exciting!

I'm not able to share what's inside the box until the official European release date, but I can share what's outside the box, so think of this post like a RacingBrick preview. The set's European release date will coincide with a joint promotion from CaDA and AMG. I don't have details, but it should be quite soon. The official announcement will be made on the (only!) official CaDA website: https://decadastore.com/

Normally I hate those, but here goes... Box post!

The box itself is compact. It weighs 5.9kg and measures 568x374x148mm, giving about 31 litres inside the box. That's 10 litres and 1kg less than the LEGO Ferrari, so kudos to CaDA for saving materials. For now I'm guessing the weight saving is mostly in the box itself and the instructions, but of course I'll weigh the model when it's complete.

The front render is glossy and has a detailed texture - nice! 

• The text confirms it's not not just any grey German sports car, it's a Mercedes-AMG One. We have the AMG logo, Mercedes printed parts, and the Master @brunojj1's signature all clear to see. 
• The special parts used for the roof intake and aero fin are clearly visible. Are they cheat pieces, or are they essential to make this licensed model an accurate representation of the real thing? Well, both. I for one am glad that CaDA and Bruno put in the time, effort, and money to make them happen.
• The licensed wheels are very accurate to the original car, and just look at those tyres.
• All the technic panels are more rounded than we're used to. CaDA didn't do it for fun, they're trying very hard to differentiate their brand from all other brands. It's a massive investment and inconvenience I'm sure, but I think the model has benefited from it, as the shaping really flows nicely.

The back of the box shows a different angle with the special parts really prominent, and also some details about features.

• The set is motorised and comes with a Lithium battery. Once pricing is announced and the inevitable comparisons to the market price (not the RRP) of Lego's big cars are made, keep in mind that big L's big cars can't move themselves! Even for most of us who find that a novelty and aren't exactly playing with their big models every day, it's very cool to have that.
• There's a pullback motor to represent KERS regenerative braking. This is a unique concept in a brick model, and since I don't know Chinese it's still a mystery to me how it's connected to the drivetrain.
• LED lighting - when CaDA show lights on the box, of course there are lights in the box. Hopefully Bruno was able to stow the cables nicely - and hopefully I will be able to replicate that!
• The gullwing doors and rear wing all move. The Chinese video showed us they are motorised - nice!
• There are several parts with three-point stars and AMG on them. Are they prints or stickers? Time will tell!

The top of the box has the 3-point star loud and proud. Kind of a missed opportunity by not having it on the front of the box where it would be visible when stacked on retail shelves?

The side of the box shows the real car. The Chinese video linked above has some detailed comparisons between the model and the real car, so I won't try to replicate that work. Suffice to give a hat tip to Bruno - the shaping is really very good, especially seeing how organically the lines of the original car flow!

It's nerdy, but I'm very excited for this. Lego may be the world's biggest manufacturer of tyres, but they aren't exciting tyres in any way. We didn't get any licensed tyres from Big L since 2002, and that was just a regular tyre with a Michelin print on it. CaDA tyre treads were always cooler than other brands', but now they're really stepping it up a notch. I'll report back on how grippy they are, maybe they will have benefits to people attempting speed records.

Thanks for attention!

All pictures can be viewed bigger here: https://bricksafe.com/pages/A_morti/amg-one-

I also recorded a (very amateurish!) video. You can watch that here, if you like:

 

[MarkyMark42]

1 hour ago, amorti said:

The top of the box has the 3-point star loud and proud. Kind of a missed opportunity by not having it on the front of the box where it would be visible when stacked on retail shelves?

I'm thinking this might be because it's technically an AMG not a Mercedes per se. Much like the AMG GT, it's an AMG ONE not a Mercedes AMG ONE. I could also be entirely wrong :)

Good review so far, looking forward to the build review and a chance to get my own.

Going by the previous video if the doors and wing are driven by electronics rather than manual that's a pretty cool feature