[MOC] Unimog U90 (408)

[Thirdwigg]

I couple of years ago, to celebrate my 100th MOC on Rebrickable, I designed a 1:21 scale Unimog U423, and a number of attachments. The project was well received, and one of my favorites of the last couple of years. I enjoy Unimogs a lot, and so when one Unimog MOC is well received, it encourages me to build more. I continued with the U4000, and the U90, the later still adorns my shelf at home.

So I wanted to keep this theme going, and see what else I could design. The Unimog U90 (408) is a favorite of mine. It's just the right amount of weird due to it's quirky design. The hood shape is iconic, and the I5 engine is also a little strange. I love it.

In keeping the 1:21ish scale of the design, the truck needed to be narrower, by a lot. The scale calls for about 11 studs wide, compared to the 15 stud wide U423. After playing with this, I decided this is too narrow as the drivetrain would be lame. I settled on 13 studs wide, and quickly decided on the narrow 49mm tires. The tread is not great, but it allows for the U90 to be just a little smaller.

The chassis came together pretty quickly, but the front quickly became a problem. I generally build in Studio when the real brick design is done, but I needed some help so I did some early Studio drafts.

The engine got in the way of the hood, and the hood got in the way of the front mounting plate. And the bumper didn't work. Many iterations and drafts kept moving different hard points: steering linkage moved, engine moved front to back, the frame was adjusted, 9 bumpers were tried. Eventually, about a month ago, the design just popped into place. The hood came together, and the rest finished up nicely.

The final design features the following:

• Steering with HOG
• Rear wheel drive with portal axle
• Rear pendular suspension
• I5 fake engine
• Opening hood
• Opening doors
• Tipping bed with tailgate
• Front mounting plate for attachments:
  • Brush
  • Winch
  • Plow
• Rear hitch

I'm partial to the brush.

The engine works well, and just clears the hood. 

Just a little bit of suspension. The cab is just a little too short front to back to my eyes, but this is where it settled. 

The bed does tip, but only in one direction on this MOC.

And I had to get on photo of the currently built MOGs together. I realizing the U4000 needed to be a different color.

As always, instructions are available at Rebrickable.com. And a little video below to see the functions (and my poor editing abilities).

 

Like the Thirdwigg Farm, I'm not sure when this little theme will end, as I still have a lot of enthusiasm for this series, so if you have another suggestion to add, let me know. Right now the consensus is building toward a U406. Considering this was my first MOC on Rebrickable (MOC 164!), it may be time to update it.

Again, I hope you all enjoy.

[gyenesvi]

Another cute little build! That hood shape is indeed strange, but nice that you found a building technique for it! The brush attachment is pretty cool :)

[proran]

That one is tiny! The picture with the chassis only really shows how little space there was to play with. Amazing job with squeezing the fully functional drivetrain in there!

Do you still have your bigger green U90 assembled? That one feels like half the size.

Please do the U406. To me that’s the quintessential Mog. Although the hood will be quite hard to capture with technic. 
What about U401? If you are thinking about wrapping up the theme that can be the crown jewel, the one which started it all.

[Alex Ilea]

Very cute little build that fits nicely in your lineup!

[1gor]

Uf, you chose to build the most ugly unimog, but it fits other nicelly. As usual high functionality level fir size

[Thirdwigg]

On 10/28/2024 at 10:57 AM, gyenesvi said:

Another cute little build! That hood shape is indeed strange, but nice that you found a building technique for it! The brush attachment is pretty cool :)

Thanks for the comment. I spent more time on the hood than is healthy. I'm happy it turned out. I like the brush as well, so I'm glad it resonates with you too. 

6 hours ago, proran said:

That one is tiny! The picture with the chassis only really shows how little space there was to play with. Amazing job with squeezing the fully functional drivetrain in there!

Do you still have your bigger green U90 assembled? That one feels like half the size.

Please do the U406. To me that’s the quintessential Mog. Although the hood will be quite hard to capture with technic. 
What about U401? If you are thinking about wrapping up the theme that can be the crown jewel, the one which started it all.

Thanks again. Yep, it's tiny.

No, the Green U90 has been turned into other builds. Yeah, it's about half the size.

Yeah, people keep asking for the U406, so I'll add it into the queue. I think I have an idea for the hood, but I'll need to decide what to do about tires/driveline etc.

Yeah, I just spent some time reading about the U401, so I think it would be a good way to honor the project by doing that one too. It seems like a simple design, but it will be super small. We'll see if any functions remain.

5 hours ago, Alex Ilea said:

Very cute little build that fits nicely in your lineup!

Thanks! I usually disassemble my builds, but I have a hard time taking these apart, so the lineup allows for some fun photos.

52 minutes ago, 1gor said:

Uf, you chose to build the most ugly unimog, but it fits other nicelly. As usual high functionality level fir size

Thanks for the comment. Yeah, the U90 is not the most loved, but I like it a lot. I'll wear my decision with pride. I'm happy the functionality all came together.