Model Team: Mercedes Actros Car Carrier

[Lasse D]

It has now been some time since I asked for your opinions on the cars of the Creator Highway Transport. Ricecracker asked if I would like to participate in a "Creator-Model Team collaboration". This is now exactly one year ago.

While Ricecracker did a minifig version, his challenge was to include at least as many details as the Creator set. My challenge was to build a motorized Model Team version. Here is my result. The truck is a Mercedes Benz Actros with EVO Plus 11 bodywork. The red car is a Honda S2000 while the white one is a Ford GT.

Fully loaded it carries 11 cars (12 if they are small)

The truck has a new kind of steering which is biased towards the center but not self centering. The small middle pair of wheels can be lifted using a switch as seen in the video.

It is beneath the front ramp of the trailer that an additional 12th. car can be squeezed in.

The trailer has en extensible lower ramp, a middle ramp that lifts...

and an upper ramp that tilts in two places for cars.

And itself:

Brickshelf gallery with additional pictures.

Brickshelf gallery for my cars.

It is quite fun to play with, and the use of the hockey-brick for nearly-self-centering steering makes it easy to drive around. I'm controlling both the truck and camera in the video, so it looks a bit clumsy, but it works quite well IRL

Edited August 8, 2011 by Lasse D

[Hinckley]

Lasse D, I'm always impressed with your work. This is, of course, no exception. I could stare at either one of the cars for hours. They're so smooth and sleek. You have a unique style and you do it so well. The video blows my mind. Where do all of these trucks keep coming from? I have to admit when it switches over to "hand power" I got a little chuckle. I assume you are using power functions. Or is that the RC motor and chassis? I enjoy watching the video mostly because you can see your joy in "playing" with what you've built. It's nice to see people take their hobby seriously but have a good time too. Thanks for sharing your amazing talent with us. Excellent job!

[Hinckley]

By the way, I blogged it on Classic-Town.net

[Lasse D]

Thanks a lot for your kind word. The truck is powered by an NXT-motor. It has a lot of power and the right dimensions.

[Alasdair Ryan]

Great work again may i see a pic of the real truck? the front looks nothing like the front of my truck.

[bricked one]

This is one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Great work!

[Bricksonwheels]

Great work Lasse

[simonwillems]

Since I tried making my own smoothly working powerfunctions/modelteam truck my admiration for your work has only increased. Despite of a life long experience with technic and motors I failed to make mine work properly. Too heavy, too slow... And that was just a truck with no trailer.

You current truck is incredible: to fit so many cars on such a relatively cramped space and still looking realistic and being able to drive the whole thing using motors is a work of art. The NXT motor seems more powerful than the Large Powerfunctions motor, since with the L-motor it won't be possible to push those two other car transporters out of the way with the heavy truck-trailer combination. How do you control it? Can it be connected to the powerfunctions receiver?

Keep these trucks coming!

[Lasse D]

Thanks a lot. I power the NXT motor by first converting from PF to 9V, then from 9V to NXT using the respective adapters. The hard part is making space for all the wires:

Here you can also see how I have connected the hockey brick in order to only make the steering biased towards the middle and not self centering when driving.

BTW.

There are 28 cheese slopes in the fron of the truck alone!

Edited August 9, 2011 by Lasse D

[Lasse D]

Great work again may i see a pic of the real truck? the front looks nothing like the front of my truck.

With a couple of stickers, this would be it.

[Alasdair Ryan]

Thanks you can see how i did mine below:

Hope you dont mind me posting a video of mine in your topic.

Edited August 13, 2011 by Alasdair Ryan

[Ralph_S]

It's hard enough to build either a decent-looking car transporter or a properly driving RC truck, certainly on this relatively small scale. That you managed to combine the two is mind-blowing. Great looks and impressive functionality, Lasse.

Cheers,

Ralph

[Lasse D]

Thanks.

As mentioned, I have also made a 1:2 version of this truck. Since Ricecracker already has presented his 7 wide version, I will just put this 6 wide here:

It was possible to fit 11 four studs wide vehicles onto it by simply designing them for the purpose.

It has nearly the same functionality. The middle axle of the truck can be lifted and the cars (except those on top of the trailer) can be unloaded.