Thirdwigg.com

2022

January 17, 2023 Leave a comment

Another year comes to a close in Thirdwiggville, and it was another year that saw some challenging MOCs, and some fun little builds. For 2022 I was able to build: Synthe Combine, LEGO 42126 SVT8/10, LEGO 8440 Update, John Deere Scout, End Loader, Skid Excavator, LEGO 42136 Articulated Dumper, John Deere Axron, Off Road Knuckleboom Truck.

It was a prolific year for me, and this list even includes as couple of MOCs that I have not yet posted. I was even able to upload my 100th (!) MOC to Rebrickable, which was a goal I had for the year. In addition, I made good progress on the building goals I made for the year.

A Combine to match the Atmos Tractor (completed)
Another 42126 MOD (completed, twice)
An attachment for the Unimogs (no, but I made different Unimog and made 4 attachments for that)
A Garbage Truck (No, but coming soon)
A small truck (completed)
A system airplane (completed)
A remake of 8440 (completed)

I am now fully committed to the small manual technic build. I recognize this is not what gets the likes and views, but it’s what I enjoy building, so this is what I’ll continue to build. It does mean that I am building faster, and getting to enjoy more types of builds, which works well with my desire to keep creating new things. Looking over what will come in 2023, it will be more of the same. Some builds I have started I am really excited about.

Just a quick note about Rebrickable. In 2021, I taught myself how to use Bricklink Studio, and I’m happy I did that. I have been able to create and upload some great instructions to Rebrickable and I have received some great feedback and affirmation. I’ll keep doing this as I enjoy it, and I am always excited to see another build make one of my designs. I try to keep as many of the builds free as I am able, but I do value Rebrickable, and want to forward some funds to them. I hope this will continue to bring value to the online LEGO community. You can follow my builds on Rebrickable here.

For 2023 here are my goals:

Finish the Garbage Truck (finally)
A 15 wide Unimog U5000
Another alternative build
Another old set update
Some aircraft
A spaceship
A 15 wide car

Finally, As more people move to Instagram, feel free to see what I’m building there.

https://www.instagram.com/thirdwigg/?hl=en

On to 2023!

Filed under Planning Tagged with 2022, Planning

Off Road Knuckleboom Truck

January 5, 2023 Leave a comment

It was time for another truck! Free instructions can be found at Rebrickable.

I have been building a lot of tractors and construction vehicles lately. I love building them as they offer a lot of movement and features. But it was time to build another truck. LEGO truck MOCs are beginning to coalesce around the “Mack Anthem standard” which is a 15 module wide truck in about 1:20 scale. Many MOCs are being designed in this scale as it is a good playable size, and fits the scale of some of the more recent LEGO trucks that have been released. I wanted to offer another truck in this scale, with some fun playable features.

I started with a chassis that uses a simple pendular suspension on the rear axle, which is damped by 2×1 rubber connectors. The rear axle drives a simple I3 fake engine under the cab through a two speed transmission. The transmission changeover is on the right side of the truck. Front steering is controlled though the HOG light on the top of the cab.

I have found a simple way to add a three way tipper bed in my trucks, and I have used it many times before. A mini linear actuator moves simple linkage under the bed that can pivot in three different directions. Each corner of the bed has a removable axle that allows control for which way the bed tiles. But in the past the control for this tipping function was in a tricky place to reach, so I wanted to route the control to the top of the cab. I managed to add this right next to steering light. I used a top pivot design on the bed sides and rear, locked by a 3/4 pin on the bottom.

Finally, I added a crane, and since I had a little space left over, two stabilizing outriggers. The outriggers are a simple two link design that are controlled with a worm gear mechanism. The crane is a little more complicated. It is mounted on a small turntable with a rotation control on the left side of the truck. The first lift mini linear actuator is controlled by the third HOG on the top of the cab. The second lift stage is controlled by another mini linear actuator. Finally, the third stage has an extending boom that allows the reach of the crane to extend a little more. The crane can lift some; not a lot, particularly when the boom is fully extended. By removing the three HOG knobs, the cab tips to show the engine. Also, both doors open.

I loved the way this trucks looks. The beefy tires, and the cabover design give the truck presence and look of toughness. The crane was a lot of fun to play with even if it could be a little stiffer. However, this may be the last time I use this three way tipper design. I am happy I moved the control to the top of the cab, but the linkage does not have the power it needs at the start of the tip. I will have to come up with something better for the next truck.

Stay tuned, and happy building until then.

Filed under Construction Tagged with Crane, Cylinder, Differential, Instructions, MOC, steering, suspension, technic, Truck, Worm Gear

John Deere Axron

December 22, 2022 Leave a comment

What started out as a little tractor and trailer has grown into the Thirdwigg Farm! And it needed a bigger tractor.

Free instructions are available at Rebrickable.com.

I started with a simple, small, row tractor that I called the Atmos. This tractor was mid scale and in addition to steering and a fake engine like most of my builds, it featured a front implement mount, rear three point hitch, rear PTO, and rear Pneumatic PTO. Little did I know how the tractor would grow into a lot of other tractores, trailers, impliments, and farming support vehicles. At some point, I found myself interested in making a larger tractor, and I have always loved the Claas Xerion. The Claas been done in Lego Technic before, so I went the John Deere styling route for my build.

The tractor had to integrate into the other builds, so the front and rear mount and PTO placement dictated a couple of the hard points. I built the tractor with four wheel drive, and four wheel steering. A four cylinder fake engine is placed under the frond hood above the front axle. The rear most cylinder does not move as the crankshaft would have run into the steering unit, and any change I tried to fix it made for an ugly hood. A worm gear actuated rear three point hitch allows for implements to be mounted to the tractor.

The steering is controlled by a HOG light at the top of the cab, which caused some headaches for placement as I wanted the cab to be able to rotate. There is a small gear on the right of the tractor that controls the rotation through and internally mounted worm gear. Getting the cab to rotate in the right spot, without hitting anything, and while still having the pneumatic pump, required endless test rotations.

Since this is a Thirdwigg Farm tractor, there are many options to pair with this tractor, all with free instructions. My favorite is the Hookloadr trailer, but the Tandem Disc looks great too. Free instructions are available for all the options, so feel free to make your own farm.

It is always fun to make another tractor and this one was no exception. I wish the drivetrain was a little more smooth, but the rest of the tractor worked flawlessly. And it looks fantastic. Coupled with a trailer, makes it look strong and purposeful. And the rotating cab is so much fun to play with. We’ll see what gets added to the Thirdwigg Farm next!

Happy building!

Filed under Construction Tagged with 4x4, I4, Instructions, MOC, Pneumatic, PTO, steering, Thirdwigg Farm, Tractor, Worm Gear

LEGO 42136 Articulated Dumper

December 20, 2022 Leave a comment

I have never made an alternative model, until now!

The popularity of alternative models has been increasing in the past couple of years as Rebrickable has allowed for an easy way for people to see what they can make from the sets they own. I tend to be more interested in making the machines I want, but I figured I should learn how to do an alternative model at some point, and this summer I was ready for a little challenge.

LEGO set 42136 is a decent little set with some simple functions and an accessible cost. After I purchased the set, and put it together, I thought about what I could turn it into. Making an alternative model means you need to think right away about the special parts you have how they could be used in another MOC. For me, the important parts were the yellow panels, the turntable, and the wheels/tires. I wanted to keep the yellow and green well integrated, otherwise the build would look messy. Going through my Pinterest account, I came across the Hydrema Dumper, and I immediately knew it would work. I got to work.

I made a draft with the tires, bed, and major panels placed. Then it was just build, rebuild, rebuild to make sure all the parts were well supported and color matched with the parts available. Sometimes I just wanted another simple connector, and I had a use another solution with the parts I had left. Looking over the remaining parts, I wish I would have used the gears, and the little tires from the trailer. The tractor finished with steering and a tipping bed, and a cute little face.

I was happy to finally do an alternative build. This one looked clean, and the functions worked well. There has been some interest in the MOC, as some people have already built it themselves. You can too! It was a fun little challenge, so I’ll make some more alternative builds in the future.

Until then, happy building.

Filed under Construction, MODs Tagged with Altbuild, Dumper, steering, technic

Skid Excavator

December 20, 2022 Leave a comment

Another little contest build, complete with Free Instructions.

I participate in a number of LEGO Technic contests, and Eurobricks hosts a number of them. The requirements for the TC22 Contest was to build a Technic construction vehicle that could fit in a 10,000 stud bounding box. It had been a while since I built an excavator, and they allow for a lot of functions in a little bit of space. I have always been intrigued with the machines built by the French company Mecalac, and after looking at their cute little Skid Steer Excavators, I had my subject. Setting the scale was important as I only had so much space. I decided on the large tracks as I think they look a little better. Setting the width with the tracks at 17 studs, would give the stability needed, and would give me some working space. Calculating the rest of the excavator would allow for 28 studs in length, and 21 studs in height for a total of 9,996 total cubic studs.

I stared with the boom, which is a little complicated. The boom is a 3 section design, and should reach far, and tuck in close to the front plow, and be able to dig deep. I planned the movements with mini linear actuators, and wanted to keep the controls easily accessible. This resulted in a design where two actuators had controls on the boom, and two actuators had controls on the back of the superstructure.

I thought I had the hardest part done one the arm was finalized, but I quickly discovered that the rest of the superstructure was going to cause some problems. First, I was not sure on the shape I wanted. It took a couple of drafts to get the rear shape right. Once I did I realized I had some space for a little engine, so I added this, and connected it to one of the boom lifts. Now a little engine turns when the arm moves. Once these features were done, it took another four drafts to make sure the tractor would not fall apart.

Then off to the cab and the attachments. The can was simple enough, with a simple chair and the HOG mounted to turn the superstructure. I created four different attachments, including two excavator buckets, a skid bucket, and a set of forks. In what is becoming a standard feature of my builds, each can be changed over by pulling a couple of axles on the boom.

I was pleased with how this build turned out, and it was good enough for a third place in the Eurobricks contests. All the attachment options made for a fun, playable model, and the movement of the boom was perfect. Feel free to build one of your own.

Happy building.

Filed under Construction Tagged with Cylinder, mLA, MOC, technic

End Loader

November 16, 2022 Leave a comment

Time for another Eurobricks contest! Free Instructions are available at Rebrickable.com.

Another Eurobricks contest was made available, and this one was right up my alley. In fact, I was so excited about the contest, I made two MOCs. The contest was to create a small, less than 10,000 cubic stud, construction vehicle. I figured an end loader is perfect for the contest theme, and it was a while since I created one. I build a quick draft of the shape including where the steering, engine, and bucket would go.

At this scale I decided quickly that adding an engine would be a great feature, but four wheel drive would only distract from the look and the function of the bucket. The engine is a little 3 cylinder unit that is mounted transversally behind, and powered by, the rear axle. This placement allowed for steering and bucket tilting to be placed in a HOG placement.

I next worked on the linkage for the bucket. It took a couple of tries, but I finally got a linkage with full movement. Two mini linear actuators are placed on the side of the loader for bucket lift, and are linked together. The manual control is a small gear on the left side. The bucket tilt uses a Z-linkage design that allows for the bucket to move correctly through the lift movement and not dump any load. This is controlled by a single mini linear actuator, with a controlling gear on the top of the engine cover. The head of the bucket allows for quick change between a bucket and forks. Finally, steering is controlled by the HOG on the top of the cabin, and keep my high standards for steering feel with low slop.

I was pleased with this little creation, but it was not as interesting as the other MOC that I designed. So while everything worked well, and looked great, I submitted the other MOC for the contest. I hope you enjoy the MOC, and feel free to build one of your own.

Happy Building!

Filed under Construction Tagged with 2022, Cylinder, Differential, Instructions, mLA, MOC, steering, technic

John Deere Scout

November 3, 2022 Leave a comment

Another addition to the vastly growing Thirdwigg Farm.

I built the Atmos Tractor a couple of years ago as a small little project. Soon I had created a number of attachments and trailers to work with the tractor, and soon I was more tractors and other machines were added. But the balance needed some additional tractors, so I decided to make a little partner.

The John Deere Scout specifically so I could use the new Tractor tires that came from Lego 42122 and Lego 42129. But I wanted to it to be a smaller tractor with many of the features needed for full Thirdwigg Farm integration. Thus, the tractor had to have the common front and rear attachment points, a rear PTO, and steering because I put that it everything. Soon it was clear that the size of the tractor was going to make a fake engine poorly done, so I left it out. But I wanted some other feature to make this tractor unique.

The front bucket uses a worm gear function to lift the front arms. It is driven by a mechanism that drives rear, and then up to the top of the cab. There is a little gear for the HOG function that is just behind the steering HOG. A small worm gear mechanism is used to tilt the bucket. The arm can be easily removed if the desire is for the tractor to mount something on the front attachment point. The rear PTO is connected directly to the rear differential, and the common three point hitch is installed as well. Finally a trailer hitch is attached.

I also made a couple of attachments specifically for this tractor including a snow plow and scrapper, and a little trailer. Both may be found for free at Rebrickable.

With each additional tractor I add, I think it will be the last, but I keep having more ideas, and each one has been fun to design. I was pleased with how this tractor turned out, and how well it functioned. The tires look great at this scale. Most importantly, it matched well with each of the other tractors. The instructions are freely available at Rebrickable along with all the other Thirdwigg Farm builds, so feel free to make one of your own.

Happy building.

Filed under Construction Tagged with Cylinder, Differential, JohnDeere, MOC, steering, technic, Thirdwigg Farm, Tractor, Worm Gear

Lego 8440 Update

April 11, 2022 Leave a comment

I am on a little bit of a old set update kick right now, so here is another one.

Free instructions are available here.

When I do an update, I like to add features, but keep the look and feel of the original in a way that you see the build and know what it is referencing. It’s is easy to see the old studded design and have the impulse to recreate the set with studless beams. But there are a lot of new parts that have been released since those old sets were released and many of the new parts allow for a lot of new functions.

For this set, I started first with the bodywork. Once the bodywork was where I wanted, I would fit in as many new functions as I could. It turned out that not many functions were added. But at least the bodywork was a nice update to the original.

Updated 8440 (red) over original 8440 (light trans-blue)

I kept the V6 that 8440 had, and devised a new rear transmission to the rear wheels. It is single speed, but it is geared up in a way that the engine spins faster than it does in the original. I then started adding details to the engine that would fit under the engine cover. I had to keep some exhaust pipes, and cooling radiators, but it took a little time to get those to look the way I wanted. I finally found a solution that was a step up from the old pneumatic tubes.

Keeping the front steering was simple, but fitting it into the narrow nose was a little bit of a trick. The final result is not too interesting but works well, and allows for a removable nose. A simple rear wing was added as well, and can be easily removed.

The remake did not add as many new functions as I originally wanted to add. True, the design stayed faithful to the original, but a wanted a little more than that. Everything worked well, and looked great, but it was a little too simple. Maybe the next update I do will have a little more opportunity to make some updates. Until then, happy building.

Filed under Cars Tagged with 2022, Differential, MOC, racecar, steering, V-6

LEGO 42126 SVT8/10

April 11, 2022 Leave a comment

I loved LEGO set 8081 because it gave me a lot of modification ideas, and LEGO 42126 is similar.

Instructions may be found at Rebrickable for the SVT10 and the SVT8.

In addition to the 4×4 version of 42126, I was immediately interested to making a sport version of the pickup. The sport pickup is one of those silly American contributions to the automotive landscape, so naturally I had to turn the most American of vehicles, the F-150, into a sport truck.

First, I had to figure out how to set the ride height. I decided on the wheels for the truck right away, so it was clear the truck had to come down a little bit. It was clear this would be a significant modification. Since I was already changing the whole frame for the ride height drop, I decided early that i would change the rear suspension to an independent design.

Second, I had to decide on what engine I would use. It was clear at this point, I would have a two door and four door version so I decided a V8 for one, and a V10 for the other. 42126 has a lot of space under the hood, so both would fit without a lot of changes. I added a chain driven supercharger for the V8 to give it a little different look.

Finally, I wanted to keep the bodywork similar to 42126, but with a sporty look. I designed a new front bumper that is lower, and looks less rugged. I removed the side steps from 42126, and replaced with some simple panels. A new hood was also designed.

Video for the SVT10.

Video for the SVT8.

Functionally, the truck worked better than the Raptor. The suspension worked very well, thought the rear ride height was a little high. The steering worked well, and the front wheels tracked better than on 42126. I liked the look a little better as well, as the wheels and tires make 42126 look out of scale with itself. I pleased with how the updates turned out, so we’ll see if I come up with another MOD to do at some point.

Until then, happy building!

Filed under Cars, MODs Tagged with 42126, Independent Suspension, MOD, steering, suspension, V-10, V-8

Synthe Combine

March 16, 2022 Leave a comment

It was time to build a combine harvester for the Thirdwigg farm.

You may find instructions for this model at Rebrickable.com.

I was putting off building a combine for a while because they are pretty complicated. It took me a while before I felt like I understood enough about them to translate them to a LEGO MOC. After some time learning about them, I was ready to begin something. The scale was set based on the Atmos Tractor, so then it was a matter of deciding how many features I could add into the model. The models started with the thrashing mechnism, and then everthing fit in around it. I settled on a rotating thresher rather than a set of shuffling screens. In the center of the combine is a rotating auger that separates the grain from the staukes. As the auger spins it move the crop rearward separating the grain as it travels rearward. In the MOC, the auger is connected to the front wheels as the combine moves. Under the auger is a reciprocating screen that further separates the grain. Likewise this is also connected to the front wheels. At the rear of the auger are two spreaders that spread the chaft out the back of the combine.

Also connected to the front wheels is a takeoff that operates one of two cutting heads. The cutting head uses two augers on each side to move the corn to the center so it may be driven into the combine. A cutting edge is right behind the cones, and its movement is driven by a link below the combine, so it may cut back and forth. The full corn head is removable, and can be easily replace with a grain head. Each head is mounted on a moveable mounting plate, which can be moved up and down for harvesting and transportation.

In addition to the harvesting functions, the combine also has an opening right side so you may see the internal functions of the tractor. Here you may also see the mechanism that opens the top hopper. Additionally, the grain extractor on the left of the combine can be extended. Steering for the rear axle is operated by the air intake on the rear of the body.

This MOC took more time than usual for me, and there were a couple of times that I thought about scrapping the build, but I am happy I stuck with it. In addition to having another vehicle to populate the Thirdwigg Farm, the functions of the Combine were fun to implement in this build. Each worked well, and were fun to play with. The interchangeable head was an addition that changed the look of the combine depending on my mood, and each functioned well.

I guess it’s time to plan another tractor. Until then, happy building!