Unimog U90

January 14, 2017 1 Comment


About 3 months ago I purchased a set of four Fischertechnik tires from ebricks.ru. After seeing a review of them by RM8, I reached out to him, and he mailed me a set. After a little time, I finally have something to show with them.

Unimog U90

After playing with a number of ideas, I decided to do another Unimog. It’s easy to motivate myself to build a vehicle I love. This time, I wanted to do the unloved U90 (418) version. It was not a terribly successful version, as many find the hood…not one of the best. But few people have built this version, so I was up for it. I put to to a vote on Eurobricks, and the decision was to build it in green. Off I went.

The scale required a 27 stud wheelbase and a 19 stud width. I built the front and rear axles and tied them together. Through a couple of edits, I finally added the suspension and figured out how to get portal axles into the truck. The Power Functions XL motor was mounted just over and in front of the rear axle driving power to all four wheels. The Servo motor was placed directly ahead of the XL for the front axle steering. I added a four cylinder fake engine over the front axle. The rechargeable battery box was placed over the rear axle.

Unimog U90 Driveline

The suspension is a live axle setup, with four hard shock absorbers at each corner. Each wheel has about 2 studs of travel. Not much for a Unimog, but enough for a 418. At this point I started a draft of the cab, and a draft of the bed. At this point the truck had an identity crisis. Move forward with green or find another option.

Unimog U90 Bed Tilt

Building LEGO Technic with green is not the easiest. The color lacks 1×5 and 1×11 beams. Both of the these parts would be needed for the bed and the cab. I could make some things work for the 1×11 in the hood, but there was no other option (read, inexpensive option) for the 1x5s needed for the bed. I toyed with other colors for the bodywork; orange, white, blue, yellow. None of them had the right pop I was looking for. Other than the orange, but, as other have said, orange has been done too many times. Then it dawned on me, “why not use plates?” I had my solution. With one bricklink order, I was done.

The truck drives well, and is easily controllable. The front portal axle can use a little strengthening, so serious trial abilities are lacking with this truck. Both the bed and the cab can be easily removed. I ran out of space for a ram to elevate the bed, but it can tilt three ways. I was pleased with how the truck turned out. It looks great. The driveline coule use some improvements, so I will make those improvements on the next truck.

 

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2016

January 3, 2017 1 Comment


2016 was another productive year in Thirdwiggville. I did some fun builds, some big builds, and a couple of quick builds. I participated in four online contests, finished some projects that had been brewing for a while, and shut down one project that was not going anywhere. As a recap, here is what I built: Snowblower/Tractor, Porsche 911 Cup Car, K-TEC 1233 Scraper, Kalmar 180, 9393 Updates, Porsche 714, Volvo FE Refuse, International Tow Truck, and Concept Bulldozer.

Some reflections on 2016:

First, I completed some of the goals I set from last year.

  • Work on no more 3 WIPs projects at a time: Mostly Completed
  • Do what I can to get to Brickworld 2016: Not Completed
  • Finish the Ferrari 333 SP: Not Completed
  • Complete a garbage truck: Completed
  • Make a small scraper: Completed
  • Make a pickup truck: Not Completed
  • Participate in another contest: Completed
  • Maybe another tank, or a Honda 2×4. Neat: Not Completed

My MOCs are getting a little let complex, and I am happy to keep this going. I think I have found an appropriate level of Lego building for my life season. Having two little Wiggs in the house, limits my building time. Building less complicated builds keeps me motivated to keep projects going until completion. With the below plans in mind, there are a couple of complex builds that will be interspersed into less complicated builds.

Yesterday I was able to organize all of my Lego room. No loose part is on the floor, or on the building table. Everything is in its right drawer, bag, or place. It is perfectly organized. I hope to continue this. It keeps my frustration level lower, and lowers my chances of ordering a part I already have. I am thankful for having a dedicated Lego space. It is time for me to use it well.

With the above in mind, I hope to keep to the build three rule, where no more than three projects are occurring at the same time. Again, this keeps me from buying what I do not need, and keeps me more focused on completing a current build. I will try to keep The Queue updated so you may see what is currently being worked on.

I would like to keep to one Bricklink order per month. Keeping myself from acquiring what I do not need with be the theme this year. I have enough Lego parts to do most of what I want to build, so it is a exercise in prudence and planning to keep my accumulation of new parts to a minimum. I’ll report back on this at the end of the year.

With the above in mind, here are my goals for 2017.

  • A Model Team airplane
  • Another airplane
  • A motorcycle
  • A small truck (dump)
  • A big truck (PF, rolloff)
  • A pickup truck (PF)
  • A Large GT car
  • Something pneumatic

To 2017! Happy Building.

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