Tag Archives: rc

Remotely Racing

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This morning has been somewhat messier than we hoped. A remote control creation was found by one of our Elves, which – as regular readers will know – of course means it was used to run over as many Elves as possible before it inevitably crashed.

Rather annoyingly however, the Elven attrition continued post-crash, because whilst the truck was out of action it was able to jettison the racing car it carried which was also remote controlled. Sigh.

Order has now been restored, the culprit given a Smartie (that’s how it works…), and we can take a look at the creation/s that caused the ruckus.

Built by Technic genius mahjqa, this remotely controlled transporter and racing car duo are a wonderful demonstration of brick-based engineering.

As well as both featuring remote control drive and steering, the racing car includes an oversized V8 engine with working cylinders, whilst the truck is equipped with a clever tilting hook-lift platform, with even cleverer automatic wheel chocks that deploy during the tilt to ensure the racing car doesn’t roll off.

It’s a brilliant solution and you can watch both models in action via the fantastic video below, in which mahjqa also reveals the ingenious Technic camera cars used to capture the footage, plus you can find full details at Eurobricks as well as all the images on Flickr here.

YouTube Video

 

Czech Meight

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It’s been a while since we had a trial truck here at TLCB Towers, but we’re making up for it today. This is Madoca 1977’s Tatra T813 8×8 Kolos, and it’s one of the most capable we’ve seen yet.

Controlled via a Smart Hub, two L Motors drive all eight fully-suspended wheels via planetary reduction, a M Motor drives the steering, whilst another M Motor operates the high/low gearbox.

Madoca’s model also includes a V12 engine, a removable cab, plus opening doors and hatches, with lots more to see at the Eurobricks forum. Click the link above for a closer look.

Bus Boy

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We’re travelling slowly through Westchester New York today, on a twenty-year-old Orion Industries V (05.505) bus. Over a hundred Orion Vs still operate on Westchester’s ‘Bee-Line’, and are the last not be hybrid or electrically powered.

This Orion V actually is battery powered though, as its maker JLiu15 has equipped it with full motorisation including the drive, steering, and doors.

There’s more of the model to see at JLiu’s ‘2005 Orion V (05.505) Bee-Line Bus’ album on Flickr, and you can take the No. 52 to Bronxville via the link above.

We’re Slammin’, and We Hope You like Slammin’ Too

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We’re feeling loooow today, not in mood, but in stance, thanks to this beautiful air-bagged Peterbilt 389 truck and MAC 4-axle trailer.

Constructed by Grigoriy, this stunning custom Peterbilt features a remote control ‘air ride’ system via a Powered-Up L Motor, motorised drive and steering, an inline-6 engine, opening doors and hood, a sprung front bumper, and a working fifth-wheel, whilst the huge MAC trailer includes a lift-and-steer system too.

There’s much more of the model see at both Bricksafe and Eurobricks, building instructions are available, and you can get low with us via the links above.

Trailin’ Low

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This neat Technic 8×4 truck and low-bed three-axle trailer comes from previous bloggee damianPLE, and despite the small scale there’s a full remote control drivetrain squeezed inside. The Power Functions Medium Motor and Servo are powerful enough to haul a load too, and you can see more (as well as find a link to building instructions) at Eurobricks and Bricksafe.

B is for BuWizz

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TLCB Elves are running for their lives today, because this tremendous Technic remote control Group B rally car is roaring up and down the office corridor. TLCB staff may or may not be at the controls…

Constructed by TLCB Master MOCer Nico71, entered into last year’s BuWizz Gathering, and inspired by a number of ‘80s rally machines, it shows the best of what can be achieved with LEGO Technic and compatible third-party electronics.


Twin LEGO Buggy Motors, Servo steering, all-wheel double-wishbone suspension, a mid-mounted V6 engine, opening doors, hood and tailgate, and BuWizz 2.0 Bluetooth control all feature, as do building instructions so you can create Nico’s model for yourself to terrorise the animals in your own house.

There’s loads more to see at the Eurobricks forum and you can make a beeline there via the link above, plus you can watch Nico’s creation in action via the video below.

YouTube Video

Not in Iran

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If you’ve been vaguely aware of the news over the past few weeks it’s been getting a bit bomby in the Middle East.

That’s because President Trump knew that Iran were going to start a war with America, a war that they in fact started 47 years ago, and so he started a war himself, that’s not a war, that Iran started. Ok it might be a war, but it’s not about regime change. It’s about Iran’s imminent use of the nuclear weapons that America “completely and totally obliterated” only last year. Although the regime has also changed.

Anyway, the not-a-war will only last a few weeks, in fact it’s already been won. Although it might go on forever. And NATO need to grow a pair a get involved. Not that Trump needs them.

And if all that sounds like the ravings of an unfiltered toddler making the words up literally as they leave their mouth, that’s because it is.

Thus here’s NATO’s actual front line – the one designed to keep America safe from the Soviet Union behind the buffer of Europe, which isn’t in the Middle East at all – a tremendous Czech Tatra 815-7 8×8 Starkom electronics jammer.

Constructed by Samuel Nerpas (aka Tatrovak), this incredible creation features all-wheel-drive and all-wheel-steering via eight Power Functions XL Motors and two Servos, working all-wheel suspension with adjustable ride height via two M Motors, and pneumatically driven stabilisers via another M Motor. Two CaDa micromotors power the roof-mounted weapons system, with all fifteen operable remotely via a pair of BuWizz Bluetooth bricks, plus there’s a tilting cab complete with a fully detailed interior, opening doors and hatches.

It’s a hugely impressive build, and you can take a closer look at what is still the front line of NATO, which is not in Iran, via both Eurobricks and Flickr.

Mining Cornwall

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The Cornwall Peninsula in the very south of the United Kingdom is famous for its pasties, beaches, cider, and – at one time – mining.

This began with silver and tin, plundered by the Romans, and ended with coal, plundered by the Government.

Mines were a combination of dangerous ‘pits’ and open cast, with the latter exploited by enormous mechanisation in later years. This is one such machine from the time, the 390-ton Ruston-Bucyrus 195-B electric rope shovel.


Recreated in 1:28.5 form, this spectacular replica of the Ruston-Bucyrus 195-B comes from recent bloggee Beat Felber, to work alongside his Terex 33-11C mining truck.

Like his previously featured Terex, Beat’s electric rope shovel is packed with electronics to bring it to life, with four Power Functions motors driving the tracks, two the swing motion, another the main winch, and an eighth the dipper handle. No, we don’t know what a dipper handle is.

Finally two CaDA micromotors power the bucket door release and motorised access ladder, there are two sets of LEDs lighting the model, and the whole lot is controllable remotely via twin SBricks.

It’s a hugely impressive feat of engineering, with lots more of the model to see at Beat’s ‘Ruston-Bucyrus 195-B’ Flickr album – where it’s pictured alongside the Terex 33-11C with which it would have worked mining Cornish coal.

Grab a pasty and a cider and head to 1980s Cornwall via the link above.

Lime Crush

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It’s been a quiet week here at TLCB Towers. Elves have returned, creations have been published, and no-one’s been squashed at all. Until today.

This enormous lime green machine is a 1980s Terex 33-11C, actually one of Terex’s smaller mining trucks, and one that was used extensively in Britain’s open cast mines.

It comes from Flickr’s Beat Felber who has not only expertly recreated the 33-11C’s exterior, he’s fitted his spectacular creation with remote control drive, steering, and tipping, courtesy of an SBrick programmable Bluetooth controller and a suite of Power Functions motors.

Being a mining truck of course, Beat’s Terex is much too slow to run over any TLCB Elves, but the Elf that found it took great care loading it up with gravel from the pot plant in the corridor, reversed slowly up to some of its unsuspecting colleagues, and promptly tipped the load on top of them. And then ran them over. Sigh.

Points for Elven ingenuity we suppose. Anyway, whilst we tidy that up you can check out more of Beat’s superb Terex 33-11C at his Flickr album of the same name. Click the link above to take a look.

Technically Trucking

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From a tiny RC truck to one that’s rather larger, this is nico71’s splendid fully remote controlled 1:30 Scania.

Fitted with a pair of LEGO Power Functions motors for drive and steering, Nico’s truck also features opening doors, a tilting cab, lockable three-axle trailer steering, working support legs, and – if motors aren’t your thing – a manual version that switches the electronics for ‘HOG’ steering and a piston engine.

Building instructions for both versions are available, and you can find full details plus a video of the truck in action at the Eurobricks forum here, plus you can check out Nico’s interview in the Master MOCers series via this bonus link.

Tiny Tanker

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One of our Elves is rather grumpy today. You see, despite finding a blogworthy creation (and therefore getting fed), our mythical workers also hope to find something remotely controlled, and large and fast enough to flatten as many fellow Elves as possible. Today’s creation is, well… not that.

But it is – amazingly – remote controlled, thanks to tiny Circuit Cube electrics hidden within the cab. Just seven studs wide, this neat MAN TGX tanker truck by previous bloggee Ts_ can remotely drive and steer, and even the trailer has mechanically operable support legs too.

Thus whilst it can’t squash a TLCB Elf (much to the annoyance of the one that found it) it is a thoroughly intriguing creation nonetheless, and you can see how it all works at the Eurobricks forum via the link above.

Double Dutch

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We’re trucking across the Netherlands today, thanks to two brilliant brick-built Dutch trucks. Well, one’s German, but it’s in use by a Dutch building materials company, so it still counts.

The first (above) is the work of serial bloggee Arian Janssens, and is a lovely classic DAF FA 3300 ATI with a matching drawbar trailer in tow. Working steering, openable load areas, and beautiful detailing all feature, and you can see more of Arian’s DAF via the link above.

Our second Dutch truck (below) is a 2010s MAN TGX, also outfitted with a three-axle trailer, plus a crane, a superbly replicated livery, and a suite of remote control motors to bring it to life. Flickr’s z_onno is its maker and you can see all the images of this excellent modern-day MAN via the link in the text above.

Printed Portals

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It’s not a purist day here at TLCB, as we follow four 3D-printed wheels with four more. And a canvas roof. And – most impressively – four exquisitely-made custom portal axles with reduction gears. Those gears are Technic, but the cases in which they are contained are bespoke and beautifully engineered by previous bloggee Michael Kulakov (aka Michael217), who has fitted them to his spectacular fully remote controlled Hummer H1.

LEGO Power Functions L Motors are combined with a third-party Geekservo motor to steer, with the model featuring all-wheel-drive, fully independent suspension, a detailed engine and interior, plus opening doors, hood and tailgate, alongside the aforementioned custom componentry.

Beautiful imagery accompanies Michael’s phenomenal creation, with lots more of the model to see at both his ‘Hummer H1’ Flickr album and at the Eurobricks discussion forum. Click the links above to take a look, and to see the unique engineering deployed in its making.

All My Circuits

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LEGO’s Power Functions and Control+ components are excellent for bringing vehicles to life. Third-party BuWizz and SBrick go even further, with more power and programmable control, and hundreds of creations have appeared here over the years powered by their components. But the drawback with all of the above is, as with your Mom, size.

Too big for many models, it means remote control is reserved for only larger creations. But not today, because this dinky 7-wide Mercedes-Benz Actros 6×4 truck is fully remote controlled!

Powered by a Circuit Cube Hub hidden in the cab, there’s a tiny drive motor – just three studs long – and a servo to steer. What’s more, it’s maker Ts_ has included drive to all four wheels, as per the real truck.

Able to pull a sizeable three-axle trailer, there’s more of Ts_’s remote control Actros to see at the Eurobricks forum, including an image of how the third-party electronics fit within it. Click the link above to peek inside.

The Lego Multicar Blog

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This strange looking device is an IFA Multicar M25, a small cab-over truck built in East Germany designed to perform numerous jobs. This one comes from previous bloggee DamianPLE (aka damjan97PL) who has fitted it with motorised drive, steering, and tipper, all controlled remotely via a third-party SBrick.

There’s also a tilting cab, under which sits a working four-cylinder piston engine, opening doors, and a detailed interior too, with more to see – including a video of the Multicar in action – at the Eurobricks forum. A gallery of over two-dozen images is also available to view on Bricksafe, and you can find both via the links above.