Subject:
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Re: LEGO AFVs
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.build.military
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Date:
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Sun, 22 Jul 2007 03:23:04 GMT
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Viewed:
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6006 times
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Don,
Take a look at my BS folder to see how I've used different tracks and wheels on
different vehicles.
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=188751
As with almost all things LEGO, there is no "one size fits all" solution that
works for everything. I've experimented with various track designs and they all
have their uses and limitations. The links come in three widths, the narrow not
quite one brick width, and the wider 2 and a half brick width (to the untrained
eye it looks like three wide but it is in fact a bit less). If you are building
to minifig scale, the ideal width for a tank track would be about 2 wide, so
these are a bit on either the small side or the big side. There are also the new
wide tracks which come with the snowscooter that are almost 5 wide, which are
much too big for minifig scale tracks, but might be useful for a sci-fi minifig
scale tank or a larger scale vehicle.
There are of course the one-piece rubber tracks, which come in 2 brick wide and
3 brick wide sizes, but these aren't quite long enough for most minfig scale
tanks, so they aren't perfect either. Here is one solution I came up with, which
I think looks cool, but isn't your standard tank/AFV look.
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=1905086
For a tracked vehicle, the roadwheels (the wheels that will run along the
ground, as opposed to the raised ones at the front and back) can either be
attached on the side of the vehicle or underneath. There is no one right way to
do it, but I tend to prefer having them underneath, which gives more ground
clearance (but also makes the vehicle higher, and thus a larger target).
I like to mount roadwheels in pairs, which allows the wheels to flow naturally
over terrain, giving the illusion that the vehicle has suspension
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2393277
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2393271
The "easiest" wheel to use for roadwheels on chain link treads are regular gears
(typically 16 or 24 tooth), as these will fit into the groove on link chains
most readily, and are the least likely to allow the track to slip off to one
side or another. Unfortunately they don't look very realistic, and generate more
friction than a regular wheel.
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2035314
Gears are fine for the raised wheels at the front and rear (technically I
believe these are called the drive wheel and return wheel). But for roadwheels,
I tend to prefer a round wheel, and have used a few different solutions, but
there are many more.
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=1996219
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2317709
Building wheeled (as opposed to tracked) vehicles can be fun too, and rigging up
a steering mechanism isn't too difficult. It's also cheaper than buying all
those chain links.
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2393334
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=1998581
Hope this helps a little, feel free to let me know if you have any other
questions. I'm not familiar with how to generate instructions, but if you need
me to take any particular pictures, let me know. I look forward to seeing what
kind of tracked and wheeled vehicles you come up with:)
cheers
Magnus
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: LEGO AFVs
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| Thanks to all who replied to my questions. I have ordered lots of LEGO to build with. It will probably be next week before these come in and I can build. In the meantime, I will study the info presented. I do have a couple of questions. As almost (...) (17 years ago, 22-Jul-07, to lugnet.build.military)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | LEGO AFVs
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| Cross-posted from LEGO Military: I recently attended Brick World and I was really impressed with the city battle. There were many Mechs and AFV's. For some time I have been interested in doing AFV's. The cost of buying mass amounts of separate links (...) (17 years ago, 19-Jul-07, to lugnet.build.military)
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