It is the Aston Martin DB9 Volante. The model is packed with features:
– Independent suspension on all wheels
– Steering with Ackerman geometry and caster angle
– A 5+R manual gearbox
– A V12 fake engine
– Adjustable seats
– Openable doors, hood and bonnet
– And a convertible roof
Aston Martin DB9 Volante
The roof mechanism is not automated like on my Ferrari 458 Spider, but it does fold itself in exactly the same way as the real car.
Aston Martin DB9 Volante
The doors use a special 4-link mechanism to make the door completely flush with the bodywork when the door is closed. I have made a small video in which I showcase the various functions.
Here is my next commissioned model, the Ferrari 458 Spider:
Ferrari 458 Spider
It is a 1:10 scale replica with the following working functions:
Steering with Ackerman geometry
Independent suspension on all wheels
A fake V8 engine
A 4 speed sequential gearbox
Openable doors, hood and trunk
Convertible roof
Ferrari 458 Spider
It is a right hand drive model. I really enjoyed designing and building this model. The convertible roof was a particular difficult challenge, especially in combination with the gearbox and the engine that all had to fit in the space behind the seats.
Ferrari 458 Spider
I also made a small video to showcase the different functions. It can be found here.
It is time to present my next commissioned model. It is a 1:10 replica of the Mercedes-AMG GT R.
Mercedes-AMG GT R
This time I also made a short video showcasing its functions.
This model features the following functions:
independent suspension on all wheels
steering with HoG and working steering wheel
V8 fake engine
working lights (with custom lighting bricks)
opening doors and hood
adjustable seats
adjustable spoiler
detailed interior and engine bay
a 4D+N+R gearbox
an active aerodynamic spoiler in the front which opens when 4th gear is engaged
four wheel steering with speed (read gear) dependent behaviour:
– in 1st gear the wheels steer against each other
– in 2nd gear only the front wheels steer
– in 3rd gear the rear wheels steer a bit with the front wheels
– in 4th gear the rear wheels steer with the front wheels
Mercedes-AMG GT R
This model was a real challenge in terms of packing all this functionality into it. It has over 2200 parts, despite being a 1:10 model. The mistress is of similar scale, but has only 1600 parts, whereas the 1:8 DB11 has ‘only’ 2700 parts. Still, I am very pleased with the end result. Especially the gear dependent four wheel steering setup works like a charm.
Mercedes-AMG GT R
This is the first model that has custom stickers (not shown since my client wants to build the model himself so I didn’t apply them) and custom lighting. Here are some shots with the lights on:
Mercedes-AMG GT RMercedes-AMG GT R
The model was commissioned with an exclusivity clause, so there will be no instructions.
It has been a while since my last post, my apologies for that. I haven’t been idle though. In the coming months I hope to be able to show some of the models I designed for my customers in the past months. But let me start by introducing the model I have been working on for the past year. Here is my replica of the F14A Tomcat in LEGO Technic:
F14A Tomcat
The Tomcat is an incredible plane, and I tried to pack my version as dense as possible with the features the real plane has as well:
Driven by one M-motor and using a manual gearbox the following functions are electrified:
– The engine turbines (directly coupled to the M-motor)
– The rotating Gatling gun on the port side
– A small pneumatic pump
– The canopy
– The landing gear
– The eight landing gear bay doors
– The adjustable main wings (in the photo below they are moved out, in the photo above they are swept back)
F14A Tomcat, with main wings out
Next to that there are six pneumatic valves controlling the following functions:
– Switch between the internal small vacuum pump and the external large vacuum pump
– The bleed doors in the air-intakes of the engines
– The delta wings at the side of the air-intakes
– The arresting hook
– The front and rear flaps on the main wings
– The two air brakes on the main wings and the three air brakes at the end of the fuselage
F14A Tomcat with main wings swept back
The plane also features a couple of manual functions:
– A knob to control the pitch of the aircraft. The rear horizontal wings and the joystick are controlled with this knob.
– A knob to control the roll & jaw of the aircraft. The rear horizontal wing, the vertical control surfaces and the joystick are controlled with this knob. If the landing gear is down, the front landing gear is steered with this knob as well. A special differential control mechanism is used to combine both pitch and roll control and feed only one signal to each wing.
– The nacelles that contain the turbo engines can be opened and the engines can be taken out.
– A double lever to activate the ejection seats. The canopy is ejected at the same time as well.
F14A Tomcat rear view
And finally some fun facts:
The model weighs around 4 kilograms and is just shy of 4000 parts
It is 87 cm long, 101 / 66 cm wide (main wings open / swept back) and 33.5 cm high when put on its stand
It has ten small pneumatic cylinders and nine shock absorbers
It has 549 axles, 110 gears and 111 panels
Most of the functions are color coded so that you can distinguish them during the building process
F14A Tomcat
Contrary to my earlier models I will not just sell building instructions of this model. Instead I will offer this model as an limited edition set. That means that if you buy this model you will get all the parts needed to build this exclusive set, neatly sorted and packed in a high quality German storage box system together with the building instructions.
I will offer at most 200 of these sets and they will only be available in 2018. Each of them will be numbered and have a certificate of authenticity signed by me. Details for the pricing can be found on this page.
Here is my next commissioned model, a Ford Focus ST:
Ford Focus ST
It is in a smaller scale then I usually build. It still has the following features:
– Steering (with a virtual pivotpoint and Ackermann geometry)
– A 3 cylinder fake engine
– Opening bonnet, trunk and doors
– Adjustable seats
– Working steeringwheel
Ford Focus ST
The model is very sturdy and can be handled from any angle.
Ford Focus ST
The model is packed with half stud offsets to be able to capture the lines of the original car despite the smaller size.
Here is a model I made on my own account. The new Aston Martin DB11:
Aston Martin DB11
It is build in a bigger scale than my other supercars, using the LEGO 42056 Porsche wheels. The model is filled with functions:
Independent suspension on all wheels
Steering with functional steeringwheel and HoG in the back
Swiveling frontlights (right lamp turns right when steering right, left light turns left when steering left)
LED lights front and rear
Sequential gearbox operated with paddles next to the steering wheel and HoG in the rear. It is an 8D+N+R gearbox (ie eight speeds forward, one reverse and one neutral).
Highly detailed V12 fake engine
Adjustable front chairs (forward, backward and tilting backrest)
This is a replica of the iconic Ferrari 308 GTSi. My client provided photos of his real life version of this car so that I could replicate it with all details (red grilles above the front wheels, extra lower lip below the bumper, tan leather interior, etc.).
It has the following features:
– Independent suspension on all wheels with anti-roll bars
– Steering with proper geometry (ackerman, kingpin inclination, camber, etc.)
– pop-up headlights (operated with a switch in the dashboard)
– adjustable seats (forward/backwards + recline forward/backwards)
The inspiration for this model came from a colleague of mine who purchased the Alfa Romeo 4C. I searched the internet for pictures of his car and then I found this spider version in gorgeous white with Italian race stripes. For some reason I can’t phantom now I thought it a good idea to make the car fully remote controlled.
The Alfa Romeo 4C spider has the following features:
– Independent suspension on all wheels
– Openable hood/hatch/doors
– V4 fake engine
And the following functions are remote controlled:
– Drive
– Steering
– 4 speed sequential gearbox
– Seats forward/backwards
– Seatrest recline forwards/backwards
I have made instructions for this model that are available for free (but be warned that this model uses a lot of rare parts). On the building instruction page you can order the instructions.
The BMW 328 Hommage was a car I accidently stumbled upon when browsing the internet. The moment I saw the car I realized I wanted to replicate it in Lego. The asymmetric interior design, the huge bonnet and the striking crossed front lights are defining features of this car.
The BMW328 Hommage has the following features:
– Independent suspension on all wheels
– Working steering with proper steering geometry (Ackerman, kingpin inclination, etc.)
– A sequential 4D+N+R gearbox that is operated with one gearshifter
– Openable hood to reveal the 6 cilinder engine
I have made instructions for this model that are available for 11 euros. On the building instruction page you can order the instructions.