1/25 6 Axle Lattice Crane

[sparkycuda]

Your video of mast raising was great! You have kept faithful to prototypical speeds and it looks just like the real thing.

Awesome job!

Ken

[Southgate]

I've been back at work on this thing after almost a 2 year break. I was burned out!

The rim beads were properly shaped, and resin hubs added after the rims were painted. Here's before paint.


I got busy on detailing the outrigger boxes too. Still need some stuff, but they look far better being all closed up.



The gantry weight was increased, this helped in improving it's motion when erecting and lowering, but it also gave far more control to the lines by deepening the sheave slots.


Here, the outriggers, the chassis on the carrier, and the wheels are all painted and assembled.






I have a lot of painting left to do, especially on the details of the upper unit, and it needs some weathering, as it just looks too clean for a big ol' industrial machine. More to come. Dan

[modelman]

Southgate-I know nothing about cranes but this is truly a great model! Excellent craftsmanship, great attention to details, realistic movement. Great work!!!

[Originalrob]

Hi Dan
Welcome back to the forum ! I have only been about a short time (on my first build) so it’s good to have some veteran builders about for advice and different builds like your crane. Looking forward to seeing your progress !
Rob

[Southgate ll]

I need some help here. When I open page 6 of this thread, I am logged in. When I go to page 7, I am NOT logged in, and may not post replies. And, try as I might, I can not log in. I definitely know my password and forum name. I am replying from page 6 as I write. Ideas?

Edited in: now on p 7, since I replied from page 6, I'm logged in. Odd.

Anyway, thank you, Rob. I have to tell you I am anything but a veteran when it comes to RC. This crane is my only venture into RC, and I only RC'ed it cuz it was the only way to make it functional at any level. I'm mainly a 1/25 scale model truck builder. (and switch off occasionally to HO model RR, simple DC only) And when you look at the caliber of machinery being engineered and built on this forum, you'll see I'm kind of a runt here. That said, I'd be glad to help any way I can.

As mentioned above, The crane is undergoing a heavy makeover to downsize it Here's a before picture. Note the extended front end, the size of the wheels, and how high the carrier deck is, compared to that little figure by the rear wheel.


Now note all the above on this take.


While I don't follow any one specific 1/1 prototype crane for this build, I do try to stay within "typical" parameters. I do lean heavily on Link Belt and P&H influence. Call it "protolanced", to borrow a model railroader term.

The overall length of the carrier was shortened around 9 scale feet, (over 4"), the deck height lowered about 14 scale inches, and the width of both the carrier and the upper unit were narrowed about 10 scale inches. This brings it well into scale proportions compared to a Link Belt HC 278 H, the class of cranes I'm shooting for.

Original tires were pirated from (gulp) 3 Ertl AMT Payhauler 350 dump trucks. They'll be returned now. New smaller tires were scratchbuilt from black ABS pipe connectors and 1/4" ABS sheet, for the sidewalls. VERY messy lathe work. The treads are made from bands of bicycle inner tube for traction and quiet operation on a hard floor.








Once the sidewalls were glued in with pipe cement, They were sanded which left them a lighter flat black color, and I left them at that.



Note also in that last picture the new narrower rear equalizing suspension pieces, the access notches cut into the frame to allow wheel/axle travel, and how deep the hub detail is inset into the rim due to narrower motor-gearheads. All hard earned lowering, narrowing, and length shortening processes.
I'll post before I lose this again.

[Southgate ll]

Continuing a little bit, compare the front end of the earlier carrier to the later. I originally copied P&H carrier looks with that heavy frontal overhang, but came to dislike it. I saw a Link Belt pic on the 'net, that placed the cab more over the wheels, and just a little forward still, and thought that's the look!

Part of the overhang was room for the circuit board for the whole headlight, parking light, and flasher feature,(as can be seen in picture below) but that is now under the engine hood. Also, originally the steering servo was mounted vertically under the driver seat, forcing it in front of the axles. Then It occured to me it could be mounted horizontally between the frame rails, with a pitman arm arrangement for motion. Lop off about 3+ scale feet of bulk!

Here's a look at the 2 carrier decks. This picture, I think, best captures the difference in proportions. Over 120 square scale feet, a decent sized bedroom, was reduced from the carrier deck!


"No wonder the thing was so wide!"


The shorter motor on the left now powers the carrier drive axles,6 mounted transversely, back to back, and the drums in the upper unit. Also transverse, shaft to shaft. You can see the huge diff that would make.
Thank you for following, more later! Dan

[frizzen]

That's such a cool crane! It definately shows that you're a modeler first, then radio control.

Where did you source the new smaller motors, or do they have part numbers?