In today’s blog post we will see how the massive FrankenBase model was designed and built for the Eurobricks Mad Max contest.

1. The concept
The main idea behind the Frankebase was that the entire mobile base was constructed from all kinds of leftover machinery:

Buckets and bogies from a pair of tracked loaders
Front frame, suspension and axles from a monster truck
Command bridge and helipad from a stranded ship
Crane and two containers were salvaged from a dried up port
The leftovers were combined to create a self-sustaining mobile base along with its many support vehicles such as a quick buggy, a small bulldozer and a helicopter.

2. The build

2.1 Front axles
Work started with the two front axles which were incorporated the new planetary hubs. The axle assembly was made to look like a typical setup used in Monster truck. Axles are held in place with a 4 link suspension, supported by two hard long shock absorbers. A LEGO® servo motor is used to steer all 4 wheels, while the wheels are powered by 2 LEGO® L motors.


Total number of LEGO® motors used at this stage was 3.

 

2.2 Rear tracks
For the rear of the base I wanted to use tracks in order to give it a more industrial and heavy look.

In total there are 4 tracks, each suspended on 2 bogies with 4 wheels. Total number of wheels is 16 along with the 8 driving sprockets.

A pair of tracks was combined into a larger structure, which also includes a driving LEGO® L motor. Both of these structures were attached to the rear frame via turntables, allowing them to steer using an LEGO® M motor and a very large steering rack.


Total number of LEGO® motors used at this stage was increased to 6.

 

2.3 The bucket arms
I always wanted to make a massive model which uses the biggest available buckets.

With plenty of available room available, I decided to install a pair arms with buckets in parallel at the front of the vehicle. Each of the massive bucket arms is lifted using two large linear actuators using an LEGO® M motor. Another LEGO® M motor is installed inside each arm and tilts the buckets using a worm drive.


A total of 10 LEGO® motors were used in this stage.

 

2.4 Command deck and living quarters
For the command deck and living quarters I designed a large ship bridge structure towering high above the ground.

To give the base even more space, I built a pair of identical containers which are used to store the supporting vehicles.

 

2.5 The crane
I wanted the ability to remotely load and unload the containers. For that purpose, the LEGO® crane was designed to work independently of the base.

The crane had to be large and strong enough to pick up the container with the LEGO® support vehicle and swing it at either side of the base.

A total of 4 LEGO® M motors and a single BuWizz brick – remote control for LEGO® were used for the crane’s following functions:

–        One M motor for rotation of the crane

–        A second M motor would lift and lower the main boom using an extra large liner actuator

–        Third M motor to extend the grappling mechanism

–        A fourth M motor rotates the grappling mechanism in order to lock into the containers


Following the completion of the crane, the number of LEGO® motors used reached 14.

 

2.6 Helipad and loading ramp
For the rear of the Frankenbase I decided to create a helipad which would also serve as a loading ramp for the LEGO® support vehicles.

Using various panels I created two independent pathways leading from the containers to the rear helipad. These gave support vehicles another way to get off and on the base.

Helipad was mostly made using dark gray 3×11 panels. A couple of yellow beams were used for the letter H.

In order to lift and lower the helipad a pair of large linear actuators was used power by an LEGO® M motors.


Following the completion of the crane, the number of LEGO® motors used reached 14.

 

2.7.Support vehicles
No mobile base is complete without a few LEGO® supporting vehicles. In my case I wanted the vehicles to be as small as possible, yet still fully motorized and controllable.

In the end I came up with a pair of motorized vehicles:

–        Small bulldozer powered by a pair of LEGO® M motors

–        Minature buggy also powered by 2 LEGO® M motors

A non-motorized helicopter was added as the third supporting vehicle:

Counting the addition of support vehicles, the number of BuWizz bricks for controlling the LEGO® MOC was increased to 6 and total number of LEGO® motors reached 19.

 

2.7. Final touches
With the base mostly completed, I turned my attention to the small details.

Command bridge was covered with railing, nets and spikes:

Interior of the command bridge was filled with various ladders and walkways:

Walkways, railings, spikes, lights chains and such were added along the exterior of the base. You can see the size of the completed model compared to the LEGO® 42100 Liebherr R9800:

With base completed, let’s look at some interesting specs and trivia about the completed model:

The entire model took me around 2 weeks to build
All functions are powered by 19 LEGO® motors and controlled by 6 BuWizz bricks for controlling the LEGO®  motors
It measures over 130 cm long, 45 cm high and 40 cm wide
The weight is estimated to be around 7 kilograms
Piece count is around 6000 – 7000 bricks
This is one of my largest model built, first currently being the Go-kart
It’s one of my most eccentric builds ever
The different colors are intentional, representing the chaotic nature of its chaotic post-apocalyptic environment.

 

3. The photo shot
With the base now completed, the massive model was loaded in the back of my car for the photo and video shooting. As you can see on the photo below, the model barely fits into my car:

I chose the local playground as the main shooting location. That was due to the sandpit which made the model look like it is traveling through the desert.

With the help of a little bit of editing I ended up with the following photos and video:

 

Article written by Zerobricks