Build a Lego Land Rover Defender with me - Part 4 - Half way and something that resembles a vehicle

in LEGO3 years ago

As you may know I'm sorta live blogging the building of Lego Set 42110 - the Land Rover Defender

Here are the previous parts if you are interested

Part 1 Intro
Part 2 - the first 10%
Part 3 - Just so many cogs

This is starting to get serious, and very much starting to look like a car - I'm now at the end of 'bag 3' or step number 400 - basically all of the mechanicals have been done, - basically everything under the skin.

Here's a preview of where we are ending

image.png

Now step 400 of 860 odd might sound like just a little short of half way, but I actually feel like I'm much further in, maybe it's that everyone says the mechanical bits, which you do first is the difficult bit, maybe I just getting more confident in the build but I feel like I'm picking up pace, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

The building has been spread over little bits here a there, about a hour or so of concentrated building, then a couple of burst of 20 minutes of so, including one at about midnight last night because I couldn't sleep which is rare for me - but I can tell you that concentrating on this a) stopped my mind thinking about other things and b) tired me out no end.

But enough of my ranting let's have a lot at some of the stuff highlights from today

I encountered my first of the anticipated 'sticker problems' This set is secondhand so it's been built before, which also means some of the pieces have stickers on them. Now I've been careful to make sure to not use any stickers pieces by accident, in most instances you put the sticker on as you are building, but with the dashboard you put it together and about 6 steps later put the 'vent' sticker on, thankfully I understood what I was building, looked ahead a few pages and made the right choice.

dash and stickers.jpg

I also liked the actual seat build - it was more system than it was technic, but it genuinely looks like two tan leather bucket seat, complete with bolstered sides.

seats.jpg

But the big milestone was the join. after 265 steps you end up with four separate parts

from the left they are the switches for the gears, some random drive train bits which end up under it, the 'engine' and front wheels, and the rear wheels and, well more gears.

the join 4 parts.jpg

So four becomes three - easy enough

the join three parts.jpg

Three becomes two - simple enough, although worth pointing out that as it's laid out here the left part half is actually facing the wrong way.

the join two parts.jpg

Then it gets a bit more complicated, so complicated in fact that in the instruction book there is a QR code to scan (which I just like going to the pub in Australia at the moment, as you have to scan in just in case there is a COVID case there, on a side note should I been concerned that when I scanned at the two pubs I went to on Sunday both of them had my details pre-filled?) which then leads to a video of someone joining the two parts.

I'll admit it, it's tricky, I watched the video about 5 times, I tried it three of four times before I worked out I had a single piece in the wrong way which was stopping it all fiting together, but eventually it went together and I tested everything I could and it feels smooth so I think I've got it right

still needs a heap of reinforcing but for the first time it's starting to look like a vehicle - front of the car at the right in this pic.

the join together.jpg

From there you work on attaching the back shock absorbers, the spend so time putting a winch on the front (with a very nifty little switch to make sure it doesn't unspool itself, then onto a steering column and steering wheel and look move the steering wheel and the wheels move as well - impressive

Steering wheel.gif

And from there it's time to build the dashboard as shown above, add some floor, a vertical column which I assume is used for steering from outside and of course the chairs and when you are finished it looks like you are about half way through an episode of Mega Factories Land Rover and the car is about to go into the body shop.

around step 400 part 3.jpg

or if you prefer pretending that you are in the car

Around step 400 part 2.jpg

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