Toylander build thread!
Discussion
Hard-Drive said:
I believe that’s 3 points isn’t it :-)chrisga said:
I'd have been in one of these for every waking second of every day if I'd had one when i was a kid come rain or shine. As it was I made do with my pedal car until I could ride a bike.
Me too!I’ve built the kitchen bin caterham lookalike car.
My 4 year old daughter loves it and relishes every opportunity to pop out in it. Perhaps it is the attraction to something built not bought, or just the general enjoyment of it all.
I know he's going to love it. He's Land Rover mad (although he can't say Land Rover, only "Jamrah"!) and points and shouts at the full size version every time we walk past it in the driveway.
He does have a Peg Perego Gaucho jeep (local garage sale, £15, dead, but got it going again) and even with new batteries it's got absolutely nowhere near the power or ability of the Toylander. It's 2/3 of the size and about half the weight and the speed control is a very crude 6V or 12V setup and just not even in the same league.
OK I will admit that a lot of the details are done for my own "benefit" and when we go to Landy shows next year perhaps I do want to be the Dad that made the coolest Toylander in the Toylander line up, and that a lot of the extra detail will be lost on him at a young age. But I don't care, and although it will not have been a cheap project once it's done, and he will be a lucky lad, I don't think anyone can call him "spolit" as it will have started off life as some sheets of MDF and a dead mobility scooter, and the biggest investment will have been time. And I've very much enjoyed building it so far!
He does have a Peg Perego Gaucho jeep (local garage sale, £15, dead, but got it going again) and even with new batteries it's got absolutely nowhere near the power or ability of the Toylander. It's 2/3 of the size and about half the weight and the speed control is a very crude 6V or 12V setup and just not even in the same league.
OK I will admit that a lot of the details are done for my own "benefit" and when we go to Landy shows next year perhaps I do want to be the Dad that made the coolest Toylander in the Toylander line up, and that a lot of the extra detail will be lost on him at a young age. But I don't care, and although it will not have been a cheap project once it's done, and he will be a lucky lad, I don't think anyone can call him "spolit" as it will have started off life as some sheets of MDF and a dead mobility scooter, and the biggest investment will have been time. And I've very much enjoyed building it so far!
richatnort said:
Two observations from the video.
1. Will he drive it over the big step from the hill to the flat bit of grass easily and break it by mistake?
2. Is that a stream to the left side and could he accidentally drive it into that?
Is it worth fitting a remote kill switch just in case?
1 he will drive it off there like a true badass whilst people dive though the air in slo mo and their car does a barrel roll whilst going on fire. Op will then tear off in a black / red God van.1. Will he drive it over the big step from the hill to the flat bit of grass easily and break it by mistake?
2. Is that a stream to the left side and could he accidentally drive it into that?
Is it worth fitting a remote kill switch just in case?
2 it's a landrover. He can just drive out again
Haha! TBH it's the garden that needs a bit of "babydriverproofing"! To start with he'll only be allowed on the flat bits, and I'll stick some kind of barrier up so he can't get to the Precipice of Death bit. Or anywhere near our cars!
There's no stream, it's a disused canal feeder that's not had water in it for decades. That said, the kill switch is a must, I have ordered one mainly on the premise that I don't want him driving into some priceless 1940's Series 1 at a Landrover show!
There's no stream, it's a disused canal feeder that's not had water in it for decades. That said, the kill switch is a must, I have ordered one mainly on the premise that I don't want him driving into some priceless 1940's Series 1 at a Landrover show!
The only thing i can think of when you said you'd shut it off is that Top Gear episode with the Luna Rover
https://youtu.be/00cFMfecMZ4
https://youtu.be/00cFMfecMZ4
Hard-Drive said:
Cripes Iain! You've come on in leaps and bounds!Huntsman said:
Cripes Iain! You've come on in leaps and bounds!
Thank you sir. I think if I'd not done all the extra details and also not been a tightarse and just ordered the "kit" front axle and running gear it would probably be done by now, and certainly under the tree at Christmas. TBH rather than rushing it, it can just be a belated present come the spring. No point in rushing it and not being happy with the finish. He's about to turn 2, he won't realise anyway.It's also going to be a bit soul destroying stripping it all down again to paint it, but I want to know where everything goes and have drilled all the holes etc before I get the paint out!
Talking of which, paint has arrived. Had to be a factory colour, and I didn't want to stay with light green, as it's too close to the MDF colour and I won't get the "ta-dah" moment, and probably looks better on a Series I.. My missus hates marine blue, deep bronze green is too common with Toylanders, and I decided the light grey I'd intended to go with is a bit washed out and just looks like primer. I also wanted a colour that I could paint the wheels in as well...as when painted "limestone" they do tend to stand out as the wheelbarrow wheels that they are. So we're going with a rare factory colour of dark grey, as used on Series IIs for a few years.
More to follow when it happens...
So I didn't get a massive amount done over Christmas, but I have been concentrating on getting the electrics sorted. The "test drive" was done with everything literally thrown in, and obviously driving off the scooter "wig wag" potentiometer. As stated before, I need it to work off a proper accelerator pedal, (single ended potentiometer) with a reversing switch.
My local scooter shop kindly lent me the scooter equivalent of a diagnostics box, however, unfortunately, it won't let me reprogram the EGIS speed controller for the single ended pot, so the EGIS unit is going back to the factory and they will do it for about £27. So bearing in mind the donor scooter cost me about £50 I'm still quids in compared to using the proper Toylander bits, however it has been quite a bit more hassle but hey.
I have managed to work out how to wire the donor 12v toy Jeep gear lever to do the 4mph/8mph function, as well as reverse. I've made it look a lot more Land Rovery and it will be loads better than simple dash switches. The knob was something like £1 shipped from China off eBay and will look great when I have the red and yellow levers (ceramic drawer knobs) in there too.
From this:
To this:
Obviously I'll build a proper transmission tunnel around it in scale with the real thing. Note also the new key switch, the scooter fault LED in the main beam spot on the left gauge, and the battery meter. Left push switch is hazards, right one horn. There will be two similar switches on the main panel to do indicators (the scooter loom relies on a "momentary" push which then gives you a few flashes) and a traditional toggle switch for side and head lights.
It's slowly getting there!
My local scooter shop kindly lent me the scooter equivalent of a diagnostics box, however, unfortunately, it won't let me reprogram the EGIS speed controller for the single ended pot, so the EGIS unit is going back to the factory and they will do it for about £27. So bearing in mind the donor scooter cost me about £50 I'm still quids in compared to using the proper Toylander bits, however it has been quite a bit more hassle but hey.
I have managed to work out how to wire the donor 12v toy Jeep gear lever to do the 4mph/8mph function, as well as reverse. I've made it look a lot more Land Rovery and it will be loads better than simple dash switches. The knob was something like £1 shipped from China off eBay and will look great when I have the red and yellow levers (ceramic drawer knobs) in there too.
From this:
To this:
Obviously I'll build a proper transmission tunnel around it in scale with the real thing. Note also the new key switch, the scooter fault LED in the main beam spot on the left gauge, and the battery meter. Left push switch is hazards, right one horn. There will be two similar switches on the main panel to do indicators (the scooter loom relies on a "momentary" push which then gives you a few flashes) and a traditional toggle switch for side and head lights.
It's slowly getting there!
It really is looking fantastic. Is the gear nob not at risk of getting broken off accidentally? There’s a lot of leverage there and a young lad having fun could easily tumble against it by accident?
I’d be quite tempted to have the levers much shorter so as to protect them (threaded extensions could be easily made if needed?)
I’d be quite tempted to have the levers much shorter so as to protect them (threaded extensions could be easily made if needed?)
DonkeyApple said:
It really is looking fantastic. Is the gear nob not at risk of getting broken off accidentally? There’s a lot of leverage there and a young lad having fun could easily tumble against it by accident?
I’d be quite tempted to have the levers much shorter so as to protect them (threaded extensions could be easily made if needed?)
Thanks!I’d be quite tempted to have the levers much shorter so as to protect them (threaded extensions could be easily made if needed?)
Gear lever looks a bit longer in the photo than it is in reality. However it is still slightly longer than needed so I'll cut it down a bit...being steel it's a bit heavy (hence that helper spring to keep it out of second gear unless selected properly!) However it only goes in the forward/backward plane, and I'll rout a slot in the transmission tunnel which should keep it fully supported.
A bit of progress. I sent the speed controller back to the manufacturers to get it re-programmed for the single ended potentiometer, and it all works fine. I've built a throttle pedal with the pot under it, and refined the gear lever, and made a change to an alloy handle which takes a lot of weight out of the action. I've built a semi-scale transmission tunnel cover and bellhousing cover, with a slot for the gear lever which gives it a lot of lateral support. Here it is in first gear (the 4mph setting on the mobility scooter)
...and in second (8mph)
For reverse, you push and hold the lever forward against a spring. The red/yellow knobs are just placed in for now, the M4 x 0.7 tap I needed to make the levers tonight was missing out of my toolbox...grrr...
...so I decided to install the front sidelights and indicators. This is a departure from plans and involved putting some 28mm alloy tubes into the wings and then the lights fit inside the tubes. Obviously when I fill and fair the wings it should all look nice and smooth.
All of this extra detail is really, really messing up the build time, but comparing my lights to standard I do think it's worth the effort...mine's looking far closer to the original and that's before any paint...
...I think...
...and in second (8mph)
For reverse, you push and hold the lever forward against a spring. The red/yellow knobs are just placed in for now, the M4 x 0.7 tap I needed to make the levers tonight was missing out of my toolbox...grrr...
...so I decided to install the front sidelights and indicators. This is a departure from plans and involved putting some 28mm alloy tubes into the wings and then the lights fit inside the tubes. Obviously when I fill and fair the wings it should all look nice and smooth.
All of this extra detail is really, really messing up the build time, but comparing my lights to standard I do think it's worth the effort...mine's looking far closer to the original and that's before any paint...
...I think...
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