Our friend Sariel keeps amusing us with his LEGO Technic masterpieces. This time he build a detailed RC replica of a legendary US military utility vehicle: the Jeep Wilys. The model features 4×4 drive, suspension, steering and custom stickers. If you wanna built it by yourself don’t worry: on Rebrickable you find full building instructions.

Sariel declared: “A friend has suggested building the classic Jeep Willys to me, but the idea didn’t seem feasible because of the small selection of suitable wheels and because most of them were small, limiting the size of such a model. Then I remembered the classic 24×43 wheels and it kinda went downhill from there.”

“The model was all about the balance. Instead of trying to build something super-torquey, super-innovative or super pretty, I was trying to find a reasonable balance between looks and functionality, speed and torque, and a literal balance to offset the heavy smart hub above the rear axle. In the end the model’s center of gravity is right below the seats, which puts some more weight in the back but at least should be comfortable for a very small driver.”

“As for the performance, I didn’t want to build another sluggish crawler but rather wanted the model to be agile and able to move quickly over grass and dirt. Hence the modest 3.89:1 gear reduction producing over 34 N.cm of torque, which can be adjusted by replacing two 16t gears in the drivetrain with a 12t/20t combination thus increasing the gear reduction to 6.48:1. Still, even with the default gear ratio the model was able to climb inclines up to 18° and drive over sand, grass and dirt as well as drive over a single obstacle as tall as half of the wheel’s height. When trying to climb two such obstacles, the smart hub would cut the power.”

Datasheet of the LEGO Jeep Willys:

Power: electric (Control+)
Remote control: Control+
Dimensions: length 44 studs / width 20 studs / height 24 studs
Weight: 1.45 kg
Suspension: pendular axles
Propulsion: 2 x Control+ L motor geared 3.89:1
Motors: 3 x Control+ L motor

The instructions can be purchased here: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-83359/Sariel/4×4-rc-jeep-willys/#details

A free sample of the instructions including the complete parts list is available here: http://sariel.pl/down/jeepwillys-sample.pdf