Original Year	1986
# of pieces	173
Categories	Other: Universal Sets
Dimensions	various
Models	Car Crane Helicopter Wood Chopper Fan

8035 Universal Building Set

The small set 8035 was released in 1986 as a replacement for the original Universal Building Set. It includes full instructions for a diverse set of 5 models. There a number of parts left over when any of the models are built.

The car has rack and pinion steering and a small trailer. The crane features a ratcheting winch and a boom which locks at several elevations. The Helicopter has rotating rotors and an oversized undercarriage. The wood chopper is really unique and powers an axe via a wind turbine. Finally, a small fan shows just how far you can take gear reduction with LEGO^® before bad things start to happen. The parts used in this set are, by now, quite standard so nothing new was introduced here.

I find the 4^th model the most interesting, and it is the model I chose to keep assembled for my display of this set.

1^st Model: Car
This little car has manual steering and a trailer. The front wheels can be steered using a wheel in the cabin. The wheel drives an 8 tooth pinion gear directly. The pinion drives the steering rack. The steering mechanism itself uses control arms and toothed links. The trailer does not have any special function, but it allows the set to have 6 wheels!	Click for an animation of the steering in motion.
2^nd Model: Crane
This small mobile crane features a cable drum driven by a crank through a set of 8 and 24 tooth gears. A connector suspended above the 24 tooth gear acts as a pawl to allow the drum to ratchet and supporting the load. The boom pivots on an axle in the rear. A set of compression links can be locked into slots in the body allowing the boom to rest at four different elevations. The wheels are not steerable.	Click for an animation of the boom in motion.
3^rd Model: Helicopter
This small helicopter is, by now, a very common theme. The main and tail rotors are driven by a crank through a 24 tooth crown gear. The main rotor is driven through an 8 tooth pinion. Another 8 tooth pinion carries torque to the tail rotor which uses another 24 tooth crown gear. Both main and tail rotors use pulley wheels to capture and clock the rotor blades.	Click for an animation of the rotors in motion.
4^th Model: Wood Chopper
It took me a few moments to figure out what this was supposed to be, but I now believe that it is a wind powered wood chopper. You won't find any other LEGO^® wind powered wood choppers; this one is it. A crank made from a 40 tooth gear is the input. Two sets of 24 and 8 tooth gears pass torque up to the blades, resulting in 1:9 gear magnification. A second crown gear leads to a second 40 tooth gear with a pin in one of the offset holes. Every 3^rd revolution of the crank, this pin hits the lever of the axe which pivots on a fulcrum and raises. When the pin passes, the axe falls under its own weight.	Click for an animation of the wood chopper in motion.
5^th Model: Fan
This little box fan has a very high gear magnification. A 40 tooth gear is used as a crank driving a set of 40 and 8 tooth spur gears. The second stage is 24 and 8 tooth gears resulting in a total ratio of 1:15. The final fan axle spins so fast that it tends to resonate, threatening to shake the whole assembly apart. If there were any pitch on these blades, this would be quite an effective fan.	Click to download the LDraw file of this model. Model by Eric Albrecht Click for an animation of the fan in motion.

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