Original Year	1994
# of pieces	277
Categories	Cars & Trucks: Buggies
Dimensions	26(L)x15(W)x15(H)
Features	Steering, rear suspension, 2 cylinder engine
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8829 Dune Blaster

Click the image to download the LDraw file of this model.
Model by Benjamin Wendl

This lovely buggy, introduced in 1994, is one of my favorite in the theme. The buggy features rear trailing arm suspension, a suspended 2 cylinder engine, and steering.

I like the compound angles generated by the beams at the side of the body. They give the illusion of a shape which does not really exist. Likewise, this is the first model to use the (semi) rigid pneumatic tubing as a design element. Two mildly bent tubes suggest the curved outline of a canopy and terminate in axle connectors.

There isn't much else new or unique in this set, although the "29" stickers are found only here. Technic sets would start coming with more and more stickers in the years to come.

Features
Steering The front wheels can be steered using an overhead "hand of god" control driving a set of 14 tooth bevel gears. Next there are a pair of 16 tooth spur gears followed finally by an 8 tooth pinion. This pinion gear mates with a rack and drives the steering arm back and forth. The steering mechanism itself uses control arms and toothed links as shown in the computer image.	Click for an animation of the steering in motion.
Engine The V-2 engine is located between the rear wheels on the trailing arm assembly. Because of the location, the engine changes angle as the suspension goes up and down. This can be seen in the animation. The engine is made from cylindrical engine elements and is driven by the right hand rear wheel. The wheel axle connects to a pair of 14 tooth bevel gears. The second stage is a set of 8 and 24 tooth gears, resulting in a gear ratio of 3:1. This makes the engine turn quite quickly when the model is pushed. The final axle drives the crankshaft of the engine. The crankshaft is offset 1/2 stud from center, giving the pistons a stroke of 1 stud. This model's engine has always been "sticky", and I've never come up with a fully satisfactory explanation. My theory is that since the box which supports the engine has no corner support, the box is a parallelogram which is not entirely square resulting in binding.	Click for an animation of the engine in motion.
Suspension The rear suspension is a trailing arm variety which has two unconnected rear axles. A pair of spring shock absorbers support the axles and engine. The springs have no damping and are quite soft which makes this model very "bouncy".	Click for an animation of the suspension in motion.
Wheels and Tires This set has 2 of the new 20x30 rubber tires and 2 of the new 68.8x40 balloon tires.

Other Views
Side View	Top View
Front View	Back View
Computer Render

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8829 Dune Blaster

Features

Other Views