me00rjb

I can only echo what other's have said - congratulations! You provide a very refreshing blend of intelligent, succinct, balanced, informative content - which is very rare to find these days (no matter the subject): long may it continue.

Personally, I appreciate the regular updates - so please keep going! If it was posted all at once, there would be too much to digest in one go (and it's of no concern to me if you're building in real-time or not).

The machine I use loads from the front. Yes, the pieces do tumble around, however provided you pick a cycle designed for delicate or woolen items, you should be fine. These cycles agitate the contents much less (fewer rotations, and longer gaps between them, plus lower spin speeds). I always go for the 'quick wash' option as well. I have only washed used parts so far, which typically have a degree of surface scratching anyway, but I haven't noticed it getting and worse. I suppose the test would be to wash some new parts, and then see how they look afterwards. I would recommend running a test on some parts you're not too worried about, and seeing if you're happy with the results. The alternative is washing each one by hand, which I found gets tedious very quickly. In fact I noticed even a quick scrub with a toothbrush produced very fine scratches on the parts - most noticeable on black plates on the top surface, between the studs.

I cautioned against too high a spin speed, not necessarily to reduce scratching, but to reduce the risk of broken parts. I have had a couple of instances of 1x16 technic bricks damaged when I chose the wrong cycle. The forces involved go up as a factor of speed squared, so it does make quite a difference. I think what happened is the 1x16 bricks ended up against the side of the drum (supported only at their ends due to the curve of the drum) and the centrifugal force of other parts bearing against them basically caused them to break in the middle. Dropping the spin speed solved the problem - as did not putting too many parts in the machine at the same time. I didn't notice any particular difference in drying time due to the reduced spin speed.

Another vote for the washing machine! You can get mesh bags for trainers or underwear, I use a variety of these in different sizes. Just make sure the zip is robust and will stay closed! You can always double-bag for extra security. Just pick a cycle that's cool and for 'delicate's' or something similar - you don't want too high a spin speed, and you don't want too long a cycle. As has been mentioned, take out anything electronic or with metal bits, and put a mixture of parts in together. I also remove anything that's long and thin (i.e. fragile). I just use my normal laundry pods and haven't had a problem. Anything that doesn't pass inspection after washing gets put in the sink and scrubbed with washing-up liquid and a toothbrush. I spread out the parts on a towel to finish drying, and move them around regularly. But to answer the original question: shock absorbers I would wash in the sink - the metal is plated so provided you dry it reasonably quickly, it won't come to any harm. The actuators I would wipe with a damp cloth. As was mentioned above, a compressor with a blow-gun is great for dusting (being non-contact, there's no possibility of damage), but isn't necessarily something everyone will have access to.

I've had the parts for the Actros for a while, but only just got around to finishing it off - great build, although as you note the stiffness of the chassis could be improved. I'll be re-building it when the new instructions are released! There's a picture here, but for some reason the forum software doesn't seem to like Windows and I can't embed an image: http://www.brickshel...tros/actros.jpg Please excuse the terrible phone picture (I really must get a better camera at some point)! Just starting to collect parts for the trailer, so that's a little way off yet! I look forward to seeing what other improvements you're going to make to the Actros. OK, that helps knowing it's a 100% Lego solution - I was starting to wonder. I can get the plate mounted, and I can get the boat stud mounted, just not both together...either it's very ingenious, or it's very simple and I'm missing something! Certainly got me puzzled so far!

Just finished building the Actros, and pending the release of the updated instructions, decided to (attempt to) modify the hubs on the steered axles to the latest revision! However, I don't think it is as simple as it looks, and I can’t for the life of me figure out how the 'Plate, Round 4 x 4 with 2 x 2 Hole' is held in place. Can anyone enlighten me? The trailer is next on the build list!

I keep telling myself to avoid this thread; it’ll only end in tears! But I keep coming back, and I know what’s going to happen in the end!

I’ve just realised I have another one – I have issues with taking anything apart! Once I’ve built it, that’s it, it stays together! If I want to build something else, I buy more parts. The only exceptions are either things that haven’t worked, things I decide I don’t like, or official sets for space purposes. But generally, I like to keep things built. It causes significant cost and space problems! I guess in some ways this defeats the purpose of a re-useable product, but who said logic came into this!

Pins, bushes and connectors all have to be aligned of course! Also where injection points are visible on liftarms or connectors, these must go underneath / inside, or where they won't be visible if possible. Glad I'm not the only crazy person!

The majority of a Technic set consists of axles, bushes, pins and common connectors that are low priced and don't sell well. There are far fewer of the more specialised or rare pieces, so to make money selling Technic, the desirable parts that will sell have to be priced accordingly. There are some Technic sets where the part-out value is actually lower than the retail price (even with up to 30% off) - so desirable or rare parts or not, not many people will be willing to buy those to part-out. So as others have already mentioned, it generally is just down to supply and demand. Richard.

Is there a specific reason 8065 has been left out of the fun in the truck collection image? You've got 8071 which is also a small 4 wheel truck. Great to see the progress being made at the moment! Richard.

Yep Well, maybe... hence the request for the picture!

Great model and review, definitely one to add to the list of things to build! Any chance of a quick CAD picture to see how it would look with the orange parts changed to lime? The only part that doesn't seem to be available in lime is the 'Axle and Pin Connector Perpendicular Double Split', but I'm sure a work around could be found...

It looks like the instructions are now available. I wanted to build this as soon as I saw it all those years ago - a stunning model that perfectly combines the functionality of Technic with the Model Team look. I never got around to reverse engineering it, but you've made life easy now. Thanks to all for making this happen!