Liftarms or bricks?

[jorgeopesi]

When I build a car the answer is liftarms and I love them because his light weight and soft curves, but when I build a machine or a truck everything changes and my MOCs loose quality although they have many features or qualities. I always look for maximum functionality sacrificing aesthetics a bit but the question is, do I have to use bricks in machines and trucks?, I wonder if the weight gain would be significant. For me a hybrid structure is always the best, talking about machine arms for example.

[DrJB]

To me they're all 'tools of the trade', and yes, in my toolbox, I do have my 'favorite', and there are others I hardly use.

One item I recently bought that enables me to do nonstudded statinary machines is a 21×31 baseplate (below) full of pin and axle holes. It was made by a third party company, and I wish Lego made few dimensions available.