Paul Boratko Posted June 29, 2012 Posted June 29, 2012 (edited) I have been thinking about this since the Trans Clear Liftarms appeared in the Pod Racer's set last year... When I was growing up, 2 of the coolest Models that I can remember playing around with were the Visible V8 Engine (And believe it or not, at one point there was a 3 Foot long Visible Chassis with see through 3 speed Gearbox for this 1:4 scale engine) and I also loved The Visible Man I think it would be a cool new theme in the Technic line to possibly have one new vehicle every few years where the entire vehicle would be clear so that you could see the inner workings doing their thing, like all of the gears, axles, engine parts and suspension would be their normal colors so you could see how everything worked inside... These would be great tools to use at shows or schools to demonstrate how things work without having to disassemble the model... Something along the Lines of "Technic Visible Motion" or something like that... I know that we already had Trans Clear engine blocks in the past... I know most of you probably wouldn't be into this, but I think a New "Visible Car" would be kind of neat... I'd like to see a model in the style/size of Alex Zorko done like this... Just a thought... Edited June 29, 2012 by Paul Boratko Quote
Splat Posted June 29, 2012 Posted June 29, 2012 (edited) I think this is a great idea! I bought some of those transparent Pod Racer Technic liftarms off BrickLink a little while ago, but as there are only two liftarms in trans clear, it's a bit difficult to do much with them. I ended up using them for display stands for my 9394 Jet Planes (let me know if you want me to take a pic). I would love to see more trans clear parts, but it looks like the plastic that is used is different to the standard ABS, and could be a bit more brittle. I wonder how these parts will last over time if they are under constant stress/tension. I think being able to see the inner workings of some of the models would be good though. For example, I love the gearbox mechanism in the 8258 Crane Truck, but it is currently too hidden away to be able to see what it is doing during use. Here's a render of my Water Strider in trans clear, but obviously those pieces aren't available at the moment (click to enlarge): Another thing that would be really cool is if you could get plastic that changed from transparent to opaque when it is moving/spinning, so only the drive-train that is moving/spinning becomes visible. Just a crazy thought! Edited April 10, 2013 by Splat Quote
Phoxtane Posted June 29, 2012 Posted June 29, 2012 Another thing that would be really cool is if you could get plastic that changed from transparent to opaque when it is moving/spinning, so only the drive-train that is moving/spinning becomes visible. Just a crazy thought! Well, they have pens and coffee mugs that change color when they change in temperature. I could see plastics like that used in some sort of "Expert Builder Prototyping Kit" to show where pieces are rubbing against each other the most. Quote
timslegos Posted June 29, 2012 Posted June 29, 2012 Well, they have pens and coffee mugs that change color when they change in temperature. I could see plastics like that used in some sort of "Expert Builder Prototyping Kit" to show where pieces are rubbing against each other the most. That would be a great way of teaching children about friction, and how to make more efficient gear trains! tim Quote
Phoxtane Posted June 29, 2012 Posted June 29, 2012 That it would. I don't think it will happen anytime soon, since I imagine that the plastics used would break down quite fast if left in the sun and wouldn't be strong enough to hold up to TLG's standards for part strength. I've only ever seen it used in novelty items like rubbery wristbands and pens, presumably for those issues. Quote
Edwin Korstanje Posted June 29, 2012 Posted June 29, 2012 Paul i like realy your idea, But just Phoxtane already said the the clear liftarms haven't that strenght for long and TLG won't burn their fingers on it. Quote
Phoxtane Posted June 29, 2012 Posted June 29, 2012 That being said, there's nothing stopping you from calling up Shapeways and making your own clear versions of Lego elements! Quote
SNIPE Posted June 30, 2012 Posted June 30, 2012 (edited) Sets like the 8448 is one of the easier sets to see the insides of, because it has little bodywork. But all technic sets are never the less, quite easy to look into. Edited June 30, 2012 by SNIPE Quote
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