8448 Useless Trivia

[Blakbird]

For those of you who just can't get enough obscure Technic knowledge.....

Did you know that the transmission shift lever of the 8448 Super Street Sensation is in the exact geometric center of the model when in neutral? For Technicopedia, I am trying to make revolving rendered animations of every Technic model. This process involves creating a POV-Ray file, then rotating the model on the Y-axis in 80 frames using the LDView variable "LDXCenter". LDXCenter is simply the center of the 3-dimensional bounding box containing the model. When I animated the 8448 model, I got this:

Because I tend to notice minute and irrelevant details, I noticed that the shift lever remains totally stationary and rotates in place!

Now you know something you didn't know before.

Contrast this with something like a helicopter where the fact that it does NOT rotate around the axis of the rotor is quite noticeable and seems a little weird.

[Anio]

Isn't it possible for the helicopter to rotate around the axis of the rotor ?

It would look better. :)

Great job anyway.

Is there a special function in the soft to achieve this or do you have to "join" several renders ?

Edited October 27, 2010 by Anio

[Blakbird]

Isn't it possible for the helicopter to rotate around the axis of the rotor ?

It's possible, but it's a LOT more work. Every model has a built-in "LDXCenter" so I can use the same animation instructions for every file without duplicating effort. To rotate around a different point I would need to have those coordinates in the global axis system which is not always so easy to find especially if the part you want to rotate around is in a submodel. The other problem would be that the model would sweep a larger diameter circle if it was not rotated around the center, and therefore I would have to zoom out and make it smaller in order to fit in the same window.

Is there a special function in the soft to achieve this or do you have to "join" several renders ?

No, there is no special function. I create 80 separate renders, each at a different angle. I can do this with a batch in POV-Ray. Then I use Adobe AfterEffects to make the animation file by stitching the frame together and applying a delay between each frame.

[Benly]

That's fantastic! =D

I can see how you noticed it when making the gif though. That gear stick sticks out like a sore thumb.

[Jurgen Krooshoop]

Although this info is indeed completely useless, I really like this kinda stuff. And besides, it's still a wonderful model. I did a simple motorization of it last summer.

[DarkShadow73]

Even though construction equipment is more my forte, my 8448 is my favorite supercar of them all. Gettin' a bit weathered considering its age, but its still an awesome model, that tranny is unbelievable especially when you motorize it with the 8720 kit. Too bad you have to put it up on the yellow jacks/liftarms to get the full effect. Now that would be a model worth making into a full RC.

Although this info is indeed completely useless, I really like this kinda stuff. And besides, it's still a wonderful model. I did a simple motorization of it last summer.

[Siegfried]

That is rather freaky! It looks great though!

(Do you want more Technicopedia traffic? I could link your pages to the EB Set Index...)

[Blakbird]

(Do you want more Technicopedia traffic? I could link your pages to the EB Set Index...)

Sure! I just got a new server so I should be able to handle the traffic. It's not like I earn anything on traffic, but the web page is there for people to use; the more the better.

[phool]

lol, that's pretty awesome. However the most awesome thing about this post is that it means progress is being made on Technopedia

[Zerobricks]

So the first brick placed in 0 0 0 matters, because the model will rotate there?

[bord4kop]

my my, I wonder if this trivia ever makes it to the game of Triviant?

If so, I 'll know!

[Jurgen Krooshoop]

So the first brick placed in 0 0 0 matters, because the model will rotate there?

No, LDXCentre is a PovRay-Parameter and is used for rendering. It's being generated by software and represents the perfect centre of the model. 0.0.0. is "just" the centre of your model in MLCad.

[Benly]

my my, I wonder if this trivia ever makes it to the game of Triviant?

If so, I 'll know!

Haha. Or make it into the million dollar question on "Who wants to be a Millionaire?"

Q: In which official 'LEGO Technic' set is the gearstick the centre of geometric rotation when the model is rotated about the Y axis?

A: 8880 Super Car                 C: 8466 4X4 Off-Roader
B: 8448 Super Street Sensation    D: 8480 Space Shuttle

tick.. tick.. tick..

Edited October 28, 2010 by Benly

[Plastic Nurak]

Haha. Or make it into the million dollar question on "Who wants to be a Millionaire?"

Q: In which official 'LEGO Technic' set is the gearstick the centre of geometric rotation when the model is rotated about the Y axis?

A: 8880 Super Car                 C: 8466 4X4 Off-Roader
B: 8448 Super Street Sensation    D: 8480 Space Shuttle

tick.. tick.. tick..

I'm laughing madly !

[Blakbird]

So the first brick placed in 0 0 0 matters, because the model will rotate there?

No, the rotation center is not 0,0,0, it is the center of the model. Depending on the coordinates you use to build your model, 0,0,0 might not be inside the model at all. So in this case, the shift lever is in the exact center of the model bounding box. It is not at 0,0,0.

Q: In which official 'LEGO Technic' set is the gearstick the centre of geometric rotation when the model is rotated about the Y axis?

A: 8880 Super Car C: 8466 4X4 Off-Roader
B: 8448 Super Street Sensation D: 8480 Space Shuttle

Trick question. I just rendered 8466 and it works for that too!

[JunkstyleGio]

And now i'm laughing....

[Benly]

No, the rotation center is not 0,0,0, it is the center of the model. Depending on the coordinates you use to build your model, 0,0,0 might not be inside the model at all. So in this case, the shift lever is in the exact center of the model bounding box. It is not at 0,0,0.

Trick question. I just rendered 8466 and it works for that too!

Hahaha.

I had a sinking suspicion that was going to be the case for the 8466 as well, but looking at my model I thought, nah... it looks centered, but surely the 8448 was a one off lucky case

[Blakbird]

I had a sinking suspicion that was going to be the case for the 8466 as well, but looking at my model I thought, nah... it looks centered, but surely the 8448 was a one off lucky case

I stared at the 8466 animation for a while, and it looks like the shift lever may have a 1 stud "orbit", meaning that it is 1/2 stud off-center along the length. So I guess 8448 is the only one that's perfect.