Sariel

No, I'm not back, have no fear, just passing through sharing something that may benefit some of you, and then I'll be out of your hair. Long story short, I have reworked the few online tools I have created previously, updated them, upgraded then with extra options and added a few new ones. Some of them were written 10+ years ago and it was showing, so now they're all standarized, built around the same core using Bootstrap Shards, which ensures good cross-browser compatibility, decent handling of mobile devices and optimization for use with touchscreens, plus some modern bells and whistles that just make everything better. There are now 11 tools total available for you at tools.sariel.pl and here's a complete list with updates. Enjoy! Gear Ratio Calculator: overhauled layout with tabs checkbox for adding planetary wheel hubs to the final gear ratio updated list of motors option to select not only type of a motor but also number of motors new 'Gears and numbers of teeth' tab helping to identify which gear has how many teeth all gear images rendered anew for more clarity planetary gear ratio calculator now calculates ratios for all three possible setups detection of incompatible gears and warning when you select them (this mainly applies to 14t gear and worm gears) annular 60t gear added to both standard and planetary calculator updated, clearer images in the gear coupler gear coupler now includes combinations involving the 28t gear Pulley Ratio Calculator: overhauled layout added images representing parts updated list of motors selecting a motor now provides calculation for torque too, not just for speed Model Scaler: overhauled layout adjustable canvas size to accommodate really huge images all boxes can now be collapsed to save screen space solved the issue where the canvas with lines would move up/down the screen but labels stayed in place Unit Converter: overhauled layout Angles Chart: brand new tool, lists angles created by single LEGO pieces; every piece can be zoomed in and the list can be filtered by categories Wheels Chart: overhauled layout the list can be filtered by categories up/down indicators added to column headers to make sorting clearer Monorail Network Planner: overhauled layout code fixes for modern browsers Town Plot Planner: overhauled layout code fixes for modern browsers Bricksafe Thumbnail Helper: overhauled layout clearer indicators for selected images single button to mark & copy the generated code Brickshelf Thumbnail Helper: overhauled layout clearer indicators for selected images single button to mark & copy the generated code Brickshelf Stats: overhauled layout code fixes for modern browsers If you encounter any issues with these tools and you have used them before, try clearing your browser's cache.

Sorry guys, I don't know where on the forum this topic is going to end up but I've decided to quit EB and wanted to share my reasons, in case someone cares. I've been an active EB member since 2010 and I've enjoyed reading and browsing your MOCs, even if I rarely commented on them. Sadly, over time two things became more and more apparent: 1. Even though we're all supposedly adults here, the prevalent mindset on EB comes down to roughly "any criticism is bad, either praise people or be quiet". It's a perfectly valid way of thinking, the problem is when you're trying to force it on everyone. Personally, I believe that you can't have a proper discussion about someone's creation and fully evaluate it when you can only speak well about it. It's like having only one half of the full dialogue. In order to become better builders we need to work on our flaws, but I've seen topics here where even indicating that flaws exist was a problem. Hell, I remember one very skilled creator repeatedly misspelling a word in English and nobody dared to correct him for like two or three pages. Personally, I believe in respectful criticism, since, again, we're all supposedly adults here. Seeing flaws is what motivates me to try do improve as a builder, and sometimes I miss obvious flaws that others see. For me building is about progress, but if you're told that everything's perfect then there's really no room for progress, is there? But that's just my personal view, and the issue comes down that because of my inability to abandon criticism I have rubbed a number of people here the wrong way and that's never a good thing. I've come to think that maybe my being here brings more harm than good, so maybe it's time I shut up for good. I definitely don't want to see some promising builder to give up on this hobby because I couldn't keep my mouth shut. 2. Secondly, and this is going to be critical of the EB staff so apologies in advance, I'm tired of having my MOCs forcibly kicked out of the Technic forum. I'm a Technic builder at heart, everything I build is Technic with optional dressing for me, but because someone decided to create something called Scale Modelers Forum, I'm essentially no longer allowed to publish my creations at the Technic forum. And I would go along with it if there was a clear, well-defined reason for what makes a Technic MOC and what makes a Scale MOC, but there isn't. Let me quote the official guidelines as to what makes a MOC belong in SMF: So in essence if I build a model of any real vehicle, it's no longer Technic. If my model doesn't use exclusively beams & panels, it's no longer Technic. If I build a model with 50 motors and 50 various functions but call it after a real world counterpart and cover it with plates, it's no longer Technic. By these guidelines most larger Technic sets from the last 5 years aren't Technic - they're SMF. So part of the problem is that the line is blurry, and the other part is that the staff makes arbitrary decisions to kick some MOCs from Technic forum into SMF, which may have something to do with SMF being terribly inactive as compared to Technic - and "terribly inactive" is an actual quote from the staff by the way: https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/185434-scale-modeling-forum-future/ Because the distinction between these two forums is vague at best, I would like to have a choice as to where I publish my MOCs, but I'm denied that choice in the name of trying to keep the SMF at least somewhat active. Which would be a great cause, except that the staff has already decided to give up and merge the SMF with Technic and end this unnatural division - but at the same time the staff continues moving MOCs out of the Technic forum into SMF. I applaud the moderators for working so tirelessly, if pointlessly at this point, I only wish they were as efficient in enforcing "EB is for adults" rule or at least protecting EB from spam that kept popping up a lot recently. EB has quite extensive guidelines on age limits, image sizes, off-topics, English skills and clarity but if you've been here for a while, you know that they are enforced rarely and sparingly at best. I would share some examples but it would be offensive to the authors of such topics, and in any case at least 10% of the content here works as examples. So pardon me if I find it annoying if EB is regularly having trouble with underage users, topics that make no sense, ramblings in broken English, oversized images BUT the real problem is that my MOC has too many bricks in it to be considered Technic - in fact, I got scolded by a mod for just that: https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/186860-jeep-willys/&do=findComment&comment=3434908 So, to sum up: I think EB might be better off without me and I'm tired of being denied participation in the Technic forum because of some made-up categories which by the way will soon be removed but in the meantime let's keep kicking people's content around because we have nothing more important to do. I love Technic and I hate to see my creations sent to nowhere because of a rule that the staff essentially admitted makes no sense. If I can't connect with the Technic community here, then it defeats the whole point of using EB for me. It's been a pleasure and privilege to be part of this community, this is where I've come across some of the best MOCs I've ever seen (THIS GUY! https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/profile/32589-brunojj1/ ) and I apologize anyone I made uncomfortable here in any way. I'll keep doing my thing, I just won't be publishing any of it on EB - if you're interested, I'm easy to find. Maybe you'll be happier without my posts and maybe I'll have more time to build - a win for everyone. And because EB does not provide any way of deleting an account, all the stuff I've published and written will stay here, for better or worse. I hope you guys are going to thrive, honestly. Keep building!

Wait, weren't you going to merge SMF into Technic just a few months ago?

Seriously, guys? Forcibly moved to the subforum nobody reads AGAIN?

I've sold 9 instructions do far. I imagine the financial damage this caused to Jeep isn't fatal yet.

Great fix, thank you. I'm honestly shocked by how this rear axle design got approved in the first place, since it's so very easy to make the issue happen and since it's quite obvious when you look at it, that the whole axle depends on a beam that is not properly supported. The 5x7 frames were introduced specifically to put and drive differentials inside them and in my experience it's extremely difficult to use something else without risking a damage like the one here. And any load-bearing beam should always be secured at both ends. How this was overlooked here is impossible to fathom. Driving a truck into a wall is a standard drivetrain test that our local Truck Trial builders have been using for years, and it appears that they are actually more thorough with their testing that LEGO is with theirs.

You're not forced to build it in dark green, there are at least 4 other colors possible.

If we get into technicalities, the "Jeep" part is incorrect in the first place, but I think "Jeep Willys" is the most recognizable and naturally sounding variation. Seeing as hamsters are naturally equipped with their own airbags, I think seatbelts are optional ;)

Here's my little RC model of the classic Jeep Willys. It's a fairly simple 4x4 vehicle without differentials and with pendular suspension, with probably the only fancy feature being the use of the spare wheel to turn the Control+ hub on. The only challenges were building it in dark green (18 grille tiles in dark green took me about 2 months to buy and I had to literally give up on trying to buy this piece: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=24299#T=S&C=80&O={"color":80,"iconly":0} ) and balancing things. Balancing looks vs functions, speed vs torque, and literally balancing the heavy smart hub in the back. I've decided not to build another super-slow high-torque crawler because I wanted the model to keep some resemblance of speed - real Jeeps are after all speedy machines. So it's got 3.89:1 gear reduction from two C+ L motors, which is just enough to climb 18° incline and to whizz through grass, sand, dirt and some rocks. There are two 16t gears in the drivetrain which can be replaced by a 12t/20t combo increasing the gear reduction to 6.48:1. There are also things I'm not happy with, such as the non-functional steering wheel (no room to connect it to the steering mechanism as there is only one place where the steering motor can fit) and the crude windshield, but there are no bar pieces in dark green and barely any hinges so you've got to work with what you have. So all in all, it's nothing too creative or groundbreaking but it's fun to drive outdoors and I think it looks reasonably detailed and accurate for the most part, given the limited choice of pieces. Photos and some description: http://sariel.pl/2021/07/jeep-willys/ Instructions: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-83359/Sariel/4x4-rc-jeep-willys/#details Free instructions sample: http://sariel.pl/down/jeepwillys-sample.pdf

Is it the same program that greenlit a truck whose rear axle starts falling apart after a while and stops driving, as demonstrated in my video? Because it looks like a fatal design flaw, similar to the one in the Osprey set, and I've heard that LEGO is already investigating it. I wouldn't be surprised to see a product recall or redesign here, but you are, of course, free to defend it to the bitter end, my friend. Just keep in mind that perhaps you should get this set and test it first. I did.

Well, if seeing a fancy $300 licensed RC truck makes you think "made for toddlers", then congratulations to your toddler, I guess..

Pardon me, were you in a coma for the last year while LEGO was busy putting "18+" on every other set they make? I mean as of today I'm seeing 109 LEGO sets in the "18+" age category: https://www.lego.com/en-us/categories/age-18-plus-years

Sorry, but this isn't true. All our trial trucks are required to be models of real trucks at a fixed scale. They may not be as detailed and aesthetically polished as Zetros, but they are absolutely not allowed to be proportioned however they want. Actually, the opposite is true: our competition requires one fixed scale for all trucks so the size of your model is predetermined, whereas LEGO was free to build Zetros at any scale they liked. Yeah, I didn't mention this but this "winner" required rebooting my phone for the Control+ app to connect and start driving at all... To sum up: I agree that this comparison isn't fair, but I don't see any way to make it fair. These are our current top-of-the-line custom trial trucks, what else can I compare Zetros against? Only 4x4 trucks with the same wheels, same proportions and so on? Pardon me, but that's just silly. The point here is, nobody forced LEGO to use small wheels in this set, to make it 4x4 that's as long as 6x6, to keep ground clearance minimal and to waste time on differential locks that just don't really change much. Unlike MOC builders, LEGO can make any new part they want. New tires? Sure. Limited slip differentials? Not a problem. New suspension pieces that allow building compact axles with decent ground clearance? Absolutely. Instead they've given us a $300 set with tires borrowed from a tractor, flimsy doors held by like a single pin, turning radius of a bus, hood that won't stay closed, and ridiculously bad weight distribution (literally the only way to make it worse would be to put the smart hub on the roof). And then they've called it a trial truck. This is where LEGO gets to manage our expectations, because if it was, say, a $150 set (don't tell me it can't be, there are barely any new pieces and zero new electronics in it), or if it was just called a Zetros truck, nobody in their right mind would compare it against custom-built trial trucks. Our expectations would be different. Different than they are now, when we're told "this is the official LEGO trial truck and it's worth $300". There is literally nothing about this set that would explain its price, not the license, not the parts, not the functions, NOTHING. And there was hardly any need to insist on calling it a trial truck, since Zetros trucks aren't really much associated with this particular sport, unlike for example Tatra trucks - should LEGO ever try the Tatra license, the "trial truck" part would come much more naturally.

But Circuit Cubes are limited to 3 motors per unit so I would only have 1 extra motor to handle all the pillaging.

We have a strong local LEGO truck trial scene, so it was only natural to compare how the $300 official LEGO trial truck compares against the stuff these guys build at homes. As a bonus, you get to see what appears to be a fatal design flaw in Zetros' drivetrain.