backbencher

Been running ML Cad 3.40 for a couple of years now, have generally figured it out. Is there a parts update? Looking for a small plate with a hole through it, ie, a 2x2 plate or tile. A 2x3 or 4x2 would work, but the only one I'm finding in the parts library is a 4x6 or a 4x4 round. I might be able to make it work w/ the 2x3 w/ round end, but a 2x2 would look better. I also remember an old (70's) 4x5 plate w/ hole that's not in the parts database. Is ML Cad a dead end & I should move to another platform? B/c of my work, I don't feel safe running LDD - nothing against the product, just don't want any legal entanglements.

They're back up.

toysnbricks

Is anyone selling the offbrand bricks in a marketplace by brick, a la BrickLink or BrickOwl? I've got about $20 worth of bricks in my rifle stock kit, would love to be able to cut costs & thereby prices.

Anyone else having a problem, or is it just me?

Got written up in an Outdoor blog: http://www.alloutdoor.com/2015/05/29/lego-butt-stock-ar-mil-spec-buffer-tube/

Rgr, thanks. However, they're not my pics - I just have permission to link to them.

Post Kragelizing, showing the lack of seepage due to the electrical tape: image

Warning - many pictures of American owned firearms. And alcohol. Short story - I designed a rifle stock out of plastic bricks. Sent a kit to my friend, who built it according to the online instructions, and KRAGLED it. Starting here: http://www.ar15.com/...ge=70#i52994572 image image image image image Complete: image Interior after Kragleizing, before 2-part epoxy, showing 3 of the 8 steel reinforcement rods: image The eight 10-24 (English) steel reinforcement rods: image The gap between the upper and lower parts, through which epoxy can seep: image image His solution to 2-part epoxy seepage - electrical tape: image And yes, I have HammerHammer's gracious permission to post nefarious pictures.

Spoke w/ a BATFE agent today @ the gun show, and he was of the opinion it may indeed be possible to have an illegal configuration of Lego in the US. So if you have .17" caliber firearms in your house, don't build what I posted above. He suggested I write Tech Branch to be sure, so I'll have to flesh out some designs in MLCAD and then write a rather lengthy letter. It would be amusing to have the same federal agency who raided the Branch Davidian church in Waco take up regulating children's toys.

In most European countries, they're apparently sold over the counter. And in the US, apparently "permanently affixed" air rifle suppressors are legal. I will probably have to write BATFE's Tech Branch before Kragelizing, lest they declare all Technic bricks w/ holes unregistered suppressor parts and attempt to seize them. A .17" HM2/Aguila/PMC round would fit through the holes, and if stoutly constructed and well-Kragelized, might hold up for a few shots. It's a $200 tax to build one's own suppressor @ home, but I hardly want to pay that much to fire a few shots out of a pistol I don't even own. I have no doubt that a .17" HMR round would grenade the thing.

I met a policeman today, and as he noticed my plastic brick rifle stock, he remarked that he knew of an actual suppressor made of Lego. He was apparently referencing this satirical video: It occured to me that the 4.5mm pellet (.177" in the US) would just clear through a Technic brick, which could serve as a baffle. So, while Lego won't hold up to actual firearm use, it should allow the silent killing of squirrels, which might be just the mystery meat Lord Business is looking for come next Tuesday...

Cheers, OP. Looks like there's some very useful utilities on this site. Glad I stumbled in here. ETA: May be a problem w/ my firewall, but the Java app failed to download the database on startup. I had to go to SourceForge, into the Files, and download the parts database myself. When it started after that, it downloaded the parts updates fine. However, I am getting an error: Unable to get updates Reason:javax.xml.stream.XML StreamException: ParseError at [row,col]:[1,3] Message: The markup in the document preceding the root element must be well-formed. I'm running Windows 7 64 bit on an HP ProBook, w/ Java 1.8_031, updating to 8 40 now. ETA2: Updated to 8.40, getting the same error when I launch BrickUtils.

I'm running ML Cad 3.4, and as I'm designing MOCs that have real world functions and have to interface to existing objects, it's very difficult to draw, model, fit, rebuild, and redraw. If I could import a correctly dimensioned CAD file into ML CAD, it would be much easier to see which bricks fit correctly, and the resulting angles of the object. Any ideas, tips?