SecondHandLego

Thank you for the suggestion Pagicence! I'm not sure I understand you correctly but if I do then it will not work. It is not possible to connect opposite sides of a hexagon because the distance between them is not a round number of holes. It does work for opposite corners and non-opposing sides. Like this The far-right solution gives some strength but depending on how you put pressure on it, it does not always hold its shape. The other two are much stronger, but it is harder to add the hinges to the edges of those hexagons to connect them to others (this is basically due to the face that the pinholes on either side of each spoke become useless). If you meant to make stronger hinges between the hexagons, then that will not solve the main problem. I tried that, but with the current design the hinges hold: hey do not change shape nor fall apart. Of course, it could be that when the hexagons are stronger then that means more stress on the hinges between the hexagons, which in turn might mean they do need reinforcement

The geometrical shape of this ball is called truncated icosahedron, but you may also know it as a football/soccer ball or bucky ball. The ball is not very strong. It holds together pretty well, but it cannot take a lot of stress. It even changes shape somewhat under it's own weight. My plan was to make a ball with a mechanism inside to make it roll, but this ball is not strong enough for that. However, since I like the looks of it and since it demonstrates the structure of the truncated icosahedron quite well, I decided to post it. I have been puzzling on a stronger design of the hexagons and pentagons but haven't found something fully satisfying (see this webpage). All help is welcome. On Rebrickable someone suggested to 3D print the hexagons, but that is not really my thing. More pictures and the design (in Ldraw) on this webpage.

Thank you everybody for your interest and kind words! It encouraged me to improve the design. Earlier, I reported that the robot didn't have enough taction. That problem is solved now with a different gearbox in the centre module.

Mighty Dinosaurs 31058 T-rex Year of release: 2017 (according to BrickLink and me, 2016 according to lego.com) Number of bricks: 174 + 8 spares Target age: 7-12 years Price: €17,99 (in Lego online shop; I found a set in Hamburg's Saturn for €12,99) A word in advance: I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this set, but to me it seems the best place since there are dinosaurs here. Soon after I rebooted my Lego hobby, I fell in love with the Red Dragon from the Red Creatures (31032) set. When I saw the Mighty Dinosaurs in the first 2017 catalogue, I knew I had to get my hands on that one too. Not to my disappointment. A somewhat better layout-ed version of this review can be found here on my website. The box Let’s get the box over and done with. The front side of the box (see above) looks neat with a volcano in the background and the remains of a dead dino at the feet of the T-rex. Mighty Dinosaurs 31058 box front The backside gives no additional surprises. The same models but with a more equal space distribution, so you can have a good look at the other two of this 3in1 box. Mighty Dinosaurs 31058 box back Then the side, well the only interesting one. More of the same and a 1:1 picture of a 1×2 plate with the white pointy things that do well as teeth but also as fingers on the wings of the flying dinosaur. Is it a Pteranodon? Let’s stick with that. Thirdly, the part is also used as the serrated edges at the head shield of the triceratops. Mighty Dinosaurs 31058 box long side One side also advertises Lego Life which turns out to be an app for your tablet but I am going to ignore it here since I bought the box to build Lego not to tap a screen. The contents Then, what’s in the box? Three booklets for the three models and three bags of bricks. One for the biggest parts, one bag for the smallest parts and one for the mid-sized parts. No surprise, no mystery. What is a nice surprise is that this is actually a 4in1 box. The fourth model is a Brontosaurus. You can download the building instructions from www.lego.com. I checked it. It is there. The parts What I like about the Creator theme is that it finds a good middle ground between detailed modelling with large amounts of special bricks on the one hand and the type of building of the pre-1980s. These are sliding scales, of course, but still. The Creator theme gets you decent-looking, highly playable, sturdy and yet very recognizable models. True to this middle ground, this box contains many basic and close-to-basic bricks and some special ones. According to the manual, the box contains 174 bricks divided over 68 different shape/color combinations. This is not counting the eight spare parts (shown below). Overviewing all these, what stands out is the collection of hinges. There are about 45 parts that perform a role in some form of hinge. The picture shows all the varieties used in this set. Mighty Dinosaurs 31058 hinge parts Next, here is something familiar to most Lego fans, but since I have just come out of my dark years, these are new to me. So, it is time to pay my homage to Lego’s greatest invention after the studs-on-top: studs-on-the-side. The Mighty Dinosaurs set has three types of them. The 1×1 tan brick has two side studs on adjacent sides, which is new for 2017 according to BrickLink. The 1×1 brick with studs on 4 sides was introduced in 1985, so I wonder, why wait 30 years with the adjacent-sides version? Mighty Dinosaurs 31058 side-studs bricks Also new in this set are some parts that are new because they are available in dark green: a 2×2 brick with ball receptacle (and axle holder), a 4×3 open wedge that forms the eyebrows of the T-rex, and the left and right 2×3 wedge plates. Mighty Dinosaurs 31058 new parts Apparently not that new, but a very puzzling part to me when I saw it the first time is this one. Technically speaking it is a pneumatic hose connector with an axle holder attached to it. It makes for an excellent nail holder as I’ll explain below. Hose connector with axle holder Spare parts after building the T-rex. None of the other 3 models use any of these spare parts, so they are really extra. Mighty Dinosaurs 31058 spare parts Building instructions The set is part of the Creator theme and advertised for ages 7 to 12, so to me it does not seem a difficult model. It could be different for a 7-year old builder. I am really curious, because compared to the 1970s building instructions, the current ones are a giant leap ahead. However I feel Lego has overshot it’s target here, which is why I wonder what a 7-year old thinks of it. Mighty Dinosaurs 31058 T-rex instruction page Recently, I rebuilt my Technic fork lift (852). In some places, it needs a bit of three-dimensional insight to figure out which brick goes where. Those days are over, fortunately. But to spend an entire image to show where one single brick goes after an image where three bricks are placed in a row leaving a conspicuously empty spot? I count about 10 such overly clear steps in the 52-step manual, which makes me wonder what the reasoning is behind the design of the building instructions? Design If anything, I find the design elegant, perhaps with the exception of how some of the hinges are used. When it comes to the overall shape: I like it a lot. It really looks like a T-rex and it stands firmly. If I have to point out a flaw, I’ll say that the front paws seem too long. One stud too long to be precise, and their claws are one stud to wide. In defense of the design, the mistake is of course with the T-rex itself. It looks hideous and unreal, even for a dinosaur, with those ridiculously small front paws. Technically speaking, the design is quite similar to that of the dragon from the Red Creatures set, so the basics have been tried and tested. Moreover, there is a cousin T-rex as one of the additional models in the Roaring Power (31024) set. I haven’t built that one, but having checked its building instructions, I think one could make an interesting comparison of the building techniques that are used in these two T-rex models and the Red Dragon. Possible topics could be the use of hinges, the design of the legs and feet and differences in the construction of the heads. I’m not sure whether it is a flaw or a smart solution, but the T-rex’s head is too long and/or heavy for the small ball-hinge that connects it to the neck. On static display, the hinge is strong enough to keep the head steady in any position, but a small movement of the entire model will make the head nod downwards. A green 1×2 plate prevents it from dropping completely and holds it in a natural position. So, the hinge is not strong enough, but there’s a good work-around. T-rex neck and head hinges T-rex with hinge blocks T-rex without neck hinge block Upon further inspection, the hinges between the neck and the body also don’t allow the neck to bend downwards. And at the back-side of the body, the first tail-part also has a block. Here it is a round 2×2 plate so that the tail can still move left and right. The overall result is that the T-rex can hardly bend forward, but it can bend backwards to the extent that it can almost kiss the tip of its tail. T-rex tail hinge with block T-rex fully curled downwards T-rex fully curled backwards To finish the technicalities, there is an interesting technique to put the middle toenail of the hind legs a bit higher than the outer ones. This is where the pneumatic hose connector gets a creative application. The pin of the nail fits in the centre of the axle holder and two clips hold the two sides of the connector. The box’s illustrations nor the building instructions advertise it, but this construction allows the nail to hinge downwards. It could be a nice technique to make retractable cat nails. Mighty Dinosaurs 31058 T-rex claws with hinging nail Mighty Dinosaurs 31058 T-rex claw with hinging nail Below a few pictures of the major building stages of the T-rex. Mighty Dinosaurs 31058 T-rex skeleton Mighty Dinosaurs 31058 T-rex body Mighty Dinosaurs 31058 T-rex building stage Color scheme The color scheme is well-chosen. The basics of it have also been tried and tested. Just like the Red Dragon, the T-rex has tan at the bottom. This goes all the way from the chin to the neck to the belly to the tail. The top side is green. No-one knows what colors dinosaurs had, I believe, and they may as well have been green-ish. Mixing in some dark-green parts adds a lot, and since it’s a children’s set, the brightest of the two was wisely chosen as the main color. The scheme is broken by some highlights. I’m not sure if the grey color of the hinge parts is good. In favor: it breaks the green. Against: it is not green and makes the model look like robosaurus. The fiery orange eyes beneath the dark green eyebrows give the T-rex its dangerous looks. The big rows of teeth may have something to do with that as well… The Pteranodon, the triceratops and the Brontosaurus Unfortunately, I don’t have time to discuss the other three models. Hopefully the pictures will do. In terms of color scheme they are all the same. In terms of shape, the four are markedly different and do equally well. The T-rex, which has the largest number of parts, probably serves as the selling point of the set. But in the end however, I’m tempted to buy three more sets, so I can display the four at the same time. The Pteranodon Pteranodon body Pteranodon body plus limb parts Pteranodon divided in modules Pteranodon The Triceratops Triceratops’ head halfway Triceratops’ head Triceratops’ body without top shield Triceratops divided in modules Triceratops The Brontosaurus Brontosaurus body halfway Brontosaurus body almost finished Brontosaurus body Brontosaurus divided in modules Brontosaurus (Notice the mistake?) Playability I’m more into building than into playing with the resulting creations, but I am guessing the T-rex and its cousins have a high playability. There is the attraction of the dangerous animals packaged in a bright color scheme that makes them good toys. They are also loaded with different kinds of hinges which makes them ideal study objects for children who are not familiar with the concept. Moreover, the hinges allow for endless variations of positions which must be a lot of fun when playing. The Pteranodon has great wooshability, provided you keep the head straight. Otherwise the head works like rudder and since it is at the front side it makes flying characteristics a bit unstable. Also, the Red Dragon and the Pteranodon make a great flying team. Finally, do note that the models are on minifigure scale, in particular the T-rex. Conclusion Great set! Talking value for money, at €17,99 in the on-line store I find it over-priced by 3 €.

One is for steering, which sits at the front but powers steering both at the front and the back end. The engine for driving sits at the back but drives all six wheels.

Well, it can scan it's environment, try out where it can go and make a 'mental map' only based on distance readings, calculations of how far it has gone in which direction, and registrations of where it has bumped into something. The robot doesn't do a lot seen from the outside, but it will be quite complex to program. It drives more or less like a car, so it can not make turns on the spot like some robots do. Right now, it doesn't have a camera, but if it had it could be a serveillance rover. Thank you all for your feedback! I didn't know about the TC11 (am not that often on this website) but indeed, it has a mindstorms inside. Perhaps it's not that difficult to replace the engines and the computer-brick by remote control and regular engines. However, this one is also too big to participate - 57 studs long.

My first technic MOC after rebooting my Lego hobby. It's not finished - it has no program - but I am declaring it finished anyway. It was a nice project to get acquainted with the 2000s technic Lego. The robot is made of a Mindstorms NXT 2.0, a Mobile Crane Mk II and some additional parts. More pictures, description, and LDD file for download at https://frankvandermost.nl/lego/6x6x4-robot-vehicle/

Admittedly, they are not 270 inverse corner but definitely not your average 90 degrees corners, but Barcelona if full of 'cut-off' corners (don't know how to describe them, but have a look in Google streets). Also the so-called Amsterdam School ('Amsterdamse school') made a point of not having straight corners.

This started with the idea to make a "monster car" for my nephew and the shark canopy that was begging to be used. More pictures and the LDD here.

Hej Ecclesiastes, sorry about the pictures, I thought the rule applied only to images hosted on the eurobricks server. PS no offence, but I am not going to resize them. I've spent more than enough time on them already. Next time I'll take the size into account. Thank you for that, xboxtravis7992! I found this one after your pointer to limit to flickr. It also maps the different color codings and namings from TLG, BrickLink, LDraw and Peeron. http://www.ryanhowerter.net/colors.html

Recently, I started selling some of my second hand lego at bricklink.com. I happened to have bought a batch of second hand lego with some old parts in it going back to the early 1970s or late 1960s. On BrickLink I noticed there is an interest in these older parts. For example the ones with 'Pat. pend.' (Patent pending. Lego applied for patents in different countries as of the late 1950s or earlier) inscribed on the inside, or the ones that have it erased with a small 'blob' (after the patents were granted). Also the location of the molding 'pip' is apparently telling for the age of the brick and hence of the value of it to Lego collectors. Such markings are of couse very handy to estimate the age of a brick. However, I noticed that there is a more detailed coding scheme in the bricks that seems to identify their respective molds. It consists of letters and numbers in various coding schemes and locations on the bricks. I'm sure you know what I mean. (but if not have a look here https://frankvanderm...-of-lego-molds/ Interestingly, while going through a batch of 'Pat. Pend.' 2x3 plates, I noticed a few funny mistakes in the molds. Apparently, the images are too big and have been removed. Check the above mentioned link to see one of them. It seems interesting to me to have a chronology of the different molds (and colors), at least for a number of often-used bricks. I tried to find it through Google but could not find anything. Does anyone know of such a chronology? Would you be interested in having access to it if it existed? Would you be interested in collecting the data?

It's been a while and it's probably not the first set that I got but the first set that I remember getting (from Sinterklaas - a Dutch tradition) was the 812 Gear supplementary set. Boy, was I fascinated but those colored gears gearing ....

Absolutely marvelous sculptures! Even without the legs. I never had heard of Frozen but I don't need that to appreciate these marvels!

Thanks for your welcomes everybody!! hej zanna,No, I have never been there but it's on my list. I'm doubting a bit because I heard that the part with the lego models isn't actually that big. Others say it still great to see.

Hi everbody, My name is Frank and I live in Lund, Sweden. The quick introduction: I've only recently become AFOL at the age of 45 and a half. My interests are in sculpture (how to make nice models with simple bricks) and technic lego (how to make nice models with the bewildering range of anything but simple bricks). I'm working as a programmer and drawn to Mindstorms which are - as much lego stuff nowadays - completely new to me. Second-hand Lego is the thing for me, mostly because it is less polluting, although I don't mind to occasionally buy a new set. My biggest problem right now is how to find time for my renewed hobby. Finally, let me bore you a bit with how I became AFOL. As a kid, I used to be a great fan of Lego - typically building mostly robots and space ships - but completely lost touch with it until about 7 years ago, when I stumbled into a toyshop and noticed the Creator Jet 4953. I bought it, built it, admired it and after that nothing happened for another 5 years. Then Wired mentioned the mobil crane mk II (42009) which I bought out of curiosity: to see how it compared to the very first mobile crane (855) (see also http://www.lego.com/en-us/technic/explore/designer-blogs/history-of-cranes ). That was a mindboggling experience. I felt like a neanderthaler and building the crane felt like more... Less than a year later I remembered that I was hoping to once have the UCS Millennium Falcon (10179) and I managed to find one on the Dutch website for second hand products. Boy, was I lucky with that find ... and definitely hooked again.