Dazzzy

Eurobricks Citizen
  • Content Count

    219
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Dazzzy

  1. I decided to break a long standing tradition of mine of only purchasing sets made by LEGO, (well there has actually been one occasion prior to that, nearly 10 years ago, and it kind of doesn't count, as someone kindly bought it me as a gift. It was a prototype roller coaster set by a company that now goes by the name of Coaster Dynamix). Anyway, after taking the plunge with my first CaDa set, i have to say I'm mostly impressed! I don't feel they're quite at the same level as LEGO (yet) when it comes to all aspects, but that's my own personal opinion that I'm sure most of you here will disagree with. So late last year I decided i really liked the look of their Alfa Romeo F1 car, and after a first time purchase discount code (i think it was either 10 or 15%), I thought it was a very competitive bargain when in comparison to LEGO's McLaren F1 set, (which i very nearly purchased prior to having seen this stunning looking CaDa release). I think I ended up paying around £100 GBP in the end (that price also included shipping). and i was nicely surprised with how fast it arrived! (i think it was around 4-5 days iirc). To my (unfortunate) surprise though, i was sent what was clearly a badly damaged box that came directly from the factory or supplier, as the outer packaging was spotless. It's a shame because the box looked really impressive (well if it would've been, had it not been damaged that is). That aside i was fairly impressed so far, and although it bothered me a bit (damaged box) i decided to not complain about it, as i just wanted to crack on and get this beauty built! Well anyway here's a short list of pro and cons, starting with the cons: Cons: 1) Damaged box (mentioned above). 2) Over usage of black pins.. Now i know many of you heavily criticise LEGOs usage of general brick vomit, (and i must admit i don't like it myself when LEGO uses odd colour pins that are a different colour - that are clearly visible on the outside of a finished model, ruins it somewhat). But when it comes to the internals, I'll take LEGO's approach of 'brick vomit' all day long! Not only does it make the process of construction and instructions easier to understand, but it also broadens the market to those among us, who aren't quite as adept as others at understanding fairly complex things. 3) (loosely related to the above), the instruction manual itself. I found certain sections hard to understand, and that was made even worse due to the dark red/maroon coloured pieces and how they were represented in print. I found it incredibly frustrating at some points, as despite having a really well lit room, i just could not make out what some of the smaller pieces were, due to the black outlines blending in to the already dark coloured printed illustrated pieces. A welcome solution to this i feel, is that if they would've just illustrated the dark red/ maroon coloured pieces in a slightly lighter shade, it would've made a world of difference to me. Maybe that's something they can address in the future, when it comes to models that use a dark colour palette. 4) (Final con). I found some of the physical build to be very frustrating indeed! Please bare in mind that I'd consider myself to be a fairly dextrous person, when it comes to my hands and fingers due to my job (embroidery machine operator). There were literally parts of the build where i had to walk away to cool down a bit, such was the frustration of really tricky and fiddly parts of the build. Pros: 1) Really great value for money! I can't really afford to purchase as much LEGO sets as I'd like to, (I'm sure many of you out there are in a similar situation and would agree). And prior to purchasing this set, i was on the cusp of purchasing LEGO's McLaren F1 technic set, (before i learnt about the existence of CaDa's Alfa Romeo F1). I can't remember the exact cost of the McLaren but i believe I'd seen it reduced in a sale, and at the time i decided to purchase the Alfa i remember it still came in slightly cheaper than the McLaren. Bargain! 2) Slick tyres. This was a huge draw for me! They look amazing! However i feel it is a little unfair to bring LEGO's Technic McLaren F1 into the picture when comparing the tyres. Simply because CaDa's had more time to go that extra mile with these. (I'm also thankful for CaDa releasing these as it looks like LEGO's been taking notes with their upcoming Mercedes F1 release. The more slick tyre options for us, the better in my opinion). 3) Usage of system style bricks in combination with technic style build. It just makes the whole thing look gorgeous! A really aesthetically pleasing end result! Although my Cons list is longer than my Pros list, there's actually another positive about CaDa that doesn't really apply to this particular set. And that's CaDa willingness to work with the talented MOCing community. It really is a plus! That and the fact that CaDa have acquired some really good licenses, easily another plus! So to sum it up, my overall experience with my first ever CaDa set has been an impressive one! There is definitely room for improvement (in my opinion), but I'm sure CaDa is dedicating a lot of time and effort into perfecting and fixing those issues.
  2. OMG that would be amazing! Oblivion would be perfect, plus the layout is short and sweet and well suited to your technique of track design! And yes sir, Looping star, fine vintage, man! Although I've never had the pleasure of riding it, I've rode Oblivion a few times and still love it to this day! And yes indeed i hear you about track strength being a very important aspect too. Cannot wait to see version 2! :D
  3. I'd certainly like to attempt a drag car using those lovely looking slicks! I don't know whether I'll be able to afford the set when released (have to wait and see). But i think a drag racing car (maybe not quite a pro-mod but something more street), would look insanely good using those slicks on the rear, then the wheels from the Creator Vespa set used as skinny front wheels. :D
  4. This is brilliant! I really love what you've done with version 1 and looking forward even more to what you do with version 2! Is the train modelled on a Schwarzkopf by the way? Also may i suggest that when it comes to version 2, that the curve/dip at the bottom of the first steep drop, is increased in diameter? As that looks to be the main issue for the coaster loosing so much speed. I think if you addressed that and made the transition far less severe and less aggressive, (which I'm sure you've already contemplated), then it should/ may make the entire circuit without the need for the additional powered booster hill. Anyway that aside i love the techniques you've used to achieved what you have so far, and I'm also curious to see whether you'll ever try doing an inverted coaster using similar techniques. PS, the sound of the lift hill had me convinced you'd actually used a real life recording of a real coaster, fantastic! :)
  5. Hi everyone. I haven't signed into Eurobricks for a couple of years now, as i find myself falling in and out of love with the hobby on a fairly regular basis nowadays, (partly because of the time investment but also because it can be an expensive hobby/pastime). However i still do enjoy MOCing Speed Champions designs and occasionally putting the instructions up for sale on Rebrickable, though I'm far from being very prolific at it. Anyway i just wanted to thank @firefabric for starting this topic, as it's an interesting one, and also one that doesn't seem to be much discussed, (though I'm sure it's discussed on other social media platforms, that i just don't use anymore). I had a fairly similar (must emphasise fairly) experience to @firefabric, in the past, and at the time of it happening i must admit i felt quite bitter about it all. What happened was although I've never actually released the MOC itself in question, i did win a LEGO Ideas contest with it, (for those who're interested, it was the '007' contest from a number of years ago now). Anyway, fast forward a couple of years later, (i think) after winning the contest with my digital build, i discovered one day (by way of The Lego Car Blog) that someone it seemed had copied a good percentage of my contest winning design, merely from just looking at the digital renders I'd posted to my Flickr account. It's hard for me to determine what exactly that percentage was, but at the time i felt it to be a quite good amount (sound slightly familiar @firefabric?). So, my initial reaction to this (and admittedly a childish one in hindsight), was to immediately sign into my Flickr account, find their Flickr account, and proceed to copy paste and attach a comment, to every single picture they'd posted of their interpretation of the same subject matter. .. I can't remember exactly the words i used (I'm not actually that good at writing, or expressing my views at the best of times), but iirc, i definitely did not insult the person in question, i just said something along the lines of: 'It would be nice if I'd at least received some kind of acknowledgement in your bio of the pics, that you've clearly taken a huge inspiration from my original design concept, within your own design'. Well, i have to say it came as a bit of a shock to me, with the following comments from fans of his design, that followed my own initial comment posted under each of his pics. Some of the responses i received made me feel so bad, that i decided to remove the original copy pasted comment from underneath each of his pics bar one (his main picture of the MOC as i wanted to leave that one there, to bookmark to everyone viewing it, that this MOC of his was not an entirely original concept). A few of the replies to my own remaining comments, that i received (i think i commented about 4 or 5 times in reply to others after removing the original copy pasted comment, that I'd posted below all pics), really did upset me quite a bit. One reply in particular i remember quite well, was that 'I should be thankful for winning the LEGO contest with my digital design, and that I should in no way feel put out by what he'd done, as i was lucky enough to win the contest in the first place with a digital build, and should be grateful for winning the grand prize'. I think that one sticks in my head the most, as i don't earn that much money, don't have a well paying job, and of the 5 LEGO Creator car sets, the Christmas winter village fire station set, (i also received an AM DB5 007 print/poster signed by LEGO designer Mike Psiaki, which takes pride of place on my wall), that i received for winning the grand prize, 4 of those sets i gave away to members of my family and friends as special belated Christmas gifts, (i was originally hoping I'd have received my winnings in time for Christmas, but didn't receive them until late January due to a logistical error by LEGO themselves). Now i know what i chose to do with my contest winnings has no bearing on the situation at hand, as nobody forced me to give away nearly two thirds of my prize winnings (albeit to people i know and love) but after all the time and effort i put into the MOC (the sleepless nights of problem solving, and countless hours poured into it overall, even compromising on the design i really wanted to build, but couldn't because i was running out of precious time to safely submit the MOC), that particular comment, really did hit a nerve with me. Thankfully that comment wasn't made by the same person that i feel copied a good portion of my design. And in that persons credit, they did eventually admit to being inspired by my original concept. Which i feel is really good of them to admit, and as far as my knowledge extends, said person still gives credit to the original concept (in a way), by having altered the description below their pics on Flickr (and Rebrickable), to read something along the line of: 'This is not an entirely original concept, as I've been inspired by many MOCs in existence already out there, but mine is the best'. Which indeed it arguably is, as it looks better than my original MOC, and more accurate to the subject i was trying to do. Also you've got to really admire that they've managed to make their MOC, work, despite not being able to see the inner workings of my own original MOC, as nobody has ever seen my io files except myself, (not even LEGO themselves, despite me offering to send them the files, the day i discovered that I'd won). So for me personally I've moved on from it all now, though for a good long while it really did eat away at me. Which is never a good thing for anyone out there to be carrying around with them. Anyway, i think that's all I've got to say on the subject really. I'm really glad that @firefabric opened up such a discussion in the first place, and even though neither he or @barneius will ever agree about it, it's good that he's let it go/case closed. I can honestly see both sides of the story here, and probably would've made the same decision as Rebrickable has themselves. But not only that, i feel it opens up a further discussion that's already been touched upon at length in this discussion, and that's about charging for instructions of IP's we all know we have no right to, (on Rebrickable and other sites). To be honest I'm guilty as charged with regards to that myself, and i realise that I'm running a small business (despite it not being a very profitable one). As I'm sure others will attest, it's all well and good having lots of likes attributed to a MOC, but that doesn't necessarily equal sales. (Thanks to all for reading my own personal story on the subject. I'm not very good at writing, so apologies if it all sounds confusing or unclear).
  6. May i suggest using the transparent ice lolly pieces instead (30222 / 32981). I think those would suit it better though i think they may be the same thickness, but i think the lozenge shape of them would look great. Much prefer this new shape of the rear diffuser too. My only concern is with the width of the front wheels. i know it's something that can't really be helped, but i do wish LEGO would differentiate between front and rear wheels.
  7. Thanks ever so much for pointing me in the right direction. TC7 sounds like it was from way back. I was definitely not a member back then, but i'm gonna enjoy checking out all the cool entries.
  8. Ah man, i can't believe i missed that one. Sounds awesome though! Can you remember what TC number it is? As i'd love to check out the entries! I've seen the Audi concept (it's pretty cool), but the Toyota contest entry was executed differently. Imagine if you will, a car split into 3 segments (the driver and passenger compartment being the central section), lifts up with the front and rear sections of the car reducing it's wheelbase footprint, and sitting below the middle (raised section). It's certainly an odd looking thing (looks like a jacked up Smart Car). But it wasn't the strangest entry to the contest, as there was a vehicle that traversed using fibre optic bristles. Edit: I remember seeing it/reading about it in an old weekly car magazine called 'Auto Express' (i think the German sister publication is called 'Auto Bild'). Bare in mind though, this was probably around the early to mid 90's, so it's quite old.
  9. Yes, i think you're both right. It probably is best to have some limitations, as well as defining what fits into the parameters of being considered 'transformable'. Personally i think i'd like the limits to be set at no more than 4 motors. Pretty much all the ideas swimming about inside my head, only use 3, but i think 4 would be less restrictive, but should still present a challenge to those who choose to enter the contest. Also size wise, i was going to suggest something no bigger than say the Technic McLaren Senna set. But considering the size of the PF/PU hubs and their battery boxes, i think something more along the lines of no bigger than the Technic Land Rover set.
  10. I'm really excited about this contest, as i've got a lot of transformable ideas buzzing around in my head. The only thing that i can see being a limit (for me anyway), is the potential costs involved. If my budget was broader, i think i'd be attempting something along the lines of those old 'Kenner Parker M.A.S.K' vehicles. Edit: I've just remembered and was wandering whether anybody else here remembers, the MK1 Toyota MR2 , a real life car that was entered into a Toyota contest, that transformed it's wheelbase? I've searched for images on the internet, but to no avail, as it's decades old. I think a motorised technic version would be excellent!
  11. Thanks @Jurss And yes i hear you on that one. I would actually prefer to do it in a different colour as well, but medium stone grey is the colour i have the most bricks of already, (won set 10262 Creator 007 Aston Martin DB5, in a contest a few years ago), and i'm trying to keep the costs down as much as possible. I do plan on printing some stickers though, to help add a little colour to the sides of the RV. I was thinking of going with a dark grey and red colour scheme for the graphics, (unfortunately though i can't print white). Thanks man! I've rendered an image of it in red (like it was before), and i think you're right, it does seem to go better with the grey of the RV. It may not look much different (the render below), but i managed to do quite a bit of work to the RV. Can't see it as it's covered up by the body though. Edit: There's quite a bit of artistic license going on, but i had to firm up the lower U framed tray carrier. It's far from being close to the real thing, but i can live with it.
  12. This is a work in progress thread for my most ambitious build project yet, a luxury RV scaled model that's inspired by the 'Volkner Mobil' luxury RV. I say inspired as it's not scaled correctly to the real thing, and I'm not sure at the moment whether the end product will resemble it enough, to class it as a scale model of the 'Volkner'. And it is quite ambitious for me, as i'm not really a very technically minded person at heart, and to be quite honest, i feel i may be out of my depth a little even just attempting it, but i'm going to give it a go anyway. Also i'm not 100% sure whether it fits into this section/theme of EB (Technic and scale model), as i think it may fall just outside of the acceptable parameters with regards to the scale (i think it's just below 1:20 scale), and like i said above, it may not qualify as a scale model of the real thing, as i'm not sure i can get it to look like it. I guess it is kind of 'Model Team'y though, either that or 'Creator' style. Anyway, this is something i decided to attempt some time last year, though has been put on the back burner for quite a while now, with very little progress at all. My first initial idea after doing a rough sketch of the vehicles wheelbase (in Stud.io), was to create a lifting mechanism/platform that could raise the RV and allow access/deployment of the underneath garage tray. Although it looked fairly good (well, to my eyes anyway), the more i thought about it, the more i realised maybe my approach was flawed, as i thought maybe using worm gears to do the lifting would do the trick. But as many here i imagine will attest to, not everything built digitally works in real brick form. So in an effort to test the principal out, i changed my approach and simplified the mechanism to use linear actuators instead. I managed to get a hold of 4 small LI's and built a crude mock-up out of the limited Technic parts i own, and was quite pleased with the results. I was able to lift set 10262 (James Bond Aston Martin Creator set), which is quite a reasonable weight, on the crude platform i'd built. Though i will have to experiment further, as i suspect the finished model will weigh quite a lot more than set 10262. Although i don't have any pics of the mock-up platform i built in real brick, i have modelled it digitally for the purpose of seeing how i could adapt it and clean up the design. this is what it looks like (albeit in digital form): I know the following pics are quite a jump in progress, but i do tend to get a bit carried away when modelling in Stud.io, and forget to pause the process to render pics. As you can see there's now a car (there always was a car originally, a 10-wide slightly shorter green version of my made up barchetta), as well as a slide-out tray mechanism. There's also the addition of 2 PF motors, as i'd like to power the mechanism somehow, but i'd be interested to know the opinions of the members here, whether using PU would be the better application VS PF? Pics/renders: And here are a couple more pics/renders, of the mechanism sitting inside of the rough sketch lower bodywork: That's all i have to show in the way of progress so far, and as you can see i've got quite a fair bit to do ahead of me. But eventually i'm hoping to add more powered functions and maybe make it RC powered, with working steering and a powered slide-out living space. But it all depends on the packaging really, and if i have the space (and skill) to achieve that within the 14-wide system built bodywork. I'd also love to add some kind of suspension too, but i'm not sure whether that will be at all possible. Here's a couple more final pics/renders, just for reference to the original worm geared version i was referring to with the small green barchetta. As you can see it's smaller in length than the new white version, mainly due to increasing the small cars length. It's also lower too, as using the worm gears allowed for a lower height, but the more i analysed it, the way i built it just wouldn't work. Also it's near impossible to see the worm gear mechanism but i can assure you it is there:
  13. Dazzzy

    LEGO Ideas Discussion

    If the Jazz Quartet set isn't too crazily priced, then i'll definitely be getting it. I think it's my favourite LEGO Idea's set so far to get the green light, (though the Caterham will always remain a favourite for me too).
  14. Yes, 2x3 probably would be more to scale. Tiles would look really good too, especially using the rounded corner ones.
  15. You most probably are right, but i still think it would be interesting to see how many units of the UCS cars have sold. For me, anything north of £200 for a LEGO set, is beyond my means really. I can imagine there must be others like me that just can't justify paying anything more than that for a LEGO set, so i welcome the BMW UCS bike's price point.
  16. Thanks man! I appreciate the compliment I've had a little break from doing the Volkner Mobil RV, but managed to do a little more over the weekend. There's still loads of stuff to do and solutions to be found, and i am finding it a bit overwhelming, as it'll be the biggest moc i've attempted so far. Having said that, i'm glad i've decided to go the less complicated route of keeping it all hand operated. I've started building what i can in real bricks, but it's looking a right mess at the moment, as i only have about a quarter (if that), of the needed pieces, and they're mostly the wrong colour. I will take some progress pics (hopefully next week), as i should hopefully receive a few more useful parts that i've ordered. It'll still look like brick vomit though. What i've discovered so far from building what i can of it in real brick are these two slight issues. As some of you were probably suspecting, the weight of the little sportscar is actually quite heavy. So it is causing the slightest bit of sagging to the lowerable tray. It's not too bad (about half a millimetre gap at the centre of the bowing). It really isn't that noticeable though, and is helped when the tray is screwed tight to the RV's main body. The other issue is with the car doors. Have had to change it slightly as they wouldn't sit flat against the sills. It was a fairly easy fix, but now leaves a gap similar to that of the back of the doors. I haven't rendered any pics of the door changes to the car, but i did make a quick render of the car in a different colour combo. I should be getting both red and white pieces for it, and will be playing around with both colours, to see what works best. Pic: With regards to the RV itself, I decided i'd make a start on the exterior. That way i can see what space i have to work with, to be able to fit what i want inside of it. There's still a lot of work need for the chassis, and i've somehow got figure out a place for the HOG steering. Pics/renders:
  17. @Jundis I too hope we do get something with a telescopic boom, as calling anything a telehandler / telescopic loader, without one, seems really daft.
  18. That's fair enough. I have a different opinion, but i guess time will tell in both of our cases. I agree about there not being a shortage of older classic cars LEGO could explore. What i'm really looking forward to now is the big Technic BMW motorbike set. I don't mind if LEGO doesn't give us another 1:8 supercar next year, as to be honest they're too expensive for me, but the price of the BMW is far more palatable. Actually i wonder if LEGO will shift more of them than the 1:8 super car sets, due to the more accessible price point?
  19. This is looking great Jurss! Such an iconic rally car done in Technic, i'm predicting the end result is going to look really good! Actually, out of interest have you given any thoughts to the headlights? I don't know whether you're for or against using the odd System part here and there, but i think part number 3823 / 35260 (2x4x2 transparent windscreen) would make a nice solution.
  20. That would indeed be a great solution for something of a smaller scale. I'm not a huge fan of using non-LEGO aftermarket parts, (though a lot of the 3D-printed elements that some users create here, are pretty damn awesome), so i like the idea of using the LEGO Ducati piece. If this were my model though, i'd definitely be tempted to take a plastic soft drinks bottle, and fashion something similar to the Ducati piece but at a larger scale.
  21. I can't believe i actually forgot to say what it is. I was quickly re-reading what i'd wrote to check for spelling errors (i'm useless at writing), and did'nt even notice it then. But thank you ever so much @Tenderlok! For thinking it's cool, plus reminding me that i'd forgot to say what it is. It is indeed meant to be a Ford Escort RS
  22. A slight change of topic (non Volkner Mobil RV related): After seeing @Pingubricks excellent Lancia Stratos a bit earlier, it reminded me that i'd created a road-going rally car recently myself, (albeit digitally in Stud.io about a year ago). Rather than clog up the 'Technic, Model Team and Scale Modelling' section of the site, with another thread of a digital model i've yet to build in real brick, i figured i'd just dump a few images in here for the time-being until i get around to acquiring the bricks to be able to build it. It doesn't do much apart from having an opening bonnet, boot and doors, but it also has steering (though the achievable angles leave a lot to be desired due to clearance issues) A few rendered images: And one more image in a different colour: Edit. Just noticed the last image doesn't have an interior. So here's a pic showing the interior with part of the roof structure missing, to be able to see some more in detail: And in another colour:
  23. Thank you for clarifying the issues faced over there in Sweden. I just hope that in the coming years and the inevitable mass adoption of BEV's, that solutions can somehow be found for your country, and other parts of the world facing similar issues. Obviously there's some parts of the world where ICE vehicles will always remain king, due to harsh climate conditions, and poor (if any) infrastructure at all. My original reply was to @allanp who's a UK resident (like myself), so maybe i should've clarified that point more clearly. An interesting fact is that here in the UK we currently have more electric charge point locations, than there are petrol station locations. Obviously it's not as simple as that, as petrol stations can handle a larger flow of customers quicker, but i was still quite surprised to learn we are making big steps towards electrification in my country. Again, apologies to the mods (and other members), for somewhat derailing the thread. On topic: I'm really looking forward to the Technic Batmobile! So i hope the rumours about that are true, also i'm intrigued to know what the transforming vehicle could be.
  24. @langko I'll echo what @Gray Gear has said about the McLaren Senna being ugly (it is, in my opinion). But you've captured it's likeness to perfection! This is probably the best (and my favourite) rendition of a 1:8 scale supercar i've ever seen! It really is superb quality.