astyanax

That's a fair question. In the described context, where the virtual model creator had only access to free and publicly available information, some seem to lean toward "yes". But in the LoxLego case, no-one actually does this, because a service is offered that already satisfies the needs of this person: he can buy the instructions without the bricks, for less money than his time building the virtual model is worth. So to me, the question seems moot. On the other hand, with the 488 Pista model, there is currently no way to buy instructions without bricks. If this is a gap in the market, some will want to fill it (which may or may not be at the expense of CaDA/Bruno). Also, I think there is a meaningful distinction between instructions and virtual model. If a virtual model lacks tags for rotation, callouts, etc., it is -- I think -- not on par with instructions, in the sense that it would still take effort & experience working with CAD software to build the model. Such a virtual model may not constitute a step beyond the high-detail speedbuild. (The only thing it makes easier is extracting the parts list...)

Indeed, I made this point earlier. But as a matter of fact the high-detail speedbuild already exists, therefore the parts list has value, in this case.

In this exact case, would it be okay for that person to freely share the resulting virtual model?

But that'd be true for all designers, not just Bruno. Scans of instructions and virtual models are so easily made and circulated, they're gonna go around eventually. If CaDA can't make their business model work even after collaborating with celebrity designers, then the business model is wrong, and it doesn't matter who they contracted. It's not on Bruno to keep CaDA afloat (unless they're paying him a regular salary, or compensated him with shares in the company...).

That really depends on the contract between Bruno and CaDA (which we don't & won't know). TLG designers are -- presumably -- employees whose monthly salary does not depend on how widely digital instructions of their designs are shared online. Perhaps Bruno received a lump sum, together with a contractual prohibition to personally circulate or endorse circulation of the instructions. In that case, we won't hear anything from him, but also he won't suffer from any of our reverse-engineering efforts. Just guesswork...

If it's a flaw, it can be turned into a strength, and TLG seems to have embraced it. The point is to keep people hooked in your ecosystem, and then they'll come back to buy more eventually. This reasoning falls apart though, when more brick-producing companies enter the picture, when most of the money is made from new bricks. What's CaDA's strategy here, and how will that change TLG's strategy?

It can be built using the video included at the top of this page. However, publishing a parts list would not present any new information, since the parts can already be tallied from said video. It would only provide a convenience for others to check their inventory and source parts before building. Also because -- by TLG's own rules -- this model uses a lot of "illegal" connections.

Was wondering the same for a moment, but it's not possible. The LA's orange axle will rotate exactly as the head rotates.

You can look at what others paid for it recently. Anything under those prices would be a "good" deal. Check for example https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=42043-1#T=P

I'm struggling with the whole notion of a parts list... At first sight, it seems moot, because no-one is interested in a parts list, unless there's a way to build something. But given the comprehensive build video by ALF, a parts list would provide "enough" information to build the model without sending any money CaDA's way. So is there something in copyright that forbids you from supplying the last piece of a puzzle? Can different parties legally share pieces of a copyrighted "puzzle", as long as it remains incomplete somehow? How does that work? Sorry if this is getting too ... Technic

I'm no lawyer either... I enjoy your guidance and reasoned debate. I agree with @LvdH and @amorti. But how far does the argument extend? I mean, I don't actually have instructions, neither scan nor PDF. The virtual model is divided in steps but has no LPub tags or rotations, so there's no automagic way of generating (usable!) PDF instructions. Of course one can load the model in Stud.io or LDraw and manually rotate it to see which parts got added per step, but how is that different from the various speed-build videos on YouTube (assuming those are legal...)? For example, the one below is very detailed and at very high resolution; it will definitely allow you to build the model with the same (lack of) effort, by simply pausing the video often.

We can have a discussion about that, but I'd prefer to do it here, in the open, where @brunojj1 can also chime in. I greatly value his contribution to this community as a content creator, and love to see more in the future, not to stab him in the back. So here's an honest and well-intentioned question: is there any room for having something like an open "Pimp up my Pista" project, much like those spearheaded by @jb70 for the flagship Technic sets from TLG? Of course I don't know (and won't know) the details of the contract with CaDA -- if he gets a percentage from sales, then yes it could be a stab in the back. On the other hand, perhaps not so many people here would have enough Lego parts in their collection already to make it worth choosing BrickLink over CaDA. I don't know, but perhaps we can discuss.

Awesome stuff @jb70! I was just flicking through the new instructions -- which are beautiful -- but I was thinking, maybe you can re-render them with red outlines enabled, to highlight newly placed pieces per step? Oh and a full inventory at the end?

I humbly beg to differ. Part 4868b does fit. Rotated 47 degrees there are no collisions, as verified virtually. There's even room to fit a 2x2 black tile to hide the gray studs, as shown.

Yes I bought the BWE in January last year in a clearance sale at my local department store for the equivalent of 150 USD. The box was a bit ruffed but whatever. :) When a colleague saw my BWE he wanted one too but the sale was long gone. Nonetheless I found a local guy offering the BWE on the local online market place for the equivalent of 110 USD. Sounded too good to be true but we went out to meet him and it turned out to be a genuine, sealed box! Easy buy! The same guy then showed me his 42043 Mercedes Arocs, built once, which he offered to me for the equivalent of 80 USD. Another easy buy!