Sariel

I don't have the older ones, but there are surely dozens of YouTube videos that answer your question.

The HERO GoPro 3. With the housing removed, it's less than 100 grams heavy, including extra LEGO pieces to mount it.

Here's a little review of my own:

The harsh reality about the Cuusoo, which eludes many people, is this: - no submission above 500 pieces was ever approved - no submission with any motorized components, or almost any Technic pieces was ever approved - vast majority of submissions is rejected on vague grounds, and even approval can mean we get something vastly different from the original submission (the DeLorean case) Personally, I think Cuusoo is a "let's make the company look nice" PR effort rather than anything else. As for this particular model, the mere fact that it uses micromotors is enough to get it instantly rejected. Sorry if I sound sour, but I've had it up to my ears with Cuusoo. Too many people seem to think it's some magical wishing well that instantly turns anything into a Lego set waiting on a shelf in a shop next to you. I hear about Cuusoo every single time I show some model.

I certainly appreciate your sense of humor.

I can't think of any, and besides he's heavy compared to a rotor, would probably make it unstable. As long as it's suspended it's perfectly possible to partially submerge it in water. Risky with all the electric parts inside, though.

Sorry, forgot to paste it. It's up there now. To my eyes it's a Model Team-styled body with Technic innards, so how come?

It's a boat! It's a plane! No, it's BOTH! The vid: Some reading and plenty of big, juicy photos: http://sariel.pl/201...rs-helicarrier/ Also, I'd like to take this opportunity to talk about photos. See, I sometimes hear from certain people that I put too much post-processing into my photos and this is the only reason why my creations are popular. Because apparently I should be taking photos in a dark closet with some old cellphone. Now, I make my living as a professional graphic artist, and I was trying to explain that my post-processing is merely cosmetic and that I'm actually holding back. So, this time I decided to throw around some PHOTOSHOP RAMPAGE and show you what "extensive post-processing" really looks like. First 10 photos are the example, including these:

Sorry, you're right. I've been looking at this the wrong way.

No sir, you see an adder connecting two RC motors. Yes, it uses the differential piece, but it doesn't act as a central differential.

From your drivetrain, it looks like there is some tension or tires slipping, because it's AWD with wheels of various sizes, and without a central differential (instead, you have an adder in the center). Basically, you're driving all the wheels at the same speed even though the rear ones are bigger than the front ones.

The model is really cool, but I'm surprised to find anyone still putting much faith in Cuusoo. Sad facts are: - five submission were approved over SIX YEARS - no Technic-themed submission was ever approved - if memory serves me well, the largest submission ever approved was like 400 pieces altogether - a submission can be very different from a resulting set (e.g. Back To The Future deLorean)

You make it simple, prevent body from pressing on it (driveshafts through turntable, etc.) and use grease on most loaded elements such as knob gears. TT got there by basically minimizing the number of high-friction elements in his drivetrain. Of course direct drive is as simple as it gets, but it's neither challenging nor realistic.

I would still call it an overkill, seeing as most 8x8 trucks in our Truck Trial races run successfully on 2 or even 1 XL motor. Efficient drivetrain is all it takes. And it can be taken even further, as proven by TT's 8x8 ZIS truck, driven by two MEDIUM motors: http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=444723 I think 2 XLs give you enough torque to move any 6x6 over any terrain. The question is: how efficiently you can put it to use.

You're right. There was simply no way to control all the functions through 8 PF channels.

So, I've come across Blackbird's comparison chart, and I thought it would be interesting to add my electrical behemoth to it :) Please note that my tow truck sacrificed suspension and pneumatics to rely on electric systems only, which required stuffing almost 19 meters of wires inside it. Some of its mechanisms were remote-controlled but are not listed here as such for the lack of space in the chart. For the same reason there is no full list of all the 44 LEDs the model included, nor is there information that they were parts of various mechanisms - most served as regular lights, but some were functioning as turn signals and reversing lights.

I don't think you can make it reliable. There are dozens of factors you're not taking into account: the size of wheels, the type of the tires, the complexity of the drivetrain, the exact type of surface you're driving on... All these things affect how a motor performs in a model. Even brand of the batteries and the temperature they're operating in matters. There's a reason why determining a ratio is so difficult - it depends on a dozen of variables, not just ratio and load. In the meantime, you should probably get familiar with this: http://www.philohome.com/motors/motorcomp.htm

Thanks. The grey axles get slightly twisted. The liftarms are unscathed.

I'd say 3 meters easily, but you can probably get more if you play with the drawstring's tension.

It fires stuff quickly and nicely. Photos, reading and a full building instruction are here: http://sariel.pl/2013/07/roman-ballista/ Following the EB's recent trend the video will be up in a week or so... ...oh wait, I have it right here:

Ending up with parts you don't need and you don't have space to store?

I did something like that a few years ago. Be advised, it makes the gun's barrel really wobbly:

You would get a better response time and much higher accuracy connecting two NXT units over Bluetooth like this: http://sariel.pl/2012/03/nxt-brick-to-brick-remote/

These are 12t gears, not 16t gears, and as anyone can tell you, they are paper-thin. You could solve this using knob gears instead.

Ahem: http://www.philohome.com/motors/motorcomp.htm