mahjqa

Lasse D: Yup, the steering is self-centering, using the usual suspect. I much prefer it, because with these speeds responsiveness of the steering pretty much mandatory. Apemax: Standard-issue garden variety standard controller. No modifications or additions. My muscle memory's completely adapted to it. (Which gave some problems when I tried to drive somebody else's car; he had steering and acceleration reversed. Red is throttle, blue is steering, people! )

The original can be seen . If you're from Germany or otherwise unable to watch the video on Youtube, here is another copy of it on Flickr. This machine is built for speed and maneuverability. And for easy batterychanges. Small (less inertia) and it can handle a bump or two. And if you're into photography, you might want to check this.

Adding more axles does not add more traction. Traction is dependent on weight. The more weight on a wheel, the more traction it has. If you add two more wheels, the weight of the vehicle will (in the best scenario) be evenly distributed over all the wheels.

Ayup.

I see your crashes and raise you a video:

I figured out what the tiny alien's used for! After a quick edit in Photoshop... WAAAAAAAAAAAUGH! by mahjqa, on Flickr

Perhaps use cams instead?

Wherever the track makes a 180 degree* bend is best. At those points, a driven sprocket has most contact with the track, and is least likely to slip off when powered. So here: _________________ /O O\ \_________________/ Tanks and other tracked vehicles usually drive the rear sprocket, because this gives the most direct power to the tracks in contact with the ground. Note that Lego vehicles can get away with driving either the rear or the front one, like in the Motorised bulldozer. Here, one motor drives the front sprocket, the other the back. Since you're making a halftrack, you can simply power both tracks with the same motor. Using the back sprocket is propably easiest to build. On tanks, the sprocket driving the tracks is not in contact with the ground. This is because then it can easily stay in one place, while the lower wheels can easily be outfitted with springs to get better contact with the ground. *or slightly less

Hi! Thanks for your praise; it's great I've got someone interested in technic. I hope that I can answer some of your questions. For starters, the tracks of the snow groomer should work very well. Because it's plastic it's a bit slippery, but in this case it should work to your advantage. The reason Lego uses plastic tracks is so vehicles like bulldozers can not only move forward, but turn as well. to do that, you need a tiny bit of slipperyness. Also, because there's a bit of slip, you can lose the differential and just use a regular gear instead. Hope this helps a bit :D (And because I can, I'm dropping this differential video here. If you haven't seen it yet, do so. It only takes a few minutes, but it's the best explanation I've foudn so far)

Indeed. Great work!

I'm glad you mentioned it's not the same one. In a glance they look similar, but the new one looks a lot more refined. It's really a shame you couldn't get the PF to work, it would've been awesome.

Sure! That's why I included the instructions After you've put it together, sliding may be a bit rough; it gets better once you've played with it a bit.

I love these.

More pictures here.

Some additional footage:

Well, maybe a pic with some nice Finnish forests or another landmark in the background? Take your time, and you don't have to if you don't want to :)

They're in here: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=47676 http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=47675 When you build it, would you like to send me some pictures?

The chassis of the Indrik, in digital form! Build your own! Amaze your friends! Smite your enemies! (Well, maybe don't do that last one.) The LDD file was done with some help by the amazing and wonderful Zblj. This version is the least parts-intensive. Most PF components can be removed without too much trouble. LDD file: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/mahjqa/989-Indrik/indrikbymahjqa.lxf

It's a great part and I want twelve. At least.

A motor does the trick. You know how you put electricity in it, it starts running? Turns out it works both ways. Turn a motor, and it's connecting wires start supplying electricity. You can check this yourself. Connect two motors together, and turn one. The other will go as well.

They picked my two weakest submissions... (I didn't even bother making videos for them...) Two I'd rather see in the lineup: Da Vinci Flyer: Bridge Launcher: Congrats to all who made it, but especially to Zblj. You deserve this.

I'm glad you all like it. :) I've got the LXF of the gearing right here: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/mahjqa/990-MetalGrudge/metalgrudge.lxf Because I suck at LDD it's not completely correct, but it's enough to get a working version out of it.

The older style differential with 16z and 24z gear is as of yet still available to Lego's technic designers.