Lasse D

If I'm lucky with "Staub" on the roads, then it will take me 10 hours to drive the 1144 km (I'm taking the scenic route). This will land me at the Leipheimerstr. 7, Bubesheim at 22:30 to 23:03 Wednesday evening. I might also go top speed at the autobahn, but then I will need an extra stop for gas.

I'm intending on arriving late Wednesday afternoon at Kirchenbauerhof. Is this a popular option?

I can only speak for the iQ here in Denmark. Here the iQ is extremely rare, selling single digit numbers every month, and there's a reason for that. It makes no financial sense. You can get two Aygos (larger than the iQ) or a Yaris for the same price and the fuel economy and upkeep is pretty much the same as in the Yaris. The engines are the same as Yaris as well, although you can't get a hybrid iQ (and the electric iQ was scrapped). That being said, I have a fully equipped 6 MT diesel and it's a modern sleeper. Pretty much everyone gets surprised at how this car launches, and with the excessive width and expensive suspension setup, it's a really nice travel companion at high speeds (although it tops out at 180km/h). Unfortunately I seem to have liked the acceleration a little too much. Last month the engine crapped out and the car is still at the shop waiting for a new engine. While waiting I am driving my city car, a CT. This car is selling between 0 and 1 unit a month, so it is even more rare :)

That's odd. Mine never says "iQ" on the center display. It just gives you some warning about not to take your focus off of the road when driving.

Well... I for one go my hands on a substantial amount of them at some point earlier this year: Where the bricks are now? I have a bad feeling they are at a land fill. That's where my model ended after Legoworld.

Necrobumping with new content. I'm also starting up on Moonbase again. I am, however, using baseplates with an additional plate and brick in height for a more interesting base. I'm also using technic bricks/pins to keep the modules together like in the microscale standard which makes a layout much more stable. My first module was at Klodsfest this year where it drove around. I'm planning on making additional modules to make it company. It has standard connectors so it can connect to old Moonbase modules, as long as they stay on the raised base plate. My plates consisted of a ring of fire which kept the module inside... most of the time (it almost fell to the floor at one point).

I have an unopened Series 5 box. I would love to trade it for a large set with no value for collectors (I'm not a collector).

Sounds about right. I shall be the designated drunk driver.

Good news. Toyota pays for the repair. I will come to the event, but it will be in my city car instead of my going-on-long-trips diesel, since the diesel is waiting for a new engine to be shippen from Japan.

Yes, that isn't a problem. I already have an extra car (my city car) to travel around in while the other one is at the shop. The problem is whether or not I can affort to go if I have to pay for a new engine, engine rebuild or repair. I have just spoken to the mechanic. He thinks a connecting rod might have failed, thus punching a hole in the engine block. If this repair ends up costing me more than 6000€, then I will not be able to go because I will be broke. I will know by May 23... if I'm lucky.

Yes. It's the cute little car which has a cracked engine block. I have still not heard back from the mechanic, so I will go there tomorrow to get stuff sorted out. It might end up costing half of a new car... not something I'm willing to invest in at this point.

I have just received really bad news. My car (which I wanted to use for the event) just busted out with a hole through the engine block. The mechanics will have to disassemble the engine to get a better view of the damage, but since the car just went out of warranty, I might be looking at a wallet cleaning repair bill and not be able to attend the event... or buy food. They have promised to call me back once they know more, but right now it looks really, really bad.

And with the latest SW pics we have the 1x2 curve in dark gray.

And now you can build your own: This is how it works. Blue: Connected directly to the wheels. Green: Clicker ensures the mechanism is only engaged while reversing. Red: Turns the legs around and disengages the coupling when the legs are pointing down.

And if you prefer to use a (smaller) Large motor or simply like the top of a topline Scania R-series, then there's also building instructions for this model as well now. The mechanics are the same as in the red Highline truck. Up next: the mechanism behind this trailer:

Thanks guys. I'm glad you like it. Thank you. The SNOT'ing in this model is more extreme than I have ever tried before - especially the nose with the ½-plate offsets was a challenge to get right. I have cheated and cut a Technic Flex-System Hose into 2L pieces. This and the stickers in the center of the letters (cut from an original sticker sheet) are the two places that I had to cheat in this model.

I will, but first once I have rebuilt the Scania trucks with automatic coupling mechanism. I have found out that the clicker mechanism doesn't work properly, so I have updated the mechanism as follows: The mechanism is now quite simple: Green: Drive Blue: Hatch mechanism always makes the black rubber-liftarm rotate, but the gearing makes the drag on the drive mechanism minimal and the functionality is still intact (uncouples when reversing) I have updated the instructions for the truck (click the picture for the isntructions): And the final truck in digital form:

Last year I started this topic asking for a real model of the helicopter from 5590. I would like to thank the members who helped finding ideas for which helicopter to build. This is the result This is a Bell 206B Jet Ranger in scale 1:25 The number on the side reads "5590" just as the number of the doors of the helicopter from 5590 I have used Griddy to assist in the planning of the model The doors open And inside there is a full interior with four seats in the rear Brickshelf gallery, once moderated

Thanks Cwetqo. I will go there by diesel power then :)

There is a problem with the mechanism of my latest container trailer: Once the legs are partially down, the rubber (actually silicone) band causes the clicker to be engaged no matter if the trailer is going back or forth. It is therefore not possible to reverse without having the legs go down. This new design makes the trailer more enjoyable to drive around: The new mechanism works as follows: Blue: Main drive power from the wheels. Red: direction-dependent clicker engages one side when going forward and the other when reversing. Pink: Mechanism engaged when going forward. The 1:3 gearing minimises mechanical drag when driving forward. Green: Mechanism engaged when reversing. Yellow: Mechanism to engage/disengage the legs. In order to reverse one simply has to go a bit forward now and then in order to not fully engage the legs. Building instructions for this modified trailer to appear soon. Update I have added instructions for the new trailer design. Click the picture:

I will be driving 1033km from Aarhus, Denmark. Can pick up a single person on the way if you happen to need a ride. BTW. Are there problems getting into Gunzburg in a foreign diesel car? I'm thinking of environment stickers or other kinds of disguised tolls?

I have not been able to find the shorter version, but it turned out not to be much of a problem once I got started on the Jet Ranger in the correct size. It's really a small and sleek aircraft:

I have started constructing the Bell helicopter. The decision fell on the nose being more similar to the helicopter from 5590 than other helicopters. I was supposed to build it in scale 1:25, but because of feet/metrics conversions going bad, I started building it way too large... Now I have to start over again.

Well. Now I have given it a go on updating the sides to better reflect the typical type of cowling that you se on the R-series topline. The light boom has been moved down (also to make it more realistic) and other minor details have been changed: And now for the comparison shot with the old model from 2009:

I'm using MLCad for modelling and an old version of LPub for generating the images using LDraw. It is far from automatic. Do you recon which parts the front sides would be?