Lasse D

That's pretty hard to say. I have been planning more than building. It took a lot of evenings to build it, but how many I can't say. As for the price, it costs €150 for the PF-components alone, and that is without the LEDs that I had to buy whole sets to get my hands on. There are bricks from multiple BrickLink orders in it, making the price hard to guess. I have tried, but my camera can't see the weak light from the GITD-pieces, no matter how many there are. The 1x1 round plates are from a discontinued Bionicle set and you can get them on BrickLink, although there aren't many left... thanks to me That's the danger about saying a creation is the best ever - there will always be a better creation. I always want to improve my creations, making the latest better than any before, and I'm sure Ralph does the same. His ladder is one of the best I have ever seen - right until I see his next Regarding the Mosaic program. It can give you a full inventory (export to LDraw/MLCad, from where you can optimize, make building instructions and so on), show you exactly which colors are used, let you choose which colors you want to use and let you adjust all kind of settings. These are all features I expect from a Mosaic generator, and I'm sure you can find them in programs already on the market. My program is still pre-alpha. It will be free/open source just like some of the other mosaic generators.

I saw it when you added the pictures to Brickshelf, but it's first now I can comment on how great this model is. The greatness resides in not only the overall looks, but also the details that you might miss, such as the way you connected the ladders in the top, the wheel arches that are ½ stud out and the techniques used to create the windscreen. This is even better than Miniland vehicles because it's smaller and uses real LEGO for the functions. The use of Power Functions is invisible as far as I can tell. Great job on achieving that. I reckon it drives like this truck: ( )And you even added a couple of firefighters in the same scale

I don't know how you feel about the "purist"-type of windows, but I prefer them to the alternatives of non-LEGO parts or empty frames. Googling for the real version gave me (among others) this: and your model is spot on. Great job Ralph. I don't see most of your announcements because I don't use Flickr, so I'm glad that you posted this great creation here. Will you do the same with the fire engine? It would be nice to see how the Power Functions in it work.

I'm glad you like it. The gear system shuts down, but if you repeat doing it, the axle with the cog that goes directly onto the motors will move out of position and start making an awful sound. As you can see on the prototypes, the whole system after the diff is dual in order to tame the power and prevent damaging the cogs ( is known for breaking under preasure) By making the axle with the diff rotate quickly, I avoid the problem of stressing it, and the mechanical loss is acceptable with the new motors. That part of the construction (dual XL-motors with gears) took me about a month to figure out, so I can verify your claim regarding the difficulties with Power Functions motors!

This is a rather long post with a lot of pictures and text, so let's start out with a video on Youtube (click the picture). Please click the pictures for larger versions and Brickshelf galleries. The Model This model is a classic 12 stud wide Model Team truck. I began planning it when building the mobile Shell station back in June 2007. The first prototype for powering the truck was built in September and a full chassis was finished in November. I had yet to find a way to change the gears, but in December I found a solution using only the motor for steering to change gears, decouple and turn on the lights when in gear. The rod that changes the gear required a lot of force and some cogs were damaged, so I came up with a different solution that still used only one motor for all functions apart from propulsion: A couple of BrickLink orders later and I had the first full prototype for the truck: Presenting it to my LUG lead to a couple of changes of the sleeper and I began building the trailer. By using a turntable, I was able to power 8 functions using only 2 motors. The model was displayed at Klodsfest 2008, which turned out to be a great field test. I found problems with nearly every function. Even the steering didn't work properly because of all the additional functions that engaged when they shouldn't. The mechanics had to be almost completely changed, leading to the version you can see in the video. The engine Pretty much all LEGO trucks have V8 engines, so I have always thought this to be normal. This was until I met a fellow LEGO truck builder (and LEGO Technic designer) at Klodsfest who told me that all trucks have straight 6 cylinder engines - even the American ones! So for the first time a truck of mine has an engine of the real type: -> The new engine (which is coupled directly to the twin XL Power Functions motors) has both a moving flywheel and camshafts as seen in the video. The Mechanics of the Truck There are 4 motors in the truck: 2 XL motors for propulsion (as mentioned above), 1 M motor for steering and one for changing gears. There is a high and low gear. The lights turn on when in gear and the trailer coupling is disengaged when in high gear. New trailer coupling standard You might notice it's very easy to hook onto the trailer: simply drive into it! This is possible because of a new coupling system. I have had similar systems in the past, but this new one is much easier to build, use and both the truck and trailer can decouple. I will post a new thread with the precise standard of this system once I have added it to another truck. Trailer Functions There are 8 functions in the trailer: - Open the top lid - Turn on the rear lights (or make them flash) - Operate the jack - Open/close the lift gate - Elevate the lift gate - Decouple - Operate the auxiliary output (an NXT motor in the video) - Turn the power off A turntable is the central part of all the functions: One motor operates the turntable while the other sits in the middle and powers all the functions. Clutches are used on nearly all functions to spare the mechanics. On 3 of the functions, the clutches are made of a couple of mated with a Remote Control (NXT) The remote is an NXT with a HiTechnic IR-Link. I use LeJos with a custom program for the sensor in order to fully utilizing the functionality of the Power Functions receiver: 7 power levels and commands without timeouts (so the lights remain on). Lights The first prototypes used only 9V for the lights, but then LEGO released LEDs, so all the lights on the truck are now of this kind, making the 9V power supply obsolete (the first prototype had two battery boxes): The LEDs use much less power and give a more clear and focused light as you can see in this comparison: 9V: LEDs: The trailer still uses the old 9V lights because they can flash, while the display on the top is made using fiber optic bricks from the '90s. Mosaics I had to make my own mosaic generator because I wanted it to handle the following: - SNOT-constructions. - When an adjustment is made to the various parameters (size, crop, brightness, colors, etc.), the results must be shown almost simultaneously. This lead to the program BrickGraphics, which is still in pre-alpha. I will make a thread with it once it is nearing completion. The trailer needed 3 pictures: Two of Santa and one Coca Cola logo. Santa mosaics Searching the net for some pictures with Santa Claus used by Coca Cola gave me a lot of results: Finding the ones that could be built using only 27 plates in the height gave me: It was among these I found the two for the trailer. Coca Cola logo The logo was a bit more tricky. If you only use plates on top of each other, it would look like this: This is the reason why the mosaic program had to handle SNOT constructions, so I could end up with: There is an antialiazing effect built into the logo. Try to zoom out or move away from the screen and you will notice the logo appearing sharper. Random facts regarding the model - The golden rings around the Santa pictures are made using only and in pearl gold. It would take 9 Indiana Jones and the Lost Tomb-sets to make a duplicate of each picture. - There are 388 pieces that glow in the dark, 88 cogs in the mechanisms, where 18 bricks are used for clutches. - It contains more than 625cm. of electrical wire. - The truck weight 1.317kg, while the trailer weights 2.22kg. - The truck participated in the "Tractor Pulling" contest at Klodsfest 2008... and lost in the first round to the NXT that later became the remote. - It has the same width as Agents Mission 6, but: - Most of the drive train is dual in order to tame the power from the XL motors, but decoupling the trailer in high gear was still a necessity, or else the transaxle would be ripped out. - Only the middle axle is powered. A suspension on the rear axle allows for better friction, making it possible to pass small obstacles without getting stuck. - If you mark the places where SNOT is used on the exterior, it would look like this: Brickshelf Gallery Now I hope it will be accepted for display at LEGO World Copenhagen 2009.

If you like this, then you should see what another AFOL from my lug brought the next weekend:

Using the same argument, you can also build the green BURPs this way. I just thought it would be nice if all the special parts were in the raffle.

Just a small question that has bothered me (especially since I had the chance to check it myself): Are the standard adapter cables from S@H (9v and PF) long enough? The model requires two, but they felt longer than the ones I have bought separately.

It does look nice, but isn't 8 wide just a bit on the large side? I'm sure it looks more realistic than a slimmer version would, but I'm having problems fitting these 8 wide vehicles into tabletoptown. I once made a coach too with 14 passengers, but being 6 wide, it was a bit cramped: Linky It also had a toilet, motor and luggage compartment like yours. It does, however, offer a different type of doors, and I think your front door will be a challenge to open once built in bricks.

I don't see any reason for having avatars larger than 100x100 when they are rescaled to this site in the (slow!) browsers. It's such a waste of resources (and one must right click the avatar and press "Adblock Image...") But if it gets out of hand, I have a trick to cure it: don't rescale the avatars for a member when he views it! Or even better: upscale if larger than 400x400!

Just to clear any confusion. This is the good old Cool Cars: It will be a challenge to make it Minifig-sized, mainly because of the height with the gullwing doors, but I'm sure you can find a solution. It will be harder to make it steer like the photo suggests. There was a thread where a member made the Racers set with all the trucks into minifig size, and they still looked great.

Normally I am the one who brings in the weirdness. That hut is just plain awesomeness Trash Entering it will be the least of one's problems Using a huge hat for the other roof is also great - it reminds me of Theme Park where you had shops like the one selling ice cream and the whole roof looked like made of ice

Thanks for the review Sinner. I was planning on building the alternate models, but never got to it. With your review, I don't regret it. I think you are a bit too lenient regarding the alternate models. I would have given a lower score based on their looks. None of the larger* Creator sets from 2008 have lived up to the old standards IMO. *the small impulse Creator sets are still awesome regarding their alternate models.

The AFOLS attending the Children's Dream Town event 2008 were asked to build something on a 32x32 plate for the event. Surprisingly, many of us choose to build something with moving parts. My contribution was this little blue house where the minifigs could party outside with huge loudspeakers and the acceptance from the neighbors. Yep. It moves and shakes the roof. It is filled with Technic-parts, motors, gears, wires and other PF-components. You gain access to the battery from the rear side. I will make a longer video showing more from the event, such as all the creations from the children, other AFOL contributions and other funny stuff. Here are some picture from the event.

Thanks, but that is a toy duck, not a skate! (They are not invented yet) I have to finish a red trailer before I can continue here. it is a year overdue now.

Wow. The only way this creation could be more awesome was if the title of this thread gave a hint to what was actually found on Brickshelf.

Thanks for the feedback on the exterior. Here are the pictures of the complete model. This carpenter is a bit of a show off, as you can tell by the facade with a huge plane to show that he's a carpenter. He even makes toys as you can see in the left display box. Inside you will find him working at his work bench. There are tools on the wall and some products ready to be painted on the floor. He uses a smaller plane than the one hanging outside. There's a triangle, saw, drill, clamps and other tools. Raw materials on the other side. And a part of the room dedicated for painting. The red chair will soon be finished. Where does he live? In the basement of course! There are a lot of parts for this small shop. These are the parts that are not clipped to the walls or secured using studs. The wall can be interchanged with the basic design. More pictures (such as details on how the roof is made) can be found in the Brickshelf gallery.

It sounds perfectly reasonable for me, but I have not tried to build for the keep-parts yet, so there might be details that I have missed. On another note. I just completed the interior of my version of the carpenter. I will take pictures once there is sunlight tomorrow (if I can get up that early )

It is funny. One of the first hits on google is the wikipedia entry that explains the abbreviation, and a search for "MOC" in Wikipedia gives the same site. A search for "acronym", "glossary" or similar in the fine search function gives the excellent The EB Glossary where almost every acronym you might meet in here is explained. ... Welcome to EB.

Wow. This project really moves! Love those scrolls Sandy. There are so many details in all the contributions. Meanwhile. I have finished the facade for the carpenter. The interior still has to come.

Competition is always good, and LEGO has plenty of competition from all other toy makers. Copying and brand devaluation on the other hand is bad, and this is exactly what those clone makers do when they lure customers into thinking that they are buying LEGO. The bricks as we know them are "LEGOs" in the common mindset, and clone companies make "LEGOs" as well, which leads to people believing that the quality of LEGO is decreasing. Now LEGO has to make an offensive "it is only real LEGO when LEGO is written on top"-campaigns, which is quite costly.

Nice tutorial. It should be possible to do the same in Gimp, but I prefer dedicated mosaic programs where you don't have to fiddle with the color palette. Here is an example where I tried to do the same as the tutorial (same colors and nearly same color quantization), but using a mosaic generator: (Photoshop, original, mosaic generator)

There were both old and young winners participating in this set (9, 13 and 38 years old), with my favorite part being the small pirate ship by 13 year old Neal, who also made the ski slope (I have the set right here). It is a great set for parts, and fits in scale with the Ferris wheel.

Thanks for the positive comments It does take quite some time to present new MOCs this way, so it is always nice to know others liked it. The new season of Top Gear starts in less than 3 hours! It is impossible not to watch!