JopieK

you can also do another test. A motor also acts like a dynamo, so connect a volt meter to it, turn it around and see if it produces juice.

yes but if you make houses with a hinge like we do: In this case you can't use those 4x4 ones but the new macaroni's make the chimneys better...

I think it has to do with clutch power... I did never experience a broken old style macaroni, did you?!

well, if you use them like me, for making chimneys for factories, one prefers the new variety. Of course the old variety is still very useful for other applications! Afols have also called the old style bricks macaroni's, at least for a decade now. B.t.w.: 3063 Released: 1955 - 2011 (http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=3063) 85080 was introduced in 2008. This was the most recent set the old style were used in: http://peeron.com/inv/sets/5770-1

you could always use transfer foil of course, just like they do with car wrapping... scotch tape might also work.

well, he lives in Russia, so... ;)

nice one! @Hrw-Amen, of course they will not only control switches but also signals (it is a signal box of course ;)) and maybe even level crossings from this post. The real deal somewhere in Holland:

picture helps: (thanks whitefang ;)) I totally agree that the yellow looks ugly. But... why did they not just provided a small sticker instead of one that covers the whole motor area. So what I meant about transparent stickers here is that if one would print it on transparent, the red / white / green are not totally translucent unless one you print white layer(s) under it.

but one would not be able to stick it in a non-yellow brick then of course... also if you print on transparent, most colors need a white backing... indeed it is quite hard to match exact colors and LEGO apparently uses more than one printshop. They don't make the stickers themselves (we think). One can see differences in colour also e.g. with the Maersk sets. All sets have different "Maersk color" stickers, so hard for me to decide on what color to use for reproductions :)

3.6V will be quite enough for 4.5V bulbs of course!!! You can't blow things up by providing too little voltage, they just won't shine (and also wear) at their maximum!

Well, we have quite a lot of experiences in reproducing stickers, the best way is to create vectors and print it on HQ vinyl (like we do at ministickers), I don't have a scan either though. This one is decent:

nice updates patrick, too bad I didn't get a chance to talk to you in wetteren, we were there only saturday and you were busy when I spotted you :) (luckily everything went well with us AFOL's, ... does not happen very often exploding trains, you know that person died within a kilometer of the school I saw!).

These guys have some interesting idea: http://www.brothers-brick.com/2009/08/30/how-to-clean-yellowed-lego-bricks-to-make-classic-space-sets-look-new-news/

The topic has died I'm afraid.

It is even better to use SMD LED's, I have good experiences with that. @F0NIX: it is not that if you reverse the polarity of an LED it will be damaged, but it will get destroyed if you send too much current through it, that is why and LED need a resistor in series with it that takes away the extra current. You can look up what resistor you need using a "led resistor calculator". Every color has its' own voltage limit btw so check carefully. A resistor of 1k is most of the time good enough. Warm white LEDs are as good as light bulbs and they consume less power, that is easier if you want to control them etc.

Not without a mod, you could use arduino to convert the RC stuff to PF, it requires some skills though so you might ask some technical person help you out with that. The protocol is the problem. Even when the hardware of the RC and PF systems would be exactly the same, the protocol (the 0's and 1's that form the bit train that has some meaning for the system (eg stop, increase speed, etc)) still remains an issue, so you need a microcontroller (built in in the PF receiver, but one can use like an arduino replacement)

Great job, maffia is also Nice. And the interior including the plants.

enjoy your time here!!!

PF line of sight is not so direct as one would think b.t.w., even reflection from walls etc. will let the IR signal reach the receiver is my observation. "From what little I know about IR, the unit may have to be receiving an "ON" IR signal from the remote by 'line of sight'" at least using the PF there are two modes... the small PF remote sends momentary signals (that are not persistent), the train PF remote sends a kind of signal that is persistent. The receiver is the one that decides whether the signal is interpreted as persistent however!

The second clip is very interesting, even TTX stackers through the streets... strange Americans, you can't even enter the platforms until the train has arrived and stopped, but you can run them through the streets... just the other way around in Holland (I have lived in and enjoyed the US for half a year ;)) We have situation like in Zwolle where LEGO World Netherlands was hosted for 12 year where trains run alongside the street, but then also very low speed and only very infrequently (mostly garbage trains or ship engines, used to be now I don't see it very often anymore).

I did when I was young, this airplane is more or less Duplo instead of LEGO.

trying to do my best on the stickers, but what is that round one: It would also help if there were pictures from the original one (original real truck I mean).

of course no problem, I wouldn't mind printing them for you of course, I happen to do it for other AFOL's now and then too.

I can help you with that, we produce HQ vinyl stickers, computer cut... b.t.w. the links don't work for me... (PM would be a good idea if you like).

I like them too ;) already saw them at 1000steine natürlich (German for "of course...") ;)