Toastie

So - warships are not my thing. BUT: You did not have the courage??? Building like a >super< expert ... and then no courage - this is not how it should be! With regard to the rigging: At that scale, the ropes appear to be a little "thick". Could black sewing thread be an alternative? I am not saying - none at all (!) - that this would look any "better" - as I am not in any position to judge here. The "curved" pieces are antennas, right? If so, they would stand out a bit more. A very warm welcome to Eurobricks!!! And congratulations: Your MOC is very impressive. And so deserves to be frontpaged - and thus: Congratulations again Best wishes, Thorsten

And that is exactly how I see this: It is the "unique model" bit. As far as I am concerned, sell what you want to sell, for whatever reason, there may be very good ones. However, do not sell them as "unique". Chances are: It has been done. There are 7.9 billion people living on this planet. The majority of those cannot afford LEGO. The remaining so many tens of millions can. Of these, a certain fraction creates "my own creations" - using a limited range of available pieces. Yes, there are sooo many pieces. But no, these don't stack up in indefinite ways, when it comes to recreation or modeling. Don't get me wrong: Individual pieces do stack up in almost (in human thinking space) in almost indefinite ways - I'd call "arbitrary". And that is fine and cool. But an angle is an angle, a curve is a curve, and 2x4 can't "do" that. When I come up with something (I do it exactly your way @firefabric!) - I then research. Just to find out - others have been there and done that. However, maybe I gave it a twist? Maybe that twist is (not unique) but interesting? That is where I usually post things. Always aware though that millions of others also experiment, think, twist the logic of LEGO. All the best, Thorsten P.S.: I very much enjoyed and cannot agree more with your write-up further above. Thank you very much for taking that time.

Absolutely not, this entire high power or amperage stuff is nothing I am interested in - chemistry-wise such rapid discharging (and then charging them with maximum current a charger can deliver) is never a good idea. It works, but usually limits the lifetime of the battery severely, as adverse irreversible chemical side reactions inside that thing are induced. See, I still live (happily) in PUp City hub world. However, these high discharge rates may have prevented the observed "power outages" to happen - resulting in repeated BW shutdowns, but that has been taken care of by other means, as I understand. Best, Thorsten

Hey, no doubts! Technically, the BW is so much better than anything else out there. For me, the thing is solely the numbers on their website regarding max. current/power delivery, that is all. BW don't make these batteries, they are usually acquired from China. The current true numbers for this type of battery, particularly of this size and weight, is simply amazing!!! And sure there are alternatives purely battery wise, this thing is rated at 11.1, 800 mAh, >50C<! I doubt that it fits into the BW3.0 case though - as said above, chemistry needs space/volume ... Best, Thorsten

Usually, the "corrosion" on these conducting rails is easily removed - depends of course on what type of corrosion. A photograph would help a lot in assessing the degree of corrosion. If not that serious, I'd clean them (recipe depends on type, just let us have a look) and then sell them off for more money ("cleaned, tested, working great") instead of "untested, corroded, as is". Also, how many do you have? Are they all corroded to the same degree? Would cleaning something you'd take into consideration at all? Best, Thorsten

True. My interest was raised when I saw these numbers for the first time, then I tried to chip in and then I quickly lost interest. There are much better science fiction sites out there . Best, Thorsten

Oh yes, in principle - didn't we discuss this - uhmm - like 40 pages ago? When you look at the tech specs on the Buwizz website, it (still) just can't be. The electronics may be fine with their amperage/watt numbers, we are living in the 21st century. However, despite the marvels of chemistry, LiPo/LiIon structures can only discharge at a limited rate, which also depends on the size of this chemical power plant; after all ions/charges have to move within the chemical plant at these amperage rates as well, and chemistry needs a little more space to do that than - uh - physics in a copper wire. If you can get a 5C, 11.1 V, 800 mAh LiPo to discharge 4 x 3.5A = 14 A , we're done with the energy crisis. There is also the 6A/PF channel number on their website - this is all garbage, given that this poor battery shown one page ago has to do all the work. And they write that they use a "Lithium Polymer (LiIon)", which is one or the other. OK, Lithium is in both varieties. Here is to Lithium Best Thorsten

In what? Your defense? Hey, this was in your total advantage! And cool! Well, I experienced a total blast (expenses wise, quality wise, and building fun wise) with 85007 from a LEGO competitor not impinging on IP rights. That set literally vanished from the market - for very good reasons, I believe. Best regards, Thorsten P.S.: Build an all LEGO piece monorail for this set (using 12V tracks), relying 95% on Masao Hidaka-type elevated track) - and ordered Tenka Circuit Cube stuff to propel it (automized). "They" said it is a display model - I say no, it is not Guess this has to go into the Community Forum - fine with me!

Well, in the 9751 challenge of @evank over in the former Mindstorms forum, the first place trophy was: "Bragging rights". I do not want to interfere with admin comments, rules and suggestions here, but: Born in 1947 (+/-) should definitely award you with exactly that! Here is to feeling and thinking young! Best wishes, Thorsten

Heehee ...

Allow me to rephrase that question: "Sorry for bumping this thread - I just stumbled about it: @0815Tanaka: Is there any chance, you have [some sort of, for whatever source] a parts list for your very nice build? Thank you!"

Meine Güte, Sven ... this is so unbelievable nice - the angle of the wheels on the running gear alone - fantastic. And this is only one of the uncountable details ... At this scale, true experts of LEGO building show, at least, as far as I am concerned. Sure, at larger scales, master builders can excel, having so incredible knowledge about all the pieces available and how to connect them in crazy ways. At this scale, though, something else is required: Imagination, abstraction, simplification ... and still invoking the "of course, this is an Antonov" - and not only that - it is the "AN-2" in the brains of the viewer. I am in awe - well, OK, as per usual, when you post - whatever you post. Thank you very much for sharing. I truly appreciate that you took the time to "show" the AN-2. All the best, Thorsten

Yeah, you are right. OK, if this is "the" definition, then this is true. Will stop to call them bad guys and over and out.

Oh my - I love your BR60 >per definition< as I was born about 50 km north-west from Lübeck in Jübek; you should not travel that much to the west though when you go up north, as you soon enough end up in the North Sea That is a very nice rendition of that locomotive I have never seen before! Best, Thorsten

At the nominal voltage, of course; 11.1V in the Buwizz case, 7.2V in the LEGO LiPo case. Best, Thorsten

I am just wanting to flip over another penny for your purchase of the original Cloud City set (don't take me too seriously, I am a PChemist, and the handling of errors usually drive students nuts. So I >have< to do this ) You know the injection moulding process very well. With friction pins, you have no problem when they are having a tight fit, as these are made to have a tight fit. But: The fit for the pins of the bad guys are - maybe per design - tighter than TLG's pins are. The assessment of "poorly made" = having an error only applies, when there is a) a random error in the dimension of these pins, or b) these dimensions are off by a systematic error, right? In case of a): Screw them, that is bad. As far as I have experienced from my Gobricks builds in 2023/4: They are not randomly tight, but always tighter. This appears to be a systematic erro. In case of b): That error is only quantifiable, when you know the "true" value. We now have to define "true". If TLG's dimensions are true, then you are right: Bad moulding. But what if the bad guys decided to design their plates and bricks also that way, because they want to make display models and/or models that "need" that additional grip? In that case, their dimensions are "true" and TLGs are poorly made. Don't you agree? Best, Thorsten

Oh, I was not looking at China, but commented on the "full stop" as a general remark when it comes to "stealing" things (which are not dealing with designs or patents or LEGO at all, that is another world or better universe). I for sure know that stealing is bad and not acceptable - but I've also seen too many people not having enough to eat to survive the next days or months. In such a situation, I do feel far less strict about stealing; food from a hotel lobby for example, which I have seen as well. That poor guy got caught, and I simply do not want to know what happened to him afterward. But back on topic: When it comes to China and LEGO as well as the other companies you listed: Yes that is a very different thing. Best, Thorsten

And that is what they are called in German as well ("Buchschrauben"), but I thought it sounded not so cool as Chicago screws . When assembling individual furniture parts, they are sometimes used as well, maybe they have another name? At least the IKEA stuff in our home is held together by such screws . So far, I did not need them and took the total purist route: LEGO Technic bricks, axles, bushes - and beech wood. Doesn't get more purist ... from the historical perspective. But who knows what happens in the future ... Best, Thorsten

I generally do agree - that is exactly, what my wife and me told our daughters. The "period" and "full stop" bit is a bit too much for me, though. Ever been to (very) poor countries? Stealing becomes less of a period and full stop issue but rather a live or die question. One time, "they" "stole" my wallet in Dhaka, Bangladesh - and of course I had my credit cards and documents left in the safe of the hotel, as I was told so by native colleagues. Well, I also changed my money upon entry to the country (which I truly love by the way, next of my regular visits to the University of Dhaka is coming up in November of this year - looking very much forward to going there!) - so that loss was, well, a good thing for some very poor people. Again: Period and full stop should be put into perspective. There is virtually no LEGO in Bangladesh, I actually asked around, as this is my beloved hobby. There are Chinese brands, though. Most sets are around $0.5 to $5. Unreachable for most. Best regards, Thorsten

Good call ! Slept well, stepped away for a bit, and have a fresh head . Just finished my lecture for tomorrow (8 am ) and the presentation for prospective students visiting tomorrow after lunch - it is that time of the year again. Soon they'll get their high-school diplomas and then ... we need to find chemistry freshmen and women. Chemistry is not necessarily the most sought-after discipline, I can tell, particularly when the words "physics" and "theory" are also in the name of my group - and I need to tell them that they need to learn a bit of math as well. We'll see ... So I need to clear up one of my mysterious and maybe irritating comments, as there were 129 question marks in a row in the post from @Horation (copied them into Notepad, and it told me so ;) "(And) time goes by so slowly" appears in the song "Unchained Melody" written by Alex North and Hyman Zaret, and is/was performed by The Righteous Brothers in their album "Just Once In My Life". Maybe Madonna asked them for permission for using this text fragment in her 2005 "Hung Up" song, maybe not, who knows. That was all. But then - any rights on the text may long have run out ... Now, Disney "made" the Black Pearl, that is true. Somebody else recreated it very nicely in clone bricks; TLG recreated London, Paris, Berlin etc. in their Architecture Series using LEGO bricks. I guess, they have asked for permission to do so. But another try: The #85007 Pantasy Steampunk Train Station featuring a suspended Steampunk steam train + carriage. Does that appear in any Disney, Mattel, (50 or more companies should be listed here), movie, comic, or any other medium currently available? I am not aware of any. But then again: What do I know. The set is made with Gobricks bricks - and has so many flat gold and silver pieces ... no, I do not only buy LEGO. There is also another interesting (neither saying good nor bad) development, as far as I am concerned: On Pinterest, and many other places pictures of AI generated LEGO compatible Steampunk buildings, ships and submarines, aircraft, and so on surface. These are really nice and mostly huge "builds". I don't know, but this could be a source for new sets, particularly when a set (e.g., P #85007) with almost 2800 pieces, only prints, and an amazing brick quality costs $/€140 + 5$/€ S&H from an established distributor located in Germany. But who has the license? An AI learns from input from so many different sources ... Oh well, have you all a nice day or night, Thorsten Oh, that one is easy: <begin of post> "Yes" </end of post> = no need of mentioning any other brand! Best, Thorsten

No comment other than: I think you seem to be getting out of your mind. What does the German brick-building community have to do with me, other than I am German? Address me, but please leave the country out of your reasoning. My goodness. Time goes by, apparently so slowly, as Madonna said - well, this may be a counterfeit text as well, who knows. Some things advance with time, some remain as is, some decline. Regards, Thorsten

Well, no, he is not. It is an original product, using non-patented ABS bricks from Gobricks. TLG failed to do this - they had the chance. But instead, they teamed up with the Accor group and made - something. Well, I can tell you good things about Mould King by experience - Gobricks bricks, the Flying Dutchman, their Orient Express, and so on and so forth. What are the generally bad things you heard? Did you actually "experience" some of their products? Whatever, here is to feeling good: Best regards, Thorsten

Oh - absolutely!!! Just googled it - never heard that term (I am German , and yes it is used in Germany as well ...) before. These are very handy for so many things - and sure for this purpose as well. BTW: I doubt that Ole K.C. used "birchwood" for making the wooden toys (as per the above cited Wikipedia article) - I thought birch = "Buche" in German, this is what I use. I got confused with beech and birch - I am using beech for sure: Relatively cheap but really tough, almost as it were hard wood. And I just checked: The official LEGO site says: "He uses beechwood, which is first air-dried for two years, then kiln-dried for three weeks. It is then cut, sanded, polished and given three coats of varnish or paint. Just like real furniture. Ole Kirk Kristiansen demands quality at every stage of the process [...]" Well, I get my 15x15 mm2 (x length) beech strips from a hardware store, so not sure about the drying process but I do sand, polish and give them coats - but of black acrylic paint. Anyway, the tricky part is the drilling - Technic holes are 4.8 mm in diameter. I use 5 mm drill bits, which gives me some tolerance when needing to brace Technic beams with beech posts. It works, though, and nicely - after a few tries. The "unavoidable" hole displacements when doing this on a drill press nicely add some "wooden" (soft) friction that the 5 mm hole would not create, if it were perfectly drilled. I cannot perfectly drill ... so all is in perfect order. It really works well - I am going to post (sometime) in the Community Forum on this topic - as I just have made some (12V rail) track for the Pantasy 85007 Steampunk Railway Station, which comes - as a nice "extra" - with a suspended locomotive and carriage. Some say it is a very (very) nice display model; I say it is an extremely nice train to run on elevated track. And beechwood posts carrying and bracing the required technic trusses do a great job. I am working in Wuppertal - hometown of the nicest (and frequented) suspended train in the world. TLG did not approve the IDEAS entry for this train - so Pantasy made an original Steampunk steam train version . It simply does not get any better - I love Steampunk. And flat gold. This set has a ton of flat (not pearl) gold pieces. And beechwood seams to be in full accordance with any LEGO purist rules, as Ole K.C. himself used this material ... All the best, Thorsten

Well, the founder of the LEGO company, Ole K. C. was a carpenter. And, according to Wikipedia, "Christiansen made his toy products from birch wood", which is what I do. Wait, no products, but supports ;) In other words, I am even closer to LEGO than any plastic piece can ever be ... All the best, Thorsten

Hi Evan, I don't cord (old) wires up - well, the 9V wire disaster will most probably not strike in 4.5V world - but doing that bending just for "storage" gives the wires some twisty shape. Instead, I loosely let them hang down from a simple holder I made. This requires of course some free section of wall ;) The "holder" is an L-shaped wooden strip with slots - one per cable. As mine have all the same length, there is also such a piece of wood at the lower end the other way around. The cables provide enough tension caused by their (natural) "twists" that they remain in the slots. At the same time, they remain essentially "straight", which makes it easier (for me) to play with them later on. Best, Thorsten