kolbjha

I can't understand you are obliged to do anything. You do your stuff, in your own way, according to your own principles. Obviously, it works well. I'd say stick to your own way and principles, as long as it feels right for you. Even I can acknowledge your sense of feeling guilty, I really can't see any reason why you should. Your work is a great inspiration to so many - including me.

Thanks a lot to both of you - Jim and Sariel - for excellent reviews! Your different ways of presentation complements each other in a very nice way!

Very nice review for a nice little set! I especially like the smoothness of operation for the retractable landing gear. I don't like the lack of symmetry for the propeller of the B model though, but understand the alternative would be to add one extra small panel to the set, or skip two of them in the B model.

If we think a little wider, building Lego in general also comes with restrictions. If you want no limits, you can always produce whatever digitally. To me the very essence of my interest for Lego, is the challenge because of the restrictions, yet endless possibilities. And creating something physical. There is always a practical problem to solve, compromises to make. And coming up with a creative solution always feels good.

I really like the idea with this contest, with the restriction of 10k c.s. For instance, even the small plane 42044 is (according to my estimate) around 6k c.s., so this is going to be a challenge. And more than double challenge when including a B model. So I guess we all have to think out of the box, to fit inside it

At the risk of challenging the intention of the rules for size: does the model have to fit within a box with 10,000 c.s. in an "orthogonal" manner, or is it ok to rotate the model within the imaginary box? To illustrate what I mean, imagine two 15L beams, joined in their center like a X (90 deg). According to the intention of the rules, is the size of the bounding box 2 (height) x 15 x 15, or is it 2 x ca. 11 x ca. 11 (box rotated 45 deg)?

+1

I think the front wheel is lift/lowered by the black Z12 double bevel on the side, and the 6L link is used to operate the two aft wheels as well. I guess that 2 LBG 3X3M 90° levers are used (put together to get full thickness), on one end is the ball (connected to the link), on the other end is the front wheel. Through the pivot point a 3L black pin with 2L axle, on the other end a 2L axle joiner and a 3L axle, and then the black 12Z double bevel. How the aft landing gear looks like and work, I am totally blank. Also what the yellow axle in the front is used for.

Thanks, but there are only the same 2 pics there (2 of the 4 pics are the same pic from box, the 4th is pic of B model).

Anybody know about any other pictures of 42044 than the two we all know (the one in the beginning of this topic, and the other from the box). I want to try reverse engineering (my first) but especially the arrangement for the landing gear is hard to figure out. On the other hand, it's anyway not more than 10 days before we all know...

I think the 5L axle in front of bottom of the fore exhaust pipe will restrict the rotation.

To me they look like orange, especially when compared the 2L red axle used for the seat, which appear with the same angle to the viewer.

According to Blakbird's http://technicopedia.com/ the black 3L axles have been around, at least in Technic, in the period 1984-2003. It was quite common in the epic sets of the 90's, for instance 8480 has around 40 of them.

1:10 6:6 16:4 12:3 9:2 17:1 I am happy to say it was not easy to decide my votes

I think my best Technic bargain was about one year ago, when I saw some LEGO for sale in a web market. From the pictures, there were two big boxes, and in one of them I spotted parts of 8258 an 8053. I had both of them already, but they are good for parts also. I bought it all for NOK (Norwegian kroner) 1500,- (around 170 Euro at that time). No boxes or BIs, but the LEGO was in very good condition, including applied stickers (I normally don't apply stickers myself). I started identifying sets/counting parts, and have so far identified the following complete sets: 8258 8053 8256 8262 8291 9393 8293 Also these non-Technic (but still useful parts) sets were complete: 2263 5893 In addition there is still a box of apx. 7 kg of LEGO not sorted yet, a mix of mainly Technic, Bionicle, City and Creator stuff. May be there are still some complete sets to be found there.

Thanks, I will try that

I am trying to make a full "clean" RC mod, using the concept for claw operation that I suggested initially in this topic. Anybody know if it is possible to get any longer LEGO medium string than the one supplied in 42009 (LEGO String 250cm (Medium Thickness) (14728 / 700072))? Alternatively, any idea on how to splice two of them? BTW, I am trying to use a modified version of Victor Imaginator's idea for added pulley friction for the claw, using two pulleys in stead of three. I'll hopefully get back with the result, need some time I guess. Meanwhile, I am thankful for any idea on how to obtain a longer LEGO medium thickness string. Leg godt!

I mentioned above concerns about torque with the cross axles of today, if used with new and more sturdy diff, but another significant advantage IMO with allanp's design is less backlash, thus more precise mechanics.

I like your design, certainly much more robust than those available today. But I am not sure if cross axles will be able to handle the same amount of torque.

Using worm gear instead of pulley in the claw will give more friction, but also smaller lever.than a 3L diameter pulley, thus lower torque for the same tangential force of the pulley/worm gear. Anyway a really nice idea, and very compact, I didn't think of that

Thanks for the feedback! Here is a few pictures showing some more details: Her you can see the pulley (3L diameter) and 6 small rims (the same as your posted picture, only without the rubber) to keep the string in place. the two uppermost pulleys (you see only one of them) are there for securing the string, and also to make distance between the entrance and exit of the string. This to avoid too much rotation of the claw, and also twist of the string. The claw pulley is driving a Z36 double bevek gear, which in turn drives a Z20 bevel gear, driving the m-LA. If I understand you correctly, you suggest to use rubber on the pulley to increase friction, and thus the torque transfered to the m-LA before slipping? Perhaps it is possible to use two 3L diameter pulleys with rounded rubber tires (the same as the front wheels of the 42033 Record Breaker) tightly together, and place the string in the groove between them? That will certainly give a lot of friction.

I use no dedicated grapple cable. There is only one string that simply goes from one reel -> boom tip -> pulley in the "claw module" -> boom tip -> other reel. The two reels are driven by the two outputs from a subtractor. The inputs are one motor for hoist and one motor for claw operation. Sounds like a very interesting idea, and I like the simplicity of it. And it is probably closer to real-life-solution. Perhaps it is possible to make the claw in such a way that the grip is getting stronger the more weight hanging in the claw, almost the same way as a bat is hanging. I will try to experiment with your idea also

Alasdair, thanks for embedding my video in my initial post

The two spools are connected to the two outputs of a subtractor. A subtractor is mechanism that combines two input movements into two outputs. It is often used for tracked vehicles. The claw up/down is done by the "drive" part of the subtractor, while open/close claw is done by "turn" part of the subtractor. Sariel's book "The unofficial LEGO Technic builder's guide", chapter 18 "Adders and subtractors" explains this subject very well.

I really like this set, and even it has IMO a great gearbox, one of the first things I was thinking of after completing the build, was how to make it RC. I guess most of the six functions are straight forward, but operation of the claw is obviously more tricky. I tried to figure out if it was possible to operate the claw by the hoist string. I realized that it is possible to transfer motion to a pulley in the claw simply by pulling the string on one side of the pulley, and letting out on the other side. The claw should then in theory be kept at the same level, and the motion transfered to the pulley could be used to drive the m-LA. To achieve this, I have used two reels, each of them connected to the ouputs of a subtractor (geared down 1:3 with Z12 and Z36 double bevel gears). If using tracked vehicle implementation of a subtractor as a reference, the "drive" part is done with a M motor driving a worm gear that in turn drives a Z8 spur gear. The "turn" part is done by a XL motor, directly driving the differential housings. I probably could use a L motor as well, thus avoid the coasting of the XL. The string I have used, is simple string for packing purposes. I guess it is better (and more puristic) to use the thick LEGO string, as it looks better, is more solid and no twisting. Problem is, can I get a thick LEGO string that is long enough? Please don't judge from the aesthetics, the main goal for me at this stage was to demonstrate the idea, and I have not put a lot of effort in the looks, or making it compact. Link to video: Here is my own judge for the idea: Pros: IMO it looks more clean than a hanging motor with it's supplying wires. Both hoisting and claw operation may be done simultaneously. Able to operate two functions with a simple string. Adding mechanical complexity to the model, something I like. Cons: The torque delivered to the m-LA is limited, so the grip of the claw is not very strong. It should be apx. equal amount of string on both reals, to achieve claw operation without changing the level of the claw. Claw operation is depending on friction between the string and the claw pulley. If the the claw is resting on the ground or the object it should lift, it will not work. Probably not real-life-like implementation of claw operation. Another idea I have, still not tested, is to convert the hoist string into a closed loop. the claw implementation is the same, with a pulley driving the m-LA. On the tip of the boom, there is a pulley, driven by cross axles from the super structure (the reason for location on the tip of the boom is to reduce length of the string, and number of pulleys, to reduce friction). The hoist may then be done by two pulleys pulled along the boom, towards the super structure. One of the advantages of this implementation, if it works, is that "Con #2" above is eliminated. I don't know if this description makes sense to you, I will try to test this version also. Main problem is, how to make a long, closed loop of LEGO string, without any bumps. I appreciate any feedback, including cons. And I also hope to inspire some of you to come up with a better solution. PS: Somebody who knows how to embed a "visual" youtube link, like most of the others do (I didn't figure out)?