bonox

it's expensive, yes, but not too expensive. At least as far as new stuff. The second hand market is all over the place - $1200 for an 8275? Obviously there is a limited market for sellers at this level, but nevertheless, stuff does seem to move at prices way beyond the original suggested retail price. IMO, it's only that market that could be deemed 'too expensive', but that's not really of TLGs making.

I've gone through hundreds of ebay lego sets, and have had my share of stuff that didn't turn up as advertised/pictured. I have found though that if you approach the issue calmly and are clear with what you want, that sellers with decent feedback are usually more than happy to work through it with you. Mind you, i've never been one to push for extreme outcomes, but will aim to get partial refunds so I can get missing bits, or else have the seller find the missing parts. I've had maybe a dozen of these out of 200, and all but one were handled happily by both sides. I will check the nature of seller feedback though and i'll ignore negatives for stupid stuff. I saw one recently which said "item came with price tag on it saying $9.99 and I paid more than that". That buyer gave a negative feedback - and that negative is not something that would stop me from using that seller. BL on the other hand has been outstanding over my past 30 or so orders from all over the world. I do make sure I read store terms though and try to use sellers with a decent chunk of feedback. As usual, when there's an issue, I always try a soft approach to begin with and always offer positive reviews and notes of thanks where warranted (ie contacting seller, not just feedback tickboxes on sites).

try this: http://www.philohome.com/batteries/bat.htm The standard AA box is recommended for 2 XL only. See motor characteristics here: http://www.philohome.com/motors/motorcomp.htm Simple answer is you're unlikely to be able to run all of them at the same time.

the one in the 8480 had nothing to do with the fibre optics. It was just a small form factor motor to spread the solar panels of the satellite. I also believe from the instructions of others like the 8082 (http://lego.brickins...00/8082/039.jpg) that the motor wasn't actually used to drive the fibreoptics. The fibre really just interfaced with a light box with a rotating aperture and it was the light box you could make rotate if you wanted a sequence of flashing tubes. The coastal patrol boat had a micro, but no optics and a few others fit that category as well from what I can see on peeron. A few sets had the micromotor, but I can only see two that had the fibre optics as well - the 8480 and the 6979, but i'm sure someone will be in to correct me shortly :D

a fine effort. That track assembly really makes it look special compared to all the other tracked vehicles using the TLG standard.

actually, in soviet russia, dozer runs on you! Great idea falcon - prototype looks like it's coming along nicely. Hope you're keen to finish it, because i'm keen to see it!

one's a forklift and the other is a jam doughnut?

nice grill

Thanks - i missed the point of the set parts. Help is much appreciated

If I have a rebrickable/brickset account with hundreds of my sets loaded, is there any simple method of reducing that to a list of part numbers/colours/count? I can do it in brickstore for example by importing set inventories than cutting pasting all of them into a master, but this gets tedious fast. Does anyone know a simpler method of reducing an existing web database of sets+additional parts to a flat list of parts by ID, colour and count please? edit: I could add that when using the rebrickable parts list, it's all very light. The suggestion is 12.5kg for 250 large technic sets and the total parts count is very low. The sets list is correct though. Is there a limitation of these databases, or am I doing something wrong that someone else has come across?

of course they should - you can't make a profit/loss comparison without all of the embedded costs. Regarding the micromotors, I've a feeling that half of the total production run ended up in 1974's parts bin

nice truck. Steering looks a bit "how's yer father" but that's just begging for a little mod. Nice simpler selection of colours as well. The detail in the offside driver mirrors is quite nifty too!

I certainly have to commend your investigation and development effort gerger The result is certainly stunning

with this one, i'll have three technic shuttles - i've fairly fond of the 8855 b model as well :)

good luck with it mate - it's a thrill when it all works at the end . I know from my other hobbies that building jigs and other support equipment can make some operations much simpler and reliable. (edit: speeling)

Great model there James - would love to build one and put it next to the old 8480

Grum - regarding the second point, do you find the later ones with recesses to hold the inner gears for you easier to get the axles in, or does it not make a difference?

Good luck with it. Might want to stay away from the monorails though if you value your wallet. Much of that stuff is unique to one model.

not official, but I think the red excavator into a C model parrot by grohl666 is one of the more diverse. Akin to the CC2 http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=42685

that's a fabulous laugh mate - well done. *holds up 9.7 card for entertainment and ingenuity"

Wow - that's really impressive mate! I really like the whole rear of it with the fitting guards, but I really love the running board standout using the curved panels. The way you managed to make the stickered pieces from the original parts fit with the new model is also outstanding.

Hi Kiwi Would love to see your pics, but you will probably have to make the folder public. edit: when you're ready of course!

maybe I believe that the complexity of the past manifested itself in a broad range of ideas that the newer era has been short of. Look at the universal sets of the past - plotters, dinosaurs, windmills, engines, books full of different ideas including a car manufacturing plant, combinations of sets to produce new sets (helicopter 852? plus original supercar to get a full bodied jeep for example) That kind of broad set of ideas is missing in the newer sets. Complexity now just means doing the same set of functions in another vehicle - and standard vehicle types too; no more space shuttles for example. That's one reason I think the 2015 arctic truck is interesting.

oops.