5imon

There are aoly a few SECs I have already built: Nathanaël Kuipers: Pony Car Concept Car (I have built it in red, but I have also collected parts to build a white version). Madoca: PF Buggy 2 (modified colours + some accessories as LED lights and bumper) However, I have planned to build some more, and most parts are already here: Crowkillers: Vampire GT (in black, but with dark bluish grey chassis) Phantasm Twin Turbo (special coloured version: orange with blue seats; requires some modifications) vmln8r: Carver v2 Madoca: Corvette C3 Others on my list are Jurgen's Kenworth and something from Sheepo (Defender or Mustang), but there I still need a lot more parts.

Great model for just an evening's work! I like the steering wheel, too. About the rollcage... I don't know what old tractors look like where you guys live, but a rollcage on a 1950s or '60s tractor (that's what the design suggests to me) definitely looks out of place for me.

If you're talking directly to the creator of the MOCs, it should be "YOC", your own creation. For a third person, I suggest "HOC" or "TOC", meaning her/his/their own creation. ;-)

Yes, definitely 2, as it uses 2 outputs independently.

Yeah the servo dummy, forgot to write about this. The additional servos I have ordered are still on their way... So I had to construct a placeholder for my prototypes.

This will (hopefully) be my entry for the TC6 contest. Seeing all the great models already under construction (or almost finished), I don't see a lot of chances as a newbie, and I was thinking of withdrawing. So I thought it's a good idea to start a topic here and get me some peer pressure to finish ;-) As a big Citorën lover, the idea to build one of my favourite cars for this contest came quickly. But which vehicle would incorporate 4 independent PF functions? My choice was the Activa concept car from 1988: Shown at the 1988 Paris Motor Show, it showcased the electronically steered hydropneumatic suspension that was to show up the following year in the Citroën XM. Furthermore, it featured active anti-roll, four wheel drive and drive-by-wire four wheel steering with different modes, including crab steering. More info on http://www.citroenet...iva/activa.html The steering and suspension being the most interesting part for a Lego model, I chose the following 4 functions: _ driving (L-motor) _ front steering (servo) _ rear steering (servo) _ ride height (2 servos). I already finished the prototype of an axle (the two axles, having the same functionality, will be very similar; only difference will be that the front axle will include also the driving motor. Ride heights: The height adjustment mechanism was a bit of a challenge, as it has to move quite some weight on a small lever. It took me some time to brace the whole mechanism correctly. The next big challenge will now be to put the two axles in a strong enough chassis. The most difficult part however are the smooth, rounded lines of the Activa's body. I'm more at ease with mechanisms than with shapes, so let's see how I'll be doing... Comments and tips appreciated!

Happy 2015 to everyone! Looking forward to finishing my TC6 entry, to seeing a lot of cool MOCs on Eurobricks, and of course to building my arctic vehicle I finally ordered yesterday!

I wasn't thinking of a specific vehicle. But that's about what I wanted to say. I'm not even sure if I'd call the Mini "heavily modified". It rather seems to be a rally car with a body that looks like a Mini. The Panda however seems to be closer to the real car. Which brings me back on topic... Interesting choice piterx, and I'm looking forward to the result. I'm actually quite fond of this cute little car, and we get a lot of them with 4WD in the swiss mountains.

Not so sure about that. No modern car has the suspension travel of a 2CV, unless heavily modified.

Yes, #8434 is a very interesting set for special colours! I've considered buying it for several times. Instead I recently bought #8473 "Nitro Race Team". I don't remember the price, but for the rare orange liftarms and black axle pins alone I'd have paid more. Plus I got orange and pearl dark grey panels and a very nice selection of older style wheels.

Yes, sometimes it's a pity that certain pieces are only available in a few black or grey shades. Even worse, some are exclusively tan or blue which makes them stick out on every model. However, I've resolved to see this more as a challenge than as a limitation. Sometimes I have to build something a bit differently in order to fit my colour scheme, but it might also lead to a new, unexpected solution. Furthermore, I have started collecting pieces in special colours so I can use them in critical places. In order not to stretch my budget too much, I limit myself to a few "favourite" colours, namely orange, white and dark bluish grey. Since the special coloured parts are often older ones (as DrJB mentioned, the colour variety was much bigger around 2000 - and almost led to Lego's financial desaster), many of the newer molds don't benefit from my Bricklink shopping. At least, there are now som interesting parts released or re-released in orange...

I kind of understand piterx's concerns. The parts from Lego for making a driven and steered setup are only suited for bigger models. A lot could be optimized, for example if the CV joints would only require 1L axle and not 1.5. The available hubs also are quite large, resulting in unrealistic kingpin offset and wider vehicles. I'm working on a small supercar right now (more about this very soon) and see my build quite limited by this.

Wow, this contest sounds interesting. I'm thinking about entering for the first time. I like the definition Erik Leppen has given: For me, this sonds quite clear and is probably most in line with Jim's original idea.

I never thought that a yellow/white colour scheme could look so good! But it's executed very well and consequently (wheels matching with interior), so I really like it. The shapes are great too. Some old-school '70s/'80s wedge design.

Bad role models, yes! But imho it's not Lego to blame for them. Lego certainly does not "build" these stereotypes, they're already here, in our society. What Lego does is use them to sell stuff not only to boys, but also to girls. I don't remember from my childhood days that a whole half of a toy store is made only of different shades of pink and all that princess stuff in it. The perception of how girls and boys are was much more natural in these days. And yes, girls had blue, green, orange and black toys and they didn't die from it or become boys. But this has obviously changed. And it changed a long, long time before Friends was introduced, so once again, this is not to blame.

Wow! I somehow missed this model so far. Very interesting building techniques and a lot of functionality for such a small car. I'll have to build it (luckily, I was generous to myself and have bought some red #3s a year ago when I made Nathanaël's Concept Car. Just need 2 more... and some PF lights.

I think the current wheels are not too bad. Granted, they are not very exciting, rather aimed towards a very broad range of use. But I see the futuristic wheels with a very limited use. Only for futuristic vehicles, that is. I'd rather have a broader range of wheel covers, not only for Ferrari type cars. I agree with Saberwing40k about the offset. I'd love to see wheels where the steering components can be closer to the centre of the wheel (oh, and steering components with lower kingpin offset as well...). What I really miss are narrower Technic wheels that do not look like motorcyle wheels but are more suited for older style vehicles. I always end up with the truck wheels (the ones from e.g. 8258) which are still too wide for non-sporty cars from (roughly) 1920–1980.

Very good work in all its simplicity! It's a bit hard to read on small screens, but if I'm sitting at a bigger one, I'll certainly collect the values in a table to keep in my building yrea. This will come very handy.

However good or clever a smaller set may be, for me it would be clear to keep the large ones: more parts for MOCing! So my list (of sets I actually own) would be the following: 8110 Unimog 8252 Crane Truck 41999 Crawler Exclusive 8071 Bucket Truck 8264 Hauler I left out Service Truck 42008 (i'm not much into green) and also the Mini Cooper 10242 (no Technic) in favour of 8071 for the white parts and 8264 for being my first AFOL set.

I'd say my main criterion of something being a good flagship is purely emotional. However, it's interesting where the emotion comes from. For me, it's looks and interesting technical features. To be honest, I don't have a lot of experience with flagships, just the few I own. My first flagship was the 8860 back in my childhood. For its time, it was the summit of what could be done, it introduced new tachniques and parts, like springs or a differential. For me it was also part of my learning how a car works. And I strongly remember my emotions at the christmas I got it. So i'm still very attached to this model, although I don't own it any more. Then there was the 8258. My first AFOL flagship. It was a similar experience for me as with the car chassis. Lots of functions (which were new for me at the time), an interesting and long lasting building experience and good looks (ok, could have been better witch double rear wheels...). Last, but not least, the Unimog 8110. Because it's big and orange. And it also featured some new parts when it comes to suspension and drivetrain. About the latest flagships, I'm not so sure. The mobile cranes just don't touch me emotionally, although I follow the discussion about the umtimate 42009 here on EB and I get more and more tempted to try and build it (after saving and buying a truckload of parts). The Le Mans car seems interesting for its colours and some new parts, I also like the B-model very much. However, if the bright green will stay exclusive for this model, I don't see much sense in buying it. Anyway, I more and more tend to not buying large sets anymore since they add a lot of redundant parts I already have. I rather complement my stock with the missing parts of a model and build it from PDF instructions.

Too bad I came to the forum too late to participate. But on the other hand, seeing all the great entries, my chances would probably have been slim... So, congratulations to all the participants and especially the merited winners. As a kind of 8071 fan (yeah, I really think this is underrated) I'm already looking forward to build my own copy of the winning entry.

Wow! Instantly reconizeable and packed with functions. I especially like the dashboard – just a few basic elements that really get the spirit of an old school metal dashboard.

Camera? ;-)

I hope the smallest current motor isn't called "M" for no reason. There would be room for "S" or even "XS".

Totally agree with your last paragraph, nerdsforprez. After all it's a forum and this lives from discussion. Though I haven't been on the forum for a long time, so I don't know if this is a recurring discussion here that is boring the older members. Interesting remark with the relative numbers. When I look at the rebrickable tool (interesting, I didn't know this function before) the numbers for 1x14 and 1x16 seem quite similar over the past few years. It seems however that roughly between 2000 and 2005, the 1x14 was used much more. What the little graph doesn't show, however, is how common these sets are. If the 1x14s were in very popular sets, their absolute number might still be much higher than the 1x16.