JohnBS

Andy, Nice, I like the steering method and think that some form of suspension and the ability to mount the camera lower down would be advantageous. Moderator, could this post be combined with the LEGO Technic GoPro studio post? JohnBS

I also use blunt knives (as Sariel's butter knife) for separating the difficult bits - in my case, I use a letter-opening knife which has a nicely rounded edge and is beautifully smooth so doesn't mark the ABS. Also, very useful and a half-way house to purpose-made stickers, is self-adhesive plastic film. This may not appeal to the purist but the films are very available, either on line or from your local sign shop, often off-cuts are free of charge from the latter. A very wide range of colours are available, many a reasonable match to Lego colours, and are great for things like the black flashes on Volvo plant and particularly for realistically reflective wing mirrors on road vehicles. Another use is to convert the relatively available black 3 x 11 tapered panels to, say, the bi-coloured yellow/black version required for the Volvo engine cover. John

@Dafgek81 Over the counter hydrogen peroxide in the UK is usually only available at up to 9% dilution. I dilute with water to something like 3% H202. I don't think the precise dilution is crucial, a stronger mix will make the bleaching quicker and I haven't noticed any adverse affects. John

Hi, One of the "tools" I have found very useful is hydrogen peroxide. After a scrub with an old toothbrush in warm soapy water, a soak for a few minutes in dilute hydrogen peroxide will do wonders for discoloured old white, light grey and yellow bricks. For example, I have just bought a fairly grubby second-hand set of the Supercar model 8880, largely on the strength of Blakbird's elegiac review in Technopedia. I dismantled and cleaned all the bits and, despite its twenty-year age, all, including the white interior, now looks as good as new. A great design and a lovely complex build. Other tools that I use are finger nail buffing pads, great for getting rid of the raised bits on bricks that have been chewed by the dog (or by the kids) and metal polish for bringing a shine back to "tired" bricks. We'll say nothing about the razor saw or the ABS solvent adhesive lurking in the bottom drawer. John

Blakbird, Sorry, my automatic spellchecker changed the spelling of your name without my noticing. John

Blackbird, I think that you are right - it wouldn't be 8880. I was inspired to look at it by your glowing review in Technopedia - it is clearly a milestone model. I think that I will try to get one and then build it as the instructions. Many thanks for the advice, John

Hello everyone, Has anyone successfully motorised model 8880 Supercar? I am looking for a design which has an XL (or L) motor for driving and a M motor for steering, with one IR sensor and any battery box. If necessary, I could sacrifice (or simplify) the gearbox. John

Hi, I think that it is a subtractor - see Sariel's excellent book. John

Carsten, I think that your project is excellent and is the only Lego aircraft that stands a cat in hell's chance of flying. You have recognised that it is not "pure" Lego but is a hybrid so I think that you should take all the benefits that you can from that. I suggest: Insert a second carbon fibre tube spar in the wing, or even a third (I think that the wing strength/stiffness will be critical) Use RC coreless motors and matched propellers, with as large a LiPo battery as you can accommodate Fit a six-plus channel receiver (to allow for all flight controls plus a spare channel) Use RC servos with push rods for all control surfaces (to minimise weight and increase controllability) Temporarily fix the undercarriage and remove Lego motors and battery (to minimise weight) Check the Centre of Gravity position and adjust (vitally important) Get someone with experience to be your test pilot I think that duct tape is a good possibility for covering. It is cheap, available in colours (and transparent), easy to apply to each module and will add significantly to the rigidity of the model. Cut holes where you will need access to controls, etc and cover with patches. The downside is that the tape will be difficult to remove, perhaps impossible after a few weeks. Very best wishes for the success of this intriguing project, John

Leewan, Precisely, that's just what I mean. Thanks for drawing that out. John

I was meaning a part which combines the friction pin of part 15100 with a bush for an axle (rather than a pin hole) mounted at right angles to the pin axis. This would allow the insertion of the pin in a beam (or technic brick) and connect to an axle in the same plane as the beam but at any angle. Very useful for things like handrails and particularly for mounting axles as diagonal braces between parallel beams. Sorry, I can't yet use LDD or similar so I have to resort to words. John

Bricktrain, I can't find any of these items on Bricklink, either under the above references or under the 58119 sequence. What am I doing wrong? John

Hi all, What is with the Lego on-line shop? Almost half the Technic Power Functions items have been "Temporarily out of stock", many since the beginning of the year. I have emailed Lego Europe several times, asking when the missing items would be back in stock. So far, I haven't received a reply other than an automated acknowledgement. I am waiting for one or more of the following: 8881. Battery box 8882. XL motor 8883. M motor 8884. IR receiver 8885. IR remote 8886. Extension wire My current project (Han's MOC dump truck) is now totally on hold. Has anyone any news or information? John

Hi all, My (limited) experience of eBay is not so dire. I have bought two Lego sets through eBay in the UK, firstly 8043 Excavator @ £176 plus shipping, and secondly 8275 Bulldozer @ £200 plus shipping. The first was bought at auction, the second was a "Buy now" offer. Both arrived promptly - within seven days - and shipping charges were reasonable. The Excavator arrived disassembled, in its original box, complete with instructions books, a print- out of the B model instructions and even batteries! Nothing (obvious) missing and all parts in good condition. The second came as the first but fully assembled in a separate box. Again all complete and in good condition, with box, instructions and again with batteries. I am delighted with the purchases; a good opportunity to acquire a couple of seminal models. Both were great fun to build, the only downside was that it took me the best part of a day to take apart the Bulldozer and sort out the pieces! John

I wondered the same, but I can understand why, having seen the later posts. I came across this part a few weeks ago and bought a dozen on the basis that "they will come in useful for something". I wish that TLG would produce a companion piece - a combination of a friction pin and an axle bush. That would be super useful for handrails, for bracing beams and for using axles to triangulate trusses, etc. Think about it. John (Moderator, please move this if it is the wrong place)

Hello, New member John here. I have been a Lego fan for more years than I care to remember and was always delighted to find new models to build with my children. Now, the years have passed and they have children of their own. I haven't built a Lego model since about 1990 (8862 Backhoe Grader, then pretty well the state of the art in Technic, with pneumatics!). That was until last autumn. I had been in hospital for a couple of months earlier in the year and, while convalescing, I came across MOC Lego models on YouTube. I couldn't resist the Volvo L350F Wheel Loader (42030) and found it great fun to build. Since then, I have bought the 42009 Mobile Crane as a Christmas present to me, and got into the minefield of searching on-line for the additional parts for Jurgens' Ultimate version. This was a terrific and quite challenging build - very much a case of "if all else fails, read the *** instructions". My latest venture is a fairly heavily modded version of the 8043 Excavator. The original was bought on-line, another new departure for me. The main mods were to the crawler mechanism (based on the design by Andrzej N) with two XL motors, one IR receiver and a battery box in the chassis; a boom and arm design, inspired by Jurgens' Zorex, with two M motors in the first section and short UJ drives to the second section and bucket; and a much simplified body with just two M motors, for slewing and for operating the main arm LAs. Result - no drives or wires through the turntable and tons of spare gears and axles. It all seems to work very well, I will post photos if anyone is interested and if I can work out how to do it. I have also started on a Skeleton Clock, an MOC by KEvronista - something completely different, without a motor in sight! My next project is to have a go at the 8275 Bulldozer which arrived a week ago. Best wishes, John