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Really hoping you're wrong here too! I don't know but I think there is some reason for optimism. In the mechanism picture from the box, the "swash plate" seems to be tilted at quite a big angle, but the whole rotor does not seem to be tilted at a significant angle.

Yours. I think I had four blades. But the gearing system was essentially the same. It was also pre- small turntables! I recently thought about doing a monster version using Osprey blades too...

Great work! I always wondered how this set worked.

Great work! I actually made a rudimentary boat using exactly this basic design of "pseudo-VS" drive about 15 years ago, but never got round to perfecting it. Mine was very bulky (these fins were not available), so I only had one propeller and could not do the counter rotation, plus power functions badly limited the range, etc etc. You have turned the same basic idea into what it should be!

Reminds me of this (although the effect is achieved in a completely different way, also very clever):

That's extremely interesting! Does it have real world applications? Did you invent the concept? Could you coil the ends up more compactly, for an even more startling effect?

Very nice. I love the elegant minimality. Would be nice if there was Lego-only way to do it. Could a very carefully cut tube end work?

My guess is we'll be seeing quite a few 5-bladed helicopters for a while!

It's very hard to be certain. The arrow does indeed suggest "fake cyclic" where the whole head tilts. On the other hand, the ring at the bottom appears to be tilted quite a long way, while the rotor is (perhaps) not.

The upcoming Loop Coaster has some nice mechanisms of interest to technic fans, including what seems to be a very neat method for achieving back and forth motion with a dwell at each end.

Yes, there definitely is! You can see it at 0:12 in the video (it's very quick, I had to replay several times): The mechanism for the elevator itself is also interesting. It looks as though there is a loop of chain containing a section of tank treads. Presumably the tank treads support the elevator when they are on either side of the loop, so the result is continuous smooth up-and-down motion with a dwell at both top and bottom. It's a very neat way to achieve that. There is also a sprung tyre mechanism at the side of the track just before the elevator, which seems to be driven from the main drive. Presumably that is to catch the coaster and bring it slowly into place without a bang. So, all in all, some very interesting mechanisms, and I'm almost certain that they enable it to be run continuously with a motor. No sensors required!

There would be no point if it was easy!

Excellent stuff! Perhaps the motorization could instead be effected by simply shifting the COG back and forth between the two hemispheres? I would also (obviously!) like to see a motorized version of the more complex wobblers in the first video...

I agree completely that it is a masterpiece! Perhaps one position on the minute ring could have a lever that gets "pushed through" by the seconds pusher, and pushes another lever similar to the minutes-advancing one? (No need to "reinvent the wheel", perhaps? :) )

Just when you think Akiyuky could not possibly outdo himself again... A bit of a pity the hour hand is not somehow mechanically actuated by the minute hand. (But I've no idea how).

Very nice (like all you inventions)! Would work well at a show. You could add another Cardan mechanism in the drive train to give a longer "dwell" in the assembled state.

This is a very interesting project! Could you use a parallelogram linkage instead of gearing, like a Schmidt coupling?

In practice the ATAT axle assembly can be wiggled back and forth until a fingernail can fit under the axle stop. But still, it's poor form by TLG!

Wow, completely amazing!

Just wonderful - both the original invention and your perfect Lego implementation!

Great stuff as always! It would be nice if the switching could be actuated automatically, especially if it could be done by the car itself...

This is absolutely brilliant, well done! Very tempting to think that it stands a real chance on Ideas...

Looking forward to the further video!

Woah, great work. Custom parts are not usually quite my thing, but who could not love those gears!

Excellent work! I can't quite see the details but you seem to have got the mechanism very compact. It is possible to reduce the spacing between "pods" (or your equivalent!) by one stud compared with synchropods. I did this in the pendulum wave music machine V2.