AussieJimbo

Nice one, HT. Very powerful looking electric loco, I like the wheel layout. Only thing I wonder about is the pantographs, did you consider a single mid-mounted one? :classic:

Thanks, Andy. Well spotted. The original machine has a second set of cables that control the positioning of the exit chute. For this first version I just went with a static solution for the chute but may attempt a more complex arrangement later on. :classic: Cheers, Hikaro. Shorpy is full of great historical images and when I saw this it just had to be done. :classic:

Thanks mate. Cheers. *laugh* I get most of them. It really should be dumping into a ship but I don't have one. Much appreciated. Thanks, kyphur. Yeah, I get a kick of out of interesting machines like this and seeing if they can be done with LEGO. Cheers, LT12V. Thanks, glad you like it. The branch line was poetic licence to set the scene, the model only extends as far as the edge of the small table it's sitting on. Shunting in the video was performed by a carbohydrate powered actuator. :classic:

Here it is. I proudly present my Rotary Car Dumper and first ever YouTube video. Feedback and suggestions appreciated. :classic:

Nice job, Hrw-Amen. :classic:

My railway recently acquired a branch line serving the nearby brick mine and needed a way to unload mining carts full of ore for shipment further afield. The engineers got to work investigating the options and after reviewing some crane designs they stumbled upon a historic picture of Timothy Long's Coal Car Dumping Machine, built for Cleveland's Excelsior Iron Works Company in 1895. http://www.shorpy.com/node/9811 The board greeted the proposal with enthusiasm and I'm pleased to announce successful completion of the working prototype. The press were on hand to film some tests of the new machinery and a video will be available shortly. Sorry for the teaser but I want to add the URL for this thread to the video so I need to post in advance. I should have it edited and uploaded in a few hours. In the mean time, please check out this Scientific American article and illustrations from 1895 describing the machine. Stay tuned. :classic:

Looks great, Viceroy. It immediately brought to mind this tree chapel in France. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%AAne_chapelle Nice work on your first MOC. :classic:

IANAL but I'd want more information about the specific terms under which the instructions were sold and how many were sold to the first seller before I passed final judgement on this. You can legitimately sell a PS3 game you have purchased, or a music CD, or a book, etc. These are copyrighted works but it's entirely reasonable for you to onsell your legitimate copy of these works. (Unless you have entered into a legal agreement not to do so). As such, if the first seller has purchased two copies of the instructions and is then reselling them along with the required pieces then I'm not sure there is a problem with it (unless specific agreement to the contrary). If he's only bought one set of instructions but is selling two, then there is a clear copyright infringement on the second set. The second seller does not mention if they are selling the instructions but appears to be selling only one copy of the model. Unless there was a specific agreement that the purchaser of the instructions was not permitted to sell the assembled results then I don't see how sale is illegal. Would have been nice if seller two mentioned the source of the design but I don't believe that is a breach of the law. Skyliner, I recognise and sympathise with the frustration you might feel about this. I make these comments respectfully and hope you could clarify some of the details. It might be useful for others who want to sell their instructions in the future. :classic:

Flat white and an apricot danish please. I like the orange colour scheme. Will you be detailing over the back of those SNOT bricks on the inside? Nice addition to your town. :classic:

Good one, DC. I really look forward to following this. :classic:

Thanks for the detailed followup, Blakbird. I agree with all of that. After my post I checked out some youtube videos of pulse-jet powered R/C planes which is mad and awesome at the same time. Limited endurance and significant heat issues but it's a cheaper option than those cool mini jet engines. Active imagination rather than determination. ;-) I think the most likely outcome would be a search for any salvageable parts after you've put out the fire. Might be able to do it, if the only Lego component was the propeller. :-) Cool videos. The creator of the second one has a fine approach for his experiment but needs to work on his maths skills (in his second test 204 - 196 = 8g of lift not 12g). That best test shows the mechanism developing just 4 percent of it's own weight in lift, leaving aside the need to build a body. Interesting but orders of magnitude away from being practical. The balloon airship is a fun little model though. You can see that the maker is having trouble establishing neutral buoyancy. In real life blimps this is addressed by using inflatable air bags within the gas envelope: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballonet I think you could address this with a Lego solution by using one of those motorized pneumatic pump assemblies to inflate and deflate an inner balloon within a helium balloon. The you get remote trim adjustment but of course the more weight you add the more balloons you need to lift it. Lighter than air is really the only feasible approach for controlled Lego flight. I like the idea of DLuders rocket though. Maybe I should hunt out some of those old Estes rocket engines that have been sitting around for too long and build something for the next visit to my mate's farm. :classic:

Nice start, Camoran. Shame you got snagged by derailment issues with curves. I got caught out by s-curves (one curve going immediately into another in the opposite direction) and had to tweak the design, so watch out for this track configuration too. :classic:

Great architectural model, Jameson. I had to do a double take on the 3rd shot, thought it might have been a reference pic at first glance. Top job. :classic:

Great job on the finished station, Sokratesz. It captures the Lego style of the era really well and looks great with your 12V trains. :classic:

Cool, that's a start. You could conceivably build a Lego motor and control system for a blimp or even rigid airship with Lego frame. The question then becomes how big does the envelope (balloon) need to be. :classic:

Not a bad deal but even if the postage was free, $96 isn't a "very high price" by comparison. Once you include postage you'd end up saving a few dollars. :classic:

Great model, Teazza. I love all the working features like the retractable walkways and the moving crane. Mighty fine. :classic:

I'm only an amateur technic builder but I love seeing threads about trying to make Lego fly, this sort of ambition is what Lego is all about. Unfortunately as Blakbird mentions, the consensus I've seen in comments from expert builders is that it's just not possible. The forces and tolerances involved are just not achievable in a Lego-only solution. Projects seem to stop there. I wanted to ask if anyone had accepted this limitation and built a Lego model around the flight critical non-Lego components and made it fly or is the Lego itself simply too heavy to get airborne. Maybe staring out with a Lego canopy for an RC helicopter, then moving on to the rest of the body and tail boom whilst retaining the non-Lego engine, rotors and control system. For a fixed-wing plane, could you build a sufficiently light but robust airframe to support the non-Lego engine and control surfaces to enable powered flight. This might just be fuselage to start with but I could imagine cloth/plastic covered wings or even a brick-built airfoil shape with vinyl wrap to reduce the drag. From there thrust is provided by one or two of those cool mini jet engines (the project just got very expensive) and you roar into the sky on a wave of Lego awesomeness and wishful thinking. :classic:

I think we see one of these buses in the movie Police Story, with Jackie Chan swinging from the outside by an umbrella. Sadly the Sydney ones are gone now too. :classic:

Nice one, Andy. We used to have double deckers in Sydney that were quite similar. It was always great when you could get a seat up the front of the top deck. :classic:

Another pair of great creations, DC. Your models are always so well finished and the landscaping is top notch as usual. :classic:

I agree, fyrmedhatt. Distribution costs would also rise but design and tooling are probably the biggest component for Lego. Synthetic raw materials may also be used but if adoption of alternate fueled vehicle advances sufficiently that might not be necessary. Peak oil is a moving target but ultimately a point is reached where it becomes too expensive as a general purpose transport fuel. The more rapid the proliferation of electric/biofuel/hydrogen powered vehicles, the lower the pressure on the oil price. Jay Leno put it well when he described the electric car as the saviour of the V8. If you don't have every car on the road chewing up oil, it can remain more affordable for specialist use like classic cars, aviation and as a raw material for my favourite ABS product. :classic:

Great score, nice to find a cooperative sales assistant. :classic:

Nice job, kyphur. Might try your MOD myself when I can afford to pick up a duplicate set. :classic:

Thanks for your comments, Hikaro. Great little engine. I like your tipper car too. I've made a rough tender to hold the IR receiver but it could do with some tweaking. The battery box car is coming along too. Mechanically the train is working nicely but there is still a bit of work to do on the detailing. I'll get an update together sooner or later. :classic: