Paul Boratko

I think an orange toggle joint on top of a black toggle joint may have looked better in the corners of the windshield..

And not that I am complaing, but why does the U.S. get it in June, but everyone else gets it in August..?

Well look at that.. They have the correct scale of 1:8 on the box...

Awesome models James.. :thumbup:

That Lava Orange is a strange color.. I've seen various photos in different lighting where if you asked me what color it was, I would probably say red, but in other photos it looks a bit more orange..

There is a large difference in price and part count between those 2 sets, not to mention the evolution of panels over the 16 years in between their releases.. I think I paid $99 for that 8448 back in 1999. I think that Lego is trying to make Technic more appealing aesthetically to casual fans of Lego to drive up sales in that theme.. I know that many people didn't care for the skeletal look of the earlier Technic models.. Not really sure if MOCers have anything to do with what Lego is doing.. I mean they came up with the ideas first as they developed new panels.. Take the 8258 Crane Truck for example.. That set is 7 years old now and looks just as good as any of the new sets today..

I wouldn't trust certain kinds of designs in digital because the parts are not the same when you actually build it.. For example if you put 9 perpendicular connectors side by side on a 9L axle, they will not line up exactly with a 9L liftarm, but they do in digital.. This can cause issues when building gearboxes and such.. One of the reasons why I try to avoid using connecters with liftarms for transmissions, unless I can be certain that everything will stay in proper form..

I used a bevel gear angle meshing design for the steering in a funny car that finished up a couple weeks ago.. There was a lot of trial and error ensuring that the gears meshed properly at the correct angle and wouldn't skip while making sure that they rotated smoothly without any resistance when either the Hand of God steering or the cockpit steering wheel operated.. I am pretty sure that the steering in the 8674 Ferrari F1 worked in a similar way..

I don't think any of the colors that Lego has released their Technic or System licensed automotive/machine models in have come in the exact paint specific colors of those models they were representing..I know the Ferrari Red and Lego Red are not exactly the same.. But I guess they were close enough..

I have a tattoo of that yellow shock on my forearm..

The Ferrari covers make sense because Lego wanted to make the wheels look authentic to the real thing.. They also used them for a rear rotor in the 8068... It's not just Technic parts, Lego makes specific parts for quite a few sets.. Sometimes they turn up in another set down the road and sometime they don't..

Nice work.. :thumbup: I also finally managed to get a stick shift that can be used to change gears up and down too.. I used 2 light blue gray shocks to return it to center(one in the front and one in the back).. I just need to focus and get it al connected together with evrything else.. I am trying to work on 6 things at once and it's getting overwhelming.. I also love that new black pin..

Good Job..!!! :thumbup: I am not too crazy about this technique either, but they look pretty clean in this model..

Yes, I was fully aware of that, but there is still just a tiny bit of pressure... I agree.. The interference is very very minimal.. Some connectors I've experimented with over the years slid through more easily than others.. Lego most likely never used this technique purely based on the fact that when kids play with the toys and engage the driving rings, they want to make sure that they stayed engaged and didn't slip out, so they used the older style ones with the bumps..

I am not allowed to publicly discuss it until it premieres, but if you check the teaser on my website's main page, it'll give you a clue as to what show it is.. As far as when it will air, the producers of the show are supposed to let me know a week in advance because it coincides with a few other events that I have to prepare..Send me a friend request on Facebook, so that way you'll know the date as I will most likely send a message out about it beforehand..

There are little clips in the driving ring that constantly have pressure pushing them outwards when the new style axle joiners are slid through them..

I've had this discussion with a few other system builders who were somewhat into Technic and this is exactly what we felt the issue was.. I know the U.S. is ranked way below all of the Asian and European countries..

I can at least respect all of the other aspects of building.. On a more positive note involving Technic, last month my wife and I filmed some segments for an upcoming American television show that will hopefully educate some people who are not familiar with the Technic theme..

An AFOL at a Chicago show in 2010 show told me that he didn't care for the Technic theme because it was too complicated.. Which is understandable.. During that same show there was a mother who about ripped her son's arm out of it's socket pulling him away from my table saying "We didn't come here to see that" You would have thought I was displaying live rattlesnakes or something.. You pay $7 to $12 to get into a show and you're not even going to bother looking at everything..? I just don't get it..

I don't know.. I've been pretty heavily involved in Technic for quite some time and I have seen first hand how fellow AFOL embrace the theme.. I definitely feel like an outcast when I do shows... A far as the Toy Fair show, It's possible that there wasn't even any Technic on display, which wouldn't surprise me.. I checked some other places that reviewed the NY show and they also had pics of every Lego set and theme on display and nothing was mentioned about Technic..

Maybe there wasn't even any Technic on display at the NY show and they only had some type of placeholders with prices..? I remember the Technic showing being somewhat poor in the past at the NY shows..

LOL.. Yeah, there are still a few of us out there..

This is why I started adding other things with motion(Motorized engine, Demon animatronic bust) because here in the states if you build with Technic and want to get more people to notice your work at an AFOL show and not just walk past it, then you better have something moving on your table.. Americans like to see things that move..

I'm not.. Americans are more interested and excited in a new updated variation of a Han Solo minifigure than they are in a large Technic set..