Matt The Tuba Guy

Really? That's kind of surprising, considering the construction doesn't seem all that different, and the LA's have rotating parts. They do both have advantages and disadvantages. LA's are more accurate, and stronger, but pneumatics are easier to integrate, and they look cooler with all those pipes My next project: to FINALLY build the legendary pneumatic back hoe now that I have enough parts (2x8110, 2x8049, 8285, and 8421)

Not quite. With that, there is actually some times that it is useful to pull the turntable apart, but none at all for the portal axle. When I made my tower crane, it accidentally fell over while under construction, and the turn table came apart. after that, I just tilted the crane over, and the two halves popped apart quite easily. It was a little bit tricky getting them back together again, but that was mostly because I couldn't actually see it under the crane. WHY would you want to pull the portal axle apart, except just for the sake of doing it?

Well the front of the log loader is obviously mostly a copy-paste of the 8285 tow truck (nothing wrong with that!) I think it will be a good set, and yet another one with 1000+ pieces. Also, it took me a while to figure out where the new mini turn table was (on the end of the lifting arm) Something I just thought of, the Jet Plane should have been BLUE!!!! (plus maybe some yellow) The Blue Angels colour scheme would have been amazing. Oh well. Blue is a colour I would really like to see a lot more of. It will be a good source of thin red panels though, which I guess isn't a bad thing.

Yeah, I meant rams (cylinders). not sure why I typed pump. Not sure what you would need longer pumps for. I would also like to add: use a motorized pump like the Unimog, and add a air tank, ten it would be perfect. I wonder, could they make PF switches so that the pneumatic functions can be remotely controlled, or is that going a bit too far? A rock crawler would still be quite cool, especially if it out does the power puller in terms of tyre size (even though I don't have them myself)

I would actually love to see this re-released with full pneumatics. how about larger with some long pneumatic pumps! Once I get my shipment of Technic in a couple of weeks time, I will finally have enough pneumatics to build it! as for the SLS, the Supercar from this year looks roughly similar, although it would be awesome to see another MB licensed model.

I knew there would be a Minecraft thread in here somewhere, especially considering LEGO and Minecraft do have a few similarities. (mostly having huge freedom over what you can make) I think it would be fair to say that if you like LEGO, you will probably like (and get addicted to!) Minecraft.

Looking forward to the plane. It isn't perfect, but I quite like red pieces (because I already have so many), and my first ever Technic set I bought for myself was the 8434 Aircraft (along with the Ferrari F1 car). That is when I really started to like Technic (before that, I was into Bionicle) The tow truck looks quite good, several black panels, and more of those truck wheels (I have 32 of them). The crawler crane is a bit smaller than I hoped, but it has those mini track links, which is good. The mini truck, and the quad bike both look quite good. They are orange, but I don't have the Unimog yet, so I can't comment on the orange colour.

I finally have this truck, along with the bucket truck. I have to say that it is actually very impressive, even if it is slightly smaller than I was expecting (for some reason) It was quite a nice build, although it was difficult to figure out what the functions actually did until the whole model was complete. The two functions are pretty good, but both do something I didn't expect at all! The first one, which is the tipping bed, tilts, and moves back as expected, but due to some funky construction, the rear wheels raise so that the back of the truck's structure touches the ground. I suppose this is so that the bed can touch the ground at a slightly shallower angle. I definitely didn't expect it any way (but then, I haven't actually watched any videos about it. the second function is the wheel holders (not sure what they are actually called). They go in and out, but thanks to the interesting gearing, the end unfolds automatically. If you stop just before the end, it is flat against the ground, but if you continue a little bit longer, it raises up. The unmotorised function, the winch is a bit weird. the locking mechanism doesn't really work, and it could have been designed better. The truck itself looks amazing! I quite like the use of standard LEGO pieces on the front, and the panels really finish it off. Regarding the wheels, something I would like is a wheel the same dimensions as the ones found in the bucket truck, except in the same style of the ones on the flatbed truck. With one at the front, and double at the back, I think it would look even better. Overall, a really good set, even if it was a tiny bit on the expensive side. Next up, the Unimog! I can't wait!

I have decided what I am going to make next: a bus! I started rebuilding the bus I made several years ago, but then decided it would probably be better starting from scratch. I Have decided to make this, although it is tempting to try make a bendy bus like this It will be in the same scale as the 62.4x20S wheels that a lot of Technic trucks have, which is a scale of around 1:16 (wheel diameter of 1m), so the first bus (14.5m) will be 90cm long, and the bendy bus (18m) would be 112cm long. considering that my second bus (the one in the first post) was about 75cm long, and that was HUGE, either of these ones will be ridiculously huge! (entry into Technic challenge for biggest LEGO bus perhaps?) I will be building it with the usual engine and steering, plus opening doors (LA controlled possibly so it will be remote controlled), full suspension, and possibly a kneeling function (also LA controlled). I will try make it fully remote controlled, although it will probably be horribly slow because of how big it will be. If I decide to do the bendy bus, the connection will be interesting. I think the bendy bus will be my choice.

As much as I like astronomy, I am going to have to say no to the space shuttle. that should have been this year's one since this year is the last of the shuttle age. How about a fully functional Mars rover? the Mars Science Laboratory perhaps. it is due to land on Mars around this time next year, so it would be appropriate to be released then. I actually really like the idea of a large crawler crane. I never ended up getting the last one, but it looked really awesome. something similar, but bigger and remote control would be awesome.

Some more photos of the crane, but first my tank: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 now here are some photos showing the different parts of the crane. first, the tower. the base: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 would be better if it was bigger, or if it was heavier. the sections: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 I could make more of these, but I ran out of pieces. the top: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 note the half turntable. the first time the crane fell over, it disconnected, so I decided that connecting the crane to the tower by clicking the two halves together would be easiest. all of them together, secured using the 3 long pin with stop bush (56 of them) By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 now the crane mechanics: the base: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 this contains the motor for rotation plus the IR recievers. the base with the large triangle structure (not sure what it is called) By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 the wheel with the string for the hook By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 the wheel with the string for the boom angle By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 all of them together. By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 next, the boom: the bottom end: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 the top end: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 the sections: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 the parts that connect them: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 there are two different ones because I ran out of parts to make one kind. all joined together: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 once again, all joined with the 3 long pins. putting it all together connecting the boom to the rest of the crane: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 this uses an 8 long axle with stopper. the adjustable counterbalance: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 with swing parts: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 connecting the counterbalance: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 this also uses an 8 long axle with stop. the attached counterbalance: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 the battery boxes are attached using the 3 long pins with stops, and are rather important for counterbalance. connecting the boom to the boom pulley: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 putting the crane on the tower: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 the hook: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 the load I made for it to lift and extra counterbalance weight: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 attached extra counterbalance: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 the completed crane: By mattbennett at 2011-06-29

some more photos of the Dodge Viper: By mattbennett at 2011-06-28 By mattbennett at 2011-06-28 By mattbennett at 2011-06-28 By mattbennett at 2011-06-28 I tried to make a decent interior, which turned out pretty good. I did plan to make the convertible roof, but never got round to it / couldn't figure out how. more of the bus: the other side By mattbennett at 2011-06-28 size compared to a yellow pages book. By mattbennett at 2011-06-28 with the roof off By mattbennett at 2011-06-28 the control panel By mattbennett at 2011-06-28 as you can see the picture quality isn't great, which is one reason I want to rebuild them, so that I can take photos of them with my fancy new camera. also here is another couple of the Burj Khalifa with more panels on it. By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 By mattbennett at 2011-06-29 By mattbennett at 2011-06-29

I have decided to start a new thread for my creations. I have made a few things in the last few years, with my latest creation being my large tower crane. here are photos of some of the creations I have made. The crane, my most recent creation, fully remote control, and over 2 metres high. By mattbennett at 2011-06-24 By mattbennett at 2011-06-24 I will post more photos soon showing the modular construction. an attempt to make a Dodge Viper. I will probably make something similar with suspension and remote control sometime. By mattbennett at 2011-01-28 my bus, with pneumatic doors. By mattbennett at 2011-01-28 I will probably build an updated version of this. a 4 metre high model of the world's tallest building: the Burj Khalifa in Dubai By mattbennett at 2011-01-28 As you can see, it is fairy large! I intend to build something even higher, probably an observation tower though, which would be more suited to Technic. A couple of other things I have built are a tank, which uses tracks made from technic pieces, rather than the link chain tracks, and several other attempts at making cranes, all of which didn't really work. I find it hard to think of things to make, so any ideas would be great.

This should work I haven't had any problems with my motors yet, but if I do, I will probably have a look at this.

I live in Christchurch, New Zealand. earthquakes are now a daily occurrence.

yep. I made a crane for the competition, but the website didn't want to work properly for some reason. here it is anyway: By mattbennett at 2011-06-24 By mattbennett at 2011-06-24 It has four functions: - raise / lower boom - raise / lower hook - rotate - extend / retract counterbalance. it is about 2m high, and it is fully remote control. it was quite tricky to get it balanced right, which is why I added the adjustable counter balance. it is quite unstable, and it has fallen over twice without too much damage. it does seem to be earthquake proof though! We had a reasonable aftershock on Tuesday evening, and it did wobble a bit, but it didn't fall over. I designed it so that it is reasonably easy to dismantle it into sections. the boom and tower are made up of sections that can easily be added or removed.

nice review. I would actually really like to get this when I have enough money (probably near Christmas unfortunately, but I have something to look forward to :-) ) it will go nicely beside my Ferraris. lots of red pieces which is good. I have a lot of red pieces because of my Ferraris, and the crane truck that will hopefully arrive this week. personally I would have liked it in green if it was a different colour, but I'm not sure how well that would go with other people. and at 1280 parts, that is a good addition. I currently (or will soon) have about 22,000 parts, almost all technic, plus a large number of Bionicles, which I will sell since I don't want them any more. this will get money to buy this hopefully.

I am quite interested in architecture and skyscrapers, and I would make my own if Technic wasn't my main focus. I still made this though. :-) Personally I would like to see a range of skyscrapers and other structures like towers, statues, etc. all to scale, so that it would be possible to make a city with proper skyscrapers. at minifig scale (very roughly 1:50), the Chrysler building would be 6.4 metres high, which is huge! 1 stud per metre would be a scale of 1:125. this would still be quite large, even though it would be quite convenient. 1:500 sounds good, so the Chrysler building would be 64cm high. The Eiffel Tower model was 1:300 scale, which is actually bigger, but it is mostly hollow. the only problem with this scale would be that it would be difficult to put in a lot of the floor by floor detail, each floor would be about 2 plates high, so I'm not sure what scale would be not ridiculously big, but big enough that you can still get a good amount of detail in. I think the current ones are far too small, and they are all different scales as well. I don't own any, but might think about making some of my own once I leave uni and actually have a lot of money to spend.

looks like a fantastic model and I can't wait till I get it. I ordered it 2 weeks ago this thursday just passed, so it probably should have arrived next week, but because of the devastating earthquake here in Christchurch, it will probably be delayed. RIP the 113 victims discovered so far (144 now ) ETA: one of the reasons I can't wait for it to arrive is that making Lego sets is good for relieving stress, and it is a VERY stressful time at the moment. plus I want to make something with the remote control parts. I plan to make a fully functional RC copy of the pneumatic back hoe loader that I have always wanted, except using my LA's (all 12 of them actually) and 6 motors.

LEGO related, most of my lego was on my floor as made up sets. a couple of my ferraris fell off my table, but no damage apart from a few pieces falling off. my room was probably the least affected in my house actually. so at least 2 others in CHCH. hopefully it is a bit quieter tonight.

I'm ok. others obviously aren't lots of aftershocks (of this aftershock)! who else here is from CHCH?

The white truck looks ok. kind of similar to the fire truck from a few years ago except smaller. not sure when I will get more. I have just brought the rest of the 2010 sets which is on its way over now, but I am back to uni on Monday, so I will be a bit tight for money. extreme cruiser sounds interesting. I have a couple of white 3x5 liftarms from the 1:10 Ferrari F1. I quite like white pieces actually.

LOL, that's what I thought when I saw the photo too! that would be a cool idea, and I would seriously consider doing it if I actually had a car and a drivers license. marginally related: are there any other LEGO myths that the Mythbusters could try other than the LEGO ball that they did?

The unimog looks good, especially the pneumatics. interesting that there is a pneumatic pipe coming from the pump to the front for the snow plough. my immediate thought was that the red and yellow truck looks similar to the alt model for the 2009 yellow truck, but after looking at it, it isn't too similar. looks good.

OK, thanks for your replies. I was mainly wanting to know how well it works with technic sets, which is what I will be using it for. it is only $23, so I might get it anyway and try it. when I get it I will post here as to how it goes. I might get another ordinary controller as well, so that with the speed controller, I can have control over the maximum 8 functions. (plus the power functions set and an extra M or XL motor) sorry my replies are rather hurried, I haven't had time to write a proper reply.