johnnytifosi

@Jeff B Long story short, you cut out the PF connector, find out which wires power the motor (there might be 2 dummy wires out of 4), trim the wires and solder the slot car brushes to them, mount the slot car brushes on the decorative sides pieces of the motor with duct tape. The process is shown in this video: This is my own motor:

I can't distinguish between my three favourites but I will focus on the one which is overlooked the most, the 8459 Pneumatic front loader (the other two are of course the well known 8868 and 8880). It is just the perfect Technic set. Compact size, tons of functions in a small package (two pneumatic functions with air tank, articulated steering, V6 engine, 4 wheel drive with two differentials), solid build quality, classic studded design and a typical 90s quirky B-model. Plus it is a front loader! Who doesn't love those? Infinite play value.

@XG BCYeap it works really well, and the whole thing costs less than a single 9V motor!

@1963maniacSure. It is a power converter that reduces the input voltage of 9V to any voltage at the range 0V-9V by rotating the knob. A DC motor's speed is proportional to its supply voltage, therefore by regulating the buck converter's output voltage we are regulating the motor's speed. It is a switched mode power supply (i.e. it uses a transistor switching at the range of 100kHz) and therefore it is really efficient. You can find such low power modules for literally a couple of bucks all over aliexpress. The particular one I used is linked in the video description too and it is this one: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001265705322.html More info on the operating principle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_converter

Recently I asked for some advice on how to build my own ghetto 9V railway on the cheap at the help thread. Someone pointed me to an excellent little German youtube channel where the guy did exactly that. I copied most of his techniques, except the power supply, where I found an even cheaper and high-tech solution (described below). I wanted to try the 9V Lego train system but the prices for 9V used sets are at least crazy, and I was not intending to waste so much money on 30 year old used toys. So, loving electrical DIY, I decided to implement my own cheap version with stuff from Aliexpress. What you need to implement this yourself is: A USB-C PD trigger board (1 euro): It enables your standard USB-C charger to provide 9V instead of the usual 5V using the Power Delivery standard (you can set it up to get 12V, 15V or 20V for any of your DIY projects). A DC/DC buck converter to regulate your voltage from 0V to 9V and act as a speed regulator (a lot more compact and useful than a Lego 9V regulator too). A DPDT switch to act a polarity switch. A junction box to house the buck converter and switch into a nicer package. A Lego Power Functions compatible motor with the decorative side pieces to hold the slot car brushes. Lego compatible plastic train tracks (30 curves, 10 straights, 2 switches, 1 crossing) 6mm wide double side conductive copper tape. Slot car brushes. A lot of DIY work, especially laying the copper tape, soldering wires and drilling holes in the tracks to lay wires beneath them. The total cost of everything above was below 40 euros, but it needed many hours of personal work. The cost-work tradeoff depends on your personal tastes, for me the electrical work was part of the build and equally pleasant to building Lego and the end result provides more satisfaction than an off-the-shelf product. I would say it works quite well, except the switches. The crocodile locomotive is quite useless in taking turns because of the high center of gravity and long wheelbase. It is obvious by the train slowing down due to friction in the curves.I modified it by removing the front wheels which derailed the whole time, maybe I will need to reduce the wheelbase in the center section too to handle turns better. Also I miscalculated and don't have enough straight tracks to incorporate the crossing yet! Here is a video of the whole railway (subs on):

21061 will be Notre Dame according to Brick Clicker.

Wow, that huge bulge at the front and that huge air scoop look terrible. It looks like more like an alt build of another set. Lego still can't make a proper F1 car.

This is my fourth back of the box build, the spaceship. Free instructions are as always included: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-171789/johnny.tifosi/735-spaceship/#details

I love all three builds, especially the squirrel. Definitely getting this, it's my favourite set of the year so far. My beloved Technic may be dead, but Creator 3-in-1 is as strong as ever.

@Lego Tom Subtitles are a thing.

Review of all January 2024 sets from HdS, always on point.

Could you share them on a public Google Drive link or similar? It would be more convenient for everyone. Cheers.

I get an 404 error for both your links.

This is another back of the box build, an American semi truck. As usual, free instructions can be found here: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-170609/johnny.tifosi/735-american-semi-truck/#details

Model Team anyone? I really would love a 5571 remake.

Man, checking this guy's channel has been quite a rabbit hole. He even made his own 9V motor using a PF motor and slot car brushes and a power supply with a laptop charger and dc/dc regulator. Being a lot into electrical DIY myself, I just decided to build my own 9V railway with a DIY electrical system and some Bluebrixx locomotive and wagon. The estimated cost for everything, including 40 track pieces, 2 switches, 1 crossing, electronics from aliexpress and bluebrixx bricks is about 90 euros. Way larger and better value than buying some overpriced 9V train set on Ebay or Bricklink, and the fun of building it would be immense compared to a plug and play Lego 9V set. If I ever get around to buying all the stuff and building it I can post the progress if the forum allows DIY/ alternative bricks.

@XG BC Thanks, that was a great video. I have a question. How is the right side of the track switched left to right? Is it by the contact of the pieces highlighted in the red rectangle below or is there some connection underneath? I did not understand quite clearly from the video. Eventually I might try a similar trick for a crossing piece, these are even more expensive (over 30 euros for an original, but less than 2 for a plastic knock off). Merry Christmas.

We used to get B-models in 4000 piece sets, these are way smaller. Lego simply doesn't bother anymore.

All three sets look original and very functional. Just like the guy said in this video, an adrenaline shot to the arm for Lego Technic. It's a shame that when Technic appears to get back on track, they got rid of B-models, otherwise I would consider buying one of these.

Model Team was not licensed, featured some original vehicles and had B-models. Large trucks or aircraft for sure wouldn't feature in today's Icons. Back to the topic, I mentioned the similarity of this Creator set to the legendary 5590 and 5571 sets in the dedicated Creator thread. The semi is clearly a reference to 5571, but the trailer and helicopter refer to 5590 IMO. I really wish Lego revisited one of these sets too, either as part of Icons remakes (Space, Pirates and Castle have had enough love already, why not Model Team?), or within Creator 3-in-1 as a ~1000 piece set. They've done large vehicle Creator sets before or large Creator sets in general, I don't see why this couldn't get some love. It has to be one of the most consistently high rated themes, at least according to Brickset. Personally I would be all over a 5571 remake, hopefully with a B-model too. Apparently Lego still hasn't forgotten about it, when it is referencing it 28 years later.

@Toastie Wow thanks that is a nice schematic. So the left side (red) of the switch is powered on both branches, but the right side is switched between branches? I was hoping for a photo of the actual rail piece but this will also do.

I have been thinking about getting into 9V trains on the cheap, using plastic tracks with copper tape and my own DC adapter. The ghetto trick with the copper tape should be very well known by now. However, I haven't found any info online on ghetto switch tracks. Can it be done? I suspect the 3 ends of a switch tracks are somehow connected electrically underneath the plastic, so I should probably solder some wires underneath the tracks, but I don't have access to any tracks right now and I can't find any photos of 9V switch tracks underneath. Could someone advise me on the matter or simply examine their own 9V switch tracks and upload photos? Cheers.

The fantasy/space theme of the new sets is the least of my worries for the new wave of sets. If anything, original ideas are a welcome departure from the huge amount of soulless licensed crap we got the past few years. Late 90s were my prime Technic years too and even as a kid I could feel the sets not being as good as early 90s, but I liked the abstract and futuristic themes nevertheless. Technic is indeed going downhill since 2018 in my opinion, (bloated piece count and pricing, retirement of PF, licensed functionless sets and less B-models) and they tried to mix it up this year, which is good. However, they killed B-models altogether in the process, a mainstay of the theme since the very beginning, and I am not going to accept that.

Yeap it was a really sweet set. The main model and few back of the box builds could easily qualify for a small Model Team set indeed. Plus the multiple alternatives and the awesome 9V system with the lights and siren are quite unique. I wish Creator did a Model Team tribute nowadays. The new 31146 is clearly inspired by 5571 and 5590 but it's tiny.

Damn I thought the same thing 10 minutes later lol. This is the first time Technic has a theme since Arctic I think? And those had some sweet Technic figures.