ZdenekBricks

Hello, I have the same problem with the rubber belt used in Mindstorms EV3; it's not supported as a flexible part. The link you provided is interesting. I had never considered that these shapes would be possible in Studio.

I realized that I genuinely enjoy this style of character construction. It's refreshingly distinct from the minifigure world, offering a nice change and a more lifelike feel.

The shape is instantaneously recognizable, amazing. This is for the first time I clicked to someone's signature there :).

Super-detailed and functional (you can open everything). Motor and pedals are lovely. I also like how the roof is skewed towards the front.

I remember that I wanted something more than PowerFunctions but the gray NXT robot looked too boring so I had been hesitating for many months until I saw rumours about EV3 in 2013. It was like a marketing miracle – they finally made robots that looked huge. For kids, that worked perfectly. It was because of a bigger intelligent brick, better contrast of chosen colors and more Technic panel pieces with clever stickers. What do you think about current Mindstorms @Coder Shah?

@MAB made a very good point with a statement that we need to define what 'classic theme' means because some people thought that it means plain minifig heads, only bricks and plates, etc. For me, all that is vintage. Classical means originating from Lego, not from IPs like Ferrari, Marvel, etc. Classical means 'original' Lego stuff that lasts (for me, at least), so not Atlantis or Power Miners. Classics are Castle, Space and Pirates, at least. IP-based themes are a riskless choice for Lego. And it works; it's bringing them more sales because people are buying branded Lego themes. 'Oh, that would be so cool from Lego' is the anthem of nowadays. Until that source of new sales dries up, I don't see any reason to make more classical themes. Don't change what works. Lego has changed, but kids are still able to completely disassemble the Millennium Falcon and build an ugly giant something, so despite more non-interchangeable parts (wedge plates, pointy stuff, Technic panels, etc.), creativity hasn't been affected at all with IP sets. It was always more about the building experience than about empowering creativity. Despite the fact that IP themes don't seem to be original, from the building perspective, they're stunning. With the current combinatorial explosion, it's true art to make good stuff from Lego. Even AI is not able to build these objects in Lego. There is innovation, but in a different place than we would look for it – it's deeply hidden in building techniques, mainly due to SNOT (Studs Not On Top) and hinge elements and mixing Technic with system bricks. @Mister Phes and @Khargeust made interesting points about AFOL market share. This is a market with huge growth potential that will undoubtedly shape Lego's way. I would bet that they made Galaxy Explorer 10497 just because of AFOLs. Modern kids don't care about classic themes, but AFOLs can bring them back. So, to sum it up, classic themes are dead for kids because IPs work better. Classic themes are being squeezed out also because of a limited number of Lego themes and the need to constantly change the portfolio. But growing AFOL customers can bring it back.

This is actually a brilliant idea. I ran into the same problem. Have you tried it? I am not sure if it's legal because there are these tiny stoppers around Technic pins, and ring doesn't seem to be able to deal with them. Another topic is the stability. Tiny liftarm would be of course much better.