Blakbird

No worries, TechnicFreak. I have a built-in "netiquette" filter in my brain that goes all the way back to USENET days that says it is bad form to post in a topic that has been inactive for more than a few months. But your post is certainly relevant. Sorry if you felt anything personal was implied. Well, you didn't actually ask any questions in your post. At the end you said "wonder if Lego can send me another sticker sheet" so I was trying to give you advice on how to get one from LEGO. I guess what you really wanted was advice on sticker goo removal. When I removed the sticker residue from my Williams Racer, I soaked all the panels in soapy water until the residue was really soft and then scraped if off with an X-Acto knife. It worked pretty well. I don't think there is any conspiracy. You never know what people are going to be interested in. Sometimes someone will post an amazing MOC and it will get 1000 views but no one will make a comment. Other times someone will make a minor post on an irrelevant topic and it will get 300 replies. The Internet is fickle. Personally, I don't even look at who a question is from before deciding whether or not to reply. Mostly it is based on whether or not I have time to answer.

The instructions I have are unsigned but are 88 pages. I got them before ReBrickable existed. I just checked and those seem to be longer (111 pages). Go to LDraw.org and download the All-in-One Installer and you will have everything you need.

This is a pretty old topic to bump..... 8043 was available recently enough that I'm sure you can get a new sticker sheet from LEGO. They will probably give it to you free, but at the least you could buy it. Of course they are available on Bricklink as well.

You will enjoy it. Note that NK did not make these instructions, they were made by a fan starting with an incomplete CAD file. Last time I built it I found that there were a couple of errors in the instructions or things which couldn't quite be seen in the views presented, but you should be OK if you are willing to put some thought into it. If you want a copy of the CAD file to help out, let me know. That's a hard one. Personally I think I would give the nod to the Sunbeam, but not because it is better. I just find it more unique. The door mechanism on the Koenigsegg is really cool though.

Export from LDD to LDraw uses an XML mapping file. This file maps each LDD part to a corresponding LDraw part, including any required rotations and scaling. The problem is that this mapping file only contains "official" LDraw parts. In particular, there are a lot of gaps in the mapping of Technic parts, so conversion of Technic models usually results in a lot of holes. It is possible to fix this problem by adding the parts to the XML mapping file manually, after which the export will work fine, but this is a lot of work.

Already rendered. http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=4297343 In fact, I think all of the 1996 models are already rendered.

Actually, you are right. There are really a lot more than 9 possible combinations. Deciding how to document this one is a challenge. This is another example in which I need to build and document multiple models. You will also notice based on the last post that there are a LOT of models to document for 1996. However, that's no excuse for not updating the site for years.

The transmission from 8860 can only be shifted by aligning the gears. Cannot be shifted while moving unless you get very lucky. Conversely, the transmission from 8880 uses driving rings and can be shifted while rotating.

This is very personal preference. I have built all of those cars and all are unique and distinct. Your choice will depend on what you are looking for from your build experience and also what you part collection looks like. The Kuipers silver Supercar was an exercise in making a working model out of a fixed parts palette. It uses only the parts from 8458 and 8466. This makes it easy to collect the parts: just buy those two sets. But it also means this is not an optimized car. Lots of strange parts choices had to be made in order to make it work with those parts. If you find that kind of thing interesting, you will like this car. Note also this car uses all 10+ year old parts and building methods. Again, you find this good or bad depending on your preferences. The two cars from Jurgen use studded chassis and a studless body, so they are a good mix of old and new parts and methods. They are very sturdy and well made. Nico's car and Crowkillers' Vampire use fully modern parts and building methods. In terms of function, all of these cars have gearboxes, suspension, and all the other good stuff you'd expect from a supercar, so they are very satisfying to build. I think the choice comes down to what kind of building style you prefer, what parts you have, and appearance.

You make a fair point. I use the term "synchronized gearbox" when comparing supercar transmissions on Technicopedia, even though I know that there is no mechanically or electro-servo controlled synchronization in place. I use the term to distinguish between transmissions that can be shifted while in motion and those that can't. On top of that, almost none of my readers would know what a "dog box" is, but it is perfectly accurate to say that this is how Technic transmissions actually operate. The inherent backlash in the dog stops allow the rings to engage while spinning as long as the shift happens quickly. Sheepo's sequential transmission is the best LEGO example of this I can think of.

Scathing. You even had me going for a minute there. I thought maybe I posted something without remembering I did it. I am probably just busy and confused enough lately that that could have happened!

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I have no intention of making a big deal out of this or even contacting the poster, I was just interested in opinions. Personally, I would have appreciated a "Blakbird's Technicopedia says..." at the beginning. As a data point on the opposite side of this issue, last year I was contacted by a company who trains technicians in Michigan and wanted permission to use my "Technical Fundamentals" section as training material. I was certainly flattered in this case. This is a case in which a business wanted to use my material and to charge money for training, so it is a different matter. I probably should have asked for compensation, but I didn't.

Today someone sent me an email asking how much they might expect to pay for an 8880 and whether or not they should buy one on eBay. I was happy to answer and was curious to see what the current eBay rate was. While perusing the current listings, I found this. If you scroll down to the description, you might recognize it. It is copied directly from my Technicopedia page. On the one hand, it is flattering to know that my description of this car is considered valuable enough to be used as a sales description around the world. On the other hand, it is upsetting to see my words posted as the words of someone else with no attribution to Technicopedia or me as the source. I posted Technicopedia exactly so that it would be useful to people as a source of information on Technic sets, so I can't be upset that it is widely read and people use it. But I do feel that a proper attribution is not too much to ask. Am I just being too sensitive here?

I have a Brickstore parts list. Shoot me a PM with your email address and I can send it to you. 2014 parts.

It drives fine with the body on, but it does not always shift up reliably. With enough effort, I'm sure I could figure out the problem. I actually think it is more fun to drive it with the body off anyway because you can see what it is doing and the reduced weight helps the performance. I always test the friction in all my gears as I build. In this case, I did not have any problem. The gears all turn smoothly and the backup structure is quite sturdy. In my opinion, whether or not this creation is perfect is not the point. Nearly every Technic fan will learn a lot from building it. In my engineering experience, you learn a lot more from something that requires some tinkering than you do from something that works perfectly the first time. The tinkering forces you to think about it. I found that this worked pretty well right out of the box, but not perfectly. Every person will have their own definition of how much time they want to spend making it even better.

I decided to get all of the Crowkillers cars together that I have built and take a couple of pictures. More at my Brickshelf. Which do you like best?

I just finished my copy last night. I've built a bunch of Paul's models, but this one stood out as really going together smoothly. I'm happy to say that as Paul's building skills have advanced, my instruction making skills have gotten better as well. I hope everyone finds that these are easy to follow and without surprises.

In addition to Technic, there was a time when I had: All Space from Futuron through Star Wars 2008 Star Wars UCS Architecture Modular Houses Model Team Landmarks (Eiffel, Liberty, Taj, etc.) Several years ago I was forced to sell all the Space and Model Team, but I still have the rest. I have no room to assemble the UCS or landmarks though.

That's a pretty cool story. Did you ever find out how the boy had found out about you in the first place? I know you are pretty well known here on Eurobricks and in the fan community, but I'm a bit surprised a random kid knew one of your cars on sight. He must be on the Internet a lot!

I once requested this type of info directly from Lego for Technicopedia. I did get a reply but they indicated that they could not share information about set designers with me. Not sure why, but that was the response.

Get a bigger toybox.

Philo is the man. There are lots of LDraw parts authors, but the majority of the modern Technic parts were modeled by him. He seems to specialize in the hard-to-model parts and has written a bunch of software tools used by other authors to make it easier. I think it is safe to say that we couldn't be doing what we are doing without him.

I always use the train regulator at conventions to run all my Technic creations. It works great. You could also use a Control Center if you have one.

I wondered if anyone would notice those pictures before I finished the instructions. Patience my young Padawan.

The vast majority of models which have achieved 10,000 votes on Cuusoo have ultimately been rejected by LEGO. As it turns out, Cuusoo is not really about models, it is about ideas. LEGO wants feedback on what fans are interested in. In this case, I think the Defender 110 shows that fans are interested in a UCS style Technic set of unprecedented complexity. I think it is unlikely they will accept the Land Rover partially because it is licensed and partially because it is probably not reliable enough when built by an amateur to be an official set, regardless of the size. However, we may still be lucky enough to get a UCS Technic set as a result of the effort. Personally, I'd like to see them refine the sequential gearbox concept into something nearly 100% reliable and release a model using it. There is so much to be learned from building it, and that is the point of Technic after all.