Blakbird

If you are trying to lock the suspension arm to the axle, why not just do this? It would be much less likely to slip.

Right, these are only the basic dimensions and do not account for actual precise tolerances. For instance, the diameter of a stud is actually slighter larger than its receptable; they are not both 3 LDU. This interference provides the necessary clutch power. Likewise, the width of a brick is not actually 5LDU, it is a little less to allow for gaps between adjacent parts. They minute tolerances need to be known to 3D print parts.

You can see it in 8094:

The Indy Storm is a very nice set, but it is not worth anywhere near $195. None of the parts are particularly special, so if you couldn't find it for less you could build it for much less by just ordering the parts. I've got a couple of pictures on my site. The flex system front steering may be the hardest part to find.

I don't think there is any intent to make a different version for the retail catalog. Ideally, it would be excatly like the final release. It is more a matter of timing. Since the retailers get a "preview" early, the artwork is not finalized yet. Subsequent revisions improve it to the point that it can be approved by the marketing department. The final version should always be the best.

This is a spectacular mod to the original model! My only complaint is that the stock tires look way too small with this massive body. Power Puller tires (or aftermarket R/C tires) I'm sure would look much better. Do you have some PP tires you could use for a photo?

Yes, I noticed that. I don't know when I'll have time to fix them all manually. The photos were taken with an iPad which, like many cameras, adds a tag to the EXIF of the jpg file to correct the orientation. So they all look fine on my computer. Sadly, Brickshelf does not recognize EXIF tags so they look like a mess. Fixing this is actually pretty unpleasant. I fixed all the F1 pictures, at least.

Yes, I can see that point of view. However, the same thing is true of eBay. Why list something on eBay when you could just list it on your own site instead and not pay any fees? The reason is usually that eBay opens you up to a much larger market and therefore the fee is worth while. As long as MOC Plans charges a reasonable fee, I expect it will be well used. The more designers use it, the more valuable it will become. Kind of self perpetuating.

Personally, I don't see this idea as a conflict with Rebrickable. Rebrickable does not host anything and does not sell anything. While it is true that people like Paul have come up with their own personal system for selling instructions which works well, this is a significant barrier to entry for new designers. If I just designed a MOC and want to sell instructions, there is really no way for me to do it unless I am willing to spend the time and pay for the overhead of hosting a site, posting everything, collecting the fees, and sending out a file. The difficulty in doing this probably prevents some people from even trying. On top of that, I could only expect traffic from buyers who already know about my model somehow. MOC Plans would mean that I don't have to worry about any of that. I can just upload the file and have them take care of everything. On top of that, I could expect a lot more people to see my MOC (if the site is successful) because AFOLs will be browsing that site as a source of instructions anyway. So I think it actually compliments Rebrickable. That is still where you would go to see which parts you have. Hopefully the owners of the two sites can cooperate to make them interact as much as possible.

Well, BrickCon has now come and gone and I was able to display all these cars. I even got all the stickers on. You can see the final display here. You may have also read in another thread that instructions are complete for all 9 of these cars and will soon be available. I used the instructions to build my copies as a test. They average about 110 pages each, and about 1500 parts.

You have two very different questions there. The best editor for Technic models is probably SR3D because it understands the connections between parts and allows easy alignment of complex mechanisms. However, the LDraw langugage is nothing like other 3D formats, so exporting to them is going to be a problem. LDview is capable of exporting to 3DS, but I've never tried it. You can use any LDraw editor and then open in LDView. I have no experience with Lego Digital Designer, so I don't know whether or not it exports to other formats, but I'm sure someone here will know.

I expect to find myself a significant user of this site both as a builder and an instruction maker. I am really looking forward to it. And as has been mentioned, there is nothing about the site that limits it to Technic models. There is no reason a wide range of MOCs could not be featured

The "clutch" in a linear actuator is not a separate part. The actuator itself is internally designed in such a way that it can only react so much torque before it slips. There is no way for this to be left out of a particular unit. However, there are build tolerances to consider, so it may simply be that this one fits tighter than others and therefore has a higher slip torque. You can see the internal design here.

This is one of my favorite sets ever. It is totally different from anything else. My copy works fine, so I'm not sure what went wrong with yours. With so many gears, you need to be very careful that everything is turning smoothly at every step. For example, my dumping bed will backdrive that whole gear train under it's own weight if you release the driving ring. Also, don't forget the alternate models. This is really a universal set so it is not just a main model and an alternate. Rather, there are 4 complete models you can build and they are all fascinating. You should definitely try them all.

I personally think this contest exists in direct response to some wishes here on Eurobricks. Many of us (myself included) have been asking for "expansion packs" for some of the bigger models to extend functionality and add things that would not have been feasible at the price point of the main model. I think this is an attempt to answer that. We can't realistically expect LEGO to produce an entire fan created set from a contest, but a limiited edition expansion set is more reasonable. I do not think of this as just a styling exercise. We have a battery box available here, so there is no reason the new body can't tap into that power and add motorized features. But we don't have to be limited to motorization. We could add pneumatic features as well. And I like the idea of changing the tires. From what I can tell, the contest is pretty open in terms of what can be proposed, so we might as well go crazy and suggest whatever we can imagine. I'd like to see a lot of rare parts used and some panels and flex axles in new colors (but not pink). And chrome! And a micromotor! In fact, I'd like the whole new body to be built from yellow 1x6 thin liftarms, black 19L flex axles, yellow 1x2 thin liftarms, yellow #4 connectors, and orange panels and axle connectors in every size. I'd buy all 20,000! Although I personally like the idea, I would guess anything that looks like a weapons system is going to be rejected (like the Annihilator).

After 144 responses in this thread, I think we are now in a position to definitively answer the original question. Question: Can we write the unwritten rules? Answer: No.

If you want to know how 8853 works, just look here. One wheel controls lift and one wheel controls tilt.

There are more differences between these parts than just the ridges. If you hold them end to end, you will see that the smooth version is actually larger in diameter as well, so it doesn't really fit right inside the driving ring. You can make it go though. Years ago Philo did a comparison of all the different versions of this part when he was making the LDraw models of them for the library. I seem to remember that there were two versions of the smooth one. The oldest is the same cross section as 6539b but without ridges. Then later it was made bigger to match all the angle connectors. Look here.

The last of my orders from Germany showed up last night, so I was finally able to build. Here is the stack of rare white parts that you need to build this model: I tore mine all the way down and rebuilt from the ground up, replacing all the blue 3L pins with black, and the red 3L pins with bush with gray, all the red 2L axles with black, and all the blue axle pins with gray (which means I lost friction). Here is the result: It looks really amazing, but not as amazing as Paul's. He went one step further and used white axle pins and white axles in a few key places. He also has the sweet black chrome wheels which add a lot. However, my chassis looks better because I can still see blue peeking through in his! I also used a dark gray interior instead of Paul's tan leather interior. I had tan in my red Gallardo, but I like gray better with the white. I was lucky in that all the used parts I ordered showed up nice and white with no yellowing so the car looks great. This will no doubt change in the future and the car may end up very ugly. I also have a lot of extra white parts from the R2-D2 and stormtrooper I had to buy, so I'll be selling those along with my newly surplus red parts.

I agree which is why I am interested in what LEGO has in mind here. I think the Technic brand was heavily diluted in the late 90's and early 2000's with unrelated products. For instance, Speed Slammers, Robo Riders, Slizer, and even Bionicle at first were all marketed as Technic, but really weren't Technic. There was some crossover with Racers as well. I don't necessarily have any problem with any of those products, but I don't think they were really Technic and I think they made it harder for consumers to understand what they were going to get when they purchased a set that said "Technic" on the box. Technic means that the model will be realistic and functional, not just a plaything. The Speed Slammers come to mind. There was nothing functional about them, but they WERE made of Technic parts. To me, a Technic model means more than just being made of Technic parts. The Star Wars Technic models were not really Technic, with the possible exception of the Destroyer Droid which was awesome. I am glad they exist though, because that's the only way we got Technic parts in rare colors!

The word "Action" stands out to me in two of the titles. Why use this word instead of just race buggy and race car? It makes me wonder if they are part of some new theme like "Arctic Action" was way back in 1986. Or maybe they have some special function that makes them move like the Speed Slammers or pull back motors.

This topic is like asking "Mac vs. PC". There is no point in even asking the question because everyone builds for different reasons and therefore their opinions will be just as valid is anyone else's. We will never get "community agreement" because there is no right answer. How about we agree on this: "Enjoy your LEGO Technic". As long as you are doing that, I'm not going to complain. You are right. If you look at my elevation view CAD picture below, you can see that I had to angle the roof to make it line up. However, in real life tolerances make this possible without forcing it. As a bigger example of this, consider RoscoPC's F1 starting grid, pictured below. In CAD, everything lines up fine. But in real life, making several meters of bricks stacked up and then trying to join the edges with parts lengthwise, it didn't fit at all. Luca said it was mismatched by many millimeters, and this IS a legal construction! This is a good example of why what works is more important than what's legal. In fact, I live my life by the same standard!

Barman has already recommended the first one (and a lot of other good stuff) here. The second part in the image below now exists. Thanks LEGO!

The costs of LEGO R/C vehicles are comparable to the costs of other "toy" grade R/C vehicles and have similarly limited performance. Hobby grade R/C vehicles cost much more than Technic but also have much higher performance. Therefore, you get what you pay for. One of the differences is that toy grade R/C typically cannot be repaired or disassembled, but LEGO can. In this way, it is like hobby grade R/C.

Those mechanisms look amazing! Thanks for the effort. I was amazed at the functionality of this thing when I saw it at BrickCon. FYI, you can get much better images by opening your model in LDView after you finish it in MLCAD. AN MLCAD capture looks like this: and an LDView capture looks like this: