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Blakbird

Technic Regulator
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Everything posted by Blakbird

  1. Blakbird
    I finished building today. There is a serious problem in the area of the tail lights. The back bumper doesn't fit at all because the 3x5 L-shaped black liftarm that supports the lights interferes with it by a whole stud. I thought I was doing something wrong, but then I checked the LDraw file and see that it has the same interference. I was able to make some changed to get the bumper to fit, but now the tail light lenses won't go on. Can you take some pictures of this area with the cover (the red panel behind the spoiler) removed? Other than that, I have been having a lot of fun with this. I drove it around my wood floor all afternoon. Some of the bodywork is a bit fragile, but it sure does look good. Design-wise, the only thing I might change is the seats. Because they are black and red like the rest of the car, they kind of blend in and I hardly see them. I think they need a little contrast. I was thinking about changing the red seat stripe to light gray. The lengths of the flex axles for the flex part on the bottom of the windshield are not right. It says to use 2x 12L and 2x 11L, but all 4 really need to be 11L. It doesn't fit at all if you use 2x 12L. The other lengths seem OK. There's one error in the big flex part that makes up the inside of the front fender. On Page 102, Step 3 It shows a blue half pin in the third 5L beam which is hard to see. This actually needs to be in the second 5L beam. If you put it in the third, then two sides of the fender are too close together and the hood won't close. It took me a LONG time to figure this one out.
  2. Blakbird
    I've got some renders done.
  3. Blakbird
    When you post a link, please put at least one line of explanation. A lot of people don't like to blind click on a link without knowing where it might take them.
  4. Blakbird
    I wonder if this is related to the type of plastic used. Traditionally, trans-clear parts have been acrylic instead of ABS. This is what makes them so much stiffer and harder to take apart (trans plates for instance). However, for Technic parts it might not have been possible to use this material. 15L liftarms have come in clear before as well, and I don't recall them being totally clear like a regular clear part. On the other hand, it might just be a function of the mold. All of the panels have a slight texture and are not completely smooth. If you were to simply use the same mold with clear resin, you'd get a slightly frosted part.
  5. Blakbird
    If you are keeping a log of errors, there are a few others. The parts list shows only 1 XL motor including on the page that actually installs two of them. The page that shows the installation of the front bumper corners also only shows how to build one side but not the other side. There are a few places where the parts cannot be assembled in the order shown, but it was not a big deal to just remove some things to get it to work. One other issue is that not all motors have exactly the same length wires. The wire from the left XL motor is very tight and mine was not quite long enough so I had to change the routing a bit. You need to be careful not to interfere with the gear that drives the engine. by the way, I like how fast the engine is geared to turn! If you use a belt instead of a chain, you can just put it in a Figure-8 to reverse the direction.
  6. Blakbird
    8480 is at least as complex as anything made today. So is 8485. The real difference, though, is the instructions. Older instructions were MUCH more complex in the number of parts added per step and even in general build techniques. This means that the experience of building was more complex even if the models weren't. The 8868 instructions book is just a little pamphlet and it has instructions for both models!
  7. Blakbird
    Yes, I am using V1. I drove the chassis around my house last night with no problems. It might be different once all the weight of the body is added. Ideally, I may later convert this model to SBrick.
  8. Blakbird
    I walk slowly away from all humans. You have to admit, those mammoth poo sets were pretty cool.
  9. Blakbird
    Thanks. Glad to hear it is not just me but the car was actually designed this way. I experimented with a couple of things and found a way to change the connection so the panel sits on a bit of an angle (tipped up toward the side of the car).
  10. Blakbird
    I have been working on this car and have completed it to the point of a rolling chassis. It works really well so far and is very solid. However, I am having a problem installing the 5x11 panels on either side of the engine. They do not fit. They interfere significantly with the cylinder blocks. What am I doing wrong?
  11. Blakbird
    Last month I threw together some instructions for this model and built myself a copy. With a collection the size of mine, sometimes building models becomes monotonous. Another new car, truck, or crane has a lot in common with what I've built before. It is not often that I find something completely different, but this is certainly one such case. It is also a lot more technically complex than I initially imagined. At first glance, driving 3 independent rings with 3 independent motors seems simple. However, the rings are NOT independent. Since the drive system for the inner rings passes through the rotation axes for the outer rings, they are actually in series. If you were to drive only the outer ring while holding the other drive axles fixed, the inner rings would rotate. To drive ONLY the inner ring, you can just power that directly. To drive the middle ring, you need to drive the axle for the inner ring in the opposite direction. The drive the outer ring, you need to power both of the others to cancel out the motion. Everything is geared at the same speed, so it is all about controlling the direction and this is done with differentials. The technical solution is exceedingly clever and makes this model one of my favorites. It also makes a great display piece and conversation starter.
  12. Blakbird
    I love the oxymoron title of this thread.
  13. Blakbird
    There is nothing wrong with connecting two motors in parallel to the same axle. MOCs do it all the time. I have done it myself many times. It will not burn up the motors. You would not want to do it with different types of motors, but if they are the same type running at the same speed then there is no problem. They will share the load. It will not be perfectly evenly shared, but this is not a problem. Keep in mind these are "dumb" DC motors, not brushless motors with a controller. Philo already studied the effects of this extensively.
  14. Blakbird
    You can export a parts list from LDD and it will have the number and name for each part.
  15. Blakbird
    Which side of the pond are you on? Your profile does not have a location.
  16. Blakbird
    Aircraft with delta wings have neither elevators or ailerons, they have elevons which function as both. Also, this airplane has a V-tail and therefore the ruddervators (yes, they are really called that) can control both pitch and yaw. What is really missing is a horizontal stabilizer, but this is not unusual. The space shuttle is a good example of this configuration.
  17. Blakbird
    I see that you are already an expert at the most important part of this hobby: having fun! Great first MOC.
  18. Blakbird
    Wow, you've really put a lot of effort into that suspension. I like all the adjustability. Reminds me of an R/C car.
  19. Blakbird
    OK, I guess I should have said there is no non-destructive way to spot them. If you destroy a part only to find it really was authentic, then you've lost a rare part. The point is, they look really convincing if done right. If you spot an part in an unknown color on eBay, you just can't tell if it is real or not. Also note that even some real LEGO parts will fail this test. The old metallic silver and gold parts were painted and were actually another color underneath. Same with the chrome bits.
  20. Blakbird
    The Power Functions extension cable has a 9V connector at one end. You need one of those in either available length.
  21. Blakbird
    Sure, I've done it. Not to sell, but for my own use. For example, you can make rare black axle pins by dyeing light gray ones. Works great. There is actually no way to tell that it was not made that way.
  22. Blakbird
    It could be a test part, but it could also just be a part that someone dyed so they could call it rare.
  23. Blakbird
    You know my collection better than I do!
  24. Blakbird
    Wow, I'm glad I asked for clarification. With the new quantities, the part count drops from 4453 to 2990. That's still more parts than any other supercar I have, but far more believable. I shall start collecting parts immediately.
  25. Blakbird
    Excellent! Thorsten, from the quantities it looks like one or more of the buffer exchange assemblies may have been counted twice. For example, the parts list shows 12 shock absorbers and 6 wheel hubs. I see that the parts list uses LDView. LDView does not handle buffer exchanges correctly unless they are ghosted. After removing the synthesized parts, I am counting 4453 parts which seems like way too many. Any ideas? I also see that you changed the toggle joints on the rear wheel well to #3 connectors. Have you tried this in real bricks to confirm the shape is right? Either way, rare parts are used. Lox, can you tell us how many flex axles it uses and what sizes they are? No big deal. Welcome to the site and I'm glad you like this lovely car.
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