Blakbird

This has occasionally come up before. It is an interesting idea, but I'm not sure it would really work. It is important to me that the whole site be consistent in appearance and tone, and I don't think that would be possible with other authors unless I did a lot of editing. At that point, I may as well just do the work myself. However, there are a lot of things other people have done to contribute other than writing. The most significant of these is the contribution of LDraw files. I had a topic here last year in which I was trying to collect an LDraw file for every set. With the help of EB, I was able to do that and enabled me to make my first update in several years and to add the annual summaries all the way up to 2014. At this point, the only thing stopping me from going further is time. I've spent the time since the last update working on the Akiyuki project.

Excellent! I will put it on the list. It is not too late. I had already done the same thing making the file an MPD, but I had not added any building steps yet. I have been too busy working on supercars lately.

Just finished testing the instructions and building the model last night. This is a great looking and incredibly well built car. Here are some photos I took.

"washing the hamster". Is that supposed to be a euphemism for something?

Don't worry, you will soon see it! I need to finish my last 2 white cars (lipko simple supercar and pvdb Koenigsegg) and then I will take a picture of all the white cars.

Yes you can!

Since I posted the photos of the black and red cars, I guess it is time for yellow! I'll post some photos of white when I finish building them.

That's what we are talking about. However the PF IR receiver doesn't use the same two terminals as a motor, it uses the other two terminals. To make it work with a PF extension wife you have to bridge the terminals with some foil. SBrick works the same way. This ensures the receiver is always on and is not effected by the polarity or setting of the battery box.

SBrick uses PF wires, so it would require the foil trick to get power from the old 9V battery box, but it should then work. As a bonus, each unit has 4 channels instead of 2 so you don't need as many of them.

The problem with orange is still the scarcity of 5L, 9L, and 11L liftarms. They exist but are impossible to find. These are common sizes that are hard to do without.

It could be done. Two of the motors need to run the opposite direction as the other two, so you would have to wire it correctly.

You can always go back and add more motors later. Brunojj's Ferrari uses 2XL motors and works great.

This was so much fun to build and it is even more fun to drive! Here are some photos to help do it justice.

I decided I needed to take a couple of photos.

I just finished Madoca's car today! Your BMW is faster, but his is easier to control with the SBrick.

I've always wondered if Dr. JB is the same guy who created JB Weld. I love that stuff.

Blakbird? I always thought he was a bit of a jerk.

There is only one rechargeable battery box but it works equally well with trains or Technic. However, it is a different shape than the 6AA box.

Approximate lengths are in the parts list but, as always, you should cut to the length you need.

I finished building this car last weekend. It is really beautiful to behold! I originally planned to build it with no Power Functions except for the lights, but I was only on the first couple of steps when I changed my mind and had to go steal a bunch of PF components from other models to keep building. I used pneumatic hose from McMaster Carr for the flex hoses and it worked really well. One thing that has not been highlighted in the previous discussion is the accurate full roll cage included. You can't really see it once the roof it on. The roof actually just perches atop the roll cage and is only connected by flex hoses. I can't believe I am about to say this, but this car may actually be too fast! Because of the limitations of PF IR controllers, it is not safe to use it in the house because it is so fast that it will run into things and break. I figured it would be a lot more fun outside. It works much better outside, but you have to keep very close to it for the remote to work and that means walking pretty fast. You naturally tend to follow behind the car and this causes the line of sight to the steering receiver to be blocked by the roof. You'll be cruising along at high speed and try to turn and nothing will happen. I ran into a lot of curbs! It drives much better with the roof removed because the roll cage is open enough for the steering servo to work. The speed control remote might be better, but since the motors are on separate receivers I don't think it would be possible to synchronize them. I think this model is the pinnacle of speed for the PF system. With 4 XL drive motors using 3 receivers and 3 battery packs, there is no current protection problem. Because the servo is on a separate battery, the model does not slow down when the steering is used. This model is a lot of fun and I highly recommend it. I was lucky enough to get a copy of the stickers and they really enhance the appearance.

Instructions for Akiyuki's Spiral Lift Module are now tested and complete and are available here along with a Brickstore parts list. 40 pages 876 parts Some of the credit for reverse engineering this module goes to 9v System who did the work making an LDD file based on Akiyuki's video. These instructions were more complicated than expected mostly just because I felt compelled to make all the ribbed hoses have identical slope. The build is quite simple and a bit repetitive. There is very little to set in the way of timing. Because the sprockets at each end are driven by worm gears on a common axle, it is helpful to clock the worm gears so that you get a uniform amount of slack in the belt on the front versus the back. Good luck finding the ribbed hoses. Red hoses in any length are quite rare. Of course, shorter length hoses can be joined together or another color can be used. Aftermarket hoses sold as "wiring looms" may also be an option. Akiyuki later built a double height version of this module for which I may make instructions at a future date.

I'm willing to do that but I have a couple of open projects I'm already committed to, so it will probably be about a month.

This model long predates LDD. There are LDraw files for the individual modules in Grazi's Brickshelf folder. I used these to make my own file and change the color. I never made PDF instructions, but I suppose I could.

Still waiting on the last parts to arrive. It should be built and the instructions released by next weekend.

I steal parts from my collection all the time when I need something I don't have for a MOC. I keep a list of what I have taken and later order the parts and replace them. You are quite right that keeping up a collection can be a lot of work.