Blakbird

Don't worry, I haven't even started ordering parts yet. I love the model and can't think of much I don't like about it, but if I had one complaint it might be that it is a bit too red. It could really use a black stripe or something similar to help make it look more decorated. I haven't figured out a good way to put a strip on it though because of the position of the big panels. I'd hate to have to use stickers.....

The pictures of my final build are here. I used a black interior and no stickers.

Looks like pure supply/demand to me. There are plenty of rare parts that are cheap. You can usually trace a spike in uncommon part price back to the release of instructions for a popular MOC. The problem in Technic is greatly exacerbated by the fact that there just aren't that many sellers and therefore supply is small, and competition is low.

Lucio has finished his CAD file and I have taken the opportunity to make some renders. First I'll show what is going on inside the model. This first image shows the mechancial system with a drive system for each rear wheel independently, steering, engine, the crankshaft for the compressor, an autovalve, and the 12(!) shock absorbers for the front axle. Next comes the electrical system with 3 battery boxes, 3 IR rececivers, 4 XL motors, 1 L motor, 1 M motor, 1 servo, 2 switches, and 2 sets of LED lights. He did an amazing job of modeling the wires. I think the most impressive part is the pneumatic system which contains 6 large actuators (4 for suspension, 2 for cabin tilt), 2 compressor pumps, and 2 small actuators (1 for 5th wheel, 1 for pressure regulator). The time involved in synthesizing all those tubes in incomprehensible. And finally let's put it all together to see what's going on inside this monster. (Bigger versions at Bricksafe.) I think I am going to build this truck. I knew it was enormous, but it is hard to picture just how big it is so I decided to compare it to the 8041 race truck. Wow.

You won't regret it. This car does not have a complicated gearbox, but it's driving performance is excellent. It was very popular with the crowd at BrickCon.

Check the LDD forum here on Eurobricks. There are lots of tutorials. I've also written a series of tutorials for HispaBrick magazine. I've never used LDD to POV-Ray converter, so I can't comment on it's efficiency. I will say that LGEO parts which are written in native POV-Ray language code are much more efficient than just meshing a part with triangles. However, geometry size is not the main factor in render time. The main factor is lighting. If you are using HDR lights or radiosity, the render takes MUCH longer and the settings you use for these has a huge impact. I use MLCAD as an editor, LDView as a viewer and POV-Ray converter, and POV-Ray to render. I use the LGEO library for parts whenever possible.

From the time I click "run" until I have an image is usually 15 to 30 minutes, but the time it takes to get the file to the point where I can click run is usually several hours. If I have to make the file from scratch, the process can be weeks or months. My computer is unremarkable. Just a mid-range Dell laptop. When I first started rendering in 2007 I spent weeks and weeks playing with settings to get everything to look good and run fast, and I've pretty much stuck with those settings ever since.

I think the different sites have different purposes. If you actually want to present your MOC, then mocpages is a good place to do it because of the reasons you listed. Of those you listed, I currently only actively use Bricksafe. This is because I just want a place to store images and easily organize and resize them, and it is perfect for that. The main advantage of rebrickable is that you can actually include a complete parts list (and that site is created by the same guy as Bricksafe). Brickshelf is also really just an image hosting site, but has some greater ability to browse randomly compared to Bricksafe. Both are LEGO only. I'm not into Flickr but it seems to be the most popular of all. Getting it all set up is too high a barrier to entry for me.

The flexible parts are indeed the most work. In some cases (like Dikkie Klijn's Tow Truck), I literally spent months of effort synthesizing all of them. The problem with hamsters is they won't sit still for the parsing. I can't take full credit for those pipes since RoscoPC actually modeled them and I just rendered them. However, my proudest exhaust pipes are these: Not from me. Any decision to release model files would have to come from the original designer. I don't consider myself the "owner" of any of the files so I would not feel comfortable releasing them. At this point I've completed uploading all the files I created for the book, so everyone feel free to peruse and enjoy. I'm not going to pick a favorite, but I am very proud of this image of Teknomeka. Go surf to the full size version, zoom in to full resolution, then sit back and drool at the awesomesauce. The X-Ray machine was turned up to "barbecue" on this one.

For $200 you are going to need to stick to one that is not motorized. Any of Crowkillers' models would be good candidates, or Jurgen's Sunbeam.

This topic has nothing to do with Technic so I'm moving it to "General Discussion" where you will get more feedback.

This is off topic since those models are not in the book, but in general I try to make at least a few renders for anyone who asks me to. The prerequisite is that there must be an LDraw file of the MOC.

There's plenty of room! Some long time EB members have 8 or more tags.

Effectively, yes. I make two renders with identical camera settings and lighting, then I overlay them and reduce the opacity of the full model to 20%. No there isn't. I thought about putting them all in one place, but I don't want to remove all incentive to get the book! There are no instructions for the Hurricane, and as far as I know Nathanael has no intention of making any. He was concerned that people may not find the model up to his high quality standards because it cannot drive. If you want to build a Hurricane, GuilliuG has a great one with full instructions.

Hmmm, good question. I don't think I have built every one of them, but probably the majority. I've certainly built the 3 used as examples in my first post!

During the course of my work on Sariel's new book, "Incredible Technic", I made ~150 high resolution renders. I'm pleased to announce that I am making these available to everyone for free at my Bricksafe account. Many of these pictures are 2400x1800 pixels in size and make excellent wallpaper images, or even look great printed. If you are one of the builders who has models in the book or are just a fan of Technic, feel free to grab a copy. I only ask that you please do not remove my watermark from the images and credited me if you post them anywhere. The images for each model are contained within the folder for that model. I've uploaded about half of them so far and should finish tomorrow. The images fall into three basic categories: General images with plain white backgrounds and diffuse shadows: Wireframe images for use inside the jacket of the book: Cutaway images showing the internal mechanical and electrical components. These are the images that I am most proud of and took the greatest amount of work. Some of the reviewers so far have indicated that they wish they could have had bigger versions of these images to study the internals more closely, and now their wish is granted!

There was a topic here on EB about that Sugar Beet Harvester that didn't get many replies which is too bad because the model is just incredible. Surf on over and take a look!

Well, I've built it and I would say that it does function correctly, however it is not intended to be a driving model. As a demonstration of a way to do mechanical 4 wheel steering switching to zero turn steering, it works great and as advertised. It just does not drive. However, GuiliuG later made his own Hurricane which I think does really drive and has full instructions. I have not built this one but I have built some of his other models and can attest to the excellence of his designs.

That thread has 17 pages of information about 3rd party tires. If you don't find that to be enough information, you are probably not going to get anything better by starting a new topic. "Which are good" totally depends on what you are looking for, but there are at least a dozen varieties that different users found to be good in that thread. That thread is also full of links about where to buy them. In general, just surf to any online R/C store.

People may have differing opinions, but I don't think anyone should be making a MOC in order to try to get it in the Hall of Fame. Just make a MOC that challenges you and that you enjoy building. If it makes it to the Hall of Fame, that's a bonus, but very few models end up there so don't have any expectations.

Of course the reason that Nathanael Kuipers' Jeep Hurricane model uses two engines is because the real Hurricane uses two engines. If I had to guess, I'd bet that the engineers at Jeep did this because they wanted more power but didn't have the PD budget for a new engine. Two engines also has some weight distribution advantages. That fascinating zero turning radius ability was the whole reason he built this model. He wanted to figure out how to do the whole thing mechanically (and succeeded). You can read more about his model here.

The official release date is January 1, but in many years past the new sets have arrived in the LEGO retail stores in the middle of December.

I agree for things like HOG steering, but for driving linear actuators using a gear as an input is terrible. That's the part I was remembering.

Sounds a lot like the old crank handle they used circa 2004. It would be really nice if they would go back to using cranks for manual functions instead of the now ubiquitous black 12 tooth double bevel gear.

But it looks so cute down there! Good catch, I'm fixing it now. No idea. Finishing these group pictures was the main hurdle I had to clear before I moved on. I have already begun some of the page layout for 1997, but not much more than that. There are a tremendously large number of models for 1997 and 1998. You get the award for looking the most closely. I don't think I ever would have noticed that. That was intentional. The big group renders take an enormous amount of memory, and in many cases the majority of that is synthesized elements like wires and tubes. I suppressed many of these elements for the big renders to make it run faster assuming no one would notice. Apparently I was wrong! Don't worry, I still have the wires and I will be using them on the detailed renders of 42009.