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Blakbird

Technic Regulator
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Everything posted by Blakbird

  1. Blakbird
    I didn't suggest using them as a switch for a motor. In fact, the only touch sensors I have are those that came with the 8479 barcode truck. They both stopped working, I replaced them several years ago, and they have since stopped working again.
  2. Blakbird
    Yes.
  3. Blakbird
    I did a review of some books about Lego guns earlier this year. You'll find a lot of good ideas in there. http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=85245
  4. Blakbird
    I don't keep track of that kind of information because my wife might use it against me. It was a substantial number of blue parts, many of which are rare, so the cost was significant. However, I now have a surplus of red parts which were removed that I'm sure will find another home. If I simply subtract the parts list of the original model from the blue model to see the difference, Brickstore tells me that the conversion would cost ~$110 USD at average Bricklink prices. A big portion of that is the servo. On the other hand, the value of the parts being removed from the red model is ~$80, so the conversion to blue adds about $30 in value.
  5. Blakbird
    I "finished" building the blue version this weekend. It is not quite finished due to the fact that LEGO has not sent me the servos I ordered yet, so the changes are all cosmetic rather than mechanical. I think the front end and the doors worked out really well. One big change is that the panels immediately aft of the door are now part of the door instead of being independently attached to the chassis. The part I like the least is the rear quarter panels. The lack of the properly fitting blue panels means that there is a lot of empty space back there, and there is no structrual attachment between the rear end (which swivels open at the bumper) and the rear window. Only the flex axles hold it together. Not exactly ideal, but I love the blue. Hopefully I will be able to improve it as more parts become available. I seem to recall that the 5x11 panels may be available in blue this year which would help the hood, but what I really need are the 11x3 curved, #3, #4, #17, and #18. If anyone has any ideas on how to improve the integration of the rear, I'd be happy to hear them.
  6. Blakbird
    Those old touch sensors seem very unreliable. Many of mine also no longer work. I suspect internal corrosion. Keep in mind that this is not really anything as fancy as a "touch sensor", it is just a momentary switch. When it is pushed, it should make contact and close the circuit. Otherwise the circuit is open. There are no electronics involved. From that point of view, there is really nothing that can go wrong with it other than broken or corroded contacts.
  7. Blakbird
    Since you are selling the exact same instructions on your website, which Lego obviously knows, it will be interesting to see if they also try to send you some sort of "cease and desist" letter. At least then they would have to explain themselves. Or maybe it is just some eBay watchdog overstepping their responsibility. Anecdotal evidence would suggest that the Lego Technic team knows about you and approves (the PB3 references).
  8. Blakbird
    I have a file for the stickers if you are interested. I never got around to posting it with the instructions.
  9. Blakbird
    I also found it very difficult to find those parts. The good news is that they are completely hidden underneath the access compartment that opens beneath the rear seat. If you use black parts instead, no one will ever know. Or you could even use old light gray.
  10. Blakbird
    Here's another one. I just built it. http://rebrickable.com/mocs/Denver3000/rc-swingloader http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=85320&hl=swingloader
  11. Blakbird
    You can enter but your chances of winning are not very high.
  12. Blakbird
    Amazing pneumatic model. You must have miles of tubing in this thing, and it is all very well hidden. I wish LEGO would make a fully pneumatic model again.
  13. Blakbird
    I understand, thanks for the explanation. Having built the Defender, I am interested to see how the transmission building style has changed with the "Gen 3" sequential gearbox.
  14. Blakbird
    Most American muscle cars came with automatic transmissions with the gear selection on the steering column, but the real racers used manual transmissions. A "Hurst Shifter" was an aftermarket addition to allow sequential shifting which nearly all serious racers used. So when I see a Mustang with a sequential gearbox, I think of Hurst.
  15. Blakbird
    I also recommend any of the excellent free truck instructions from Designer Han.
  16. Blakbird
    Curse you for making me spend all my money!! Seriously though, this is an amazing car. The subject was immediately recognizable without any description. Your use of a plethora of angle connectors and flex axles really captured the lines of this car. Even if it were just a sculpture it would be a great model, but I see that it has your signature technical accuracy as well. With that sequential gearbox, does it have a Hurst shifter? I see that you used a servo motor for the gearbox. The Defender 90 used an XL motor. Do you find that the servo has enough torque?
  17. Blakbird
    Han is a master at motorized trucks, so if he says there is no space then I would take his word for it. I have built this truck and it is very heavy and dense. However, with LEGO there is always a way so good luck to you! Let us know what you come up with. As someone who's built all of Han's trucks, I can say that I appreciate that this one has no motors. While PF is interesting, I found that I only used the motors the day I built the models and the rest of the time I found myself wishing there were no motors so it would be easier to just push around. Note that Han's models all come with a "motor decoupling" feature so it is not hard to disengage the motors if you want to. Mine are almost always disengaged.
  18. Blakbird
    Model Team sets said "Model Team" on the box, so that's a pretty easy way to know for sure. You can find a list of them at Brickset. Many people find that some of the later Creator models could have fit in with the Model Team style.
  19. Blakbird
    I don't want to distribute the file to more than one person because each person will make different mods and then we'll end up with multiple versions of the file. Let's see how Cyclotron does and then go from there.
  20. Blakbird
    You can build pretty much anything you like in any style you like. How "Technicy" they are and how closely related the models are will obviously have an impact on the judging. I think covering Technic with Model Team is perfectly legitimate and might even get you some style points. "Things from my living room" doesn't sound very exciting, but maybe you will surprise us!
  21. Blakbird
    Absolutely amazing work. LEGO should give you a personal thanks for the amount of positive PR you generated. I'm inspired to try to do something similar. I find that Technic doesn't get much love at conventions in the USA, and it looks like you had a similar experience that parents and kids are not even aware of Technic. This kind of display gets them interested very quickly! I can see from the videos that you experienced the same problems with IR that I did at BrickCon. IR works very poorly especially in bright fluorescent light. The kids needed to stand right next to the model in order for the signal to be received. I occasionally lament that they did not use RF, but I understand why they didn't.
  22. Blakbird
    This contest fits in very well with the new "Construction Crew" set for 1H2014 which I believe would meet all the requirements for size and topic. It will be interesting to see how the entries compare with that official set, even though we don't know what it looks like yet.
  23. Blakbird
    I used that switch as a "master pneumatic disconnect". I routed the compressor to the air tank and then to this switch, so all the supply runs through this switch. I later asked Grazi about it and he said he didn't use that switch at all, it was just part of his prototype. It is unnecessary. You can omit it if you like. I think you might be right that he had it there at one point to allow the connection of an external hand pump. Doesn't make any difference. Hook them up in whatever order seems logical to you. I don't know what order Grazi used, I just hooked them up in the order that I installed the tubing. Again, doesn't make any difference. Just use the same order you use for the switches to keep the routing neat. Routing of the air tank and switch is as described in 1. above.
  24. Blakbird
    No, 9396 only has collective. There has never been a Technic helicopter set with cyclic or with a proper swashplate. A couple of models including 8856 tilted the whole rotor but this is not how cyclic works.
  25. Blakbird
    Yes, I made my own 24 tooth clutch as you suggested. It works really well. You're welcome! It was very popular. I used it to load bricks into Han's Hauler and Dump Truck. You can see some of my photos from BrickCon at Bricksafe. This one will stay assembled. I already have a spot picked out on my shelf for it. It is my only swingloader, so it would be a shame to take it apart.
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