Saberwing40k

I'd pay about 5 euros, but not for LDD insteructions. and by the way, might you have gotten that model from somewhere? Well, it'll be a race to the finish.

No, the "real" tucks can not rotate their wheels through 360 degrees, or crab steer, as I recall. Just check out the site for animations. Well, yes and no. For a certain value of real, as in they are being considered for production, but are only currently in the design stage. But no, the trucks do not exist in real life, yet. But to be fair, neither do these models. Here's the site: http://www.etftrucks.eu/

Okay, how many functions do you need the torso to have? If you need two, I may be able to come up with something for you. Edit: and now I do: As a short explanation, the axle with the yellow bush rotates the turntable, the one with the blue bush controls 1function, and the one with the green bush controls the other. I'm going to leave how to mount and motorize this up to you. Also, if you need more views, or want to import it into your LDD model, just click here.

Well, I've got to update this thread sometime or other, but for now, a little comparison with Efferman's truck: ... Yikes, his is huge! Mine is only slightly smaller, but it is far more compact, and simpler. Looks like he's having problems with the drive train, so he switched to individual motors like I did. However, I also switched having all wheels powered by 2 XL motors, but I'm going to switch back to each axle being powered by an individual motor, just not on the axle. More updates will come later. P.S. importing both models into LDD nearly crashed the computer I was working on. 6060 pieces, whew.

Well, I've uploaded my version to my Brickshelf Gallery, including the .lxf file. Should be moderated fairly soon. Pics:

Has anyone considered that the mythical 42003 would be either the winning technic challenge entry, or the tuning set? I mean, I doubt that Lego would release another silly pull back racer, especially with nothing to combine it with, so it might be something else. Also, I would not discount the possibility of 42009 having non mechanized slewing , as 9397, 8110, and 8258 all have motorized slewing, and 42009 coud have that, and have some kind of mechanism that can be back driven, or have some kind of overrider clutch. It's truly a shame that they could not implement some kind of sequencer, like Nazgarot's.

@DLuders: I have made new versions of both my substitute servo and L motor, they now how have all the correct pin holes, so could you post the link to those instead?

I've successfully made a version of this gearbox, and I've made some changes. The ratcheting gearbox has been switched out for a crawling worm gear, allowing the use of an XL motor for power. It's a great design, and I've managed to make it fairly compact, and eliminate some of the 8 tooth gears.

How did you all get those LA's in different lengths in the first place? That trick would be useful to know. Anyway, no pictures yet, but I am making a new axle, only sort of like efferman's. This has turned into an interesting rivalry.....

Do you have any idea how hard that would be? Oh wait, that could work, albleit with some difficulty, and it would not be that precise. Due to the fact that I'd have to use many 8 tooth gears, there would be a lot of backlash, and the gears introduce the potential for breakage.

Oops, I forgot to attach it. It'll be attached to this. I may or may not have forgotten to put a u joint in the torque tube joint, but that should be easy. Okay, test away! Also, and this is for everybody, I need a steering system. Does anyone have any ideas? etfaxle.lxf

Nope, Unimog wheels would not work. See below. And it's probably going to be gray and white, or yellow and black, instead. Correct, they would be far to wide. Even with the narrow tires, getting the axle to be that small was a bear. 24 x 43 tires are still to wide, and too uncommon. I can buy these wheels and tires from Lego Direct, on the other hand. Okay, all that aside, I need some help. I need to test the design of the axles in real life, but I don't have any L motors. If anybody has a spare L motor and wants to help, just download the file attached to this post. Also, I need a better way to connect the springs, so could you all help with that and post pictures in this thread when done? Also, please ask if you want to do this, so I know who's involved and doing what. P.S. The first post is being updated with more details.

Here ya go: Old Shames

It's exactly what it says on the box: What is your worst MOC? C'mon, don't be shy, everyone has them. What didn't you like about it? Did it not work as intended, or simply ugly? To keep things friendly, you may only put a post in this thread about your own creations. We're not bashing anybody here, okay? To start, I've got my AAV-12 mech. The coler scheme needed work, and it could not stand, but it proved my point, and it isn't one of your usual technic creations, either. I also tried to make a five axle portable tower crane, but like a bunch of my other stinkers, no pictures were taken.

Oh yes, but to me it looks more like a system set. Gotta say, I'm really spoiled with some of the new stuff. Except for the part where it says Technic right there on the box. I actually kind of like those sets, I was just surprised that nobody else mentioned them. I think you're right. I go for the vehicles that are more skelatal, believe it or not. I like how some vehicles in technic are just distilled to the functions of the machine they are representing, and just have an implied skin. I'd have to disagree, it looks pretty good, is simple, yet fun to play with, and it has a technic fig. Honestly, what more could you want from a set? Of course, maybe you don't care about that, or whatever. Like Blakbird said, one man's turd is another man's favorite set.

A work in progress version of a 400 ton ETF truck. More info soon. Edit: some quick stats: 28 wheels, 14 L motors, 14 turntables, and 2438 parts as of right now. So, yes, it's really big. When I started this project, it was smaller, scaled down to the only type of wheels I had the right quantity of. Much to my dismay, they were far too wide for scale. I tried literally every other tire in my collection, and got the same result, except for these tires. Even so, building the axles was a pain, I'll tell you why tomorrow. Update: The axles were a major pain in the butt to build because of the fact that I had to include a differential in a module only 5 studs wide. However, this first iteration (shown above) was not strong enough, or geared down enough. So, I modified it, keeping the same torque tube design , but with the c bracket turned on it's side in order to accomodate portal axles. I also moved the motor from on the axle to a spot within the chassis. My model is currently roughly the same size as the one efferman is making, but since I have more motors (14 versus 10) and hopefully less weight overall, mine will be far more powerful. It also helps that these motorcycle tires are very, very grippy. The chassis was also updated, with the frame rails now being 5 studs apart, providing room for the steering servo motor, and steering reduction gearboxes. Also shown in this picture is the power module, with 6 receivers. 4 of the six will be slaved together, and provide power to the L motors. the remaining 2 will control the rotation of the bed, the tilt of the bed, and trafficators. Yes, it's going to have turn signals, and likely flashing warning lights. And, thanks to the fact that this model has a lot of internal room, I can include several engines, likely two supercharged v8s The red beams on the chassis merely mark the outlines of the cab and dump bed, and will disappear by the time this is finished. The bed is currently in the prototype stage, as I am still working on the bed lift, and how the whole shebang is going to connect to the chassis. March Update: This project is moving forward, albleit slowly. The mechanism for the turn signals is complete, but I have no photos. I'm actually building the truck as 3 sub models (the front, the rear, and the dump bed), due to the fact that the computer can't really process LDD models above 2500-600 parts. The engines have been incased, and will be lit from below. P.S. Does anybody know if you can slave an M motor to the same channel as the servo motor, and have the M motor continoulsy rotate even if the servo stops? And, it's update time. I've started on the cab, which will have seats, and house the trafficators. No, the yellow and black colors aren't a mistake. Those will be the final production colors. Rear view: this view shows the trafficators. The bottom motor is slaved to the steering channel. (I hope that it is possible to do that with an M and servo motor.), and the top motor is slaved to the drive mechanism, giving the model flashing warning lights. If you all are wondering what happened to the rest of the truck, I had to divide up the model so that the computer would stop freezing. The dump bed has also been rearranged, and has the linear actuators, but not their drive motors or shafts. Still to do: Finalize dump bed frame. Finalize turntable connection, and add motor. Add motors to control bed lift. Add bed front and back walls, and dump gate. Finish cab. Mount Trafficators Finish bulking up frame. Colorize. Real life testing. Make instructions. So yeah, lots to do, since this is a school project, I can afford to work on this a lot. Should hopefully be done by late April/ early May.

I won't say that thes are the worst, but 9395, 9397, and 9398 are all pretty bad. 9395 dosen't have that many functions, and very inaccurate wheels and engine. same goes for 9397. The claw control on the claw? seriously? 9398 is really inaccurate, and the red chassis makes it look bad. It's also not a very technical model. 8041 above is also kind of bad at being anything other than a parts pack, as it has a grand total of two functions. Same goes for 8081. The absolute stinkers for me would have to be 855 and 857, which look absoultley terrible. I'm honestly surprised that nobody had mentioned the Competition/Cyber Slammers sets yet, as those are not exactly good either.

I spend about $250 US a year, as I almost invariably buy the flagship, except this year, when I bought 9396 and 8068 instead.

Eh, this isn't really new, that Kreo stuff has been around for awhile, and I don't really care if the joints are compatible, I'm not using them in any of my creations. Edit: Whoops, I thought you were reffering to something else. My bad. I dunno about the look, but buildable figures that are supposed to transform is something different

Pretty cool, could you provide instructions on how to make those compact, multi-section cranes?

Whaaaaat!!!!!! Crowkillers is not recommending his own model? The world's gone mad. Or not. I personally recommend the Vampire, in black. The parts aren't that hard to find. Most people complain about the rarity of the 19L flex axles, but there are alternatives. XT4, for instance, has two flexible axles of slightly different types, but identical length. So, if you buy those, everything is available from Lego Direct. However, the wheels are custom chromed, so there that. But, I think that more of the Vampire's parts are available, over NK's Concept Car, and the Vampire looks better, in my opinion. Or, you could take a third option: This beauty is very cool looking, and the instructions are freely available. However, good luck finding parts for this, as the sets are long out of production.

I filled a pick a brick cup with Technic parts at the Downtown Disney Lego store. 440 Technic parts for only $15 dollars , but this is probably a once in a million thing. (See my thread on this for more details as to why.)

So I was looking through all the interesting new Mindstorms stuff, and I've found a number of parts that are of potentially great interest to us Technic builders. In this thread I will discuss the three major new parts that have been seen so far, aside from the new P- brick and the sensors, obviously. 1. New 3x11 panels (the ones in the tracks.) Part#: 6031916 What it is: This part is a redesign of the existing 3x11 curved panel. it has 8 new pin holes, and should be much easier to connect to other parts. Potential use: Crane boom, unibody vehicles. This part would be good for a variety of things that need to be strong and curved, like the boom on a crane, or a vehicle with unibody construction. However, the additional pinholes make it a bit uglier. Hopefully, it will be produced alongside it's older sibling. 2. New track cleats. (the red bits on the track.) Part#: 6036424 What it is: a (hopefully) rubber cleat that attaches to the newer style track pieces. Potential use: Tracked vehicles, joysticks. This part would solve many problems with the new tracks, like poor traction, and noise. This piece could also be used to add detail, or make more comfortable seats and joysticks. It could also be used in robot grippers. I just hope they make them in colors other than red, cause that will stand out in any model vehicle. 3. Ball caster. Part#: 6023956 What it is: a steel ball that fits in the female torque tube joint. Potential use: Thrust bearings, ball casters, maybe roller bearings. This piece is a bit larger than a zamor sphere, and apparently fits fairly tightly in it's housing. The intended, and obvious use, is as a caster support for robots. However, I have thought up a different use, as a turntable support bearing for a large mobile crane. a set of maybe 8 of these units would be placed around the turntable in a rough circle, and take some of the load off of the turntable. This is a smaller, and cheaper solution over using Hailfire droid wheels and soccer balls. Hope you like.

I'm kind of wondering something: does the new P-brick have built in Bluetooth, or is that provided by attaching a separate dongle? If it is built in, one might be able to daisy chain older NXT bricks to the new ones, which would be quite helpful.

Holy crap! how did this dude make 100% Lego air turbines? I think we may have an interesting new form of Lego competition.