CP5670

I would probably go with monorails. The actual monorail trains are pretty limited in what you can do with them, but the track can be laid out in all 3 dimensions and offers far more possibilities for interesting layouts. It's not just the fact that the track is elevated, but the system contains ramps that easily let you change the elevation.

If you're referring to the thing in the picture JCC posted, I always like to have more of those. Those sprues have several uses, especially in Space models. They used to be placed in sets like that until 1992. As far as I know, TLG started to manufacture the pieces individually at that point, without the sprues, but it's possible that the mold has remained the same and the sprue is simply removed at the factory.

I was just pointing out the particular 8857 picture you were referring to. I have a whole bunch of the 1993 Technic catalogs with that picture.

That looks like a great mod. I might want to try it myself at some point. The full load current is pretty high and would trip the current limiters on most of the old 9V power sources. I guess the PF battery box is designed to be able to handle it.

I didn't understand what this was supposed to be as a kid, and only found out many years later. Definitely one of the more obscure concepts TLG has used for Technic. It was probably the first Technic set where they really focused on the looks though. It has a lot of cosmetic details compared to earlier Technic sets. Even the chain is a decoration, as it doesn't connect the drivetrain to anything. It used to be pretty cheap on ebay too, at least a few years ago. I got two unopened ones for about $40 each at some point. That would be this one, right?

Best: 5974 Galactic Enforcer and 8265 Front Loader. Both sets are nearly perfect in my book. 5974 is a little pricey but I think it's the best large Space flagship TLG has ever made. 8265 is quite large and mechanically sophisticated for its price, and a worthy successor to 8459. Worst: Not sure, I don't pay much attention to sets or themes I don't like. The 5980 Squidman's Pitstop and 5971 Gold Heist are pretty bad though, and the 8264 Hauler was also a lousy set for the price. It's a good thing the later Technic sets in the year easily made up for it.

Someone here used to have an image of a bug wandering around in their signature. If your eyes weren't focusing on it directly, it actually looked like there was something running on your screen. I can't remember now who it was, but I remember seeing it around the time I registered here.

Where do you live? If you buy within the same country, shipping will typically be something like $2-5 for parts, and maybe $10-15 for large sets. The only way anything will cost $100 to ship is if it's international and the item has a massive box. The highest shipping price I ever paid there was $60, and that was for a 5571 coming from France.

A search threw up this, which might work. Otherwise, your best bet is to use the original software on it. You might need Dosbox to get it to run. To be honest, the whole system is probably more trouble than it's worth today and has been superseded by the PF control elements, although I can see why you would want to get it working if you already have the CLI. That's what I have heard too. I was thinking of buying one some years ago, but passed on it after learning about that. It seems to be a limitation of the hardware itself.

I see a lot of people bring up Lego's supposedly huge quality advantage in these threads, and most of that talk is based on outdated knowledge. Lego is probably still the best out there overall, but the differences between Lego and the best clones are far less pronounced than they were some years ago, and TLG is largely living off their old reputation for quality today. In fact, I've heard that some of the clones actually have more printed and/or chromed pieces these days than Lego. It's called being a fanboy. Not worth trying to understand the fanboy mentality.

This MOC (not mine) is probably the best example I've seen of a winter landscape.

It's great to see Technic in minifig-scale sets if it actually adds functionality to the set. However, a number of sets have used Technic construction just to build a frame, which results in empty and hollow models and is probably only being done to save on production costs. I do agree with you about the profusion of colors in basic Technic pieces, and it looks bad even on the actual Technic models these days. The tan pieces look fine, but the blue and red ones really stand out on some models.

This is probably my favorite set among the entire Aquazone line. The sub looks very sleek and is shaped just like the shark the set comes with. It also has a lot of interior room and includes a large number of rare pieces. Most of the trans-orange windscreens are actually unique to this set, as are the blue BURP, black tail piece and printed 1x4x3 hinge panel. The only downside is that the "cave" is not much of a base at all. The blue crater baseplate is great, but they could have done a lot more with it. The set was surprisingly cheap on ebay and BL a few years ago, and I got two unopened copies for around $35 each. The prices have gone up since then though.

I just got around to looking at the video. The piston is remarkably precise, much more so than I guessed from the pictures, and once again you have explained its working principles clearly. I'm going to try building it myself from your description in the video. Yes, I've learned a number of things about pneumatics from just browsing his Brickshelf gallery in the past. This sort of stuff is what Technic is all about to me, creativity with the mechanisms.

Great MOC. It packs quite a bit of functionality into a fairly moderate space. The front steering is a nice idea and makes good use of the 3L U-joints, and I like how you positioned the IR receivers too. I think the pictures posted in this thread don't give a good idea of its size or mechanical complexity. The model looks a lot more impressive in the side views on Brickshelf. That, and everyone has probably been busy in real life like me.

I have two and I don't use either of them, for reasons discussed in the other thread.

I use it for voice chat while playing games with friends. The sound quality is better than most gaming oriented VoIP programs (like Ventrilo or Teamspeak), and it allows several people to talk in one channel (unlike, say, Google Talk). It's a bit of a memory hog though, so I don't leave it open all the time.

I never used this service for the same reasons. Most generic parts are cheaper on Bricklink, and LDD as a design tool is much less powerful than SR3D or MLCad. They need to expand their parts selection a lot more, to the point that they are adding value over Bricklink stores in some way.

Nice. And it's a 1991 copy too, so it doesn't have the bad friction pins I described earlier. Now show us what it looks like when it's built.

This is a great concept and you've explained it well too. I like how the mechanism is fairly simple given what it does, and can be realistically used in an actual model.

I like this set too. Rench would fit in perfectly into my Blacktron 1 collection. I can't tell what color that windscreen is though. Is it trans-dark blue or medium blue? These helmets look new to me. Aquaraiders just used the standard helmet, although with a printed logo on top.

The PF lights are basically designed for trains and Technic vehicles, and might not work well for buildings. They emit a fairly focused beam straight ahead, as opposed to the old 9V lights that gave off more of an omnidirectional glow. In other words, they look bright from the front but dim from the sides, so they don't do a great job of lighting up other things around them.

I don't think the Galactic Enforcer suffers from that. There are some large pieces, but they are either rare and useful ones (like the transparent cockpits) or it uses them in an unusual and creative way (the airplane hull pieces). This was a hallmark of the old space sets too. This set has really impressed me and I think it's easily as good as any of the old 698x flagships from the past. It is obviously intended to appeal to both kids and adults, and largely succeeds at that. On the other hand, I haven't been nearly as impressed by the rest of the theme. I got some of the small, sub-$10 sets just for the minifigs. The aliens are always great to have, and the GE has a lot of room for additional cops.

I think two small pumps is enough for a model of typical size. The main advantage of having two pumps over one is that you can arrange them in a double-acting configuration, so you get air pumped twice as fast without any extra load on the motor. This is basically what the existing large pump is. You can actually remove the spring from it to make it more suitable for a compressor. The small pump used to still work better with the old 71427 motors, but the much more powerful motors we have today might work well on the large pump.

The new pieces are discussed in detail on TechnicBricks. The pin could be handy for a lot of things, and I think the new 20t bevel gear is idle and spins freely around its axle. So far, the dark gray 16t gear is the only such gear we have, aside from the differentials. Now if only they would make a 24t version, which would be a lot more useful. This sounds very interesting. I think the latter possibility seems more likely, unless they actually plan to include the small pump with the set as a spare part. TLG has in fact used a motorized large pump in one place before, a pictured "Recycler" robot on the RIS box I believe. I've heard people talk about the model but have never seen it. The PF M motor is also quite a bit more powerful than the old 71427 motors and should handle the large pump reasonably well, even with the spring.