CP5670

To run the PF trains at 9V, you could just put them on 9V tracks and use a 9V motor to pick up power for the PF motor (so you would have two motors), although I don't know how well they would operate together. The existing PF extension cable lets you convert between 9V and PF, although it doesn't work on all PF components. The XL motors are in fact used at 9V in Technic sets like 8275. (at least in principle; as you said, it will be in the 7-8V range after some use) It does seem to defeat the point if the battery pack costs that much. However, it allows TLG to include the cheaper tracks with sets and sell the more expensive PF components separately. Speaking of the tracks, one of the images posted on the last page suggest that the flexible track is the only kind of track in this system. Has that been confirmed?

This has some excellent detail, especially the 1x1 bricks used as missile pods. The 4-wheel steering system is a great addition as well.

Nice article. Not all the sets and themes are necessarily bad, just weird. We were talking about that 6951 set in the space forum here just a few weeks ago. I see they noticed the same thing about Mars Mission's odd story as people here have.

Yeah, but I generally don't like to use batteries in Technic models either for that reason. As I mentioned earlier though, the wall powered 9V sources provide more power than even a brand new set of 6x1.5V batteries. I wonder what happens if you run motors off this PF battery pack while it's actually plugged in. If the battery pack can be simply used an interface for the transformer and output the full 9V, bypassing the actual battery completely, that would make it a lot more handy for me. (although it would be expensive if only used for that purpose)

The 7.4V is disappointing. That would make it less useful for Technic models as well. Some of the train components have always been very overpriced though. I think that battery box is still a much better deal than the old 9V speed regulator, which was a similar price for essentially just an on/off switch with a potentiometer. The new controller is quite reasonably priced though. Most elements in the PF line have been significantly cheaper than their 9V counterparts, including the motors, polarity switches and lights. I don't think the 7.4V will affect trains too much in comparison to the 9V system. The catalog suggests they will run off the XL motor, which is way more powerful than the older ones.

Wow, those German auctions look even more extreme than the US ones I've seen. That 6990 monorail went for double what I paid for mine a few months ago. It's interesting how small sets from the 80s always command a much higher premium relative to their original prices, compared to big sets from the same period. This has always been the case as long as I can remember. I follow ebay Lego prices fairly regularly and have not seen any difference from the global recession. MISB sets in general cost the same or more than they used to be.

That was awesome. The caller's voice actually fits the Lego guy quite well too. :laugh:

Cool model, and you explained everything in a lot of detail too. It's good to see more people getting into Technic MOCing around here. The front suspension is quite an interesting design. I can see how that would be smoother than the standard system used on 8422 or 8838, where the shocks had a tendency to lock up on sharp turns as you said. I think the latter is definitely a better idea, at least for the seat.

I actually liked the earlier theme better, just in terms of the colors.

This is quite large and impressive, and even more so for a first MOC. The pneumatic door is especially unique and something I haven't seen before in a Technic model. I have always thought that the various types of ground support vehicles for planes have a lot of potential for interesting Technic models, but haven't seen many of them on Brickshelf.

Same here. These box picture alternates were a nice addition to sets and emphasized the idea of open ended building with Lego, but it was rare to find anything among them that was actually good. I frequently stared at the box pictures as a kid, but hardly ever built those models myself. Only the largest sets had enough pieces for interesting alternates. Many of the Creator sets still have these models though, some with instructions and others without (and the models there are better designed than most of the old box picture ones). Technic sets also include alternate models with full instructions, as they always have.

This is quite original and fits your green theme perfectly. It actually looks more like a radio transmitter of some sort. I can't tell how the second pair of lights works though (the ones in the middle). Or is that just part of the photo? I find the crystals work great as light-up bricks. They fit perfectly on top of the 9V lights, as seen here.

LDraw itself is only the parts library, but the package you can download there includes MLCad, which is the most common program to use with it. LDD should really only be used if you want to buy the model from Factory. It's designed for a different purpose than MLCad and other such programs, so the parts library is much smaller and includes only what is on PAB at the time.

This is a great MOC. I especially like the engine made of the trans-green goblets and the scissor list mechanism. It might be better to move back the top tail fin slightly though, so that it's aligned with the other two.

The box designs are very nice. Are there trans-red components in that 5980 set? It's hard to tell if that is actually trans-red or if the picture is just oversaturated. One reason I'm not so keen on the bad guy sets (although their minifigs are great) is the lack of colored transparent windows, at least in the ones we saw earlier.

How about construction vehicles or anything Blacktron I? Yellow in general is a fine color; it's the modern, megablok-like yellow that some of us have a problem with.

Yeah, Bricklink prices tend to be a lot cheaper than PAB for most pieces, especially generic ones like bricks and plates. You will get a better selection there as well.

What theme is this model in? Certain themes and construction techniques (SNOT, etc.) require a lot more planning than others. Technic models are probably the most extreme cases of this. It is quite easy to screw up and have to redo large parts of the model if you don't have a good idea of how everything will be laid out before you actually start building. I've ended up abandoning a few Technic MOCs halfway through in the past because unexpected issues came up that couldn't be easily resolved (this was one example). For large models, I draw a very rough outline in MLCad before I actually start building, so I can better visualize the overall shape and dimensions. This is especially useful for Space models. I build kind of slowly in general, so some of my larger projects have gone on for a year or more and easily spanned a couple hundred hours.

The Brickfactory site has scans of stickers for many sets, in addition to the instructions. The printing is one of many places where TLG's overall philosophy has changed to some extent in the last few years. They are all about cost cutting these days on the manufacturing side of things, instead of maximum quality at any cost as once used to be the case. If you go back even four or five years, there were a lot more printed parts (especially pieces that were unique to a set) than there are today. I always prefer printing unless the base piece is something rare, but stickers are generally okay with me as long as they are printed on transparent paper (which is more resistant to long term damage) and don't span multiple parts. The only thing is that it can take a few minutes to align them perfectly.

I haven't really noticed this, but I don't have that many red bushings. The bushing in general is a little prone to cracking after a lot of use though, regardless of the color. It has always been a problem with them over the years, although TLG has tweaked them a lot over time and I think they are better now than they once used to be. The same can be said about some types of axle connectors, especially this one. Most Lego pieces are quite robust and will last for decades if you aren't too rough on them, but a few of these basic Technic pieces are more prone to issues.

Yeah, I've become the color quality freak around here. Frankly, this issue irritates me more than anything else TLG has done and has severely limited my S@H and Bricklink purchases, so I want to find out any news about it that I can. You can't even tell what you're getting on Bricklink anymore. If people say that the colors have been fully fixed though, I'm going to start buying a lot more things. Did you specifically get any 2x3 bricks in the sets where the bricks looked good? It's always best to compare the same kind of piece, since even if they have fixed the problem at the production level, they will still have large stockpiles of the bad bricks and it could be a year or more before their old supply runs out fully. We were still getting a few bricks made of the old, colored ABS pellets in early 2008 sets, even though the changes had been made in late 2006. The same applied to the rough and smooth slopes. When you say "standard," do they look more like the left or right one in this picture to you? There are some pieces made of different plastics that have always had slightly different shades. I am mainly referring to ABS pieces like bricks and plates here, as I'm looking for compatibility with my largely pre-2004 Lego collection. Transparent colors are great. I like all of them (except when they get heavily overused like trans-black), but my favorites might be trans-red and trans-neon green. I especially like how the latter reacts strongly to UV light, as seen here). There hasn't been enough in the way of diverse transparent colors in the last 7 or 8 years. The vast majority of windshields in many themes have been trans-black. This was one good thing about Mars Mission, despite all its faults. It brought back interesting transparent colors after quite some time.

This effect seems to be limited to certain kinds of pieces. I have had fragments come off antennas and similarly shaped pieces even on display models, but most other pieces have no problems as long as you aren't excessively rough with them. You can do what I usually do and point a low power fan at your hands while you're building. That keeps your hands dry and prevents fingerprints from getting on anything. I think I remember you saying a few months ago that it looked like the yellow was getting better?

My favorite is definitely black. I use it more than anything else in my MOCs, and it's one of the few that has been immune to quality variations in the last few years. For the most part, I stick with the 7 or 8 classic, pre-1997 colors in my MOCs. I have a lot more pieces in them than the newer colors and their "bright" look creates a nice contrast with black for the types of things I build. I do like tan and lime green as well, even though I don't have a lot of pieces in those colors. As for colors I don't like, maybe trans-black to some extent. My beef isn't with the color itself, but I think it has become way overused in sets since it came out 10 years ago. It has almost replaced trans-white/clear and trans-light blue in many themes. Pearl gold looks pretty bad from that picture as well (a far cry from chrome gold or even metallic gold), and I remember the TLG guy at Brickfair saying he hated that color too, but I don't actually have any pieces in it myself.

Maybe I should change the original post to read "wheels." These are massive and totally dwarf anything else we've seen in Technic. I think the 62x46 here refers to only the hub and not the tire, which also indicates how big they are. The 68.8x24 is very nice too. The only issue is that they are so rare and expensive today, unlike the 62.4x20.

What is your favorite type of wheel among the large-scale vehicle themes? (Technic, Model Team, Creator, Racers, etc.) You can find a list here. My choice is the old 20x30, made of a hard foam-like material and used in many 80s and early 90s Technic sets. Its medium size and flat shape make it quite versatile and it works well on almost any type of construction vehicle or off-road truck. The tire is long out of production, but the hub is interestingly still around and used as a decorative piece in some themes. The 62.4x20 is a close second for me and has the same dimensions. It's good that they have become common in recent years after their initially limited introduction in 1997. However, I like how the foam tires hold up heavy models better than the modern rubber ones.