DrJB

It's a universally accepted fact that, after the dark ages, come the EXPENSIVE years.

Thank You. We must own-up to our mistakes and learn from them.

You could use a combination of and held together by friction pins The bricks would attach to the baseplate, the L-liftarm would attach to the brick, and the motor would attach to the L-liftarms. I just got mine yesterday ... a very promising part indeed.

This reminds me of 'Phonetic Punctuation' by Victor Borge. Look him up on YouTube ... He's hilarious

+1 Agree, 8459 is a must-have. PS. If you don't want to buy it, let me know, I might be interested

We had the same thought. I just started a thread on this very topic: 'Glass' in Technic!

Thank you Guys, your feedback is truly appreciated.

The use of Trans-Clear parts is wide-spread in many themes except Technic. Of course, headlights do not qualify. I was wondering how would fellow AFOLs feel about Trans-Clear parts to enhance styling. The first example that comes to mind is Conchas's 'Dune-Chaser', then there was a TC6 car entry (cannot find it now) where one of the fenders was made with Trans-Clear. Few years ago, when Technic was primarily about replicating 'functions', a thread like this one would make no sense. However, in recent days where there is a big emphasis on styling 'form & function', this appears relevant. What's YOUR take? Is there a need for Technic Trans-Clear and Glass parts? PS. I'm aware of the here-and-there parts such as the lift-arms in Star-Wars (below), but I would not call those a 'respectable' Technic assortment.

Good observation. However, not sure that the notch makes a difference. The reason is, when the 2L axle is inserted into 2x 2L connectors, the notch area is essentially 'stress-free'. The torsional load is transmitted by a very tiny part of the 2L axle: the part in between the 2x 2L connectors.

This is very clear (to me ). When you plug any device into an electrical supply, the voltage is decided by the power supply, and the current is decided by the impedance/resistance of the load. In addition, power supplies have a max-rated power to prevent them from overheating/melting. This means the max current out of the power supply is 'limited'. Nuances. I did not say transformers were perfect, but their efficiency is somewhere in between that of motors and heaters. I recall measuring the efficiency of a transformer during a physics course many many years ago, and the number was in the mid 80's. We seem to agree on this, it's cheap materials and poor workmanship that are responsible for low efficiency. So, back to our topic then, and to finalize the AC/DC discussion, Would you agree to the following? 1. Lego Train Controller and Technic Control Center can operate with either AC or DC power adapters. 2. There is a 4-diode rectifier bridge inside both controllers, followed by a cap (low pass filter) to smooth-out the ripple 3. If the adapter is AC, then the diode bridges rectifies the voltage 4. If the adapter is DC, then only 2 branches of the bridge get used, not all 4 of them. To me, it seems Lego choose to have their controllers operate on AC simply as a precautionary measure. No one knows how 'non-clean' the adapters from China would be, so Lego decided to do the conversion AC/DC internally in their controllers. It also could be a cost idea? An AC/AC power adapter might be cheaper than an AC/DC. In the end, the customer (you/me) is the ultimate winner as the controllers work with either AC/DC.

You need first to define what is 'stronger'. Some people (non engineers) define 'strength' as the max load a component would take before breaking. Others define strength as the net deformation under a given load. If you're looking for the max load before breaking, then both variants (a single long axle vs. one made with stacked 2L axles and 2L connectors) would have the same strength. The failure mode here is when the torsion-induced shear stress exceeds the max that the axle(s) can take. The 2L connectors will not fail as they are stronger/stiffer in torsion than the axles. If you're looking to get max torsional stiffness, then stacked 2L axles + connectors would definitely be much stiffer in torsion than a single long axle. Someone said once that engineering is 10% science and 90% terminology (people calling the same thing by different names). Case in point, in this specific case, you need to clarify EXACTLY what you mean by 'strong'. PS. In all above discussion, I have assumed that the failure mode is attributed to shear only. With long axles, sometimes imperfections in the geometry cause a bending mode in addition to twisting (so called non-pure twisting). In such case, the failure mode is due to both shear+normal stresses. Some call this torsional buckling.

Very nice. Looks like a TBM Tunnel Boring Machine.

It is a pleasant surprise to get LARGE new parts. This seems to happen only in Technic. In other themes, and over the past several years, there is an abundance of tiny new parts.

Trivia: A similar suspension was used on the Jeep Grand Cherokee (Code Name Jeep WJ), a midsize SUV (way below 7.5 tons). This was BEFORE Chrysler was acquired by MB. The vehicle had 'respectable' off-road capability. When MB took over (and with Dr Z), they fitted the Grand Cherokee with independent McPherson suspension. One wonders what Fiat will do.

Has anyone noticed the front suspension? It looks like a solid axle (not independent) and the upper/lower 'control arms' are mounted in a very different/novel way (consistent with solid axles). In fact, a bit similar to the one below (minus the shock absorbers and anti-roll bar). One below is from Maybach.

Well, I did send you a pm, but here are more details, hopefully to explain my 'unfortunate' comment. Few weeks back I was trying to build YOUR yellow Murcielago (A fantastic MOC, but now is not the time to kiss a$$), as you can conclude from my posts in these threads: http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=103804 http://www.eurobrick...howtopic=102537 http://www.eurobrick...showtopic=97581 Then the thought occurred to me to build the Murcielago in Blue as it was the only other viable option for the flex axles (we know about black, yellow, red, and white, but who wants to use silver?). So I looked up the 19L axles on BL and there were many available around the beginning of December. My blue Murcielago project was put on hold as I was still working on the yellow version. Then today, after I see THIS post, I check on those 19L, and they're all gone (except for 2 in Poland and Indonesia). When I said: 'Someone was planning this all along', I did not mean you or anyone I knew. Yes, it was done with a touch of 'sarcasm'. But ok, I can't take that back and all I can do now is offer again my apologies. More than that, sorry, there is really nothing I can do. I hope this settles it and we can now go back and discuss/admire your latest creation. Lessons: 1. Careful what to say, cuz u can easily offend people 2. Next time u have an idea, quickly run for it, or u'll miss the boat 3. Build a Murcielago in white, as the 19L are now plentiful

Over the past few days, I've made some posts that, in hindsight were 'perceived' as inappropriate. I reckon I made mistakes in judgement/wording and should have been more careful in how my comments would be interpreted. I come here to share ideas, initiate discussions, get opinions, and learn from fellow AFOLs. Lately, and because of mistakes I've made, I've been labeled by very unflattering qualifiers. This post is not to present nor defend my side. This post is to apologize to those I have offended, as this was never my intention. To All, happy building, MOCing, perusing, and above all **peace**. JB

Sorry, I never implied whatever it is (I think) you understood. In these times of 'political correctness' one needs to remain quiet.

Nice car, and, looking at the positive side: No one will complain that the blue 3L pins are sticking out.

You simply can't build that car. There are only 2x BLUE 19L flex axles for sale on BL, in the whole world. Over the past 3 months, 48 were sold. Someone was planning this all along. Edit: Read below, somehow this was perceived with a very negative connotation. None implied.

For the main chassis, i'm sure you can replace many of the beams with smooth liftarms, such as some of the ripper parts and the yellow beams on each side of the cab. As for the blade, you can get a very similar geometry by using gray technic panels (below) in the center and the new yellow trapezoid panel (below) for the sides. This is available from the small yellow mining truck 42035. +

Of all the people (outside of TLG), it looks like you know the most about this topic. Glad to have YOU on board The question now is 'Why?'. Is there a 'relationship' between mold dimensions and colors? In a current/other thread, some people have suggested that because different colors (and type) of plastic have different shrinkage (after cooling), those different colors/plastics would require different molds. Could it be that Colors A/B/C use Mold X1 and colors E/F/G use Mold X2?

lol ... now we're back to square one, It's all about Terminology of course. I stand corrected! Per shop.lego.com, the part shown below in TransClear color has two designations: Element ID: 3005740 Design ID: 30057 You'd notice that, and back to the 'origins' of this thread, that in this specific case Element ID = Design ID + 40 This pattern however is not always the same for other parts/colors. For Example, the two parts below Element ID: 4107066 Design ID: 32013 Element ID: 4107085 Design ID: 32013

Not confusing, but mis-wrote. Incidentally, this site is about Design ID (What you see in recent manuals). The Element ID (Bricklink/LDD/Peeron/...) is typically molded in, and is not the source of any confusion. Question: What is a left/right Hip/LEG assembly?

No, not at all. On many lego parts, if you look closely, you'll see very small numbers, either a series of 4 or 5 digits. That's the number referenced in BrickLink, Peeron and LDD. As for the TLG Design Element ID numbers, I've seen those only on Lego manuals and their website. The other question is: On many small parts, there are no numbers molded-in, e.g the many flex axles and ribbed hoses. In this case, it is not clear (to me) where the BrickLink numbers/designation comes from. Incidentally, the site rebrickable, when you call in a given part, gives you the multiple designations per BL, Peeron, and so on. That site (owner is a member on here) is the most 'comprehensive' source out there. Edit: Wrote Design ID, but meant Element ID. Just so we're all clear: Design ID - 4/5 digits number you can see (very small) on many/most lego parts Element ID - You can see this only in recent sets, in the manual, with the list of elements