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DrJB

Eurobricks Dukes
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Everything posted by DrJB

  1. DrJB
    Interesting. For me, the best truck is 8258. Could it be because long nose are common in the US and rare in Europe, and vice versa? vs.
  2. DrJB
    Wish I knew this when I dropped my phone in a bowl of soup, last June in Italy. I learned my lesson: Never answer the phone while at the dinner table!
  3. DrJB
    Thank You. That's another record. Up to now the largest number of tires we've seen was 10 each, on both 42009 and 8285.
  4. DrJB
    Very nice and rather UNIQUE. Can't wait to see a video of the assembled master-piece. A small detail if I may. Bottom center in the above picture, where you have the blue half-pin sticking out, maybe this part will be a 'cleaner' fit. PS: I also like it because it has NO tires!
  5. DrJB
    Not sure I agree (I'm not a truck driver ) but I believe there are local regulations and they are different. In the US, while the total truck weight is governed by limits (there are obligatory weighing stations in most highways and all trucks have to go through them), there are also requirements of max load per axle, and that is done to minimize road damage by heavy trucks. There are (unscrupulous) truckers who would deliberately increase the tire inflation to save on fuel and increase load capacity. While this is not safe for the driver, this also causes more damage to the roads. That said, any one counted how many tires there are on this new Mercedes Truck? I already have 50 of them (below) and maybe I should build a very long Australian Road Train (post #541)
  6. DrJB
    You've come a long way and there is always Bricklink. Unless you want to make a 'strict' C-model and thus, not go beyond the actual parts in 42009. Nice job nonetheless.
  7. DrJB
    A regular tractor-trailer truck in USA has 18 wheels. In fact, we call them '18-wheeler'. The truck has 2 at the front and 8 at the back (tandem axle with 4 tires each), and the trailer has 8 at the back (again, tandem axle). If you think of it, the trailer's weight is supported by 8 wheels at each end: 8 at the front (those of the truck) and 8 at the rear (attached to the trailer). However, with the introduction of the super-single (wide tire) in both Germany and US (not sure about the rest of EU), many of the trucks and trailers have switched to 2 wide tires instead of 4. Some trucks still prefer to have 4 tires per axle for safety reasons. If a tire blows, the other one can still support the weight. If however a super single blows, it may have catastrophic implications.
  8. DrJB
    I believe there is a black and white version out there as well. But careful, some of the parts for that version are exceedingly rare.
  9. DrJB
    That's quite a 'grandiose' way to make it back to Lego. Many of us took small 'hesitant' steps. You're very 'brave'. They say about expensive DSLR cameras and Legos: If you really want them, you buy them as a gift for your wife, and most of the time they'll end up yours.
  10. DrJB
    +1 Same here, I have few of them of different colors, and they're equally stiff. This is true if the the plastics with various colors have DIFFERENT chemical formulations. From my understanding, the different colors are dyes only and as such they do not really 'bond' with the base matrix. That said, if each color requires a different mold, that becomes a very expensive undertaking. Though in the end, I bet the variations in shrinkage and else are all very small and must enable one to use the SAME molds.
  11. DrJB
    Thank you, and very 'pleased' to meet you. At first I guessed German or something with the same roots I worked for a German company in the US, and some of the colleagues would, I felt/thought, make sentences and compounded words that led to long expressions. I was wrong of course. In school I've met people from many countries and after a while I could pick up where they were from from just reading what they wrote. It did not work all the time, but it was a fun exercise to 'guess'.
  12. DrJB
    never mind. Edit: I wrote question then deleted as I thought it was way out of contest and possibly not 'appropriate'. OP replied too quickly , with very kind words.
  13. DrJB
    What's the 'big' deal about whether it's a 4 or 6 IL engine? I have so many of those engine blocks that I don't know what to do with. Or is the debate more about authenticity?
  14. DrJB
    Click on the X at the top right corner and you'll get to see the whole article, with other Lego contraptions. That said, this reminds me of the many camera attachments Philo built for photography. www.philohome.com
  15. DrJB
    I'll take a picture tonight and post it. The bags are still sealed. Later that same day: Got it and ... I was wrong . I had bought both 8450 and 8482 from the same seller on eBay, and somehow one of the 8482 bags was in the 8450's box. Puzzle Resolved!
  16. DrJB
    You're absolutely right. Just a thought occurred to me. In EU, primarily cars/vehicles are licensed. In the US, Hollywood Productions lead the pack, as there are (now) many movie licenses/themes.
  17. DrJB
    For those of you still interested in this set, there is an MSIB from Italy for 100 Euros on Bricklink. Not the deal of the century but still pretty good in my book. Good Luck.
  18. DrJB
    It sounds like you AGREE then, unless I missed your point. My comment was that many European nations have iconic vehicles they associate with (Ferrari with Italy, Land Rover for the UK, Mercedes/BMW for Germany, and Volvo for Sweden). Whereas in the US, there is no unique vehicle that stands out. Let's face it, I bet we will never see a Ford/GM/Chrysler license. Maybe Lego is still not that big in the US (except for BalkBird and his collection). The only Lego vehicle that looked 'american' was the Boss (41999) and it was not branded/licensed. Of course, Lego can get a GM license and do a Corvette, but most likely the success for that is questionable at best. The other examples are the 8285 black 'long-nose' truck, but again, that was not branded/licensed.
  19. DrJB
    Nicely done. I think the reason the effect is so pronounced in your contraptions is because of all the gaps/clearances in the gears, as those tend to 'amplify' the torsional oscillation. Again, very nice demo.
  20. DrJB
    You're right ... I've totally forgotten about the Rock Crawler and the Volvo. Four years it is then. I've read somewhere they're bringing back a Ferrari, but I think it'll be under Creator, not Technic :( Might be irrelevant but, does national pride play a factor in the sales? I mean: Did they sell More Ferraris in Italy, more Unimogs in Germany, and many Volvos in Sweden? As for the US, I'm willing to bet it's mostly StarWars and The Simpsons. But, ... I'm digressing.
  21. DrJB
    Your timing is off mate. What? You were expecting to see some blood? I promise this'll be my last post about this, and then we all should get back to the main topic (as some already have). Vibrations (torsional or else) are typically a nuisance (except in musical instruments), for both operator comfort and parts durability. All multi-component designs have natural (eigen) frequencies. There is a resonance condition when any excitation frequency matches a natural frequency (Campbell Diagram). Since there is little we can do to avoid natural frequencies, it is best to eliminate the excitation forces/torques. Since a drive-line has many flexible components, it is bound to have its own natural frequencies. Thus, and to avoid resonances, we go on a witch-hunt (without pitchforks) and eliminate/minimize/mitigate as many excitations as we can. A single Cardan generates an excitation at 2x/4x the rpm. A second cardan (if installed properly) eliminates the 2x/4x of the first one. Hope this makes sense. I know it makes no much difference in Lego, but I always install my double cardans to follow this rule. Just a 'bad' habit of mine. Thank you for sharing. Beautifully made. I'm always amazed as to what some very talented AFOLs come up with, given the 'limited' selection of Lego parts. Very nice. For a while I thought (observed) that all new (non-studded) lego parts had odd-lengths. This new rack seems to break the rule. I wonder what the thinking behind the decision was. On a different note, it'll be interesting to map/graph the introduction of new technic parts over the past few years. There were many parts introduced with the Unimog, few with 42009, and many again with this truck. Are we on a 2-year 4-year cycle?
  22. DrJB
    It is not about NOT reading the posts, it's about the pictures. Now I realize what has happened. It was late at night and I was looking at a different page (which was wrong) and somehow did not look closely at the Mercedes double axle. I realize where my (honest) mistake is now. Yes, the Mercedes installation IS correct. Besides the 'heated' debate, hopefully no harm done. Time to go back and correct the posts - Done!
  23. DrJB
    I know we're straying way off topic, but this is a beautiful piece of engineering. Have you noticed the complexity and 'rich' (many) features? I see 3 differentials, brakes, leaf springs (Efferman's parts could be used here), wheel hubs with final/planetary reduction, and many more. Anyone brave enough to replicate this in Lego?
  24. DrJB
    From a technical/innovation point of view, you're absolutely right. But the reason many automakers pick one design over another is often (if not always) driven by cost. So, YES the CV is better than Cardan for uniform speed, but other performances, such as cost and max torque, I'm not so sure. Real Engineering (and they only touch upon that in school) is about balancing multiple performances that often are conflicting in nature. There is a multitude of examples out there, of course.
  25. DrJB
    Psst, this was typed from an iPad (not the best keyboard) and was done in bed, late night, and meant as a shortcut. If you and others do not believe that and want to nit-pick, so be it. If you insist on crucifying me for a mistake, how many mistakes have you NOT made in your life. Grow Up, move on! While I fully agree about using proper terminology, I never said/hinted/implied Mercedes engineers were idiots. However, I spent a good part of my life dealing with all sorts of noise and vibration issues, and installing Cardans such as shown in that picture is a no-no Correct! Maybe there is ANOTHER reason Mercedes installed it that way. If that's the case, go ahead and 'enlighten' me. Throwing a blank statement such as: They're Mercedes, they know what they're doing is a self-defeating argument and does not open one up to critical innovation. The picture in nicjasno's post (above, #457) is really how a double cardan needs to be installed. Shall we stop this bickering now and try to understand WHY Mercedes did something different?
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