DrJB

I know that set has a historical place and it was the first set I really wanted to have. Too bad, it was not available in country I was in back then, so I ended up getting the red tractor and yellow forklift instead. Nonetheless, I feel the functions/playability/realism of 853 were very 'pirmitive' and honestly, once you try the possibilities afforded b the new studless parts ... not sure 853 stands a chance. Of course, that is rather personal and no offense meant to any 853 lover out there.

I vaguely recall someone got similar sized balls from China for fairly cheap. There is a thread on this somewhere on this forum. I'll never pay $1 a piece for such balls.

Very nice, if you do not mind my asking, where did you get the 5571 and how much?

At last, a MOC WITHOUT wheels/tires, Thank You, and Merry Christmas. PS. Love the fur too, too bad lego levers do not come in brown.

Start with the original sets that have landing gears (planes and space shuttle), see if that fits your space requirements, then we can discuss.

My Technic collection is nearing 'completion' ... or at least I'm closer to having all sets I wanted to have (No, not keeping up with SR71, aka BlakBird). In the few days leading to Xmas, I was fortunate to get 8450 The Mission , 8482 CyberMaster and 8285 Tow Truck As such, I now have 50× 32019 tires (no idea what to do with them), wheels in assorted colors and countless pins and bushings ... What did YOU get?

You could of course. The only/main difference is that in such 'older' Technic, gear shifting was done by moving a group of gears (3) together to mesh with different gear. Such setup was used in the past as well in machine tools. However, modern cars typically do not move the gears. They move a coupling ring (synchro) instead. Also, the old-style transmissions tended to be rather 'long' whereas the newere ones are fairly more compact, though the kinematics are a bit more complex (and non-natural).

Very nicely done. Typically CTLs (Compact Track Loaders) come with rubber (not steel) treads, though not sure there is a Lego one that could fit. Nonetheless, you have replicated the 4 basic functions of such machine in a very nice/compact way.

link to Efferman's pulley http://www.shapeways.com/model/1967798/pulleywheel-without-crosshole.html?li=user-profile&materialId=6

Especially that both your/his tables are solid wood. Threw me off at first, as in: why would BlakBird be building from his own pictures? ... but then realized the wood grain was 'different'.

By gearbox you mean something to actually change the speed of an output shaft, relative to an input shaft, as in a car? If so, only 3 cars (8880, 8448, 8466) have been released with such functionality. In the 8070 the gearbox is used to select/functions (doors, hood, trunk opening) from a main motor. Now, that said, nothing prevents you from getting a set (with enough gears) and build only the gearbox from 8448/8466. All you need are the parts as the manuals are available on-line on many site (including Lego). The gearbox of 8880 is not easy to replicate as it requires 2 parts that are specific to that vehilce only (they were not released in any other set)

GBCs have been labeled/categorized as Rube-Goldberd machines. From what I read, the phenomenon started in the US, but quickly spread worldwide, and now there are large GBC display areas at every major Lego 'convention'. Perhaps the earliest original/published designs were by philo (www.philohome.com), who soon after publication of the 'standard', designed several modules, and hobbyists have since then copied/modified/adapted them. Certainly the most original/prolific GBCs we owe today to a young man from Japan (Akiyuki). Check the links below, and you can find many more on youtube. A word of caution in closing: GBCs tend to be rather addictive ... so tread with caution. http://www.philohome.com/gbc/gbc.htm

This does happen in real life, especially when new vehicles sit for few days at a dealership, on the hot asphalt in Texas. It is called 'flat-spot' and many car owners do not like it as it makes the car shake quite a bit. That said, this for sure is a very nice MOC.

@Makorol: Thank you for offering your perspective, and clarifying the design. I did a web search and here is what I came up with. Apparently someone had already drilled through pulleys for the same reason I mentioned in my original post. I hope this clarifies the workings of such contraption for those still convinced that all pulleys CAN run at the same speed, when in fact they CANNOT (in a real setting of course). http://www.wegmuller...nes/index2.html

Not sure I agree, as the pulleys do NOT rotate by the same amount. If the first pulley rotates by an angle X, the neighboring pulleys will rotate by 2X, 3X, 4X ... etc, so that the delta/difference between each two neighboring pulleys is precisely X. Thus, and because they do not rotate by the same absolute angle, the pulleys cannot all be connected to the same axle. Hence my observation, that those pulleys must be drilled so they can rotate freely on an axle. @Sariel: any chance you can ask your friend/author about more details for the pulleys' contraption?

Good catch. that pin 'should' not be there. The plot only thickens. The friction force must be very large as it grows like exponential (friction coefficient × angle). The only 'remote' possibility is that the cable is oiled/greased but then again, might not be enough. Then I'm not sure this is working as it is supposed to be. The idea behind using multiple stacked pulleys like that is so that the motor needs only deliver a fraction of the torque/force needed to lift the load. In exchange, the travel of the rope gets multiplied by the same factor. Remember, in those systems, work/energy is conserved (almost, minus losses). The link below might prove useful. http://www.explainthatstuff.com/pulleys.html I can accept that the string will slide on ONE pulley only, but if it does so on 4 pulleys (×360 degrees), that is a lot of angle/friction, per my reply (above) that the force grows exponentially with wrapped angle. I guess the simplest way is to build this and see how it performs, though I doubt it will, as the laws of physics have to hold.

No to the youtube video, but definitely yes to the brickshelf link in the thread you identified (Thank You). Here is a photo from that brickshelf folder, that shows exactly the set of pulleys I was referring to. My presumption is that the stock pulleys could not be used as they have an axle hole. What one needs instead are smooth holes and most likely the author 'drilled' the pulleys.

I found out about this MOC while perusing through Sariels's book and am a bit surprised such machine was never discussed on EB (no results from Google). In any event, on page 114 of the book, one can see the system of pulleys used to reduce speed (increase load). One requirement for the system to work is that all pulleys must be free rolling on a shaft as they do not have the same angular speed. I'm betting the MOC author had to modify/drill the pulleys to fulfill such function, otherwise not possible with stock Lego. Anyone else sees the point or knows of a way to make this work? Edit: Could a Moderator please update/correct the title to say Liebherr ... iOS auto-correct is not the smartest. Done, Thank You

Thank you. That's exactly what I had in mind when, in my original post, I mentioned that this calls for a 'wide' car. I must add that, typically, the transverse engine is used on FWD cars and, as such, has a small footprint as the three main components (engine, transmission, differential) are integrated.

The gyro sensor is only about $30 or so, at the lego.edu website. However, I like a lot what you have done, and this opens up a lot of possibilities. In principle one can harness a lot of the information already on the iPhone, and I'm sure many will follow suit ... one can only dream.

All valid points above, especially by SuperKalle. Now, one ponders whether animated instructions are really 'needed' as a step-by-step PDF often suffices. No, I'm not against technology, but putting animations together appears to be an added cost/effort I'm willing to do without. Of course, for the younger generation and those not mechanically inclined, those animations help. But then again, I'm tempted to venture that those would not be drawn to lego anyways. If the goal is to make the build very easy, then any 'monkey' can do it and then, where is the challenge? That said, similar animations were available when 8450 was released, but back then the digital 'revolution' and availability of computers was not as widespread as it is today. Interesting what the future will bring.

Still have mine sealed ... haven't had the 'courage' to open it. Must also say I already have 3 other race cars open/assembled and on display (2 Ferraris and one red/white), so not that big of a motivation.

Thinking of the cable cars of San Francisco. Cable are 'buried' underground and constantly moving on pulleys. All the cable car need to do is 'clamp' (hold tight) on one of those cables, and that's how it moves. it's similar to the gondolas on the Swiss snow stations.

Few requirements from my side: 1. Must be black 2. Must 'purr' when you rub its back 3. Spring loaded hind (back) legs so it can jump high on a bed Other than that, waiting to be (pleasantly) surprised

I agree about 8434, in fact I just finished assembling it (about 30 minds ago). It was a bit difficult to distinguish pearl dark gray from black, in the early pages of the instructions, but yes, it's a welcome 'addition'. To Blakbird's point, yes most gears were introduced primarily in gray in the Technic sets, but for example the old large gears are available in a range of colors. I would rather have a limited color palette than see Lego go out of business but at the same, in the Bionicle theme (moreso than in Technic), there were SEVERAL parts released to a single unique set only. Maybe this was a way to promote sales, but at the same time, which is costlier, more colors or expensive molds? I guess the 'profitability' formula is rather complex ... Picture below is from a current eBay auction (red is missing). I agree all such colors are NOT necessary, but for outer elements (for styling), more colors would definitely be desirable.