DrJB

That's what I call an 'outlier' ... statistically speaking of course Seriously though, did you actually build Sheepo's Land-Rover? When I started this thread, the main idea (and the title) was a bit 'stronger' than just your favorite 5 sets. The situation I was picturing was if you ever have to downsize, which 5 sets would you absolutely keep? ... or more dramatic: If the house is on fire and you can only save 5 sets, which would those be? Somehow a Moderator changed the title, and while I appreciate the mod's work/position/opinion, the current thread title does not really reflect the initial intention.

One option is to use dual motors (in parallel) to drive whatever you're after. There is a good example in the PowerPuller. There they use the old motors, but you can use the same idea to double the torque with the new studless motors. Check pages 145-149. I did build it several years ago, and it does work as a single motor could not overcome the high friction from all the fake engines. http://cache.lego.com/bigdownloads/buildinginstructions/4133390.pdf

lol, this thread is not fair to him ... he'd not only keep ALL his original sets, but bring along his extensive collection of MOCs.

Have faith, I have seen many sets increase in value, then drop dramatically. The nice thing about 8043 is that all parts are available elsewhere, so it can be bricklinked. I do have it (8043), and not thinking of getting rid of it, but ultimately prices will come down, once many people get bored of it, as they are today of the old Ferraris, Silver Champion, and 8466. Prices for those lately have been in the $120-150 range on eBay, lowest I've seen them.

I wonder whether this is the correct question to ask. Ultimately, the real one is: WILL Lego produce a micro-motor, though no one knows for sure, unless possibly one scans patents, though those are not an absolute certainty.

The axle pin with friction does exist in white, and it was in three sets only, but of course large quantities command high prices as well. http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=43093&colorID=1&in=A

This question might have been addressed in the past, but for those of us 'collecting' sets, it's always about which one is my favorite. So, I'm 'close' to having all sets I ever wanted (still missing a numbered few) and find myself pondering which of all those I'd keep as my favorite. I first started with only one, then realized I could not make it, then how about 3, same answer, but let's be realistic and aim for 5 sets. Which are the 5 'best' sets in your collection. Were you to downsize tomorrow, which are 'hands-off'? To me, it goes like this (not in any order): 1. 8258 crane truck 2. 8043 excavator 3. 8455 BackHoe 4. 8110 Unimog 5. 8275 Bulldozer

Based on another current thread, it appears this year's flagship (Volvo Wheel Loader), despite all the hype and excitement/anticipation, won't be going to many homes after all. This begs the question: what makes a flagship worthy? The size, novelty, PF, complexity, price, ... And how would you rate the other flagships, which are must-have, and which are not so?

One thing to keep in mind: yes, you can make a more powerful motor, but will the plastic parts (gears and else) be able to handle such high torque applications?

Check out philo's homepage, he has plenty of info on PF.

Silver, gray and red go very well together ...

Are you trying to reproduce this car by any chance?

Good find. Balancing machines typically have their axis of rotation horizontal, so that gravity helps with balancing, to find high/low spot of tire.

Only comment from my side: Yet another MOC with tire(s) ... :)

Look it up on Wikipedia. It's a cable to connect two serial ports to one another, and you can get it from any computer store. Worst case, you can buy 2 DB9 connectors and wire them up yourself. Amazing how much has changed over the past few years.

true ... and yet on the PAB wall, color does not matter.

I was just looking at the 5×11 technic panel, and the price is NOT the same for the available colors. This leads me to believe their price structure is way more complicated that just the amount of plastic. In fact, one can get some statistics/trends by looking at e.g., the prices of the technic beams (liftarms) vs. beam length and color. Stay tuned.

Thank you for a very eloquent post. This thread has focused primarily on the 1x16, yet one now has a tool (per link above from D3K) to track availability/life of any given lego part.

I was fortunate to find this at a decent price locally. Upon disassembling it for washing/rebuilding, the rare yellow connectors were actually black and painted yellow but It's ok as I have few of those Now, the question is: I've been reviewing the design and it appears feasible to include a transmission in the MOC. For this, the center differential needs to move up/forward, and the HOG steering needs to go. Has anyone given any thought to or tried this? Incidentally, there are also some small 'improvements' one can make to the model, though (of course) it's already a very solid build. PS: by moving the center diff up, and aligning it with both front/rear diffs, I can eliminate few parts/gears between center diff. and other two.

Thank you, very interesting tool indeed. I have been wondering/pondering what additional/statistical/factual data one can extract from such data bases. For example: 1. Parts unique to a set (type, color, or both) 2. When was a given part introduced, how long it lasted, and when was it last seen (kind of like the N-curve typically seen in patents) 3. How successful some parts are, when they replaced prior generations (e.g. the old/new spindle/hub on 8466/8070 ) 4. many more.

Agree fully. Thank you for sharing such perspective. I'm still waiting/hoping/praying for a version with digital models.

Hahaha, that is very funny. Seriously though, my intention is not to flood the forum with useless discussions. I used to take part in a couple of other forums where there was frequent 'common/social' threads of the sort, just not too serious discussions. I'm an engineer (by day) and most of my hours are spent doing 'serious/technical' discussions. If my 'style' offends/irritates some, my apologies and I'll try very hard to 'restrain' myself. All the Best to you and yours, over the holidays. Not that crazy in fact. In my 'defense' (defence), I've been placing several bricklink orders recently for specific parts, and to 'complete' my orders, I often try to get useful technic pieces (1x16). Incidentally, many of the vendors I go to, have bricks up to 1x14, but none in 1x16. It's as if there is either a high demand for them, or a short supply (or maybe both). So, while an honest mis-perception, it does not qualify to be called 'lazy'. Also, and while those bricks are still being manufactured/available, they seem to to be less frequenct on BrickLink. This simply means that the sets they come in may not be targets for parting-out. How many on here have wanted specific parts (yellow slide from friends) and yet it is NOT available on BL. Yes, it's a recent part and SHOULD be available, but only if you buy the whole set. My point is: The part might be available in original sets, it is not necessarily true it's available on BL. How about this for a 're-focus' of the discussion? It's not that 'crazy' after all.

Interesting ... I guess I was going merely by Technic sets ... where it does not show up that often... and it used to be present in large quantities in Technic.

There was actually a set of lego sieves, for sale about 10 years ago (or a bit less). It was three circular trays (yellow/blue/red) that would stack on top of each other. They served the dual purpose of storing and sorting by size. You may still be able to find one off eBay. There is a newer version ... it's a big minifig head and currently available.

Well, if you see how frequent it is being used ... it seems it's becoming less frequent. It'll be interesting to plot/graph in how many sets it's been showing up over the past few years and 'estimate' a trend. The 42009 Mk II Crane also used it, but it's 2013.