DrJB

Love the functionality of the V6 engine, with moving pistons ... Very original.

The old Technic figures were scale restrictive. Today you can build a truck r car at many different scales ... not sure TLG wants to build a properly scaled figure for each of the scales ... The HUGE collection of technic tire sizes is already pretty .... 'annoying' ... or maybe not necessary.

What makes friction difficult is that it often depends upon the load (torque) AND speed, and sometimes the friction mechanism is different. At low speed, friction is typically 'dry friction', where the friction force is constant and depends upon the load only. At higher speed, the friction often is proportional to the square of the speed, due to hydro-dynamics effects as an air-film tends to develop between rubbing parts. Want to make it complicated, friction is high at zero speed, drops a bit once you start moving, then icreases again as the speed increases further. This leads to the so-called 'stick-slip' mechanism ... Possibly the best one can do is to calculate efficiency/losses (greek letter Eta) of a compound transmission under various load/speed combinations ... but then you'd need both speed and torque sensors. The former is easy, the latter is not... then there is Mr Heisenberg who wants to join the party as well ...

I'll definitely be there, along with the wife and kids. It'll be my third BrickWorld, always a fun event. Though, I'm debating which is a better day to attend ... Saturday or Sunday?

100 GBP for the EV3 expansion set??? It costs only $100 in the US ... makes you wanna buy a truckload and sell them in EU ... but shipping is pricey of course. It must be the sheer cvolume of such sets they sell here. With Lego Education and FLL very popular here, they must sell many more here than in Europe.

Well, what the OP did not mention, it could be that the springs are pre-loaded, and in such case, there is no slack. Thus, I am with the OP and such construction may have merit. The springs simply 'store' some motion if the wheels get somehow stuck. They then restore it when enough torque has built-up. Rather clever, and warrants further 'play'.

Have not done much yet. It's been work only up to now. managed to visit Brandenburg gate yesterday. It's Friday AM .... Having breakfast at the Centrovital hotel near Spandau. I read that the Galeria Kaufhauf near AlexanderPlatz is having a large/special lego exhibit. They open at 10, so I have a couple of hours to kill, before heading there. Might take pics and share, if I find anything interesting. I am curious as to the selection from the PAB walls in European stores, then might head to sack later in the day. Of course, gotta visit some landmarks as we'll ...

In Berlin this week ... just finished work, and have tomorrow (whole Friday) to shop and be a 'tourist' ...

I'll be attending brick world (not fair) in Chicago soon ... How different is BrickFair from BrickWorld?

A rather elaborate contraption for those not-so-clean looking balls, Enjoy!

Many parts used in the Bionicle theme are very specialized. Thus, even though they have technic features, they are totally useless ... i.e., a real waste of plastic, storage space, and $$$ (or €£¥)

NOt sure you can get a meaningful response without being a bit more specific ... unless I missed the point.

Or maybe the second renaissance ...

Thanks, I went to an Auchan today and the selection was rather 'basic' ... I'm surprised there s no lego official store here. Maybe the nice weather forces people to go out and enjoy life and outdoor activities.

I have seen at least a couple of interpretations of the above expression: 1. When someone stays/strays away from Lego for few years, then comes back as an AFOL 2. The period in the 90's where lego technic sets were rather basic/boring ... throwbots anyone? What are other interpretations/understandings out there?

I am in Turin (Italy) for a couple of days. Checked out a local toy store and Legos are rather expensive. Anyone knows of a store with decent/reasonable prices?

very nice indeed. I can't help but notice the rather obvious multiple .... '20 Shades of Blue' ...

This confirms, one more time, that ... whenever I hear a car is made of 100% lego, it for sure is not ...

It really depends on HOW you define 'size'. If it is parts count, then probably the 42009 is largest. If however you use 'weight', then possibly the Space Shuttle 8480, Super Car 8880 or Technic Control Center would qualify as largest set. Lately TLG has been using the 'largest set ever' slogan to advertise the Unimog, 2 yeas ago, and the 42009, last year. Recent sets (studless) typically have around 50% of their parts consisting of pins and bushings. If you include the other small connectors, that number could easily climb to 65-70%. I call those parts 'nails and glue' ... and for me they really 'do not count' as parts ... they're just there to hold 'serious' parts together.

+1 ... Less grippy tires.

The links you posted refer to your own computer only, no one (but you) can access them.

To me, if you're after building the set, there is no point in getting a MISB, unless of course you have very deep pockets. Like I said above, I got two incomplete sets for a total less than $200. They were already built dino/copter. missing few pieces, but all in all worth it. After a good wash, they turned out ok. Just need to watch for decent/incomplete sets off eBay. Those typically come at a reasonable price, and the competition is not that fierce. Good Luck on the hunt.

Thank you guys ... as for 8466, it was just an example (and I do have one) ... I have few other sets in mind though.

Gorgeous ... and ... LOVE the two cup holders (on the left fender. Are those power puller tires? They for sure totally eclipse the 42009 tires ...

Suppose I want to buy most parts to build the 8466 off-roader. The normal way would be to build a list of parts, upload it to bricklink and then search for vendors. Now, rather than entering all of the 1000+ parts, suppose I have the 4 PP wheels+tires + some suspension parts, and all I want is everything else. Question is: Can I start with a full inventory, remove parts I already have, then submit the remaining parts to e.g. Brickficiency? If so, anyone can give some step-by-step details?