Jetro

Two different MINDSTORMS controlled balloons have been made already. Hyperbot by Mike Brandl: and NXT Blimp by Lasse and Kenneth:

It's just 2 cylinders and a pump. Not that much work really. You'll soon get the hang of it

The only difference between the A and B model is the top. The chassis is exactly the same

Thanks for the pics. And there I was thinking about legs for walking, when in fact you're trying to build outriggers

Personally I like the main model slightly better, but since you have the set, why not simply build both and decide for yourself?

We do already have this topic... http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=73601

And don't forget to make your "shopping list" of elements with respective colours you'd love to see in this new top.

Can you show some examples?

Lovely!

That's not what I am saying. There is no gluing or cutting involved in what was mentioned, just a different combination of parts or the use of partial elements in a non-destructive way.

I wouldn't call that a modification. You simply combine LEGO elements in a different way. To me that isn't a modification either. It is still 100% LEGO.

While I agree that every competition should set its own rules, saying custom tires should be allowed because you have "about reached the limit" is like saying sportsmen should be allowed to take drugs because there we have also about reached the limit. The argument itself is not valid in my opinion. As for legal and illegal techniques, what's legal for LEGO is so to ensure their product will live up to the expectations of the customers, even after having been built and played with for a considerable time. There are many examples of MOCs that wouldn't last 5 minutes in the hands of a child (or sometimes even an adult) but that only invalidates them as possible commercial models, not as perfectly valid MOCs. It's a thin line though and for me it lays at part modification (cutting, sanding, etc.), again with the exception of hoses. Lubrication to me is a matter of maintenance. The same way I will dust my bricks I lube my Pneumatic elements to make sure they are clean and functional.

You are welcome to your opinion, but it's just that: your opinion, and mine is different In that case I may have to make sure to always use the Li-ion battery packs LEGO makes But seriously, to me that's not an (valid) argument. I very strongly believe in common sense. I also believe in using the parts I have available or can (easily) get and finding alternative solutions when that is not possible. Until not so long ago, that was only possible with non-LEGO CAD programs. they also allowed for custom colours LEGO never has used or ever will. Again, while this is a perfectly good argument to you, it isn't to me. Having said that, I should add that after giving this some thought appear to use a double set of standards. On the one hand I like my Technic and and Classic LEGO constructions to be 100% "authentic", meaning no third party pieces and no painting, but limited use of decals and stickers is not a problem. For Pneumatics I will use third party hoses and cut both flexible and rigid hoses to any necessary length. In MINDSTORMS things change. I'm no longer building a LEGO model. I'm building a robot. I have no qualms with 3rd party sensors etc, although I do prefer the ones that come in "official" casings, as opposed to the ones that are not even encapsulated.

If, as you say, you have several of the larger Technic sets at home, the only thing you need to start building your own GBC modules is a couple of balls (or beads of the same size).

Not exactly native (well, I was born at some time...) but what with the publisher being American there's a good chance they had somebody revise the spelling just in case. Anyway, to the point, the suffix -ful does mean "full of", but since the word is made up I can see why someone (native English speaker or not) might want to go with that option. Personally I'd have preferred "studded" = covered with studs. Not every word ending on -less has an opposite ending on -ful (homeless, sleepless) or the other way round (beautiful).

Amazing job. Very well done. And "only" third prize. Now I'll have to find out what made numbers one and two...

Nice find! Thanks for sharing. Any ideas on how the angling of the top part was achieved?

I like the initiative and have already mentioned it on the Ambassador forum. However, the rules are very likely to have already been completed and rigorously checked to see that LEGO can deliver what it promises. Your input here may be valuable to LEGO Technic, but the effect on the rules for this competition is likely to be zero. Nevertheless, I'm curious to see what everybody thinks about this beforehand and how this opinion compares to the actual rules when published.

No, it only moves up to 100, which is why Eric had to take off his shoes. Great work Eric! Looking forward to seeing you race Simon

Maybe the problem is Google itself. Don't know how things are where you live, but here I've been unable to access my gmail during several hours in the last couple of days and at other times the response time is so slow the browser occasionally times out.

In addition the links are all through the thread and not indexed in the first post. I made a list of Technic resources (which doesn't include any blogs) on the HispaBrick Magazine forum. I'm sure there are a number of interesting sites I missed, though...

Nice: an original idea, one motor, looks reliable... may have to copy

Nice read! The suspense is killing me

Thank you for having the courage to apologise publicly, Scott. Learning about the particulars of the event certainly helps to understand how this all happened. Maybe it would be a safer option to have a box to tick to indicate something is a MOC rather than taking that for granted and having a box for the contrary. That way it is a lot harder to accidentally not mark the right option.

The standard charge for a single Lithium-Ion battery pack is 3.6V. Put two packs in a rechargeable battery and you get 7.4. Adding a third would take the voltage above the recommended value for use with LEGO elements. This voltage also applies to the rechargeable "train" battery many Technic builders have used in their MOCs.