Jetro

LEGO is a big beast and what one part may know (or guess) does not necessarily affect other parts. The real question here is what the official release date set by LEGO was. Retailers are known to jump the gun and so a set might be out before LEGO has scheduled the release of building instructions. On the other hand, knowing that this is the case and since this is not a licensed product, LEGO could of course be proactive and release building instructions ahead of schedule, at least through Customer Service.

The feedback I get through the Ambassador Forum is that Consumer Service has a hard time providing instructions in time when the set is released in advance of schedule... Apparently they did not expect this set to be available so soon or maybe they need to make sure their calenders are synced with the actual release dates. In any case, the matter is still being looked at.

The fact that this is the first set this new part appears in does not mean it was designed with this set in mind. As a matter of fact parts are (almost) always designed to be used in multiple sets. It is very likely we will see better examples of the use of this part in the near future.

Hi David, et al. I've been a bit absent from this forum for various reasons, but fortunately David sent me an email regarding this matter. I have started a discussion on the Ambassador forum, not just because of this particular case but to draw attention to the fact that if LEGO promises/sells something they have to make good on that promise. The dorpbox solution is a nice temporary patch, but it does not address the root of the problem nor the fact that any non AFOL who has bought the set still has no access to the building instructions he/she is entitled to. If and when I get any kind of answer I'll report back here.

@Calabar - completely overlooked that. thanks! @Alasdair Ryan - not sure why completely uninstalling LDD and then reinstalling worked. I'd rule out the graphics card (NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M, 2GB VRAM)since after reinstalling I was able to use the same graphics acceleration as before. If graphics can be such an issue, maybe LDD should include a failsafe mode that allows you to change graphics settings without having to go through this. Also, who does LDD not install everything when I ask it to uninstall. I understand it not deleting my models, but leaving behind stuff that can impede a successful update is rather sloppy!

I wasn't sure where to turn with this so I'm posting it here in the hope someone can help me out here. LDD won't start. I'm on a new laptop and have been busy installing software. One of the first things to go on the laptop was a complete suite of LEGO CAD applications, including LDD. Initially it worked fine, but today when I tried to run LDD it simply wouldn't start. That is... the application starts up and then hangs on the "Launching application..." screen. Unfortunately I have no idea what software I have installed after LDD. I did notice some curious differences between this installation and another one I have on a different computer, to do with some parts not showing up in the extended mode that were available (and still are) on the other computer. So here is what I have tried so far: The only way to get out of this screen (and I have given it plenty of time) is to end the application. Thinking maybe somehow some vital component was affected (by the anti-virus or anti-everything else software, although that has never before happened to me) I decided to download the latest version of LDD and install it on top of the existing application - no luck. Then I uninstalled LDD, rebooted, re-installed and... again, no luck. I don't get any error messages, it simply hangs. System specs: Windows 7 Home Premium If you need more, please ask.

Actually those instructions ARE available on-line: http://community.legoeducation.us/media/5/default.aspx?Sort=Subject&PageIndex=1

Go check out the detailed pictures of the full series (one by one) on the HispaBrick Magazine blog!

thanks for the feedback so far. If you would like to contribute to the next issue or would like to give suggestions for topics you'd like to see covered, please do not hesitateto contact us!

I've posted the issue on the Ambassador forum - I have better hopes of getting an quick answer/reaction from Conchas' contacts, but it is important that our concerns (and dislike) regarding this situation are voiced there too.

You're waiting months already because you saw early pics and there's been a lot of discussion,but the usual release date for H2 sets is August, sometimes half way, and that is usually before what is officially announced (September). The reason why the set has not been released earlier yet has been publicly announced by LEGO. What else do you want?

Thanks Superkalle. I do occasionally wander into this forum and try to stay up to date with the latest developments. Your little investigation and suggestions sound like a great starting point. I'll go give it a try now...

The answer is in.... it's the pump. For more details, head over to TechnicBRICKs

I've just installed the latest version of LDD on my laptoo (4.1.7). The filter option appears to have stayed virtually the same since a long time ago. In MINDSTORMS mode I can only select a very small number of Technic sets. Ideally I'd like to select a brick palette with bricks from any recent Technic set. Is there a way to make this work? In LDRaw I can quite easily prepare a 'favourites' set so I have easy access to the bricks from nany single set.

I've asked about this on the Ambassador forum to see if I can get a more specific answer there.

"This folder is not yet public". I suppose that means you've been adding stuff :D I'll have another look later. I most certainly do. As a matter of fact we had a look at some of his designs in this blog post from last December. However, unless the original author gives permission / requests it I will not include his designs.

After a recent comment on TechnicBRICKs related to the publication of a new survey by LEGOI posted a message on the Ambassador forum asking about fan involvement in (Technic) parts design. The question has been brought to the attention of the corresponding department and I'm awaiting a reply. In the meantime, if you are interested I could add your proposals to the thread, including your name and link to your gallery (this goes for anyone who'd like to show off an original design). I can't promise you'll get a reply or that the design will be seriously considered, but it's another way to make some 'noise'. Hopefully my initial question will also give us some deeper insight into the design and marketing criteria for new parts.

You can find an extensive interview with Luca Roscini en Hispabrick Magazine 007

Thanks for compiling those suggestions. I clearly overlooked them. I will include them in the thread I started at the Ambassador forum. In my opinion a mixed solution would be advisable, because labelling the MOC with a sign for the pertinent competition and including a picture of you with the MOC still won't exclude people who physically copy a MOC (maybe even using building instructions. An AFOL panel would be more effective there.

Since I was on a business trip and didn't have decent Internet access, I contacted Conchas and asked him to please look into this - which he has. Thanks Conchas and thanks DLuders for tipping me off. I have now reported this at the Ambassador forum as well, but things are slow there, so it may take a while for results to show. In the meantime, I'd love to compile a list of suggestions on how to avoid this kind of thing happening to present these to TLG for consideration.

You're welcome to do it.

Looks like the warning won and a link to the tutorial at TBs has been added!!

The part numbers you are using are LEGO part numbers and are not much use for anything but ordering stuff from LEGO. Have a look at the inventory on BL or Peeron and use the numbers you find there to locate the parts with the search function included in MLCad (Ctrl+F).

So do I. I have unfortunately received no reply on the Ambassador forum :(

I have asked if someone can look into this asap. (thanks for the heads up DLuders ) I have also tried to access and have had no problem myself. (using Firefox which LEGO.com doesn't always like), but then again I haven't actually tried to upload anything. Can you be more specific as to what goes wrong and when?