rollermonkey

That's why I suspect the suspension rotates with the treads... Nobody else is curious what the link arm is for behind the front tread?

I don't understand why a 5L w/ stop automatically means steering. That's not 1+1. TLG designers use them all the time for structural purposes. The same applies to connectors. The only way I see steering happening from the one view we've got is if the front tracks rotate as a pair around a common central point. Maybe there's something else, but whatever it could be, it's not all that obvious. Actually, I think that is exactly what's happening. The tie-rod behind the front track is probably paired on the other side, and the two together move the front treads together around a central point, perhaps with a turntable. There are three knobs needed for the crane, and we only see two. Turntable rotation, linear actuator extension for boom up/down and hook raise/lower. The hook one is on the arm, no clue where the third one is.

Nice MOC, but for future builds, you might want to make the topic title less vague if you want people to see what you made.

That's the Mandalorian surcharge. They know Sabine will drive the sales of that set, and it is priced accordingly.

Yup, that's a mirrored image. The text is the giveaway. Nice to see full suspension. But I'm not seeing any hints of steering.

Ten seconds on eBay will tell you how many you want to get.

Yes, that is the suggestion that should work, but I think putting the gears between the inner and outer shaft at the top will be less complex (no transmission rings that generate slop) and allow better structural connections at the base of the rotating tower. This must be what Balrog had in mind, I just couldn't picture it how he intended. Thanks!

The 8043 solution (using transmission rings) won't work because the destination for that power is moving up (and down) as the whole ride is rotating via the turntable. The transmission ring would stop spinning as soon as the ride carriage begins to rise. In real rides, hydraulics usually does all this stuff, but pneumatics >< hydraulics. Jim and Jeroen, you suggest a second axle, parallel to the driving axle and powered by meshed 16T gears at the top... Then driving another gear fixed to the rising platform by means of a red 8T sliding up the second shaft... I think that might work... In fact, I might try two, one one either side, so I can power two arms from each side... I'll have to change how I've got the central axle anchored on the top and the parallel axle length may have to be customized, as the central is 32L and the others would need to be shorter or they'll stick out the top. (That could work as spinning decorations atop the tower aren't unheard of) I'll need to change the whole top, actually. The 5X7 frame won't work as the holes aren't lined up right, but I'll come up with something. I wonder if I have a third 32L axle... 42009 has one, I think.

I am stuck. I'm trying to make an amusement park ride, but I can't figure out how to do something... A horizontal turntable to rotate the whole ride above the platform, driven by an M-motor to a worm screw/gear combo forms the base of the ride. A shaft through the center of the turntable drives a sliding worm gear that climbs a rack gear affixed to the inside of the rotating structure. That all works fine. How can I get power/rotation from that rotating center shaft out to the rising platform? I had originally considered the red 8T gear to slide freely up the shaft to drive a chain out from the center, but the LEGO chains don't/can't engage 8T gears, so that's out. (and a waste of 200 links bought on BL) My next idea was to use that central worm gear to drive a gear on a horizontally mounted axle, but I'm 99% certain that I won't be able to get enough torque and speed to drive 4 rotating elements at a realistic speed while the worm climbs at a realistic rate. That's why I want to use that rotating axle the 'normal' way... But I just can't seem to figure out how to do it. Once I can get torque out of the central shaft, I can transfer it to the ends of the arms, no problem...

Well, I'm impressed. I had been tinkering with an idea for a grader, but I don't know if I could figure out a second set to go with the one I was considering to get the parts I'd need...

I picked up a pair of sets today, thinking I could use one or the other for this, but dangit if that bulldozer isn't 617 pieces for $49.99. That's a pretty impressive PPP. I've got a couple ideas for what I'm going to do with this...

Yeah, unless there's another Marina Bay Sands type exclusive, next year is pretty disappointing for Architecture fans... The stores are giving the line a decent amount of real estate, so hopefully that's a good sign.

Just... Wow.

I love how we're getting a bunch of upscaled Ghost MOCs! Great job!

When you guys said printed dishes for the hailfire droid wheels, my initial thought was one of worry, but I figured that I would wait until I saw them to decide. I'm now leaning towards them being awesome. The actual wheels (on the imaginary vehicle) would be pretty much impossible to create accurately with current technology, let alone with LEGO, but by using transparent dishes, they get around that limitation quite cleverly... And have trans dishes ever been made at that size? Are those 8x8 dishes, or maybe 10X10? They look huge, and if extras were obtained, I can imagine numerous uses for them in MOCs... Potentially with careful removal of the printing and some 30/60 slopes....

Not in economics or the stock market. ...and TLG clearly doesn't care much about the resale market either, otherwise we wouldn't have the artificial scarcity of sets like Research Institute or the UCS Tumbler. Those sets represent profit that TLG has chosen not to earn, and that isn't something that increases the value of the company. Let's look at another company, for comparison. Apple has good sell through of its product. On release day of iPhone x, the stock of the new product sells out worldwide in a couple hours, and Apple gets mad profits because they charge a premium for their product. They don't just pack up and call it a good day. They make more phones. Investors see the profit realization and the company's value is based on that. Even if someone buys 20 iPhones on release day and resells them in a country where they aren't available for twice the price, that isn't profit that Apple sees, and that extra profit is not part of the company's value. The profit from the sale of the original 20 phones is, but not the unrealized profit that the reseller makes. The stock market doesn't care that the phones are resold through grey market channels, that profit will never affect the stock price or any dividends because Apple never sees that money. It is exactly the same for TLG, or any other company with desirable product. The profits the company realizes are part of its value. Profits realized by anybody else are not part of that company's valuation. Brand awareness and popularity don't pay the electric bills and investors see them only as beneficial if the improve the company's bottom line. Most investors would actually see unrealized profits from this type of scenario as a deficiency of the management to understand its customers. That could drag valuation down, not up.

That was answered already, Rocky.

No. TLGs company value does NOT include resale market because TLG gets no profits from those sales. A company's value is based on its profit potential.

Alisdair, he says that it's an adaptive controller. As hinted by his mention of paralysis, adaptive controllers allow people with motor-control challenges to do things they cannot accomplish using standard equipment. In this case, it is a device to utilize a playstation controller, despite not being able to use fingers. It appears that the panels and gear-knobs are linked to manipulate the various triggers and buttons, which can be manipulated with feet, elbows, chin, or whatever the person can or needs to use for control.

Wait, what? If the parts have the original stickers, as applied for the A-model, we can't use them for this? That would completely eliminate me from this. I generally put all the stickers on all of my sets.

The level of awesome/suckage of this will depend largely on which TIE variant we get... (IMO) Advanced, Interceptor, Bomber, standard? Or one of the lesser known ones? Personally, I'd be cool with the Bomber... It's my favorite Imperial craft.

Now THIS could get interesting. ...and not just because I have no idea which sets I have that meet the criteria.

Yup, and I'm done. Ready for a contest!

Based on my piles of giveaways, you get both gifts if the purchases aren't made on the same day.

In the US? About 5 minutes before they've sold out permanently from past experience with LSW on sale in the US. Resellers camp on S@H and snatch up everything that goes on clearance pretty quickly. I don't think I've ever actually seen an item still for sale at clearance price past about midnight on the west coast.