Erik Leppen

I'm totally not into these modular buildings, but the Parisian Restaurant has the very interesting quality that it works just as well stand-alone. Because of that, it is the only set of this series I have ever owned.

I would use the Brickstore/Brickstock program (2 names for the same program). I believe it is used by Bricklink sellers to keep their inventory. It's an offline tool so you don't have to do everything via a web interface. It takes its data, including pricing information, from Bricklink.

Let's first start with the basic 2L inline axle joiner in blue, and the basic x-o-x 3L perpendicular connector in blue. Two of the most basic Technic parts are currently not available in one of the 5 original Lego colors... (Yes, the 3L connector exists in blue, but it's super rare)

Congratulations to all those who ended higher than they thought. Actually, I myself didn't expect to end in 6th place at all! I find it interesting how the top 10 is all very close to one another, except the winner who has ended miles ahead of the rest. That's quite astonishing, really. Points-wise, #2 is in fact closer to #12 than to #1. Actually, I see that #2 and #3 differ by a single point. Anyhow, it was a fun contest and it's great to see so many great entries made it to the finish line. I think all contestants can be proud :)

I said "paid [something] is primarily a product". I specifically added "primarily" to address this point. Yes, sold art is still art, but, by entering the realm of economy, it is made into an art product. That was not at all what I wanted to suggest! But I just noticed someone being a seller of instructions (which just happened to be you) decided to not share this particular bit of information for free, even though I would think this community thrives on people sharing things for free. So I was a bit surprised by this and made the link between someone not sharing something for free and, well, not sharing things for free. That is all. I called this "the fun drains out" because I think sharing things for free and getting replies is part of the fun. By involving money, it becomes a transaction, and to me, that feels not-fun. This is a good point. Personally, I don't consider myself good enough (as a builder and as an instruction maker) to make people pay for the things I made.

Thanks Lipko and @Lox Lego for sharing this, this gives an impression

I wonder too how well these things actually sell. Are we talking thousands of copies of the same instruction? A thousand? Hundreds? A hundred? Tens? Ten or less? I don't mind people charging for instructions - after all, instructions have value, it's as simple as that. But I won't be a customer, most probably (I never bought an instruction). But personally, I rather keep them free because I feel that if I involve money into something, I lose the fun in it. When you charge money, tThen you suddenly have to cater to an audience. Then instructions will have to be clear and error-free, and catered to a public that might contain less-experienced builders. Being free, my instructions are "take it or leave it", I'm not going to change my style of instruction making. A paid instruction is primarily a product, a free instruction is primarily an artpiece. And I rather live in a world full of artpieces than in a world full of products. So I keep my own instructions free. What baffles me is why this subject often seems to stir up discussions to the point people get personal. There are two viewpoints and I think both are valid. Edit: And this is what I meant above by "If you involve money, the fun drains out." Why not contribute to a community of sharing knowledge? I thought that's what EB was. Edit 2: here's an example of what happens when someone releases something great for free: I have written a free book about Lego clocks! - LEGO Technic, Mindstorms, Model Team and Scale Modeling - Eurobricks Forums

Yes please, because I often don't find the time to vote and the current system gives me an advantage and I don't want to cheat by accident simply because I tend to "forget" about voting. Edit: voted :D

Haha, this is perfect. I think this absolutely nails the competition theme. Not only is this not an existing vehicle, it's not even near an existing vehicle. But I could totally imagine this being real. And isn't that exactly what Lego is about? And the extending function is just totally "because we can"! :D

Well, "bigger is better" they say In all seriousness, this is quite the machine. I actually like how different it is from all the rest, and that all of the huge size is not just bulk for nothing: it's quite the feat to have such an arm fold all the way out, and the X-shaped outriggers are really nice too. I think this is a great entry to the competition.

I like how beefy and rugged this looks. Genuine off-road action. Very fire-trucky :) Also the rounded shapes of the cabin match really well with this I think. I would have preferred red for the bed to improve consistency (green on a fire truck just doesn't work for me), but that's personal. The rest of the coloring - red cabin, dark gray chassis, black arm and black detailing on the cabin - works really well. The double-acting mechanism for the folding arm is pure genius, and the fact that it's all pneumatic is a great feature by itself. With the tubing it just looks cooler :)

Really nice model. Looks a bit like a classic truck from back in the day. I like the more squarish look, it's very clean. The white color also helps with this and makes the red crane really pop out. Seems to have plenty of functions, without compromising the looks anywhere. Nice compact model :)

This thing is great. A worthy successor of 8460, I would say, which is my favorite studded set. It just seems to have everything, and i also really like the color scheme. It even seems to have suspension and a gearbox? And the crane has a considerable reach, nice! This basically puts 42009 to shame

This is a really strong entry. The bright green just pops, love that! I like the front grille. Also, absolutely packed with functions, there doesn't seem to be any space left! Especially the crane is nice, and everytyhing is in a very decent scale. And also even electric! I think this could have been a very nice set. The folding sides of the bed are a nice extra detail. The only minor gripe is, I think I would have liked to see a bit of work-in-progress earlier on in the competition. But the final model is just perfect.

I really like how this turned out. Uniform coloring, compact but with a good reach, and it has all the functions you expect. And the tilting cabin is a nice extra function, I like that!

I posted the final entry I lowered the roof by 1 stud. TO do that I had to make some of the seats above the wheels a bit shorter, but no one will notice :) Gear changing and steering can be controlled by the driver: Here's a view into the spacey interior. Also, the driver can even change destinations by rolling the chain by hand, but that's more of a "Lego artifact" and not actually intended of course The windows on both sides are quite different: I also added two rooftop panels that can be opened via the HOG at the rear. The color may be a bit odd but I don't have the pieces in many other fitting colors. Finally, the shot you'll see if you missed it and have to wait for another 59 minutes... Seeing the quality of the other entries I'll probably not win, but I had fun building this and I wish all the other entrants the best of luck!

City bus Functions Front steering, via HOG on roof. Driver's steering wheel turns along. Rear wheels drives a 4-cylinder fake engine. 2-speed gearbox. Via HOG on roof. The gearstick by the driver's seat moves along. Opening/closing side doors, both connected, via HOG above the doors. Rolling destination panel with tiles on a chain, to allow choosing destinations. Via HOG on sides. Uses Architecture 1x8 tiles to visit monuments worldwide ;) Opening/closing rooftop windows. Both connected, via HOG on rear. Images Discussion topic

Quick update, to let you know the project isn't stranded and will hopefully become a finished entry. Will hopefully finish later this weekend. I have one last surprise feature, which I had in mind and I'm happy that it works: I don't know what to call it, but it's a set of destination tiles on a band that can roll to show the different destinations. I used the new blue 12t gears which are the smallest gears to work with chains. This plus the 1x8 plates just fits within 3 studs, which is neat. What's nice is that it works with the standard Architecture 1x8 tiles, so it doesn't require custom prints/stickers to work. I do think the roof is one stud too high so I hope I can make it lower. But the sidways seats above the front wheel are in the way so I will have to change those to make it fit. Left to do: lowering the roof by 1 stud, adding all the windows (in yellow), closing the roof, and some last details such as side mirrors, lights etc.

Nice find! Seeing this makes me think the same also works for the 1 x 3 thin liftarm with pin. :)

Also, without the slot, it's hard to get out 1/2 pins.

Well, @thekoRngear, to each their own of course, but by presenting your view on things as fact, you disqualify yourself from the discussion. Which you don't seem to want to have anyways, so whatever :) For clarity: I don't care about realism. I wouldn't recognize any of these cars on the road. I judge a Lego set on whether I think it is an interesting Lego set (this includes the part inventory). Which I think this G500 very much is! I consider it worth picking up if you find it at a good price. About the bodywork, I personally just find the G500's bodywork to look really nice (the color helps), and this set proves to me that one can design a car with standard parts only, without having to resort to designing a specialized Defender wheel arch piece and then, as a company, try to justify the piece by using it in other sets, where I can't remember having seen a single time where I found it appropriate parts usage. It always felt out of place to me, also in the Lego system of parts. Also, I haven't used the olive green parts in a Moc in the past years, so that shows the lack of MOCing potential for me. (Note: obviously, all of the above is an opinion, not truth. Everyone can have their own take on this).

That looks weird somehow. But great part. I could have used this quite a few times. So far, 1 + 2 often did the trick but it had always been some a bit of a workaround. Curious why it had to be used here. I'd assume the single set that has it now, is not really the reason for this part to exist.

I got the set with a discount and I built it yesterday. I actually love the set. It's miles beyond the Defender. Yes, there are a few parts of the bodywork that are a bit loose and some people complained that all the small parts make it lack a smooth finish (I disagree with that though), but I'll take a bodywork with a few loose pieces and lots of small pieces 1000x over the Defender's bodywork that feels rushed and stuck together from a few huge custom parts that are totally ineffective for MOCing. All doors of this G500 have a proper window frame, and everything looks very nicely angled, and all the angled parts that should be parallel, actually are. Of course the #7 connector is a big help, but there's also some clever angle work in other places that exactly matches the angle of this connector. The only reason for me to get this set were the reddish orange pieces, and it is exactly because of the way the bodywork is designed that we get really large numbers of very useful small pieces. Also, we get all lengths of straight liftarm in reddish orange, which is a rarity these days with new-colored sets. Just compare the selection of olive-green parts in the Defender - it's impossible to MOC with that. With the huge array of reddish orange pieces from this set, plus the few panels we got from the Space sets, and the part availability at least for Technic parts is immediately up to par with many other colors. It remains to be seen how well the McLaren scores on that aspect. i'd rather have seen other colors for the seats, colors that pop more and add a bit of variation to the part selection. Byt iself, the black + dark-gray color patching of the seats is very well done, but parts-wise, the set has a LOT of black. It looks nice on the model, but it adds a lot of parts I already own. I was a bit afraid for the huge amount of extra parts spent on "extras", but it's only a box, a roof-frame with ladder and a frame around the spare wheel, which is not overdone. My biggest complaint about the set is, what is it with Lego Technic sets that fake engines so often run so terribly slowly? It would have been much more fun if everything runs at least 5 times as fast. Right now it just looks dumb IMO. Also the gearbox still looks more complicated then needed (not sure it can be made simpler, but the gearing takes some weird routes IMO), but I'm really happy it doesn't spend the entire chassis on gearboxes the way the Defender did and there's actually interior space. The chassis feels much better designed overall, also thanks to the 19x3 panels. It's a bit of a shame t hough that after bag #6 (of 20) the functions are basically done. One could wonder why the other 14 bags are even made of Technic parts... The suspension works flawlessly, I like how the front and rear axles have a different setup (more variation in building). I also really like how the model is not too wide (thanks to the deep rims), and of course the 12t and 24t clutch gears are long-overdue but very welcome additions to the part selection.

I watched RacingBrick's video about the new reddish-orange off-roader with the new #7 angle connectors, and it looks like they're halfway between #2 and #3, although he did't measure it. That would mean the angle is 11.25 degrees (or 168.75 degrees, depending on which angle you measure). This would mean 32 connectors make a full circle. I hope the connector will become available in more neutral colors. I think it can certainly come in handy in places.

I have added one of the most important things for buses: seats :D It's a bit of improvisation putting enough seats in, so I have put a few sideways and a few don't really have any leg room, but the idea is there :) Also I have noticed that there is a LOT of places where things are only attached with a single pin or axle. It's one of the most flexible builds I have made and I really hope the roof will solidify things a bit. I have noticed that the driver's seat kinda blends away into all the blue, so I might change the color of that to stand out more. I've also changed the rear end slightly to fit the seats. These are probably all the seats I can fit in, also because I ran out of blue 3x5s. (Yes, I know some of the headrests ave blue and dark-gray swapped, but that's because I don't have enough of the same parts in the same color.)