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Erik Leppen

Eurobricks Dukes
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Everything posted by Erik Leppen

  1. Erik Leppen
    I think for these machines, the actual proportions are less important than the functions. So I'd also vote for a wider ladder, to make it look like an actual ladder. An axle with equally spaced 1 x 2 x 0.5 liftarms will probably do. Anyhow, great progress, I really look forward to seeing this develop.
  2. Erik Leppen
    I really like this car, WPE. I don't know much about the real Porsche 914, but your car in itself looks great. I like the studded finishings at the bumpers and the various other places. I also like the pop-up headlights (I like the single ones best). By the way, good use of the 3 x 5 ellipse liftarm at the front indicators. I'm surprised the mix of studs and beams works so well. Imagine what would happen if you were to cover up the studs with some tiles and curved slopes (the 1x10 curved slope in particular comes to mind). The only thing I'm not fond of is the wheel arches. They look quite thin in comparison. But I don't see an easy way to fix that. Also, instead of U-joints you might want to us egray angle connectors at the top of the windscreen and behind the "rollbar". I'm not fond of using axles for springs, because I'd be afraid of damaging the axle. But I understand you're working with a limited parts inventory :) All in all: great first post here on EB - welcome and I hope to see more of you in the future!
  3. Erik Leppen
    I find the answers in this topic quite surprising. Am I really the only person whose models won't stay together more than a few weeks? If I finished a model, I make a CAD file of it, and some photos, and it goes back into parts. That way I don't have to keep spending ever more money and ever more space on the hobby. The additional benefit of this is that whenever I start a MOC, I have my complete collection of pieces available, so I know what I have. If I keep all kinds of stuff assembled, my available inventory changes all the time, and I don't like that. Also, LEGO is meant for building. Not for building only once and then letting it collect dust.
  4. Erik Leppen
    Also, when you have some progress, don't be afraid of showing it here on the forums for feedback. That way you can get feedback specific to your build.
  5. Erik Leppen
    With all the pictures and renders, you could do this yourself :)
  6. Erik Leppen
    I own neither, but if I compare 8070 and 42056, I'd say 8070 is much more of a Technic set. It has half the parts (and less than half the price) but more functions. Yes, the functions may not be realistic, but it does plenty of things and has enough complexity for a 1300-part set and you can always start modding (and it has a nice alternative model, which the Porsche lacks). The Porsche is much more of a display set, and orange parts pack. So if you're looking for orange parts, get the Porsche. But when I saw 42056's instructions, I was left rather unimpressed. It's mostly beam stacking and panelling. 8070, to me, looks much more technically interesting. In that case, you'd be better of with 8070 plus another car set, e.g. 42000 (if you can still get it for a reasonable price) or 42039. These have no gearbox, but plenty of nice parts for MOCcing.
  7. Erik Leppen
    What's important here, I think, is the realization "first comes the skill, then comes the money". With that I mean, if you want to earn money doing some thing X, first you should be good at doing X (where "good" means "better than people doing it for free". So, in the case of creating LEGO building instructions, first make sure you're better than me ). You can't start earning money before you get good, because if you aren't good, people won't pay you. So, instead of picking something you want to earn money with, and then trying to become good, turn it upside down. Do what you like to do, and show the world, and learn from the experience. Then, over the years, you will become better and better at it. And then, after lots and lots of time, you might consider earning money doing that. I did this with game development. I started somewhere around the year 1999, with no financial motivation (it's just a hobby), and over the years I became good enough to make it into a job. The first income arrived in 2012.
  8. Erik Leppen
    I don't get all this hassle over the rules. If a model is considered a good model in the spirit of a compo, it gets votes. If it's somehow flawed or unfitting, it won't. Can't we just trust the voters on selecting good pneumatic models without requiring additional rules? I mean, it's a pneumatic contest. Of course you'll have to use pneumatic for the core of your model. Duh. Isn't that obvious from the competition theme? A good mechanical model shouldn't get as much votes as a good pneumatic model, however good it is, because hte voters intuitively understand that it will be unfitting. Really, just build a good model focusing on pneumatics, and be done with it.
  9. Erik Leppen
    Neat idea. Certainly in line with the competition. I hope you get it to work. What I think would work is mount the blue rods at 90 degrees relative to each other, so that when one rod is at a dead point, the other is perpendicular. Then, you get a four-stroke kind of sequence: cylinder 1 extends cylinder 2 extends cylinder 1 retracts cylinder 2 retracts It's the same as a V4 engine. Then, you might even have the axle of the wheels drive a crankshaft that will control the pneumatic valves that will inturn drive the cylinders. Similar to what 8868's B model is doing. Maybe you should check that out, it's one of the most brilliant sysems in an official set ever.
  10. Erik Leppen
    This is a great theme for a competition. I don't have time I don't have the parts I mean, given these two facts, they can better happen both during the same competition :) That was a bit of a joke, because, it's actually too bad. I never build pneumatics, but a compo would have been a good way to try it once. But I'd have to get the parts first anyway. I sold all my pneumatics last year. But I'm definitely looking forward to seeing all the entries people will come up with. This is bound to stir the creativity in people, especially those who are more "gear-oriented", like me :)
  11. Erik Leppen
    I think the bucket wheel excavator 42055 has too many small imperfections to be a "best set". It's a most impressive set and a masterpiece of engineering, but it's main function doesn't work flawlessly (or so I read) and for the "best set" label this won't do. Critiques I read about the set: 1. sometimes pieces get stuck, 2. the bucket wheel lacks the force needed to actually dig and 3. there is too much play in the lower belt's "stay-in-one-place" function The Xerion 42054 seems to be a better candidate; it does almost everything right. The only things I personally think hold it back (but I don't own the set yet) is, the crane is ugly and has little lifting power; the base of the crane is bulky; the crane sags when the outriggers are not out; the outrigger's system is too simple The pneumatic Volvo excavator 42053 might also be a very good candidate, however, (again, I only know this from the reviews) it's not perfect. the front blade doesn't lock over center, the rear outrigger's have no mechanism and are just a manual link, and there's no rotation mechanism. Also, it has the same number of gears as 8837... For the rest it seems like a really nice set. I'm not so sure any of these sets is on the same level as sets like 8480 or 8880 or other such gems. The Arocs 42043 might be a better candidate. Full suspension on a 8x4x4 truck, great looking, lots of functions including pneumatics, lovely complexity. That one might be on the list.
  12. Erik Leppen
    Really nice car, well done! The only thing I don't like is the windscreen. From the side it looks like it has a vertical windscreen. I would have added a black axle thorugh thge center of the windscreen, to "show" the curve a bit. For the rest, the model is very nice. I like the lines, and the internal structure seems to be very solid as well. The added lights are a nice bonus!
  13. Erik Leppen
    1. For buying loose parts, Bricklink is your best bet. Be sure to check it out! 2. I (still) use MLCad to do digital planning of LEGO models. I don't know about how outdated or whatever it is, but I really like how the program has 4 views. It's part of the LDraw package that also includes somr other programs like LDView (rendering program) and LPub (instruction book designer). http://www.ldraw.org/ 3. Mistakes are the core of doing anything creative. Keep cherishing them ;)
  14. Erik Leppen
    If I understand the wheels correctly, they have to be driven to roll forward and backward, but can roll sideways freely. Right? If correct, then a setup with too many wheels won't work unless you program some mathematics into the unit to link the speeds to which the motors are set. Otherwise some wheels will slip forward and backward. That's probably why the original has three wheels. If any one wheel is driven and the other two are kept idle, the model can rotate in such a way that the other two wheels are rolling sideways only. (by addition, this also works if any two wheels are driven, or if all wheels are driven) If you add more wheels, then if you drive only one wheel, some of the other wheels will have to roll forward/backwards as well. As they are linked to a motor, they will slip unless the speed of the motor matches the required speed. The latter involves some pretty complex mathematics, I expect. So I'd go with as few wheel units as you can, i.e. three.
  15. Erik Leppen
    Yes, please do a pneumatic compo now. I have no pneumatics, but now is the time I have no time to build. (Edit: I'm joking, of course.)
  16. Erik Leppen
    Good to see you (Jim) being so enthousiastic about this set. Sariel was also very enthousiastic in his video. I don't buy many sets lately, but I will get this set for sure. It looks like I'm in for a treat :) Also, your photography is really outstanding. Absolutely. Even a picture of a single piece is wonderful :) Anyhow, thanks for the great review, and don't worry about the delay. It's 100% worth the wait :)
  17. Erik Leppen
    I really like the curved sections at the rear. But the design is very original overall. Only small gripe is that I think the sides of the cabin are a bit too "vertical", but for the rest, I think it's great work.
  18. Erik Leppen
    Nice! I like how "clean" it looks. The modest scale is something I really like as well. It's compact without feeling too short. Great model. The white works really well.
  19. Erik Leppen
    Good suggestion. I think the 42039 is a really nice set, if you're into MOCcing and cars, and I think it's very decently priced. The only downside (as a parts pack) is that the green color is unique to this set (for now), so it's a bit hard to combine with other sets.
  20. Erik Leppen
    There are free instructions. There are €5 instructions. There are €10 instructions. There are €20 instructions. There are €50 instructions. So, whatever your budget is, there are instructions for you. You cannot access all instructions you might want, but there's always something for your budget. Just as with official sets, there's something to pick for each wallet. But contrary to sets, in this case, even an empty wallet will do :) Of course, the best instructions aren't free. But there's a lot of pretty decent stuff available for free. But it requires you to go searching. :) This holds for instructions the same way as for Android apps, news websites or whatever. To help you out, there's Rebrickable. A lot of instructions are put there, paid ones but also free ones. And some builders put free instructions on their websites. I won't link to my website here, but there's free instructions of my models there.
  21. Erik Leppen
    Seems that you almost answer your own question. The Porshe is big looking and lacks powerfunctions and seems to be a bit pricey. In contrary, the BWE is great value and has many power functions features. Above that, of the two, the BWE is a proper Tecnic set, with neat functionality and cool techniques. The Porsche stops being Technic as soon as the contents of Box 1 are assembled... From there, it's just stacking beams. If you want a car, get a Creator car. The Camper van, the Mini or recent Beetle :)
  22. Erik Leppen
    I like the color variation (color "vomit" is a loaded/pejorative word, so I avoid that). It makes models easier to discern by picture. See a blue axle-end? Must be axle-pin. See a dark-gray pinend? Must be the new 3L axle pin.Super easy. Much easier than when everything was black or grey. When I make instructions now, I also use yellow and red axles (red 6 and 10, yellow 7 and 11). This helps make it easier to understand what happens in a model, and same-colored axles always differ steps of 4 in length. As I consider LEGO an art medium, I have accepted certain things as "abstracted away" anyway. Most shapes in Technic are "suggested" anyway, rather than actually there (think windscreens), so a certain level of abstraction has always been in Lego and that's one of the things I like about it. The color coding is of the same level. And I agree with those who say a everything-fully-black construction is boring to look at and, more importantly, harder to "read" (understand). I would have loved to see the 5x7 frames in black though. Such a large element in only one color is still a pity, really.
  23. Erik Leppen
    Haha, this is great, I think you will win the "fantasy" category :D I especially like the adjustable suspension. And also, you seem to have two steering modes. Nice :) I also like how "mean" it looks. The colors work very well on this. The only thing I don't like is the large back end that holds the rear spoiler. I think it would look better if the large white 5 x 11 panels on the back would go and replaced by a rear windscreen. Right now it 's a bit "back-heavy", visually. By the way, I really like the front wheel wells and headlights.
  24. Erik Leppen
    One of the better looking entries. It's lovely!
  25. Erik Leppen
    I certainly get what you mean - if I leave a project untouched for too long, on a certain moment I just want to get rid of it. I might rebuild it later, but leaving anything assembled for too long gets on my nerves. It's almost as if I want to make the parts be free again ;) (well, in a way it's because I want to have the complete collection available again for a fresh project, or a fresh version of the last project). One advice: join a competition (when there is one). The deadline helps you finish. At least, that is my experience. It also helps focus, instead of eternally improving tiny details. But my favorite personal method is: don't build too big. I know that if I build too big (anything beyond 5000 pieces) my chances of finishing it are small. Your size limit may lie somewhere else, but you might want to start really small (like, 300 parts) and see if you finish that. If you can, you can slowly size up. Also, build what you are good at, or something similar. Then you get the best results, and improve even further :) And, most importantly, of course, the final model is not the goal. The goal is enjoying yourself. That's why it's called a hobby :)
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