DLuders

@ Livens: Welcome to Eurobricks! Try this: Once you are in LDDextended mode, press Edit-->Preferences. There is a little slider bar at the bottom of that screen to adjust the Compatibility Mode Level. Mine is slid all the way to the left (off). Since you seem to have a capable computer, try setting the Advanced Graphics while you are on the Preferences screen. You can outline the individual bricks in white outlines, and set up high-quality rendering and shading. P.S. I recommend reading Superkalle's "LDD Graphics and General Troubleshooting Guide" topic.

@ minifig13: On this post, bbqqq said he uses Modo for his renders.

Cool car! This profile of the car reminds me of a Camaro Funny Car that one might see on an American dragstrip:

Nice mod! I like how you did the rear fenders -- it makes the truck look real classy. "Mater" is jealous!

The index is here (the 2nd post on this topic).

Yes, the 8297 Off Roader is one of five Lego Technic sets (so far) which has the 54120 "Tire 94.8 x 44 R Balloon":

Yes, the 8886 "Power Functions Extension Wire" (first picture below) can be mixed with the old-style 5306b "Electric, Wire with Brick 2 x 2 x 2/3 Pair" (second picture below). The old-style 2x2 electric plate fits on the UNDERSIDE of the new PF-style electric plate. The official Lego Power Functions website has answers to many "Frequently-Asked Questions" (FAQs). Compared to the old-style 2847c01 Lego Battery Box (with the red button), it takes a lot less pressure to activate the green button on the PF Battery Box (whether it be the 84599 "Electric 9V Battery Box Power Functions (Rechargeable)" or the 87513c01 "Electric 9V Battery Box Power Functions (Non-Rechargeable) with Dark Bluish Gray Bottom").

Sorry, PeterleB -- "This folder is not yet public" in your Brickshelf gallery. Without deeplinking, we may have to wait a few days to see your pictures.

Maybe you should do so today.

Here is an image of the 8852-2 model (from Brickfactory.info):

@ PeterleB: Your MOCpages post is not public yet -- "This page is not visible yet....Actually, a MOCpages moderator just has to approve this page first before anyone can see it." Could you "Deeplink" the pictures and the LDD .lxf file? Anika Vuurzoon's of her "NXTified" Lego Unimog is interesting:

There are some interesting diagrams and descriptions of a Lego Helicopter Swash Plate ("plate tilting mechanism") on this University of Amsterdam (The Netherlands) webpage:

Here is Akiyuky's of his Lego GBC Archimedes Screw module: ...and his of his Lego GBC Spiral Lift Type 2:

Over the past few days, Japanese AFOL Akiyuky has been posting Lego Great Ball Contraption (GBC) module videos on his YouTube Channel -- he has 21 Lego GBC videos posted so far! Some of them are featured on his blog (in Japanese and English translation). Lego Pneumatics fans will appreciate this of his Lego GBC Pneumatic Module: Check the mechanism of this Lego GBC Zig-Zag Lift on this :

jbrost76 posted this of a Lego "Unimog-based Swiffer vehicle for Monster Chess board" -- "We needed some way to clean our Monster Chess & Robo Rally game board at shows. I just got a LEGO Technic Unimog set. It seemed natural to turn it into a Swiffer truck-- ok, maybe it only seemed natural to me. This is the first test video."

@ Mezoxr: Have you seen the various motorized Lego 8258 MOCs in this Eurobricks post?

Blakbird is going to kill me if I say anything about this topic!

Technicmad (Nathan Thom) posted this interesting article about Lego "Parts Use Statistics" on his Rebrickable blog: "I have been calculating various statistics, trying to come up with some interesting charts to display on the site. I just completed the one below which I thought was a nice visual display of how TLG have changed over the years. Plus it’s a bit too complicated for me to code live on the site right now so figured a blog post would be best. [CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SEE THE FULL-SIZE CHART] "This chart shows the % breakdown of types of parts in all sets released each year. The different colors represent the different part types I use on Rebrickable. So for example, across all the sets released in 1956, 60% were Bricks and 40% were of type Other. If you are not familiar with what the part types are, check out the summary at the bottom of this page: http://www.rebrickable.com/profile/someidiot/stats . "In the beginning all parts fall in the Other category. Then the original Bricks were introduced in 1954 and quickly took dominance over all other parts. In 1961 the first Plates were produced (and became very popular in the 60s). From 1965, Tiles were introduced and while they came and went a bit through the 70s, they have slowly risen in usage since 1980. "Around the mid 1970s to 1982 the Technic theme was introduced and we begin to see the introduction of the various Axles, Pins, Gears and Connectors. But it wasn’t until about 1998 that their use became more common in other themes too. The studless Beams started appearing in 1987. As a Technic fan, these parts distinguish those sets I had as a kid vs adult. All my childhood sets were studded and all my adult sets are studless "These days, the proportion of different types of parts is becoming more evenly spread. The humble 2×4 brick which formed the original patent is only a small % of the total offering. "So any other stats you want to see?"

Yes, Crowkillers (Paul Boratko) has "revamped" his website and it features his "Vampire GT" and lots of his other excellent Lego Technic Supercar models:

VMLN8R posted two Flickr pictures of this Mini Lego Technic Power Functions Chassis. It uses the x928cx1 "Technic, Axle Connector Rectangular Triple Spring-Loaded" part for the steering, but that part is placed SIDEWAYS in the vehicle. Click on each photo of the Chassis to see the FULL SIZE images:

It's interesting to see side-by-side pictures of two nice Lego Technic models (8069 Backhoe Loader and 8265 Front Loader):

Thanks to AVCampos for providing the individual JPG files. I have revised my earlier post to reflect the new hyperlinks to the higher-quality PDF files. You can download the PDF instructions for the four Lego 8448 Alternate Models by linking to these MegaUpload SkyDrive webpages (where I put them): BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS ALL FOUR 8448 ALTERNATES (Concept Car, Racer, Hot Rod, & Buggy) in one PDF File: https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=5641cce2a1cc0886&resid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!166&parid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!165 . INDIVIDUAL FILES: Lego 8448-3 Concept Car Alternate Model PDF Building Instructions: https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=5641cce2a1cc0886&resid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!167&parid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!165 . Lego 8448-4 Racer Alternate Model PDF Building Instructions: https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=5641cce2a1cc0886&resid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!168&parid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!165 . Lego 8448-5 Hot Rod Alternate Model PDF Building Instructions: https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=5641cce2a1cc0886&resid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!169&parid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!165 . Lego 8448-6 Buggy Alternate Model PDF Building Instructions: https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=5641cce2a1cc0886&resid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!170&parid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!165 . LEGO 8448 OFFICIAL MOTORIZATION MODIFICATIONS PDF BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS: https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=5641cce2a1cc0886&resid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!171&parid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!165 .

Everyone should have a Unimog Brabus Black for their country estate!