DLuders

On his Brickshelf gallery, wewerkalouskalka/ Louskam presented his Lego Technic "...buggy powered by 2 buggy motors and RC components. It is 4x4, so it can ride in rough terrain. I was built for Lego Technic exhibition in Boskovice [Czech Republic]. And for fun." The shows its speed: He also posted his Lego Technic Jeep Wrangler Rubicon -- "Lego Technic RC 4x4 offroad. Driving: 4 PF XL motors, steering: 1 M motor. In cab it looks like a snake nest, because all XL motors are connected to one connector. And small decoration...steering wheel turns." :

Here is another excellent Lego Technic Road Grader built for the 9th SeTechnic Challenge, this time by Techymind. It sports a "Eurovia/Hubbard color (White with blue and red line)". On his Brickshelf gallery, Techymind posted 12 BIG images and a .l3b animation file. His shows all of its functions:

On his Brickshelf gallery, Cypr-21 posted his modification to the 8070's ugly "Baboon butt" . It is similar to Povratnik's mod shown above, but without the super-low rear panels. Cypr-21 used a 8869 / bb339c01 Power Functions Control Switch/ Pole Reverser Switch to avoid pushing the battery box's tiny orange switch to change motor direction:

On his Brickshelf gallery, Krize recently posted 13 BIG pictures of his Lego Christmas Candle Carousel, which he calls a "Pyramide". It has "Star Wars Figs with Power Functions for Rotation." Christmas Carousels are very popular in Germany -- the heat from the candles turns the fan blades and the carousel. Candles will melt Lego pieces , so this one is activated using Lego Power Functions elements. Here is the link to a Quicktime video.

On MOCpages, Firas Abu-Jaber recently posted 34 pictures of his Lego Pagani Zonda C12 S. He wrote, "Here she is; the beautiful lady “Zonda” in the LEGO form. One of my favorite cars, I just love her unique unusual curves, just like a beautiful girl...." "The Pagani Zonda is a mid-engined sports car produced by Pagani in Italy. It debuted in 1999 and continues through the present, with production proceeding at roughly 17-19 cars per year. As of June 2009, 206 Zondas had been built, including test mules. Both 2-seat coupe and convertible versions have been produced. Construction is mainly of carbon fiber. "Some of the early Zonda engineering was done by Formula One champion Juan Manuel Fangio. The car was originally to be named the "Fangio F1" after him but, following his death in 1995, it was renamed for an air current above Argentina." "The C12 S uses a 7,010 cc (428 cu in) AMG–tuned version of the engine producing 550 PS (400 kW; 540 hp). It can accelerate to 60 mph (97 km/h) in 3.7 secs, to 100 mph (160 km/h) in 7.5 secs and complete the quarter mile in 11.3 secs at 131 mph (211 km/h). Lateral acceleration on the skidpad is 1.18 g (11.6 m/s²), the car is 10 kilograms (22 lb) lighter than the normal Zonda C12, it can reach a top speed of 209 mph (336 km/h), and carries a price tag of US$350,000. "The C12 S features an elongated nose, flaps at the rear for improved aerodynamics, and new light clusters and exhausts. Only fifteen 7.0 L C12 S cars were produced."

If you like Lego clocks, see BenVanDeWaal's YouTube Channel which has videos of various "escapements". The pendulum provides the motion to turn a ratchet wheel using various Lego Technic parts. Here are two examples: -- "Galileo escapement (~Year 1637) with a 12-teeth escapement wheel....Impulse transfer is approximately tangential (i.e. with minimal friction), but unlocking is radial. Friction between the lifting pin and the unlocking lever can be eliminated by making the lever rotating about the pendulum arbor. Although unlocking friction can be made small, it may be variable, as a result of irregularities in the gear train, thus disturbing the pendulum motion in an inpredictable way.The weight, 70g, drops 1.25 mm/s. For construction details of the escapewheel see ". -- "There is only 1 gravity arm, and 14 'pins'. The (yellow) pendulum and the (red) gravity arm rotate about the same, fixed, axis, but are well separated.The gravity arm is lifted by the escapewheel (grey) and locked in its high position by a hook. In this position it is free from the scapewheel and its (Galilei) unlocking mechanism. When the pendulum swings to the right, it unlocks the gravity arm from the hook and is then impulsed by the falling gravity arm. The unlocking mechanism of the scapewheel acts as a banking pin for the gravity arm that stops falling down while the pendulum continues its swing to the left. Then the scapewheel is unlocked and brings the gravity arm back to its high position. This operation has to be accomplished before the pendulum comes back. It should not be too fast, however, to prevent tripping. Therefore, the scapewheel rotation is slowed down by a fly that rotates about a vertical axis (to control friction; upper left corner), without reducing its static torque. At no moment the pendulum is in direct mechanical contact with the geartrain. Even if the geartrain's performance is affected by irregularities, this will have no effect on the motion of the pendulum."

jhawk1977 wrote "This is the build of the Lego Technic Kit #8070. This is the alternate model, the Roadster. This kit looks great when completed and has some very cool power functions." It shows a fast-forward build, then the folding roof mechanism and the "suicide" doors.[media]

In case you are not a regular visitor to the Sariel's Lego TECHNIC Creations website or Facebook page, Paul Kmiec recently posted two new "goodies" for Lego Technic fans. Below are quick summaries; be sure to click on the underlined hyperlinks to read the entire description. "Gear Ratio Calculator 2.1 Released" -- "My gear ratio calculator has been updated. "It’s been almost exactly a year since my Gear Ratio Calculator 2 has been released, and this year has shown that there is still plenty of room for improvement. So, the Calculator has been updated to a 2.1 version, which includes following changes: * Images of gears and motors are replaced with more realistic, clearer ones * Colour scheme updated to meet the current LEGO standard (e.g. tan single bevel gears) * Number of teeth shown at the images of gears * Gear 20 teeth bevel with a pin hole added * Newer 4 studs wide differential split into two items: one treated as a 16 teeth gear, the other treated as a 24 teeth gear * Lists of gears & motors are 8 items wide * Improved contrast and visibility of important elements * “Add another pair of gears” link replaced with a large graphic button "I have created a new, LEGO Technic-themed loading image for the Calculator": See the Gear Ratio Calculator 2.1 here. "Instruction for Land Rover’s chassis available for download" -- "A complete, step-by-step instruction for the chassis of my 2010 Land Rover model is available for you in the Downloads section. "My last vehicle built for the 2010 Truck Trial season was a relatively simple model of the Land Rover series 2....the model’s chassis was technically more advanced and superior to the chassis of my earlier Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, instruction for which has gathered much acclaim. For example, it was completely studless and thus generally lighter and more compact, and it used turntables to attach the axles to the chassis, which prevented model’s weight from putting load on the driveshaft. "...I did not want to create instruction for the complete model, including the bodywork, for three reasons: because it would be much longer and more complex, because the body proved too heavy for a single XL motor geared 5:1, and finally because I prefer to provide others with a technically sound foundation for their own models with their own bodyworks, rather than with a complete instruction that leaves little or no place for one’s own creativity. It took a while, but finally the instruction is available in the Downloads section. "...Please note that unlike the Jeep’s instruction, this one concerns a construction that will be most likely completely hidden under the bodywork of your choice, so the colours I have used in it should be considered clearly optional.... "Finally, please keep in mind that this is an extremely robust design, created with extreme outdoor racing in mind, and thus it may include more reinforcements than you actually need. Additionally, this is a relatively advanced chassis for a simple 4×4 vehicle – if you find it more complex or more parts-expensive than you need, consider the Jeep’s chassis as a simpler alternative." of the original model:

This South African Lego website (Kiddiwinks) does indeed list the mysterious 8081 Extreme Cruiser set as costing 658 South African Rand (equivalent to US $95.08). This set must be fairly large. That website says "Release middle to end June" 2011. I'm guessing that it's some sort of Hotrod, like the Power Functions ones on the MOCpages Rod Club: Maybe it's like Sariel's HotRed -- "HotRod with Bugatti 35-like bodywork, full independent suspension, PF drive and steering, 4-speed manual gearbox, V14 piston engine, working steering wheel": (more pictures on Brickshelf)

As Aanchir noted on this Eurobricks post, The Lego Group (TLG) has finally written down their stance concerning "guns and Lego". From their most-recent Progress Report 2010, TLG wrote on printed Page 26 their: "Guideline for weapons and conflict in LEGO experiences" "A large number of LEGO minifigures use weapons, and are – assumedly – regularly being charged by each others’ weapons as part of children’s role play. In the LEGO Group, we acknowledge that conflict in play is especially prevalent among 4-9-year-old boys. An inner drive and a need to experiment with their own aggressive feelings in order to learn about other people’s aggressions exist in most children. This in turn enables them to handle and recognize conflict in non-play scenarios. As such, the LEGO Group sees conflict play as perfectly acceptable, and an integral part of children’s development. We also acknowledge children’s well-proven ability to tell play from reality. However, to make sure to maintain the right balance between play and conflict, we have adhered to a set of unwritten rules for several years. In 2010, we have formalized these rules in a guideline for the use of conflict and weapons in LEGO products. The basic aim is to avoid realistic weapons and military equipment that children may recognize from hot spots around the world and to refrain from showing violent or frightening situations when communicating about LEGO products. At the same time, the purpose is for the LEGO brand not to be associated with issues that glorify conflicts and unethical or harmful behavior." Nevertheless, for mature AFOLS, there is no denial that Lego tanks (such as those produced by Sariel and Mahjqa) ARE COOL, and display some of the best examples of Lego TECHNIC mechanisms.

@ davidmull: No, I did not know that the 8049's Building Instructions showed how to add Power Functions, but I do now! Brickset confirms that one can "Add compressor function by purchasing 8293 LEGO Power Functions Motor Set! 2 models in 1: rebuilds into a log handler!" Here is another about the motorized 8049. Jcbarros71 wrote that it shows a "LEGO Technic 8049 Tractor with Log Loader, with one M motor added to pump the air for pneumatics (as proposed on the 8049 booklet), and a few minor MODs, like rear lights on Tractor and Trailer, rubber axle connector added to grabber ans trailer support, and the Black Bar 9 x 13 Grill was attached to the battery box with no extra parts added (I really don't understand why LEGO took off the Black Bar Grill when they added the battery box on the motorized version. See LEGO8049 instructions book)." In the shown below, ssugawara1955 shows his DRIVEABLE 8049 set:

The 8285 Tow Truck set (from 2006) has 1,878 parts. From the Bricklink Price Guide, the least-expensive "Used' 8285 is the equivalent of US $160, and the least-expensive "New" 8285 is the equivalent of US $308.16. According to Peeron, the set retailed in 2006 for US $120.

Today on the Lego Technic Designers Blog, TLG's designer of the 8070 set (Uwe Wabra) discussed his: "Designing the 8070 Supercar" "The 8070 Supercar was a really nice challenge and took around 5 months to complete, from the first prototypes were made until the final model was ready. The final model contains 1,281 LEGO Technic elements. Being challenged to build a supercar is always special, but since I am very affectionate about supercars I found this task to be incredible cool! There are a huge number of different supercars, both new ones and ‘oldies’. They are characterized by big engines and streamlined designs, as well as low and wide constructions. Supercars unite the speed and stylishness in a beautiful design that demonstrates elegance and power. For a car designer, the greatest challenges you can be given, must surely be to design a supercar. A supercar needs to be simple, but hold the feeling of innovation and luxury that all car manufactures want to associate with their cars. Therefore, you will also experience that all car manufactures have built some sort of supercar. Today, there are also a huge number of people who are designing their own supercars by tuning an ordinary car, rebuilding it to be lower and wider, or changing it more dramatically. Those are supercars for the ordinary men who always dreamed of having their own supercar. You also see an increasing number of TV stations broadcasting shows on cars being reworked, or wrecks being rebuilt into a supercar. In the LEGO Technic 8070 Supercar, we have tried to use inspiration from all these different areas. We ended up building a model type that is a muscle car with a V8 engine in the front, distinctive wing doors and a hidden spoiler. We worked hard to make the curves right and designing the angles of the supercar to be as authentic as possible." "Building the 8070 LEGO Technic Supercar has been real enjoyment right from the beginning - finding inspiration, identifying the type of car, developing the functions and finalizing the design. It’s been a truly inspiring and challenging building experience and I hope you will enjoy building it as much as I did."

Got it -- replace two 32034 "Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #2 - 180 degrees" with two 62821 "Technic, Gear Differential with inner Tabs, 28 Bevel Teeth" parts. --> Below, I have revised the PDF Parts List; it replaces the one that I had posted earlier. I replaced the two-piece Technic Turntable with the complete assembly turntable to get the parts count down to 600. Benny3000RoadGraderPartsList.pdf

I suppose that it's possible to motorize the 8049 Tractor with Log Loader set. However, there's not a lot of room for the Power Functions components. Do you have something in mind like SzokoliBence's "Lego Technic 8049 Tractor with Compressor"? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JibSCxihuMM

Using Mahjqa's Lego Digital Designer (LDD) LXF Building Instructions file and LDD Manager, I created the attached PDF Parts List to make his Metal Grudge sports tank. Thanks again, Mahjqa, for all of the work it took to share your fun creation with others! MahjaMetalGrudgePartsList.pdf

For Grohl's Bluetongue vehicle, I converted the individual .JPG files into a single, 4.6-MB PDF Building Instruction file. I'd be glad to e-mail it to anybody who wants it -- contact me at LudersDG@MSN.com . The single PDF file will save you download time, and make it easier to go through the building steps. I already sent it to one Eurobricks member. Thanks again to Grohl for allowing others to build his creation.

I just downloaded the 141 image files off of Grohl666's Brickshelf gallery. This looks like it will be fun to build! Thanks for sharing the Bluetongue's Building Instructions!

"So many good models to build, and not enough time to build them all...." This will be a fun Technic model to build. I like the mouse-over Parts List on the various Flickr images, to indicate the Bricklink part number. Thanks for sharing your MOC's building instructions!

Sariel/ searme posted this teaser for the upcoming 2011 Lego Technic Truck Trial Grand Prix Mazovia competition in Warsaw, Poland. There are fun scenes of massive TRUCK BASHING to show how tough these trucks are! He wrote, "There will be 6 races in 2011, dates are shown in the video. All the footage comes from 2010": 2010 participant Cieslu12 just posted 35 images on his Flickr photoset to illustrate a typical Trial Truck -- "1:13 scale model of Polish 3-axle truck Jelcz W640-JS designed to participate in GP Mazovia competition. Features: 2 PF XL motors for drive 1 PF M motor for steering 1 PF M motor for motorizing R6 engine 2 PF IR receivers 1 PF Light set 2 live axles with PF XL motors mounted inside, no gearbox." He added a picture of his truck "With Lomero's Tatra and ManiekManiak's IFA":

TheYoshroom posted these Building Instructions for the Lego Trial Truck Dualsteer 4x4:

Yes, one could possibly scavenge the boom from the 8049 Tractor with Log Loader set for use on the upcoming (2H2011) 8110 Unimog set.

I think that you are referring to the 8421 Mobile Crane. It has a motorized boom. Blakbird's Technicopedia has a nice comparison between the various Lego Technic crane sets. Brickset has 15 Reviews of the 8421.

I like going to a hardware store or discount store (like Walmart, Target, etc.) and getting those lightweight, inexpensive plastic shelving units that have the tubular legs. The shelving comes disassembled, and one just fits the tubular legs into the corner slots, and stack the shelves upwards. One can even add more to the stack by getting more shelves, or cut down the height of the legs. The shelving is plenty sturdy enough to handle the weight of the largest Lego Technic sets. Here are some examples: One could do like college students do, and just get some 1x12 boards and concrete blocks....

The various Lego Hocket sets (shown below) had different-colored x928cx1 "Technic, Axle Connector Rectangular Triple Spring-Loaded" parts. In order to have all of the hockey players be evenly matched, the internal springs all had to be the same. The part is pretty rare, so I would get what you can from the limited Bricklink sales.