DLuders

As reported by other Technic AFOLs, the Service Pack for the Lego Technic 8043 Motorized Excavator Set have been sent out. Please VERIFY that your four newly-designed Linear Actuators (LAs) that come with this Service Pack have the Production Code "36X0" stamped on them. If any have some other number, please reply to this post and I'll add additional choices on the "Poll". By compiling the data among dozens of AFOLs, we can determine whether "36X0" is a unique identifier between the "new" LAs and the "old" LAs. Thank you for your assistance.

@ Chrizzle: Were all of the parts you ordered from Technic sets issued within the past 3 years? What were the Part Numbers for the 15 different parts you ordered from the German Lego Customer Service? If they are willing to supply up to 200 examples of 15 different parts, think of all of the possibilities....

That's one BIG tower to build inside! The colors show up well in the photos and :

Nice find! My cousin is an Astronomer who specializes in "Minor Planets" and asteroids. This video is a great way of involving young people into the ESA project. Maybe some future scientists of the world will be watching this! The text of the YouTube video above says "Comets are primeval leftovers from the origins of the Solar System. To fully understand these ancient objects and perhaps the origins of life on Earth, ESA's Rosetta mission will rendezvous with comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014. In November of that year, Rosetta's Philae lander will touchdown on the comet and thoroughly investigate its composition." There's also a link entitled "ESA Space Scientist Detlef Koschny demonstrates the prototype LEGO® Philae lander": "Built using LEGO Mindstorms, the Philae lander model can be controlled using a home computer. It can rotate and move the drill up and down to simulate the behaviour of the real lander. As part of ESA's Rosetta space mission, Philae will land on comet Churyumov-Gerasimenko in November 2014 to study its composition": Here's a shoing "ESA Space Scientist Detlef Koschny explains why he originally built Rosetta in LEGO®" -- "Space missions are complicated pieces of orbital choreography. When planning a mission, spacecraft engineers must calculate how to point the solar panels towards the Sun, the main antenna towards Earth and the instruments towards the target. ESA Space Scientist Detlef Koschny build a LEGO model of Rosetta mission in order to visualise these precise orientations."

Wow! That's a lot of weight to move! For counterweights, you may want to use battery boxes, or the 73090b "Boat Weight 2 x 6 x 2 - bottom sealed, dimple on ends" pieces:

Sure, but are you aware of the HiTechnic "Electro Optic Proximity Detector" (EOPD)? It can "Accurately detect objects and small changes in distance to a target with the HiTechnic EOPD. The EOPD or Electro Optical Proximity Detector uses an internal light source to detect the presence of a target or determine changes in distance to a target. By generating its own light source, the EOPD is able to filter out all external light signals so as a robot moves from bright areas to dimmly lit areas or through shadows, the EOPD automatically compensates and only returns a signal based on its own light source. Targets can be accurately detected over distances up to about 8 inches (20 cm), depending on the target size, shape and reflective qualities."

"InItForTheGame" posted a of a Lego Technic All-Wheel-Drive vehicle. It uses two differentials and is articulated to conform to the terrain. I could not find any pictures of the creation, but the video shows closeups of its construction. For the experienced Trial Truck MOCcers (like Zblj, Atr, and Sariel), could you explain again why the use of differentials is a "bad thing" for trial trucks? It seems to work well for this MOC. As I recall, Zblj's 7-part Trial Truck Tips didn't discuss this aspect of a successful Trial Truck. Did I miss something?

Zblj has made a total of three different LDD designs for the "Mecanum" (vector) wheels: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=46945 .

@ Zblj: When you say that Mecanum Wheel 1 does not have "rims", what do you mean exactly? When you say that Mecanum Wheel 3 uses 4 ea. "Y-shaped" pieces, do you mean the 57585 "Technic, Axle Connector Hub with 3 Axles" part below?

On his Brickshelf gallery, "vkyppwnsall" created a Mini Trial Truck Concept 2 vehicle in Lego Digital Designer. This truck looks fun to drive! It uses Power Functions elements for remote-control operation. In the pictures below, he noted some errors in his build. LDD File: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/vkyppwnsall/Technic/TruckTrial/MiniTT/Concept2/LDD/concept2minitrtr.lxf

Wow! These are great LDD designs! I used LDD Manager to create individual parts lists for each of the three wheels separately. I'm going to print out the lists and order the missing parts from Bricklink.com to try them out for real! From left to right, Mecanum Wheel Number 1: 32013 Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #1 (1 ea.) 32013 Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #1 (1 ea.) 32013 Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #1 (4 ea.) 32013 Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #1 (6 ea.) 3705 Technic, Axle 4L (6 ea.) 3713 Technic Bush (1 ea.) 4185 Technic Wedge Belt Wheel (Pulley) (4 ea.) 4265c Technic Bush 1/2 Smooth (13 ea.) 43093 Technic, Axle Pin with Friction Ridges Lengthwise (12 ea.) 43093 Technic, Axle Pin with Friction Ridges Lengthwise (12 ea.) 6015 Tire Offset Tread Small Wide (6 ea.) 6536 Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Perpendicular (12 ea.) x1739 Technic, Axle 8L with Stop (1 ea.) [b]42610 Wheel 11 x 8 mm with Center Groove (6 ea.)[/b] [added per Zblj's post below] Mechanum Wheel Number 2: 32013 Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #1 (36 ea.) 32054 Technic, Pin Long with Friction Ridges Lengthwise and Stop Bush (6 ea.) 32073 Technic, Axle 5L (12 ea.) 3647 Technic, Gear 8 Tooth (12 ea.) 3707 Technic, Axle 8L (1 ea.) 4185 Technic Wedge Belt Wheel (Pulley)(4 ea.) 42610 Wheel 11 x 8 mm with Center Groove (24 ea.) 43093 Technic, Axle Pin with Friction Ridges Lengthwise (30 ea.) 4459a Technic, Pin with Friction Ridges Lengthwise and NO Center Slots (6 ea.) 44809 Technic, Pin Connector Perpendicular 2 x 2 Bent (24 ea.) 50945 Tire 14mm D. x 6mm Solid Smooth (24 ea.) 57585 Technic, Axle Connector Hub with 3 Axles (4 ea.) 6558 Technic, Pin Long with Friction Ridges Lengthwise (12 ea.) 75535b Technic, Pin Connector Round with Slot (Pin Joiner Round) (12 ea.) Mecanum Wheel Number 3: 32013 Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #1 (24 ea.) 3705 Technic, Axle 4L (12 ea.) 3706 Technic, Axle 6L (1 ea.) 3713 Technic Bush (12 ea.) 41677 Technic, Liftarm 1 x 2 Thin (12 ea.) [per Zblj's post below] 4185 Technic Wedge Belt Wheel (Pulley) (4 ea.) 42610 Wheel 11 x 8 mm with Center Groove (12 ea.) 4265c Technic Bush 1/2 Smooth (16 ea.) (12 ea.) [per Zblj's post below] 43093 Technic, Axle Pin with Friction Ridges Lengthwise (24 ea.) 44809 Technic, Pin Connector Perpendicular 2 x 2 Bent (24 ea.) 50945 Tire 14mm D. x 6mm Solid Smooth (12 ea.) x202 Technic, Pin Long without Friction Ridges Lengthwise (12 ea.) 44374 Technic, Liftarm Rotor 3 Blade Thin (4 ea.) [added per Zblj's post below]

M-Longer/ M1Longer just created a "Special type of excavator used to build tunnels... It uses 7 remote controlled functions. For more visit: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=446831 [where there are 19 pictures]... The arm can be raised, extended and tilted. The cutting tool is turned on from the cabin." There is a lot of "buzz" about this creation on the LUGPol website (English translation) , where he wrote: "I always wanted to build a functioning excavator. :P Even I found a red Cata 385 to have the opportunity to build a crawler in red: P However, after a closer look at the topic I realized that tracked excavators made of several blocks .. In pneumatics, the cylinders of his own design and screw jacks. And because of this that they do not like to duplicate the patterns started to look for something less exploited. Reviewing Cranes etc one can find many unusual machines. So I just found a special version of the Liebherr R944 , intended, to dig (or rather, scrape) tunnels. "Since the normal version distinguishes him arm, which is unprecedented in most of the tilting mechanism Excavator arm sideways. That's what determined the selection of a model for mapping. And then I started to have problems .... and I'm not talking at all about mechanics. "So far, every machine that had tried to build quite a lot of images available online. Unfortunately, this is a new Liebherr, so his pictures on the net is very little (I've found up to 8, half of which do not show too many details). "The chassis includes three engines, two drive XL tracks, an M is responsible for raising the blade." Recommend visiting the link to the English translation above, or (if you can understand Polish), the original LUGPol post.

German AFOL "Leggor3" built this clever "Pneumacube" (Lego Technic pneumatic cube) that can open up via remote control. On his website, he posted a few pictures and the video above.

Every time I have asked a question via Lego Customer Service's e-mail service, I don't get an answer for 2-3 days. If I answer a question on the Lego Technic Designers "Ask A Question" site http://technic.lego.com/en-gb/Designers/AskADesigner/Default.aspx , I NEVER get an answer. The questions haven't been updated there in 10 months (since Nov 2009). You're far better off having your question answered on Eurobricks or some other AFOL forum.

On MOCpages, Marvin G./ jamesbond0096 posted a Lego Technic articulated bus: "It's about 1 metre long. With pneumatic doors and pnaumatic lowerable floor. driven by two 9V motors at the rear and one motor for steering. Electric indicator and rearlights. The bellows are made with paper. Weight: about 3 kilos. Music: Sugarplum Fairy - Busstop." Although the bus is tethered, it may be possible to hide Power Functions elements inside for full remote-control. "Functions: Driving by two motors, Steering by one motor, Pneumatic doors, Pneumatic lowerable floor, Suspension. All functions remote controlled. The bellows were made with paper." Links to the MOC: The 12-day build process: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/81514 Completed model: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/96069

If you like seeing how Lego Technic mechanisms work, you may enjoy the 3D animated above of the 8284 Tractor set. If you get past the "slow" parts, the movie shows the various crankshafts turning the Inline 4 engine, driving the rear wheels, moving the hay thresher blades, and raising/lowering the Power Take Off (PTO) liftarm. Korwin4 wrote, ""Technic 8284" is the name of project made for a contest called "The best project made in 3D MCAD UGS SOLID EDGE Edu. system - KNSE - 2007" Bydgoszcz, POLAND. "Technic 8284" is the LEGO TECHNIC tractor with 837 parts. It presents perfect academical examples of mechanical tools like gears, differential mechanism, clutch, the idea of the engine with pistons, connecting-rods and cranked shaft. It figures as a "toy" but in the view of engineering experts it looks much different... "The general idea of this project was to create advanced 3D numerical model of vehicle with mechanical tools to show our skills off in using CAD modeling."

So do you recommend the 8052 model to others? What do you like (or don't like) about it? Is it worth the (equivalent) USD $70 purchase price?

It looks really good to me! To SLIGHTLY reduce the friction on the lifting head, you may want to try dabbing Olive Oil on a Q-Tip cotton swab and putting a little bit inside the motorized stud-lifter. It will not dissolve the ABS plastic, and is harmless.

In his Brickshelf gallery, Hungarian AFOL "mbmc137"/ 1hengeresVmotor posted many pictures of his 1:24 Scale Caterpillar 385C L Excavator. He wrote that it is "My first really large excavator, model of the Caterpilar 385 CL....Fully functional and remote, weighs 2560g. More than 80 [cm] long, 2097 parts were used. Questions, comments to kopaszkis@freemail.hu ." It uses both Lego Power Functions and Pneumatic elements, and took about a week to build. There are four videos of this MOC that show it in action: Part 1: (Driving and Offroad) Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=japFY8yzojY (Digging and Moving the Arm) Part 3: (Digging from Hill) Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ie_uyqrO_24 (Digging 3 Times)

Sariel gets his Chrome lego parts from "Chrome Block City" (which ships worldwide). There are 22 pages of Chrome parts; click on the color "Chrome" when you get to this page: http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=Aurimax .

Here are some Building Instructions (made with LPub) for the Ghostbusters Ecto-1 car: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/132985 . Also see http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/106430 :

@ Lego Otaku: I'm looking at the same BrickJournal Compendium 2 Page 214 that you referenced. Below is a YouTube video by "esbenkolied". His Brickshelf gallery shows 17 pictures of the "Automatic rail road crossing including motion sensor, lights and sound. Using one micro motor and Mindstorms NXT":

Mahjqa has an "Omni Work In Progress" (OmniWIP) that uses omni-directional wheels: Video: .

Yes, I remember Mahjqa's MOC -- thanks for pointing it out! Peer wrote, "More pictures: . This model was inspired By Leonardo da Vinci. It's a human-powered flying machine. He never concieved this particular model and the wing mechanism, but I think he would've appreciated this. Sadly, nobody has the muscles to fly something like this, but it's fun to think about. "This was created for Lego's technic challenge. We were asked to build a flying machine. My first choice was a nice VTOL plane like the Osprey or that nifty looking chopper from Avatar. But yeah, everyone and their grandmas would already be building those. Then the next idea hit; I would make a crow. It'd give me plenty of opportunity to use all that black, and I'd already thought out a mechanism for the wings when someone enlightened me that the Lego people were asking for a flying -machine-. "Not wanting to scrap the idea for the wings, I came up with this instead :)"

Now that a human-powered ORNITHOPTER has taken flight, Leonardo da Vinci's dream has become reality. There are not a lot of Lego Technic models of an Ornithopter (so far). Half way down this webpage is a picture and description of one: "Lego Ornithopter -- Ed Hoecher's Lego ornithopter wasn't intended to fly, but it demonstrates how ornithopters can convert the rotating motion of a rubber band or electric motor into up and down movement of the wings. Lego can also be used for devices that imitate the swimming or walking motion of animals. Free of the requirement for a high power to weight ratio, such devices can be fully operable. Building with Lego is much faster and easier than other construction methods." On MOCpages, "forced sim" made a Dune-theme working Ornithopter out of Lego Technic elements. Can anyone develop this concept further?