DLuders

Wow! The renders are fantastic! I don't think that the "box art" on TLG's original 8479 set were as good as yours. When you mentioned that there was a "major flaw" in your final render, I'm trying to compare it with Brickfactory's 8479 Instruction Page 52 to spot the differences: (1) The "Code Pilot" sticker is missing from on top of the cab. (2) The shape & size of the Battery Box behind the cab is different. (3) There is a small cable running from the battery box that isn't shown on your render.

One could also replicate some of Inanimate Reason's custom aluminum parts by softening the normal ABS Lego Technic Liftarms and shaping/twisting them:

The Seattle, Washington (USA) BrickCon 2010 is coming up in a few weeks, and (so far) there are not any Technic-related activities for AFOLs to do during the convention. The List of Activities are mainly for AFOLs interested in other themes. I have a few ideas, but need some more from you who have attended other Lego conventions around the world. What would be fun? (1) Grohl's idea about building multiple MOCs from the same 8271 set -- a similar "Master Build" activity could be made using a currently-available, small Technic set (maybe the 8045 Mini Telehandler?). (2) Zblj's "International Techmeet" idea, where AFOLs bring their own Technic parts and build various Technic MOCs (from instructions) -- http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=45867&st=0&p=802375&hl=zblj&fromsearch=1entry802375 . This may be impractical, since many people fly to these conventions and their parts trays would be TRASHED when going through airport security. (3) Any other ideas?

Somebody already did MC Escher's "Belvedere" and "Waterfall" with Lego elements (from http://taylhis.tangents.org/tag/relativity/ ). One could make smoother transitions using the melt technique: One could make a Lego Technic MC Escher "Mobius Strip II" using the melt technique:

Here are two YouTube videos of Lego firearms. One doesn't have to "like guns" to appreciate their "Mechanisms" AND "Performance." I know that guns are more popular in the United States rather than the rest of the world.... Jack Streat's Lego Lee Enfield Sniper Rifle: Detailed description and 29 pictures on MOCpages: "This is by far the best rifle I have ever made. It is a working magazine-fed rifle in bolt-action configuration, with detachable magazines, sniper scope and bi-pod.... "'Bolt action' means that every time you want to load a round, you flick the bolt lever up, pull it backwards, push it forwards again and flip it down. By doing this you will extract a 1x4 brick from the magazine, pull back the 'hammer' (rubber band), insert the brick into the chamber and hook the rubber band onto the back of it." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * "Slide Action Lego Crossbow Pistol" by Xubor2000 -- "Instructions: http://www.XUBOR.COM . Thriller Automatic Lego crossbow pistol holds an 8 rounds magazine and shoots accurately at a distance of 6 meters":

Here's a 7-second YouTube video from Nostarch1 about the "Powerful, automatic, LEGO gun. From the book Forbidden LEGO, published by No Starch Press (http://snipurl.com/1p02h ):

On Brick Stack, Conrado constructed a "dueling" Lego NXT gun set to test your reflexes. He wrote, "The NXT Duel is a game that tests your reflexes, entirely built with a NXT 2.0 kit. Play against other person, or play by yourself beating the computer challenges....Whoever shoots first after the bell rings wins. Watch out for distractions, like the crows squawking — if you shoot too early, you’ll lose. "During the round, an orange flag will rise. Its purpose is to create tension since the bell is guaranteed to ring sometime before it fully rises." There is a Single Player Mode, Two Player Mode, downloadable NXT program, and Building Instructions via Lego Digital Designer (LDD). "There is some interesting research on reaction time.... * Reaction time for sound stimuli is smaller than for visual stimuli; 160 ms vs 190 ms on average. (These are simple reaction times. Since there are distractions in the NXT Duel, your response time will be slower.) * Your reaction time get worse if you’re too relaxed or too tense. * Your reaction time is faster during expiration."

On Flickr, there was a picture of a Lego Lamp Shade made from melted Lego bricks. Here is the "recipe": * Preheat oven (375 - 475 degrees F.) [190-246 degrees C.] * Line pan with foil * Arrange LEGO bricks * Bake bake bake * Remove pan from oven * Remove shot glass from center * Immediately lift hot gooey piece from pan by its foil lining and place on "mold." In this case I used an old lamp shade to mimic the shape. * Squish down with oven mitts * Let cool & that's it! When folks are wanting to build Lego Technic creations with unusual angles or hole arrangements, it MAY BE POSSIBLE to use the instructions above to MELT your extra bricks into something unique. Think about TWISTING your Technic Liftarms to have holes available on BOTH SIDES for extra connection points. Or, BEND your Liftarms into angles not offered by The Lego Group. You could make a unique BODY SHELL for your Technic car, by placing it into a mold made out of wood or plaster! There are many possibilities....

Let's keep this topic HERE on the "Technic, Mindstorms, and Model Team" forum so that THIS FORUM's members can readily see it. I'm one of this forum's Moderators anyway. Anybody else?

On this Eurobricks "Technic, Mindstorms, and Model Team" forum, we have posts by "Zblj", "Blakbird", "Mahjqa", "Sariel", "grohl", and many others. If you don't mind saying, what is the "significance" of your chosen Eurobricks member name? Is it some code name your Mommy gave you, a special town in your home country, or what? I'll start off. "DLuders" = David Luders . I know that it's not very imaginative, but it's easy to remember. How about you?

On MOCpages, "Dan the Man" posted 28 pictures of his 1/10th-scale 1929 Bugatti Type 46 and 22 pictures of his 1/10th-scale 1933 Alfa Romeo P3. If you like the "studded" look of old-time Model Team cars, these old classic cars will really appeal to you!

I'm a Civil Engineer, so FUNCTION is of prime importance to me. The "KISS Principle" ("Keep It Simple, Stupid") appeals to engineers because if something is TOO intricate, it tends to break, malfunction, require lots of maintenance, etc. Yes, I enjoy building complex Lego Technic sets, but if it DOESN'T WORK, then the entire effort is disappointing.

Well, Sariel is correct -- it's not a "tank", but it looks like it was inspired by the Howe & Howe Technologies' Ripsaw MS2 tracked vehicle (http://www.howeandhowetechnologies.com/ripsawms2.php ):

On Flickr, Barman (Barry Bosman) has posted 2 pictures and this video of his "Black Panther 02" motorized tank. I believe that additional pictures may be posted on his Brickshelf gallery soon. Flickr won't let me deeplink the video or pictures, so you'll have to click on the link to see it.

@ FONIX: If you want to make your own DC External Power Supply box for your NXT, you should consider Philo's solution: http://philohome.com/nxtsupply/nxtsupply.htm .

There are many creations posted on this Eurobricks forum that are just as good (if not better) than the winner: Start thinking about your Hallowe'en LDD creations!

@ Sato: Have you seen Lego911's Brickshelf gallery http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=121116 ?

Looks interesting, but could you post the URL for the site so we can browse?

As others have pointed out, Bricklink.com is the way to get your sets. If you use their Catalog function, you'll see many sets in the various "themes" you mentioned. Then, if you click on a set, you will see vendors worldwide who are selling that set.

On his Brickshelf gallery, Stang67 posted 24 pictures of his Technic Log Stacker. It is an articulated front-end loader with a large grapple forklift mechanism out front. Lego Power Functions is well integrated with some pneumatics to recreate the real Letourneau SL machine pictured below. He is a member of SeTechnic, where there is a competition to build the best MOC dealing with "The Forest". If you scroll 3/4 of the way down this Babelfish English translation of the original SeTechnic text in French, you can see what Stang67 wrote about his MOC: "I made a model “full remote control” with following fontions PFS: - propulsion by 1 XL (4 driving wheels) - direction (articulated frame) by 1M with jack méca on line then - slope of the chechmate by 1M - gone up/descent of the fork by 1M - opening/closing of the grip, 2 jacks pneums supplied with a autovalve, therefore 1M still… Total of embaqué system PFS: 5 engines, 3 receivers, 1Battery Box In tire: 2 jacks, 1 switch & 1 mini compressor ...I have obligatorily to integrate 3 receivers IR and I thus use 3 remote controls": "Finally without being functions I also have a V6 engine pulled by the transmission, engine cowling opening....Transmission 4 driving wheels" : The shows it in action:

@ Minxster: I did a search with the term "Mindstorms" on this Eurobricks "Technic, Mindstorms, and Model Team" forum, and got a list of 27 posts: http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?app=core&module=search&section=search&do=quick_search&search_app=core&fromsearch=1 . "Philo" (Phillippe Hurbain) has some NXT ideas (some with instructions) on his website http://philohome.com/nxt.htm . NXTasy.org has a lot of projects on their "Repository" webpage: http://nxtasy.org/repository/ .

@ Routemaster: I looked at the numbers imprinted on some spare Linear Actuators that I bought on Bricklink 1-1/2 years ago, and they have different numbers than the ones you have. Two of mine say 25X8, and one says 12x8. I don't know if there is a definitive way (so far) of know which Linear Actuators are "BAD" and which ones are "OK", just by their numbers. Hopefully, some unsuspecting folks won't buy "BAD" Linear Actuators off of Bricklink.

Do you have a 73090b "Boat Weight 2 x 6 x 2" ? They're quite heavy, and are used on the keels of Lego boats to keep them from flipping over.

Great job on the 855/955 Technic crane! Note that the Lego Technic Idea Books 8888, 8889, 8890, and 8891 instruction scans are available from http://www.brickfactory.info/set/index.html .

For those not familiar with Sariel's Facebook page, the two YouTube videos below are highlights of the Poland "Lego Truck Trial 5" on September 4, 2010). There are MANY talented Technic builders represented! Some of their MOCs appear on http://bricktrucktrial.com/ . It was their "...5th race this year, with some slow-motion footage and extras included." Thanks, Paul, for sharing the videos with those who could not attend! Part 1 of 2 (view directly on for a slightly larger image, or click on the video below): Part 2 of 2 ( ): (P.S. The song on the 2nd half of the "Part 2 of 2" video is named "Hocus Pocus" by the 1970s group "Focus." I would imagine that the Germans can't see these videos.)