DLuders

Your findings confirm what "Philo" (Phillippe Hurbain) had found in his "Wheels, Tyres and Traction" webpage http://philohome.com/traction/traction.htm . However, the "stickiest" tire is not necessarily the best for off-roading, as you observed. Philo didn't analyze the large BALLOON tires like you did.

Here are the four Spybotics set numbers to aid in searching for the Building Instructions on BrickFactory : Gigamesh G60 = Set 3806 (the BLUE set below) Snaptrax S45 = Set 3807 (the RED set below) Shadowstrike S70 = Set 3808 (the PURPLE set below) Technojaw T55 = Set 3809 (the GREEN set below)

I like using PicToBrick ( http://www.pictobrick.de/en/pictobrick.shtml ) to create Lego mosaics. It is VERY EASY to "pixelize" a photograph into 1x1 Lego Tiles or 1x1 Plates. I have no idea how to transfer the results directly into LDD, however....

American Carroll Shelby designed the Ford GY40 Mk IV, which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race four years in a row (1966-1969). This Lego Technic MOC captures the lines of the car well.

In its present form (LDD version 3.1), I don't think you'll see complicated Lego Technic sets modelled in LDD. It is VERY DIFFICULT to mesh gears together because of the "clashing" going on. When one could just slide and align gears with your fingers in real life, in LDD you can't do several things simultaneously. As for the pneumatic 8436 Truck, there are many parts that are not even available in LDD. Perhaps the LDD 4.0 coming out in September 2010 will provide them.

@ grohl: I like the Harrier "jump jet"! Had you seen the A-10 Warthog and P-51 Mustang Lego Technic aircraft on BrickFrenzy?

It looks good so far! Welcome to the Eurobricks Technic Forum!

Boy, this is pretty deep stuff. Somebody may have earned their Masters Degree thesis with this! I like how they say (in Chapter 2): "‘Geeking out’ involves an intense commitment to or engagement with media or technology, often one particular media property, genre, or type of technology. It involves learning to navigate esoteric domains of knowledge and practice and participating in communities that traffic in these forms of expertise. It is a mode of learning that is peer-driven, but focused on gaining deep knowledge and expertise in specific areas of interest. Ongoing access to digital media is a requirement of ‘geeking out’. Often, however, such access is just part of what makes participation possible." Funny, I thought that we Eurobricks LDD users were "dweebs" or "dorks", but certainly not "geeks"!

Americans may have seen the Discovery Channel TV show called "Howe & Howe Tech", the Maine USA inventors of the real "Ripsaw MS2" manned and unmanned tank. Their website is fertile ground for more "wicked" Lego Technic MOC ideas....

@ ADHO15: Wow, you sure like to build the BIG Star Wars sets in LDD! I downloaded your .lxf files and simulated the various battle scenes from the movies by "EXPLODING" the ships (using the 3rd button at the top-left while in the "View Mode")! Wait about 10 seconds, and the model comes magically back together....

After our house burned down in August 1996 (via a 3,000-acre wildfire), my wife and I had to buy new toys for our (then) 4-year-old son. We got him Lego sets from Toys 'R' Us, and as he got older, "father and son" enjoyed building Technic MOCs. He's now almost 18, but we still both like to "free build" and build motorized Power Functions cars and trucks.

@ dr_spock: I would get the set now (while they're available). Any published "fix" (like the 8265) is likely to be a different method of parts attachment, or just additional verbal instructions about balancing the Linear Actuators, attaching a rubber band, etc. Most of the sets are being bought up by eBay speculators and young people who have no idea about any "problems." Once the set is sold out in various countries, the cost to you will only go up. I have left my 8043 box unopened, only because my son's birthday is not until October. If it were MY birthday gift, I would have built it by now!

@ Paul B: How do you feel about Sarafiel's "8265 Upgrade (Book 4) -- Worm Steering" ( http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=408224 ) and "8265 Upgrade (Book 5) -- LA Steering" ( http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=409679 )? BOOK 4 (first two thumbnails of step-by-step instructions): BOOK 5 (first two thumbnails of step-by-step instructions):

On Lugnet, someone figured out that the PARTS VALUE of the 8043 set is quite good. For a total cost of USD 200, the 8043 Motorized Excavator contains all of these Power Functions items: 8043 Excavator --------------------------------- 4x - M motor ($32) 1x - Battery Box ($7) 4x - Linear Actuator ($60) 2x - IR Receiver ($30) 2x - IR Transmitter ($20) ---TOTAL----------------($149)--- The remaining USD $50 is for the other parts (Technic treads, liftarms, etc.).

I would submit that the Eurobricks server should host the LDD .lxf files. The typical .lxf file is only 50-100KB in size. I'm looking at the collection of .lxf "Official Set" files I copied onto my hard drive, and even the 10188 Death Star is only 288KB in size. Most PICTURES posted on Eurobricks already are far larger than that.

I would recommend an index on this "LEGO Digital Designer and Other Digital Tools" subforum that CAPTURES the .lxf file on the Eurobricks server. Many of the individual LDD files are linked to Brickshelf, MOCPages, etc. so when the author rearranges their galleries on those sites, the links will get broken. An example is this EB Technic post, where Zblj has posted LDD .lxf Building Instructions for his "LYNX Trial Truck 10". He links it back to his Brickshelf folder. The same problem exists for the OFFICIAL set LDD .lxf files . There are HUNDREDS of LDD files indexed here , but most of them link to other sites not under Eurobricks control. There are FAR MORE good LDD .lxf files out there than the 13 "Downloadable LDD MOCs (LXF-Files)" referenced on the LDD Index http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=39841&st=0&p=703553&hl=index&fromsearch=1entry703553 . It would be a shame to lose them over time , just as LDD4, LDD5, etc. get the program operating REALLY WELL.

That's a nice find, Richie! Nico71 is sure a talented builder! I just went to a big car show in my hometown, and there was one of these REAL 'Cudas on display.

I wanted to add that, in the BrickJournal article, "Crowkillers" acknowledged that he was inspired by the work of "IndustrialDesigner" (Nathanael Kuipers, now a Lego Designer).

As mentioned by Technicjuan on this post, "Crowkillers" (Paul Boratko from Pennsylvania, USA) had a feature article in BrickJournal 11. Since the magazine is copyrighted, one could obtain a downloadable copy from the publisher TwoMorrows for USD $3.95 . Crowkillers' 4-page interview featured many of the MOCs that are on his Brickshelf gallery. 26 PAGES of this July/August 2010 BrickJournall 11 issue contain articles and pictures about Lego cars (some of which are Technic)! In Crowkillers' article, there is a brief mention about the interesting "Modular Project" that he displayed at Brickworld 2010. On his website http://www.crowkillers.com/id15.html . One can see that the various modules pin together to be able to "mix and match" the cabin, suspension, engine, transmission, etc. There are 29 pictures, of which a few are shown below. Paul said he let the kids at Brickworld play with his Modular Car, which I think is a great idea to encourage future Technic fans! By breaking down a complicated-looking car into individual components, young people will be better able to understand Lego Technic better and not be overwhelmed/intimidated by the entire car. All Wheel Drive Chassis: [ Transmission: Rear Suspension: Front Suspension: Red "3L Technic Pins with Stop" hold everything together:

Zackhariah Macasaet has build Lego Digital Designer (LDD) building instructions for his motorized, modern French LeClerc AMX-56 Lego battle tank. On MOCPages, he shows how he PAINTED the model with camouflage, and CUT and Power Functions Medium motor's electrical cord to connect it to a NON-LEGO 9V battery box & switch . The YouTube video shows how the Christie suspension rolls over obstacles. He wrote, "Here is my new mini-fig scale Leclerc AMX-56 Tank! It has a zero-stud turret and chassis, using SNOT techniques. It also has Christie suspension, hatches for two mini-figs, and painted forest camouflage, and motorized! If you want instructions, just send me an email at zack_macasaet@yahoo.com and i will send a LDD file back. I will ask that you donate $5 to my PayPal account too to buy more parts."

Grohl posted 14 pictures of his Sandhill Crane on his Brickshelf folder http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=441551 . He wrote there that it is "My model for LEGO Technic Challenge. A 50cm tall and 52cm long bird has got working winch, rotating body, moving head and neck. Max. load 240 grams. 2 M motors with trasmissions for controlling the model. Comments or questions grohld@centrum.cz ." Here's the crane bowing to receive his award:

It's good that TLG is testing some of the "troublesome" 8043 sets. I looked at the results of the "8043 Motorized Excavator Trouble-Shooting" poll, and (so far) 3 AFOLs have no problems with their models and 9 do. That's 75% of the people polled. Since we know that SOME of the 8043s out there CAN operate well, I bet that it's a manufacturing QUALITY CONTROL problem with the Linear Actuators and/or Power Functions Medium motors. We'll see....

Here are the original contest entries (which are the two "Pinned" posts at the top of this subforum: Entries for "LDD + Real Bricks" -- http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=44285&st=0 . Entries for "LDD-only Class" -- http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=44284&st=0 .

Making the molds for Lego parts is EXPENSIVE! In the Nov/Dec 2009 Brickjournal magazine (Volume 2 Issue 8, pages 13-14), there was an interview with TLG's Chief Executive Officer (Jørgen Vig Knudstorp). He was asked about what it took to introduce new Lego parts. His answer was "The mold cost can vary but is generally around $100,000 US." So, it should be assumed that any cheap "imitation" Lego pieces will be substandard and easy to spot.

Thanks, Superkalle, for hosting the LDD Design Contest! It inspired many folks to try their hand at the software. The 2011 contest is sure to produce even more, fantastic designs!