DLuders

Yes, I will follow your advice about the Aluminum Foil in accordance with your previous EB Post:

Hmmm, over here in the USA I never saw any of these commercials, and I consider myself to be a heavy TV viewer. The 11-second "Lego Technic Slizers Intro" is too short and doesn't show the product very well. The "Lego Technic Control Center" commercial is pretty good; the narrator has a British accent. The "Lego Technic 8880 Super Car" commercial is very well done; it must date from 1994 when that set was released.

I looked all over your Technicopedia homepage, and on the "1977" and "1978" models' pages, and can't find any button that says "More Information". Perhaps as the "owner" of the website you're seeing more options than are available to your AFOL customers?

There is "The Chromeshop" Bricklink store in The Netherlands that sells chromed Lego wheels too: http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=Peterbilt . They seem to be reasonably priced, and they ship worldwide: "Chrome Silver Wheel 30.4mm D. x 20mm without Pinholes, with Reinforced Rim, Original LEGO® Part 56145, Silver Chrome, chromed by 'The Chromeshop'."

@ Zblj: My son and I are going to build your MOC by using the LDD "Building Guide Mode" and the Parts List from LDD Manager . We enjoy seeing your Technic LDD files. Does the small battery box carry a single 9V battery, like the ones used for smoke detectors? If so, how long can the 8x8 run on such a small battery?

To make a 100%-TECHNIC football, you can use these pieces with Technic Axles in between them: 57585 Technic, Axle Connector Hub with 3 Axles 6538c Technic, Axle Connector (Smooth with x hole + orientation)

For those who are watching the FIFA World Cup 2010 matches, you can make your own Lego footballs. The old style of footballs had hexagonal leather patches sewn together. Depending on how many 4276 and 4275 1x2 Hinge Plate sets and 32125 Technic rotor plates you have, you can make the several Lego footballs having different sizes and segment shapes. From the MOCPages page by "RTN LNA" ( http://www.mocpages.com/mocs.php?id=18066 ): Dodecahedron ("...has 12 regular pentagonal faces, with 3 meeting at each vertex; it has 20 vertices and 30 edges"): Truncated rhombic triacontahedron or "Buckyball" C80 ("...has 12 regular pentagonal faces, 30 non-regular hexagonal faces, 80 vertices and 120 edges"): Very strong for those Goal Kicks! Truncated icosahedron or Buckyball C60 ("...has 12 regular pentagonal faces, 20 regular hexagonal faces, 60 vertices and 90 edges. The common soccer ball is perhaps the best-known example of a spherical polyhedron analog to the truncated icosahedron, found in everyday life. The ball comprises the same pattern of regular pentagons and regular hexagons, but it is more spherical due to the pressure of the air inside and the elasticity of the ball"): Or for those who don't want to bother with Math, just get one of these! So, the next time you turn on the tele to watch Football, impress your friends by saying "My player can sure kick that truncated icosahedron" !

According to http://www.brickcon.org/ , the 2010 BrickCon theme is "Tales of the Brick!"

Why deal with a middleman (Lego) and order your copy of BrickJournal direct from the publisher? If you check http://brickjournal.com/ , tney have the current and most back issues available in both hardcopy and electronic format. I subscribe to BrickJournal both ways -- the electronic copy comes via e-mail link, several weeks before I receive the paper copy via snail-mail. If shipping costs are too burdensome for folks who live outside of the USA, the electronic copy is the way to go.

When you New Yorkers buy everything in the Queens store, you can head over to the new Lego Store opening up in Rockefeller Center in Manhattan next Tuesday, June 29th: http://stores.lego.com/en-US/StoreEvents.aspx (scroll down to the bottom to see the story).

Folks, be sure to visit Blakbird's new "Technical Fundamentals" webpage. It has extensive discussion about Technic Gears, Steering, Suspensions, and other moving parts, with lots of pictures and animations (one of which appear below). It is an excellent reference for AFOLs, new and old alike. Thanks for your efforts, Eric!

Emilus recently posted a fantastic FLOATING CRANE MOC on the Lego Users Group Poland (LUGPol) website http://www.lugpol.pl/forum/viewtopic.php?p=150494#150494. Here's the English translation for those who don't speak Polish: http://translate.google.pl/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=pl&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lugpol.pl%2Fforum%2Fviewtopic.php%3Fp%3D143732%23143732&sl=pl&tl=en . He has 39 photos posted on his Brickshelf Gallery http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=435438 , and 3 videos posted at the LUGPol website above. He wrote: Specifications: - Weight 4.6 kg - Length 60 cm - Width 52 cm - Height (up to a raised arm) 125 cm - Drive a XL - 1:1 ratio - Turn a XL - 1:1 ratio - Traffic Boom 2 PF medium - ratio 1:24 - Raising the hook 2 PF medium - 1:24 ratio - Counterweight constant - 2 batteryboxy

Until the recent upgrade to the Eurobricks website, my USA hometown WAS listed right under my user name automatically. Now, Eurobricks just lists the country on any given post. However, if one clicks on any username, the hometown (if typed in by the member) appears on the Member Profile's "Location" field.

I'm from Spokane, WA and attended the BrickCon 2009 event in Seattle, WA. My family and I attended only the Saturday public display session, and the Exhibition Hall was absolutely packed as soon as the doors opened. The line extended up the street, and it took 50 minutes just to gain entry into the building. According to the BrickCon 2010 webpage http://www.brickcon.org/convention/chronology , the 2009 event attracted ~9,300 people. I believe that. Everyone was shoulder-to-shoulder, trying to peer at the displays. We left after an hour, but wanted to stay longer but the crowds were just too crazy. If you can, recommend registering for the event and seeing the various displays BEFORE the public packs the 34,000-square-feet Exhibition Hall at the Seattle Center. Compared to the BrickFest held every 2 years in Portland, Oregon, there really isn't enough room to accommodate a big crowd like that, but everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. My son's 18th Birthday is that weekend, so I may just go for Thursday-Friday and skip the public exhibition. I'll bring the '55 Buick, Lego rockets, and Technic Crowns pictured at http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?m=dluders .

In their Eurobricks Member Profile, if folks would indicate what COUNTRY they live in, other AFOLs could know their countrymen by the Eurobricks posts they make. If you look along the left side of a typical Eurobricks post, about 90% of the members don't have anything listed but their pseudonym. How are AFOLs supposed to meet other AFOLs in person, if folks don't even list their country? For big countries (like the USA), their HOMETOWN would be nice to know too. Don't be shy....

"Blakbird" has made outstanding renders of many official Lego TECHNIC Sets, and posted them on his Brickshelf folder http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=372132 . He has 50 different sets rendered on that website (some of which appear below). He wrote, "Renders of Technic models -- Please feel free to send me more MPDs for anything I have not rendered. blakbird11.nospam@comcast.net ." Many of the renders appear on his benchmark "Technicopedia" website http://www.ericalbrecht.com/technic/ . If you have a digital model file for a Technic set, he could probably convert it. His work is impeccable. 8862: 8868: 8880: Blakbird, I know that there are sets made with LDD in the "Technic" category of Post #1 of EB Topic http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=41226&st=0&p=727293entry727293 . More LDD models are being added all the time....

From his Brickshelf Gallery http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=435575 , Nico71 posted four "Drive Train Ideas" (the third one of which is Zblj's idea). Nico71 wrote the following comments about the four ideas pictured below [NOTE -- I corrected his English a bit, since French is his native language]: 1: Basic axle with U-joint -- reliable but the U-joint can be broken with torque. Be careful and use with a portal axle (8/24 reduction after the U-joint). 2: Bevel gear axle -- without U-joint (save U-joint). Not very reliable because with a lot of weight, there is a lot of friction (steering axle is driven), but this axle is smaller than the U-joint axle. Adapted for a maximun load of 1 kg. 3: Variant of bevel gear axle -- more reliable than the preceding one without U-joint, so this is very strong. Be careful about the 12T gear with a lot of torque. Adapted for a load of more than 1 kg. If the truck is very heavy, I prefer the knob gear (for high torque). 4: My preferred version, without U-joint -- no risk to break any U-joints and no Bevel Gear. It is without the friction of steering axle because that axle is not driven directly. This type of axle can support a lot of weight without friction, and is reliable. Credit goes to Zblj because he has developed them on his third TT.

In the "Comments" section at the bottom of the TechnicBRICKS Blogspot post referenced above ( http://technicbricks.blogspot.com/2009/09/tbs-techtips-26-return-to-center.html ), Jetro pointed out another possible "Return to Center" steering solution developed by Sheepo at http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=361332 . Jetro wrote, "There are several advantages. For starters, Sheepo's solution uses more common parts. Also, the friction that the spring part in the first solution provides is very high and as a consequence requires a lot of effort from the motor whereas Sheepo's solution has less friction. You can regulate the necessary force by adjusting the rubber bands (or using different ones) which means you can adapt it to the motor you use and the direction system you have."

Want to build something a bit different with Technic pieces? Erik Leppen posted two subfolders on his Brickshelf Gallary http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=103142 that show his "Walking Human Machine". He writes, "[This] Human-like walking machine [is the] Closest that I have got to a walk-alone human walker. It does walk with the wheel attached to prevent sidways falling. Walks even better without head." His first subfolder http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=109375 has a Parts List. There are 4 pages of photo-sequence building instructions, starting at http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=202311 . Maybe folks will modify it into some Mecha or Transformer....

Pas, je ne visite pas le site Web de SeTechnic qui souvent, mais moi ai pris des Français dans l'école primaire et l'utilisation Yahoo Babelfish de traduire le texte d'anglais-français.

Actually, anybody can buy the "Early Simple Machines II" set from the Lego Education Store website http://www.legoeducation.us/store/detail.aspx?ID=392&c=0&t=0&l=0 . The set is now "Clearance Sale" priced:

According to Peeron, here are the sets using those Duplo parts: 2 ea. red 6515 parts appear in Set 9652-1 - Fun Time Gear Set (1995). 2 ea. yellow 6530 parts appear in Set 9654-1 - Early Simple Machines II (2000), and 2 appear in 9652-1 - Fun Time Gear Set (1995). 2 ea. red 51559 parts appear in Set 3774-1 - Bridge (2005), and 2 appear in 65766-1 - Thomas Bridge and Tunnel Set (2005).

You are in luck. I bought a used 8479 Barcode Truck set from an American Technic AFOL in my town last summer, but never put it together. The Code Pilot instruction book that came with it is in English, Japanese and Chinese (it could be Korean). Note that the German, French, and Dutch instructions for the set construction AND the Code Pilot are posted on http://www.brickfactory.info/ . I am now scanning the 40-page Code Pilot instruction booklet into my computer, and will e-mail it to you (or anybody else) if you contact me at LudersDG@MSN.com .

When looking at this EB thread , I found out that the Duplo line makes "Technic" parts too: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?q=duplo+technic . Check out these parts which may be useful for AFOL Technic MOCs: 6515 "Duplo Technic Brick 2 x 10 with 9 holes" 6530 "Duplo Technic Gear 6 x 6" [with 40 teeth] 51559 "Duplo Bridge Girder" I guess that, if you start TECHNIC builders YOUNG, they'll grow up to be the next great Technic AFOL!

Do you mean these Modified Bricks? 6061 , "Brick, Modified 2 x 4 x 2 with Holes on Sides"? 2434 , "Brick, Modified 2 x 4 x 2 with Studs on Sides"? Up to now, I honestly never looked through the various Duplo parts. I'd like to see the 51559 Duplo Bridge Girder in Lego; it would come in handy for many Technic constructions.