DLuders

It may be possible to alter the frames shape a bit, to accommodate 2 ea. Trans-Black 30356 "Windscreens 8 x 4 x 2 Curved Taper with Locking Dual 2 Fingers" as sunglass lenses:

Philo measured the actual (not theoretical) output of the PF Medium and PF XL motors in bench tests. See the bottom of his webpage http://philohome.com/pf/pf.htm : "PF motors power curves when connected to IR remote receiver -- Since motor driver inside remote receiver has some dropout and current limitation, charts above don’t tell the whole story. The two curves below show the mechanical power of PF motors driven by the remote receiver. These characteristics were measured at 9V (alkaline batteries voltage) and 7.2V (NiMH rechargeable batteries voltage)." Here's a comparison for the typical output of NiMH rechargable batteries. I own lots of AA Eveready Energizer batteries, and they produce 2450 milliamp-Hours (mAH). 9V Energizer Rechargable batteries only produce 150 mAH, and AAA Energizer Rechargables produce 850 mAH. So, the moral of the story is that if you HAVE ROOM for the large PF Battery Box in your MOC, you're better off using AA batteries (because they produce more power). If you have limited space (or want to keep weight down), you can use a small PF battery box but your electrical output will be a lot less.

Good reproduction of the original 8236 Bike Burner set! I bet that many folks could make their own from the parts they too have on hand. Peeron.com has the parts inventory: http://peeron.com/inv/sets/8236-1 .

According to http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Product.aspx?...cn=587&d=70 , the 8878 Power Functions (PF) Rechargable Battery Box only has an output voltage of 7.4V (instead of 9V). So, running a PF Medium or XL Motor with it would not be as good as using 6 ea. AAA batteries in the new PF Battery Box. According to Philo's "Lego 9V Technic Motors Compared Characteristics" webpage http://philohome.com/motors/motorcomp.htm , the PF Medium Motor's performance at 7.4V is rather weak compared to 9V: 8878 costs US$50, and it needs the US$25 8887 10VDC Tranformer to charge it up. Let's assume that the new PF Battery Box will cost US$10. One can buy a LOT of AAA batteries to equal the US$65 difference in cost between the two setups.

Here's Chris Roach's new, improved "Version 2" of his amazing Lego "Optimus Prime" Transformer: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/201803 . This Model Team-type MOC shows a robot converting into a truck. The Lego Digital Designer (LDD) .lxf BUILDING INSTRUCTIONS are available so that you can make your own. Download the free LDD program from http://ldd.lego.com , and check out the LDD Index thread http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?...mp;#entry718480 for tips. This MOC will be a favorite for kids to build! Chris Roach wrote, "After many discussions with my fellow builders on the online community here is an upgrade to my Optimus Prime LDD offering of 2009. Updated May 2010. Here is my new, G1, fully transformable, LDD Optimus Prime Version 2. Most notable changes from Ver. 1 are the super articulated shoulder joints, thicker legs and new grill and bumper design. "Check out my comparisson's of my Version 1 and 2 LDD Prime models, accessory ideas and how to transform him at: .""Download the file and enjoy building this creation. It'll cost you just over $100 in new bricks from the Lego Shop at Home, Pick a Brick or Design by me. Whatever they are calling it now."

From Holodoc's Brickshelf folder http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=431299 , one can see these images of the box (which comes with the new Lego Cargo Train Set 7939): The box seems to be suited for small MOCs where it can be stuck on Lego plates or old-style Technic Bricks. I know that Joey Lock wanted something like this for his Panzer IV Tank MOC, and Sariel's Jeep Wrangler Rubicon has the similarly-sized 8878 PF Rechargeable Battery Box (shown at the left of the last photo above). Using AAA batteries will provide longer run times than a single 9V battery would. The new battery box is not yet loaded on Bricklink or Peeron, so the PART NUMBER is not known yet! The 7939 set is not yet for sale on Lego.com, so we'll have to wait....

@ Zblj: I like your bridge -- Rotating Arches are very efficient! We're you inspired by the Millenium Bridge (pictured below)? I'm wondering whether you used any of the 88492c01 "Flexible Train Track" segments to achieve the curve:

I just mowed my lawn the "conventional" way. Wouldn't it be nice to program a robot to do the mowing for you? Instead of buying one of those low-profile mowers, you may already have existing Lego parts to make this: http://www.nxtprograms.com/lawn_mower/index.html . There are Building Instructions for this MOC, but keep your fingers and toes away from this beast! I suppose you could make a self-propelled POWER FUNCTIONS version of this.... Crazy Lawn Mower Programming "Two programs are provided for your lawn mower. "The Mower program allows you to use the mower manually like a regular self-propelled push mower. Squeeze and hold the handle lever to mow straight ahead, then release the handle to stop. After going straight, the mower will do a powered turn for you next time you squeeze the handle lever (hold the lever in as long as you want the turn to last). The turns will alternate left and right followed by a straight pass. A pointer on the NXT display will indicate which direction is coming up next. "The Robo Mower program makes the mower attempt to mow your lawn (actually, your room -- you know to keep your LEGOs inside, right?) by itself. Not sure what will happen with this one. Better give it lots of space to start with. Put it in the middle of a large open area and stand overhead to watch it. The turns will be more accurate on a hard floor, but it will also run on a low-pile carpet."

Folks sometimes complain that there's a limited color palette for Lego TECHNIC parts. For a large project (using Technic panels), one is pretty much limited to RED, WHITE, BLACK, and YELLOW. If one wanted to make a Lamborghini or a construction Badkhoe (for example), wouldn't you want it to be ORANGE, just like the real thing? Owners of REAL Ferrari cars don't ALWAYS have a RED car; they sometimes paint it a different color and it's STILL A FERRARI. So, why should LEGO be any different? Why does one HAVE TO stick to the limited selection of colors? If one were careful and used a paint suitable for plastic, could/should one PAINT his/her TECHNIC creation? Pros and cons were discussed on http://www.bzpower.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=268173 , but they weren't talking about TECHNIC specifically. What do you think? 1) Have you tried it? 2) Would you do it? (Why or why not) 3) If you saw somebody else's MOC that had been painted, would you LIKE or DISLIKE it?

Since summer is coming soon to the Northern Hemisphere, it's time to break out the sunglasses. Check out this design by Mattias Montelius on MOCPages: http://mocpages.com/moc.php/6805 . They're easy to make, and you probably already have all of the necesary parts. Impress your friends and relatives!

Yes, the Stack-On brand of parts bins (shown above) works well for me. They will hold almost all of your Technic parts, and the clear sides makes it unnecessary to label the bins or waste time "hunting and pecking". They come in a variety of styles and shapes: http://www.akro-mils.com/industrial/coupon_display.asp?id=99 .

Nico71 recently posted his Lada Niva 4x4 on the Brick Truck Trial website http://www.bricktrucktrial.com/article.php3?id_article=178 . He says "A M [motor] operates the steering with U-join and a XL (placed ont the rear of vehicule) operates the drive. It is also equiped with a 2-speed gearbox and a fake i4 engine. The wheel steering turns with the wheel." Of particular interest is his Pendular Suspension and his 2-speed Gearbox: He also posted it on his Brickshelf gallery http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=424879 . He wrote, "First version has live axle but pendular axle is stronger so it has pendular axle with free shock absorbers. Gearbox, steering wheel. Motorised winch. See more in the techniques folder [ http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=424880 ]" . There are enough pictures on his "Instructions" subfolder to recreate the MOC: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=427159 . Finally, a YouTube video shows how it drives: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=424880 .

The 165 pieces that come with the 8259 Mini Bulldozer set can be made into more miniature creations that are fun for kids to build. As you know, the main (and alternate) models look like this: The online building instructions for the standard set is available from http://us.service.lego.com/en-US/BuildingI...ns/default.aspx (type in the set number, then scroll down to the bottom to see the 3 PDF booklets). The parts inventory is at http://peeron.com/inv/sets/8259-1 . RMingTW made a mini Wall-E robot out of 8259's parts: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=397518 . The step-by-step building instructions make it easy for kids to make this character from the Disney/Pixar animated film. Two wheels were added for the eyes to supplement the 8259 parts. When finished, it looks like this: Grohl666 made a mini Rocket Launcher from the 8259 set: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=410217 . It has "Working treads, rotating rocket tower with elevating launchers." There are enough pics to recreate this MOC. After you're done making the 4 models, the 52 metal 3873 Technic Chain/Link Treads are very useful for other Technic MOCs! Does anybody else know of another MOC that can be made with the 8259 parts? If so, please share it here.

If you don't mind using the old Lego Technic Beams, check out Jennifer Clark's "3-Section Telescopic Crane Boom": http://www.genuinemodels.com/ . She wrote: "Creating a three section telescopic crane boom from Technic Lego is something that occurs to many people, however, actually making one is far from straightforward. Part of the attraction of building this mechanism is that all the official Lego crane models only have two section booms. While it is certainly possible to achieve this with a rack and pinion on each moving section, this entails having a motor on both the bottom boom and the middle boom - not an ideal solution. "How real telescopic cranes achieved this was a mystery to me until recently, when I came across a picture showing the workings of a boom in this Acrobat document from the Liebherr web site. Basically, only the second section is moved by a hydraulic ram attached to the first section, with all the other sections being moved simultaneously by a complex system of pulleys. It is actually very simple when you think about it, but to come up with this idea in the first place must have required sheer genius. Here is a diagram showing how it works, in the simpler case of a three section boom; it is possible to totally conceal the pulley system within the booms, but showing it this way facilitates understanding. "The red line denotes the cable, red crosses show where it is attached to the boom, and the red circles represent pulleys. It can be seen from this diagram that holding one section still and moving any other section relative to it will produce an equivalent movement in the remaining section. So, to move the third section in sync with the second, all you need to do is move the second section relative to the first and it will happen automatically." "My Lego implementation uses a rack and pinion system powered by a single motor to move the second section relative to the first. What may not always be obvious at first glance is that the pulley system will actively move the third section when the boom is telescoping both upwards and downwards - gravity is not required to retract the boom."

Mark Bellis made a Lego Technic Power Functions ROLLER COASTER that grips its track during 360-degree rolls: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=237939 . He wrote, "This Roller-Coaster, a MOC made with the electrical Power Function parts (pictures approved for release by TLG), can be used as a monorail and can perform a few additional functions, such as a 360 degree roll. "The basic system of straights and curves is fairly straightforward. The track is made from 2 lengths of tracks from the Bulldozer 8275 and Snowmobile 8272, attached to beams with 1.5L pegs." "The curves are made with the addition of click hinge parts, in this case the technic axle ones, since they can be strongly connected to beams. The curvature is set by the beam lengths used. I suggest 6L as a minimum, increasing in multiples of 3L (even multiples are easier) because the tracks are 1.5L between holes. A curve is made by adding 1 track link to the outside. "I'm also experimenting with points, by sliding track sections sideways in a similar way to a real roller-coaster. Hills are also possible but might take a bit longer, with a loop-the-loop being derived from the same technique. "Since a snowmobile has 28 track links and a Bulldozer 84, I suggest you save up for lots of each! The larger wheels of the Bulldozer are smoother-running." Here are some of the pictures he took of the Coaster; more are on his Brickshelf folder: I wonder how many Technic Treads it takes to make a good track; Blakbird has all of them in this part of the US!

Well, one could always divide-up the existing Town layout in LDD into 2-3 pieces, and keep building inside the "blank" areas of the town. Then, one could "tile" the LDD Screenshots side-by-side to create the same overall Town scene.

Before you decide, you can read the reviews of both sets, and see the building instructions. 8169 Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4: Reviews: http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Product.aspx?...n=592&d=261 . Building Instructions: http://us.service.lego.com/en-US/BuildingI...ns/default.aspx [Type in the Set Number, then scroll down to the bottom of that page]. 8075 Neptune Carrier: Reviews: http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Product.aspx?...cn=616&d=70 . Building Instructions: http://us.service.lego.com/en-US/BuildingI...ns/default.aspx (Again, type in the Set Number]. I think that the Lamborghini is a bit more "exotic" and rare, and will hold its value more over time....

Mahjqa is correct. Sarafiel's shortcut outlined on TechnicBRICKS ( http://technicbricks.blogspot.com/2009/08/...f-receiver.html ) seems simple enough. To make a mini-tank, one would have to use a 9V battery and the "aluminum foil technique" to save space and weight. Joey Lock, if you click on the two "mini tank" hyperlinks in the second paragraph of the TechnicBRICKS article, you can see how small a Power Functions-enabled Lego tank can be.

1. TECHNIC -- keeps the interest of Adult Fans of Lego (AFOLs) and is challenging to master. 2. MINDSTORMS -- Allows young people to program robots to prepare them for Robotics in the "Real World". 3. Model Team -- Makes it possible to recreate one's old cars and trucks in Lego bricks.

Thanks, Sariel! I just downloaded your 51.4-MB .ZIP file, and the instructions are first rate. For those who haven't visited his website today, here's what he wrote: "Sariel.pl has posted a new item, 'Wrangler Takeaway'. Sariel.pl has a Downloads section now. The list of files available fordownloads is not a long one at the moment, but starts with a complete, highquality step-by-step instruction for my acclaimed Jeep Wrangler Rubicon model. You can get it for free and try to build one on your own. You may view the latest post at http://sariel.pl/2010/05/wrangler-takeaway/ .... Best regards, Sariel admin@sariel.pl ."

Using Inanimate Reason's RC Servo Adapter Kit allows one to (1) Operate outside without IR interference from the sun, (2) Operate in ranges greater than 10 meters (33 feet), which is the limit for Power Functions transmitters, and (3) Operate more than 4 RC vehicles at the same time.

@ Superkalle: Yes, you're right -- I didn't model the "legs" of the Right Triangle correctly to create a 30-degree angle. You're correct in pointing out that the Base is 1/2 of the HYPOTENUSE. Since the other "leg' of the triangle will be the "Square Root of 3" (1.732) times as big as the Base, it's impossible to create a 30-60-90 triangle out of Technic Beams or Liftarms and have all the pieces pin together. I agree with Calabar -- there needs to be a simple textfield entry box in LDD whereby you can type in the EXACT angle you want. It sure would be a lot simpler. Following your hint, take a #3 Lego Technic Connector and lay it flat against the base plate. The angle between the connector and the base plate is 22.5 degrees. Here are the bend degrees for the various Technic Connectors: 32034 -- Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #2 - 180 degrees 32016 -- Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #3 - 157.5 degrees 924 -- Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #4 - 135 degrees 32015 -- Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #5 - 112.5 degrees 32014 -- Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #6 - 90 degrees

If one doesn't have an NXT brick and one isn't hung up on using 100% Lego, one can use this setup for a Lego-like RC Boat: http://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=446129 . Just switch a few things around and you'll have POWER GALORE to go through the water!

Yes, it would since it's 9V and the electrified studs on top accept the 2x2 plate of the Power Functions Extension Cable. Click on the larger image at Bricklink to see a clear picture: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=4760c01. The fuzzier Peeron image appears below:

There is another possibility. You could use the conventional, old-style 9V Lego Battery Box 2847c01 ( pictured on Bricklink http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=2847c01 and on Peeron http://peeron.com/inv/parts/2847c01 ), and add a 60656 Power Functions Extension Cable ( http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=60656 ) to bridge between the "old" and the "new" systems. You put one end of the Extension Cable on top of the old battery box, and connect the other end to the 58123cx1 Power Functions (PF) Receiver's cable. Perhaps the long-and-skinny 2847c01 battery box will work better than the short-and-fat 54950c02 PF 9V battery box, or the small (4x8x4) 8878 Rechargable Battery Box. The combination will look like this: One does not HAVE to use Power Functions motors in a Power Functions-enabled, motorized MOC. One can use the 60656 Power Functions Extension Cable with the old-style 43362c01 9V motors (that are shorter than the PF Medium Motor). The 43362c01 motors ( http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=43362c01 ) usually appear in a Light Grey color (and not black, as pictured below). One end of the 60656 PF Extension Cable can connect to the old-style 9V battery box, or to the old-style 9V motors, and the other end connects to the modern PF Receiver's cable.