DLuders

Wouldn't we all like a Power Functions tank! It's going to be hard to cram in the various PF elements in a small Panzer IV model, like this (from gowonlee's Brickshelf folder http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=3142827 ):

For inspiration, be sure to check out Sariel's Lego Power Functions tanks: http://sariel.pl/category/military/ . He has built some REALLY FINE tanks! He shows some photo sequences to reveal some of his building techniques. Here are some examples from this Lego Master: A fellow (vfourcade) created a Power Functions bulldozer ("My Rammer" or "Ma Dameuse" in French), and posted it on Brickshelf. It could be adapted into a TANK instead: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=413718 . There are enough photos to make the frame and mount the PF motors.

Be sure to read Philo's "Lego Power Functions Presentation" ( http://philohome.com/pf/pf.htm ) and this Lego Technic webpage: http://powerfunctions.lego.com/en-us/WhatIs/Default.aspx . They will help you see how everything works together.

I found the reference -- it's on Sariel's "Gears Tutorial" ( http://sariel.pl/2009/09/gears-tutorial/ ). He writes, "Thanks to Jetro de Château it is confirmed that there have been at least three versions of this gear released over the years (photo courtesy of Jetro de Château): "From left to right, these are: - version that came with the 8479 set, it has a light gray center and require more torque to slip - version that is most commonly used, with dark gray center - version from an unknown set(s), with smooth sides (no clutch power indications)." SO, when one buys a new or used 60c01 part on Bricklink, how can one know if you're getting the PREFERRED version if they're all the same Part Number?

I read somewhere that there is a VARIATION in the resistance of the 60c01 Lego Technic 24-Tooth Clutch Gear, but I can't find the source now. I recall that there are at least two different colors of the CENTER of the Clutch Gear that means a different resistance to torque. Does anybody know which center color is weaker/weakest? So far, I've found this article on TechnicBRICKS: http://technicbricks.blogspot.com/2008/02/...nic-clutch.html . It says "The Clutch gear has 2,5-5 N.cm stamped on its face, which is the torque rating of the Clutch....The clutch gear can transmit a maximum torque of from 2,5 to 5 Ncm (0,018 to 0,037 ft.lbs or 0,22 to 0,44 in.lbs)." According to Bricklink ( http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=60c01 ), the 60c01 "Technic, Gear 24 Tooth Clutch" seems to come in only one color/variety, and Peeron ( http://peeron.com/inv/parts/60c01 ) does not distinguish between any variations in torque resistance. Could folks glance at their white 24T Clutch Gears and see whether: (1) They notice different-colored CENTERS, and (2) Whether there's something else stamped on their parts other than the usual "2.5-5.0 Ncm"? I have two 60c01's in my hands -- one has the "2.5-5.0 Ncm" on it with a Dark Gray (Dark Stone) center, just like the left photo below. The other one has only two "Lego" names on it with no number, and a Dark Bluish Gray center (just like the center photo below). Hmmmm.....

Thanks, Mahjqa, for the extensive information. I've always wondered why Lego All-Around Car and Trial Truck competitions never really "took off" in the USA. I sponsored a "Power Functions Battlebot" competition at the 2009 Brickfest (in Portland, Oregon, USA), but there were only 4 entrants. I don't live near enough to a major US city to regularly participate in LUGs, so maybe I'll try sponsoring an All-Around Car Competition at some local Lego event (in Spokane's metropolitan area of ~500,000 people).

I saw on Mark Bellis' Brickshelf gallery http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=359239 that there was a Lego Power Functions-type "Lego USB Hub" available in the Lego WeDo kits. It looks like this: . The Lego Education website http://www.legoeducation.us/store/detail.a...t=1&ID=1573 describes the contents of the WeDo kit thus: "The set contains more than 150 elements including a motor, tilt sensor, motion sensor, and LEGO USB Hub." Bricklink lists it as Part 9581 ( http://www.bricklink.com/catalogPG.asp?S=9581-1 ), but Peeron doesn't list it at all.... Apparently, one can power motors and/or sensors using a Laptop Computer's battery via the USB cable. This MAY be useful in controlling some of the more complex Lego TECHNIC models can can be "tethered" via cables and which don't have to drive far. Does anybody out there have this, or seen it used?

Jovel made a nimble Lego TECHNIC "All-Around Car" for use in a Lego User Group (LUG) Car Competition. "The goal is to create a vehicle that is as all-around as possible": On his Brickshelf gallery http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=371705 , Jovel posted these pictures of the various events -- (1) Fast Parking, (2) Manueverability Test, (3) Race, (4) Trailer Manueverability, and (5) VIP Derby. I know that Mahjqa recently had a competition like this with various Limousines; have you attended events like this? What events are the most FUN? Can you think of addtional/better events? I'm thinking about sponsoring an "All-Around Car Competition" at the October 2010 BrickCon in Seattle, Washington, USA. Since Power Functions only has 4 different channels, only 4 cars can compete at once (or go in groups further away than 10 meters/33 feet from each other). Oscar Verbeek made this MOC for the same competition: http://mocpages.com/moc.php/125619 . I would imagine that the "Snow White Drifter Car" (from http://www.brickinside.com/NeoView.php?Db=...amp;Number=1798 , and featured on TechnicBRICKS http://technicbricks.blogspot.com/2009/09/...snow-white.html ) would do well too. It's pictured above. As you can see, both Jovel's and Oscar Verbeek's MOCs are relatively small and simple (to encourage kids and adults alike to enter the competition). What do you think?

OK, below are two Right Triangles with 30-degree angles at the top of each triangle. The Base-to-Height ratio of 1:2 ensures that 30- and 60-degree angles are created. Other Right Triangles could be made with two equal legs, thus creating two 45-degree angles split in half to form 22.5-degree angles. Hinges could be placed on top of the triangle jigs to ensure the proper angles. [PHOTO DELETED -- Wrong configuration]

@ms09: After seeing the video and studying the picture below, I don't know how the individual Technic Competition Arrows are fired. There are gears near the "triggers", but how do you sequentially launch them using Power Functions?

Now, THAT is WICKED! I love the rotating missile turret, and it's very accurate in shooting the Technic Competition Arrows! Maybe it could be used against invading hordes of Bionicle creatures! TLG would NEVER offer something like this as an official set, but it's cool that you did it. The "Type 63" Multiple Rocket Launcher (MRL) is a Chinese military application. It's described at http://www.sinodefence.com/army/mrl/type63.asp , and pictured on http://www.primeportal.net/artillery/david...ck/type_63_mrl/ . Great job in reproducing this vehicle!

The Korean website BrickInside.com posted this interesting MOC by "Hayarobi" -- an unofficial set he named "9878 Chevrolet Pickup". Itg sports Power Functions elements, gullwing doors, opening hood and tailgate, a working engine, and lots of TILES to smooth out the hood and pickup bed. The original post (in Korean) is at http://www.brickinside.com/NeoView.php?Db=...amp;fmCategory= . You can see the detailed construction sequence from the 94 PICTURES provided, without needing to understand any Korean. I tried copying and pasting some of the Korean paragraphs into a free online translator (like http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_txt ), but the translation is tough to understand. Anyway, one can see some similarities to the official 8297 Off Roader 2 set (from which many of the parts came). Experienced TECHNIC builders may find that there are enough photos on the BrickInside webpage to recreate the MOC.... (Blakbird, here's another one to add to your long list! ) [NOTE: The picture links got "broken" , so I guess you'll have to go to the BrickInside site to see them all].

Superkalle, yes, I suppose a "Status Bar" showing the Lego Part Number would be better than a pop-up window. I thought of another wish for LDD 4.0. You have said that it's a GOOD thing that LDD forces the builder to not make illegal connections with virtual Lego pieces, and that everything must snap into place. However, for TECHNIC builders, it would be nice to activate some sort of forgiving "snapping" feature to connect parts together. With non-TECHNIC bricks, one just has to get CLOSE to connecting studs together and the LDD program makes a TIGHT FIT. With TECHNIC pieces, any tiny mistake in FULLY SEATING a part has bad repurcussions later in the model. Reference JunkStyleGio's recent EB post http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?...st&p=725958 , where the green TECHNIC bushings were not slid tightly together: Is there a way of clicking on a TECHNIC element, drawing a line between it and a TARGET, and FORCING things to line up? Can't the model contort JUST A SMIDGEON and snap together? In real life, if a TECHNIC model has a part not quite fully seated, adding additional parts FORCES the whole model to SNAP together in your hands. In LDD 3.1, if a TECHNIC bushing (for example) is 0.1 mm off from being fully seated, the whole model comes to a standstill.

Well, you could always get these building instructions and get your own parts: http://cgi.ebay.com/Lego-Custom-Model-Spac...=item2c5171b11c . "For the serious Lego or Space collector, this model is made from about 3,997 pieces and is over 3 feet long and 16 inches tall....it is built to scale with the minifigures. Features: 1/43 model scale Retractable front and rear landing gear Cockpit opens to allow play inside Hatch and Airlock Cargo bay doors open and close Movable flaps and rudder."

From Wikipedia.com, here's what "JEEP" stands for: "There are many explanations of the origin of the word "jeep," all of which have proven difficult to verify. One notion holds that the vehicle bore the designation "GP" (for "Government Purposes" or "General Purpose"), which was phonetically slurred into the word jeep. However, R. Lee Ermey, on his television series Mail Call, disputes this, saying that the vehicle was designed for specific duties, and was never referred to as "General Purpose" and it is highly unlikely that the average jeep-driving GI would have been familiar with this designation. The Ford GPW acronym actually meant (G for government use, P to designate its 80-inch (2,000 mm) wheelbase and W to indicate its Willys-Overland designed engine). "Many, including Ermey, suggest that soldiers at the time were so impressed with the new vehicles that they informally named it after Eugene the Jeep, a character in the Popeye cartoons created by E. C. Segar. Eugene the Jeep was Popeye's "jungle pet" and was "small, able to move between dimensions and could solve seemingly impossible problems."[1] "Words of the Fighting Forces by Clinton A. Sanders, a dictionary of military slang, published in 1942, in the library at The Pentagon gives this definition: "'Jeep: A four-wheel drive vehicle of one-half- to one-and-one-half-ton capacity for reconnaissance or other army duty. A term applied to the bantam-cars, and occasionally to other motor vehicles (U.S.A.) in the Air Corps, the Link Trainer; in the armored forces, the ½-ton command vehicle. Also referred to as "any small plane, helicopter, or gadget.' "This definition is supported by the use of the term "jeep carrier" to refer to the Navy's small escort carriers".

Superkalle, my wish is for a PART NUMBER IDENTIFICATION TOOL. When one selects a piece from the Parts Pallette, there is a word description but no PART NUMBER. If one imports a LDD model from another Lego fan, the parts used are not indicated when one clicks on the part. In Building Guide Mode, the parts used in each step are resized to fit a tiny box; black pieces are hard to see and one can't easily tell if the needed part is (for example) a 1x8 black plate, a 1x10 black plate, etc. Nowhere is the PART NUMBER indicated anywhere in LDD. SURELY the LDD program uses the Part Number (and not the English word description); can it be revealed via a point-and-click tool? I know that there is some variation between the Part Number actually EMBOSSED into the underside of the REAL physical Lego brick, Bricklink's number, and Peeron's number. However, if LDD could indicate the EMBOSSED number, it would save a lot of guesswork.

The Chicken has been plucked by TLG's choice for their April 2010 "Farming" TECHNIC Challenge winner -- edgar9727's "Tractor with Trailer". On the website http://technic.lego.com/en-us/Competition/...ontentid=176375 , the builder described the MOC this way: "It have steering system. Steering regulates on the roof and in the salon with steering wheel. Tractor has front loader with two points regulation system. It has differential. In the back you can add trailer or grass mower. Trailer tower with hydraulic and motor."

Atr, if you were attending the BrickMagic Lego Show in Raleigh, North Carolina USA this weekend, your boat MOC could compete in their Lego Boat Race: http://www.brickmagic.org/view/info/BoatRace/ .

Nice MOC! If the gears are slipping and you need more torque, have you used Nico71's Truck Trial (TT) Tools v2.0? If not, check it out at http://www.bricktrucktrial.com/article.php3?id_article=168 . On your Brickshelf folder, is this the correct photograph that shows the slipping gears?

Sariel told Blakbird: "These are 81.6 x 38 R tires. They seem to suit it better than any other." If anybody makes a complete Parts List of Sariel's Jeep Wrangler Rubicon model, could you post it? So far, there's a Parts List for the Front and Rear Axle Assemblies....

It looks like fun! You were very gracious to let others drive your limousine MOCs. I liked the "Hawaii Five-O"-type music on the video!

Solic posted a nifty Liebherr LTR 1100 Mobile Crane MOC on his Brickshelf folder. There are detailed pics of: 1) The crane working to lift a power transmission tower ( http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=429977 ), 2) The Power Functions mechanics ( http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=429976 ), 3) The boom ( http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=429975 ), and 4) The Power Functions chassis ( http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=429973 ).

Although I don't have extra cash to buy EXTRA sets as an "investment" (to sell later at a profit), I personally don't see anything wrong with this. There are folks that part-out the newest TECHNIC sets to make the newest parts immediately available to folks building their own MOCs. Under the forces of "Supply and Demand", the prices will seek their natural levels. With the sad state of other investments, you may actually MAKE A PROFIT (whereas stocks may lose money). TLG just wants to SELL SETS, and they probably don't care whether they sell in bulk to one person or to many kids. I have noticed that Lego Shop At Home sometimes puts a limit of 5 copies of one set per person.

Superkalle, please add this modern piece: #63869, "Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Perpendicular Triple". It looks like this: Thanks.

"Sariel" (Paul Kmiec) has graciously taken the time to create detailed, step-by-step building instructions for his Lego Jeep Wrangler Rubicon: http://sariel.pl/2010/04/jeep-wrangler-rubicon/#more-1376 . It did well at a recent Truck Trial event, and over 10 days' time he created the photos and digital drawings for the Jeep's chassis, front axle, and rear axle: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=428708 . "Datasheet: Completion date: 18/04/2010 Power: electric (Power Functions) Dimensions: length 47 studs / width 24 studs / height 23 studs Weight: 1.224 kg Suspension: pendular, stabilized with 2 shock absorbers per axle Motors: 1 x PF Medium, 1 x PF XL" Thanks, Paul, for sharing your great MOC with many of your fans!