DLuders

Wow! Using 5 ea. swiveling Technic Turntables gives it more moves than Elvis! Are you going to use this in a "Trial Truck" setting outdoors?

If your Lego tires are slipping on your "sumo-bot", "Trial Truck", or other MOC needing maximum "stickiness", here are some results of TIRE TRACTION tests done by "Philo": http://www.philohome.com/traction/traction.htm . Phillippe Hurbain tested the popular Lego tires on: (1) Short-hair carpet (2) Abrasive backs of ceramic tile (to simulate concrete or gravel) (3) Shiny floor tile (4) Matte (dull) floor tile, and (5) Raw plywood. Philo also tested the results of more WHEELS, more WEIGHT, and more SPEED. Everything is presented in useful graphs. From his excellent research, you can choose the best Lego tires for the surface you encounter. I used to think that the "most sticky" tires were the 70x28mm #32078 tires mounted on the fancy #32077 wheels (featured in the recent "Little Devil" car), but I see that's not necessarily the case.... :skull:

There are four BIG Lego gears (produced by Samsonite for TLG in the 1960s) that could be useful for Technic MOCs. Wikipedia's "History of Lego" article ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Lego ) states that: "1961 and 1962 saw the introduction of the first Lego wheels, an addition that expanded the potential for building cars, trucks, buses and other vehicles from Lego bricks. Also during this time, the Lego Group introduced toys specifically targeted towards the pre-school market, and made an arrangement allowing Samsonite to begin producing and selling Lego products in Canada, an arrangement that would continue until 1988. There were more than 50 sets of bricks in the Lego System of Play by this time." As shown on the webpage http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?q=samsonite+gear , they came in four sizes: 741, "Technic, Gear Samsonite 14 Tooth" (white) 742, "Technc, Gear Samsonite 21 Tooth" (yellow) [#572 in Peeron.com] 743, "Technic, Gear Samsonite 35 Tooth" (blue) 744, "Technic, Gear Samsonite 42 Tooth" (red) These Samsonite gears have studs all over them. Has anybody used them recently in their TECHNIC MOCs?

Here are some really cool Znap models: http://build4fun.com/ . There are 2 carousels, a construction crane, 2 suspension bridges, 2 Ferris wheels, 2 elevators, & an 8 foot (2.5 meter) tower.

Has anybody used the x334c01 "Technic, Axle Flexible 26L (Axle 2L and 5L Ends) with Dark Gray Cable"? As seen on the webpage http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=x334c01 , they can connect to a motor and drive things AROUND CORNERS and awkward angles without worrying about piecing together universal joints and axle segments. It's listed as Part Number x334c00 in Peeron, and that part only appeared in two sets from 1998: http://peeron.com/inv/parts/x334c00 . If you used one of these 26-studs-long flexible Technic axles to drive something FAR AWAY at an ANGLE, do you think it would wear out a Power Functions motor too quickly with "side torque"?

There are some online instructions on how to make various Znap creations: http://www.worldbricks.com/znap . Some of them are Technic-like.

If you're wearing out AA batteries a lot, it may be more economical (in the long run) to use AA Rechargeable Batteries. Energizer makes 2450 milli-Amp-Hour (mAH) batteries that last a LONG TIME and can be recharged at least 25 times. You'll have to get a matching charger unit, though. I went on eBay to get mine: http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksi...-All-Categories .

Has anybody used Lego ZNAP pieces in their MOCs? According to the Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Znap , "Znap is a Lego theme that was produced from 1998-1999. It is similar to K'nex and can also be used to build objects in a frame-like way. The plastic it is made of is slightly flexible yet strong. The back page of the instructions featured a small boy sitting inside a large Formula One racing car made from Znap. "Bridges and structures using Znap are often integrated into train layouts at shows. One challenge of doing so is that different parts came in different colors, and certain key connector parts were available only in strange colors, like purple, making uniform color bridges difficult to construct." Bricklink's catalog has all of the Znap parts on a single webpage: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?q=znap . The frames are interesting to build bridges with, and (according to http://news.lugnet.com/znap/?n=277 ), there's even a way of MIXING regular Lego System bricks with Znap pieces: "Znap was designed by Lego to be fully integrateable with system elements. The znap stud circumference is tangent to a brick stud circumference at the 4 cardinal points, meaning you can mount a system brick on a znap connector stud. The height of a purple 4 ay connector is one plate above znap beam height, so you can build bricks over a znap girder by mounting a brick along the znap studs and clicking a plate beneath the brick between the studs. Results in a nearly seamless flow from znap elements to brick elements. The socket at the end of a znap brick will take a system stud side on, meaning you can mount say a double arch to a vertical lego wall by incorporating two headlight bricks into the wall. These are all mathematical characteristics Lego would have exploited in 3rd and 4th year sets, if the Znap line had been continued." Have YOU ever used Znap, or have seen a Znap MOC "in the flesh"? Why do you think that it never caught on with the buying public, like K'NEX has?

What a noble charity! The model is a very good replica of the real thing. Do you know whether it floats without taking on too much water? When my son was a LOT younger, his Lego boats would sink in the bathtub....

Among the under-15 finalists, I like the yellow "Steel Plate Hauler". Instead of steel, it could carry a miniature car in its belly to launch upon unsuspecting minifigs!

The 10 finalists in the March 2010 Lego Technic Challenge have been posted at http://technic.lego.com/en-us/competition/voting.aspx . The creations are really good. TLG says: "Voting -- All participants have uploaded creations and 10 finalists have been selected, you can go and vote to help choose which is the best model! You can vote until the end of the month! - Hurry up and go! "Missed your chance? Don't worry, from February until September we run competitions, they start up the first of every month and you will have 2 weeks to upload creations - so be ready for the next one! "The winner will receive a prize and also continue to the Big Finale in October. "Choose your favorite and vote! If you wish to vote for any of the contestants you need to sign in with your LEGO ID - you can only vote ONCE so choose carefully!" Since there isn't any place there to register people's comments about the 10 choices, please tell us what your favorite entry is below. P.S. There is no mention about the entries submitted by AFOLS (yet) on the Lego Technic Blog http://technic.lego.com/en-US/designers/bl...2012:02:00%20AM , like there was for the Feb 2010 "Flying Functions" Technic Challenge....

Your blend of the 8258 Crane Truck and 8063 Farm Tractor with Trailer is really good. My son has built both of them, so I'm going to show him your ideas and he'll probably do the same modifications you suggested. The 8258 Crane Truck doesn't take full advantage of its capabilities without lifting something off of a trailer. Great idea! The picture of a real truck (with the Amundsen) is something that folks in the Americas would not normally see.

Thanks for making the "Intermediate Power Functions Chassis" photostream available on Flickr. I was a bit surprised that you didn't include any BIONICLE pieces.... I built the "Basic Chassis" model using the Flickr photos, since I could study the individual part sequences more slowly than would be possible by watching the video. Both of the chassis models are real fun to drive!

A fellow named "shlomi-gondabi" put 70 ea. Lego Technic images on Brickshelf that are fine enough to use as computer WALLPAPERS: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=410664 . You can download one each week for the rest of the year, and STILL have some left over! Pick from classic and modern sets, MOCs, renderings, cars/trucks/planes/motorcycles, and more. Who knows? If a passer-by should see your computer wallpaper at school or work, he/she may come up to you and say they like TECHNIC too....

Since this Eurobricks post IS for "LEGO Technic, Mindstorms & Model Team", I would imagine that the BIONICLE "pseudo-Technic" or "Technic-like" pieces could be used for robots. You may know that he BIONICLE theme is ending in 2010, so these kinds of parts may not be made anymore. There are dozens of unique & bizarre pieces that have been created over the years. SOME have the same type of holes (for axles and Technic pins) as TECHNIC liftarms, and their 3-dimensionality could be handy. Does anybody use these BIONICLE pieces for Technic, Mindstorms, or Model Team MOCs? Would you CONSIDER using them? x346, "Bionicle 1 x 3 Tooth with Axle Hole" ( http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=x346 ) 41672, "Bionicle Bohrok Shoulder, Liftarm 1 x 3 x 7" ( http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=41672 ) 32551, "Bionicle Claw Hook with Axle" ( http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=32551 ) 53562, "Bionicle Foot Piraka Clawed" ( http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=53562 ) 47734, "Bionicle Kanoka Disk Launcher (Vahki)" ( http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=47334 ) 44136, "Bionicle Rahkshi Chest Section" ( http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=44136 ) 44135, "Bionicle Rahkshi Torso Lower Section" ( http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=44135 ) 50904, "Bionicle Visorak Torso, Liftarm 8 x 3 x 2" ( http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=50904 ) 44033, "Bionicle Weapon Air Katana" ( http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=44033 ) There are even more possibilities; scroll down the Bionicle pictures on the website http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?p...e&catLike=W .

As reported yesterday on http://www.bricksngears.com/ , there is a pictorial "Lego Tire and Wheel Chart" that has the part numbers used by Bricklink and Peeron. The "Visual Lego Wheel Helper" direct link is http://isodomos.com/Visual-Parts-Helper/Lego-Wheel.html . It may be more useful than this "Tire On Wheel" Relationships chart available on Bricklink ( http://www.bricklink.com/catalogRelList.asp?relID=3 ), because it uses 45-DEGREE SIDE VIEWS of the wheels and tires so one can fully see the assemblies.

There are 4 ea. Lego "Slammer" sets in the "Power Racers" theme (from the webpage http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?q=slammer ): #8645 Muscle Slammer Bike (2005), which "prateek" already mentioned #8646 Speed Slammer Bike (2005) #K8645 Slammer Propeller Hotrod (that uses the #8645 & #8646 kits above) #8650 Furious Slammer Racer (2005) The instructions for #8645, #8646, and #8650 sets are available from the Lego Customer Service website http://us.service.lego.com/en-US/BuildingI...ns/default.aspx . Type in the set number & press "Submit", then scroll down the page to see the instructions listed, click on that instruction line, wait a second then right-click on the "Download" button and "Save Target As" on your Lego directory on your Hard Drive.

Here's a picture of a "Lego Truck Using Monster Tires": http://www.bricklink.com/message.asp?ID=434433 . "Eezo" wrote "I'm using 5.3 inch HPI mud thrashers tires on my Lego SUV. These hobby industry tires uses a 12mm hex to drive. An adapter to these 12mm hexes are at Inanimate Reason on Bricklink. Look closely and you'll notice some nice aluminum elements complimenting this monster construction, including a steel rear axle which keeps the tires straight under the weight of the Lego battery box and 2 XL motors."

Boy, that's one COMPACT Power Functions chassis! Thanks for making it available. The car is quite nimble, and your video will help newcomers see how easy it can be! It will get a lot of exposure on YouTube and Flickr (i.e., the pciture sequence http://www.flickr.com/photos/28134808@N02/...57623628460412/ that is linked to your still photograph above). I'm going to build one!

Perterz, have you ever seen the Lego car models by Lego911 (Peter Blackert)? He mostly does 12-studs-wide cars ( http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=121116 ) using Technic components underneath his Model Team-type bodies.

In a previous Eurobricks post by Blakbird, Jetro pointed out a recent Bugatti Veyron MOC. There are many Lego TECHNIC Bugatti Veyrons being built by AFOLs lately, probably because the real car is FAST. According to Wikipedia, it achieved "407.9 km/h (253.5 mph), which equated to almost one-third of the speed of sound at sea level." If only one could achieve the scaled-down speeds with Lego models.... Here's the first TECHNIC model of a Bugatti Veyron (1:10 scale by Ming Thein): http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/84927 and http://www.flickr.com/photos/mingthein/set...57614387804037/ . If it were possible, the to-scale speed of the 1:10 model would be 40.8 km/hr (25.3 mph)! Another TECHNIC Veyron (the one Jetro pointed out -- 1:8 scale by Sheepo HL): http://mocpages.com/moc.php/172197 and http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=411404 . The to-scale speed would be even faster (51 km/hr or 31.7 mph!). Yet another TECHNIC Veyron ( by cbt): http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=204267 . Maybe there are even more TECHNIC Veyrons out there. I like them all (although I agree with Jetro that Sheepo's is the finest). If TLG runs out of Ferraris to sell in their "Racers" theme, maybe they can get a marketing deal with Bugatti and sell these as official sets! (wishful thinking on my part)....

Yes, the x784 Hailfire Droid wheels are bigger but folks want to use Balloon Tires for their offroad MOCs. The only attachment point of the Droid wheels are the rims, and clamping the drive gear onto the rim's recesses is bulky and not "realistic" for an offroader. RC wheels and tires are lightweight, inexpensive, and reasily available in various sizes, colors, and tread patterns. I know that there's a limit to how big a wheel can be (before it twists-off the plastic Technic Axle), but if the MOC is geared properly, it shouldn't be a problem.

On both the #8885 "Power Functions IR Remote Control" and the #8879 "Power Functions IR Speed Remote Control" units, there are two black switches (on both sides of the orange slide-selector that chooses Channel 1, 2, 3, or 4). These black switches control the direction of the motor connected to that side of the PF Receiver (red toggle for the motor connected to the red plug on the receiver, and blue toggle for the blue plug on the receiver). By changing the direction of the black switches, you change the direction that the motor turns.

I just added hyperlinks in the Wikipedia article for each of Blakbird's year-by-year history of Technic (from his Technicopedia History pages 1978-1994). They are very comprehensive and well-written. "Legoman777", please note that the Linear Actuator is already mentioned just below the Power Functions list of components: "The Power Functions line-up also includes a Linear Actuator currently not sold separately, but already used in many models like the 8294 Excavator."

Wow! Your fellow Turks are going to be envious when they see this car! Your work is a great example how the "Supercar II" (Super Street Sensation) set from 1999 can be modernized using Power Functions. If The Lego Group ever reissued Set 8448, or created a new "Supercar III", I'm sure they would have something like this in mind. My son and I are looking at our static 8448 model now, and we're both jealous. Great job!