DLuders

The Lego Car Blog posted a Lego Technic 9393 Tractor Preview. It's a medium-sized set.

A Lego Products Specialist provided this Dropbox link to download the single 203.5-MB PDF Building Instructions for the 9397 Lego Technic Logging Truck Alternate B-MODEL INSTRUCTIONS (9397-2): http://dl.dropbox.com/u/65195366/9397B.pdf . Hopefully, when TLG posts the B-Model instructions on their regular TLG webpages, they will be split up into smaller files. [NOTE: The Dropbox link has had its bandwidth exceeded.] UPDATE: The Lego Group provided this link to download the PDF Building Instructions: http://bit.ly/yvNqjx . Using Adobe Acrobat Professional, I split the original, high-resolution Lego Technic Logging Truck 9397B/ 9397-2 ("B-Model") PDF Building Instructions into these three pieces that folks can download via SkyDrive: High-Resolution Lego 9397B Part 1 PDF (pages 1-107) -- 56.8 MB: https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=5641cce2a1cc0886&resid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!273&parid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!272 . High-Resolution Lego 9397B Part 2 PDF (pages 108-199) -- 62.6 MB: https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=5641cce2a1cc0886&resid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!274&parid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!272 . High-Resolution Lego 9397B Part 3 (pages 200-308) -- 84.5 MB: https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=5641cce2a1cc0886&resid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!275&parid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!272 . NOTE: The page-breaks occur at logical points in the build. They may (or may not) coincide with The Lego Group's page breaks when they post the PDF files on TLG's websites. Also, there is no "Cover Page" on Parts 2 and 3; I just divided the single PDF file into three pieces small enough for SkyDrive to handle (i.e., less than 100 MB per file). For those who would prefer SMALLER file sizes (for faster downloads and ease of printing, but still with adequate pixel resolution), I used Adobe Acrobat Professional's "Reduce File Size" option. These smaller PDF files are approximately the same size as TLG's 3-part instructions for larger Lego Technic sets: Lego 9397B Part 1 PDF (pages 1-107) -- 15.0 MB: https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=5641cce2a1cc0886&resid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!278&parid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!272 . Lego 9397B Part 2 PDF (pages 108-199) -- 12.3 MB: https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=5641cce2a1cc0886&resid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!276&parid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!272 . Lego 9397B Part 3 PDF (pages 200-308) -- 14.0 MB: https://skydrive.live.com/redir.aspx?cid=5641cce2a1cc0886&resid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!277&parid=5641CCE2A1CC0886!272 .

You could see Sariel's Gears Tutorial for some tips, then use Sariel's Gear Ratio Calculator.

There are some differences between this OSX (with its outdoor pictures) and Sariel's Landrover Chassis design (with its indoors "light box" pictures):

@ Blakbird: Ha! I knew that you were going to say that it "Needs more logs." My piggy bank is empty right now, but if I had the money, I'd order some additional Reddish-Brown 56145 "Wheel 30.4 mm x 20 mm with Reinforced Rim" parts from "Lego Direct" (Lego Customer Service). One needs 8 ea. Lego Element ID 4618633 parts per log: Or, I can just go out in the swamps and cut up some Bamboo stalks as "logs":

The 'Mog looks good in blue! Thanks for sharing your LDD .lxf file.

On his Flickr photoset, Mahjqa wrote "I only do this once per creation, since it's very work-intensive. What you see right here is a way to blend multiple pictures into one, so tinkering with lighting becomes a lot easier. If you want to see more pictures that were photographed this way, follow this link: http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=multisource&w=28134808@N02&m=tags ."

I responded to LegoKiwi's offer on his Flickr photostream: "Unimog building instructions -- LDD building instructions for my Unimog are now available free of charge. Simply FM [Flickr Message] me your email and I'll send you the file, simple as that!" After many days, LegoKiwi (Nicholas Carter) wrote back to me and said "Im glad you like my Unimog. Attatched you will find the [Lego Digital Designer] .lxf file [which I placed on SkyDrive for downloading]; the pneumatic parts are not there but it should be easy enough to see where they go. It is built in LDD Extended mode of Lego Digital Designer so if it does not open you will need to follow the steps in this video: ."

@ dandexter: There are a lot of answers to 27 "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the official Lego Power Functions website http://powerfunctions.lego.com/en-us/faq/default.aspx : "Q2: "How many Power Functions Motors can I drive from one Power Functions Battery Box?" A2: "As a rule of thumb, you can drive 2 Power Functions XL-Motors, 3 Power Functions Train Motors or 4 Power Functions M-Motors at the same time from one Power Functions Battery Box. If you wish to run a combination of motors, you can e.g. have 1 XL and 2 M running together. The XL-Motor requires about twice as much power as the M-Motor. The Battery Boxes and the IR Receiver have overload protection, so attempting to drive too many motors will not damage anything. The power a motor consumes depends on what function the motor is performing. Motors will operate best when driving a small load." If you are making a Lego Technic vehicle, you may find Nico71's TTools useful: "TTools is a simple web software which calculates some usefull data for TruckTrial and Lego vehicles.... * Calculate ratio, speed (empty or in charge), torque (in charge or stalled), electrical and mechanical power, power lost * Type of motors, battery and gears are managed * Efficiency of motor(s) and drivetrain are managed, including worm gear and knob (available torque is reduced by the worm or knob gears) * Calculate clearing abilities data (angle of approach, departure and clearance)."

@ cpw: Welcome to Eurobricks! The 6- and 7-digit Lego Element IDs which you quoted don't work in Lego Digital Designer -- you need the Bricklink Part Numbers. If you are in LDD Extended mode, try doing a search for the term "Train" and see what pops up. I did that, and 30 parts appeared. Alternatively, you can look through this Bricklink list of "Train" and "Train Track" parts, and use the 4- or 5-digit Bricklink Part Number in LDD's Search box. If the part does not pop up, it's not in LDD.

I got a telephone call this afternoon, and found this e-mail waiting for me at home: "Hello David, I just heard back from the team that handles data on our content servers, which hold our building instructions, and they were able to take care of the mistake. It may take a few days for the content to refresh, but I am attempting to obtain a PDF copy that I will be able to email out to you as soon as possible. Not a huge update, but I wanted to give you a heads up that the issue has been reported, and the responsible team is working on a fix. Kind regards, Jacob S. Product Specialist Consumer Services - Rock Monsters" If I get the PDFs via e-mail, I will post them onto SkyDrive for downloading here. In the meantime, I recommend monitoring these two Lego.com websites for the phantom B-Model Building Instructions for the 9397 Logging Truck: Lego Customer Service Building Instructions webpage Lego Technic Building Instructions webpage

For those who do not have Lego Digital Designer (LDD) on their computers, Mahjqa posted step-by-step Building Instruction images for his Lego tank chassis on his Flickr photoset.

@ Paul B.: Here is the Maarkplatz's contact page (in Dutch and in this English translation). Off with the thief's head!

Alas, the Lego.com link above only is for the A-Model instructions -- the B-Model instructions are not there yet! I am really disappointed in TLG's Customer Service -- I'm telephoning them now to complain. UPDATE: I telephoned "Beth" at TLG's Customer Service in Enfield, Connecticut USA. She said that she needs to talk to a technical expert that comes on during the late shift, and that I will be contacted by Cell Phone this afternoon. I've been given the run-around about this issue for 13 days now, and TLG has not fulfilled its end of the deal -- when the 9397 Logging Truck set is is available at Shop.Lego.com in the USA (which it is now for $139.99 starting on March 1st, 2012), the B-Model PDF instructions would be posted. So far, they have not fulfilled that promise....

Per Brickset, you can now download the two PDF Building Instructions booklets from Lego.com: Architecture: Sydney Opera House Set 21012 Book 1 of 2 Architecture: Sydney Opera House Set 21012 Book 2 of 2

The 9397 Lego Technic Logging Truck's PDF Building Instructions are available for download here (in 3 booklets): http://technic.lego.com/en-US/BuildingInstructions/9397%20Group.aspx .

The 9397 Lego Technic Logging Truck's PDF Building Instructions are available for download here (in 3 booklets): http://technic.lego.com/en-US/BuildingInstructions/9397%20Group.aspx .

OK, I'll work on modifying the LDD .lxf Easter Egg this weekend, when I can devote several hours to the project. I'll post the LDD file here when I'm done. I plan on following Philo's methodology for the "System"-type internal bracing, using this webpage and this webpage for a guide. There will be a central "pillar" of bricks and plates, and central cruciform bracing extending to four sides. I will have to substitute longer bricks than Brickdoctor used, in order to have an internal "shelf" on the inner surface of the egg shell, on which to place the braces. It WILL be solid in case the real egg is dropped or rolled around. Here's what it could look like (if looking at the bottom end, and building downwards): Before I go too far with the "System" type of internal bracing (which would brace only four sides), please consider this "Technic" style of internal bracing (which could brace EIGHT sides, could resist tension & compression forces, be lighter, and possibly be less expensive to build). It is an "elegant solution", instead of the "brute force" System method of internal bracking: 1) A central pillar would be built up of alternating 6222 "Brick, Round 4 x 4 with Holes" and 3403c01 "Turntable 4 x 4 Square Base with Top, Complete Assembly" parts: The central pillar would be uniform (top to bottom), and allow Technic Liftarms of various lengths to be clipped onto it. 2) Simple 3700 "Technic, Brick 1 x 2 with Hole" pieces would be on short "shelves" projecting on the inside surface of the Egg Shell: 3) Each pin hole (on the 1x2 Technic Bricks AND the on the 4x4 Round Brick With Holes) would have a 2780 Technic Pin, a 32013 "Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #1" clipped onto it VERTICALLY, and a 43093 "Technic, Axle Pin with Friction Ridges Lengthwise" inserted into the axle end of the Technic Connector: 4) The "Turntable 4 x 4 Square Base with Top" could be ROTATED as needed to intercept Technic Liftarms hooked onto the vertical Technic Pins coming from FOUR SIDES AT A TIME, in a vertical alternating pattern (12-3-6-9 o'clock on one layer, then (1:30-4:30-7:30-10:30 on the next layer): The resultant internal bracing would have these features: A) TOP-TO-BOTTOM SOLID PILLAR to resist downwards force on the top of the egg. B) EIGHT-SIDED BRACING (not just four) to resist tension and compression forces. C) ECONOMY OF MATERIAL. What do you think?

I could possibly give it a shot, but first I need to know more before I commit: 1) Are you in a hurry? Easter is not for another month. Since I sit in front of a computer all day at work, I don't usually do LDD until the weekend but if you are going to build this egg with REAL BRICKS and need to make Bricklink orders, I understand the rush. 2) What kind of internal bracing are you wanting -- just "System"-type bricks or "Technic" studless liftarms pinned together? 3) Is the internal bracing supposed to exist for EVERY layer (in an X-shaped, quadrant pattern like Philo used for his Sphere Sculptures), or for every 5-6 layers to prevent internal collapse? 4) Is the egg supposed to be "opened" for viewing, or will the internal structure be hidden forever? 5) I ran the existing LDD .lxf file through your LDD Manager program to see if all the colors exist in real bricks, and there were numerous "Color Warnings". Do I have the liberty to change the color layers (or to repeat them) so that there are no more Color Warnings? 6) Estimated real height of your LDD Easter Egg = (33 equivalent layers of bricks) x (9.6 mm per layer) = 316.8 mm = 31.7 cm (a bit more than the target height) -- is this OK?

Wow, that would be MAMMOTH to make using real bricks! Could you post your LDD .lxf file on Brickshelf and deeplink it so that we may examine the model more closely? It appears that the Unimog tires you are using are a bit small for this beast, but that's the best you could do without using a non-Lego tire. Also, the trailer hitch bar used between the truck and trailer seems to be "fixed" and cannot easily rotate. Did you run your LDD .lxf file through LDD Manager, to see if the colors used in the models actually EXIST in real bricks? All appear to be OK, but you may get surprised when you check the colors....

Don't bring that robot outside, or the neighbors may become alarmed and the Bobbies might be knocking on your door! Do you have a name for him yet?

Brickdoctor rules! How long did it take you to model this giant Lego Easter Egg in Lego Digital Designer? I think I see the egg being 29 bricks high. Using the measurements below, (29 bricks) x (9.6 mm/brick) = 278.4 mm = 27.84 cm (close to the target 30 cm height).

You could use Philo's Lego Sphere Sculpture Instructions as a template to make the bottom portion of a BIG egg. You can upsize it if necessary, once you understand his methodology of building upwards. You could then design your own, ellipsoid-shaped top portion of the egg....

Oliglob also made the "Rubiks Cube Solving Robot". He wrote, "This is a Lego Mindstorms NXT robot I build from the "Tilted Twister" instructions. All the pieces are from Mindstorms NXT 1.0 and I bought a extra color sensor from Hitechnic. Me and my dad needed to edit the program a bit so it would recognize the new sensor and we tried several different cubes before we finally got it to work. The model was designed by Hans Anderson and instructions are at http://tiltedtwister.com/download/tiltedtwister/instructions.html . Hope you like it!"

This truck would look great driving around in a Lego Cityscape. Using LDD Manager, I created a PDF Parts List (showing the 587 parts in his LDD model) -- download it here via SkyDrive.