dr_spock

Thanks for the review. It does look good without stickers. Time to wait for a sale.

Thanks for the detailed review. The review was provided to Eurobricks for review by Lego. The opinions expressed in this review are my own and do not reflect those of The Lego Group. Did LEGO provide the review or the set?

The older liftarms didn't have the LEGO markings. At least none that I can see on my old 8228 Techinic Crane liftarms. Buying directly from LEGO is your best bet if you want 100% to be sure. You may have to modify your MOC design to what's available from the LEGO but purity comes with a cost.

If you're interesting in molding, there are small plastic injection machine for around $1800 USD. For small batches and limited runs, aluminum is a easy metal to cut and mill to make a mold. It might be more fun to make your own compatible parts. It would be cheaper too since you don't have the overhead costs of a large corporation.

I got that too on the Lenovo Tab 3 Android 5.0.1. It was fine before with 3.6.0.

From the Bricklink's FAQ: Where will the sets be shipped from? The designer sets will be manufactured in Europe and shipped from Europe. I suppose BrickLink could engage LEGO to do the packing or contract out to a 3rd party in a lower labour cost European country.

Cool, didn't have to sign a NDA.

Maybe from the overall big picture, they don't see it worth their while to do that. A mold that can be used across multiple themes would be a better return on investment. Back in the days, each LEGO theme more or less had control to do their own molds. They had a lot of duplicates and ones that weren't fully utilized to their full potential, etc. There was no overall cost control and oversight. I think that was one of the reasons they almost went under. They are probably new mold shy now because some of the decision makers lived through those dark times and changed the way new molds get approved.

3D printing is great for making one offs or prototyping or a few units. With CAD, you can design and make your own custom LEGO compatible parts. Pretty sure I read somewhere LEGO uses 3D printing to prototype their part designs. You can make a mold of a 3D print like for sand casting metal parts. Cost of the molds depends on variables like how precise do you need it, how many injection shot cycles it has to last, the type of mold material (aluminum is way cheaper than high grade tool steel), the labour costs of making the mold (hand polishing), etc. Here is a nice video on how precise scaled model trains are made. In there somewhere they also show how they make their molds: https://youtu.be/WoxtnAYGwrc At the end of the day, the business question is does making this mold makes me more money than making that other mold?

You can use the building instructions from LEGO website as the trusted source. The instructions will show where to put the stickers if there are any. 8288 Building Instructions -> https://www.lego.com/cdn/product-assets/product.bi.core.pdf/4504643.pdf

Instead of collecting signatures, collect money. You could commision/contract LEGO to make special run. LEGO in the past have done special stuff for other companies. Money talks.

Plain smiley minifigs were the best. Although, you had to use a healthy dose of imagination pretend if you want them to be sad, another colour, etc.

A Creator 3-in-1 set

I would like to see a rubber tire subway like the Paris Metro or Montreal Metro. It could be fun to have train wheels and tires on rail and concrete.

You can replay the video: http://lego.com/legocon

I can confirm the Friends submodels. You can get something to playable after completing bag #1. The difficult part is to stop playing and continue building for the set reviews.

The product descriptions for recent Friends sets use words like kids, youngsters, children. They also use boys and girls. Example: 41432 Alpaca Mountain Jungle Rescue on LEGO Shop at Home website. Immerse children in exciting mountain adventures with this colorful and detailed brick-built exploding volcano building toy for kids who love action play, exploring nature and caring for animals. With Alpaca Mountain Jungle Rescue (41432), kids can play out exciting jungle stories with the help of LEGO® Friends Stephanie and Mia buildable mini-doll figures, 3 alpaca figures and cute bat and bird figures. Kids can pretend to climb the mountain, report the eruption and whizz down the zip line to the toy cabin. They can paddle the canoe or fly the rescue helicopter toy. When the jungle rescue's over, they can explore the caves. There are lots of ways to play with this 512-piece mountain adventure toy, making it a brilliant birthday present or holiday gift for boys and girls aged 7+ who love rescue adventure play and caring for animals.

My drone instructions say to inspect or replace the lithium battery after a crash impact. I had one battery puffed up like a bird looking for a mate. No earth shattering kaboom though. Maybe not the best battery type to use if you like making train crash videos.

I printed some wheels in ABS and PLA plastic. They seem to hold up after running at a few train show events. I didn't bother removing the 3d print layer lines. I don't think anyone notice them as the train flies by. With ABS, you can use acetone vapour to smooth out the layer lines. Be careful though as the vapours are flammable. PLA is easier to print but very stiff, ABS has a bit more give. One thing with PLA, don't leave inside your car on a very hot day if you drive your trains around to different train show events. They can deform/melt.

My PU Hub blinks and stops working when my NiMH batteries fall below a certain level. I assume it'll do the same when the output from the step up converter drops to it. If it corresponds to 3.2V on the Li-Ion battery, then it is good. I bought some of these 18650 battery protection when I tried to salvage some from an old laptop battery pack. You shrink wrap them to the battery after wiring them up. They make the battery a bit taller too.

Does the PU hub low voltage detection cut off the power when the Li-Ion cell falls below 3.2 volts?

Welcome aboard, Omni Al-Hash.

I've been asked to coordinate before but I don't have the balls to do it. As mentioned, have spare modules. If you have 10 modules, keep at least one aside as spare in case one of the others breaks. I have my less reliable ones for spares. If a module breaks, toss another in its place and the show goes on. I have yanked out other people's broken modules. The broken module can be repaired later by the owner. Shims for leveling tables. I do hospital kids picnics in the park, the ground and grass are all uneven. Have extra AC power extension cords. Gaffer or duct tape to tape down and prevent tripping. Charge up your rechargeable batteries if applicable. I use sealed lead acids out in the field. They are heavy and good at holding down table cloths in gusts of wind. My LUG brings play brick to events. That's my emergency parts bin. It saves me from transporting more stuff with the GBCs. Extra 9V or PF extension cables. Chopsticks or something to poke and pick up stuck balls. Water to keep hydrated as you could be doing a lot of talking. Do a few shows and learn what your particular situation needs. Have fun and don't over-stress yourself or the modules.

Are yiou doing your own GBC display or part of a group display? If in a group, your GBC co-ordinator may already be prepared for emergencies. Contact your coordinator and see what they advise.

You are lucky to find them with discount. Maybe your retailer ordered more than they can sell?