roamingstop

Discontinued moulds / bricks will not be included in LDD - even in universe mode - unless they are explicitly requested by the Lego Universe (Game) development team. Since cross over tracks are not (yet) made in RC track, it is unlikely to be added.

Wow... thanks. And erm. That Crane...wow.

Actually I think... erm... LDDTechnician said it was going to be WIP - work in progress; i.e. they were going to do it rather than as a request for someone else... although no reason for two - creative ideas especially to complicated problems. Nice model by the way.

If it were to be added to technic bricks blog (Conchas?) then it might also get good viewing...

Actually for low torques you could use the rotating head (of the first LA) to drive the axle thread (of the second LA), with the frame for the second held rigid using a supporting beam (as per the pneumatic cranes). However it might not work for higher torques / load.

Functionality The model has really good functions, which educate and amaze during the movements. Super Rig, Space Shuttle, Old Bulldozer 856 etc, all fall into this catagory (and some more modern ones as well). E.g. the concentric rings to drive two axles through a turntable on the new excavator. Form This can be shape, form-factor etc. Primarily it "looks the part". It does not need to have a great function, or a great level of detail - but from the outside it justlooks right, and you instantly recognise it. Snow Groomer for example is a great model to look at. Some of the small motorbikes as well - mechanisms may be simple but it looks good. Fun This can also be playability (but I like F,F,F). How do you play with the model. Sometimes the really small ones such as the mini-bulldozer can be remoddeled into 24+ (and counting) submodels... Or the Forest-Loader - working pneumatics which children can play with for 4-5 hours without getting bored (im thinking of my 6-8 year old nephews who did this recently). And it lifts not only logs... But the big rig with all working pneumatics was too complicated. They went 'wow'... (as did AFOL's) but in the end all the functions were too much in one go. Technic is not just for building but also playing - and it is important that those who are too young to assemble the model, can at least understand how to play with it - and not have too many small (choking) pieces. Just my $2.

Actually they are all waiting to put on a ...Or do some

After coming out of my dark ages I noticed that Lego had released a load of Games - including themed (licensed) versions. However Ive never dug into them to work out if they are worth playing, or have unusual pieces which are specifically useful in MOC's etc. Clearly some are really designed for children, whilst creationary could be more TFOL based. However what are the views of other AFOL community members? Do you buy the games to play them or strip for parts? If you play them, who plays with you - family and friends (mainly adults / teens or children?) If you play them, for how long do they hold interest? One week - then into the MOC pile? Or regularly revisit? Or indeed use your MOC pile to improve the game? Do you feel some games could have an educational element? I could imagine a technic variation where you have to build a specific mechanism (like creationary). Thanks for any thoughts....

Repair, clean, rebuild, and replace? Replace - at whose cost? Yours? Senders? How to arrange minimal Bricklink charges etc? Repair - how? If replacing - see above. Rebuild - this is part of the fun of having a second hand set.... Clean - is this really a realistic of a "service"? Getting rid of the grime from odd places using an ultrasonic bath would be nice... Clean P2- whitening dirty parts from old sets? To be honest this is not a service I would consider as being able to make money, or even break even. Probably best to contact your local LUG and see if anyone in your country (minimal post costs) is interested. One possible way: Send me your incomplete sets, and you will get return a cleaned, complete system. But once again who pays for the missing bits? Other alternative idea: Send me your MOC and I will generate PDF instructions for you... and check the build status - structural, ease of assembly etc. Now that could be more interesting.

One of the previous railbricks magazines talked about this in depth, especially with respect to the scales: track width vs engine width vs length. The general feeling seems to be: If you have lots of standard Lego models and trackside buildings you will need to keep the models 6 wide - with the false scale that it requires. This also means shorter trains. If you are happy MOC'ing / MOD'ing your trackside buildings then the 7 / 8 wide scale will look best, but you will also need to increase the length of the carriages to keep the right proportions. This means custom train bases etc. Going to 9 / 10 wide is really a bit extreme and only ideal if you want to use normal Lego track as a way to model a narrow gauge system, but then it will not match with most other models. I walk alongside a railway siding regularly on my way to work, and have been keeping an eye on the carriage widths (freight) versus the wheel base. 6 wide is too small to be realistic. Take for example a tanker car using the 4x4x6 corner panels. This would make an 8 wide tanker. In reality the structural base of these tankers sits directly above the wheels, which is equivalent to a 6 wide base in lego. All other rolling stock (e.g. flatbeds, wagons etc) have their bases overhanging the wheels, and would (visually) represent an 8 wide. So the 10016 model tanker was one of the few accurate lego train designs... However once you start, you wont be able to stop. Coopers 7 widecarriages show what would be needed...

Me too... just after receiving a large package from MagCloud....

Seems the images have been redacted... which is no surprise really. The original link on the Technic Bricks site is down as well. Ergo... time to put these mini-actuator dreams to bed until Santa TLG is nice to us and releases more information.

Some models are designed to have power functions added afterwards. E.g. the Forest Tractor / Loader (8049) has instructions on how to add a PF-M motor to power the pneumatics, but does not allow the model to be driven with PF. The PF accessory set is basically a bunch of cables, motors and lights, and a few gears (cogs) but no other parts. In this case it is better to probably buy an existing official model which has the instructions for power functions, which can be added later. How much do you want to spend? Do you want a complete model or just a collection of bits? The Container Truck 8052 for example includes a PF M motor for powering the tipper, and is relatively inexpensive as a complete model as well. The Race Truck 8041 and The Dune Buggy 8048 have unofficial instructions (on line somewhere) for converting to remote control using Power Functions and the IR receiver.

Ok last 3 times Ive logged in, with Universe mode as default, the page shows 'Lego Digital Designer', 'An Error Has Occured'... 'Click here for previous page'. Clicking Previous page takes me to DbM... (which was my previous page). I no longer see Universe Mode (home page) and dont get the errors - so I can continue in Universe mode (Yippeee). Thanks Superkalle and importantly the LDD Team. (Oh and those asking about Internet Explorer - I dont ever knowingly use it, switched to firefox etc a long time ago).

I had similar issues with my 851 B Models, where a technic axle links two large gears, and the gears connect (with pins) to angled technic beams. (bottom right press). Probably took about 1 hour of hinge tool pain to get the alignment to work on one side of the axle pair - but the other side refused. I eventually managed, but now when I reload the model LDD removes one of the technic beams because it is 'illegal' - even though both left and right side of the system are identical. Im pretty sure this is related to slightly imperfect alignments of connectors, and will also look forward to LDD 4.0 and hope it helps (a little) By the way - a nice model... looks like a better version of the S/W UCS Destroyer...

True... but what I would say is in this example the leverage of the pieces mean it would be possible for kids to easily break apart. A small 1xn plate in a technic brick would be most tiresome, but larger pieces which have offsets, or 3D parts which can be easily held may be allowed, but only when the design cannot be done in another way?....

I found a temporary fix... the default of the webpage was to go to 'Universe -> Home' site - where the errors occur. In between the errors I manged to click the Web Page tab for 'Products', the page changed and the error disappeared. Next time I started LDD I got a web pane error showing "Digital Designer, An Error Has Occured, Click link below to go to previous page". I did not get the windows errors popping up any more... could could continue to use LDD in universe mode (first time in 10 days....) Clicking the link suggested took me to the DbM page for Atlantis models... and still no error! Phew.

Under the LDD Official Sets thread I had posted a copy of the 851 / 951 tractor. For the rear wheels I had used a slightly larger version then necessary (pimp my ride) which required an additional 1x6 red plate to lift the rear mud flaps, but otherwise was the same. I would also suggest that you make a link in the LDD Official Models thread so that they can be properly indexed. There is also an official 'Work in Progress' thread where you can indicate whether there is a model you are currently working on (e.g. Carousel for me... when LDD works again).

I can confirm the errors are only present when I switch into Universe Mode... when in DbM, Technic, Creator modes I do not get the error message, because the Web Pane is showing clearly different websites.

Yep. Tetrix. It is in partnership with Lego.

The official B Models as supplied in the Lego instructions of the models. Many of the earlier Technic models had 'B' versions (alternates) which were interesting in some way... And hence my question: Are B Models (Alternate Models) to also be included in the archive?

The problem has been continuous... Currently the error messages are displayed once every 10s or so... and makes using LDD impossible... Booo hisss. Give me cookies... Previously the webpage was displaying something about DbM and not Universe - although I wonder if the error occurs when I start with DbM mode (and not universe mode). I previously had an issue which also disappeared after a while. In that case it was related to Java Script which the browser window is attemping to execute. If we could work out how Lego force the webpage to update, then I would pernamently set it to 'shop.lego.com' and be happy ever after. Unfortunately this is also going to be the experience with many new s/w products which will want to have embedded advertisments and web-browsers... when an error occurs it kills the main application :(.

For 50 Euro? If the price is right then it is the same as the Forest Loader... but there only 2 cylinders exist. A mini-Backhoe would be nice - but hmm...? However it would continue the idea of Pneumatics in smaller sets.

There there Superkalle... Would you like some Chocolate whilst waiting?... I will provide screenshots tonight.