What does the +/- dial in the Lego Defender model do? Lego today released a video showcasing the new 42110 Land Rover Defender model.

The video captions mention that it has “Lego Technic’s most sophisticated gearbox to date”, and we see 3 seemingly related features.

The first two are fairly typical levers for “hi/lo” and “?/N/R”, ie gear selection and direction.

The other is a dial labelled “+ -“:

What is this dial for?

Based on a comment found in the overview on Brickset, and that all of the others levers and their function seem to be accounted for, it seem very likely that it is the transmission gear selector.

-UPDATE BELOW-

From Brickset:

  "A new transmission system has two levers for engaging high or low
  ratios and a selector for changing gear – LEGO Technic’s most
  sophisticated gearbox yet."

Source: https://brickset.com/article/45677/introducing-the-technic-land-rover-defender

In other words, the transmission gears 1-?, rather than it's selection D/N/R and transfer case Hi/Lo.  The transmission looks too complicated to just be directional switch (D/N/R) and 1 gear range switch (Hi/Lo).

I have no idea how many gears it has, or if I am even correct.  It's all just speculation based on my observations.  Either way the set looks amazing!  I'm a sucker for vintage cars and all things 4x4.

Just confirmed from Lego.com:

  Opening doors allow access to an elaborate cabin with a working
  steering wheel, detailed dashboard and a new-for-October-2019
  transmission system with 2 levers for engaging high or low gear ratios
  and a selector for changing gear – the most sophisticated LEGO Technic
  gearbox to date! The interior also features forward-folding rear seats
  that give visual access to the 4-speed sequential gearbox.
  https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/land-rover-defender-42110

So it's a 4-speed transmission, nice!


What part is this grey keyhole shape and what set(s) is it from? I've recently found this grey keyhole-shaped piece - there are a fair number of them that stack together to form a circular staircase. There is what looks like a part number on the bottom but it is unreadable and faint. There is also a number beneath the part number, 201.

(images were made smaller but bigger ones can be added if needed).

Bricklink lists it as "Stairs Spiral Step" (Part# 40243). It first appeared in 2001 in the initial series of Harry Potter licensed sets.


LEGO Mindstorms NXT - NXC compiler for OS X I need an IDE for LEGO Mindstorms on my Mac, but I only found a few for Linux and Windows but not for Mac. I found NeXT Tools, but the newest version isn't compatible with Yosemite. If I execute it, it will throw an error, so I need some compiler for Yosemite.

Thanks

It is possible to use XCode. You need to download the NXC compiler (the linked page says NBC, but it included NXC as well). Then, write a Makefile that calls the NXC compiler.

If the compiler does not work on Yosemite, the source code is available from that link as well.

A detailed tutorial on using XCode with NXC can be found here.


When did LEGO decide that it was okay to put a stud into a Technic hole? At one point, LEGO didn't really support putting a stud into a Technic hole, stating that it caused too much stress on the bricks.  And for a while, there were no sets where that's the case.  However, lately, I've been seeing several sets that do put the studs into Technic holes; and I'm curious when that started.

There's an example of the technique here.  You can see it with the trans-orange 1x1 round plate on the side and top that's attached with the stud in the Technic beam.

2006
LEGO's official position on this technique was explained at Brickfest 2006. Jamie Berard, then a relatively new designer in Billund gave an excellent presentation on why certain techniques are considered "illegal" in official sets. The basics message is that building techniques should:

not stress the bricks
be suitable for the target audience of the set

He described in some detail the ways that Technic beams and regular system bricks can and cannot be combined in official sets. The main problem areas occur because:

Technic holes don't exactly line up with the studs on the sides of system bricks
the holes in Technic beams are slightly smaller than the ones in system bricks

The implications are:

Although system brick studs can be inserted in the holes in Technic beams, this should be avoided where it would be difficult for children to take apart. Jamie gives an example where a brick has a single stud inserted into a beam, and describes it as "technically legal" (but not recommended). This is the situation in your example.
Where the combination of Technic and system bricks results in an assembly where components interfere with each other, this can stress the parts. However, this is not the case in the example you cited.

According to these rules, then, the example you give is not illegal. Clearly, it can be a problem under some circumstances, but is acceptable under others.
Unfortunately, none of this actually answers your original question, as there remain two possibilities:

Your assertion that "at one point, LEGO didn't really support putting a stud into a Technic hole, stating that it caused too much stress on the bricks" may not be correct. The misapprehension may have arisen because Lego emphasized the illegal uses of the technique, but down-played legal ones. In that case, we may assume that set designers simply chose not to use the technique (or were unaware that they could because they, too, were misguided).

The alternative explanation is that LEGO did make a sweeping statement to this effect, but later realized that it needed clarification. In which case, Jamie's presentation in 2006 seems to be the first clear public statement of the more detailed rules (of course, internal designers might well have been aware of the policy tweak much earlier, but still chosen not to use the technique). If there was such a policy adjustment, this would establish why the technique was not used until recently.

Without the text of LEGO's earlier communications on the subject, it is difficult to know which explanation is the correct one. Either way, I'd urge you to look at the slides for Jamie's presentation. It is available online in powerpoint format and as a pdf. Apart from being an interesting read in their own right, they also make it clear that this single stud-in-a-hole has been legal since at least 2006.


Is the app to print LEGO storage labels from www.bricklabels.com still available somewhere? It seemed like the perfect solution, so that I am not printing labels that I don't need.  However, the domain is for sale, and I am not well-versed in github so I don't know how to get the application from there.

Do you mean http://www.legolabels.com?  That site still seems accessible.


Double linear actuator boom movement The following Technic sets

8043 (Motorized excavator)
42009 (Mobile crane)
42082 (Rough terrain crane)
42110 (Liebherr)

and likely a couple of more have a double set of linear actuators to move the boom.

For all these models, rotation is administered simultaneously on the gears of the linear actuators through bevel gears that are symmetrically placed.

I've been told that the symmetrical placement of the bevel gears is problematic. The reasoning being that as the boom moves up or down, additional rotation is placed on the linear actuator gears, but in opposite direction, causing one LA to slightly retract while the other to slightly extend, causing torsion on the boom. Hence it would be better to place the bevel gears asymmetrical.

My questions:

Is the reasoning wrong? (I think not)
If the reasoning is correct,
why are the Lego designers seemingly not aware of this and haven't they
addressed this in later Technic sets ?

Is the reasoning wrong?

Most probably it is not wrong, but its effect is small enough to be negligible (at least compared to other factors, like ensuring an error-free building experience). In serious engineering applications this effect would certainly have to be taken into account.

  why are the Lego designers seemingly not aware of this and haven't they addressed this in later technic sets?

I took a look at my copy of the Bucket Wheel Excavator, and found that there is a minuscule difference in the angle of the double linear actuators between the highest and lowest boom elevation configurations:

I don't have the relevant values right now, but I'd guess this angle of rotation does not result in a measurable difference in the lenghts of the two actuators. Or if it does, it is certainly absorbed by the flexibility of the structure without causing any harmful amounts of stress.

I think the same applies for the other such sets as well, but I'd welcome anyone providing data to either confirm or disprove this theory.


LEGO Mindstorms NXT - bossa driver prevents firmware upgrade First of all, this may sound like a duplicate post. But, my Mindstorms NXT 2.0 has been having the "Clicking Brick Syndrome".

I have been told that uninstalling the bossa driver then unplugging and replugging the brick offline will cause it to install correctly.

Unfortunately this does not happen and the bossa drivers reinstall. Anyone have any ideas that may help? I am running Windows 10.

Read the RobotC NXT Forum thread Firmware Update & Arduino IDE Issues (Renamed). The only post that count is the 31th post. Simply go to the Device Manager with the brick connected, choose the Bossa Device, choose property, pilot update and replace the Bossa device by the Lego Mindstorm device.

Here are the explicit instructions from that post:

Complete a Hard Reset on the NXT Brick

Push and Hold Silver Button on Back of Brick for at least 10 Seconds
You Should Hear a Clicking Sound

Plug the NXT Brick into the Computer via USB Cable
Click on the Windows Start Button
Right Click on Computer
Choose Manage
Expand the Ports
Right Click on the “BOSSA” Port
Choose Update Driver Software
Choose Manual Selection
Click “Choose from List Provided”
Select the Lego Option
Open RobotC
Click Robot and Download Firmware


Use legacy RCX sensors with EV3 In NXT-G, there was a "Legacy" Block pack which had blocks to allow for the use of RCX motors/sensors with the NXT, as long as you had a converter cable. However, the EV3 software does not have this, and it currently does not appear to have support for converter cables due to the lack of special programming blocks you can download.

What I basically need to do is connect two touch sensors to the same port, so that the EV3 brick would get input if either one is pressed. I have a pair each of RCX, NXT and EV3 touch sensors. I also have three of the NXT-RCX converter wires. Unfortunately, none of the sensors are working with the converter cables, and I cannot use this or this method because I'm preparing for a competition which doesn't allow modification of lego parts.

I came across this thread from the lego site from 2013 regarding this issue, but it offers no solution. I've even tried using the raw sensor blocks with the touch sensors, but they don't give me any output.

I am also only allowed to use the EV3-G programming interface.

Does anyone know how I can use these split cables with the EV3 brick?

Unfortunately, you cannot use the LEGO 8528 (NXT to RCX adapter) cable with sensors on the EV3. You can use it with motors though.

This is because the adapter cable only connects to pins 1 and 2 on the MINDSTORMS (RJ12) connector. On the NXT input (sensor) ports, pin 2 is GND.

On the EV3, however, pin 2 on the input port is no longer GND. It is used to tell the difference between NXT sensors and EV3 sensors.

Without a proper ground (GND), the sensors will not work correctly. This is why the videos for modifying the cables use pin 3, which is GND on the EV3.

Furthermore, for those not restricted by the rules of a competition that can make their own cable, you also need to know that the EV3 firmware lacks the ability to send power pulses needed by "active" RCX sensors. From the NXT hardware developer kit:

So, don't expect the RCX Light sensor or the RCX Rotation sensor to work with the EV3 even if you make your own cable because it lacks this feature.

As a side note, RXC motors will work with the LEGO 8528 cable and the EV3 because pins 1 and 2 on the output ports are for motor + and -. They work exactly the same as Power Functions motors as described here.


Can Boost programs be transferred off the tablet / phone / PC? I'd like to be able to transfer Boost programs from one device to another and to back them up. Is this possible?

Ideally I'd like some app-supported mechanism for this.

I have a Google Pixel, a Nexus 5X and a Windows 10 PC. I've poked around on the filesystem looking for saved files but haven't found anything. I'd like to be able to transfer programs from my Windows 10 PC to a phone and vice versa. I am especially thinking of using Boost for exhibits where it would be handy to have a variety of devices having exact copies of the same program. I'm also hoping to find a way to version-control the programs and maybe even reverse-engineer them so that we can generate files without all the touch-screen drag-and-drop silliness.

This should be possible. On my Android device, the Boost files are located at Android/data/com.lego.boost.boost/files. There are subdirectories there for each model (Cat, Guitar, Vernie, etc).

The CreativeCanvas directory stores the generic programs that you have created via the canvas. These are divided into themes and activities. A single activity would be stored at Android/data/com.lego.boost.boost/files/CreativeCanvas/Theme_nnnnnnnnnn/Activity_nnnnnnnnnn. That folder then contains numbered directories containing the following file structure:

Composite Blocks

{any composite blocks created}

RecordedAudio

{any audio files}

metadata.json
palette.json
program.json
Template.json
thumbnail.png

metadata.json gives you an easy way to see what project you are looking at as it shows the name:

{
  "creationDate": "2018-07-30T13:17:13",
  "modificationDate": "2018-07-30T15:55:54",
  "name": "Ragana",
  "thumbnail": "thumbnail.png",
  "paletteLevel": 2
}

It appears that the program itself is stored in program.json. That files looks like this:

{
  "mainCanvas": {
    "positionedSequences": [
      {
        "position": {
          "x": -3.49160075,
          "y": 2.56404877
        },
        "PositionedObject": {
          "instructions": [
            {
              "operation": "Start"
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      {
        "position": {
          "x": -0.637803435,
          "y": 3.23562384
        },
        "PositionedObject": {
          "instructions": [
            {
              "operation": "PlaySound",
              "literalParams": [
                2406
              ]
            },
            {
              "operation": "PlaySound",
              "literalParams": [
                1110
              ]
            },
            {
              "operation": "EncMotorSpeedDuration",
              "literalParams": [
                100.0,
                1.0
              ]
            },
            {
              "operation": "DrivebaseBothSpeedTankDuration",
              "literalParams": [
                50.0,
                50.0,
                1.0
              ]
            },
            {
              "operation": "DrivebaseBothSpeedTankDuration",
              "literalParams": [
                -49.0,
                -50.0,
                1.0
              ]
            },
            {
              "operation": "DrivebaseBothSpeedTankDuration",
              "literalParams": [
                -26.0,
                -50.0,
                1.0
              ]
            },
            {
              "operation": "/Generic/Wait/WaitForColor",
              "literalParams": [
                9.0
              ]
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      {
        "position": {
          "x": -2.94540381,
          "y": 0.827951133
        },
        "PositionedObject": {
          "instructions": [
            {
              "operation": "/Generic/Trigger/TriggerOnColor",
              "literalParams": [
                1
              ]
            },
            {
              "operation": "DrivebaseBothSpeedTankDuration",
              "literalParams": [
                50.0,
                50.0,
                1.0
              ]
            },
            {
              "operation": "DrivebaseBothSpeedTankDuration",
              "literalParams": [
                -48.0,
                -53.0,
                1.0
              ]
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      {
        "position": {
          "x": 3.88817477,
          "y": 1.29482651
        },
        "PositionedObject": {
          "instructions": [
            {
              "operation": "/Generic/Trigger/TriggerOnOrientation",
              "literalParams": [
                2
              ]
            },
            {
              "operation": "EncMotorSpeedDuration",
              "literalParams": [
                50.0,
                1.0
              ]
            }
          ]
        }
      },
      {
        "position": {
          "x": 3.715327,
          "y": -0.0692780837
        },
        "PositionedObject": {
          "instructions": [
            {
              "operation": "/Generic/Trigger/TriggerOnOrientation",
              "literalParams": [
                0.0
              ]
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    ],
    "positionedDataBlocks": [],
    "viewState": {
      "position": {
        "x": 2.3166585,
        "y": 1.16671765
      },
      "scale": 4.0
    }
  }
}

These are simply JSON files, so you can certainly commit them to version control.

I have confirmed that copying program.json from one activity to another effectively clones the activity program. This worked for me for a basic program, but I assume you'll want the entire project structure in version control to catch more complex programs with composite blocks or other things.

There is an analogous  path on Windows with these files in it at C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Packages\TheLEGOGroup.LEGOBOOST_m36angppq0g76\LocalState\CreativeCanvas\Theme_nnnnnn\Activity_nnn\nnn.

I'm also not familiar with any tools yet to automate this sort of thing, but it seems like they could be created fairly easily.


How to pause, and restart (without resetting), a timer block - ev3 We're trying to pause the timer block, and then have it restart at the same time where it left off.

By using the touch sensor in a loop before our timer code we were able to get the text output to stop and restart, however on restart the text output just jumps to the current timer output, so it's clear we're not actually pausing the timer output.

Any ideas on how to pause and restart the timer block using the touch sensor?

Here's our code:

I don't think there is a shortcut.  The timer sensors record how much time has elapsed since they were reset.  The starting of the program gives you the first reset for free.  So the psuedocode ends up something like this.  The button touched vs released is a personal preference.  I think of the interval as starting when the button is released and extending until it is pressed.

Set a variable "totalTime" to zero
Loop start
wait for button touched
Set a variable "intervalTime" = timer sensor value
Set "totalTime" = "intervalTime" + "totalTime"
Set intervalTime = 0
wait for button to be released
write to the LCD display "ready for next interval"
wait for button to be touched
wait for button to be released
reset the timer sensor
Loop end (forever)


How to program light sensor to follow moving light using NXT Cannot figure out how to simply program Lego Mindstorm NXT robot to follow another moving robot that has a bright LED light attached to it.

Currently my programme looks like this:

If I were you, I'd make it this way:

The leader robot has a very bright light shining backwards, but not in a tight beam, rather a wide cone, so it can be seen from the back easily.

The follower robot has the light sensor facing forward, with a cowl around and in front of the sensor in order to narrow its sensing angle. In other words, the sensor is modified in such a way that it only picks up anything if the light source is directly in front of it, not to the sides. This will help filtering out background "noises" (ambient light and other light sources).

Then the follower robot runs this pseudocode:

while true // enter stopping condition here if required
  while light is visible // current light value is over a threshold - experiment with this value
    go forward some amount
  // if light is not visible the while loop exits and we need to find the light
  store current light level to variable FRONT
  rotate 10 degrees to the right // experiment with various values, maybe less is enough, maybe more is needed
  store current light level to variable RIGHT
  if RIGHT < FRONT // the light probably moved to the left
    rotate 20 degrees to the left // twice the amount in the previous turn
  // else the light probably moved to the right, where we are currently headed
  // so there is no need to rotate further, just continue with the next iteration,
  // checking if we see the light now

This way the follower will go after the leader while it is headed in the right way, but when the follower loses the leader, it stops and turns around to look for the light.

This method however has a drawback. If the follower is slower than the leader, it will be left behind during the "stop and look around" phases, but if the follower is faster, it will run into the leader from the back.

You could remedy this by giving the leader a bumper on the back connected to a push button (pressure sensor), and program the leader to only move forward when something (probably the follower) has pushed into its back bumper.

Let me know if you need additional help.


What is an inexpensive camera for photographing LEGO? What is an inexpensive camera for taking pictures of LEGO? I currently use an iPad and I am not satisfied with the photo quality. I would prefer something 100$ or less, if possible.

Lighting is key for any camera, but especially for the sensors in cell phones, tablets, and inexpensive point and shoots.

If you place your LEGOs in daylight or under a bright white LED / CFL you may find your iPad will do just fine.   Whereas, under normal room lighting the photos become a noisy mess.


Program just stops motors and won't move I'm trying to make a program in the NXT software that turns on the motors unlimited, then waits until something is less than 30 cm, stops the motors, turns to the left 30 degrees and saves the value of the ultrasonic sensor as L and then turns to the right 30 degrees and saves the value as R. Then it compares both values and if R is more than L then it goes forward indefinitely otherwise it turns 30 degrees to the left and then continues.
I can't seem to make a program that does that. Every time I test my program it just stops the motors and moves when I put my hand in front of it and then it just stops again. This is what I've tried.
TestTest.rbt


Online link to the LEGO NXT firmware (v1.31) source code or IAR ARM LEGO development tools? I am looking for the source code to latest NXT firmware (v1.31).  I found the binary image is on LEGO site:
https://www.lego.com/en-us/themes/mindstorms/downloads, but no links to firmware source code that I could find (just the EV3, not the NXT).

Meanwhile, I found copies of LEGO NXT firmware v1.29 and v1.05 at:
https://github.com/dlech/nxt-firmware/releases

I thought it might be based on (or included in):
http://mindboards.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/mindboards/lms_nbcnxc/branches/version_131/, but that link is apparently offline now, and I didn't see equivalent on mindboards' github:
https://github.com/mindboards

Finally, I also found a copy of modified firmware at:
http://nxt-firmware.ni.fr.eu.org/, but I was hoping for LEGO's stock firmware (v1.31) to evaluate as a baseline.

Bonus: does anyone have EWARM-LEGO (the free "LEGO Edition" of IAR's ARM compiler) archived?

Here's an archived view of the product:
https://web.archive.org/web/20110815231532/http://www.iar.com/website1/1.0.1.0/1483/1/

And a press release:
https://www.embedded.com/news-iar-systems-announces-free-development-environment-for-lego-mindstorms/

apparently this is no longer available or supported from the IAR site.

Thank you!

What you are asking for doesn't exist at this time.  The links you provide to github are not official LEGO products, but the work of an open source project as described on their home page that has chosen to correspond to the versions released by LEGO itself:

  This is NXT Improved Firmware, an open source community driven work based on
  the original LEGO Mindstorms NXT firmware.

  Online resources are accessible on the NXT Improved Firmware web page,
  including documentation, building guides, and more:

  http://nxt-firmware.ni.fr.eu.org/

  NXT Improved Firmware combines code covered by the LEGO Open Source License
  with code covered by various other open source licenses.  Any file not covered
  by the LEGO Open Source License includes a notice in its header.  All other
  source files are covered by the LEGO Open Source License.  Please see the
  enclosed "LEGO Open Source License" file for more precision on this license
  conditions.

You could file an issue on github and request that they update their project to track the upstream release, but there's no reason to assume they currently have the time and resources to do so.  You could offer to help, or look into what it would take to make the update you're asking for yourself.  Some github projects appreciate new contributions more than others, so I'd definitely open an issue to discuss it before doing a pull request or coding much myself.


LEGO part counts on boxes without treads I want to buy another LEGO Technic set therefore I'm trying to analyze the challenge to price ratio of different sets. I first thought that the part count may be somewhat proportional to challenge and fun of building but the winner of this category is the 42069 set (extreme adventure) and this set seems to have a lot of tread parts which probably are included in the part count on the box so I was wondering if there is the "real part" count somewhere so my calculations are more accurate or maybe there are some reviews that include numerical fun factors or challenge factors that I can compare to price.

The "realest" of the real part count for any piece is always located somewhere in the back of the instruction booklet piece manifest.

Look at middle row last piece bottom, where it says we're gonna need 108x 6014648.

Wow, this thing looks cool!  Have fun!!

Source:
LEGO instructions - Technic - 42069 - Extreme Adventure (Model 1) by LEGO instructions - Fan - Site.


How to sell massive, vintage and unsorted lego collection with manuals? So I was a big LEGO collector as a child in the early 1990s. The genres I have are town/city, pirates, and castle. To store them, I broke them all down to fit into 2 giant plastic tubs. I still have virtually all of the instruction booklets/foldouts that came with the LEGOS, and a few of the boxes as well. Some big sets, particularly the pirate ships and castles.

My question is how to go about selling them. Should I sort them? I've tried to pull the figures/accessories out, but otherwise it's overwhelming! I was pretty careful as a kid and didn't lose much, but it's hard to say how complete everything is just by looking (90-95% I guess).

I was thinking of listing the sets and their manuals in there and taking photos as best as possible (especially of the figs). Any suggestion where to sell them online?

Apologies for the long post.

Depending on what you have, your best bet is probably to re-build each set, and sell them as complete.  Try BrickLink if you're not in a hurry to sell.  You can see how much sets are selling for, and price yours accordingly.  You can list them until they sell, and they only charge a small percentage when the items sell.  If you want fast cash, sell them on eBay.

These two sites will get you the most bang for your bricks.


How make a 6x6 board rotate using LEGO technic parts? Are there any common patterns for making a 6x6 (or bigger) LEGO board have a ability to rotate using technic with gears and such? Has to be without the help of the existing 2x2 lego part that rotates, its not big enough.

Seen from above:

You can use a large gear (3649) with connector pegs (970607) attached like this:

Then you can attach the 6x6 plate on top.


Old lego set 1950s or 60s? TABAC and/or BAKEREI (from Europe) My dad had a lego set (or 2 sets) in the late 50s or early 60s that his dad picked up in Europe (this was before they were sold in the states).  It had 2 thick green rectangular tiles for bottoms (or one in each set) and made 2 buildings - TABAC and  BAKEREI if he remembers the 1x6 blocks that had names on them correctly.  Can anyone identify this set (or pair of sets)?  Thanks so much

The set(s) in question are likely two versions of set 1210 Small Store, released in 1955, or 210 Small Store, sold in 1958. They were available in a number of languages and with a variety of store names. "Tabak" means Tobacco in both Dutch and German. The Dutch word for bakery, however, is "bakkerij", while in German it is "Bäckerei". "Bakerei" is only used in Basque. Most likely, your father had two copies of the German versions of the sets.


Why aren't LEGO bricks cubic? The height of the 1x1x1 LEGO brick is 6/5 times its width. Is there any particular reason for these proportions? And especially why not making a cubic brick (it would have made SNOT building easier)?

In the 60s, Lego did produce a separate system for architectural modelling called Modulex which used a 1:1 ratio 5mm cube as its basic brick. It wasn't successful and was discontinued in the late 60s.

I believe the 6:5 was chosen so that studs could fit into the geometry. Related: why the plate is 1/3 of the brick's height. By adding two plates to the height of the brick vertically you can now match the centres of two horizontal units (6+2+2):(5+5)


How tall is a Lego train on a track? I cannot currently access any Lego trains, and the product range offered in the trains category in these years is rather ... disheartening. Nonetheless, I do not rule out the possibility that things might look brighter again in the years to come, in time for my children to still enjoy Lego railroads.
While picking/modifying some furniture for my children's rooms, I would like to make sure the clear height undernearth is just sufficient for minifig-scale trains to pass through, so as to not obstruct any future tracks.
How many centimetres of clear space do I have to plan for?
Let's restrict this a little bit so it becomes a more well-defined question:

I do not reckon with minifigs or anything else standing on the roof of trains.
Fixed "installations" should be "usable", though - that is, the height of pantographs should be measured in such a way that they look "realistically extended"; neither completely retracted nor extended as far as the hinges allow.
The train should be measured while standing on the tracks, but without anything else underneath (i.e. not even a baseplate).

Furthermore, I'd like to suggest a reference list of sets that the answer should be valid for (though, as I'm picking these only visually, without any concrete trains at hand, feel free to suggest deviations or pick equivalent sample trains):

4551 - Crocodile Locomotive
4558 - Metroliner
60051 - High Speed Passenger Train
71044 - Disney Train and Station (just the train, obviously)
60198 - Cargo Train

LEGO tracks are 12mm high, train wheels go below the true height of the track and so in reality only add 7mm of height.
The structure gauge (also known as clearance) tolerance will obviously be a lot lower than real life. You could perhaps get away with 1/3 a brick clearance but having at least one or two bricks height clearance at minimum is best.
Here are a few measurements for different types of trains.

Model
Name
Studs
Centimetres
Inches

Amtrak Superliner
17.9
14.4
5.7

4551 (Pantograph extended)
16.3
13.1
5.1

Double-Stack Cart
12.8
10.2
4.0

Early Steam Locomotive
12.4
9.9
3.9

I have used Bricklink Studio to render and calculate these measurements. The models used can all be found in the model library.
Dimension and weight statistics for models can be displayed under Tools > Mode Information so if you can find a model for the train you are interested you can check using this software.


Do Thomas the Tank Engine Duplo trains seat figures? Lego made Thomas the Tank Engine licensed Duplo sets in the 2000's decade at the same scale as current Duplo trains. Do the Thomas trains seat Duplo figures like current trains do? I've seen some pictures of disassembled Thomas trains (e.g. in this video) that seem to indicate that there is space under the roof of the train, but all of the Thomas trains seem to have opaque windows, possibly implying that adding figures was not a priority.

The train bodies do indeed consist of a stack of 4x4 "blocks" that were fully enclosed when assembled - and as I recall, we could fit a seated Duplo character within most of the cab sections.

Toby and the coaches had the most room, but most engines just about had room.


Set Identification from Garage Sale Score Sorry for the immediate request upon joining, but you guys all seem so knowledgeable that it might save me a bunch of searching!

We picked up some used and (mostly) built LEGO, and I'd like to try and find all the instructions that might be available before I tear them apart into pieces. My son is still pretty new to the LEGO world, so he likes to have the specific instructions and hasn't quite hit the "use your imagination and build whatever you want" phase.

If you have a few moments to delve into set identification, I'd really appreciate the help! I have about 15 things!, but I recognise that this is a ton to ask for! But, if you know what this F1-type car is, my son wants to try building it first!

Responding to the gallery from the original question:

Photo #1

7124-1: Flash Speeder

Photo #2

7316-1: Excavation Searcher

Photo # 3

8644-1 Street Maniac

Photo #4

4743-1: Ice Blade

Photo #5

8650-1 : Furious Slammer Racer

Photo #6

8356-1 # Jungle Monster

Photo #7

4743-1: Ice Blade

Photo #8

7315-1: Solar Explorer

Photo #9

4098-1: High Flyers

Photo #10

don't know

Photo #9

8643-1: Power Cruiser

Photo #11

7314: Recon Mech RP

Photo #12

7315-1: Solar Explorer

Photo #13

7141-1:    Naboo Fighter

Photo #14

6616-1: Rocket-Dragster

Photo #15

4587-1: Duel-Racers

Photo #16

7313: Red Planet Protector

Photo #17

7316-1: Excavation Searcher

Photo #18
7312-1: T-3 Trike

Photo #19

8650-1 : Furious Slammer Racer

Photo #20

don't know


Star Wars set identification 1 I recently bought a big box of LEGO that have some broken LEGO Star Wars sets and I need help identifying them. Some are fairly complete and some are just pieces. The first 2 are almost complete so it should not be too hard to identify. For the rest, I pulled out the pieces that I thought would be easiest to identify and will post them in separate questions. Thanks for any help you can provide!

This one appears to be a Wookiee ship.

The first one is the 7674-1 V-19 Torrent.

And the second one is 7752-1 Count Dooku's Solar Sailer.


Help identify this 70s or 80s lego space set I bought some bags of LEGO bricks which appear to contain a 1970's space set in it. I want to find instructions to put it all back together.

The brick with the space logo is from either set 452/894 or set 6901.  The buggy is technic set 1972.  Information from Bricklink search.


Getting the IR Tower working with RCX and RobotC Possible Duplicate:
  Lego Mindstorms RCX RIS 2.0 IR tower Windows 7 / Windows XP driver

Trying to get RobotC to work with my old RCX 2.0. I'm running windows 7 64 bit. I've connected the IR tower via a Serial to USB cable. I get the error from RobotC when I go to send the firmware "RCX Controler Failed to Respond"

I'm assuming this is because the drivers are for 64 bit only. Has anyone had success running a WindowsXP virtual machine and trying the drivers? Or any luck getting RobotC and the IR tower running on a Win7 64 bit machine.

Please see this question: Lego Mindstorms RCX RIS 2.0 IR tower Windows 7 / Windows XP driver
Basically there are no 64bit drivers available and the OP on the question I linked to says he had no luck with an XP VM either.


Can I take an old LEGO winch apart? I have an old LEGO winch that looks like #73037

It has been "restrung" but it is very stiff and it looks like it has some of the old string stuck between the rotating and non-rotating parts. It also feels a bit gritty so there might be dirt stuck in there.

It looks like the top on each side might come off and if so I would be able to remove the stuck string and clean it.

Does anyone have any advice about taking it apart without damaging it?

You just can't. This part is fused together with sound-waves so it doesn't separate anymore.

Source and more info: fusing Lego together


Buying specific part variant on BrickLink I've ordered a lot of pieces (at least a lot for me) on BrickLink, among them a bunch of "3794b - Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud with Groove (Jumper)". Instead of that variant, I received "15573 - Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud with Groove and Bottom Stud Holder (Jumper)".

I've checked the order again, and the description for that piece reads "Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud with Groove (Jumper) We do not differentiate between 3794, 3794a, 3794b and 15573!". I missed that part, so I know this is at least partially my fault (it's not too bad though, my MOC will still work, but if I had needed 15573 and gotten 3794b it might not have).

So my question is, is this just another thing I have to look out for, or is this a really bad practice and should not happen on BrickLink?

I'd say this is something to look out for when dealing with a part that BrinkLink itself notes is very similar to other part numbers.  Reading the detailed notes about buying sets is more important than parts generally.  I'd read a bit more closely about the stated condition of used parts than new parts.

I've made a few dozen orders on BrickLink over the years and I haven't run into this exact situation.  Yet any issues I've had have been easily resolved by contacting the seller.  I wouldn't pester the folks that say they treat them all as the same part, but you can probably find somebody out there who will give you exactly what you want.  Find another seller, read to make sure they don't have a similar warning, and drop them a note to make sure everybody is on the same page.


What is this LEGO part (kind of wheel or gear) number? I recently found a really nice MOC of the AT-TE from which I try to get inspiration. But there is one part that I really cannot identify... I wonder if anyone can tell me its part number. Here is a picture:

It seems to me to be a kind of Technic wheel or gear, but I couldn't find it on Bricklink...

It is a bit tricky to find this piece on Bricklink. Even though I knew the part it took me a little to find it.

The part you are interested in is Hero Factory Weapon Barrel with 2 Pin Holes and 3 Axle Holes. Default item part number is 98585, but 31511, 31520 could also be used for other colors by LEGO.


What's the part number of this LEGO element? Can anybody help me identify this part?

That's a rather old part (50 years, actually) used mainly for tipper buckets in trains or trucks, you can see it in this train for example:

Its part ID is 3145.


How can I identify Lego sets from a box of parts? I am a life long LEGO Maniac, and my kits from when I was a kid were passed down to my nephew, who has just passed them down to my son (40 years of history...).

The trouble is that none of my old plans/directions are still around, and neither are the plans/direction from my nephew's kits. My nephew and I started to do a quick inventory, but he couldn't remember all of the kits that were in the hoard (3 LARGE boxes so far).

Is there an easy way to figure this out? Does LEGO offer any of their old plans for free online or will I need to pay for them?

Can any one offer help in identifying some of the fairly recent stuff? I can post images if needed. Some of the newer parts are quite unique.

Your best shot is to identify an individual piece and look it up on Peeron, BrickLink or BrickSet. Since these all carry set inventories, you'll be able to find lists of sets in which the parts can be found. Try to start with more unique parts, chances are they are in a few models only.

Once you're sure you've found a model for which you've all the parts, build it using the instructions from LEGO.com or for older models instruction scans PICSL.

If identifying LEGO parts proves too difficult for some of them, ask experts.


Are Bandai "Figmes" compatible with LEGO? According to gizmodo Bandai is releasing a new line of "Figmes" that look astounding similar to our beloved minifigs.  Here is the set:

And here is one close up:

Close up the hands look even better, but the legs look a little mushy.

So:

Does anybody have an early "Figme" or do we have to wait for March?
Can you test it with genuine LEGO for fit?
Can we get a side-by-side picture with a legit minifig?
What do the bottoms and backs look like?

Yes, they fit!
With a little research I have learned that the hands can hold standard bar pieces, and the legs are compatible with studs.
However, sitting won't work, and pieces can't be swapped for minifigure parts.
The backs look like the front, solid printed plastic.


How can I make a pigglet headed LEGO figure to be a sidekick for my Gadget Hero? I have a LEGO superhero that I painted, and he needs a sidekick. The Sidekick is a boy who has the head of a pigglet! But how do I make a Pigglet head?!?

The 1979–1989 Fabuland animals figures have a human body slightly larger than a minifigure, the head, arms and legs move but cannot be removed. The figures are no longer produced but remain quite popular amongst AFOL's. They can still be purchased on sites like Bricklink.


Identify this dinosaur build I acquired a random lot of LEGO bricks and came across this small dinosaur build. I can't find it anywhere. Pictured is about 35 pieces, but It is probably incomplete because even this had been broken in 2 parts.

Includes 4 dark green cheese wedges and 2 lime inverse 2x2 45 degree slopes and 2 white eye print 1x1 round tiles. Searching through sets that include those parts however did not help me.

Is this an official build? It seems a bit too polished to be just some kid's MOC.

Creative Supplement Set No: 10693-1

Searched on the curved green slope (the tail)


EV3 PID line follower with medium motors I am stuck on creating an efficient line follower with medium motors.

The problem is that the motors are rotating in different ways so I can't use the steering block.

I would appreciate any kind of help.

From a programming perspective I can't help you since I haven't programmed anything since the Mindstorms NXT.  The simplest solution I can think of, without seeing your set-up, is to offset one of the motors and add a 1:1 gear drive using 16 tooth gears that would simply reverse the motor output on that side.


LEGO Train - what size cork track bed What size model train cork track bed should I buy to fit under a standard LEGO train track?

LEGO trains typically use a 2x8 plate for their sleepers (ties), with a stud protruding from each rail, giving a 40mm centreline gauge for the track and 64mm width for the sleepers - this is 5.5mm wider than O-Gauge - so might be a little hard to find off the shelf.

Lots more detail can be found on L-Gauge.org.


Does this 2x4 brick exist? I've been working on a little history project to make a shadowbox/display-type thing of all of the major evolutions of the 2x4 brick over the years.  (I know this can get really in-depth, and I'm trying to hit major changes only, to preserve my sanity).

My question is this:
is there such a thing as a 2x4 brick (it would be ABS) with the "Pat Pend" obscured (covered by a blob, denoting an updated mold), that has tubes only?

In other words--no braces, horizontal crossbars, ridges of any kind (no slotted tubes either), just like a 60's brick, but made late enough to have the "Pat Pending" obscured, but early enough to not have any added reinforcements.

Also, by all of this I mean a brick that would have been in normal sets, and not a sample or test brick.

It's getting frustrating, and I wonder if I have invented this category!

Yes. There is.
I have a few. They are really bad for connecting to things.
Like, BanBao bad. I can't really use them for anything.
But they do have the blobs.
So yes, there are those, and they are rare, for the same reason the "Pat Pending" ones are rare, mostly the age, and short transition period.


What piece is this ARC-170 Starfighter cockpit? I got these with the ARC-170 LEGO Starfighter (archived):

I'd like to get more if possible. They are a part of the cockpit.

That looks like 30384 Windscreen 7 x 4 x 2 Round. In general, BrickLink is a pretty decent place to browse around for parts identification. Peeron is also pretty good.

BrickLink provides a comprehensive list of windscreens both plain and decorated.


How to create a LEGO Technic tank steering system I found this video containing a steering system for tracked vehicles. Are there any steering system(s) that are more simple than the one shown in the video, and include a guide (in LDD or pictures format) to replicate for a tracked vehicle, such as a tank?

The simplest method would be to just have two motors, with one motor driving each side of track.

To go forward, both motors forward; backward both back; to turn set one motor to go faster than the other, only drive one side, or set one forward and the other backward.  It is a fairly common treaded vehicle steering system.

The linked system with dual differentials, a drive motor, and a control motor, seems quite excessive to me.

However, it come with some cost as the system move without feedback, it's unlikely that both motors will be driven at the exact same speed. Variations in the build (e.g. how tight bushings are) and the motors (torque curves) means that it'll generally drive in a (large) circle unless you actively correct for it. To make it move relatively straight, it involves a lot of fiddling with loosening / tightening parts, and even then one may often find that it no longer drives straight on a different surface.

With a dual-differential drive, there's generally enough friction that it will indeed drive "exactly" straight when the drive motor is on - and if it doesn't, one can just add a bit of friction (e.g. clamped bushings around a stud) to the control motor to make it drive straight.


EV3 parallel MyBlocks, but only one working TL;DR = Is there any obvious reason why a MyBlock, added twice in parallel to a program, will only run one of them?

In my EV3-G program, I have a MyBlock which uses the Proximity Heading to control a motor so that the heading is always straight ahead.  (It has some added complexity, as it slows down when getting close, etc.)

My robot-arm has two infrared sensors, one mounted horizontally, one mounted vertically, so the arm can always point at the beacon... and the MyBlock has been setup with parameters, so that the corresponding port/motor numbers are passed in.

Is there any reason why two MyBlocks, running in parallel, would only work on one of those blocks, and not the other?  (When debugging, both blocks are "shimmering", show they are both apparently running.)

I have double-tripple-quadruple checked that all the flow-control, sensor and actions are working with the correct parameter values, and running each block individually works perfectly.

I have also replicated (at great length) the blocks in brand new programs, and they work without issue.

Why would two blocks running in parallel not work, when the same code replicated on the program does?

UPDATE

As requested (and I should have done originally).

Here is the MyBlock.  It starts with 3 parameters, the sensor port, the motor port and an "offset" - all numeric.  The loop starts, and a direction heading reading is taken.  It then uses the "offset" value, and passes "offet - 5" and "offet + 5" into the range

Based on the boolean value from the range, if the current heading value is within the range, then it runs the motor at a "graded" speed, based on the heading value. Therefore as it gets closer to 0 the slower the motor is run.

If the current heading value is outside the range, then the motor is run at a non-variable speed... in this case if the value is below the "offset" value.

And in this case if the value is above the "offset" value.

The program simply calls two instances of the MyBlock.  If I run the left one, the horizontal detection and movement works without issue - if I run the right one, the vertical detection and movement works without issue.

But, if I run the following, only the last MyBlock to be wired works.  There is literally movement from just one direction motor.

I could not find this in the help file, but according to this thread "Another little known characteristic of MyBlocks is that they aren't re-entrant. No two copies of the same MyBlock can be running at the same time."

I tried a few simple programs in EV3-G and confirmed that this is true. The order in which they run appears to be random.


When was the first official use of the term 'minifigure' or 'minifig'? When did The LEGO Group first use the term minifigure? Have they been called that since their introduction in 1978?

Similar to this question:
Why are they called "minifigs"?

I kept searching and found out for myself :). The US magazine from 1979 calls them Mini-Figures, even the version without arms.

http://www.peeron.com/catalogs/1979/medium/6/?id=97
http://www.peeron.com/catalogs/1979/medium/10/?id=97


What is this 2x10 part with a center console and two holes? I am fairly sure this part is from earlier than 1990. On the bottom are the characters "A" and "4". I checked Bricklink for yellow 2x10 parts but couldn't find anything. The 2x5 side with the cutout at the bottom is one level higher than the 2x4 back part.

This is
Part # 870 : Vehicle Tractor Chassis Base 11 x 2 x 3


How do I remove orange (rust?) stains from white elements? I'm building with some yard sale Lego, and have several elements that have orange stains on them. If I had to guess, I'd say something seeped onto the bricks while they were in storage. At this point I'll probably bury them inside my MOC, but I'm curious to know if there is a method to unblemish white Lego elements?

Maybe you can try with toothpaste and a toothbrush as toothpaste is one of the mildest polishers.


Where can I get RCX 1.0 software? We've got a LEGO RCX 1.0 without any Software.
I've installed the USB IR Tower, what should I do now?

I've downloaded the EV3 Software from the LEGO homepage and thought I could use this, but I don't know how.

Can you tell me, how my son could play with it?

The EV3 software is not backwards compatible with RCX 1.0.

You will need to install the software from the CD-ROM that would have come with your set. If you do decide to purchase one online, you can do so from a 3rd party marketplace such as Bricklink.

Be sure to install the correct version of the CD-ROM (RCX 1.0) and check to see if your operating system is compatible with the software.


Cheapest set containing electric motor Which LEGO set is the cheapest I can buy in a store with an electric motor in it?

First of all: LEGO prices fluctuate depending on retailer (LEGO.com, Wal-Mart, Target, Toys'R'Us, etc.), so "cheapest" also depends on the time of year and the retailer you look at.

Secondly, are you only interested in a PowerFunctions motor, and is the set you ask for just a vehicle to get the motor? In that case you might want to know that you can just buy a single motor from LEGO Shop@Home. Current price (Dec15) is $7.99 plus tax plus shipping.

You can also buy a kit with motor, lights, batterybox and a few gears directly from LEGO here; this set costs currently $29.99.

Power Functions motors typically come in the higher-priced Technic sets, of which currently 42008 Service Truck is the cheapest at $103.98 sale price.

There are a few non-Technic models every now and then that have Power Functions motors in them but I do not know of any set currently available that has a motor included.


Are LEGO bricks recyclable? Yes, I know that it is kind of a dumb question, as no one would want to dispose of LEGO bricks.

But it's a curiosity thing: are LEGO bricks recyclable?

According to this website, LEGO bricks are made from a type of plastic called acrylonitrile butadiene styrene or ABS. We do have the technology to recycle ABS, however you would need to check with your local/national waste disposal service whether it is in use. Dropping unwanted bricks off at a local charity bin or childcare provider would certainly be the easiest way to "recycle" LEGO :)


Do I really need to sign into Stud.io? I recently installed Stud.io 2.0 on my MacBook. Is it absolutely necessary to sign in, or is that just so that you can save to the cloud and build with friends?

The sign-in is to enable cloud saves, build with friends, wanted list export, upload to the Studio Gallery, shopping integration features like price lookup, and probably some other features I haven't thought of or have not been mentioned in the comments yet. If you don't plan on using any of those features then it isn't required to sign-in.


Need help identifying sets! So...my son is 9 years old. Up until this year, he has been receiving Lego sets since he was about 6 but would rip them open, build the guys and then not finish the set. Now he is really unto them finally and I'm trying to piece back together his older sets so he can finish them. Alot of them are still in bags but some aren't. I'm going to post pics of the intact bags I have and would love help identifying them so I can try to find the instructions instead of throwing away tons of $$$. All of them are newer than 5 years...I have a couple that are mega blox and will post those too

Last photo unnumbered bag: 76037-1: Rhino and Sandman Super Villain Team-up


Identify classic City sets from box of assembled parts I have quite a few models: a gas station, airports, police station, and a lot more including a battery powered cart. They are all built on gray road baseplates. I also have trees, benches, people, police cars, others cars, and a service station or fire department

From left to right in your first photo:

Police Station (6384):

Fire Copter 1:

Motorcycle Shop (6373):

Fire Patrol Copter (6657):

Fire Station (6382):

Your second photo includes:

Gas Station (6375):

Delivery Center (6377):

Paramedic Unit (6364):

I may have missed some smaller sets, but based on your two pictures, that's what stuck out at me.


What is this piece called? two connected cylinders Hi, I'm putting the pieces together for a Vostok spacecraft. I'm stuck at this piece, can anyone help me identify it please?

That would be
Part# 30360 : Cylinder 3 x 6 x 2 2/3 Horizontal - Round Connections Between Interior Studs
or
Part# 93168 : Cylinder 3 x 6 x 2 2/3 Horizontal - Square Connections Between Interior Studs
Both are essentially the same part, just a mold variation


I need help finding what set these pieces are from, AM 02066 and AM 02067 I recently found a bag of pieces from an older set that I lost the instructions to, and I don't remember the set name.  The set was a blue plane, and the cockpit pieces say AM 02066 and AM 02067.  I put this set away in 2007 when someone threw it so it is old and I can't find it anywhere.

The set you are referring to is Mega Bloks set# 9728, Blue Thunder.  Instructions can be found here: https://support.megabrands.com/media/playbooks/9728.pdf


How do I find a set number without box or instructions? So my brother found a open bag of a LEGO Chima kit. It had some of the pieces in it. I want to replace the missing pieces but I don't have the box. I tried looking for unique pieces but it didn't seem to have any. I also don't have the instructions.

Choose a brick, the most distinctive the better.

Look for the part number. These are on the underside of plates, or inside bricks. They can be microscopic but every piece had one.

Go to peeron.com. Enter the part number into the search box. A list of all the sets containing that part number should, with luck, come up.

If you need to, repeat with another brick. Because you know it's a Chima set you should be able to deduce the set, set number and parts list fairly quickly. I've done this many times.


Looking for a way to connect SG90 servo motor to Lego Technic hole in a brick, in order to control Lego train tack switch After looking at this question:
Can I remotly control the points on PF train tracks?
I got the idea of controlling the train track switch handle using a servo motor that will be able to move the yellow handle to both positions.

The included video in that answer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoNiq5FCd9U
Shows the general idea of how to convert the circular motion of the servo motor into a kind of linear movement that will be suitable for the handle.

So it seems that with a set of Lego Technic bricks and engine - it should be easy to acheive.

My problem is that I want to use an Arduino controller for this, with a cheap and simple servo called SG90:
https://www.google.com/search?q=sg90+specifications

So, what I need now, and a way to connect the SG90 motor to a similar kind of cunstruction, to acheive similar outcome like in the video (and in the question).

Many thanks for that!

There are numerous solutions over internet for attaching SG90 servo with LEGO. However I remember this particular video, which fit your need to attach/control Technic beams/liftarms. It also features required parts for this build at 7:48.


Anyone familiar with "consets"? I just saw a Facebook ad for consets.com.

They claim to do a "warehouse clearance", "today only" of genuine LEGO,

Their prices are suspiciously low, though, even for "bootLego" / "fake Lego" standards.

May I presume these are scammers?

If you see steep discounts on many LEGO sets, it's a scam.

LEGO and their retail partners rarely discounts their products to 50% or more, and when they do it's rarely on current products. A site offering such steep discounts on a large variety of current products simply isn't credible.

You might find substantial discounts on knockoff brand sets, but if they present them as genuine branded LEGO products (with the LEGO logo), that's clearly still a scam.

Yes, con sets lives up to the name, it's a phishing scam.

If you try to make an order (using fake data!) you will find a page on the website asking you to enter your credit card information.

This payment information does not go through a 3rd party payment processing website (those images mean nothing), they expect you to enter your credit card information directly into their system.

Very few legitimate merchants are allowed to collect credit card information directly, because it's difficult and expensive to secure the data and pass the necessary security audits.

Not only will you not get the products, your payment information will be used by criminals.

Known issue.

On a side note many LEGO fan communities and LEGO themselves are aware of these scams and they've been going on for some time (no doubt they will ramp up for Black Friday). Unfortunately between the shell games these scammers play* and Facebook's general inaction against malicious and dishonest advertisers they will probably continue.

* Often the advertising targets a specific region with a unique domain for that region, and if you visit the website from an IP address outside that targeted region you will see a generic clothing shopping site (in an effort to evade detection).


Is it possible to add the power functions to Western Train Chase? I recently got the Red Cargo Train and it's a great Lego set but a Cars themed train going around my Christmas tree would be even better.

Has anyone gotten the power functions to work on the Western Train Chase set? Are the trains compatible with the normal Lego tracks? Is the "magnetic car connector" at the same height and compatible with the connector on the Red Cargo Train?

According to the product description on the LEGO® webn site, the LEGO® Power Functions Train Motor 88002, can be used to motorise the Western Train Chase.

The train wheels normally fit directly to this motor, so I'm sure that this train can be used on normal LEGO® tracks.

Looking at the instructions for both the Red Cargo Train and the Western Train Chase, I'd say that the magnetic couplings are the same height.


How to power up MOC-0308, based on Technic 8297 Off-Roader? I have built the following MOC, with details here and here.

It is pretty complete, although I would have tried some servo motor for steering.

But after I've finished it, I've got into trouble:

Wheels on one side of the car seem to work sporadically. Could this be related to the steering joint and Cardan joint below?

Or the differentials?

 (image taken from Is it possible to create a differential if I don't have it as a ready to use element?)

It's too weak.

A wool carpet of 2cm thick is an insurmountable problem for the car to climb on it and go, especially for the last wheel or pair of wheels that have to pass the carpet's border (and difference in level), regardless which ones have to do it (back or front).

Are there too many differentials? Too many tooth gears? Too much elastic parts to deal with the torque? I can't find parts blocked.

The driving ring 2L,
,
at the page 28 of the building instructions, should act as differential to switch between 2 x 4 and 4 x 4.

Could it be a defective motor? Is one XL motor too weak? Would be more powerful with two motors (in the back)? Which kind?

Batteries are OK for 9398, so it's not them.

Did anybody tried this MOC?

Sorry to have too much questions, it seems I need more experience with LEGO Technic.

UPDATE

I have changed it consistently, adding a gear down for each wheel (horizontally) and that made it 4L longer.

Also, moved the steering motor in front and the up/down and winch motor in the middle (switched their places), using a servo for steering.

As result, it is a bit more powerful, it climbs the carpet now, but I need to work more on the steering because it is not that smooth when it comes back in the default position. 9398 is better at going back to the default steering position. Also, 9398 is more powerful as it gears down 3 times instead of one.

Overall, the new design feels better, yet too lazy.

The piece you show must have steering axle 92906.


Strongest gear configuration I'm building a (what I hope to be) high-speed car using two PF-XL motors together and some gearing up. However, there's a point where I have to rotate the axle with power (that comes from the 3 speed gearbox) 90 degrees to line it with the wheels (this is probably a long way around the barn to say it in english, but I got a picture to fill my lack of words). This is what I want to do:

(the position of the gears is incorrect: in my project the 8t gear would be one hole to the left)

My question is, assuming the structure holding the wheels is solid and won't bulge, what's the best gears to use so that they won't snap?

So far I've considered four combinations:

The same as the image, except the 8t is a 16t
The fat 20t with the fat 12t
The skinny 20t with the skinny 12t (this one doesn't actually work for me unless I do some changes to the car)
Two of those 4t gears that aren't very smooth

It stands to reason that the last option is the strongest because they don't snap unless they break apart. However, they're more suited to low speeds. With high speeds they aren't fluid at all and make a lot of noise. But my biggest problem with them is that they sometimes get stuck (the gear without power sometimes stops in a position where it blocks the gear with power and when the motors start again they can't rotate - this is really bugging me).

So, excluding the last option, what do you think?

I would tend to recommend some options which you didn't consider yet: using bevel gears, but actually use a combination of two gear on each axle: a 12t one (the thin one, as you say), and behind it, a 20t one (there you can use a fat one, which will probably be better).

Another option is to use a worm screw, which will also allow you to change the direction of the axle, but which makes the axles non coplanar.

But it really depends on a variety of factors. Gear reduction is one (keeping in mind it has implications on torque, but frankly I'm already way over my head here so I won't tackle that aspect); but torque transmission is another, and so is strength/reliability.

For example, the knob wheel that you did mention has some uses, as it practically can't slip, but at the cost of lower torque transmitted (or something). Worm screws again have another particularity which is unique to them in that they can transfer torque only one way, which also has its uses (locking a mechanism in place).

And then don't forget that the gears aren't all there is to say: sticking your gears closer to the beams will help, as will replacing the two separate beams by an actual frame. You can also make sure one of the axles goes all the way to the other side of the frame.

And last thing, if you're going to transfer power to two wheels, don't forget to use a differential between them (not sure the new one is very solid though).


Help identifying a few small bar and clip pieces There are a handful of parts I cannot identify and I would be super happy if anyone could help!

Bar 1L with Top Stud and Two Side Studs

Arm Skeleton [Bent / 2 Clips]

Bar 4L

3.2 Shaft w/3.2 Hole

Flag 2 x 2 Trapezoid


General guidelines to identify real LEGO pieces from fake or copy? I see a lot of questions here about if a certain piece is really LEGO or not and this made me wonder if there is any guideline to follow to identify real LEGO piece from the duplicate or fake one?

I checked the site and found this question but it's not what I am asking for.

The most obvious sign is the LEGO mark present on each stud*. I have yet to learn of any single copycat company that would go through the legal and technical trouble required to mold these onto every stud of every piece in a consistent fashion.
If the piece has no studs to check or the markings are present and you still have doubts you can take a suitably strong light and magnifying lens and look for a trademark or a 4-5 digit part ID. This on the right side is a very obviously visible example, others might be much smaller and better hidden. A missing ID would obviously indicate a fake piece. But even if it is present you can cross-check the existing LEGO piece databases to see if the part ID does indeed represent the part you have.
Should a bootleg company go to the lengths to correctly add all such markings, you can still take a  known genuine part of the same design and check for any differences in dimensions. LEGO has notoriously tight tolerances when it comes to precise size. You can check the material as well, fakes could have different weight, sheen, flexibility, clutch power or could feel different to the touch.
And in the unthinkable case when a competitor manages to get all markings, dimension and material properties right, can evade all inherent lawsuits and their prices are not egregiously high then they maybe deserve to be used as "real" LEGO pieces :)
But only then ;)
Sidenote: Old LEGO jewels (diamonds) don't have any ID or trademark on them, the newer ones do have both though.

*: On 2020-08-30 BrickFinder published an article about chinese fake LEGO bricks being found "in the wild" with almost perfect LEGO lettering on their studs. These have nearly imperceptable differences in the lettering, the gloss and colour of the bricks and their dimensions.


Can you help identify my new LEGO set? Round glass door, black and red hoods, gray and black with a few red pieces I have a new LEGO set that I can't identify. I have looked all over Google. It came with a round glass door that looks like it could probably be a trap door and a plain black head and a grumpy face head. Also there is a black hood or helmet thing and a red one that cover the whole face but those are the only distinctive pieces. The whole set is mostly gray and black with a few red pieces.

As Phil mentioned, it's hard to give a definitive answer without a picture to help, but based on your description, it sounds like you may have at least part of Death Star Final Dual (75093):

This set is the only one I'm aware of that:

Is mostly gray with a little red
Includes a non-printed black minifig head
Includes a black hood element
Includes a red element that covers the entire face
Includes large round transparent elements


How do you plan large structures for easy and safe transport to shows? Imagine I am building a large display that will cover many square feet and have both tall buildings and lots of small details. What are some techniques for making these things modular? Is it safer to disassemble partially or plan to carry displays whole? What do the builders and clubs at shows do to transport large layouts?

Compartmentalise

I wouldn't recommend transporting anything larger than a 32x32 stud baseplate. Use Technic pins and 1x2 bricks to connect parts of your model in the same way as the Modular Sets have done. The technique works well for buildings, planes, boats and just about any kind of large model.

Transport

Remove as many small parts likely to fall off in transportation as you possibly can and place them in a sealed plastic bag or other suitable container. Place the rest of the model with the extra parts in a cardboard/plastic box. The box is essential for catching any other fragile pieces that fall off the model. You may also use bubble wrap or tissue paper to pad the box as much as you can.

Once your Lego model has completed it's journey allow yourself some time to fix inevitable damage.

Collapsible Structures

This is a fairly novel idea, which I haven't seen done before. Flickr user Legozilla has built a model that is specifically designed with transport in mind.

This particular design is unlikely to be damaged in transport. The flatpacked version of this model is significanly more space spacing compared to its 'built state' where it's volume is probably 90% air.

  Occasionally, we need to fill in a spot in a display because a member
  needs to be late to a show or some other circumstance. To meet that
  need, I have a couple of buildings that I tote around to fill such a
  gap. This set of buildings is modular, and collapsible so that it's
  easy to transport and flexible enough to fit in most corners of a
  layout. It's also fun to fold and unfold just to watch people's
  reaction.


How to disassemble the propulsion wheels of the LEGO/DUPLO train engine base part# 28743 drivetrain? I have a push and go motor, also known as Hub No5 model also known as engine base part #28743

The issue I have is that the train can not climb the bridge anymore, unless using the locomotive alone and also stops in curves. After looking carefully I noticed that one of the wheels was slipping.

When I take it in my hand upside down, make the front wheels rotate (the one with the sensors), the propulsion wheels starts rotating. At that moment, if I try to slow down one of them with my finger, I feel it generate torque. For the other one, it just stops easily and I feel the wheel axis continuing to rotate. And I feel some steps.

With the help of the thread How to disassemble LEGO train engine base part #28743 I managed to disassemble nearly everything.

Now, I would like to remove the wheel from it's axis to see what is "broken" inside, and hopefully with the help of a 3D printer, rebuild the broken part.

Any idea how to unmount that ? Is it simple "press fit" (I don't know the exact english name for that).

EDIT

I have to precise two things.

The batteries are fully charged so it's not an issue
I have two locomotive #28743 and one of them has an issue. I really feel something broken in the "wheel", the wheel is loose from the gear and can rotate nearly freely. So it's not some kind of a kid protection you really feel something is broken inside and that's why I wanted to know how to disassemble the wheel.

My back wheels do the same thing.  There is no metal axle that connects both back wheels like the axle design does for the front wheels, but I'm sure LEGO designed it that way.

So, imagine the train's motor being in an "ON" state just a rolling.  Now enters a kid, just being a kid.  Grabs the thing, and starts a rolling in whichever direction kiddie wants to roll.  Not a caring that the motor is doing it's own thing too. How does LEGO protect the device from the free rolling madness of a child?

So, I think this slippage is a built in feature to kid proof protect the motor from being over torqued. Some type of reverse rocket booster dampening system.   Analogous maybe to a circuit breaker which, is an automatic device for stopping the flow of current in an electric circuit as a safety measure.

Possible solutions:

(01) Battery check.
You said it no longer can pull extra weight, and that it stalls even on flat normal gravity leveled curves? Huh? So, before we go too deep, I would recommend first replacing the batteries with new ones. Then, retest it.

(02) Balancing our time vs. the money justification check.
Tearing down the housing to get inner access to remove excess hair and debris from this unit is fairly easy, and just requires buying a T9 Star Torque from the local hardware store and maybe 15 mins of our time.

Even though this thing is LEGO engineered like a tank, we can still imagining extensive damage, let's say a smoosh over by car, where we'd need to replace the circuit board, motor, or destroyed plastic gears.

Then, maybe it might be time to do a price check and consider purchasing a new/used unit versus the time to invest and produce a 3D printed replacement.

(03) Axle wheel hub tear down (setup only).
I'm not taking mine apart, becasue I haven't justified a reason that works out for me, but this is my observational approach if anyone else wants to venture further into the unknown.

So, let's look at the wheel design and note the similarities/differences between both wheel hubs.

Break down wheel hub anatomy consists of at least three pieces.

Inside hub piece.
In between trans-clear rubber tire tread.
Outside hub piece.
Unknown non-visible pieces. Possible notched out axle bar.

The inside hub pieces and in between trans-clear tire tread all look to be the same molds, where the outside hub pieces differ in aesthetic design, but function in the same way when interlocking with the inside hub piece.

Here's where things get dicey.  There seems to be six interlocking tabs that need to be simultaneously unhitched to separate the pieces without permanent damage.  Unless you happen to be a six clawed mutant named Wolverine, this will be a challenge.

Six interlocking tabs release damage free setup and approach:

Hot glue one end to work desk for stability.
Insert six flat head precision screwdrivers.
Wiggle until it's free.

Six interlocking tabs release egg breaking, omelette making approach:
Goal: 3D print a replacement, so permanent damage doesn't matter.

Using a Dremel rotary tool, carefully drill out 4 of the 6 interlocking tabs ONLY.  Don't go deep. We can 3D print plastic, but not the clear-trans rubber treading.
Insert two flat head precision screwdrivers to disengage the locking function of the 2 remaining tabs.
Using a digital caliper measure out the dimensions of the working 2 remaining tabs.
3D print replacement piece.
Consider using some Loc-Tite glue adhesive when reassembling the
wheel hubs.


Can you identify these (possibly) LEGO horses? We got these old LEGO-compatible horses from the LEGO collection that used to belong to my wife's brothers (which means they are probably 20-30 years old). I'm wondering if they are genuine LEGO pieces.

If not, I wonder what brand are they.

Either way, I wonder which set, if any, they belonged to.

I think there was another black horse, which I couldn't find, and some or all of them also had a brown saddle part.

EDIT:

I managed to take a good photo of the stamp on the black horse, so it's definitely genuine LEGO.

Those horses look like legit LEGO-brand horses.

Specifically:

White Horse with Black Eyes, White Pupils and Dark Orange Bridle Pattern: 4493c01pb04

Black Horse with Black Eyes Circled with White, Brown Bridle Pattern: 4493c01pb02

In order to be extra sure they are genuine LEGO, look for the "LEGO" stamp on the inside of the hollow studs on their back where the saddle goes (it's a little hard to see).

These horses each came in a fair number of sets. Check the BrickLink links for a list of possible sets. If you are sure they both came in the same set, these are the sets both came in:

5394-1
6021-1
6042-1
6055-1
6073-1
6074-1
6080-1
6081-1
6085-1
6086-1
6090-1
6095-1
6419-1
6761-1
6762-1
6769-1
8777-1
10039-1
10176-1


What was the slot for in the 1950's slotted bricks? Bricklink has a list of ancient bricks from the 50s that have slots in them. What was the purpose of the slot? Its positioning on various pieces suggests that there was something specific you were supposed to put there — a window, maybe?

Oh, I should have read further down the page. There were special panes of "glass" in frames that fit the slots.


Can you tell me which LEGO set number this is? I bought this Lego set off the internet and I can’t figure out the set number.  Can someone tell me the set number?

As @mindstormsboi pointed out, it's a modification of 60009-1 Helicopter Arrest
According to BrickLink, the only sets with both those RBrown stairs and the 100 tile are:

10218-1 Pet Shop
10232-1 Palace Cinema
10246-1 Detective's Office
10255-1 Assembly Square
10264-1 Corner Garage
41108-1 Heartlake Food Market
60009-1 Helicopter Arrest
60069-1 Swamp Police Station
60130-1 Prison Island

and that doesn't look exactly like any of them. But if you remove 60009's  vehicles and pier and add a few bits, it's a good match.
I won't say never, but Lego doesn't often (that I know of) sell sets with treasure chests where the lid doesn't match the base. But @Zhaph - Ben Duguid noted that 60009 does.


Lego train magnet strength Some questions about these train magnets:

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=73092

I'd like to know roughly how much weight two of those could lift or what force is needed to separate two of these...

According to BrickLink, the magnet was produced from 1980-2009, would there be a considerable loss of strength between magnets produced in the early days and later?

I suppose how they were stored or how much they were played or dropped would also influence heavily their remaining strength...

I suppose I could re-magnetize them with a neodymium magnet, anyone care to guess or experiment about how strong such rejuvenated LEGO magnet would be?

Test setup

Take 20 magnets from my collection
Build a test stand with a magnetically attached bucket containing an adjustable weight:
Designate one of the magnets a reference (#0)
Repeat for each one of the 19 other magnets:

Attach the magnet to the bucket
Carefully add Technic beams to the bucket until the combined weight of the bucket, batteries, beams and the magnet reaches the limit and the assembly falls onto the rug below:
Measure the weight of the assembly and note it:

Measure the two strongest magnets against each other to get an estimate for the upper bound
Measure the two weakest magnets against each other to get an estimate for the lower bound

Limitations

The magnets were mostly purchased between 1990 and 2000 and were stored for several years in a sunny attic room and then for a few additional years in a cold basement in various states of assembly (separated, joined in pairs or assembled into a column of several magnets).

The weight of the bucket was increased by adding Technic beams, which weigh 2-4 grams each, thus limiting the precision of the breaking point (but see the next paragraph for a more serious limitation).

The kitchen scale has a precision of about 10-20 grams.

All pairs were measured only once.

Care was taken to construct the bucket in a way that results in the center of mass being as close to the symmetry axis as possible, but the amount of deviation was not measured.

Results

The 19 pairs have resulted in the following measurements (all values in grams):

220 (#1)
240
220
220
220
240
250 (#7)
240
240
230
210 (#11)
240
240
230
240
240
240
250 (#18)
240

This results in an average value of 234 grams of force required to pull the magnets apart (including the weight of the lower magnet)

The two strongest (#7 and #18) together: 260 grams

The two weakest (#1 and #11) together: 200 grams

I'm aware of the inherent imperfection in this test method, but in my opinion, it represents a reasonable compromise between time investment and attained precision. I would welcome any critique aiming to improve it though.


How can I determine the value of an out of production set on the aftermarket? I have a number of early 70's or earlier LEGO sets.

One is set 40 and the other is train number 171.

I'm trying to find a value and some additional information for these sets. I have searched a little but haven't found anything substantial on the image hunt.

Both sets are with their box.

There are several sources you can use to determine the value of a set. Just remember that:

Just because it sold once for a certain amount, yours will not necessarily sell for the same amount. Tons of factors come into play, including completeness, box quality but also demand, location and luck (especially with vintage sets).
Just because it sold once before, doesn't mean the set is in demand or will sell anytime soon. Especially with very old sets like yours, there isn't a lot of demand. Vintage LEGO is nice to have, but sets from those days are significantly less sophisticated than recent sets.
For LEGO: older doesn't necessarily mean more expensive. A lot of really old sets actually sell for remarkably little money.

In no particular order, here are the most common reference sources for determining set values:
Bricklink
The most comprehensive source of set values when dealing with items that collectors will buy. Your everyday buyer won't typically use this venue, but in case of vintage sets, collectors do frequent BL. It's Price Guide feature is powerful, but only contains data on the last 6 months.
Set 40 has not been sold the last 6 months on BL, so there is no Price Guide. It does have 5 current listings world-wide.
Set 171 has also not seen any sales in the last 6 months on BL, but it currently has 17 listings world-wide.
EBay
EBay shows a history of sold listings for any given search term. Since EBay is also used by the casual shopper, this gives you a broader overview, however, especially for highly collector items that don't have a broad audience, like your vintage sets, people might shun EBay due to high fees.
Looking at set 40 sold listings on EBay, there have been 2 in the last while, both international sales in Europe.
Set 171 has been sold 3 times, two at around $50 and one at around $100 (USD).
BrickPicker
Brickpicker is an investment guide for LEGO. This site focuses on managing a portfolio of LEGO sets as if they were stocks. They keep important statistics (mainly compiled from EBay) on every set produced by the LEGO group. Sales statistics are nicely split out by country/region, which can be helpful.
Set 40 is listed here.
Set 171 is listed here. As you can see, neither of these sets have a lot of sales data due to their age and low sales frequency.
There are other sites such as camelcamelcamel.com which tracks sales of toys on Amazon.com, but the above 3 are the key ones I would use.


EV3 Wired Brick to Brick communication I'm currently working on a project for my intro to engineering class.

As it stands now, one brick is running a LabView program to intake data from a 'barcode' and another brick runs a  Matlab program that reads a marble with the color-sensor, and can pass or deny the marble.

I'm having an issue in making the bricks communicate with each other. Because there will be many other bricks in operation where this project will be tested, BlueTooth communication would be unreliable.

From reading that I've done, there might be a way to perform hardwired communication by linking sensor port 4 of both bricks together, but I'm not sure of the specifics.

Both of the bricks are EV3, updated to the latest firmware.

The reading you have done about connecting input port 4 is for the NXT, not the EV3. The NXT has a special feature on that port for RS485 serial communications. This is not present on the EV3 bricks.

The EV3 bricks are designed to be able to be daisy chained via USB. There are "Message" blocks in the EV3 software for sending messages from brick to brick. I'm not sure about LabView and Matlab, but I suspect that have a similar block/function for sending messages.


Connecting to NXT Brick via Processing over Bluetooth I am attempting to control my NXT model via the Processing programming language rather than the provided language based on LabView. When I can establish a connection over Bluetooth, this works rather well, but establishing the connection itself is problematic. It appears to work only every dozen tries or so.

My question is, what are some good troubleshooting steps for this type of activity? I can see the NXT brick in my list of Bluetooth devices on my laptop (Win7 64-bit), and I can even see it in the list of devices when I run a test script in Processing. My laptop appears on the list of devices on my NXT brick, but the connection icon at the top of the NXT window only shows "<" rather than "<>".

I believe I am using the latest firmware version (1.31). The other settings listed are:

AVR & BC4 - 1.01

What else can I attempt to try? I am attempting to connect to other Bluetooth devices (iPhone, Wiimote) but have not found the necessary libraries to allow those connections yet.

You can use any programming language you like to remotely control the NXT provided that it can access a serial port of your computer. The Bluetooth connection on the NXT provides a virtual serial port. You can see this by opening "Devices and  Printers" and double-clicking on the NXT (provided that you have already paired it). Then have a look at the "Services" tab in the window that opens.

In the screenshot above, my NXT provides a serial port on COM4. Yours may be a different number.

So you need to do two things:

Figure out how to open a COM port on Windows using the Processing programming language.
Use the information in the NXT Bluetooth Developer Kit (available from the LEGO MINDSTORMS download page) to send commands to your NXT.

To use other Bluetooth devices with your NXT, you will need to relay the information though a computer to translate it into the commands from the NXT Bluetooth Developer Kit. In the case of the iPhone, you could write a custom program just as you would for a regular computer.


Transfer BrickOwl wishlists to BrickLink Is there an easy/automated way to transfer BrickOwl wish lists to BrickLink? I have wishlists on BO for each incomplete set I own and would like to move them over to see if BL can complete them cheaper.

You can try using rebrickable.com.
Here's a more detailed guide:
http://rebrickable.com/blog/2015/bricklink-brickowl-integration
In case you have an LDD version of the model you wish to build, check out my question here.


LEGO plate with square holes? I have some white plates with square holes on the underside. I'd almost think they were some imitation brand if they didn't have LEGO stamped on the studs. Can anyone tell me the history of when square hole plates were produced and for what purpose? Is this just a really old design? Why were they changed?

Those would be Waffle Bottoms, which seem to have been mostly phased out by 1969, except for the 4x8 plate that went until 1971. Having not read any deep history on old LEGO designs, I'm going with that was just what they went with to start, then realized that the tubes were much better.


EV3 Multiple conditions: wait sensor activation for N seconds or How to program EV3 to wait for a sensor activation for at most X seconds?
If the sensor is activated in the given time, begin sequence B. If it is not activated in X seconds, begin sequence A.

Explanation:
My robot arrives at point X, then it waits for the ultrasonic sensor activation (if a hand arrives near the sensor - < 7 cm), but must wait only for 10 seconds.
If nothing triggers the ultrasonic sensor within 10 seconds the robot must continue with sequence A.
If, for example, a hand is placed in front of the ultrasonic sensor (<7CM) within 10 seconds the robot must continue with sequence B. Then when sequence B is terminated, the robot should continue with sequence A.

I have tried using loops, switches and asking Gandalf for help but with no success.

Here's some pseudocode that does what you need:

Reset timer
Loop block:
    Sensor block, output logical TRUE when condition is reached
    Timer block, output logical TRUE when X seconds have passed
    Logic block, outputs logical TRUE if sensor OR timer is true
End loop when it receives TRUE from the Logic block.
Switch block:
    if sensor = condition, SEQUENCE B
End switch
SEQUENCE A

The sensor and timer blocks' logical data wires are connected to the logic block. The logic block is set to "OR", which ends the loop if either one is true. Then you use a switch to decide whether or not to execute SEQUENCE B, and after that, SEQUENCE A happens regardless.


LDD Seems to be missing a piece So I'm trying to make an alternate version of the UCS Tie Fighter.  I'm following the official instructions downloaded from the LEGO site, and I've come in to a problem.  This piece, seen here (ID: 6089147 from the piece list) is missing from the LDD parts:

Now, I'm not sure if this is the best place to mention this, but well... there it is.
If it's in some weird place that I haven't looked it would be great if someone could point me in the right direction, but as it stands I'm pretty sure it just isn't in the list.  How would one go about telling the big wigs about this?

18677 IS in latest LDD update (mid march 2016), issued after announcement of LDD end of support... Just make sure to be in LDD Extended mode to find it, along with other plates.


Subassembly identification, including a hotel sign I got these assemblies and I am trying to figure out if they are MOCs or part of a set or sets. I have identified the red sub-assembly as set 60182 Pickup and Caravan.

The hotel sign looks like the...

What about the rest? I think I have at least parts from 4 sets?

The Hotel part is from 10182-1: Cafe Corner,

The Olive Green canoes come from 70623-1: Destiny's Shadow

The brown assemblies  on the lower right second picture are from 7662-1: Trade Federation MTT

-see step 54 on page 61 https://www.lego.com/biassets/bi/4515434.pdf

and parts from 10696-1: Medium Creative Brick Box ( crocodile)

also there is a Smurf and a Playmobil figure


Ideas for a price tag on parts from old city set? I took advice from my previous question and did a bit more research, but I have somethin specific.

I realised I have had a City set with a few more "unique" parts. The set is 7900 Heavy loader. I can't seem to find any information on pieces, but I know it contains a unique Trapezoid, modified tubes, smooth large grey plates and I think I can get something from it.

My question to you is more of a plea for advice. If you're not familiar set, you surely at least have a better eye for old set value than I do. Any suggestion for next move is welcome!

Bricklink price-guides:

The trapezoid:
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogPG.asp?P=55767&ColorID=86

The smooth plates:
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogPG.asp?P=48288&ColorID=85

Don't know what you mean with modified tube, but this part might be considered a tube and unique:
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogPG.asp?P=40244&ColorID=85

Not exactly the most expensive pieces, so I think you'll make more if you sell the set as a whole rather than parting it out...

The Trapezoid price surprises me a bit as I think it is indeed somewhat unique, it appears in 3 sets but the other two sets it appears in, it appears in orange.
I would have thought it's a wanted piece as it can be used to make bridges in train layouts...

The large tiles, I wouldn't pay even the rather low bricklink price for them as I have gotten hold of quite a quantity of them when last visiting Legoland Germany, where they were available in bulk at the "Fabrik" shop.


What is the maximum size of Lego instruction booklets? I am preparing a shelf and, given that LEGO instruction booklets these days are often more like actual little books than the small booklets we had as children, a section of that shelf will be reserved for LEGO instruction booklets.

Therefore, I am interested in the maximum size (width and, in particular, height) that instruction booklets come in so far. To start, I'm assuming a height of 26cm (that's the largest booklets I have here right now), but maybe there are even taller ones?

Note that this question is similar to What are the measurements of the different Lego instruction booklets?, however, I am not asking for a list of all sizes, just for the maximum size I would have to reckon with. Therefore, as opposed to the other question, it is also irrelevant to me which sets are (or will be) there in particular - one level in the shelf that is tall enough to fit in all instruction booklets (standing upright, like books) will last for a while, and if that level (let's say, of 1m in width) gets filled, it's time for another solution, anyway.

EDIT: Note that I am based in Europe and, in case instructions come in different sizes for different parts of the world, it can be reasonably assumed that all of the sets will be bought in Europe.

While there are multiple sizes of instructions and lack of database with dimensions my answer is based on personal observation.

Looking at the stash of my instructions from multiple sets (including several largest Technic models) I can state that the largest dimension I have is of A4 paper size, which is 210 x 297 mm. I'd like to note that this is for Europe based sets. There might be different sizes for other markets as LEGO provides two options for their instructions online - optimized for A4 as well as Letter sized paper.

Edit 1. As masterX244 pointed out in the comments Star Wars UCS sets may have bigger instructions. This review on Brickset of SW UCS set with highest number of parts (75192 Millennium Falcon) says instructions are 42 x 29 cm in size. This is very close to A3 paper size, which is twice the size of A4.

Picture below, from the very same review by Brickset, shows the instruction relative to side of the box (45 x 39 cm).

Edit 2. JPhi1618 found that UCS Star Destroyer 10030 set has a booklet that is slightly larger - 43 x 30 cm (landscape orientation, including the spiral)


Help identifying this set, dark red and dark grey airplane body? Bought in a random box with mostly Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Ninjago sets, and a few one offs. Before I have to enter every piece into rebrickable, I was hoping someone might be able to identify this?


What dark green LEGO car is this? Who knows what set this dark green LEGO one piece car unit is from?

It's from MCDR4-1 Circuit Star, a McDonald's promotional set from 2009:
You can clearly see the wavy white and yellow lines on the side stickers.


Can't get EV3 to work with touch sensors My FLL team just got a couple of EV3 sets and the kids were trying to program a simple switch that has the robot drive into a wall, back up, and turn right once the touch sensor in the front is pressed.

The pressed condition in the switch has a move tank going backwards followed by a turn.
The unpressed condition has a move tank going forward.

The robot just goes forward and does not stop after it runs into the wall and the sensor is clearly pressed.

We tried switching the bricks, the sensors, the cables, the ports and reinstalling the firmware. Nothing works. Help...

Thank you for the replies. I'm not sure I'm responding in the right spot but here is the screenshot:

Also, it's not a port number issue. In fact, when you check the ports on the software it shows that it's recognizing the sensor and its state on the correct port. And it does get pressed. We even tried pressing it manually just to make sure.

I just reinstalled all the software and firmware and now it's not even going through the switch! It just skips it and goes on to the last block. I think I'm out of my depth here...

Are you sure that the button is being completely pressed? A quick test would be to hold the robot and manually press the touch sensor. If the wheels start turning backwards, then there isn't anything wrong, you just need to make sure the button gets pressed completely.

If you're sure the button is being pressed, then it's probably a software problem. It seems like you have a conditional block, is it reading the same port that the sensor is connected to.

You could make a really simple program that has a forward tank movement inside a loop and make the exit condition for the loop be to exit when the button is pressed. If you put an end block after the loop, the robot will drive forward forever until the button is pressed.

Hopefully one of those options will help you fix the problem!


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