Which 2018-2020 sets are good for roof parts? What 2018-2020 sets are best for roof parts, such as corner slopes, 2x2 slopes, 2x4 slopes, etc.?

I would suggest to look into buying individual parts on Bricklink in desired color, shape and amount. Any other set you can buy most likely won't have all the parts you need and you are left with otherwise unnecessary elements.
If you really need a set with roof specific parts, the set I could think of now is Emmet's Dream House/Rescue Rocket (70831). Selection of slopes isn't ideal and color (blue) may not fit your need, however the amount of specific items is substantial compared to other sets. Newbury Haunted High School (70425) could also be a candidate for some number of slopes, but it is still rather limited.
Alternatively, you could look into creating your roof without using slopes. Take a looks at sets like 31078, 75954, 10267. You can build your roof with plates and tiles if used wisely.


Identification of vintage sloping window piece I'm trying to identify the yellow one, the red 60598 ones are for reference.

This is definitely Lego, it is written in the hollow studs. It does not have a part number underneath, only an 01 and a separate 3. I can’t find it in any of the usual databases.

The yellow I’m trying to identify is 1x4 at the base, 3 bricks tall, leans back by on row at the top but is slightly wider than 4 studs at the top approx 4.5 so the overall dimensions are 2 x 4.5 x 3.

Must be

Fabuland Front Window Squared Small, Part x652 on peeron.com

(image source peeron.com)


Anyone knows this Star Wars model? Grey and dark red with axles for side modules Got this from a yard sale and now looking for the building instructions.

Definitely 75039-1: V-Wing Starfighter:

Instructions (2 different copies, US and EU):

6079505
6079506


Have minifig hands ever appeared "on their own" in an official set? I am curious whether minifig hands have ever appeared "on their own", i.e., not inserted
into minifig arms, in any official set.  Or if they have ever been sold separately by TLG,
e.g. in Pick-a-Brick or as a replacement part.

Proving a negative is hard, so disclaimer first:

This answer is neither exhaustive, nor definitive.

My line of reasoning starts from the assumption that if there were ever standalone minifigure hands, they would appear in the set inventory in a way that is not explainable based on the number of minifigures. Of course, this assumption is not 100% waterproof, as it does not consider cases when a minifigure torso has appeared without hands AND a pair of standalone hand parts were also used, but I'd accept this risk.

Analyzing the list of the 16123 sets, books and gear catalogued in Bricklink that contain at least one minifigure hand, there are no sets where the number of included minifigure hand parts would be larger than the expected amount.

This number is the sum of all the following:

twice the number of the included minifigures
four times the number of four-handed minifigures (like Garmadon, General Kozu or Rio Durant)
four times the number of monkeys
twice the number of standalone minifigure torsoes (like the masthead of the Black Seas Barracuda)

Minus one for each pirate captain, Ogel, Baron von Barron or any other one-handed figure of course.

Some sets do appear to have more hands still, but that is because the number of hands is skewed by the inclusion of alternative figures, like in the case of Shoot 'N Save (FC Bayern Promo Edition), which allegedly contains 8 yellow hands, but only two minifigures (one of which is the goalie with black hands!), but the soccer player is included in four different variants. A similar thing is going on with Red Bus, where all possible flag-sticker combinations are listed to arrive at the 50 yellow hands for 5 yellow-handed minifigures.

If there are any omissions, I apologize in advance and congratulate the finder :)


Mindstorms crashes when connecting to EV3 with Bluetooth I am using OS X 10.10 (Yosemite) on a 2011 MacBook Air, LEGO Mindstorms EV3 Home Edition v1.0 and the latest firmware on the EV3 (v1.06H)

When I attempt to pair the EV3 with my Mac over Bluetooth, then Mindstorms consistently crashes.

Here's what I do:

Connect the EV3 with the USB cable
Select "Refresh" in Mindstorms
OS X prompts me to pair the EV3
I click "Pair"
Beachball appears for a couple of seconds, and Mindstorms crashes.

Any hints on what to do?

This might help to the problems:
If you download the latest version of mindstorms by the Mindstorms-Site you´ll get the version 1.1.1.then you can connect via Bluetooth to the brick with the newest version EV3 (v1.o6H)
But if you are like me a teacher and using the educational version of Mindstorms (version 1.1.0 (note the last zero)), then you will have serious problems to connect your brick using Bluetooth in OS Yosemite!


Batman Arkham Knight Batmobile Instructions Where can I find a set of instructions for the Lego Batman Arkham Knight Batmobile?

The author of this Ideas project might be able to give you a copy of the instructions for his model.


Use for "Technic Coupling, Tight" and "Technic Coupling 3,5-6 Ncm" Power Functions set 8293 contains these pieces http://brickset.com/sets/containing-part-6025005
http://brickset.com/sets/containing-part-6036892
and they make the set much more expensive than just buying the other parts in the set individually. By that reasoning these parts must be very special, but I can't tell what is different about them from the images compared to a regular gear wheel.

This gear can only handle a certain amount of torque. Above this torque the gear starts to slip internally. This pervents damaging the motor when the some part of the construction after the gear gets blocked.

Lego uses these gears ofter in constructions where there is a end of stroke that blocked the motor from turning, for example a winch or other string based designs


Which programming environments or APIs are available for the LEGO BOOST? Over the holidays I tried the following Python library:
https://github.com/undera/pylgbst but I couldn't get it to work.
Then again my knowledge of Python is very limited.

I'm more experienced with C++ or C#, is anything available for those languages?

As a general question, do you know of any programming environments or API's that can control the LEGO move hub and its peripherals from the LEGO BOOST set?

Boost and the other Powered Up components (the new City trains, the app-controlled batmobile, and WeDo 2.0) are controlled via Bluetooth. Any environment that can send bluetooth commands can be used to control these components.

There is a github page which documents some of the reverse-engineering that has been done and it links to several third-party Boost/PoweredUp programming libraries. I've used movehub, but there is another node.js library called node-poweredup which looks more complete.

Lego themselves have documented part of the BLE wireless protocol on github as well.


What are the significance of 3 marks that appear on the back of base plates? I am trying to find out the significance of 3 marks that appear on the back of base plates.

There are 3 circles in a row. The first contains numbers 0-9 in increments of one with a small arrow pointing to a number. The second circle contains numbers  0-50 in increments of 10 with the same kind of arrow. And the third circle contains an icon that looks like a dog tag.

I think that this is a production code similar to the seal codes on other sets (e.g. 24R5 for the 24th week of 2015), and you need to add the number from the first dial to the number of the second dial to get a week number, and the Q "dog tag" indicates the production facility this came from. It's missing the production year though, perhaps that was not needed or has been encoded somewhere else on the baseplate.

UPDATE: The year of production is printed in the center of the single digit dial ("11" in your case) with one digit on each side of the arrow. So your base plate was made in 19Q11, which is the 19th week of 2011. This code seems to be on other LEGO elements as well - for comparison here is a picture of a LEGO Mindstorms EV3 tray from set 45544. It also features a Q, and has a "15" printed in the center of the single digit dial (the full code is 17Q15):


Averaged out, as of 2016, how many shapes has Lego introduced per year since brick 1? Averaged out since Lego first began selling addictive bricks, and discounting  the structural redesign of existing bricks (Like the 2x4. Tubes were added, but it was still a 2x4) how many shaped elements has Lego added per year?

To be clear, I'm asking for a shape count, not a color or piece count, and the average number of released shapes over the years, not a breakdown of the treasures recently heaped upon us.

The BrickLink catalog has this option. List all parts, then click on "Year summary". There are 45510 parts in total. The list starts in 1950 (8 parts!), everything before that year is year "0". 2002 was the first year with more than 1000 parts, 2016 saw an impressive number of 3490 parts.

EDIT:

As pointed out in a comment, the entries in the BrickLink catalog contain all kinds of variants of the same shape. One example:

Brick 1 x 2 with Yellow Left Arrow and Black Border Pattern
Brick 1 x 2 with Yellow Down Arrow and Black Border Pattern
Brick 1 x 2 with Yellow Grille Pattern
Brick 1 x 2 with Black Grille Pattern
Brick 1 x 2 with White Grille Pattern ... and so on

It turns out that part descriptions are structured like this:

<shape description> "with" or "without" <details>

So all above items are "Brick 1 x 2" shape. I wrote a script that takes the csv-formatted BrickLink catalog, deletes all part descriptions from "with" or "without" onwards, and then deletes all duplicate lines.

Result: from the 45510 parts of the catalog remain 17236 entries. Looking at this list, I would say that this number is an upper limit to the number of distict shapes that have been produced. Maybe 10% have to be subtracted to get a good estimate.

Example: There are 52 types of Bricks left. There are some transparent bricks and "solid studs" that are not a shape of its own.

Brick 10 x 10
Brick 10 x 20
Brick 10 x 20 - Undetermined Underside Type
Brick 12 x 24
Brick 1 x 1
Brick 1 x 10
Brick 1 x 12
Brick 1 x 16
Brick 1 x 1 Transparent
Brick 1 x 1 x 3
Brick 1 x 1 x 5
Brick 1 x 1 x 5 - Solid Stud
Brick 1 x 2
Brick 1 x 2 Transparent
Brick 1 x 2 x 2
Brick 1 x 2 x 3
Brick 1 x 2 x 5
Brick 1 x 3
Brick 1 x 3 Transparent
Brick 1 x 3 x 5
Brick 1 x 4
Brick 1 X 4
Brick 1 x 4 Transparent
Brick 1 x 4 x 1
Brick 1 x 6
Brick 1 x 6 Transparent
Brick 1 x 6 x 5
Brick 1 x 8
Brick 1 x 8 Transparent
Brick 2 x 10
Brick 2 x 12
Brick 2 x 14
Brick 2 x 2
Brick 2 x 2 Corner
Brick 2 x 2 Transparent
Brick 2 x 2 x 3
Brick 2 x 3
Brick 2 x 3 Transparent
Brick 2 x 4
Brick 2 x 4 special (special bricks, test bricks and/or prototypes)
Brick 2 x 4 Transparent
Brick 2 x 4 x 3
Brick 2 x 6
Brick 2 x 6 x 3
Brick 2 x 8
Brick 4 x 10
Brick 4 x 12
Brick 4 x 18
Brick 4 x 4 Corner
Brick 4 x 6
Brick 8 x 16
Brick 8 x 8

This exercise gave me some insight at how many parts exist. Did you know, that there are 64 "dog" shapes, but only 8 "cat"?

I hope this answer did help somehow.

This is the method to manipulate the catalog (Linux environment):

First, load catalog (tab-delimited list) into Excel, and export the column containing the part names to an ASCII file.

Now delete everything including "with" from the lines:

awk '{if (index($0," with") != 0) {print substr($0,1,index($0," with")-2)} else {print $0} }' parts.csv > temp.csv

Now sort and remove duplicate lines:

sort -u temp.csv > unique_shapes.csv

That's it. In Linux, there are 1000 ways to do this. I like to use commands that are easy to follow. Now one could refine the method and delete other items that don't qualify as shapes, e.g. cloth or the above mentioned "transparent" bricks. There are endless possibilities :)

P.S.: Reading the question, I just realize that I missed the "per year" part. But this topic is far from over, anyway.


Missing stickers in a LEGO set I have a FRIENDS set #21319. It didn't come with stickers. Can someone help me purchase or get these replaced?

You should get in touch with LEGO Customer Support. I'm sure they will be more than happy to ship you missing sticker sheet.
If you are still looking to purchase the stickers instead, you can do so on Bricklink.


NXT Motors curving to the right The NXT motors have been curving to the right by about 10-20 degrees. We have checked the program, no curves. We have checked the wiring, but it is also plugged in fine.

It could be that one wheel slips more than the other. This happens when the tires get dirty. Also, you can adjust your center of balance so that more weight is on the drive wheels and they will slip less.

You can also use the gyro sensor to compensate for any slippage of the wheels.


Are there any mirrored LEGO bricks? I recently built LEGO Creator 5770: Lighthouse Island which features a clever trick to build the lighthouse's lantern, using stickers on on a Slope Brick 2x2 and Slope Top 1x2x2/3:

Step 54 from Lighthouse Island Instruction Manual 1/3

It works reasonably well, but I'd like something better. Are there any official mirrored (or prismatic, but this seems even less likely) LEGO bricks?

Bricklink search for chrome pieces

Gold 2x4

Duplo: Chrome 2X4


Are the LEGO Friends Mini-dolls compatible with Minifigures? I've seen the new LEGO Friends sets, and wanted to know if the Mini-dolls are compatible in any way with minifigs?

I'd quite like to get some sets for the new colours however I want to ensure the accessories, etc. in the set aren't going to be out of scale.

In some ways but not others, according to this post by Catsy at The Brothers Brick:

  It was near-impossible to pull the legs off–I sawed through them where they join above the knees.
  The tab that connects the waist to the torso is completely incompatible with any standard System connection I’ve tried.
  The hands are not angled forward the way a minifig’s are–so accessories with a pronounced rake to them may not look as expected.
  The lack of wrist articulation is extremely limiting in terms of how you can pose them with accessories.
  The stud connection point on the feet is in the front, under the doll’s center of gravity and more or less directly under the body. The feet are slightly oblong.
  The legs have a very slight backward sweep on the way down, which you can see most clearly on the right leg above. The upshot of this is that it is impossible for a mini-doll to stand on any 1×2 area that has anything immediately behind them.
  The neck is a standard 3mm bar connection rather than stud-width like a minifig neck–the heads are incompatible with minifig torsos.
  The head is approximately the same dimensions at the top as a minifig head, but tapers towards the chin in a roughly egg-like way.
  The nose causes complications with some fully-enclosed headwear, but not most. The chin extends lower than a minifig’s chin, so that headwear with “chin straps” obscures the mouth.
  The hair is interchangeable with minifigs–and many TLC minifig hairpieces look quite good on the girls... it is made out of the same kind of soft plastic as the Exo-Force hair, and has tiny holes on the top and side of the hairpiece that go all the way through, allowing the attachment of hair accessories.
  Brickarms helmets work extremely well and look great. I do NOT recommend trying to use aftermarket hairpieces, however–I tried putting a third-party hairpiece on one of them and had to use pliers to get the head back out.

Note also that the legs do not move independently of each other - both left and right legs are on the same hinge. Not really a compatibility issue, but it greatly restricts the poses available without modification.

From the official press pack:


Has anyone tried putting the Powered Up system in the Christmas train? Just wondering if anyone has taken the powered-up ("Power Functions 2.0") Bluetooth system out of the Cargo Train 60198 or Passenger Train 60197 sets and put it in the Winter Holiday Train set 10254?

Haven't done the 10254 yet with powered up, but have converted several other trains... The train motors have the exact same dimensions and the powered-up smart hub has the same dimensions as the battery box of the power functions system.
What's different is that you don't need the space for the IR receiver and that the motor is immediately connected to the hub rather than the receiver.

What will differ is the following steps from the instruction manual:

Those steps make room for the IR-receiver which isn't necessary now..., for the rest you can follow the instructions exactly...


Can anyone identify the brand of this non-LEGO brick with grooved sides and a lion logo? Hi folks I was hoping someone out there may recognise the brand of this block I found in the garden. I have been searching but the closest I can find are Locblocks - however this appears to have a Lion logo embossed on the top.

Hang on - I recognize this! This is definitely from a knock-off brand my brother got a few months ago for his birthday. It's either from a brand called OXFORD in South Korea or from Coco, an illegal (i think) Chinese Knock-off.


Rebuilding the Millennium Falcon 7965 with unsorted bricks? After a week of building the Millennium Falcon 7965, we were nearing the end.  My son became excited and literally started jumping for joy.  As a result, he accidentally landed on the model and thus caused major portions of the super-structure to pop out of place.

I attempted to reinsert the bricks but found myself having to gently stretch out a section of the hull in order to snap the brick into place correctly.  Of course this action caused more bricks to pop out.  Of particular difficulty is the 'girdle section' that encircles the outer hull.

Now it seems I have been left with a very expensive pile of gray, dark gray, and yellow Lego bricks and a very fragile super-structure into which they should go.  We threw the bags away, and don't know at which construction stage the various pieces belong to.  Of course we have the manuals.

I was minded to consign the whole project to the rubbish bin, but this would create a heart-broken child...

For those with experience in this sort of thing, what is a recommended strategy?  Are we talking about a reboot from square 1 without the bags as a sequential guide?

Only ever throw out LEGO that has sustained actually irreversible damage, bricks that have been bent beyond repair or snapped. It so rarely happens that I can find a suitable picture. In this case, I would assume the longest plates and tiles would be more likely to be damaged.

I'd go through the painful process of dismantling the model and starting again, replacing any broken pieces (if any) or at least starting again from the last significant building stage. Many large models are build independently and combined at a later stage of building. These independent 'building stages' often match a numbered set of plastic bags.


Mindstorms EV3 Spinner factory complete code problem I recently posted a question about the creation of My Block. Now I have another problem. I have written the code as described in the program description, and double checked it, but it still doesn't work. I'm sorry for the way that I've visualised the program, but it seemed the easiest way:

Spinner Factory

Currently, the EV3 education software can be downloaded for free

https://education.lego.com/en-us/downloads/mindstorms-ev3/software

It includes the program for the spinner factory, perhaps you can study that program and compare it with your own implementation to find the problem

Alternatively and probably much more instructive, you could learn how to debug programs. For EV3 this is easiest with inserting sound alert or displaying values on the EV3 screen (with a wait block) during the steps of your program, you can find hints on how to debug a program here:

http://stemrobotics.cs.pdx.edu/sites/default/files/debug.pdf


What causes certain LEGO parts to yellow over time, and how can this be prevented? I've noticed that certain LEGO colors have a tendency to turn yellow over time. For example, I have a set of 4 "white" wheel hubs that are all now various shades of yellow:

I know there is already some information on how to fix this, but I'd like to understand why this happened and how to avoid it. What causes LEGO parts to turn yellow, and what specific steps can be taken to prevent this damage?

There are many things such as dirt and chemicals that can cause elements to change color. Dirt can easily be washed off, but certain contaminants such as cigarette smoke can stain plastic.

The most common issue that causes LEGO bricks to yellow is interaction with ultraviolet light, most commonly from the sun. The simplest way to prevent this is to store parts indoors out of the way of even indirect sunlight.

There are some tips for correcting this issue in another question, and more details about the chemical process that causes UV light to degrade ABS over on Chemistry.


Difference between Linear Actuator vs. Linear Actuator Mini I'd like to know the difference in terms of usage between the standard Linear Actuator:

vs. the "mini" version:

Both of these parts provide the really fun mechanic of translating rotational energy into lateral motion (the essence of an actuator) in a particularly powerful way (in the sense of a worm screw).

My question revolves around the fact that the "standard" actuator is a lot more expensive.  When new it comes sealed in its own plastic bag.  The "mini" ones are a lot cheaper.  Aside from general differences in geometry associated with the two parts, is there any other reason one would choose the "standard" actuator? Does it provide any mechanical virtues one would want to consider when designing a build?

The biggest difference I can think of that would impact my choice would be that the standard linear actuator is much more sturdy.

The standard linear actuator has a metal pole and is very rigid.

The mini linear actuators are made all of plastic, wiggle quite a bit, and whatever mechanism is inside will skip fairly easily.


identifier expected? What identifier is expected here?

#import "rw.txt" rw

task main()
{
    if(rw != NULL)
    {
        OnRev(OUT_A,75);
        Wait(100);
    }
}

Error: # Error: Identifier expected

I don't seem to be able to find a API describing the NXC API very well..

The error was caused because the file rw.txt was not uploaded to the nxt performing:

 t2n -v -put rw.txt

Solved the problem.


Can you please identify these two assemblies, dark grey, dark red, yellow, and tan plus Technic treads with large orange pieces? Set assemblies 1

Set assemblies 2

In the top image you have parts of 7656-1: General Grievous Starfighter and
7669-1: Anakin's Jedi Starfighter.

In the second image you have parts of
7706-1: Mobile Defense Tank


Where can I find documentation on the LEGO Wireless Protocol for Powered Up devices? LEGO BOOST and LEGO Powered Up Smart Hubs use Bluetooth Low Energy to communicate to apps. Where can I find documentation on the communication protocol so that I can build my own app for these devices?

LEGO calls this communication protocol the "LEGO Wireless Protocol" (LWP). The documentation is publicly available at https://lego.github.io/lego-ble-wireless-protocol-docs/.

There is also a GitHub repository that provides the source of this website at https://github.com/LEGO/lego-ble-wireless-protocol-docs. Because of this, it seems reasonable to expect this documentation to evolve over time.


Are there any sensors that are capable of measuring audio pitch for EV3? Are there any sensors that are capable of measuring audio pitch? Or is there an easy solution that a beginner would be able to make work?

You may be able to rig something up with a Vernier Sensor Adapter, the Vernier EV3 Sensor Block, and a Vernier microphone. Although the NXT sound sensor can be made compatible with EV3, it would seem it only measures volume, and cannot measure frequency.


Where can I purchase replacement stickers for a current set? My stickers for set 60035 are damaged and need to be replaced. Where can I obtain replacements?

If the set is a recent release you can call LEGO's customer service and they will send you a replacement. If it is an older, discontinued set, you can find replacement stickers on BrickLink. Here are all the stickers listed: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?catType=P&catString=160


Is this grid fin piece a standard LEGO brick? I'm trying to identify the circled part from this MoC, but I haven't been successful in doing so. On the one hand, the creator of this has called out two other parts in it (not shown here) as being modifications of existing bricks; but didn't say anything about the one I'm asking about, and the spacing in the grid looks about the same as in a LEGO fence piece which makes me think it might be a standard brick after all.
The original source for the MoC appears to be this post on Facebook. Not having an account there, I can't ask the designer directly.

I think that is
Part# 30046 :
Window 1 x 2 x 2 2/3 Pane Lattice Diamond with Rounded Top


How can I build a brick-built monorail track? LEGO haven’t released a new monorail set since the 90s, and the track parts that were made are very expensive and hard to find.

I am interested in building a brick-built alternative. I am particularly inspired by the build shown here.

Criteria

Vehicle

6 to 8 studs wide
running on rubber tyres
motor-driven

Track Elements

straight – unlike the original, a central rack is not necessary for level or smooth gradients.
curved – can be fixed angle or flexible.
incline – can be fixed angle or flexible.
track supports
track switcher (Optional)

Parts

Cannot use existing monorail parts (including the #2681 and #2680 supports).
Avoid rare, expensive parts, or parts out of production.

Have a look at this youtube channel: MasaoHidaka The Track is made up with standard bricks and he managed to create nice curves and even switches. The switches are quite part intensive though.


What's the best way to glue/adhese the street baseplates to a plywood table? I'm building a Lego city, and I want to permanently glue the road onto the table.  But I don't want it to be "lumpy", or melt, and I want to make sure that the baseplates will not come off the table, whether it be water or indirect heat (such as sunlight).  A friend suggested furniture glue, but I'm not sure that'll be strong enough or flat enough.

Any ideas welcome.

You could always put a screw through a 2x2 plate and use it to fix the corners, the rounded corners on the road plates won't be damaged, and you only lose a very small, cheap part.


Can several users control one Powered Up train using different devices? According to this review of the new 60197 passenger train you can only have one Bluetooth thing talk to the new LEGO battery box at a time.

  The new Power Up system as it currently appears in this set is very rigid. One remote or device can be used to operate one battery box/receiver, which in turn can operate one train motor. All of the flexibility of the old system seems to be gone.

I'm hoping to put a train in my office before Christmas and it would be great if multiple people could install the app and change the speed.  Is that too much to hope for with LEGO's current evolution of this technology?  This seems like a normal thing to expect for something that uses Bluetooth, but the review above makes me doubt that applies to LEGO. Has anyone tried this?

As far as I know, this is not possible using the current stock firmware. The battery box can only pair with one device. The UI on the battery box is a single button, and for simplicity the device is either in a mode where it is looking for a device to pair with (flashing light) or already paired (solid light). There isn't a way to pair it with another device once it is already paired, and pressing the button while paired cancels the current pairing.

I'm hoping to put a train in my office before Christmas and it would
be great if multiple people could install the app and change the
speed.

There are ways to allow multiple people to control a device, but it will likely require a bit of software development.
Update
My students and I have been working on a possible solution to this problem that I wanted to share. We've created an open source project for the Raspberry Pi called twitch-powered-up that allows a LEGO model to be streamed from a webcam and controlled via simple natural language commands on Twitch chat. Here's the basic idea:


Which old Technic set included large yellow motor? I am trying to find the number or some other identity of a Technic set I remember owning as a child (so it was probably bought in the 1985-1995 year range, more likely in the 80's half of it). Among lots of other (mainly yellow) bricks, it included a large yellow motor. By my recolleciton, the motor was 4 studs wide, 3 or 4 bricks high and I guess 8-12 studs long. If I recall right, it looked something like this from the side:

 XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXX
 XXXXXXXXXX

The motorised axle was coming out from the side(s). It was very similar to this motor, but in yellow.

It came with a black control box (most likely this one) which contained the batteries and had a forward/off/backward lever. The control box and motor would be connected through normal Technic power connectors.

There was no one primary thing to be built from the set (it was not e.g. "a car set"), the instruction booklet came with several different designs. I seem to remember that some of them were only shown as final images, not as step-by-step instructions, but I'm not too sure on that. One of the things shown as buildable from the set was some kind of factory or industry mill plant.

I tried searching BrickLink for such a yellow motor, but without success. I also looked through all the Technic sets there, also no luck. The same with browsing Technic sets from the relevant era on BrickSet. Can someone help put a number or some other info on that set for me?

I actually managed to find the exact set while refining the question. It's set 744, released in 1980.

Here are the reasons why the research I did prior to writing the question didn't lead anywhere:

The yellow motor does not show up when searching parts on BrickLink. It's probably because on the list of set 744 parts, it has a note saying "Part colour code missing."
While the set contains lots of gears and axles, bricks and plates with holes, a motor, etc., it's not a Technic set, but a Universal Building set, so it doesn't appear when searching/browsing Technic.

What eventually led me to the correct set was focusing not on the motor (which I had previously considered the most unique part), but on the control box. Listing all sets where that one appeared also showed 744.


What kind of mat do you use for running Mindstorm EV3? Turning EV3 precisely has been a problem. Do you use a certain mat for running EV3 on? Can you tell me what material I need to get the mat printed?

Mats are sometimes used with Mindstorms to create line following bots or for defining more complex tasks.

I can't give great advice on printing a mat for EV3, as I've never done this, but I would imagine that you'd want to be able to print on a large, fairly stiff piece of paper or cardboard. If you're just trying to create a basic line for your robot to follow, you can use a piece of posterboard and then add a line with black tape, markers, paint, etc.

There are several different mats that LEGO has made available for Mindstorms over the years:

https://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?pg=1&catString=246&catType=P&v=1

I believe the most recent is actually the box sleeve in the EV3 kit:

You might want to just purchase one of the officially released mats.


Where can I find a LEGO tube piece that is ridged on the outside I have tried Amazon and had no luck.

Try BrickLink, a site which can solve all of your lego needs. It's pretty useful and relatively easy to navigate. Takes a while to get used to, but it's personally my favorite third-party lego site out there.
Here are a couple screenshots of some of the items in the 'hose' categories. You can buy any item that has been listed by any of the thousands of sellers on the site! It's much better than Amazon, eBay, or LEGO.com/pickabrick in terms of variety, price, and convenience.


What is the bley (blay) color? I keep reading on various lego web sites about an elusive brick color called "bley" or "blay".
What is it and what is the story behind this?

Around 2004 (if I remember correctly) LEGO changed the grey and dark grey colors. The colors before the change were the original grey colors which were in use from their introduction. They were somewhat warmer than the colors today, which was perceived as looking faded, though it had nothing to do with aging. Part of the problem was that the competition (Megabloks) was using more blueish greys, which made the LEGO greys look old.

The newer colors have a colder, blueish tone, and were widely disliked in the AFOL community, because most of the time they look awful if used together with the existing old grey pieces. Depending on the lighting it can also be quite hard to tell old and new greys apart.

Hence the term "bley" is used as a name for the new blueish grey.

 BrickShelf


Missing instructions I have the set 6983 Ice Station Odyssey from when my husband was a kid. Anyone have instructions for it? They seem to have been misplaced. I couldn’t find any online anywhere so I thought I would check here.

Unfortunately, LEGO does not offer instructions for this set on their website. Fortunately, there are scanned versions you can find on letsbuilditagain.com or brickinstructions.com


Anyone know the identity of this set? Came in a single unnumbered bag with standard 2011 markings.

Based on the Tan Window 1 x 2 x 2 2/3 with Rounded Top
and the 4 Red Brick, Modified 1 x 2 x 1 1/3 with Curved Top

This is from 10696-1: Medium Creative Brick Box


Non-standard diameter pole - reinforcing a repair I have (or rather my daughter has) a Fabuland umbrella which has been snapped off where it meets the base (probably over 30 years ago when  her mum was a child).

I've seen Can I repair a broken LEGO brick with glue?, but in the best case the joint could only be as strong as the original plastic, and this is a weak spot where small hands are likely to use the pole as a lever (the base is an unusual design of slots, just visible in the BrickLink picture, and is a rather tight fit).  So I thought I'd reinforce it, perhaps by gluing something like Brick, Round 2 x 2 with Axle Hole as the axle hole will also take a normal flagpole (3.18mm), but the umbrella pole is a little larger.  Replacements are several pounds, and some of those are even broken in the same way.

Is there a slightly larger standard I don't know about - or would I be reduce to getting out the drill to make a reinforced version?

One option might be to make yourself an ABS slurry by dissolving a sacrificial part of the desired color in Acetone:

This should be able to bond chemically with the ABS parts for a strong connection, and you'll have extra plastic material to work with, so you should even be able to make it stronger than the original design by building up the area slightly if desired.

You might want to practice on some other broken parts first to make sure that this works the way you expect.


Actuator availability? Is it true that there is no way to purchase any sort of Technic/PF/PU linear actuator directly from Lego at this time? The current giant Liebherr excavator seems to include #40918, a part which was only introduced last year, but they can't be bought individually on the store, Pick-a-Brick or the Education site. Is this true, or am I missing something?

I know that they are available on eBay and other secondary market sites, but it seems odd that they cannot be bought directly.

Short answer: Yes.

Long answer:

Technically linear actuators are not part of PF/PU system, so they are treated as generic part. S@H don't sell individual parts apart from PF/PU elements. Pick-a-Brick (PAB) has very limited part selection and linear actuators are never available there as well. I also haven't seen LEGO Education selling any actuators, only PF/PU elements. This brings us to the only possible place - Bricks'n'Pieces (B'n'P). Here you can usually buy most of individual parts from recently produced sets. However some parts are never listed for sale. These are either absent or have a note suggesting that piece cannot be bought this way (for example, PF/PU items). I remember linear actuators being in this grey area so I cannot tell if actuator you are interested in (even though I'm interested in new Technic elements I didn't pay much attention to this piece) was available for sale at any point. Missing/broken parts option, which is similar to B'n'P, on LEGO Service webpage actually has Large Actuator on the list and can be requested if your is broken or missing, obviously. So it may be possible that this item could be purchased on B'n'P after all. However this cannot be confirmed by the time of this answer as Bricks'n'Pieces is unavailable due to COVID-19.

If you really need the piece - you already found it on secondary market. There is nothing really against using it as prices are often lower than LEGO B'n'P offers. Shipping is also quicker than LEGO could offer.


Mindstorms, black orphaned data wires I've just copied a loop element, which had a data wire going into it.

The internal wires (from the old external data wire) are now black, and I cannot delete them, or re-link them to a new external data wire.

They just don't seem to be selectable any more.

Can anybody give me an clues how I can do anything with them?

It looks like you have discovered a bug. You should report it using Help > Give Feedback.

For working around the problem, the only thing I know to do is to cut the blocks with the black wires and then paste them back in. This seems to get rid of the black wires.


Access hatch in a wall? Working on a 10 stud by 10 stud Square bell tower for my annual project. Need to create a access panel/door. Any tricks that can be done so it's hidden or at least not easily noticed?

I need to hide a small MP3 player and speaker inside and need access to the player to turn it on and off.

I would suggest not using hinges of any kind, but just making a plain panel with a tile on top, resting on a tile in the wall. For an example from LEGO itself, have a look at booklet 2 of the instructions for set 7094. Notice they use panels instead of flat tiles which is even less visible from the outside (although they did it not for that reason but to make sure it was easier to remove).

In your case, you'll want to block it from behind (with slopes at each corner for example) as you don't want it to go into the structure.

To remove it, you'll either need to draw it by some protruding fixture if you can fit one in, or push it from the inside by another mechanism (for example, pushing on something on the top would activate a lever which would push the wall)


Mid-sized black plate options I'm looking for a mid-sized (16x16, 20x20 ish) black plate for mounting on a wall. It can be a regular plate or baseplate since what I am mounting it on is not Lego and it doesn't need to fit into studs underneath.

So far I have only found this piece but no-one seems to sell it in black

http://alpha.bricklink.com/pages/clone/catalogitem.page?P=91405

Are there other pieces I should consider?

You can piece together a 16x16 black plate in two layers, by making a base layer consisting of 3867 - Baseplate 16 x 16 (not available in black, but Dark Bluish Gray is a good option and given the minimal thickness it won't show)

and then putting 4 of 41539 - Plate 8 x 8 in Black on top side-by-side.


How do I determine which set number from a poly bag I have a poly bag. It is number two in a set. Underneath the number is 342R7. The set is from 2015. The primary colors are burnt red, yellow, and gray.

This bag is from 60150-1: Pizza Van

Based on:

6015347: Plate 3X3 in Medium Stone Grey
4618986: Plate 2X6 in New Dark Red
And the yellow parts

According the instructions bag two is for the van


No software with the EV3 robot? We bought EV3 robot but it looks like there is no software and we have to pay an additional $99 for the EV3 software. Is this true?

For the retail version, the link is: https://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/downloads and for the education version, the link is: https://education.lego.com/en-us/educationdownloads/freeproductspage


Trying to work out where a 'spare' part goes on Wall-E (21303) I've built a wall-e (set number 21303). This is the corrected version - and I've found, in addition to the 'obvious' spares, like 1x1 flats and round antennae, I have a 4x4 dark grey (4243831) left over. I can't work out where it goes

Image taken from google images, but its the same part

The only place where I can find one in the instructions in in step 65/page 54, and the parts count in instructions confirm there are two. The set's built and I don't notice any cosmetic or structural deficiencies in the design, but its bothering me

I've checked through the instruction manual a few times, focusing on the main body (since the arms, and head is paired parts, and there's no space on the neck for a 4x4)

What am I missing?

One is used in step 54 on page 49 and another one in step 65 on page 58. It's likely you missed the one from step 65 as it is just reinforcing the "flap" on the front of Wall-E - not a structural component.


Unidenitified LEGO set Can anyone assist me to identify this set of LEGO. It's probably from between three to eight years old. I found the pieces but no instructions. I'm not sure if the orange pieces in the bottom right hand corner belong to the set or not.

I don't think all the pieces are from one set. You have definitely got parts of the 8015 Assassin Droid Battle Pack in there (the grey and white tipped parts on the purple curved slope pieces are for sure from that set).

But you seem to be missing most of the droids (only two droid bodies and a few arms, no heads). The two Star Wars figures are from another set - the one with the black hands appears to be minifig number sw201 - Clone Trooper Clone Wars, but since minifigs can be recombined this might not be correct.

Both Stormtrooper minifigs seem to have the same torso (at least from what I can make out from the photo) but one of them has yellow hands - I cannot find such a stormtrooper on BrickLink nor a set that has both black AND yellow handed stormtroopers.

The cupola shaped bowl is from 8086 Droid Tri-Fighter (and the part is unique to this set). This is also likely where the chain of bricks on the top comes from - it forms the arch of the Tri-Fighter. The propeller-blades are part of the nose of this model.


Is this a LEGO part? It looks very similar to a technic axle connector 2x3 with ball socket I recently bought a bag of random LEGO pieces which contained some non-LEGO pieces. This piece looks a lot like a Technic axle connector 2x3 with ball socket (32174 / 60176 / 93571 / 89652) but not quite the same as any of the pictures I found.
The main differences are the side isn't smooth but rather has two rectangular indentations (see picture 1) and the loops at the bottom have gaps in them (picture 2). The plastic doesn't show any signs that it has been snapped so I assume it was made like this.
I can't find any writing etched/stamped on it.
Does anyone know if this is a real LEGO piece and what its part number is if it is?
Thank you :)
Picture 1

Picture 2

This is a non-LEGO piece since none of the LEGO parts have gaps as seen in second picture.
One thing to note. Actual LEGO elements (depends on the version of Technic, Axle Connector 2 x 3 with Ball Socket) tend to crack right where the gap is on this clone element.


What is the "LEGO Master Builder Academy"? At a LEGO store I saw a box advertising the "LEGO Master Builder Academy". It came with a book and a code for online registration, and mentioned a subscription fee.

What is this "Academy"? What do I get with the set? How much does it cost?

Basically, it's a program in which LEGO Master Builders share and impart their LEGO building knowledge to members. If you remember LEGO BrickMaster, MBA is sort of a successor to that.

There's a Guide section in the LEGO MBA site that answers your questions. Specifically, from What is LEGO MBA?:

What is this "Academy"?

  LEGO Master Builder Academy is an in-home and online experience in which real LEGO Master Builders share the tips and techniques of basic through advanced building, creativity and design with kids (ages 8 or older) who want to become better builders.

What do I get with the set?

  The first annual subscription includes LEGO MBA kits 2-6, with one kit delivered every 2 months, plus unlimited access to the members-only LEGOmba.com website! Each LEGO MBA kit includes an 84-page Designer Handbook teaching LEGO Master Builder techniques, plus articles, building instructions full of Master Builder tips, LEGO bricks to create 3 new models (one at a time), and exclusive minifigures or accessories.

How much does it cost?

  The subscription, which includes kits 2-6, is $69.99 and available for purchase online or by phone.

This "about" page and the rest of the site should answer some other questions you might have.


Sensor usage during manual control I created a design challenge where students will use their touch sensor and ev3 brick to play a game of freeze tag.  Is it possible to have a program where they can manually control their robot via smart phone app, and when another robot presses another robots' touch sensor, they become disabled and play a noise warning they are turning off and done playing, being "Frozen".

The EV3-G programming language has mailbox blocks where it can receive bluetooth messages. You could write a program that until the touch sensor is pressed keeps processing the messages to control the robot.
The hard part here will be writing an app for the smartphone that sends the messages, however the BT protocol EV3 uses is documented and apps are already available implementing the messaging system, e.g. in C# here: https://github.com/jovabel/EV3Messenger
There's also the lego commander app, but I think the instructions sent by it bypass any program running on the EV3 brick, or rather they run in parallel so I'm inclined to think that the only solution is to write your own smartphone app...


Exist some piece official or unofficial of Lego with the names of the minifigures? I'm looking for a brick like this:

Or similar with the name of the minifigures from the saga star wars, i want it for my minifigures collection. Exist some like this or an unofficial option?

That part is Tile 4x4 with studs on edge. It's available in many colours but there are only a small number of printed variants. Rebrickable shows 27 printed variants, 12 of which are Star Wars prints like the one in your question.

I'm not aware of any third-part labels or stickers but you could probably print your own if you're handy with Photoshop or the like. The black unprinted version of that part is very cheap on Bricklink.


How to disassemble this small Technic turntable, combination of parts 99009 and 99010? How should I non-destructively disassemble the following parts, when they are newly assembled?

99009 Light Bluish Gray Technic Turntable Small Bottom

99010 Black Technic Turntable Small Top

These parts do not come apart. They are designed to be clicked into place and then remain connected. I have not found nor heard of a way that these can be separated without damaging the plastic and hence the functioning of the part.

The assembled component has part number 99009c01 - Technic Turntable Small, Complete Assembly with Black Outside Gear Section.


Harley Davidson chain belt running jolty I am building the Harley Davidson Fat Boy from Creator Expert (10269) and when installing the chain belt that connects the engine gears to the rear wheel I noticed that it runs quite jolty, with the chain links feelably and hearably clicking onto the gear when running over it. It all feels like it doesn't quite fit and run as smoothly as it should.

However, I don't have much experience with chain belts in technic constructions, so I don't know if this is maybe a general shortcoming of LEGO or if I just made a mistake somewhere. I did closely follow the building instructions of course and I also checked that I use exactly the 43 chain links mentioned as well as aligned the chain in the direction depicted. Or maybe it has to run this way and this is an intended effect for a "rougher" or more pulpable engine feeling?

So I'm basically just trying to check if I built it correctly and it does run kind of jolty or if it has to run smoothly and I made a mistake somewhere.

Okay, it seems I indeed made a mistake during building, which I solved afterwards:

When assembling the rear mudguard, I noticed that the rear wheel had quite a bit more variability in its sideways adjustment and was quite a bit off center, specifically too far to the left. This caused the chain belt to either run slightly skewed or have friction on some part of the frame. When I adjusted the wheel more towards the center, it ran a lot smoother.

However, this was only part of the problem. The actual mistake I only realized at the end when seeing a little yellow half-stud wide technic bush, which I missed in instruction step 25 already, where it was placed under the gear on which the chain runs and is supposed to space it further away from the frame. Fortunately I was able to repair that without dismantling the entire thing.


Is there a convention for part and/or set numbers? Is there any rhyme or reason to the way LEGO part are named? Failing that, is there any other sort of taxonomy that we can use to find specific parts?

Along the same lines, my impression is that smaller sets have larger numbers -- is there any truth to that? Is there anything that we can discern this from either part or set numbers?

Finally, where can I look up all these numbers?

Usually, the LEGO group doesn't seem to have much organisation, at least in the past. That's why you can find sets with two different numbers, or two different sets with the same number.

Now the keyword here is seem, as I suppose there was some logic to it even in the past.

But nowadays there is some logic, and even if not all of it is understandable, you can at least spot some key elements, such as:

When I was a kid and they started the 4 digits scheme, the first digit indicated the global theme pretty clearly. 8 was Technic, 6 was LEGOLAND, 77 were trains, and so on. At least for trains, they tended to use round numbers for bigger sets, ending in 0 or 5.
Now, the first digit seems to have lost its significance, and sets in the same theme are  usually attributed a range of numbers, with the small set getting the lowest number. It's not an absolute rule, and I guess it depends on availability or other factors.
Sets in the 10000 range are LEGO shop exclusives. Usually, you will usually only find them on Shop@Home or in LEGO retail outlets, but not in regular toy stores.
Sets in the 20000 range were used for the BrickMaster series, with each set accompanying a BrickMaster issue.
Sets in the 20200 range will seemingly be used by the "LEGO Master Builder Academy" sets
Sets in the 21000 range are architecture sets.
Sets in the 30000 range are usually small promotional polybags

In addition, there are 7-digits numbers floating around which are probably some other form of internal numbers. For specific things without a set number, that's usually the only thing you'll find.

For parts, you have to distinguish design ID (identifying a specific mold, regardless of color) and element ID (identifies a unique design/color combination).

I don't know how design IDs were or are attributed, but it seems there is now some sequential logic behind it. Note that changes in design which don't affect the functionality (hollow bars at the bottom of 1x bricks, for example) don't usually lead to a new design number (while peeron will append an "a", "b", ... to indicate the version, LEGO doesn't do that internally).

Element IDs used to be a juxtaposition of design ID and color ID, so a Black (26) 2x4 brick (3001) would be simply 300126. These numbers are still around for parts which existed when that scheme was used. 300126 is still the element ID of a black 2x4 brick.

However, at some point (not sure when), they changed this to use a 7-digit number for the element ID, which doesn't have a relation to the design ID or color any longer. These seem to be sequentially attributed, and it could be that they share the same sequence as internal set numbers (but that's just a guess, really). There are also numbers for individual instruction booklets, which ROSCO used to scan for directly on the LEGO site.

As for where to find these, that's more difficult. You'll notice I link a lot to BrickSet, that's because I feel they do a fantastic job of cataloguing sets. Peeron has a good database too, but it's usually slower.

For parts, you'll need to go to Peeron, or BrickLink, but they sometimes differ in their numbering when the official number of a part isn't known. Note that they usually use design IDs and not element IDs, although there is some work in progress regarding that.

Of course, while internal LEGO aren't exactly public, you can find design IDs embossed in elements, and element IDs in the back of all instruction leaflets. Also, the online pick-a-brick and the customer service "replacement part" function let you browse recent sets and see what the design and element IDs are for given elements.


What is the function of Duplo part# 38507 RAIL ACCESSORY, NO. 4 Can someone explain to me what 38507: RAIL ACCESSORY, NO. 4 (#6225519) is for? I've got this in the new  Duplo Train accessory #10882 and can't figure out what it does :S

It's an interactive piece that makes the train perform a cool(ish) function when it rolls over it.

The train has a sensor on the bottom that reads the piece and does the deed.

When the train reads this red one... it stops moving, which is sorta coolish  for a jealous older sibling maybe ;).

Watch 3 videos explaining all the cool possibilities.  (1), (2), (3).


What is the LEGO code for this part used as a camcorder? Can anyone help me ID this part for my son? I think it comes from when I was a kid in the 80s-90s. I THINK that it had a VHS-type piece tacked to its side to be a camcorder, but don't quote me on that.

That's Minifigure, Utensil Camera with Side Sight (Space Gun). Part number is 4360.

As name suggest it was used both as a camera as well as a space gun.
Tile 1 x 2 with Groove with Black Tape Reels Pattern or "VHS" tape was commonly used with piece above in "camera" setup.


How can I upgrade the firmware of an RCX 1.0 to an RCX 2.0? I have an RCX 1.0 set from 1998 and I would like to upgrade the RCX 1.0 to RCX 2.0.  Can this be done? Exactly how would I obtain a firmware file and load it?  I do have access to the Bricxx Command Center, if required.

The hardware of RCX 2.0 is identical to 1.5, and the only difference between these two and version 1.0 is the charging port which had been removed. So they're compatible and you can indeed use a newer firmware on an older brick.

You'll need the Mindstorms 2.5 SDK, which contains the latest official firmware. It's probably not on the LEGO site any more, but Philo has saved it for posterity on his site.

You may also want to use a compatible, but faster, firwmare from Dick Swan, you'll find it archived here.

As for uploading it to the RCX brick, I think there's indeed an option for it in BrickCC but I'm not too sure where, so I can't help much there. It's probably in the documentation somewhere.


LEGO bricks getting brittle, easily breaking. Insight needed I was disassembling my LEGO set 7674. It is not new but certainly not old. It was built once. Was kept in a sealed box. No direct sunlight. In fact no light at all. Perfect storage conditions. Room temperature and humidity. While disassembling one of the parts broke in my hand twice!!! It fell apart.

First time this happens. I have thousands of sets. Have sets from the 70's and also new ones. Never saw this happen.

Any ideas?

For whatever reason, several Lego sets from 2008 are known to have had this issue. The trouble seems to be part specific. For example, the Lego Bionicle Karda Nui set 8686 Lewa Nuva that contained four Technic Beam 5 with Two Ball Sockets in FabuLime (Lego part number 4539223) often cracked upon initial assembly or disassembly. Replacement parts obtained directly from Lego exhibited the same issue.

Because of the consistent high quality of Lego manufacturing, on the rare occasion that we find a bad part, we tend to blame ourselves for the part failure. Logically, if the trouble is exhibited across the entire set (example: brittle parts) then it is probably safe to assume environmental issues like exposure to sunlight or temperature extremes. However, if the problem is only exhibited in a single piece handled with proper care, it is reasonable to assume manufacturing issues.

In my experience, Lego warranty part replacement services will never admit to or discuss known issues with Lego sets or parts. It must be against company policy. However, much to their credit, they will replace any part they have in inventory, no questions asked. So, if you have an issue like this again, contact them immediately. The catch is 'parts they have in inventory'. For older sets they might not have your part, so you would have to use a service like BrickLink.

I have thousands of Lego sets. Rarely, I have found a malformed or missing piece. The odd brittle piece problem seems to be confined to several 2008 sets. Maybe Lego was experimenting with new pigments, ABS formulations, or manufacturing processes that year?


Why was monorail offered the way it was? There have only been 3 + 2 official monorail sets by Lego. Three monorails:

(Space, Futuron) Monorail Transport System
(Town, airport) Airport Shuttle
(Space, Unitron) Monorail Transport Base

And two boxes of extra tracks:

an older, Space-themed one
a newer, town-themed one

(For the track boxes, the theme is mainly influenced by the monorail set they were released together with. The tracks do not have anything that makes them special for one theme or another.)

Other than these, a couple of single replacement parts could be ordered, as well.

The above three monorail sets have several features in common:

They contain a rather long (especially the Airport Shuttle, but also the Unitron monorail) track.
They contain a motorized train.
They contain two full-fledged stations.
In the case of the Space monorails, they even contain an extra vehicle.

As a result, all three sets were among the biggest and thus probably most expensive ones in their respective theme.

This always struck me as odd: When I was a kid, I loved the Airport Shuttle, but I was unable to buy an extra station or train, because there simply wasn't any. Likewise, the Airport Shuttle was the only monorail set I happened to get1 - and I presume there are plenty of children who would have liked some monorail, but never had a chance to get any of these really huge sets due to their sheer price.

In particular, I contrast this with Lego trains, which have always been offered in quite a different way:

There have been train sets of different sizes, in particular "starter sets" that only comprised a small oval of tracks and a short train.
Train sets that brought trains would usually only include a rather minimalist station (for passenger trains, often just a simple platform that did not even span the entire length of the train), thereby keeping set size a bit down.
Single train cars and engines were offered as separate sets.
Stations of different sizes were offered as separate sets.
At least in earlier years, there were also completely unmotorized trains as an alternative to the motorized ones, which further helped reduce the set price.

Hence, I am interested in the following: Is there any knowledge on why TLC decided to use a different pattern for monorail sets, by only offering very few, very big sets without any real extension sets (save for tracks)?

1: Although, I admit, this wasn't entirely the fault of the effect I focus in this question. The Futuron monorail was simply a tad too early and I "missed out" while it was still available, whereas I considered attempting to get the Unitron monorail, but ultimately did not like the set as it was designed - what's the purpose of that train (maybe that makes for a good separate question), transport its own cockpits? That seemed pointless, so I discarded the idea, hoping for the next monorail set ... that never came ...

Why design the core monorail hardware this way?

This is hard to answer without a degree of speculation, but I assume that the core reason behind the decision to design the monorail this way likely came down to cost and engineering challenges. TLG wanted to allow for a monorail train to be able to navigate inclines effectively. This required:

A cog system
An additional degree of freedom between cars compared to trains (vertical movement as well as lateral)
An additional degree of freedom between wheel sets and cars
More specific power to weight requirements to maintain speed on inclines

Ultimately, TLG landed on the fairly rigid system of a central motor and couplings that create the necessary degrees of freedom with a car on either side. This likely required the smallest number of new parts and showed implicitly that the monorail motor isn't designed and tested to work well pulling more than two cars.

Why offer only large sets and not just a basic oval?

The core features of the monorail system that differentiate it from the regular trains of the era became:

Inclined and elevated track
Stopping at particular track segments rather than being controlled remotely

Given these features, it makes sense that any complete monorail set would have at minimum:

Elevated track including ramp sections
At least 2 monoswitches. Technically, you could just have one, but that would really limit play value since the train wouldn't have any destination other than its starting point
A point of interest at the monoswitches for play value

Unless these features are included, the set might as well just be a regular train set. While you are correct that the later sets were more complicated, 6990 was basically just an oval of track with a pair of ramps and two monoswitches. I believe it included just two straight track sections in addition to these.

Given the inflexibility of the overall system (e.g. you can't just add one more car), TLG decided to include both cars in each complete monorail set and not offer any as add-on sets.

Comparison to 9V train sets

While there were many small train-themed sets in this time period, I'm not aware of low-cost starter sets. You could certainly buy a pack of 9V curved rails and a motor and work your way up from there, but the three complete sets released between 1989 and 1994 were actually fairly expensive:

1991 Metroliner (4558) - $149
1991 Load and Haul Railroad (4563) - $120
1994 Freight Rail Runner (4564) - $134

Compare these to the complete monorail sets of the same period:

1989 Monorail Transport System (6990) - $155
1994 Monorail Transport Base (6991) - $178
1990 Airport Shuttle (6399) - $140

The difference in price between the cheapest monorail and train set from the era is only $20.

Why no add-on sets?

  When I was a kid, I loved the Airport Shuttle, but I was unable to buy
  an extra station or train, because there simply wasn't any.

While there weren't sets that included additional cars in the same way as regular trains, the monorail sets were generally part of larger themes that had additional sets available and were marketed together. For example, there were aircraft of different sizes and an airport marketed alongside Airport Shuttle:

The Futuron theme had many sets available as well, including another base:

Just in case my answer didn't make this clear, I really like the monorail theme. However, while being great collectors items, I believe that the monorail theme is generally considered to be a business failure. Offering two completely separate train systems at the same time with slightly different features ultimately didn't pan out well for a lot of the reasons that you cited.


What tool can get two 1x2 plates apart without damaging them? Teeth and pliers tend to leave unsightly marks on the bricks.

Fingernails don't work too well.

What tool do you recommend to separate them?

You could try the great brick separator. Designed for this specific purpose, it's probably your best bet.


Where to find this green transparent brick? Where can I find this lego brick?

I have one but I want some more of them for a project.

Your brick appears to be trans-neon-green, an extremely rare color for 2x4 bricks. It never appeared in any set and it is only traded between collectors. You would be paying over $50 for a brick like that if you are lucky enough to find it. It would probably be best to pick another color, or another brick-size for your project. Trans-neon-green also comes in 1x2 size, which is more readily available.


Which LEGO AT-RT is this? I made a LEGO AT-RT with the help of a video but I can't find it now. It looks like a clone scout walker but green and a bit different in design. I loved that AT-RT. I hope someone can help me find it. The legs look like the legs on the LEGO 75002 Walker:

A quick search found these two video's of AT-RT's in green

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0sFAreiaPc

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbc_k_GwfRw

this AT-RT is also very nice and greenish (no video)

https://www.flickr.com/photos/legoarts/4917477074/in/photostream/


Parts/Step not fitting ( technic / gear not aligning) working on Lego Technic; Recovery truck.
Reached Step 27(book 1)....fixing the rope spool. and found that the white gear wheel is not fitting in. i.e., i have the white gear fixed on the shaft with the spool, but when i try to fit it on the frame, it does not fit in, if i force it in, it goes on a angle.
have relooked at the previous steps and can't see any part missed out or put in wrongly.

Any ideas what i am doing wrong?
isn't the white gear wheel supposed to align with the small black gear wheel?

Problem solved. I had a part wrongly fitted.
both parts look similar ( black gear wheel)...one(part#6012451) is smaller that other(part #4177431).
back on track now. .. :-)


Identify minifigure torso - yellow with blue "N" on front I've got a yellow torso (with yellow arms). The front (I believe) has a large blue letter 'N' with a orange drop shadow. Otherwise the torso is plain.

I've tried loads of search terms on bricklink to no avail, but sometimes the description on bricklink is bit hard to predict...

i think you mean this part

Yellow Torso Nesquik Bunny Large 'N' Pattern / Yellow Arms / Brown Hands

from  4051-1": Nesquick Rabbit

or
4049-1:Nesquick Rabbit Film Set


How to build an automatic Lego train system? I was wondering if anybody has ever tried using the IRLink NXT sensor to make an automated train system and if so, what kind of setup did you have to make it all work?

I have been working on a train station for a while now and would like to create an automated system that will stop the train inside the train station for a set amount of time (maybe 30 seconds). As of now, I had an idea to use the touch and IRLink NXT sensors to make the system work. When a train approaches the station it will somehow hit the touch sensor. Then the IRLink sensor will send a signal to the IR receiver stopping the train inside the station. Then after 30 seconds, the IRLink sensor will send another signal to the IR receiver which starts the train. This will be continuous as the train track setup, as of now, is in a loop connecting both ends of the train station. I would also apply the same system on the opposing tracks in the station.

Am I overlooking anything that might make this not work? Are there any better alternatives to the touch sensor? Does anybody have any ideas as to how to avoid a collision within the train station if two trains are approaching less than 30 seconds apart? And finally, are there any experienced NXT programmers that could give me some advice on the programming aspect of the system?

I like this system because the train does not need any positioning awareness on the track for it to stop within the station every time.

I think I'd use the ultrasound sensor instead of the touch sensor (or the brightness sensor with the light turned on in a dark tunnel). I haven't tried this but I'd worry about the touch sensor derailing or scratching the train. Otherwse, your system sounds pretty doable. The collision risk could be addressed by setting up the sensor a little further before the station and sending a stop signal to the second train if it triggers the sensor while the first train is still at the station.


Brick 2 x 2 cash register and tile 2 x 2 tape recorder sticker Recently after leaving my Dark Ages, I bought a bulk lot of LEGO and these parts with stickers were in it and were the only ones I couldn't find.

Is it possible to help? I used Image Search Options Firefox add-on but no luck.

Assuming these stickers are applied to the correct parts, you can search on Bricklink in the following categories: Slope, Decorated and Tile, Decorated (these links start at the pages where 2x2 slope and 2x2 tile first appear, respectively).

I didn't find anything looking like yours, which can mean one of three things:

I didn't look hard enough (there certainly are a lot of decorated 2x2 tiles)
These are not official LEGO stickers
There are official LEGO stickers but applied on wrong parts.

I'm leaning towards them not being official stickers, but there's no real way to be sure until we find where they are from.


Where can I download the LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 IDE? I want to see how well that IDE runs on my old Windows XP laptop.

I looked on www.lego.com, but it seems to all be documentation (downloads).

LEGO has made it possible to download a stand-alone installer for NXT-G 2.0. It's compatible with both Mac and Windows.

Alternatively, you can download a disc image of the NXT-G 2.0 CD.  The link contains instructions on how to use it (as it isn't as easy as downloading just an installer).


Can you identify this set that seems to be from LEGO Star Wars? Dark grey circle pieces and clear canopy? Can anyone help identify what set this is from please?

The curved roof tiles are a key to finding this set:

76003 - Superman: Battle of Smallville

It's missing a fair few pieces, but that's the core of the flyer:

The clone trooper and the gold chest are rogue parts here ;)


Going from LDraw/LeoCAD to Physical Set Once I've designed a MOC using either LDraw or LeoCAD where can I go to get the bricks I need to then build that set in the real world?

I've been poking around forums for an hour now trying to get to the answer and I must be missing something.

Any advice would be helpful, thanks.

Welcome to BricksSE!  No question is silly (Maybe duplicitous), but never silly.

Go to Bricklink.com
Create an Account.
Go to "Want" drop down menu.
Click "Wanted List".
Look for the blue box that says "+ Created Wanted List".
Important: Create and give the new list a meaningful name other than
"default" or all future uploads will be merged into one list named "default" (very annoying).
Go back to the "Want" drop down menu and click on "upload". You'll get the screeny below.
Find your build's file location.  Make sure your file is a compatible upload type.
Click, Hold, Drag, and Drop your file onto the upload screen.
Upload your pieces to the meaningful Wanted List name you've created.

The site fills in the magic of getting you connected to the people who'd like to sell you your parts.

Note the condition of each part after you upload can be new, used or any.

If you're buying Tiles, always buy them new.  Scratched Tiles always look bad.

For any type of brick, always buy these colors new too:  White, Yellow, Blue, Light gray.  They tend to also make your final build look... worn if bought mixed or used.


How many themes have been released by LEGO? I would like to know the various themes, current & discontinued, that LEGO has released in brick/element form.

In much the same way we had with the question on categorising bricks, I think this is something better handled by other sites out there:

BrickLink's list of Set Categories, or from their main catalogue page you can see a dropdown with themes listed.
Peeron's Theme Tree starts here, with the core LEGO System themes starting here.
BrickSet also has a list of themes, as well as the Theme Browser which lists the most popular on the page, and the complete set in a dropdown.


How to remove printed decoration This is probably heresy, but how can I remove the printed decoration on a brick? I managed to buy a large number of bricks with an eye decoration cheap and found that rubbing a long time with isopropanol removed the decoration but also scratched the surface. Is there a readily-available solvent that can dissolve decorations without needing rubbing, or otherwise damaging the brick?

Brasso (yes, the metal polish) works wonders as far as removing print. Yes, you still have to rub it, but it won't damage or scratch the surface and it works fast. Just use a soft cloth, pour some Brasso on it and wipe away the print.

Also, pure Eucalyptus Oil works really well. It requires a bit of soaking, but it will remove the print wonderfully and it smells good to - unlike Brasso. Saturate a piece of cotton in Eucalyptus Oil, place it on the printed surface, let it sit for a few minutes, then wipe away the print. It may require a bit of rubbing too, but usually not much.

Hope this helps!...(c;


What sets are these pieces from, rock platforms and walls with large cannons I think I have a couple of sets I'm trying to put together for my son that were my brother's when he was young. Probably from around year 2010 or earlier. Looks like a black castle or dungeon. Also with gargoyles and broken wire cells. Also have large rock platforms and rock walls. Please help. I've searched and can't even find the pieces online.

It looks like you have some Mega Bloks sets.

I can't say for sure if these are sets you have, but I found similar pieces in these sets:

Dragons Battle Gate

Portal of Fire

I don't know of any resources for non-LEGO instructions.


Why I get this message saying "unable to compile some documents for deployment ev3"? I have a LEGO Mindstorms EV3 program that I was working on for a long time but recently and suddenly when I try to download the program the software displays the following message:

  "unable to compile some documents for deployment"

Taking into consideration that there are no missing blocks and the sensors ports are adjusted correctly and checked many times. What is the main cause of this and how can this be fixed?

Is that the whole error message or are there more lines to it?
You could always try copying and pasting your project pieces into a new project, maybe the project file itself got corrupted in some way.
It also might be possible that some of your custom blocks have errors in them.
If none of these work for you, then try to isolate the source of the error - hold Ctrl and click on parts of the program, then press Run Selected (looks like play sign with parentheses) to check if the error is still there. If the error goes away after testing a specific block, then it is the source of the error, therefore you should look more closely to find the issue.


What electronics are inside the LEGO Powered Up hub? I'm curious what the internals of the new Powered Up hub look like? What components are inside?

The bulk of the space inside the Powered Up hub is consumed by the housing for the 6 AAA batteries. A small portion of the top of the hub contains the main printed circuit board. Here's how it looks removed from the hub:

And here's another shot showing the back:

The main chip is very similar to the one used in Boost. It uses an STM32F030 from ST Microelectronics. This includes a 32 bit ARM Cortex-M0 clocked at 48Mhz.

For Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication, the Powered Up hub uses a CC2640 from Texas Instruments.

The largest chip on the underside of the board is an LB1836. I haven't done any testing on the traces, but that part is a dual-channel stepper motor driver and is placed near the output ports, so it is almost certainly used to drive the output current to servo motors. The front side includes a pair of 74HC2G125DP chips near the output ports. These are likely used select which CPU pin the output pin is connected to.


Why doesn't my LEGO Micropython remote control program work? I am writing an EV3 micropython program meant to test my remote, but it does not work. When I run it, I see no errors at all. Instead, I just see a "play" symbol and the program continuously runs. If I press any buttons on my remote control, nothing at all happens. The code is below:
#!/usr/bin/env pybricks-micropython
from pybricks.hubs import EV3Brick
from pybricks.ev3devices import (Motor, TouchSensor, ColorSensor,
                                 InfraredSensor, UltrasonicSensor, GyroSensor)
from pybricks.parameters import Port, Stop, Direction, Button, Color
from pybricks.tools import wait, StopWatch, DataLog
from pybricks.robotics import DriveBase
from pybricks.media.ev3dev import SoundFile, ImageFile

# This program requires LEGO EV3 MicroPython v2.0 or higher.
# Click "Open user guide" on the EV3 extension tab for more information.

# Create your objects here.
ev3 = EV3Brick()
ir = InfraredSensor(Port.S1)
# ONLY USE THIS ONE PROGRAM!!!
while True:
    if ir.buttons(1) == Button.BEACON:
        ev3.light.on(Color.RED)
    else:
        ev3.light.on(Color.GREEN)

Do you have any solutions to this problem? Thanks.

You can get community support for Pybricks at https://github.com/pybricks/support.
ir.buttons(1) returns a list of pressed buttons, so in this particular program
if ir.buttons(1) == Button.BEACON:

needs to be changed to
 if Button.BEACON in ir.buttons(1):

This will test if item is in list.


Why do two EV3 bricks have different power outputs? I have two identical box designs with EV3 bricks.  When I upload the same programs to both, one moves about twice as fast as the other.

Is there a reason that this might be happening?  Is there anything I can do to update it?

Some possible reasons:

A motor is defective
One of the brick has lesser battery charge
Firmware problem: make sure both bricks have latest firmware


How to speed up assembly for big LEGO technic sets (e.g. 42043 Mercedes-Benz Arocs) Is there any ways to help speed up the assembly process when building big LEGO Technic set such as the 42043 Mercedes-Benz Arocs?

Despite what it superficially looks like in (for example) Sariel's build videos, having a big pile of parts spread across the table is not the fastest way. Pour the contents of the smaller bags into containers (I use old plastic take-away containers). That way you are looking through a container of blue 3 long pins and red 2-long axles for a 2-long axle, rather than rummaging through a mound of everything. I tend to pour the black 2-long connector pins onto the build space because there are so many and that way they're close to the build, but everything else goes in a container.
A little time sorting will help a lot. Sort things like beams and large parts, but also axles if there's a lot of them. Having a row of beams sorted by size and getting a 9 long one is much faster and easier than rummaging and comparing randomly grabbed beams for length.
I find pulling out really large parts early makes things easier. Wheels/tyres, power functions, large panels etc. A stack of 5x11 panels is easier to deal with than when they're randomly in a container hiding little parts underneath them.
I find piling the parts to be used in a step up, then installing them avoids missing any. If you need to add 3 axles, but you have one left over at the "end" of that step... you missed one. This is less necessary with modern kits because you put so few parts in per step, but still occasionally helps. If you look at instructions for pre-2000 sets there's often 10 or more parts installed per step, which made this technique much more useful/necessary.
skim the online forums for build errata and common mistakes. For example, there were quite a number of people asking "the back wheels on my crawler turn one way, the ones on the front turn the other way" because they had mis-assembled one of the differentials. There's also a mistake possible in the core of the more recent wheeled loader, but the detail escapes me.
test mechanisms early and often. Spin every axle, make sure that it does spin and whatever the gears on it seem likely to mesh with, do.
read ahead. If you have an idea of what you're building you can often do things like making two mirrored sub-assemblies at the same time. But be careful, as you can easily end up building the wrong thing.
I build on a towel, rather than straight on the table. That way if I drop a pin or something small it doesn't bounce as much. Specifically, it doesn't end up on the floor under my desk.
have enough space. The days when you could build a set "in the box" just by opening the lid (or these days, cutting round the top) are gone. A towel is not a bad estimate of the space required for building something like the Arocs.

(the build videos are usually made by experienced builders who have excellent spatial memory, and they get things out without disturbing it, so parts stay more or less separated by bag despite being "in a pile". If you look for this it's often obvious. Especially If you're building with kids you'll generally have to struggle not to rummage until the pile is completely randomised)


Can you identify this Ninjago set from an assembly from it? We got handed down 5000 LEGO bricks with no instructions. This small section was already put together. Please help identify what set it's from. I think it's a plane.

Based on Plate 4X4 W/Angle in White
This is from
70009-1: Worriz's Combat Lair

And is part of the tail section of the helicopter


Need help identifying these 3 bags I got them as a gift but without the packaging.
I only have three bags numbered 1, 2 and 3.

Can someone help me with the series number? Much appreciated.

These bags are very likely the Cargo Truck (60020).


Which Harry Potter sets are these? A very generous person gifted many 20-year-old Harry Potter sets to my son. All but this set of pieces had instructions and boxes. I’m not sure what is left. For minifigs there’s Harry, Dumbledore, Draco, a suit of armor, and a Phoenix. Any ideas as to what these are?

On the left of the image, you have 4730-1 The Chamber of Secrets, and on the right of the image you have 4709-1 Hogwarts Castle
The Chamber of Secrets came with Minifigs of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Gilderoy Lockhart, Ginny Weasley, and Tom Riddle, as well as a Basilisk (giant snake) and Fawkes (Phoenix)
Hogwarts Castle came with Albus Dumbledore, Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Severus Snape, Rubeus Hagrid, Peeves, and a Knight.
While available as separate sets, they also came together in a "kit" with the addition of 4705-1 Snape's Classroom


Which set is this with a white truck and camper trailer? I’ve been searching online for quite some time to find this set number, name, and the instructions, but I’ve had no luck. I’ll be passing it on to a youngster in the family and after it’s promptly destroyed I was hoping to have the instructions for him. Thanks!

I believe this is the set:

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=6345-1

I searched on the vehicle roof piece, only 48 sets have it in white...

The instructions for this part of the set are pages 3 through 9 and are available on Peeron.


Any idea what this part is? I have bought a mixed bag, with not many booklets. This LEGO part has no part number, I'm trying to find it's set number.

This should be this part Windscreen 8 x 6 x 2 Curved
which appeared only in one set wit those stickers: Separatist Shuttle 8036


Can you identify this part? (Lego themselves couldn't) These pieces (3 shown) predate 1990. I don't know which set they belong to or what they were/can be used for. I asked Lego but they didn't know either.

This is most likely Scala Jewelry Plate, Modified 2 x 2 (Human Bracelet segment).

Quite easy for me to find on Bricklink's search engine. All I did was type "plate 2x2 modified." Bricklink tells it appears in four sets which look like bracelet kits, but as of now it's too late to use them as bracelets because Lego has already invented newer ones. You might as well use these as a bridge or something.


Where can I find LEGO Doctor Who sunglasses and guitar? Where can I find LEGO minifigure sunglasses in black and a rock band guitar for the new Doctor Who set? I have searched on ebay and LEGO.com.

Check out BrickLink. They have a whole range of Minifig heads with sunglasses - pick the one you like.

For guitars, this search shows what BrickLink has available. As an example:

Note that BrickLink is a marketplace - they give you access to thousands of individual sellers with their own stores. You might want to find a seller who has both items you like in stock, so you can purchase and only pay 1 shipping/handling fee.


Is using the term "Legos" always wrong? LEGO tries very hard to protect its brand name. There is a company policy to use the expression "Lego bricks" rather than "Legos."

I am fortunate to live close to a Legoland and a LEGO retail store. However, I occasionally hear an employee say "Legos," and of course the (American) public uses "Legos" all the time.

Is this incorrect? Are we just being lazy?

You can say "Legos" if you want to. But for The LEGO Group it's an important matter, because if people start saying "Legos" about similar products produced by other companies, LEGO might lose their brand if it is deemed genericized.


Where is an instruction sheet for Ausini set 25418 guitar? I bought an Ausini brick set AUS-25418, which is a guitar, however as cheap as it was the price, it didn't have the building instructions, at least it looks like no piece bags or stickers are missing.

Does anyone happened to have those around? I would really appreciate any picture you could send me.

Here is a picture of the model:

I Googled for them for some days and send messages to a distributor but never received a reply. I even tried to build it from pictures of the finished model with no success.

Attack on the Clones: The Purist Punch-Back!

I'm posting up these clone brick instructions at the very bottom below, but I'm going further by offering a free digital instruction file to build this model with official LEGO bricks through Bricklink.com instead.

This model has 3 pieces that aren't direct clones,so they don't exist in LEGO, but we can easily use alternative pieces and make their need a non-issue.

2 x 2 plate with Inverted Studs.
2 x 2 1/3 Curve Top Brick.
Roof Tile 2 x 2 x 2/3 Plate.

The only left over issues are the stickers (the "wow" text, blue flame effects), and the screen printed 2x4 black tile, which represents the six round yellow tuning pegs on the headstock of the guitar. I haven't looked for equivalent official LEGO ones, which may or may not exist.

I just used an alternate build to replace all printed art that came with this set.

These clone knock-off brands are straight up shameless.  It would be just to reverse their blasphemy, knock them off financially, and offer plans to their designs in official LEGO for free.

I wouldn't mind finding the most interesting/popular Clone Brands, and just go to town on them. I realize in most cases it will be more expensive, but at least there will be an alternative for the purist who might be less inclined to patronize these clone pirates.


Can I use a generic (non-Lego) transformer with a rechargable Power Functions battery? I've recently ordered a LEGO® 8878 Rechargeable Battery Box:

I was wondering if I really need to get the (rather expensive) LEGO® Power Functions Transformer or if I can substitute a (cheaper) generic one?

If a generic one will do, what specification does it need? Obviously it needs the right plug and rating for my local AC mains socket, and that I need 10V DC, but what about the size / polarity of the DC plug?

Yes, you can use another transformer, even if it's not recommended by LEGO and you do so at your own risk (which should be minimal if you pay attention to what you do).

The plug polarity is + in the center and - on the outside; it should be mentioned on the battery and the real transformer (I wish I could find the one I have to check), and the size is a standard (but small) one. (Note that there is a protection in place should you reverse the polarity, but it won't work). Usually if you get a transformer with multiple plug adapters, it will be one of them. Note that is must be DC, this may seems obvious but since older LEGO transformers used AC it's better to make sure that point is understood. (and of course that's also why polarity is important).

The trick is to find one which outputs 10v DC, as 9v will not be enough to trigger the charge circuitry (the threshold is 9.5v). Apparently, you can charge it at 12v without too much trouble, but it will be slightly slower.

Edit: just go read RailBricks magazine issue 7 which has an extremely detailed article on the topic on pages 46 to 55 (yes, a full 10 pages).


Are there any components compatible with EV3 that are more powerful and durable? Are there components compatible with EV3 like motors, sensors, brackets, other details that I can easily connect to an existing EV3 main block and build something to do real-life tasks? Like transporting weights on the route, cocktail maker that could handle glass bottles, home cleaner that can put objects in the order.

Look at Tetrix or Matrix. Theese building systems have more porefull motors than NXT ones. Metal blocks allow you to create strong robots. Tetrix and Matrix robots can be controlled by NXT/EV3.


Does LEGO ship to my country? Today I wanted to order some LEGO sets from official LEGO Shop to get the exclusive LEGO fountain. But when I went to checkout, my country wasn't available in the shipping list. I live in Slovakia. When I read the "Shipping & Handling", it wasn't stated that they don't deliver to my country. I'm very confused. What should I do?

I don't believe that LEGO currently ships to Slovakia via shop.LEGO.com. You can see the list of available countries in the "Regions" drop down in the top right on shop.LEGO.com:

I'm sure you are aware that there are plenty of other places to order LEGO that would ship to your country, but that doesn't help you if you're mostly interested in getting the current fountain promo as a freebie with some other things you are ordering.


LEGO 42095 wheels going opposite directions My son just finished the 42095 Remote-Controlled Stunt Racer and the two wheels go in opposite directions. Have checked and rebuilt and still can’t get it running in the same direction. Can anyone help?

I believe you forgot a critical step in the instructions, namely step 84:

It shows how to position the black switches on the remote control, they reverse directions.


Is there an official list of Fabuland animal characters? I found in an old box these animal characters.

They are all LEGO original (the logo is present on all their parts).

They are 25, maybe 30, years old. I think is the Fabuland series. I wonder if there is any way to discover how many they were and if there is any way to complete the collection.

Brickset has a list of 89 Fabuland figures.
Bricklink has a list of 93 Fabuland figures, these include
variations in accessories.
Fabuland.net states there are 142 characters in 80 variations and has
a full list of characters including which sets they were sold
with.

If you were to collect one of every animal type (excluding colour variations) you would at the very least need 20 Fabuland Figures:

Bear/Panda/Racoon
Bird
Bunny
Cat
Cow
Crocodile
Bulldog
Dog
Poodle
Elephant
Fox
Goat
Hippo
Horse
Lamb
Lion
Mouse
Monkey
Pig
Walrus

There are variations between figures in the copyright markings on the back of the legs, face printing between similar figures. In addition to the standard figures there are 72 variations of Fabuland Keychains.


How do I find information about discontinued LEGO sets? I have some older LEGO sets that have been discontinued for a while.

I am trying to find information like # of pieces and some other info.

Looking them up on the LEGO website didn't work. Is there anywhere else that I could find info?

Welcome William. Please check out either Brickset or BrickLink to find this information. Both websites have a big database containing tons of information on LEGO sets and LEGO parts. BrickLink is more comprehensive, but a little bit more difficult to navigate.


Making an ATM with an EV3 I am building an ATM using my LEGO Mindstorms EV3, but I  ran across a problem. The problem is that I want to be able to input the amount of money that I want to get out of the ATM but I can only have a maximum of three touch sensors because I'm using the fourth for the ability to have a key so my siblings don't steal money.

How can I can make an ATM with a maximum of three input to decide how many 20s, 10s, 5s, and 1s I want.

The possible solutions involve realizing that you can multiply the number of possible inputs by implementing long clicks, double clicks, click-and-holds, simultaneous clicks, etc. on the buttons. If I were you, I'd also include a Confirm and maybe a Cancel buttons, but the latter can be substituted by a timeout. You could ease your job if you don't handle the separate bills as individual amounts, but set the requested amount of money and write a function that splits an amount into separate bills (e.g. splitting 58 into 2×20, 1×10, 1×5, 3×1).

With these in mind, have a look at these example button mappings:

Solution #1:

Button 1: Increase amount by 1
Button 2: Decrease amount by 1
Button 3: Confirm

Solution #2:

Button 1: Increase amount by 1; Long press: increase amount while being held
Button 2: Decrease amount by 1; Long press: decrease amount while being held
Button 3: Confirm

Solution #3:

Button 1: Add 1
Button 2: Add 5
Buttons 1+2 simultaneously: Add 10
Button 3: Add 20
Buttons 1+2+3 simultaneously: Confirm

Solution #4:

Button 1: Increase amount by 1
Button 2: Cancel
Button 3: Confirm

Of course each approach requires different sub-solutions (as mentioned above, timeouts, detection of long presses and button holds, simultanous presses, etc.). These are up to you, but if you get stuck, feel free to ask :)


3rd Party Light Kits Does anyone have experience with any of the 3rd party lighting kit companies for sets? Do you have any information or stories about how these lighting kits work out in practice?  These are the two companies I am looking at:

https://www.lightailing.com
https://www.brickstuff.com/

BrickStuff is very high quality, I have used them many times. They are US based, make all their light kits with thought and care, and stand behind their products. I especially like that their lights can be controlled for various light-effects and intensities. Flickering soft lights for candles and fireplaces, bright pulsating lights for emergency vehicles, etc. They are, however, expensive.

I'm not familiar with the other company, but it seems like they are just resellers of the light kits made by Chinese companies and resold by a number of websites (BrickLoot.com is another one that I'm aware of selling these kits, but there are others as well). I do have some samples of these products, and they are okay. Not as good as BrickStuff, but more affordable. By "not as good" I mean that the components are not as high quality, and the connections are often not as clean and nicely finished as with BrickStuff products. You also get a lot smaller variety of lights and effects. But they do work, and are usually cheaper than BrickStuff.

Whatever light kit you end up using, be prepared to be running lots of very tiny and delicate wires. This makes the interior spaces of the buildings/vehicles (where you will be hiding the wires) less attractive and less usable. BrickStuff does have some suggestions of minimizing the visibility of unsightly wires, but ultimately, they can't be avoided.

Having all those wires running also makes the models hard to play with. For example, if you install light kits in the LEGO Modular Buildings, lifting off the floors is going to be tedious. The wires are also delicate, so you want to be careful around them so they don't get damaged. Light kits with wires work best with display models that won't be moved around.

While personally I prefer BrickStuff when it comes to wired light kits, I haven't fully committed to them, as I like to keep my displays modular and accessible for play, display, and modification. Currently, I'm waiting for the release of i-Brix.com products. These are wireless lights for LEGO that work with the same technology as wireless chargers for electronics. The system includes a special transmitting surface that you can place under baseplates, road-plates, etc., and any i-Bricks lights you use over this surface will automatically light up. There are no wires between lights, or the lights and the power source.

I-Brix had a successful Indiegogo campaign a couple of years ago, and they are getting ready for release of the first batch of their products sometime soon. Check their website for updates. I think the combination of wired light kits for stationary displays with various interesting light effects, and wireless lights for moving and more dynamic displays is going to be an excellent combination.