Older sets in The Lego Movie? Are there any existing/hisorical complete sets (for example: buildings, vehicles, etc) featured in The Lego Movie? Sets created specifically for the movie do not count. For example, the bad cop's grandparent's house looks awfully familiar but I couldn't place whether that is an exact set that already exists, or just in the style of some of the older vacation/holiday house sets.

The Toa Mata from BIONICLE briefly appear in the film when Wyldstyle
  is talking to Emmet about the prophecy. So do Fabuland, 9448 Samurai
  Mech from Ninjago, 3189 Heartlake Stables from Friends, 8158 Speed
  Racer & Snake Oiler from Speed Racer, along with a few other themes.
  Some stopmotion videos created by fans on ReBrick were featured in the
  movie.

Brickipedia: The LEGO Movie

The car Emmet drives at the beginning of the movie is a slightly modified version of the 3177 Small Car.


As of November 2011, should I buy the NXT 2.0 now, or wait and buy the NXT 3.0 later? I have played with the original RCX when I was in school, and I'm so in love with it. Now I have just got my first job and I would like to get an NXT robot. However, I saw in this Wikipedia article saying that it was released back in 2009.

So the question is: should I wait for NXT 3.0 to come out (probably soon?) Or should I just go ahead and buy the NXT 2.0?

Also, is there any news on any upcoming refresh of the Mindstroms sets?

First off, there is not going to be an NXT 3.0. If there is, I would be extremely surprised.

This rumor was started back on April 1st, 2010 with a post on this blog (scroll to the bottom). Since then, many of people have been tricked. They even made another post the day afterward confessing that it was fake. Despite this, the rumor traveled to people who don't follow The NXT STEP, making its origins uncertain to them, and assumed it to have been announced by TLG.

With the Robotics Invention System, they stopped at the 2.0, and just waited some years before releasing the NeXT generation. I expect the same pattern here. So just go ahead and buy the NXT 2.0.

As for just Mindstorms set updates in general, there was once talk about expansion packs for the NXT kit that were supposed to be released by LEGO a few months later, but that discussion took place several years ago, so it is probably a no-go.


What are the various LEGO motors that have been produced over the years? RCX, NXT, WeDO, EV3, Technic etc.
How many different motors have been released over the years??

For a comprehensive enumeration and measurements on all motors, refer to Philo's excellent page on this topic: http://www.philohome.com/motors/motorcomp.htm

There are some LEGO motors that are missing from this list since they predate the 9V era, like the 4.5V motor, or the 4.5V train motor, but these are probably only of interest if you already own them, in which case you don't need to be told about them :)

There are other elements that might be considered motors, like the PF servo motor (Thanks to Phil B.), but one might argue that the servo motor is not a motor in the strict sense, since it has a fixed range of movement instead of being able to turn continuously.

Also there are pieces that incorporate motors with other functional elements, like the main part of the 4095-1 Record and Play set, the Spybotics module, the Micro Scout in the Droid Developer Kit or the Cybermaster main unit.

The WeDo theme uses a Power Functions M motor (Source).


LEGO remote control 8879 for 2016 Winter Train not working I purchased parts 8879+8884+88000+88002 to power the new Winter Holiday Train.  Fresh out of the package the remote controller 8879 does not make contact with the positive end of the battery.

Thanks to this post, I was able to make an adjustment to the controller so that contact could be made saving me a lot of time and headache. Is there an easy way to get the positive contacts to stick out further?

I had the same problem, so I looked at the forums, but I couldn't solve it.

In fact it is a problem with the contact, so I put some aluminium foil (the same one from the kitchen) in the positive contacts, and it worked!!! Yeah, I used DuraCell...


Software to do Duplo train track layout? Anyone know a way to create with a software DUPLO train track layout?

The only thing I found is:
http://www.anyrail.com/index_en.html

It's a bit overkill for what I need and it's $US60, although the limited version can be used free.

LEGO has a track planner for non DUPLO track.
http://www.lego.com/en-us/city/trains/track-planner

If I can't find something, I'll probably try to do it myself (I have a background of tools programmer in video game industry)

I would recommend BlueBrick, which is a versatile LEGO layout editor by Alban Nanty.

Apperently it has Duplo parts too, so I believe it should meet your needs. It can actually do much more for your layout planning needs (including modular tables if your club has some, for example), so maybe you'll consider it overkill as well, but since it's specifically made for LEGO layout I think you should be hapy with it.

Disclaimer: I have never used it for Duplo myself - if you do, feel free to share your experience with us in a comment.


How to put LEGO together upside down I'm building a truck. For the transmission, I want to make it all even and symmetrical.

To do that I need the pieces to stay together but they have no studs connecting so they will just fall apart.

Does anybody have any suggestions to keep them together besides using the light saber shaft?

This is the main chassis for the truck.

This is what I want the transmission to look like, but it's quite big so I want it smaller. As you can see, the arch bricks won't go together this way so I need an idea to keep them together.

I attempt to create a searchable index of SNOT techniques, as this is called. Of those, the strongest 180 degree stud reversal are probably one of these:

If you want to connect the two curves together bottom to bottom, you should be able to do it with an axle, sort of like these two techniques:

If that doesn't work I once had luck playing around with a lever and a rubber band. It was tricky, but it did work:


What is the largest number of pieces in a set for LEGO, Nanoblock or any other brand? I recently bought a 6800 piece LOZ Block set (Chinese Nanoblock knockoff).  I was wandering if there are sets in any block size or brand that have more pieces than that?

Brickset has a query for sets with most pieces: brickset.com/sets/query-45

Top of the list is Taj Mahal with 5922 pieces.


How to use the direct command to make EV3 motor backward? I write the java language. I use ev3 direct command make ev3 motor to run,

example:

"opOUTPUT_POWER,LC0(0),LC0(0x01),LC0(20), opOUTPUT_START,LC0(0),LC0(0x01)"

In this case, the power is 20 so I write value (byte)0x14 resulted ev3 forward.

When I want to make the ev3 backward, how can I do??

I think change power 20 to -20, but I don't know -20 hex value.

The LC0() macro treats the value as a signed 6-bit integer.

From bytecodes.h...

#define PRIMPAR_CONST_SIGN 0x20
#define PRIMPAR_VALUE 0x3F

PRIMPAR_VALUE is where the 6 bits come from. PRIMPAR_CONST_SIGN means that the 6th bit is the sign. This means it has a range of -32 to 31, inclusive.

We must also keep in mind that computers use the 2's complement for negative integer values, so we can't just use 0x34 (0x20 | 0x14) and expect it to be -20.

0x20 will be -32, which is the lowest number possible. So, to get -20, we would need -32 + 12 = -20. In 6-bit hex 0x20 + 0x0c = 0x2c. But, you don't actually have to use hex formatted number. We can let the compiler figure it out like this: (-20 & PRIMPAR_VALUE). This trims the number -20 down to 6 bits. In fact, this is what the LC0() macro does internally, so we can just write LC0(-20).

If you need values larger than this range (e.g. -100 to 100), then you need to use the LC1() macro, which uses 8-bit signed integers. It has a range of -128 to 127. So, this will work too: LC1(-20).


Quick way to inventory parts I have a rather large collection of LEGO elements that are not sorted in any way, and I'd like to keep track of them. There are a few other posts about ways to keep track of elements, and I've looked at them. I've downloaded about three different programs that are for LEGO inventory keeping, but I'm kind of picky.

I'd want something that I can input bricks into rather quickly, and though these programs are cool, I don't need to look up current prices or keep track of sets or whatever, as I have loads of loose pieces. Does anyone know anything that would meet those conditions? Even some sort of scanner build would be great.

As you have probably guessed by now, there is no easy solution to your question.  It all comes down to computer vision.

In this solution, Akiyuki built a massive machine out of LEGO bricks, a camera, a scale, 2 Mindstorm NXT and, which he fails to mention in is parts list, a computer and some electronics.

Computer vision is complex, and making a working prototype is still an impressive task. Even though the software component of this project is most probably the reuse of an existing solution like OpenCV, there are many other problems to overcome. For example; Mechanically bringing the parts to the camera one by one in a controlled fashion. Also if the part is not laying down from a recognisable angle, you would probably have to flip it or take pictures with multiple cameras in order to get a good look at it.

Still, being a software developer myself, this is not the part that worries me.  Even if you manage to build the whole machine, you still need to compare the pictures with a library of all the known LEGO bricks. Even more, they need to be imaged from all possible sides (when laying down).  Building this knowledge base is a big endeavour on its own.

Here is a video of the working machine.

If you can reduce the complexity of parts to sort it can really help. Akiyuki has also made sorters for Technic beams and axles (both of which work on the same very simple principles).

If you do decide to build a brick sorter you probably would be better off designing one for the parts you use the most/have the most of and hand sorting the rest.


How can I make church bells with a pull cord? I would like to allow the viewer to pull on some strings or chains and let that ring my church bells (I know it won't make much sound, that's fine).  I'm thinking I'll need a pulley and some string, right? Then, do I just thread the axle through the pulley and attach the axle to the bell somehow? Are there any other parts I might need? Is there a good tutorial you can recommend for LEGO pulleys?

It sounds like you're trying to implement a fairly simple bell mechanism such as this one:

You can certainly do this using some string and the pulley element that you mentioned.

I'd recommend tying the string to one of the holes in the pulley. Something like this worked reasonably well for me:

Here it is in action:

You'll likely want to do something to limit the range of motion so that the bell can't flip all the way around when the string is pulled too far. You should obviously make everything a lot prettier, too.


How could I make a golf robot from a LEGO NXT kit? I want to make a golf robot. It will be placed straight in line with the ball. It will approach the ball and swing.

The part where I get confused is how to get it to swing in a left-right motion when the motor attached is heading towards the ball.

I want to know how to build it!! I tried following some images I found online but there weren’t any details about the design.

This is what I would like to build. I'm curious about the motor and the golf swing part!

This model uses gears to do 2 things:

Change the direction of motion:

The motor turns an axle, on which a gear is attached (partially hidden black disk in the picture).
The first two gears shift the rotation out in front of the motor.
The next two knob wheel "gears" turn the rotation 90 degrees, resulting in the golf club motion you see in the picture.

Increase the speed of the golf club:
When you combine gears of different sizes you can change how fast or how strong the output is.
The first two gears have 36 teeth and 12 teeth, in that order. This makes the golf club move 3 times faster than the motor.
If you were to swap the gears, putting the small 12 before the 36, it would make the club 3 times slower than the motor.

You can find building instructions here. This model was designed to be built with the NXT Education Base Set. If you have the normal NXT retail set, you won't be able to follow the instructions exactly; there will be a few missing pieces, but it should still be pretty easy to find suitable replacement parts from what you have in the kit.


How to debug gears in the Bucket Wheel Excavator? My 8 year old is just finishing the Bucket Wheel Excavator. He turned the motor on and there is a significant clicking noise. It looks as though the top gear noted in the picture gets stuck. Not sure where the problem is as he build it all himself.

First of all, let's get some basic questions out of the way:

Do any of the functions work correctly in any directions? If only some functions fail to work, then we can narrow the search to those.
Is this clicking sound present with all functions? If only some functions click, then they must be the culprits.

The surefire way would be to follow the "chain" of mechanical parts from the motor along the gears and axles. As far as I can remember the gearbox is not that complicated or hidden that it would be easier to dismantle and rebuild than to peek inside (maybe after removing some of the decorative panels). So turn on the motor and see if the gears and axles leading to the selected function are moving. Of course if the selected function is working correctly, you can assume that specific chain is complete and correct, so no need to analyze.

Or just operate all functions for a while each and any gear that did not move during this time must be disconnected from the motor.

Another way would be to locate the source of the clicking sound and seeing if that area is built up according to the instructions, as it would be the prime suspect. My model has once experienced a problem with the three parallel grey universal joints connecting the top and bottom halves (which are assembled quite late in the process) where the insert of one of the joints came loose and was turning in its sleeve without transferring any motion but producing a clicking sound. So maybe check that too.


Determining the age and value of old NIB Lego sets I have several old Lego sets, new in box.  Maybe 20 years old or more.  How to determine the age and value of these old Lego sets?

I would suggest going to Bricklink and entering the set numbers in.  You will find the information on the sets you have and, if it isn't extremely rare, a price guide with information on how much the set has sold for in the past and how much it's currently selling for.

Bricklink: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/main.page

There is a lot of information on this site that you may find useful, here is a link to one of the more recent inquiries with an answer and more information.

Advice on selling a lot of Lego?


LEGO controller 8879 How does the LEGO Technic 8879 controller work? When you make it go forwards/backwards and let go does it stay at that speed like the more recent helicopters or does it go back around? And how does it go forwards and backwards, is it like the 8885 controller where you have to have a motor for each of the front wheels to turn?

It is not spring loaded, meaning if you set a dial to a specific value it will stay there. There are two channels that can be controlled with the two dials, and either can be set in one direction ("forward") or the other ("reverse"). I put these terms in quotes because their exact function depends on your model, but in the simplest scenarios (like controlling two separate train engines) they act so.

A single channel (dial) can control one or more motors, but in the latter case all motors will receive the same signal which means they will rotate in the same direction with the same percentage of their maximum speed - different motors can have different maximum speeds.


How to Make a Lego Claw Arm? I am trying to build a lego claw arm to pick up stuff that is out of my reach and I need some ideas on how to design it. I would like a mechanism to be able to open and close the claw from the opposite end of the arm.

I'm not looking for an arm design which can extend. I would also like ideas about fixed-length arms. Also, I have many, many different TECHNIC pieces. Designs can be very complex and they can use large numbers of pieces.

If you're after a simple collapsible solution to reach those items just out of reach, you can start with the following setup:

You can extend this for quite some way, and use longer bricks or beams throughout if you wish.

To finish it off, I'd use a couple of longer bricks with some additional plates on the end to act as fingers, and add some handles (via axles) at the bottom. If you use longer bricks at the ends then the middle pin would need to be offset from the centre to keep it smooth.


Is there a way to keep large plates together more efficiently? Whenever I'm building a baseplate for something such as a skyscraper, every time I put larger-scale pieces (such as an 8 by 4) onto the larger bottom piece (i.e. 16 by 16), there is always space under the smaller piece and it never seems to flatten itself completely, no matter how hard I push on it. This results in imbalances in whatever goes on top of the plate. I don't want to damage the plates with a hammer, but is there another technique that I can use to keep it down?

This isn't my personal experience, but I have seen and heard people use rubber hammers for fixing larger plates onto baseplates, which shouldn't be all too different from fixing them onto normal plates.

Those are a classic homeworking tool, commonly used pretty much for the "real world" equivalent of what you're doing, fixing floor tiles and cobblestones into place. They should be soft enough when applying force over a flat area as long as you don't hammer away like a madman. For additional protection you could possibly also put a piece of cloth over the plates. It's probably still more effective and lesss straining than using your hands to hammer or your thumbs to press.

In general though, it's also not a bad idea to try and avoid sticking too many big plates onto each other, as even if you get them pressed together really tightly, it can lead to bending of the entire model when done over a larger area, which is especially noticeable when having a flat ground stand that then...isn't flat anymore. Some of the "thicker" Architecture sets like Trafalgar Square or Robie House exhibit this problem. Try to thin it out when you can or use baseplates for the bottom layer, which are a lot more flexible in themselves.


What LEGO wheels would look like the three types used on the JPL Mars Rovers? I would like to build the three types of JPL Mars rovers (Sojourner, MER and MSL) with the right size ratio relative to each other.  For that, finding the right wheels would be the hardest thing.  I can build the rest of the robots as long as I know the wheels will have the right look.

Here's a pictures of the three wheel types:

Important Notes:

The overall size doesn't have to be at the scale of the minifigures.  Even though this would be really cool, it would turn the Sojourner project into a micro build.  This would be much harder.
The look of the wheel hubs is not relevant. What is important is the look/ratio of the tire's outside dimensions.  Note that Sojourner's wheel (the small one) has a flat rolling surface while the others two are rounded.

Edit: The medium wheel is (appropriately) 1.8x the size of the small wheel while the big wheel is (appropriately) 1.7x the size of the medium wheel.

The first that came to my mind (for the MER-wheels) is the Wheel 70 x 28 mm Futuristic, with Black Tire:


Identify LEGO set with black door, large sand arch, dark-sand bricks, and tan plates? What does this build? It has a black door, large sand arch, dark-sand bricks, and tan plates.

THese parts come from 10232 Palace Cinema, based on the black door and the two 8x8 wedge plates in Tan.


Export an object from Blender to LDraw I have modeled a custom part in Blender and I would like to get it into LDraw format for use in LDCad and LPub3D.
I don't know much about 3D formats, but Blender can export collada, alembic, fbx, gltf 2.0, wavefront, and x3d.
I don't need the part to properly use LDraw primitives for my purposes (and I imagine that kind of conversion isn't possible), but just to convert the mesh into the sort of tris and quads that ldraw can understand.

In the end, I exported from blender to STL file and used http://marc.klein.free.fr/lego/stl2dat/stl2dat.html to convert to DAT. The final result worked well, and you can see the custom part used alongside regular ldraw parts in the build instructions here: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-68128/seejay/glittering-viper-rainbow-bears-starfighter/#details
The ldraw model was built in LDCad and the instructions were built in LPub3d.


Why do technic bushings have a flat side and a wavy side? Exhibit A 3713:

The near side is smooth on the circumference, but the far side has a wavy pattern. In Lego directions, the photos usually show the "orientation" of the bushing, but if I put it on the incorrect way, will it affect the build?

The answer is studs. Note that there are more pieces with the same ability.

Orientation of the bushing does matter when you run a rotating axle through a technic plate. Have the round side of the bushing pointing towards the studs. Otherwise the axle might lock up.

Here's an example from set 852 where this technique is used to attach the helicopter's rotor and propeller to an axle.


Do clear transparent pieces suffer from a yellow tinge over time? Any idea if clear 1×1 round plates suffer from color differences? I recently got a bag of them and they appear to have a yellow tinge.

I have found that the clear pieces depend on the piece. Some of the thinner ones do yellow, but I have 2x4 Clear bricks that are not yellowed. I think it depends on the thickness of the ABS that was used.


Who produces these sets of Venetian gondolas, and is there more of it? While staying in Venice, Italy, I came across a shopping window with what looked like a LEGO set of a gondola - except that the familiar white letters in the red top left square said "IDEA" rather than "LEGO".

I failed to take a picture back then, but a picture is available e.g. in an expired online auction. The description on that page actually makes it sound like these were repackaged LEGO pieces from original sets or something similar. And someone else posted an even clearer picture, but without any description, on their Facebook page.

What is this product? Is it a clone brand, or is it repackaged original LEGO? Or is it even a promotional set produced by LEGO that is, for some reason, not labeled "LEGO"? Is it part of a larger series that includes more sets?

Apparently these are designed and distributed by a Venice shop holder, named Steve

http://havetwinswilltravel.com/2018/09/11/lego-shop/


Where does this green plane fuselage piece come from? It has the year 2005 on it and the number 22988 I think.  Anyone know what it is?

It's the rear end of an aircraft fuselage. It's part number is 54701c02.

It's from one of these two sets:


Help identifying space-themed sets I have acquired a 20 pound bag of space-themed Lego pieces that seem to belong to some special Technic set(s). Many pieces and assemblies seem way too unusual to be  acquired from a random bulk purchase by the prior owner - the pieces are themed and uncommon. I am attaching some photos for your reference. I would love to hear if any of you can identify which set(s) these may belong to, unless the prior owner totally made these up. Thank you for your help! I have spent about 20 years of my life around LEGO bricks and have never seen any pieces like these. I am stumped!

P.S. I've realized that I have a Death Star in the bag and a Captain Rex's AT-TE, but still can't figure out what the white and the yellow ones are.

Couple of observations:

Neither of these pictures shows complete sets
The parts you show in each picture most likely do not all come from the same set

From what I can see, you have the following parts of sets in the pictures, clockwise from top left:

Parts of a Y-wing (likely 9495 Gold Leader's Y-wing Starfighter ) plus parts of 7166 Imperial Shuttle

Parts of a Naboo Starfighter (likely 7660 Naboo N-1 Starfighter and Vulture Droid) plus parts of another set (the large grey wedge with the green stickers is not from 7660).

Parts of 10188 Deathstar mixed with parts of a 8039 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser

More parts from the Venator Class Attack Cruiser (the engines on the left), plus a 7675 AT-TE.


Is there a site where I can put in a set of individual lego bricks (by part ID) and get an optimized list of stores to buy (to minimize shipping) I'm new to this site, so please forgive me if this is a duplicate.

Background story
I got my 6 years old the Lego City Arctic largest set, and then realized he had previously had 2 other arctic sets, that sadly, he lost some parts for...

I have sorted through all of his legos (yes, I do have a life, but this was rewarding on unbelievable and weird levels) and checked marked all the pieces he had. I narrowed it down to the few that he was missing and got their ID number.

I Googled my way into http://www.wallofbricks.com/ and was able to find stores that sell all those pieces!

Problem

The big problem as you might have guess is that it would cost more than re-buying that set again. The difference is not the individual piece cost of course, but the shipping.

The issue stems from the obvious reason that not all stores have all pieces, so you just pay a lot in shipping...

Now, I'm sure that if I cross reference the online stores that sell all the parts, I'll be able to find some, that might not have the cheapest price, but have more than one piece in stock.

Question
This is a very interesting optimization problem to solve, and I was wondering if there is any website that lets you answer the give question:

Given a list of missing pieces and quantities, and the original set cost - finds either the combination of stores such that the piece costs + the shipping is less than the original set, or suggest that buying the original set will be cheaper.

There are two pieces of software that lets you do this for Bricklink: Brickficiency and Brick Wizard. The latter seems updated more often, but I don't know if they produce different results.


Identify red triangle stick Help me to identify this part please.

That's Train Direction Switch - 4.5V 2 x 3


Flexible tube for threading through transparent round bricks I'm planning on doing a replica of the Belaggio fountains. I can't find it now, but I remember somewhere I saw someone do a build where they threaded a transparent tube through some 1 x 1 round bricks to make a "bendy" transparent column. I'd like to use this technique to make some moving fountain sprays.  Does anyone know anything about such a technique, and what parts I need?

If I'm understanding you correctly, you'll need 1x1 round bricks and something bar-sized and flexible to hold them together.
Alex pointed out that the hoses typically used for this sort of thing aren't available in trans-clear. Pneumatic tubing has been produced in trans-clear, so it could be an option, but you'd need a different design, as pneumatic tubing will not fit through an open stud.
You could use fiber optic cable:

I tried stringing some transparent 1x1 round bricks on it, and I think it creates the look that you are going for:


Dark metallic gray tube: Is it a LEGO? Unfortunately, I no longer own the piece in question. But here are the specs:

Dark metallic grey, like Super Battle Droids.
Somewhere in the vicinity of 6 inches long.
Flat ends: not a cut or broken pice of something else.
Fits perfectly in a hole for basic minifig-grabbable bars.
Not easily bent, but can kink slightly.

If this isn't a LEGO, say so, but bring some proof please.

Sounds like 'Hose, Rigid 3mm D. 16L / 12.8cm' in Pearl Dark Grey. Super Battle Droids are also in Metal Blue but none of the hoses exists in this color. Also note that the linked hose also exists in other sizes too and that the exact piece you have had might have been cut.

Note that colors mentioned refer to Bricklink's color names, LEGO company's official color names are different.


Which LEGO set did this bags 4 - 10 with castle pieces come from? I have bags 4-10 of 2011 LEGO group 135149.  I'm trying to find what set they are from. At first I thought maybe a castle due to the doors.
I have pictures:

Bags 5 till 10 are from
70404-1: King's Castle

based on Ladder and Staircase 7X4X6 in Reddish Brown.

It also contain the Plate 4X4 in green, and the door and wall pieces.

Bag 4 is from 9526-1: Palpatine's Arrest

Based on Corner Plate 6X6X45° in Medium Stone Grey and Brick 1X2 M. 2 Holes Ø 4,87 in Bright Yellow.

It also contain the red 2x6 and grey  1x8 technic pieces


Set with small white, yellow, and purple boat and lime swimmer fins? I have a part built boat, but need help in identifying the set so we can complete the build.

This is part of 41000-1: Water Scooter Fun


EV3 motor TACHO signal connection. Hardware schematic questions I'm trying to understand EV3 motor TACHO signals circuit on the EV3 hardware schematic.

Please look at the image below.

There are two things I can't understand:

On the left side, the TACHOA0 input is connected to the ADC and Schmitt trigger inputs via RC circuit. I can understand that the 4.7K resistors and 100pF, 47pF capacitors are used to filter the signal. But I can't understand why those two 100K resistors are used.
On the right side, TACHOA1 input is connected to the ADC and Schmitt trigger inputs via RC filter. Here I don't understand the role of MA1 signal.

The EV3 detects when motors are connected and disconnected using the ADC (and gpios). The two 100k resistors are basically a voltage divider, so when the motor is disconnected, the ADC will read 2.5V. If a motor is connected, the motor encoder will either pull the signal high (above 3.7V) or low (between 0.1 and 0.65V). The detection algorithm is actually a bit more involved than this, but this is the general idea.

For the full details, see the Device Connection Manager Driver and the actual source code. The documentation is not quite exactly correct, so when in doubt, trust the actual source code and not the comments (documentation is generated from comments).

And even though you didn't ask about it, I should point out that the transistor (Q10A) is also used as part of the detection.
You don't show it, but MA1 is connected to pin 2 on the output port, which is one of the motor driver signals, so MA1 could either be battery voltage, floating or ground depending on the state of the motor driver chip (via 1OUTB2). Additionally, the voltage could be steady or PWM depending on the speed and direction the motor is running. Or, MA1 could also be something else if there is no motor plugged in (or something besides a motor is plugged in).

On NXT sensors, pin 2 is connected to ground (pin 3). In the source code, it looks like this is just used to detect if a NXT sensor is plugged into the output port.


Where is this piece from? Does anyone know where is this tree from?
I found it in my childhood (90s) box full of LEGO, but I'm pretty sure it is not actually LEGO.

It is not LEGO. Parts from the 90s are well documented, and I can't find this part on BrickLink when searching for the word "Tree".


How to place minifigure legs into normal LDD bricks, like a 1x2 brick? Let me clear up the confusion surrounding this question to the best of my abilities

I'm currently in the final steps of finishing of a mech project I started some time back, finishing now at the hands, literally, of the mech. I have decided to use minifigure pants/legs (the bottom section of the minifigure) as the figure aspect of the mech. This mech is in LDD.

What I want to do is place this brick

into this brick in LDD

How can I go about doing this in LDD?

I see what you mean...  Friggin' annoying!  Can't do it Stud.io Ver 1.0 (157) either.  I haven't installed Stud.io 2.0 yet, to see if it's possible in the upgrade.

Hmm...  You could... Just create a work-a-round that could potentially make your model a little more unique.

These program issues are frustrating, but they're fun when they force us to think of an alternative.

Here, try these Mech Fisticuff Gauntlets. The pictures look like nonsense, so let me explain the layout.

FRONT VIEW.

It reads loosely in columns from left to right.  Your new fist configuration build are the 4th and 5th Columns.

1st Column: Dark Gray 1x2 brick = Height 3 Plates.
2nd Column: Blue MiniFig Legs = Height 5 plates.
3rd Column: The total height of Legs and 1x2 brick.  = 8 plates high.
LDD won't let us stack a 1x2 brick on to leg stalk.
4th Column: Our alternate fist, fingers fully extended.  (Note: It
will be an unnoticeable 1/2 plate shorter then your original fists.
5th Column: Our alternate fist, fingers curled up, forming a Left
fist.
6th loose splatter pieces: Four individual pieces to our fist recipe.

93062 Skeleton Leg.
26047 Modified 1 x 1 Rounded with Handle.
99780 1 x 2 - 1 x 2 Inverted.
15573 Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud with Groove and Bottom Stud
  Holder (Jumper).

7th Pointing Hand of Prime.

Final Note: LEGO may not have those Skeleton legs in the colors we want in real life, but look through for other minifig leg or hinge+1x1 plate combination to get your Mech finger/knuckles right.

EDIT=>HERE For reals. You can download my LDD file from my Google Drive, and import the alternate into your build file in LDD.  Save you some time.

BACK VIEW.

SICK VIEW.


What was the shortest-lived color? I've been reading about the history of the LEGO palette, most notably the transitions in gray and pink that have happened over the years where older shades were more or less completely replaced with newer ones.
What is the shortest-lived official LEGO color or shade? To be clear, I'm asking about shades that were officially released for public purchase as a set or individually (so no prototypes, test runs, employee swag, or third-party retints). I'm also not concerned about what parts were specifically made in that color, just the history of the color itself. If a particular color appeared in a 1x2 plate for two years, that part was retired, but the color was then used for a 2x4 brick for a year, that counts as three years for the color.
For example, have there been any colors that were released in only one set or theme and were fully retired when that set or theme was retired, never to be revived again?

Further to Alex's answer, from that source I found eleven colours that only lasted a year:

Fabuland Orange 1983
Very Light Orange 2000
Clikits Lavender 2005
Chrome Black 2009
Chrome Green 1999
Satin White 2020
Satin Trans-Light Blue 2020
Satin Trans-Dark Pink 2020
Glitter Trns-Orange 2020
Speckle Black-Copper 2006
Speckle DBGray-Silver 2006

Of course the four 2020 colours may continue next year!
Fabuland Orange was only used for one item in one set for one year, so could be considered the rarest colour.  The set was "Peter Panda Takes a Bath", and the part was Peter Panda's tub, a part barrel affair.


Unable to connect to NXT using NeXTTool via USB cable For reasons beyond me, the NXC program MotorControl22.rxe in my NXT has disapeared. So i thought I'd just download it from my computer over to the NXT using NeXTTool.

This is where the trouble begins. Firstly, I have no problems listing the NXT in my devices when connected and turned on. I have also been able to upgrade the firmware twice during my troubleshooting, trying to find a solution. But for some reason, using the NeXTTool, I'm not able to connect. I've tried downloading the file using NeXTTool \COM=usb -download=MotorControl22.rxe and after that tried NeXTTool /COM=usb -listfiles=MotorControl22.rxe with no result.

This made me test just listing anything from the NXT, but even writing NeXTTool /COM=usb -listfiles didn't show anything, even though I have confirmed that there are several programs, sound files etc on the NXT.

I'm currently running Windows 8.1 64-bit
The driver is libusb-win32
I'm running NeXTTool from Windows cmd with admin rights
I don't get any error messages upon running the download command
This has not been a problem earlier upon installing and verifying that everything works.
Flashing a new firmware works just fine when in Update firmware mode using NeXTTool -firmare="firmware.rfw"
Bluetooth works too, but upon running the download command, nothing happens.

Has anyone run into this problem before? Anybode have any idea how to simply download a file to the NXT and what might be causing it not to work now?

Joubarc's idea would probably be your best bet - try downloading the file to the NXT using the official LEGO software. If this fails, you know something is wrong with your brick. If it works, it's probably a problem with your program. Did anything major happen between the time it would work and the time it wouldn't? If so, this may be the culprit. Trying it on multiple bricks is also another avenue I would suggest. There is an official Mindstorms Help Section on the LEGO Message Boards located here. They have experts who will probably be able to correct your problem.


Is there a reason why there's sometimes multiple "Bag 1" bags in particular sets? When building some of the larger sets from Lego, there are sometimes cases where there's multiple large bags having the same number.  This ends up being a bit of a challenge when the build space on my table isn't that large.
I'm guessing that Lego has a good reason for doing this, is it for packing efficiency, a logical step in the build (albeit a large one), or some other consideration?
This doesn't really spoil my enjoyment (except for part-hunting time), I was just curious about the reason.

I assume this is down to purely logistic reasons, like the available plastic bag sizes, the characteristics of the different packaging pipelines (it is known that LEGO takes extreme care when packing the bags with pieces, including multiple weighings to ensure not a single part is missing - the precision required to check for the presence a small element could preclude the range necessary for bags containing many and larger pieces), the locations of the different packaging facilities, and so on.


Where can I find the LEGO fire dept. logo in high resolution or in vector format I want print a high resolution version of the Lego fire department shield (the shield with three flames that is used on all Lego fire trucks). When I search with Google, I find mostly low resolution images.

The best would be a vector image (like SVG) or a high resolution bitmap image (PNG or the like). Has anyone created a high resolution image like this?

Going on advice from InkBlend I converted the logo to a vector graphic from a sticker sheet scanned in for the 7945 Fire Station set on BrickLink.

I used VectorMagic to convert the file and automaticaly create paths. The SVG vector file can be downloaded here. If you don't have an image editor that supports vector editing, you can also download a high-resolution PNG graphic (267.33 kB).

You could also try scanning in a sticker sheet from a set that has the sticker. With Illustrator, Photoshop or any other similar image editors, trace around the design using a pen tool and fill in the colours. Using the scanned image as a reference.

If you're having trouble finding a suitable image, I would also recommend looking at the LEGO City product page for wallpaper downloads and illustrations.


Did LEGO ever make bricks without the LEGO logo? While sorting my LEGO collection I found bricks with two different fonts and many without a font at all. I also found Tyco and Mega Bloks bricks. So did LEGO ever make blank bricks?

Yes and no. If you found normal basic bricks without the LEGO logo, then they are definitely not Lego.

However, some parts are too small to have the logo. Things like utensils from the Friends theme, balls, technic pins, etc. don't have room for the logo, but this doesn't mean they aren't made by Lego.

The very first Lego bricks (2x2 and 2x4 bricks in 1949) also didn't include any logo or markings on the bricks. They also had completely hollow undersides, and slots in the side walls. But I suspect this is not what you have.

As for the bricks with two different fonts of LEGO, these may be made by Samsonite (under contract with Lego) in the 60s–80s. They were notoriously careless with keeping the logo straight on the stud, or even having the same type of logo on multiple studs on the same brick :)


Where can I find Lego x-pod playoff pods for the game? I have some of the original pods but cannot find others, where do I get them?
I would also need sheets for the things to build and their attacks.

These are no longer in production, so your best bet to find the sets that you are looking for is Bricklink. Here's a list of all the X-Pod sets for sale.

These are the sets that were included in the game:

4348 Aero Pod
4347 Auto Pod
4346 Robo Pod
4349 Wild Pod

For building instructions, I'd recommend the instruction scans on Peeron. Take a look at the X-Pod theme there.

Here are the instructions for the game. See this question for more information on those.


Interfacing Mindstorms NXT 2.0 with webcam I very recently started playing with Mindstorms and have used the sensors that was provided along with the NXT 2.0 set. I'm planning to work on something on the lines of image processing and I need a camera for this. Is there a way I can interface the NXT Brick with a webcam so that the Brick can send instructions to the webcam as to when to capture the image? Are there other better methods of using webcams and Mindstorms together?

Anything along those lines would be helpful. Any pointers to good reading materials would also be helpful.

I would go and give a try to leJOS http://lejos.org/ if you can write Java.


Mechanical auto-unblocking mechanism I have a GBC module1 which is quite simple but blocks regularly because a ball happens to be at just the wrong place at the wrong moment.

Per se, it's not a problem as a Technic Gear 24 Tooth Clutch protects the motor and the module can easily be unjammed by simply moving the wheel backwards manually to free the offending ball(s). It's simple enough that I can ask people in the public to do it when I'm lazy, but for bigger displays it's a given that the points of possible failure should be minimized as much as possible.

So my question is, is it possible to create a mechanism that would auto-unblock? To clarify, what it needs to do is to drive an axle in one direction, and if that axle becomes blocked, make it rotate shortly in the other direction, then resume.

My first thought was to try using differentials, by splitting the rotation on two paths, the regular one driving the axle, and the other one having some resistance to it (using a gear on a Technic pin with friction, for example), then recombining the paths somehow so that when the first is blocked, the second would take precedence and drive the mechanism backwards.

Unfortunately, a nagging thought at the back of my head tells me it'll never work as such (as going forward is always easier than going backwards, even if it's blocked forwards, it will just stay locked in place), and a first experiments confirms this (at least it's a solution if I run short of clutch wheels...).

Of course, a robotic solution would be easy to work out, but I would like to be able to replicate that kind of mechanism a lot (what, you think I have only one jamming module?), and I tend to prefer the pureness of mechanical-only solutions. Pneumatics would probably be OK, but I'd rather do it without.

I'll accept any working solution, but the more compact the better.

1) For those interested, it's the blue and yellow one with trans-clear front in which the hand of God puts some balls at 00:15 in this video of the LEGOworld Copenhagen 2011 GBC setup

I've found a solution that's actually pretty easy, but took some time to try out because I don't have the parts I need at hand.

The solution

Input from motor(s).
A differential to split up the input-movement to two shafts. Since I don't have a Technic Gear Differential at hand I had to built my own for the test.
One of the differential-outputs becomes our "unblocker". it's chocked off by a rubber band to have more resistance in moving than the "normal" output (called "output" from now), so it will only move if the output is blocked completely (or gets a high resistance). Important: make sure to block this as much as necessary but as few as possible.
A "gear on a stick" that will only get in contact with the bigger gear on the output on a small range of its rotation. Important: this is the unblocker - it has to have a "stronger" transmission than the output to be able to turn the output backwards while overcoming its own resistance added by the rubber band.
The "normal" output to move whatever you want it to.

Explanation

As long as there is less resistance on the output than on the unblocker, only the output will move. if the output is blocked, the unblocker will start rotating and turn back the output (just a bit - at the point where the "gear on a stick" gets in contact with the bigger output-gear). if this dissolves the problem, the output starts rotating again.

Potential Improvements

Use a Technic Gear Differential instead of a (much bigger) custom-built one
Use a Tooth Clutch instead of a rubber band to brake the "unblocker"
Use a Gear with offset Axle Holes instead of a "gear on a stick"

See it working

On YouTube
Improved Version on Youtube

UPDATE: i got a Technic Gear Differential today, so i could build a smaller (and better working) Version of this. You can watch it on YouTube.


Are third party NXT compatible parts safe to use? I bought the Mindstorms NXT for my son's coming birthday and I noticed that there are several places you can get third party parts to use with it (sensors, connectors, etc).  Are these safe for the NXT brick?  Has anyone had any problems using these?

If they are ok it's a great way to expand our capability but NXT is a big investment and we don't want to risk ruining it.

The majority of sensors manufactured by HiTechnic (a third party company) are certified by The  Lego Group. The company's website lists the following criteria required to be certified:

  100% compatible with Mindstorms NXT
  Meet the highest LEGO quality standards
  Comply with all safety standards
  RoHs Compliant (certified lead free)

These sensors are manufactured by HiTechnic and approved by Lego are sold in the Lego.com Shop:

#2852724 Accelerometer
#10285 Compass
#2852726 Gyroscopic
#2855040 IR (Infrared) Receiver
#2852725 IR Seeker
#2853216 IR Link

Sensors and custom parts are generally expensive. The sensors above range from $54.99-$49.99 so it would be worthwhile considering the value of the sensor before you decide to make a purchase.

I would recommend judging the sensor(s) by their expected frequency of use, the potential for sensors to be used in other creations and their level of experience with the Mindstorms NXT system.


EV3 SPIK3R on Mission 5 just keeps backing up I completely built the Mindstorms EV3 Spik3r. Missions 1-4 worked fine. However, with mission 5, and using the pre-made program, the robot just keeps backing up, instead of facing the bug, shooting it and then moving towards it. I put the 'bug' right in front (5cm) of the robot, and it backs up. I put the bug a bit further (50cm) in front, and the robot still keeps backing up.

If I hold the bug in my hand and move it to about 5 cm from the sensor, above it (like a 45-degree angle), then the sensor detects the bug, and the robot shoots at it and then tries to crush it. But it seems pretty flaky.

Is there an EV3 program I could download to help me debug this, or at least understand what's going on? Perhaps a program that shows the ultrasonic sensor's reading in real-time on the brick so I can move the bug around and see what the readings are?

What else could I try?

Perhaps a program that shows the ultrasonic sensor's reading in real
  time on the brick so I can move the bug around and see what the
  readings are?

You can easily view the ultrasonic sensors readings in real time. To do so, turn on your EV3 brick, navigate to the 'Brick Apps' tab (second from the right) and launch the 'Port View' application.

Use the EV3 buttons to find the port which your ultrasonic sensor is connected to. The ultrasonic sensor value should be shown.


Current LEGO Digital Designer download is missing a lot of parts The current LDD download is missing a lot of bricks that were in version 1.3.11 before.

Such as, but not limited to:
EV3 motors, sensors and the main EV3 brick.

Does anyone have a solution/download with all the 1.3.11 bricks?

Unfortunately LDD has been actively deprecated for quite a number of years and LEGO officially noted they would not be updating the parts set and would, in fact, be removing some parts quite a few years ago.

The only solution is to use one of the alternatives such as any of the options that use the LDraw libraries. One of the more popular right now (for good reason IHO) is Stud.io, which as of the completion of the BrickLink acquisition will be owned by TLG.


How to Motorise 42111 Dom's Charger Technic I just received the 42111 Dom's Charger set as a gift, and I was wondering whether it could be motorised and RC controlled? A part list would be great as I don't own any Power Function parts.
Cheers in advance!

There are several such MOCs in existence around the Internet:

https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-42193/Porlock/fully-rc-lego-technic-doms-dodge-charger-model-42111-with-fast-buggy-motor-lights-and-some-changes/#bi
https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-41973/BrickUrDream/dodge-rc-motorized-42111/#bi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmYalpTxmIs
https://racingbrick.com/lego-technic-42111-dodge-charger-rc-mod-with-42095-plus-servo/
https://buwizz.com/42111-doms-dodge-charger-motorized-and-powered-by-buwizz/
https://bricksafe.com/pages/Porlock/42111---rc-mod-dons-dodge-charger

Pick your favourite or combine the best features of them together into your own solution :)


Does TLG own BrickLink? At the bottom of Bricklink.com appears the following statement:

LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies which does not sponsor, authorize, or endorse this site.

However, according to this press release from 2019 TLG is in the process of acquiring Bricklink.
Has this acquisition gone through? Is the Lego Group the owner of Bricklink? What does this mean for Bricklink and for independent marketplaces in general?

Yes, TLG has acquired Bricklink. There have been multiple news, FAQ's and interviews posted with regards to a future of the website. You can read some of them on Bricklink as well as LEGO webpages. You can also read an interview with LEGO representative.
The footer on BL's webpage has been left as it was prior to acquisition. Perhaps there wasn't time to change it yet.


Can someone help identify this set from 2011 (Star Wars?) I got this set but without instructions and as I have no idea what it my son can’t build it. Bags says 2011 and 135149.

Here’s a picture of the bags.

At the minimum, two separate sets:

Set #75048 The Phantom...

Only set to have a windshield in this style.

Astromech's body and leg found in pieces.

 ... and Set #75050-1 B-Wing.

Need less reflective/obstructed pics to identify more potential sets.

How to adds pics.

(Sorry rushing to go to work).

Edit your post.

Position cursor where you want to drop image.

Hit "picture frame icon" then browse to your image to add it.

Save edited post by hitting blue "Save Edits" button.


Is there virtual LEGO designing software? Possible Duplicate:
  Do any programs exist that allow you to build own LEGO plans?

Some years ago, there was a really good program to build models from LEGO. But today I can't find it. Do you know such software which runs on a Linux machine?

The LEGO Digital Designer that was the client/creation part of DesignByMe is Windows or Mac only.

This is regularly updated with the latest sets of parts available through Pick a Brick and similar tools.

It allows you to print off building instructions, or upload your creations to the LEGO site.

Previously, you were able to order a boxed set of your model for yourself, friends or family, however The LEGO Group discontinued this service in January 2012.


Are there bricks sized between LEGO (classic) and DUPLO? I am wondering whether there is a brick-type construction block toys on the market that would be sized between the LEGO (classic/original) and LEGO DUPLO. More specifically I am looking for a 3/4 ratio of DUPLO size.

The fact is that DUPLO is 8x the volume of the "classic" LEGO bricks. Measured in 2D dimensions, 4x4 classical LEGO "units" are the same width as a single 2x2 DUPLO brick. Also DUPLO has double brick height than classic. I wonder whether there is a brick where a single 2x2 brick would have the size of 3x3 LEGO classic units and also would have 3/4 of DUPLO height.

One Single Stud Lego brick is 9.6mm H by 8mm W (technically 7.8mm).  So at the scale you are looking for we're searching for single stud bricks that are 28.8mm H by 24mm W.

After an extensive search among multiple Lego-style building block manufacturers, I can't find any that use the dimensions we're looking for.  Here is a list of companies I searched:

Best-Lock, Buggi, Built To Rule, Ciddi Toys, Hubelino, Intelliblox, Kre-O, Loc-Bloc, K'Nex, Mega Bloks, NanoBlock, Playbig Bloxx, Q-Bricks, Super Blox, Tente, Super Blocks, Unico

The Best-Lock Juniors were probably the closest I could find but the proportions are still off and I think 2010 was the last time the sold a Juniors set.

One of the biggest selling points most all of these companies made was that their blocks were compatible with other building systems (ie Legos) so chances are they wouldn't deviate from the standard sizes that Lego produces with their own special sizes.


What is the best option for Mindstorms EV3 remote control for motors? I have never experimented with remote controlling EV3 but I wonder what is the best way to use it, especially in the case when I'd like to control large and medium motors parallel as well, possibly from relatively long distance.
As far as I know, there are different possibilities with respective drawbacks:

Use IR remote: short range (by the way, it is necessary to direct the
IR beam directly into the "face" of the IR receiver?)
Use mobile app
via Bluetooth: difficult to direct multiple motors at the same time
(?)

Alternatively, is controlling over WiFi (assuming WiFi dongle in the brick) working?

As you mentioned, the IR remote has a relatively short range. You must not direct the IR beam directly in front of the IR receiver but it is working much better if you do. If you're on the back of the receiver for example it is possible that's your signal won't be received.

I'm controlling EV3 robots over WiFi. That's working very well. I'm using the EDIMAX EW-7811UN Wireless USB Adapter that is working without any modifications on the EV3 with the latest firmware (1.09E in my case).

I think that's worth a try but depends of course on what you want to achieve.


Do these bagged GUDI pieces make up a single set? I purchased what I thought was some second-hand LEGO today. There was a single plastic bag with the words "Complete Set" written on it in sharpie marker. There were 6 sealed polybags inside, all with pieces that look similar in colour (lotsa pinks, purples, browns and whites).
On closer inspection, some of the pieces bear the logo "GUDI" which I gather is a Chinese manufacturer specialising in 'Lego-style blocks'. Most of the bags have a number on them (5538.01, 5538.02, etc) but I've not been able to research any GUDI sets that have that number.

Do these pieces comprise a single set (and if so, which one?) or is the bag author a no-good lying liar?

So, I just Googled "GUDI" + "catalogue" and it brought me to the knockoff's parent company "Guangdong Xinlexin Education and Culture Co.,Ltd" or Xinlexin.com.

Xinlexin's GUDI product line has two subcategories that match the color scheme of these pieces.

Princess Alice line.
Modern Girls line.

Below are pictures from both lines that comprise of around 23 sets.  If you'll notice, each set has many unique identifiable pieces that just don't appear in the current six poly bags above.

The only piece that comes close is that blue translucent piece in BAG 06, which sorta looks like the minidoll dress from Elena's Studio.

I don't think it's this dress, but regardless if it were, the poly bags are still short critical pieces to solidly decide on this set.  In fact, we're short critical pieces to decide on any of the other 23 sets.

Another point: We don't know how far back Xinlexin website goes when listing their knockoffs.  This could be a complete set before GUDI decided to list their wares digitally.

Conclusion: We could safely say that these 6 poly bags are not from any of Xinlexin's current line of 23 sets, but due to lack of documentation, we can't say that these pieces do, or do not, form a complete set.


What LEGO piece is this? Could anyone identify this piece?

Welcome. This is 57518 Technic, Link Tread Wide with Two Pin Holes.


Should my set come sealed in plastic? I’m a new collector. I decided to buy the Stranger Things set as a possible investment piece. I assumed the box would come sealed in plastic but it didn’t. Is this normal?

LEGO sets ship in sturdy cardboard boxes. The LEGO bricks inside the box are sealed in plastic bags (though some larger pieces come loose in the box) and for larger sets the instruction manual and sticker sheet are also sealed in a plastic bag.

The LEGO box itself is not covered in plastic. LEGO uses “seals” to prevent tampering - these are basically just pieces of adhesive tape with some printing on it - a black bar plus on at least one of the pieces of tape is a production code.

Some smaller sets come with push-tabs instead of tape seals ... this forces you to destroy the box to get at the set inside. These boxes will have the production code embossed or printed on the underside of the box.

There are collectors who plastic-wrap their sets upon receipt to keep them mint, but this is not a common practice. You can also engage a grading service to get sets graded, but the market for sealed graded sets is very small.

Note that no matter how good the seals look on a set (even push-tabs), there are entrepreneurial individuals who manage to open and reseal boxes to take out the most valuable contents without you as a buyer knowing. Be aware.


What does the acronym MOC stand for? This is a common acronym used in the Lego community - what does MOC mean?

MOC stands for "My Own Creation".

  MOC

  My Own Creation. Any LEGO creation designed and built by a LEGO fan without instructions. Generally pronounced “mock.”*

Found at this Lego glossary.

Brickipedia's version from their own glossary:

  MOC - My Own Creation, a fan- made LEGO model

*A side note: There may be some LEGO fans who pronounce "MOC" the way the individual letters are pronounced - effectively saying "Em-Oh-See".


How does one identify the designers of a LEGO set? I'm looking for tips to identify the Lego Designers that have worked on a given particular released recent set.
Ideally, I would like to find an online resource that has this information for as much sets as possible, but I'll also consider other options as answers.

One resource I know of that can be considered both correct and up to date is the LEGO set designers' BrickLists.

In a few other cases (mostly for larger releases, like in the Ideas line) one might find an interview with the original submitter and the designer who finalized the product for release:


Trying to 3D print a birdhouse but need to identify plates I found a birdhouse on Thingiverse (thing:1641240) I would like to print and build. It uses Lego plates for the floor and roof, but the problem is that the person that posted the design didn't include which Lego plates are used.
Here are the images from the files:

The floor and ceiling aren’t one piece. They’re made of four 30357: Black Plate, Round Corner 3 x 3 each with an assortment of other square/rectangular plates to fill in the gaps.
It looks like there are 20 studs between the corner pieces on each side. The second image you posted shows a layer of tiles holding the floor together. Presumably there is another layer of offset plates holding the ceiling together from the bottom.

Edit:
Which pieces you select for the center of the floor/ceiling will come down to two factors:

Price, or how expensive they are to get (assuming you don't already have them).
Strength, or how easy it is to make a sturdy structure (assuming you aren't planning to glue them together).

Here's one possible tiling that favors strength:

And a layer of plates you could place on the underside to hold everything together:

In these examples, every joint on the first layer is overlapped by at least two studs on both sides by the second layer.
Here's the parts list for this tiling, along with the cheapest price on bricklink if you're buying each part from one buyer:

(4 x $0.02) Plate 1 x 3
(4 x $0.01) Plate 1 x 6
(4 x $0.01) Plate 2 x 3
(2 x $0.01) Plate 2 x 6
(1 x $0.11) Plate 2 x 14
(4 x $0.03) Plate, Round Corner 3 x 3
(4 x $0.04) Plate 4 x 8
(1 x $0.03) Plate 6 x 6
(4 x $0.10) Plate 6 x 10
(8 x $0.73) Plate 6 x 12

Total: $6.84
Remember to double this if you're building both the floor and ceiling with the same layout.


What was the first Lego tie-in film or television production? Nowadays, it's pretty common for TV shows and films to be released by film studios in agreement with The LEGO Group and tying in to current LEGO set themes - famous examples include the recent films (The LEGO Movie and The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part), LEGO Star Wars: The Yoda Chronicles, the Legends of Chima TV series, and Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitsu, all of which were released after 2010.

What is the earliest television or film production that was officially tied in with a LEGO set or theme or with LEGO bricks in general? The earliest that I was able to find was Edward and Friends from 1987 that showcased the Fabuland theme, but LEGO was already decades old by then. Was there anything before that?

I think you already answered your own question: The The earliest Lego television production is Edward and Friends from 1987 that showcased the Fabuland theme.
From the Wikipedia page:

It was Lego's first foray into animation and television in general.


Which part is this pin with varying diameter? Can you tell me which part# is this?

The part is a Technic, Pin 1/2 with 2L Bar Extension (Flick Missile), part number 61184. It was released in 2008 and used extensively in the LEGO Agents theme as "flick missiles".


Read power usage and respond when motor is straining Is there a way to know if the drive wheels are "straining", like when locked up with an opposing bot?

This is for a Lego sumo bot using the Lego Mindstorms Education EV3 Core Set (EV3 Large Motor 6009430 and Lego Mindstorms EV3 Home Edition).

The approach that should have worked is based on the difference between the "regulated motor" green block and the "unregulated motor" blue block. The regulated motor retains a consistent speed, adjusting the power necessary to keep that speed, while the unregulated motor sends a constant power so the speed may change based on resistance.

There's a yellow block called "Motor Rotation" which has a setting to read something called the motor's "Current Power". Instinctively, I figured that would tell me the power being sent to the motor, so if it was driving using the regulated drive block, I would expect to see a number that would go up when the motor encounters resistance and needs more power. (And the number would go down hypothetically if the bot was going downhill and needed less power to maintain speed).

But, in practice, the number returned from the read "Current Power" matched the speed number I sent to the regulated motor block, and when resistance was applied, the number went down. I tested this by having the number displayed on the screen, the number displayed matched the "Current Power" number shown in the live "Port View" in the Mindstorms computer app, both went down when the wheel slowed.

Is there a way to read the real "Current Power"?
Is there any other way to know when a motor is straining?

When I was looking in the sensors tab of the LABVIEW EV3 block-based coding software, I saw something that kind of looked like an alternative NXT Brick.

It was actually an Energy Meter, and because of its name, I thought it would suit your needs. However, it's wire port looks like it's intended for Lego Power Functions, but if it's in the EV3 programming software, then obviously there must be some sort of way to get it to work with EV3.


Anyone have the control block for the hitechnic color sensors? I'm just wondering if anyone has a copy of the control block for the hitechnic color sensor v2? I'll take a v1 if you have that because I'm desperate at this point. The downloads page for it is down and my team needs this soon. If you have this or know where it can be found please can you provide the link?

It looks like the page listing downloads is down, but direct links to the downloads still work. I believe that this is the file that you're looking for:

https://www.hitechnic.com/upload/306-Color%20Sensor%20V2.zip


What is the purpose of the 8 tooth timing gear? I recently ran across the 32060 Technic Gear Timing Wheel 8 Tooth element when sorting a mixed bag of parts.

This element doesn't appear in many sets as a functional element. Here's one example from the Barcode-Multi-Set (8479) set:

What is the purpose of this element, and how does it work? I'm guessing from the name that it has something to do with timing. Perhaps it is used as a rotary encoder somehow?

When looking at Blakbird's Technicopedia page for this Technic set, this part is indeed used as a rotary encoder in combination with the bar code scanner.
See the last entry on the page.


Why 2M Cross Axle has Groove? I was sorting axles noticed only 2M has grooves. Why 2M Cross Axle has grooves? Is it for alignment?

I believe it's mostly so that you have something additional to grip on to when removing it from other elements.

With the 3M+ axles, there is more axle available to hold on to so that you pull off a sleeve or joint nicely, but for some, the 2M is too short.


What's an effective strategy for purchasing large numbers of different bricks? If you want to go on bricklink for example, you search by part but the end up with parts on various different stores. Buying on ebay is extremely expensive for groups of different parts. How do you deal with it?

On bricklink, your example, if you input the parts into a wanted list it allows you to find stores that have all (or most) of the parts on the list letting you minimize shipping costs.


Is it possible to add block to the on-brick "NXT Program" menu? I have an NXT 2.0 (8547) set.

Is it possible to add some custom blocks to the NXT progranm submenu on the brick itself (like the existing "forward 5", "turn left", ...) so that I can add and use some simple steps there without the use of a PC?

Rationale: I'm playing around with the block with my small daughter (3), and adding in the PC to do something isn't very small-children friendly :-)

There is a piece of software called ICON (archived copy) which runs on the NXT and allows you to create programs on the NXT with many more commands than the built-in NXT programmer.


Lego Set ID for white curved pieces with blue Police stickers? I got another police set but can't find directions.

The parts with "Polizei" are from the 7741 Police Helicopter set.

Other parts are from the 7286 Prisoner Transport set (parts with "Police" and "03").

The license plate is from the Fire Truck of the 7206 Fire Helicopter set.


What is the best way to make a staircase? I have built a Bat Cave from some bookcases and lego base plates. ( http://alice-yarns.co.uk/blog/2013/11/17/the-batcave-part-i/ ) I want to add staircases for the characters to move between each of the three shelves. But what is the best way of doing this?

I wondered about making it purely from lego bricks but I can't see how this could be stable.

Building a staircase out of bricks is easy enough, but uses a lot of brick pieces, as zovits already answered. If you want to achieve something faster, with fewer pieces, you could look into the spiral-staircase-piece

or the regular staircase piece.

The spiral staircase piece combines with some plate+pin pieces (bottom, top) and some posts. You can connect as many posts together as you want using a pin.

The advantage of using the spiral staircase is mainly the simplicity of it; it's not that versatile a piece, but it works for its purpose and does have a nice round edge. Plus the stairs can be rotated, which allows for a "hidden staircase" feature.

The advantage of using the regular staircase piece is that it is very sturdy and it takes up very little space. You can build a similar staircase using the inverted slope and some 1x4 plates but it isn't as strong (and it's slightly taller).


Mindstorms Chromebook app Stuck in Zoomed-Out Position We are using the LEGO Mindstorms app on Chromebooks. Our test program got zoomed-out to the point of being too small to read.

The remainder of the screen is normal sized. We've tried using 2 fingers to zoom-in and out, but to no avail. Any suggestions?

SHORT ANSWER:

Look in upper right hand corner of your project page and find the icon that looks like this [1:1] and click it.  It will center and reset the zoom of your program.

Isn't two finger zooming an Apple touch screen thing, like we do on an iPhone?  So, unless you're used to doing this on your Apple tablet at home, the two finger slide technique won't work on the class Chromebook.

LONGER ANSWER:

A few disclaimers first, I don't have a Chromebook, or any LEGO Mindstorms sets... (yet), so I can't be totally sure of what you mean or every detail I say.  So, with that said, let's dance!

So, I watched a video of cool teacher Mr. Hino, downloading the Windows version of this app on his class Chromebook.

So, to understand your question further, I downloaded the same Windows version app on to my PC, and have installed/launched the program.

Assuming your app is the same as my app, I took some screen shots to point out where the Zoom In/Out stuff is.

1) So, this picture is the Lobby/Row of Robots when we start up the program.

2) We need to get to a "Project".  Located in upper left hand corner. Click to pull down the menu.

3) We'll either choose to start a "New Project", or if we have one saved,   "Open Project" that already exists.

4) This picture is where you're zoom-stuck.

5) Look in the upper right hand corner and you'll see some icons in a row.

6) You'll see magnifying glasses with "-" sign, "+" sign, and "1:1" zoom reset.

7) Click "1:1" Zoom Reset.

8) FRIGGEN-FIXED!

EXTRA CREDIT ANSWER:

There are keyboard combinations called shortcuts that make life hella-easier.

The most common are:

"CTRL + C" = Copy.

"CTRL + X" = Cut.

"CTRL + V" = Paste.

Don't know if your Chromebook has a mouse wheel, but...

"CTRL + Mouse wheel UP" = Zoom IN.

"CTRL + Mouse wheel DOWN" = Zoom OUT.


Chaining Connections The LEGO 2x4 brick is somewhat of an icon of LEGO, and the majority of official LEGO bricks can connect back to it. However, the number of bridging bricks required can vary, depending on the piece. Some pieces, like a 1x1 Round Tile, can be connected directly to it; however, others, like the Technic Axle 32, require additional pieces (in this case, the Technic Brick 1 x 2 with Axle Hole) to bridge the gap.

The piece I can think of that requires the most of said bridging pieces to connect back to a 2x4 is the body of the Bohrok Canister assembly, which requires 4 pieces to reach the 2x4: the lid, the hanger clip, a Bohrok ribcage, and a 1x2 Brick With Pin. My challenge is, can you do me one better? What piece takes the most bridging pieces to connect back to a standard 2x4, and what is the chain required for it?

Rules:

The piece must be official LEGO; no messing around with off-brand pieces with absurd new connection types.
All connections used must be legal; no strapping things together with rubber bands and calling it good (that would take all the fun out of it).
There must actually be a method of connecting the pieces together; pieces like the ball used in Scorpion Palace or any of the BIONICLE canisters without built-in studs are just cheating.

This answer is based upon the wrong assumption that Technic chain links and conveyor-belt links (a.k.a. bulldozer chain links) connect to nothing except each other.
As remarked by Ivan Sanchez, this is contradicted by this set, which uses a connection between a conveyor-belt link and a standard arm/rod.

Assuming that these chain links only connect to each other, the only way to connect them to something else, is wrapping eight of them around a standard 16-cog gear. (You can also wrap six of them around an 8-cog gear, but I would not consider that a robust and intended connection.)

Finally, the gear can be connected to a length-3 axle with stud, which in turn can be connected to the bottom of the 2×4 brick.

For bulldozer chain links, this looks like this:

Now, it depends on how you interpret the challenge: You need nine other pieces to connect the chain link to the 2×4 brick. However, many of those pieces are again chain links and there are only two pieces between every chain link and the 2×4 brick.


How did the LEGO Duck become a classic icon? The LEGO handmade wooden Duck was released in 1935, long before the LEGO Brick was created. Many other wooden toys were made which can be seen in The Lego Museum, the duck however features in books, LEGO's yearly progress report as well as being made into a model out of LEGO bricks!
I can't find any history of the Ducks being sold on eBay, judging by its age, sentimental value and low production rate it must be a priceless collector's item.

I sent the question to LEGO customer support and they replied:

  The LEGO Duck became a classic icon because it was the first LEGO toy
  ever to be released.

  We do not have any lists of where would sell this product however I
  imagine it would be sold at some antique markets or antique shows so
  keep a look out!

  We do not have any idea for how much it is worth as it is priceless in
  our eyes and not sold by LEGO any longer. It also does not have a set
  number which may be why it is hard to find on the internet.


What brick is this? 1x2 with holes in the short sides This is my first time doing something like this, so here goes.  This is a 1x2 blue brick with holes on each end.  Through a hole, you get this view of the center peg and the light coming in through the other hole (pic 3).  From the bottom there is the peg, the holes on the sides, and the "Pend" from "Pat Pend" (pic 4). The "Pat" is above, but unable to be seen.

Finally, I have done a lot of research and found a grand total of nothing about it.  So, I tried some stuff out and learned that the only thing that fits in the holes are minifigure arms and thus speculated about a 4 arm guy.

Here are my tries at fitting other stuff.

Thanks for looking and sorry for so many pics!
-Erich Wacker

This is part 3317.

It's primarily used to hold the bucket on front end loaders. It hasn't been used in a set since the late 90's. Part 3314 is about the only other part that is designed to connect to it that I'm aware of:

Here's an example of this part in use from set 6504:

While I believe that this was the only way to connect to this part used in official sets, I'm sure it may have other uses. It was used to build gas pumps in one set:


Starting a wholesale LEGO business I would like to start a company trading in bulk LEGO. I have been told, however, that trading in volume is quite difficult and good discounts are only really given to the likes of Walmart and other huge players. So I would be interested to know if there are other secondary sources in Europe or North America, where new LEGO can be bought in bulk.

You can buy LEGO in bulk at any official LEGO store. It is called the PAB (Pick-A-Brick) Wall. They will sell them to you buy the cup, or if you need really large quantities, you can also ask them for full boxes. Keep in mind that the selection changes seasonally, and you will not be the only seller who buys parts this way, so there will be competition.

Other than that, your only other option is to take advantage of sales at retail stores. Right before Christmas is an excellent time to stock up as many stores have great deals. Also, right after Christmas when stores are clearing out last year's stock to give room to new sets (LEGO always releases a whole range of new sets in January).

LEGO does not sell parts in large bulks to individuals, unless you become an official LEGO Certified Professional. However these people get access to huge amounts of LEGO not because of reselling the pieces, but because they are creating art. In general LEGO does not like resellers and will not support them in any way. You will have to find your own resources/angle if you want to get into the business.


Are the molds for LEGO bricks maintained in house or is maintanance partly outsourced? I'm a maintenance engineer myself and busy with my MBA courses with the following strategic question: what maintenance can be outsourced or not. I was wondering if Lego does all maintenance of the molds in house, as the molds are the core of the product and the essence of what makes LEGO unique.

Moulds are maintained in-house.

As you say, the moulds are at the very core of the business of the LEGO company and are thus treated with all the seriousness you can imagine. Considering also that some moulds are in effect trade secrets by themselves (especially for parts which aren't publicly known yet), LEGO wouldn't want any of them to exit the company. (It's been said that retired moulds are embedded in concrete of new buildings, but that's probably an exaggerated version of "they are destroyed".)

If I remember correctly, National Geographic's reportage on LEGO (in a serie on ultimate factories) showed some very interesting insight on the moulding process, including the making and cleaning of moulds, which I'm certain will be interesting for you. You can find these on YouTube; in particular, watch the interview of one Finn Kirkegaard at the beginning of part 2. You'll also notice that these things are absurdly heavy, which would make the transport of them an issue too.


Please help identify, could be a Bionicle? (yellow with green mask) Pieces could have come from disassembling a Bionicle.

Looks like you have a portion of 8998-1 Toa Mata Nui.

This set is sometimes called "Titan Mata Nui" among fans, to better distinguish this "Titan" set from the regular "Mata Nui" set, which is how the character Toa Mata Nui actually appears in BIONICLE media.
The transparent green piece does not go to it though, and I'm not sure what it is.


What are the curve radii for the curved slope pieces? Does anyone have a table with the curve radii for the curved slope pieces?

If not, does anyone have a good idea for measuring a third point on the curve?

Since I know the front and the back "coordinates" of the curve piece, I need a third point to get the radius. I was thinking about making some sort of jig, but I don't have any good ideas.

These curves have been approximated by the contributors to the LDraw project. You can download free software to view and use the part files, from which you can approximate other points on the curve. For example, here is an LDraw part file shown in "wire-frame" mode:

LDraw parts are drawn in increments of the "LDraw Unit" (LDU) in which a standard 1x1 brick is 20 LDU wide by 24 LDU high (not including the top stud). By examining the part in an LDraw viewer, I was able to establish the coordinates of some of the points on the curve:


Step 160 on Carousel 10257, white hinges not connecting? I'm struggling with step 160 where I use white "hinge" connectors to connect the carousel platform sections. It seems to create too much pressure and the platform breaks apart. Grateful for any tips.

I would go back and check just to make sure that you have done the last few steps right. If you still can't figure it out, look on either YouTube or Google and type "LEGO 10257 Carousel Not Working correctly". If there is nothing there, contact LEGO Customer Service and ask for help. Good Luck!


Where is the 15068 PLATE W. BOW 2X2X2/3 in LDD? I can't seem to find this piece in ldd, and it's a very common piece.  I'm using the extended version.  where is it?

Could not find it by typing numbers (15068 bricklink id or 605109 lego id)
but simply browsing it is simple enough to find.

Open the 7th category of bricks, 4th element:

I'm using the latest ldd version (4.3.11)


What is the easiest option to start making instructions? I'd like to make instructions for my kids, which they could read either on paper or on a tablet.

What is the easiest option to achieve that, ideally using open-source software (and running on Linux)?

After testing several software (and figuring out quite a few are not compatible with each other), I tested Leocad, and was able to easily create models and generate instructions.

In Leocad 0.82, going through "Print Preview…" and then printing to PDF generates simple and clean instructions.

http://raphink.github.io/lego_models shows the results I got with that method.


Is the EV3 compatible with a 3rd party I2C gyroscope? The only detail I've found so far is that the pull-up resistor should be 82k ohm. I'm wondering If I could just get something like this Adafruit Gyro/Accelerometer
and just hook it up to the SDA and SCL pins of the EV3 and use it like the Lego brand sensor with minimal modification.

Yes, Mindstorms is incredibly hackable. You can use whatever 3rd-party analog, I2C, or UART devices you want with the EV3 brick. According to the hardware developer kit documentation:

  The EV3 platform supports the same level of I2C communication as MINDSTORMS NXT. This means that
  system support a maximum of 9600 bit/s and maximum 32 bytes communication buffers. All I2C
  communication is running within software drivers. External devices are required to include pull-up
  resistors on both pin 5 and 6 on 82K ohm. If multiple sensors are used on the same bus the total
  impedance needs to be adjusted accordingly.

Obviously, the standard Lego programming software will not be able to utilize custom devices, but pretty much any 3rd-party firmware will allow sending custom I2C read/writes.


Power Function IR Remote always emitting after putting batteries My PF IR remote led indication light is constantly on after I put in new batteries. It stay on without me touching anything. A quick check with my phone camera showed that the IR emitter is emitting. It sends signals to the receiver which activates the motor even when the channel on the remote and receiver are not matching. Is there anything I can do other than buying a new remote?

The Lego Company is usually very good about replacing broken and defective parts for free.  In the case of expensive electronic parts such as this, in my experience, they will sometimes request you send them the broken/defective one.  If this is the case, they will make it easy for you and send everything you need to do so with your replacement.  Because this part is still made/sold, there is a good chance they will make it right.

If this solution doesn't work out for you then you could try fixing it.  I would recommend taking it apart, if you have the tools, and look for any obvious signs of contaminants, over-heating, breakage, etc.  If there aren't any obvious issues then try storing the electronics in a bag of rice for a couple days to absorb any moisture in them.  If none of these things work then you are probably going to need a new one.


What is this short blade with a hole at one end? What is this element ID?? Can you please help?

That's a 98347, a.k.a Wing 1 x 4 with Pin Hole


What material are older soft (plant) parts made of? I've carefully searched through SE and web and haven't found the exact answer.

This 2018 announcement states that new plant parts are made of plant-based polyethylene. It also implies that plant parts used to be made of polyethylene too, but it's just a hint though. I've also encountered some sources on the web mentioning polypropylene as the material.

Here are the examples of parts which seem to be manufactured of the same sort of plastic:

2518 Tree Palm Leaf Large 10 x 5

2536x Tree Palm Trunk

2542 Paddle

30158 Backpack Opening

So now I wonder which material soft parts (plants and similar) are made of prior to the 2018 announcement of switching to plant-based polyethylene.

According to Brickset, these parts have always been made of polyethylene, the only difference is that some of the material is plant-based since the Plants from Plants initiative.

Can you tell the difference?
No! They look, feel, smell and work just like 'regular' botanical elements. This is because, chemically, they are the same. You can safely mix them with your other plant pieces safe in the knowledge that there is no difference.


Glasses in the pour technique I'd like to replicate this build
The glasses that hold the claw/liquid appear to have a slightly wider mouth then the ones I have. Do I need a particular 1x1 round to do this?

You might be thinking they have the normal holed stud on top, which would indeed be a bit smaller. But instead what is done here is that they put the parts upside down, I think. So it's the bottom opening of the standard round 1x1 brick that you see on the top there.

They likely achieved that by using a 2x2 round tile with a stud hole as base, rather than one with a normal stud. The "liquid" is then stuck with its bottom pin into the inside of the stud hole of the "glass".

At least those are my immediate impressions from looking at the picture.


Are BanBao bricks compatible with Lego? Does anyone has experience with BanBao bricks?
BanBao World

Are they compatible with Lego bricks? They have basic sets and plates which are at a good price.

I have 2 Banbao set from before the lawsuit with Lego (minifig style minifigs) and they are more and less compatible with lego, the pitch between the studs is the same. But there is some remark I noticed within comparing both brands for a few minutes.

Studs are higher, a Lego plate on a Banbao brick will leave a small gap between both bricks
Plates are thicker. Lego ~3.2 mm and Banbao 3.6 mm. Bricks -> 11.4mm instead of ~9.6mm
Fit between Banbao bricks can be loose.

I have a small pull-back car that contains jumper plates that are placed vertical, parts mounted to them will fall off.
Bushes just slide over cross axles as there is no friction between both parts
Hinges are loose.
Usage of large parts, like 24x10 molded piece as a base for a vehicle.

I don't know if the quality of the bricks is better nowadays or they changed the dimension of the bricks. I would say just go to the store and by the cheapest set you can find and look for yourself.


How many mystery collectiable minifig bags to buy to get them all? There are 16 distinct LEGO minifigures in a collectible series. They are sold individually in "mystery" bags so that you cannot tell which one is inside.

To get all 16 minifigures, what's the expected number of bag purchases I need to make?

For simplicity let's make the assumption that the probability of a single bag containing a specific minifigure always is 1/16.

In fact, you may sometimes be able to buy a case with 60 of these bags, guaranteed to contain the complete series. And you may swap figures on the Internet. Let's ignore such options for this question.

16 Bags

I know the question was phrased as a sort of math problem, but most LEGO fans solve it as a sort of LEGO problem. The bags are opaque, so you cannot see what's in the bags, but almost everywhere they are sold you can feel the bags, and you can determine what figure is in the bag. With the exception of the recent Soccer Team figures, collectible minifigures are always unique in terms of what parts are in the bag. Just shake and squeeze the bag until the distinctive piece is found.

The problem with the math way: One can compute the probability of, say, picking two matching socks out of a drawer of miscellaneous socks, or of picking a whole collection of figures out of a box of figures. But there are a few complications:

Someone else has been there before you and squeezed the bags to find all the space marines.
Someone else has been there before you and grabbed a few at random, but then squeezed a few more bags to find the Princess.
The store takes what's left from the first box and jams it into the second box when the box runs low; or they don't even display them in the original box, making it impossible to know how many boxes are in play and how many figures have been picked.
There are usually 16 figures in a collection and 60 figures in a box; this means the figures cannot be evenly distributed. Some series have had as few as two of one figure in the box. Given that, it's entirely possible (though unlikely) to pick 58 figures and miss both of that elusive Unicorn Girl.

If squeezing the bags isn't an option, the only way to be sure is to buy a new, unopened box.


What tools can I use to get better prices on a large list of parts on Bricklink? I prepared a long list of parts (Wanted List) that I want to buy using Bricklink. It is clear that I won't be able to get all the parts I need from a single seller and have identified three Bricklink stores that can cover the full list of parts I need.

What tools can I use to distribute the parts I need across the three stores to get the best prices?

Previously there have been tools like Brick Wizard and Brickficiency but those do not seem to work with the updated Bricklink website. Are there currently any alternatives? I'm not shy to do some programming myself, but maybe there's a good starting point somewhere?

A new developer has updated Brickficiency to the new Bricklink API...

You can download it here: https://github.com/WindmillHelix/Brickficiency2/releases

I've tested it shortly, it seems to work as well as the old Brickficiency.
Haven't tested it well enough to check if it provides significant better options than Bricklinks own Easy Buy feature...

Just like the old Brickficiency, it's infeasible to process significantly long Wanted Lists as it uses a brute force approach (simply trying all store combinations)...


How to build ar Z6 (TR-8R) riot control baton for 75114 (First Order Stormtrooper)? Set 75114 has two guns but I would like my stormtrooper to have the iconic melee weapon.

How can I build one?

You could use the Chima sword:

Perhaps with the gun/torch as a handle:


Why isn't the LEGO logo on studs in more official computer animated shows, movies, and games? In the LEGO Simpsons episode Brick Like Me   there are many shots where the tops of studs are clearly visible but lack the logo- the smooth tops make them look like a cheap knock-off brand.  A standard normal mapping technique could render the logos without much additional computing time there and in lower budget animated shows like Ninjago or the Star Wars specials, and possibly even the computer games, but I wonder if there are other reasons the logo isn't there  — advertising restrictions?  (If that's the case an illegible logo would look better than smooth.)

I can not give a clear answer for licencing, as that is a very broad topic covering various mediums and possibly covers legislation across nations and regions. There are a few practical design cases I can think of though.
Early media
For interactive media, games historically have had limitations on processing and graphical power. Early games, such as LEGO Island released in 1997 had extremely limited graphics (by modern standards) yet were still very effective at representing LEGO bricks and characters fully.

Rather than attempting to recreate LEGO pieces as realistically as possible, they aimed to make the characters and environment full of life, immersive and fun. Very important for a product aimed at children.
Many designers completely ignore the realistic limitations of the hard plastic joints and pivots of a real minifigure and went for a more expressive style. Arms and legs unnaturally contort to give more expression and dynamics to the characters.

I believe the idea of LEGO bricks and what they represent to the imagination were considered more important to the physical aspects. Aside from technical limitations, the need to represent the bricks as accurately as possible just was not necessary and could even detract from the style.
It is even possible that rendering every individual stud on a brick could have produced a sickening Moiré effect as objects were moved around and their scale changed. This issue would be particularly worse at lower rendering resolutions.
Hyperrealism
The LEGO Movie released in 2014 was perhaps the first time LEGO fully embraced realistic animation. Although being fully animated digitally, they embraced the visual aesthetic of fans making stop-motion LEGO animations (also known as Brickfilms).
The painstaking details, involved placing minifigures under microscopes to capture the seam lines, dirt and grime into the digital textures. The character Benny the spaceman for example, includes the broken helmet chin strap, a common defect of the space sets.

It seemed from the design brief, it was important to provide realism to capture the physical nature of bricks for the sake of nostalgia, in combination with having certain creative freedoms to still make the parts feel alive and animated.

Summary
I could quite easily cover many more examples but I think it would generally be the case that many production companies contracted to design these media by The LEGO Group would have their own production standards, guidelines and interpretations of the artistic and technical style.


Identify set for Star Wars parts, dark grey base with 4 studs and embossed Star Wars logo Would greatly appreciate help in matching this to a Star Wars set.  Front and back 2"x 2"plate with top back ridge.  Dark gray color.  I have nine pieces.

This is Tile, Modified 6 x 6 x 2/3 with 4 Studs and Embossed 'STAR WARS' (30566):

It appeared in 4 sets back in 2000, always in dark gray. The sets are:

3340-1 Star Wars #1 - Sith Minifig Pack
3341-1 Star Wars #2 - Luke/Han/Boba Minifig Pack
3342-1 Star Wars #3 - Troopers/Chewie Minifig Pack
3343-1 Star Wars #4 - Battle Droid Minifig Pack


How to make LEGO unbreakable I would like to build a LEGO model which is unbreakable.

What is the best approach?

I am not looking for just glue here.

EDIT:

I don't just want to strengthen the bond between the bricks, but the model as a whole. The level of force to withstand is in the area where it would actually break a single brick.

/EDIT

Has anyone tried the kind of spray on film you can use to protect your car from bumps? How does these kind of product react with LEGO plastic?

Also important is that whatever I would use should not add a thick layer on top of the LEGO, it needs to retain it's original size to some extent. A millimeter or maybe two in some places could be ok.

This is really nearly impossible unless you have a lifetime supply of super glue.

A good structure using Technic LEGO bricks will provide better support and a lot more "stick" to each other, making the creation less breakable. Building the structure in which the strongest side will take the most hits/pressure should be an excellent way to make the model unbreakable. Joining a Technic skeleton with other bricks should improve your model's durability. Technic and regular LEGO bricks create the best possible way for models to not fall apart.

Overlapping bricks (longer bricks preferred) like bricks can make a strong support for each other. Each piece helps each other support a piece, having no weak points unless layered unevenly.

Try making your models fall and see where they break most often. The place where they break off is probably a weak point and needs more support or the pieces used are just too weak for the job. Replace/rebuild to improve the overall structure of the model. Of course, long bricks are preferred as the pressure is more evenly placed, making the hits seem pitiful against the strong model.


Creating a native EV3B block I'm trying to create a native block for a hardware sensor. I've got it working pretty well, but can't get it to show up in the "port view" as anything but a sound sensor. I really need the live view of the data the sensor is seeing. Is there an example of how this is done that I could follow?

The answer is: you can't.

The EV3 brick detects which type of sensor is plugged in to the ports by examining the electrical characteristics of the sensor1. Electrically, all NXT Analog sensors look pretty much the same, so they will all be detected at the LEGO NXT Sound sensor (or possibly the LEGO NXT Light sensor - or a very, very small chance as the LEGO NXT Touch sensor).

So, take @momrobo's advice and write a small program that simulates the built-in port view.

Or, if you are really ambitious you can create an adapter so that the sensor will look like an EV3 type analog sensor instead of an NXT type analog sensor. How do to this would be better suited to a blog post.


Does anybody know the LEGO number for this white ship with 6 wings? Does anyone know the LEGO set number for this?

This is not a LEGO set, it is a clone brand. The indentations on the slopes show this. You will also find that the studs do not bear the LEGO logo.


Help identifying unusual Technic part, long beam with 4 studs on end I have a large collection of parts and I came across this slightly chewed, possibly Technic, part. No numbers on it, just the Lego on the studs. It's 15 Technic holes and then a T-piece on the end with 2 studs either side. The head seems to have a slot through it. Any ideas?

That’s a crane-arm centre. It’s usually used in non-Technic sets together with the crane-arm outside to obtain a telescopic arm, e.g., for cranes or firefighter ladder trucks. The slit at the end is to insert a piece of string for using it as a cable crane.

Here's a picture showing this piece in use as the boom of a crane from 4552: