How to use printed bricks from set 850425 into LDD?

No. It is not possible to add printed tiles in LDD. The closest you can get is just putting plates into the design and adding stickers.


What are the differences between the NXT and the RCX?

NXT
RCX

3 motor and 4 sensor ports
3 motor and 3 sensor ports

Has encoders integrated in its motors so that they can be used as servos
Would need an additional rotation sensor on a sensor port to use as servos

Uses RJ12 connectors with the latch offset to one side
Uses regular 9V connectors (2x2 with metal in studs)

Uses a direct USB cable or Bluetooth for connection
Uses infrared to communicate with PC via an IR tower connected by a serial (1.0, 1.1) or USB (2.0)

Graphical 100X64 matrix display
Small numerical display with many limits

Technic oriented - uses technic pieces (no studs)
System oriented (studs) with small amount of technic

Uses graphical programming language with many features1
Uses a limited graphical programming language (apparently can't even run on XP)

Can play 8Khz wav files
Can play simple tones

Uses 6 AA batteries very quickly
Uses batteries more slowly

256 KB of flash memory that can hold a max. of 64 files of varying types
32 KB of RAM that can store up to only 5 programs

The original 1.0 version of RCX Brick had a 10v connection plug, but this was dropped from the later versions included in the Robotics Invention System 1.5. The NXT can use a rechargeable battery in place of the six AA batteries, and the rechargeable batteries also have a 10v transformer plug.

RCX retains its memory (including firmware) for a very limited time when not powered, just enough to change batteries. NXT uses flash memory and keeps it all when not powered.

1: Note that even powerful computers have trouble running big programs, and can easily mess them up. There exist many third-party systems for both RCX and NXT. Full list on Wikipedia.


What other uses are there for pull-back motors?

Yoshihito Isogawa made clock mechanisms from it (well... tic-tac generators) http://www.isogawastudio.co.jp/legostudio/modelgallery_model/b077.html
and http://www.isogawastudio.co.jp/legostudio/modelgallery_model/b078.html.

Majorna created a "programmable" pull back racer http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=69748&#entry1744425

...and another clock by neomomonga: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3-CDFw4O38


Even though there's no corresponding LEGO piece, you could get away with this substitution:

Part #89522 - Horn (Unicorn).

This is how it would look with the pieces you have, and color wise the Horn comes in metallic silver too.


Is it possible to use the Dexter WiFi Sensor with Robot C?

According to the dexter website, there is sample robotC code which means, yes you can use the Dexter WIFI sensor with robotC. Maybe there are robotC libraries for it in the download section on that website.

This forum thread also loosley states that you can use the Dexter WIFI sensor with robotC

Hope this helped.


It seems to be that these elements belong to more than one set.
Polybags with green window shutters are from Doors and Windows (6117)

Polybags containing blue flag and some other elements in Bright Light Orange are from The Lion CHI Temple (70010)


Help me figure out what sets these minifigs belong to!

Numbering your minifigures 1 to 19 by going from left to right, top row first, I see the following:

gen035 - Skeleton with Round Brick Head (Ninjago Bowling Pin) from set 2519 Skeleton Bowling.

Same as 1
Same as 1
oct027 - Octan - Racing, Blue Legs, Blue Helmet 4 Stars & Strips, Trans-Light Blue Visor from set 9293 Community Workers. Note that the minifig head in this figure is not correct in your image - it was likely swapped out by the previous owner.

The torso is 973pb0510 - Torso SW Armor Clone Trooper Pattern (Clone Wars). There are several minifigs that have this torso, including 8 with white arms and black hands. A full list is located here: https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=973pb0510&in=M
Not LEGO.
Not LEGO.
Torso is 973px83 Torso SW Dark Gray Shirt, Belt with Red Buckle Pattern (Padme), which belongs to sw025 Padme Naberrie from one of two sets from 1999: 7131 - Anakin's Podracer or 7171 - Mos Espa Podrace. Note that the arms must have been swapped out by the previous owner as the original minifig had blue arms.

Either njo007 Kai (missing his headscarf) or njo052 Kendo Kai (missing his Kendo gear). Appear in 7 sets from 2011/2012.
sw258 - Hoth Officer (with another minifig's head on top). From set 8083 Rebel Trooper Battle Pack.

cc4066 Actor 1. From polybag 4066 - Actor 1, released in 2001.

njo013 - Lord Garmadon (Ninjago). Could also be one of 2 other Lord Garmadon minifigs (with different gear). Part of several Ninjago sets from 2011.
Not LEGO.
Not LEGO.
Not LEGO
sw401 Imperial AT-ST Driver from set 9679 - AT-ST & Endor.

The torso is 973pb0318c01 Torso Speed Racer Pullover Open Collar, Diagonal Wrinkles Pattern / Blue Arms / Light Flesh Hands from the Speed Racers theme. The legs do not belong to this torso. Torso belongs to sr001 Speed Racer, Blue Pullover from set 8158 - Speed Racer & Snake Oiler from 2008.

Another likely Castle related torso that I haven't been able to identify yet. Seems to have a sticker on it.
Thanks to Samuel L.(!), this torso is 973px67c01 Torso Police Vest, White Shirt, ID, Yellow Star Badge Pattern / White Arms / Yellow Hands. It was part of 11 minifigures in the Classic Town theme, and those minifigures appeared in 18 sets.


I'm assuming you are using the Control+ app with the 42100 liebherr r 9800 set.
The Control+ app is indeed limited to the fixed models.
However the Powered Up app can also connect to the Control+ hub and supports it reasonably well. The Powered Up app has a "Create" mode where you can use programming blocks, it's similar to the Scratch educative programming environment.
You'll easily find the app in your app store on your device.
Note that contrary to EV3, Spike Prime or the new robotics set, code runs mostly on your smart device. I.e. you cannot operate your model without your smart device.
However, the micro-controller on the Control+ smarthub (Or the Powered Up or Boost smarthub for that matter) is powerful enough to run a version of microPython. This is used in the PyBricks project, which allows you to code the smarthub directly in Python.
https://pybricks.com/about/


Does longterm storage in a connected state harm the studs/tubes?

After researching the question further via some local AFOL, the answer appears to be "No". The tube/stud system remains robust if stored in a connected state. Connectivity issues arise after the studs/tubes begin to wear down due to excessive usage or the elements become cracked. Simply storing a model intact does not lessen the life of the bricks. However, storing LEGO elements out of direct sunlight is recommended.


Why was LEGO reluctant to use additional colours for regular bricks in former times?

The answer I've heard the most (with a source citing the official confirmation) is that green, brown and gray bricks were omitted from the LEGO palette because the company wanted to discourage kids from building tanks, planes, and other realistic military hardware.


THe appearance of  part 973pb2859c01 - Torso Scuba Vest with Utility Belt with Pouches and Lavender Tentacles Pattern / Yellow Arms / Black Hands means this is from one of these 3 The Lego Ninjago Movie sets.

The dominance of Red and Black bricks, combined with the presence of part 78c02 - Flat Silver Hose, Ribbed 7mm D. 2L narrows it down to set 70615 - Fire Mech.


Trying to identify a mystery set, mostly black and dark grey

I don't know if that is a cohesive set, but all the parts scream 2005 era Star Wars.
There is a x-wing canopy that gives me that idea, but the real smoking gun is the color combination of parts. There appears to be a lot of old (warm) dark grey, prior to Lego changing to the more (cool) bley they use today.
I think its just stray parts from that era. Enjoy all that classic dark grey, its great for mixing in with modern greys.


Which parts do not have the LEGO logo stamped on them?

I certainly don't have a list, but I came across Technic, Steering Arm with 4 Ball Joints with Black Wheel Hub (x872 / x873) part several times. I heard stories of Bricklink sellers being accused of shipping knock-off copy of this part (since it is a little pricey) due to absence of LEGO logo, despite them being legit items.


How do I robustly tilt a strength-1 wall?

My best solution so far are minifigure legs (which are pretty robust on their own) combined with a clip tile to hold the wall in place:


I've heard variations on "Big Ugly Rock PieceS".

However, I've also seen the term used to describe any large piece that the builder thinks has little reusable value due to its shape being pretty specific to a certain use.  Obviously the mountain pieces are built to look like pieces of rock.  But there's also some tower elements in the Harry Potter sets that often fit description.


Getting started with Mindstorms and/or Technic

In my opinion, Mindstorms is a subset of the Technic line up (Like how Police is a subset of Lego City). So most of the parts are interchangeable. The only part incompatibility issue you will come across is the electronics.

I would say go with Technic first. Learning how to build studless and basic Lego mechanisms will be more useful than robotics (initially). Buy the bigger sets as they have more parts and lower price per part (typically).

50-100 quid a month is quite healthy. Once established, Lego has a pretty low maintenance cost (If you don't want every set). You will find Brick Owl and Brick Link a good source of specific parts.

I suggest a browse of http://sariel.pl/ and http://www.technicbricks.com/ to get some ideas on what is possible.


Chamber of Secrets set 4730 assembly issues

I don't own the set but found some pictures of the assembled Set 1 and Set 2

It looks to me that you can reenact the scenes of the movie with this set, therefor you have the different sections of the room, where in the movie the action takes place. You can combine the different sections to create 1 corridor by placing them as shown on page 61, the bricks of question 1 & 4 can be used to connect them.

The towers are placed on the wall sections for example as: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=5727533

Pages 62 and further are indeed alternative builds, I don't know if this can be done with the parts of this set, but I thibk so.


Set 3368 Space Centre missing one 4211805

This looks like an oversight in the inventory printed in the instructions. Your interpretation of the instruction step requiring two of these is certainly correct.

The Bricklink inventory shows 2 of these, so that's what would have been included in the box. The replacement parts page on LEGO.com also indicates that this set should include 2 of the 7M axles.

It's likely that the seller just checked against the printed inventory and didn't include the second axle due to the misprint.


What material is the LEGO laptop made of?

It could be polyethylene or ABS. My guess is polyethylene because it is more flexible.


Has anyone made their own custom LEGO bricks?

People with 3d printers have made their own LEGO bricks. The plastic used is ABS.

Blog post

Interestingly, 3d printers can be constructed out of LEGO parts - you could have it self replicating!

Of course, you would need a very expensive and high quality printer to make good pieces. Cheaper ones can only make hollow bottoms and the banding from manufacture is highly visible.


Identify this license plate holder piece

There are two variant of that, which look very similar:

Stud.IO lists them as:

Brick, Modified 2 x 4 - 1 x 4 with Recessed Studs and Thick Side Arches
Brick, Modified 2 x 4 - 1 x 4 with Recessed Studs and Thin Side Arches

These can be seen below, thick in red on the left, and thin in blue on the right in the top picture (not a valid colour):

The difference is subtle but most visible on the side of the bottom, forward facing stud - the picture from the wikihow article appears to be using the Thin variant.


There is always the .NET API for Windows 8/ if you don't mind programming an app yourself (this would work for Windows/Windows Phone 8). The sample provided would allow you to control the individual ports of the brick but it doesn't take much to change this to control multiple ports from one button press.
https://github.com/BrianPeek/legoev3

Sadly this solution is probably no good if programming isn't your strong suite :/


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.


Anyone knows this Star Wars model? Grey and dark red with axles for side modules

Definitely 75039-1: V-Wing Starfighter:

Instructions (2 different copies, US and EU):

6079505
6079506


Replace Battery in LEGO Dino Attack Light-Up T-Rex Head?

Unfortunately after attacking this piece from every angle with some plastic opening tools, I'm quite certain there is no non-destructive way to open this piece.

I tried slipping a spudger in every seam where the plastic joins and was unable to find anywhere I could get any leverage, or even push it in more than a few millimeters.

Even the jaw piece is held on by a cylinder of plastic running from cheek to cheek. There isn't a good way to photograph it, but here's an illustration to show you what I mean.

Based on this experience, I believe it is held together by single-use plastic clips that snap into place on the inside without any way to detach them, short of breaking them. I do not think it is glued together, because the two halves do shift a tiny amount under pressure, and some points were much more resistant to inserting a spudger than others (perhaps because a clip is in that area).


Did all the nxt 2.0 lego content vanish from the Lego website?

There is still some NXT stuff on the LEGO website. It is just hidden a little bit. Go to the new Mindstorms website and click on downloads. Then look for the arrows at the top left of the Download Archive section and click the right arrow. You will find a NXT tab. Edit: The NXT downloads have been moved to the main download tab so they are easy to find now.

NXTasy has become http://www.mindboards.net.


Can you identify a set containing a zebra and spider minifig?

Batman baddie ZEEEeeeebra-Man,

and tough gurl TA-TAH-Taaaarantula !!!

From Set 70907-1 Killer Croc Tail-Gator.


What minifigure has a textured lab coat?

That's not a piece made by LEGO. It's most likely made by a compatible brand.


The torque in both versions would be the same.

Your first version just adds 3 of these gears:

The ratio between them is 1:1 so it will be the same as if you connect the axle straight into those small gears, as you do in the second image.

(Well, technically speaking, having 3 more gears in the mix will sacrifice some power to friction, but the theory is the same.)

Note, this answer assumes you aren't also running an axle through both these gears in your first image.

If you are, then it simply will not work.


Is the Antikhythera clock design available as Open Source?

If you could not get it, then you might try Hans Andersson's clock :)
http://tiltedtwister.com/timetwister.html

And here's the instructions manual:
http://tiltedtwister.com/tmtwdownload.html


This piece is 42023pb005R - Slope, Curved 6 x 1 Inverted with Orange and Yellow Marbled Flames and 'G' Pattern Model Right Side (Sticker) - Set 8897, which is used in only 1 set: 8897 - Jagged Jaws Reef.

But once more, please look at the Catalog Search function in BrickLink and spend some time learning it - this is the third consecutive "What is this piece" question for pieces that are fairly trivial to find. Bricks with a curved end are called "Slope" and are a common type (other common types are "Plate", "Brick", "Tile", "Minifig", "Wheel" etc.). You can also use the search bar at the top of the BrickLink screen, just make sure you switch the Search Scope field to "Catalog Item".


What Technic vehicle is this in black and red?

I did a cross check on sets containing following pieces 'red-42003', 'blue-6632' and 'black-32250'. This looks like the B model for set 8065.


Couple of Brick, Arch 1 x 3 x 3 pieces produce somewhat similar archway.


Why don't inverted brackets (99780) work in this SNOT 180 configuration?

The short answer is because the combined height of the two mini inverted brackets is greater than the interior space of a tile (or brick for that matter.) But you knew this already.

I realize it isn't considered standard by the rest of the world, but because the only quality calipers I had access to tonight are customary, all these values will be in inches.

An average of several measurements gives me the following values for the dimensions of several key parts:

average height of a 1x2 - 2x2 bracket............... 0.7221
average height of a 1x2 - 2x2 inverted bracket...... 0.7278
average height of a 1x2 - 1x2 bracket............... 0.4079
average height of a 1x2 - 1x2 inverted bracket...... 0.4131
average exterior width of a 2x2 tile................ 0.7239
average interior width of a 2x2 tile................ 0.6028

Now, we all know that item 1 and 2 will fit flush onto a brick evenly if a plate is added to the other side.

We also know that in practice, if you put 3 on a brick and 4 directly under that same position, the SNOT faces will adjoin where plates may be legally connected.

But here's the catch: adding the heights of 3 and 4 does not get 1. That sum does not even get 2.

It has to do with where the gap is. On items 1 and 2, the gap is under and above the SNOT part of these elements respectively. But the combination of 3 and 4 leaves the gap between those two plates. You can see this easily by attaching 4 to a brick and then laying a plate behind. You can see that the corner is square and there is no clearance like we see from hanging 1 off the side of a brick-and-plate.

This clearance, by my measurements, is 0.07 inches. This is the height of 4 that is placed at the corner (that leaves a gap between it and 3) This corner is what makes this technique fail. This corner also explains the reason that 3 and 4 are different heights although they suit similar purposes.

Finally, this explains why you can affix two 3 elements to the underside of a tile. Twice the sum of the height of the 3 is still less than the interior measure of the tile once horizontal tolerance is accounted for.

As a closing solution, I recommend using two 3s attached to a tile as that works in reality. But just to prove how complicated this measurement really is, LDD still thinks that your original problem is a legal connection.

Hope this helps.


How can I keep LEGO winches from becoming tangled?

I take 2 of these:

Place 2 pins in the holes

And then sandwich the loop of string between.

It works well and you likely have the pieces lying nearby.


I'm assuming you are referring to the One Piece anime series.

There are no official Lego sets for the One Piece anime series. If there were, you'd have seen them in the Lego catalogs.

Searching the web, I've found that there is a company called Diamond Blocks that has created One Piece sets. Strangely, they don't seem to have minifigs of the crew.

You could perhaps customize your own minifigs. You could make some stickers and apply them to your existing minifigs, for example.

Or you could contact Lego company and ask them. One Piece is a pretty popular series, so assuming this Diamond Blocks company doesn't have an exclusive license, they might just be interested in creating it.


Is there a good way to buy molded LEGO boxes?

I have considered this as well as the boxes look nice and they are stackable. However after taking into consideration how difficult it was going to be to acquire these boxes in sufficient quantity, be able to expand the system as my collection grows, and the fact that even the largest box is quite small, I decided against it. It is just not worth it.

Also, the boxes are not really practical for storage. They are narrow and deep, meaning it is hard to find pieces. I prefer wider and shallower containers where it is easier to see what's inside. It is best to go with a generic storage system readily available at department stores. They are made to be practical for storage, they are cheap, and can be expanded as your collection grows. If you would like to have the LEGO-ish look, you can always paint your shelves in bright colors, add posters, LEGO stickers, etc.

However if you really-really want these boxes, you might want to team up with eBay or BrickLink sellers who don't really care for the boxes but sell the parts. Try to reach out to larger sellers who buy sets in quantities, so you can get a number of boxes at a time.


Years ago for one of my projects. I used some acrylic paint to match something with the rest of the building. It can be done. But removing the paint is going to be a pain in the tail feathers. The parts never did look right after that. So I advise against it.


Resources for building MOCs with pieces entirely from single sets

Rebrickable may have exactly what you are looking for in addition to a lot of other features. You can search for a set and see alternate models that builders have submitted. Here's the page for the Parisian Restaurant. It shows one submitted MOC using just the parts from this set:

There tend to be more results for smaller sets, particularly in the Creator theme as these have many reusable parts. For example, Sunset Speeder currently has 43 alternate models available:

If you create an account, you can add all of the sets that you own and see which MOCs you are able to build using all of the parts you have available.


Found a bag of pieces. Most unique to this bag is a cloth of yellow and gold stripes

Based on the description on the cloth piece, the set should be the #31052 LEGO Creator Vacation Gateways https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=26243pb01&in=S


Pattern for oscillation with LEGO Technic

What you're looking for is reciprocal motion, or to convert rotation motion into linear motion (and then back to a limited rotation).

Building out the key parts of the fan head you have the following setup (using fairly standard technic pieces:

Drive the smaller cog normally, this will rotate 360° as normal.
The driving rod will only move as far as the limits of the smaller cog - from the side you can see that this appears to be only going forwards and backwards.
The larger cog will be driven forwards a few degrees and then be pulled backwards as the driving rod is pulled back in return.

Adjust the distance between the gears and the size of the gears as you require. If you need a larger gear in (3) you could replace the gear with one of the liftarms with an axle hole rather than circles, etc.


Where and when did the straight block letter LEGO logo appear on brick studs?

NOTE: from 1949 to 1954 "LEGO" was printed INSIDE the brick.

LEGO appeared on the studs for the first time in the late 1954, then it was re-designed a lot during the years, becoming the stud we all know.

The not-italic stud of the photo was produced between 1960 and 1963. You can easily exclude 1963+ noticing that it's not the same exact plastic of the modern bricks (ABS was adopted in 1963).

Hope this helps.
P.S. I'm a huge LEGO collector and I'll be glad to share my expertise here and learn from other passionate people.


Are there any benefits to using PF motors instead of EV3 ones?

The cost of a PF motor is about one third of an EV3 motor.
If there is no need to regulate the motor, using PF motors is a way to save costs. Also PF motors are more compact.
Its possible with lego converter cables to attach them to an EV3, however the NXT to 9V cable is hard to come by. Ofcourse there are DIY solutions (soldering) or third party components.


What are the part numbers for the original brick minifigures?

Here are Bricklink entries for the:

legs (#15)
torso (#17)
and head (#3626a)


What are all the third party (unofficial) accessories I can get for an NXT

There are MANY companies that offer third party stuff for NXT:

Mindsensors, already mentionned in pcantin's answer

Vision Subsystem - Capable of tracking up to 8 coloured objects
Touch Panel
Numeric Pad
IR Obstacle Detector
Sony PS2 Controller Interface
Line Sensor Array
Accelerometer
Realtime Clock
Power Meter
IR Distance Sensors (Long/mid/short range)
Multiplexers for motors and sensors
Linear Actuators

HiTechnic

LEGO Certified Products, listed in the official answer.

Dexter Industries

Wifi Sensor - a wifi connection for the NXT
Inertial Motion Sensor - Acceleration, tilt and angular velocity
Thermal IR Sensor - Reads surface temperatures
Digi XBee Radio - Long distance radio communications
GPS
Solar panels

Actuonix Motion Devices Inc.

Linear Actuators

Rotacaster

Omni Directional Wheels

Microinfinity

Inertial Motion Sensor - Acceleration, tilt, angular velocity and tracks relative position

Codatex

RFID Sensor and transponders

Nullspace

IO Expansion

Vernier

Sensor Adapter - Allows access to over 30 Vernier sensors

Generation Robots

POB-Bridge - Allows access to the POB sensors and accessories
Reseller of other sensors mentioned above

Trossen Robotics

Reseller of other sensors mentioned above

... and I'm pretty sure I forget several!


Are there any LEGO sets that have these two parts?

In the spirit of "teach a man how to fish and he will have food for a lifetime", here is how you can find your own answer to this question.

Determine rarity of the parts by going to BrickLink and search for the part name or number using the Catalog Search. BrickLink is a little finnicky with names and part numbers so it might take a few tries to get the right part (or to get it to return anything at all). For your items, 95292 only occurs in 3 sets, whereas 57518 appears in 29 sets.
You have several ways to go now - but the easiest is to have 2 tabs open, one for each of the list of sets. For each item in the shortest list, check if it occurs in the longer list (if the longer list is long, you can use Ctrl+F in your browser to do a text search on the page). Sorting each list by year might also help in doing this comparison.

For your selection of parts, it is quickly clear that there is no set that contains both. Not only that, the shock absorber you are looking for only occurred in 3 sets, all pretty limited in distribution (one of them being a truly Limited Edition of only 20k sets). Expect to be paying $10 per piece on BrickLink if you must have these. You might want to consider its shorter cousin 731c04 which occurs in 22 sets, including some lower-priced starter Technic sets. It can also be bought from many sellers on BrickLink for less than $2 per piece.


What sizes of bricks (building scales) have carried the Lego brand name?

The sizes are:

Regular lego.
Duplo. Intended for younger children than regular Lego. Bigger than regular lego, and compatible with regular lego. Still produced.
Quatro. Intended for younger childern than Duplo. Bigger than Duplo, and compatible with Duplo. No longer produced.
Primo. Intended for babies. Bigger than Quatro, and compatible with Duplo with special interface bricks.
Modulex. Intended for architectural models and commercial signage. Early sets were branded Lego. Not compatible with regular Lego bricks. No longer produced.
Samsonite Jumbo Bricks. Not compatible with regular Lego bricks. No longer produced.
Lego Soft Bricks. Not compatible with regular Lego bricks.


How can I get a replacement of LEGO NXT Green City Challenge Activity Pack CD-Rom?

If you are missing a component of a set supplied by LEGO Education, you have the following options:

Contact LEGO Education support (different support line than the
regular LEGO service support line) at
https://education.lego.com/en-us/support. Their US telephone number
is 800-362-4308. Plead your case there - they might have a digital
copy or remnant copies on hand. You would likely need to provide
details to make sure you have bought the original package (e.g. your
NXT license number).
Look on second-hand marketplaces such as BrickLink, BrickOwl or EBay to see if someone is selling the CDROM. I have looked for you and can only find 1 complete Green Challenge kit at the moment of writing this answer, so this route is not feasible.
Asking for someone to make a copy of a copyrighted work is (at least in most countries) illegal, even if you once purchased the original.

NOTE: This is a Question & Answer forum, and proper questions are those that offer generic guidance, not requests for particular favors. I have edited your question to better fit this format.


What's the most cost effective way to buy bulk LEGO bricks?

First off, as you mentioned, Ebay is not the greatest place on the net to get bricks. As you seem to be aware of, it is difficult to get individual bricks from these individual sellers. Having to pay separate shipping from various buyers plus the unreasonable prices can really add up.

Then there's LEGO Shop. Here, you can buy LEGO bricks directly from the LEGO company. You can individually purchase bricks from Pick-A-Brick, or buy their currently advertised sets. The downside to this is that they obviously do not carry discontinued sets, the selection in Pick-A-Brick is limited, and the prices are unsatisfyingly high, making the bucks add up quickly. Shipping times can be pretty quick and cheap, that is, if they're not currently having any difficulties with their warehouse. If they are, then orders can be delayed by a large amount of time, which has happened to me twice. I once placed an order there which took nearly two months to arrive.

Then, there's Bricklink. You seem to be aware of this website. I like it very much. It is, in many people's opinions, the best source from which to acquire LEGO bricks. The prices are cheap, it carries almost every piece and set ever released, (even discontinued ones) the tools for finding bricks are useful, and most of the people there are pretty nice. The interface is quite useful, you just have to be familiar with it. Once you get used to it, I'm sure it won't seem so "clunky" to you. For detailed help, enter the chat room. The people there are very nice, and will be happy to you point you in the right direction.
Shipping times vary depending on which area you buy from. Buying from within your country might generate shipping the speed of TLG on their best days. Bricklink, however, is much less likely to have technical difficulties as each order is just an individual seller sending something off to the post office, and has therefore generally been more reliable in my experience.


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)

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.


For the RCX devices, if you want to use the RIS or RoboLab software on OS X, your best solution is to see if a VM image running Windows gives you what you want.

The main problem will be accessing IR Tower: the Mac doesn't have a COM port without a serial dongle (which could be had for cheap, but they can be a pain to use). And a USB Tower (if you have them) may not work in a virtualized environment. You would have to experiment.

Alternatively, you can use something like NQC or LeJOS for the RCX 1.0/1.5/2.x devices (any RCS 1.0 device will accept the latest 2.x firmware) on OS X. This is, of course, very command-line oriented.

Perhaps the latter solution could be reserved for the more advanced coders in the group.

I see that there is already an answer that enumerates some of the places you might be able to find RIS 2.0.


What tools can I use to get better prices on a large list of parts on Bricklink?

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)...


I need help finding what set these pieces are from, AM 02066 and AM 02067

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


How to install NXT / EV3 software on Windows 8.1 RT

Sadly that's a limitation of Windows RT - there's no way you can install the EV3 software on there.

Windows RT can only run apps from the Windows Store (and some specially compiled apps that MS supply such as Office RT - however I don't think the typical user can install a correctly compiled non-Store app on the Surface - as a developer you can side load your apps for testing, but they are still Store apps).

Technical Aside:

Windows RT is compiled to run on ARM chips, which are similar to the ones in a Phone or other tablet device - as such applications such as EV3 which are compiled to run on "x86/x64" chips will not work - it's similar to the difference between x86 and amd64 - these were different chips, with different instruction sets.

LEGO would need to produce a Windows Store version of the EV3 software, alongside any other mobile versions and - sadly for you and me (yes I've got one too) - there probably isn't enough market penetration to justify it yet...


Lego EV3 doesn't respond to direct command

Both of your examples are working for me. In the Bluetooth settings on the EV3, make sure "iPhone/iPad/iPod" is not checked.


Does the LEGO Star Wars Holiday X-Wing (4002019) contain any unique pieces?

Checking part inventory for this set on Rebrickable I found following part to be unique:

10169 - Minifigure, Utensil Sack / Bag with Handle in Green

Review posted on New Elementary also suggest pilot's torso and legs are new/unique prints.

The rest seem to be released in other sets. Some parts are quite old or have been produced in small number of sets.


Where can I find the instructions for the crane on the back page of Lego Juniors: Construction (10667)

I rebuilt the model as best as I could in Lego Digital Designer using only parts from that particular set.

There were a few parts where I couldn't actually find a piece in that set so I used a replacement part that exists in the set.

LDD File

PDF Instructions + Part List


Test setup

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

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

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

Limitations

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

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

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

All pairs were measured only once.

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

Results

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

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

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

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

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

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


Help identifying unusual Technic part, long beam with 4 studs on end

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:


It isn't a mistake.

Lego weighs the bricks in each bag to ensure that the right components are present. However, it is difficult to weigh the smallest pieces accurately. (This is also why small bits tend to share one bag). If Lego tried to get the component count spot-on there is the danger that they would miss the very rare occasions when one of these small pieces was left out of a box. It would be bad for Lego if there were pieces missing - it would both damage their reputation and lead to expensive support calls. So rather than risk that they intentionally include more of the smallest pieces. That way, if the extra one is missing, nobody minds too much. At the same time, Lego knows that a couple of extra bits will make customers happy, especially as the small pieces are prone to getting lost.

So, you're right to consider the extra pieces as a little bonus.


How is the LEGO plastic different from Megablok plastic?

The thing with ABS is a bit more than that simple. The general rule is that if you want to have different/better plastic you need to play with small amounts of co-polymers. 99-point-something of your plastic is the main co-polymer, but the 0-point-nothing decides about fine-tuning of properties. A bit more than 10 years ago a friend of mine was working for Bayer (the one from aspirin). He gave me at the time two examples of their R&D. One was extreme shortening of hardening time for polycarbonate of CDs. In some years of development it was shortened from ~1min to some seconds. As the 2nd example - he told me a bit about the LEGO plastic. At the time they had a project for LEGO and its aim was to make plastic for molds better. They have machine that was interlocking bricks for several thousands times measuring all the time the force needed to connect and disconnect two parts. They made them self new parts (some of them were never on the market) and were trying to find additives that make LEGO bricks better (long time durability).

So to make whole this story short: I believe that in 99.9% both firms use the same material (i.e. ABS) however I also believe that LEGO plastic is qualitatively better. I will not argue that it's so much better that the price of any LEGO-set is reasonable. IMHO they are horribly over-priced but at the same time I'm still buying them for my kids. I hope they will last for my grandkids. :-)


Yes, there is LXFML - which is if you like an "offical" XML format for LEGO models - in that it's produced and maintained by The LEGO Group.

The .LXF format used by LEGO Digital Designer is a compressed archive containing a thumbnail in .png format and a model definition file in LFXML.

As I noted in the answer to that question, the LDD team have shared both the documentation and XSD for validating this.

Within the definition, there is scope for a <BuildingInstructions> element that can contain one or more <BuildingInstruction> elements. These in turn contain <steps> which reference one or more parts or contain sub-steps:

<BuildingInstructions>
  <BuildingInstruction name="b6206_" cameraRefID="4">
    <Step name="b6206_s1">
      <Step name="b6206_s2">
        <PartRef partRefID="0"/>
      </Step>
      <PartRef partRefID="1"/>
      <PartRef partRefID="2"/>
    </Step>
    <Step>
      <PartRef partRefID="3"/>
    </Step>
  </BuildingInstruction>
</BuildingInstructions>

Note that the <PartRefs> are Ids to parts in the <Model> elements, which define the actual element, colour and orientation.

The default steps created within LDD have been known to be a little hit and miss, adding multiple elements at once and not always visibly or in a valid order (although that may have improved since I last used it for step creation).


What is the name of this Lego Blacktron anime/cartoon?

Maybe this question would better fit the Science Fiction & Fantasy or MovieStack Exchange, as it's more about the tv-series you're looking for than about LEGO, which just reminds you of that symbol.

Zelda

It absolutely looks like the Triforce of the video game series Zelda. There also was a Zelda cartoon in the late 1980s / early 1990s. To this point, it seems to fit to your memory — but sadly there's no connection to spaceships, so I assume you where thinking of something else.

Starcom

I found something else: Starcom: The U.S. Space Force. It's an animated series from the 1980s, which totally looks like what you're searching:


Can't identify venom/spiderman minifigures

I think they come from this Megabloks set


The axe is made of

Minifigure, Weapon Axe Head with Snake and Trans-Red Curved Blade Pattern
Bar 6L with Stop Ring
Bar 1L with Top Stud and 2 Side Studs (Connector)
Barb / Claw / Horn - Small

as seen on page 5 of the instructions from set # 70626


Are third party NXT compatible parts safe to use?

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.


Need help identifying the set for these parts green pieces

The wedge piece is 43712pb023 Wedge 6 x 4 Triple Curved with Air Vent and Hatch Pattern (Sticker) - Set 7734 and comes from set 7734-1 Cargo Plane.

The tubular brick is 6042 Brick, Modified Octagonal 2 x 2 x 3 1/3 with Side Studs. It came in only three sets in Green, all from 1997, all from the AquaZone theme. These sets are 2160, 2161 and 2162.

The other two pieces are too generic to be attributed to a specific set.


Most probably the problem is that the array is declared, but not initialized. The program does not know how much memory to allocate for this specific array and therefore there is no available storage in RAM for it.

To solve this, try initializing your array. You can either provide the starting dimensions during declaration, like in the last example here.
Which in your case would look like this:

char road[10][9];

And it will result in an array the given size, filled with zeroes.

Or use a function call to do the same if you have specific (not 0) initial values: http://bricxcc.sourceforge.net/nbc/nxcdoc/nxcapi/group___array_functions_ga49d48de55d817e96ed132eadc21260eb.html


How can I make church bells with a pull cord?

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.


Please help me identify the set these LEGO parts are from

That's an easy one:

It's part of the Modular Buildings series in the LEGO Creator Expert line.
It's a series intended for the advanced builder, consisting of detailed buildings that click together to form a street.


How to integrate hardware/embedded button with LEGO?

For the first switch I bent the legs of the button and splayed them out just a little bit.

Next I stripped off the caps of two Dupont connectors, ran them through the headlight bricks and connected the button upside down.

An axle will trigger the button. Either one with a stud on one end (and a 1x1 tile) or a regular one with a half bush.

A 2x2 brick on top serves as a button.

The second switch is a hacked light brick. They're very inexpensive on bricklink.

I took out the batteries and the LED (they're not soldered as they're meant to come apart) and replaced the one on the right with a metal contact.
For that I took a paper fastener, cut off one of its legs and bent it in an e shape.


Yes. 1x1 Brick dimensions are 5x5x6 units. 1x1 Plate/Tile dimensions are 5x5x2 units. Since we have the top surface measured 2x2 studs, this brings us to top with 10x10 units in size. From here we need to construct a side of 10 units too. Taking out top and bottom tiles (10-2-2) we are left with 6 units, which is exactly a height of a brick.

Here's an example:


How does one identify the designers of a LEGO set?

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:


Are NXT Light sensors compatible with EV3?

NXT Color Sensors are supported directly by EV3-G, the EV3 software running on the PC or MAC.
NXT Light Sensors are not.

To use Light sensors requires a bit of trickery.  EV3-G has a Raw Sensor block that provides access to the Light sensor values.  The raw sensor returns values from 0-1023, which is very different than the 0-100 of the NXT-G Light Sensor block.

Setting up the Light sensor to use ambient or reflected light is also solved with a bit of trickery.  Use the Sound Sensor Block and toggle the dB setting.

Once that much is tested and working, create a set of MyBlocks to mimic existing Color Sensor blocks.


How to best transfer power at 90 degrees for high torque applications

There are plenty of gears designed for 90 degree, search bricklink for "technic gear bevel" and "technic gear crown". There's also the "technic knob wheel", that seems to be used a lot outside technic, but I have a feeling that goes badly with a motor.

In my building the only application for worm gears is to gear things down, with regards to to size you can't beat the solutions it offers. But you're first gearing up to then gear down, that looks silly.


What is the largest number of pieces in a set for LEGO, Nanoblock or any other brand?

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

Top of the list is Taj Mahal with 5922 pieces.


What LEGO set are these decorated tiles from?

These came from a number of sets, including a handy "Decorated Elements" set that covered most of the printed parts from the mid-90s space theme.

However, Recon Robot appears to be the only one that contains two of the 2x2 tiles and only one of the 2x1 tiles.

Instructions can be found in a number of places, including on Let's Build It Again.


How to measure green/blue reflected light on EV3?

There is a modified Color sensor block available here.

As of this writing, this is the most up-to-date direct link to download the block.


What's the purpose of the clutch gear in Power Functions set?

When your function (such as an extending crane boom) gets to one limit or the other, this clutch gear ratchets instead of binding up the motor and all the gears in between.

ETA: Forgot the second question. It has appeared in many sets, most recently the Fairground Mixer.


Can you program Lego Mindstorms with the Scratch programming language?

If you wish to program the EV3 with Scratch, then check out this project on github:

https://github.com/koen-dejonghe/ev3-scratch-helper-app

This software is a so-called helper app, that interfaces between the Scratch 2.0 offline editor and the Lego Mindstorms EV3.

The EV3 must be booted from Lejos (http://sourceforge.net/p/lejos/wiki/Home/), requires a wifi dongle and wireless setup.

The helper app will find the EV3 brick on the wireless network, and will execute commands invoked in Scratch as RMI requests on the EV3.
The helper app also reports the status of the motors and sensors back to Scratch.

Below is an example program in Scratch, that allows you to control the robot with the arrow keys (after having pressed 'g'), or (after having clicked on the 'start' sprite) let the robot walk around until it meets an object that is too close, at which point it will make a left turn.

The robot itself should look something like this :

Have fun, and let me know what you think.


Doing this for Pick-a-brick (which sports an antiquated UI) requires some fairly advanced hacking. See this question. It's unfortunate that there is no simple interface for importing composite sets of bricks.


Can anyone tell me which set this LEGO plane is from?

Searching Bricklink.com for all sets that have Part # 30056 - Fence 4 x 4 x 2 Quarter Round Spindled with 2 Studs.

We get the image of your plane, which is from Set #3451 - Sopwith Camel.

Looks like your model needs a serious dusting.


What is the easiest way to sell Lego sets for a good price?

Unfortunately, even with the best market conditions, there is always a trade off between selling things at a high price and selling things fast. That's just a principle of marketing.

That said, you might consider these options:

BrickLink / Brick Owl

These are sites that specialize in trading LEGO. I can't comment further, as I've only used these sites as a buyer, not as a seller. As a buyer, I've been impressed.

Both Bricklink and Brick Owl take a commission for each order that goes through.

Local Ads

Some people still rely on newspaper etc. adds for their purchases. Although they reach a smaller audience, they have three advantages over eBay:

Ads are generally a fixed price, so fees don't depend on selling price - ideal for large lots of LEGO.
If you sell locally, you don't have to charge postage, as buyers can generally collect.
It is arguable that people who mainly buy from local adds are generally less well informed about "realistic" prices than people who use web-based purchasing options, so may be willing to pay a little more (although this cuts both ways - they may under-estimate the true price of things, too).

eBay

Despite your aversion to eBay, it is still be your best bet, simply because you'll reach such a large market. Prices on eBay are driven by the market - by what people are willing to pay. For this reason, I'm not sure that it makes sense to say that it is "too cheap".

To get the best price for your LEGO, I suggest using the fixed price listing feature, setting the price at the lowest you're willing to accept. Of course, it may take a little longer to shift your collection if your prices are at the high end of what the market can tolerate. An excellent picture and a good description make a big difference, too, as can your willingness to ship overseas. If you do decide to ship internationally, don't make the mistake of underestimating postage costs.

I use eBay for all my LEGO sales, and I'm generally happy with the results. The only down-side is that the fees can be quite high, but I generally accept that for the convenience.


Which buildings in LEGO Island 2: The Brickster's Revenge were based on real-world sets?

As the sequel to LEGO Island, many (but not all) of LI2's models are based on sets from 1998 to 2000.
Castle Island is based on LEGO Knights' Kingdom I. The castle itself, therefore, is loosely based on 6098 King Leo's Castle (my 3rd most wanted set of all time).

The battering ram shown in the screenshot is from 6096 Bull's Attack (my 4th most wanted set of all time — yes, right after the castle).

Adventurers Island is based on the Dino Island and Desert subthemes of LEGO Adventurers. The Sphinx shown in the screenshot somewhat resembles the one in 5978 Sphinx Secret Surprise.

The Spaceport is from 6456 Mission Control.

The Res-Q HQ is from 6479 Emergency Response Center.

6332 Command Post Central is split into two parts: the main police station building, and the jail & helicopter/helipad.

An exception is Nubby's gas station, which is a significantly modified version of 6397 Gas N' Wash Express from 1992 which was also rereleased in 2001 with the set number 6472.

The rest of the buildings appear to be unique to the game. Not even the new pizzeria seems to resemble any of the existing pizzeria sets.


LEGO remote control 8879 for 2016 Winter Train not working

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...


Based on your description of the brick with “transfers”, which I assume are stickers, there is only one set that has Octan and Tele logos on it: 60084 Racing Bike Transporter. This set seems to match the rest of your description as well.


How can I store LEGO bricks to prevent damage?

Plastic Bricks

Fading — Keep bricks away from natural light to avoid colour fading. (Models in Legoland Miniland are subjected to year-round weather. The chemicals in the plastic bricks are broken down by UV light.)
Heat — Keep bricks at room temperature in a dry place (like a cupboard). The melting point of a brick at 105 °C (221 °F) shouldn't be a concern.
Dust — Store bricks in air-tight containers. Dust is notoriously difficult to clean, especially around the studs of a brick. Whilst dust has no serious long-term effects on Lego, it saves a lot of time cleaning the bricks in the future.

Special Parts

Electronics — Always remove batteries from electronics when put into long-term storage. Over time the batteries may corrode, leaving a sticky mess that can be difficult to clean.
Rubber — Technic rubber bands and other pieces made of rubber will degrade over time when exposed to light and oxygen. Keep rubber bands in an airtight bag.
Stickers — How should I store unused stickers?

I'd save these last two points for LEGO merchants or casual online shoppers:

Smoke — Keep bricks away from cigarette smoke. It can be very hard to remove damage from bricks, and may discolour them as well as leaving a faint odour.
Pet Hair — If you plan on selling your LEGO bricks in the future, you may find some buyers have allergies to certain pets.


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


Piece to hot air balloon won't fit. Anything I can do?

My son had the exact same problem with this set at Christmas.

In step 1, you put the red joiner on the axle. In step 2, there is a smaller axle that gets put in the other end. The only clue is that each step shows what parts are needed, so you can see that there is a little axle there that needs to be incorporated.


Unsure of how to use a switch that is time dependent

You have not provided your programming language of choice, so I'll answer in pseudocode which can then be adapted to the specific environment.

It should be possible with the following construction:

do {
  if (on_line) {                 // this may be a variable you update periodically or a method to call every time
    last_time_line_seen = now()  // remember that we have seen the line at this time
    follow_line_as_usual()
  else {                         // if the line is currently lost
    if (now() - last_time_line_seen > 2_SECONDS) {
      turn_around_go_forward_catch_line()
    } else {                     // we are off the line but the two seconds have not passed yet
      do_something_else_like_go_forward()
    }
  }
  wait_some_time()               // optional, may not be needed
} while(stop_condition)          // if you have a stop condition

This works by storing the timestamp of the last known time when the line was seen, and checking if that was more than 2 seconds ago in the case the line is currently lost.

I haven't seen in your question what your robot should do if it has lost the line but the two seconds have not passed yet so feel free to fill that part with any behaviour.


Is there difference between different colors of LEGO axles?

The first LEGO axles were milky white and were probably made in a different plastic than they are now.

Later on, LEGO started making all-black axles when they started doing more serious technic sets. However, the tendancy is now to make sure all difficult technic pieces are "color-coded" so that children can pick them out more easily. As such, nowadays, the following axle lengths and colors are standard:

2: red, notched
3, 5, 7, 9: (new) grey - no 11 yet as far as I know but I suppose it's just a matter of time
4, 6, 8, 10, 12: black
3 with stud: dark tan
4 with stop, 5.5 with stop, 8 with stop: (new) dark grey

Similarly, 2L friction pins are black, non-friction grey, 3L friction pins are blue and non-friction tan, and so on. All that to make sure they're easy to pick. Even gears are being changed now, for example the classic 24T is now dark grey.

That said, there have been other colors used for axles, when the color itself was important. I've seen tan, red, green, brown, but possibly others exists. The long ones (32 and 16) have also been produced in black, white, and yellow (32 only).

As far as I know the plastic used is always the same, so they should all have the same mechanical properties.


How can I complete the build of this Lunar lander from the Space and Airport Set (9335)?

The best I could find in terms of instructions for 9335 is this page, which seem to contain all the prints included in the set. However Lunar lander is missing. It looks like one of those "inspiration" sets LEGO used to include in the old days. Looking at the pictures I found they are reasonable quality and model doesn't contain too many parts. So I gave a try building it digitally:

There are a few places like top white slopes, back Light Bluish Gray brick on top as well as 4x4 plate below first 6x6 white plate, where you couldn't tell the exact elements used. Apart from that everything seems to be pretty clear for me.
I could have shared the LDraw file as well, however not what would be the best way to do it here on SE.


Where does Saul's head come from at 0:12?

Minifig, Head Dual Sided Brown Eyebrows, Black Eyes with Pupils, Wrinkles, Smile / Determined Pattern (SW Han Solo) - Stud Recessed


https://bitbucket.org/Thad_Hughes/cortex/src

Here's something in NXC and python that routes from NXT1 to NXT2 through the PC; emulating a non-master/slave config between all three devices. Has the added benefit of a seamless pairing method.

It could be helpful to give a little more detail (what languages you are using, what direction(s) of communication you desire)...


What is the number of this small 1x1 part?

That's 49668 Plate Special 1 x 1 with Tooth.


Can I only set an [out] param once?

Yes. You cannot tell it to be 2 different values at the same time. This applies to any block, not just the output block.

  Does setting the [out] param act like the "return" keyword?

Not really. The return keyword in most (if not all) programming languages causes the function to exit, which is not the case here. It just allows you to assign the output value (or values - you can have more than one output parameter).


Is there a place where you can buy single pieces of LEGO-compatible systems?

Market places for MegaBlocks include:

The Bloks Forum
eBay


How to motorize Technic 42040 Fire Plane

The retail box does not show the usual "+Power Functions" decorations on it so I doubt there are official instructions. Time to get your build on.


How can I wirelessly connect the NXT and an iOS device?

As stated in the description of that video, the big issue is that the iPhone won't pair with uncertified devices:

The car is built with standard Lego Mindstorms NXT components. Since iPhone SDK does NOT allow using non certified devices (which are limited to other iPhones and some headsets etc.) I have used BTStack library.

I guess this is why there's an official app for Android, but not iPhone.
Note that the app itself is only available on Cydia, which I believe requires a JailBroken iPhone to run:

LegoDrive is available on Cydia. Just install using Cydia on your iPhone/iPod, enter your Lego NXT's device ID and you can use LegoDrive too!
LegoDrive (formerly presented as iCar) demonstrates how to control a Lego Mindstorms NXT robot using (rotating and tilting) iPhone over Bluetooth.

Edit to add (08-Jan-2013)
The recently announced Mindstorms EV3 includes the statement that:

LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 will also include full iOS and Android compatibility out of the box.

While the new "EV3 Intelligent Brick" features:

New Linux-based firmware, a USB port and SD expansion slot [which] offer nearly unlimited programming and expansion capabilities


Where can I get a large number of LEGO bricks cheap?

MOC-ers use BrickLink.com, the Unofficial Online LEGO Marketplace. It is similar to eBay in the sense that buyers and sellers are from all over the world, but BrickLink is only for LEGO. All elements are neatly organized into categories, and every LEGO element ever made is catalogued. Link to BrickLink Catalog Page: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogTree.asp?itemType=P

You can build up your Wanted List, then purchase the pieces you need from various sellers. (By building a Wanted List you can find sellers who have most of the items you need, thus reducing shipping fees.) Most BrickLink sellers have very reasonable prices and excellent service - they are LEGO fans themselves. Just make sure you check their feedback and terms before purchasing.

BrickLink is a MOC-er's heaven. :)


Bricklink indicates that this is the "Bionicle Toa Nuva Leg Section."


What are the names for these two pieces of a car chassis and a piece for above the wheels?

: 3787 — Car Mudguard 2 x 4 without Studs
: 4211 — Car Base 4 x 5
: 4732 — Bracket 8 x 2 x 1 1/3

In the link for each piece, you'll find actual sets containing them, from which you can find set instructions. In particular, the two mudguard ones need to be one plate apart from regular wheel sets.


According to Brickset there were indeed stability problems with set #10213, which was originally intended to be a strictly display piece for the 16+ age group.
As a response, the 10213 was retired, and a reinforced version (#10231) has been sold instead. If you are stuck with the first, unstable edition, you could try applying these alternative instructions.
You'll need these parts:

According to Brickset commenter Enosh_Kasra this service pack can be acquired through LEGO customer service (at least it could be in 2011).
And this is the disassembly and reassembly instruction sheet:

This seems to strengthen the External Tank and its connection to the Shuttle, and does not address the four points of stability you mentioned, but I might be wrong. And the extra strength will definitely reduce the number of sub-assemblies after an Unplanned Rapid Disassembly event.


Is there a documented process in 'Jamming' an NXT Ultrasonic sensor?

Since everything is fair in love and war, you could do this:

Using an Arduino and this NXT compatible shield, you could program it to send a continuous burst at 11494,253Hz creating noise in the frequency range of the NXT Ultrasonic sensor.

This site shows how to use the Shield with the sensor.  All you have to do is modify the code to create a long burst instead of a controlled ping.


Minifigure arms and legs do not have stamps

Nope!
Torsos and leg-pieces are special. They are some of the few pieces of their size that are not actually two separate parts of different IDs. Torsos actually include their two arms, which is why they come assembled, with the arms and hands already attached, and only the torso is stamped. Legs are actually a three-piece combo of left, right, and waist. A mini-figure is made of (typically) a hat/hair piece, a head, a torso-combo, and a leg-combo, all of which have only one stamp apiece. So fortunately for you...
All of your pieces are legitimate.


Help identifying which set this bag is from? White plates and Technic panels and transparent red circle plates?

Given the transparent red Plate, Round 4 x 4 with 2 x 2 Hole, white plates, and trans-blue Windscreen this is set# 76028 Darkseid Invasion from the Justice League series.


Is there a logic to the way The LEGO Group fills the plastic bags?

The main goal is certainly packaging efficiency (possibly where parts come from in the factory, for example), but there are other factors coming in.

Sets which have "modular" building need to have numbered bags, and the numbering has prioity on other considerations — you'll need all bricks for module 1 to be in bags numbered "1" (plus sometimes, unbagged parts).

Also, elements which are too similar are usually in different bags. This helps finding them when building, but another reason for that might be the random checks which are done on bag contents during the packaging process, as I believe these are manual.

Sometimes, if an element is in huge quantity in a set, it can also get its own bag; and as jfyelle says, sometimes a same bag can appear twice in a set — it's easier for packaging than two bags with different contents.


That's a Technic Engine Piston Square 2 x 2 - Old.


Setting priorities in LEGO NXT Programmer

Branches run simultaneously. If you want to pause a branch until a certain sensor condition is met, use a Wait block.


What proportion of LEGO Technic parts are specialised in a given kit?

For the 42100 specifically:
https://www.newelementary.com/2019/12/lego-technic-review-42100-liebherr-r.html
Since links are discouraged as them being ephemeral, here's the two most relevant pictures:
New parts:

Existing parts in new color:

In the first picture, the bucket is exclusive to the set, the other parts have been re-used in a couple of smaller sets.
In the second picture, except top left and bottom right, these parts are also very new in other sets, they were introduced in the 2020 Spike Prime educational set (a set with programmable components, similar to Mindstorms)
I would say this number of new parts is fairly typical of all flagship Technic sets.


Connecting EV3 to Mac over Bluetooth without Lego Mindstorms software

Bluetooth communication from the Mac to the EV3 is done using RFCOMM. This means that the EV3 appears as a serial port on the Mac. Namely /dev/tty.EV3-SerialPort. To send and receive messages from the EV3, you read and write to this virtual file. Bluetooth will show as "connected" as soon as you open this file. You can find some code examples here.


Please help identify this 1980's, very odd, Non-Lego brick!

Had to tell for sure, but it looks like it came from the red car in this Mega Bloks set:

http://blokcity.com/wiki/9801_Build_%26_Race_Speedway

Here's an image including that part from this set:


Where can I find a list of all LEGO sets ever released

Brickset.com is an excellent website with an inventory of sets stretching back as far as 1966.
The list is not 100% complete and the site is not an official site of the LEGO groups so it relies on contributions from fans for its updates.
The information below is from the site itself:

What's in the database? The database does not contain everything that LEGO has ever made or that carries a LEGO logo. The completeness of the database is roughly as follows:
1958-1965: No coverage. The era is too complex to cover adequately, and of insufficient interest to justify spending time researching.
1966-1969: Most regular sets, but excluding brick and service packs.
1970-2006: 98% of sets, and also many extended product lines.
2007-date: 99.9% of sets, and most extended product lines sold at shop.LEGO.com.
Although the database contains many non-brick items ('Gear') that are LEGO branded, it does not contain them all: there are too many to keep track of!


Is there a difference in the part number for those pieces?

LEGO has changed their moulds, first they added that hole, then they removed it again, and they haven't changed design id, or even (as far as I remember) the element id. Knowing when those changes happened, gives some information (see later).

If you buy bricks on bricklink you can try to ask the seller, but you should be prepared that most sellers will probably answer that the variants are mixed in their stock and that they won't spend time sorting through it to sell you something specific. - I know a guy who was in a similar situation, caring about a(nother) detail that LEGO hadn't changed ids for, who ended up changing the colour of (parts of) his MOC because the period in which the part was made in the "new" colour meant he could be sure that only the good (for his usage) variant had been produced.

So if you care about that hole I think you're pretty much out of luck, but I believe the same set have been sold with both variants in many cases, in some cases you can probably even find single copies that have contained both variants, so I wouldn't care.


This is a regular 3 module length axle (4519):


Is it safe to wash LEGO pieces in the dishwasher?

LEGO does not recommend using a dishwasher to clean your bricks:

  We recommend that you clean or wash your LEGO parts only by hand at max. 40°C or 104 degrees (F) Fahrenheit. Higher temperatures may affect the quality of the LEGO parts. You can add a mild detergent to the water, followed by rinsing with clear water. Please don't put your bricks in the washing machine or dishwasher or attempt to dry them in ovens, microwaves or with hair dryers. Any electrical parts, such as cables, motors, battery compartments, can only be wiped off with alcohol. Air-dry parts at room temperature. For disinfecting please use mild bleach.

(emphasis mine)


I have set from Agents theme yet the database doesn't contain my set


Where can I purchase replacement stickers for a current set?

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


I believe that this covers everything:

Construction vehicles:

Diesel Dumper (6532)
Backhoe (6662)
Landscape Loader (6512)

Recycle Truck (6668)

Friends car (30103)

Fire vehicles:

Jetport-Fire-Squad (6440)
Launch Evac 1 (6614)
Rescue Runabout (6511)
Looks like just the car from Shell Convenience Store (1254)


How should I go about buying 10-20 generic minifigs?

eBay has various auctions for minifig lots; this auction has 10 for $20 (plus shipping). BrickLink might well be cheaper overall, if you can find a seller near you who will allow pickup.
I don't know the seller; I just chose the first hit for minifig lot that seemed to match your criteria.


Seems to be 4224c01: Basic Figure Finger Puppet Female (bfp001)

It appeared in two sets:
1050-1 Basic Pack (1986) and 1089-1 Lego Basic Figures (1985)

Edit (thanks to @Mark comment):
While Brickset list only 2 sets with this figurine, BrickLink lists 25.


It's a piece of 3mm rigid hose. It looks something like this:

That particular piece must have been cut from a larger piece, as the smallest it has ever come is 3L (3 studs) and never black at that size.

It's debated if cutting tube pieces is a purist thing to do or not.


What will LEGO do when all the crude oil on earth is used?

They're working on it! Should be ready in 15 years.

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/no-more-plastic-legos-company-searches-sustainable-material-n379976


Is there a way to restart a program with EV3?

If I were you I'd use a loop inside the program. In this loop the prompt for entering the code would be displayed, then the user input would be read. Finally, the code would be checked and if correct, the proper action executed, otherwise a failure message would be shown and the execution would loop back to the start (display the prompt).


This is more of a LabView answer than a Mindstorms answer, but you should be able to create a SubVI that represents a task, and then you can place that in the main VI.

This help document might be useful:
http://zone.ni.com/reference/en-XX/help/372962A-01/lvnxt/creatingusingsubvi/


What method do you use to safely remove creases from fabric sails from the Pirate sets?

A very, very low-heat iron should be fine, although you will have to bear in mind that some of the sets of sails have stickers on. I would advise either going around the stickers (the heat could cause them to melt or peel off) or ironing the back of the sail.

I guess the material for the sail is the same as the part from 6091 - King Leo's Castle - which has been surprisingly resiliant to wear and tear over the years.

Another option would to be place the sail under a stack of heavy books for a few days.


Do you know which series or set this sticker is from?

Welcome. This is part 52031pb093 - Wedge 4 x 6 x 2/3 Triple Curved with Gold and Silver Ring Ornament on Dark Green Pattern (Sticker) which comes from set 76006 Iron Man: Extremis Sea Port Battle from 2013.


What are the dimensions of a technic axle?

I found CAD files for LEGO technic axles here: https://grabcad.com/library/lego-technic-axles-1
and some gears which have holes for technic axles here: https://grabcad.com/library/lego-technic-gears-1
Using their online viewer I found the following dimensions (Which are a little inaccurate due to the limits of their online viewers tools. For more accurate and detailed dimensions download a copy of the CAD files)

This would seem to indicate (if accurate) an interference fit between the outsides of the axles and the holes (i.e. the hole is slightly smaller) which could be accurate as axles are usually tight.
Someone should also probably measure actual LEGO parts with some calipers for confirmation on these dimensions.


How do I get instructions to fully motorize Technic 42006

I suggest using google to search for them.

When I did that I found two threads on EuroBricks discussing this - here and here. The first thread links to a youtube video that has downloadable instructions. Note that the instructions are 19MB and the website is fairly slow.


How versatile are the parts in a lego pirate ship set?

ALL parts can be used for something other than the original theme.

Here's an example of a use for the boat hull by Flickr user 2 Much Caffeine:

There's also a rather humorous saying that goes: "All parts are space parts".  It's equally applicable to any other theme.


Can an axle be removed from this Technic 'brick paradox'?

I reproduced the problem and got the axle out using a sculpting tool (similar to an awl). It's a sharp point made of hard metal. (Soft metal will actually bend, believe me, I tried three tools.)

I inserted the point in the space left by the axle groove and pried the axle out. The point of the tool was against the axle while the body of the tool was pushing against the beam's rim. I made a short video to explain.

After looking at the pieces, I saw that it did however leave some damages to both pieces. On the axle it is barely noticeable, While the rim of of the beam has some little notches.  Because of these small damages, it's not something I would do on a regular basis.  On the other hand, both pieces are totally usable after the 'operation'.


Identify unknown LEGO set bag 2, clear tubes with blue center and blue minifig with clear helmet?

This is part of  70901-1: Mr. Freeze Ice Attack


Where can I download the LEGO RCX 2.0 programming software for Windows 7?

Use this link for RCX/expansion packs and run the program(s) in compatibility mode: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/718o6673jhpn9/RIS


The route of a major power line with branching smaller lines

The first photo in the Wikipedia entry for "utility pole" shows additional horizontal bars for the respective branches. Single lines are attached directly to the main pole. I think on this scale you don't have to worry about how realistic the setup is (i.e. how the branching lines are connected to the main lines, how the transformers are connected, etc.).


Which parts are these? Large yellow and orange pieces with Technic pin holes

The two parts on the right are Cockpit 6 x 6 x 5 with Hinge (30619). These have been used to make cockpits in LEGO Juniors and other very simple, low-part-count sets such as 4652:

The part on the left is Engine Block 4 x 6 x 2 with Wedge Cutouts and Technic Holes (45407). It is used to make up the front section of the tow truck shown above and has been used in similar ways in a few more sets in different colors.


Might not be ideal, but have you tried replacing each Crossblock 2x3 with a Crossblock 90 and a Technic Lever 2M?

You lose a little bit of stability on the bottom edge with only two pin connections instead of four, but I think it'll do the job just fine. The new parts list is then:
 2x Crossblock 90 Deg
 2x Technic Angle Beam 4x2 90 Deg
 2x Technic Lever 2M
 1x Cross Axle 3M
 1x Cross Axle 5M


Where can I find LEGO Doctor Who sunglasses and guitar?

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

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

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


It refers to building items at a much smaller scale than the usual "mini-fig" scale.

For example the "Micro" Star Destroyer:

 4492 Mini Star Destroyer

Edit to add:

Officially however, when bought as a set they are usually referred to as "Mini-scale".


Does Powered Up provide a rechargable battery box?

This isn't currently available.

The Powered Up team responded to a question about this in May 2019. The gist is that they were able to say that the removable battery holder in the hub was designed with a future rechargeable battery in mind. This can also be inferred directly from the design:

They cited several reasons that this isn't yet available, including TLG's strong commitment to product quality and safety, particularly in a product like this that would involve a direct interface to mains power for recharging. The challenges of localizing the charging adapter to all markets was also mentioned.

The team didn't provide a release date, but there was a sense that this would be coming at some point.


Mindstorms - want to perform various tasks, but never two of the same in a row (and other restrictions)

This looks like a state machine.

Save the "state" of your program in a variable. The state will be which program to run, so 1, 2 or 3.

You will also need some more variables to track the previous state and how many times a program has run.

Code flow will be something like this:

next_state = 1
prev_state = 0
run_count = 0
begin loop
    compute_next_state
    switch next_state
        case 1: run program_1
        case 2: run program_2
        case 3: run program_3
    end switch
    if next_state == prev_state
        run_count = run_count + 1
    else
       run_count = 0
    end if
    prev_state = next_state
end loop

I left out the implementation of compute_next_state since you have that spelled out quite well in your diagram.


Can you identify these 20 year old LEGO sets? Castle pieces with red bird and tall staircase?

It looks like the bulk of the parts are from The Chamber of Secrets (4730):

As Henrik mentioned, Sorting Hat (4701) is also present:

Jason pointed out that Dumbledore's Office (4739) is also present:

I thought it might be worth noting that these old Harry Potter sets are fairly valuable to collectors. The Chamber of Secrets alone in complete used condition is currently worth ~$100 USD.


How can I use the Flex Tool easily on LDD?

This eurobricks thread has several LDD tricks, some of which use the flex tool.

Please be aware however that LDD can easily crash from using the flex tool or the hinge/hinge align tool.

There are other tools to flex parts but they are not as simple to use as LDD's flex tool.


How do I diagnose a problem with electronic bricks and motors?

I haven't ever used Power Functions remote-control elements, so I can't give you a complete answer from experience, but here are two simple tests:

Connect the battery box directly to each motor, leaving out the remote control receiver entirely. The motors should spin when the light on the battery box is lit, and the slide switch should allow reversing the direction.

Caveat: Looking at the parts list for 42030, one of the motors is a “servo” motor. I don't know exactly how to expect it to behave when connected directly to a battery box, but LEGO's description suggests it should at least move.
Use any camera with a live view or video recording (not an optical viewfinder), such as that on any smartphone, to look at the transmitter while you press buttons. The infrared signal should be visible as a purplish-white dot.

(This occurs because most cameras are more sensitive to near-infrared light than our eyes are, unless they have unusual filtering. This also can be seen with any infrared TV remote control.)

On electrical testing:

  I have not been able to verify function without the battery pack or receivers because I am not sure how much current to apply to an individual motor,

This suggests that you are confused about how electric circuits work. Outside of specific electronic circuits, you do not choose how much current to apply; the load (here the motor) expects a specific voltage and then draws current according to its needs. (For a motor, the current depends on how much load is on the shaft: a motor not connected to anything will draw much less current than one which is stalled.)

(If you're actually referring to a current-limited power supply, then never mind.)

The voltage for Power Functions is 9 V (or somewhat less), as indicated by the 6 cells in the battery box.

You should be able to apply 7-9 V to the two closer to the middle contacts of the motor's plug (for the simple motors, not the servo motor) and get it to spin. However, it will be tricky to make a connection without the special plug, so if you attempt this be very careful not to short out your power supply. I would suggest not trying it; the battery box should be a reliable power source.

Instead, check the outputs of the battery box with a voltmeter. Between the outer two contacts you should find around 9 volts (for alkaline batteries) or 7.2 volts (for NiMH rechargeable batteries). Between the middle two contacts should be the same voltage, but it will reverse polarity depending on the slide switch.

(Try not to short out the contacts by letting your meter probes touch each other, but if you do, it won't be disastrous: LEGO battery boxes have overcurrent protection. If you do trip the protection then the output will be low or zero for a while before it resets.)


Are there additional motors and/or sensors that can be used to extend LEGO Boost?

I've tried attaching one of the Powered up motors from the batmobile set (76112) This motor looks identical to me as the WeDo motor (although brickset and bricklink don't list them as identical at the time of this writing)

I could not get it to work, all profiles of the fixed build models complain that the external motor is not attached. The free build profile doesn't have any block that looks like the M-motor and using the boost motor block doesn't work either.

So my guess would be that at the time of this writing, no additional components are currently available for the Boost set...

The other way around, i.e. attaching the Boost motor to the hub from the batmobile, works...

I also purchased LEDs last saturday from an official lego store (had to ask, they had them in the back) they work on the batmobile hub, but I can't get them to work on the boost hub.


The LEGO Education website does indeed not list prices, as you have to go through a distributor and get a quote there.

However, it seems that LEGO acts as its own distributor in the United States, which is slightly confusing, especially considering it's on a separate website: http://www.legoeducation.us/. There you can get prices, and you'll see a single-user license costs 99.95$ and a site license is 399.95$ (not sure how many installations that covers, though). Of course, outside of the United States you have to find a local distributor and request a quote.


Looking for instruction manual for brick set #1845 (20th Anniversary Jackpot)

I've looked at letsbuilditagain.com, lego.brickinstructions.com and worldbricks.com (you didn't list these sites) and none of them have this set in their catalog, even though they cover many sets from 1993. Bricklink has these instructions starting at $0.75 plus shipping - since it's a booklet this shouldn't set you back more than $3-4 to get a copy.


One way of resealing the bags is to use a laminator. Most laminators aren't designed to seal anything other than lamination pouches so you'd want to be particularly careful using them to re-seal LEGO bags.

No matter how careful you are when you open them, most polybags tear slightly and leave rough edges that cannot be fed easily into a laminator.

I suggest cutting a straight line with scissors or a ruler/box cutter, just below the original seam.

Start up the laminator to get it warmed up and fill your polybag, I don't recommend you fill it up more than 1/2 or 2/3 of the bag as it can be difficult to feed the laminator.

Don't let it run too long as it will be quite difficult to remove (as shown in my example, I left it about a second too late, the second time I fed it into the laminator), it doesn't take a long time for it too seal completely and it takes a few tries to get it work well.

After the bag expands, it should be airtight and you can turn of the laminator, and remove it when it is safe to do so.


I don't have this particular piece but my advice for most 'non-standard' connections such as these is to use a part that is flexible enough to fit the gap.

The 'Technic, Axle Connector Double Flexible' piece under compression can make a snug enough fit to mount a sharks head.

In this example, you can use two Technic Axle-Pin attached to another two Technic 1X1 bricks.

If you turn the rubber brick 90 degrees on it's side and place two of them together you might be able to attach something that isn't as wide.


If other sensors work on the EV3, the EV3 is OK. If swapping cables does not help, then the sensor is probably defective. If you contact LEGO customer service, they will probably replace it if it is defective.


I need a block that can combine a movement program with NXTbee radio

There is a LabVIEW block for the NXTBee. For example, here is a tutorial from the manufacturer.


Arduino-izing LEGO Technic - and now I need some ideas for the Lego Service Truck 8071

So, after doing some research I think the most helpful solution I can offer is a picture of various techniques and a link to a straight-forward, budget friendly tutorial. I think trying to explain anything in depth would be tedious and vulnerable to misinterpretation. It also appears that super glue, hot glue, and some pieces to sacrifice/modify will be necessary.
The link: https://www.instructables.com/id/Arduino-izing-Lego-Technic-Go-Kart/
Pic:


The top picture is for sure a model created from single elements, and is not any Lego model.

Your lower model looks like a combination from 5 or 6 different houses. I recognize the Taxi station (Red with blue roof on the bottom), Bakery (Yellow and blue roof on top of that).

Try brickset.com and look for the older catalogues.


Two Mindstorms touch sensors: how to determine which sensor was pressed?

I found an answer. I read in a book that I can't fork in a loop. But I can do up to 4 separate threads. So I did 3 threads:

Running/changing motors speed based on a variable "i" which is changed in other threads.
Waiting for a touch sensor A being bumped and increasing var "i".
Waiting for a touch sensor B being bumped and decreasing var "i".


My kids have this exact same problem when a program reaches a certain size.  Parts of the program that previously worked just fine begin to systematically cause the brick to lock up.  We have found, as ridiculous as this sounds, the simple act of adding a variable read immediately before the motor block which seems to cause the brick to lock up will fix the problem.


What sort of college education is best to become a LEGO designer?

Try for an industrial engineering degree. That would be the best fit for a set designer. An art degree would work too.

If you want to be a LEGO set designer, you're gonna have to move to Denmark. Of course, you need to be accepted first. You can stay where you are while you work on your degree and become more proficient in working with bricks.


What part in LEGO digital designer can be used for a tank track?

The caterpillar track and belt are both fixed length pieces.

I would recommend the more versatile #57518 'Technic, Link Tread Wide with Two Pin Holes'. The part can be used to make a track as long as long as you like.

The tread is compatible with:

#57519 - Technic Tread Sprocket Wheel Large
#57520 -  Technic Tread Sprocket Wheel Small


What is the purpose of the hole in the 12 x 12 boat bow (6051)?

I didn't intend to answer my own question, but after reading through the comments and doing some more digging, I think it is clear that this was intended to be a hawsehole (hole that the anchor rope passes through).

The 12 x 12 boat bow in question is a chronological descendant of the 16 x 12 boat bow:

That larger part was created with the launch of the Pirates theme in 1989 and was used in the two flagships of that time: Caribbean Clipper (6274) and Black Seas Barracuda (6285). Carribean Clipper clearly uses that hole for the anchor rope:

The 12 x 12 bow didn't appear in a set until 1992, so my best guess is that this hole was included to match the earlier part, but set designers ended up not actually using it for that purpose.


How to clear off oils in a way that will not damage the plastic?

Your question is general, so I'll try to answer generally, but I'll use the pneumatic cylinder as an example since you mentioned it.

If applicable, the first thing you'll want to do is break down the part(s) as much as possible. Open up the pneumatic cylinder and separate out the parts:

I'd recommend cleaning everything separately, lubricating the necessary parts, then putting everything back together.

For cleaning off oil and oil residue, you'll want some sort of solvent that is safe to use on ABS, such as WD-40. That should break down more viscous oils, gunk, and rust, but will also remove printing from printed parts. You can scrub ABS with a soft cloth without causing damage. If that isn't enough, you can get more aggressive and use something like steel wool or sandpaper, but this will cause light scratching. I've successfully use steel wool on the metal portion of pneumatic cylinders to remove rust, and it works nicely.

Once you have all the heavier oil and grime washed away, you'll want to use a common dish washing detergent to remove the remaining oil. I just put a few drops with water in a jar and shake with the parts inside. Rinse everything off, and repeat as needed if there is still any oil left on the parts.

In order to prevent rusting and ensure proper functioning of the parts, once the parts are clean and dry you'll need to now lubricate anything that was lubricated before since we've removed all the oils and lubricants. You can use any oil that is safe on ABS for this. I've use Vaseline on the rubber piece and cylinder shaft before and it has worked well.


Without batteries installed, the NXT brick weighs 159.3 grams, so that's about 0.351 pounds.

Do take into account the added weight of what ever batteries you have installed, though, as that will almost double the weight, and not all types of AA batteries weigh the same. If you're using a rechargeable battery, then for reference, the original NXT rechargeable battery weighs 155 grams (~0.341 pounds), and the newer rechargeable battery weighs 136 grams (~0.2998 pounds).

The weight of a single AA battery according to www.allaboutbatteries.com are:

Alkaline: 24g

Carbon-Zinc: 19g

NiCad: 29g

NiMH: 26g

Lithium Ion: 25g


From the power functions FAQ:

  Why does my Power Functions model drive backward when I want it to run forward? You can change the direction your model runs by flipping
  the small black switches located on each side of the channel selector
  of your IR Remote Control.


What set do these LEGO parts belong to? Star Wars-type patterns, Bionicle connectors

The round grey printed discs, the tan gears, the grey worm screw, the boat studs and the black rope in the first photo, the 6x4 and 6x12 grey plates from the third and fourth photo are found together in 10178: Motorised Walking AT-AT:  (Thanks to Chronocidal for the additional info)

The blue sloped piece with the hexagonal sticker motif in the second photo could be from 7667: Imperial Dropship:

The white Bionicle pieces on the third photo are definitely from 8747: Visorak Suukorak:

I believe the rest of the pieces are way too generic and could have come from many different sets, but somebody will definitely correct me if I'm wrong.

There are a few non-LEGO pieces as well:

And


Is there a web resource available to browse LEGO Minifig head designs?

You can find all the minifigs heads ever made, with the date of release, in the BrickLink catalog: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?pg=1&catString=238&catType=P&v=2

Please note that I have already sorted the minifigs heads in the link above by year released, however on the first two pages of the results you will see heads where the year is not applied yet. These are new minifigs heads and the sorting and cataloguing haven't bee finished yet. You will start to see the yearly results on page 3.


Which set is this with a white truck and camper trailer?

I believe this is the set:

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

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

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


I guess the second set you describe is 6677 Motocross racing (from 1986):


Where can I obtain the software called “Instructor”?

It seems Instructor is actually being developed by JK Brickworks themselves, according to this Google+ post. Your best option would be asking them directly, as there is no download link on their website.


Instructions on small car, came with Technic Race Car, circa 1986

Your best bet is probably to browse the list of Technic sets on Brickset (sort by year of release, ascending).

There aren't that many before 1990 so it should be easy to find, one which sounds a bit like what you describe is 8865 Test Car from 1988.


amazon.fr hints that the Boost app will be available on phones?

V1.4.4 on Apple App Store state “support for mobile phones”, and it does install fine on iPhones. Finally.

V1.4.3 on the Google Play store also lists "support for mobile phones" in the "What's New" section and can be installed on my Samsung S7.


In the middle "thead" all of your motor blocks are "unlimited" or "stop". These blocks change the motor state and immediately continue to the next block. These are inside a loop that loops forever, so these blocks are running continuously in the loop. The motor blocks in the top thread may have an effect for a split second until the middle thread loops again and changes what the motor is doing.

I suggest writing to a variable in the top thread instead of using motor blocks. Then read from that variable in the middle thread. For example, you could use a numeric variable and give it a value of '1' for forwards and -1 for reverse. Then in the middle thread, use a multiply math block to multiply the desired motor speed by the variable to change the direction.

Or, for that matter, you could read the 4th touch sensor value in the middle thread and remove the top thread.