At what voltage do the c1 and c2 lines run at when controlling a lego servo motor?

The answer to the question you linked contains the answer you are looking for:

  To move in one direction, send a PWM signal (1200 Hz, 0 to 100% duty cycle) on C1 and keep C2 at GND level. As duty cycle varies, servo motor will move along 7 positions on one side. See this video.
  To move in the other direction and reach the 7 other positions, send PWM to C2 and keep C1 at ground level.

PWM means Pulse Width Modulation, so you need something capable of generating this signal. The voltage is the same as what you apply to the 9V terminal. Only the pulse width is varied. And GND means "ground" which is another way of saying 0V.

So, to do this with a Raspberry Pi or other microcontroller, you will need a transistor to convert the voltage. There is virtually no load on C1/C2 in this case, so any size of transistor will do the job without risk of overload. See this page for some example circuits.


This part wasn't meant to be taken apart,
but it is possible.

Source with more text and images

also this (very dark) video tutorial

and another video tutorial


How to get double the speed from 2 regulated EV3 motors?

By adding two motors together with gears, you have doubled the torque the motors provide. Power = torque x speed, so if you don't want the doubled power from the motors to go to the torque component but to the speed component instead, I think you should use a differential and put the motors on both outputs of the differential, and use the input to feed your construction. I haven't tested this out though.

EDIT: Here is a picture I found that shows how 4 motors can be joined into a single output with 5 different motor combinations (and many more different speed combinations):


Identify bulldozer truck -probably from early 90"s

This sounds like 2161 Aqua Dozer from the Aquaraiders theme.


What are proven methods to sort/categorize a large number of parts?

I think the correct approach to this is to consider the whole process and not just the sorting part, although the short answer "sort by form" will still be valid.

The whole process is not limited to sorting, but in a more general way goes from the moment you decide to store a part away to the moment when you retrieve it to put it in a model.

As such, you have to keep in mind your ultimate goal: find the part you need for the model you're currently building. Most of the time, you'll have a specific part in a specific color in mind, and need to find it as fast as possible. But not always! Sometimes you don't care what color the part is in (invisible support structure), or maybe you can't see it (blind kids). In most cases, the form is at least as important as color, but sometimes it's just color you're after.

So what is sorting? Sorting is a way to do some of the finding work in advance so that when you need that particular part, you don't have to waste too much time. You'll also win serious time on the sorting since you do it for a lot of parts at the same time.

Let's assume you're after a specific part in a specific color, which will be most of the time. So that means your parts have to be sorted both by color and by form. That may prove too impractical for normal people, but keep in mind some serious builders do that.

So the trick is since you have two sorting criteria, you use one at the moment of building, and the other when storing or sorting parts (with discipline1, you'll sort when storing). Usually, you'll want to do as much tedious work when sorting, so you'll keep the color-sorting for when you're building. Color-sorting is the fastest, just think of a tub with all red bricks of all sorts and find 5 1x1 bricks in it, then picture the same task from a tub full of 1x1 bricks of all colors.

Again, this depends on what you'll end up doing with the bricks; if you want to build a lot of 2-studs-wide uniform walls for example, maybe a tub with one color of 2xn bricks makes more sense than separating the 2x2, 2x3 in different color tubs.

In any case, keep in mind the ideal way is to have each part in each color stored separately. If this is impractical, consider mixing parts which have as little in common as possible. If one container holds 1x3 and 1x4 bricks together, it will be more trouble to pick them apart than if you mix 1x1 and 2x3. Or, maybe you can mix 2L Technic axles with 1x2 slopes.

And the last thing to consider is how many of the part you have. If you have 2000 blue 1x1 bricks, and only a few dozens of other colors, don't mix them. Separate the blue ones and the others, or better, separate the blue ones but keep a few mixed with the others, so that the nearly-2000 blue-only 1x1 bricks can go to long-term storage. Similarly, make sure that rare parts for which you only have a few are easy to find, even if that means they have to have their own storage bin (maybe they can be mixed together, though).


Why does LEGO sell minifigures randomly?

The minifigs are what is known in the retail trade as 'blind-packed collectables'.

They're sold at 'pocket money' prices in newsagents and bookshops at aisle ends or counter-tops. The idea is to encourage people (mainly children but adults too) to try and 'collect' a complete set. The opaque bags encourage this by making this goal harder to reach, and therefore more of an achievement - revealing the contents would take away a lot of the fun.

The sealed bags also lead buyers to end up with 'doubles'. If you keep these, then the Lego company gets that extra revenue - whereas if you try and swap them, then that helps to spread the word about the product and gives you an incentive to encourage your friends to start collecting them too.

The minifigs are also produced in un-even amounts. This makes it even harder to collect a complete set - and also means that Lego can save money by making less of the more expensive to manufacture minifigs.

So - whilst you might find the random element frustrating, you can see how it makes financial sense to Lego. And if you stop and think about it, would simply being able to pick-and-choose which minifigs you buy be quite so much fun?


The software for Technic Interface A is said to be the same for the lego DACTA interface (aka 'interface B').

Try this download link for lego DACTA control Lab

This eurobricks thread may also be of some use


How can I power my LEGO pneumatic engine?

Since the compressor produces compressed air, it would certainly work, given you build adequate fittings and take precautions against overpressurization.

LEGO pneumatics have been tested to withstand as much as 8 bars or 120 psi, but you definitely should plan with safety margins. If your compressor can produce higher pressures, I'd suggest building in some kind of release or auto-shutoff valve to prevent damaging the LEGO parts.


When did LEGO stop using perforated plastic bags and switched to simple ones?

AFAIK TLG still uses these bags, and they are not unique to the 90ies. They are used for accessory bags, such as the one in your picture, or other various accessories such as these that came in the 2013 Friends Advent Calendar:

https://store.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=41016-11


How to help a yellowed brick with a sticker?

A paste of oxygen bleach slathered on liberally, and then some time in the sun will probably fade the yellow nicely. It should not degrade the plastic (any further).

Your real problem is not re-attaching the label, but removing it without tearing or leaving behind most of the backing.

Depending on the material and glue, you might be able to remove it carefully with water, if the glue can be dissolved in water. If you can get the paper off and let it dry flat, you should have little problem re-gluing it.

The challenge will be the choice of glue. You need something that isn't necessarily permanent when it cures, but can still stick to plastic. White craft glue (not yellow PVC!) should do the trick. But there are many modern adhesives used for non-permanent applications that can bind plastic and paper. There might even be an archival "spray-mount" style compound that won't yellow over time.

Though, honestly, white craft glue is pretty stable. You can even make a paintable slurry from white craft glue that you can apply with a paintbrush to one surface to make the whole thing easier.

But it will be removing and preserving that labels that I suspect will be the greatest challenge.


Actually, the brick separator is a very versatile tool for disassembling Technic. The end of the wedge can be slipped into the slot on the side of several pieces to help pop Technic pins out from behind (I also use it like a screwdriver for aligning Technic pins while building). It can also be used to separate stubborn beam connections.

I've also got a 1:6 axle attached to the little axle pusher using an extender (sorry...I don't know the actual names of these things and I don't have time to look them up right now). It works great for pushing axles through deeper sockets, or for popping pins out from behind.

Other than that, I've never really had much trouble pulling Technic parts apart. I'm sure there are other uses I've yet to need, but that little orange tool has been a godsend for my sanity and fingertips. :)


My DUPLO railroad engine stops after 20cm

If you have red floor or carpet, that could be recognized as the Stop Rail Accessory by the engine. Otherwise I would contact Lego customer support.


Why did lego stop the Ninjago Spinjitzu Flyer and switch to the Ninjago Spinjitzu Spinner?

The flyers were released in 2015, 2 years is an average production run for LEGO sets. Note that spinners have been released before, in 2011 and 2012 with expansion packs like cards and weapons.

I think the most likely reason that the flyers were discontinued is that LEGO did not see enough marketing potential in a second wave.

As to being more "fun", that is entirely subjective. These flying plastic rings were around in my childhood as well and I hated them.
To me they seem now old fashioned compared to the myriads of flying drone toys that are available today.

Update: Apparently, it was a bit premature to state that the flyers line of ninjago had ended: https://brickset.com/sets/theme-Ninjago/subtheme-Dragon-Masters


Are these old car models legit sets or MOCs?

These are indeed legit sets of the 70's.

390-2: 1913 Cadillac

391-1: 1926 Renault

395-1: 1909 Rolls-Royce

Only the red car in the top right looks like a MOC version of the red Cadillac  set


How many sealed bags are there in the LEGO set 4504 Millennium Falcon?

I had a look at the instructions, video/picture reviews of the set and eBay listings that could potentially show how many bags are missing.

The only solution I could think of would be to place all the bags back in the box, with the instructions and any other parts that were included and weigh the box.

If the weight is noticeably less than what it should be, you may be missing a bag. According to Brickset the Millennium Falcon should weigh 1.83Kg (4.03 lb).

Aside from opening the bags and trying to build the set, you could follow the instructions whilst the bags are sealed and check that you have all the parts as you go along, although this may be quite time consuming.


Is this a fleur-de-lis hood ornament, or something else?

Looks like a minifigure headgear accessory, specifically a feathered headdress plume (no. 6029b):

It's appeared in a number of sets, most with pirate, castle, or western themes and sometimes as an extra part. It's sometimes packaged in a "Plume Wheel" (i.e. still in a circular runner with some cattle horns), and is typically used for islander minifigs:


Is there a way to buy a customized minifig?

There are a few options, however many of them either use standard parts, or require minimum order quantities (Minifigures.com for example requires a minimum run of 50).

A couple of options for bespoke, one-offs seem to be:

minifigs.me - who offer both a Custom Torso option and a Custom Complete Minifigure with printing on the legs and head as well.
minifigs.com - Offer both torso engraving and printing depending on the complexity of the print.

Of the two, I've seen Minifigs.com at shows and the quality is very good, and the price seems reasonable (especially for the engraved options which don't require a set-up fee).

Alternatively, as suggested in this answer, you could look at doing it yourself with water decals and varnish, depending on your art skills.


These are Lego parts.

The part on the left is a hose end (752). It is found on the ends of hoses like this:

The one on the right is 6221 (Peeron 424).

This part was most commonly found in older Technic sets as a spacer or crank handle:


Can 10153 9V train motor be powered by the Power Functions Battery pack?

In short, yes it's perfectly safe to run your old 9v motors from your Power Functions battery box.
This excellent online reference has a lot of information on various LEGO motors. Both the old 9v train motor and the Power Functions train motor are listed.
The information on the site shows that the characteristics of the two motors are very similar with the old 9v motor drawing 0.38A @ 9V and the Power Functions motor drawing 0.38A @ 9V.
The old 9v motor does draw slightly more current, (0.40A), @ 4.5V compared to 0.36A @ 4.5V for the PF motor, but this difference is negligible and will not translate into any damage to your motor or battery box.

Also there is official confirmation from LEGO via their Power Functions FAQ

Can I use Power Functions elements with my old 9V elements?
Yes, with 8886 Power Functions Extension Wire or 8871 Power Functions Extension Wire 20” you can use most of the 9V elements with Power Functions.


Where can I get LEGO bricks to build a life size wall?

I'd ask someone like Warren Elsmore to help with this. He's done many unique creations for organisations all over the world, and he's written 3 books about LEGO.

Although I would also consider this idea.
These guys rocked up to BRICK 2014 in London this past weekend and built the walls of their stand with their product of LEGO storage bricks. It worked great. The dimension are huge and still recognisable as LEGO. It would also be heaps cheaper than trying to build it from standard size bricks.


One can never be certain about everything Lego has ever produced, but If you search on Brickset or Bricklink for the word "scooby" you don't, at this time, find anything except Scooby-Doo.


Brickset identifies JØRN THOMSEN as the designer of the 31313 set:
https://brickset.com/sets/31313-1/Mindstorms-EV3
Although I'm also inclined to believe that probably a group of people came up with the various initial robots.


Set #8049 - Tractor with Log Loader.

???
Part # NBA005 - NBA Ray Allen, Milwaukee Bucks #34.

???
Part# NBA006 - NBA Pau Gasol, Memphis Grizzlies #16.


Do Thomas the Tank Engine Duplo trains seat figures?

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

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


Read power usage and respond when motor is straining

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

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


The LEGO Store in Leicester Square which opened in 2016 has an area of 914sq m

(Source: Evening Standard, Telegraph)

The LEGOLAND Windsor Big Shop is 'one of the UK's largest shops for LEGO' according to their website. In 2015 the website stated the store was '... the UK's largest one-stop shop for LEGO'. It appears as if the Leicester Square store has taken over.

The LEGOLAND Big Shop is operated by the parks owner Merlin Entertainments. As it is not an 'official' LEGO store it does accept VIP cards or have a standard pick-a-brick wall.


How to speed up assembly for big LEGO technic sets (e.g. 42043 Mercedes-Benz Arocs)

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

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


Looking for older conducting train tracks

Such place indeed exist and it is called Bricklink, a website dedicated to trading LEGO items. It has extensive history and great catalog of LEGO items found on the internet. Prices and quality are, usually, far better than you would find on eBay. And as an extra bonus, there are sellers from all over the world, so you are not limited to you own region.
As Dan noted in the comments Bricklink catalog contain all types of 9V train tracks you are interested in for sale both in Dark Gray (older) and Dark Bluish Gray (newer) colors.
Edit. Upon further investigation decided to clarify situation in terms of custom tracks. While there are few 3rd party companies producing LEGO-compatible non-9V train tracks there aren't as much options with 9V ones. ME-Models used to produced some, but the company is gone now. FxBricks has shared their plans to introduce 9V tracks at some point the future.


Is this black and red speedboat model from an official set or a MOC?


Where to find older sets (eg. Classic Space)?

Some of the places you can buy old (discontinued) sets include:

Online

BrickLink
eBay
TradeMe
Amazon marketplace
Generic on-line toy stores that carry old stock
Some LEGO discussion forums have areas for buying and selling

Locally

Toy shops and LEGO stores sometimes carry old stock
Stands at exhibitions and shows
Garage sales
Thrift stores
Charity shops
Flea markets
Car boot sales
Jumble sales
Through newspaper ads
Lego User Groups
Other AFOLs

Other Alternatives

Buy the parts separately and assemble the set from them


Please help to identify the set this sticker belongs to

Bricklink lists this as a sticker over assembly

Part # BA55pb01 : Stickered Assembly 4 x 1 x 2 with Arctic Technic Logo Pattern on Both Sides (Stickers) - Set 8640 - 2 Slopes 45 2 x 1, 1 Slope, Inverted 45 2 x 1

From

8640-1: Polar Copter


usage of ev3 ultrasonic sensor in lejos behavior based programming

You can use the lejos.ev3.robotics.RangeFinder abstraction class:

EV3UltrasonicSensor sensorUS;
RangeFinder sonar;

public UltrasonicSensor(Port port) {
    sensorUS = new EV3UltrasonicSensor(port);
    sonar = new RangeFinder(sensorUS);
}

@Override
public boolean takeControl() {
    return sonar.getRange() < 0.3;
}

Use the float getRange()  method to retrieve the distance to the nearest object.


API for Android or iOS connecting to EV3 by bluetooth

I have started a c++ iOS API at https://github.com/dsjove/legoev3cpp. Contributions are welcome.


Use math.

Here is a simple example... Suppose we want to line up two 8 tooth gears. Start by placing two axles and one of the gears...

Since there are 8 teeth on the gear, we can figure out that the teeth are 360° / 8 = 45° apart. So, to put the next gear on, the space between the teeth of the second gear needs to line up with the tooth of the first gear. This space is half way between the teeth, so we need to rotate the axle 45° / 2 = 22.5° to make them line up. Select the hinge tool, then select the axle that does not have a gear yet. Notice that the hinge tool allows you to enter numeric values directly....

The axle is already at -180°, so we need to rotate it +/- 22.5° from there. Let's say, we want to rotate it clockwise. In mathematics, counterclockwise is positive, but apparently in LDD, clockwise is positive, so we need to add. We simply type in -180° + 22.5° = -157.5°...

Now, the axle is exactly where it needs to be to add another 8 tooth gear...

There are no collisions preventing the gear from being placed...

Now, the second gear is precisely aligned, making it easy to place additional gears.

Tip: All (modern) LEGO gears come with multiples of 4 teeth, so adding a gears at right angles will line up the same as gears in a straight line.


Is the 3rd party vendor Amazing Armory still around?

I realize that it's a late answer, but ToyWiz and BrickArsenal.com just started carrying this line, and Amazing Armory is active on Flickr. Also, Firestar in the UK carries it. I hope that helps.

Also, I work for ToyWiz.com and Brickarsenal :)


Any ideas how to separate these lobed gears and lightsaber pieces?

A possible solution I frequently use in such cases:

Cover the transparent bar into something soft, e.g. a few layers of paper tissue and fix that part in a vise or a pliers. Tissues will prevent the tool from leaving marks on the bar. When the bar is sufficiently fixed you can simultaneously pull and carefully rotate the yellow piece back and forth until it comes off. You can use some soap to make it easier.


What is the max current for the EV3 I/O port's VCC pin (pin 4)?

As seen in the schematics, pin 4 of all of the input and output ports plus the 5V on the USB host port is connected to VCC5V/VCC5VIGEN, which is supplied by U23 (the analog/digital converter is also connected to this, but current draw for that is negligible). U23 is a TPS2041BDBVR which limits the current to 1A and has a continuous current of 500mA.
So all ports and USB need to be considered at the same time and must not exceed 500mA on average or 1A peak.


The complexity of the model and the expected time to complete it will increase with the recommended age.

Lower aged sets, like the Juniors line, feature builds that rely heavily on standard stacking and more basic bricks.

As the age recommendation goes up, you'll see more advanced building techniques such as offset stacking (think stair stacking), studs not on top (SNOT technique), thinner walls (think 1x4 instead of 2x4), more plates instead of just bricks, and more.

Sets for younger children are also designed for the type of play those ages engage in. And they tend to feature brighter, primary colors, which also appeal to those age groups.

Looking at set 10672, LEGO Juniors Batman: Defend the Batcave, we can see evidence of these things:

The set uses large pieces for structure, which is  a very basic and easy technique.
The set features a car, the Batmobile, which is low on detail but structurally will hold up to the more rough play of 4-7-year-olds. Cars are very, very common for these types of sets
The set is very open, so it's easy to access from many angles for an age range still developing motor control
We see a lot of bright colors, including a blue Batman instead of a black or earth (dark) blue Batman suits we normally see

Now, we can contrast this with a slightly higher age range set, 75099 Rey's Speeder.

The Batman set was ages 4-7, and this Star Wars set is ages 7-12:

The Star Wars has more pieces, 193 vs. Batman's 150
The set itself is smaller in size, because it makes use of smaller pieces (which require more fine motor control to properly place)
The set does not come with a play area, although that's not always the case
The speeder itself features the sideways building techniques, where the tops of the elements don't point up
The color scheme is more muted, featuring dark reds and and more grays, although this is also common with licensed sets

You won't necessarily be able to apply these attributes universally across sets, especially since the age-ranges sometimes overlap, as seen in 60043 Prisoner Transport, which has an age range of 5-12.

None of this is to say that younger kids can't assemble and enjoy older-ranged sets, but the ranges given are typically where the most enjoyment and least frustration will be found.

Something else you won't see on the box is the difference in styling of the building instructions. For the Batman set's (PDF), we see there's only a single task per page, and they're often broken down into smaller steps or have large, clear arrows indicating placement. In the Star Wars set's (PDF), we see that each page has two numbered tasks and placement is less likely to be indicated by arrow for simple tasks.

These differences in instructions are because of the expected abilities and attention spans of the intended audiences. Again, this is to reduce frustration and enable the children to be more successful building the sets without relying too heavily on the adults to help.

The LEGO company does a lot of research into what types of play are better for children at different ages, because it gives them a better product. You can seem some of the information they provide parents about types of play on their Parents website, and more involvement with child education from their LEGO Education company.

This answers comes from my experience as a consumer of LEGO product for different age ranges and as a previous customer service representative. I was asked questions about the recommended age ranges on a weekly basis, and the answer I provided to customers was similar to the answer here.


How to calibrate NXT motors to travel the same distance?

You can't calibrate the motors, neither mechanically or in software. There is however several methods in the software to account for this.

The standard NXT firmware contains a synchronization mode which attempt to keep the two motors aligned. In NXC you can do this by using the function OnFwdSync like this:
OnFwdSync( OUT_AC, 75, 0 );
First parameter is the motors to sync, the second is the power and the third defines the difference in speed between the motors (used for the tribot).

This article tells how to do the same in RoboLab: How does NXT motor synchronizing work in ROBOLAB?

In NXT-G I think synchronization is on per default in the move block, correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't know how to do this in LabView. However I have heard there is some blocks to do this in the "NXT I/O»NXT Native I/O»Output" palette, try looking there.

You can make your own controller by looking at the rotation value. Calculate the difference and set the speed like this:

Motor A = power + weight * difference
Motor B = power - weight * difference

The weight is how much the difference should affect the motor speed, you will need to experiment a bit to find a good value here. You might also want to take the 100% limit in account. If the power for one motor goes over 100%, do this:

if( Motor A > 100 )
   Motor B = Motor B - ( Motor A - 100 )

if( Motor B > 100 )
   Motor A = Motor A - ( Motor B - 100 )


What's the fastest way to rebuild different sets that have been brought together

In order to gain value out of this, you're going to have to put some work in.

Start with the largest sized kit that you remember doing and assemble the parts (find the building instructions online).  Then move onto the next smallest, and so on.

Obviously, you're not going to remember the details of all the kits you had, but the largest ones should be more memorable (and usually they're worth more).


How can I use bluetooth on my phone to run a program on the EV3 brick?

There is an Android app called EV3 mailbox that can send messages to the EV3 brick. You can trigger your program to run in different ways by sending out different mailbox messages.


Is there a duplicate/copy paste function in Lego Mindstorms Ev3 programing?

I don't remember any context menu that pops up on right-click, but CTRL+C to copy highlighted blocks and CTRL+V to paste them works.


Why do some LEGO City vehicles have tiles in their chassis?

I asked one of the set designers at LEGO, Samuel Johnson, on Twitter. Here is our conversation:

This to aid in the building flow for children aged 5 and up. Easy to spot on the page, easy to find in the pile of bricks :)
— https://twitter.com/Spider_Sam_LEGO/status/1037914372897681409

Ah! Do both the colour and the shape (studless vs studded) contribute to this?
— https://twitter.com/NOVALISTIC/status/1037914613847740416

Depends on the model :)
5year olds aren’t very strong, so it can make it easier to build
— https://twitter.com/Spider_Sam_LEGO/status/1037967767847227392

That makes sense. Too many stud-and-tube connections can make building difficult even for me at times. Thanks for answering!
— https://twitter.com/NOVALISTIC/status/1037994518295994368

So, it's an interaction of several factors including ease of following the instructions, as well as ease of physically attaching elements together (and, presumably in turn, disassembling them).


How do I create manuals in the same style as LEGO instruction manuals?

The online consensus on this question seems to be using LDraw, and progressively create the model while saving the steps (like this tutorial explains).

However, I remember an other way, but I can't put .. oh wait, it was using MLCad.


This is a Megabloks baseplate, not LEGO.

For future reference - LEGO pieces will have "LEGO" stamped on the studs (where possible) and will have "(c) LEGO" somewhere on the inside in most cases as well. Difficult to read or find, but it is there upon close inspection. Your piece does not have any markings on the studs.


How to ship a LEGO sculpture to a contest?

As @Mołot commented, first ask the contest committee whether they have specific rules. In general though, shipping in chunks is common, ideally few pieces that are simple and straightforward to attach.

Rigid, sturdy builds are obviously going to stand up better to the travails of shipping, so try to avoid spindly construction. Follow good mechanical engineering principles, and if you can use technics for internal support, it may be very useful.

Glue also helps - yes, it's a bit more permanent, but for this type of production, you want that.

Additionally, shipping with "popcorn" pieces densely packed really helps prevent damage. Be aware that whoever unpacks it may be less keen :-)


What are the longest 1×x and 2×x plates and tiles ever released?

I think it's going to be the 1x12 (#60479) and 2x16 (#4282) for regular Lego plates. The next longest plain-ish plate is probably the 6x28 (#5301, 5309, 4093), but these are thicker than typical plates.

For regular tiles I think the 1x8 (#4162) and 2x4 (#87079) are the longest. Outside of the 2x? they made some odd-ball Scala tiles at 3x6 (#6934) and 8 x 20 x 2/3 (#6923). Then there's the big 8x16 (#48288, 90498).

Does Modulex count since it's a Lego company product? There were Modulex 1x16 (MX1616M) plates and 2x12 (Mx1012) tiles. They also made a huge 22x60 (Mx2420D) plate according to Bricklink. Of course these pieces are only longer in terms of studs, because of the smaller scale, the Modulex bricks are not longer in millimeters/inches.  I'm curious if anyone has one of the 22x60 plates on hand to verify the bottom type?  Then of course there are baseplates, I guess I assumed you weren't referring to those.


EV3 touch sensor specs relevant for a brick-built MOC

Not sure how accurate my rig is, but I get something like 2 millimeters of travel before the touch sensor is "pressed". The HiTechnic Force sensor doesn't seem to give an accurate measurement, but according to my kitchen scales, it takes about 80g force (0.8N) to trigger the sensor.


Determining what set I have from a bag of lego pieces?

I see you already found the answer, but in general, you can use Rebrickable. After registering, in the My RB menu you can upload the parts you have and the site will tell you which sets you can build out of them. It will even show partial matches, listing the bricks you still need to build them.


How to simulate Lego Mindstorms programs written in C#?

Unfortunately, there are no simulators for Lego Mindstorms in C# that fit your requirements. As Sebastian Wahl mentioned, Microsoft Robotics Studio is probably your best bet. Hopefully there will be a tool like this in the future :)


What are the programming languages that can be used on Lego Mindstorm EV3?

With ev3dev pretty much any programming language you can run or compile for the ARM board can be used. All you really need to be able to do is read and write to a file. This is because ev3dev is based on Debian Linux and has drivers to communicate with the hardware through virtual files.
That being said, typically you will probably want to use a library which abstracts the low-level API. The following are currently well-supported.

Python
Java
Go
C++
C
Prolog
Vala, Genie, and other GObject-based languages
Rust

You can find the full list and some other 3rd-party libraries on the ev3dev Programming Languages page.


Can I repair a broken LEGO brick with glue?

LEGO is very good about replacing broken parts - for free even.  Visit the web-site and look on the bottom of the page under Customer Service for a "broken or missing parts" link (I can't check at current locale).

This is worth trying even if the set is old or you didn't acquire it brand new. LEGO doesn't usually care where you got the set; but if it's not recent there's a risk that the part is not produced anymore, and then they won't be able to replace it. But try anyway, they're usually very friendly.

You can also try calling Customer Service directly.


Can I write programs for the LEGO RCX 2.0 in Java/C++?

I was looking into this just recently. There are libraries and also it seems there are other firmwares offering alternative operating systems you can embed on the Mindstorm.

For C++ you could try:

nxtOSEK is an alternative OS offering a C++ api
BrickOS is an alternative OS with a C/C++ development environment
NXT++ is a C++ lib for controlling the original Mindstorm with a C++ API (through BlueTooth or USB)

For java solutions might be:

leJOS an alternative OS with a JVM
The NXTComm Processing Library


Opera house 10234 book 2 instruction 20 left hand side and then 22 has got me stumped. Can't figure out how these pieces fit. Please help

There is indeed 1 stud between both parts.

The gray 2x1 is on the yellow 1x1 and 1 stud of the brown 6x1, than there is 1 free stud on the brown piece. The blue brick is on the remaining 4 studs of the 6x1


Looking for instructions to build a hobbit hole without 'custom set pieces'

I have an alternate plan you might consider:

Reference: here's the entry for that set on Brickset
It looks like there aren't many custom pieces used in this set, as seen in the parts list
You could download the actual instructions for the real set, and then just swap out some pieces, removing the color combinations that you don't have

I hope this helps in some small way!


Which set is this bag from? It has mostly azure pieces

This is a bag from Dimensions Starter Pack parts (71200).


Help find Lego number for large Technic F1 Ferrari

This is set 8386 Ferrari F1 Racer 1:10.

It's hard to tell from your photo exactly what is missing. Obviously the rear spoiler is missing, but there may be several other smaller elements missing.

Brickset and LEGO.com both have the full instructions, so the best way to determine what is missing is probably to walk through those. Here they are:

https://www.lego.com/biassets/bi/4280172.pdf

You can find the complete parts list for this set on Bricklink if you'd like to order any replacement parts.


How do I take out this pin from an axle connector?

I usually attach it to a Technic beam, then put something to fill the hole so it can't squeeze together and come out, to give a handle.

The flexible rods tend to be a nice options for filling the hole, the older ones may be a bit better, but I've had success with other pieces that fit minifig hands.

Once you have the blue pin attached to the beam instead of that red piece, you can take the rod out and push it out with an axle or something if needed.


Please identify the set(s) that these come from

Ho Ho Ho!

Your four sealed bags (from first through third images) are Mr. Claus and Mrs. Claus

Item No: 40274-1

Building instructions at lego.com


Can you interchange System and Technic LEGO?

I assume by the Technic motor pack you mean this:

The straightforward answer is in my opinion "no", the pack does not contain enough pieces, nor do System sets contain enough unless they were explicitly designed to have moving parts and allow motorization (e.g. the carousel or other LEGO expert fairground sets)

You need "some" LEGO Technic to allow for moving parts. The LEGO Technic itself is then in many ways compatible with System Lego.

The amount of Lego Technic your grandson will need depends too much on what he wants to achieve to give a generic answer.


Try Minifigs.me! It allows for creation using almost every part, plus custom parts.

Also try BrickLink, which has a catalogue of nearly every LEGO piece in existence. (For sale!)


How to make custom LEGO signs, newspapers, etc.

Well I don't exactly know what you mean buy a sign like one that he/her can hold or a sign in the ground? Moving onto the newspaper you can get white sticky clay and get two white 6x5 pieces or a size you like and fill in the crack in the middle then put one piece of clay in the Lego persons hand and shape it in a Lego rectangle size
 Hope this helped


Is possible to change firmware of ev3 brick?

Connect EV3 with USB to computer, have Lego Mindstorm software open

Under Tools -> Select Firmware update and start he update

Brick will restart after firmware is updated


non-LEGO Tank, Marine Corps - Can anyone identify set?

The picture of the vehicle isn't very clear.  It appears to be dark green and missing several pieces.  This makes an already difficult to identify set nearly impossible unfortunately.  The dark green color and apparent military theme strongly suggest this isn't a Lego brand set, as already mentioned by Henrik.

What is left of the vehicle looks like some sort of APC or IAV possibly.  I spent some time searching and couldn't find building sets with the Marine Corps sticker on them.  It is very likely this was made by one of the many companies that make Lego compatible military sets, and even if we knew the exact set, it is highly unlikely that building instructions could be found.  To try to help you figure out what's missing on your set I've included a couple pictures to give you an idea of what your set might have looked like.

As for the door, very little can be determined from the picture.


These parts are from

75202-1: Defense of Crait

Based on the Windscreen 6 x 4 x 1 Curved with Gray Star Wars Skimmer Pattern


Identify Lego set from a partly-built object with a handle and colored yellow, white, and black

This is the incomplete lawn mower from

3315-1: Olivia's House


Step 160 on Carousel 10257, white hinges not connecting?

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


It's been worked out by multiple groups who decided on different systems. The disagreement is based on what information was publicly available from the Lego Group at the time, what pieces had been manufactured up to that point, and what features the category authors thought were salient.

To really appreciate the magnitude of the problem, just try classifying every part in your own collection. Make your own categories or try to follow somebody's elses. You will raise a lot of questions about how broad the categories should be. Everybody with a storage system goes through this.

Existing Classification Schemes

Consider BrickLink's categories, which are up to 188 categories containing 25,096 parts as of this writing. In this scheme, there are no subcategories, only 2 levels. The category Brick covers 70 parts, but has 7 co-categories like Brick, Decorated (1356) and Brick, Round (38). Brick, Round shares some close neighbors in a separate group, Cylinder(47) (both terms inherited from LDRAW, by the way.) You could reasonably argue about membership characteristics for classifying under Brick, Round or Cylinder or even whether there should be two groups.
LDRAW, originated by James Jessiman), didn't categorize parts hierarchically, but for many parts the first word or two makes a genus.  Programs such as http://mlcad.lm-software.com/ displayed some of these categories in a menu but invited you to think of the big list "like the rummage in the Lego box." As of this writing, LDRAW covers 5,377 parts.
Peeron is an example of an exhaustive set database using LDRAW's part numbers and names. Peeron didn't introduce a hierarchy of its own.
PartsRef, by Steve Bliss, a major LDRAW parts author, attempted to categorize the LDRAW parts hierarchically. It had 22 top level categories, for instance: Architectural, having subcategories like Doors. However the Plate category remained undivided and included all the plates with various protrusions.
LEGO Digital Designer is a newer example with its brick palettes (sorry, I'm not a user.)
Pick-a-Brick as of this writing uses 42 categories, some of which are very broad. For instance, "Brick, Special" is one category (currently 155 parts) that other schemes divide into various groups for round bricks, modified bricks, cylinders, hinges, cones, etc.
Auczilla by Todd Lehman and Suzanne Rich (circa 1996-2000) had another exhaustive parts scheme that excelled in its use of geometric adjectives for part names, such as Half-Octagonal (debatable on math grounds) and Quarter-Round, Convex and Concave. The link is from Internet Wayback but shows the top categories.
Finally, Technica (1999) was another attempt at classifying just Technic parts.

In the end, some parts are placed into categories primarily by geometry, others by function, yet others by historical origin. You could also conceivably group bricks by building function (I'm thinking of direction-changing rectilinear bricks) or even by simply the number of studs (I'm thinking of a Kanji dictionary.)

Part Names Make Classification Muddier

Consider the language barrier: if you read Lego's English Pick-A-Brick names, you realize it's translated (from Danish). A major category is "Brick, Bow"  also known as an Arch.

Dome

Consider 30367, LEGO's "Final Brick" filed under Bricks, Special. Perhaps they meant Finial? LDRAW calls it a Cylinder with Dome Top. BrickLink puts it under Brick, Round (remember BrickLink has both categories Cylinder and Brick, Round from its LDRAW heritage.)

Jumper Plate

Jumper Plate is one name that made perfect sense to Europeans but baffled Americans; to James Jessiman (Australian) it was a Plate 1 x 2 with 1 Stud. I recall Auczilla used the adjective Offset in there. In Pick-A-Brick it's now a Plate 1x2 With 1 Knob. Or should it be a tile because it's mostly flat?

Loudhailer

Then there are multi-purpose parts: describe 4349 geometrically and it's another cone. But it could be a Minifig Weapon, or just Minifig Utensil. In LDRAW, it's a Loudhailer and has no category as such. The American term would be a Megaphone but many know it as Star Wars Blaster.

Multiply this complexity by thousands, and you get an idea that the task of naming is never settled.

Part Numbers

Many LEGO bricks have part numbers imprinted from the mold. This is now called a "Design ID" by LEGO. It served as the original basis for LDRAW part numbers. However, LDRAW invented its own numbers for parts with no number.

About the year 2000, LEGO introduced a 7 digit "Element ID" to designate a particular design in a particular color. These numbers began to be used internally at LEGO for Building Instructions software, and externally in LEGO Creator software products. They are now shown in official set inventories and in Pick-A-Brick.

Conclusion

This should give you an idea why different name and category schemes don't align. We start by talking about the same LEGO pieces but we bring preferred names from childhood or later (I always referred and still refer to 1xN bricks as 1-bumper, 2-bumper, etc.) We group them according to geometry or function, but find new reasons to subdivide or revise to make the groups more intuitive. New parts challenge these categories.  LEGO does not seem to have given the problem much thought or care, lumping parts into catch-all categories. I derive immense satisfaction from solving a problem of devising a part's genus and differentia, but I realize that just like in the taxonomy of living things, there is competition between systems, and endless revision.


Are there active electronics in basic Powered Up motors?

No.

Powered Up does provide the ability to send data between hubs and connected modules via the addition of two additional wires not present in the 4-wire Power Functions system. However, the system appears to be able to operate basic components using only analog control just like Power Functions. For example, here's a look at the internals of the new train motor from Eurobricks:

There are only two components on the board. C2 is a small capacitor in parallel with the motor to address back EMF, and the larger component in the middle is a fuse to prevent damage to the motor or other components when stalled.

You can see in the photo that the two new PU wires (5 and 6, labeled  ID1 and ID2) are connected directly to VCC and GND respectively. It would appear that if these connections for ID1 and ID2 are detected by the hub, the component is treated much like a PF component and M1 and M2 are used to control it. Digital electronics are not required.


What is the name and part number of this round decorative gold part?

It looks like a Wheel Wagon - Ornate Huge.

You can tell from the link, but as you explicitly ask, I guess I should say that the part number is 15744.


Any build instructions for vertical Technic/Lego conveyor belts?

You're in luck! Jason at JK BrickWorks has put his instructions online. There are others I've used; I'll hunt for those links, too. He's made multiple Ideas sets, so this might be how Lego officially makes a marble run set, which would be fantastic.
Here we go: I've built Brian Alano's wheel lift and Bryan Bonahoom's stackable lift and enjoyed great success with both.
On EuroBricks, there has been a lot of work posted on recreating Akiyuki's modules.


What element modifications are incorporated by the LEGOLAND builders?

The glue is one obvious thing, and I think they recently also experimented with a new sort of transparent stuff to paint the finished models with so that they would be more resistant to direct sunlight. I don't think they'll paint bricks to change their colour, though.

However, In the same category of things any respectable AFOL would never do, I'm fairly confident they'll also resort to cutting elements if needed. I'm unsure if that happens often and it's probably limited to parts where the cut isn't visible from the public. Another thing is the use of generic plastic sheets for some large windows, for which no LEGO elements exist.

Then, as Kramii said, electrical and mechanical components are never LEGO. For the vehicles, they do have a generic frame (metallic, with motor, battery, and all control electronic) on top of which they build a LEGO exterior. Presumably, trains follow the same logic.

So yes, they are very lax with what they can or cannot do. I know the work area of the designer in Windsor is visible from the public, not sure it is so with other parks (I don't remember that in the two others I've seen); but if you get the chance it's nice to see them. With some luck, they'll have some time to spare to chat with you.


The list of sets containing Black Brick, Arch 1 x 5 x 4

(or its alternate version) and the list of sets containing Blue Slope 33 2 x 2 Double

has no common element, therefore these parts have never appeared together in an official set, so this must be a custom creation.


How to eliminate a gap of an offset in a corner

UPDATE: Attempt Number Two.

Okay, everything's set up almost like your first uploaded image:

Stone Gray 1x2 jumper plates as the base is the same.
The three Black 1x1 Bricks are still in those key positions, except they're all modified Headlight Bricks, instead.
All bricks have been skewered through with a combination of Light
Sword Blades and Shafts.

LEGO Digital Draw won't allow placement of a brick on a stud-less surface.  To get around this I used 1x12 and 1x6 plates for temporary
staging, and then deleted them after the shish kebabbing.

There's still a gap, but the gap number has been reduced to one, and
made less noticeable.

Let me know if anyone wants the build file (Minus Picasso's Junk Lighthouse behind it.).


I'm not so sure using 9V will be usefull ?

My son has a PF cargo train in his room, when he turns it on, it goes, ok.

but even if my son goes downstair to get a cookie while he still has the PF emitter in his hand, then train still runs !

According to me, PF infrared link is used only when you wish to change speed setting, so if you don't plan to slow down your train in the tunnel, you are ok.


This game represented the LEGO Designer Sets (Make & Create) from 2003–2005, and so the majority of models are based on them (WB1 models are from the first and second waves, and WB2 the third wave). As someone who grew up with the game and the Designer Sets as a tween, and still has many of them built to this day, I believe I can answer this question mostly, though there is still some I'm uncertain about which I'll note near the end of my answer.
From WB1 (links point to BrickInstructions.com):

The Snail, Frog, as well as the enemies Crab (of which the Watercrab is a palette swap), Scorpion and Alligator are from 4101 Wild Collection. Step-by-step instructions exist for the Crab, Scorpion and Alligator; the rest are inspirational builds that are simple and therefore should be easy to reverse-engineer. Notably, the Snail, Frog, Scorpion and Alligator can all be built simultaneously from a single copy of the set. The proportions are also all wrong in case that bothers you; namely the Scorpion is monstrously oversized compared to the rest. Or... the proportions could all be just right, depending on your imagination.
I still have my Crab built from 17 years ago, so I hope you'll overlook the dust and grime still on it after a quick clean (click to enlarge):

The Buggy, Dirtbuggy, Forklift and Gas Station are from 4100 Maximum Wheels. Instructions exist for the Buggy's in-game model as well as the Dirtbuggy (which is actually a palette swap) and Forklift. The Buggy's info model is an inspirational build with no step-by-step instructions, and the Gas Station and Marina are different color variations on one inspirational side build seen on the cover art. The decals are exclusive to WB1 — Designer Sets don't have printed elements.
I rebuilt the Forklift a few months ago:

The Defender, Treebot and Repairbot are from 4099 Robobots. Instructions exist for the Defender and Treebot but not the Repairbot (you can see it on page 73). I built the Defender and Treebot when I was younger and I have to add that the Treebot is actually depicted in the set as an aquatic robot that operates underwater, and it can be configured to different positions and not just standing upright. Unfortunately, upright its two bottom/hind legs don't support its weight very well, the joints being little more than single-hinge connection points. It works much better on all fours.
As for the Defender, despite what the scale of the in-game models suggests, it is much smaller than the Treebot — though it's got a much bigger brother in 4508 Titan XP. I just went and built the Defender so I could show it to you next to a minifig for scale:

The Bulldozer and Dumptruck are from 4096 Micro Wheels. Instructions exist for both models.

Instructions for the Speedboat can be found in 4505 Sea Machines.

Instructions for the Tyrannosaurus Rex can be found in 4507 Prehistoric Creatures. It is one of the main builds.

Instructions for the Shark can be found in 4506 Deep Sea Predators (the predecessor of 31088 Deep Sea Creatures). It is one of the main builds. I rebuilt it in 2018 when I first exited my Dark Ages with 10404 Ocean's Bottom — here's a photo from my review of the latter:

WB1 units I couldn't identify:

The Steamshovel appears to have a body that's a palette swap of the Forklift's, but the vehicle as a whole doesn't appear to exist in any set. I can't identify exactly which digger bucket it's using so I might try to BrickLink it and see what set it might be. I'm guessing it's unique to the game.

According to Alexander O'Mara, the Robot Lab appears to be a palette swap of an inspirational model from 4098 High Flyers. Not exactly the place I would've looked...

The Guard Tower doesn't bear any resemblance to anything I've seen in a Designer Set or X-Pod (at least, as an owner of the first wave of X-Pods).

The Duck, Fish, Tugboat and Freighter appear to be from LEGO Creator buckets also under Make & Create. They certainly don't have the level of detail or part usage that Designer Set models are recognized for.
I was right: as Alexander confirms, they're from 4028 World of Bricks.

From WB2:

Instructions for the Freezebot can be found in 4881 Robo Platoon (which incidentally was Brickset's random set of the day just last week). It is one of the main builds.

Instructions for the House can be found in 4886 Building Bonanza. It is the main build.
However, despite being based on that same House, none of the other WB2 buildings actually appear in the set, except the Windmill, which only appears as an inspirational model with instructions for the actual mechanism for spinning the sails.

Instructions for the enemy Lion can be found in 4884 Wild Hunters. It is one of the main builds.

Notably, all the Designer Sets in the final wave were given the "new" Creator rebranding later in life. I wasn't there when it happened though — I had just entered my Dark Ages before that, and I never had a chance to own any of the final wave sets. 4886 Building Bonanza remains among my top 10 most wanted sets of all time.
Thanks for the opportunity to take us on a trip down memory lane!


What is the best way to sell a nearly complete large set?

Welcome! Here are a couple of suggestions:

a. Find a review of this set online, ideally one with pictures which shows all the bags included in the set. This will allow you to verify which bags have been opened (you already know which ones are still sealed).

b. Then, download the instructions for 10030 from LEGO.

c. Here comes the tricky part. Find out which steps contain parts from your opened bags, and check if you have all of them. If this is somehow impossible, you have two alternative options:

Open all the bags, build the 10030 and see which pieces are missing, then order those from Bricklink.com and complete your set. List the set as Used, Like New, Built once to validate completeness and you should be able to get a price relatively close to the New price.
Sell the set as Used, 90% Sealed bags, possibly some missing pieces. Depending on how complete it actually is (you won't know) you might get some good offers, especially if box and stickers and such are still present.

To sell LEGO on EBay, you don't need any special priviliges. Just create a listing and sell. However, if you have never used or sold on EBay before, and you have zero or low feedback (<50), starting off with listing a high-value item like UCS 10030 is bound to set off scam-warnings in many of your potential buyers. You'd need to sell other items first before putting this one up for sale. Of course you can always try to sell it via Craigslist, OfferUp, LetGo and other garage-sale apps, but you'll likely get less money for your set (even taking into account that EBay/Paypal will take 12-13% of the sell price and CL/OfferUp etc. take nothing).

Good luck!


Unable to turn on NXT. Completely Frozen

The button in the battery compartment is NOT the reset button - it's a switch meant to be depressed by the NXT rechargeable battery. The NXT reset button is inside one of the technic connector holes on the underside of the brick - you can push it with an uncoiled paperclip or a pencil lead.

The reset button only toggles the power, it doesn't actually "reset" anything. The best way to reset the brick is to reinstall the firmware (this can be done from inside the Lego NXT-G programming software or from a 3rd-party utility like BricxCC). However, doing this requires that the brick has power and is able to turn on.

Try charging your batteries (if they're rechargeable) or put in new ones (if they're not). Your symptoms sound like the NXT was on the brink of the low-power threshold - putting load on the motors drained the batteries below a critical level and now the brick won't start.

Be sure to report back if fresh batteries don't work for you.


It looks like you don't quite understand how those robots became supported by Lego.
You see, EV3 was released in 2013, and they've supported only 12 fan robots. That's not a lot, and if they were still accepting fan robots for years they definitely would've had more robots on their site. I have an unofficial book by Laurens Valk about EV3 programming, in this book he has instructions for about 3 more of his robots. Yet none of them are on the site.
Why am I even mentioning a Lego fan and his book? Because this page says that the race truck was designed by him. That's the only model he made that's on their site, but there are some people who have had multiple models of theirs accepted by Lego. They are Martyn Boogaarts and Kenneth Madsen. And I could've sworn that I saw a video(s) somewhere where they were interviewing the designers of these robots.
Looks like they were only accepting fan robots from skilled EV3 users.


Technique for multifacteted roof without 3049

Would it be possible to just use a black one, or old dark gray? It would add a little variation to the roof, which is not a bad thing - it would look more natural. Perhaps the other color could be added to some other places here and there as well, so the colors all pull together nicely.

Other than that you could always add a chimney, but as you mentioned you will have several places where you will face this issue. I can't think of any other piece that could serve the purpose exactly like 3049. You might also consider angled plates, which are other commony used pieces for roof-building. But without seeing your project it is hard to tell if that would work.


Which set does this small bag of LEGO pieces belong to?

All the pieces shown are used in Day 17 of the 2012 LEGO City Advent Calendar (4428).

It looks like you only have 10 out of the 14 pieces required to build the model, the other pieces must have either been removed at some point or were never included (which is unlikely).


What set does this minifigure head come from?

It's from Fairground Mixer (10244).

Also, the rest can be had way cheaper than Pyjamas Emmet polybag in the form of Sleepyhead from Collectible Minifig series 6.


What is the best way to program Mindstorms EV3?

You have various options.

If you use Linux mainly ev3dev is a good start I think. I've worked with Java (LeJOS) and C# (MonoBrick) in combination with the LEGO Mindstorms Education EV3. But there are more bindings for the EV3. If I recall correctly at least for Python, C, C++ and some more educational friendly languages. The information you need to write your own language/compiler for the EV3 platform are available on the LEGO Mindstorms website. I'm currently developing my own language, compiler and IDE for my master thesis.

The more general question you must answer yourself is: What's the goal you want to achieve? Do you want to learn how to program or do you have already knowledge in one or more languages? If you want to learn how to program you should IMHO use a more beginner friendly language like the EV3-G (the graphical language you mentioned). If you already have some knowledge you can start with a text-based language.

The second question is: Do you want to use/learn a graphical language or a text-based one? There are graphical alternatives to EV3-G like the Open Roberta Project. It uses a Scratch like language (based on the same JavaScript library).

Hopefully I could give you some hints because the topic is more complex than many think in first place. If you have more questions just feel free and ask.


What 3D modelling services could I use to create custom LEGO pieces?

I haven't tried creating my own parts. However, I've seen that Bricklink's PartDesigner is quite popular in the community.  It looks like the creation process is quite streamlined, you can edit the connectivity info of each piece, and it plays very nice with Bricklink's Studio.


Nice job finishing Model "A"!

As for Model "B", known as "Private Jet", follow this link and head on over to Youtuber THINK LOUDER's speed build of this model.

First, Mute the video.
Second, Pause the video.
Third, Open the setting for video playback, which is the "Gear" icon
in the bottom right hand corner of the video, to slow down the speed to "0.25".
Forth, Play the video and skip to minute 1:47 into the video.
Fifth, and finally, Watch how this guy builds up until minute 2:04 into the video, which is where you are stuck, page 7, instruction 8.

Good luck! You can do it Bro!


What is the battery life of the new Mindstorms and SPIKE Prime hubs?

Power consumption and battery life will of course vary based on the load that the hub is driving. Philo has an extensive analysis for motor power consumption, so I'll just look at what the hub itself consumes while running a program to come up with a baseline battery life estimate.
I've uploaded a test Python program to my hub that gently blinks a heartbeat LED:
import hub,utime
while True:
    hub.led(0,0,10)
    utime.sleep_ms(500)
    hub.led(0,0,0)
    utime.sleep_ms(500)

In order to measure the current draw, I first wired up the battery to the hub with the battery outside the hub:

I then connected a basic multimeter up in series with the hub as a current sensor:

We can see that the Hub with the simple program running consumes about 150mA of current. Assuming ideal usage of the included 2100mAh battery, the hub should be able to run for approximately 2100mAh / 150mA = 14 hours while not driving any peripherals.
Peripherals such as motors (and even the LED display) quickly dwarf the power consumption of the hub itself, but under normal usage we should expect to see several hours of battery life.


Where can I find the black crusaders horse barding?

Good places to find parts include:

Thrift stores, car boot sales, jumble sales. Sometimes you get lucky.
eBay is a good general source for parts... as long as you can find what you're looking for.
LEGO's Pick-a-Brick (PAB) service is good for for common parts.
LEGO's replacement parts service is better for less common parts from newer sets. The range of parts is far greater than PAB, but doesn't come close to being complete.
BrickLink, the most comprehensive resource for parts on the internet.

Given that the part you're looking for is older, I suggest that BrickLink might be your best bet.

I couldn't identify the exact part that you wanted, but they do list a good range of horse barding.


How do I get the Mindstorm EV3 software to recognize an NXT brick via Bluetooth?

Communicating with the NXT from the LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 software is not supported.
From http://www.lego.com/en-us/mindstorms/support/faq/:

3.10 Is the LEGO® MINDSTORMS® EV3 Home Edition Software backward-compatible with NXT Hardware?
Yes. You can program your NXT Intelligent Brick using the new LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Home Edition Software. However, not all Software features are supported by the NXT Intelligent Brick.

It does not explicitly mention Bluetooth, but it is one of features that is not supported.
References:

Compatibility EV3 software with NXT brick - known limits?
http://robotsquare.com/2013/07/16/ev3-nxt-compatibility/


Making or buying a really long Power Functions cable

As the PF plugs are specific, the simplest thing to do is to buy a short extension cable, cut it in half and solder another cable in the middle. Current in PF cable can be pretty high, so to avoid too much drop it's best to avoid thin cable, I recommend 0.5mm² of copper section.


Identifying a set having a chair with a brown seat and circular base with surrounding gray pieces

Your initial suspicion that this set was from Star Wars is...

"Most impressive."

Good job!

Set #75077-1 Homing Spider Droid.


How can I connect CCBS parts to plain LEGO system?

There are several parts that make this possible. Many of the CCBS-style ball socket parts include Technic axle connections that can ultimately be attached to system bricks (e.g. 93571 and 50923). There are several examples of this in the Exosuit (instructions):

There are also several Technic ball socket parts that include System studs such as 57910:

Here's a list of Technic bricks with ball sockets that might be helpful.

There are also other connections that are shared between CCBS parts and system, such as bar connections, you just have to get creative. Feel free to ask additional questions if you are having trouble integrating particular parts.


Creating ski gondolas/tramway with Duplos

What I have done so far: used a ribbon like suggested, but more of a clothes ribbon. It works well - the fabric fits in the spot behind the wheels and friction is usually enough to prevent it falling back. I have yet to add the winch (not sure it will be  long enough but will see when I get it next weekend). I used a simple stack of squares to anchor it - on the bottom needed a bit more support for some reason but nothing fancy.

(The buildings were child made, by the way :)


LEGO Mindstorm EV3 Line-With-Gaps Follower? [Robotc]

As you already have a working program for the continuous line, you just need to add provisions for the cases when

(the robot is moving on a straight part) AND (the color sensor finds a gap in the track)

Depending on your existing solution you might need to code dedicated methods to identify the two sub-cases and then call them repeatedly to see if the robot is

on the track,
off the track or
in a gap but on the track.

The above mentioned provision could include just "hold the current direction and continue forwards" or something more elaborate. It could include measuring the distance traveled and seeing if the gap is indeed shorter than 20 cm (and trying to find the line again if a longer gap was found), or introducing a slight fanning motion to help find the end of the gap, or maybe something completely different.

If you post more about your existing solution, we could give you more specific ideas.


My Lego Technic 42082 wheel stuck and can't move

LEGO Technic sets are the most complex builds in LEGO's selection, and they are not forgiving. Any little mistake, and the model won't work. LEGO Technic sets are not easy to build, as you have to pay careful attention to each and every step. In addition, if you do make a mistake, the models are not nearly as easy to take apart as regular LEGO sets.

Your issue could be anywhere. It could be a mistake of where you connected a part, you could have used the wrong part in a step, or it could be that you made one or more of the connections too tight.

Unfortunately, there is no way around it; you will have to retrace your steps and disassemble the model until you find the issue. You could take apart the whole thing and start over, or you could reverse your steps carefully, until you find the problem.

To avoid such issues in the future, you should test that everything is still working after each step. In other words, if you are adding working gears in one step, and in the next step you are instructed to add more gears or some other components, test to make sure that everything is still working correctly when you add the additional parts. You should do this after every new section. It makes building a bit slower, but it assures that the finished model is working right.

Although LEGO Technic sets are challenging builds, they are also some of the most rewarding. You can learn quite a bit about mechanics, engineering, and complex machines.


I do not have much specific advice for the building of the model, but to get the pieces to physically create it, I can help with.

BrickLink will be the superior tool for you to be able to create this model yourself, and then buy the pieces for it. If you don't already have a BrickLink account, you can make one at this link:
Bricklink Registration

Stud.io Download
Once you have done so, click the above link and download their beta program "stud.io" which is a brick-building software that is very similar to Lego Digital Designer (a program originally released by TLG). It is more compatible with BrickLink than LDD, and you can link your BL account to stud.io.

Once you build a model in stud.io, you can easily upload it as a 'wanted-list' to your BL account that includes all the parts you need for your model that you created in stud.io. You can follow the steps on BL to get your parts in the most convenient fashion. I have found this to be cheaper and quicker than any other alternative (unless, of course, you have a massive collection of Lego pieces).

I hope that helps.


Displaying Minifigs and avoiding discolouration

Taking a recommendation from our friends over on Photography there are a couple of options available to you:

The best and most common form of protection from fading would be the selection of UV glass or acrylic. Any framing store will have these options available at multiple price points with trade offs such as glare or less glare, scratch resistant or scratch prone, and tint(green) or no tint.
[Another option would be sprays - for example Krylon UV Resistant Clear Coating Spray] is made for use on artwork that is either outside or near windows. They offer the product in gloss and matte finish as well. Krylon is a very well respected brand, and I believe this will be the easiest and cheapest solution to the problem, albeit not necessarily the best.
Another spray on option would be Premier Imaging Products Print Shield. It is a lacquer based protective spray that is designed for inkjet prints. It also works on photo papers and canvas materials. They specify up to a 2x lightfastness increase, elimination of gloss differential, non yellowing formula, and a reduction in scuffing. The results have been tested by an independent lab (Wilhelm Research) to last up to 166 years with certain Epson papers and regular glass, and over 200 years with UV filtering glass.


I would say it it cold come from a brand from China, I can’t identify this system, but it is the opposite of that of a normal LEGO brick. It is still a normal 2x4 plate.


Can anyone identify this wheel-like part from the Kazi 10005 80cm WW2 German Railway Gun "Dora"?

I know of similarly looking LEGO piece - Minifigure, Utensil Barbell Weight.


Does the value of LEGO increase over a period of time?

Generally speaking, yes. But there are many factors that determine how a given set will be priced over the years. Sets that have rare, more sought after pieces tend to cost more (think monorails), so if you'd happen to have a MISB monorail set you'd be rich. On the other hand, TLG can inadvertently mess with any investment plan by launching sets with similar themes or pieces, making your collection worth just as much as new sets.

Condition is also a key factor, MISB sets are on an entirely different level than opened, used, scratched, faded sets with missing pieces.

For more information i'd suggest looking at BrickPicker. There you can see that while the Diagon Alley has been slowly but steadily gaining value, the Town plan has basically stagnated. This could be caused by the value of a Harry Potter set for collectors, the unique pieces in that set, or any other factors.

There are also other questions in this topic here:

How can I find the value of a LEGO set over several years?
Historically, what types of sets have proven to be a great investment?
How can you estimate the value of a LEGO collection?


What does this error symbol on the EV3 mean?

The hard disk is likely full on the brick. Try deleting some projects to allocate space.


Loop doesn't work, always inputs the same condition

You have the motor power set to 1 and you are waiting for 1 full rotation. If the motor moves at all, it will take a long time to complete one rotation. Most of the loop is spent waiting for the rotation to complete (or if the motor is not moving at all, then the loop never actually loops).

Try using a higher power - at least 10. Also, use less than one rotation, or use time (just a fraction of a second) instead for the duration of the motor block.


Is it safe to use a hot glue gun for Mega Bloks?

It's probably not the best option to use no: according to Wikipedia, glue guns tend to operate at the following temperatures:

  Low-temperature glue guns operate at approximately 120°C (248°F) [...] High-temperature guns operate at approximately 190°C (374 °F)

LEGO and Mega Bloks' primary component, ABS, has a melting point around 105°C (221°F), which is a bit lower than the glue and it will have started to deform around 80°C (176°F).

Your best option would be to use a glue that "welds" the LEGO elements together, such as Plastic or Polystyrene Cement.


Lego Duplo 10508 train does not pull up the bridge

Short answer: It's not a good train bridge and results are disappointing.
Longer answer:
We've tried two different Duplo trains (10874 Steam Train and 10875 Cargo Train) on the Duplo train bridge and they barely have enough power/traction to get over it even without any train cars attached. If you run a bare engine (no cover), it goes up fine. If you run the engine with a decorative cover (the "top" of the train), it will struggle. If you run it with train cars attached it seems like it's 50/50 whether it'll make it over.
You also could consider trying different types of batteries. Alkaline (non-rechargeable) batteries usually have higher voltage when they are new (but then drop off quickly), compared to rechargeable, which maintain a steady, but slightly lower voltage (reference).


Have you ever seen this color of Teddy Bear?

Neither Bricklink nor Brickset knows about such a piece (all teddy bear pieces of this mold with downward arms come in non-transparent colours and are printed), so it must be either a knock-off (very low value), or a test mold (very high value).


Can I import existing Lego kits into LEGO Digital Designer?

The only way to achieve that is to manually build the set in LDD. If you don't want to do it yourself, check the Eurobricks library for sets built in LDD by the LEGO fan community. You can find virtually any set released within the last several years: https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/41226-key-topic-official-lego-sets-made-in-ldd/

The set you mentioned is on the list, so all you have to do is download the LDD file. :)


How much tension can I expect to get out of a lego chain before it starts to give away?

Simply test it, then divide the force by 2 in order to stay the safe side.


Where is the structural difference between a minifig and a minifig on a keychain?

A minifig on a keychain and a regular minifig are essentially the same. They are made of the same components. A couple of additional procedures turn regular minifigs into keychain minifigs.

1.) There is a long screw inserted through the head and neck-post of the minifig to be able to attach the keychain to the loop at the end of the screw. If you remove the screw, there will be a small hole left inside the stud on the head, and on the neck-post.

2.) The leg assembly is fused to the torso assembly to make sure they don't separate during use as a keychain.

In addition, keychain minifigs are made in China, so there is a slight difference in how they look. The plastic has a duller and sometimes a bit more opaque appearance compared to regular minifigs. The printing, however, is the same quality, which is what most people focus on. The difference in the shine/opaqueness is usually only noticed when the keychain minifigs is placed next to an identical regular minifig.


The question is unclear, but I will take a stab at it.

It seems that OP found the LEGO Ideas website with the LEGO Pop-Up Book project: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/cfaf7a52-02a4-4dc0-8ec3-6b94d7c36069

Then they also saw this listing at the Online LEGO Shop: https://shop.lego.com/en-US/product/Pop-Up-Book-21315

OP thinks that both sets can be bought and is asking how the two sets are different.

To answer the question, the original LEGO Ideas submission is not for sale. Only the #21315 LEGO Ideas Pop-Up Book set can be bought.

How LEGO Ideas works is that LEGO fans can submit their own ideas they would like LEGO make into a set. If enough people like an idea and vote for it, LEGO will consider making it into an official set. Once the idea is selected, LEGO's own designers will refine the project to their own standards and make it into an official set.

The #21315 LEGO Ideas Pop-Up Book set is the result of the original submission at LEGO Ideas. It is the only version of the project that is for sale. The set is designed like a traditional pop-up book that can open with scenes that pop up from the pages.

The original LEGO fan project included suggestions for various scenes that could be used for the book. For the final set, LEGO's own designers selected two interchangeable scenes; Little Red Riding Hood with grandma's house, and Jack and the Beanstalk with a "growing" beanstalk. You can see pictures of both scenes and how they unfold and pop up at the Online LEGO Shop page: https://shop.lego.com/en-US/product/Pop-Up-Book-21315

I hope this answers OP's question. If I'm, completely off the mark and misunderstood the question and what set OP is talking about, please OP, come back and clarify your question.


Here's an example of how walls have been built. If you look closely on original pictures you can also see 2 x 2 top hinge piece (marked in Yellow here) used for attaching it on the bottom.

Roof is, however, not connected to the top edge. This is how top edge looks on one side of the roof as it is made out of Technic pieces, mostly:

Parts are:

4623a or 4623b - Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Bar Arm Up (Horizontal Arm 5mm or 6mm)
32013 - Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #1
62462 - Technic, Pin Connector Round 2L with Slot (Pin Joiner Round)
2780 - Technic, Pin with Friction Ridges Lengthwise, Staggered, with or without Center Slots

Each of two roof surfaces are not attached to the top edge as I mentioned, however each cylindrical portion of the roof is attached to studded plates with the help of Plate, Modified 1 x 1 with Light Attachment - Thick Ring. Pictures don't tell how these are attached together. Keeping in mind we have plates visible, it shouldn't be hard to create some sort of structure underneath top surface to hold each "plate+cylinder" assembly together.


Which pre-2000 set had a mobile crane with lights?

I believe the set you're looking for is the F1 Hauler (item no. 6484-1):

Here are the details:

It was released in 1995.
It's a red-and-white truck for towing Formula 1 cars (and has no support legs).
It has an 8 x 4 x 2.33 9V battery box, which is hidden in the body of the 6-stud-wide truck.
It has a 1 x 4 light bar and a motorized winch driven by a 9V micromotor.


How to connect two LEGO Bricks EV3 by USB using python

You can create a network connection between two EV3s using USB + ev3dev. Just enable tethering (the "Gadget" checkbox) on one of the EV3s. Connect the USB cable to the USB peripheral port on that brick (the small port next to the output ports) and the host port on the other EV3 (the USB port on the side of the brick).

Then, you could use something like RPyC to remotely control one of the EV3s. Here is an example that explains how to do this from a computer: https://sites.google.com/site/ev3python/learn_ev3_python/rpyc. So just substitute one of the EV3 bricks for the computer.


Are there bricks sized between LEGO (classic) and DUPLO?

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

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

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

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

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


Finding out if these are partial creations to any sets

Photo #1 is from 75933: T. Rex Transport
Photo # 2 and # 7 are from 75170-1 : The Phantom
#3 is part of 75168: Yoda's Jedi Starfighter
#5 is part of 75182: Republic Fighter Tank
#6 is part of 60179: Ambulance Helicopter


How can I distinguish floating versus sinking LEGO pieces?

Most Lego pieces sink. Some of them will float briefly if they have air trapped inside. Almost any construction of Lego elements will sink as there are gaps between pieces.

There are some boat pieces that are designed to float, such as the Police Patrol Boat set from 2016. A Brickset list shows some other boats that float.


Has TLG ever produced bricks without the LEGO branding?

The Automatic Binding Bricks were first sold in Denmark in 1949. They were sold both in boxed sets and also loose in special wooden cases at retail stores. During the first year of production, neither the bricks nor the packaging had the LEGO name or logo. Beginning in 1950 the name LEGO was molded into the underside of the bricks, however the original molds without the name were still in use, so "nameless" bricks continued to be sold.

The first boxed sets did not have the LEGO name or logo.

Beginning in 1952, the boxes were marked LEGO Mursten (Mursten means "bricks"). Beginning in 1953, the Automatic Binding Bricks name was dropped and replaced with LEGO Mursten. The bricks were the same, only the name had changed.

In 1955, LEGO produced some 1:87 scale trucks as promotional items used by Esso dealers in Europe. These trucks were marked with the LEGO name on the underside, but were packaged in boxes that had only Esso branding and no LEGO logo or name.

Many modern LEGO pieces are produced without any LEGO logo or name. These are usually small pieces that have no studs or an interior surface large enough to hold the name or logo. Hollow-stud pieces such as the 1x1 round brick are not marked, for example. Neither are Technic lift arms and beams.


From what series is this brick? Duplo machine piece with yellow button, copyright 2007

This is a Duplo Sound Effects Brick 2 x 4 with Water and Pump Sounds (Set 5605)  brick from 2008. It featured only in 1 set, 5605 Tanker Truck.


What exactly does each Mindstorms part do?

The best way to learn is to build the robots that come with instructions. By doing this you learn all kinds of ways to put the parts together to make functional models.

  I bought a Lego Mindstorms (v2)

Assuming that by v2 you mean an NXT 2.0, if I remember correctly, there is an instruction manual with instructions for a simple wheeled/tracked vehicle, and several other robots are included in the software. Pick one (or all of them!) and start building! You'll notice that there really aren't that many different types of parts:

Beams are the main structural component of the model. Pins and axles connect to them.
Pins connect beams together. They come in several shapes for different situations.
Axles rotate smoothly and support the wheels, motors, and gears. They can also be used as long pins. Use bushings or half-bushings to prevent axles from sliding out of their beam holes.
Connectors like this one allow you to attach beams and other parts at an angle to each other. These big pins are excellent for 90-degree angles.
Gears transfer/multiply torque. See this guide on gears.

For a simple wheeled/tracked robot, the basic design process is:

Build a sturdy chassis for the robot out of beams. Usually this frame is built around the motors. Since the motors are kinda weirdly shaped, consult other robots' instructions for tips on how to position them and attach them to beams.
Attach wheels to the motors using axles and bushings. You can change how fast the wheels move using programming or gears.
Attach the NXT to the top of the robot, so build up some structure from the frame to support it.
Wire the motors to the NXT outputs (A, B, and C), plug the thing into your computer, start programming.

But all of this becomes more apparent and obvious after you've built a few robots from the instructions. Again, pay special attention to how beams are connected to each other to form a chassis, how the motors are mounted, and how different parts of the robot can be reinforced.


There are several Chinese companies making DUPLO clones, many are listed in this fascinating article by Anthony Tomkins of UK LUG The Brickish Association.

Communist LEGO, a review of some Chinese copies


Are there any books on the history of economic, marketing and design choices of LEGO and the company?

Yes, there actually is a book that discusses just this subject AND it's primarily focused on the post-2000 years:

Brick by Brick: How LEGO Rewrote the Rules of Innovation and Conquered the Global Toy Industry by David Robertson.

I highly recommend this book - while professing to be a business book, it gives huge insight into the companies design-reasoning and history.

Amazon Link here.


What are the differences between the two available pizza elements?

Bricklink tells me that 6102555 is Tile, Round 2 x 2 with Bottom Stud Holder with Pizza Pattern and 81867 is Tile, Round 2 x 2 with Pizza Pattern which according to the 3D model is the old style with the X on the bottom. Other than that, they seem to be identical.


Sorting random kits out of a bulk lot and building them can be fun, but it's often quite tricky to determine what you actually have. Also, unless you did quite a bit of sorting up front, you might find that it gets harder and harder to pick out a full kit as time goes on. You could let the kids figure it out, but probably not until they're older, and can look up inventories on bricklink. You could also make it a game: you identify a set candidate, the kids help you build it by finding parts from the lot, and if you succeed in building it you give it to them to keep. If it's a really close build, using bricklink to fill in the missing pieces would make a lot of sense. I once tried to build every single Lego kit my brother and I owned as kids and made a list of all the missing parts. I never got around to it, but a single Bricklink order might be able to clear out that list.

If, instead of sorting out official kits, you sort out the parts by type/colour, you could probably make up some nice little lots of parts that are useful for building. Maybe a bag full of spaceship parts, or castle parts, or car parts. Each of these could become a sort of "kit" on its own, and you could gift them to your children whenever you feel like it.

You could also make some little creations, or large creations, and treat them as "kits" as well. It might be possible for you to recreate the Monthly Mini Models that the Lego company gives away, or small Creator sets, or other similar kits.

Alternatively, just spread the whole thing on the floor and tell them "Build! Share! Tidy Up After!" and let them go crazy with it.


The white Plate 1X2 W. Vertical Schaft is probably from 4625: Pink Brick Box from your other question

The Turbine Ø31.81 X 2 and Tail Ø 3,2 are only together in 7984-1: Deep Sea Raider

The combination of the white Mini Claw W. Fork and the black Link 1M Fric/Fork/Stumpf can only be found together in some of the 2015 Deep Sea sets.


Is there a way to set a flat plane at an angle to horizontal of less than 22.5 degrees, but more than 0?

Using a cut-pipe into a clip-with-tube will let you build a secure and precise angle.

If you have a solid brick behind the headlight bricks you can fix the angle by cutting the pipe at the right length.


Identify the set these LEGO elements are from

No set listed on bricklink or brickset contains 4 of the rounded 1x2 plates in yellow, at most 2, so this is either no set or it is not listed yet on those sites. Also it's a relatively small amount of bricks (48), too few to amount to a set.

https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=35480&in=S&colorID=3&ov=Y


Where can I go to get good custom LEGO minifigures?

There are several minifig-customizer businesses ... the most famous one is likely http://minifigs.me.


Where are the electric pieces for 42029?

These pieces are not included in the set. Motorizing this set requires the addition of a Power Functions motor as shown here:

You'll need the Power Functions Motor Set (8293) if you'd like to motorize your truck. This can be ordered from shop.lego.com or other online retailers. It's usually hard to find in stores, but if you have a LEGO store nearby, they will likely carry it.


Lego Education 9594 instructions for models

The instructions for the "LEGO NXT Green City Challenge Activity 9594" seem to be on CDROM only.
Replacement disks are offered on bricklink for Green City Challenge Activity Pack and Mindstorms Education NXT Software 2.1
See this post here for another answer.


Mindstorms NXT Bluetooth Slow Connecting

I have got that problem too. And this is a bug in the NXT 2.0 system, So there are two solutions:

1- Using the USB Cable instead of Bluetooth as it give no errors and it is faster also it keeps your battery life for longer time.

2-Update your NXT Firmware frequently as the LEGO may be fixed the problem.


How to best measure compatibility among Lego and clones?

How hard/expensive would it be to build/buy a device to measure the force of attaching and detaching plates and bricks?

Thankfully we don't need to think too hard on that, as pcantin has already built a similar device, admittedly built for measuring the repetitions it takes for a brick to lose its clutch power. But it should not be too hard or expensive to modify that design to include something that can measure the exact forces involved. Or it maybe possible to measure the amount of current required by the servo during attaching or detaching and to infer the involved forces from that and thus solve the problem witout requiring any major hardware alterations.

But if your goal is to compare a number of various bricks, I'd recommend a different route. Attach a number of nominally same bricks (i.e. a bunch of 2x4 bricks for example) together in a stack, then pull the two end bricks apart. This way you are applying some force to the top and bottom bricks which gets transmitted across all intermittent bricks. By increasing the applied force the two bricks with the weakest bind will separate first, be they anywhere in the stack. This is akin to finding the weakest link in a chain by pulling the end links apart to see which link break first.

Of course this will only tell us which connection (consisting of a brick's stud-side and another brick's antistud-side) has the weakest clutch power, but by repeating the same test with varied composition (all bricks from manufacturer A, the same bricks in another order, bricks from A mixed with bricks from B, bricks from A on the top and from B on the bottom, etc.) with some planning and measuring it should be possible to establish intra-manufacturer and inter-manufacturer variations in binding force.


Can you help me find this specific part (looks like a mudguard) anywhere?

Looks to be a KRE-O part (clone brand), perhaps from one of their GI-Joe sets. Dunno which set, but this should point you in the right direction.


6x6x6 cube with smooth plates on bottom?

While there could be various approaches building studless the easiest one would be with Tile, Modified 2 x 2 Inverted. These modified tiles have studs on one side, which fit under bricks and plates, and smooth surface on the other side.

Here is a prototype which features equal 6-stud (or 30 modules) long sides. Parts can be changed upon availability, but it gives the idea how high you need to go to reach 6-stud height. Red parts are modified tiles mentioned above.


When we did NXT programming in university we used NXC (http://bricxcc.sourceforge.net/nbc/) as our primary language.

This is a C-stlye language, not exactly object-oriented, but seeing that NXT programming is practically equivalent to microcontroller programming, C is much better suited to this task in my opinion. In C you get a much clearer main loop that controls your robot, and I can't really see what benefits would object orientation bring to a platform that is clearly restricted in both input/output capabilities and computational resources.

But if you really need object oriented design, take a look at LeJOS: http://www.lejos.org/


You probably want something a little similar to this:

There was a similar setup in the Bespin Cloud City scene that used a string attached to two studs that was wound around an axle in the same way.

As Phil B. suggests, adding an additional round plate on top of the chain will provide you with a bit more support for the stud, at the possible expense of making the winding thicker - it will tend to wrap around the plates then.


There are a few that I'm aware of.

Here's one from the 7208 Fire Station:

And another from the 7288 Mobile Police Unit:

This TV element from the 7639 Camper may also work for you:

These are all very affordable on Bricklink. Note that they are stickered parts. I'm not aware of printed parts with this pattern, but perhaps someone else here knows of some.


The EV3 expansion set 45560 comes to mind: https://education.lego.com/en-us/products/lego-mindstorms-education-ev3-expansion-set-by-lego-education/45560

Although intended as a extension to the educational EV3 set, it's mainly technic elements.


Can someone please help me identify this antenna/rod part? It attaches to the bottom of a brick

These bars are not referenced as Lego bricks by BrickLink, neither by Brickset.

The complete list of existing bars is available on the BrickLink
catalogue for example;
Brickset proposes a list of all Signs, Flags, and Poles since the last 27 years and that bar is not included.

Therefore I believe these particular bars are not from Lego.


Battery Box 8881 not providing enough power

In case anyone else has this issue - cleaning corrosion off of the connections solved the problem!
To clean the contacts, I used white vinegar applied with a cotton-swab/cue-tip. I dried it off with a dry one, left it for about half an hour, and after that it worked perfectly. I watched this video to be sure there wasn't anything I needed to do that I was missing.


The torso for this figure is 973pb0321c02 Torso Town Vest with Pockets and Striped Tie over White Open Collar Shirt Pattern / White Arms / Yellow Hands.

It comes in several minifigures, but none of them are like yours, so I think this is composed of other parts ( a MOC figure) and not directly from a set.


How do I find a set number without box or instructions?

Choose a brick, the most distinctive the better.

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

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

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