Brasso (yes, the metal polish) works better than toothpaste in this case. It is a bit more grainy so works faster but doesn't damage the parts. It does take some work though that may or may not make sense depending on the rarity of the elements.

And yes, with either toothpaste or Brasso, you actually have to vigorously rub the surface to buff it up. It might be easier and cheaper just to replace the worn parts with new ones if they really bother you.

LEGO getting scratched up a bit is normal. In most colors you won't even notice it, but there are certain colors where scratches are more visible — with black being the worst. So it actually helps to store black parts stuck together to prevent rubbing against each other in storage.


There is no LEGO product specifically meant for this, however you can use third-party laundry-bags, or even a pillow-case, to wash your LEGO in the dishwasher or washing-machine. If you use the dishwasher, make sure you use the top-rack, and the water should be luke-warm. You can use mild soap.


How many degrees can you flex an arm of a lego minifig?

Within the shoulder socket, a minifigure's arm has full 360° rotation, however the hand needs to positioned correctly to allow it pass the head, and it puts some strain on the joint:

Note that most accessories will block this rotation.

As the arms are made of the same ABS as standard LEGO bricks they aren't flexible, and so without heating (and permanently changing them) they don't bend or flex.


What is this Duplo-like Playmobil bag called?

With thanks to RSchulz,
This is  a Playmobil part
It belongs to : Playmobil 6774 - Garbage truck


Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 brick is not working

The electrial schematic for the NXT is available in the LEGO "NXT Hardware Developer Kit". This can be found on the official LEGO MINDSTORMS download page near the bottom of the page in the Advanced Users – Developer Kits section.


How does LEGO decide it needs a new element?

This may not really qualify as an answer, but basically I believe designers are responsible for calling for new parts.

For each new part, a production cost is calculated, which takes into account a lot of factors. There were talks a few years back about how they had recently changed these rules, but they aren't public (to the best of my knowledge). What is more or less certain however is that an element which fits well in the system has considerably more chance of being accepted; that is, I suppose the calculated cost is lowered to reflect its usefulness. That's why a lot of recent new parts are just of the "it so obviously makes sense, why didn't they do that before"-kind (1x3 tile, 1x1 bricks with 1 knob,...).

So the designer willing to commission a new part for one of his sets will need to support that cost as part of the cost of his set, which is imposed to him. I guess there are much more rules than that (if multiple designers agree on a part, for example), but that's the basics of it.

Also, note that producing an existing part in a new colour follows the same rules to an extent. It's calculated cost is higher than an existing colour for that part.

To summarize: each existing part has an associated production cost which the designers must take into account when creating a set. Non-existing parts are similarly associated a cost, which is calculated according to a lot of rules/factors which aren't public.

Even the costs of existing elements show subtle variations: some colours are cheaper than others, for example; or older elements may be more expensive because moulds aren't optimized (one known case is the Technic axle 5 which is cheaper than the 4 one, because there are twice as many of them on a mould).

Last thing, more as an aside: the cost of the first part in a model is also higher than the next ones, because it helps production to have more similar parts. For example, 7945 Fire Station doesn't have any regular 1x2 red or white bricks - since they have 1x2 bricks with groove for the doors, they used these everywhere a 1x2 was required - even if no groove was needed. That way the number of different parts in the set is lower.

Edit: here is a very interesting video on how they prototype the new elements. Notice at the beginning of the video, the designer explicitly mentions he couldn't get the shape he wanted with existing elements, so he had to have a new one made. This was for a license set (cars), so again the decision in this case may be easier to take.


You'll find them in the hinge parts category (next to minifig one) under the name "Turn Plate 2x2", number 3679 / 3680. Brickset uses LEGO names for parts, this can help finding them in LDD


Where can I learn how to program an NXT using C#?

You could start here for example: LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Tutorials Overview

For a generic C# introduction see here: C# Tutorials or The complete C# Tutorial or C# Tutorial or just do a Google search for "C# tutorial".


Brand: MEGA BLOKS.

Set Theme: Planetoids.

Set Name: LX-009 City.

Year: 1997.

BIG THANKS to Gnovice for the positive I.D. on the track piece, which proved it was at least from the MEGA BLOKS line, but just in a different color.

Color discrepancy note: I think the Original Poster's camera flash turned the darker purple color of the pieces into a blueish hue.


Converting a .ev3p file into a .ev3 project file

Actually, you can't convert a .ev3p file into a .ev3 file. Based on this post and other ones here's what a .ev3p file really is:

  When you unzip a .ev3 program, there are many txt and xml files that are inside. In particular, there is an xml file produced with the filename extension .ev3p, which contains program instructions that the EV3 brick can then interpret and execute.

So now we can conclude that a .ev3p file is only a certain part of the .ev3 file.


Another convenient way I found is with the new triangular 2x2 tiles. The only issue is that the color selection is a little limited. For simple pentagon shape, Modified 2 x 3 Pentagonal Tile is quite versatile.


How can I repair a red 12v train motor from Set# 7730?

According to Bricklink,  Set # 7730 has this motor :

bb12va Electric, Train Motor 12V Modern Type I with 2 round contact holes

For disassembly and repair you can look at this large post with pictures on Eurobricks by Andromeda


Are creative play sets compatible with Duplo?

Duplo bricks are twice (in each dimension) the size of regular bricks, and it's not hard to mix them, look for instance at the top related question (look in the right side). All the Creative Play-boxes I found in a quick search seems to bear the Duplo logo, meaning that they are Duplo, so of course they are compatible.


I've had a few of these in the past, and I've managed to find one so hopefully I can explain it with a few pictures.

They are simple, hand-powered spinning tops, best spun by a finger and thumb:

Usually the original spinner would have a Plate, Round 2 x 2 with Rounded Bottom on the bottom to aid spin:

Although clearly these became more advanced as per the other examples with pin holes in the bottom for further attachments.

The minifig stands inside the spinner, only lightly held on by the parts inside:

The interesting part is the light grey part that holds the minifig's feet which can go up and down, which happens when the dark grey part is rotated:
Lowered:

Raised:

And it was this action that made the game you'd play with them: By getting two people with spinners, you could spin them at each other, and hope that they'd bump, or at least the characters with their weapons would catch on each other, and this would cause them to rotate within the spinner, lifting them up, and hopefully knocking one off!

The cards would then allow you to add additional weapons to your minifig, or parts to the spinner itself, either raising it up, or building up "defences" that would stop the minifig from rotating, and so keep it in place for the next battle.


How good are used lego bricks on bricklink?

I would suggest that you check with the sellers, as well as their feedback. There is a huge variety and quality of used bricks sold. For some sellers you can't tell used from new at all. Other sellers mention in detail the condition of used pieces; dull color, small chips and scratches, discoloration - most of these are fully functional elements and are perfectly good for general building and play, but might look a bit noticeable when you mix them with shinier new pieces. Then there are sellers who simply separate new from used, and don't mention the condition of used pieces at all. You could get anything from minor scratches to bite-marks and broken pieces. (Yes, LEGO pieces can break.)

In general, for used elements the acceptable standard is that they are fully functional but they may have some small chips, scratches, etc. that will happen with normal handling and play. Broken pieces, bite-marks, cracks, etc. must be mentioned, although some sellers don't. Also, the fact that sellers deal with tens of thousands of tiny pieces, it is quite possible that even an honest and good seller will have some subpar elements mixed in their used lots.

I would also like to point out that there are buyers who are looking for damaged and discolored pieces. They use them to add variety and interesting detail for such things as post-apocalyptic or battle dioramas. So yes, even heavily used parts sell well, and sellers listing them are not necessarily dishonest or bad - as long as they mention the condition.

Personally I only buy used pieces when it is from a seller I dealt with before and I know their standards. Or when a piece is rare and no longer available in new condition, or would be very expensive new. And I would never buy used white pieces as those are notorious for discoloration. Also, I would suggest that you do not buy from smokers. Smoke definitely penetrates plastic and it is pretty much impossible to get rid of.

Again, the best thing to do is to contact the seller ahead of time and ask them what is their standard for used pieces. Keep a list of sellers (you can favorite them and make notes on them) who you have a good experience with, and avoid the ones who send you pieces you are not happy with. You can also ask on the BrickLink forum for people to suggest you sellers who have decent quality control for used pieces.


Will my mighty white rocket yellow in direct sunlight?

Absolutely it will. The yellowing is caused by exposure to UV light, which it will get more of with direct sunlight shining on it. If it has to be in the window you could look at some glass coverings that block some of the UV, or find a home for it else where under electric light.


Stepping through Mindstorm program for debugging

No, the software does not provide these kinds of debugging capabilities (although it does animate each block as it runs if you start the program from the programming software instead of starting it from the brick).

There are other ways to debug though. Here are some ideas:

Use a display block to show values on the screen
Use tones/sounds to indicate when a certain point in the program has been reached
Use the brick lights to indicate the state of the program
Use a wait block with the brick buttons (or a touch sensor) to "pause" your program at a certain point, then press the button to resume


What material are older soft (plant) parts made of?

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

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


Building techniques for designing a LEGO City Street scene?

Calculations / Pre-process

I started off by guessing that your MOCs are about 7 minifigs tall.  If a minifig is 4 bricks tall that makes the overall height 28 bricks tall.
It looks like the tallest buildings are about 20 stories tall and the shorter buildings are 5 stories tall.
So you're looking at 4 plates or 5 plates per floor to build these.  4 plates per floor would end up with buildings 26.66 bricks tall.  5 plates per floor would lead to a 33.33 bricks tall building.  Since the 4 plate version is closer to our goal height, and we can cheat by making a few of the lower floors an extra plate tall, that seems like the best way to go.
Then I took the picture and made a diagram of where I expect the buildings to go.  Based on this it seemed like the building should be 12 or 15 studs per side.

Process
I realize this question was asked for LDD, but since it is no longer supported I'm not going to fight with it.  Stud.io or Mecabricks are actively maintained and supported.  I'm a bit better at Stud.io so I'm going to proceed with that.
For organizational purposes I'm going to put each chunk into a step and name the step something logical.  There is way too much in each step for LEGO standards, but I'm not worried about buildable instructions for now.  If instructions become an issue these steps should be split up further.

I laid out a couple of baseplates and created some boring sidewalks for the main road where the MOCs are stationed in the picture.
Then I added a brick ruler that is 28 bricks high so that I could conveniently have a visual reference for the goal height from step 1 under Calculations.  I did this with a stack of 2x4 bricks in alternating colors.
We needed more baseplates to go under the buildings so I added 2 more pn3811 32x32 baseplates.
I wanted to make sure the layout was going to transfer into bricks so I used 4x12 plates to layout the buildings from the sketch.  This will also serve as a "basement" to get the buildings to start above the sidewalk tiles.   I added building numbers that will come up again later.
I put in 2x4 tiles to make the side streets.  I went with Dark Bluish Gray to match the road baseplate color.  Since I'm giving the side streets 6 studs of width the remaining 1 stud width on each side could be filled in with a curb or sidewalk.  Filling in the road helped me realize I had a couple of buildings 1 stud off, so I was glad to catch and adjust that before it was more painful to fix.
There need to be something to tie the baseplates together so I put in a line of tiles 2 studs wide.
Whew, that's a lot of setup, but now we can get to working on one of the buildings.  I want to make sure the closest tall building looks decent.  I'm going to start by having a layer of plates that are inset by one stud and then a layer of bricks.  I wanted to do something SNOT for the vertical feature of that building, but I couldn't think of an easy way to float the 87087 "Brick, Modified 1 x 1 with Stud on 1 Side" out there.  I went with 1x4s jutting out and made it look like it goes up the whole building by filling in 1x4 plates.  Once I got a floor I wanted to go with I turned it into a submodel.  I then copied and pasted this submodel 19 more times.  Once you have the 20 floors you can finish the top in a few was.  I just through some plates on top to make it look uniform.
The next building down the street ("building 2") presents more challenges.  I'm guessing it is 5 stores tall.  The top 3 floors are one style and the bottom 2 are another.  I'm guessing the bottom 2 are a parking garage.  There's a lot of light coming out of the front of this.  I'll leave the light issue as an exercise for the reader or a new question.  There wasn't much chance of doing repeating elements so I didn't create any subassemblies for this building.  The 27c01 windows aren't available in tan, but since this is all in the computer I'll cheat to keep it looking nice.
The last building on the main drag (building 3) is hard to tell much of anything in the picture.  I bricked up a boring cube to fill the space.  I turned two levels of bricks into a subassembly to make the repetition clearer.
The building behind building 2 (building 4) is obscured in the picture by building 1 so I filled in with another boring cube.
The building behind building 3 (building 5) is another 20 floor tall building.  I made 4 layers of 1-wide plates that looked like an interesting approximation of the picture.  I cheated again on some of the colors not being available in that plate size.  I made the floor into a subassembly and repeated it 19 more times.  I covered it with some plates.

Final Top View

Result

This isn't anything that I expect anyone to build.  It needs lots of refinement, but I won't take that joy away from you!  :) I hope this demonstrates the building techniques that you were looking for.  If anybody wants the file I'll find a place to post it.


Wedge 6 x 2 Right with Reptile Skin, Red Eye, White Teeth Pattern

Wedge 6 x 2 Left with Reptile Skin, Red Eye, White Teeth Pattern

These two wedges appear in The Batboat: Hunt for Killer Croc

Wedge 4 x 4 Triple with Stud Notches with Exo-Force Circuitry Pattern (Sticker) - Set 7705

As name suggest this piece comes in 7705 - Gate Assault

Wedge 4 x 4 No Top Studs with Two Red Arrows on Dark Bluish Gray Background Pattern (Sticker) - Set 7256 in your picture has incorrectly applied sticker.

Again, set is described in the name - 7256 - Jedi Starfighter & Vulture Droid

The last item depends on the color, it is either Windscreen 10 x 6 x 3 Bubble Canopy Double Tapered with Light Bluish Gray Jedi Starfighter Pattern and is part of single set.

or Windscreen 10 x 6 x 3 Bubble Canopy Double Tapered with Dark Bluish Gray Jedi Starfighter Pattern which appear in 3 sets.

Since you got a wedge piece from 7256 it is highly likely the canopy is from the same set.


The hidden button under the NXT battery seems to be a reset button, which has to be pressed for 7 seconds to have any effects. I assume it resets the brick in its factory condition, but I didn't find any specific documentation from LEGO on it.

However, there was an issue a few years back which caused the brick to freeze and click permanently (which was called the "NXT Click of Death"); and the solution included a hard reset using that button. (It's just one out of many pages on the subject, by the way)

Will this solve your Bluetooth issue? I don't know. If there's a problem with your firmware, then it's possible, since you'll need to reflash one anyway (since it will be reset to factory settings). Maybe trying alternate firmwares might shed some light on your brick's condition, too.

If that doesn't solve it, I would advise to contact the mindstorms customer support - worst case scenario, they establish your NXT brick is indeed defective, and they'll probably provide you a replacement.


Is it possible to use a switch with three conditionals and the color sensor to compare?

Yes, a switch statement is present in EV3-G.
Such statement would look like this:

However, the only colors you can switch against are black, blue, green, yellow, red, white and brown (the basic lego colors). So unfortunately no orange.


I found this piece in a yard sale grab bag. What other elements do I need to make it work?

Technic Turntable Large Type 1 Base (2856).

It's a Turntable Large Type 1 Top (2855) which is part of Technic Turntable Large Type 1, Complete Assembly (2856c01).


There ARE integer sided triangles that have angles of 60 or 120 degrees, see here : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenstein_triple but I'm not sure how this helps you for building roads.
45 degrees there indeed aren't any.
A progress of going one stud forward one stud left will get you 45 degrees if working studs on top. In case of SNOT 2 studs forward, 5 plates will also progress in an angle of 45 degrees.
There are elements that let you progress half a plate, so 1 stud to 2.5 plates works also.
For 60 or 30 degrees, the tangent is irrational so no 'precise' or exact progression exists, but it can probably fairly well be approximated.
There are technic pieces called angular connectors that make angles that are multiples of 22.5 degrees. Also several connectors that make multiples of 60 degrees.
Also hinges that "click" in angles of 22.5 degrees...

Update: picture of angular connectors

you would additionally need technic axles and bricks having axle holes:

But there are lots of other ways to connect the connectors, e.g. bricks with pin holes and a half-axle pin, half pins with stud, axles with stud,...


I don't think there is a single strategy that will always work - it all depends on what other people are looking for at the same time as you are looking. For example, I have seen Lego Maersk train sets (I'm a Train fan :) ) sell for $250 in certain auctions, but have managed to pick up one with extra power functions for less than that in a separate auction.

Here are a few things that might make your life easier:

Create searches and save them (you can even get notification emails for new finds this way). These are called "Followed Searches".
Use the tips and techniques in the Advanced Search section of eBay Help to refine your searches. For example, if you want LEGO but not Duplo, you could search for "Lego -Duplo".
Always compare with current retail values (check Amazon.com, shop.lego.com or brickset.com) if the set is still current
For sets that are no longer current - look at brickset.com to see what they used to go for. If you have the time, check out Bricklink.com and see how much the same set costs there, or, if you really have the time, use the Inventory feature and see if you can get a better deal just buying the set pieces :). For the popular holiday train (10173) for example, which easily sells for >$500 on eBay, the cost in pieces is typically around $200 on Bricklink, lower if you already have some of the critical pieces.
When it gets to bidding, look into using Sniping software, which allows you to place a bid in the closing seconds of an auction. This often helps you win auctions if no others are using snipes. JBidWatcher is a good starting point.
For bidding, check out what others have already bid ("Bid History") and also look at "Show Automatic Bids". This allows you to see who is really eager to get it and how often they have bid.

There are for sure other techniques out there, but these are the ones I find work best for me.


Automating rotation of a block on a track

Here's an idea for converting the movement of a moving train to rotational motion track side. This is shown in set 6991:

The mechanism in this case is a tire hanging from a universal joint so that it engages the train without interfering too much:

This core idea could be mechanically adapted for other purposes, such as the 180 degree rotation that you are looking for.


How to make a point coordinate system for EV3

What you're trying to accomplish is called Odometry, and fortunately it's a pretty common task in robotics so there's a lot of information available on how to do it. The short answer is, it's relatively easy to implement, but hard to make it work really well.

Let's make things simpler by deciding that the robot can only a) drive straight and b) turn 90 degrees. In other words, the robot reaches an x,y coordinate only by driving along the cardinal directions N, S, E, W. We can make this simplification to avoid having to use trigonometry.

Now we need some variables to keep track of a) where the robot is, and b) what direction it's facing.

Make a variable "orientation" to remember which direction the robot is facing. 1=N, 2=E, 3=S, 4=W, for example.
Make variables "X" and "Y" to remember the position. These can represent whatever units of length you want. Let's just say X and Y represent motor rotations, for simplicity.

When the robot moves straight, you should update the coordinates X or Y depending on which direction it is facing. For example, if the robot drives 3 rotations fwd:

If orientation==1 (North), increase Y by 3 (rotations).
If orientation==2 (East), increase X by 3
If orientation==3 (South), decrease Y by 3
If orientation==4 (West), decrease Y by 3.

When the robot turns 90 degrees, you should update the orientation variable accordingly. See my other post for how to rotate your robot a specific number of degrees. Assuming a clockwise rotation,

If orientation==1 (North), set orientation==2 (East).
If orientation==2 (East),  set orientation==3 (South).
If orientation==3 (South), set orientation==4 (West).
If orientation==4 (West),  set orientation==1 (North).

Assuming you always update your coordinates and orientation whenever you move, your robot should be able to (roughly) keep track of its position using this method. You can make it easier for yourself by putting the DriveStraight and Turn90 code into functions (MyBlocks, if you're using the standard Lego software). For example, the DriveStraight function/MyBlock should take the desired number of rotations, drive the robot that far, and update the global X/Y variables. Similar for Turn90. Then your entire program consists of DriveStraight and Turn90 blocks to move around, and at any time you can read the X,Y coordinate and orientation from your global variables.

One problem with this method is that for every movement your robot makes, error accumulates, until eventually its internal position is no longer accurate. The easiest way to account for this is to occasionally return to a known physical location - for example, a wall corner at 0,0 - and reset X,Y to 0,0 when it gets there. A lot of FLL robots use this technique - these robots have square edges and back themselves into corners to force themselves into a known absolute position/orientation.


Recreating Mindstorms TRACK3R test track

Luckily I still kept the original packaging so I managed to open up the sleeve and take a picture.

The best photo I managed to take had some inconsistent lighting due to the flash and room lighting and the perspective wasn't the best so I decided it would be best to re-draw the board in Adobe Illustrator.

I deliberately didn't include some of the design elements that I didn't think were necessary. The original size was approximately 48 x 90 cm, these are the measurements I used for the Illustration.

You can print the above raster image or download the .SVG file. If you have access to a vector editor (Inkscape, for example, is free) you can re-adjust any of the elements however you like to better suite your needs.

If you don't have access to a large scale printer, I highly recommend you use the web service Rasterbator which converts large images into smaller pages that can be printed using smaller paper sizes such as A4.

Rasterbator has several additional features, allowing you to adjust the margins to allow you to overlap pages, giving you a neat finish. Finally, glue the pages onto a piece of cardboard or craft card to add rigidity.


How can I create a simple steering mechanism for a car?

The most common I've seen is rack and pinion:

Essentially you have two parallel beams with one fixed to the car's chassis. The other bar moves horizontally which changes the direction of the wheels. Attach some gears and you can hook it up to a steering wheel.

The steering technique has been used in the Whirl N' Wheel Super Truck (5590)
 set. The instructions for the set show how an similar rack and pinion mechanism.


Where can I find 'Dolphin', the 3D model to LEGO software?

You are probably looking for this: http://lgg.epfl.ch/publications/2013/lego/


I could not find anything for 'Santa's letters' and the parts with 'North Pole' where showing different stickers on Bricklink,
Based on the design of the bricks and the strange colour used for the characters I strongly suspect these are not LEGO bricks.
The 2x2 slope for example does not show a visible LEGO logo on the studs and each stud is quite different. The bags they are packaged in are also not standard.

It will be quite difficult to identify this set if you cannot find a box, instructions or some other markings/part numbers. Clone-brands rarely have an online set database where you can find sets or an official website.


Electric, Plug Holder 4.5V/12V what is it for?

While researching information for this question, I stumbled upon the answer but thought I would post anyway to share my findings.

The Bricklink entry for the 9700 Technic Control Center set has a secondary picture which is the front cover of the instruction booklet.

The 5  Electric, Plug Holder 4.5V/12V elements can be seen in use as holders for the shorter wires connecting to the motors that make up the model. Using the holders provides easy access to plug in longer wires from the control center unit. The holders are necessary because, unlike the connections on later 9v wires that can be built into a model like standard pieces, the connections on the older 12v/4.5v wires cannot.


What are the armless minifigures from the LEGO boardgames called?

When looking at the inventory of one of the LEGO games (as if you were missing a part), you can see these are clearly labelled "MICRO FIGURE"

On Bricklink they are known as 'Microfig', Lego Digital Designer refers to them as 'Micro Figure.


Can someone help me identify this glitter dark-blue Mega Bloks part and possible sets it's in?

Set #96845 Covenant Brute Chopper.

Build instructions HERE.


Are the Lego looking figures in the picture real?

Yes, they are real! The minifigures all have standard LEGO body-parts. They are not from any specific theme, but mixed and matched from different minifigures. The headgear and hair-pieces are all real LEGO pieces as well. The beards are from LEGO customizer Brickforge, the spears are from LEGO customizer BrickWarriors, and the capes are standard LEGO. The elephant is also a standard LEGO elephant which appeared in several sets in the past. Here are some reference links:

BrickForge's website: http://www.brickforge.com/store/

BrickWarriors' website: http://www.brickwarriors.com/

Elephant: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=elephant1c01

Hope this helps!..(c:


Looking for instructions to Mega Bloks “Blok Bots” 9356 set

I found this thread on Reddit:
(https://www.reddit.com/r/buildingblocks/comments/2t9xew/archive_of_old_mega_bloks_instructions/ )
It has a link to a zip file with instructions from the old mega bloks site.
It contains instructions for 9356 and 9528.


Did LEGO recently change Millennium Falcon with a smaller kit?

The Millennium Falcon has been so popular there appears there are six known sets, and seven versions. Four of which share the exact same product name.
Millennium Falcon, 2000 (7190) 600+ pieces
Millennium Falcon, 2003 (4488) Microscale version with only 87 pieces.
Millennium Falcon, 2004 (4504) 900+ pieces (New minifigures with the flesh skin colour).
Ultimate Collector's Millennium Falcon, 2007 (10179) 5000+ pieces
Midi-scale Millennium Falcon, 2009 (7778) 2nd microscale MF with 4x more parts then the 2003 model.
Millennium Falcon, 2011 (7965) 1200+ pieces
Millennium Falcon, Advent Calendar Day 21, 2011 (7958) 13 pieces
There also appears to be some Minifig variation, R2D2 and Darth Vader only appear once on the 2000 and 2011 sets respectively.


Is there anywhere that you can buy *custom* individual Lego-compatible bricks?

There are several ways to obtain pieces that are not in the LEGO pallette that I know of:

Through 3D printing at home. This has become much easier as 3D printers have seen significant improvements in resolution, precision and affordability. The challenge is to make a part that works as well as a regular LEGO brick, as that requires very tight tolerances. On the other hand, dimensions of common bricks are very easy to find in the public domain.

Via a 3D printing service using someone else’s design for a part. Check out Shapeways and even Etsy to see if a part has already been designed and manufactured by another fan. There used to be room on Bricklink for custom items like this, but since LEGO bought Bricklink these products have been removed from the site. Especially in the train hobby there are many individuals printing custom items such as wheels, track, connecting rods, couplers etc.

From a LEGO compatible brand. I would first look at reputable brands such as Mega Construx, Kre-o and the like, before going the illegal-clone route with companies like Lepin. The downside is that there are no part catalogs and trading sites for these brands (like Bricklink and Brickowl for LEGO), so you will need to look at sets and see if you can spot the piece you need. Perhaps some brands have a customer service line where you can ask questions about specific parts. Another downside is that color matching with your build can be problematic, but that likely holds for options 1&2 as well.

Note that many AFOLs consider it part of the fun of building with LEGO to use only available parts to solve a particular challenge.


It very much depends on how and what you like to build so personal recommendations are difficult. As you're new-ish to MOCing it may take some time to figure out what pieces you like the most.

That said, I'll offer a suggestion - I find 10230 Mini Modulars and interesting range of small pieces in various colours incuding some rare ones. Check out the inventory to see if it appeals to you too. I'd also suggest looking at the Creator sets in general.


Is there a standard scale for building "minifig scale" creations?

It's usually 1:40, based on the minifig size.

However, keep in mind that a minifig doesn't have the same proportions as a full-size human being, so scaling from real-world to minifig-world is not an exact science. Just have a look at LEGO cars, you'll see that they don't really match real cars.


Is there any software for designing and testing Technic mechanisms?

I searched for more than a month and I found Lego Digital Designer (LDD) is the balance between simplicity and functionality.

You can learn LDD in a few hours. Very good videos available on youtube

LDD is not just 3d rendering tool. It understands the connectivity between technic beams and pegs. Very impressive.

The most impressive feature in LDD is that it can simulate the technic gears. Take a look at this video and see it for yourself: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13wietMv0g8

These two videos will save lots of time:

Lego Digital Designer Tips and Tricks - 1/2

Lego Digital Designer Tips and Tricks - 2/2

Update:

This post helped me to import so many existing Lego lits in LDD. I learned a lot form existing designs. Also, I can find the part numbers that I am looking for, or just copy them from the model.

Can I import existing Lego kits into Lego Digital Designer?


How much weight can a handle of Technic pegs and beams support?

Tristan Lostroh did an exhaustive test of both studded beams and stud-less beams with and without connections. Here are his results:

  Studless beams are better in tension than studded
  Studded beams are better in transverse than studless
  Studless beams are stronger in transverse with the pins on the side
  Connections to other components will fail before the beam (Either connections themselves  or the connection area of the beam)(IE the
  (unstressed) centre of the beam    will not fail)
  Pin connections will probably pull apart before they fail catastrophically
  The more pins, the stronger the connection
  In transverse 3 pin overlap, with 2 pins used is almost as strong as 3 pin overlap and 3 pins used
  Beams in transverse conditions won’t fail (but will bend) if the pivot points match the end of  the connection
  Lego is quite strong for its weight

From the report it looks like two beams linked with 5 pins will break at about 57lb of transverse force.

Edit: Just for the fun of it I calculated this 'real life' scenario. Imagine a kid with 40cm  arms spinning around a 2lb Lego ship.  To create the 57lb of centrifugal force necessary to break the handle he would have to turn at 252rpm.  I don't think any amount of sugar can do that.


How to import Rebrickable.com parts lists to LDraw?

I don't think you "import the document into LDraw" since I don't think there is an LDraw program; it's a library of all parts.  CAD programs manipulate those parts.

I tried various CAD programs over the years and recently found that LDCad (which you say you recently installed) works for me.  So what you want to do is to import your Rebrickable parts list into LDCad as a parts library.  Then, indeed, it's much easier to play with LDCad when you don't have to paw through the entire LDraw library looking for parts; you just go through your subset of parts.

Two years ago when I found LDCad I wanted a parts library restricted to just the parts in a specific LEGO kit so I kept notes and posted my experience.  I still use it.


I've shuffled through my pieces collection and found sadly none in dark blue, but all 17 I've found in either old grey or red have the same attributes you mention:

Top stud is hollow, with an H-shaped cutout
There is no LEGO logo or part number anywhere
There is a small seam that runs along the full length of the part on opposite sides
There is a small number (between 2 and 8) on the outside of the part on the bottom of the rounded section
The part feels like LEGO and has the new LEGO sheen

Single-digit number at the bottom:

H-shaped cutout in the hollow open stud:

Seam running over the opposite sides:

I'm 100% sure these are all genuine LEGO pieces, the red ones from 7419: Dragon Fortress.


identification of lego set by color and shape of inner box

The only 1984 set with corresponding dimensions seems to be 6080 King's Castle but I can't find any picture of a possible inner tray; and that's even assuming it had one (the box picture on this classic-castle forum post seems to point to the contrary).

There's another good candidate in 1985: 6392 Airport, but again I can't find any pictures of the box.

1983 brings us 6980 Galaxy Commander for which I can't find pictures of the inner tray either (but there's one on eBay where the seller promises pictures in the near future); 7824 Railway Station is close too but it's a bit too short I had it and I don't remember it having a blue tray (I'm fairly confident it was red).


What are the buildings in Miniland in the Legoland Park set 40346-1?

The comment by user "Stephan3321" (the creator of the digital model) on the linked page lists the following buildings / monuments:

Statue of Liberty
Tower of London
Steamboat Willie
Golden Gate Bridge
Brandenburg Gate
Neuschwanstein Castle
Burj Khalifa
Petronas Twin Towers

The blue, lime, orange and brown buildings could be Nyhavn, indeed, but I couldn't find any official description.


Reading current motor speed, opOutput_Read

The TACHO parameter is 4 bytes (32 bits).

(Data32) *TACHO – Current output tacho count

However, you have only allocated it 2 bytes (16 bits)

GV2(1)                   // tacho in return

Try using GV4 instead of GV2.


The best way I've ever seen this done is exactly the same way you'd see a handyman manage all of his nuts, bolts, and screws. The general idea is that you have lots of small compartments for each of your different kinds of legos - and it can be up to you whether you separate by color, or just by shape and size.

On a quick glance at a big box store website, this seems like it might be a good inexpensive starting point:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-28-Drawer-Small-Parts-Organizer-222169/205053254


What ball-joint cup piece or configuration of pieces is shown in this render?

The top piece shown here is the LEGO Ball Joint with Ball Socket (74261 / 98613) connected to a LEGO Brick 2 x 2 with Ball Socket and Axlehole (Wide Socket) (92013).


IR Transmitter Tower exist in both USB version as well as Serial cable version.
Page 7 of instructions for one of the sets (3804) that was using USB version has following explanation:

Transcription:

The IR Tower establishes a wireless link between your computer and the
RCX. With the IR Tower, programs can be downloaded from computer to
RCX. These programs can then be executed (run) by the RCX.
The IR Tower uses infrared signals to send messages.
For communication to occur, the RCX and IR Tower must be able to see each other. Even through 4-6 inches (10-12 cm) works best for downloading, in optimal lightning conditions, communication is still possible at distances up to 90 feet (30 meters) away.
To Download firmware to your RCX:
Make sure your tower is plugged in and your RCX is turned on. Run the Robotics Invention System™ software and click the Settings button on the Main Menu. Click the button for downloading firmware.
Downloading takes approximately 4 minutes. The Software Watch counts as the firmware is downloading and will beep when it is done, do not switch off or move your RCX while downloading.
For more informations about setting up your RCX to work with your PC go to Settings.

And it also contains (rather obvious) picture of supposed use:


I can't say that I understand your problem, but maybe this link will help EV3 Move Steering Block Explained

If you are asking about how the steering parameters relate to how much the machine will turn, then that is going to depend very much on the geometry of the machine: wheel diameter and wheel separation.


Yes, this is a 30375 - Torso Mechanical, Battle Droid in black.

It's a little difficult to identify as it is lying on its belly, and hence you do not see the characteristic single stud front of this piece.


What set is this dark grey remote with orange buttons from?

It looks like part 2162c01 - Electric, RC Controller Racer Complete Assembly (Black Bottom, Red Buttons) from RC Nitro Flash (set 4589).


What is this light grey LEGO plate with six sides (hexagon)?

Informally, it's known as the Nexogon.

Bricklink calls it "Plate, Modified 6 x 6 Hexagonal with Pin Hole". The part number is 27255. It's original use was as a shield in the Nexo Knights line in 2017, but it has appeared in a few other sets since then.

If you're interested in ways to use this part, New Elementary did a whole series of posts from different builders when it was first released. The unique shape and different connection families open up a lot of fun opportunities.


Is there a software which finds alternate models for owned sets?

You're describing rebrickable:

https://rebrickable.com/

Besides official models, also hundreds of fan created models are available.
It's a terrific resource


How do I connect two models to one PF motor?

As an addition to Ambo100's very nicely detailed answer, I'd like to add one more option: If either of the two things you are powering might suffer from friction (or perhaps a child holding it still), the provided solutions result in a lot of torque on the motor and axles, which in turn could lead to damage to those components (although LEGO motors are designed to switch off if put under too much stress). To avoid this, you could use a differential with in the white box in Ambo100's picture, like in this picture:

The motor would connect to the axle in the bottom right (with the big tan gear), and you would connect the Ferris Wheel and the Winter Carrousel to the left and right "output" axles. A differential splits the output power of the motor over the two axles and keeps the summed rotation of both axles constant even if one axle experiences resistance (the other axle would simply start rotating faster).


Why didn't LEGO make a Creative Building Box for Technic parts?

One answer is that TLG actually has done something similar in the past. They used to produce universal sets that were roughly equivalent to the Creative Box that you're referencing. Here's an example:

These sets all included lots of basic Technic parts and instructions for 3+ models to get you started building.

This is getting into the realm of speculation, but TLG stopped producing the universal sets right before Mindstorms launched, so I would guess that they felt that Mindstorms filled the free creative building niche and didn't want multiple subthemes in that space. The primary Mindstorms sets include a wide variety of multipurpose parts, instructions for multiple models, and encourage free building and exploration rather than just building a single main model. So, a second answer could be that Mindstorms is the Technic equivalent of the current "Bricks and Pieces" line.

I do think that it would be nice to have sets exactly like what you are describing. I grew up with a few of the universal sets, and they were great. If you're looking to get something like this, it's worth noting that there have been some sets like this recently in the Education line, such as Simple Machines (9689), but those tend to be overpriced in my opinion. You're better off just picking up the parts the you want from Bricklink.


Is this a LEGO part? It looks very similar to a technic axle connector 2x3 with ball socket

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


In Bricklink Studio go to File > Export As > Export as LDraw...
Open the file in any text editor such as Notepad
Find the Bricklink part ID you want to replace it. It will be a number followed by a .dat extension.
If you have multiple identical bricks with different colours, check the colour id in the second column. Bricklink has a list of colour ids for reference.
Replace the part ID that precedes the file extension with a valid Bricklink part ID.
Save the file (as a .ldr file)
In Bricklink Studio open the file with File > Import > Import Model...

In this example I replaced the Green (ID 2) #3003 2x2 brick with a #3941 2x2 round brick.

The rest of the data includes rotation, transformation and meta data which you should leave unless you know for sure how it works. There are no guarantees connections will be valid, as each part has their own unique geometry and fixed pivot point.
In this case I could safely replace these two parts as their geometry is very similar.
0 Untitled Model
0 Name:  Block Tower
0 Author:  Ambo100
0 CustomBrick
1 4 20.000000 -24.000000 -60.000000 1.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000 3003.dat
1 14 20.000000 -48.000000 -60.000000 1.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000 3003.dat
1 2 20.000000 -72.000000 -60.000000 1.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000 3941.dat
1 1 20.000000 -96.000000 -60.000000 1.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000 0.000000 0.000000 0.000000 1.000000 3003.dat

Notes
This may interfere with generated instructions, it is recommended to replace all parts before creating instructions.
Many text editors have a 'Find and replace' feature you can use to replace all parts as each line only refers to one part. I would recommend using regex expressions if you are familiar with them, I have created an example that can be played with here.
Add the following replacement expression in the 'Replace' window on the bottom of the screen. NEWPARTID must be changed to the new part you want to replace with. (3941 for example). Make sure you don't remove the 1 at the start.
$1NEWPARTID.dat

For finding only certain colours you can use this search expression.
((?:\d+\s+)(?:COLOURID)(?:\s.*))(?:(PARTID).dat)

Replace COLOURID and PART ID (14 and 3003 for example).


LEGO has released the source code for the EV3, so you can see how it works. Look for the "EV3 Firmware Source Code" at http://www.lego.com/en-gb/mindstorms/downloads.

You can also find the documentation generated from this source code at http://ev3.fantastic.computer/doxygen/index.html. In particular, these sensors are documented at http://ev3.fantastic.computer/doxygen/UartProtocol.html. But beware! The documentation on the UART sensors is not 100% correct. When in doubt, trust the actual code and not the comments.

And finally, don't forget to search for existing Arduino libraries for these sensors. Unless you want to implement your own library just for the sake of doing it yourself, you can save yourself some work. For example, you can find a library at https://github.com/lawrie/EV3_Dexter_Industries_Sensors/tree/master/EV3_arduino from one of the leJOS core contributors.


Why are these bricks slightly shorter than normal?

For starters, having that as a production error is completely impossible, given the industrial precision of our beloved bricks.  The LEGO group has been incredibly careful for decades about the tolerance of their bricks' dimensions:

You can read this WIRED article where the author compares old and new bricks' dimensions (TL;DR: they have been making really precise bricks for decades).
Their current standard for tolerance was 10 micrometers in 2009 - see page 20 of official LEGO documentation.

I think we can discard that option.

As @SlicksterTheBrickster said in his answer, the shorter bricks seem warped.  The most plausible explanation is that extreme heat made the ABS plastic bend and get a little thicker on the walls or a little taller (floor to studs distance).  ABS is a thermoplastic polymer (as opposed to a thermosetting one), meaning that it cannot withstand intense heat and it will melt.  As an example, it's normal to wash and disinfect bricks with water at 40°C, but if you increase that to maybe 60°C or 70°C the plastic will start getting "plastic" (i.e. moldable). ABS is an amorphous material, meaning that it doesn't have a proper melting point and it transitions slowly (like glass). I would say that you can get the effect that you show by building a model and leaving it e.g. in a closed car under very hot sun with some pressure on the sides or strong torsion, or maybe close to a stove.  The bricks will slightly bend and/or deform after the episode.

If you are curious, get a caliper and measure both bricks' height and width at several points all along their length, and do the same with the walls' width.  I'm almost certain that the shorter one will have a significant variation in those values.  If your question is "But where did that material go?", it went into slightly swelling the walls.


Mindstorms EV3 brick does not play sound file to the end

It looks like EV3 supports sound files up to maximum 8 seconds. You can split the files with sound editor and play one after each other.


That looks like Container, X-Pod Barrel Section 10 x 10 x 3 1/3, which were used to store bricks for X-Pod sets.

Such container was available in Trans-Red in single set 4415, Auto Pod

And 4417, Aero Pod was the only set to use it Trans-Yellow


Are there any LEGO "MacGyvering kits" for the on-the-go LEGO fan?

It seems like you have the parts in mind, but really just need a case.

I have used fishing tackle boxes and artist supply boxes, but the compartments were too narrow.

Pros: Versatile, cheap, stackable, configurable.
You can use the removable compartments as parts trays during builds. You can find them in various colors at the major discount retailers in the U.S.

Cons: No handle. Not durable. If you drop or step on them, the hinges will crack.

Dimensions

13 3/8" L x 10 3/4" W x 2 1/2" H
34 cm x 27.3cm x 7.9cm

Listing at the Sterlite website


The program downloaded from the education ev3 programming software has a error "VM program validation"

How did you download the program to the EV3? According to this post on the Mindstorms forum this can occur if there was a problem sending the program, usually via poor quality Bluetooth adaptors.

You can confirm this if the downloaded program is only a few bytes in size on the Brick.

If this is the case, try downloading the program via a USB cable.


How do you program mindstorms to keep doing a task until either the IR OR the colour sensor state changes

One way of doing this is using a loop and interrupting it.

How it works:

The "Loop Interrupt" block stops all blocks running inside of the loop, so by interrupting the loop after either wait block, it will stop the other wait block. The type of loop doesn't actually matter because we never reach that point. I chose to wait for "Logic" with a value of "False" just so that it is more clear that we are not actually looping here.


Are there LEGO plates without the word “LEGO” on the studs?

If you would like to get an official statement on this, your best bet is to contact LEGO's customer service. Here are some pointers you might consider when communicating with them:

It seems like your question is about some of the electronic components. So, let's narrow down your question to those. The battery in the #42009 LEGO Mobile Crane has two studs on top with the LEGO logo on them. In addition, right above the studs their is a "2006 The LEGO Group" moulded into the lighter colored plastic. And there are also larger LEGO logos moulded into the sides of the unit. So, five LEGO logos in total.

This battery box has no alternates. It only came in this one version as evidenced by the BrickLink database, which is the most comprehensive database of all LEGO parts every made: ELECTTRIC 9-VOLT BATTERY BOX

I would also add to this that smooth LEGO studs always have the LEGO logo moulded into them, and this has always been the case since the earliest days of the company. There are hollow studs (like in some electronic pieces, LEGO Technic pieces, LEGO windows, hollow 1x1 round studs, etc.), however in such cases the LEGO logo will appear on some other place on the piece. The very few exceptions to this rule are when pieces are so tiny that it was simply not possible/practical to print a LEGO logo on them (i.e. hollow 1x1 round stud, some very small minifigure accessories, etc.)

Rather than being too generic like you did in your question above, when contacting LEGO's customer service, I would suggest to focus on two points. This can result in a quicker response and faster action.

Ask them whether the specific electronic parts you are concerned
about (list exact set and part numbers) were ever produced without a LEGO logo (the answer will be no,
but for your legal case it's best to have this in writing directly
from LEGO).
Alert LEGO that someone is selling fake parts and claiming that
they are genuine. LEGO's legal department will be very interested in
this, which can help your personal case. It's even possible that
this seller has been on their radar already, and the information you
provide will be helpful to their case.

There are lots of imitation LEGO out there, but the companies making them do not claim that their products are genuine LEGO. They sell under their own brand names for cheaper prices than LEGO can provide. LEGO's legal department is fighting these companies already. Someone selling fake LEGO and claiming that it's genuine is a whole other level of criminal.

Please keep in mind that if this is someone like a small eBay seller, they may have been duped themselves and they really believed that the parts they acquired are genuine LEGO. So keep your communication professional and you may be satisfied with just a refund. If, however, the seller is a larger online store specializing in fake LEGO parts and selling them as genuine, definitely let LEGO's legal department know and you may pursue your own legal case as well.


Is there a named scale for sets such as 75055 Imperial Star Destroyer or 75054 AT-AT

As far as I can find, there are very few official "scale" terms used in LEGO. The term "Minifig-scale" is a fan term and is fairly loose, as the scale of the figs themselves don't really equate to reasonable human dimensions. Add to that the fact that minifig-scale vehicles and buildings have had variable relative sizes compared to minifigs, making it difficult to describe a standard scale that is officially used in LEGO sets.

There are a few "micro-scale" sets, including Micro Scale Space Cruiser, Micro Scale, and Micro Scale Bag End. And, if you will forgive a bit of levity, there is the Kitchen Scale.

My favorite scale that LEGO officially produced was the Midi-scale Millennium Falcon). However, they also did a Midi-scale Star Destroyer that is totally NOT the same scale as the Falcon. So, even in their official terminology the "scale" is a rather fluid thing.

For a more indepth discussion of scale, they had one over on the Brickset Forums. I particularly like MrShinyAndNew's answer (third one down as of this post).


How to make an object glow in Studio (BrickLink)

Looks like I solved my problem myself.
Here's what I did:

I exported the Lego model as Collada (.dae), and imported it in Blender. Selected the material and changed Diffuse BSDF (Maybe changed for you) to Translucent BSDF (for cycles only), selected Volume as Emission and rendered.

Cheers


Looking to Identify a LEGO creator set with a hook

Possibly 31045 Ocean Explorer?

Has hook
Tugboat appearance
3-in-1
Red and Dark Blue
one model is a plane

If that's not it, you can browse Bricklink for sets containing hooks. I'm guessing you probably saw the modern "Hook with Towball" piece


How many ways can six 8-peg lego blocks of six different colors be combined?

To expand on Zhaph's answer, I'm assuming that you have a fixed set of six colors, and each block is one color.

If that's the case, this is a simple combination problem on top of the orientation problem.  Since there are six colors and six bricks, there are 6! ways to assign those six colors to the six bricks, or 720 ways.

Now, we apply this combination to our orientation, and get:

  915,103,765 orientations x 720 color combination/orientation = 658,874,710,800 combinations


LEGO bricks aren't suitable for children under 3 as they are considered a potential choking hazard.

LEGO also sell a DUPLO brand of construction toys which are twice the size of regular bricks. DUPLO bricks are designed for children aged 1½ to 5 years old.


Problem assembling wings as shown for LEGO Air Race Jet (Technic 42066)

The "rivet" bricks are length 2 axles (cross shaped diameter). Beneath the wings, there should be L-shaped 2x4 lift arms. These end in axle holes (also cross shaped) so the axle should fit tight in those, not fall through.
Perhaps you have positioned something erroneously, or you have skipped a step somewhere?


I have a LEGO instruction book with the front identifying page missing. I am trying to work out which set it is. Yellow and black sea plane and boat

These instructions are from 4505-1: Sea Machines

Complete instructions book  (PDF)


Is there on/off function on the 8879 IR Speed Remote Control?

No, it doesn't have a specific on-off switch.

But like most remote controls, it uses very little power unless it's actually transmitting. I find that self-discharge in the batteries is more of an issue than the tiny power use testing to see if you're using the controls.

Where this can be a problem is if you throw the controller in with a bunch of loose Lego, and a button ends up pressed. That will drain the batteries quite fast, because the controller is constantly transmitting (just as it would if you used your finger to press the button). So the main thing I worry about is making sure the remotes are all stored with nothing touching the controls.


Are the older (hollow underneath) brick elements considered "collectable"?

Browsing through the price guides available for the various classic colors of the 1x2 Brick Without Tube part on Bricklink it would appear that the answer is generally yes. The Average US sale price in the last 6 months is about double for the classic 1x2 Brick Without Tube vs the modern 1x2 Brick (with tube) with the exception of Yellow which goes for a bit more then it's modern counterpart.

Avg 6mo Sale Price in US$ for 1x2 Brick Without Tube

Black: US$0.07
Blue: US$0.08
Red: US$0.07
White: US$0.07
Yellow: US$0.08

Avg 6mo Sale Price in US$ for 1x2 Brick (with tube)

Black: US$0.03
Blue: US$0.03
Red: US$0.03
White: US$0.03
Yellow: US$0.02

Do note however that just because a brick does not have tubes doesn't mean that it is absolutely older. The LEGO Group still produces bricks without tubes but generally only in the transparent colors. The transparent colors also tend to become cloudy with time which factors heavily into their price and can be harder to judge from a text listing. It's probably also worth noting that despite the slightly higher prices there are a couple of orders of magnitude fewer sales so older parts may take longer to sell if that is your aim.


Which clone brand and set do these pieces belong to, rock platforms and castle walls?

Most of these are mixed Mega bloks Dragons sets from the Dragons series.

The rock platforms are from Dragons: Raiders Keep #9650  (more pictures).

There is also a window from #9885 Marauder's Cliff.


Is it expected that LEGO will produce small (S or XS) PF motors?

Generally, speculative questions are considered off-topic, but in this case very little speculation is required to answer the question.

The clear answer is that S or XS PF motors will never be released.

The entire PF system is on its way out and is being replaced by the newer Powered Up system. For this reason, I would expect production on existing PF components to stop soon, and it seems highly unlikely that TLG would introduce new elements for PF at this point.

It is of course possible that they will include smaller motors as part of the Powered Up system at some point.


The LEGO customer service does provide replacements for defective parts, but only for parts which are still in production. Sometimes you'll need to send the broken part back to them. They don't repair the parts as such, just replace them.

As for the micromotor, you're out of luck as it's not produced anymore. They might provide another motor as a replacement, but that's not going to help you much.

Your next option is to buy a second-hand one, for example on Bricklink (service pack or motor alone)


Ideas to slow down RC PF train motor (Item: 88002)

Unfortunately it's direct drive so gearing it down really isn't an option. That leaves changing the electrical system.

What battery are you using? Fundamentally, any change to the electrical system is going to amount to "use a half flat battery", and if you're using a high-voltage battery now the easy option is to switch to lower-voltage rechargeable batteries. But that only works if you're currently using disposable AAA batteries in the 88000 battery box (or 6 AA's in the bigger one that I don't think I've ever seen in a train). If you are, switching to either NiMH AAA batteries or the the Lego LiIon battery pack 8878 will give you the effect you want.

Based on Philo's extensive comparisons but it's the speed/voltage graph that you probably care about more:

What you want to do is lower the voltage at each setting of the controller, and that means adding a resistor in series with the motor.

If you're currently using rechargeable batteries, the only option I can see is to modify the motor or IR receiver. It's just adding a resistor in the cable, so it's relatively easy to do and also to undo, but it's going to look messy and it will be more fragile than the unmodified item. If you're unsure (which I assume you are, since you're asking here rather than just doing it), it's probably better to buy an extension cable and modify that.

Your motor draws about 1.3A when stalled, and from the speed/power charts lower down, about 0.4A when running. I'm going to guess you want to lose about 1V from the 7V output of the receiver, so you need about 1/0.4 = 2.5Ω. Since that Needs to cope with about 1A, it would ideally be a 3W or 5W resistor but you can probably get away with 1W. I suggest using 2, 5Ω 1W resistors in parallel since resistors typically come in 1W and 5W sizes, and in 10% increments so you actually want 5.6 ohm. RadioShack sell them, as should any other electrical part supplier.

Again, Philo explains what the wires do (2/3 down the page), and the easy way to do this is to put the extension between the battery and the IR receiver. That way you put the resistor on an outside wire of the four. If you can solder the resistors in place it'll work better, but if you can't just stripping the wires and twisting them in place then holding it together with tape will work.


You can read the tacho count and rotate a negative amount of degrees. Or you may want to use the Navigation class and create a path while you move, then you just need to follow the path back.

But unless the robot is perfectly calibrated it will fail miserably. I explain it all here http://thetechnicgear.com/2014/06/howto-calibrate-differential-drive-robot/


What is the LEGO code for this part used as a camcorder?

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

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


If you are looking for direct instructions converting this set to RC you won't probably find it here. It is just a big of a job for such a simple request.

However I could suggest placing PF Servo motor where the steering wheel is and PF L-motor where fake engine sits. You can probably fit smaller PF battery box in one of the side covers with fake radiators. And PF IR-receiver can be placed wherever it is convenient. Don't forget you need PF remote control to drive your model. There shouldn't be a need for extra gears if motors placed in suggested places.

I can also suggest to try converting such set to RC on your own. It has plenty of space, a lot of potential to gain experience and shouldn't be a big of deal to convert. It might not look great on the first iteration, but with a bit of persistence and more practise you can make it look much better.


With “services”, do you mean someone who would come out to your house and rebuild the sets for you? As intriguing as that sounds, I do not believe something like that exists. Your best bet is to grab an instruction manual and start rebuilding from the pieces. Once you have a few sets built this way, it’ll become easier to rebuild the remaining sets. For sets that you know he has but you cannot find a manual, go to lego.com to download the instructions. Then, once it’s down to a few unknown sets, make pictures of the unusual pieces and post them here - we can help you identify the set(s).


Set number of this brick-built 2015 Canned Fish Toy commercial Award LEGO Duck

I looked into this, and it would seem that this is not a numbered model. According to an attendee of the event (who works for LEGO,) there aren't numbers for a lot of promotional sets, likely including this model. I have also searched Bricklink for this. It makes sense that this isn't a numbered set because it was for a seminar.


It looks like part of the old 9-Volt motor that was made from 1990 and 2002.

The full thing's part number is listed as 2838 which I assume is the mold ID stamped on dark grey base, while 2837 is the mold ID of the top part.
I don't think it's supposed to come apart, it looks like there are 4 clips on each sides which have been broken off of your piece.


How could I make a golf robot from a LEGO NXT kit?

This model uses gears to do 2 things:

Change the direction of motion:

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

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

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


BrickLink calls it Part 52501 Slope, Inverted 45 6 x 1 Double with 1 x 4 Cutout:


How to use Power Functions with Mindstorms EV3?

As mentioned by @guestguy123 and @eficker, it is easy to combine an EV3 cable and a PF cable to make a custom cable that allows the EV3 to control. This can even be done without soldering - I just twist the wires together and tape them with electrical tape. The full schematic is here:

All you need is 2 resistors (1x1kOhm and 1x10kOhm) which are cheap to get at your local electronics store (e.g. Radioshack or Maplin's) and the willpower to cut through 2 good Lego wires (1 PF cable and 1 EV3 cable). But once you do, it recognizes a PF motor as an NXT style unregulated motor and you can send it commands.


first picture
based on

BRICK 2X8
4x4 plate
4x10 plate

Is 21119: The Dungeon

Second picture
Based on

6167798: Plate Round 4X4 with Ø16mm hole
projectile

is 75239: Hoth Generator Attack

Third picture
Based on

LATTICE TOWER 2X2X10 W/CROSS
Different red part

is 75894: 1967 Mini Cooper S Rally and 2018 MINI John Cooper Works Buggy

Fourth Picture of the bed is from the Simpsons house
Fifth picture is 21140: The Chicken Coop

Sixth picture some minecraft set, probably hard to pinpoint which set
Seventh picture
76070: Mighty Micros: Wonder Woman vs. Doomsday and 76064: Mighty Micros: Spider-Man vs. Green Goblin

Last picture
75129: Wookiee Gunship Microfighter

Eighth picture no idea, looks like own creation of someone


What would be a simple trebuchet design at the Minifigure scale?

There are a number of designs on the net that I found with a simple search. Google image search produces images from the merely functional ones like the instructions linked here through to quite realistic looking ones that appear likely to work.

or this big one

The key for a simple, easy to build one is to use wheels on the base. It will shake back and forth when fired which means the structure does not need to be as strong. If you don't do that then the base will need to be similar in size to the arm, as in both pictures above. I am a little surprised that there's so little bracing on the arms of these models, as you can make a much stronger model using a tension member at least on the top of the arm, if not below.

But with Lego the main issue will be the density of the weight. Lego doesn't do high density part, so most people use non-Lego weights. Since you're willing to do that it's easy - the first picture shown has a lead weight, which is why it's hard to see that there's a weight at all.


How can I find brick part number from a picture?

You'll need to start learning the nomenclature for those pieces.
For example the long straight pieces you have there with holes on top are "Technic, Brick 1 x 12 with Holes"
The pieces with rounded ends are lift arms. You can browse through the list of them here or take a stab at their descriptions using the width and number of pin holes. For example the purple on you have there is

1 hole wide

9 holes long

as think as a normal LEGO brick (some are half that thickness)

Bent with 6 on one line and 4 on the other
so "Technic, Liftarm 1 x 9 Bent (6 - 4) Thick"


Is there any way to connect “sideways” to an axle?

I don't think there are any pieces LEGO intends for you to attach to the side of these axle shaped pieces. However, I'm pretty sure you could attach piece 32172 to some extent (assuming the piece being attached to is actually the right size for an axle):

It probably would not connect very well, only the clips on the sides of the socket would hold it, so it would probably slide easily, or pop of with little effort, but it could be attached.


How do I convert an .lxf file to an LDraw file for bricksmith on Mac?

If you have a LEGO Digital Designer file (.lxf) and want to convert that to an LDraw compatible format so that LDraw-based tools such as Bricksmith can read it, your best bet is to use LDD's Export functionality to save your file as a .ldr file. The full details on this procedure are located here.

This post covers both LDraw to LDD as well as LDD to LDraw conversion.

Basically, there are 3 key steps:

Make sure LDD has an updated ldraw.xml file. This resets part origins, colors and part numbers.
Use the 'Export model' (CTRL-E) functionality in LDD to save your model (after you have saved it as a .lxf first). Make sure to pick the right file-type, and heed the warnings from the article about making sure you don't accidentally overwrite your .lxf.
Open the exported model in your LDraw tool of choice.


Can you identify the set these white vehicle elements come from?

I'd hazard a guess for 3661-1 Bank & Money Transfer, based off your Minfig, which shows up in only one set.

Free build instructions here at LEGO.com if you have all the pieces to this set.


Is there a way to re-tighten a minifigure's hip joint?

I would try pulling off the legs and dropping a tiny, tiny amount of plastic glue on the hinge, smooth it out and let it dry, then put the leg back on.  It should provide enough friction to the leg again so they aren't so loose.


Help identifying a black round piece with three rings

I believe that the part you are looking for is 6221 (Peeron 424) :

This part was most commonly found in Technic sets and was often used as a spacer on longer pins or as a crank handle:

Here it is on Bricklink.


It is Electric, Light & Sound 4 x 20 x 5 Insectoid Stinger which was available in 4 sets from Insectoids series. Stickers are custom.


1 is a pin used to hold train track pieces together during shipping. It can be discarded but some people find uses for it since it fits in a. minifig's hands.

Many of the others are official Lego as can be seen by the brand name printed on them. On the large pieces you should be able to see an ID number printed underneath which will help you out. I'll work through identifying some of the others.

3: Bionicle Gear 8 Tooth with Rhotuka Spinner Rod 2.5L

4: Appendage Spiky / Bionicle Spine / Seaweed / Plant Vine

5: Modified 2x2 Racing Driver, no head

6: Bar 1L with Top Stud and 2 Side Studs (credit to Victorious Victini)

7: Train Coupling New

8: Bionicle 2x3 Axle Connector with Tooth

9: Hinge Brick 1 x 2 Locking with 1 Finger Top

12: Leg Skeleton with Black Square Foot

13: Bar 1 x 8 with Brick 1 x 2 Curved Top End (most likely this newer version, but there are some older ones as well) (credit to Victorious Victini)

14: Fairing, 1x2 Stepped with Two Pins

15: Batwing

16: Modified 1x4 with Angled Tubes

17: Not Lego

18: Fire hose nozzle

19: Bionicle Weapon Cordak Ammo

20: Road Sign Clip-on 2 x 2 Square with Curved Blue Lines and Small Black Squares Pattern

21: Bat-a-rang

22: LEGO Minifig, Weapon Bladed Claw (mostly from Wolverine)

23: Horn Large

24: Minifig, Utensil Space Scanner Tool. (credit to Rin Rio-Oki)


Rearing off to the left without telling it to

Veering off a little bit is normal.  Can it be reduced?  Yes.  There are several possibilities to consider, one of which is the programming.  Put a pin in the hub of each wheel to serve as a marker, spin the wheels so the in the same position.  Write a program to go straight for 20 revolutions.  Hold the robot in the air, run the program, and examine the location of the pins.  The should match.  Differences can be programming issues, but more likely the position sensors in the motors.  Try switching swapping one motor and retrying the test.

More likely, putting the robot on the ground and running the program will show the pins match, but the robot veered.  Again, several possible causes, one likely cause is the friction on one side of the robot is greater.  Changing to a caster will reduce the friction and might help.  Another possibility is that the motors are a bit wobbly and allow the axles to bend so they do not match.  This can often be helped by adding a skirt on the outside of the robot to support the axles from the outside.


If the schematic you are asking is for the LegoDuplo, Train Push & Go Motor

with the circuit board that looks like:

This schematic is proprietary information that belongs to the Lego group.

This element uses a Bluetooth Low Energy radio and has an FCC ID: NPI28743

Perhaps you could create your own schematic and post it here.


Is the app to print LEGO storage labels from www.bricklabels.com still available somewhere?

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


Can I use RCX sensors and motors with the NXT brick?

LEGO used to sell Converter Cables for Mindstorms NXT at a price of £8.99 / US$9.99 for 3 cables at their online shop, they can still be bought online from stores like Bricklink.

Considering the price of each cable converter it may be worth purchasing newer sensors/motors that are more advanced. The NXT system cables are separate from sensors and motors and come in different lengths.


01)  Bionicle piece ???

Part #98141 Minifigure, Weapon Crescent Blade, Serrated with Bar, with an updated and correct answer provided by site member Phil B.

02) Part #4150 Tile, Round 2 x 2.

3 + 4) Hails from Set #76109 Quantum Realm Explorers.

The yellowed outlined pieces in 3 and 4 is Part #17485 Brick, Round 2 x 2 with Pin Holes.

HERE's a Youtube speed build on the piece breakdown/buildup of this design look you're interested in.


Run an NXT 2 program that will continue until no power is left in batteries

Use the Keep Alive Block in your program.

  This block will keep the NXT from entering sleep mode. Add this block
  if your program needs to wait for longer than the NXTs set "sleep
  time" (configured using the NXTs on-board menus).

The Time until sleep plug will take a value from 0 - 4294967296 (168) milliseconds .

4294967296 milliseconds is just over 49 days which is most likely a lot longer than the battery lifespan and much, much longer then you would/should normally be running it for.


How can I extract part id or design id from a photo?

As far as I know, no such project or software or site exists. The closest one I could find is (was?) a thread in the Eurobircks forum, where exactly this topic came up. The members there tossed about various ideas, mentioning Akiyuki's brick sorter device (with the factors that made its job easier than the one you propose: uniformly lit background with known color, precision scale, only one piece at a time, a few hundred possible parts), some proof-of-concept code was written to test the capabilities of the OpenCV library, but then the interest faded and the topic was abandoned.

There are several problems in this proposition that are highly difficult (if not straight impossible) to overcome:

Lighting conditions

The optical recognition process depends heavily on sensing the difference in the brightness and color of adjacent points. If the lighting conditions are allowed to vary (that is, not requiring the use of a light box) then the differences between each color and the background can't be set in the program. One could still overcome this limitation if the image contains a piece of a known color, but then the calibration must be done for each image.

Overlap

If pieces are allowed to overlap then they can be easily mistaken for similar pieces, or if sufficient parts are overlapping then clear identification can become impossible. If you can only see a part of a Technic axle, you can't tell how much of it is under the 6x6 plate, so the lenght of the axle can't be determined. The same analogy works for many kinds of pieces (bricks, tiles, plates).

One point of view

If this system can work using only a single image (taken with an ordinary camera) then some pieces can become too similar to tell apart. For example, from straight up, a 2x2 brick and a 2x2 plate look exactly the same, just like a 2x2 brick and a 3x2 brick if both are standing on their end. Shadow analysis could help with this matter, but only if there are clear shadows cast from a known point in space related to the camera and the surface on which the pieces are laid out. So we have essentially arrived at the "very precisely controlled and known lighting and photographing setup", called light box, but also added a ton of processing logic and advanced mathematics. Not to mention the problem of dealing with shadows cast on other pieces, which can render shadow analysis moot or even obscure some pieces so they won't be recognized correctly or in extreme scenarios maybe not even seen.

Differences only visible from one side

This might not concern you, but in some cases pieces only differ from each other in a very small detail that can only be seen from a certain point of view. For example, if a minifig head was laying on its side, it is optically impossible to tell if it has a hole on the top or not.


Help identify this white and medium grey ship section

Based on Engine 3X3X6 in white, this is from 7166-1: Imperial Shuttle

Or as Syberion mentioned it can also be
7264-1: Imperial Inspection

Which has almost the same build. The only difference I could find is the color of the 6 x 12 plates on the bottom of the build.

7166: Dark Gray Plate 6 x 12
7264: Dark Bluish Gray Plate 6 x 12

Based on the photo, I think its Dark Bluish Gary so it's 7264.

If you still have the minifigs for this set they will also tell you which set it is, as 7166 had the yellow faced figures and 7264 had the flesh tone figures.


I think these are LEGO Jumbo Bricks from Samsonite.

Left to right: normal brick, duplo brick, Jumbo brick and Quatro brick.


Some of the minifig parts that are officially made in China (often including the Collectable Minifigures) don't have the copyright/logo stamp on the inside toe - I noted that in a comment to my answer on What does the imprinted information inside bricks mean?


Is it possible to power supply an EV3 hub through the battery slot with 10 V?

Yes. The EV3 technically only needs 5V to run. And just the EV3 by itself pulls around 200mA at that voltage. However, motors could be a problem. They can pull up to 1A when stalled, which could overload the power supply. Without knowing the technical specifications of the actual power supply, it is hard to say what it is actually capable of.


I bought a LEGO set from a yardsale and have no instructions, box or date

If the boat is dark blue then the set is almost certain to be set 60069-1 Swamp Police Station since according to Bricklink it is the only occurrence of the boat (part 62812 Boat, Rubber Raft, Large) in dark blue.

The presence of the bars (parts 92586 and 60621) with white frame[s] (part 60596) and light bluish gray radar disk thingy (part 4285b) confirm this theory.

However, I was unable to identify the large black piece near the top-left of your picture, or find something similar to it in the set's inventory.  Is this a single piece?  If so it is probably not part of the rest of the set.


What's the name of this model? White spaceship, flexible panel with hexagon pattern?

Set 7315 Solar Explorer, from the Life on Mars subtheme from 2001.


Are the LEGO Friends Mini-dolls compatible with Minifigures?

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

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

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

From the official press pack:


Can you identify this modified 1x1 plate?

It's appears to be either Part 4081a or Part 4081b.
I'm not sure if it is exactly the same, but this works as a starting point, I believe. The two linked pieces seem to differ only in the thickness of the ring of the added "limb".
I was unable to find a part like those that has a "hole" in the main stud.


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


black pants (jeans?) with silver/gray pockets and gold dot

This is :
Part# 970c00pb176
Hips and Legs with Gray Jacket Tails Outline and Gold Button Pattern (Lord Vampyre)
Keyword: Gold button


What dark green and lime BIONICLE do I have?

My answer totally springboards off of Alexander "Hawk-Eyes" O'Mara's astute observation of its suspected authenticity.  Nice job Alex.

I looked up BIONICLE knock-offs and got a video that named the brand as "конструктор последний воин", then Google Image searched that phrase for a pic of our Greenie Meanie, and Voila!:

Google translates the Russian/Mongolian to:

"конструктор последний воин":

"Builder of the Last Warrior".
And this guy is named "ЛИЗОРД":

"Lizord" or Lizard.
The toy maker is, "1Toy Растем вместе!":

"1Toy Growing Together!".

There seems to be an entire, Builder of the Last Warrior line, with at least one dedicated community called RUSBIONICLE.


What brick is this? 1x2 with holes in the short sides

This is part 3317.

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

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

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


does Lego make bricks with a stone, brick or concrete block design?

As usual with LEGO, the best solution is often to make your own.

You can make quite impressive brick walls using tiles, like this (image from Brickshelf):

There is a tutorial for something similar here.

A range of other techniques can be found in an article called Avoiding the "Big Gray Wall" Syndrome  at Classic-Castle.com. In fact, Google LEGO castles for a great source of inspiration for stonework of all kinds. For example, check this and this out.


Eneloop NiMh batteries not powering 42030 loader

Most likely, the manual states you should use 1.5V ones.

There's also a review on lego.com that states there may be a problem with the battery terminals with some makes of batteries. Worth checking.


At this time, there has been no announcement of a scheduled unlicensed LEGO Space theme. LEGO is not going to make an announcement that "We forever and ever retired LEGO Space, and it will never-ever come back." It's just not going to happen. In addition, they don't reveal what they are working on, until it is time for an official announcement - usually about six months or less before release.

However, there is no need to wait and hope that LEGO Space will come back soon. You can still buy all the previously released LEGO Space sets on the secondary market like eBay and BrickLink. You can buy them brand new in the box, or used, or anything in between. Many of the sets sell for very reasonable prices - especially those from recently retired LEGO Space themes like Alien Conquest, Galaxy Squad, Space Police, etc. I would suggest first checking the BrickLink Catalog to familiarize yourself with all the unlicensed LEGO Space sets ever released on this page.

Also check the going prices for the sets you would like both in new and used condition (all of this is listed in the BrickLink Catalog). Besides buying individual sets on eBay or BrickLink, once you get a sense of what LEGO Space themes you would like to focus on, you can also check on eBay for bulk lots. These will likely be in used condition, and there may be some parts missing, so make sure you read the description carefully. Bulk lots can be great starters for a kid's collection.


Are wheels from Duplo numbers' train set 10558 compatible with bridge 3774?

No, the wheels are too wide. You'll have a similar problem with the DUPLO points as well.

If I recall correctly, the wheel base on the trucks is too long for the DUPLO track corners as well.

You'll need one of the trains from 10507 or 10508 to use that bridge.

Sadly my kids have outgrown their DUPLO and it's now at the back of our loft otherwise I'd post a picture (and confirm the issue with the corners).


I can’t run the NXT 1.0 program software on my Mac version 10.6

You can get the Mindstroms NXT 2.0 software from here. It will run on newer versions of OS X.


These parts are:

Item No: 2412b : Tile, Modified 1 x 2 Grille with Bottom Groove / Lip

and

Item No: 6266 : Leg Skeleton


Yes, global.

5 variables may be 4 more than required. I think one is enough.

Set intSensor = 0
Loop until intSensor > 0
    If leftButton then intSensor = 1
    If rightButton then intSensor = 2
    If enterButton then intSensor = 3
    If bumped1 then intSensor = 4
    If soundVal > 50 then intSensor = 5
End Loop
If intSensor = 1 then moveForward(135)
. . .


Is there any cross compatibility between 51515 and 31313?

It is possible to communicate between the 31313 and 51515 hubs.
See these youtube videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT4_4v1W2C8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3uk80tuqI4
In the first video a SPIKE Prime hub (same as 51515 just different firmware) is used to control a 31313 hub and in the second video there's more of explanation of how it's done.
I do not think that currently there is any compatibility between sensors. So you would need to use the 31313 hub to handle all its sensors and motors, which you could then communicate with or control from the 51515 (which is handling its own sensors and motors).


Do you know where I can get a Brick Vac?

If you really want one, these can still be acquired on Bricklink:

http://www.bricklink.com/search.asp?itemID=45363


Was it once possible to put a 1x1 round into a minifig cup?

Is it possible that you are thinking of this goblet (2343)?

This part was fairly common, and it was introduced around 1985, so it was probably in your collection.

1x1 round plates attach securely to the top as shown in this lamp from the Pet Shop:


Help finding number so I can find the set

That's 772p01 - Brick 1 x 2 x 2 without Bottom Tube with Window Pattern was available in one of these 4 sets.

And 3145 - Vehicle, Tipper End Flat with Pins in White color could be found in just 2 sets.


Where can I download the EV3 education edition software for free?

According to an education Community Manager you should have received a link when you purchased the licence.

If you didn't receive one you should contact your reseller - it depends on which region you are in as to whether logging in to the LEGO education site would enable a direct link for you.


What Technic set should I get for general Technic MOC?

You should really buy the Lego Technic Bucket Wheel Excavator. It's a great price for the parts and has a very wide variety of parts: banana gears to Power Functions Elements.


Are there any sensors that are capable of measuring audio pitch for EV3?

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


Lego 7670 has two different box designs?

Indeed it seems there are two different boxes for 7670 Hailfire Droid & Spider Droid, but it seems the box is the only difference, so if you just want the pieces ignore which box they're selling and buy the cheapest. :)


Are DUPLO blocks compatible with LEGO blocks in any way?

Yes! You can add LEGO on top of DUPLO, and DUPLO on top of LEGO. Here's an example picture from The Brick Blogger:

Because stacking LEGO on top of DUPLO requires the particular LEGO tube design on the bottom (to fit in the hollow top of the DUPLO bricks), many "LEGO-compatible" bricks do not share this compatibility with DUPLO - at best, you can stack DUPLO on top of them, but not the other way around.

In addition, you can use only some types of LEGO bricks with DUPLO. Plates, tiles and other modified pieces can't stack with DUPLO. DUPLO can sit happily on top of plates, but plates and tiles only balance on top of Duplo, there's no real clutch between them that way.


What set are these bags? Detectives wanted

The bags with orange parts and some of the pieces in the box are from Arctic Base Camp (60036):

As Bill pointed out, the lime bag is from Titanium Command Rig (8964):

The others have been repackaged, so it's tough to know exactly what sets they come from.

Construction site (7633) obviously has at least a few pieces present in the box:

The base to the tow truck from Garage (7642) is also in the box:

Some of the elements from Drawbridge Defense (7079) are still assembled in the box:

At least the nose from Police Pontoon Plane (7723) is also present in the box:

The base from Woody and Buzz to the Rescue (7590) is also in there:

The top from Republic Attack Shuttle (8019) is in the box as well:


What's the best way to glue/adhese the street baseplates to a plywood table?

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


This appears to be Mace Windu's Jedi Starfighter (7868):

The instructions are available on LEGO.com if you want to try to make it complete.


Help identifying LEGO set with yellow construction vehicle arm?


What is this silver and transparent green electronic piece for / from

This is a Spybotics Module from set 3809-1 Technojaw T55.


In LEGO mindstorms NXT programming: is it possible to download a file from a robot onto the computer?

Yes, you can download it back in computer. But you can't work on it anymore - it is already compiled (has .rxe extension). However you can download it on another NXT and continue to use there. You can edit and work only with .rbt files.

My LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT program doesn't work anymore for already two months... Some problems with flash player. So I can't provide any screenshots.


Which part number goes to these LEGO wedge pieces?

The white one appears in 51 sets. It is piece #43713 "White Wedge 6 x 4 Triple Inverted Curved".

The second piece looks like its color is "sand green", which is color #151. It is part #47759 "Wedge 2 x 4 Triple", which appears in one set in sand green: 70840 "Welcome to Apocalypseburg!"


What's the largest LEGO construction ever?

This house is the biggest lego ever built unless proven otherwise.
I searched a bit and could not find anything using more bricks.

Here are some other project falling short from the 3.3 millions bricks :

Shopville Le Gru,Grugliasco (Italy), 1.5km long, using 2,901,760 bricks, 13 February 2005
LEGO Millyard Project at SEE Science Center in Manchester, 3 millions bricks, permanent

Here is a list of LEGO records : http://www.recordholders.org/en/list/lego.html


Can the DUPLO My First Number Train fit on DUPLO tracks?

Not really - the wheels on "My First Number Train" are the DUPLO car wheels, so they will just about fit on straight and curved track, but they won't work on the points and bridge sections.

There isn't any track designed for the wheels in "My First Number Train", that's just designed to pulled around on the floor.

You can just about see a chassis in this picture - they are about to crash at the points:


How can one find old archived issues of LEGO Mania Magazine?

There is currently one public library in the WorldCat system that has cataloged LEGO Mania Magazine, but it does not have it available in digital form.

Other LEGO Club magazine titles have been collected by some WorldCat system libraries, including:

Brickmaster Magazine

LEGO Club Magazine

LEGO Magazine

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What is the purpose of this plate with door rail?

These pieces are frequently used for decoration now, but they were originally used for sliding doors, particularly on train sets. Here's one of the first uses from set 7838 in 1983:

While they could be used in structures, these were frequently used for putting doors on the train cars themselves:

These parts can also be used to create tracks for other things that need to slide as shown in Container Loading Crane (7823):

This class of part also has a 2xn variety that now allows whole 1xn bricks to slide within it:

This is useful for building sliding doors and walls that are a full module wide. Here's an example from 31009:


What piece is this ARC-170 Starfighter cockpit?

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

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


How To Sort Out 3rd Party Technic Clones From LEGO Originals?

Regarding the Bushings, I think the loss of their gripping/clutching power has less to due with a phantom cloning agent, and more to due with the quality of the official LEGO piece, and how plastic degrades over time.

My collection has Bushings that are weak too, but its due to age (over 25+ years) and normal play.  Mine are not clones.

Now the issue with copyright holders is a little different. LEGO doesn't hold the patent design for the classic brick, becasue they didn't invent it, so now it's a friggin' free for all with clone "bricks" manufacturers.

As for non-brick designs like the Technic Bush, and that thin blue piece,  LEGO owns those, and could bring forward litigation to copyright infringers.