Identify classic City sets from box of assembled parts

From left to right in your first photo:

Police Station (6384):

Fire Copter 1:

Motorcycle Shop (6373):

Fire Patrol Copter (6657):

Fire Station (6382):

Your second photo includes:

Gas Station (6375):

Delivery Center (6377):

Paramedic Unit (6364):

I may have missed some smaller sets, but based on your two pictures, that's what stuck out at me.


It looks like Hero Factory Weapon Accessory - Machinery Armor is the part you are looking for.


What kind of track is the Emerald Night set compatible with?

The set is from the "RC / Power Functions Era", so it's meant to be compatible with those tracks.

Luckily for you those are the only tracks for sale in ordinary stores today.

As the answer to that question says, those tracks have "roughly the same mold" as the 9V track so the train is as compatible with those - I've also seen an Emerald Night set equipped with a 9V motor run on such track.

The gauge of that track is roughly (the profile of the rails is a little different, so depending on how you measure it, there might be a small difference) the same as in the previous eras, so the train can probably also be used on those tracks.

I remember a problem with some parts not moving smoothly through each other when driving backwards, but that is probably independent of the tracks.


It appears to be a partially-constructed 8242-1 Slammer Turbo


Where I can find the pieces needed in a set?

If you don't physically have the instructions, you can look up the set ID on LEGO's Customer Services page dedicated to providing building instructions.

The inventory list is usually found right after the final building step. For #7946 the parts list can be found on pages 74-75.

If for whatever reason you cannot access the instructions from the LEGO site, perhaps the file has been removed or you're unable to view PDF files you can still find a part list on sites like Bricklink and Brickset (see parts tab).


42043 Mercedes Arocs Truck Crane Turntable Sticking

This is a known problem with that gear combination. It's a flaw with Lego's design of the bevel gears. See this discussion on the EuroBricks forum.

Bevel gears are typically designed to fit with only one other size of bevel gear. Specifically, the cone-shaped pitch of each gear needs to intersect with each other at a single point to ensure smooth operation.

All Lego bevel gears are intentionally designed with a 45-degree pitch so that any gear can mesh with any other. This means that only bevel gears of the same size can actually mesh perfectly, although in most gear combinations, the loose tolerance means the incorrect pitch isn't really noticeable.

However, in extreme cases like the 12-tooth-bevel to 60-tooth-turntable in the Arocs, the gear pitches are so mismatched it creates an extremely "noisy" or "sticky" effect.


Ideas for a price tag on parts from old city set?

Bricklink price-guides:

The trapezoid:
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogPG.asp?P=55767&ColorID=86

The smooth plates:
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogPG.asp?P=48288&ColorID=85

Don't know what you mean with modified tube, but this part might be considered a tube and unique:
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogPG.asp?P=40244&ColorID=85

Not exactly the most expensive pieces, so I think you'll make more if you sell the set as a whole rather than parting it out...

The Trapezoid price surprises me a bit as I think it is indeed somewhat unique, it appears in 3 sets but the other two sets it appears in, it appears in orange.
I would have thought it's a wanted piece as it can be used to make bridges in train layouts...

The large tiles, I wouldn't pay even the rather low bricklink price for them as I have gotten hold of quite a quantity of them when last visiting Legoland Germany, where they were available in bulk at the "Fabrik" shop.


Wiring and Controlling an 88004 servo from a RaspberryPI

Smoking breadboard connectors are never a good thing - so check your wiring to make sure all is connected well. Also, make sure that you have the GND of your powersource connected to the GND of the RPi, so that all voltages are relative to the same ground potential. Finally, I'm not sure if the Servo will work with 6.5V - it has been designed to work on 9V. A different powersource might give better results.


Where can I get threads compatible with LEGO pulleys?

There are many kinds of LEGO string, which are compatible with pulleys, but they are not closed in a loop, but manufactured as a single thread. You could tie a knot on them to form a loop, but the string lacks the traction of a rubber band, so you should definitely consider this if you plan to transmit power via a belt drive made of a string.


Where to use the dark gray 1x4 flat pieces in Lego Hidden Side Ghost Train Express 70424

Step 115 needs all three 1 x 4 Plates in Dark Bluish Gray [BL]/Dark Stone Grey [TLG].

You've probably skipped sub-step 7 of step 115, where both parts need to be added:


EV3 motor control proportional to another motor when more than two motors

I've implemented 3-motor triangular holonomic drive with NXT-G but not ev3-g so I can help with strategy but not tactics.

To accelerate in any direction you need to constantly re-calculate the power levels for each of the 3 independent motors.  By constantly I mean some reasonable number of times per second - 4, or something like that.  EV3 is considerably more powerful than NXT-G but you won't want to tax it too much with this, if the 'bot does anything else at the same time.

The built-in PID stuff won't help with this at all - in fact, you'll want to do everything you can to ensure only your code is controlling the power levels of each motor, that nothing else is affecting them.  Anything that's smoothing out the power level or similar should be disabled as best as you can.

Trigonometry is what you need - Arctan() to be specific.  I have the math jotted down on paper somewhere but odds aren't good I'll find it anytime soon.  If I can, I'll extract the logic from existing NXT-G programs and update this answer sometime.

inputs:  desired bot direction, desired power level, motor angle (0, 120,240)

output:  power level goal for that motor

You might wrap that all up in a PID loop to get 'actual' numbers closer and closer to 'desired' numbers.

Hope this is helpful.  Happy to field any follow-on questions you might have.  I'll update this answer with additional details if I'm able to pull them from the actual code, or if I find the notebook where I wrote down the math, about a decade ago.


I believe that no official retailers outside of Germany+Austria+Switzerland go these. I bought mine on amazon.de.


Does a 1x3 Lego technic liftarm with two round holes and one axle socket exist? (for tank suspension usage)

I can't see a lift arm with two round holes and one axle hole on the same plane, but there is one where the holes are perpendicular

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=42003

If you have the space you could try joining a standard 3L arm to one of these

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=60483

Updated suggestion
Now that I see what you're trying to do, have you considered one of these

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=32449

It's 4L but the extra axle hole would be concealed by the wheel, and the wheel would have it's axle through a pin hole and spin freely.


As suggested by @mindstormsboi I contacted LEGO customer services and sent them a link to this question as well as many additional photos.  The information was passed to their expert team and the answer that came back was "they believe that these are not LEGO® parts". They were not able to identify them as a known clone type. I feel obliged to accept that as a definite answer, although it leaves unknown who actually manufactured the bricks I have.  I will continue research into that question, but elsewhere.
The customer service team member also gave me two interesting links to a fan created website with some of the history of LEGO parts, as well as section covering many of the clones and similar brick building sets.  I include the two links below, as they may be of interest to some who find this question and answer.
https://www.inverso.pt/legos/
https://www.inverso.pt/legos/clones/texts/mobitec.htm
Thank you to all who contributed their knowledge, experience or point of view.


How does one get a job as a LEGO designer?

There's a nice interview with LEGO Designer Mark Stafford on The Brothers Brick:

  From LEGO fan to LEGO set designer - the Mark Stafford interview

The basic process was:

The position was advertised, and Mark's portfolio was sent in. He was then invited to a two day recruitment workshop along with a number of other candidates.

I've also read other interviews such as this one from The LEGOLAND Discovery Center asking about how Alex Bidolak became a LEGO Master Model Builder, and he came in through the competition route.


What are these strange black disc LEGO pieces?

That would be Sports Hockey Puck, Large:

It comes from the larger Technic-based Sports Hockey sets from 2003-2004.

(Puck in the above set has stickers.)


In pseudocode:

LoopBlock (forever)
    MoveBlock (B and C motors, 75% power, forward, forever)
    -- unclear here, probably want to head for brighter light
    -- instead, just wait for 80%
    If LightSensorBlock (port 3, greater than, threshold 80%) Then
         MoveBlock (B and C motors, stop)
         WaitForBlock (time, 10 seconds)
    End If
End Loop


Can someone help identify this set from 2011 (Star Wars?)

At the minimum, two separate sets:

Set #75048 The Phantom...

Only set to have a windshield in this style.

Astromech's body and leg found in pieces.

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

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

How to adds pics.

(Sorry rushing to go to work).

Edit your post.

Position cursor where you want to drop image.

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

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


If you absolutly want the Falcon before christmas
and if money is not a factor you can try 3rd party sellers like Bricklink or Ebay

It will cost you more than the offical price and  there will be shipping costs (it weighs 13150 gr.)


LEGO 42095 wheels going opposite directions

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

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


pc program to receive data from EV3 via usb/bluetooth

The MonoBrick C++ library that you linked is for NXT, not EV3.

You can find the MonoBrick C# Library for EV3 here. It works with USB, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi and can manipulate files.


Are transparent neon Lego bricks made from a different plastic than usual?

All of this is correct, ABS can't be transparent and thus transparent parts are made of PC.
PC against PC bonds way too tighly and designers are actually forbidden to do that in their models. (I've a 4L lightsaber blade stuck in the crossend of a Technic beam, both trans-red, and I can't get it out.)

I'm fairly sure there's a designer (possibly Jamie Berard indeed) presentation on things forbidden to designers but I can't find it back.

Edit: @Grandpappy found it back: http://bramlambrecht.com/tmp/jamieberard-brickstress-bf06.pdf and it's indeed by Jamie Berard. Worth reading again and again.


How to make NXT bricks communicate information?

You can use the Bluetooth mailbox feature to pass messages back and forth between 2 NXTs.

If you want to use sensors, you could use the HiTechnic NXT IRLink Sensor (NIL1046) and NXT IRReceiver Sensor (NIR1032).


Is the PWM on the PF Servo motor different than the PWM from an Arduino?

According to Philo's detailed analysis of the servomotor, it takes its commands from the C lines but needs to be powered as well:

  Being a Power Functions range member, it is fully integrated with this system, and receives its commended position through C1/C2 lines, and its power from supply lines. On a normal motor, C1/C2 duty cycle directly control motor speed, here they set the angular position of the shaft.

This makes sense since there's electronics involved and these need to be powered by a regular, reliable power supply which is exactly the purpose of the +9V and Ground wires. The same holds for the IR receiver (although that one ignores the C1/C2 lines completely).

For more information on the PF wiring, you should also check Philo's presentation of the Power Functions system.


Identify this airplane axle holder from Little Prince MOC

Looks like this piece:

Plate, Modified 2 x 4 Thin with Bottom Struts to Pins

It comes in a few sets, usually as landing gear.


What is this heavy red LEGO piece with no obvious connectors?


The most basic solution would be to store the character read by fgetc, for example, instead of:

if(!isspace(fgetc(handle)))

you'd write:

char val = fgetc(handle);
if(!isspace(val))

This way if the isspacecall returns false you will still have the latest character in the val variable.

I'd also suggest you look into the switch statement instead of using multiple if-else blocks: http://bricxcc.sourceforge.net/nbc/nxcdoc/nxcapi/switch.html


What is the best way of getting muck out of bricks?

best way i found so far is simply using a plastic-toothpick (wooden ones should also do the job). just get the muck out as good as possible and then wash the bricks again the remove the rest.

if the muck is too hard for a toothpick, use a metal needle or a very thin screwdriver - but only do this if you can't avoid because you might be scratching/damaging the blocks (wich shouldn't be so problematic to the inner- and underside, but anyway you should avoid it).


How make a 6x6 board rotate using LEGO technic parts?

You can use a large gear (3649) with connector pegs (970607) attached like this:

Then you can attach the 6x6 plate on top.


Also keep in mind that color will change on some parts as they age (depending on environmental factors). New or less exposed parts in the "old grey" can be a different shade than original, aged parts in the same "old grey".  The blue-grey parts that you have might actually be categorized as a blue instead.

Check out how lego sells the colors today, here:
http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Pick-A-Brick-11998

The peeron color table is here:
http://www.peeron.com/inv/colortable/3020

Check out your set here as well:
http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=7150-1

The colors in the grey family (or sometimes confused as grey) are referred to as on brick set (on peeron if different):
Black
Dark Grey (OldDkGray)
Dark Stone Grey (DkStone)
Grey (OldGray)
Medium Stone Grey (Stone)
Sand Blue

Your set has "Grey" and "Black" from this list.  If you ordered new parts from Lego, the lighter shade of grey would be "Medium Stone Grey" form this list.


Robot Inventor 51515 - PIN request when connecting via Bluetooth

I removed the brick using Windows Bluetooth panel. Then once again readded the device using Lego software. And this time it did not ask me for the Bluetooth PIN.


This is a 3743 - Technic, Gear Rack 1 x 4 and there are 2 times 2 of these in your picture (2 on the left and 2 on the right).

I guess your description is a little vague, because if you are talking about the middle part (the shining light gray pieces), they are actually not bricks/tiles, but the axle end of an NXT motor (the right side of the motor in the below picture).


Is it possible to damage a pneumatic pump/motor by applying too much pressure?

No, it would be practically impossible to damage LEGO pneumatic elements by overpressurizing them.

It turns out that LEGO pneumatic pumps actually have a very simple "slip" mechanism that prevents overpressurization.  Once the pressure reaches about 35-40psi (the exact threshold varies slightly pump by pump) the rubber plunger disk will give way and bend back, allowing a small amount of air to slip by and escape out the top of the pump.

Here is a GIF illustrating the effect, watch the rubber plunger disk bend back as I pump it:

Sorry the quality is so bad, it's hard getting under SE's 2MB limit.  The number markings on the pressure gauge are multiples of 10, so it is slipping at around 37psi.

If you don't have a transparent pump or a pressure gauge it is still quite easy to tell that this is happening since the air escaping makes a fairly obvious pfft sound.

Some have also correctly pointed out that the tubes will pop off long before any damage is done to the components.  While I have experienced this, the pump will usually hit its max pressure before any pipes pop off if they are attached securely (i.e. pushed as far as possible onto their connections).

Some pipes also tend to come off easier than others, in my experience the older ones along with the clear types tend to make looser connections.  This is why I try to use the newer opaque tubes first since it can be a pain in the neck fixing and repressurizing when a connection blows off.


Where can I get 'classic' Lego heads from?

The well known, smiling, gender-neutral multifigure head can be bought on auction sites like Bricklink.

The classic faces are still in production now and are on the minifig or every set in the modular series. (The Grand Emporium alone has seven of these heads) As well as other modern classics like the carousel, winter toy shop and town plan.

Up to five of these heads can be found in most editions of the Vintage Minifigure Collection.


Identifying kits to find instructions, red Ferrari with white mirrors and rear engine?

Looks like the red model from 8143-1: Ferrari F430 Challenge 1:17 without stickers.

You can find a link to the instructions from the link above.


Do any concave slopes or curves exist? Any brand

Part 18653 Brick, Arch 1 x 3 x 2 Inverted

Brick, Arch 1 x 5 x 4 Inverted

And a few other inverted arches


I searched around on dafont.com, fonts.com, and myfonts.com but didn't find anything.  However, I found this post on the eurobricks.com forum from 2008, which links to this page:

http://www.house42.com/2008/09/17/legorama-fontstruct-font/

This font (and its variants) are all available for download as TTFs (free account registration required):

Legorama
Legorama Fill
Legorama Everywhere
Legorama Everywhere Fill

The fonts are available under the CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 license (Attribution required, non-commercial use, no derivative works).

Alternatively, if you're feeling really ambitious, here's a tutorial on how to make a LEGO font yourself.


What LEGO brick is available in the most colors?

Again, Bricklink can help with the answer: When downloading the catalog, you specify "Part and Color Codes". This will give you a list of all part numbers and the color codes they have been produced in. To answer the question, some scripting has to be done to count lines with equal parts, etc.

To make it short, this is the top 10 list:

Duplo Brick 2x2 (53 colours)
Slope 30 1x1x2/3, tile 1x2 with Groove, Brick 1x1 (51 colours each)
Plate 1x2 (50 colours)
Brick 2x2 (49 colours)
Brick 1x2 (47 colours)
Plate 1x1 (44 colours)
Brick 2x4 (43 colours)
Plate, round 1x1 straight side (42 colours)

So, it was a close race with a surprising winner from planet Duplon. Looking at the entries I realise that Chrome colors seem to be missing from some parts. They are probably not listed when they don't appear in regular sets (custom parts).

EDIT
The colour number distribution is very skewed. More than 80% of all 16500+ parts come in only one colour. This is because every printed part gets its own number. There are 2248 minifig torsos, most of them numbered 973pb.....

Anyway, it is fun to browse the catalog.


What I thought was a lego mark is actually 0C31. This must be a megablok. Sorry for the confusion!


Running Power Functions Train Without IR Receiver/Remote

There is a fairly easy and cheap way to do this since you don't want real variable speed control. As you noted, connecting the AAA battery box directly to the PF train motor technically works, but the motor runs too fast.

The default AAA battery box provides 9v from 6 AAA cells. Lowering this voltage will lower the speed of your motor. If you'd like to get your hands dirty, you can modify the AAA battery box or buy a battery box that supplies another voltage and connect this up to the C0 and C1 lines of your motor.

However, the simplest solution I can think of is to purchase (or possibly build) AAA dummy batteries and use a few of these in the AAA battery box in conjunction with regular batteries. These look like AAA batteries, but are actually just metal conductors internally. By using a number of these in the battery box, you can have it provide 1.5v, 3v, 4.5v, 6v, 7.5v, or 9v.

Philo has a nice breakdown of speed vs voltage for PF train motors:

3V = 135 rpm (2 AAA batteries, 4 dummies)
4.5V = 468  rpm (3 AAA batteries, 3 dummies)
6V = 792 rpm (4 AAA batteries, 2 dummies)
7.5V = 1107 rpm (5 AAA batteries, 1 dummies)
9V = 1458 rpm (6 AAA batteries, 0 dummies)

You can make adjustments in 1.5 volt increments by adding or removing batteries from your setup to hopefully find a speed that works for you.

It's a bit more complicated/expensive to get proper variable speed control, but if you just want a constant speed that is slower than the default PF full speed, this is the simplest method I can think of.


This part is a typical wood plank with nails (which are metal) on it. There are many variations of it, and almost all of them have nails, therefore they don't really count. However I've looked at all variations and the only ones I can find that have more metal are this one, this one and this one.


How come themes like BIONICLE can afford so many new parts?

Bionicle sets don't actually make as many new pieces as they did.

Typically, new pieces are weapons or heads, and LEGO company is already cool with green-lighting those. (They're sorta important.)

Gen 1 Bionicles did, admittedly, have a lot of new pieces, but Gen 2 sets, you will frequently find, try to recycle concepts and pieces, just in different colors or with different printing as much as possible.

Hero Factory was pretty revolutionary, with pieces that connected to themselves, (ball and socket,) but for that those were made, you'll see them incredibly often as staples of new sets. That particular kind of new-piece binge shouldn't happen again for a long time, if ever.

I don't know about a dozen pieces in one set though. You'll often find that "new" pieces are just old ones recolored, reprinted, or recycled.


The two batteries and chargers are very different, in that the new one is 10V DC whereas the old one is AC (while it's supposed to be 9V, I think the transformer was actually 10V too).

As it's AC, the polarity doesn't matter, but I don't think using DC current is recommended (even if in theory the rectifier circuitry in the old battery should be able to accommodate it).

You should be able to buy a spare fairly easily though, whether at a local LEGO event or directly on BrickLink. Note that it's the exact same that came with 9V trains, so you may want to look for the complete transfomer + regulator as well, which may sometimes be cheaper to find.


As the person who maintains the standard, I should probably start by apologizing for not trying to do more to make something like that available. I had hoped that the FAQ or the comments on the spec page would help with some of that but it's obviously not enough. In particular my answer to someone's question about building an airport is probably my own better writing on the topic.

For buildings in LEGO at almost any scale I can recommend the new "LEGO Architect" book from No Starch Press. It covers micro scale building, though not Micropolis specifically, and has some really good techniques for replicating the details that can make a building look great.

If you want opinions on specific topics or ideas from many of the current people building for Micropolis most of the main traffic for discussion is on Flickr in the Micropolis group.

Or you can start with two points.

The first point is to look at the scale guide right at the top of the spec:

  Scale: 1 brick is 9 feet, 1 plate is 3 feet and one stud is 7.5 feet. These are for reference only. The blocks are smaller than the blocks in a real city. Scale your buildings accordingly.

Next measure some real life things to see how that works out. For example a lot of US houses have between 8 and 10 feet between floors so if you've got a house with a flat roof then including protruding foundation and internal spaces it's likely to be about 24ft high, or (24ft divided by 3) 8 plates high. This ends up showing up in a lot of Micropolis modules as a brick (3 plates high) and 1 plate per floor. Expanding on that, a 10 story office building should probably be at least 13 bricks and 1 plate high.

The second point is to be flexible. Since most LEGO parts aren't very adjustable you can start to run into issues with items that are a bit smaller or a bit larger in real life but can be roughly translated into the scale. A great example of that is the standard Micropolis car, which is a single jumper plate with a 1x1 tile on top. However if a stud is 7.5ft on each side, then that jumper plate makes every car a 15ft 1970's land yacht. Most modern cars aren't much longer than 10ft which is actually closer to a single stud than two studs but a 1x1 plate with a 1x1 tile on top doesn't look like much more than a box.

Another example is the Micropolis city blocks themselves. Ignoring that in most US cities blocks are actually rectangular, at 32 studs our blocks are only 240ft long compared to the 260ft average of the short side of US city blocks. The long sides average 900ft. We experimented with that a bit when we were working on the original spec and there were several problems but the big ones included having too many different kinds of sub-block modules to make it work easily for a large layout and that while it was more "real" it just didn't look right to just about anyone. So we went back to the original idea for 4 16x16 quarter blocks to make one city block.

A good rule of thumb I've recommended to other people is to have a couple of those jumper and tile cars and put them next to whatever you're building and see how it looks. If the car looks too big then the building should probably be bigger. If the car looks too small, maybe take the building down a bit. You can make a lot of use of the various imagery options on the various mapping systems, both overhead and streetview, to give you an idea of what a car next to a building should look like in real life.

With both of those points in mind then the big takeaway is to try to both approximate scale but in the end be flexible about your implementation to fit the constraints of the medium and in the end build what you like and as long as it's got the roads, sidewalks, technic holes, and base height right it's a Micropolis module whatever anyone else tells you.


What are the pros and cons of using a Lego rental service such as Pleygo?

I guess I'm too stunned (I mean, is this for real?) to answer anything remotely meaningful, although some obvious cons come to mind:

you get bricks which have been used, potentially a lot, and you have no clue how or by whom (well ok they say they sanitize them in between, but still)
you don't get to keep them (well maybe that's a pro given the first con).
15$ per month seems rather expensive too, I'm not saying LEGO is a cheap toy but I'm confident you can get a decent amount of your own, new bricks for that price

But of course I've never used (or even known about) the service, so maybe I'm unnecessarily harsh about it.

However, I have some related experience with this: when I was a kid, there was a library in the village which doubled as a toy library on Saturday, where you could rent toys for a week. While this was great to play all sort of different board games and they made a very good effort to ensure they were always complete, I have some memories of one particular game which smelled kinda funny. We liked the game though, so we played it quite often, but it did smell funny.

So that would be one thing to be wary of - how exactly do they sanitize blocks? How do they deal with blocks which are rented to smokers, or people with pets (considering some people are allergic, it's a very valid question).

Of course inventory of the set would tend to be an issue too - as a matter of fact, they did have a few LEGO sets at said toy library, and I can tell you they were far from complete (since the library was at the school, we could sometimes play with the toys when waiting for our parents, or something like that; in any case I never rented LEGO sets as I had my own LEGO bricks and the sets weren't complete anyway). In any case, considering how easy it is to lose a LEGO parts, and seeing pleygo claims "No charge for lost pieces", it's bound to happen a lot that pieces are indeed lost. I assume they'll try to replace them somehow, but I'm extremely curious about how they'd do that.

If you're willing to try the service, I would at the very least recommand you get answers to these questions (they may be on their site somewhere, I didn't check), and more importantly, check if you can get a trial somehow. It would be nuts to have to pay one full year to realize the service is sub-par.

But in my opinion, it's probably always better to buy sets. Keeping in mind LEGO usually keeps its value rather well, is it wise to pay 15$ a month and not get anything you can keep in return?

Edit: it seems Pleygo is getting some momentum these days, and I assume the fact they're still in business speaks in their favour. Also, the owners have been kind enough to answer some questions to Brickset, which is a very interesting read and provides much needed answers to questions you may have (In particular, cleaning). Still not for me, but it seems they're quite serious and professionnal about it all. They do seem to offer the first month for free, too.


Duplo 10874 engine lacks sound without app

I suggest you contact LEGO support. The set is recent enough for them to have spare parts. They'll happily replace the Push & Go component if you can demonstrate the part is defective and you own the set. To prove you own the set you'll need a code in the instruction booklet.


How are the LEGO instruction manuals made?

How lego does it today.

I found little information about Autodesk Maya being the 3D modeling software being used. Here`s a blurb about their current design process :

  Primary concept and development work takes place at the Billund
  headquarters, where the company employs approximately 120 designers.
  The company also has smaller design offices in the UK, Spain, Germany,
  and Japan, which are tasked with developing products aimed
  specifically at these markets.

  The average development period for a new product is around twelve
  months, in three stages.

  The first stage is to identify market trends and developments,
  including contact by the designers directly with the market; some are
  stationed in toy shops close to holiday periods, while others
  interview children.

  The second stage is the design and development of the product based
  upon the results of the first stage. As of September 2008 the design
  teams use 3D modeling software to generate CAD drawings from initial
  design sketches.

  The designs are then prototyped using an in-house stereolithography
  machine. These are presented to the entire project team for comment
  and for testing by parents and children during the "validation"
  process. Designs may then be altered in accordance with the results
  from the focus groups.

  Virtual models of completed Lego products are built concurrently with
  the writing of the user instructions. Completed CAD models are also
  used in the wider organization, such as for marketing and packaging.

Source : wikipedia

How people do it themselves

LEGO provide software that does just that. Check for "LEGO Digital Designer" which allows to create a model, save a building manuals and buy the LEGO parts online.

Also check up this related question :"Do any programs exist that allow you to build own LEGO plans?"

For more information on how to create high quality computer images of LEGO models, check this question : "How can I create synthetic imagery (rendering) of lego models?"


The door is probably  Frame 2X4X6 in Medium Lilac. This depends on the thickness of the piece 1 or 2 studs as this is not clear on the picture.

This piece in combination with the white door only comes in 2 sets :

4625: Pink Brick Box
10660-1: House Suitcase

Neither set contains the other pieces. I can't find the other pieces on Brickset. Are these pieces coming out of an official Lego sealed bag?

Based one the quality of the darker green one, I'm not sure if these are Lego parts as there are blisters and leftover plastic on them (between top leaf and rest of the part).


EV3 force sensor - how to download the block to EV3?

There is no force sensor in either the commercial or education version of the EV3 set, just the touch sensor for which there are standard blocks.
So I'm going to assume this is a sensor from an an external party. You need a file with extension .ev3b that can be imported in the mindstorms lab by clicking 'Tools' in the menu and then 'import block' which will open a dialog where you can browse for the file, and import the blocks in it.

Now to obtain that .ev3b file, you need to know from which vendor it was bought. Likely the file can be downloaded from their website. We could help you further if you could specify either the vendor or post a picture of the sensor.


Identifying Lego kits from unopened bags for library

If you really want to know, I would suggest identifying the most unusual part in a bag, then  using that part, search for what sets it has appeared in recently.  Each piece usually has a small number printed on it.  Use this part number on bricklink, or peeron to search for the part, and then click the link that shows you what sets it has appeared in.

Alternatively, take a picture of the bag and post it to the AFOLs of Facebook group and you'll probably have an answer in 5 minutes or less.


the best way i found out till now is to get them of as good as possible with your nails or a plastic-knife (i wouldn't recommend to use metal knifes or razorblades - if you do, be careful to avoid scratching the bricks surface) and then remove the remaining glue with:

pure alcohol or
glass cleaner
cheap hairspay (spray 2-3 seconds from very close distance and then rub of with a piece of cloth) sometimes also does a good job


Is it worth to start with Dimensions now?

The Lego Dimensions game is actually a console game available on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U, PlayStation 3. So as Shea stated, once you have the game, you can play it whenever you want. All you have to do is insert the disc into your console and load up the game.

About your concern of buying the starter kits, getting the one on eBay could be a choice, as long as you trust the seller. Another way is to get it at Target or Walmart before they don't sell it anymore. Another suggestion for you is to get all the current available sets for Lego Dimensions that are available in store, as once they are no longer being sold at stores, the value will skyrocket. After you have gotten the desired in store sets would you then get it off eBay.


They are referred to as "Minifig Hips" almost everywhere: [partlink:970:4].

The LEGO Pick-a-brick service doesn't sell them without legs, and just refers to the whole construction as "Mini Figure Mini Lower Part":


The canonical location for 3D models of LEGO bricks would be LDraw, with its huge catalogue of official parts.

Another resource specifically catered to the 3D printing community is PrintABrick. Their library is not as big as LDraw's, but they offer ready-to-print STL files.


What sets are these vintage figures and wheels from?

Here are the parts you're looking for:
wheel
wheel
2x4 wheel
wheel base 2x4 and so on
arm holder
hand
arm part
also arm part
female hair
head with freckles
cap
Based on the collected links, this might be one of the sets you own. It is too challenging for me to identify any others, sorry for the inconvenience: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=200-1#T=S&O={%22iconly%22:0}


I have had the same problem there are 2 ways you could do it.

Way One is to use rebrickable

Go to http://rebrickable.com/home Create an account.
Then go MYREBRICKABLE and select My Sets.
Then click Add set to this set list and search for the set you want.
Now you can add all the sets you have.
IF you like you can go to the My Parts section and add any parts you
might have bought.
Now if you want to find out how many red 2 x 2 bricks you have you
can simply go to My Parts. Then tick the tick box where it says 'Set
Parts' and click update. All your parts from your MY Sets and My
Parts will now be shown below. You can see and example of this below.

Way two is to use  brickstock .

So what I do is open brick stock.
Then Click Import and chose Bricklink Inventory.
Search for the set I want and then click ok. It
    then will create a file listing all the parts that make up the
set(You will see a small hard hat icon at the top right as it
download all the part images).
Do this for all your sets and combine the files and you will have
one master file.


At first glance, many of those pieces look very similar to pieces from the 1950s/1960s, and in the 1950s there are some lego sets that use a different type of plastic than ABS (cellulose acetate), along with certain other features I see here, but looking closer at the details and what pieces are "known" in brick databases, there are several details that just don't look quite "right" to be real legos, and I think you're correct in your assessment that these are much more likely be some sort of knock-off brand of unknown vintage.

Toys Period is one of several sites with a database of lego parts and what sets they are in. In their list of lego windows https://www.toysperiod.com/lego-set-reference/parts/windows-and-doors/windows/ I do not see any windows with dimensions 1x6x3 with two panes (with or without glass). There are windows of the same width that are 1x6x2 with one center 2x2 pane and two side 1x2 panes, and 1x6x3 windows with a single pane (both of which I've seen in actual sets as they are fairly common), but not 1.5 stud panes on a 6x3 window. But even looking at the 1x6x3 window that is a single pane, the details still seem wrong. The bottom of the window only has nubs to connect the window every other stud instead of every stud. Every picture I could find of genuine old legos of that vintage either have nubs between every stud, or was completely without nubs on the bottom. And the pattern carved above and below the space for the window "glass" doesn't appear to have the correct groove pattern.

Next, the large green plate. the tops of those studs are hollow (actually, the tops are hollow on all the pieces shown), which is sometimes used in legos, especially modern legos so that they can hold small parts like flames, but usually not on large plates, and having every piece in the set have those kinds of studs would seem incredibly surprising... And although I have seen old lego plates with square holes on the bottom, from the period before they switched to round pegs between studs, the genuine ones I've seen have a single thicker "bar" of plastic between each stud not two parallel strips of plastic between each stud.

And that roof tile that is 3x4x1 is an unusual dimension for a lego roof tile. I'm a bit suspicious that combination, especially with hollow stud tops, will not show up in lego parts databases either. Having a 30 degree slant 3x4x1 with only one row of studs on top would be common, or having a 45 degree slant 2x4x1 would be common...but not two rows of studs on top with a 45 degree slant.

Most of the other pieces in your photos are too blurry to really identify at great detail, but already there just seem to be be too many things "off" about these including other details you mention (aside from the numbers molded into the underside, which is a feature also present in genuine legos of older vintages)


Please Help! My LEGO BB-8 Minifig Head Is Stuck In a Helmet!

Show your little brother just how super chill you are by easily solving all his problems.

Just get a normal minifig and pop the head off that.  Stick the neck into BB-8 and helmet, and with the extra leverage, you'll be able to snigg-wiggle and separate head from helmet.

Watch the non-delicate surgical procedure here on Youtube. Just skip forward to the 52 second mark of video.  Later!


What are the possible differences between LEGO elements?

Really 4 questions in one.

To try to address question 3,

  In which different colours can the LEGO elements exist?

these links to other similar questions may help:

How many different colours of LEGO bricks are there?
Is there a list of colours currently in production?


The 1x1x2/3 slopes would be ideal for making waves, etc.:

 and  or the 1x2 options.

Along with some blue tiles you could make some great waves:

Obviously, if you don't want them breaking, keep the white fronts blue.

Also, if you have some Navy blue tiles you can create currents of colder water - if you've ever watched large bodies of water you'll notice they have strips of different shades running through them.

Stick to tiles on the plate rather than the 2/3s height for lakes, or for some good ripples use the Round Dish 2x2 Inverted:


Why are old LEGO bricks more brittle than new ones?

The LEGO company switched to ABS in 1963, bricks produced before that have a markedly different quality.

However, if your sets are from around 1980, they should use ABS already and there should be no reason that the plastic is different.

Other possible explanations would be bad storage conditions (too warm, direct sunlight, maybe), or the fat that the set may have only been built once. Indeed, ABS bricks reach their optimal clutch power after having been assembled/disassembled about 8 to 10 times, so if you just built the set once and let it be (for display for example), then the bricks are in fact still too new and clutch together too tighly.


What is this 2x2 headless driver body part?

I just confirmed your own self answer, and yes, you are right this part is indeed

x351 Brick, Modified 2 x 2 Racer Driver No Head

This unique piece appears only in 20 sets.  Look HERE to see where yours might come from.


Yes there is

On the HiTechnic website: => download
http://www.hitechnic.com/downloadnew.php?category=38

This is preliminary release of the HiTechnic EV3 Color Sensor Block.  Note that this block only supports the EV3 and will not work with the NXT.  Zip file includes both the Color Sensor block and a sample program that shows the color sensor values on the EV3 screen.  See instructions at top of this downloads page for installation instructions.


What are the largest LEGO® Power train sets available commercially [Oct 2014]

Right now, the largest commercially available train is the Lego City Cargo Train, Set 60052. It comes in at about 887 pieces. There are 30 rail pieces in this kit. Extra rail pieces are also commercially available through Lego. The 7898-1 cargo train would come in second as far as piece count. Same amount of track as the 60052.


2011 is probably just the year the bag was copyrighted, not anything useable to go on.

The other number on the bag is not really useable either.

Part 62361 is Vehicle, Mudguard 1 1/2 x 6 x 1 with Arch a part that has been in 98 sets. There are probably numbers on most other parts in the bag too, but pictures are usually better.


Is it possible to determine the approximate age of these bricks only by seeing their injection points?

I cannot tell by the injection markings but having been a lego collector since 1967 I can tell that they are around that era. They look like some of the original ABS plastic. I also have some even older lego bricks in my collection (circa 1960) and they are of a different plastic but you cannot see the molding points on those.


Help identifying Lego bag without instructions, brown, grey, and clear bricks

This is a bag from the Minecraft set First Night (21115):


Is LEGO Junior compatible with regular LEGO?

Yes. These sets are fully compatible with other LEGO sets.

LEGO Junior is simply a theme within the LEGO System (just like City or Star Wars). It uses exactly the same bricks as regular LEGO. The models in Juniors sets tend to be simpler and use more basic bricks, but the bricks are all compatible.

The main "incompatibility" within the LEGO System is from DUPLO to regular LEGO, but there is even quite a lot of interoperability between these as shown here:

Are DUPLO blocks compatible with LEGO blocks in any way?


Articulations : which technique to use on small constructions for sturdiness?

The AT-ST & Endor (9679) uses cogged connectors (4210884 + 4211803, I don't know if the combination of both parts has a name) for the legs. These connectors are pretty strong for their size, they may be sturdy enough for your model if it's not too heavy.

For bigger constructions and higher degrees of freedom, beam with balls and cups can be used, they allow rotations and movements in two axis. For example, the Beam A 5M Ball/Cup Ø10.2 (they are other similar parts on Bricklink):

For example, General Grievous (75112) arms and legs can be adjusted in many ways:


Emmet's couch model in official sets different than the movie?

There are several discrepancies between the double-decker couch featured in The Sea Cow set and that depicted in the LEGO Movie. I've recreated the movie version as best I could in LDD and LDraw, and have compared it side-by-side with the Sea Cow set version. In the first picture, the Sea Cow set version is on the left, and the movie version is on the right, and vice-versa in the second picture. The notable differences are as follows:

As you pointed out, some of the seats in the Sea Cow version have studs on them so that minifigures will stay on better. Notice also that the Sea Cow version has one layer of blue plates, whereas the movie version has two layers.
The armrests are different. The parts that the two different armrests share have different color selections, and the Sea Cow counterparts are thicker and higher up than the movie counter parts. Also, the Sea Cow armrests contain the supports for the ladders, whereas the supports for the ladders are located elsewhere on the movie version.
The ladders in the Sea Cow version are higher up than the movie version.
There are round 1x1 studs placed on the bottom of the upper level of the movie version, but none are found on that of the Sea Cow version.

The back rests have more layers of plates in the Sea Cow set version than in the movie version.
The 1x2 plates with bars in the Sea Cow set version are used to connect the back rests with their corresponding seats, whereas in the movie version, they are not connected to anything. Because of this, the seats on the upper level are simply suspended in midair, and the back rests of the lower level are just sitting there with nothing attaching them to the seats. This is why replicating the movie version 100% and keeping it together is physically impossible. Why the makers of The LEGO Movie didn't simply attach plates with clips to those plates with bars they have there is beyond me.
In the Sea Cow set version, the two levels are connected by technic tubes which connect to 2x2 plates with holes. The two levels of the movie version are connected by long cylindrical 1x1 columns.


RCX 2.0 Firmware downloaded successfully but "Run" does nothing

Could be the button indeed. These buttons are conductive rubber pressing on the circuit boards integrated contacts. Might need some cleaning there...

Disassembly of the RCX is not easy but can be done. You have to remove the screws in the battery compartment, then pull slightly to disengage and remove the black IR front. Once this is done, you can pull out the PCB and battery case from the top cover. Important note: the PCB is connected to the battery case through metallic blades that can easily bend and no longer make contact. So when you pull the PCB+case, you must pull on the PCB itself, not on the battery case.

Once done, you can clean the button area with alcohol and/or swap buttons to hopefully repair the Run button ("View" button is useful, but not mandatory...).


How can I make a LEGO heroica scale fountain of youth using bricks from Fortaan or Waldurk?

Thought I'd finally step up to the plate - here's my first attempt.

On the basis that the Fountain of Youth is probably an end goal rather than something you'd come across on the way somewhere else I've gone for an 8x8 base, but as we're limited to these two sets I've had to go with grey - I could probably have gone with the 4x4 blue plates, but felt that might limit other options, and wanted the figures to be able to move around the fountain a bit.

I've added the goblet as a collectable treasure that could have a "healing" rule for use in campaigns:


How to prevent discoloration or parts in storage?

Product description says:

  UV protection helps reduce fading on flooring, furniture, portraits, blinds and draperies

Reduce, not eliminate, because such film cannot remove 100% of UV, and regular light can also participate in fading a bit.

If you want to store them, not to display them, then box will do. One that isn't transparent. There are opinions that airtight boxes help, too, but I haven't tested that. Regular dark box did a pretty ok (not perfect) job for me when I stored my bricks for many years.


I found another listing for the same minifigure on Etsy with extended description, which doesn't mention LEGO parts have been used. Otherwise that would be a selling benefit. Also, two sentences below, extracted from description, make you assume minifigure is built from non-LEGO parts.

  This custom Minifigure works with any building block set.

  These figures are custom figures and are only compatible with LEGO® but are not in any was associated or endorsed by them.

Now if you are still in doubt, we could check if Bricklink has them. Torso and legs seems to be in Light Bluish Gray color. While such legs exist as LEGO item, checking torsos, assembled torsos, body parts (arms) in this color it can be be concluded that torso and arms have non-LEGO print. These still could be made of genuine LEGO parts, but print is custom.

Hair looks to be in Dark Orange, which exist both in LEGO form as Minifigure, Hair Female Mid-Length with Braid around Sides and a color.


What is this old dark grey LEGO wedge piece with a grooved handle?

It's a LEGO brick Separator tool. Mostly used to preserve the structural integrity of the human nail, teeth, gum line etc...

Watch the classical use of it here.

Here's a recent post of some unorthodox uses of the Separator tool.


Need help identifying LEGO sets from bags and more

Based on Reddish Brown Torso Space Police 3 Spiked Armor Pattern / Sand Green Arms / Sand Green Hands you're dealing with set 5979 Max Security transport.


Duplo Activity table to Lego System Table

To answer your question, no there is no such plate with DUPLO tubes on the bottom and LEGO studs on top. HOWEVER regular LEGO and DUPLO are completely compatible - as long as the regular LEGO bricks are at least 2x2 studs. Just cover the DUPLO table with regular LEGO bricks and you are done...(c;

You could actually use regular LEGO plates too, however the connection won't be as secure as with regular LEGO bricks as plates are much thinner so won't go all the way down to cover the LEGO studs. But they do fit, and their benefit is that they cover a much larger area so you would need less.

Here is an article and some visual examples of how LEGO and DUPLO fits together very nicely: http://thebrickblogger.com/2010/12/lego-duplo/


How to overcome a roller coaster track gap of a length of 1 or 2?

Here's what I came up with:

The key element I used is the hose nozzle (60849):

I opted not to use hinges to try to create as rigid of a connection as I could. Here's the build:

This seemed to work fine in the small amount of testing I did, but it does require a bit of careful adjusting to get everything aligned properly initially.


You should research if there is an RLUG (Recognized Lego users group) active near where you live. These are groups of LEGO fans for which the LEGO company provides various levels of support.

Often they have the means to buy LEGO directly from the LEGO company through the LUGBULK program. The program allows the members of the LUG to buy LEGO in bulk directly from the LEGO company itself at a discount rate.

I have in the past succeeded in purchasing a reasonable amount of soccer balls this way (among various other elements).

However, there is only a narrow time frame in which you are able to register for the program and it takes nearly a year until the lugbulk is delivered, sorted and sent to the various members. I'm not sure if the registration is still open or already closed. At least the final selection of items hasn't happened yet AFAIK, so perhaps your RLUG can still select the elements as a favor...


Trying to identify a bunch of parts from sets I had as a child 20 years ago

These parts belong to a ton of different sets.
1st picture

Black Engine, Smooth Large, 1 x 2 Thin Top Plate can be found in 6 sets.

Black Tail with Rounded Top, Aquazone Aquashark Blue Shark with Red 'X' Pattern belong to one of three sets.

Slope 33 3 x 2 with Exploriens Logo Pattern was available in 6 sets.

White Hinge Train Gate 2 x 4 with Satellite Orbiting Earth Screen Pattern (Sticker) - Set 6458 is part of Satellite with Astronaut (6458) set:

Light Gray Tile 1 x 2 with Groove with Dynamite Pattern was in 40 sets.

Tile 2 x 2 with Groove with Alien Egg Pattern (Magnetic Sticker) - Exploriens Sets was in 8 sets.

Tile 2 x 2 with Groove with Dinosaur Skeleton and Bone Pattern (Magnetic Sticker) - Exploriens Sets was in 8 sets too.

Tile 2 x 2 with Spyrius Blue Screen with Plus Sign and Silver and Red Panel Pattern seen in 15 sets.

Container, Box 2 x 2 x 2 Door with Slot and Spyrius Pattern been in 3 sets.

Yellow Tile 1 x 2 with Groove with Underwater Navigation Pattern seen in 8 sets.

White Tile, Round 2 x 2 with Zebra Stripes Pattern been in 6 sets

Tile 1 x 2 with Groove with Blue and Yellow Controls Pattern (Ice Planet) available in 14 sets.

Red Tile 2 x 2 with Groove with Number 2 Bold White and Stripes Pattern been in 2 sets.

White Tile 2 x 2 with White Arrow in Blue Circle Pattern have been in 17 sets.

White Brick 1 x 3 with Radio and Dual Cassette Pattern Dark Pink/Green (Sticker) - Set 5895 has incorrectly applied sticker and has been available in Villa Belville (5895)

White Slope 33 3 x 2 with Number 1 Pattern has been part of 8 sets.

Black Slope 45 2 x 2 with Yellow Grille Pattern has been in 4 sets.

Black Slope 33 3 x 2 with Number 4 Pattern been in 8 sets.

White Tile 1 x 2 with Groove with 'POLICE' Red Line Pattern has been in 20 sets.

White Tile 1 x 2 with Groove with Arrow Short Yellow with Black Border Pattern been in 18 sets.

White Slope 75 2 x 1 x 3 - Open Stud with Shuttle and Blue/Red Circle Pattern, Model Right (Sticker) - Set 6614 AND Panel 1 x 2 x 1 with Blue -V- and two Red Lines Pattern (Sticker) - Set 6614
are unique to Launch Evac 1 (6614):

Assembly which feature distinctive Tile, Round 2 x 2 with Flame and Sand Green Border Pattern belong to Red Planet Cruiser (7311) set:

Blue Slope 33 3 x 2 with Number 2 Pattern been in 6 sets.

Blue Slope 33 3 x 2 with Ice Planet Logo Pattern been in 7 sets.

Windscreen 6 x 4 x 1 1/3 with Bottom Tabs and Hollow Studs with Number 7 and Blue, White and Red Swirls Pattern (Stickers) - Set 8223 AND Panel 1 x 2 x 1 with Number 7 on Right and Blue, White and Red Swirls Pattern (Sticker) - Set 8223 as name suggests is unique to Hydrofoil 7 (8223) set

One of the red tails is from Aero Hawk II (8812)

Other Red pieces are from Eagle Stunt Flyer (6615)

Tile 1 x 4 with 3 White Stars Pattern has been available in 6 sets.

2nd picture

Flag 7 x 3 with Rod with Space Port Solar Array with '2000-XZ' Pattern (Sticker) - Sets 6454 / 6456 / 6458 been in three sets. Conveniently, these are mentioned in part description.

Panel 3 x 5 Solar/Clip-On/Deltoid with Reflective Trapezoid Pattern (Sticker) been in 7 sets.

Electric, Light & Sound 4 x 20 x 5 Insectoid Stinger have been part of 4 sets.

Both Wing Insectoid Large with Arm Hinge and Circuitry Pattern Left (Print on Top, Tip on Left, Logo at Back Edge)
and Wing Insectoid Large with Arm Hinge and Circuitry Pattern Right (Print on Top, Tip on Right, Logo at Back Edge) been in same 5 sets.

Windscreen 10 x 4 x 2 1/3 Canopy with Blue Outlines and Red Square Pattern
was in just Deep Sea Predator (6155)

While Windscreen 10 x 4 x 2 1/3 Canopy with Black Aquasharks Pattern is seen in the same set it has appeared in 3 sets overall.

Trans-Neon Green Cylinder Hemisphere 4 x 4 Multifaceted was in 9 sets.

Trans-Neon Green Dish 6 x 6 Inverted (Radar) Webbed - Type 2 (underside attachment positions at 90 degrees) was in 5 sets.

Trans-Green Dish 5 x 5 Scala was in just 3 sets, all from Belville theme, despite the use of "Scala" naming.

Trans-Light Blue Windscreen 4 x 4 x 4 1/3 Helicopter with Coast Guard Logo Pattern (Sticker) - Set 6342 as name suggest is specific to Beach Rescue Chopper (6342) set.

Trans-Dark Blue Windscreen 6 x 6 Octagonal Canopy with Axle Hole has been part of 7 sets.

3rd picture

White Tile, Round 8 x 8 seen in 4 sets.

Both White Wedge, Plate 7 x 12 Wing Left and White Wedge, Plate 7 x 12 Wing Right have been in 17 sets.

White Wedge, Plate 8 x 6 x 2/3 with Grille has been in just two sets.

White Brick, Round 1 x 1 Open Stud has been in whooping 472 sets.


I thought that promotional boxed sets were good candidates for the smallest box as well, as I own a 1630-1 Helicopter (which, incidentally, I got as a promotional gift for buying toothpaste at some point in the 90s IIRC), at 7 x 7 x 4.5 cm (220cm3/0.22 litres).
There are sets with similar dimensions as well, such as 5018-1 Gravity Games Promotional Set at 7 x 7.5 x 4 cm (210cm3/0.21 litres), 7912-1 Helicopter Promotional (Duracell), 5017-1 Hockey Promotional set. and some others.
I thought those were the smallest in volume, but after a deeper search on bricklink I came up with a thinner 2.5cm (281-1 1 x 2 and 3 x 2 Sloping Bricks, Red with 8.6 x 6.2 x 2.5 cm / 133cm3/0.133 litres):

And after delving in the sets with a low part cound, I came up with an even thinner 1.8cm box with 1222-2 1x1 round bricks, at 7.5 x 5.5 x 1.8 cm (74.25cm3/0.074 litres) (same box size as 1241-2, 1240-2, 1230-2 and possibly others):

Also of note are the 1:87-scale cars from the 60s, like e.g. 265-2 1:87 Karmann Ghia with Garage:

The "box" itself is a transparent hollow brick, specifically part number 721, 4x8 studs wide by 3 bricks high wrapped in a paper strip, which puts it at 3.2cm x 6.4cm x 3.04cm or 62.25cm3/0.062 litres. (Hey, you asked for the smallest box, not the smallest cardboard box!)
Apparently some of these 1:87-scale cars, e.g. 671-3 1:87 Vauxhall Victor Estate with Garage were sold with an actual cardboard box around them, with listed dimensions of 3.2 x 3.2 x 6.5cm (66.56cm3/0.066 litres):


Totally stumped! Part ID - unusual crane part?

This is Vehicle, Tractor Chassis Base 11 x 2 x 3


How to glue a LEGO tree decoration in a way that's not permanent, to prevent accidental disassembling?

You can increase the "clutch" power of bricks by sandwiching a piece of paper towel between each connection. Once the bricks are together, cut away the excess paper using a knife.

The effect of this is roughly the same as applying a weak glue. Your builds will not become impervious, but will hold up better to handling and hanging.


Think about what causes the stickers to deteriorate:

Heat loosens the bonds in the glue, which results in stickers peeling.
Exposure to natural light will cause the colours in the stickers to
fade over time. Unlike LEGO bricks, stickers fade faster under natural light.

With those points in mind, keep stickers in a cool, dry, place away from sunlight like in a cupboard or drawer. Zip lock/food bags are also helpful for organising stickers which is why they can also be used to store instructions and catalogues.

Stickers transferred from the sticker sheet onto other surfaces will also be affected by dust, oil and any other particles that will affect the lifespan of a sticker. Make sure the surface is clean and dry before applying stickers.

You can use a hairdryer to easily remove stickers from bricks.


You need to ensure that your program has a way to stay alive (wait block, wait for sensor, etc...), otherwise as soon as the program ends all motors are stopped.


What is currently in the LEGO Store Pick A Brick Wall?

The bricks in the Pick A Brick Wall are subject to change. As soon as the supply of one type of brick is exhausted in a store, they replace it with another type of brick. There is no particular rotation or order, it is just whatever happens to be in the delivery that the store gets from Lego.

From Lego.com:

  Selection varies by store and the elements are always changing

The brickbuildr.com website has a section dedicated to an effort to inventory each Pick A Brick Wall through submissions from the community (not the Lego store itself), but it is often a little out of date.


I would try liquid latex (liquid frisket) which you can buy in most art supply store.

This will not damage the bricks and is easy to peel off. You can apply it using a cheap throwaway brush, either in between the bricks (like a cement wall) or as a thin transparent layer on the whole hull. I recommend the second method because it's fast, straight forward and the easiest one to clean up.

I use this stuff for all kind of painting and molding jobs. It's a great material.


Can somebody identify what part is being used as a vase in this picture?

That would be part 30106 Minifigure, Utensil Crystal Ball Globe 2 x 2 x 2.

It has a small indentation on top, which is probably how they were able to balance it in that picture.


Identify which set this bag of trunk and leaf pieces belongs to

This is bag # 2 of Set # 4209-1: Fire Plane

Based on the Trans-Orange Wave Rounded with Base Rim (Castle Dragon Flame, Seaweed, Water)
and the Green Wedge, Plate 3 x 6 Cut Corners


Can anyone please tell me what these old white 4x4 circles are?

It looks like 3 of Turntable 4 x 4 - Old Type Complete, Perfectly Round which came in 13 different sets from 1963 - 1970.

I'm guessing the one in the middle is either broken or disassembled (if that's possible), and the top of it attached to the bottom of one on the right.


Two motors are driven forward, why are they rotating in different directions?

The "forward" and "backward" expressions are only interpreted in the reference frames of the motors themselves and translate to clockwise and counter-clockwise. In your case you must have mounted the motors in a way which requires them to rotate in different directions in order to propel the vehicle.

Consider a car with four wheels: in order to go forward, the wheels on the left hand side need to rotate counter-clockwise but those on the right side must turn clockwise.

While most chassis types share this property, it is indeed possible to build a chassis that requires both motors to be driven in the same direction for the vehicle to advance. In that case the program must be adjusted to accommodate for that.


Can I get LEGO compatible wheels 3cm in diameter or bigger?

Wheel 30.4 x 14 VR with the tire is ~3 cm (the 30.4 and 14 is mm). It also looks good for sports cars.


Can you identify this minifigure with green skin and red hat?

The minifigure that you have is Kithaba from Star Wars:

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?M=sw397#T=P

it appears in this set:

9496-1: Desert Skiff


Why are minifigure head studs now hollow?

Part (or mould) changes have numerous reasons, the main ones being:

decrease mould complexity and thus production cost (for example  to )
decrease plastic quantity used and thus production cost (for example, look at the bottom of several 1 x n bricks — the new ones have hollow tubes)
increase part sturdiness (for example  to  — honestly, how many of these did you break as kid?)
add functionality (I have no example in mind, but considering the cost of new moulds, they probably do that only when it has to be replaced, or they treat it as a new part altogether).

Making sure a part fits better into the system is a huge factor in new part creation nowadays, and designers will get a new part produced easier if the part plays nice with the other parts, mainly in terms of connection possibilities, but also of existing similar parts. In the past, things were way less rational.

I'm not so sure it influences part redesign, but it could. At the time the hollow stud appeared on the minifig heads, however, functionality was certainly not the main interest, so I would bet on mould complexity. Of course, since it added functionality anyway, you can count on designer to use it. So it's a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem: did the designer ask for the new functionality first, or did the mould change first? In this case, I would say the latter.

EDIT: Even if I answered the "full stud" against "hollow stud" part, I was intrigued by the "anti-choking" argument of having not only a hollow stud, but even one which was fully hollow, that is, you could see through it. So I asked Jan Beyer, LEGO community manager, about it and it turns out the "non-choking" reason was indeed correct. Here is his answer:

  Fast answer:

  This is correct, previous the hole was made in the element due to product safety if the element was swallowed.
  These regulations changes from time to time, and it has been evaluated and decided that the hole is no longer needed due to safety regulations.


Set with small white, yellow, and purple boat and lime swimmer fins?

This is part of 41000-1: Water Scooter Fun


Are there any great LEGO designers that are well-known?

As there are more and more LEGO fans who become designers, some of them are already well known from the community and are very dedicated to fans, going to events and the like. They are actually just regular people and always have an amused look if you treat them like they have ascended to godhood status or something.

A few of them in no particular order:

Pierre Normandin

Pierre works on CITY and is known among others for 10129 Maersk Train and 3677 Red Cargo Train.
Mark Stafford

Mark works on most fantasy themes and keeps a list of his sets, also on brickset
Melody Caddick

We owe Mel some exlusive sets, including 3300003 LEGO Brand Retail Store, 3300001 Brickley and some (if not all, I'm not sure) Master Builder Academy sets. Mel also finalised the design of the first ever LEGO cuusoo set: 21101 Hayabusa
Megan Rothrock

Megan worked for the ill-fated LEGO Universe MMORPG, but doesn't work for LEGO any longer. She focuses on LEGO fan events and is now publishing her own book.
Jamie Berard, as cited in another answer
Markus Kossman

Markus is responsible for some huge Technic sets, including [8421 Mobile Crane] and the first Power Functions sets, 8275 Motorized Bulldozer

As you can see, LEGO now has online profiles for Technic and Creator designers (maybe others, but I didn't see any), and of course the LEGO Designer Videos Youtube channel.

Also, LEGO has also issued sets designed by fans, which is the closest you can be of being a designer without being actually one. Note that some of the names on that list did eventually become full-fledged designers themselves.

To end, a little piece of trivia: the license plates on some vehicles usually bear the initials of the designer of the set. Have fun hunting them...


Is there a reliable way to determine what minifigure is in a LEGO Minifigures series package?

It can be done, but you need to be able to handle the packages.  Different minifigure series may require different approaches, from barcodes to patterns of dots or dimples to feeling for certain characteristic parts in the bags.  Those approaches have been documented in a number of places:

Series 6 (feel + dots)
Series 5 (feel)
Series 4 (bumps)
Series 3 (dots)
Series 2 (barcode)
Series 1 (barcode)

Also, since every box has a set quantity of each minifig, if you buy a full unopened box of 60, you will get a full set of the minifigs.  (More than one set in fact, but you'd have to look at the per-box quantities to see if it's 2 or 3.)


Which subtheme did the "Space Monorail" sets come under?

BrickSet lists 6990 under the Futuron space sub-theme and 6991 in the Unitron space sub-themes.

There was also a Monorail sub-theme of City.


Since you do not give a desired size of the palm, I'd like to propose the following solution, consisting of 1x 6222 - Brick, Round 4 x 4 with 4 Side Pin Holes and Center Axle Hole and 4x 6628 - Technic, Pin with Friction Ridges Lengthwise and Towball, arranged like so:

You might need to work on the size of the fingers to make this work with "grip" - but it meets your challenge criteria.

There is also part x872 - Technic, Steering Arm with 4 Ball Joints which would be more compact, however, this part is extremely hard to find (there are no sellers on BrickLink currently).


It sounds like you need a stronger differential.

Might I suggest this design by Nazgarot:

If you make two, you can build a big and sturdy subtractor like this (probably customizing the gear ratios to your requirements, the right gearing could also remove the need for a PF switch):

Here's a video of it in action:


It's a tie plate from the original 4.5V train system, specifically from a "switch point right":

http://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=x879cx1#T=C


why isn't lego updating the 9V train sets to the current system?

It is all a matter of cost versus demand. For tens of years LEGO had a separate train theme, with transformers, special metal rails, lights, switches and individual train cars and full sets. But the cost of maintaining and developing these components did not weigh up against the limited demand there was for these sets. Not many kids (90% of LEGO’s demographic) will want to splurge on all these sets (a single complete set plus some extra track is often enough for them), and the adult audience is loud, but not large enough to make such a complete line profitable.

That is why LEGO scaled back and just releases a few full train sets every few years, plus rails and switches made with a very simple design (involving only cheap plastic). AFOLs can and will design their own train cars/waggons anyway, so that is an avenue you can explore with your son.


Can you help me identify this poly bag #4 with many grey pieces?

I'll be happy to help out, my Friend. It comes from Set #75103 First Order Transporter.
See ya around Space Cowboy!


LEGO Digital Designer does not to connect to the Internet on Win10 laptop

Quoting from Lego's LDD page:

Sorry. We don’t support LDD version 4.3.10 anymore.
If you still use version 4.3.10 you will experience errors when launching the application.
You can still use “offline” mode if you wish.
We urge you to update, use the download link, and install free application for Windows PC & Mac OSX.

There is nothing wrong with your computer, or your internet connection (and it is not just you). LDD will still function normally, albeit in "offline mode."
LDD is now past its end of life, and Lego apparently does not care any longer about collecting usage data on LDD.
The "Internet access failed" message is because LDD can no longer reach a Lego server (62.199.219.133). LDD "phoned home" every time it was started. Now because it can not reach its home server LDD generates this "Internet access failed" message and will only run in offline mode. Apart from spoofing the replies LDD is looking for there is no way to run LDD in online mode any longer.
However, seeing as how Lego shut down the DesignByMe service you are not missing much (if anything) by running LDD in offline mode.


How can an EV3 motor "remember" it's starting position?

The simplest way to "remember" a starting position is to make the starting position 0. You can do this using Rest in the Motor Rotation block (1). After your motors have moved (simulated by (2)), you can use a loop (3) to run the motors back to zero.

The basic idea though is that if the motor position is negative, then we need to run the motor in the positive direction and vice versa. This way we run back towards a position of 0. Once we reach a motor position of 0, we exit from the loop and stop the motor (5).

This is meant to be an example to point you in the right direction and can be improved. For example, you could use a proportional controller at (4) to slow the motor as it nears the 0 position. The sample code as it is below will oscillate several times before it gets exactly to 0, which is not very nice.

Additionally, you will need to add code that waits for a button press before starting the loop and you will need additional loops for each motor.


It is possible, but I'm not sure this is the data logging brick you expected.

The File Access Block provides the option to wire the filename.  Click on the upper right corner of the block and a dropdown will appear, select "Wired".

For example:


Trouble with Commander app: Using buttons to control motors

You cannot have more than one control per motor. If you have two controls, the signals are essentially sent to the EV3 at the same time, so only the second one will seem to work because it immediately changes whatever what sent by the first.

In your example, with 2 buttons, the buttons either command the motor to move or stop. If neither button is pressed, both are telling the motor to stop, so no problem. But if you press the first button, it tells the motor to turn, but the second button is telling the motor to stop. Since the EV3 got the message from the second button last, the motor stops and it appears that the first button does not work.

So, if you want to use the Commander app for this, you will need to use a different control that can turn the motor in either direction with just one control such as a slider or tilt.


How do I organize all my LEGO bricks and parts?

As you mentioned sorting and storing LEGO does become an issue as you start to amass a massive collection. There are however great solutions worked out already by LEGO fans. The earlier you set up a storage system that works for you, the better, and the easier it is going to be to manage your projects, and also stay enthusiastic in the hobby. Here are a couple of articles I wrote in regards to the topic, laying out what LEGO fans use and ways to get you started:

How to sort LEGO: http://thebrickblogger.com/2010/12/how-to-sort-lego/

How to store LEGO: http://thebrickblogger.com/2010/12/how-to-store-lego/

In addition, I have been maintaining a couple of Flickr Galleries where people show off their LEGO storing and sorting solutions. Seeing how other people sort and organize their LEGO can be very helpful, especially as your collection grows.

LEGO Display & Storage Ideas Gallery 2: http://www.flickr.com/photos/akunthita/galleries/72157629813455752/

LEGO Display & Storage Ideas Gallery 1:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/akunthita/galleries/72157625185890950/

You don't have to spend that much to set up a good system. What it requires though is to think through what you want and also what kind of space you have. The above information should get you started with ideas and solutions, and you should be able to get yourself organized easily.


Having trouble pushing 6.6L bar into pin connectors

The 2L pin normally fits a bar easily. But, there are older versions that have thicker sides (you can tell by the lip on the ends); you might check to see that yours are all the newer kind.

3L friction pins are all thicker, and do not allow a bar to pass through.


What is this piece that looks like a coat rack or armor stand?

That would be part 4289 Boat Mast 2 x 2 x 3 Inclined with Stud on Top and Two Sides

As the name implies, it is typically use for a boat mast on modern boat models.

It only ever came in black in one set, 4669 Turbo-Charged Police Boat.


What glue should I use for permanent LEGO construction?

The LEGO Group have recently started using solvents to "weld" elements together (notably the Minifigure legs to the magnet blocks), which are fairly heavily controlled in pure forms in most countries under drug legislation.

  I have discovered that LEGO is not using glue at all, but a solvent, that actually loosens the surface of the ABS plastic and allows the molecules to combine. Once the solvent evaporates, it leaves behind a cleanly fused surface with no residue at all.

  Reading further on the subject, I found that LEGO has been using two types of solvents. One is called MEK (methyl-ethyl-ketone) and at some point they switched to GBL (gamma-butyrolactone). I’m no chemist, so I had no idea what these are, but I read that both of them are water soluble at certain temperatures. So, I thought to try loosening the seal between the minifig and the magnet by hot water.

However, as the opaque LEGO bricks are made from a styrene based plastic (ABS), most "Plastic Cement" or "Polystyrene Cement" glues should work to fix your parts together permanently (as these typically contain the same solvents as TLG use, i.e. MEK/Butanone). As with most other plastic gluing projects, care should be taken around transparent elements, as well as ensuring you don't use too much and have it leak over the exterior of your model.


Can anyone explain the transformation information within a Lego Digital Designer LXF file?

There's a fairly in-depth discussion on the Eurobricks Digital Designer Forum in the post Understanding LDDs LFXML Schema, where the transformation element is defined as:

  Transformation contains 12 comma separated double precision floating point values that represent the first three columns of a 3d transformation matrix and are thus able to handle any linear transformation. It's something that you'll need to learn for yourself but the first 9 entries handle rotation, the last 3 are translation. It's worth noting that the origin of most bricks is at the bottom with the y-axis heading up through the center of a stud, this makes rotations around the axis of the stud slightly easier. Brick width is 0.8, brick height is 0.96 and plate height 0.32. This probably ties in with real world dimensions in some form, but I don't have the details to hand. The double precision floating point format can't necessary cope with precise decimal values as we might expect to see them, therefore you'll see slight deviations from the values given above, eg. -0.79999935626983643 instead of -0.8. Those 0.707 values are 45 degree rotations, they correspond to the sin or cosine of 45 degrees (or PI/4 in radians) and are part of the transformation. Transformations are in world coordinates.

As Philo points out in the comments, the values that The_Cook queries as "probably ties in with real world dimensions" are indeed the sizes of bricks in centimetres, which means you should be able to transform between systems nicely.

In response to your final goal (building a plugin for 3ds Max) what you're really going to need is a complete set of high-quality meshes - the LDD format works with part models rather than vertices/faces/edges/etc. that 3ds uses. Therefore what you'll probably want to take a look at is a tool to convert from LDD to something like LDraw (you could just use the "Export" function in the LDD file menu), and then use the LDraw model library as your basis for importing into 3ds, or use the features in LDView to export to .3ds (the older, text based file type 3d Studio used before it became "Max").


Have minifig hands ever appeared "on their own" in an official set?

Proving a negative is hard, so disclaimer first:

This answer is neither exhaustive, nor definitive.

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

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

This number is the sum of all the following:

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

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

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

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


Can you identify this Ninjago set from an assembly from it?

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

And is part of the tail section of the helicopter


Can Mindstorms EV3 communicate using protocol 802.15.4?

This can be done using ev3dev.

https://github.com/ev3dev/ev3dev/issues/46


In what colours can I build my whole model?

I could not find a tool with this ability, so I made one using the Rebrickable API. You can find it here:

https://gist.github.com/ali1234/836ba792390c1a5feca9a3dcb35c14af

It parses an LDraw file and selects all the bricks of a specified colour (by LDraw colour number, eg yellow = 14), then for each unique piece it requests all available colours. Finally it calculates the intersection of all colours and prints a list.

Optional rarity parameter can be used to avoid very rare parts.

Example output:

./colourswap pirover.ldr 14
Parts:
3665, 2730, 3660, 3455, 3005, 3002, 3702, 3703, 3700, 3701, 3895
Common Colours:
Blue, Yellow, Black, White, Light Gray, Red, Light Bluish Gray

./colourswap pirover.ldr 14 20
Parts:
3665, 2730, 3660, 3455, 3005, 3002, 3702, 3703, 3700, 3701, 3895
Common Colours:
Black, Red


How would one parametrically create a LEGO-compatible gear?

I have 3D printed gears that mesh well with Lego Technic gears. I had the same issue as you that although the module(m) = 1, the root and tip diameters are not specified anywhere.
I used digital calipers to measure the tip diameter as accurately as I could and got the following results:

Gear teeth (z)
Measured Tip Diameter

8
9.80mm

12
13.30mm

16
17.37mm

20
21.36mm

24
25.75mm

28
29.50mm

36
37.31mm

40
41.63mm

56
57.80mm

60
61.35mm

Doing a linear regression on this table yielded: TipDiameter = mz + 1.494
I used these parameters in Sketchup with the "Rack & Pinion" plugin to draw the involute gear profile. If you are a developer you can view the code of this plugin to see exactly how it calculates point coordinates and then uses these to create a curve entity for each part of each tooth. I can't imagine you want to do that by hand though!
Of course if you're printing standard technic sizes, you can always just convert the ldraw DAT file for the part you're interested in into STL and print that? It works surprisingly well (3D print on the left)


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


Using the NBR 1036 Barometer with the EV3

I'm not sure where you got your theory, but no NXT blocks will not work in EV3 software.

You may be able to use this with the LEGO EV3 software using the generic I2C block developed by Dexter Industries.

Otherwise, you should look into using a 3rd party programming environment/OS for the EV3 (EV3Basic, ev3dev, leJOS, MonoBrick, etc.)


How can I control nxt 2.0 robot with a Wiimote in labview?

The Wiimote uses 2 forms of communication: Bluetooth 4, and IR for the pointing controls. You'd probably be using bluetooth.

The main problem with the NXT bluetooth is that the NXT is a slave device, not a master device, while the wiimote itself is a slave device as well. For advanced reading on the interfacing methods, the wiibrew community has set up a great page over here: http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Wiimote

The next concern is that you may have to modify your wiimote a tiny bit for bluetooth data transmission. right now, most of the homebrewers are hard-shorting wires to trigger events.

As far as files for the NXT, I'm afraid that you will likely find little to no files, as the problems stated above are somewhat above what most NXT users are trying to do.

Best of luck on your project!


Since no one has answered this, I'll reproduce my comment as an answer:

  If you are just going for something aesthetically close, and not load bearing, why do you need the hinge piece on the top? Just push the long hinge plate up in to the "awning" and then your problems are solved.


Do old LEGO bricks contain lead, cadmium, or other hazardous elements?

No, you should not be concerned about lead.  LEGO has always used lead-free colors in their elements, even back in the beginning.

However, not all LEGO-compatible bricks are lead free.  For example, Mega Bloks, which are made in China, suffered from the poor quality control that led to massive recalls over lead-tainted products a few years ago.

  David Clerk, the magazine's publisher and the executive director of
  Les Editions Protégez-Vous, said that after consulting with Health
  Canada, the magazine hired an independent lab in Quebec to perform
  what he called a "total lead test" on 32 toys, including the Maxi
  blocks.

  Essentially, the process involves scraping off a sample of the toy's
  plastic, dissolving it in acid and then analyzing the solution.

  When the results were returned by a lab, which Clerk said he could not
  identify because of a confidentiality agreement, a yellow Maxi block
  was the only toy that exceeded the 600-parts-per-million limit for
  lead set by Canada and the United States. Blue and red Maxi blocks
  showed no lead at all.

  For confirmation, the magazine tested a second yellow block. It
  contained 1,180 parts per million of lead, nearly double the initial
  result.


How to estimate the pieces of a construction from just one photo?

In this case, knowing that the model is 43 cm long and 24 cm wide isn't particularly information. It's very difficult to give a rough average of parts when all the parts vary in size and the model isn't in a single primitive form (cube, sphere, pyramid).

With the exception of the eyes and mouth, this particular model appears to be built almost perfectly symmetrically. If you can imagine a flat plane bisecting the model in two vertically you can count the bricks on the visible side (minus the details) and duplicate that number to get a rough guess.

The model could be mostly hollow, but there are bound to be certain pieces that you don't see on either side of the model that add to the physical structure. In particular the bricks that attach the eyes and mouth and the SNOT details on the arms.

In some places it can be a bit hard to visually count the bricks (particularly around the mouth). You can use basic image editing software to sharpen the image and get a clearer idea of how many parts are used.

There are also some unusual aspects in this model where three pieces have been used where a single 2x4 brick would do as shown at the top of the front side of plant pot.


Will LEGO Caboose (10014) work with LEGO Cargo Train (7939)?

Track

As  a general rule, the rolling stock from all LEGO trains will work with all types of LEGO track. So, the Caboose you've mentioned will work perfectly with the track supplied with the Cargo Train.

There are a couple of exceptions to this rule:

Duplo track isn't the same gauge as LEGO track, so you shouldn't expect it to work (although you can usually get away with it anyway).
There are now two gauges of LEGO track, the traditional "L-Gauge" track and a newer narrow gauge. They are, obviously, incompatible.
Trains that were not designed to run on rails obviously won't run on rails. Sadly, this includes the unmodified Ghost Train (9467).

Electrical components are a different matter. Trains that need a powered rails obviously won't work unless they're running on compatible track. So, the old mains-powered 4.5V, 12V and 9V engines won't work on modern track unless you replace the motor (which can be non-trivial).

Most battery powered trains will be fine on all types of track, although the very early trains had small teeth on their wheels to give them traction against corresponding notches in early track. Although they'll certainly fit the modern track, you might find that they don't run very well unless you swap the wheels.

Couplings

The couplings on LEGO trains have always been at the same height, so there are no problems there. The bottom line, then, is that the couplings on the Caboose will work well with the Cargo Train.

The magnetic couplings are generally compatible with each other, so you won't have any problem there, either. The first magnetic couplings were polarised - north and south (red and blue) - so you had to make sure the wagons were the right way around on the track. 9V era trains had magnets that flip round, so they would work whichever way around they were, and were completely compatible with older polarized couplings. The very latest couplings don't swivel in the same way, but are reportedly backward-compatible with all older couplings.

(Of course, the early non-magnetic couplings are incompatible with the magnetic ones, but can usually be replaced with a magnetic coupling without too much difficulty.)

The one problem that some people have encountered with magnetic couplings is that they don't always hold together if the wagons are too heavy. This can happen if your train is too long, for example.

TL;DR

The Caboose will work well with the Cargo Train.


What's partial set 45100 - Education Story Starter worth?

Does anyone have an idea about what it might be worth? And what if it were complete?

According to Bricklink, a new, unopened version of this set goes for somewhere between 160€ and 200€, although there are lots listed for double the price as well.

Of the missing parts, the 1 x 16x16 grey plate is trivial to replace, and the others can be bought for 4-6€ each (except the cardboard, it costs less than 1€) as well. This means, there is probably no great difference in the prices of a complete set and your incomplete one, maybe about 15-20€ for all the missing parts (depending on shipping and handling costs).

  Should I acquire the missing parts on Bricklink to get a complete set?

That entirely depends on what do you wish to do with it. If you'd just resell it, there would be advantages to completing it, but as there are not much demand for this set and all other offers are for new, unopened ones, I doubt yours (complete or incomplete, but opened nonetheless) would be competitive without price reduction.

If you plan to use it as intended, the missing elements might prove invaluable, so in this case it would be recommended to get at least the baseplate and the cardboard.

However, if it would just serve as a playset or a parts pack, then it does not make much sense to get any of the missing parts. The blue box might be a great all-purpose storage bin, but if you need one, you already can buy any brand on- or offline. The same goes for the sorting tray.


Which sets currently contain pneumatic LEGO equipment?

In the UK shop, there are currently two sets:

The Unimog U 400 [set:8110] which uses the motorised "compressor" to supply the power (as opposed to the manual sprung pump).

And the Tractor with Log Loader [set:8049] which uses the manual pump:

The other sets that look like they have piston arms (such as [set:8043]) are actually using "linear actuators", which work with an internal screw thread to lift up the piston, powered by Bevel Gears or Universal Joints:

[part:61927c01]

These provide a much finer level of control over the Pneumatic sets, which is probably why they are being used in more and more sets.

The issue with locating the pneumatic sets is that there have been a few subtle changes to the elements over the years, as well as different lengths in various sets, so tracking them reliably isn't easy:

BrickLink search for Pneumatic Pumps


Looking for sets with lots of printed parts or other special parts to use as components for my city

All of the decorations in the LEGO Juniors (now called LEGO 4+) sets are printed, and they tend to have a lot of nice decorations. Decorated parts in the LEGO Ideas sets are also almost always printed, but double check this because at least some of the sets also have stickers.

There is not one set which is going to be full of printed parts, and sets with printed parts tend to be more expensive when it comes to price per piece. If you are looking for a large quantity of specific printed elements, you are better off to just order exactly what you want from BrickLink, the online LEGO marketplace.


Virtual LEGO / Technics / Mindstorms simulation environments

Recently I met with TeamSim. Its possibilities are impressing:

you can make own robot via LDD and export it to the program
you cam make own mat (FLL, WRO, sumo mats are already available)
you can program a robot via NXT-G

I have no chance to investigate this program in detail, but I think it's what you want.


Is there a tool that can consistently remove hundreds of 2x2 Tiles?

Try using the orange brick separator upside down. This is a trick I learned from someone who professionally works with LEGO. The lower angle makes it easier to go under the lip of the tiles and it is much less damaging on the brick separator, as you are more pushing and sliding rather than digging and prying.

To be clear, instead of holding the brick separator with the LEGO logo and the Technic pin on top, turn the brick separator upside down. You will notice that this transforms the angle of the tip into a little ramp that you can slide under the lip of the tiles.

For flat tiled surfaces, like the one on your picture, the upside down brick separator works very well, with very little (if any) damage to the brick separator. However, notice that this method also requires more space, as the brick separator needs to lie more flatly against the surface. For tighter spaces, like when you have a wall around the tiled surface, you would still use the brick separator right side up, as the different angle of the tip requires less space for removing tiles. Once you freed up enough space to lie the brick separator more flat, you may turn it upside down to work on the rest of the tiles.

The brick separator really is a well thought out tool that works for almost all scenarios when you need to separate LEGO elements. If you find it not performing so well one way, try from another angle, or upside down, or two brick separators together, and you will likely find it working much more efficiently.

EXTRA TIP: For very tight spaces, the LEGO minifigure accessory crow bar works very well for removing tiles. The tips on the two ends are different, and can be used at different angles. The only issue is that the tool is quite small, and for people with large hands it can be a bit difficult to maneuver.


What internal electronics does LEGO Boost use?

Here's what the main board in the Move Hub looks like from the top:

And bottom:

The Move Hub includes the following hardware:

Motors

The two built in motors are fairly standard DC motors. They include optics in the early stage of the gearing for rotation counting.

There are two LB1836 motor drivers on the board. They are dual channel parts, so presumably one is for driving the internal motors (A and B), and the other is used for driving the external ports (C and D).

Communications

Boost uses a BlueNRG Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) processor from STMicroelectronics for communication with the control device. More information is available here:

http://www.st.com/en/wireless-connectivity/bluenrg.html

This processor is fairly powerful in it's own right. Internally, it includes a 32 MHz ARM Cortex M0 with 12KB RAM and 64KB flash. This chip is significantly more powerful than the main processor in the RCX line.

CPU and Memory

The main CPU in Boost is an STM32F070 RBT6 from STMicroelectronics. This includes and ARM Cortex M0 internally. It has the following specs:

48 MHz clock
16 KB RAM
128 KB Flash

This part is in the same neighborhood as the CPU used for NXT in terms of clock speed and available storage.

Other features

There is a single push button present on the board to turn the device on and a single RGB LED that can be programmed via the Boost app. The battery box hold 6 AAA batteries providing 9V.


Check out this previous question. There is a solution called "retr0brite" in which you make a chemical compound that you apply to the yellowed bricks, leave them exposed to light for a while, and the bricks will come out clean white. However, I have recently read (but cannot find the link right now) that this retr0brite method might not work forever, and that with reapplication the duration of the whitening reduces every time.