Is there any application to keep an inventory of owned sets and pieces?

I know of no desktop applications that have functionality like Rebrickable, but an API has recently been released which would enable any applications to integrate with the site and display this kind of information. I know of one such application currently being developed but not ready for release yet.

disclaimer: I created Rebrickable.


What is this LEGO Star Wars Disney box with "5 items"?

This was a promotion for holders of the Black VIP Card,
between the 17th and 19th of December LEGO allowed US and Canadian shoppers at their online and bricks and mortar stores the opportunity to add a free branded box containing five polybagged minifigs to their shopping cart if they spent $75 on LEGO Star Wars set

it contains

Hoth Han Solo (5001621)

Stormtrooper Sergeant (5002938)

Admiral Yularen (5002947)

Scarif Stormtrooper (40176)

DJ (40298)

Bricklink

https://www.thebrickfan.com/lego-star-wars-box-5005704-promotion-live-on-shophome/

http://www.rebelscum.com/story/front/LEGO_5005704_Free_Star_Wars_Box_182741


What is the function of this device? What kit? Black remote with 5 buttons and 3 AAA batteries?

It's a Spybotics remote from 2002.

It came in 4 sets, and works with the receiver in those sets. I found this page which talks a bit about them.


What was the slot for in the 1950's slotted bricks?

Oh, I should have read further down the page. There were special panes of "glass" in frames that fit the slots.


Can you please help identify this light-green and gold set?

Set #70612 Green Ninja Mech Dragon.

The color, sand green, doesn't come up often in sets.  Cross search a very unique piece in this off color, to get a short list of potential hits, then zone in.


LEGO Bases work with Mega Bloks, as the bricks are the same dimensions. However, certain Mega Bloks pieces, like specialized items and weapons, may not fit optimally with LEGO minifigures.

Certain bricks (including the maxi and DUPLO-sized bricks) are on a larger scale. They produce bricks that will work with DUPLO plates and such. This is probably the most produced size.


Some LEGO elements not attaching as usual

Please contact LEGO customer service. They will send you new pieces, and even more importantly, they will make note about the quality issues. The following quote is from the LEGO Ambassador forum in regards to quality issues by Keith Severson, who is the senior manager for community support at LEGO. It is about recent quality problems with another LEGO element (32x32 baseplates), but the same steps apply in your case:

  "The only way quality and engineering review potential issues is through data that is gathered through customer service. Every time a customer (such as yourself) call in it is logged with the specific element. Once that element receives a certain about of issues they will review it. So the best thing you can do is have your LUG members to report this through the system."

In the USA you can call LEGO Customer Service at 1-800-835-4386 8am - 10pm (EST) Monday - Friday and 10am to 6pm (EST) on Saturday and Sunday. If you are in another country, you can check the official LEGO website for phone number and hours of operation.


Is connecting LEGO studs on Technic pins legal?

The presentation that senior Lego designer Jamie Berard held at Brickcon 2006 and that spawned the entire legal vs illegal discussion can be found here:

https://www.hellobricks.com/pdf/jamieberard-brickstress-bf06.pdf

The particular case you ask for is discussed in slides 9 and 10:


Can anyone identify this spinner with 1-5 and a skull?

It's the center of set 2519 Skeleton Bowling:


Identify these non-LEGO vintage building logs

These look like

I found a few ebay listings for this item, they seem to be from the 60's, but no luck on finding further information.


Lubricating train axles - which oil to use?

Generally for this sort of thing the recommendation is a "light machine oil" (the wording from the Hornby Maintenance sheets). These are "non-penetrating" and so won't damage the plastics which might happen with 3-in-1 or WD-40 style oils.
This can often be found as "Sewing Machine Oil".
Fleischmann (a model railway brand) sell their own "Special Lubricating Oil" (FM6599) for use on their and other trains, that is usually widely available, but is probably somewhat more expensive than a general purpose machine oil.


What went in the orange cylinders from Mars Mission?

I'd assume from the partslist this guy is in the tube:

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?M=mm001


Welcome! COGO is a clone brand, and hence not generally used around here. COGO bricks will work with LEGO, however, the quality, finish and fit of COGO bricks is significantly less than LEGO's, so I would advise to return the COGO set and buy a (smaller but) better quality LEGO set instead.


Which BIONICLE set did this mask came from?

I found the answer while I was writing this question, but I'm posting question and answer just for dibs on the bionicle tag ;)

The Peeron page for that mask I just linked to lists the part number as 32571. I do a search for the part number, and come across the Brickipedia page for that part. Scrolling down, I find the source:

Transparent:

8525 Masks (random)
8530 Masks (random)

Apparently, I found this mask along with the numerous bronze and silver Great Kanohi masks in one of those mask packs.
Fun fact: this colorless Kaukau was designed to be wearable by Toa Kopaka, and possibly also the Ko-Matoran. The Toa is known to have had this mask equipped in BIONICLE Chronicles 1: Tale of the Toa, but it's not entirely clear if this is part of the canon. There aren't any named Ko-Matoran with this mask as far as I know.


Why do some minifigs have yellow heads and some are flesh colored?

To answer the first part of the question, the Company Profile presentation (deep, direct link) states:

  When the minifigure first appeared, it was decided that its face should have only one colour: yellow. And that its facial features should be happy and neutral . The figure would have no sex, race or role – these would be determined by the child’s imagination and play.

It then explains when and why they added colour for their licensed figures

  With licensed products such as LEGO® Star Wars™ and LEGO® Harry Potter™ the figure began appearing in specific roles, and with LEGO Basketball in 2003 it took on authentic skin colours. In 2004 the LEGO minifigure assumed an even wider range of skin colours when it was decided that the figures in licensed products should resemble the original characters as closely as possible. One result was that the figures in LEGO Harry Potter™ changed from yellow to a more authentic skin colour.

The first ones I remember seeing were indeed some of the NBA League characters as part of the Basketball theme in 2003, followed by the Star Wars products and then the Harry Potter sets in 2004.

Lando Calrissian was one of the first to appear in the correct skin tone, amongst yellow Han and Leia:

Followed later by pink characters for the rest. The first Star Wars set in 2004 with flesh-toned figures was the Millennium Falcon. By 2005 the transition for Star Wars was complete and all sets used flesh-toned figures.

In terms of other colours, LEGO had already created various monster and alien figures with different coloured heads ranging from blues and greys through to transparent and even transparent neon orange.


Is there a way to build a stronger LEGO ball than what was done by the Mythbusters?

There is a problem with the Mythbusters building technique.

One of the first things you learn about building with Lego is that, if you want a stable structure, your bricks need to interlock as much as possible.

The Unofficial Lego Builder's Guide illustrates this rather well:

Unfortunately, to make the build easier the Mythbustes team assembled a series of large blocks and then assembled these meta-blocks into a ball. The problem with this approach is that it creates lines of weakness between the meta-blocks.

In the shots of the ball falling apart you can clealy see these sub-assemblies inside the ball, which suggests that it did indeed break up along the lines of weakness between them.

For maximum strength, the Mythbusters team should have built the ball in layers of single bricks, ensuring that in each layers bricks bound the layer below together as much as possible.

All that said, I don't think that the faulty building technique really invaidates the Mythbusters conclusions. There is simply no way that a Lego ball of that size would remain intact. You would expect, for example, that the outermost bricks would fall away in exactly the way they did in the Mythbusters. And in fairness, building the ball with fully interlocking bricks would have taken considerably longer than doing so the way they did.

Of course, if they're willing to supply the bricks, I'm sure we could try to do it better for them!


Can you find the set for these Star Wars space ship parts? Dark grey with some dark grey detailing?

The set is 7673, The MagnaGuard Starfighter.

Instructions are here.

I was able to verify the dimensions of the cockpit piece using Lego Digital Designer.  Once I knew it was 4x8x3, I was able to use brickset.com to identify the set as this piece only appeared in one set.


What I remembered of those parts was that force was needed to snap them together, and I believe I also have some that are broken over the years.

The part was introduced in 1983, updated in 1985 and the last sets were released in 2002 with one set in 2004.

In 2003 the parts are replaced by Hinge Plate 1 x 2 Locking with Dual Finger on End Vertical' (44302) and Hinge Plate 1 x 2 Locking with Single Finger on End Vertical' (44301). These parts have a number of fix angles in which the hinge can be placed. This finger shape is also added to al kind of other parts, like the canopy

There is also a version for non fixed angles Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Clip Horizontal on End and Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Handle on End - Closed Ends and these can also be combined with other parts


Which resolution is necessary to print bricks with a 3D printer?

Depends on your tolerance. :)

  In the manufacture of LEGO bricks the machine tolerance is as small as
  10 my (0.01 mm).

Source: Company Profile. An introduction to the LEGO Group (2010)

For me, 3D printing resolution would need to be pretty close to that.


LEGO Power Functions M-Motor 8883 characteristics

The basic LEGO Power Functions motors (M, L, XL) use a fairly standard DC motor internally. The terms synchronous and asynchronous only apply to AC motors.

I'm not sure exactly where you are headed with this question, but if you are curious about whether or not PF motors can be controlled directly from a simple voltage source, the answer is yes. You don't need any complex control circuitry for the basic motors. Power is fed directly from the PF control lines (the middle two wires) to a DC motor.

The following image shows the internals of the PF XL motor. It is electrically identical to the M motor. You can see that it has no control circuitry, and connects the control lines directly to the terminals of a basic DC motor. The only additional components are a couple of capacitors to help eliminate signal noise.

More detailed information on the PF system can be found here:

http://www.philohome.com/pf/pf.htm


I think this is the yellow element: Hinge Bar 2 with 3 Fingers and Top Stud

And this the black "plate": Hinge Plate 1 x 2 with 2 Fingers and Solid Studs

Both elements are hinges, so they can connect.


Can anyone help me identify what set this bag with grey and dark red pieces belongs to?

As the comments said: it's hard to tell.

But based on

Plate 2x14 in light buish gray,

Slope, Curved 10x1 in light buish gray and

Slope, Curved 3x1 No Studs in  Dark Red

i believe it is bag 2 from

75012 BARC Speeder with Sidecar


What disinfectant can I use on used LEGO parts?

In the past I have used dish soap and a basin and just soaked them in hot soapy water for a while. I then learned that MegaBlocks float while LEGO sink.


What alternative LEGO-compatible toys are avaliable?

"Communist LEGO" is a comprehensive list of all the LEGO imitators and clone brands. It is an interesting read:
https://uploads.brickset.com/docs/clonebrands_v1.8.pdf

Keep in mind that, while clone brands may be cheaper at the beginning, they have minimal or no resale value, and thus can end up being more expensive than genuine LEGO. Because of LEGO's quality, reputation and popularity, you can always resell your collection once your kids outgrow them, and thus recoup the money you spent (as long as your kids kept them in reasonably good condition). Clones are hard to even give away, not to speak of selling.

Another thing to consider is safety. LEGO puts tremendous care and effort into making sure that their products are safe. This is not always the case with cheap imitators. Children often put toys in their mouths. You don't want to expose them to lead-based paints on printed items and leaching plastics.

Mega-Bloks and Kre-O should be safe as they are made by leading toy manufacturers with a long history. Their products are not the same quality as LEGO, so the resale value is not as good, but at least you know they won't poison your kids. It is best to stick with products with proven safety records rather than choosing toys just because they are cheap.

Also, you might consider the educational value of LEGO. It is not just a toy, but a system for building and learning. Math, science, coordination, engineering and creativity are all integral part of building with LEGO, and many schools and educational institutions use LEGO as part of their curriculum. So if you look at the whole package - quality, safety, and value - LEGO will still likely be your best option.

Based on your original post it appears that your children already have a good amount of LEGO, but they keep asking for more. I would suggest that you explore new activities with the LEGO they already have. LEGO provides many alternate building instructions, project suggestions, games, and lessons on their website, and there are also third-party websites, books and other materials to let your children explore the endless possibilities even a handful of LEGO bricks can provide.


How to make a Lego continuous conveyor belt

If you want the belts to operating in a single plane, you could try having an angled blockage across the corner which diverts the blocks onto the next belt, like this.

If you don't mind them going slightly up hill then all you need to do is make the one it is dropping off finish up high and have the next one be underneath it. In your diagram the dark green belt runs right into the wall, in my diagram below the dark greening finishes mid-air and the block and drop onto the cyan one.


You were on the right track. This is a skateboard, but it is not a LEGO part. It's a Mega Bloks part, probably from set 9167 (X Mountain). The skateboard in the top right has a sticker that seems to match your description.

The wheels clip on to allow them to pivot back and forth. I can only assume that this is to give these skateboards a more off-road feel.


Serial tower RCX 1.0 works with NQC but flakey with RIS 2.0

What a strange issue. I'm not sure the exact cause, but I have a few troubleshooting tips for you to try:

Make sure the serial tower is set to "Long Range" mode (the little switch on the front).
Make sure the RCX is set to "Long Range" mode (Go to the RIS settings page and change the RCX comm range).
Make sure the RCX program slots are unlocked (also in the RIS settings page).
Try replacing the batteries (again, particularly in the tower).
Try downloading the program with the lights off (believe it or not, I've had lightbulbs emitting enough infrared to interfere with communications).
Make sure that when the RIS software is running, no other mindstorms software is running. If NQC is running at the same time it might bind up the serial port.


What part(s) can I use to connect technic liftarms with modules?

Put two plates between each layer of Technic bricks and the holes will align.

This technique was used commonly in studded Technic sets. Here's a page from the instructions for 8042 where you can see this used in several different places:


How do I delete custom images I made in my computer?

You should be able to go to the project tab (1) - it's the one with the wrench icon - and delete any unneeded items. Just select the item (2) and click the Delete button (3).


Extract Bricklink or Brickowl parts list from LDD (on OS X)

Bricklink Wanted List Uploader

It is very simple to upload a parts list to Bricklink. You can directly upload your LDD file through the Bricklink wanted page uploader.

The wanted list uploader supports the these four file types:

LEGO Digital Designer (.lxf)
BrickStock/Brickstore (.bsx)
LDraw (.ldr)
Stud.io (.io)

If the Bricklink uploader doesn't work, you can also use LDD also lets you export a list of parts from within the application.

In LEGO Digital Designer, open your model. Go to File > Export BOM (Ctrl + B) to save a spreadsheet/zip copy of all the parts used in your model.

The file will include information include part name, ID, colour, quantity as well as a thumbnail photo of each piece.


Tackle boxes are very common for storing Lego, I use them myself. Unfortunately I've not found or seen a good way to count the pieces that are in them. The easy way is to take everything out of them, which I suspect is what you're trying to avoid.

One trick with that is to get a piece of cardboard (or plywood) twice the size of the tackle box, cut a hole in the centre, place it over the tackle box with the hole over a compartment, then invert it with your hand under the hole! With a little wiggling you'll end up with only the pieces from that compartment in your hand. Or, if you lose your grip, everything all over the floor. But when you have a lot of compartments or a lot of pieces, that method is much faster than picking pieces out of compartments by hand. Especially small tiles.

Using a counting scale is a very common way to count small items like this. Lego weigh parts, bags and sets repeatedly during manufacture as part of their quality control process - that's one big reason why so few sets have missing pieces.

The problem you have is that while it's easy to weigh the whole tackle box, that doesn't give you much information about what exactly is missing. I suspect that the uncertainty in the weight (from the variable weight of grime and water on the box) will be about the same as the weight of the smaller pieces.

Doing a search for "image analysis counting" I found this NIH paper that suggests that it's possible to do what you're looking for. I suspect the main problem will be getting images that show the entirity of each well in the tackle box, but you may find that just taking a photo from as far away as possible works. Then you have to set up and calibrate the software. I doubt it will work with irregular pieces or where you can't see every item, though. But it's worth trying just to reduce the overall effort.

Worth doing if you're going to be counting the contents a lot of times. Or you're interested in the problem.


The EV3 software is not backwards compatible with RCX 1.0.

You will need to install the software from the CD-ROM that would have come with your set. If you do decide to purchase one online, you can do so from a 3rd party marketplace such as Bricklink.

Be sure to install the correct version of the CD-ROM (RCX 1.0) and check to see if your operating system is compatible with the software.


How can I prevent my train from derailing?

One thing I would say from my model train experience is that shunting (pushing) is more likely to derail a train than pulling, especially at speed.

There are a few factors that influence this in models more than we see in "real life":

The force is usually transferred via the couplings rather than buffers. This means there is more chance that the force will be applied at the wrong angle, forcing the leading elements off the track
The elements are too light. In real "multiple unit" trains where the driving force is at the rear of the train, the front elements are still very heavy, which mitigates the effects of force distribution somewhat - if you can add more weight to the Locomotive build then you may have more success.

A simple confirmation of this would be to remove the Locomotive from the train and see if you get the same derailments?


I have several sets of unidentified Lego bags with no part number. How can I figure out what to build?

You must classify parts first and find out which parts you have. You can always use Rebrickable website which is a great system that gives you the sets you can build with your parts. Most difficult part of the answer is of course classifying the parts and upload them to your Rebrickable account but once you done you can find out what you have and google the instructions.


What is new about the IR receiver in the 4x4 Crawler 9398?

I have done an extensive review of both receivers, see it here.
This other page shows the performance of various motors connected to both receivers.
Note that because of a problem in Power Functions M-motor, the new receiver is not suitable for driving several of them on the same output. See this LEGO official notice.


Significance of the switch from Legoland to Lego System?

LEGOLAND

Presumably the decision to discontinue the 'Legoland' series may have been to avoid confusion with the LEGOLAND theme parks.

The original LEGOLAND in Denmark has been open since 1968 and since the opening of the second park LEGOLAND park in Windsor there have been eight new LEGOLAND parks and many LEGOLAND Discovery Centres.

The planning, design, site preparation and the design and construction of models for LEGOLAND Windsor began in 1992. The same year the LEGO product line disappeared, this however may be a coincidence but it would make sense to avoid confusion between the product line and theme park. The theme parks would also include a product line using the branding 'LEGOLAND' for merchandise such as clothing, books, souvenirs and even some sets based on the parks themselves.

Below you can see two 'LEGOLAND' sets. The set on the left was from the original LEGOLAND series and on the right is a promotional set released for the LEGOLAND parks.

LEGO System

The LEGO® Book1 refers to the LEGO System theme.

  1954 was a year in which Godtfred KirkChristiansen (GKC) did a lot of
  thinking about the future of the LEGO Group. Returning from a toy fair
  in Britain, he got talking to a colleague who pointed out that there
  was no system in the toy industry. That was all the inspiration GKC
  needed. He decided to create a structured system of products.
  Reviewing all the toys made by the company, he saw the LEGO brick was
  the best choice for this project.

1 Page 18. Lipkowitz, Daniel. The LEGO book. London: Dorling Kindersley, 2012.

The first LEGO System set was actually Town Plan No.


Identify this figure - soccer shirt with a "VS" (or cut off "US") logo with soccer ball (football) on front, and "7" on back

Soccer Player White Team Player 5

This minifigure appeared only once in the 2002 set Grand Championship Cup - U.S. Men's Team Cup Edition (3425).

There are two sticker sheets included in the set (1, 2), the second sticker sheet shows the stickers used on the minifigures. However the sticker used is for player number 7, but BrickLink calls this minifig player 5 (which isn't a huge difference but possibly worth mentioning for identification).

The instructions don't provide any particular guidance as to which minifigure is which number, probably because none of them represent real football players. You probably couldn't find the exact Minifig on Bricklink because they use an image without the stickers.


Why does Lego restrict the number of colors per shape?

The problem isn't with molding machines, but with storage.  Every distinct element (part/colour combination) has to be stored until it's no longer going to be used in production; presumably some are stored for spare parts and other ancillary uses.

The robotic warehouse has only a certain number of slots (a mere 0.5 million), so there's only so many different combinations that can be held at any one time. To make space for a new element, another needs to be retired - and retired plastic is wasted plastic.  And waste costs money, and businesses hate that.

There's another force at play here too: pretty much every set has at least one element that is unique to that set - it seems to be not so much as a business rule, as business very firm guideline. The economic implication is that if the value of the non-unique elements in a set is $10 and the set sells for $12, it doesn't mean the set is overpriced; instead, it implies the unique element has a inherent value of $2. Harmony is restored to the LEGO secondary market. This business logic can be used to explain why licensed sets are often much worse value per brick than non-licensed - each unique minifig adds over-the-odds value.  Perhaps this stretches credulity too far?

The best argument for having one unique element per set is: without a unique element, it's conceivable that someone could build this LEGO set with pieces they already own!

Few of the molds LEGO uses are running 24/7.  Swapping out molds takes about three hours, during which the molding machine (one of 64) is inactive and you have expensive European labour fussing over a machine.  Swapping colours, on the other hand, isn't such a big deal.  Stop the plastic flow, empty the mold and remove the capture box, flow the new colour for  a while until the old colour's properly flushed, then start capturing this new colour (toss all the parts molded in two colours at once into the recycling bin).

I'm hoping it's obvious why you've got to store different colours of the same part separately. I'm also hoping you can remember that LEGO makes quite a few copies of each set it sells, so that box of purple 1x4 curved slopes you see above isn't actually all that many from TLG's point of view.  They have to mold every part for a given set they're going to sell, then store them all prior to assembling them in a batch. The vast bulk of LEGO is sold around Christmas, and they don't warehouse a vast amount of the completed sets (you've seen how much air is in a box of LEGO), just enough to keep the channels flowing.  Basically, they've got to be able to store a good portion of the whole year's production, because they can - and do - assemble bricks into sets faster than they can be molded.

As an aside, this is why LUGBulk runs early in the year, when they know what they've got too much of lying around and are comfortable that there aren't going to be any production shocks.

Production planning is done well in advance. If a particular set turns out to be gangbuster-crazy popular and requires additional production (a recent example: Friends), LEGO can dip into its reserve of parts but the more unique a set (or even line) is, the less likely you are to have those parts in reserve.  This is, in fact, an argument against having unique parts - but there's only so many models you can put a bright reddish violet slide into.

As for getting the same slide in other colours... really? You want it in Pearl light gray? In reddish brown?  In tan?  Remember that LEGO is sold as sets (models), and coincidentally comprises parts in various colours; if a particular part/colour combination isn't necessary to make any of the more than a hundred models marketed in a year, you're not going to see it turn up in the secondary market.  Unique elements that turn up in expensive sets are going to be expensive, as those few Bricklink stores that do buy expensive sets for parting out aren't going to buy many of them.


What is this weird and specific technical part?

This is an Technic Steering Arm and was used is the steering mechanism of all kind of technic car like 1972-1: Go-Kart

With the introduction of studless building it was replaced by Beam 3 M. W/4 Snaps.


Identify LEGO set with black door, large sand arch, dark-sand bricks, and tan plates?

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


Capture video stream from LEGO Studio Camera (Logitech USB webcam) in ev3dev?

Since I'm no software engineer my solution would be to retrofit the insides with known compatible hardware. Cheating? Maybe... but it isn't like the original hardware inside was actually Lego to begin with.  The mention of potentially using "compatible software" would seem to be already stepping out of bounds with "only official Lego parts", since it didn't come packaged with it. So...


What is the best way to rebuild Lego sets?

Sorting by color is the first thing any LEGO collector will do, but soon you will find out that finding that one specific piece in a whole box of black pieces is quite difficult, and your sorting method will further differentiate between plates and bricks, SNOT pieces etc. Check out this post for more tips and details.

For your particular problem I would do the following: get as many large ziploc bags as you have sets (or if there are big sets, use multiple bags). When your son is in bed or at school, look at the back page(s) of the set instructions - there is a list of all elements and their counts.

Pick all the pieces for a given set based on this list. The lists are already sorted by color, so if you have your son's collection sorted by color this means you need to look only at one box at a time - a handy bonus! Put the pieces in a ziploc bag and mark the bag with the set name or set number (or print a picture of the set on adhesive paper and attach it - go to http://www.brickset.com for good pictures of new and old sets). Now, once it is time for your son to rebuild, he just takes the bag he needs and builds the set.

After he is done with playing with the set (and when it has slowly degraded into a million pieces, as is the case with the way my kids play with their LEGO) you can first do a quick clean-up by again sorting the pieces into the color-coded boxes, and then once redo the filling of the ziploc bag based on the instructions.


Is there a list of colours currently in production?

As I answered on another question, LEGO officially released its internal palette in 2010. It showed 51 colours in use, although their company profile spoke about 58.

This is the Palette LEGO used in 2010, meaning that only these colours were in production then. Unfortunately, LEGO doesn't release this info on a regular basis (I'm frankly quite surprised they did in the first place), and I don't know if it has been updated since. On the other hand, LEGO has learned not to change their palette too often, so it's likely there hasn't been much change since then.

Edit: I was optimistic in thinking there would be little change in two years time. As you ask, there are two Friends colours "Medium Azur" and "Medium Lavender" which new for 2012 and are thus not present on the list.

The list of colours on BrickLink has date information which you'll certainly find useful; for example "Olive Green" is of course new too (and is bound to become extremely popular), "Spring Yellowish Green" and "Light Glow" are also new; and "Aqua" ("Light Aqua" on BrickLink) , "Dark Azur" and "Lavender" all appear to have been introduced in 2011.

You could also try to see which colours have been phased out, but since the BrickLink list appears to be based on the year in which a set is first introduced, it's probably not too reliable. For example, the "Light Stone Grey" used in mindstorms (or "Very light Bluish Grey" on BrickLink) is stated as last seen in 2010, but since the NXT 2.0 kit is still sold, it's possible it's still produced. So trying to know whether a colour is out or not is at this stage a guess, although I would at least venture to guess that "Phosph.Green" is out - since there's a new "glow in the dark" effect.

As for availability to designers, I don't see why some colours would be limited to specific themes, even though of course specific themes are designed around specific main colours. So Friends sets may have more purple and pink, but that doesn't mean they can't use other colours, or that other sets can't use purple and pink.

Now that you mention it, it would make sense however to lower the entry cost for specific colours in specific themes to make sure designers aren't penalized. What I mean is, if a Friends designer needs a specific part in pink, there's less reason to deny it to him than there would be for, say, a Technic Designer. Usually producing an existing part in a new colour bears a cost for the set designer, but there could be different rules depending on the theme. It's pure speculation, though; and it's as likely that the theme doesn't do any difference at all.

In any case, once production has been decided for a specific part in a specific colour, it's certainly available for all other designers. The only exception would be part-specific (for example, a city designer is probably not allowed to use a Star Wars stormtrooper helmet), but I see no reason for having such restrictions on specific colours.


What is the name of the Technic pieces that snap together to make a track?

There are three types of chain/track that are similar to what you describe, none of which are currently available through the official Pick A Brick, though all are fairly common on BrickLink.

The smallest is the Technic, Link Chain
The medium sized is the Technic, Link Tread
The largest is the Technic, Link Tread Wide with Two Pin Holes

There are also several belt styled tracks that might fit your description, but it sounded more like you were referring to the modular parts.


(Note: my HDD crashed recently and until I get that fixed I can't really make LDraw images. I did create one for this beforehand, but it's on the same HDD.)

As jfyelle said the solution consists of using one LEGO element which has an odd ldu dimension somewhere. There is such an element, which isn't even new or particularly rare, that is, the Fence 1 x 4 x 2:

The centre part has a thickness of 6 ldu, which means that there are 7 ldu on each side. So if you add a 2x4 plate in it, the thickness of the plate (8 ldu) means that it will stick out by exactly one ldu. If your fence is one red brick, just put a 1x4 brick and a 1x4 brick with for knobs on the other to connect to the plate. Your two red bricks should then be 1 ldu apart.

I did learn that trick from Didier Enjary in his excellent Advanced Building
Techniques Guide which is well worth reading. That document contains a whole chapter on offsetting, but curiously the 1 ldu offset isn't listed explicitly; rather, the fence element and its 7 ldu offset is mentioned casually in the SNOT section.


Yes

As of April 2019, The EV3 Device Manager is active. However, if you have not downloaded the Device Manager to your computer, it will not function. Also, make sure that your EV3 is properly connected to your computer with a USB that can transfer information.


BrickStuff is very high quality, I have used them many times. They are US based, make all their light kits with thought and care, and stand behind their products. I especially like that their lights can be controlled for various light-effects and intensities. Flickering soft lights for candles and fireplaces, bright pulsating lights for emergency vehicles, etc. They are, however, expensive.

I'm not familiar with the other company, but it seems like they are just resellers of the light kits made by Chinese companies and resold by a number of websites (BrickLoot.com is another one that I'm aware of selling these kits, but there are others as well). I do have some samples of these products, and they are okay. Not as good as BrickStuff, but more affordable. By "not as good" I mean that the components are not as high quality, and the connections are often not as clean and nicely finished as with BrickStuff products. You also get a lot smaller variety of lights and effects. But they do work, and are usually cheaper than BrickStuff.

Whatever light kit you end up using, be prepared to be running lots of very tiny and delicate wires. This makes the interior spaces of the buildings/vehicles (where you will be hiding the wires) less attractive and less usable. BrickStuff does have some suggestions of minimizing the visibility of unsightly wires, but ultimately, they can't be avoided.

Having all those wires running also makes the models hard to play with. For example, if you install light kits in the LEGO Modular Buildings, lifting off the floors is going to be tedious. The wires are also delicate, so you want to be careful around them so they don't get damaged. Light kits with wires work best with display models that won't be moved around.

While personally I prefer BrickStuff when it comes to wired light kits, I haven't fully committed to them, as I like to keep my displays modular and accessible for play, display, and modification. Currently, I'm waiting for the release of i-Brix.com products. These are wireless lights for LEGO that work with the same technology as wireless chargers for electronics. The system includes a special transmitting surface that you can place under baseplates, road-plates, etc., and any i-Bricks lights you use over this surface will automatically light up. There are no wires between lights, or the lights and the power source.

I-Brix had a successful Indiegogo campaign a couple of years ago, and they are getting ready for release of the first batch of their products sometime soon. Check their website for updates. I think the combination of wired light kits for stationary displays with various interesting light effects, and wireless lights for moving and more dynamic displays is going to be an excellent combination.


How to build a car that stops at a certain distance?

Here's the simplest way that I can think of to stop the vehicle at the finish line. You'll need basic LEGO Technic parts and a good length of lightweight string or thread.

Create two reels for the string. One should be connected to the wheels and the other may turn freely. Wind all the string onto the reel which can spin freely and attach the other end securely to the reel on the wheels so that it will wind up the string as the vehicle moves.

This mechanism should prevent the axle from turning after the vehicle has traveled the desired distance as long as you measure the string appropriately.

Here's an example:

Here's a similar model built in LDD showing exactly how this is put together:

The reel on the back axle will pull all of the string off of the center axle and then stop when the string runs out. If you wanted to be fancy, you could use some math to calculate how much string you need, or you could just test it to find out.


Can anyone identify this blue partial vehicle build?

From a glance it doesn't look like a set as much as something someone might have randomly put together. The two blue 1x2 tiles at the front seem odd, as do the double-stacked black round tiles.

Of all the pieces used it seems the rarest would be the blue steering wheel or the blue seat. It turns out the blue seat piece is used in 'only' 67 different sets.

From that list of sets, only one set seems to resemble this configuration, the 1572 Super Tow Truck from the Town theme, released in 1986. Step 3 of the instructions (as shown below) seems to be quite a close match.


How can I efficiently pick up bricks off the floor?

I actually have somewhere a special Lego picking up device. It has two wheels on the sides and when you slide it across the floor, these turn an attachment at the front. The attachement is basically like the thing on the side of a paddle boat, but taking up the whole width of the front, and it throws the lego pieces into the back of the device as it turns. It works marvelously on carpets!

Edit: It's a Brick Vac.


What techniques can be employed to build a low-profile sliding door/wall?

Have you tried using "bricks with groove" ?

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/search.page?q=brick%20with%20groove#T=A


Is the LEGO Midstorms EV3 software compatible with OS X Yosemite?

B. Stay with OS X Mavericks.  I can confirm that bluetooth no longer works with Yosemite. Spent two hours trying to make it work, but in vain.


What is the set number for these Star Wars parts?

You have (part of) set 5974 - Galactic Enforcer (2009). This set is missing a few parts, as the back end is supposed to be rather symmetrical and there is a separate space ship (black). See the picture below.


Bluetooth pairing successful in OSX but Mindstorms NXT software still can't connect

Carl,

I have the same problem with Mountain Lion and Mindstorms that I bought for Christmas.  I have discovered the following so far:

This is a known problem that Legos has not taken any action on.  I believe it is related to two things: different bluetooth chips and Lion / Mountain Lion OS changes.
The Macs with Broadcom Bluetooth chips supposedly will not work.  However, the Cambridge Silicon chips supposedly will.  You can check this out under the About Apple on your Mac (more information button).  My MacBook Pro has the Broadcom chip.
Some people have had success pre Lion with bluetooth.  And there appears to be Leopard / Snow Leopard patches on the Legos web site.  The lack of success for some must still be related to the Broadcom chips which are in the newer Macs.
Some have had success with using Windows with Parallels.  Usually they are using an external bluetooth dongle and there is some fiddling that needs to be done to override the internal bluetooth by using bluetooth explorer.  It is not clear if using Windows through Parallels works with the internal broadcom chip.

Net, here are the approaches I have come up with to try:
1.  Try my wife's MacBook with Cambridge Silicon chips and Snow Leopard to confirm it works
2.  Create an external boot drive for Snow Leopard plus Mindstorms and see if that works on my MacBook Pro.  However, I think the Broadcom chips may prevent it from working.
3.  Buy a bluetooth dongle (not clear which ones work and which ones do not) and try it on Snow Leopard external boot drive and then Mountain Lion.
4.  Set up parallels and add Win XP to my Mac and see if it works with the internal bluetooth and if not, try the external bluetooth.

The biggest cost for me will be #4 since it will require buying the Parallels upgrade and maybe Windows 7 if I can not get XP to work.  I do not like doing this since I have had Parallels and it is "clunky" and at times conflicted with Mac OS and drive storage.  I am hoping a Snow Leopard external drive maybe with a cheap bluetooth dongle will solve it.

I am also going to complain to Legos about supporting the Lion / Mountain Lion OS upgrade.  However, I do not expect a positive response since they will probably stop supporting NXT 2 in favor of their new system.

**Successful Update!!!!!:

I have successfully run Mindstorms using a MacBook with Snow Leopard plus the Cambridge Silicon Bluetooth chips.  Plus, the flash player is version 11.1.102.55.  I created a simple program and downloaded it to the NXT brick using bluetooth.  I shut down the NXT and Mac several times downloading new programs to the NXT brick using bluetooth.  Each time you restart the brick or the NXT program, you must pair bluetooth via the NXT window button in the controller of the NXT program.  Once set up it will run as long as you maintain the link and keep the NXT program and NXT brick on.
I made an external Snow Leopard Boot disk to run off my MacBook Pro with the Broadcom Bluetooth chips.  I updated it with current Apple updates through the internet to make sure it is current.  I loaded the Adobe Flash player version 11.1.102.55 to be consistent with the MacBook setup.  (There has been some indication that the current Flash version creates problems so I took that out of the mix...I will explore this later).  I added the Mindstorms NXT 2 program.  I connected with the NXT brick via bluetooth; created a program and downloaded it successfully.  Net, it appears to work!!!!

I now believe that the issues with Mountain Lion are related to 64 bit versus 32 bit on Snow Leopard.  My understanding is that NXT 2 is a 32 bit program.  Plus, you will notice that Mindstorms NXT 2 runs better in Rosetta mode which Mountain Lion does not support (Notice the watch comes up when you double click to start the NXT program...it means Rosetta).  Net, it appears to work.

For your information:  Full Snow Leopard installation and NXT takes up 15.74 GB.  I added iWorks 9 so I would have a word processor, spreadsheet and presentation capability which would drive it to 16.7 GB.  Thus, you could easily fit the whole works on a 32 GB thumb drive and have about 15 GB of space for data.  This would make the whole arrangement very compact for travel with a MacBook Pro.

Anyway, I got it to work to my satisfaction and I am off to learn how to make robots!!**


What is this large drag-grey piece? I see it being sold with 9v train tracks, and it is about the same size

That's part 42936 Track System, Straight Track 16 x 8 x 2.

It was used in the Racers track system and was found in sets in the early 2000s such as 4588 Off-Road Race Track:

It really has nothing to do with 9V train track, but sellers don't always understand the details of different track systems and simply sell elements that look like track together.


What is this 3 x 8 orange curved piece from?

Those pieces have only been in the following 2 sets:

3830-1 - The Bikini Bottom Express

7706-1 - Mobile Defense Tank


How can I use the LEGO distance and color sensor from Power Up with the LEGO Mindstorms EV3?

They are somewhat compatible. The EV3 has 5V on pin 4 of the input ports while Powered Up has 3.3V on pin 4. So there is a potential that the sensor cannot handle 5V and could be damaged.
Other than that, the pins are the same, so you could cut the cable on the sensor and splice it with an EV3 cable or buy a 3rd party extension cable (example) so that you don't damage your sensor.
The EV3 doesn't support output commands for UART sensors, so you won't be able to use the color output mode or the infrared output mode (this might be possible with ev3dev though).


You might want to look at Flex System tubing. It comes in a variety of lengths (including 6L and 7L) and doesn't have a stopper.

For what its worth, this is the technique that Jamie Berard used to create the downspout on the apartment in the Pet Shop:


Is there an official list of Fabuland animal characters?

Brickset has a list of 89 Fabuland figures.
Bricklink has a list of 93 Fabuland figures, these include
variations in accessories.
Fabuland.net states there are 142 characters in 80 variations and has
a full list of characters including which sets they were sold
with.

If you were to collect one of every animal type (excluding colour variations) you would at the very least need 20 Fabuland Figures:

Bear/Panda/Racoon
Bird
Bunny
Cat
Cow
Crocodile
Bulldog
Dog
Poodle
Elephant
Fox
Goat
Hippo
Horse
Lamb
Lion
Mouse
Monkey
Pig
Walrus

There are variations between figures in the copyright markings on the back of the legs, face printing between similar figures. In addition to the standard figures there are 72 variations of Fabuland Keychains.


How do I connect part 62113 together to form a ladder?

There are many ways to connect these together to form something like a ladder. One simple way is to use this fairly common arm element (30377):

This technique is shown on the ladder in the Creator Treehouse (31010):

Here are the relevant instruction steps in case it is hard to see in that photo:


How is this brick attached to the pregnant minifig?

They used an adhesive of some sort. You can see from the side that the piece is attached flush to the body of the minifig, and there is no additional gap between the torso and legs pieces to account for any sort of bracket.


How to create a LEGO Technic tank steering system

The simplest method would be to just have two motors, with one motor driving each side of track.

To go forward, both motors forward; backward both back; to turn set one motor to go faster than the other, only drive one side, or set one forward and the other backward.  It is a fairly common treaded vehicle steering system.

The linked system with dual differentials, a drive motor, and a control motor, seems quite excessive to me.

However, it come with some cost as the system move without feedback, it's unlikely that both motors will be driven at the exact same speed. Variations in the build (e.g. how tight bushings are) and the motors (torque curves) means that it'll generally drive in a (large) circle unless you actively correct for it. To make it move relatively straight, it involves a lot of fiddling with loosening / tightening parts, and even then one may often find that it no longer drives straight on a different surface.

With a dual-differential drive, there's generally enough friction that it will indeed drive "exactly" straight when the drive motor is on - and if it doesn't, one can just add a bit of friction (e.g. clamped bushings around a stud) to the control motor to make it drive straight.


Why can't I combine a EV3 Motor with a Technic frame in LDD?

I slid the Technic frame over an axle instead of a pin to see how far it would go. As shown in the picture below, it appears as if the part is too big to fit all the way because the rim (shown level with the red line) is too thick.

LDD runs a basic collision detection to ensure that no parts overlap. In real life, certain combinations of parts are impossible without stressing the bricks.

The combination of EV3 Motor and Technic Frame in real life have a very, very small amount of friction, so it shouldn't be harmful. But LDD has no tolerance for overlapping parts.

You do have several options:

Edit the LXFML file.
This is the most technical soloution. Export the LDD file as a .lxfml file as opposed to the standard .lxf. Using a text editor on your computer (such as notepad) you can directly adjust the co-ordinates of the pieces to overlap. However, If you do move the parts apart, you will need to manually put them back together by editing the file. You can find more about LXFML here.
Different Parts. Use different parts that perform the same function as the Technic beam, or don't include the part at all.
Other Software. You may find it easier to build your model in other LEGO CAD software packages such as lDraw. It should be possible to export your model as it is now and import it into most LEGO CAD applications.


What is the true angle of a cheese slope?

I guess I could send the question to math.se, but I think we can figure that one out ourselves; it's just a bit of trigonometry after all, right?

Let's see:
- The large side is 20 ldu (standard brick width).
- The small side is 16 ldu (2 plates) - 4 ldu (half a plate), that is 12 ldu (half the height of a brick).

So the angle is tan-1(12/20), which is approximately 30,96°. So it's closer to 31, but gives 30 if truncated down.

As for why the sources differ, I couldn't find documentation on the naming process they both use, but I can easily imagine that someone measuring the angle with a simple protractor could be mistaken by a degree. Another possible explanation would be that the people behind the BrickLink naming chose to round the angle down to simplify things, as a 30° angle feels more natural than a 31° one; while LDraw people may be more used to precise measurements and felt that 31° was closer to the truth. Again, this is all pure speculation, I didn't find naming conventions or guidelines for either.


What are the common quality issues seen in collectible minifigs?

I own a lego movie 2 minifig (flashback lucy) and the head piece is much harder to turn then usual, but that might just be because it's brand new.


As per This LEGO education FAQ, it is not possible to use the USB cable the same way it's done between multiple EV3 bricks:

  Can I connect my NXT Intelligent Brick to the LEGO MINDSTORMS Education EV3 Intelligent Brick?
  No. It is not possible to daisy chain with the NXT brick.

However, keep in mind this is valid within the scope of official software; it could be that someone later makes the necessary hacks for it to work in some way.

Also, other communication methods such as bluetooth are available which you can likely use to control the NXT brick from an EV3 one, rpovided you program the NXT brick accordingly. It probably won't be as simple, but definitely doable.


Stacking motors on the Powered Up hub or Boost hub

All you should have to do is connect pins 1 and 2 between the two motors. One motor will have all six wires connected and serve as the primary in order to give the hub something that it can properly identify. The second motor can simply piggyback off of the primary and share control voltages that are meant for the primary motor. Essentially, you can leave one set of identification circuitry in place, and then wire just the motors in parallel.

I'm not sure if Powered Up compatible connectors are available anywhere, but it's not too hard to open up the motors and connect to them that way. Here's what it looked like testing this out:

I paired pins 1 and 2 here and things worked as expected.


First one is Ultron Sentry from Iron Man vs. Ultron (76029) set.

Second is a minifigure made with torso and legs from Duros Alliance Fighter, Jet Pack, Minifigure, Headgear Helmet SW Hoth Rebel Trooper, Minifigure, Visor Snow Goggles and unknown head. All come in Rebel Alliance Battle Pack (75133) most likely since it contains all parts and similar head piece seen in your picture.

Last one is Aaron - Flat Silver Visor, Clip, Curved Slope and Tow Ball on Back, without the slope and tow ball on the back it seems. It is from Moltor's Lava Smasher (70313)


I think your "obvious" answer is right.  Given that you have a background in computer science and math, I'm certain you will be pleasantly surprised how fast you can go beyond connecting dots and come up with unique and innovative designs.  I admit being in the same position, but with an EV3.  It sat for almost six months before I really started working with it.  Based on my experience, I encourage you to commit to doing a few small projects to understand the potential.  Start small for some immediate gratification.  Log some experience, and you will start seeing ways to hack this little device.  This is a necessary step to doing something cool and innovative.  You gotta commit to building!


The route a power line takes through a neighborhood

As seen on your question about angles generally the connection from the power line to the house goes via either a Distribution Transformer (the grey cylinders in your image) where the power lines are run at a much higher voltage than domestic use and then either down the pole, into the ground for local delivery to the house or directly to the house.

In terms of how many lines and paths - I'd start from your primary sub-station where the main power lines come in and radiate out from there - initially with four lines, and then stepping down to two about half-way to two thirds out - effectively the lines are running in parallel, with each house drawing off their usage as it goes, so you'll see some drop off.

Depending on the final scale, more than four lines might look cluttered, whereas two will convey the impression of power nicely even if it's not physically accurate (a nice compromise might be three, with the third line running on top of the poles).


Is a brick with a smaller Lego logo real?

Many sets have had mold changes over the years, as they get slightly redesigned, or even just wear out. I would rest at ease.
It's the old pieces that don't have ANY markings that say Lego that always worry me.
Edited: I took photos of two Duplo train track pieces I noticed today. I merged them together to show the scales are (very close to) the same, yet the logo sizes are quite different. I also included the untouched photos for completeness, and because they're easier to read.
In summary: Lego changes their logo size on the same part.


Can anyone identify this Lego piece? Clear red Bionicle head with clip?

It's from a tooth brush. It is the thing that covers the brush itself. Here is a better picture of the green one.

Another picture :


Website to help identify set(s) from approximately 20 bags of LEGO?

Brickset is a database of Lego sets. You can search for set numbers and see if they match what you have. It also provides full parts lists so you can see if your kits are complete or not.


How can I find the analog output of a color sensor?

Depends on what programming software you are using.  The education versions of the NXT and EV3 software having data logging features that may be what you are looking for.

The education versions of NXT and EV3 programming software are available for purchase from www.education.lego.com


Can Lego Education WeDo 2.0 be controlled without using the app?

This is not possible currently using any of the hardware and software provided officially by TLG. However, there are several solutions that might work for you if you have a spare Arduino or Raspberry Pi around and are willing to do a little programming.
If you aren't aware, all of the Powered Up elements communicate via a Bluetooth protocol that TLG provides documentation for. There are several open source projects that make use of the API to interact with Powered Up devices.
If you have an Arduino available, you could try the Legoino project. This is capable of interacting with both Powered Up remotes and Powered Up hubs, so you can program it to interface between the two and provide remove control. Here's a video showing that setup in action controlling Boost:

If you have a Raspberry Pi or spare computer around, you might be more interested node-poweredup or pylgbst.


Different surface roughness of tiles. Quality issue?

From TLG Customer Service (emphasis added by me for one possible explanation):

  I truly appreciate that you sent this to us so that we could see the variation
  in the parts. Being able to see the numbers on the inside was very
  helpful!

  We haven't had any reports about quality issues with this element for
  any of the pressings. I've actually taken the link you provided and,
  as you know, the LEGO® Quality Team takes the quality of our products
  very seriously, and our team will now be able to look at these images
  in the post and make further evaluations. It could be that the mould
  was changed and the new mould hasn't worn smooth yet but I can't say
  for certain that that would be the cause of the variation in the
  texture on the top of the tile.

  Please make sure the user doesn't delete the post so that our Quality
  Team can take a look.

  Thank you again for passing this important post along to us. We really
  appreciate it!


What LEGO set is this bag with minidoll?

I believe this is Heartlake Hot Air Balloon (41097).

The red striped torso only appears in a few sets, and it's fairly obvious from the rest of the parts which one this is.

Here's what that bag builds specifically:


Does the Mindstorms EV3 software work on macOS Sierra?

I have a Mac Mini with macOS Sierra, and the LEGO software works on it for me.


Is it possible to fix a broken EV3 Port?

It sounds like the polyfuse (the fuse that protects the motor circuit) or the motor driver (the chip that switches power on and off to the motors) has failed.

You can contact LEGO customer support and let them know about it. They will probably replace the EV3 if it is determined to be defective.

Or, if you are the do-it-yourself kind of person with surface mount device soldering skills, you could attempt to replace the components yourself.


Can you identify this LEGO minifig head please, black with grey lines and silver eyes?

That is the head of the 2011 Star Wars V-Wing pilot.

It came in 7915 Imperial V-wing Starfighter.


MOC stands for "My Own Creation".

  MOC

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

Found at this Lego glossary.

Brickipedia's version from their own glossary:

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

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


Old RCX Wires Have Become Grey and Brittle

This is a common issue with the older Lego 9V cables. Lots of sources, including myself, have experienced the same thing - this particular chemistry of insulation ages poorly, no matter how well it's stored. Cables made later, circa 2004-2006 don't seem to have this issue - the insulation is less rubbery and more plasticy, and is still shiny like new to this day.
As far as repairing them goes, it's fairly simple and cheap, albeit a bit tedious. See this reddit thread and this YouTube video. The procedure which worked for me is as follows:

Use a thin flathead screwdriver or knife blade to pry off the back of the connector. There's a little tab that holds it in place.

The inside of the backplate has two ridges for guiding the wire out the back of the connector. Sand/cut these off - you'll need as much space to work with inside the connector as possible. I used a dremel.

The old wires are not soldered to the connectors so they are easy to remove. They are held in place by two tiny forks which are pushed through the insulation to connect the metal inside.

There is a little post in the center of the connector which the wire folded around. Twist it off with some needle-nose pliers.

Cut some 24-gauge speaker cable to size. Does not need to be speaker cable, but most speaker cable I've seen has two leads side by side, like the original RCX cables. You can even use two separate insulated wires if you can't find double wire.

Attach the new wires to the metal contact pads inside the connector. This is the hardest part, because the amount of space inside the connector is very small; remember you have to put the backplate back on when you're done. I could not achieve the sharp fold of the original wires, so don't bother trying. I also could not achieve the solderless connection with the little metal forks - so I soldered the new wires to the pads.
TIPS FOR SOLDERING:

Use high heat and as little time as possible to melt the solder to the wire and contact pad. Applying heat for more than 1-2 seconds will deform the plastic on the top of the connector. No pressure; if you need to add more heat/solder, just make sure the contact pad is cool to the touch before you try again.
I like to ball up the bare wire at the end of the speaker cable and stuff it into the back of one of the metal studs, then melt solder over top.
Don't bridge the gap between the two contact pads!

Once both wires are attached, add a small bead of plastic glue or epoxy on top of the two contact pads and the cable. The glue transfers force from the cable to the connector body instead of to your crappy solder joints.

Reattach the backplate. It should snap into place with a little force, use the screwdriver again if you need to. Mop up any of the glue that squishes out around the backplate - especially make sure the metal contacts on the underside of the connector are clean! Test to make sure it works.

As I said, it's tedious, but this procedure is effective and creates a strong connection between the cable and the connector body. I'm currently repairing about 40-50 wires using this method to get a little more life out of a Mindstorms classroom set.
The RCX light sensors from this era suffer a similar problem because their cables are attached to the sensor body. They can be successfully repaired in a similar way (refer to that YouTube channel I linked).


Which set does this windshield piece with a hanging green head come from?

That would be
Part # 4594 : Windscreen 2 x 4 x 2 Vertical with HP Shrunken Head Pattern
from Set # 4755: Knight Bus


Got a weird trans-purple cone part as extra in 71043-1 Hogwarts Castle

It looks like a "short shot" of Minifigure, Utensil Bottle, Erlenmeyer Flask with Trans-Purple Fluid Pattern (pictured below) which is included in the set. I would even say it lacks the Trans-clear "coating" around Trans-Purple piece of the combined element.

Short shot - is a term used in LEGO community to describe an uncommon occurrence of plastic element production, where element is produced with insufficient amount of plastic. There could be various reasons: temperature is too low, lack of plastic supply and other errors during production.


Technic Rough Terrain Crane (42082) doesn't move

Motor is only being used to operate the crane, not to drive the model. So driving/pushing shouldn't be blocked at any time. I suspect there will be an issue with position of differential - if placed incorrectly both axles will spin opposite directions. And if placed on the ground the model will simply not move.
Check steps 169 and 268 in instructions booklet to compare and confirm the position of differential housings in your model.
Step 169 has this picture:

Step 268:

Further step 273 has this picture showing that both differentials should be facing opposite directions:

It is also important to check the placement of the gears if they haven't been pushed too hard against any liftarms/beams and are not jammed.


Arduino-izing LEGO Technic - ideas for a car / vehicle to choose

I'd be tempted to use the Batmobile (76112) design:

Basically, you have independent motors for the left and right wheels. This allows you to steer quickly and easily without the fuss of a traditional steering system.

The Batmobile is $100 MSRP, and can be found on sale. The included motor controller is Bluetooth based, and can be remote controlled via a smart device or custom software on a laptop. Basically, that set meets your needs if you can afford it.

If that is too expensive for you, I'd still encourage you to consider using a similar design using official LEGO motors. It's relatively complicated to integrate off-the-shelf motors with LEGO (I did this a lot as a kid), and the official motors are actually quite cheap these days. You can pick up Power Functions M Motors for $7.49:

That's $15 for the pair. You'd just need to cut off the Power Functions connector and connect the motor to your driver. This saves you the fuss of mounting your motors and integrating them with LEGO gears and wheels.

This is really outside the scope of your question, but on the electronics side I personally wouldn't use an Arduino. I'd probably go with something that has wireless built in, such as something ESP8266-based. Then, all you need is your microcontroller and motor driver for a working system. The system can be remote controlled from a PC or smart device. You wouldn't even need special software on the remote, as the microcontroller can broadcast an SSID and serve up a web-based controller to the connected device.

So then your BOM would be:

2x PF M Motors ($15)
NodeMCU or other wireless controller ($3)
A few Technic beams, gears, axles, wheels, etc ($5+)
Battery box ($2)
TB6612FNG or similar dual motor controller ($1)

You could probably do the whole thing for ~$30.


Instructions for the LEGO Star Wars Holiday X-Wing (4002019)?

I found a YouTube video which has pictures for each page in the instruction booklets. The quality is pretty good and each step is readable.


As I am not a LEGO employee I can only guess, but I would say the LEGO Service line got replaced with LEGO Pick-a-Brick (and LEGO Service’s Bricks & Pieces) as a way for customers to get their hands on quantities of specific pieces. The LEGO Store Pick-a-Brick wall serves a similar purpose.


How tall is the Saturn V set in LEGO units (studs, bricks etc.)?

I've been contemplating this question for quite a while.  In the great tradition of this site I felt this needed practical verification.  I decided to make a ruler based on scaling up set 5005107, LEGO Buildable Ruler to measure the Saturn V myself.

tl;dr

| STAGE             | Studs Tall | Bricks Tall |
|-------------------|------------|-------------|
| S-IC first stage  | 52.2 studs | 43.8 bricks |
| S-II second stage | 33.8 studs | 28.3 bricks |
| S-IVB third stage | 50.5 studs | 42.1 bricks |

My conversions are not perfect based on the calculator, but they're close enough that I don't think I messed up anything.

Overall

As we know, this is a huge set.  I needed my ruler to be >32 studs tall to measure any of the stages.  Here's my setup:

I've included pictures of the bottoms of the rockets since they nest somewhat so you can see how tall the rocket engine part ends up being versus the entire shell of the rocket.

S-IC first stage

The bottom:

The top:

I read that as 52.2 studs or 43.8 bricks tall.

S-II second stage

The bottom:

The top:

I read that as 33.8 studs or 28.3 bricks high.

S-IVB third stage

The bottom:

The top:

I read that as 50.5 studs or 42.1 bricks tall.


Can I safely dissassemble a 74569 motor (the old, fast 9v one)

Well, I opened it up without much success, and took some pictures of the process:

At first I tried pushing/prying the light grey tabs away from the dark gray "bottom", but those weren't budging

So plan B: wedge it apart:

It was opening, but I was also distorting the plastic in the process - perhaps if I had a hot air station or something, I could have of softened it, but eventually it gave way:

I didn't open it just yet, but rather went to work on the other side - I made my way around from the front/back, as it seemed easier than going at it directly from the side. Anyways, it was much easier than the first side, and I got it open:

Nothing fell out, and I didn't rip any wires out by opening it, so I proceeded to take out the motor:

This is where something finally fell out - there was a little "spacer" disk (visible in the top-left) that was between the end of the axle and the back side of the plastic housing.

After that, the electrical connection assembly slid off easily - not sure what the component is or how to test if it's good, but it seems like it was made such that it's replaceable - no solder was used, just metal "crimps"

This is where I found out that the motor itself is good if I just connect a battery to it directly, so I think I may end up drilling some holes and have a DIY wire coming out the back - all the contacts on the inside seemed good and clean, but unfortunately the bottom seems to be rusted to the point of not making contact anymore.

I think it will snap back together just fine, but it will have scars from the surgery.

For anyone curious, the motor itself is a mabuchi 70586, but any FC-280 motor should fit.


What set are these minifigs from? What are their names?

These look to be Mega Bloks Dragon figures.

The Vorgan (orc) is from the Krystal Wars era, which introduced the Vorgans and had Vorgans with brown vests. I can't find the set that fellow is in right now, but I found a future set with a look-alike in a blue vest where is name was Gohrgroc. The shield isn't used by the the Vorgan (orc), but is used by the Norvagen (blue armored guys not seen in the OP's picture). The Norvagen and that shield with the dragon head on a blue background are also from the Krystal Wars sets.

Here's a look at one of the sets in that line, with many of the names visible:

I've also found this video which shows most of the Krystal Wars figures, if not all, but unfortunately it's not tied to names or sets. Your Vorgan with the large underbite, as are your golden Draigar with horns up and forward, and the shoulder strap that goes across their torso (upper-left shoulder, to opposite waist, clearly visible buckle).

There's a possibility these figures are all from the Draigar Castle set, but the instructions for that are hard to track down and confirm. Mega Bloks has a very poor list of instructions on their support website (where they don't use the same names as available online, or even the same set numbers in some cases, and many sets appear to be absent).

Here's a link to the relevant instructions part for Draigar Castle. Right now, the host Photobucket is down so the link won't work, but it should in a few hours:

http://s935.photobucket.com/user/bloksforum/media/Instructions/9898/9898-03.jpg

For the record, I own a small collection of these figures/toys, that I inherited from my brother (I've never bought a MB toy myself). Unfortunately, I don't have the instructions or boxes/tins they came in, so I can't help narrow down the suspects with my own stock.


How to store large amounts of bigger bricks?

It depends a great deal on your play style and just how much Lego you have, and on what other skills and equipment you have. Using official Lego containers is the most expensive and least flexible option, as they are not really in the storage business. The Technic Briefcase is a good start if you have Technic, but those get pricey if you want more than a couple.

The basic idea is there though - you want a lot of compartments in a few different sizes. Many people buy plastic storage systems, either tackle boxes or drawers (or both), in quantities ranging from "a couple" to "the entire wall of my playroom". Drawers have the advantage that they stack vertically very well, so you can fit a lot of compartments in a small-ish space, and you can get systems that lock together or attach to the wall. Tackle boxes are more portable but harder to get things out of, and organising the boxes can get ugly when you get a lot of them. But I prefer tackle boxes because they give me a wider variety of parts per area of desk, and they're portable.

Since I'm kinda crafty in other ways, I actually built my own tackle box like trays out of wood. That has the advantage that I can customise them exactly how I want them, but obviously I needed a table saw and other tools to build them. Photos here

 (bigger photo)


Are miniature blocks (like Wise Hawk or lno) legal to buy online in Europe (Hungary)?

AFAIK you did not commit any crimes, as buying conterfeit products is not considered a crime - even if your wares were counterfeit, but they are probably not, since the basic brick design is not patented anymore and these blocks are decidedly made different and incompatible.

Can you post the original message you received from the Hungarian customs agency? I happen to know Hungarian, and others might too. Maybe they are misinterpreting something.

Anyways, I'd answer the customs agency by telling them about the intentional design differences, the expired patent of the studs-and-tubes brick design and attaching the answer you have received from your Alibaba seller. The surefire way would be to acquire the assistance of a local lawyer, but cost-wise that would probably not be worth it.


Since at least some of these bags have been opened, their contents no longer help us in determining which set(s) they were from. At this point, they are just random plastic bags. You have combinations of elements in these bags that do not exist as combinations of pieces within one single set, for example in the top-left bag (with #2 on it) you have both a 2x8 Brick in Dark Bluish Gray as well as a 6x5 Girder in Yellow. Those pieces have never been in a set together (the Brick in Dark Bluish Gray only ever came in 2 sets).


How can I make an EV3 vehicle follow an elliptic equation?

I think it would be more realistic to have the robot drive in a straight line but have a linkage to the foci of the ellipse that "pulls" the robot towards the center of the ellipse just as orbiting objects are pulled toward Earth by gravity.

For example, you could use two nails in a board as the foci. Tie a string in a loop to use as the linkage. Place the string loop around the nails and attach to the side of the robot. Drive the robot forwards (no steering). It will travel in an ellipse. You could even attach a pen to the robot to draw the ellipse.


How can I fix this gap in the Ghostbusters Firehouse roof?

I have this set and it does the same thing for me. The problem is that the size of the model and the tolerances between bricks add up and by the time you have a structure of that size not everything fits perfectly.

First thing you should do is make sure all the pieces are properly seated all the way down the construction of the model. It is possible to make the pieces rest in the proper position.

If that still doesn't work for you, you can certainly fix it by replacing some of the tiles with plates. The building is meant to be modular, and thus easily disassembled into sections, for play/display purposes. If you rebuild it with plates instead of tiles it will have more structural strength but will be more difficult to disassemble.


The two different number systems are:

Element ID: 6-7 digits, uniquely identifies a piece by shape and color
Part number: usually 4-5 digits, uniquely identifies a piece shape, stamped on many bricks

(Unfortunately an element ID is not simply a few numbers added onto a part number)

In LDD regular mode (not extended mode), you can search by both numbers. I was able to find the 3L blue pins by searching both element ID 4514553 and part number 6558. When in extended mode however you can only search by part number (many of those pieces listed are only in extended mode).

Generally, you can also search for an element ID on BrickLink and find the part number. Not sure about going the other way.


At my house there are two (well, three) Lego collections. Mine, and my kids'. The rules are stricter for mine: the Lego isn't meant to be thrown around, dropped pieces should be picked up, it isn't to be left on the floor, it doesn't get brought all over the house, and it gets put away every time.

The kids' collections they keep in plastic boxes and they can play with it how they want. Sometimes pieces get lost. I try to impress on them the importance of keeping the pieces together and putting things away where they go, but it isn't always possible. It might be a lesson they need to learn the hard way. My kids are extremely respectful of my Lego collection but not so much of their own. So it is possible to enact rules they can follow, but there are limits.

One issue that can help with missing parts is keeping track of where the parts should be. Keeping all the parts in one big box makes it harder to tell what's missing. If you keep your kits assembled as per the instructions, you'll know the parts are all there. Of course, this dampens your ability to create your own things, so maybe some other organizational method will help. You could sort the parts into ziplock bags by colour. You could put all the minifigs and their accessories in separate bags. Having enough smaller containers that lets you see when pieces are misplaced (i.e. not lost, but in the wrong container) helps you find pieces when you need them. Being able to estimate if a certain bag is missing pieces, or plainly recognizing that a certain piece is gone gives you the motivation to search for it now before the vacuum gets it. Keeping organized helps prevent problems. But it's also a buzzkill for many people.

That said: pieces will get lost. They will get broken. They will change colour in the sun. They'll lose their clutch power. So how do we cope?

The easiest solution is to order replacement parts from either Lego itself or from vendors on a site such as Bricklink. Some pieces are rare and hard to replace, but other pieces are easy to find and cost just pennies. Bricklink is intimidating at first but it's reasonably well structured and you can eventually find what you need.


Please help identify Star Wars set - I have some very specific dark grey wings with brown paint

These pieces are indeed Star Wars related, they are from 7957 - Sith Nightspeeder from 2011.


LEGO doesn't directly take product ideas from fans.

However, there is a website called LEGO Ideas where you can post creations that may potentially get turned into official LEGO kits.

The process is as follows:

Submit your idea to LEGO Ideas.  Take some time to get good pictures, and write a good description, or your idea will probably not make it off the ground.
Get votes for your idea.  The way LEGO Ideas works is that ideas that can get 10,000 supporters (votes) in a year will get put into a review process.  The best way to get votes is to share your idea.  Tell your friends, and spread it on Facebook or other social media.
Go through the review process.  Once you reach 10,000 supporters, your idea goes to the LEGO review board.  The review board will look at your idea, and decide if it is worth creating as an official set.  Things like size, cost, part complexity, new parts, and licensing will all be factored in to the review.  Be away that only about 1 in 10 ideas that reach the review board are approved by the review board.
Buy your new LEGO product.  Once the review board green-lights your idea, it will be turned into an official LEGO product!  The products are often, but not always, limited edition kits, so get them while they last - as the creator you are given complimentary 5 sets and 1% of net sales.

Hopefully, this will give you some background on the LEGO Ideas process if you want to pursue that route to get your idea turned into an official LEGO kit.


I think I found it:

SW911617-1: Palpatine's Shuttle

it was apparently included in a Star Wars comic magazine in November 2016

How did I do it ?

I'm the author of pyrebrickable (Github page here), and by installing the python package rebrickable-data we can explore the rebrickable database directly (query it with SQL). Rebrickable contains a seemingly exhaustive set inventories with parts colors etc. In that case, I looked at 3 distinctive parts in your picture:

2540 # Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Handle on Side - Free Ends
# thought it was white at first but it is in fact light bluish gray

60471 # Hinge Plate 1 x 2 Locking with 2 Fingers on Side
# in black

3023 # Plate 1 X 2
# in trans-clear

By searching in the database for sets that contain at least one of all these parts, I could narrow down to a handful of sets, and in it was that Palpatine shuttle from which we can easily recognize a part of the main ship body


Can anyone identify these parts? Technic, liftarm connected to a circle

It looks like some 44224 Technic, Rotation Joint Disk with Pin Hole and 3L Liftarm Thick and some 44225 Technic, Rotation Joint Disk with Pin and 3L Liftarm Thick - probably two of each, connected by pins.


Pretty sure it's the 9450 Epic Dragon Battle.

it has both the Black Bionicle Foot Piraka Clawed in black and the Brick, Round 2 x 2 with Grille in white as well as other notable parts.


What is water displacement value for LEGO solid hulls?

It looks like the simpler problem would be to evaluate the boat hulls you could possibly find to see if any would displace 485 grams of water with enough free board to stay afloat.
Here is a list of all of the unique boat hulls I could find on bricklink that looked to me likely to hold water:
Boat Hull Unitary 16 x 8 Base
Boat Hull Unitary 22 x 8 x 2 1/3 (Set 6429)
Boat Hull Unitary 24 x 6 x 3 with Red and White Racing Stripes Pattern on Both Sides (Stickers) - Set 4002
Boat Hull Unitary 25 x 10 x 4 1/3 with 4010 and Police Pattern (Stickers) - Set 4010
Boat Hull Unitary 28 x 8 Base
Boat Hull Unitary 32 x 10 x 1 2/3, Base
Boat Hull Unitary 32 x 12 x 4, Base
Boat Hull Unitary 38 x 10 x 5 2/3
Boat Hull Unitary 41 x 12 x 5 with Light Bluish Gray Top
Boat Hull Unitary 48 x 6 x 5, Base (Catamaran Half)
Boat Hull Unitary 51 x 12 x 6 with Side Bulges, Base
Boat Hull Unitary 51 x 12 x 6, Base
Boat Hull Unitary 52 x 12 x 6 1/3
Boat Hull Unitary 52 x 16 x 5, Base
Boat Hull Unitary 74 x 18 x 7, Base
Duplo, Boat Hull 10 x 18 Bottom Section
Duplo, Boat Hull 12 x 24 Bottom Section
Duplo, Boat Hull 14 x 27 Bottom Section
Duplo, Boat Hull 6 x 16 with 4 x 4 Cargo Hold with Green Bottom
Duplo, Boat Hull 7 x 12 Bottom Section
Duplo, Boat Hull 8 x 15 Deck Studs with Red Bottom
Duplo, Boat Hull 8 x 17 with Police Pattern
Fabuland Boat Hull Large
There are over 200 variations of these parts with colors and prints. Have fun!


Is it possible to dismantle and refurbish an original 870 Technic motor?

While it is important to keep old and rare Lego pieces in good condition;
looking at the part in LDCAD, it does not look like there are any screws to take it to pieces, so I think it is internally clipped together, where such clips cannot be pulled back apart again after they snap in. Several Lego motors use these clips.

However since you cannot see them it is debatable weather it matters if they are broken/cut because you can probably super glue it back together and since the glue will be on the inside you won't see that either, but I will leave that risk up to you :)


ID this set: Rocket launch installation?

Minus the reference to the large green baseplate, could it be pieces from Set #358 - Rocket Base?

Edit:
A few original, used red baseplates can be easily had under $10 bucks through a few Canadian sellers HERE.


It's as simple as:
Right click on the submodel in the step list → rename.
I don't know, why I didn't see this earlier. I would bet, I tried that before.  ;-)


Of what fell beast did this olive drab carcass come?

It looks like you have SandGreen parts from probably two different sets...

The dinosaur head (x158), 2 tail sections (40396 and 40379), 2 sloped pieces (3039), and black Technic brick (3700) are likely the remains of a Baby Ankylosaurus/Young Ankylosaurus:

The wedge plate (2419) and curved brick (6091) are likely parts from a Red Planet Cruiser (also in the Alien Discovery set):


How to tape something to the bottom of a brick

Take a look at 11203 - Tile, Modified 2 x 2 Inverted. Works like your 2x2 round plate but is flat at the bottom.


What is the tiny-hand most-friendly sets to migrate from duplo to lego?

As a conservative approach I would suggest the LEGO Juniors series which has cars and other sets and that are easy to build.

However, from first hand experience I can tell that kids learn quickly. Even if reading instructions is too difficult, playing with regular LEGO parts will soon be a lot of fun.

Besides : Losing small parts will be an issue with each and every LEGO set. Maybe you could consider buying used sets or even used bulk LEGO.

EDIT: LEGO Juniors is now called 4+, but it is the same product line.


Pirates of Barracuda Bay 21322 — are there instructions to build it as a seaworthy ship directly?

LEGO provide instructions for the alternative build.

However these are given as an 'alteration' of the existing set rather than steps from scratch, this means you must create the official model first before making the changes.

The steps to convert the ship are on pages 412 to 450 of the instructions. Digital PDF instructions can be found on the LEGO site but I have also uploaded an image gallery of all the steps.
It is entirely possible to simply skip building the island stages as you will not need most of those parts in the conversion and the majority of the ship will be built.
My advice would be to follow the instructions ignoring those stages and simply assemble the three parts of the ship, making any alterations necessary using the instructions in the later half.


Can you identify if this part is original?

I got such pieces from sealed set (long time ago though) and none of these parts have any sort of LEGO brand identification.

So it could be legit part after all.


Can I open my old NXT program files in the new EV3 software so I don't have to rewrite the entire program?

No.

Unfortunately there are no shortcuts. EV3-G can not open programs written in NXT-G.

To quote Lego:

  9.5 I have a LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT2.0 (8547) set; will there be an upgrade/conversion kit from NXT to LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 (31313)?
  No, but LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 offers backward compatibility to NXT. You can therefore use your NXT Intelligent Brick together with Intelligent EV3 Bricks in many situations. However, if you want the full benefit of LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3, you will need to transition to Intelligent EV3 Bricks.


Lego RCX 1.0 brick relationship to Robotics Invention System (RIS) & RCX firmware versions

The main differences between the versions were:

Firmware - although later versions of the firmware were backwards compatible with the earlier bricks
Power Adaptors:

RIS/RCX 1.0 had a power socket on the brick as well as battery options
RIS/RCX 1.5 removed the power socket from the brick
RIS/RCX 2.0 Functionally equivalent to RCX 1.5

IR Tower connections:

RIS 1.0 and 1.5 had a serial connection for the IR Tower
RIS 2.0 had a USB connection for the IR Tower, which doesn't operate nicely with 64bit Operating Systems (ironically* the serial connection does work with a serial-USB adaptor apparently)

Manuals - I believe the Constructopedia was more comprehensive in 1.0 than in 2.0.

* I say ironically as I originally returned my 1.0 or 1.5 set as I was unable to get the serial connection to work on my PC at the time and later bought a 2.0 which worked fine then, but not any more on my more modern hardware.


Which are the largest LEGO ships that actually float?

The largest LEGO ship that officially floats in water is the Cargo Ship that comes in 7994-1 LEGO City Harbor:

It is the only set which contains the 74 x 18 x 7 Boat Hull, which is the largest boat hull LEGO has made.


What is this 2×8 plate slotted, rectangular studs and a hole in the middle?

This is

Part # 767 : Train, Track Sleeper Plate 2 x 8 without Cable Grooves

or

Part# 4166 : Train, Track Sleeper Plate 2 x 8 with Cable Grooves

depending on the cable grooves.

It is used  to attach train tracks


Why does the Erling brick have a ridge below its outward facing stud?

The ridge is there to make the base the standard 5LUs wide (see also "What is an Erling Brick"), enabling it to accept the standard stud.

I believe the rest of the brick was thinned out so that the combined "depth" of the Erling brick and a 1x1 plate (its common usage as a headlight) was the same height as a standard brick.

From the HoMa's World of Bricks page on the Headlight Brick:

  If headlight bricks are turned over by 90° and a plate is attached to the stud then this construction is as high as a standard LEGO brick or a layer of three standard LEGO plates.

It also helps to keep the 1x1 plate straight to the bricks edge.


Detect distances over 255cm with EV3 ultrasonic sensor?

It is not a protocol limitation. It is a sensor limitation. There is a microcontroller on the LEGO EV3 Ultrasonic sensor that cannot be updated so there is no way to measure more than that. So to measure more than 255cm, a 3rd party sensor is needed, e.g. https://mindsensors.com.


Electric train set not working - even though the light is on

The speed regulator light being on is a good start. It looks like you have things set up correctly as far as I can tell.

The first step is to identify which part is having issues. All of these parts can be purchased on Bricklink, so once you know what has failed, you can replace the defective part.

Here are some ideas for testing components:

If you have a 9V light brick or similar, you can attach it directly to the speed regulator to see if that is delivering power.
It's fairly easy to test if power is getting to the track if you have a volt meter handy. You can simply measure the voltage between the tracks when you have the regulator turned all the way up. If this reads around 9 volts, then everything is working except the train motor.
You can test the motor by connecting one pole of a 9V battery to one side of the wheels and one side of the battery to the other. You'll need to use a paper clip or something to bridge the gap. If the motor spins, you know that it isn't the issue.
You can also directly power the track using a 9V battery. You just need one pole on one rail and one on the other. You can make the connection using a small wire, paper clip, or whatever you have handy.

If any of that doesn't make sense, let me know and I can add more detail and/or pictures. Let us know what works and then we can go from there.


In this forum, I found a reply from the Lego Group in response to an email asking a similar question but related to the Mars Mission games:

Thank you for contacting us and for your interest in LEGO® brand products.
Unfortunately, because The LEGO Mars Mission line you inquired about has been discontinued from our current product line, we do not intend to create new games based on this theme. Each year, several items are discontinued and new ones added. By doing this, we provide a product line with more variety and continuing challenges to our LEGO builders. You may like a game based on our Space Police theme called Galactic Pursuit, http://spacepolice.lego.com/en-US/games/default.aspx. You may also like a multiplayer interactive game named LEGO Universe that will be released this upcoming summer. To preview this new game, you can visit LEGOUniverse.com. I hope this information helps!
Thank you again for contacting us.
--LEGO Direct Consumer Services


Identifying a late 90's early 2000's LEGO Space Fighter/Bomber


Can you help me identify this LEGO Star Wars ship?

This is from
75155-1: Rebel U-wing Fighter

Keypart : 6180pb115L : Tile, Modified 4 x 6 with Studs on Edges with 5 Worn Blue Rectangles and Black Lines on White Background Pattern Model Left Side (Sticker) - Set 75155


Is the Lego 8884 IR Receiver compatible with earlier IR Speed Remotes e.g. from set 7897?

I think RC devices are not compatible with PF devices due using different IR protocols.

For instance, see this forum thread for more explanation. Also this cool site.

Summarizing,

RC and PF can use the same rails
RC and PF cannot use the same remote controllers
RC and PF uses different engines:

RC places it in bogie (as 9v do)
PF places it in body


Batman Arkham Knight Batmobile Instructions

The author of this Ideas project might be able to give you a copy of the instructions for his model.


What can I use to glue LEGO bricks to Metal?

This sounds like a job for "Amazing Goop."  It's available at Home Depot and other big stores, at least in the US.  There are a few varieties, including one for automotive use.  It pretty much sticks anything to anything, and once cured, it's on for good.  I've used it for gluing LEGO pieces onto a curved metal surface, and was very happy with the results.  It's a little tricky to work with because it's such sticky stuff, but once you get the hang of it, it's not too bad.  What's great about it is you have a fairly long working time to get the glue on your pieces and get them into place before it dries out. Also it is very strong, and stays flexible, which will be essential to hold up to the vibrations of a car.  One trick will be holding things in place while the glue cures.  Maybe try doing small sections at a time, and using tape to hold the pieces in place.  Also consider gluing pieces onto baseplates, and then gluing the baseplates to your car roof.  It has a strong odor, not terribly unpleasant, but you might not want to drive your car for a few days after gluing.  Good luck!


Advice on Power Functions for an 11-year-old?

The easiest way to start out with Power Functions is to get an official LEGO set that comes with Power Functions. This will allow your child to really understand how Power Functions works.

If he is more into traditional LEGO building with standard LEGO System pieces, one of the LEGO City Trains with Power Functions would be the best options. They include all the Power Functions elements needed to operate the train, and he can also reuse these parts in his own custom LEGO creations once he understands how they work.

If he is into advanced mechanical builds, the LEGO Technic line is a great option. Some LEGO Technic sets come with Power Functions already included, but they tend to be large and expensive. Others do not come with Power Functions, but alternate instructions for adding Power Functions are made available either in the instruction booklet, or at LEGO's website.

Some LEGO Creator Expert sets also have alternate instructions with Power Functions added. The #10257 LEGO Creator Carousel and the #10247 LEGO Creator Ferris Wheel are some examples. Again, with these sets you have to purchase the Power Functions elements separately, but it is made very clear what is needed and how to install the parts. (LEGO Power Functions components are available individually at LEGO's Online Shop.)

Please note that currently there are two LEGO Power Functions systems on the market, and they are NOT compatible. One is the original LEGO Power Functions system (now referred to as LEGO Power Functions 1.0), and the other is LEGO Powered Up (also referred to as LEGO Power Functions 2.0). The new system has similar components, but they are not interchangeable, and they cannot be mixed. The new system works with Bluetooth wile the old system uses IR. The new system can be operated either by a traditional remote or an app. The old system only works with a remote.

So, it is a good idea to make a decision right now which system you want to invest in, and pay careful attention that sets and components you buy are compatible with the system you choose. In general, you can power LEGO sets with either systems, even if it calls for the other system, although some features may not work, or not work exactly the same. The components have a similar size and shape (i.e. you can install the new Power Function system in sets that were designed with old Power Functions in mind).

As far as resources for custom Power Functions projects, I found YouTube to be the most helpful. Power Functions can be a bit complex, so seeing exactly how something is installed can be very useful. Once your son learns the concept of how Power Functions works with an official set, he will start to have his own ideas of what he wants to power. At that point, he can do a search on YouTube, and will probably find someone who already worked on a similar project.

One of the most well-known and respected LEGO Technic and LEGO Power Functions builders is Sariel. His YouTube channel is full of tips, tricks, custom builds, and reviews of official LEGO Technic and LEGO Power Functions sets. His channel is professional and child-friendly: https://www.youtube.com/user/searme/videos

To give you an idea, here is a video by Sariel with some more advanced tips and tricks for using LEGO Power Functions: https://youtu.be/vfIBGIIleCI


Who can use "LEGO Official Store" for an online LEGO store?

LEGO has some arrangements in Asia (I think currently it's only in Asia, but I don't think anyone has said it can't be done elsewhere), where third parties get a permission/license to call stores official.