text:
What's the deal with the single-type-of-piece bags on Amazon?
While looking for current Lego offers on Amazon, I was surprised to see loads of offers such as:

10x Lego inverted slope 2x2 dark red
8x Lego plate 4x6 new dark grey
40x Lego Technic pin long with stop black
40x Lego plate 1x2 light gray
25x Lego brick 2x2 new brown

and so on.
It seems quite some of those parts come in ... peculiar colours, such as lime green or lots of browns, but I may be mistaken and this might change day by day.
What are those offers?

Is that vendors who buy loads of original Lego sets, put the individual parts into larger bags of 5 to 50 pieces, and then sell them and somehow have a little revenue margin?
Is that vendors that somehow get large quantities of the same pieces from Lego (e.g. through channels that allow toy stores to build up some custom scenery around the actual sets in showcases if there is such a thing) and then resell packs of such pieces?
Or are those offers not for Lego pieces at all, but for some rip-off that fakes the brand logo on the studs?

I think it's really hard to tell for sure without actually making a couple of orders and seeing what arrives. What I can say is that it appears that they are selling at a HUGE markup over similar parts available on Bricklink. (A quick check shows an average markup of 600% over BL on several lots)
I would guess that either the first, third, or some combination of those two guesses is likely to be the case here. Since secondary markets like BrickLink and BrickOwl are somewhat niche sites maybe the seller(s) are taking advantage of people unaware of them and selling at a very good profit to a larger market. Additionally since Ali Baba, Ebay, and Amazon tend to have a large number of counterfeit sets available these sellers may be able to get away with selling all or a mixture of counterfeit parts to increase their margins.
As for your second guess, there are programs that The LEGO Group makes available to organizations of various sorts to acquire large numbers of pieces at fairly reasonable prices however they do tend to monitor the secondary market fairly closely for evidence the parts from those programs are being resold so, while certainly still possible, it is less likely the parts are being sourced that way.
Again though, it is nearly impossible to tell simply from the advertised lots without actually making a purchase to verify what you would get.

Great answer by Nathan Stohlmann.
I see another option why these could be sold on Ebay for higher price than you can find them on Bricklink.
3/5 bricks on your list may be not as interesting in AFOL's point of view. Yes, there are cases when you may need these specific elements, but such cases would be quite specific. I find that most Bricklink sellers tend to part out sets rather than sourcing specific elements in high quantities (however this is also an option some times). So seller end up selling most sought after elements and end up having a ton of these bricks nobody wants. One option (obviously) would be to sell them even cheaper than others hoping someone may become interested. But you may have simply too much of them or market is saturated. So, alternatively, you as a seller could explore another market places, like Ebay, where audience is much larger and is unaware of market prices for these elements.

You seem to mix up Ebay and Amazon (?), but other than that, this sounds like a good answer, as well. In particular, it would correspond with my impression that the bricks are offered in unusual, not always pleaseant to look at, colours.

Oh, Amazon? While this is an obvious mistake I made this just proves my answer where sellers are looking for new markets. Until this time I was only aware of Ebay (as a global market place) used to sell LEGO elements in bulk.

While I like the basic thesis I actually disagree with the opinion that a lot of the parts that are being advertised on Amazon (Ebay is maybe different? Didn't check) are fairly useless generally to AFOLs. Part of the reason for that is that precisely which parts are useless depends greatly on the style and theme that a builder is working in. Castle builders often use lots of BURPs and LURPs while a microscale builder may find no value in them at all. Constraction (Bionicle) builders use a lot of bionicle parts but many other AFOLs consider them useless.

@NathanStohlmann I agree that most, event most obscure elements are given love in MOCs sometimes. They just not as popular between all AFOLs. And I didn't meant to say that all bricks that end up on Ebay/Amazon are actually useless so I've reworded my answer.

The cheapest option to get elements in bulk is the pick a brick wall in Lego stores, or similar options in Legoland resorts. I know plenty of people who make their otherwise very expensive Lego hobby affordable by reselling those elements.
E-bay and Amazon are similar platforms in that you can reach a large market of people who aren't aware of this option or do not have easy access to a store nearby.

It's common for these sellers to be drop-shippers, using BrickLink stores as their fulfillment provider. All other comments apply.


text:
How to store a matrix of values and pick out certain elements and compute the difference?
I at the moment am trying to make an EV3 robot which is capable of following a gradient decent method. The idea was to store a discretized function in a 2D matrix, and make several lookups in that 2D matrix where I compute the difference between its position and its neighbor's position. and then make the robot move in the direction with descending gradient.
To do so...
How do I use the EV3 software to:

Create a Matrix?
Store values in matrix?
Make lookups in matrix?
Subtract those lookups?

This could be way easier in C++, but is there any supported firmware capable of running C or C++ in the same way as with NXC or something like this? Something with some form of documentation?

Have you looked at LeJOS? Java for the EV3 ... pretty sure you can get this done there.

Java.. yeah, could i be done using c/c++?

Sure, check out RobotC

Problem is that i have to buy it, and the trial only runs for 10 days, which wouldn't be sufficient amount of time to test it, and see whether the coded solution has the wanted easiness..

Then check out this post on our sister site StackOverflow: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/28526200/how-to-program-lego-mindstorms-ev3-using-c-language

I don't have 10 consecutive days to test whether the solution i seek my needs.

This application does seem to be pushing the limits of the official software provided by LEGO. If you are interested in C/C++ (or any other programming language), check out http://www.ev3dev.org.
I like to say that ev3dev is not firmware since it runs from a microSD card and is not loaded into the flash memory on the EV3. Nevertheless, it is an alternate operating system for the EV3 with the goal of being able to program in any language that you like. You can find a list of existing programming libraries here.

I think i'll try this and see how it goes.. :)

EV3-G supports single dimensional arrays only.  You could write one array that is m times n in length where m is the number of rows, and n is the number of columns.  The correct row of the single dimensional array would be (col-1)*n+row.  You would have to write a myBlock to convert 2D index values to 1D index values and vice versa.  However, doing matrix manipulations in EV3-G is painful.  Using the array block, all you can really do is read at an index, write at an index, append, and calculate array length.  This would cover most of your goals (assuming you convert the 2D to a 1D array).  Possible, but painful.  ev3dev, LeJOS, or RobotC all would be better methods and they support multidimensional arrays.

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text:
How to build a steerable remote-controlled vehicle with just 1 motor?
In WeDo 2.0 set there is only 1 motor, which can be remotely switched on and off by using the iPad app (by writing a Scratch program).
Also motor rotating direction can be toggled remotely.

As an inexperienced LEGO builder I wonder if it is possible to build a remote-controlled vehicle out of 280 WeDo 2.0 pieces, which would be steered by changing the motor rotation direction.

I am thinking of having 2 wheels with wide tires in front the vehicle, connected to the motor.
And having a single caster wheel with narrow tire at the back of the vehicle, not connected to the motor.
The caster wheel would roll straight, when the vehicle drives forwards.
But when driving backwards, it would snap to a certain angle.
UPDATE 3:
Found a picture for such a caster wheel in the LEGO Technic Idea Book by Mr. Yoshihito Isogawa:

UPDATE:
I have followed Aaganrmu's suggestion (thank you) and have tried to build a simple vehicle using ratchet instead of caster wheel:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqYQ79SdBpY
Unfortunately, it doesn't work well. There is too much friction - on the axles of all 3 wheels and on the rubber band.
I wonder if experienced LEGO builders can propose a better vehicle out of WeDo 2.0 parts than mine:

And I feel that my Scratch program can be improved too, since it is not very responsive to user input (when touching the 4 green arrows):

UPDATE 2: Got a nice suggestion at Eurobricks forum:

(video authored by Mr. Yoshihito Isogawa again).
UPDATE 4:
Here a good WeDo 2.0 model with steering:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9sd4MxW4YY

This can be done without a caster wheel as well:
Start out with a three wheeled vehicle, with two wheels in the front and one smaller wheel with less traction than the front wheels in the back. All wheels need to be fixed.
One of the front wheels is attached to the motor. This might need to have some gearing to get an appropriate speed.
The other front wheel is unpowered but can only rotate forward by adding a ratchet:

The back wheel is unpowered.
Driving forward the vehicle will more or less move straight, guided by the rear wheel.
Driving backwards the ratchet will engage, stopping one wheel. The vehicle will now turn.

This is even better idea than the caster wheel, since I can change the turning degree (by rolling back shorter or longer periods of time)... thanks!

In WeDo 2.0 app "LEGO® Education WeDo 2.0" there is a complete project 12. Steer that is exactly about that
When it drives forward it goes in straight line, when it drives backward it then turns to one side.
There is full build instruction in the app.
I've also added distance sensor and made it fully autonomous - whenever it sees obstacle it goes back, turns, changes direction and continuous driving

I designed some WeDo 2.0 models that can drive and steer using just one motor.
This one uses a system of gears to alternately drive the left or right wheel of a differential drive robot, depending on the turning direction of the motor.

You can find the complete building and programming instructions here:
https://robotics.benedettelli.com/lego-wedo2-zigzag/
Another idea is making a steering vehicle similar to the one shown in the WeDo App, and involves directly driving a pair of wheels, and having two steering wheels that act as a caster with limited swinging movement. That way, when the motor pushes the vehicle forward, the steering wheels are forced to stay straight and the vehicle goes straight; when the motor drives the vehicle backwards, the steering wheels will be free to rotate a bit, and the vehicle will steer.

You can find the complete building and programming instructions here:
https://robotics.benedettelli.com/lego-wedo2-car/

Very nice! Thanks for sharing and for taking the time to expand this into a complete answer.

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text:
Java BufferedImage with Lejos NXT: Java Heap Space
I'm trying to write a program for my Lego Mindstorm NXT, the program is simple, drawing some lines and saving the image in a .png file. So, I thought I'd use BufferedImage and use getGraphics to draw on it, the thing is; if I write the code:
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;

import lejos.nxt.Button;

public class Main {

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println("Test\n");
        BufferedImage bimg = new BufferedImage(300,300, BufferedImage.TYPE_3BYTE_BGR);
        Button.waitForAnyPress();

    }
}

When I run the program, it freezes for a while in "Linking..." and gives me the following:
Java Heap Space
Java.Lang.OutOfMemory

So the question is this: How can I use BufferedImage with Lejos without having this problem? And if there's another method of drawing lines and saving the image on a file, it would be very helpful.
EDIT:
The Java Heap Space is caused by the line
BufferedImage bimg = new BufferedImage(300,300, BufferedImage.TYPE_3BYTE_BGR);

I've also tried using ImageIO:
import javax.microedition.lcdui.Image;
*
*
Image img = Image.createImage(300, 300);
ImageIO.write((RenderedImage) img, "png", monFichier);

It gives me the same thing. I don't know but maybe this isn't the right way to create an image with Lejos. What do you think?

You shouldn't cross-post the same question here and on stackoverflow, it's spammy.

When I launch it, I gives me the following:
Initializing LeJOS JDK at /home/LeJosPath
Linking ...
Thank the Java Heap Space comes up. I've edited the question.

Ok. I'ill try to look into it then. Thank you.


text:
What's the maximum pressure one airtank can withstand and how to tell its limit?
I bought a airtank and using it to support many v2 pneumatic cylinders, while I'm using a v1 pump and one motor to pump air to this air tank. Since another airtank or a lego pressure gauge is very expensive in my area, I'm trying to continue with my current installation. I also noticed that the speed of the motor is getting slower while air continue being pushed in.
But is there any way to tell if the airtank is at its limit, and can it explode by using just one pump and one motor? And what's the pressure limit approximately if you have a gauge to measure? Thank you very much!

You will not destroy the air tank using standard LEGO components. I don't know what it's structural limits are, but I can tell you that the weakest link in the pneumatic system in my experience is the connection between the rubber pneumatic tubes and plastic inlets. Under high pressure, the tubes will simply pop off before any of the components will actually break.
I believe that the most pressure you are going to be able to achieve using standard LEGO components is around 40psi. All of the components can easily handle this pressure.
If you'd like to do some exploration of this on your own, you might want to get your hands on the pneumatic pressure gauge that has been available in the LEGO Education line:

If you really want to know the maximum pressure limit of the tank itself, you'd probably need to somehow attach it to real compressor and wait for it to break. I like my pneumatic components too much to do this myself. :)

The pneumatic system's limit is three bar (40psi). After that point, the hoses will pop off the ports. I don't think you could explode the airtank very easily with a real compressor. My guess is that it would start deforming around the 5-10 bar range, and only explode once it was bordering on spherical :P.


text:
I'm missing a few pieces in my XingBao set
I just finished the second floor of XingBao's 5052 piece Maritime Museum.
And while I'm pretty impressed with the overall quality of the building, I thusfar am missing 4 parts.
Is there a way I can obtain substitutes from XingBao for the missing parts?

Note
The set I'm refering to is NOT a clone of a Lego product or fan-built MOC but an original MOC created by XingBao's YiyiToys design team. Unlike Lepin, which is infamous in the Lego community for blatantly cloning Lego sets, XingBao's sets are all original designs and not Lego clones.

Xingbao reproduces standard LEGO elements for their models, so it should be much easier to replace the missing parts with LEGO pieces, then trying to contact Xingbao. If you are not familiar with the LEGO equivalent of the missing parts, you can post a picture here, and the community here should be able to identify them for you.

Thanks for the helpful response. I expected as much. And I don't think it should be that hard to find the missing pieces on BrickLink or Bricks&Pieces, except I'm not sure how to find the right color. Do you happen to know how the light yellow, the dark yellow (beige) and the dark grey @ https://i.imgur.com/c9bdrVI.jpg are called at BrickLink or Bricks&Pieces? Those are the three colors of the 4 pieces that are thusfar missing.

John, the pieces on the image appear to be tan (the light buttery color), dark-tan (the darker sandy/clay color), reddish-brown, light-bluish-gray, and dark-bluish-gray. Those are the names they are listed as on BrickLink.

Awesome! Thanks again!! Since I think I now know all I need to know to find the right pieces on BrickLink, I'll "accept" your answer.

I'm glad I was able to help. If you run into any issues identifying the parts, just come back and someone can help you find them.

Apart from the fact that with this purchase you sponsored an IP-violating product and made yourself complicit to illegal activities, one of the other downsides of buying unauthorized clone copies is that customer service is non existing. You can buy the missing pieces on BrickLink or from LEGO’s Bricks&Pieces service, provided these are just clone copies of proper, existing LEGO bricks.
I doubt you will find much support on this site for your purchase, however, and many will perceive the omission of pieces as a rightful punishment for supporting these companies.

You must be confusing XingBao with Lepin. It is Lepin that blatantly copies official Lego sets and fan-built MOCs. XIngBao only sells original designs that in no way violate Lego's or anyone else's IP.

(continued) And if the set in question was in fact a clone of a Lego set, I would just buy LEGO equivalents of the missing pieces from Lego's Bricks&Pieces. It is precisely XingBao selling ONLY ORIGINAL DESIGNS that are NOT CLONES OF ANY LEGO PRODUCTS OR FAN-BUILT MOCS that makes it less obvious where to find substitutes for the missing pieces. Hence my asking for help here.

(continued) I added a disclaimer to my question to clarify that the set I'm refering to is NOT a clone of a Lego set. I thought I wouldn't need a disclaimer like this in a place like this, because I thought people here would be sufficiently familiar with the brand to not confuse it with Lepin. I guess I was wrong.

Just for your information, Xingbao (星堡) is owned by Meizi Model (美致模型), which is the same company that owns LEPIN. According to numerous reports, if a LEGO fan agrees to have their model made, they get produced under Xingbao. If they don't agree, they get stolen and produced under Lepin. Every branch of this company is super shady and have no shame stealing from both LEGO and LEGO fans.

What @TheBrickBlogger said ....

@TheBrickBlogger : Thanks for the info. I - obviously - wasn't aware of that. The Chinese sure have an... euhm... interesting approach to tackling Western IP legislation.

@TheBrickBlogger : (continued) Nevertheless, I think it's kind of hypocritical the way people like Phil feel like missing pieces are "rightful punishment" for "supporting companies like Meizi Model" when you consider that they themselves invest fortunes in Lego, which itself started out by ripping off Kiddicraft. Why is Meizi Model supposed to be evil for ripping off Lego but not Lego for building an empire upon the theft of another company's patented design?

@TheBrickBlogger : (continued) And yes, Lego copies Kiddicraft's designs just as blatantly as Meizi Model is now copying Lego's designs, as illustrated nicely by this video on "bricks before Lego". But I guess it's OK when European companies steal from others? Or is it OK because that was decades ago? Can someone please explain when stealing another company's designs is evil and illegal and when it's totally fine? Because all I see is hypocricy and inconsistency in the different way people treat Lego & Meizi Model!

@JohnSlegers It's probably more to do with timing and globalisation - Looking into some of the LEGO/Kiddicraft aspects, it's likely that the Kiddicraft patents didn't cover Denmark/Europe (The EU and EEA didn't exist then, so patent's wouldn't have been cross-border), and so there was nothing stopping LEGO making and selling in Denmark - they wouldn't have been able to sell in the UK though. The issue now is the so-called "grey" imports of patent/trade mark infringing products into these markets...

@JohnSlegers (continued) ...obviously Meizi Model can do whatever's acceptable within China, but as has been pointed out by TheBrickBlogger some of these practices are clearly not something that in general we approve of. It's also acknowledged that TLG can still get this wrong (see the uproar around the Ghostbusters Firehouse as a recent example - and how they've handled the more recent Cloud City Idea)...

@JohnSlegers (continued) ...finally, Trade Mark law usually requires that the holder defends their IP otherwise they can lose their right to it (trade mark abandonment) - so TLG will have to be seen to pursue infringers to maintain the strength of their IP. None of this is meant to endorse or condone either path or set of actions, but hopefully provide some context.

@Zhaph-BenDuguid : Thanks for the detailed response. I very much appreciate the nuanced, balanced and unbiased perspective, which is in my experience is pretty rare.

@Zhaph-BenDuguid : (continued) When I compare companies like Lego & Meizi Model, I look at the actual impact their practices have. For example, I consider that Hilary Page, who designed and patented the bricks Lego ripped off, ended up killing himself due to money problems. He might not have have to kill himself if he'd been properly compensated by Lego for using his ideas. Meanwhile, I don't think anyone will be able to feed fewer mouths because of Lepin cloning Lego.

@Zhaph-BenDuguid : (continued) Not just that, but one might also argue that Lego is increasingly following the Apple strategy of marketing itself as a high end luxury product, using various questionable tactics to maintain its quasi-monopoly status in the West, to keep its prices artificially high and to appeal to a niche audience of wealthy adult male collectors, consequently making their products unavailable to most people. By providing more or less the same products at a much more affordable price range (especially in Asia), one might argue that Meizi Model has become a modern Robin Hood.

@Zhaph-BenDuguid : (continued) And then there's the fact that Lego continues to refuse to make much requested themes like modern warfare even though they never had issues with armed knights or pirates... a demand Chinese companies are happy to meet! At least the Chinese seem to care about what customers actually want!

@Zhaph-BenDuguid : (continued) There's so many ways of looking at it, really... And the more I think about it, actually, the more I feel repulsed by the overpriced Lego brand and the more I welcome Chinese competitors taking over the market and making Lego a thing of the past the same way Lego once did with Kiddicraft.

@JohnSlegers Cheers, we're probably better off taking this into chat, however on your points around warfare etc, see my answer on why taken from their reports on "realism vs play". I agree that TLG are in a difficult place WRT who they are selling to: UCS, the 80s/90s Dimensions packs, The Big Bang Theory ideas etc. are clearly aimed at the "adult" fans, however they rejected a Shawn of the Dead idea as it wasn't appropriate for their core audience of kids.

Let us continue this discussion in chat.


text:
Facebook ads for cheap LEGO : legit or scam?
Today, I spotted an ad on my Facebook feed for the website "winnerattop"
Someone commented on Facebook that this website is a mirror of "childtocoll".
According to scamadvisor, both domains are only 4 days old, are hosted in France and have a Chinese owner.
The website headlines with "Black Friday sale", selling several popular LEGO sets at discounts of up to 80%.
For example, it sells the Parisian restaurant at no more than €27.20. See screenshot below.

Considering the owner being based in China, I'd be inclined to think that this is LEPIN being passed off as LEGO, but even for LEPIN those prices are suspiciously low.
Does anyone know what's up with this website?
And is it safe to assume there is zero chance that this is legit?

The site also appears to deceive users into believing this may be an official LEGO site by prominently displaying the LEGO logo in the top-left corner with no other identifying features for the website itself. I'm fairly sure it goes against many of The LEGO Groups brand guidelines. The social media and e-mail icons links are broken.

I just see another online website call 'znitans.com' selling a huge discounts on lego products too, with lego logo on the top left, with offer ends in 2 days xxx hours xxx mins, exactly as discribed. I will think it is a scam, too good to be true!

I see in the screenshot that the model number actually has letters in it instead of numbers for the set number. Another sign of scamming.

And now everytime I attempt to access the site, they try to give me this "safer browser expirience" by downloading actual .exe files on my PC when browser extensions are NOT .exe files. It won't proceed unless I accept, so it's obvious that it's a scam.

I raised this same question on Reddit.
Two people over there pointed out that the website was actually selling pants instead of LEGO.
So I just tried to access the website through https://hide.me/en/proxy.
When I use their Dutch proxy, the site can't be loaded at all.
When I use their American proxy, the site is shop for pants.
When I use their German proxy, the site is shop for LEGO sets.
So I guess it could not be a scam more obviously.
Not only are they scamming people by "selling" items at ridiculous prices that they're never planning to deliver, but they're "selling" LEGOs in one part of the world and pants in another part on the very same website!
I've never seen anything like it.

Can we conclude from this that Americans spend more money on pants than Germans on Lego? ;)

@MichaelVerschaeve : It does seem to suggest that, yes

Maybe they are trying to remind us about that fake TV show from the Lego movie about the guy who's always missing his pants

These scammer websites have been popping up for over a year on facebook.
Any money sent is lost. You will not receive even a Lepin set.
Use your common sense, how is this website supposed to make money with those prices?

And how does the name of the website even relate to what they’re selling?

I suspected as much. Still, I figured it wouldn't hurt asking the experts.

I ordered a couple Star Wars sets from one of these facebook ads, and I was eventually delivered the sets.  I was very suspicious at first, but the same ad was still showing up after a couple months, so I decided to risk it.
Of course, they were the Lepin sets, and not the original Lego sets (although for the price that's what I was expecting.
Another important bit is that it took a looong time to ship. I received a tracking number, but it never updated.  I then threatened them in a support email to report them to PayPal if I did not receive the items.  I received a response and then a few weeks later I received my items (shipped through a Chinese delivery.  I don't know if it was a legitimate screwup or whether they only ship out items to customers that call them on it, but I got my items.
Would I be happier if they were truthful and shipped me the original Lego sets?  Of course.  But at those prices I was already expecting a Chinese knock-off, and these models are going to be built once and never disassembled, so they're never going to get mixed in with my real Lego sets.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Europe based printing services for low quantity high quality custom printed tiles
I've found many websites providing a service for custom printing of LEGO tiles :

United Bricks
Brick Engraver
BrickSanity
Fab-Bricks
Citizen Brick
EclipseGrafX
Minifig Madness
BrickTactical
...

I find it very hard to compare these websites, though, and the service they're offering. So I was wondering if there's anyone here who's familiar with these services and who can suggest a website that fits all of these criteria :

The ability to order small quantities (5 or less) of a particular tile
The ability to upload your own file in vector format (eg. SVG or EPS)
The ability to upload your own file in pixel/raster format (eg. JPEG or PNG)
High-quality prints
Based in Europe (to keep shipping costs minimal)
A reasonable price (subjective, I know...)

I'm looking for this because I'd like to add some more life/detail to my city with such printed tiles.

Would you consider service who can produce custom stickers? It meets all of the criteria, but is a sticker.

@Alex : No, really, no, I'm sorry. I really hate stickers. I don't even use the stickers that come with the set... which is one of several reasons I'm looking for a way to get my own custom tiles printed : that way, I can replace the official stickered tile with an equivalent printed tile.


text:
Does Enlighten Brick mainly produce copies of old LEGO sets?
I have recently purchased the Enlighten Brick Black Pearl set. It seems to me though that the set is not an original, and is mainly a copy of a prior LEGO set (6285).
Is it true? And does it apply to all Enlighten Brick products?

Enlighten Brick is a Chinese LEGO knock-off brand.
A lot of, if-not most of, the sets the produce are basically copies of existing LEGO sets, either current ones or popular retired ones.
From their website though, they do appear to have some of their own designs.
Edit by Phil B: Word of Warning: By buying counterfeited sets (such as these Enlighten Bricks copies of LEGO sets) you are sponsoring illegal activities, which if not stopped might ultimately cause irreversible damage to the LEGO brand and the high quality, original sets it provides. Enlighten can offer sets for less than what the equivalent LEGO set would cost purely because instead of investing in R&D they have stolen LEGO's Intellectual Property.

Lepin is a Chinese brand that exclusively clones LEGO sets or user-created MOCS.
Most other Chinese brands sell (mostly) sets based on original designs. Englighten is one such brand.
For example, Enlighten sells several military themed sets, which is a theme LEGO has always avoided :

It also has sets in various other themes that are totally original designs :

It does appear, however, that at least some of their designs are in fact copies of LEGO designs. As you pointed out yourself, the Enlighten Brick Black Pearl set is clearly a copy of LEGO set 6285 or 10040.
I've seen many Enlighten sets, however, and this is the first one I encounter that is actually based on a LEGO set.

The Enlighten sets from the "combat zones" old series are copied from the LEGO Indiana Jones sets. For example, the amphibian vehicle is a copy of the set number 7625 River Chase.


text:
Looking for sets to use as components of a 1930s - 1940s European city
I'm planning to build a 1930s / 1940s European city (like Paris, London, Prague, ...).
As buildings, I'm currently going for modulars that could pass for pre-1950 European buildings, possibly with some customizations.
As cars, I currently have the Oxford classic car set & the car from Enlighten's Special Mission Zero set. In addition, I just bought the LEGO Shanghai Chase set, the LEGO Winter Village Station set & Enlighten's Sunshine Hotel for the cars in those sets.
Could anyone of you recommend some specific sets, besides the ones already mentioned, that would be suitable for a 1930 to 1950 city theme and could help me add more detail to my city?
Besides buildings & cars, I'm thinking of details like fountains, statues, benches, kiosks, bus stops & other details that could fit in a European city from between 1930 & 1950 and give it just a bit more character. Also interior details like bedrooms, living rooms or kitchens would be welcome.
As you may have noticed in my choice of cars, I don't care that much about the brand. I'm OK with buying either LEGO or any other brand, as long as the quality is good enough. What's far more important to me than the brand, is that the elements fit into a 1930 to 1950 setting and that they give my city just that little extra...

What about the 75930 Indoraptor Rampage for an almost timeless mansion? Without the raptors it is not too expensive.
The 10228 Haunted house could provide a good basis for a rebrick of a nice mansion on the hill just outside of your city. However, this one is ALWAYS expensive, as you probably know.
For many nice little ideas for everyday items and a MOC city, check out LionBricks' Youtube channel.

Thanks for the suggestions. Although I'm already aware of both sets you mentioned, I very much appreciate your input. — The 10228 Haunted house is definitely a set I'm considering. I'm not so sure about the 75930 Indoraptor Rampage set, though. It's just the front or a building, really, and even as a front I feel it's a bit lacking in detail. I'd rather go for the 76108 Sanctum Sanctorum Showdown instead, which similar in size & price but has a more refined look-and-feel IMO.


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Fan door does not close completely - Air Race Jet
After completing the Air Race Jet, I found that the upper fan door does not close completely (stopping short by about 1/2 inches) when I switch from VTOL to Flight mode.
The attachment points to the pulley pieces operating the door seem correct, and the engine nozzle and flaps move into their correct positions.
So I have not been able to see what is blocking it.  Any ideas on fixing this?

I did notice that the two gray pieces that support the black engine nozzle cowl are shown as upright in the instructions, but are slightly slanted in my completed model.  I wonder if this may be related.

Yesterday I contacted LEGO customer service about my non-closing fan door problem, after disassembling about 30% of the model in a vain effort at finding the cause.  Their response was that there was nothing wrong and this was normal, even after I sent them Youtubes showing normal operation and a video of my issue.
So in addition to asking for any input on fixing my problem, I’d like to also ask anyone familiar with this kit if you agree that there is a problem.
Well, I decided to call customer service at LEGO, and a very helpful fellow confirmed the existence of the defect in my model — doubtless a mistake buried somewhere in the 1,151 parts, as I thought.  So back to my question - where should I look for the defect?
He suggested focusing on the area depicted below.  You’ll notice a yellow crossbar going through two gray support pieces.  With the doors shut, they should be flush against one another with none of the yellow showing, but in my model they have a gap when Flight mode quits, as shown.  If you manually push the doors (top or bottom) shut, they are flush.  So this area may be key, or (shudder) just an artifact of a mistake elsewhere.

I don't have this model.  Never built it, but thanks to Youtube we can understand with moving pictures the frustration, and build fatigue you might feel.
JANGBRiCKS says:

"It's one of those builds where you need to get everything exactly
  right the first time.  Penalty for making any sort of mistake is very
  very high and there are many things that are left incomplete for long
  periods time as you're building up the functions inside of this.
The main build of all of the gears, and all of the levers, all of the beams,
  and everything that connect together, ultimately, very very late in the game,
  late in the process of building to form the functions that are all
  powered by a single motor."

Think Loud's video review and speed build, is similar to your issue, where his fap door doesn't close properly, and he has to manually pop it down too.  So, I see what you mean, Bro.

I'll take your word that all connections are good, so we're not gonna think it's, an

"artifact of a mistake elsewhere."

(Luv how you said that!)
So, in trusting you, I think your build is right instruction-wise, but our engineering insight could use a slight twist here and there.
So, in this Vertical Take-Off and Landing mode, we see:

Top blue flap comes up.
Two bottom blue flaps spread open.
Rear gray exhaust nozzle drops down.
Two black flaps on back of wings that turn down.

For all of these features to work properly, you have to go back to your build, and manually turn each section, or gear torque completely to position "0" of VTOL mode.
So, if one or more is off, even slightly, it will affect the total length of deployment, and retraction of the others.
I can only imagine one of the features positioned too early hitting a physical wall, or space constraint, causing the other features not to fully complete their run.
You did mentioned the top gap, bottom gaps, and misaligned tail engine. Yes, they're all related to the VTOL feature so, if one is off, they're all gonna be off.
Try this out, and hit us back with your results.

My source videos:

LEGO instructions - Technic - 42066 - Air Race Jet. by LEGO
instructions - Fan - Site.
Lego Technic 42066 Air Race Jet - Lego Speed Build and Review by
Think Louder.
LEGO Technic Air Race Jet 42066 review! by JANGBRiCKS.

Thank you for your thorough and thought-provoking comments, all of which are very much appreciated. The most valuable portion of your commentary to me is where you reference Think Louder’s identical problem with the fan turbine door. Bingo! Identical to my issue. So I guess there is no getting around executing a disassembly and reassembly of much of the model, which I shall now undertake. I will indeed report back on my results. –

You’re welcome, my Friend.  Hey, before you get deep in the disassemble, run your model as is, a few times, and visually look at those (4) hot spots to see which one doesn’t have the room to complete it’s full diployment run.  Note: LEGO has been trolling us in this way for years.  All of us can follow instructions, but LEGO wants us to understand our work too.  The engineering mistakes force us to observe the cause, and see the effect.  JANGBRiCKS showed us how it should work and look by end run.  Another thing:  Listen to the shift change in sound as the moving parts winds down.  Later!

Check step 63
There is in zoomed picture showed when small black wheel has to be connected to  beige wheel,when connected it will "lock" the position of closed roof and bottom
To correct it when u already built it is very easy
Move that small black wheel from beige ,u added in step 63. When black wheel moved,press the "L" lever in red box zoomed picture down,your roof and bottom will close,when closed hold the position and move black wheel back to connect with beige, now it should work pretty well


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Can I use two remote-controlled LEGO Tracked Racers 42065 simultaneously?
I want to buy two sets of the LEGO Tracked Racer 42065 so that my children can play together. I can't tell if they would be able to use the racers simultaneously.
Are the IR receivers multi-channel? Can the sets be raced simultaneously?

Great question and welcome to Bricks!

Yes, LEGO's Power Function IR elements have 4 different channels you can switch between with an orange slider on the receivers and remotes, so you can run up to 4 at a time.

Another friend in our LUG uses 4 models at a time. Two for each of her sons, one for their uncle and one for herself...
She redid the models in splendid new color schemes:

That's very cool with the customizations. What is LUG?

Lego user group... a lego club operating in a certain way... some are recognized by the LEGO group, those are RLUGs, they can offer advantages to their members with support from LEGO but also have some responsibilities towards LEGO then. I'm sure you can find a LUG in your area if you are so inclined...

Thank you. I didn’t know. I live in São Paulo, Brazil. I imagine a city this size has to have a LUG or RLUG. I’ll do some research. Thank you for the insight.

The following website can be used to locate a LUG: https://lan.lego.com/clubs/overview/ So for you that would be LUG Brazil, I met some quite nice people of that LUG at the Portugal fanweekend event last weekend ;)


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NXT motors spin when in air but stop on ground
I have a car that I made with 2 motors in the back and one motor in the front. The motors spin fine in the air but when I put it on the ground to test my program the motors stop. The robot itself isn't very heavy so I don't think that is the issue.

Did you try what Phantom_IV suggested? I bet either the gear ratio between the front & back motors are different (which would cause the gear binding that Phantom_IV mentions) or else your batteries might just be too weak to drive the motors? Try disconnecting the front motor from the wheels, so the front wheels free-wheel to test if different gear ratios (wheels spinning at different rates) is causing binding.

I just noticed you have some sort of sensor in the front facing down; is that an optical sensor? Does your program turn the wheel motors off if it detects something? Try pointing the optical sensor off to the side & see if the motors start driving the car then.

It  is a color sensor for a line follower I am trying to make.

How can your car steer to follow the line? Is that what the front motor does? Or did you plan on the rear motors turning in opposite directions to steer it? To troubleshoot, did you try holding the car in the air, but with the color sensor pointing at your desk at the same height from it as shown in the picture? If you do that, do the rear wheels stop? If so, then it's your program that's making them stop. You'll have to troubleshoot your program.

NXT and EV3 motors don't slip unless set to coasting. This means that any external means to speed up or slow down the motor will be counteracted by the motor control. I believe basically one or more of your motors is acting as a brake for the others because the controllers believe that they should act that way to obtain the desired speeds you programmed them.
Even if all things are equal (desired motor speed, direction and wheel diameter), other minor variations within the motors can cause variations in the total speed that are counterproductive...
I once created a sumo bot having three motors, the intention being two motors for tank steering and an additional motor to provide extra power. I think this is similar as to what you are trying to achieve. My solution was to combine the motor speeds with differentials (as present in several technic vehicle sets)...

Can you post a picture of your car? Is it possible that the gearing is different, or wheel size is different, between the front & back? Maybe that would cause the gearing to bind up. Maybe try letting the front wheel free-spin (no motor) to see if the rear wheels will propel the car by themselves. If that works, switch it around, and let the rear wheels free-spin and see if the front motor can propel the car on its own. If so, note the speed of the car with the rear wheels motorized, and compare it to the speed of the car with the front wheel motorized. If it's different, then gear binding might be the issue.

Sounds/looks like a software issue.  My first guess was that the program is jumping straight into a line following algorithm and that program is stopping as soon as it detects the table top.  But, that would be fairly easy to test by approaching the table from the edge of the table, so the light sensor would stop the motors before the back wheels got close to the table.
Second guess.  The line following algorithm starts up in a mode that runs the motors at a low power setting (less than 5), which works when suspended in air, but it not enough power to turn the wheels when on the table because there is some resistance (either the front wheels or ?).  The line following is waiting for some rotation distance before moving to the next step and it waits forever.
Probably best to copy/paste sections of the program.  Throw out half until something works.
Of course, a screenshot of the program would help.


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What are these mini figures?
I have just brought these mini figures and was wondering if anyone could identify them?

1 - Kiteman from : 70903-1: The Riddler Riddle Racer
2 -  Captain Jack Sparrow
3 -  lor037: Fili the Dwarf
4 - hp108: Draco Malfoy, Dark Green and White Quidditch Uniform
5 - This torso (Darth Maul] - Torso SW Layered Shirt, White Undershirt, Waist Sash Pattern / Black Arms / Black Hands
6 - This torso; Torso LotR Gold Ruffled Shirt, Reddish Brown Layered Pattern / Pearl Gold Arms / Light Flesh Hands
7 - 71011-1: Farmer from Collectable MinifiguresSeries 15
8 - This torso; Torso LotR Cloak with Brown Collar and Straps Pattern (Legolas) / Olive Green Arms / Light Flesh Hands. The hair is from #3 Fili the Dwarf
9 - This torso; Torso Castle Knights Kingdom Plate Armor Gold and Silver Female Pattern / Black Arms / Yellow Hands
10 - 8831-10: Jungle Boy from Collectable Minifigures Series 07
11 - This torso; Torso LotR Tank Top over Dark Green Shirt Pattern / Dark Green Arms / Light Flesh Hands , Hair /head  Legolas Greenleaf
12 - 71010-3: Monster Scientist from Collectable Minifigures Series 14
13 - 71002-3: Pretzel Girl from Collectable Minifigures Series 11
14 - sh012: Lex Luthor from 6862-2: Superman vs. Power Armor Lex
15 - This torso; Torso SW Armor Clone Trooper Pattern / White Arms / Black Hands
16 - The head is from Zolm - Hassansin Leader
17 - 71011-5: Tribal Woman from Collectable Minifigures Series 15
18 - 8827-13: Intergalactic Girl from Collectable Minifigures Series 06
19 - This torso; Pirate Captain (5002147)
20 - 71010-14: Banshee from Collectable Minifigures Series 14
21 - This torso; Torso Harry Potter Quidditch Gryffindor Ribbed Pattern / Dark Red Arms / Reddish Brown Hands
22 - hp111: Hagrid, Dark Brown Topcoat with Buttons (Light Flesh Version with Moveable Hands) (wrong hair)
23 - 71011-7: Faun from Collectable Minifigures Series 15

The skate board is this one: Minifig, Utensil Skateboard with Trolley Wheel Holders with Minifig Skull on Star and Winged Heart Pattern
With thanks to Rin Rio-Oki


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What is the name/part number of this 1x1 LEGO brick, used to make "cat eyes"?
Could anyone please tell me the name/part number of the LEGO component used for the cat's eyes?

I always love it when LEGO constructions use ordinary bricks in creative ways :-)

Name: Lever Small Base 4592.
Bricklink link HERE.

Peeron calls it "Hinge Control Stick Base", but the same code.

Looks like https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=4592c02#T=C but with the lever removed.


text:
How did they make the LEGO Batman cutscenes?
I want to know what programs they used to make the videos the old LEGO video games like the 2008 LEGO Batman, 2007 Lego Star Wars, and maybe the 2011 LEGO Star Wars for a little modern-ish feel. I want to learn how they made the models, textures, effects, map and etc.
I've just been inspired to make my own LEGO animations. What programs should I use to start?

I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because we don't work for The LEGO Group or have inside knowledge of how the movies are made.

See also the answers to What software was used to create The LEGO Movie.

Hi, and welcome to Bricks EggsinaBlender. Teaching you how to use 3d software is rather beyond the scope of this site, or indeed a single question and answer here - you might be better off taking a look at some of the great tutorials for Blender (a popular open source 3D modelling application). You can also find some helpful guides to exporting models from LEGO Digital Designer or Stud.IO to LDraw format and then into a format that other programs can use.

Most likely Autodesk Maya and possibly some other tools based on LEGO internal parts libraries like the Easy Builder Tool or Brick Builder.
All of those games are made by Traveller's Tales. In a video on the development process for their Jurassic Park title you will see that they use Maya to create and animate their models (the right screen would be very familiar looking to a Maya user).

More-than-likely this is the same software they use to animate their cutscenes, and I doubt they have changed software packages since then.

Here is a good little write up from Animal Logic, who made the Lego Movie, Lego Batman Movie, etc:
https://www.animallogic.com/portfolio/projects/tlm/
A lot of it is custom built for them and they don't reveal the secrets.
This little bit is pretty good as well:
https://www.fxguide.com/featured/brick-by-brick-how-animal-logic-crafted-the-lego-movie/
There are loads of people on YouTube who make Lego films some great, some good and some rubbish. Just spend some time researching it all.


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Star Wars Ship - Which LEGO Set Is This?
I received a large assortment of free LEGO from a family member, and can't seem to locate which ship this may be.
I'm thinking it's part of the Clone Wars. Anyone recognize it?

Welcome Derek.  You seem to have left out the image you reference.  Would you please edit your question to include the image?  It will be much easier to recognize with that.

Where's the fun in that??? Had an issue with shrinkage...pic now loaded

Its at least two sets.

Set #7674 "V-19 Torrent".
and...
Set #8087 "TIE Defender".
Extra Credit:
Upper left hand corner.

Set #6747 "Race Rider".

Well done Rin. My apologies if my earlier downvote on another question caused negative emotions .. A downvote does not mean your contribution is not appreciated, it just means that the answer doesn’t suit the question. All water under the bridge of course since you deleted the question. Hope we’re good though...

Wow!!!! This helps tremendously Rin. No wonder I couldn't find any images that fit what pieces we had. Looking forward to digging through the pile to put the Tie Defender together.  Unbelievable job catching the Race Rider too just by noticing the tire????


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

My younger brother lodged his BB-8 head in a helmet, and I just can’t dislodge it.

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

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

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


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Mindstorms Chromebook app Stuck in Zoomed-Out Position
We are using the LEGO Mindstorms app on Chromebooks. Our test program got zoomed-out to the point of being too small to read.
The remainder of the screen is normal sized. We've tried using 2 fingers to zoom-in and out, but to no avail. Any suggestions?

I haven't used a Chromebook yet, so this might be silly, but: Do you have any access to a keyboard, either physical or on-screen? If so, ctrl-0 is a common "reset zoom" keyboard shortcut.

SHORT ANSWER:
Look in upper right hand corner of your project page and find the icon that looks like this [1:1] and click it.  It will center and reset the zoom of your program.

Isn't two finger zooming an Apple touch screen thing, like we do on an iPhone?  So, unless you're used to doing this on your Apple tablet at home, the two finger slide technique won't work on the class Chromebook.

LONGER ANSWER:
A few disclaimers first, I don't have a Chromebook, or any LEGO Mindstorms sets... (yet), so I can't be totally sure of what you mean or every detail I say.  So, with that said, let's dance!

So, I watched a video of cool teacher Mr. Hino, downloading the Windows version of this app on his class Chromebook.
So, to understand your question further, I downloaded the same Windows version app on to my PC, and have installed/launched the program.
Assuming your app is the same as my app, I took some screen shots to point out where the Zoom In/Out stuff is.

1) So, this picture is the Lobby/Row of Robots when we start up the program.
2) We need to get to a "Project".  Located in upper left hand corner. Click to pull down the menu.
3) We'll either choose to start a "New Project", or if we have one saved,   "Open Project" that already exists.

4) This picture is where you're zoom-stuck.

5) Look in the upper right hand corner and you'll see some icons in a row.
6) You'll see magnifying glasses with "-" sign, "+" sign, and "1:1" zoom reset.
7) Click "1:1" Zoom Reset.

8) FRIGGEN-FIXED!
EXTRA CREDIT ANSWER:
There are keyboard combinations called shortcuts that make life hella-easier.
The most common are:
"CTRL + C" = Copy.
"CTRL + X" = Cut.
"CTRL + V" = Paste.
Don't know if your Chromebook has a mouse wheel, but...
"CTRL + Mouse wheel UP" = Zoom IN.
"CTRL + Mouse wheel DOWN" = Zoom OUT.

The desktop app is not the same as the chrome app, so this doesn't really answer the question.

Hey, Dave. How's it going, my friend.  Yea, my suggestion is based on Mr. Hino's video showing him downloading the Win installer to his Chromebook.  I don't know, maybe he lied;).  Well, I installed the student educational class version. Besides not having a hall of Robots in the Lobby, the class app still has the magnifying/size reset icons in the upper right hand corner.  Hey, David, if you have access to a Chromebook can you please try either Ctrl+, Ctrl-, or Ctrl+0, (Suggested by Joe Friedrichsen, good man!), and get back to us with anything that really helps answer her question?


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How To Disassemble the LEGO Boost Hub?
I can get the hex screws off and pry apart the plastic tabs on the bottom plate, but for the life of me I can't un-clip the back tabs.
Any ideas on where to press/pry?

Yes/No?  Is this the Hub you're talking about? https://i.sstatic.net/a7ECr.jpg.

Yeah as rin said, clearing it up with be better

Here's a YT vid on the disassembly, but the still picture shots with no commentary may not be what you need for a good walk-thru.
I don't have a Hub, but wish we all had a pic to make sure we're talking about the same piece.
Regardless, I'm gonna take a crazy shot at it.  Let's Go!
We have two gray rectangles:

Big Gray Rectangle on the Left.
Small Gray Rectangle on the Right.

I think you're stuck here. (See the picture).

So, you took out the two hex screws, (two empty black holes on the Big Gray Rectangle), and you say you can't get further.  Correct?
Instead of trying to remove the Big Gray Rectangle plate, first remove the Phillips screw in the middle holding the Small Gray Rectangle down.
Look at the next picture.

See how the Small Rectangle has a lip design that overlaps, and locks down our Big Gray Recky-reck?
You should be good from here.
EDIT+++++++
Real issue: White Tabs won't release.

Look at this next image of the Big Gray Rectangle removed below.

Focus your attention to the white tabs.
Do you see the notches on the tabs?
The inverse of those notches are on the inside lip of the Big Gray
Rectangle.
When all notches are together it forms a Mechanical Lock.
We have to disengage both tabs together.
Position the entire piece like the picture below.
Get two flat head screw drivers.
Put both screw driver heads on the LEFT side of both tabs.
Hold both screwdrivers in one fist like Wolverine's daughter.
Now pivot to the LEFT which should separate the physical locking of
the two pieces.
You might need your other hand to lift Big Gray    Rectangle  up
and off.

Hi Rin, thanks for responding.
I had previously found this video but as you said the still picture walkthrough is not ideal...
I did get as far as you described (ie removing the battery compartment). My problem comes next. The big rectangular grey plate left is held in place not just by the screws (that I removed) but also by plastic tabs/clips. In your picture above you can see 6 grey ones (2 on north edge, 2 south edge,2 two on the left hand corners) and two white ones on the left side.
Its these white ones that are my problem.I don't know which way to push/pry them in order to unlatch

Alright, I got you ;).  Thanks for coming back with the extra details explaining exactly where you're stuck. I'm going to add a picture and explain exactly how to get around the white tabs.  Give me 15 mins.  We'll get through it easy enough.

I had to do the same last night because the internal motor position A did not work. I ended up pushing a small screwdriver from in between the housing, not from the tabs since I felt that would deform the plastic even more.
Fun fact: to solve my encoder issue, I simply had to nudge the sensor a bit closer to the perforated wheel, using some tweezers. I wonder how it ever worked - or stopped working - in the first place.
Here are some pictures from the parts for future reference:


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Help Identifying LEGO With A Pink 3(｀(00) ´ )Ɛ Face
I cannot add a picture, but they are green, brown, and pink pieces. One of the pink has what looks like a pig's face.

Other sets with Minecraft Piggy Face Piece Here.


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How To Sort Out 3rd Party Technic Clones From LEGO Originals?
I've recently bought bulk parts, and wish to sort out the official LEGO pieces from the inferior quality 3rd party clones.
On bricks I can easily spot-out the clones, becasue they don't sport the "LEGO" logo on the studs.
So, I'm looking for an easy way to spot-out fakes on non-studded pieces like this Technic Bushing:

My tip off is that some of the Bushings don't grip well to various axles, thus giving me the idea that these Bushings too, might be some inferior quality 3rd party clones.
Some of the Bushings have VERY tiny writings with the "LEGO" logo.

Does this mean all pieces without the logo are clones?
Has LEGO branded all parts (even the smallest) with a logo?
Has it been doing so from many years back?

I suspect it could be more complicated, for example, many stud-less parts like this thin part:

have some numbers and the copyright "(c)" sign, but no "LEGO" logo.  I've checked many pieces. Some large ones have "LEGO Group" written on it.
So, regarding authenticity, would the logo matter?
Maybe I'm into perfection too much, but I'd like to sort-out my collection form the fakes, and preferably without breaking out the  10x monocle lens.
What would you advice?

Regarding the Bushings, I think the loss of their gripping/clutching power has less to due with a phantom cloning agent, and more to due with the quality of the official LEGO piece, and how plastic degrades over time.
My collection has Bushings that are weak too, but its due to age (over 25+ years) and normal play.  Mine are not clones.
Now the issue with copyright holders is a little different. LEGO doesn't hold the patent design for the classic brick, becasue they didn't invent it, so now it's a friggin' free for all with clone "bricks" manufacturers.
As for non-brick designs like the Technic Bush, and that thin blue piece,  LEGO owns those, and could bring forward litigation to copyright infringers.

Thank you for making my question so better looking! Copyrights were interesting to read about. One point though: my bashes w/out 'lego' fineprint actually not weak but too tight and require very much force to fit.

You're welcome, Friend, I mainly wanted to capture the essence of what your post was driving at, while keeping as much of your original individual voice as possible, but I did embellished a little with the monocle pic;).  I know I didn't address every question, and went straight to offering a little advice.  As for the too tightness, that's the way I wish mine were.  Try this: Use a Q-Tip and dab a small amount of petroleum jelly on the axle shaft.  Use a holed Technic plate or brick to create a wider surface area to concentrate the pushing force of the axle through the bushing.

You seem to be mixing up copyrights and patents. AIUI copyrights general protect creative works, a model most likely qualifies but an individual functional element much less so. Patents can protect functional elements but they generally expire after around 20 years (exact rules vary by country) so most of the key lego elements will be well out of patent protection. There are also trademarks, but Legos attempt to use those to protect functional elements didn't go so well.


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Help Identifying Mega Bloks Parts

I've bought a storage unit, and truly have no idea what these Mega Bloks are a part of.
There are two blue domes, two green domes, and a bunch of what looks like tracks/road pieces.

Brand: MEGA BLOKS.
Set Theme: Planetoids.
Set Name: LX-009 City.
Year: 1997.

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

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

Nice! Guess I should have been looking here instead.

Hey, you've been the greatest of Luck Dragons.  Today you've given me two new places to look.  Just when I thought I've reached the boundaries of Fantasia/ the Internet, you provide me with more.  BIGGER THANKS!

Those track pieces appear to resemble in shape (if not in color) the track pieces in set 9801 Build & Race Speedway:

No idea about the "domes". Could they be lids to containers?


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Can You Identify These Black Studless 2x4 Brick With Train Wheels?
I found a bunch of Pat Pend LEGO in a thrift shop. Among all the goodies there are two black smooth 2x4 bricks with train wheels attached to them.
Their characteristics are as followed:

They are studless.
Have a closed bottom.
On one of the long sides there is a half moon like cut-out with a
sort of flat hook thing.
On the short sides there are detachable train wheels with ten spokes.
The wheel axles are made of yellow brass.
The logo on top is the old LEGO logo with the letter "O" being open.
The logo is quite large.

Can anyone help me identify these parts?

Hey, there Happy Dog!  These train pieces?

Part #BB37 - Train Brick 2 x 4 x 1 1/3 Sliding Block with Wheels
Holder.
Part #Wheel2A - Wheel Spoked for Motor.

Together they appear in these LEGO sets.
See ya!

Thank you so much Rin Rio-Oki. That are the blocks!! You identified them and did that very fast. This forum is amazing. Lego made so many different parts, without a community of adult Lego lovers it would take so much time to identify every little bit of it. And I'm a beginner, but willing to learn. Thanks again. Cordially,
Happy Dog.


text:
Where is an instruction sheet for Ausini set 25418 guitar?
I bought an Ausini brick set AUS-25418, which is a guitar, however as cheap as it was the price, it didn't have the building instructions, at least it looks like no piece bags or stickers are missing.
Does anyone happened to have those around? I would really appreciate any picture you could send me.
Here is a picture of the model:

I Googled for them for some days and send messages to a distributor but never received a reply. I even tried to build it from pictures of the finished model with no success.

Attack on the Clones: The Purist Punch-Back!
I'm posting up these clone brick instructions at the very bottom below, but I'm going further by offering a free digital instruction file to build this model with official LEGO bricks through Bricklink.com instead.
This model has 3 pieces that aren't direct clones,so they don't exist in LEGO, but we can easily use alternative pieces and make their need a non-issue.

2 x 2 plate with Inverted Studs.
2 x 2 1/3 Curve Top Brick.
Roof Tile 2 x 2 x 2/3 Plate.

The only left over issues are the stickers (the "wow" text, blue flame effects), and the screen printed 2x4 black tile, which represents the six round yellow tuning pegs on the headstock of the guitar. I haven't looked for equivalent official LEGO ones, which may or may not exist.
I just used an alternate build to replace all printed art that came with this set.

These clone knock-off brands are straight up shameless.  It would be just to reverse their blasphemy, knock them off financially, and offer plans to their designs in official LEGO for free.
I wouldn't mind finding the most interesting/popular Clone Brands, and just go to town on them. I realize in most cases it will be more expensive, but at least there will be an alternative for the purist who might be less inclined to patronize these clone pirates.


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The Missing Handlebar
I've been trying to look for the handlebar piece but it doesn't show up. Can someone tell me why?

Where are you looking? I'm pretty sure it would show up if I looked in the right pile.

@Henrik unless the vacuum cleaner got it.

I'm not sure where are you looking, but it is readily available on BrickLink in seven colors: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=30031&idColor=85#T=C&C=85

Welcome User11225!
In your LEGO program or webpage type in the part number instead, which would be, "30031".
Why: Search words vary across media, and it's harder to misspell or mis-describe numbers.
Example:

On Bricklink.com the description includes the "s" to spell
handlebars.
In LEGO Digital Draw the description just calls this piece a "handle"
and drops the "bars".

Search fields can get finicky.


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Please Help Identify These Star Wars Sets
I guess these are StarWars sets, please help to identify

1.Set# 75172 Y-Wing Starfighter.
2.Set# 75013 Umbaran MHC (Mobile Heavy Cannon).
3.Set# 75003 A-Wing Starfighter.
(Note: Canopy and gun turret on KETCHUP colored ship belongs on MUSTARD colored ship.)
See ya Fabian!


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How To Deal With Hydrogen Peroxide After De-Yellowing?
I was able to remove the annoying yellowing effect from old white and lightgray bricks with the usage of hydrogen peroxide. With great results I have to say. Now I wonder what to do with the remaining fluid. Is there a danger to poison someone when it's used in my household? Is it ok to drain it down the sink? Any advice on how to deal with it is welcome.
Another thing, when do I have to change the fluid? Will the effect gradually decrease?

I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because the handling of H2O2 is not tied to LEGO bricks in any specific way. This question seems better suited to Chemistry.SE

The dangers of H2O2 depend greatly on the concentration, which, in turn, will quickly change with time as it decomposes to water (heat and light speed up the process). So small amounts of diluted H2O2 can be poured down the drain, by the time it reaches the main sewer, there will be nothing left that would be more problematic than the average household cleaning products that get down there daily.

Interesting point. I would say it fits in both forums. And considering the special relationship of the members of this forum to the brick in particular I would say that there is a general interest here for the topic. So, no, I would not change.

You have a point, I'll let the other members have a say in how strictly are the rules to be interpreted. Meanwhile, to see if an amount of H2O2 is still potent, one just has to watch for bubbles of O2 being generated inside the liquid from the spontaneous decomposition. No new bubbles means no more potency, and thus time for a change.

ahh, seems i have to change. Thank you Zovits for your fast help

What to do with H2O2 if you don't want to wait for it to become harmless due to spontaneous decomposition, probably depends a lot on local laws, so this might also be considered too broad.

@ Fabian, I got great results using this method too.

After doing a simple search, it seems that the general consensus is, it's okay to pour the used amount down the drain.
Most of us get it.  The stuff's been sitting in your house taking up space, and because of the unfamiliarity with this chemical, you and environmentally conscious thinkers such as yourself, would never want to further harm our shared environment.
Bottom line: No new bubbles means no more potency, the green light to pour away.


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Can you help me identify this set? (Emergency vehicles maybe?)
Bags are numbered 1-3. It looks like it maybe is some sort of emergency vehicle set? Bag 3 looks like a fire truck and bag 1 maybe a police car?
Thank you!

Looks like Set# 60060-1 Auto Transporter.


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How to locate pneumatic leak
I have a simple pneumatic claw with a 2-pump compressor that I built somewhat recently. It worked fine for a while, producing up to 4 bars of pressure, but then the system wouldn't increase the pressure of the system more than 2 bars maximum, usually stopping at a bit more than 1 bar and the pressure increased much slower. When I press on the pumps in certain ways, the system will act normally, but I don't want to press on the pumps continuously. Is this due to a leak, or some other issue, possibly with the pumps? If so, how do I find out which piece is leaking? And how do I stop this from happening?

According to various sources, LEGO pneumatics is not designed to work above 3 (or maybe 4) bars of pressure, so your setup might have been damaged by the overpressure.
If you can "press on the the pumps in certain ways" then I would recommend starting your investigation there. As to actually locating the cause of the leakage, I have five main methods in mind:
1. Vision
The easiest and fastest way is to check all components for loose connections, punctures or cracks. In my experience, when pneumatic hoses are subjected to overpressure or excess mechanical stress, they usually fail by slipping off their connection points. So go over all your connections and ensure that all stiff tubes are pushed into the flexible hoses as far as they can go (4-5 mm at minimum, or about one "arm" of a pneumatic T-joint).
If that fails to reveal any problems, check the lenghts of the hoses for any punctures or hairline cracks, while the system is under pressure (as the cracks might close and seemingly disappear in the absence of a force that acts to open them from the inside).
2. Hearing
It can be hard to hear the sound of air hissing out of a tiny hole, especially with a compressor running, but if you can find a way to remove the compressor from the setup, you could be able to spot the point of failure.
Ideas to remove the compressor:
 - Let it fill up a pneumatic tank, which is isolated from your system via a valve, then turn off the compressor and throw the pole of the valve open.
 - Add a long enough hose between your system and the compressor so that you can set up the compressor a bit of distance away.
 - Apply pressurized air to your system via some alternate means, like e.g. by blowing into a tube, or via an inflated balloon.
3. Feeling
If the hole is too small to see, the escaping air might still be felt on sensitive areas of skin, like fingertips or your cheeks. The hairs on the back of your hand might be helpful in amplifying the weak air movement into an observable feeling.
4. Bubbles
If all above methods have failed, you could consider submerging your system in water. Only do this, if you can remove ALL electronical components (motors, wires) to a safe distance, and only if your setup does not include pistons with metal shafts. After doing so, you only need to watch for the emerging bubbles to see where does air escape from. Note that your compressor pieces must remain above the waterline, or else they will try to pump water, which can damage your parts from the inside (or just stay there for a long time to come).
As an alternative for localizing holes in certain areas, consider applying soapy water to the suspected parts (Tip by JPhi1618 in comments).
5. Deconstruction and reconstruction
In the improbable case that even the submerging method has failed, you could deconstruct your system, inspect each part individually for their ability to produce/transport/direct/use pressure without loss, and then reassemble it with proven flawless parts.

Soapy water makes bubbles and doesn't require submersing the whole thing.  It's how leaks are found in air/gas lines and car tires.

LEGO Pneumatic system could consist of different elements like hoses, switches, pumps, cylinders and T-junctions. Each one may need different approach.
I could think of several ways of testing these issues.
First one might be a little hard, but depending on the issue could be a quick solution. This would works for any pneumatic element. You need to get into a quiet area and pump pneumatic system as much as you can. Then stop the compressor and if there is quick pressure drop you should listen for any air escape.
Next option is to use water. Depending on your model you could submerge it partially to cover pneumatic connections points while system is under full pressure. If you see any bubbles - that's your problematic area. You need to be cautious aroud any electric parts (motors, batteries and cables) if you have any. You are safe submerging every pneumatic element except cylinders, pumps and switches. Although, I think switches could be safe for water since they don't have metal parts.
In case partial submerging is not possible I could advise using water drops over the hose connection points. That is where hoses connect with everything else.
Testing pumps, cylinders and switches might be a little hard since they got moving parts and seals. If these elements are hard to remove from your model I would attach a closed circle system to each of such elements to pump the air and check if it leaks the air.
Alternatively, if your pneumatic system is easy to disassemble you could try swapping one element at a time and see if that has any effect. I would only do this with pumps, cylinders and switches once confirming hoses are not leaking any air.


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Error correction after building the D11
I just finished the D11 bulldozer. The last LEGO set I built was 55 years ago; now I got this big machine and I really enjoy it!
But I have trouble with the calibration and I think the failure is in the gearbox.
What is the best method to reverse engineer the D11 for error correction?
If possible, I don't want to totally rebuild the whole set.

Without any specific details of your issue there is only one option - rebuild the portion that is causing the issue and paying attention to all the details.

I think it is the best way to fix the problem.

If you can tell us more (what actions you took, what did you expect to happen and what happened instead), provide photos or a video of the failure then we might be able to help. Otherwise the most that can be advised is to compare your model to photos or videos found on the internet (hoping you can spot something different) or try to trace the faulty function from either the motor or from the effector end.

How complicated is a rebuild, I’ve got the same problem

The correction was therefore difficult because many parts had to be dismantled to get to the error. The error already happened during the first construction steps.
But many elements can be dismantled as a whole.
In the end, I had some parts left over that I still don't know where they belong.
All this was a satisfying work!

I made a major rebuild of the D11, opened the gearbox, and found this orange Changeover Rotary Catch in a false position on Step 110 (Page 107) of the instructions. After the correction, the D11 runs fine.

Well done! Don't forget to accept your answer if it did indeed solve the original problem :)

Thank you for your recommandation.

Sometimes the calibration failure can be solved by reinstalling the control+ app.


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Caterpillar D11 (set 42131). Control+ app doesn't seem to work
I just finished my build of the Caterpillar bulldozer D11 (set 42131) and I'm NOT able to operate it with the Control+ app on my iPhone.
First the calibrate process begins:

Step 1 in that is to move the scoop up and down, but instead the plough moves.
Step 2 is supposed to change the angle of the scoop, but nothing happens at all. The Control+ app just keeps playing that engine noise and absolutely nothing happens for minutes until I kill the app.

That is all. Without getting through calibration the model can't be operated.
Obviously I could have wired the 4 motors to the wrong sockets on the control box, but I'm absolutely certain I followed the instructions in the book correctly.
I double and triple checked at that point in the build as I found the pictures in the book not very clear at first. I'm VERY certain I got that right.
Even if I did get the motors mixed up I still expect to see some movement when trying to calibrate. But movement on the wrong parts.
Is there a known issue with the Control+ app for this set? (It works fine, using the same iPhone, with the 42100 Liebherr 9800 excavator set.)
Or do I really have to take the entire thing apart again to get at the wiring? It is really buried deep inside the model so that would be a real pain.

I don't want to say you should have another look at your wiring, but the fact that Step 1 is operating different set of motors than expected there is high chance wrong port might have been used on PUP Hub.

@alex I really can't see how I would have made any mistakes. The instructions on step 178/179 (main pictures) are not immediately obvious which port on the hub is B and which one D (I find the embossed lettering on the hub impossible to read when it is build inside the model), but the insert detail pic on step 179 makes it very clear. Step 198 even makes it more clear with the top-side view. I have to admin I didn't do a test-run at that point, because my phone battery was empty.

I went through instructions to understand how this thing works. I think issue isn't related to cabling (it would be much easier to fix) but to gearbox. There are several places that could get things wrong if not paid much attention and assembled incorrectly and I can see why it needs calibration. It seems that assembled model's default setup is to control plough indeed, which fit your description. But don't have any suggestions what needs fixing, apart from checking each and every tan colored 12T gear, to confirm if their position is correct. Mismatch would result in not operating function.

Check steps 117 and 120 if you have assembled correctly. The thing is that one of two pictured motors switch between functions and the other operate functions. Your issue seem to be related to the switching between functions, not its operation. Position model in such a way that you could observe what is going on with orange 2L beam placed in step 117 and try calibration again. As far as I understand "switch" motor has to turn this beam 90 degrees up (from pictured position) to enable 1st function (that is the blade). 180 degree (opposite dirtection from pic.) for 2nd function.

@Alex I spend an hour last night pouring over the instructions and I came to the same conclusion. It seems that clutch system is more likely the cause of the problem than the wiring. I'll try to reverse the assembly into the various sub-module stages all the way back to stage 2 this weekend. It would at least save me from having to rebuild every sub-module. Only undo/redo the parts that provide the connections between the modules or build on top of them.

@Alex If you would care to convert your last comment into an answer I will accept it. You were spot on. I disassembled back until step 120 and then found that the positioning of the 2L was 90 degrees off. I must have accidentally turned it during the initial assembly.

Converting my last comments into an answer.
I went through the instructions to understand how this thing works. I think your issue isn't related to cabling (it would be much easier to fix) but there is something wrong inside the gearbox. There are several places that could get things wrong if enough attention has not been paid and it was assembled incorrectly. And I can see why it needs calibration. It seems to me that assembled model's default setup is to control the plough indeed, which fits your description.
Check steps 117 and 120 if you have assembled correctly. The thing is that one of the two pictured motors switch between functions and the other motor operates functions. Your issue seems to be related to the switching between functions, not its operation. Position the model in such a way that you can observe what is going on with orange 2L beam placed in step 117 and try calibration again. As far as I understand the "switch" motor has to turn this beam 90 degrees up (from pictured position) to enable 1st function (that is the blade); 180 degree (opposite direction from pic) for 2nd function.

I had the same problem as you and solved it. For me, the error is in step 87. I had mounted the orange part in the wrong side and it jammed the whole system from turning right.

Hope this is useful to you!

Welcome to Bricks.SE! Thanks for sharing your solution.

This was my mistake too. Thanks


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What is the max current for the EV3 I/O port's VCC pin (pin 4)?
The LEGO EV3 Hardware developer kit says that the fourth pin of the input or output port provides a voltage of 5 volts but doesn't give the maximum current that can be drawn from the pin.
What is the max current that can be drained from the VCC pin (pin 4 at 5V)?

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


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How can I tell which LEGO minifigure I found?
I found a mini-figure on the ground by a recycling bin. I want to figure out what set/collection he belongs to but can't find anything other than how to tell what you're getting in a blind bag.
He's normal size for a mini-fig, not a shorty or anything.
He has a dark red pirate bandana type hat with a "tail" hanging down his head.
His head is grey or grey-green with green eyebrows and cheek markings and pointy looking bottom teeth made to look protruding from his mouth.
His torso is a dark orange with a silver breastplate and brown straps on his back. Also there is a dark red belt. His arms are black and his hands are brown.
His pants are red but not dark red like his hat.
He's a mean looking guy and doesn't seem to match Pirates of the Caribbean or Lord of the Rings/Hobbit but looks like he would fit in with those sets.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

A picture would significantly help identification.  Also, your minifigure may in fact not be one figure, but a composition of different figures.  We are talking about LEGO after all.

The torso is from Lando Calrissian.

The rest of the parts are from Kithaba.

They both came in the 2012 Desert Skiff Star Wars set

That's an impressive bit of detective work!

@JustinCase to some people the point of Lego is that you can mix and match the pieces, and that's how they use it. Not everyone just buys it, assembles it according to the instructions, then displays it.


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7938 LEGO train not working (not cargo train)
My son Joel has his 7938 train built but it's not working! Have batteries in battery box & remote control-HELP please! New batteries-assembled properly.

Hi Lorraine, and welcome. For us to be able to help you and answer your questions, you would need to provide some more details, for example pictures of the train and how it's assembled, as well as more specific information as to how it is "not working". Does the light on the remote control light up? Does the light on the battery box light up?

All the lights, light up.  Assembled correctly. New Duracell batteries in properly.

Is the remote control set to the same channel as the receiver on the train?

Yes, the remote control is set to the same channel as the receiver on the train.

I finally got it working with yet another set of brand new Duracell batteries-the fault was with Duracell!


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Do these bagged GUDI pieces make up a single set?
I purchased what I thought was some second-hand LEGO today. There was a single plastic bag with the words "Complete Set" written on it in sharpie marker. There were 6 sealed polybags inside, all with pieces that look similar in colour (lotsa pinks, purples, browns and whites).
On closer inspection, some of the pieces bear the logo "GUDI" which I gather is a Chinese manufacturer specialising in 'Lego-style blocks'. Most of the bags have a number on them (5538.01, 5538.02, etc) but I've not been able to research any GUDI sets that have that number.

Do these pieces comprise a single set (and if so, which one?) or is the bag author a no-good lying liar?

What's the trans light blue part in the largest bag? I don't recognize it, but it looks like one of the most distinctive parts here. Maybe if you can identify it, you can go through all sets on Bricklink that include this part.

@Emil - A) It's not a LEGO set, so bricklink is useless and B) I'm pretty sure that's a generic *"Brick separator*" that comes with all GUDI sets.

Ah, I should have read the complete post. ;) I thought it looked like a brick separator, but was wandering because Lego doesn't have one in this color.

@Emil - It's frustrating as hell, The bags even have the product code on them, but google is proving useless because GUDI don't seem to publish a catalogue

Yeah, the pieces tricked me too.   I just half read what was written, glanced at the pieces, and amused the "GUDI" stamped on the studded bricks was the "LEGO" stamp. I went looking on Bricklink for sets, but oddly couldn't get a hit.  Then I finally stopped, slowed myself down, and finally understood that these were clones.

So, I just Googled "GUDI" + "catalogue" and it brought me to the knockoff's parent company "Guangdong Xinlexin Education and Culture Co.,Ltd" or Xinlexin.com.
Xinlexin's GUDI product line has two subcategories that match the color scheme of these pieces.

Princess Alice line.
Modern Girls line.

Below are pictures from both lines that comprise of around 23 sets.  If you'll notice, each set has many unique identifiable pieces that just don't appear in the current six poly bags above.
The only piece that comes close is that blue translucent piece in BAG 06, which sorta looks like the minidoll dress from Elena's Studio.

I don't think it's this dress, but regardless if it were, the poly bags are still short critical pieces to solidly decide on this set.  In fact, we're short critical pieces to decide on any of the other 23 sets.
Another point: We don't know how far back Xinlexin website goes when listing their knockoffs.  This could be a complete set before GUDI decided to list their wares digitally.
Conclusion: We could safely say that these 6 poly bags are not from any of Xinlexin's current line of 23 sets, but due to lack of documentation, we can't say that these pieces do, or do not, form a complete set.

These appear to be recent sets numbered sequentially from 9012-9020 and 9601-9615. I would assume (based on the number on the bags) that mine are from an earlier set.

For the record, I'm pretty certain that the blue translucent piece is a "brick separator" mentioned on multiple GUDI reviews.

I've emailed Xinlexin. Hopefully they can shed some light.

For the record, they didn't email me back, despite several tries.


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Totally stumped! Part ID - unusual crane part?
Is anyone able to identify this piece? I'm totally stumped in spite of searching through hundreds of vintage sets from the 60s / 70s.

Really appreciate any info, thanks!

You could try brickset, although they probably wouldn't have it since they don't have parts from the 60s and 70s. The earliest they have is the 1990s. Try going through the categories after you click on "Parts" in the "Browse" pull-down menu.

This seems to be a subpart of another assembly - likely housing some sort of electronics in the left section. You can see how the right side has the proper anti-stud tubes under the brick, but the left side looks different. This side also has the two holes (one between the left 4 studs, the other one on the sloped piece) and you can see some tabs on the inside of the brick which were likely used to mount this part of the brick onto something else (or perhaps this part was closed with a bottom lid at some point). I have looked through the BrickLink catalog but haven't yet found a match.

Thank you, I too had no luck on brickset or bricklink, but I must've been looking in the wrong places, as it is there. It reminds me of some of the unwieldy parts made around 2000, but clearly had a purpose in its time.

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


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Bag Identification
I have a random bag #3 from an unknown set. Bag has normal 135149 number and 2011 on it. The pieces are all light gray, dark gray, black and green!?! any ideas on what set it might be?

Welcome to this site. Bag number and copyright date mean nothing (they merely identify the bag design and give a lower limit for when the set was produced (2011 in this case)). Can you post a picture of the bag and its contents?

Hopefully pics help!

This bag is from 76003-1: Superman: Battle of Smallville, based on

Plate 6X6 in Medium Stone Grey
Technic Brick 1X12, Ø4,9 in Medium Stone Grey
Roof Tile 1X3/25° in Dark Green

and Technic 3M Beam in yellow + Plate 2X3 in Brick Yellow are also in this set

Beat me by 12 seconds! Good job, I agree on 76003.

Beat me by 40 minutes, I should have kept checking back to see if someone had answered. How did you do it?

authors: Альона Ковач


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Displaying Minifigs and avoiding discolouration
I have just made some frames (IKEA box frame, white mount board, 70 2x4 white bricks per frame, and super glue) to display some of my minifigure collection:

Really pleased with the results (and even my wife is happy to have them on display in the house).  I am however a little anxious about discolouration as some of the minifigures, especially the Star Wars ones, are reasonably valuable.  I will hang them up the stairs in our house which does face North, so may be worrying unnecessarily.  However would like to understand if there is anything else I should be doing to protect them.  For instance, is discolouration due to UV light, and can you buy a clear UV film to put on the perspex?
Would love to find a way to put my collection on display to enjoy it, but ensuring that I don't ruin it in the process.

Our friends over on Photography have a couple of good suggestions, including a spray-on option if you don't want to shell out for new glass.

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

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


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By number of distinct colors, what official LEGO set has the most pieces?
A recent question shows the "monochrome" Steamboat Willie set actually contains about 20 colors. I was expecting fewer, maybe a dozen or so at most. So this got me wondering...
By number of distinct brick colors, what official LEGO set has the most pieces?
For example:

1 color: ____?
2 colors: Maybe 27 pieces for 40045 Shark
3 colors: Maybe 1211 pieces for 21050 Architecture Studio
4 colors: ____?
5 colors: ____?
...
50 colors: ____?
....

Each transparent color counts as a distinct color, as does metallic and glitter, and historic colors count, too. As shared in a comment, Bricklink recognizes up to about 100 colors. Colors on mini-figures do not count.
Past or current sets count. The only stipulation is that the set is an official LEGO one. This question might show a trend in themes: Architecture for example probably wins on fewest colors / most pieces, while Creator might take most colors / most pieces.
A similar question asks: What Lego set has the most unique colours?

Your URL points to TLG color palette available in 2016. However, some colors have been discontinued and some new ones were introduced since then. Bricklink recognise more than 100

@Alex Ooh, you are right. I had forgotten about the glitter and metallic and orher effects bricks, as well as historically the color palette changing. Thank you for bringing this up: I will amend my question.

A/some trivial data points to your list can be found by counting the number of colours in the set(s) containing the most pieces overall. No matter how many pieces are in the MF, that  set must take the price for that number of colors.

I have a few:

3 colors: 2882 parts for 3450
6/5 colors: 4502 parts for
40179. Note: color count depends if you include brick separator
as a part or not.
11 colors: 2428 parts for 10181
15 colors: 2455 parts for 2000431
23 colors: 7513 for 75192
37 colors: 2613 parts for 2000430

Awesome list. That's an interesting point about the separator. I think the separator would count, as it is identifiably colored like a brick -- unlike minifigs whose colors aren't documented, I think.


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What are the curve radii for the curved slope pieces?
Does anyone have a table with the curve radii for the curved slope pieces?
If not, does anyone have a good idea for measuring a third point on the curve?
Since I know the front and the back "coordinates" of the curve piece, I need a third point to get the radius. I was thinking about making some sort of jig, but I don't have any good ideas.

On reddit, user Pegajace used AutoCAD and LDraw models to produce the following results:

From the album https://i.sstatic.net/LOAeL.jpg
Probably, the ones with 100.0 LDU and 170.00 LDU radii are correct, however the other ones that don't report an integral number of LDUs are probably slightly off.
I remember a presentation from a Lego Designer Michael 'Mike' Psiaki (who worked among others on the roller-coaster and Saturn V sets) at the LEGO Portugal fan weekend 2018 where the radii were presented in a table and only one curved slope had a non-integral radius.
Unfortunately taking pictures of the presentation was discouraged.

These curves have been approximated by the contributors to the LDraw project. You can download free software to view and use the part files, from which you can approximate other points on the curve. For example, here is an LDraw part file shown in "wire-frame" mode:

LDraw parts are drawn in increments of the "LDraw Unit" (LDU) in which a standard 1x1 brick is 20 LDU wide by 24 LDU high (not including the top stud). By examining the part in an LDraw viewer, I was able to establish the coordinates of some of the points on the curve: