text:
Are there any flat plates with beveled or sharp edges?
I'm currently making a functional minifigure-scaled escalator that ideally move like this. Progress has been made on both the stair slope and staircase design (both respectively pictured below), and now I'm working on a sort of guide for the staircase to transition into flat platform.

However, I've come to an issue regarding the height of the guide being 1 plate thick, as I've yet to find any flat plates or bricks of plate width with the appropriate bevel to prevent the staircase shafts from getting snagged. Currently, the only "beveled" plates that I could think of is the 22385 pentagonal plate, and the 15070 modified plate with tooth and its other variants.
Are there any other kinds of "beveled" bricks should I know of or any legal building techniques that can create a sturdy plate-width edge or slope that could be utilized here? Either way, I want a result such as this image (note the red plates and the drawn-in edge):

Here is another view of the overhang, and also beveling attempt using the pentagon plate:

It is paramount that this guiding overhang is 1 stud in width or shorter, 1 flat plate tall, and built using only legal techniques.
I am also aware of the dedicated escalator piece but I won't be using it due to the complex nature of my build.
EDIT: This might be an illegal technique, but I might have found a method for sloping, which utilizes a panel atop 1x1 brick with stud on the side and a 1x1 headlight brick joined at the side. This is the base, with the two snot pieces forming an offset stud arrangement on top.

And this is the base with the panel connected with the two studs, making it slanted.

While I have tested this with my available bricks and it works, I still don't know if it's a legal building technique or not, so please inform me.
EDIT 2: I was informed by @Sander De Dycker that this building method is illegal, as the top studs are slightly further away than normal. However, since this slanted panel is very close to my desired outcome in terms of angle (280 degrees as Stud.io informed), I am in search of legal building techniques that produces the same result.

There is 49668 Plate, Modified 1 x 1 with Tooth Horizontal, would that work? Or alternatively 4740 Dish 2 x 2 Inverted (Radar)…

There are some other fangs in addition to what @PhilB. mentioned... but I don't think they would work as most have stud above sloped part.

Your updated question asks whether what you suggest is an illegal building technique. "illegal" is typically shorthand for "puts stress on the brick(s)". And this does, since the two studs the panel attaches to are slightly farther apart than normal. So it would be "illegal". Though, in the end, it's up to you if and how you want to stress your bricks :)

Okay then. At least I think I have a lead on my issue now.

Update: After testing out the design with physical bricks, I have come to the conclusion that my iteration using the 22385 pentagonal plate at a jumper offset would have created a serviceable bevel to have the staircase shafts guided up with relative smoothness. The design is as below:

The thinnest curved lip I can think of is Panel Curved 2 x 1 x 1 :

You'd still have to accommodate for the axle hole, but there appears to be room for that in your design (possibly just held by gravity).

I do not believe smaller sloped elements than these exist:

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=11477
And some wedged variants:
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=29119
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=29120
(1 module x 2 modules x 2 plates)
2 plates high overall but on average a little less.

See 50950 Slope, curved, 3x1 and 61678 Slope, curved, 4x1.

These suggestions are too thick for the overhang and the staircase. I need something that is about as thin as a flat plate but with a slope or edge.


text:
Help identify set - Star Wars Episode 1-3 Era
Been organizing old toys and ran into this completely built part that looks like some backdrop item from Tatooine - a vertical thing you see near Luke's farm. It looks very familiar, and I can swear I saw it on one of the boxes along some other, main thing.

For reference, the same box had a Gionossian fighter from Episode 2 and Darth Vader's ship from Force Unleashed series. Images of those below.

These parts are from
4488: Millennium Falcon
this set contains additional parts to build a Y-wing Fighter when also using additional parts from sets 4489, 4490 and 4491.

That's a great find! I think it might be from set 4491 though, since I also found a bunch of loose brown block that fit the picture. Thank you!

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


text:
LEGO Bugatti Issues
This is my first post and my first LEGO set.
I recently built LEGO Bugatti Chiron with all the features working.
I am however having an issue with the rear axle/wheels.
The rear brake calipers fall off and touch the alloy itself. Also, one of the gears falls out if I push the suspension too hard!

Welcome to Bricks.SE! Bugatti Chiron is pretty big set and contain a lot of gears. Could you post a picture of the gear you have trouble with? In case it is hard to take picture of that particular location, perhaps referring to certain step in instructions could be beneficial to address your issue.

Should that be "red brake calipers" instead of "read break calipers"? Or better still "rear brake calipers". And also "rear axle/wheels" instead of "real axle/wheels"

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


text:
Bricks with an axle hole
I'm looking for bricks/elements with an axle hole in it "sideways". I.e. so the axle hole direction is perpendicular to the stud direction.
The 1x1 and 1x2 technic bricks are obvious, but besides that, I can find only one other brick which seems to me pretty rare/exotic. I thought there were more.

Can you include the name of the "one other brick" in your question so that other people don't suggest it as an answer?
Gotta say though, I just did a quick scan in BL and I think you might be right. Would it be worth mentioning some simple two part combinations that might satisfy your requirements? (ForEx: Combine Technic, Brick Modified 2 x 2 with Ball Socket and Axle Hole (62712) or it's several variants with Technic Ball Joint with Through Axle Hole (53585)

Most connector pieces with axle holes have no orientation - ie. they can be oriented however you prefer - including with the axle hole sideways. I suspect that's not what you're after, and you're looking for parts that have both studs and an axle hole  (sideways) ?

Bar 1 x 8 with Brick 1 x 2 Curved Top End (Axle Holder Inside Small End)

Technic, Brick 2 x 6 x 1 1/3 with Axle Holes and Bottom Stud Holders (and its lightweight variant)

I'd like to nominate the following pieces:

Propeller Housing

Brick, Modified 2 x 4 x 2 with Holes on Sides

Photo showing the axle holes of the same brick, courtesy of Sander De Dycker from the comments:

Brick, Modified Octagonal 2 x 2 x 3 1/3 with Side Studs

They all have axle holes that are perpendicular to some of their studs.

Some more : Plate, Modified 2 x 2 with Pin Hole on Side and Axle Hole on Bottom, Projectile Launcher, 2 x 4 with 5 Studs, Axle Hole and Pin Lever, Technic, Brick Modified 2 x 2 with Axle Hole, Rotation Joint Ball Half Vertical, and Fist, Technic, Brick 2 x 4 x 1 1/3 with Axle Holes and 2 x 2 Cutout

The picture of part 6061 does not show that it has axle holes.  Does anyone have a better picture of that?

@chicks : just took a picture of one (lighting not ideal, but should be good enough to show these indeed have axle holes) : https://i.sstatic.net/goMei.jpg

@SanderDeDycker If you were to add this list as a separate answer, I'd gladly upvote it for the list of exotic parts it contains.

@zovits : I didn't add another answer because I don't feel it would improve on the answers already provided. The parts I listed are either so rare/specific they're unlikely to be useful for the op's purposes, or are a variation of a part already included in an answer. Iow - I didn't want to confuse the matter with a third answer. Feel free to include the parts in your answer if you think there's value in it.

@Sander, the purpose I have in mind is very specific so I didn't bother including it in my question. However, I think a complete list of stuff with axle holes in it (and searching in bricklink seems to miss most of the ones listed here) even though the elements are exotic would be of general use. I have no strong opinion wheter that list should be an additional answer or Zovits answer should be expanded.

Since there seems to be a consensus an additional answer is not a problem, I've added one to help complete the list.

Since a few people have expressed they wouldn't mind an additional answer, here are some more parts to add to the list, without expectation that they're going to be particularly useful to the OP.
Some rare/exotic parts :
Plate, Modified 2 x 2 with Pin Hole on Side and Axle Hole on Bottom :

Projectile Launcher, 2 x 4 with 5 Studs, Axle Hole and Pin Lever :

Technic, Brick Modified 2 x 2 with Axle Hole, Rotation Joint Ball Half Vertical, and Fist :

And finally also a variation of a part from @IvanSanchez' answer (simply added for completeness) :
Technic, Brick 2 x 4 x 1 1/3 with Axle Holes and 2 x 2 Cutout :

While also not likely what OP thought of, several electric and pullback (non-electric) motors fit this description (although the axle hole usually rotates).
Some examples:
Electric, Motor WeDo 2.0 Medium:

Pullback Motor 9 x 4 x 2 2/3:

Electric, Train Motor 9V RC Train:

Power Functions M-Motor:


text:
Kick a LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT p-Brick out of SAM-BA mode without writing new firmware?
I recently received a LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT p-Brick which, surprisingly, still has the original retail V1.01 firmware on it.
My goal is to extract its current firmware image to a file while maintaining the original condition of the p-Brick, so I'm currently experimenting on a completely different p-Brick that already has V1.31 on it to get my procedure down first.
Since I'm on macOS, via Homebrew I've installed the Bossa tools (the BOSSA GUI app, bossac and bossash):
$ brew install bossa
#...

I can get the candidate into SAM-BA mode by press-and-holding the reset button for several seconds, plugging in a USB cable, and accessing it via the presented USBSerial port (Atmel Corp. at92sam SAMBA bootloader, vid:0x03e8, pid:0x6124):
$ ls -la /dev/tty.usb*
crw-rw-rw-  1 root  wheel   18,   4 26 Jan 11:16 /dev/tty.usbmodem14431301

$ bossac --port /dev/tty.usbmodem14431301 --read "V1.31.rfw"
Read 262144 bytes from flash
[==============================] 100% (1024/1024 pages)
Done in 3.838 seconds

$ bossac --port /dev/tty.usbmodem14431301 --boot=1 --reset
Set boot flash true

This works except that the p-Brick doesn't actually reboot into the LEGO firmware, it reboots into the SAM-BA boot loader again. It seems like SAM-BA doesn't honor the --boot flag until a new firmware image has been written because it will actually reboot into the LEGO firmware after I write one with the following:
$ bossac --port /dev/tty.usbmodem14431301 --unlock
Unlock all regions

$ bossac --port /dev/tty.usbmodem14431301 --erase --write LEGO-MINDSTORMS-NXT-Firmware-V1.31.rfw --verify
Erase flash

Done in 0.035 seconds
Write 262144 bytes to flash (1024 pages)
[==============================] 100% (1024/1024 pages)
Done in 15.709 seconds
Verify 262144 bytes of flash
[==============================] 100% (1024/1024 pages)
Verify successful
Done in 3.870 seconds

$ bossac --port /dev/tty.usbmodem14431301 --boot=1 --reset

The experience is the same when using bossash:
$ bossash
Press Ctrl-D or enter "exit" to end session.
Enter "help" to display a command list.
bossa> connect /dev/tty.usbmodem14431301
Connected to device on /dev/tty.usbmodem14431301
bossa> info
Device       : AT91SAM7S256
Version      : v1.4 Nov 10 2004 14:49:33
Address      : 0x100000
Pages        : 1024
Page Size    : 256 bytes
Total Size   : 256KB
Planes       : 1
Lock Regions : 16
Locked       : none
Security     : false
BOD          : false
BOR          : false
bossa> read V1.31.rfw
count:0 offset:0
Read 262144 bytes from flash
[==============================] 100% (1024/1024 pages)
Read successful
bossa> bootf true
Boot to flash flag set to true
bossa> reset
# ^ USBSerial disconnects here due to software reset

bossa> connect /dev/tty.usbmodem14431301
Connected to device on /dev/tty.usbmodem14431301
bossa> erase
Erase flash
Flash is erased
bossa> write LEGO-MINDSTORMS-NXT-Firmware-V1.31.rfw
Write 262144 bytes to flash (1024 pages)
[==============================] 100% (1024/1024 pages)
Write successful
bossa> verify LEGO-MINDSTORMS-NXT-Firmware-V1.31.rfw
Verify 262144 bytes of flash
[==============================] 100% (1024/1024 pages)
Verify successful
bossa> bootf true
Boot to flash flag set to true
bossa> reset

i.e.: the first reset after reading only boots into SAM-BA again, the second reset after erasing and writing actually boots into the LEGO firmware.
So my question: is there a trick to bypass the SAM-BA boot loader and manually reset the boot flag via bossash?
I imagine it could be done from bossash with the mwb or mww commands but I'm not familiar enough with the AT91SAM7S256 to know which memory-mapped register address(es) I need to poke.

Sadly, after experimenting with different official firmware versions on a sacrificial unit, I've determined that the SAM-BA boot loader and related client tools are not going to be suitable for the task of extracting an existing firmware image from a NXT p-Brick.
The --boot flag actually doesn't have anything to do the problem I was experiencing with because the NXT p-Brick is always in boot-to-flash mode.
Through trials of writing, reading and verifying firmware images before a --reset operation, followed by reading and verifying firmware images after re-entering SAM-BA mode, I've determined that the NXT p-Brick does something unexpected:

After long-pressing the reset button on the NXT p-Brick the first 0x1200 bytes (0x0000-0x11ff) of flash memory get overwritten by a standard program. Maybe this is the SAM-BA boot loader copied from the mask ROM inside the AT91SAM7S256 itself.
This destructive operation overwrites the beginning of any existing firmware image, e.g.: official LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT firmware.
There's no recovering from this unless you can restore the first 0x1200 bytes of flash from another source, such as a previously captured firmware image.

This is why the --reset operation only worked after writing new firmware, because the program in the first 0x1200 bytes of flash memory itself gets overwritten by the new firmware image and the subsequent reboot starts executing user code again.
I'm glad I tried developing the procedure on a different p-Brick first!
I'll move on to investigate other options, such as finding a solder-free connection to the JTAG pads on the p-Brick's mainboard and using a debugger.


text:
How to use REPL on the 51515 hub?
I've just got access to a 51515 Hub and I tried to connect to it as a serial port (with baudrate 115200), however it's spamming the console with motor/sensor data:
{"m":0,"p":[[62, [11]], [0, []], [0, []], [0, []], [0, []], [0, []], [-30, -9, 1008], [0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 1], "", 12105]}
{"m":0,"p":[[62, [11]], [0, []], [0, []], [0, []], [0, []], [0, []], [-30, -8, 1007], [0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 1], "", 12105]}
{"m":0,"p":[[62, [11]], [0, []], [0, []], [0, []], [0, []], [0, []], [-30, -8, 1006], [0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 1], "", 12105]}
{"m":0,"p":[[62, [11]], [0, []], [0, []], [0, []], [0, []], [0, []], [-30, -8, 1006], [0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 1], "", 12105]}
{"m":0,"p":[[62, [11]], [0, []], [0, []], [0, []], [0, []], [0, []], [-29, -7, 1007], [0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 1], "", 12105]}
{"m":0,"p":[[62, [11]], [0, []], [0, []], [0, []], [0, []], [0, []], [-30, -8, 1007], [0, 0, 0], [0, 0, 1], "", 12105]}

I found a few related posts:

Spike Prime remote command using screen
I've figured out how to access the Spike/Mindstorms 51515 hub serial ports (bluetooth and usb) from python

I haven't found any info related to the sensor data which is preventing me from inputting new commands via USB VCP. (My hunch is because I've connected via bluetooth and used the app  the getting started exercises).
In this case, what's the easiest way to connect to the hub via USB VCP and use the Python REPL ?
Update
I've noticed that I can send Ctrl+C(KeyboardInterrupt) via VCP and with a bit of luck on timing the spam stops and I can type commands prototype directly on the REPL.
I've also tried rshell. Initially, because of my unorthodox Python setup I couldn't run rshell. Even though it didn't get added to PATH I could still run the command manually:
c:\users\george.profenza\.pyenv\pyenv-win\versions\3.6.4-amd64\Scripts\rshell.exe -p COM3
Using buffer-size of 512
Connecting to COM3 (buffer-size 512)...
Trying to connect to REPL  connected
Testing if ubinascii.unhexlify exists ... Y
/ /commands/ /event_loop/ /mindstorms/ /programrunner/ /protocol/ /sounds/ /spike/ /ui/ /hub_runtime.mpy/ /version.py/ /.runtime_hash/ /etc/ /extra_files/ /.extra_files_hash/ /runtime.log/
Setting time ... Feb 05, 2022 01:01:53
Evaluating board_name ... pyboard
Retrieving time epoch ... Jan 01, 2000
Welcome to rshell. Use the exit command to exit rshell.

I could list hub content, but I couldn't figure out how to start a REPL session to type Python commands for the hub to execute directly.
https://lego.github.io/MINDSTORMS-Robot-Inventor-hub-API/pkg_hub.html

I've used rshell for this. It's available on PyPI, so it can be installed using:
sudo pip3 install rshell

You may need to provide the device to connect to such as:
rshell -p /dev/ttyACM0

To get a Python repl, you can either type repl at the shell on the device, or you can run rshell as:
rshell repl

That gives me an interactive repl without all of the data logging noise that you mentioned.

Thank you very much for the answer(+1). I did get rshell setup, however I'm missing something: I couldn't run Python ommands in rshell. How would I go about using rshell to type Python commands on my laptop so the hub can executre

@GeorgeProfenza You should be able to run repl from the shell or run rshell as rshell repl.

Just had a d'oh moment: there's a repl command :)))
Thank you so much! I'll post a follow-up question on how to programmatically send commands to the hub from a computer via VCP.

Just saw your github repos: OMG! Awesome stuff (e.g. connectiongrammar). robot-inventor-cli is just what I was looking for as my next step. Also, using pyserial without timeout=0 works too. Many thanks!

@GeorgeProfenza Thanks! I'm glad you got it figured out.


text:
How to cross compile for ev3dev using Docker
How to add ev3dev libraries/headers to docker cross-compile setup?
I have assembled ev3dev on BrickPi (with Raspberry Pi 1 - chip BCM2835). I think, it all should be pretty similar for EV3 brick too. I do want to cross-compile and I have been able to download the docker image:
`ev3dev/debian-stretch-cross   latest    8e3b0aa8f243   4 years ago     732MB`
`ev3cc                         latest    8e3b0aa8f243   4 years ago     732MB`

I access the compiler via docker run (docker run --rm -it -v /home/r0bis/src/robotics/helloArm/:/src -w /src ev3cc)
The compiler can compile hello world program that I can then put on RPI and run successfully. However when I try to compile examples that include ev3dev specific libraries it fails. In the tutorial I do not find what would be the best way to add the missing libraries. I thought that the libraries/headers would be included in the docker image; maybe they are and I just do not know something. Help would be much appreciated.
Screenshots
compiler@3547e87f257e:/src$ arm-linux-gnueabi-gcc port.c -o port
port.c:8:17: fatal error: ev3.h: No such file or directory
 #include "ev3.h"
                 ^
compilation terminated.

Desktop:

Manjaro Linux 64 bit
Connection Type: SSH over ethernet
Software: Text editor, ssh/sftp connection; would like to set up VSCode eventually

Robot:

Device: BrickPi 3 (Raspberry Pi 1 B+ (BCM2835)
Versions:

System info (from ev3dev-sysinfo)
Image file:         ev3dev-stretch-rpi-generic-2020-04-10
Kernel version:     4.14.114-ev3dev-2.3.5-rpi
Brickman:           0.10.3
BogoMIPS:           697.95
Bluetooth:
Board:              board0
BOARD_INFO_HW_REV=0010
BOARD_INFO_MODEL=Raspberry Pi Model B Plus Rev 1.2
BOARD_INFO_SERIAL_NUM=00000000d374d92b
BOARD_INFO_TYPE=main

You might want to file a github issue with ev3dev.  https://www.ev3dev.org/support/ explains how.  Please drop a link to the github issue back here so folks can see how it goes.

I have done so already and I am reading into docker technology as well. I will post all back here when it is solved

So the answer is mainly about usage of docker in context of cross compiling for RaspberryPi.
First we get the cross compiler docker image (you need to be part of docker group or use sudo):
docker pull ev3dev/debian-stretch-cross

That gives you the cross compiler environment, but to have ev3dev specific C headers, you need to get them there. They belong to https://github.com/in4lio/ev3dev-c and you need to compile and install them. Instructions are given in `https://github.com/in4lio/ev3dev-c/tree/stretch/docker/README.md' file - which you will also have if you do
mkdir -p ~/src
cd ~/src
git clone https://github.com/in4lio/ev3dev-c.git

Because I want the C development headers in place (they get put into /usr/local/include/) and not install every time I run the container I put them inside the Docker image. To do that I open the Dockerfile located inside ~/src/ev3dev-c/docker/ and make edits. They are not the best, probably, since I probably use sudo too much, but here is the modified Dockerfile:
FROM ev3dev/debian-stretch-cross:latest

RUN sudo apt-get update
RUN sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends swig3.0 python-dev
RUN sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends build-essential
RUN sudo apt-get install -y --no-install-recommends git
WORKDIR /home/robot
RUN sudo git clone https://github.com/in4lio/ev3dev-c.git
WORKDIR /home/robot/ev3dev-c
RUN sudo git submodule update --init --recursive
WORKDIR /home/robot/ev3dev-c/source/ev3/
RUN sudo make && sudo make install
RUN sudo make shared && make shared-install
RUN sudo rm -rf /var/lib/apt/lists/*

It works and the resulting image will be about 300 MB larger than ev3dev/debian-stretch-cross. In order to make the image file you change into the same directory as the Dockerfile is, make sure your 2 files you will need to execute have execute permissions (e.g. chmod ug+x ./build.sh) and run the build.sh file. After a little while it should successfully add ev3cc image to your docker images and you can now run it executing dock.sh
[user@computer ev3dev-c]$ docker images
REPOSITORY                    TAG       IMAGE ID       CREATED         SIZE
ev3cc                         latest    021f7f962c28   9 minutes ago   1.09GB

Before executing dock.sh though, change one directory up. The script mounts your current directory into a corresponding directory inside the container, where you can do the compilation. (And while you are at it, do not forget to examine Dockerfile and other small files in the same folder - they are very small scripts and pretty self-explanatory)
cd ..
./docker/dock.sh

then you will be put inside the container prompt and will be able to compile the hello example issuing make command:
compiler@ev3dev:/home/robot/ev3dev-c$ cd eg/hello/
compiler@ev3dev:/home/robot/ev3dev-c/eg/hello$ make
make -f ../Makefile.Debug
make[1]: Entering directory '/home/robot/ev3dev-c/eg/hello'
arm-linux-gnueabi-gcc -I. -I../../source/ev3 -I../../3d_party -O2 -std=gnu99 -W -Wall -Wno-comment -c hello.c -o ../../object/hello.o
arm-linux-gnueabi-gcc ../../object/modp_numtoa.o ../../object/brick.o ../../object/crc32.o ../../object/ev3.o ../../object/ev3_dc.o ../../object/ev3_led.o ../../object/ev3_light.o ../../object/ev3_port.o ../../object/ev3_sensor.o ../../object/ev3_servo.o ../../object/ev3_tacho.o ../../object/hello.o -o Debug/hello -lm
***  Debug/hello ***
make[1]: Leaving directory '/home/robot/ev3dev-c/eg/hello'
compiler@ev3dev:/home/robot/ev3dev-c/eg/hello$
compiler@ev3dev:/home/robot/ev3dev-c/eg/hello$ ls -l Debug/
total 116
-rwxr-xr-x 1 compiler compiler 111140 Jun  3 11:26 hello
drwxr-xr-x 2 compiler compiler   4096 Jun  2 16:14 mingw

Now as you have seen your compiled hello example is in your Debug subdirectory and it is accessible to your host computer (because of -v volume mount from docker run options in dock.sh) as ~/src/ev3dev-c/eg/hello/Debug/
You can use any ssh transfer program such as FileZilla to transport the compiled hello binary to your robot and run it there - for example from ssh prompt. Connection to your robot via ssh is described here  - but any tutorial how to connect to another computer via ssh will do. You just need to know either the IP address of your robot, or it's resolvable hostname on your local network:
robot@ev3dev:~$ ./hello
Hello, LEGO World!

So cross compilation works, but now for RaspberryPi (using BrickPi 3) I need to understand how to deal with the problem that brickpi3 does not automatically recognise motors or sensors plugged into the ports - i.e. supplied examples do not work. For EV3, though, things should be fine. - YES, checked - works fine for EV3.
AND Brickpi3 works fine too - it is just that instead of autodetection routines you need to supply which port number the motor is actually plugged in :-)
If you have not installed the ev3dev c libraries on your raspberrypi - not to worry, you can just tell the compiler to make the program with static libraries; file size is not very large (about 600 kb).


text:
What is this minifig/minidoll?
I found this minifig or minidoll.
What is it and where is it from?
I tried asking the people in the store, but they didn't know, and I couldn't find much by searching since I don't even know what type of minifig it is.

That is Jack Stone, a figure AFOLs love to hate.
from 4617-1: Dual Turbo Prop

Brickipedia page
https://lego.fandom.com/wiki/Jack_Stone_(Theme)


text:
Was the color variation on 1970's transparent pieces really that bad or are mine unusual?
Having gone through a bunch of old 1970's Lego (I rebuild all my original sets during the Covid lockdown) I noticed that color-less transparent bricks and slopes have a lot of color variation to them.
These pieces are supposed to be "plain" glass. Not the multitude of trans-clear colors we have today. While they are all supposed to be "uncolored" I found that there are at least 4 distinct colors variants:

Plain "uncolored" glass
A very light grey-ish variant
A very light blue-ish variant
A very light brownish variant

I know that Lego has changed dyes and plastic composition over time and that has an effect on color.
However this is more than a slight variation. The faint color is noticeable even if you look at a single piece without another piece near it for reference.
Side by side the color difference really stands out.
This discoloration is not from storage conditions. This Lego has been stored in boxes in a closed cupboard (no UV exposure) at constant temperature (19-20 Celsius) for many years. Even if there was some storage effect it would have affected all the Lego in the same way.
Furthermore: I clearly remember that as a kid back in the 70's I already noticed this and I tried to use only the same color variant in a single build.
I also recall having 2 identical sets (653) with different colors for the transparent pieces and also having 2 color variants appear in a single set (420 and 445).
Was this normal back in the day or are my examples unusual?

https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/86301-trans-clear-lego-thru-the-years/

It would have been nice to have couple of pictures included in the question, just to clarify different shades on translucent colors this is all about.

@Alex I'm 500 km away from my Lego at the moment. I can add a picture later but that won't be any earlier than Sunday.

@MichaelVerschaeve Very enlightening link. And that picture says it all. Even has 1 color (yellowish) that I never saw before.

@Alex That link Michael posted has a way better picture than I could possible make myself.


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How to restore minifig faces?
Vintage minifig heads (from the 80s, 90s with the classic smiley) often lose their eyes and mouths after years of play. The paint wears off.
How do you best restore the heads?

If you have a steady hand you can use hobby paint or a Sharpie, let it dry, then put on a clear-coat for protection. But those heads with the classic smiley faces are so cheap on BrickLink, you could just replace them. Here are the Catalog listings for the original Classic Smiley on BrickLink along with the dates of production:
Hollow stud original from 1978-2013: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=3626bp01
Solid stud from 1991: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=3626ap01
Stud recessed from 2009-2014: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=3626cp01

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


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Piece in Lego 21327 Typewriter Step 26 can’t be flush as depicted in the illustration
When sliding part #6327028 down the left three rods as depicted in step 26, that piece becomes snug with the gray spacer piece from Step 25, but there’s a gap on the two left rods. The 1x5 black spacer (part #6327028) can’t remain level if brought to be snug with the black spacer piece, as depicted in Step 27. I’ve rebuilt the mechanism from the beginning with the same results. Either Lego forgot to have us add a spacer, or the illustration is wrong.
I’ve made the 1x5 black spacer (part #6327028) level from the gray spacer, but I’m wondering if the arm on the rod second from the left will be all right floating there. I can’t find anyone complaining about this issue online, but I do see complaints about the mechanism jamming, and here I am finding a problem with the mechanism.
If I threw in a gray spacer piece on the second rod from the left, that would ensure the arm is fastened snugly in place, but that 1x5 black spacer would still be off by half a brick according to the illustration. Suggestions?
(Thanks RSchulz for the assist!)

Can you add another picture of the opposite side of your assembly?

Below your half bush (what you call a "gray spacer") there should be a liftarm 1x3 half thickness in dark bluish gray (both added in step 25). However from your picture, there seems to be a black element there instead, likely of full thickness

@MichaelVerschaeve Your comment seems like an answer to me :)

@zovits, done...

Below your half bush (what you call a "gray spacer") there should be a liftarm 1x3 half thickness in dark bluish gray (both added in step 25). However from your picture, there seems to be a black element there instead, likely of full thickness. Any chance you put a black 1x3 full thickness liftarm there instead?

Thank you! That’s exactly what went wrong. I became sick after making this original post, so I’m only now able to reply. I appreciate your help.

@Sickbrick don't be so hard to yourself. We've all made mistakes in the past. On a positive side - thing this is an easy fix!

Thank you very much for your careful, detailed answer. I am embarrassed to say I had done the same mistake! Thank you for not telling us to take everything apart, put it back into the box, and return it to Lego because we are too inattentive to build this detailed a project. Stay healthy,
Attila

I’m on that right now and have rebuilt this 3 times!! Great clarification!! Thank you!

OMG thank you so much. I was delighted to discover this thread when I googled the exact same problem. I had made the same mistake with the same piece, and just knew it was wrong when it didn't sit flush, but couldn't for the life of me, see the error. Clearly, it's a common problem as this thread has had 938 views! I really appreciate the detailed Q&A. Cheers from Sydney, Australia.


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Different shades of the same color
I’ve bought a 10232 set recently online (not official store, some Amazon seller). The box and all packs were properly sealed, but I see some bricks have the same color (grey), but different shades. I even see two similar bricks of the same color but different shades. Has the seller tricked me?

The white balance in your photos seems a bit out, and it's difficult to judge the colours. You might be dealing with a case of pre-2004 grey pieces mixed with post-2004 bley pieces (read https://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/238/what-is-the-bley-blay-color ). Perhaps a macro photograph of the underside of the tiles might help further?

Thanks for your reply. It’s already night over here, I am sorry for the picture quality. Will come back tomorrow with a proper pictures.

@IvanSanchez that's hardly possible. 10232 set has been released in 2013 - whole 9 years after switching to LBG.

I would not dare to read @IvanSanchez's mind, but I assumed he was suggesting the Amazon seller had sold a "sealed" bag which was not sealed by Lego itself, but perhaps sealed after collecting the pieces from elsewhere. Perhaps someone has war stories of how late Lego themselves were caught shipping a mix of greys in (in particular Star Wars) sets.

@RSchulz Indeed: from the way OP wrote the question, it's not 100% clear whether the sealed box and all packs are the original box and bags from a factory, or re-sealed by the amazon seller. I haven't personally heard of mixed greys in the same boxed set.

10232 was released long after the switch from old grey to new grey, so that's a bit unlikely.
The photos are not very good for seeing color differences on, but I see nothing of notice. I've seen far bigger variations within what LEGO deems acceptable. Fans generally have higher standards for colour matching than LEGO, I knew a fellow fan who had sorted his yellow bricks in 6 different shades.

And the reason behind this is a switch from using pre-colored plastic pellets to mixing colors locally. Thus slight inconsistency in shades of color. Until this day TLG hasn't managed to resolve this issue, which is a shame.

I've heard our local certified Lego professional say he has discussed this with Lego and the response what that the target market (kids) doesn't notice nor care about the difference...

LEGO seems to be trying to appreciate and focus on AFOL's more.  Maybe now is the right time for this issue to get traction within the company.

My feeling is the opposite. 5-10 years ago LEGO listened and did a lot more to/for AFOL's

i have added one more photo in the end of the question. this is a blue shades... Sent this set back to amazon seller, if it's an original Lego manufacturer, then shame on Lego company...


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42082 crane boom doesn't engage
At the top of the sleeve part of the boom is a gear and that is supposed to turn against a rack of teeth all along the inner slide part of the boom extension, to make the boom longer or shorter.
However, it just spins but does not grab the rack.  The inner boom piece slides back in under its weight without resistence.  If I push down on the thing that holds the axle, I can get it to work as long as I'm holding it.
In the photo you can see I slip a piece of paper along the line where they should be meshing.

How can I tighten up the clearance/tolerance on this part in a normal Lego manner, rather than briging in other materials or modifying the standard shape?

I had no such issue with that model, so likely something went wrong during the build. I recommend checking the instructions carefully, perhaps rebuild partially.

As I explained in my answer the 8 tooth gear should be replaced a 12 tooth gear, but can you explain why there is an older type 8 tooth gear in your set rather than the newer dual face one ? Non dual face light bluish gray was last in a set in 2007, the 42082 set is a 2016 set

According to the instructions the 8 tooth light gray gear you have now should be a black 12 tooth bevel gear:

I.e. replace this one:

by this one:

Luckily, this is a very easy fix!


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Multiple Programming Blocks Running at Same Time
My team created a simple program to drive robot out.  It consists of a MyBlock to drive straight a specified distance and speed utilizing the Gyro sensor.  The program then activates a third large motor to actuate the green large motor block to rotate the motor 45 degrees to activate one of the missions.  On the drive out (MyBlock), the large motor also starts running at the same time instead of sequentially.  Can anyone help me figure out why this occurred?  Drive motors were plugged into B+C, and Large Motor was plugged into A.
The first picture is just the three blocks.  The little fuzzy interference pattern indicating which block was active (when it glitches) was on both the MyBlock and the Large Motor Green block.  This was confirmed because the robot was still driving out and the arm started rotating.

Can you share a screenshot of the program?

I will try, but the glitch isn't consistent.

I have a screenshot, but not sure how to share it in a post.  It's not allowing me to paste the picture, and I don't see a way to attach it.

If you edit the question, there is an "image" icon you can click on to add the image.

The final block in the sequence is telling motor D to rotate 1 revolution at 75% power.
In the description of the problem, it says "and Large Motor was plugged into A."
Any chance that is the bug? Put the wire in D instead of A, or change the last block in the program from "D" to "A".

Good catch.  Actually, the offending program was changed and I tried, unsuccessfully, to recreate it.  Still wouldn't explain in my mind why two sequential blocks were going off concurrently.

I was able to duplicate the condition again and captured it on camera.  The video shows the robot moving out and simultaneously lowering an arm which it shouldn't do until it was done moving out.

Inside of the loop, the motor block tells motors B+C to start and keep running forever.

However, there is no block that tells motors B+C to stop, so they keep on running even after the loop ends. Adding a block to stop the motor after the loop ends should get the desired behavior.

When the motor is inside a loop, it runs for 25 ms or so and then proceeds to next block, so you don't have to stop the block manually.  And, it doesn't always do this.  In fact, I changed the cord from the "A" motor and the incident hasn't yet repeated.  Not sure how a cord could cause such a problem.


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Identify brand of this non-LEGO 2x4 plate
I found this on my old desk and then I remembered that I used to buy fake LEGO sets with parts like this. Maybe someone knows what the name of the brand that produces parts like this (I don't know if it's made in China or not but mostly from there)
Edit: the scale is the same as the real LEGO pieces, it doesn't have any emblem on the stud or part id.
Edit2: okay i add another pic and a vehicle set with a sticker. I try to rebuild it as i could remember it
Edit3: it was Chaobao but i need your help to find some information about this brand

So, it fits with Lego? If not, could you include with a piece of Lego for scale? And please include a photo of the other side, since many manufacturers put an emblem in the stud (like Lego does with their logo).

Nope it's not fit, also there's no emblem either. The backside is the only clue to identify the brand

That looks suspiciously similar to the kawada/locbloc from this other question - not just the two strips, but the six small ridges at each side. It'd be nice to have a clear macro photograph of the top of the plate to see if there's an embossed logo as well.

there's nothing on the top of the plate/stud. that's why i took the picture only underside

Take a picture of the top anyways. And one by the side, to compare the height (and bevel) of the studs against known brands.

I've finally found it, It was Chaobao. I was searching through the images on google then i found this pic, i recognize those wheel and the slope pieces (it even had the same horizontal line on the pic above).
I'm really sure this was the brand but i need more information about this Chaobao because because they have no official website or anything.

That's a bit of a stretch - there might be other manufacturers with the same wheel mold. It is true, however, that chaobao seems to be using "slotted" plate undersides, as noted in https://www.reddit.com/r/buildingblocks/comments/2dr5vg/brand_highlight_chaobao/ckk35j1/?context=3

@IvanSanchez maybe, but i still need more info. Do you know someone who maybe listing every chaobao brick set?

Sadly set databases for clone brands are basically non-existant.  The most comprehensive resource I know of is Communist LEGO and they don't mention this brand that I've found.

@chicks Yeah, this is my only hope so that I can rebuild all of the fake lego set that I have


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How can I identify LEGO sets from a box or bag of parts?
I am a lifelong LEGO Maniac, and my kits from when I was a kid were passed down to my nephew, who has just passed them down to my son (40 years of history...).
The trouble is that none of my old plans/directions are still around, and neither are the plans/direction from my nephew's kits. My nephew and I started to do a quick inventory, but he couldn't remember all of the kits that were in the hoard (three large boxes so far).
Is there an easy way to figure this out? Does LEGO offer any of their old plans for free online or will I need to pay for them?
Can anyone offer help in identifying some of the fairly recent stuff? I can post images if needed. Some of the newer parts are quite unique.

The following question also has details of how to get hold of instructions for older sets: Where can I find instruction booklets?

This previous question raises the problem of identifying kits from list of parts: Is there anything like a 'recipe generator' for LEGO models?

Your best shot is to identify an individual piece and look it up on Rebrickable, BrickLink or BrickSet. Since these all carry set inventories, you'll be able to find lists of sets in which the parts can be found. Try to start with more unique parts, chances are they are in a few models only.
Once you're sure you've found a model for which you've all the parts, build it using the instructions from LEGO.com or for older models instruction scans Rebrickable.
If identifying LEGO parts proves too difficult for some of them, ask experts.

You might want to include the note that almost all parts have their element or part id embossed on the underside.

Actually, no, I don't want to do that as it's not really the point of this question and it has been covered in another question. However, you're quite right that I should have at least pointed to that corresponding question on how to determine the name of a brick. I've added that.

Also, once you have parts for at least one kit identified, use http://rebrickable.com/ to find other kits that you may also have had with those parts.

@Joubarc +1 for a good answer, I check out those links and I'm sure they will help with ID'ing the more obscure pieces.

@Zhaph-BenDuguid Some of the kits I have date back to the early 1970's, and don't necessarily have part numbers embossed on them.

@bakoyaro: good point, I shall make a mental note of that

This is great information. Thanks so much for sharing.

Find for the rarest piece(s)
My usual method for identifying a set I'm not familiar with is to find the rarest part. It's not always possible to find the rarest part but I can usually guess which parts are rare given how many of them I have in my collection.
For System sets I will usually ignore unmodified bricks, plates and tiles in common colours.

Example
When I was trying to find the set in the example shown below from this question. I ignored all the plates and the two black 1x1 studs as they were all common parts in standard colours.

The only two parts remaining were the blue Minifigure Seat (4079) and the  blue Steering Wheel (3829).
From those two parts it was easy to identify it as a vehicle and with the arrangement of the pieces I could tell it was a four-stud wide vehicle. Since around 2005-2010 it has become more common for LEGO to produce vehicles 6 or 8 studs wide so I assumed it was a fairly old set.
To identify these two pieces I used the catalogue search on Bricklink, if I didn't know the name of these pieces I could have search by category, or if I knew the piece number (found often on the bottom of many parts) I could have searched for that as well.
Every piece on Bricklink has a list of 'Known Colors', the steering wheel had 222 set entries for the colour blue and the steering wheel had the minifgure seat had 68 results for the colour blue.

I sorted the list by selecting 'Year Released' to 'Up' so that I would see the oldest sets first and set the preview mode to 'List with Images' so that I could see both a photo of the set and relevant information. (I also recommend using  'Thumbnail Gallery').

General Tips

The colours that I consider 'standard' are Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Black and White. These colours are probably the most common and are almost always included in bulk brick buckets.

Around 2004, the colour of light/dark grey and brown bricks were changed slightly. Modern grey bricks are often known as 'bley' because of their blueish tint. Related: What is the bley (blay) color?

Minifigure Tips

There was only one variation of the head for Minifigures prior to 1989, the classic smile head. This piece continues to be used for classic releases as well as Modular sets although it is not as common. We can rule out any 'non-classic' minifigure heads as being after this year.

Minifigures with two-sided heads were not produced until 2001.

Minifigures with short legs were not produced until 2002.

The first minifigures with realistic skin tones were released in 2003. Only yellow minifigures were available previously. Related: Why do some minifigs have yellow heads and some are flesh colored?

Microfigures were first released in 2009

There are a number of ways to start figuring it out, my method is as follows:
Try and identify some of the following:
Unique pieces
Unique minifigs
Stickers on pieces
Unique logos
Color schemes or unique colors
The minifigs, stickers and colors are usually enough at least point you to the right theme category (ie space, pirates, castle, city, star wars, etc.) and often will narrow it down even further.  A logo or minifig is usually a giveaway of what set group you're looking for.
For example a recent bulk buy I got had a number of Joker images on tiles and a number of unique purple and green colors that made it clear there was a Batman themed Joker set in the mix.
From there you can look up parts lists on Bricklink or Peeron, as well as find directions for assembly.  To narrow it down to a specific set and make sure you have all the parts.
If your not super familiar with the lego themes these sites will also give you a place to find them.

Those are great sites!  I'd never seen them before.  Thanks for sharing those - definitely useful.

Lego has an online page that can be used to download manuals in PDF format. Unfortunately, the page mentions that manuals are only available for kits that were released in 2002 or later:

We currently have over 3300 building instructions available onlinevwhich date back to sets packed in 2002.

You might want to contact Lego customer service to see if they might be able to direct you to other resources for these older kits. According to squidoo.com, Lego customer service can provide older instructions for a fee. That page also lists several alternate resource that you can search to find older manuals for free:

Free Lego Instructions
World Bricks
Lugnet
Peeron

One very good way is to look for numbers on pieces, especially when they are printed. A number on a Lego piece is almost always the number of the set.
These often come in places where there is supposed to be a number; like license plates on cars. If you have a license plate brick with a number, that's almost 100% certain to be the set that the car belongs to.
There are exceptions; for example, the Lego trains from the eighties had a "timetable" sticker that listed several numbers; each number was the number of another train set. (In other words, each train had a separate entry on the timetable). If you find that sticker, you have either a railway station from that time, or a train set from that tine that included a timetable. But, this will still narrow down your search.

I've never noticed that!  I'll have to check some of my pieces!


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How do I switch out a gear in the Cat D11 set without taking the set apart?
I have a fully completed Cat D11. Great build. (I have previously built the Bucket Wheel Excavator, the Rough Terrain Crane, Liebherr 9800, Airbus 175, etc.) Couldn't get through calibration. Did not understand I should have tested the build per step 198. (You'd think I could follow picture instructions at age 74...)

After much evaluation and checking everything I could think of, I can see in the build step 104 I put the small bevel gear ON THE WRONG SIDE of the drive gear. Obviously it is trying to drive that shaft in the wrong direction!

Does anyone have an idea how I can switch out the gear WITHOUT tearing the build down completely? I'd like to see my 75th birthday...

I'm afraid the only option is to go back to step you completed incorrectly to fix the issue. Bevel gears are tricky ones and unfortunately it got you unprepared.

In Step 164 the axle the bevel gear is on becomes locked.
At this step the sub assembly gets put on the main assembly and the axle is blocked by a large technic motor. Before this step, you could probably still manipulate the axle enough studs out with pliers to switch the bevel gear.

That's of course still lot of steps to reverse, but you'll notice that the entire model is built in lots of smaller sub-assemblies... so you don't need to revert each step, you can leave the sub-assemblies intact...
Alternatively, there are other ways to control the technic model than the standard app:

brickcontroller2: you could create a profile very similar looking to the control+ interface but arrange the responding actions to accommodating for the inverted bevel gear.
pybricks: You could create a program in python that controls the model based on input from a remote control or e.g. a PS4 controller...
powered up app: similar to brickcontroller2 but the "official" way Lego suggests to go if the Control+ app doesn't suffice anymore...


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How to make a real model of The Lego Batman Movie’s Kraken
I remember seeing The Lego Batman Movie in theaters with my dad in 2017, and it was one of my favorite movies of that year. It still is to this day. One thing that caught me off guard was the fact that the villains of the Phantom Zone were from other movies, such as Sauron from The Lord Of The Rings, Voldemort from Harry Potter, the shark from Jaws, Medusa from Lego Minifigures, the Wicked Witch and her Flying Monkeys from The Wizard Of Oz, The Daleks from Doctor Who, Agent Smith and his clones from The Matrix, the Gremlins, the T. Rex from Lego Dino Hunters, and the Velociraptors from Jurassic Park. My favorite Phantom Zone villian, though, has always been the Kraken from Clash Of The Titans (whom a lot of us mistook for Godzilla when the movie first came out) because he just has a sick design and is also the biggest character in the movie, consisting of 111,284 bricks according to a video I found on YouTube. I’ve always wished they made him into a real set.
However, I’ve looked online, and apparently, no one has ever tried to make their own Kraken, nor have they pitched the idea to Lego, which I want to do. It may be understandable as to why Lego hasn’t made this real. For one thing, it would have to be in a pretty big box, with three or four smaller boxes inside for different sections, like the colosseum set they released in 2020. For another, it’d cost a lot of money, and would take a long time to build. For another, it’d be a big build, so you’d had to have the space to display it. However, Lego has made sets of a similar size, like the Colosseum, the Hogwarts Castle, the Titanic, the World Map, the Super Mario Question Block, and the Millennium Falcon. But there is one question I have in mind. If I can’t get Lego to make this into an official set or find someone else to make it real for me, what kind of pieces would I need to make my own?
Let me start with the pieces I think or know for sure he is made from.
When the villains make their way to Wayne Manor, there is a shot of Joker riding the Kraken’s nose as he leads them there. In this shot, you can make out some of the pieces they used for the Kraken’s head.
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/brickipedia/images/6/6a/%D0%9A%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%B5%D0%BD2.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20180519145817&path-prefix=ru

As you can see from that photo, the main portion of his head appears to be made from 1x4 bricks, along with some 1x3s,2x2s, tall 1x2s,both thin and wide, tall 1x1s, 1x5s, and some 1x6s. As for plates, I can really only make out 1x4s and 2x2s. You can also see one big brick in front of his eye. I don’t know what to call that brick. If anyone knows the name of that particular piece, please let me know. It would really help me out. Speaking of his eyes, the Kraken’s eye is most definitely made of 1x1 bricks, especially around the pupil area, along with 1x2 bricks, 1x3 bricks, and 1x4 bricks.
The rest of his body is harder to tell. For his hand and arms, you can tell from the top and bottom that they used 2x4s. His teeth are probably tall 1x1s and 1x2s. I thought they were made of some 2x2s, but now I’m not so sure. In this shot of the Kraken and King Kong tearing a building the gang is hiding in, that is one of the few full body shots of him you can see in the movie.
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/brickipedia/images/6/68/%D0%9A%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%B5%D0%BD3.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/1000?cb=20180519145837&path-prefix=ru

It’s not that good, and yes, there are slightly better pictures, but I don’t want to wast time finding them. You can watch the movie to look for them.
The Kraken’s lower body I’m guessing is made of 2x2x3s, with a few 1x4s and 1x5s here and there. A single giant stud in the center connects his torso to his lower body. His head is most likely connected with a brick built version of a typical Lego Minifigure neck.  I can’t tell what pieces make up the stud.
A few final questions I have.
What pieces would be best for his arm and tail joints, especially since he has three more joints than an average Lego minifigure?
How to make sure the holes are the right size to fit his arms without them falling out or being too loose?
How to size up his torso and lower body correctly?
Would it be more effective to make his torso hollow or put a single hole to attach his torso to his lower body?
If the jaw and eyes were to move like the movie, how would the mechanism work?
What would be the way to build his frills, spikes, fins and tongue?
If some of the pieces I need for the Kraken don’t exist in that color or are very hard to come by, what is the solution?
Sorry if I made this so long. It’s just that I’d give anything to have a real model of the Kraken, so if I got someone to make it for me, I’d want them to make it look like the movie as much as possible. If someone has any pointers, tips, or suggestions, They are way more than welcomed. Thanks for your help.

Hi Hernandez and welcome to Bricks.SE! I see many questions in your post, most of which are way too subjective ("Should I...?", "How would...?"), therefore as of now, this post is a poor fit for this platform. See the [tour] and [help] pages for more, but nevertheless, please try to rework the question to focus on a single, objectively answerable question.

The large brick you're talking about looks like the back side of part 59349 - Panel 1 x 6 x 5 in green. Possibly also part 3754 - Brick 1 x 6 x 5 though it never came in green.


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Why are there many hidden holes in 'Monkie Kid’s Team Van' 80038?
Lego set 80038, 'Monkie Kid’s Team Van', repeatedly uses yellow Technic Brick 1 x 1 with Hole (item 654124) where it could simply use a standard 1 X 1 brick (item 300524).
For instance, in Instruction Booklet 2, you can see where these brick holes are covered up in step 120, or even immediately obscured in step 150.

Is there a design rational for the use of these bricks (a significance to Monkie Kid, or Chinese culture in general?) or is it more likely a simple surplus of Technic Brick 1 x 1 with Hole?

Disclaimer: I haven't built this set. But I would speculate that there are parts that do require the Technic brick. So not only does it make it easier to package the set (as the factory doesn't need both bricks) but it cuts down on build frustration if someone uses up the Technic bricks accidentally early in the build, and then can not finish it because the normal bricks won't work for the later step.

@RSchulz Or if you lose or damage one of the bricks...you will surely have enough technic bricks for where they really are needed, and can replace the lost bricks with technic or regular bricks, whichever you have available. I think it's even less plastic. Really everyone wins.

This likely has to do with the cost to manufacture the set. It is logistically simpler, and therefore more cost effective, to add an additional element already present in the set rather than to add a new unique element to the set.
The Technic element you mentioned is used functionally in the set to attach one of the doors:

This Technic element is then reused in several places throughout the build where a 1x1 system brick would typically used. This saves having to include the 1x1 brick in yellow in this set.


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Can you help identify these bionicles?
My elderly father lied to me. He told me I was his favorite child. Later in life he is now asking me to identify his metric ton of Bionicles pieces. He isn’t in the best health so he can’t do it himself, and I’m not the smart one. So I am here with hopes you can help give me some direction so that I can assemble these guys for him.
I don’t know if they’re complete, so I can’t help him sell them until I solve these puzzles.
Thanks in advance.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1CPqxMZn27NNqny56

And help me learn how to post all of the photos I took for this post.  Post editing tells me my iPhone photo is too large.

iPhone photos will be multiple-megapixels with high color information. The maximum photo size for StackExchange is 2MB. You can edit your photos on your phone or a PC and shrink them to 20-25% of the original size and then save as a low-quality JPG, those should upload fine. Edit: looks like you can upload directly using the StackExchange mobile app source

I editted the post to add a link to the photos!  Thanks!

I've had a look at the linked photographs and... wow, that's a lot of stuff.
If you plan on reconstructing the sets, remember that you can search for instructions given a set number.

From he above picture I can identify:

7156-1 "Corroder" (which is not bionicle but rather Hero Factory) (searched for lime bionicle legs)
8696-1 "Bitil" (searched for yellow bionicle legs with 3 technic holes)
8695-1 "Gorast" (just by combing through list of bionicle sets)

8622-1 "Nidhiki" (dark green 7+3 liftarm)

8727-1 "Inika Toa Jaller
" (pearl gold bionicle chest)

8983-1 "Vorox
" (tan bionicle leg)

Bits of 8533-1 "Gali" (medium blue bionicle parts)
A Mega Blocks blue&white robot at the bottom right, most probably the "ice" "transformer blok bot" from this other question. Note the "mega blocks" markings in the center of groups of four studs.
Yellow parts possible part of aforementioned 8696-1 "Bitil"
Lots of unknown parts

Green technic connector with two ball sockets, from one of four possible sets. I'm guessing 8914-1 "Toa Mahri Hahli
" based on the attached dark blue parts, and a mask from a different photograph.
Clawed feet from aforementioned 8983-1 "Vorox
", even though the colour doesn't seem to match in the photograph (due to white balance, perhaps?)

8979-1 "Malum" (red & "marbled bright orange" chest, bottom center)
8567-1 "Lewa Nuva" (lime legs, bottom left)
8570-1 "Gali Nuva" (medium blue legs, between top right and middle right)
8591-1 "Vorak" (spikes on black bionicle back cover with groove, just above center)
8589-1 "Lerahk" (green back cover with groove; note spikes through groove are switched)
8590-1 "Guurahk" (blue back cover with groove; note spikes through groove back are switched)
8592-1 "Turahk" (back blades with holes, inserted in the blue back cover)
Lots of other unidentified parts

8568-1 "Potahu Nuva" (tan legs connected to brown parts, above revolver)
8911-1 "Toa Mahi Jaller" (6-shot revolver-like part, connected to red&orange parts; also mask appears in later photograph)
Transparent wings with hexagon-like pattern from aforementioned 8695-1 "Gorast" (in the pile at the very top)
Lots of other unidentified parts

8561-1 "Nuhvok" (via trans-neon-green teeth)

8615-1 "Vahki Bordakh" (disk launcher with trans-orange head connector)

8685-1 "Phantoka" (black & grey projectile launcher paired with a mask from a later photograph)
8913-1 "Toa Mahri Nuparu" (revolver projectile launcher and mask from later photograph)
8925-1 "Barraki Deepsea Patrol" (6x11 assembly at top, with 6x10 + 1x6 black plates, consistent with black whip from later photograph)
Aforementioned 8914-1 "Toa Mahri Hahli
" (remaining revolver projectile launcher)
Other unidentified parts

8747-1 "Visorak Suukorak"
The black head appears in two sets. I'm gonna take a wild guess and say 8919-1 "Mantax"
8743-1 "Visorak Boggarak"

That's all I can identify for now. You might want to rebuild all known sets, and come back here later with the remaining parts for a second round.

Wow!  Thank you SO much. This is incredibly helpful!

The blue and white Mega Bloks parts are from this set

@Syberion I'll edit the answer to add that info, thanks!


text:
Upload 2 old Lego books

I've scanned 2 old Lego books of images & some instructions and can now see them better on PC. Made all animals on page 9 (in photo) apart from 1 small dog, using Lego I've had for years. Bought more & built more. Taken some apart to re-use. Don't know what the books are called, or their year, late 50's/early 60's. Who would like images of them? As I think most then better to put on a website. I've 'cut' pages of them on PC. Written notes for some. Some changes: the flag on the yacht, women's skin colour, smaller tusks on the elephants.
The lion, what = that flat thing behind his back legs? 2×4 bracket with 1×2, but then it can't be 2×4 his legs are attached to.
So books = Ideas Book N°2 & N°3, N°1 (mostly like N°2) is on the internet. Aka 238-1, 238-5 & 238-8.
Found some pages of Ideas Book N°2 on Worldbricks, including p.1 I was missing, but pdf file of all page = wrong book.

I’m voting to close this question because this is not in an answerable StackExchange format.

OP should contact BrickSet (www.brickset.com) as they have a database of all LEGO catalogs. They might not have these catalogs yet.


text:
Railway track layout - is there a method to say if track layout meets up

I'd 2 circles of original blue railway track, lost 1 inner, bought mixed batch of track off eBay, as more inner than outer bought more track & to get discount 12 outer & 4 inner to bring N° of outer & inner = at 1 pair short of 4 circles. So I set myself the challenge of using all in 1 layout with no dead ends. I'm emptying old caravan so room there. 63 curved, 14 straight pairs, 2 crossing & 2 points.
My question, is there a maths equation or computer program to say if track layout meets up? Instead of trial-&-error method. R10L4XS2R8S1PR1XS2R12PXR1L2XR7S3R4S1R1S1P were R=right, L=left, S=straight, X=crossing & P=points.
Noticed in Ideas book, 3/4 circle, then 2 other way then 1 straight, Then other end 1 same way, then 3 other to become touch & parallel to other to go to points.

It would have been an idea to give some indication of where on the picture your textual description starts. I also think it's wrong, the short stretch between the two crosses are noted as "R1L2", but there are four pieces on the picture (as far as I can see, it becomes "R1L2S1" in your notation). Your textual description also misses a bit of the layout. But a train would get stuck on the last part of the description.

As railroad switches have three connections, a notation like yours is not really possible.

This might get a better theoretical response from MathematicsSE.  They've got a bunch of train-related questions already, but I didn't see this one asked yet.  https://math.stackexchange.com/search?q=train

@chicks Yes, this seems like a combinatorics style question. With a finite amount of rail pieces you can built X many valid routes. These problems can be quite complicated but it's easy to identify a few rules that must be followed such as using a minimum of 8 track pieces to form a loop. Straight pieces, switches and crossovers all add a lot of complexity.

Yes, I made an error, sorry.

For software layout options there's BlueBrick as mentioned in this related answer
Alternatively both SCARM and Winrail support LEGO 4.5V and LEGO 9V layouts, while SCARM also supports LEGO RC:
SCARM Library List
WinRail Library
It's been a while since I've used either, but WinRail seems to be somewhat dormant now.


text:
Half the size of Lego but only 1/3 the height

I bought a batch of like Lego but small off eBay. I'd like to know what brand. The ×2's have tubes, but ×1's have no pillars. Colours like Lego, red, blue, light & dark bluish grey, B&W. Height little less than Lego plate, estimate 3•1mm instead of 3•2mm. Photo compared with Lego bricks, their 2×4's = the same size as a Lego 1×2 plate.
O! They are the same height as Nano Block, the white isn't quite as white.Just bought some more the same. I believe it to be L'OZ. Basically I'm after what brand of Nano Blocks there are, came sans instructions. Other brands are Lele Brother & Wise Hawk.

Can you add a photo showing the shapes, dimensions, colours? Best would be to include known quantities like similar LEGO bricks in the image as well.

Can you (a) provide less fuzzy photos and (b) label the photos so we know which is the mystery brick and which is LEGO/Duplo?

@reviewers: it's the photo that needs more focus, not the question, so please don't close it.


text:
Tan castle? or whatever
Bought a batch with quite a few tan bricks,

4 quarter circle panel
4 quarter circle brick
2 tower panel like 1/2 of 8-sided with arch window
arches in 4 sizes
slope 2:1, 3:1 & invert 1:1 (×1 & ×2)
1×1×1&5
1×2×1&5

While identification was possible in this case, it's often easier to identify parts by an image instead of their description.

I also made an edit to more easily distinguich which text refers to which part. Perhaps you can continue that edit for the last bullet point, because I don't know how to read it

I made some guesses as to what parts you are describing. I particularly did not understand your description of the slopes. Luckily the other parts are enough to uniquely identify the set.
There are six sets that use 30246 - Tan Panel 3 x 4 x 6 Turret Wall with Window.

While some of them also use the 30562 - Tan Cylinder Quarter 4 x 4 x 6,

only one uses both it and 48092 - Tan Brick, Round Corner 4 x 4 Macaroni Wide with 3 Studs.

That set being:
4757-1 - Hogwarts Castle (2nd Edition)

Think you're right, as I've also: big door, wings, 1×2 mod. log light grey & stairs.