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Parts for a 4 Candle set
I want to build several stands with 4 candles.
Here's my plan from bottom to top

3 round 1x1 bricks for the base
a palm top to branch into 4 parts
a round 1x1 brick on each of the 4 bars
a pin holder on  top of each of those
a candle flame tucked into the pin holder.

I don't have these parts yet, so I'm hoping someone can verify this will work before I buy them.
If not, do you have any other suggestions?

The four round 1x1 bricks will fit, but I don’t think the bars of the palm top are long enough to reach the hole in the top of the bricks. You might need to fill each brick with a Technic half pin (or substitute the bricks entirely as the pins have a stud on top of them already).

Indeed, the length of the palmtop bars is not enough to reach the narrow part of the 1x1 round bricks. Some 1x1 round plates might help. I'd go for a design using two 1x3 plates (stacked in a "X" shape) instead of the palmtop.

Would designing this in Stud.io or Mecabricks help?

Sorry, I keep wanting to make a 2 Ronnies joke here...

@Zhaph-BenDuguid Well, of course, have some fork handles.

In principle, this will work although as D M notes (assuming a non-inverted build), the 1x1 bricks won't attach to the palm top correctly as they aren't long enough - a 1x1 round plate with hole on the bottom will help - either the same colour as the candle or as a part of the holder.
You might find that the candles are too close together for you as they would end up touching:

If you aren't worried about stability, by inverting the the 1x1 round bricks and resting the pin-holders upside down for a more "used" look, however the pin holders aren't secured:

Other options you might consider include using:

The very old 5x5 Propeller with 4 blades, very limited colour set
Plate Round 4x4 with hole
Two 1x3 plates stacked crossways, with 1x1 plates to provide additional support and conformity (as IvanSanchez suggests)
Plate, Modified 3x3 Cross, only available in a limited colour set, but available in at least black, brown and reddish brown (as Matthew Jensen suggests)
Axle Connector Hub with 4 bars and four Bar Holder with clip to hold inverted pin holders

The Haunted House set uses a Pearl Gold Technic Knob Cog in its chandelier, shown with the Candle element:

A relatively new element, the Plate 3 x 3 Cross would be a bit more compact and stable than 1 x 3 plates, although it doesn't exist in as many colours.

LEGO has dedicated element for "candle wax" - Minifigure, Utensil Candle. This may be another option.

Its diameter is smaller than of 1x1 round brick, so you can put 4 of them together on single 2x2 round plate without touching. Here is an example, where you can see the difference in diameter (1x1 round plate is same as 1x1 round brick). Parts used in pictured build are listed here.

Nice, and the base of the candle fits inside any hollow stud. I'm thinking 2476 2x2 modified plate with technic pin on bottom could work nicely.


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what plastic is used in the floatable hull of 60266 Ocean Exploration ship?
I need to know what plastic is used for the hull (dark blue) of the 60266: Ocean Exploration Ship, in order to glue a reinforcement on.
I bought this for my boys (younger than the advertised 7+).  It is a really fantastic playable model.  Expensive per-part, put the floating ship and crane (on a gantry! :) ) is great.  However, the hull is two sections (one bow, one stern) - and this is a problem.
Inexplicably, Lego did not devise a way to robustly connect the two halfs.  they are connected only by studs at the top.  So even with care, the studs work their way loose - and to borrow from SpaceX - RUD !

I would like to find a way to glue on a re-enforcement on the lower levels of the hull, preferably from Technic.  However the plastic has a different feel, and seems a different stiffness - so I'm not sure if it's the standard ABS as the rest of the parts??

I think, dark blue part element could be made of polyethylene, but don't take this as an answer. Just a suggestion. There is some space/volume inside the hull after placing the top cover. This allows you to experiment and find a glue that works best.

OP's using the Kragle!

I am not 100% sure but I could imagine parts such as these are creating using vacuum forming. I know that is how the old CITY road plates were made which is why they could not be used to connect bricks underneath. That might explain the lack of stiffness but perhaps that could narrow down the plastic used.

I got red colored copy of the hull. By touch it has different feeling than the usual baseplate, which is a bit stiffer and its surface is harder than of the hull. Oh and I found my copy has PIP at the bottom.

pretty sure the hull is molded, not vacuum formed.  both sides are form faced, and have mold markings.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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What is this piece called? two connected cylinders

Hi, I'm putting the pieces together for a Vostok spacecraft. I'm stuck at this piece, can anyone help me identify it please?

That would be
Part# 30360 : Cylinder 3 x 6 x 2 2/3 Horizontal - Round Connections Between Interior Studs
or
Part# 93168 : Cylinder 3 x 6 x 2 2/3 Horizontal - Square Connections Between Interior Studs
Both are essentially the same part, just a mold variation

Thanks so much, absolute hero

I wonder why they changed this mold?  The old one seems slightly more useful in that it has those open studs that you could maybe stick something into.  Not a big deal as I don't see too many use cases for that, just curious.

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


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Piece stuck in LEGO T-Rex body part nr. 6223585
My son stuck a rod piece through one of the openings in the T-Rex body middle part (part# 6223585). How can I open up the body to retrieve the rod piece?
The body is made of two parts that are clipped together I think. When looking inside, there seems to be a connection in the inside of the body as well.
Does anyone have experience with how to open up this piece with minimal damage?
The rod piece is completely inside the body piece, rattling around. He inserted it through the hole for the head or tail

You mean the element is not stuck, but instead has been pushed too far inside (since the hole for legs doesn't have anything to stop this from happening) and is now rattling inside?

OK, holes for head and tail could be to blame too as these are hollow as well.

The rod piece is completely inside the body piece, rattling around. He inserted it through the hole for the head or tail.

Just an idea that may not be very good: If you have some long/thin/pointy tweezers you might be able to grip the end of the axel inside two of the grooves along the side and pull it out. That's assuming you can get the axel into a place you can do that, I don't have the piece to know how likely that is.

Given that you can't see inside the piece, and that the two arms of the tweezers will have to be quite close together to even get in through one of the holes, I don't think that will be easy. I have no experience with the procedure, but I think the trick to get a cork ut of a bottle (there are many videos online of it) might be the way to go.

I just succeeded. I have shaken the body piece continually untill, by pure chance, the rod piece somehow aligned with the hole again, and came out.
thanks for helping

How to get a part out of TRexBod:
https://youtu.be/wHsnLP1xuHY

Hi arilou and welcome to Bricks.SE! As far as I can see your method was successful and thus it is an answer to the question, but it'd enormously benefit from a short summary of the tools and methods used (maybe with some still images uploaded directly to Bricks.SE), as there is no guarantee that the YouTube link will be available always to everyone. Can you please do that or do you have any questions regarding it?


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How to increase the voltage supplying to technic motor through the Technic hub?
I have four Technic Large Motors, all connected to a technic hub. I am using the motor to turn some large propellers and the hub is powered by six 1.5 V (maybe less) batteries depending on the brand. So each motor would get 9V, but the current would be 1/4 of a certain value. I want to increase the power supplied to each motor while using the same technic hub. I remember that according to the manual, the hub can handle 12V at most. Is this true? Can we increase the input voltage by connecting a more powerful battery to your hub?

The voltage doesn't drop by by a factor of 4 because 4 motors are powered, that's not how voltage works.  I'd urge you to educate yourself in some basics of electric circuitry like ohms law, parallel and series circuits, electric power, etc... before considering the experiments you have in mind, for the safety of your Lego and your own safety... Perhaps you are still in school and your physics teacher can help you ?

I forget the hub connect the motor in parallel. But still, the current in 1/4 of what it would be if there is only 1 motor connected to to hub. So the power to four motor is 1/4 of the power to 1 motor though?

If the hub can supply X Amperes of current at most (be it either the maximal sustained current or a short term burst value), then with four motors attached any of them can receive at most X/4 Amperes simultaneously - that part is correct. But each type of motor has its own maximum current it can consume, which is unrelated to X - might be lower than X/4, or between X/4 and X. (For Control+ L motors the stall current is 1.4A, but I couldn't find the current the Hub can support either per port or the total)

Still quite incorrect. If the power consumption of your motors is below what the battery can supply, you will see NOT see a current drop of a factor 4. Current and hence power to each motor will be somewhat less because of internal resistance of the battery but depending on your motors resistance it could be hardly noticeable... Only thing you can say with certainty is that your battery will drain 4 times faster.

Anyways, can I link up 3 9V batteries in series and connect them to the hub without it burned up?

No, in series that would mean 27 V, I read in some article that the motor controller IC can only handle 10.5 V. So that's the best you can do, i.e. add another 1.5 V battery to your original 6 in series, which buys you about 17% more power, I don't think it's worth the risk.


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EV3 Brick: Powers on then off and won't stay powered on
I have an EV3 brick that when I press the power button the red lights all come on - the display shows starting up but after 3 seconds it powers off. The same happens when I press the power and right keys to update.
Any suggestions on how to get the unit to power on properly or is this not a software issue?

Did you try new batteries?

I did try with new batteries.

If the batteries are new and not even the update mode stays on, then something is wrong with the hardware. You should reach out to LEGO customer support to see if they can help.


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Prepare for Wedo WRO
My son is 5 years old and completely hooked on to Wedo. I would like to unlock the possibilities for him to explore his area of interest. One such avenue can be to prepare for competitions like WRO. Please advise on any information about the competitions - what are the things that need to be learnt. Also any open resources available for preparing can help.

LEGO has this page which mentions World Robot Olympiad (WRO) and FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL).  There's a tag for FLL (fll) on Bricks.SE so you can see what other folks have asked about it.


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Is it possible to convert .part to .dwg, and if so, how?
Is it possible to convert a Part Designer part (.part file) to a CAD file (.dwg, for example)?


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Xbox to Robot Inventor?
Is it possible to connect an Xbox controller directly to the Lego Robot Inventor(51515) intelligent brick?

In 2024, Pybricks added the ability to connect an XBox controller directly to hubs that are running the 3rd-party Pybricks firmware. This works with MINDSTORMS Robot Inventor, SPIKE Prime, SPIKE Essential and the 4-port Technic hub.

Deleted my answer in favor of this one. Xbox control of Lego models through PyBricks is awesome!


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Identify a non-Lego Santa set

Yeah so basically I tried the usual sites, but even putting in “North Pole sign” came up with nothing except one kinda similar. I can’t find anything on this set. Please help.

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

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

I was not able to find anything in a Google search for compatible +"santa's letters" building construction - this appears to be a product that hasn't made an impact on the Internet.


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Grey pieces: 4x12 plate with cutouts, 2x4 hinge with only four studs on one side, 1x2 plate with big cylinder on the side
Can someone tell me the part numbers of the following pieces? Unfortunately there aren't any numbers on the pieces.

The hinge is 3149c01. The engine is 3475 (or possibly other, similar molds).

RSchulz has correctly identified two elements, so I'll address the last one which is Vehicle, Base 4 x 12 for Steering Gear (803). Light Gray colored version was available in 3 sets.

I gave up on searching for Plate, as I figured it was an old base for trains or the like. But I kept insisting on using slot or hole, when I should have just searched for base with 4x12. Gah.


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Identification of a fence-like part

In the pictures of a very large Rivendell moc of some years ago I came across a fence-like piece(I have encircled one of them). I have tried to identify it myself by browsing through the parts catalog in Bricklink but wasn't able to find it. Does anyone know which part this is?

They are custom parts from altBricks.
From their interview with Brothers-Brick a few years ago:

TBB: Were there any structures you just couldn’t find a way to recreate purely from LEGO bricks?
Alice: I know the purists will cringe, but I used a few pieces made by altBricks because they fit so perfectly with the elegant, flowing style of the Elven architecture. The panel piece is one of my favorite pieces in this model since you can can apply it in so many different settings: tower-top decorations, windows, and balcony railing to name a few. I also used their 1×2 column since I like the fine texture of the fluting and the back has a nice arched opening as well.
David: In the bridge section, the altBricks element was key, since tan telescopes were not available and I really needed to project that sweeping flowy look. I tried to remain as purist as possible, but in a build like this we needed that part to really get the look we wanted.

This is also confirmed on Alice's Flicker photostream where she captions a few of the shots with:

Elven 2x2 panels by altbricks.com

Here's a higher resolution image on Flikr. It's a 1 x 2 x 2 part.
I can't find it either. Your best bet might be to ask the builder, Alice Finch.
You can see the same part used in windows.


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What version of Lego Digital Designer has all the parts that LEGO ever added?
I would like to know what version of Lego Digital Designer has all the parts that the Lego company has ever added to the program, before the program was discontinued. I was able to find more parts from someone on Eurobricks forum but I still need more bricks.

Since LDD is discontinued there's always going to be issues with later parts not existing in there.  Stud.io or Mecabricks are more likely to continue getting new elements since they're still supported by their developers.

@chicks It might be worth referring to generic "LDraw based software" term rather than Stud.io specifically. Some like to use LDCad, MLCad and other software instead of Stud.io all of which use LDraw parts catalog.

do you guys know about any websites that are hosting bricks that can be manually added to Lego Digital Digital Designer

I believe that the last version that had a complete set of elements was 4.3.11, however that has dependencies on Adobe Flash, so will likely not work on most modern systems that have now removed Flash.
The last release, 4.3.12 has a known issue with missing parts. However you can use the parts library (Assets.lif) from 4.3.11 with 4.3.12 - this can be extracted from the installer if you open it with an archive explorer (i.e. 7zip or similar).
Bear in mind that:

To see all the parts, you may need to enable "Extended Mode" (View | New themes | extended).
LEGO Digital Designer is no longer actively supported. However The LEGO Group have purchased the team behind Studio, which is actively developed and has new parts regularly added.

Edit to add:
Glad you've managed to get it working in your preferred version. I'm not aware of people adding more elements to the official library files, but I've not really looked for it.
Whilst we can't say exactly what The LEGO Group will do in the future, they did say when they acquired BrickLink that:

The LEGO Group is planning to support and evolve Studio and will review opportunities for both services following the closing of the deal.

They also released a video last December (2020) where they updated on the future of both BrickLink and Studio.

In addition, we're going to upgrade the Studio software every month to improve the user experience and enhance it's performance.

Finally, as a quick test, I was able to find the Fright Knights Witch and Bat Lord heads and torsos fairly quickly in Studio:

Others are likely available.

i was able to bypass the adobe flash installer by using 7 zip to open it the i opened the lif file and copied all the bricks from 4.3.11 to the verison 4.2.5

i only use the version 4.2.5 because its not as old but it still allows me to add more parts without crashing as much (it also allows me to take screenshots, in the newer versions, the Lego Company removed the feature like 4.3 and higher

is it possible the that Lego Company might start working on Lego Digital Designer Again like continue adding more bricks and fixing crashes (i don't know why they stopped working on it, its so easy to use (what does the Lego Company seriously have to do thats more important then to work on their program) (they are beginning to have a reputation like Microsoft)

i would also highly appreciate anyone that can add the heads from the old castle lego themes (Fright Knights (Fright Knights are my favorite) Dragon Knights, etc)

is it possible i can go the studio app and add the heads to Lego Digital Designer

Seeing as those are "decorations" on the base "head" element, they should be vaguely easy to locate .png and add the details to a DecorationMapping.xml file.


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Finding out what sets these bags belong to?
I recently opened up a Sterilite box of LEGO from a garage sale to find some unopened bags.  How can I figure out what sets these belong to?

The Bags have numbers on them if that helps...424R8 is on a Bag 2 and a Bag 4.  324R8 is on Bag3 and a Bag 5.  211R7 is on a Bag2.  407R8 is on Bag 3.  450R6 is on a Bag 5.

It might be possible to identify sets from given pictures, however it would also make things a little easier if you upload higher resolution versions.

Ok. I will try to upload better pictures later. For what it is worth, I know there are some bricks in the container from the sets (76078 Hulk v. Red Hulk; 70320 Nexo Knights; 41587 Brickheadz Robin; 60119 City Ferry; 71006 The Simpsons House; and 75292 Star Wars Disney The Razor Crest (I believe).

Based on

PLATE OCTAGONAL 10X10 W. SNAP
PLATE OCTAGONAL 10X10
Scrolling through the instructions

First bag 2, first bag 3, bag 4 and first bag 5 (pictures 1, 3, 5 and 6) are from 75953: Hogwarts Whomping Willow

Second bag #3 is from 75933: T. Rex Transport

Key part : Torso Female Jacket with Silver Zipper, Light Nougat Neck, Bright Light Orange Shirt with Dark Red Raptor Pattern / Olive Green Arms / Light Nougat Hands

Second bag #5 is from 21134: The Waterfall Base

Key parts : Plate 6 x 12 in Bright Green
, White Brick 2 x 10 and Red Apple


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Chandelier with candles
I want to make a hanging chandelier with candles.
The centerpiece is Technic Knob Cog .
My initial thought was to design it just like the Big Ben Church bells (step 278).
However, I don't think that technic pin with bar extension will interface correctly with the technic knob cog as I think it needs an axle to hold it right? So I guess I need a way to hang a short vertical axle from a very long horizontal axle (or set of connected horizontal axles).

I'll confess - my inspiration for that element in my answer to your 4 candles question came from set 10273 - Haunted House which uses it for exactly that purpose - instructions are here (180MB), it's on page 119:

It uses a Technic, Axle 5 with stop to hold the knob cog up, and it's inserted into a Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #1 that's hanging from a beam made from Axle Connectors 2L (Smooth) and Axle 2 Notched.

Good gravy, 180 MB for LEGO instructions? Wow. Thanks for noting that

Yeah, it's one big book. I thought I ought to call it out ;)

I just realized you can put an axle through the 180 degree connectors just like you can a technic pin. Then, you just need a bush or something above the vertical axle to hold it in place.


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Finding out if these are partial creations to any sets
I recently purchased a Sterilite box of LEGO at a garage sale and it contained some partial creations.  Some of these look like they may belong to a set while others may be individual creations.  Can anyone help me identify if any of these belong to a set?  And which set?  Thanks!

Photo #1 is from 75933: T. Rex Transport
Photo # 2 and # 7 are from 75170-1 : The Phantom
#3 is part of 75168: Yoda's Jedi Starfighter
#5 is part of 75182: Republic Fighter Tank
#6 is part of 60179: Ambulance Helicopter

Great.  Thanks Syberion for being so helpful!  I know we also have parts of 76078 Hulk v. Red Hulk, 70320 Nexo Knights, 41587 Brickheadz Robin, 60119 City Ferry, 71006 The Simpsons House,  and 75292 Star Wars Disney Razor Crest in the tub we got.  The not-so-fun part for me is going to be going through the tub to try to separate the sets to see if there may possibly be entire sets for our daughter to build.

@Legosfordaughter thats quite a nice set of pieces from some rather nice sets, The Razorcrest is still on shelves. The Simpsons House is quite iconically The Simpsons House, and the above figure of Admiral Thrawn is getting quite sought after!

#4 looks like part of 75154: TIE Striker:

Based on the intersection of these lists: Sets containing Hinge Pl.Top 2X4 W.Ø4.85Hole and Sets containing Roof Tile 1X2 45° W 1/3 Plate in Sand Blue.
The 1x6 black-yellow striped tile is an "aftermarket accessory", as it only appears in one single set, which is definitely not this one.


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Identify sets including tan building and gray engines
These are the last two potentially identifiable LEGO parts received in my garage sale lot find back in 2019 that I am finally getting around to looking at.

The parts on the left picture are from
75178: Jakku Quadjumper
Right picture shows part of
71006: The Simpsons House


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How should I go about buying 10-20 generic minifigs?
Not a collector, just looking to fill out a few things with sort of generic minifigures. I don't care a ton about what they look like, or even if they're all unique. Just looking for a good variety of maybe 20 minifigs.
It's not obvious to me the easiest and cheapest way to do this.

BrickLink doesn't work well for "groups" of parts - for instance, you want 20 random heads, but you need to pick one head, and look for who has 20 of that one pattern from that mold. Let's start with this: where are you?

I looked at quite a few BrickLink stores with `figs' in the name, and high ratings, to give an example of how you could just look at any given store and choose their cheapest 20 figures - and if they're near you, and allow pickup, no shipping costs! But I didn't spot one that mentioned they allowed pickup. I know the ones near me which allow pickup, but unless you're near me, that won't necessarily help. One I use all the time has 20 figures for under $40 (Canadian) total and allows pickup, for instance.

I'm in Northern California, just north of San Jose. I'm wondering if I can just go to a Lego store nearby?

All the Lego stores I've been in in the past few years have had a build-a-minifig station of some sort. Those figures will not be the cheapest you could find, but if it's quick for you to get to Santa Clara or San Mateo, it might be your best bet. It will almost certainly be your fastest way to get figures, and almost certainly be the way to get the figures you actually want.

Don't forget that if you want 20 generic minifigs that are all different, you could choose say 5 figures with different styles of legs/arms/torso/head/hair, buy  say 4 of each type, and shuffle the parts to rebuild 20 unique figures.

I could suggest checking Bricklink stores in your area/country. It is usually cheaper to buy entire minifigure that individual parts. Unless you need specific items.
Stores have variable inventory, but you need to look for Minifigs section, which usually goes after Sets, and then Parts sections (again, depends on what is being sold in the store). Here you have an option to check all of them or go through individual categories. You might find minifigures you are looking for in Town category.

eBay has various auctions for minifig lots; this auction has 10 for $20 (plus shipping). BrickLink might well be cheaper overall, if you can find a seller near you who will allow pickup.
I don't know the seller; I just chose the first hit for minifig lot that seemed to match your criteria.

You can get 11 generic minifigs in
one set: 40516: Everyone is Awesome!

And you get lots of tiles and plates too.

Soon, sadly not quite yet

Ah, the pinnacle of woke inclusivity: reducing everyone down to a single color each! Also, BLM seem to be getting lumped in with LGBT, which I'm sure many hetero black people would find very welcoming!

@nick012000 the original choice to make all minifigs yellow was taken back in the mid 70s and was deliberately taken to allow "children to project whatever role was required by their imagination and play", and that mostly still holds today except for licensed sets. The whole point of this set is show the inclusivity of all within the LEGO community.

@nick012000 The goal isn't to claim that race, ethnicity, sexuality, and gender identity are all the same. The message here is that people are diverse, and they should be welcomed, respected, and celebrated as they are.

@jncraton And in the process, it's saying that your one label is all that defines you - and also that if you aren't LGBT or a PoC, you're not a person.

I'm not sure these are what the question was author was looking for in regards to 'generic minifigure' they would need different heads with possibly hands to be standard figures and even the some of the hair colours aren't what you might think of as generic. Considering the price I wouldn't say these were the cheapest as well at more than $3 each if you buy as a set.

My solution is easy.  I'm sure there are cheaper ways to go, but they consume more time.  The OP asked for both.

While this might be somewhat on the OP for not clarifying their question accurately, I kind of doubt they're looking for a bunch of oddly monochrome people running through their scenery. This neat set in all honours, but it seems about the opposite to what the asker actually wants.


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Help identifying parts for a novice
Thanks for all of the help yesterday.  I am so thankful for this community since I am a novice.  I took a look through the Sterilite tub of LEGO again today and pulled some more creations that I thought would be worth a try posting here.  For what it is worth, I appear to have parts from the following sets:  Lego City Ambulance Helicopter; T. Rex Transport; Republic Fighter Tank; Yodi's Jedi Starfighter; The Phantom; Hogwort's Whimping Willow; Minecraft The Waterfall Base; Jakku Quadjumper; Tie Striker; Jokerland; Piranha Attack; Hulk v. Red Hulk; Simpson's House; The Penguin Arctic Roller; Airport Cargo Plane; Nexo Knights 70320; The Batmobile; The Riddler Riddle Racer and City Ferry.  I doubt I have any complete sets at this point though.  Does anyone recognize parts of any sets listed above or otherwise here, and which set?  Thanks so much!

first picture
based on

BRICK 2X8
4x4 plate
4x10 plate

Is 21119: The Dungeon

Second picture
Based on

6167798: Plate Round 4X4 with Ø16mm hole
projectile

is 75239: Hoth Generator Attack

Third picture
Based on

LATTICE TOWER 2X2X10 W/CROSS
Different red part

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

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

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

Last picture
75129: Wookiee Gunship Microfighter

Eighth picture no idea, looks like own creation of someone


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Last help question of the day for this novice
Thanks for all of the help in identifying parts to a tub of LEGO I received back in 2019 but have not looked at until yesterday because my daughter has started getting into LEGO. I am so thankful for this community since I am a novice. I took a look through the Sterilite tub of LEGO again today and pulled some more creations that I thought would be worth a try posting here. For what it is worth, I appear to have parts from the following sets: Lego City Ambulance Helicopter; T. Rex Transport; Republic Fighter Tank; Yodi's Jedi Starfighter; The Phantom; Hogwort's Whimping Willow; Minecraft The Waterfall Base; Jakku Quadjumper; Tie Striker; Jokerland; Piranha Attack; Hulk v. Red Hulk; Simpson's House; The Penguin Arctic Roller; Airport Cargo Plane; Nexo Knights 70320; The Batmobile; The Riddler Riddle Racer and City Ferry. Another user helped me identify portions of sets from Mighty Micros Wonder Woman v. Doomsday; Minecraft The Dungeon; Hoth Generator Attack; Mini Cooper S Rally and 2018 Mini John Cooper Works Buggy; Minecraft The Chicken Coop; and Mighty Micros Spider Man v. Green Goblin.  I doubt I have any complete sets at this point though. Does anyone recognize parts of any sets listed above or otherwise here, and which set? I saved what I thought was the hardest for last.  I don't even know how to describe the pictures.  Thanks so much!

#1 was the hardest to find, I searched for sets with the Black Engine, Large, eventually I found that 70905 The Batmobile contained all the parts in the image, although the engine isn't visible.

#2 was a little easier, I searched by Dark Bluish Grey Mudguard. Of the four sets, 75877 Mercedes-AMG GT3 was the only match.

#3 I cross-referenced the yellow slopes and the dark grey trap door frame to find 76078 Hulk vs. Red Hulk

#4, #5, and #6 all appear to be parts of 75178 Jakku Quadjumper, although the lime brick 1 x 1 round appears to be a colour substitution.

#7 is the centre of 75971 Hanzo vs. Genji

As well as a tea cup from one of these sets

#8 has the front of Hulks car from 76078, and parts from these sets:
The torso from one of the models of 31058 Mighty Dinosaurs

Part of the carnivorous plant from 75904 Mystery Mansion

The Joker's hat from 76035 Jokerland

Catwoman's motorcycle wheel from 70902 Catwoman Catcycle Chase

One of the wings from 75129 Wookie Gunship

The ghost vacuum from 71242 Story Pack - Ghostbusters: Play the Complete Movie.

Some of the detailing on the front and underside from 70911 The Penguin Arctic Roller

The large black leg is from one of the many Star Wars buildable figures with black legs


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Can cherries connect to anything?
Can the Cherry Piece connect to anything such as a hollow 1x1 round plate or a 1x1 round brick?

You've made it to the 6th most upvoted question for the Connections tag in 5 days! :)

Yes, "Cherries / Cherry Pair" has 3.18mm connection also known as "bar". This type of connection is in system and is compatible with large variety of elements, including two you have mentioned.
Couple of examples:


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Automating rotation of a block on a track
How do I rotate a block 180 degrees after an item (like a car or train) passes a certain point in a track?

Do you have any prototype that you could share?

Can you clarify if the block you would like to rotate is on the train or on the track? As many details as possible about your design would help too!

I do not have a prototype. I was thinking a small switch to activate a rotation off the track after the vehicle passes the point. I noticed the power function set could be close to what I am looking for. I dont know of that helps.................................. Track-vehicle-switch activation-vehicle ........... .........................block turns
.

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

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

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

If I understand the problem correctly, you have a track, on which something is moving in a straight line. Then you want to have another, stationary object to rotate when the moving something has passed a certain point on the track, right? Like a semaphore transitioning to another state after a train has passed a switchpoint?
If so, then the simplest solution would be to attach a piece of straight gear rack to the moving object and set up a gear by the tracks in a way so that the gear rack meshes with it as the object moves past. If the rack has exactly half the number of teeth as the gear, the gear will be rotated 180° upon their passing.
Possible combinations: 4566045: RACK W. BALL with 6 teeth:
and 4141454: DOUBLE CONICAL WHEEL Z12 1M with 12 teeth:
or: 374302: TOOTHED BAR M=1, Z=10 with 10 teeth:
and 4141455: DOUBLE CONICAL WHEEL Z20 1M with 20 teeth:
Due to the tight tolerances offered by these kind of teeth the alignment must be precisely calibrated and the passing speed should not be too high (especially if the rotational resistance or inertia is high) - in such cases knob or splat gears could provide better characteristics.
Or for very high speed applications the gear rack could be replaced with a long slope, which engages a single protruding piece and rotates it a bit by a horizontal axle while passing by. The resulting motion can then be amplified through adequate gearing to give 180° at the desired point and incorporate a ratchet to prevent returning after the slope has passed.


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Train with two Powered Up hubs
I'm building a motorized train. The locomotive has two Powered Up train motors, one at each end. However, no matter where I place the hub inside the locomotive, the wires on the train motors are too short to both reach the hub.
So, I have decided to try to connect each motor to a separate hub. The problem is that the motors have to spin in the opposite direction. I know that if I put one motor on the "A" output of one hub and the other motor on the "B" output of the other hub, then I can control the motors independently, but I was wondering if there was a way to program the hubs so that I can control both motors together. Is this possible? If so, what would an example program look like to do this? I can also program in Python and Java if that helps at all. Below is a picture of my current setup.

You could also try non LEGO brand extension cables:  https://pv-productions.com/product/powered-up-extension-cable/

I don't have too much experience with PUp system and my collection is insufficient to test, but cannot you simply pair both hubs to use same "channel" and use "A" ends for each motor? You would then need to just turn rotate single motor-bogie.

@KirkWoll Thanks! I didn't even know that existed.

@Alex That's the problem, though… I can't simply turn one of the motors around because then the wire would be on the wrong side of the motor. It might be possible, but it would require modifying the frame of the locomotive to allow the wire to pass through on the other side.

Yes, what you require is perfectly possible to implement in the Powered Up app on nearly any recent smart device.
You do need to program a bit, there's a graphical programming interface which you can get to after tapping the "Create" button.
Since you mention that you're experienced with actual programming languages like Python and Java, you should have no difficulty figuring out what the code blocs do.
You'll have the option to either work with sliders that will be present on some makeshift GUI on your smart device to control the speed, or you can chose to connect a remote as a third device (the other two devices being the hubs) and work with the input from the remote...
Addition: I've found the following example program on reddit:

It's a successful attempt to control the train with the remote just like when the remote would be connected directly... it maintains a variable with the speed of a the train, which can be increased or decreased with the + and - buttons on the train remote, and then the speed is set to the motor. The only change you would need to make is setting the negative of that speed on the second train motor which will be connected to the second hub.
That hub will be the third device connected, which is important for the port selection in the code blocks...


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Which Lego brick number is this? 1 x 3 connected vertically to a base
Please can someone help me to identify the brick in the picture. Thanks.

Does this answer your question? Please identify these two kinds of Lego bricks (circa 1990's)

They're the same piece, but is there any way someone could make that connection with such a generic question?

We don't have a clear policy on whether similar part-identification questions are duplicates.  https://bricks.meta.stackexchange.com/q/508/6174  Unless folks happen to do an image-based search it seems unlikely normal users would have much chance of realizing they're making a duplicate.

It's part 4169 Bracket 2 x 3 - 1 x 3 (Train Signal Stand)


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Can anyone tell me where to donate a lot of Hero Factory parts and pieces?
Wondering where to donate gently used Hero Factory parts and pieces. Surely there are people who might want them. Not sure if Goodwill will take them. I have already tried eBay. Any other ideas? I'd hate to put them in the trash. I'm in the metro Atlanta, GA area.  Thanks!

Please update question to include your country, at least.

If I were you, I'd try one of the following:

If you wish to get some money for them, post them as an auction on eBay without a minimal (reserve) price. This way somebody will surely bid at least some amount, and the lot will be off your hands and on it's way to someone who actually wants it at least a bit.

Posting on local marketplace boards (like Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, etc.) could attract some interested recipients as well, either for money or for free.

If you don't want to get any compensation for it, you could try local kindergartens - I suppose they would welcome additional toys for the kids there.

If all else fails, you could just pack them up in a bag, attach a note abut what it is and what are your intentions, then leave the bag in a playground for someone to find. This is the most risky option, as parents in your area might be rightfully hesitant to let their kids pick up anything remotely suspicious, but it surely beats throwing the lot in the trash.

Thanks for much for your suggestions,  I was hoping to get about $20 for them, but after several days on fb marketplace and ebay with no takers, I'm ready to give them away for free to someone who wants them

Several days is not a lot of time. On eBay the usual auction times range from one to two weeks, I'd suggest trying a longer time to increase the number of visitors and with it the chances.

I would also add that you might find a fan of Hero Factory in your local LEGO User Group (LUG).

You rarely get bids on Ebay until near the end of the auction. Why would somebody bid early $1 for an item with no bids that they think is worth $100, when their bid will alerts other buyers and someone else will bid $2? Of course the person who wants to bid $2 will also not bid till the last minute, otherwise the first bidder would probably bid $3. The way to get a real bargain on Ebay is to make "sniping bid" a few seconds before the auction ends, not to show your interest early.

Extending the default auction length on Ebay is fairly pointless, unless you are selling something which is obviously rare and desirable, and you want to start a bidding war between several potential buyers. For a random collection of Lego parts, that is unlikely to happen.

Have you tried a local elementary school? In the UK, Lego is very popular in therapy sessions, and for social support groups.

For donating LEGO, I would look at local libraries.  Many public libraries in my region of the US have "LEGO clubs" and are always looking for spare brick.  I also agree with an earlier answer that you might want to look for any adult LEGO clubs in your area.  Even if the adults fans are not interested in what you have they often have connections to people who want spare LEGO.
Another source for donations could be FIRST LEGO LEAGUE robotic teams in your area.  These teams are often in need of spare parts and even Hero Factory pieces can be used for decorating the robots.
Whatever you do, don't put them in the trash.  ABS is a very recyclable material, but furthermore LEGO is in high demand.  It would be multiple levels of shame to put it in a landfill.  My guess is that Goodwill wil take them, as I often bring the clone bricks to thrift shops when I separate them from second hand LEGO piles that I grab at yard sales or Facebook marketplace.


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I bought a box of used LEGO and found these 4 bags in it
No pieces stand out. I see just one minifigure with a red body without anything indicating what it is. Any idea what set it belongs to?

This is set 31025 Mountain Hut from the Creator theme. The Medium Blue window panes are in this set, and then the minifigure head you see in the top right bag identified this set.


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unknown pieces of a set - stickers on round corner bricks
I have found these pieces in a bulk purchase and I would like to find out the set.
They have sticker on it. Maybe a star wars set?
many thanks

9450 Epic Dragon Battle is the only set that contains part 95188pb12L - Brick, Round Corner 6 x 6 with Slope 33 Edge, Facet Cutout with 3 Diamonds and Black Line Pattern Model Left Side (Sticker) - Set 9450

Great. Many thanks!

It looks like 95188pb12L leading to set 9450 Epic Dragon Battle


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Help identifying potentially two LEGO sets - Hogwart's and Star Wars?
I just received a LEGO Eiffel Tower set from a very generous neighbor.  With the set, she included two other bags of LEGO pieces just in case the Eiffel Tower set was not complete and had pieces of it in those two bags.  Well, those two bags also included some of these pieces that were already created.  One of them appears to be Hogwart's Castle.  However, I am not sure what the other set might be.  Do any of these pieces look familiar to anyone (particularly the set that looks like it may be a Star Wars set)?  Thanks!

You’re correct that the one set looks like Hogwarts. Specifically 5378 Hogwarts Castle (3rd edition). There are three Dolores Umbridge figures, only one with solid pink legs like in your photo. This version only appears in the 3rd edition Hogwarts.

The Star Wars set looks like 8039 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser.

Neither set contains Boat, 14 x 5 x 2 with Oarlocks without Hollow Inside Studs though it does appear in 75954 Hogwarts Great Hall so it could reasonably be part of the collection of someone interested in Harry Potter sets.


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Remove 3, maybe 4, decades old PVA glue from Lego
A friend of mine gave me a large crate of Lego that he found in the house he just bought.
It appears to be several sets from the late 70's. (I spotted the building instructions for the 850 and 851 Technic sets in there.)
Unfortunately that crate also contained a bunch of other stuff, including a large plastic squirt-bottle of PVA wood glue. The bottle burst open and the glue leaked into some of the Lego.
I have about 500 bricks fused together with several booklets of building instructions into a sort of modern sculpture.
I would like to get the glue off, without destroying the bricks, but this glue has been there for 30, maybe 40 years.
The usual approach for dissolving old PVA glue is soaking it with hot water, white vinegar or methylated spirits (in order of aggressiveness).
But would that be safe for the Lego?
As far as I know hot water, if too hot, might soften/deform Lego bricks.
Methylated spirits is, in general, not safe to use on plastics and will probably affect the plastic used in Lego bricks.
White vinegar is, as far as I know, safe to use on Lego.
So I'm thinking of just soaking everything in warm water (say 40 degrees Celsius) for a couple of days and seeing how that goes. If that doesn't dissolve the glue I can try again with white vinegar.
Does anyone see a problem with that? Does anyone know a better way of doing this?

Can you provide a picture of the "sculpture"? Maybe it is better to leave it like that instead of having some damaged bricks and instructions.

@Aziraphale It doesn't look attractive in any way. Just a very irregular blob of mostly hardened white/semi-transparant glue, paper and parts of Lego bricks sticking out. There is also a hairbrush stuck into the blob. My main interest is the bricks as some appear to be very hard to get pieces that I actually need. Like 966a ramp for trailer base in blue and yellow. I have one of those each, but both are broken and I can see there are 2 yellows and 1 blue in the blob that look, as far as I can tell, to be undamaged.

Take it for what it is, I am not a material scientist and this is not a guarantee that the following information will work in your case.

I believe your approach is correct, or at least as good as you'll be able to get considering the material properties of the bricks and the glue.
LEGO bricks are made of ABS plastic (at least after 1963).
According to data from the Cole-Parmer Chemical Compatibility Database, ABS plastic is very susceptible to damage from nearly all the normal solvents used to remove PVA glue.

Chemical
Compatibility with ABS plastic

Acetone
D - Severe Effect: Not recommended for any use.

Methanol (Methyl Alcohol)
D - Severe Effect: Not recommended for any use.

Vinegar
A - Excellent

Vinegar looks like it may work, especially if you expose the glue to soften it before attempting to remove it from the bricks. Unfortunately, the instructions are almost certainly beyond saving.
Concerning heat, ABS appears to be safe until around 80°C (176°F) when it starts to deform. This is good considering PVA softens as early as 30°C (86°F). However, as Alex points out, LEGO recommends using water no warmer than 40°C (104°F).
You might try submerging the LEGO-berg in hot water for an extended period of time (articles I found suggested multiple hours, changing the water as needed) then using a syringe or spray bottle to apply vinegar to one area at a time. With some force, the weakened glue should release. Assuming it has weakened sufficiently, wiping with a course cloth should remove the residue.
It is unclear in my searching whether time is a significant factor in the susceptibility of PVA glue to heat. It is a resin, so there may be some long-term curing that prevents the glue from re-softening, but I couldn't find a definitive source one way or the other.
As an additional consideration, exposure to extended heat, chemical treatments, and physical cleaning may impact the surface quality of your bricks. Additionally, if the solvents present in the glue when it was applied to the surface also affect ABS, the glue may be bonded to the structure of the brick, not just the surface. If this is the case, you will not be able to salvage the brick without a destructive process like sanding that will inevitably leave signs.
If you can identify a small chunk of bricks to test the process on, you can at least see if heat and vinegar are a potential solution for the rest of your bricks.

80°C? Well, LEGO recommends using temperature no more than 40°C when washing bricks. I wouldn't use liquids much warmer than that. And in case there are any CA bricks they will deform under any warmer temperature (if they haven't deformed yet).

Up to 40 Celsius is fine. I have washed Lego in the washing machine on the 40 degree program before. (Take a pillowcase. Load with Lego. Tie it very securely shut and wash on the 40 degree fine cloth program without using the centrifuge.)

I'm having a small fist-size clump with about 20 bricks in it currently sittng in hot water (tap-water, as hot as I can stand to stick my hand in. Should be around 40 degrees). Will replace the water every 30 minutes or so. Been doing this for 2 hours now. So far the glue doesn't appear to be softening at all. I'll let it work in for a day or 2. After that I will try vinegar.

@Tonny please update us on how it went!

@htmlcoderexe I will write a self-answer with a progress report. Will probably be in the weekend as I have to make a business trip tomorrow and Friday.

Sweet, good luck with the bricks and with the trip!

@Tonny one other thing you could consider with large clumps like this, is to see if it's possible to increase the surface area that's exposed to heat/liquid. If you have a bit of knife skills and the clumps allow it, you could try using a sharp blade to cut the large clumps into several smaller ones (increasing the surface area), or even shave off as much of the glue as possible before applying any water/vinegar, which can save a few rounds of soaking because you're now directly heating/soaking the inner layers of glue.

@Tinkeringbell That is how I got the much smaller test-piece I'm currently experimenting with. The glue is softening and slightly dissolving now (after about 5 hours) but it is just the top-layer and goes very slowly. Lack of penetration seems to be the biggest problem.

@Tonny yeah, it can probably take a long time before the insides of the clump reach 40 degrees, if you're soaking something in water that's about ~40 degrees at the start of each half hour, so for any glue you can cut/shave away, that's going to speed up the process a bit. But it's nice to read it is working!

@Tonny do you happen to have a sous vide machine (a cooking device)?  It allows precise temperature control and will maintain the water at a desired temperature.

@KirkWoll I don't. Those things are rare beasts outside of restaurants. Would in this case be highly useful.

If doing it with water, I'd go for volume rather than trying to keep it really hot - like a large plastic crate  that could be left somewhere warm, and leave it for several days, maybe stirring every few hours

Self-answer to let you all know how things went.
Warm water was having some effect but it took forever. So Saturday morning I went to the DIY store and got myself a 5 liter jerrycan of white vinegar.
Taking my small test-clump I dropped it in a a bucket with a 50/50 mix of warm water and vinegar. In about 5 minutes the top 2-3 millimeter of the glue had turned in a slimy gooey layer. Rinsing that of with a brush and exposing the still solid glue underneath started the dissolve the glue underneath as well.
Took less than 15 minutes to break up the whole clump and to brush the Lego pieces more or less clean. The more I could break up the clump the quicker it went.
After that I gave them a second rinse in another bucket with water/vinegar mix just to get rid of the remaining residue and finally rinsed them off under running tap-water.
The first bucket now contained a very nasty slimy water/vinegar/glue mix.
I threw that away and refilled with fresh warm water/vinegar.
Stuck the large clump in (it was too large to submerge completely, part of it stuck above water) and let it soak for another 10 minutes.
Was then able to break up the under-water section in smaller pieces so eventually I was able to get everything soaking.
After another 10 minutes I had broken up the entire clump into small clumps each containing maybe 10 to 15 Lego pieces. Left these to soak some more.
Another 15 minutes later I had freed all Lego pieces and just needed to brush/rinse the remaining goo off.
Conclusion: Vinegar worked really well. Mixing it with warm water might have somewhat sped up the process as well.
There doesn't seem to be any negative impact on the Lego bricks.

Great to hear all went that quick. I just wonder if vinegar had any, solvent like, impact. Did any of elements develop matte finish, which wasn't present before?

@Alex No, no visible effect as far as I can tell. No discoloration, no loss of gloss and surface texture of the bricks feels exactly as non-treated bricks. I did have some minor scratching but that was the rather hard brush I used at first. Switched to a much softer brush later.


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Grand piano page 269 of instructions - are the gears suppose to stop after a quarter turn or keep going when reversing directions
The directions show the gears are suppose to move counter clockwise.  When I follow the directions on page 268-269, and push the reverse button on the Lego power-up app for the Grand Piano, the gears turn for a quarter turn counterclockwise and then stop.  Are the gears suppose to continuing turning?   The gears run fine when running clockwise.

Tl;dr - Your piano appears to be functioning correctly. The step you mention appears to be resetting the gear to a known position. The playback direction is clockwise and free of restriction. The reset process is counter-clockwise and is restricted by another mechanism.

For reference, here are the instructions as a massive PDF.
It looks like you're following the mini-instructions after step 352. They include pairing your device to the piano and resetting the piano for playback.
The relevant step instructs you to press the button that looks like a gear being turned counter-clockwise.

This action should cause the axle driving the piano to rotate counter-clockwise as shown in the model view included in the step.

It looks like there is a one-way mechanism that is designed to prevent the axle from turning past a specific position when rotating counter-clockwise. It is visible in the step on the left side of the model view.

Notice that the orange Technic, Liftarm Thick 1 x 2 - Axle Hole is bound to the same axle as the gear shown rotating. Notice too that it is currently blocked by the light bluish gray Technic, Liftarm Thick 1 x 5. This liftarm pivots on a red Technic, Axle 2 Notched in its leftmost hole.
The light bluish gray liftarm is free to pivot and will allow the orange liftarm to pass when the axle is rotating clockwise (the orange liftarm contacts the light bluish gray liftarm from below causing it to raise out of the way).
Without having the set, I am guessing that the axle should rotate clockwise when playing.
This mechanism appears to provide a consistent rotational starting point so that the axle is aligned to a known position at the beginning of the sheet music. The axle looks to function as a crankshaft of sorts. The mini-instructions include the process to reset the crankshaft so that that piano is playing in sync with the sheet music being shown in the app.

Thank you so much.  That was perfect with great detail and precision.


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Can the new road plates be used to build ramps or hills?
I have the new LEGO City road plates, and I'm wondering if they can be used to create ramps or hills. Here's the road plate system I'm referring to:

Ramps and hills weren't easy to create with the older baseplate road systems:

I'm wondering if this is easier with the new system.

I don't think I own the 'new' ramp piece or any of the new plates, but I wonder if the older ramp would be of any use?

I tried this out recently with the new road plates. Because the new system is composed of proper plates with connection points on the underside, this is fairly simple to do. It really comes down to selecting parts that can allow the road to be held in place securely at an appropriate angle.
Here's what I did using plates with clips and handles:

If you were building this for a display, you could get by with many fewer clips, but I was building this with my 5 year old, so it needed to be able to survive significant play. It's held up just fine for us.
Here's the final result with some bricks added to conceal the open sides:


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Can an EV3 power a buggy motor with the NXT to 9V extension cable?
On Philo's motor comparison webpage, https://www.philohome.com/motors/motorcomp.htm, it says that the buggy motor (42908 lego id, 5292 bricklink id) is not recommended to be powered by an RCX as the RCX cannot provide enough current for the beast.
How about an EV3 with the NXT to 9V conversion cable (bricklink id x1676)? Could the EV3 power the beast (both interested in the EV3 powered by rechargeable batteries or powerful AA batteries)?
Has anyone seen such setup? I cannot find any data about how much current the EV3 can deliver...

The motor drivers are protected by resettable fuses. Each fuse protects two output ports (A/B or C/D). The amount of current that can be delivered depends on the time that it is applied. The 1.1A listed in the schematic is the max sustained current. The datasheet for the resettable fuses provides more details.
The 2.2A trip current listed in the data sheet is still less than the 3.2A stall current for the motor, so the EV3 will probably struggle with this motor.

Note: The full EV3 schematic is included in the Hardware Developer Kit available for download on the official LEGO MINDSTORMS download page.

Max sustained current 1.1A and Philo says 1.4 A for a loaded motor seems also problematic even when not stalling, no ? The load I have in mind is likely greater or equal than what Philo tested..


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Gearing problem
I have a technic MOC with lots of gears which runs fine when motorized with the Control+ L motor, the motor itself attached to the "dumb" battery box that would have been included with the Osprey but which you now can buy separately.
The Philo home page https://www.philohome.com/motors/motorcomp.htm says a loaded Control+ motor has the following characteristics:
8,81 N.cm torque, 198 rpm
I then wanted more power/speed so I tried to replace the Control+ L motor with the race buggy motor and battery box as in set 8287 "motor box"...
The motor stalled immediately.
The Philo home page says the race buggy motor has the following characteristics
5.7 N.cm torque, 780 rpm
This is for the outer output, the inner output which I'm using is geared up by a factor 23/17 so I expect the characteristics to be:
4.2 N.cm torque, 1055 rpm...
So understandable, higher speed but less torque -> motors might stall.
I have in my technic MOC 2 pairs of gears gearing up by a factor 25 (8 tooth gear and 40 tooth gear, two pairs)
I tried to replace the gears by 2 pairs of bevel gears, the 12 tooth gear and 36 tooth gear. 2 such pairs giving a speedup of factor 9.
So taking this modification in mind, I expect the torque to increase by a factor of 25/9 and the speed to decrease by a factor 9/25
Giving me
11,6 N.cm and 379 rpm
Which is clearly a greater torque than the Control+ motor, so I expected it to work. Unfortunately it didn't; the contraption moves slowly for about 1 second and then stalls...
Am I making a mistake in my reasoning? Are there other factors to consider? Or do I just have bad luck with my buggy motor (or good luck with my Control+ L motor) ?
Perhaps the friction of bevel gears is significantly higher than the older 8 and 40 tooth gears ?
I used in both cases new AA alkaline batteries, all from the same brand.

Not sure which data is correct. Sariel's motors chart has different data for RC motor (5292). Although he states it is based on Philo's data as well.

@Alex, Philo updated his data for the buggy at some point (says so on the page), likely the chart was made before that update...

I think the issue here is with your power unit - battery box. It sounds like your motor is consuming more current than battery box can provide.
RC motor (5292) is known to be power hungry and as far as I know the only LEGO control unit that can provide enough of it is Electric RC Race Buggy Battery / Receiver Unit with Auxiliary Output (6272c01):

Electric RC Race Buggy Battery / Receiver Unit without Auxiliary Output
(6293c01) maybe as well.
Any other LEGO battery box will have issues with its current/thermal protection kicking in sooner than RC motor can provide its full potential.
This is issue was one of the reasons why 3rd party controllers/power units became available.

I'm using the battery box 54950c01 that came with it in the 8287 motor box, I would have thought that battery box would have been adequate, but I will investigate alternative power sources


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What does 18853 (Friends flower) connect to besides 37695 (Plant stem with 3 leaves) or 11609 (Friends accessories star)?
What does 18853 (Friends flower) connect to besides 37695 (Plant stem with 3 leaves) or 11609 (Friends accessories star)?

Is there a good way to attach it to common plant stems (3741) like this one:

Is there a good way to attach it to common plant stems (3741)?

Although strictly a non-official connection, the Technic pneumatic hose (or its rigid variant) can fit over the plant stem, and thus the Friends flower pin. If the connecting piece is cut short enough, the resulting assembly might even look somewhat good.

I just checked, neither pneumatic or rigid hose work with any of the elements in question. The whole in hoses is simply too big.

@Alex That's why I wrote "strictly non-official". It will hold the flower in place in a display environment, but not during typical play that the official connections should be able to withstand.

What does 18853 (Friends flower) connect to?

Most of Friends animals have this type of connection to attach accessories like flower you mention, bow or other. Coule of examples:
Dolphin, Friends / Elves, Jumping with Bottom Axle Holder with Medium Azure Eyes with Eyelashes Pattern

Bear, Friends / Elves, Baby Cub, Sitting with Black Nose and Claws and Dark Azure Eyes Pattern

Number of hair pieces have attachment point for accessories like the flower:

Tile, Round 1 x 1 with Bar and Pin Holder gives an option to attach these kind of accessories to usual studs, as this has been used several times on this picture:

Is there a good way to attach it to common plant stems (3741)

If you define "good way" such as attaching stud to anti-stud then no. Both ends of these elements are of the same type.

Good to know that it attaches to 20482.  I'll keep that in mind.


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Duplo block with facecloth or towel on
I'm currently kitting out a new bathroom for my Lego son, and I would like to modify a set of drawers, including using Duplo pieces as labels for the drawer contents.
I've found Duplo blocks for toothbrushes/toothpaste, toilet rolls, shampoo/soap etc like these ones:

but I'd like one for the drawer containing flannels (washcloths for faces).
So I'm looking for a Duplo block, preferably 1x2x2, with a picture of a towel or a washcloth or similar, but can't find a suitable one. Can anyone suggest a suitable block?
(also a 1x2x2 toothbrush/toothpaste block, if one exists)

I have gone through 32 pages of 1x2x2 bricks, and there do not appear to be any towel bricks.  (There are, however alternate soaps)
The only sets that I can find with towels all use cloth ones

Thanks, I saw the alternate soaps, there are multiple of those, but apparently no towels!

Sorry, I could not find any towel blocks, and trust me, I have looked and looked just as @Chronocidal did, and the closest block I could find was this and sorry its not even Duplo: https://www.brickowl.com/catalog/lego-brick-1-x-6-x-5-with-green-towel-sticker-hairdressing-salon-3754
But I guess you could take a white brick: https://www.brickowl.com/catalog/lego-duplo-brick-1-x-2-x-2-with-bottom-tube-15847-76371
and custom design one of your own by designing a sticker and adding it on.

Thanks. The Lego towel may be a reasonable choice - I was only after Duplo because I knew that several of the pieces existed. And making a sticker (or directly painting/drawing a design on is my backup option.

You might get a good result with a water-transfer decal.  However that could be quite permanent.
A satisfactory effect might be achieved by simply printing a small icon onto some paper, cut out with scissors, and then glue it to the brick.  You can also get sheets of plain white or clear sticker paper for printing onto directly, fill the page with icons to save paper.
Glues and adhesives tend to stick poorly to smooth plastic, so the sticker could be peeled off easily.  Or if you want to make it permanent, tooth up the plastic with some sandpaper before applying.
Another option might be to paint directly on the block with model paints, though this would need a steady hand and an artistic ability.


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My copy of Republic Fighter tank 7679 doesn't have a part count. Is it legit?
Oddly enough it has no part count on the box whatsoever and I bought it from a Italian seller on Bricklink. It was quite expensive. I doubt this is a counterfeit. But you can't be to sure. Why is there no part count? Is that a thing that happens with some LEGO sets?

Thank you gentleman for answering my queries. I'm glad.

Does this answer your question? Why does LEGO state the number of parts on US boxes, but not in Europe?

LEGO boxes in Europe do not have piece count on the front. There is no legal requirement within EU to present this information on packaging.
Actually, depending on where you live, it may be odder to see boxes with part count on its front.

Our local Lego store recently had boxes that had a piece count sticker added on, because the boxes had come from a region where it wasn't printed, but due to varying demand (I'd guess) got sent to a region where it normally would be.

why even have a separate print without? I cannot imagine it would cost more in ink, and it usually tends to cost more to have multiple prints that have to be managed etc

@htmlcoderexe World is not "US-centric". Living in Europe, where LEGO originally comes from, I guess, the question would sound like "Why have a separate print with? Just make it a sticker when needed". On a serious note, NA is different market where TLG use different printing facilities for sets produced in Mexico's factory and do not ship boxes from Europe.

I also live in Europe - I was thinking more along the lines that if they have to do it for one country where it is mandated, they might as well do it for all the countries especially since the information is semi-useful regardless of where you live. I assumed all lego was just shipped around from a single location more or less, though, so that explains it. I guess now I have to find out how it would be possible to have a similar regulation in Europe as usually we're the more restrictive ones ;)


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more help identifying material
Ok, since my daughter has gotten into LEGO extensively lately, and I've pulled out all the bins that I got good deals on from prior years (like back in 2018/2019, I found one other (hopefully last) bin with some LEGO in it.  Could anyone help me identify any of these potential sets or parts of sets?  Thanks so much!!!

I'm definitely seeing (parts of) the following sets in the photos:

4305: Cyborg Scout:
6836: V-Wing Fighter:
6829: Radon Rover:
6938: Scorpion Detector:
8505: Amazon:
8504: Jet:
6400: Go-Kart:
6791: Bandit's Wheelgun:
2151: Robo Raider:

Thanks!  Those Technic ones really had me stumped!

You can do some research yourself if you want to dig around the set database over at Brickset (https://brickset.com)
Just glancing at the figs that are in the photos, most of this stuff is mid 1990s era sets. Ex: The ufo figures are from https://brickset.com/sets/theme-Space/subtheme-UFO
I'd just take a look at BS lego catalog around those years and you will probably be able to pick out the sets you have.

I do see that the bottom one with all the pink and green, is probably from lego friends set: Looks like this set:https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/beach-house-41428
And I do see some medieval figurines so its probably from this set:
https://www.ebay.com/p/141206538
And I also see moon rovers so here: ROVER
OH and is that INDIANA JONES?! : INDI
yes it is
and also race carsRACECARS
And You're Welcome!

Ebay links are going to expire at some point. It is best to link to Bricklink, Brickset or Rebrickable. These resources are focused on LEGO so, most likely, will survive for much longer.

alright im editing

@Alex I have edited my post

Thanks!  I've been able to figure out that some of the moon rovers are from sets:  1737, 2151, 6818, 6829, and 6836.  And the sealed bags are from set 41119.


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Unsure what set this bag of small tan and grey elements goes to
I found this bag and I'm not sure what set it goes to.

The large number of tan 1x1 bricks with studs on adjacent sides means this can only be one of a very small number of sets. The other parts make it appear that this is a bag from Assembly Square (10255):


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Pentagonal shield attachments
Do the Pentagonal Power Shields have 2 anti-studs on the back. Would they attach more firmly to a LegoBrick, Modified 1 x 1 x 1 2/3 with Studs on 1 Side then a basic headlight brick?

Yes, they have two anti-studs. You can see both through the trans-clear version of this part on the back of 76193 The Guardians’ Ship.

Like I mentioned in my comment, it appears LEGO is comfortable using a single stud to hold this piece when attached by its anti-studs. This can be seen when looking at Minifigure, Shield Pentagonal, though it may be the case that adding a second stud to the shield was undesirable for another reason (mold issues, proximity to edge, difficulty removing the tile from the shield, etc).

Using the modified brick you’ve suggested will definitely provide a stronger connection in addition to preventing rotation. I haven’t been able to find an official stance from LEGO on whether they recommend connecting to multiple anti-studs with the same piece.

That shield piece has a lip around the edge, which stops tile from rotating. Single stud, probably, was efficient enough in such case.

The basic headlight brick or Ehrling brick https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=4070 has its side stud recessed half a plate, so there is a bottom lip that's in the way to attach any plate or tile in the central tubes... Any other element with 1x1 or 1x2 studs fits rather tight in the tubes, tighter than other anti-studs but it's a perfectly legal building technique as far as I know...


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Simplest/cheapest way to build a tensegrity model?
My daughter saw some beautiful and interesting tensegrity (tensional integrity) LEGO models on the Internet:

and she would like to get one for her birthday.
We've got a few Harry Potter LEGO sets at home, but the only chain I've found was from "Hungarian Horntail Triwizard Challenge - 75946", and it's probably too long.
What would be the easiest (=fewest sets) or cheapest way to get the required bricks and chains?
I live in Germany, and I've found a custom set with original bricks for 30€, for the simplest model.

I really like the yellow castle above, as well as the Ninjago one. Does anybody know how much it would cost to build them?
Finally, this one (The Impossible Apartment Complex by Jeff Friesen) also looks really cool:

Any hint would be welcome!

Tensegrity Sculpture by JKBrickworks has free instructions. Here you can also get full list of elements you need to build it.

Rebrickable has few more "tensegrity" models. All come with instructions and part lists as well as estimated part cost. Example for model shown above:

As for acquiring parts there are multiple ways. If you are looking to purchase missing elements only I would suggest following options (in no particular order):

LEGO PAB (Pick A Brick) online store
LEGO B'n'P (Bricks and Pieces)
Bricklink
BrickOwl

Each creation/MOC onRebrickable has "Buy parts" tab, which use Bricklink and BrickOwl shops. Or you can use "add to wishlist/wanted list" options available for Bricklink and BrickOwl from Inventory tab.

Excellent! Somehow, I didn't manage to find those websites in my Google searches, they look great. Thanks.

I ordered a set thanks to Rebrickable/BrickLink/TheBrickTime. Just curious : the shop had 12 * "Light Bluish Gray Plate 1 x 2" for 6c€, and hundreds for 18c€. Do you happen to know why? They were both new, and had the same reference number (3023).

@EricDuminil hard to tell, could be a lot of reasons: old inventory (newly added items were ooffered at better prices), some "marketing", also thinking that if you need 20 of these, you would get the rest priced higher, than look at some other store (as it would cause additional spending, like shipping, some other costs and so on), and many other. You may be surprised, that some items in same condition and color may be priced from several cents to several euros.

Lack of chains should not be a showstopper for such a project, as any flexible, non-expandable material can work instead. You may use LEGO strings, like those included with Spiderman sets with the tubular grip sections or the plain one:
Or in their absence even plain, 3rd party string can work, either tied to, or gripped between LEGO bricks:
I have had success with rubber bands and pneumatic tubing as well, so grab anything suitable and start building :)

@Downvoter, how would you improve this post?


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What are possible sets for these castle pieces?
I bought what I thought was a box of Lego bricks that contained a castle. About half the castle pieces were there. This is a picture of some of the major and larger pieces. I'm wondering if someone can help me identify some sets these may belong to.

The wheel looks like https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=4790b&in=S 4790b: Boat, Ship's Wheel with Slotted Pin but there don't seem to be any sets with 3 or more. Same with the non-slotted variant 4790.

The part on the bottom left looks like https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=98280&in=S 98280 which doesn't seem to be in any castle set in that color.

Do all the possible studs say LEGO on them? In particular, I don't think I've ever seen a Lego piece like those brackets in the bottom left (but I don't recognize them as any clone brand piece, either).

@RSchulz it is 98287.

Oh, so it is! Sorry. Me looking for 2x4 brackets didn't help. I was able to get my hands on a Ghost long ago, but it was for someone else, so I never built it. Bricklink doesn't show it in any castle sets either: https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=98287&in=S

The parts on the bottom left of your picture are 98287 "Bracket 3x4 3x4", which appear in a very limited number of sets. Of those, I think you have bits and pieces of 4204-1 "The Mine":

Note 30293+30294 boulders, 6108 arch 1x12x3, 98280 panel 1x6x3 with studs on sides and 30150 crate 3x4x1⅔ all appear in that set too.

You seem to have exactly 12 of 90195 Window 1x2x2 castle, in tan colour. That narrows down the search quite a lot, down to 8639-1 Big Bentley Bust Out:

That's also the only set to feature 2454pb062 "Brick 1x2x5 with Electricity Danger Sign Pattern (Sticker)", which is only barely visible in the above picture:

The parts list for that set also lists 6233 Cone 2x3x2 and 60208 wheel 31mm D. x 15mm in dark bluish gray.
That set does not cover the 8x8 tan plate, though.

Your brown parts (in particular, the reddish brown 4790b rudder wheel) suggest that you have parts of several pirate boat sets.
My wild guess is 70413-1 The Brick Bounty, but just because the parts list for it also includes a 64951 barrel half large AKA "crow's nest" and a 30150 crate 3x4x1⅔. I could be wrong, though.

The two technic-looking parts at the very right of your photograph seem to be "Projectile Cannon", either 57029c01 or 57029c02. There is a limited number of sets with two such parts, but I cannot give a good guess.

For the rest of the parts, I have no good guesses.


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Can anyone identify what set these may have come from? Lots of burgundy colored pieces and a few Technic pieces

The year listed is 2011, but I really have no other information as these were salvaged from a thrift store.

Based on
SLIDE SHOE ROUND 2X2 in red
SLIDE SHOE ROUND 2X2 in trans yellow
and the different gray parts
these bags are from
7964: Republic Frigate

"SLIDE SHOE ROUND 2X2", what a name... Also known as "Plate, Round 2 x 2 with Rounded Bottom (Boat Stud)" on Bricklink.

Thank you! Too bad I didn't have the other bags.


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Is there an open dataset of LEGO part photos suitable for machine learning?
I'm working on an app to identify LEGO elements from a photo using machine learning. I've completed a crude prototype that only supports the most common 10 elements.
I'm currently rendering images for the dataset using LeoCAD, but this isn't ideal, as I'd like the training data to look as much like real-world photos as possible to improve accuracy. I'm aware that I could get better renders using Blender or other tools, but that wouldn't provide all the elements of real photos (odd backgrounds, shadows, poor lighting, etc).
Is there an open dataset of LEGO part photos suitable for machine learning applications? I'm aware of a Kaggle dataset, but it uses renders rather than photos. I'm also aware of a couple of folks (Daniel West and Jacques Mattheij) who have used a dataset like the one I'm looking for, but I believe they created it themselves and did not share it for public use.
Update:
I've heard from both Daniel and Jacques. Daniel's dataset has already been exclusively licensed. Jacques wouldn't be easy to generalize due the optics used (mirrors to capture multiple angles), and has already been deleted.
Update 2:
There is now a larger rendered dataset on Kaggle.

I am not aware of any open public databases, but it might be worth contacting Peeron and BrickLink to see if they would grant access to their libraries of user submitted photos of parts. I have no idea if either of them would actually grant the access, but it couldn't hurt to ask either.


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Which set would these red and grey pieces be from?
Hoping for help in identifying which set these bags have come from. These were given to my son but we are missing bag 1 and instructions. Pictures of front and back of packets:

These bags belong to Neptune Carrier (8075) set.

Identified by collection of elements, like Window 1 x 4 x 2 Plane, Single Hole Top and Bottom for Glass, Technic, Panel Fairing #18 Large Smooth, Side B
, Wedge 16 x 4 Triple Curved in Red color and Propeller 7 Blade 6 Diameter in Pearl Light Gray.
Instructions can be downloaded from LEGO. Even though you miss the first bag it contains only minifigs and supplemental models.

Bags, starting from bag #2, contain elements required to build main model:

Thank you very much. One happy boy here tonight.

These parts are from
8075: Neptune Carrier

Keyparts :

Red Wedge 16 x 4 Triple Curved

Red Technic, Panel Fairing #18 Large Smooth, Side B

Thank you very much. One happy boy here tonight.


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Rigid Hose attachment
I'm trying to supplement some vines with rigid hoses. I'd like to attach some fruit and other things to them.  I have Hose, Soft 3mm D. 5L / 4.0cm. But it doesn't grip very well with the hollow studs I'm using.  Is there a better part I can use that will grip onto a rigid hose while attaching to other pieces. (Or is there a different hose I can use)?
Here's a Link to a video that will display the problem I'm having and a photo of the build:

Update: I tried some other hoses and some of them worked better. There does seem to be some slight variation in diameter between hoses.

I would recommend adding a photo showing what you're using, even though it doesn't grip well - it would certainly make it clearer to me.

Please post a picture of your prototype. It isn't very clear what you are trying to achieve here.

Anything that grips on a bar, grips on a rigid hose just as well, both are 3mm diameter. I don't believe your statement that a hollow stud doesn't grip on rigid hose, however it seems pointless to me as a hollow stud won't connect to anything else... Further than that there are dozens of elements that grip on rigid hose, which one to recommend depends entirely what further connection you need, i.e. what do you want to attach to the rigid hose...

This is a follow up to my question "grapes on a vine" here: https://bricks.stackexchange.com/questions/16105/grapes-on-the-vine/16109?noredirect=1#comment20026_16109.

What I'm trying to do is attach a hollow 1x1 round plate to a hose, then attach a blue "ice cream scoops" to that, then thread the hose through a trellised fence.  The purpose is to give the impression of grapes on a vine.  However, the hollow studs aren't gripping the hose tightly enough and the whole thing falls apart.   I'll post some pictures.

The setup you've shown in your video should grip quite tight provided the hose actually goes through the hollow stud (can even stick out half a millimeter and the scoops would still fit). At least it does here on my desk with a similar 1x1 round piece (can't find the scoops). Perhaps your rigid hose is damaged or not actual Lego rigid hose?

For clarification, based on your video it looks like you are using a rigid hose, not the soft hose linked in your question. The soft hoses don't hold their shape as much. They can stretch around other elements like the pneumatic hoses do. They aren't common. One use is for the SCUBA mask (32037) in the 1997 Technic Search Sub:

It appears that you are using something like Hose, Rigid 3mm D. 8L. These parts should be able to do what you want them to do. I've tested with a number of mine from different eras, and they all had a strong enough connection that the 1x1 plate didn't fall off.
This part is made of a softer plastic than the regular ABS, so it is more susceptible to wear than elements like the 4L bar. I did find that some of my parts had a weaker connection than others. It is possible that your part is a little worn down, or that a slightly smaller non-LEGO hose snuck into your collection. I believe I've had that happen to me in the past, as there's no LEGO logo on these parts.
I would recommend trying with another hose. If you are using the soft hose, try using one of the rigid hoses. It's possible that the 1x1 plate is the problem, but that can be easily tested by confirming that a bar connects firmly.


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Can I make a Complete Red Skeleton
So, it looks like, from searching on Bricklink, there are no red skeleton torsos - only arms and legs. Is that right?

Neither https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=60115 thick nor https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=6260 thin torsos are listed in red, correct.

But people seem to be 3-D printing them: https://www.flickr.com/photos/148691465@N05/48832081887

And (ugh) http://reasonablyblogged.blogspot.com/2009/04/daily-fail-skeleton-town-treasure.html knockoffs

@RSchulz that one isn't printed. It is a legit LEGO piece, but a prototype (you can even see "LEGO" and pert number on thatpicture). TLG use red color (forgot the reason why) to produce most of the prototypes. You can find that there are number of elements, non produced in Red colors being sold over Bricklink.

Oops, I didn't zoom in - I do see the Lego logo now! I've brought back reddish pieces from Legoland when they used to have a small-volume molding machine on the factory tour. They just remixed various old bricks in and the color was always nonstandard.

Yes, if you can get your hands on a test-printed torso.


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What part number is this? - 1 x 1 at a right angle with one stud and one hole
My son needs this part and I'm unable to find its part number. Can anyone  identify it?

The black part is:
Part# 42446 : Minifigure Neck Bracket with Back Stud - Thin Back Wall
or
Part# 28974 : Minifigure Neck Bracket with Back Stud - Thick Back Wall


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Instructions for fire rescue
I have two sealed bags of LEGO, but I need to find the instructions. The minifigure is a yellow fire rescue guy with a red hat. It has 4 large wheels and 2 bendy yellow hoses. The second bag is a burning tree. I’m not positive they go together. It looks like too many pieces to be the ATV and not enough to be the fire truck, but I can’t find any other yellow fire rescue guys. Can anyone help me find the instructions?

None of 60105 (white hat though), 30361 (black outfit though), or 4427 have hoses. As always, I would recommend some nice, clear, close-up photos.

Please add pictures. They usually contain much more information than  you have described.

Based on your description (two yellow flexible hoses, yellow minifig with red hat, burning tree) and after digging through bricklink sets (narrowing down the sets that have two yellow flex hoses), I'm fairly certain that you've got parts of 4209-1 Fire Plane:

Armed with that set number, it's trivial to find the instructions at https://www.lego.com/service/buildinginstructions/4209 .


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LEGO or LEGO-compatible control for SG90 servo?
Is there a way to control three-wire servo (for example the SG90 servo or other common models) by LEGO Power Functions or CaDA power function?

No, the electrical signal is not compatible. These hobby-type servo motors take a 50Hz signal with a pulse width that varies between 1 and 2 milliseconds.
It could be possible though using MINDSTORMS NXT or EV3 using an IR Receiver and a Servo Controller.


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How to create log cabin notched corners?
How can I create the notched corner look of the logs on the LEGO IDEAS: Log Cabin

First of all, that's a digital model. This means it may use parts in colors we don't have. It looks like Reddish Brown is used here, so the part choice is rather limited.
Upon closer inspection of the model it looks like each corner has 2x2 column with round 2x2 bricks attached from each side as seen here:

I find using Brick, Modified 1 x 1 x 1 2/3 with Studs on 1 Side (which is available in Reddish Brown) in alternating manner to be the solution here. These bricks are exactly the size of 2x2 plate placed vertically, so no tiny gaps. And it also allows you to have as musch studs as possible on all sides.

Note that the entire 2x2 pillar of snot bricks not only support the log ends, but also support the logs themselves. You might want to update your answer to show how this would work.

Thanks @PhilB. for your comment. Until you posted this I thought "logs" have been attached in different way.

@PhilB. looking at the picture, there's a number of places where the "logs" appear to have smooth to smooth 2x2 round tiles - you can see the anti-stud gaps not all flowing the same way on each row.

@Zhaph-BenDuguid these two smooth looking tiles could actually be modified versions: 15535 (with hole, or anti-stud in the center) and 18674 (with stud in the center) to connect both end of the logs. However, since I prefer using Technic as much as possible (since it makes things much more rigid) in such case I'd use the tile with a hole on both ends and Technic axle to two make one long rigid log. The longer axle - the better.

I may be misreading the question, but to answer what I think you're asking: They have used Tile, Round 2 x 2 with Bottom Stud Holder with Tree Stump / Wood Grain Pattern, which has a printed pattern that looks like the end of a wood log with notches

Given the color, I would think it's Brick, Modified 1 x 1 with Stud on 1 Side, which (unlike many other similar bricks) is available in Reddish Brown. If you put two side-by-side, then you can hang the decorated round tile off it, and then put two more side-by-side, but pointing the other way to hang the next decorated round tile. You may need to add plates to space everything just right.

Perhaps you could also include a picture of partial assembly of the corner?


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Unknown Piece - Looks like a train car
I found this piece in a tub of Lego; it looks like a train car. There is a hinge piece in the middle that tilts 90 degrees. I've looked at BrickLink & Brick owl to no avail. Can anyone help me identify this piece. I know it is Lego as it is stamped ©Lego Group on the back

It's
Vehicle, Base 4 x 6 Racer Base with Orange Wheels
(I found it on bricklink by searching for "vehicle base")

thanks for your help.


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What is this Bionicle-looking set?
Can anyone identify this set?

Apparently my father has a bunch of these, and he's trying to figure out what to list on ebay. It appears to be at least Lego / Technic compatible, but I don't know much about Bionicle sets, so I don't know if it's name-brand or a knockoff.

In my experience, those big Bionicle pieces all seem to have the word Lego and a mold number on them (albeit fairly tiny). To me, that weapon in the right hand (our left) looks like 55827c01 Inika Light-up Laser Axe, but that was in two sets, and neither is all-white like you have. So it appears to be a mix.

The white shoulders seem to be 53545 https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=53545&colorID=1&in=A so perhaps start from there?

Thank you, those links are very helpful!


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How can I restore a .lms file created on Mindstorms Inventor to another device?
I have Mindstorms Inventor. I have been able to send my .lms files to my computer as backup. Now I would like to be able to load those programs on another device. How can I accomplish this?

On desktop, click File > Open.... or double-click on the file in a file browser.

On Android, you will need a file browsing app like Files. Find the file and tap on it. You may be asked which app to use. Pick MINDSTORMS.

David.   Thank you so much!!!

Glad to help. You can help others find this information too by selecting this as the correct answer.


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LEGO elements working with capacitive touchscreens?
Ultra Agent sets released in 2015 feature an interesting type of brick, which is called AppBrick (LEGO marketing name) or Brick, Modified 1 x 1 with Stud on Side and Conductive Element on Opposite Side (AppBrick) on Bricklink:

This is how LEGO describes it in the AntiMatter's Portal Hideout (70172) set:

Build your AppBrick Gadget included in this set and play out cool missions on your tablet

Basically you build a small model with a few elements and put it on the screen (of the phone/tablet) to interact with a dedicated app as shown in the instructions:

This brick is made of some new material, which is of conductive plastic and it works with capacitive touchscreens. That is, you can control whatever you wish on your phone/tablet screen using this brick with your hands without your fingers actually touching the screen. This is a pretty cool feature. However, even though this element has a useful stud with a hole on the backside, usage of this element is rather limited. I wonder if more LEGO elements exist featuring the same properties?

Any metallic or metal coated parts (spoon, aluminium foil, pen) should be usable with a contemporary touchscreen, although proper touch recognition still requires a human (or an equivalent capacitor) to touch the conductive surface. Therefore theoretically any of these official LEGO parts with exposed metallic surfaces (or similar ones) should function, although the ergonomics, user experience and building possibilities might not be the best :)

Note, be wary of scratches on the screen and of magnetic intereference (when using magnets) to a smart device's compass. Additionally if the part has too little area of contact to the screen the touch recognition might not work (try touching one prong of a fork to a screen) - but this sensitivity might be configurable for application developers.
The official touch-enabled brick solves all of these problems by being made of a softer material than most everyday metals, having no magnetic field of its own and offering a touch area comparable to that of a finger, but of the above list, the metal ball comes the closest (as rolling should reduce scratches).

This is a great idea! I've tested couple of items from your list and they all worked. Too bad it is hard to integrate these elements effectively and visually pleasing into System MOC.

BrickLink only has that one match for conductive, so I'm guessing that's it.


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Can anyone identify this Hasbro part? 2x2 circle with a ball on a short bar
Description: A 2x2 round tile with a ball sticking out in the middle of it, the ball being slightly smaller than a LEGO axle with ball. I’ve searched Bricklink extensively before, and the brick has Hasbro written on it, which has led me to believe it is a Kre-O brick of some kind.

Definitely not Lego, as you saw. I have this part (I saved it in my "interesting non-Lego pieces") but I don't know from what set(s) it originally came.

One of mine says 38955-009-01 (which I assume is a manufacturing code to track malformed pieces back to the factory it came from) and 10162 (which I assume is an actual part number). Neither identifier seems to help.

This is the KRE-O 10162, which first appeared in a blue version from the early version of KRE-O Transformers Optimus Prime Dino Hauler, working as a ball for the midsection of the truck. Sadly, this has later been altered to be black.
White and gray versions can be found below:
USS Missouri:
https://www.hasbro.com/common/documents/6d0a17b55056900b100f781b9c2c69e3/0A1109CC5056900B103B5B36EBB8C6D3.pdf
Stealth Bumblebee:
https://www.hasbro.com/common/documents/6d0a17b55056900b100f781b9c2c69e3/F0B345F05056900B10DF528BB37A0AB9.pdf
I'm having trouble discerning from your photo if the piece is gray, blue, or white, but my guess is that yours is from the USS Missouri.


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How to resolve Studio's "unavailable color" warning for EV3 motors and sensors?
I have recently switched to Studio from Lego Digital Designer for designing EV3 robots and other mechanisms. It's a great program, but the color palette is driving me crazy.
I want to add Lego EV3 motors and sensors (e.g. the 99455 medium motor) to my model, but when I do, a persistent "unavailable color" issue appears in the step list.

I have tried resolving this by changing the color to White, Very Light Bluish Gray, Very Light Gray, Light Bluish Gray, and Light Gray. None of them make the warning go away. It's driving me nuts.
I don't understand why this happens. The motors only have one design: white and gray. In cases like this (where only one color scheme exists), I should only be allowed to pull the part out of the palette in its default color.
Further, I don't see a way to learn how to fix it. Studio doesn't show me what colors are available for this part, at least as far as I can see.
Can anyone help? First, what is the correct color for EV3 parts to avoid this warning? Second, is there a way in Studio to learn this answer, in case I run into similar situations?

I don't use Studio, so may be wrong. As far as I know Studio use element information and colors from Bricklink. Your particular motor (see URL I've included in your question) is listed as "Not applicable" color, which might explain why have the error and none of the colors fit.

In the latest version 2.2.8(1) of Studio, if I select 99455 from the Master parts palette it is in white and tan. I can change the tan color to anything I want with the right hand panels. I don't know why they error is "driving you nuts" - it doesn't stop anything working, so just ignore it. (Note, I have no idea what is the real color of an EV3 brick.)

Those yellow exclamation marks are like social media notifications that I can't make go away. As I work, my brain keeps thinking "you have to fix those."  I want my attention drawn to legitimate problems that need fixing ... but these are not fixable.

@Kirkman14 Well, right now I have more than 3500 unread messages in my SE inbox, and I don't plan to read any of them soon. I guess my attitude to "social media messages" is different form yours! IMO the entire error-reporting interface in Studio should be redesigned if it is going to be useful.

According to SylvainLS in this BrickLink post, these are the answers to my questions:

You can find out which colors are available for a part by selecting a part, opening the Color Palette on the right side of the interface, and selecting the Hide unavailable colors option.

In  the BrickLink catalog, part 99455 and many other EV3-specific pieces are set to a special Not Applicable color category. Studio doesn't have this N/A color category, so it thinks the part is not available in any color. Hence the warnings.


text:
How to create parts inventory for Rebrickable?
I have literally thousands of pieces of LEGO from our childhood. I have sorted them and now want to scan the pieces using an app like Brickit and then import them into Rebrickable.
Is this possible? How do you save the pieces in Brickit? Is there a better way?

If you don't have reduced your pieces to some known sets, then I'm afraid, you  have a lot of manual labour to do in order to create your initial list of elements you own. One tool that could somewhat help with that is BrickStock.
This guide on Rebrickable explains how you can import your elements into inventory. If the app you use could create TXT/CSV file of all scanned elements (it would be best if identify and store part ID, rather than names), the following option available on Rebrickable could be used:

Choose a file or external site to import from. You can manually create
your own parts file if you like, the easiest is probably a CSV
formatted file with appropriate headings. Rebrickable will
automatically detect the columns as long as you use the correct
headings (in any order): Part, Color, Quantity. For example:
Part,Color,Quantity
3001,15,100
92947,0,100

Color IDs can be found on Rebrickable as well.

Thanks Alex!!! That’s probably a lifetimes work