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Looking for older conducting train tracks
I have an old 9V era (1991-2006) train set that has conducting tracks. Is there a place that I can buy conducting tracks? Obviously I have trolled eBay, Amazon and internet without success.
I can buy unconnected tracks and glue aluminum foil on the tracks for conduction. Will it work ?
Any help in securing more conducted tracks or guidance re: modifying new tracks will be greatly appreciated.

A place to look is Brick link

Pretty sure the comment from @Dan1138 is the actual answer. For example here are all of the short curved track lots available https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=3241#T=S&C=9&O={%22color%22:9,%22iconly%22:0}

From 2012 to 2015 I bought them in packs off eBay, i.e. auctions with ~100 used tracks. My maximum was always 3.50 € per straight part, 1.00 € for curves, 10.00 € for switches, 20.00 € for crosses. Based on the quality I got it was always worth the money. Cleaned them thru the years throughly, tho.

I've 1 you can have, curved.

Such place indeed exist and it is called Bricklink, a website dedicated to trading LEGO items. It has extensive history and great catalog of LEGO items found on the internet. Prices and quality are, usually, far better than you would find on eBay. And as an extra bonus, there are sellers from all over the world, so you are not limited to you own region.
As Dan noted in the comments Bricklink catalog contain all types of 9V train tracks you are interested in for sale both in Dark Gray (older) and Dark Bluish Gray (newer) colors.
Edit. Upon further investigation decided to clarify situation in terms of custom tracks. While there are few 3rd party companies producing LEGO-compatible non-9V train tracks there aren't as much options with 9V ones. ME-Models used to produced some, but the company is gone now. FxBricks has shared their plans to introduce 9V tracks at some point the future.

Thanks guys the reply were very helpful . I found what I was looking for.

In the context of conducting tracks: can you at least name (if not link) to the companies? There was one once, but it ceased to exist years ago. And didn't apply to "better geometry options", too.

I don't want any of it, but I have heard about them from fellow LEGO-fans that are not as purist and bigger train fans, but some brands are ME models and bricktrack.

Thanks, that was ME Models (conducted) and is BrickTracks (non-conducted).


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Can anyone identify this brick?
I don’t see a part code on it. Thanks in advance!

That's 32177 Technic Beam 1x7 with Fan.

If you increase contrast, you can read LEGO on the middle bar. Maybe there is also a hard to read number on the back side?

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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What set number is this?
I have a set here that is mixed in with a bunch of other Lego, and no instruction book. I know 100% these pieces belong with it. Is there anyone who can identify the set for me so I can find instructions for it? It has a staircase piece and a 6179 piece that says “Gold Mine” with a base plate number 2359 in a sand colour.

Parts shown in your picture are from Bandit's Secret Hide-Out (6161) set. Here you can find inventory of this set to collect all the parts. Baseplate, Road 32 x 32 7-Stud Curve with Rocks and Ruts Pattern is unique to this set.

Yes! That’s it. Thank you!!

Hi @KatieS86, welcome to Bricks! If Alex has answered your question, you can click the "tick" under the vote buttons to mark it as "the answer", which helps us all know that your question is answered and both you and Alex get some reputation ;)

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


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How does the LEGO Super Mario figure know which power up is attached?
The LEGO Super Mario theme includes an intelligent brick that interacts with various other elements present in the sets:

There are several Power-up sets available that provide Mario with additional powers and alter his behavior in various ways. How does the brick interact with these power up packs to know when they are in use?
Here's an example power-up pack:

Try doing 001001
It has weird effects...

The Mario element has six switches on the front:

The inside of the pants in the power-up sets include six plastic ridges that can be either high or low. They interact with the switches on Mario's torso in much the same way as the cuts on a key interact with a particular lock. The torso reads the pattern on the buttons to determine the power-up state. Here's an example showing the six ridges on the regular pants from the starter set and the ridges on Cat Mario:

The switches expect the following states for each of the pants elements (bits are read from left to right when looking at Mario):

Bit Pattern
Power-up

000000
None

001100
Propeller

010001
Cat

010010
Fire

100001
Normal

100010
Builder

Power-ups can be emulated by holding in the correct buttons. The play experience won't be great, but this could be used to see what a power-up does if you don't own it.
There's more detail on exactly what is read and presented via the Bluetooth interface on Shinichiro Oba's Github.
It's worth noting that the included hats are for decoration only. They have no impact on behavior, and there is no mechanism for them to be detected or identified.

And here I was thinking "oh, they're probably using NFC, that's pretty cool…" Nope. Low tech FTW. :)

BTW, there's something odd about the table on GitHub that you link to: it appears to be giving the bit patterns for the various power-ups in both hexadecimal and binary, but the given values for Propeller Mario (06 and 001100) don't match. Either the bit pattern for Propeller Mario should actually be 000110 or the hex value should be 0C. Either one looks like a somewhat plausible typo, so I've no idea which one's right.

Odd that they're using twice as many bits as necessary.  Maybe they're planning on expanding the set, but is there any chance they'll ever get anywhere close to 64 different powers?  (Or even just 33, which is the first number that would require that 6th bit.)

@DarrelHoffman I would assume symmetry.

My kids had a train with blocks that had similar (each block gave a different pattern). Then they started holding down with their fingers different combos until they found non-Roman letters and then even a combo that locked it up.

@DarrelHoffman: I suspect they're trying for an N-out-of-M encoding (2 out of 6, in this case). That way, your Builder Mario won't suddenly turn into Cat Mario just because his pants are a little loose and one of the switches doesn't get pushed all the way in. (Admittedly, they could've still used e.g. a 4 bit parity code to achieve the same result, but 6 bits still indeed leaves more room for expansion, and maybe they just got a good deal on six-switch arrays or something.)

@IlmariKaronen I've confirmed that the bit value for the propeller pants is 001100 and opened a PR to change the hex value to 0C.

@IlmariKaronen - Whenever you can get away with low tech - do it. It's simpler, easier to build, cheaper, more robust and durable. Well, most of the time anyway. And it's always so satisfying to see something complicated and impressive being achieved by something absolutely elementary.  :)

How would you trigger the proper switches anyway?

@user17394 I was able to depress the switches using my fingernails. Anything small should work.


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A technology building set that is not LEGO Technic, K'NEX, or Meccano. Can you help me with the name?
I remember a building/technology set from years ago and I'm trying to recall its name.
The parts were plastic and could be joined by slots down their sides. A stud on the end of other pieces fitted into the slot and could slide along.
The set also had pneumatic components.
Here is a sketch of my best memory of a typical brick.

Can you name it for me?

That's a really neat sketch from memory, well done.

Thanks. Done with the old 2D Microsoft Paint!  Only real error was I forgot to show the ends of the hidden slots - Grrr.

Great, now you've reminded me of  my childhood loves:   Girder& Panel and the companion Bridge& Turnpike;   and ErectorSets.  Turns out the former is still being manufactured!  The latter, in a modified form, is Meccano

You got the actual answer but my first inclination was to say "that's T-slot aluminum!  That's not a toy, it's real engineering system!"  Of course what you are describing actually is the toy; but the version with aluminum beams and metal or plastic brackets exists too, and is used to make somewhat similar real-world constructions.

@Chris Stratton - Fischer Technik is actually sometimes used for prototyping  and they make longer compatible beams of  aluminium   -  https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/113988075590?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=710-153316-527457-8&mkcid=2&itemid=113988075590&targetid=4585032211933600&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=&poi=&campaignid=398226948&mkgroupid=1302921513642151&rlsatarget=pla-4585032211933600&abcId=2145997&merchantid=87779&msclkid=27b055c5ba741c56a89c0aa49bed7d71

Based on your description, this sounds like Fischertechnik:

That's it - Thanks

Definitely Fischertechnik. Used to be quite popular, next to Meccano.

Very popular in Germany, used not only by hobbyists, but also by professionals building functional models of industrial equipment.

@RalfKleberhoff Being able to build functional models is part of the idea behind it. Fisher is a big company in plastic extrusion and molding technology. (Most people probably know them best from plugs for screws, washers and other plastic fasteners). They originally made the first FisherTechnic set in 1964 partly as a technology demo and partly as a Christimas customer relations gift. It proved to be so popular it became a separate business division.

I owned a set in the 1970s. They are fun and high quality -- these bricks are made from nylon.


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Ice Cream buckets
I'm trying to plan an ice cream shop. For the ice cream itself, I'm considering using the 1 x 1 buckets. Does a 1 x 1 round tile snap into one of those?  If not, can someone recommend a way to do buckets of ice cream?

Sounds like a cool idea. You also might want to consider using part number 11610 in tan as the cones with part number 15470 on top, I saw this method in an Angry Birds set and it looked very nice.

Yes it fits in, here are a few official sets that do exactly that
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=60133-23

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=coltlbm2-14


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Does the LEGO (online) store ensure customers do not get repeated models in character packs?
I have ordered ten of the LEGO Super Mario character packs from the LEGO store online.
I would expect that the models in these packs to be distributed randomly, i.e. each pack has a 1-in-10 chance to include each of the ten models. However, having opened eight of the ten packs, I have received eight distinct models (I am only missing the bullet-bill and the Fuzzy).
The chances of this happening by random chance are small - I'm not 100% sure on the mathematics, but I think its about 1,8%.
Does anyone know if the (online) LEGO store systematically tries to make sure customers do not get repeats in random packs?

I don't have any official sources, but most probably while they can't (and thus won't) ensure it, they still strive to provide different packs. Or they might just grab the next X packs from the box, which have a known distribution and so could very well be different ones.

@zovits - Thanks for your thoughts. I hadn't considered that it could be so simple as grabbing the next X packs. I'm trying to limit myself to opening only one pack a day, so I will keep my fingers crossed I was just very lucky!

And FWIW, the packs come in a box of 20, with 2 rows, and each row contains a full set of 10. So if you purchased 10 in one order, chances are high that the order picker just grabbed an entire row, meaning you have a full set.

I ordered in two sets of five, so fingers crossed!

Your mathematics is way off. Chance of having 10 different character packs when they are truly random is 10!/10^10 ~=~ 0,036 % chance

@MichaelVerschaeve - the probability quoted is for 8 from 8 being unique - at the time of writing the question I had only opened 8 packs.

Then you would be correct, 10!/2!/10^8 ~= ~1.8 %

I think I can answer this question myself now.
I have ordered twice, ordering five character packs in each. Across each of the sets of five, all of the characters I received were unique. However, there were two models in common between the two sets of five.
As zovits and Phil B. suggested in comments, it looks like employees will simply grab the next packs you have ordered form the box. Inside the box the packs seem to be ordered, so it is very likely that you'll end up getting unique models, but not assured.
If you would like all ten models, and can afford it, order ten packs at once.


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Any list/database of sets and components online?
I'm searching for a list/site that show every public sets/and or individual components, with possibly their image representation attached.
I'm aware i could directly look on the main website, but i learned that a lots of old sets (pre 2000 to 2010 and later) are what you would call rare and can only be found by particular vendors, or sold as used on Ebay...
I'm mostly interested in their names and dimension/any details relevant to them, including rare/non-existing, and recent ones.
Any advice/input is welcome.

That does yeah :) Though Syberion already answered too.

Brickset has a nearly complete database of LEGO sets with inventories,
There is also Bricklink, which is a marketplace , but also can be uses an excellent database


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Identify Floor tiles on the great pyramid of meereen
Can anyone identify the floor tiles used in The Great Pyramid of Meereen. I looked at all the 2x2 decorated tiles on bricklink and couldn't find them.

Even I am struggling to find these. The closest I can get is with part 3068bpb0893, which has the word grid in its name.  Those other parts would be considered grids too if we look at what I found and what the MOC has, but if we type "tile 2x2 grid" into bricklink we do not see those other parts so I think they are custom parts.

This is, most likely, custom print. There are plates on the right side with similarly colored print that overlap on two elements - one of the dashes is split between two elements. This is not something I saw TLG do. It also makes me think that elements have prints that are too close to the edge.

They are indeed quite beautiful tiles but unfortunately not official LEGO decals.
I believe they are his own original custom designs, as in another MOC for Portal 2 which can be seen at LEGO IDEAS he does confirm that he uses his own custom decals.

I based my design on the amazing 2012 Lego Cuusoo “Thinking with
Portals” by Brickthing. I took his original design and added elements
from Lego Dimensions and my own twist with custom decals and details
from the Portal games.

There seem to be many more examples on that Flickr account.


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How can I complete the build of this Lunar lander from the Space and Airport Set (9335)?
We recently got Space and Airport Set by LEGO® Education (9335) for our four-year-old who loves space and really loves his Duplo. He's been enjoying putting together the different parts of the kit but we've run into a problem - for some reason, LEGO doesn't have instructions for a bunch of the elements in the set.
Inside the box, all of the pieces were bagged in unnumbered plastic bags but not by set, so we couldn't even guess which pieces were designed to go together. There's a card with all of the pieces included in the box, too, but not by set. There are instructions for four of the figures, one on each of four plastic cards, and there are a set of instructions on the website for another five of the more complicated ones. That's nine out of what I'm guessing is 16 different builds, meaning 7 are missing instructions.
Some of the items are easy to figure out because you can see or guess all of the pieces just by looking at the images - for example, the rocket. But we're a bit stuck on the Lunar Lander because there are no images of the reverse side. If all of the pieces had been grouped in one bag, we could have figured it out pretty easily, I think but, as is, we're stuck.
Here's the image of it that's included in the set (which I've taken from the LEGO site link above):

(Click to expand)
We started from the ground up and we've gotten this far:

(Click to expand)
I'm not certain that the dark grey pieces are correct but they seem correct enough, so I'm not too worried. But now we need help figuring out the upper half. We have the white 6x6 for the base but there seems to be something between the light grey angle pieces that we have and the white 6x6, but I'm not sure what it is.
My husband and I have both dug around some on the internet but other full-set lunar landers are all that we see in search. Does anyone have an instruction set or can make an educated guess for which pieces we should use to build the rest of this lander?

While I'm focusing on this specific set, there are other parts like the airport itself that also don't have any instructions I can find. LEGO usually seems so good about showing you how to build things - and particularly for an educational product that's supposed to be used in a classroom by several children - it seems odd that they don't have instructions for this.
Links:

Brickset
Brickfactory (can't link to the set)
Swooshable (images link to Brickfactory)

So, Brickfactory and Swooshable have the same six images - the front side of all five plastic cards in the box and the reverse of one of them.

If it helps, I'm happy to provide closer-up photos of the image provided in the box - it's the same image above but I may be able to get more detail than what you can see in the image above.

FYI: Parts in lego sets are grouped in bags which have numbers on them. In the instructions, they tell you to open these bags one at a time when they tell you to, but since this is older set i guess i can understand. Did you browse the set number on Brickset and look for instruction archives there?

I appreciate the comment and I'm aware of that - I can make it more clear but the bags in this set were not labeled and the instructions are not all-inclusive. I've watched a silly amount of LEGO builds on YouTube with my son and I'm well-aware of how these sets usually work - but this was not the case with this set. Instead of a paper sheet with all of the instructions or a booklet, there are six plastic cards with images of groups of the builds and instructions for a single build on the back of the card.

I updated my commemt, please read that last sentence. Im on mobile and I accidentally clicked the enter button when I wasn't finshed typing.

Brickset has links to Swooshable and Brickfactory - the former just links to the latter and Brickfactory just has scans of the plastic sheets I have - in fact, it doesn't even have scans of both sides of the sheets. :( So, unless I'm using the site wrong, it doesn't seem to have what I need.

Oh, you're right, those links seem to be broken and/or useless. At this point I'm stumped too, I don't know how to help you any farther.

Given it is an educational set that might follow different rules, I could imagine that the intent of not giving instructions is to make the students figure out themselves how to build the different items or giving the pictures more as an "inspiration". It reminds me a bit of the images on the boxes back in the 90s that showed alternative builds of a set but only in a single photo. Not that this insight would be of any help for your problem, though. ;-)

The best I could find in terms of instructions for 9335 is this page, which seem to contain all the prints included in the set. However Lunar lander is missing. It looks like one of those "inspiration" sets LEGO used to include in the old days. Looking at the pictures I found they are reasonable quality and model doesn't contain too many parts. So I gave a try building it digitally:

There are a few places like top white slopes, back Light Bluish Gray brick on top as well as 4x4 plate below first 6x6 white plate, where you couldn't tell the exact elements used. Apart from that everything seems to be pretty clear for me.
I could have shared the LDraw file as well, however not what would be the best way to do it here on SE.

Thanks! This is really helpful! I... uh... am a bit of a novice so I'm not sure what an "LBG brick" is - I did a Google search and it said "light blue grey"? Is that a 4x4 of the lighter grey like this?

@Catija I've added clarification about LBG, but you were very close. The brick I had in mind is this

Alex has rendered a great model.
I can only offer my own take by adding the LEM ascent engine.

These are the parts I used:

You can find the LDraw file in my git repository here.

9335 set is from 2010, so it no longer contains any parts in Dark Gray or Light Gray colors.

@Alex,  It's unfortunate that the available colours in the set have been reduced. I did this as a CAD build working from the Bricklink inventory and what images Peeron would provide. I found all the parts in 9335 inventory but there could be some variations.


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What components can be decorated in LDD?
I was recently working on a UCS Republic Gunship MOC and was wondering what pieces are the best ones to decorate. Meaning, I would like to put in tiles with prints to look like the Republic Insignia and I know that that print is not available. What is a list of pieces able to be decorated?

If you want to add custom decorations to your moc, the eastiest option is to use Stud.io
It has a partdesigner program that can be used to add custom decals


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What glass piece is this?
Does anyone know what this is?There is no identifier number, just 2-01.

This is part 2060 - Windscreen 4 x 4 x 3 Canopy in Trans Black (Smoke)

Image from Bricklink
The part in that colour is only available in the Star Wars Slave I

Great, that is what I was looking for! Thanks for your help!


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Does the Mario Starter Course require a smart device?
I've seen that the Mario Starter Course (71360) requires a smart device to play:

I'm trying to limit the amount of screen time that my child consumes, and I'm wondering exactly how required the smart device is for this set?

Yes, a smart device is required. The box says the following:

Smart device required but not included

However, this set is not like Boost, where the intelligent brick just adds weight to your model without a smart device. Mario functions without being paired to a smart device. He can complete the course, collect coins, etc.
The most significant limitation without a smart device is that you can't update the firmware on Mario. The current factory firmware is fairly limited. It was missing several of the sound effects present in the current firmware, but most importantly, the factory firmware was able to recognize elements in the starter course only. Any elements from expansion sets were not recognized, and Mario would display the Bluetooth icon indicating that a firmware update is needed instead of taking the expected action:

This is resolved by pairing Mario once with a smart device. These features are then permanently available without the need for a smart device to be present.
Another important limitation for many sets like this that require a smart device is that there are no paper instructions in the box. Instructions are certainly helpful, but these sets are meant to be adjusted and rebuilt. The courses are made of very simple elements that you can likely put together by looking at the box. This might be challenging for a small child, but if an adult is willing to help out, it is possible to put these together without the on-device instructions.

Just want to confirm that at least the elements of the starter course are easily assembled by just looking at the pictures on the box and in the small quickstart guide. My 14yr old son and I did just this when we built our set.

For some of the larger sets I would advise against just trying to copy the box-art - specifically for Bowsers castle there are some internal mechanics (cogs and gears) which would be difficult to replicate.
Sadly even by visiting the LEGO website you cannot download an 'offline' version of the instruction.
However, if the aim is simply to limit the time spent with a screen, then there are distinct steps to making the larger sets, so you could limit your child to building, say, only one of the models or towers.

To follow up on this answer a few years later, and I was asking myself the same question, there is now PDF instructions for the Mario sets, available on the website, for example: https://www.lego.com/en-us/service/buildinginstructions/71403


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Feathered Headdress from the Islander, female figure
Is there a way to attach the feathered head dress from the Islander, Female figure to any other headpiece? (I'm trying to make a Vegas showgirl.)

It appears to use a bar to connect to other items, so obviously you will need a special hair with clips all over it, and i doubt such thing exists. Perhaps you can look for a different part, or specify where exatly you want to attach it?

There is this hairpiece with a clip, although it's facing forwards instead of up

Sometimes ignoring a problem yields its own solution - like the Cabaret Singer.

I would suggest using part 15712 'tile 1x1 with C clip'. Just place that on top of the minifig head and then place the white part in the clip.
You could have used a bar with clip but most if not all minifig heads don't have a fully hollow stud, only solid, or semi-hollow, so the bar would not be able to go all the way down and even if it did the minifigs torso would still probably be in the way.


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What did Lego set instruction manuals look like in the past?
Earliest date mentioned in this link is September 2008. Now knowing the age of Lego makes me want to know: what did Lego set instruction manuals used to look like? Because I am a millennial, that "Auto CAD" look is the look that I've always known to be the "Lego manual" look. When was this style first used? What did previous styles look like? How many previous incarnations of the Lego manual style have there been?

Interesting timing actually. On thursday the 24th there is a LEGO House Fan Day event, which due to Corona is basically a set of virtual presentations by LEGO staff about various topics (and although you need to register beforehand, it's entirely for free). One of the presentations is about the building instructions. I don't know how much that will go into historical details, but it might be worth checking out if you're interested in the topic and have the time.

Related How were these building instructions from the 1970s produced? shows the hand-drawn precursor to today's CAD

While it's only a minor point, I'm a bit surprised (if not disappointed) that none of the answers so far mentions one aspect that carries a strong nostalgia feeling for me: In the early 1990s, trans-red looked somewhat like pink in the instructions (which was not an issue back then, with much less colours around).

The earliest LEGO sets did not have any kind of instruction manuals, since they were sold as sets of building blocks, without any specific models in mind.
Exmaple: Set #7002, Automatic Binding Bricks from 1949

In 1955, the first sets have arrived that were intended to be built as some specific model, like 1237-2: Service Station

I can't find any instructions for this one, but two years later the 1306: VW Garage had four steps on the inside of the box to aid in building:

A newer example from 1965 is the 320: Airplane set, which had a four pages long instruction manual of which two pages were inspirational images of alternative builds:

Jumping another ten years ahead to 1975, we see that the instruction manual for 253-2: Helicopter and Pilot has a whopping 3 pages dedicated to the main build:

Further 10 years into the future, a representative set would be 107-2: Mail Truck, whose assembly instructions do not differ significantly, just get a bit more detailed:

By 1990 we get to the most complex style yet, with stepwise part lists and insets in insets for the Technic and the similarly complex Model Team lines, like for example the instructions for 5590: Whirl and Wheel Super Truck:

From there the style is basically unchanged, and the trend is to use fewer pieces per step, sometimes "sacrificing" a whole step just to show the model being flipped or rotated.

Though, even in the 90s they really didn't do stepwise part lists generally, only for Technic and, judging from your example, Model Team. But even the biggest normal System sets didn't have these throughout pretty much the entire decade. Still nice and exhaustive answer.

@ChristianRau Thanks, updated the answer with your point.

Interesting tidbit is that until the late 90s these instructions were entirely hand-drawn.

@PhilB. That sounds incredible! To think that all steps for all instructions, including the most complex Technic sets of LEGO history (8880,8480, 8448) would be hand-drawn... Where can one learn more about this?

@zovits As mentioned under the question, there will be a free online presenation by LEGO on building instructions tomorrow that might be worth checking out. Maybe it will go into the history a bit more.

@zovits of course, up to the 70s-80s all instructions for making real engineering would also be hand-drawn. People went to the moon in rockets hand-built from hand-drawn plans. The profession of "Technical Draughtsman" may be a good place to learn from?

@pjc50 That's all right, I just thought the LEGO employees might have used an ever-expanding library of different parts depicted from different angles and used those graphical components to build the images seen in a step. I presumed they then copied the whole and added the changes needed for the next step by adding more pre-drawn pieces and deleting occluded parts. Or I'd have expected they used plotters, or similar electro-mechanical tools instead of drawing every stud, gear tooth and axle hole by hand.

@zovits, it's likely that they would have had stencils for the more complicated parts like tires, but there wouldn't have been complete pre-drawn pieces.

Based on my experience throughout pretty much the entirety of the 90s, they didn't really look all that different back then regarding the style, what you would call the "Auto CAD" look I guess.
The primary differences are that they didn't list all the required parts for each build step (although Technic already did that back then, presumably because Technic was generally more complex than System), nor did they highlight where the new parts were to be placed. You basically had to visually compare the images of the previous step (or your actual build) and the new step and figure out which parts from the big pile (there weren't build step sorted bags either) you had to place where. Together with sets being smaller and (maybe, but that's hard to say) using more pieces per build step this generally made instructions a lot thinner than they are today. A 600 parts castle that would be regarded the peak of size and complexity (at least in System) in the early 90s basically had a 30 page instruction.
This might have made the instructions more difficult than they are today, but in general the sets also had fewer pieces and less complex building techniques. They were still sufficiently easy to follow, but today's instructions really are entirely foolproof (though, I don't have any experience with modern Technic sets).

The scans of vintage manuals you will find online do not do justice to the quality of the original printed copy.
The fans that have made these scans have done a great job but if you have not held one in real life it's impossible to adequately describe the difference.
The 8480-1 - Space Shuttle from 1996 is a Technic model is one of my favorite sets of build instructions for a "vintage" set.
It seems that there are several styles that The LEGO group uses depending on the intended audience for the instructions and what impressions they want the builder to have.
I believe that LEGO designs all aspects of their sets to provide an enjoyable experience for decades.

Dang, they looked like that for a while.

1996 "vintage". Ouch, my aching bones.


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Comparing LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3 Core Set with LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Toy Robot Building Kit - 31313
LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3 Core Set is described briefly here EV3 Core Set
LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Toy Robot Building Kit - 31313 is described here Robot Building Set

As an adult who wants to experiment with robotics, I am interested in purchasing one or other of these. I want to compare what is in these sets in terms of components and relate that to price.
Despite having plenty of experience with online search generally, I'm having trouble doing a part-for-part comparison.  I have tried searching Bricklink but can only find entries for individual parts rather than  a complete parts list.
Question
I am not asking for someone to do all the work for me (although I wouldn't refuse!), I'd just like some guidance on how to find a complete list of parts for each of these sets - maybe a simple link to each.

You might also consider moving to the new boost platform. There is the Spike Prime set and later this year a robotics set similar to Spike Prime will be released. EV3 is being phased out (on the other hand, it can now be found at greatly reduced price) ...

@Michael Verschaeve - Ouch! When I started this area of enquiry I though that LEGO was LEGO and that was it. Little did I realise that so much change goes on. I'll investigate Spike Prime but I fear by the time I have caught up with that my knowledge will be out-of-date again!

Here is a parts list for  the CORE SET: https://brickset.com/sets/45544-1/Education-EV3-Core-Set
And here is a parts list for the Toy Robot Building Kit: https://brickset.com/sets/31313-1/Mindstorms-EV3
In the future, there is a good chance that Brickset has an inventory!

A year or two ago I got Mindstorms 31313, but I wanted to be able to build the models from the Education Core set too, so I put together a spreadsheet comparing the parts in each.
Here is a Google Sheet with the part lists and the union of the sets: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-bsj9zYrhTREDUyOfGJm83c2htyJIUeL408NDJd_jjM/edit?usp=sharing
Feel free to copy!

Rebrickable has an option to compare two sets, MOCs or combination of both to see which parts are in common and unique to each of set/MOC.
Here is a comparison results between both EV3 Core and retail EV3 versions. You can also spot the "v1" for 31313 set, which means there is more than one inventory known for this set, so this is something you can compare as well.


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Minifigure holding a cookie tray
I'd like to build a chef holding a flat tray to put cookies on.  Is there a way to get a hand to clip to a large tile or something like that?

You could use this Serving Tray

Minifigure, Utensil Serving Tray, Rectangle

Surprised this hasn’t been mentioned in any of the other answers, but a Minifig hand is perfectly in system: it fits anything bar sized inside the hand, but the top of the hand is also the size of a regular stud, so it can and will connect to anything with an anti-stud hole, such as the bottom side of a 2x2 or 2x3 plate. Place the plate on the hand and you have the top studs to safely place bakery items onto without them moving around. This is used in many sets.

Heh, of course!

In addition to specific minfigure untensils for tablets and trays as shown in the other answers, you can as well just use an actual tile (or, for fixing the cookie, maybe a 2x2 jumper tile). Judging from existing sets, a minifigure holding a tile in their hand is a perfectly legal building technique. Of course if it's a tray rather than, say a smart phone, you probably want to rotate the hand sideways so that the tile lays flat with regards to ground level.

I have used a 1x1 stud plate (6141) and a disk or plate. These are found in almost every large-ish Star Wars set. I have also used a kitchen equipment piece (34172) that has a stud on the bottom. These should be found in some polybags or LEGO HOUSE sets. To hold it vertically, use a 25893 3.2 Shaft w. Knob stud. It has a small shaft for your cook minifig to hold as if he were holding an empty tray to go get loaded or cleaned. These can be found in many LEGO MINECRAFT sets.


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Which 2018-2020 sets are good for roof parts?
What 2018-2020 sets are best for roof parts, such as corner slopes, 2x2 slopes, 2x4 slopes, etc.?

Just out of interest, why only 2018-2020 sets?

@bryantp26 I think OP's preference is chose from sets that are still fresh and widely available.

@Alex OK. thanks!

yes I'm looking for sets available on stores. Because giving bricklink order from another country is taking too much time because of covid related situations.

I would suggest to look into buying individual parts on Bricklink in desired color, shape and amount. Any other set you can buy most likely won't have all the parts you need and you are left with otherwise unnecessary elements.
If you really need a set with roof specific parts, the set I could think of now is Emmet's Dream House/Rescue Rocket (70831). Selection of slopes isn't ideal and color (blue) may not fit your need, however the amount of specific items is substantial compared to other sets. Newbury Haunted High School (70425) could also be a candidate for some number of slopes, but it is still rather limited.
Alternatively, you could look into creating your roof without using slopes. Take a looks at sets like 31078, 75954, 10267. You can build your roof with plates and tiles if used wisely.

I've bought thousands of slope pieces on bricklink. This is definitely the way to go.  There aren't many sets that have more than a handful of slope pieces.  When you get into more obscure colors like dark purple it is even more difficult to do this through parting out sets.  However, with bricklink you can corner the world market in an hour or so.  Bru-hahahahaha. ;-)

Yes I know bl is way to go but, since world is changing because of covid-19, it became more and more painful to get packages from another country, at least in my country. So thats why I'm asking especially for sets available on market.

You can try to get them from LEGO pick-a-brick searching for "roof" gives you quite a collection, but misses the ends and corners that are available, so add another search for "45°" to get them.
Combine this with Bricklink and buy whereever it is cheaper or where you can find the wanted quantities of desired elements.

unfortunately we don't have pick-a-brick in Turkey except LEGO Stores. And it is not allowed to hand pick items since when pandemic started.

In Germany, the pick-a-brick in the stores is now handled by the personal: They have a display of available pieces and you can ask for them by their code (like 'E6'). Works well.


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What are these "rail-style" LEGO pieces?
I have acquired several large bags of LEGO - most are the tradition bricks, but what kit are these (see photo) rail-type pieces from? They are identified on the reverse with a letter, such as "E", and a 1 or 2-digit number. Some of the rails contain small teeth the entire length - some are smooth.

Related: What different types of train tracks exist

That gear doesn't look like Lego at all. But those rails where the normal rails in the 70's

@Tonny , The gear is part # 743 :Technic, Gear Samsonite 35 Tooth

@Syberion Interresting... The early Technic gears I'm familiar with are from the 70's. The red (small) , blue (medium) and yellow (big) ones with the white axles. Seems these are even bigger. I had never seen them before.

The rails with the "small teeth" are
Part No: 3230a ,  Train, Track Tapered Rail Curved Inside
Part No: 3229a Name: Train, Track Tapered Rail Curved Outside
Part No: 3228a Name: Train, Track Tapered Rail Straight 16L

OK - Thanks Syberion.


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Is it possible to build a working 100% LEGO glider with the Technic Catamaran sails?
In the past I've tried to make working LEGO gliders but since all the LEGO sails were either too small or the wrong shape the only thing that ever kinda worked was using paper over Technic beams (in which case it's really the paper that's gliding, not the LEGO pieces).
Recently, LEGO has come out with some rather large plastic sails in their 42105 Technic Catamaran set, and I'm interested in trying to revive my old MOC idea.

Using the sails in the LEGO Technic Catamaran set, is it possible to make a 100% LEGO glider that really works?

As it turns out, the answer is yes! Even though the wings are flat and can't generate much lift, I was able to get up to about 15ft of distance on a 10ft drop.
click to watch the video
Here's how I did it:
First, you're going to need 2 of the set, or at-least two copies of the sails and some common Technic pieces. This is because the sails in the set are two different sizes (and I wasn't able to get a two-wing design to balance anyway).
the plastic sail sheet
Then you just build a really minimal and light-weight frame, with adjustable wing angles. Here's how I built mine, using only the parts from two copies of the set (click the images to view them larger):
glider top
glider bottom
You'll notice how this frame isn't very sturdy. Since the wings can't really generate lift anyway, there's no advantage to being able to throw it like a wooden or foam glider, and a stronger frame would just be dead weight.
The most-important thing about this design is being able to adjust the angle of the wings. Here's roughly the pitch that gave me the best results.
adjustable wing pitch
I gotta say, I didn't have high hopes for this project going into it, but ultimately I was pleasantly surprised with the results!

Have you considered adding some sort of connector in the middle of wing side to change profile of the wing? To give them a bit of curve. It is just axle is already there, so having few more grams for connectors to change a profile may impact the performance positively.

@Alex I tried but the effect on the shape was minimal, they still sagged.

I love surprises coming from HNQ! Congrats for the creativity. Could it be coupled to something like this https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/393053146/powerup-40-smartphone-controlled-paper-airplane ? It wouldn't be 100% LEGO, it could be fun though, if it indeed works.

You can definitely get lift from angle of attack alone (some paper plane designs use this), so controlling the wing angle could be very helpful.  At the moment it looks like the wing spar (repurposed mast) is free to rotate.  Then make sure the centre of gravity is fairly well forward for stability and I reckon you could get a lot further.  I'm tempted to try something myself with vintage Technic and making comparable sails.

Interesting. Set 42074 also has sails, but of a slightly different shape (wider). Wonder if those would work. Unfortunately I only have that set once or I would give it a try.


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Wall Sconce Light
I'm trying to plan a few wall sconces for lighting as in this picture:

One thought I had was to put a transparent 2x2 round halfway into the wall with half of it hanging out and then put 2 quarter circle tiles on top. Does anyone have any better ideas?

I assume that you're after minifig scale? Or are you going for the micro scale of most Architecture sets (based on the [tag:architecture] tag)?

@Zhaph-BenDuguid I don't think the tag was chosen for this reason rather than because lamps are an architectural feature. Though, even if it was, this is a general design question unrelated to existing products, so the tag can be removed anyway.

@ChristianRau Agreed, and that was my thought to because the architecture tag defines itself as "Questions relating to the Lego Architecture theme". I was just confirming what the intended scale and use was ;)

Assuming you want this in minifigure scale, I would mount part 553c Brick, Round 2 x 2 Dome Top - Hollow Stud with Bottom Axle Holder x Shape + Orientation upside down in the wall, topped with a 18674 Tile, Round 2 x 2 with Open Stud in Black mounted right-side up. You will need to do some clever SNOTting to make that all fit, but an upside-down 3659 Brick, Arch 1 x 4 could hold the dome brick and the round tile can be held in place with a regular brick.

Here is how this would look like:

Note: technically this doesn’t fit (the dome sticks out of the top of the inverted arch brick by just a smidge too much) but due to tolerances you can make this work. I used a white dome brick because I didn’t have a trans-clear one handy.


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Which set do these parts belong to? - Red Robot from 90s or early 00s?

Does anyone know the name of this set? I found these loose parts in a crate and I would like to piece the set back together.
I think I received this set either very late 90s or early 00s. (probably before 2005 if that helps)

These are parts from the 7314: Recon Mech RP set, from the Life on Mars theme, released in 2001.

Thank you so much!


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What part is a big blue hot tub piece?
I was wandering around on Bricklink the other day and I found a very large round transparent blue (light or dark?) basin that could be used to do a hot tub party.  I can't find it now. I think it was 10 X something.  Does anyone know this part?

Be careful about wandering around on Bricklink unaccompanied.  You never know when you might fall in a vat of bricks never to be seen again.

This one 47674  or this one 47674
These are X-POD containers.


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Duplo 10874 engine lacks sound without app
I have inherited this set which works perfectly apart from the fact that there is no sound from the engine. It clearly reads all the colours on the action bricks because, when used with the app, the little driver on the app blows the whistle and, through the app, I can hear the brakes and the water filling. This can't be heard without the app. Also, the noise on pushing the little green button to start up makes no sound although I believe it's supposed to. We've had it get taken apart to check but can't see anything wrong.
Has anyone else had this problem? Any help much appreciated.

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

This solved the no sound problem, but mine also fails to read  colors, only blue and red are detected.
Picture 1: I put an AA battery with wires to test the little speaker, did not make any sound, it was bad.
Picture 2: I had to trim the plastic base of the speaker to replace it with another one bigger which I removed from an old telephone.
Picture 3: Here can be seen the larger speaker substitute.

Great first answer, welcome to Bricks.SE!


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

I'm not even sure if it's Lego.  I'm quite the novice, so... little help?

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

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

I didn't see that coming :)


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Castle set identification (photo from 1993)
Is this photo an actual set ? If yes which one, and if not, any idea what it's based upon ?
(if it's not a canon set, my own research suggest that's it's made from 6085 but I'm not sure).

Would you mind to add some more info regarding the photo, like the year taken? Possibly anything to add context to make the title more unique :)

Sure, I added the year to the title :-)

I have identified a unique part, to help with search - Panel 2 x 5 x 6 Wall with Window with Window Stones Light Gray Pattern which has been used here.

It has been used in just two sets listed seen below, none of which look like your model
Black Monarch's Castle (6085) from 1988:

Black Knight's Castle (6086) from 1992:

So it seems like someone made a great MOC back in the days!

This is pretty clearly a MOC created by combining elements from multiple Castle sets. None of the castle sets were nearly this large for one thing. The only pieces that are distinctive are the shields and the black castle window panel pieces which are from the Black Knights sub-theme. From the size of it, I'd say this is 3 or 4 castles put together.

I agree. Going by the amount of grey bricks alone you need at least 3, probably 4 castle sets together to have that many. The black bricks need also at least 2 or 3 sets.


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What are these minifigures?
Does someone know what theme or set these minifigures are from?

Hi Brick Adventures, welcome to Bricks.SE.  It looks like Alex has answered this.  If you agree it is our custom in StackExchange-land to click the checkbox by the answer to indicate that you have accepted it.

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

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

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

The third one is Aaron from Nexo Knights. The first is an Avengers character. The second is likely Star Wars.


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ID LEGO's in sealed bag?
Help please with this sealed bag of LEGO? It has the number 4 on it and I see purple pieces inside.

That polybag is from The Ender Dragon (21117), the set with the most of round plate 1x1 in Dark Purple [BL].


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What all fits into 4532 "Container, Cupboard"?
On Bricklink, the entry for 4532 (a container) lists several parts that fit, but it currently doesn't even list 4536 (a drawer). What else fits into 4532? Better yet, what are some "illegal" techniques that can be used with 4532? Is there something that can be used as a flat panel in conjunction with a single 4536?

The door that is listed as compatible can be attached with its handle inside to make a smooth surface at the front. It could become hard to open however.

Similarly, it is possible to insert drawers upside-down, however only the top drawer will be able to close all the way.


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How do the various LEGO springs compare?
Recently I received set 42107 Ducati Panigale V4 R.

I noticed that this set includes a new spring - part 65151c01 Technic, Shock Absorber 11L with Internal Spring, Dark Bluish Gray Shaft, and Light Bluish Gray Tip - as well as a “regular” spring - part 731c04 Technic, Shock Absorber 6.5L - Hard Spring.
Part 65151c01:

Part 731c04:

Why did LEGO create this new spring, and what makes it different from other LEGO springs?

Over the years the LEGO group has made a number of different springs, dampers and suspension components. The most widely known ones are the springs in the 731 series, such as the above mentioned 731c04 (Hard Spring) and its cousins 731c05 (Normal Spring) and 731c06 (Soft Spring), but there are other more specialized springs as well, such as 32181 (which comes in a soft and normal spring version) and even this “cute” little brick-sized spring (part 2695c01 Brick, Modified 1 x 2 x 2 1/3 with Spring Unit (Shock Absorber)):

Let’s take a look at the two springs from set 42107, and compare them with a few of the above mentioned ones, namely 731c05 (Technic Shock Absorber 6.5L with Normal Spring in Light Gray), 731c06 (Technic Shock Absorber 6.5L with Soft Spring in Teal) and 32181c04 (Technic, Shock Absorber 10L Damped - Soft Spring in Trans-Clear).
Here are these 5 springs side-by-side:

As you can see, there is some variance in dimensions. From left to right, the springs length in studs is 11, 6.5, 6.5, 6.5, and 10 respectively. Note that the three 731-series springs are 1 brick wide, whereas 32181 and 65151 are 2 bricks wide at their widest point, with 65151 being asymmetrical due to the top connection point sitting 1 brick lower than the top, and offset by 1 brick from the main shock absorber shaft.
Now let’s look at how far these springs compress:

It was quite the struggle to get this group picture taken, as the power exerted by each spring was almost too much for the Technic pins holding them in place (and the half-a-stud offset of 731 is a bit of a challenge). As you can see, the compressed length of these shock absorbers is (from left to right) 9 studs, 5.5 studs, 5.5 studs, 5.5 studs and 7 studs.
So there are more differences: while the 731-series only compresses by 1 stud, 65151 compresses by 2 studs, and 32181 even compresses by 3 studs (even though the uncompressed shock is 1 stud shorter than 65151!).
Finally, let’s see how stiff these springs really are. As I am not a physicist, nor a mechanical engineer, my test setup is a bit archaic, but using baking weights I hoped to get an idea of how much weight it takes to fully compress the spring in each shock absorber. Here are some shots of various shocks undergoing testing:
The new absorber from 42107 (part 65151):

One of the 731 series springs (part 731c04 in this case):

As you can see, some shocks needed more weight to fully compress than provide by my wife’s entire collection of baking weights, so I had to resort to more drastic solutions, such as adding dental guard cleaning powder jars.
The results of this test surprised me - it turns out that (at least with the springs I tested) the normal and soft spring versions of 731 both take about 500-600g of weight to fully compress. I had expected the soft spring version of 731 (731c06) to be able to carry less weight than the normal spring version (731c05), but my test shows it was able to carry a bit MORE weight than its Normal spring cousin.
With my methodology (placing too much weight on the springs, and then slowly removing weight until the spring started lifting the contraption up again) both 32181c04 and 731c04 handled up to 1.1kg in weight, while the other springs handled about half that weight.
Net, the front shock absorbers (there are 2 shocks in the front fork) in 42107 have the same combined strength as the single shock absorber in the back, but they have different features - the front absorbers can travel 2 studs while the back absorber only travels 1 stud), and due to its offset connection point the front absorber (65151c01) has a rotational ability that the traditional 731 series shock absorbers miss. Also, as 65151c01 is manufactured with 3 different colors (pearl gold for the upper part, dark bluish gray for the shock and light bluish gray for the lower connection point) it blends better into the build of the Ducati Panigale. So why did LEGO create this part? Likely because it needed to look like the actual bike’s suspension, and no existing and in-production spring had the characteristics and looks needed to make the front assembly look proper.
Finally, a few notes about part 32181. Did you know:

Even though it has a soft spring, it is able to withstand the same weight as the Hard spring version of 731?
It is a damped spring, so where the other springs jump back to their uncompressed state almost instantaneously, 32181c04 (and 32181c05) take about a second to do so.
Out of all the springs I’ve tested, 32181 is the only spring that allows for rotation on its main axis, which allows you to turn the lower connection point out of alignment with the upper connection point. This can be very useful for constructions where the shock absorber needs to connect to 2 parts that are perpendicular to each other.

Here are the full test results, for those who are interested:

Transcription:
         |                                                     | Spring Type
65151c01 | Technic, Shock Absorber 11L with Internal Spring... | Gold
731c04   | Yellow Technic, Shock Absorber 6.5L - Hard Spring   | Yellow
731c05   | Technic, Shock Absorber 6.5L - Normal Spring        | Grey
731c06   | Technic, Shock Absorber 6.5L - Soft Spring          | Teal
32181c04 | Technic, Shock Absorber 10L Damped - Soft Spring    | Clear

         | Length (studs) | Length (cm) | Compressed (studs) | Compressed (cm)
65151c01 | 11             | 8.8         | 9                  | 7.2
731c04   | 6.5            | 5.2         | 5.5                | 4.4
731c05   | 6.5            | 5.2         | 5.5                | 4.4
731c06   | 6.5            | 5.2         | 5.5                | 4.4
32181c04 | 10             | 8           | 7                  | 5.6

         | Platform Weight (g) | Load Weight | Total Weight (g) | Notes
65151c01 | 19.82               | 513         | 533              | Offset connection
731c04   | 19.82               | 1126        | 1146             |
731c05   | 19.82               | 531         | 551              |
731c06   | 19.82               | 643         | 663              |
32181c04 | 19.82               | 1081        | 1101             | Slow release (damped), able to rotate

"no existing and in-production spring had the characteristics and looks needed to make the front assembly look proper" — not least because no existing spring lets you fix the direction, whereas in that set the front wheel is supported entirely by the springs (using any of the existing springs would make it rather wobbly!)

Of possible interest, even though the 731 series springs only compress one stud, almost all models that use them have them arranged for some form of oblique compression relative to the direction of movement, resulting in an actual movement of the wheels (or other spring-loaded part) of greater than one stud. They're also the most widespread of all the springs, so most MOCs prefer to use them instead of other options.

@Dave Look is probably most of it, there are at least three springs that you could fix the direction of using additional components (95292, 2902c02, and 2902c03), but they don't fit the look of the real thing, require a lot of extra bulk to fix the direction (you need stops above and below the mounting points), and are all rather old (most recent set with any of them was in 2015).

I signed up to this stack for the sole purpose of being able to +1 you for this ludicrously detailed response. You're a madman.

@Phil B. Hey you listed only compression springs. This one, Spring for Forklift Wide and Crane Bucket is a tension spring. How about an update for the "other" kind of spring?


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Motorized speedboat from Technic Catamaran alternate model?
The alternate model for the 42105 Technic Catamaran set looks a lot like a remote-controlled speedboat.

This set doesn't actually come with any motors, or even propellers, so obviously this model isn't functional. So what would it take to make a motorized RC speedboat from this set?

With a few Power Functions elements and a pair of propellers, I was able to build a motorized boat similar to the alternate model.

1x: 8881 Power Functions Battery Box
2x: 8883 Power Functions M-Motor
1x: 8884 Power Functions IR Receiver
1x: 8885 Power Functions IR Remote Control
2x: 30332 Propeller 3 Blade 9 Diameter

See it in action!
click to watch the video
Pictures
floating, side view
floating, front view
Close-up pictures on how it's built
propeller motor closeup
center structure closeup
Conclusion
Overall it works pretty well, and the hulls are surprisingly resistant to water leaking inside of them. The only major issue is that direct sunlight can interfere with the IR receiver at a distance. As an alternative, the IR receiver and remote could be substituted with something third-party like an S-Brick (uses Bluetooth). I didn't have any of the smaller and lighter LEGO Powered UP controller and motors, but with some redesigning that could also be an option (also Bluetooth).
I also hope that someday LEGO will make some propellers which are a better size/shape for use with water, and maybe this boat could go a little faster!

Tons of proper propellers to choose from I’d say: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/search.page?q=Propeller. Part 6041 looks like your best match - though the blades are small they are properly tilted and it has an axle-hole. I’d think that running that one on high speed should work.

Here I am amazed that you happened to build the exact thing the asker was looking for.  Then I did a little more research.  Awesome build!

Proper propeller does exist - lookup 2740c01 on BL. However it is 30 years old.

Great answer, Alexander, though perhaps we shouldn't be surprised it's watertight as LEGO advertises the set as "For the first time ever, this LEGO Technic model toy floats on water!"

I've tried most of the propellers, they've all been either too small or the blades are too long/thin/flat. The really small ones would have to spin really fast losing power to friction, and the really large ones would take much more power than these systems are made for.

Have you tried changing gear ratios?

Could it help to stack several propellers on the same axle?

@AlexanderO'Mara IIRC the Brick Experiment channel on Youtube has made Lego submarines with only some minor aftermarket modifications. Maybe you could try the propellers they use?


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Help identifying LEGO set
Anyone recognizes these parts?

I have a LEGO set with no instructions and no box and I’m trying to see what set it is so I can download the instructions.

This is basically a bag of random parts. I don't think we'll be able to help here since these  come from multiple sets.

Thanks.  You are right.  I had purchased set 10228 from amazon.  Had it in storage for some months and decided to put it together.  Inside the box there were no instructions and a bunch of bags - later realized all taped - with pieces of LEGO that were definitely not 10228...I was trying to if they were from any specific set but they are just random pieces in bags...total fraud...anyway thanks for your help!

I agree with Alex that it's not from one set. According to BrickLink, the torso only appears in Atlantis sets, but that rock panel isn't in any Atlantis sets in DkBlGrey  or DkGrey

In addition, the yellow hull piece can only be found in two Alpha team sets #4794 and #4792


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Is there anywhere that you can buy *custom* individual Lego-compatible bricks?
There are pieces I'd like to get, like "door rail" inside and outside corner plates, double-sided plates, 1x1 and corner masonry bricks, 1x1 panels (not a corner, more like Lego 4865), as well as pieces that aren't made in the color palette I want.
I've looked at Lepin and I see that they do have some increased color palette options for "door rail" pieces, as well as masonry bricks, but I'd like to go further (they only have 1x2 bricks/plates for each of those options) without resorting to pay $12+ a piece for items on shapeways (that would get very expensive very fast).  Even $2-3 a piece wouldn't be so bad if I could just get what I want in the colors I want.
Is DIY 3D printing currently the only real option here?

There are several 3D printing services that can print anything you want, you would just need to create the 3D model of the parts you want

There are several ways to obtain pieces that are not in the LEGO pallette that I know of:

Through 3D printing at home. This has become much easier as 3D printers have seen significant improvements in resolution, precision and affordability. The challenge is to make a part that works as well as a regular LEGO brick, as that requires very tight tolerances. On the other hand, dimensions of common bricks are very easy to find in the public domain.

Via a 3D printing service using someone else’s design for a part. Check out Shapeways and even Etsy to see if a part has already been designed and manufactured by another fan. There used to be room on Bricklink for custom items like this, but since LEGO bought Bricklink these products have been removed from the site. Especially in the train hobby there are many individuals printing custom items such as wheels, track, connecting rods, couplers etc.

From a LEGO compatible brand. I would first look at reputable brands such as Mega Construx, Kre-o and the like, before going the illegal-clone route with companies like Lepin. The downside is that there are no part catalogs and trading sites for these brands (like Bricklink and Brickowl for LEGO), so you will need to look at sets and see if you can spot the piece you need. Perhaps some brands have a customer service line where you can ask questions about specific parts. Another downside is that color matching with your build can be problematic, but that likely holds for options 1&2 as well.

Note that many AFOLs consider it part of the fun of building with LEGO to use only available parts to solve a particular challenge.

Some things can't be solved by fancy building techniques, though.  I can saw some plates to make a door rail inside corner, but not so much an outside corner.  And I could paint pieces to expand the color palette, but would prefer not to.
I've contacted several companies and they haven't replied.  At least with Lepin there packages of parts available like this: https://lepinland.com/shop/moc-single-bricks-figures/tile/10pcslot-moc-bricks-plate-modified-1-x-2-with-door-rail-fit-with-32028-diy-building-blocks-best/
I just wish someone offered even more options.

3d printing works, but a lot of people steer away from it because it tends to be slow, brittle and expensive. The finish of most 3d printing is also rather rough, and it can be rather difficult to get it to match cast parts. You need to figure out which plastics you are going to print with, as they all have trade-offs.
The really good 3rd party bricks and accessories use injection molding (as does Lego) to make parts. This is more expensive and time consuming than 3d printing, but it gives better results and allows far more economy of scale. Go check out Brick Arms if you want to see what you can do with DiY injection molding.
Cutting / drilling / painting Lego - Some people do this. It might work if you are skilled with an exacto knife. Depends on your skills and goals.
Generally any 'make your own brick' solution is going to be either expensive to buy from someone else or involve you investing a lot into infrastructure to make it yourself. There isn't any silver bullet for this (yet). Lego is terrified of the technology that allows cheap fabrication of high-quality bricks, because it could mean the end of their market dominance.

You can solve the "brittle" and "rough finish" issued by printing in ABS and post-processing with acetone vapor.  Not much you can do about the "slow" aspect of 3d printing, though -- it takes me about 45 minutes to print out a classic 2x4 brick.

I have some compatible plates with studs top and bottom in 1x1, 1x2, 1x4 and 2x2 studs bought on AliExpress. Quality is good. From same source I also have some 1x2 bricks with antistuds on top and bottom.
Price also very good, with postage either very cheap or free, though delivery can take a while as they come from China - though my orders arrived before the expected date, in 1 case over a month early!


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Lubricating train axles - which oil to use?
I have a lot of old (80s grey era and 90s 9v) trains. Some of the wheels squeak and many have quite a bit of friction. Sometimes this friction causes the locomotive to detach from the rollingstock since the friction of the wheels on long trains is greater than the magnetic force between the couplers.
I searched this site and the closest match I could find is: How to lubricate the 4.5v train motor for set 7722? It mentions using 'plastic safe oil' but does not specify a brand.
This warning is echoed across the model train internet and some (non-Lego) discussions have recommended using a full-synthetic motor oil applied via a needle oiler.
The linked question is specific to the motor and gears that are likely to be designed to be lubricated vs wheel axles that are not.
I was going to use 3in1 oil but the consensus seems to be that this is a bad idea because it is a petroleum derivative.
Does anyone have any first-hand experience of a 'plastic safe' oil that they have used on their Lego? I would think any oil would work to lubricate the axles but I want to be sure it will not damage the plastic over time.

Where in the world are you? I don't have any experience with this, but if I did, I might suggest a brand of oil available here in Denmark, which might not be of much use if you are far away,

@Henriksupportsthecommunity I would love to see your suggestion. Based on your knowledge of the right oil we may find derivatives in other countries and brands.

As I said I don't have any experience, so I don't have any suggestion.

As a first step I would suggest a food grade mineral oil. It's as close to non-toxic as oils get. It non-penetrating and displaces water, One typical household use is as a surface protection for wooden  cutting boards and kitchen utensils,

I wrote the top answer on the motor lubricating question you linked. I can recommend the Fleischmann oil mentioned below. I use that as well. Marklin (another model-train brand) also has comparable oil.

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

Thanks for the lead on sewing machine oil. Did some googling and it looks like this may be a good choice: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GC54OC2 Tri-Flow, Lubricant with Teflon. What do you think?

I'd be wary of that one as it explicitly states "Penetrates Fastly" [sic]. You would probably be better off with https://amazon.com/dp/B008QNQ2VE I think.

I use the Fleischmann oil as well. Marklin (another model-train brand) has similar oil as well.

Petroleum based lubricants you need to be careful with, since they can act as solvents. Zhaph mentioned non-penetrating machine oil, this sounds like a safe bet. If you are in doubt, grab a gnawed brick and submerge it in a sample for a few days and see what happens before putting it on your precious train parts. Science!
Second hand info:
I have heard that some silicone based lubricants might be really good for Lego, since they can soak in and are unlikely to react with the ABS. Might be worth a test if you are really serious about low friction/wear in your trains?


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What kind of soap can I use to clean LEGO?
I have some LEGO bricks I would like to clean some old sets and parts I bought from Brick Owl.
So I would like to know what soap is the safest for cleaning the LEGO parts I was thinking maybe soft soap or something.
By the way, I won’t be cleaning printed or stickered LEGO.

What kind of dirt (in a very general sense) do you want to get rid of? In most cases hot water will do the trick.

Does this answer your question? LEGO cleaning techniques and tools

I just want to do a good cleaning because: a cat used the LEGO bucket for a litter box one time and my siblings have touched the LEGO

The official guidance from The LEGO group suggests using a mild detergent.

Cleaning your LEGO® bricks is really easy! We recommend that you clean
your LEGO® parts by hand using water no hotter than 104°F / 40°C and a
soft cloth or sponge.** Higher temperatures may affect the quality of
the parts. You can add a mild detergent to the water - please
rinse them well with clear water afterwards and you're done!
A word of warning! Please don't put your LEGO® pieces in the washing
machine or dishwasher, and don't try to dry them in the oven, the
microwave or with a hair dryer. When the bricks get really hot they
may change shape, which means they won't work anymore!

Cleaning your LEGO® bricks
In most cases warm water is enough to clean LEGO bricks, some soap can help remove tougher stains, dirt and smells.
Examples of mild detergent include liquid hand or dish washing soap, as opposed to things like bleach and ammonia which are irritating and corrosive to the skin which may damage bricks.
Mild detergent should be enough to both clean and sanitise.

What kind of mild detergent?
Liquid or powder?

I was wondering if dishwasher liquid would work like Dawn dishwashing liquid

I'm assuming by mild detergent they mean liquid hand or dish washing soap, as opposed to things like bleach and ammonia which are irritating and corrosive to the skin which may damage bricks. Mild detergent should be enough to both clean and sanitise.

Agree on not using anything dishwasher related. Washing machine, however, is fine in my experience as long as you keep to recommendations of not using strong detergent and the right temperature. I would suggest to clean tray for detergent from any leftovers and keep your bricks in mesh laundry bag. Delicate/silk washing programme is advised too.

Dishwasher Powders - Nope! These contain abrasives that will scratch up your bricks.
Liquid Dish Soap - Probably anything goes here. Lemon scented bricks, Mmmmmmm!
Head soap - Most anything here, but avoid stuff like liquid lava w/ pumice.
Laundry Soap - Seems to work fine, I have filled entire wading pools with water, Lego, and laundry soap to clean vast quantities all at once. This is your economy of scale if you have to wash a lot efficiently.
Bleach & Water - Not a great solution, unless you are just briefly dunking it. Bleach will clean very well, but if you leave it soaking for hours or days, Lego slowly absorbs the bleach and swells very slightly causing the bricks to gain clutch power. Not a bad plan if you want to put some stick in your old bricks, but experiment carefully before you commit. This swelling doesn't seem to cause any long term damage.
H2o2 + Oxyclean - This will 'lighten' UV damaged bricks, but I haven't had much success with it. It takes a long soak to accomplish it, though. There are many pages on the Intarwebz talking about how this works.
Petrochemicals - These are in general risky, as they can act a solvents for ABS. Test before use. Except for....
Goo-Be-Gone - I have use this on all types of Lego, and it is perfectly safe to drench on. Great for getting rid of sticker goo.
Warm water is fine, but water > 130F starts to get risky, aside from burning yourself, thinner types of plastics start to bend and warp. Watch out for things like base-plates which are particularly vulnerable here.
Running Lego through a dishwasher is probably not a good idea, they generally use pretty hot water to kill germs, and the heat exposure isn't brief.
Also, be aware that Lego isn't one type of plastic. It is mostly ABS, but there are other things like windshields mixed in, along with differing formulas of ABS. Heat and chemical tolerances will vary.


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Identifying some LEGO figures
I just bought my kid these awesome LEGO figures. Can anyone identify them, since we are looking up their building instruction.
Thank you

Three of those sets are from "Legends of Chima" series and one is from "Hero Factory".
CHI Gorzan (70202)

CHI Fluminox (70211)

Frost Beast (44011)

CHI Laval (70200)


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Trying to identify a mystery set, mostly black and dark grey
I purchased a lot from Facebook that included a few fully complete with box sets as well as two bags with what certainly appears to be a full set. I started adding several of the more unique ones to rebrickable, but I either need to add a lot more, or I'm doing it wrong. This is my first time at this, so either is entirely possible.
Any ideas or leads would be appreciated. So far I'm leaning towards a Sith Star Wars or Batman kit given the colors. The assembled piece has a twin that is pretty much identical. The only unique pieces I found were a cockpit dashboard thing and the windshield design. The rest were sticker free, and there were no figures included.

Here's a list of some of the more unique parts from the black pile.
https://rebrickable.com/users/DakMorgan/partlists/232220/

I suspect this to be a mix of parts. For example, last picture shows Black Slope 45 4 x 4 Double with Hinge in Black and none of those sets have some of Dark Gray/Dark Bluish Gray pieces found in that assembly. There isn't that much of sets in dark shades of gray included with Trans-Black Windscreen see on second picture too.

I saw that as well, maybe it's from a MOC?  I wonder if there's an easy way to find out what the assembled parts are for at least?

Looks like it's all a MOC - as Alex mentioned, there's only two sets that contain two of that element, and neither of them come with dark grey cylinders or cones :(

I don't know if that is a cohesive set, but all the parts scream 2005 era Star Wars.
There is a x-wing canopy that gives me that idea, but the real smoking gun is the color combination of parts. There appears to be a lot of old (warm) dark grey, prior to Lego changing to the more (cool) bley they use today.
I think its just stray parts from that era. Enjoy all that classic dark grey, its great for mixing in with modern greys.

I think these are primarily Dark Bluish Grey rather than Dark Grey. For example this piece doesn't exist in Dark Grey https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=43712#T=C

While the last image looks like a partial build of an official set, the Slope 45° 4 x 4 Double with Hinge - Black piece was only ever released in 4 sets, none of which have the windscreen piece mentioned by Roger. Therefore the collection can't belong to a single official set.

The windscreen and the tan 1x2 hinge plates in the build are likely both from this set https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=4500-1#T=S&O={%22iconly%22:0} ; the tan hinges exist in very few other sets


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Which current wave (2018 onwards) Harry Potter set should I buy to make 12 Grimmauld Place?
I would really want LEGO to make an official model of 12 Grimmauld Place, the magical house in London used by the Order of the Phoenix.

As this building is rather dim and uninteresting from the outside, I doubt it will ever be released as a set by LEGO. There hasn’t been a set depicting any scene from inside or outside of Grimmauld Place in any of the Harry Potter waves according to Brickset.
My question is, if I really want to make 12 Grimmauld Place, which single current wave set can I buy to get as close as possible? Are there any websites that show alternative versions of LEGO models?

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/cee8986e-6cf6-4706-b4d4-2f79418db20a shows a user generated project.
Also, it might help when searching to look for 12 Grimmauld place.

@Ben thanks for pointing out the mistake in the number, I have corrected it in both the question and the answer. That Ideas submission doesn’t resemble Grimmauld Place very much though ...

Indeed, there haven’t been any models of 12 Grimmauld Place as of yet, and even though the house features in a number of memorable scenes in the movies, even those scenes have never been depicted in an official LEGO model since the inception of the theme 20 years ago. I am still keeping my hopes up this will be a set, perhaps even including the folding motion to make it appear magically! One can only hope ....
It is actually quite common to turn official LEGO models into alternate builds, even if the set is not an official 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 model. This is called a MOD (covered in this question here on this site). A famous one in the AFOL world is the MOD that turns 10214 Tower Bridge into a proper Modular Building.
There are several websites that feature MOD designs. The best known one is Rebrickable, where AFOLs can upload designs for any set (including MODs) and allow people to match up the pieces in their collection to the design, sell the instructions etc.
Another well-known site is Eurobricks, where scattered throughout the vast amount of forums and threads you can search for [MOD] in a posting title and find a lot of examples of MODs.
Back to the question: To make 12 Grimmauld place you need a set with lots of windows, 1xN bricks and a door. Looking at what sets are currently available, I think set 75980: Attack on the Burrow is a good candidate.

As you can see, it has lots of bricks including masonry profile bricks, as well as windows and a door.
I went ahead and tried to build 12 Grimmauld Place. Here is what I built using only pieces from 75980. Did I come close enough?

A really neat trick would be if you can get it to fold in on itself like the movie version.  You'd kind of have to make it only the front facade and not the interior for that to work, of course...

The Brothers Brick just published notification of another unrelated build - this one is finally an official set. (Though the set number being 76xxx and not being a superhero set is surprising.)

I'm willing to consolidate all 3 independent builds into one answer, although I wonder if it would be best to just delete the previous, unofficial builds, because re-reading the question today makes it seem like this is really the best answer of all.

Lego just put this unofficial build on Facebook today: 12 Grimmauld

The Brothers Brick just published another unofficial build.

This might be better edited into your original answer ;)

I intentionally didn't do that, because they were totally independent builds, of totally different styles, months apart.


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Is this an error in the updated Harry Potter Diagon Alley build/instructions?
In the book 1 directions for the 2020 Diagon Alley set (see pp. 43ff), I've run into the following issue:
In building the back of Ollivander's shop, we seem to be building some type of shelving unit:

Notice that the pieces just added stick out from the back a bit.
But later, the directions state to place the back of this shelving unit flush with an already-built wall:

This isn't confusion regarding perspective; later we see that we are to connect this shelving unit with the wall:

But how are we supposed to make this shelving unit flush with the wall if there are parts that stick out of the back of the shelving unit? Note that the wall is a single solid piece with no holes for these parts to stick into.
I've considered moving Ollivander's desk so that I can move this shelving unit forward (to the left), but this then prevents connecting the structural beam from the staircase to the wall (see step 108 in the directions; my image is too large to share). Moving his desk also prevents the staircase from rotating into the shop.
Am I missing something, or is this indeed an error? If it is an error, how have others solved this issue?
Note that we can't just move those pieces in the shelving unit so that they don't stick out; doing so prevents us from building the shelving unit, because the nubs on top of those "sticking-out" bricks gets in the way of the shelves snapping into place. Neither can be omit these pieces and slide them in later, because the nub from the pieces beneath them get in the way.

The wall behind the shelving unit is not a standard wall built with regular LEGO bricks, but a panel, which is hollow on one side.
The parts that are sticking out at the back of the bookshelf are accommodated by the hollow of the panel.
My guess is that you attached the panel backwards with the flat side facing in, instead of out. Look at Page 37/Step 48 where the panel is attached. The hollow part should be facing in.

Oh my gosh, what a fool I am. I guess I've learned my lesson: I need to supervise any helpers that are new to LEGO!

Sad that I guessed something like that based on the "hollow" studs shown in the illustration. I was wondering if it swung out like a secret door or something.

@Richard, don't feel bad. We all make mistakes like that. Sometimes it's from being tired or distracted, or as you said, someone else helping who is less experienced. It's normal. I'm glad I could solve the mystery for you. Happy building! :)

To be fair, Lego instruction manuals quite often have errors such as missing parts, mis-aligned parts, and so forth, so it's not unheard of. I speak mostly from Technic sets, where it's rare that they are perfect. (I'm not complaining, just stating.)

@Eilon yes, errors tend to happen, but isn't an often occurance.


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Automating self built models
I have just started with Lego, building the excavator with the 2 Bluetooth hubs. Can I program a model I build using this type of hub and motors or do I require EV3 (if indeed EV3 allows you to control motors in a non-robotic setup)? The phone app only seems to give you Lego's own models, and no program blocks.

Could you specify which motors you use. Is it EV3, Power Functions or PoweredUp? From your description I tend to think the later, so it would great to confirm. You can also add a picture of your motors and it will be easy to distinguish a type.

Does this answer your question? Alternative to LEGO CONTROL+ app

This does not seem a duplicate to me. OP is asking about programming, which brickcontroller 2 does not provide afaik.

I'm assuming you are using the Control+ app with the 42100 liebherr r 9800 set.
The Control+ app is indeed limited to the fixed models.
However the Powered Up app can also connect to the Control+ hub and supports it reasonably well. The Powered Up app has a "Create" mode where you can use programming blocks, it's similar to the Scratch educative programming environment.
You'll easily find the app in your app store on your device.
Note that contrary to EV3, Spike Prime or the new robotics set, code runs mostly on your smart device. I.e. you cannot operate your model without your smart device.
However, the micro-controller on the Control+ smarthub (Or the Powered Up or Boost smarthub for that matter) is powerful enough to run a version of MicroPython. This is used in the Pybricks project, which allows you to code the smarthub directly in Python.
https://pybricks.com/about/


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Oil for old 4.5V motor? (UK)
I've just got my old LEGO Technic motor from my loft. It works but squeals in a way I don't remember it doing (35 years ago). I assume some lubrication would help and I've seen references to 3-IN-ONE SAE 20 but that only seems to be available in the USA. Any suggestions for the UK?

Start with a food grade mineral oil something like this: picture

Would standard 3 in one (which I already have) do the job or is that too thick? A full bottle of the food grade stuff at £8 seems excessive when I only need a drop!

Hi Derek, is this your motor? (bricklink.com)

Yes that's the one

@Derek Composition of 3-in-1 oil products can vary a lot. Some are safe (like the SAE20), others will eat the ABS plastic LEGO is made of. Without details on the exact brand/type of oil you have at home, we can;t advise if it is safe or not.

Ah apologies. This is the bottle I have https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Oil-100ml-Drip-Can/dp/B00SJQEMPG/ref=sr_1_30?dchild=1&keywords=3+in+one&qid=1603291869&sr=8-30


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What are these minifigures
Does anyone know what these minifigures are or what sets they are from?
Thanks.

The top figure is

sh367 - Justin Hammer
from Set # 76077-1 : Iron Man: Detroit Steel Strikes

for the second figure, see the answer of shea

You are incorrect about the second figure – the Harpy figure you link to shares zero parts with the figure in the picture.

The first figure is Justin Hammer, from the LEGO Marvel Super Heroes line. He only appeared in one set, 76077 Iron Man: Detroit Steel Strikes.
The second figure is from the LEGO Nexo Knights theme. There are a number of figures that share the same head, torso and legs. It could be:

a Shrunken, which appeared in 4 sets and had an additional headpiece
a Gargoyle, which appeared in 2 promotional sets and had the headpiece in addition to a neck attachment and wings
a Stone Stomper, which included the neck attachment without wings and appeared in only one set
a Stone Giant, which appeared in a single promotional set and had a different headpiece and neck attachment to the other figures.


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Operating first time my 42082 set
I completed building the 42082 Rough Terrain Crane set and just found out that the boom does not work and the rear spread legs do not fold out, just the front ones.

Hi Kobi. Thanks for visiting Bricks.SE. Typically with Technic sets, if certain features don’t work, you have made a mistake somewhere in your build, either mounting something in reverse or not in the right place, or by mixing up some parts (or even skipping a part). Try going back through the instructions and check on your build to see if all pieces are in the right place (might require a partial teardown of the set). For us to help you, you would need to take a few pictures and attach them to your question. Good luck!

Adding to Phil's comment, when it comes to mechanical functions not working, videos are sometimes way more useful than pictures, as they contain important clues (jitter, seeing some parts start to move and get stuck, hearing the noise of misaligned gears or motors struggling, etc.)

On a standalone note, try following the transmission of torque from the motor(s) through the gears, axles and other parts, until you get to one of the following: - the parts that should be moving (boom or legs), - a dead-end, meaning a piece is missing, - a locked piece (wrong piece placed or the right part is at the wrong place). After you have done so, be sure to come back and share your findings, even if you have managed to solve it on your own, as your solution could be helping other future builders!


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Help identifying a Megabloks set - grey and black mass
Could you help me work out what this set could be? Tried searching through Google Images, etc. and can’t find it.

What you have asked for seems impossible to help with. The parts that can be identified in your photo are so generic they could be from almost any set. It would be like showing you a picture of a rounded grey stone and ask you to tell me what river it comes from.

That is the fuselage of 9962 Supersonic Fighter:

However, it appears that the stickers haven’t been applied.


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Serra's Sanctum and magical mirrors
I am in the initial planning stages for a LEGO build of Serra's Sanctum from Magic, The Gathering. Part of the description states:

Serra's Sanctum was a notable landmark of the plane, suspended somewhere in its infinite sky. The Sanctum was the dwelling place of the famed planeswalker herself. It was massive, taller than most structures on other planes. Powerful artifacts run through white mana and having white-related functions, such as the Cocoon, could be found here. At the top of the Sanctum was the aviary, where Serra could see the entire plane through many powerful lenses that kept an eye on her world. Only planeswalkers could comprehend all these images simultaneously. Leading down from the aviary through the rest of the Sanctum was a spiral staircase that ended at the base of the building. It was here that the main plaza was presumably located. The plaza contained a water fountain that reached five stories high, carved with skillfully rendered angelic effigies. On the fountain were also the words art, discourse, freedom, peace. These are the ideals that Serra herself sought after and wished to center her world around.

It's the 'powerful lenses' part that I could use a little help with.  My current idea is to use Plate, Round 4 x 4 with 2 x 2 Hole  with some transparent-clear plates backing it to make a mirror/lens look.  Do you folks have any better ideas?

I like your idea. I know very little about the MtG universe, so I'm not sure what might be most helpful here. Some ideas that come to mind:
The 2x2 boat stud elements are available in trans-clear and might provide the sort of look that you are hoping for.

There is a mirror element (20193) available. This could potentially be used in a lens apparatus of some sort.

The 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, and 6x6 dish elements are all available in trans-clear, and they could be useful for designing a lens system.

There's also a variant of the 6x6 dish with a handle on the side instead of the studs in the center that might work better for your application.

As zovits pointed out, the 6x6 also comes in a half-sphere variant:

There are also many printed transparent dish elements that might provide the sort of look that you are looking for, such as something like this:

For an exaggerated look ("powerful lenses" that can see the entire plane) consider Windscreen 6 x 6 x 3 Canopy Half Sphere.

@zovits That's a great idea. I've added that one to my answer.

All good answers, thanks.  I also found this mirror and this shield


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Why doesn't my LEGO Micropython remote control program work?
I am writing an EV3 micropython program meant to test my remote, but it does not work. When I run it, I see no errors at all. Instead, I just see a "play" symbol and the program continuously runs. If I press any buttons on my remote control, nothing at all happens. The code is below:
#!/usr/bin/env pybricks-micropython
from pybricks.hubs import EV3Brick
from pybricks.ev3devices import (Motor, TouchSensor, ColorSensor,
                                 InfraredSensor, UltrasonicSensor, GyroSensor)
from pybricks.parameters import Port, Stop, Direction, Button, Color
from pybricks.tools import wait, StopWatch, DataLog
from pybricks.robotics import DriveBase
from pybricks.media.ev3dev import SoundFile, ImageFile

# This program requires LEGO EV3 MicroPython v2.0 or higher.
# Click "Open user guide" on the EV3 extension tab for more information.

# Create your objects here.
ev3 = EV3Brick()
ir = InfraredSensor(Port.S1)
# ONLY USE THIS ONE PROGRAM!!!
while True:
    if ir.buttons(1) == Button.BEACON:
        ev3.light.on(Color.RED)
    else:
        ev3.light.on(Color.GREEN)

Do you have any solutions to this problem? Thanks.

You can get community support for Pybricks at https://github.com/pybricks/support.
ir.buttons(1) returns a list of pressed buttons, so in this particular program
if ir.buttons(1) == Button.BEACON:

needs to be changed to
 if Button.BEACON in ir.buttons(1):

This will test if item is in list.

Worked perfectly for me.Thank you!


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Identify rug pieces in this library scene
Can anyone identify the roundish pieces that make up the rug in this scene?

It's hard to tell for sure, but I believe that it is Bar Holder with Clip (11090).

The size and shape look about right to me, and it is widely available in those colors.

I agree. And from the larger photos linked in the question it is clear this MOC has enough room under the floor for a support structure to keep everything in place.


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Identify this bridal dress torso
Can anyone identify this brides dress torso:

I've searched on Bricklink for dress, white dress, and bridesmaid, but couldn't find it. I also have 1 in my collection but would like to buy more.

Keyword for this torso on Bricklink is "flower".
Torso Female Wrapped Dress with Pink Flower Pattern / Yellow Arms / Yellow Hands
It was used just for Fairy from Series 8 of Collectable Minifigures:


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Does remote control 8879 work for winter holiday train?
Can anyone tell me if the remote control 8879 will actually stop and start the 10254 Winter Holiday Train set?

Yes, essentially it was designed for applications like trains since it has an option to increase power gradually, unlike 8885 controller which is ON-OFF (basically with two speed settings - "9" and "0"). You can do this by turning orange disks to start moving your train. There are 9 "speeds" in each direction. And you have two options then to stop your train:

Hit red button below the disk to stop immediately;
Return disk to zero speed position.

The remote controller you are asking about is one of the items required to motorize the entire set as seen on the picture below. This is taken from instructions for 10254 Winter Holiday Train set.

This is all correct, assuming OP has a Power Functions train motor, battery box and IR receiver built into his train. None of the LEGO Christmas trains come with those supplied, they need to be purchased separately. Might be worth mentioning in your answer.

10254 doesn't come with a motor. If you motorize it using the "recommended" Power Functions parts, that is the correct remote to use. If you motorize it using the newer Powered Up train motor and battery box, you need 88010 to control the Powered Up Hub.


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Why doesn't LEGO make minifig weapons?
The title contains the entire question, nothing more can be added.

Can you clarify your question? Otherwise the answer is a fairly straight forward, "LEGO makes quite a few Minifig accessories that are weapons, Including melee, ranged, medieval, futuristic, and modern styles."

See also: Does the LEGO Group condone war toys?

The Lego Group has a policy of not producing modern looking weapon accessories.
If what you are looking for are 20th century style weapon accessories for mini figures you will need to look to non-Lego third party vendors.

Lego has made tons of Age of Sail flintlock muskets, cavalry cutlasses, Wild West six-shooters, medieval crossbows, jousting lances, katana, battle-axes, and obviously sci-fi weapons. Some of those can be reasonably re-imagined as modern weapons, if you wish.


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Lego Education 9594 instructions for models
Recently at work, I found boxes of the Lego Education Green City Challenge 9594, but there are no instructions to build the models for each challenge. I was able to go online and find the instructions for the center piece model but not the others. I would like help in finding those instructions. I have emailed LEGO Education and their response is that the set is so old they do not have it (the set came out in 2011).

Related: How can I complete the build of this Lunar lander from the Space and Airport Set (9335)?

The instructions for the "LEGO NXT Green City Challenge Activity 9594" seem to be on CDROM only.
Replacement disks are offered on bricklink for Green City Challenge Activity Pack and Mindstorms Education NXT Software 2.1
See this post here for another answer.


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I don’t know what LEGO piece this is with a large hole going through its center

Can anyone tell me what LEGO piece this is?

Welcome to Bricks.StackExchange. Please edit your question title to be more descriptive regarding the piece in question. As currently written, it has zero search value for future readers.

Technic, Engine Cylinder with Side Slots
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=2850

This one is used to build engines, used in V or I engines like this: link

There's a flat configuration too. Look at the engine of this one: https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/porsche-911-rsr-42096