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Tall red piece with coffee cup, phone and gas picture?
I have a few of these taller red pieces with logos of gas, phone, and a coffee cup on them. I've been searching online for days and cannot find a gas station, store, or anything with these pieces in it. Can you help me identify the set this came in?

This brick comes from set 6393: Big Rig Truck Stop from 1987.

The official BrickLink name of this brick is 3755pb01 Brick 1 x 3 x 5 with Cup, Phone, and Water Tap Pattern

Were these pre-printed parts?  The pictures look like it is done with a sticker.

Nope, these are printed parts. There is a sticker sheet for this set, but it only contains the striping for the window panes (simulating blinds).


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Fixing a not working Power Functions L motor
Four of my PF L motors don't work. How could I make them work again? I didn't find any information about L motors, only M and XL.

Welcome to Bricks.SE.  Are they making any noise at all?  Have you tried replacing batteries?

@chicks They dont make any noise or movement ay all... and im pretty sure its not the battery box fault, as 1 L motor that works works fine on it, and stuff like IR reciever and pole switch also works fine on same battery box.

Since the basic architecture of the motors in a line (in this case PF M-L-XL) are the same, the tips you have found for the other models would most likely apply for your case as well.
Otherwise I'd recommend some basic troubleshooting steps:

Ensure you have a working battery box and cable by setting up your functioning motor. Once you have confirmed that it runs OK, you can be sure that if after swapping the motor for a broken one, the problem must be in that motor.
Check if you can turn the motor's axle manually by inserting a Technic axle and turning it by hand. It may be more comfortable if you add a gear or a wheel to get a better grip. If you can't turn it at all or only considerably harder than the working one, you should suspect some mechanical failure (e.g. broken gears inside).
If you have a multimeter, you could check if the electrical characteristics of the broken motors match those of the working one. A significantly lower resistance between the contacts is a sign of a short circuit, while a significantly higher one indicates a broken wire. With a bit of jerry-rigging you could also measure the current flowing through a motor that should be running from a battery box and comparing it to a normal motor's to see if there is too little or too much current.
You could also try opening up the motor and checking for broken or burned parts, foreign objects or debris, etc. Note, the above guide is for the M motor, but the same principles would apply for the L motor as well.

If none of the above helps, try contacting LEGO, as they would be able to provide replacement parts or further advice.

i did mention in reply that the battery box, i tried other stuff such as working ir reciever, other type pf motors like m motor, pole switch thing, they all work perfectly fine on same battery box, but broken ones don't, it is possible to turn broken ones by placing axle in it then turn. i dont know what a multimeter is. i dont know what jerry rigging is either, also one of the broken ones, when i pull a little bit on the plug end it starts working but when i release it stops agian.

A multimeter is a device for measuring (among others) electrical resistance and current. The term "jerry rigging" refers to something constructed quickly and without regard for aesthetics or future maintainability. Here I meant "Just use some wires and clips to hold everything in place to build a circuit to measure the current across the poles of the motor". If that still sounds alien to you, I'd recommend consulting an electronics tutorial or skipping this test altogether.

Based on the observations with pulling the plug end, it looks like as if it were an issue with the electrical contacts. In this case, either measuring the resistance in both relaxed and pulled states or disassembling would be helpful to diagnose the actual problem.

i did contact customer support, if im correct they said they did send a order new motors request for me and free of charge too. But i still want to have these motors working too..

That's great news! So if all works well, you'll be having brand new working motors, as well as repairing your old ones. Make sure to update us on your progress or ask if you have tried something and got stuck! Meanwhile, take the tour and visit the help center to learn more about Bricks.SE :)

Ok. repairing them i dont really know how, lego didnt ask for me to send the broken ones back.

Just try some of the steps described either here or in the other sites you have found for the M and XL motors.

I didn't notice your link to the "opening up" video before.  This was one of the videos I came across in my search and looks to contain everything one would need to fix the wire problem.  Nice find :)

Based on the information given in the question and comments, it sounds like an all too typical pinch-point wire failure.  On large electronics this is fairly easy to fix, but smaller things like PF motors are tedious and require some experience and skill.  Because of the design, the wire will be constantly bending against the motor case, or connector plug, in the exact same place over and over again.  Because the wire insulation is more flexible then the metal wire, it will stay intact while the wire inside of it has broken.  When you wiggle or push the wire to get it working again, you are smashing the broken wires back together again inside the insulation.  You might be able to determine whether this breakage is on the motor side or plug side of the wire by isolating one end while pushing/bending the other end, while plugged into battery box.
Since you have new ones coming, and they're already broken, this is a great learning opportunity if you really want to attempt a fix.  You are going to need a soldering gun/iron and some solder at the very least.
The basic wiring setup for all the PF motors is very similar.  Here are two examples of PF motors with the pinch-point area circled:

Because this is more or a raw electronics question (vs. Lego) and requires a lengthy description, I have placed a link to YouTube listing several videos on how to do this.  Any of these videos should help you because all of the insides and disassembling techniques are very similar to your L-motor.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Fixing+Lego+PF+motors
Here are some pictures of the tools recommended by Zovits and myself:

+1, that wire connection does really seem like a weak point and based on the comments, it is probably the culprit in at least that one motor.

@zovits - I hope he can figure it out.  Since they're already broken I figure, "What has he got to lose?".  Thank you for the +1, I will be returning the gesture as it's well deserved for all of the information and assistance you provided in your answer.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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LEGO Enclosure Clasp
I'm working on refining my first MOC design for a LEGO dice tower with a landing area that can also be used as storage for dice and possibly some miscellaneous other table-top gaming "goodies". To accomplish this, I've added some hinged panels to cover both the landing area and the top of the tower itself.
I've been using a fantastic online LEGO CAD system called MecaBricks. You can view the current iteration of my dice tower on the MecaBricks site (yes, I know the colors are garish). I have the design almost where I want it except for one small detail. I'd like to include a sort of "latch" or "clasp" for the cover panels so they won't come open by themselves. I'd prefer the latching mechanism to be on the interior of the landing area without taking up too much of the interior space. At the same time, it isn't a "deal-breaker" if I have to use a solution that involves a latch on the outside as that might be better in the long run.
Regardless, I'm having difficulty determining exactly how to accomplish this and could really use some recommendations. I was thinking of using one of the pin connectors that has the "towball" at the end so that it wasn't quite so "stiff" of a connection. I thought I remembered seeing a rubber piece that looks similar to the LEGO Technic Flexible Rubber Axle Connector (45590) (on BrickLink) but with a female connection that would accept the ball instead of the axle "cross", but I can't seem to find it anywhere now.
I've also looked at the Pop-Up Book Clasp Tutorial and Other Mods. A variation of the "clasp" used there may be my eventual solution, but I wanted to see if anyone had any other suggestions before I traveled too far down that road.

Since my gears were already turning to the tune of a simple ball-snap connection, I threw together this idea for one possible solution.  It obviously would need "sandwiched" into the door, and holds well enough you would likely only need one.  It's only advantage would be no pointy edges protruding from the door's edge.

The key pieces used are part# 63082, and part# 14417.  They would pretty much just replace the pieces you used in your answer.  You may already be aware, but thought I would mention if not, that some of the pieces in your build aren't available in the chosen colors.  Something to keep in mind if a physical build is in the future.

This is an excellent idea as well! I think I had it stuck in my head for some reason that the ball clasp needed to be vertical, so I gave up on that idea after I realized it was going to cause more problems (like not being able to open the doors as far due to the ball/stick getting in the way). I may give this a shot in v1.4 to see what it looks like.
As for the colors, I was picking them more b/c I personally like the purple/orange combo and online I can use whatever colors I want. ;) I'll certainly need to look at color availability (or possible part alternatives) if/when I go to build it

If I may ask one follow-up question (just because I'm curious): I definitely see the advantage to using 14417 over 3729 (the "stick" is much shorter, so it doesn't require nearly as much space), but do you think that 63082 would be superior to 3730 (the "socket" plate) for this implementation?

@G_Hosa_Phat - Either one will work, there is very little difference in the amount of grab.  Even parts of the same type in my collection varied in tightness.  The tiniest variations between molds, part age, etc. are likely the reason.  I think part# 3730 may look slightly better, but that's just an opinion.  Also, part# 14704 grabs way too much, it likely would pull the doors apart.

Well, if I ever get the opportunity to take this to build, I expect some liberal use of the Kra'gl'e, which is why I'm taking such pains to get the design "just right". I've made some "tweaks" to incorporate the ball snap latch as well as some small handles to make opening the covers easier, although I'm concerned that my design choices (the slopes that create a channel for the grips) might interfere with the ball snap. If so, I suppose I can "square" it off. (v14 - https://mecabricks.com/en/models/KZvmk7lQ2G6)

I believe I may have found a workable solution and the "best" solution based on the criteria:
I still wasn't able to find the rubber Technic connector part I wanted, so I kept looking at other connectors and how they fit together, taking special care to note how much space they would take up.
I looked more closely into the "Pop-Up Book Clasp" option (in the question), but that seemed like it would require a complete redesign of a majority of the tower (at least the landing area, anyway). The actual latches in use for that require a very specific spacing, and I couldn't achieve that with the existing layout. Not to mention, those changes would make certain "features" virtually impossible to implement as I intended.
Because the landing area is intended to double as a storage area, I wanted to keep it as clutter-free as possible, but I also want a "clean" look so it doesn't look thrown together. The piece(s) I finally came up with to implement the "latch" for the covers are  the 1x2 plate with vertical holder (60470) combined with the 1x2 plate with stick Ø3.18 (48336). I managed to conceal most of it in the design, and it should operate as expected.
I'm still open to suggestions or alternatives, and it may be a little while before I get all the LEGO I need together to actually try this as a physical build but, for now, I believe this will get me where I want to be. If you want to look at the changes, here's the link to the 3D version of my v1.3 dice tower model on MecaBricks, and here's a static screenshot.

This is a great solution which is actually being used in official LEGO sets for connections that must hold fairly strongly but still need to be able to separate (for example, the stages in the Saturn V are joined with this method). The only issue I see with the current iteration is the lack of suitable handles to grip the panels.

If you find it holds too well, I would suggest replacing part# 60470 with part# 11476. It appears that the doors rely on the sides and not the clips for alignment, so it should work just fine.  I spent a few minutes messing around with ideas when you first posted your question. I was under the impression would wanted some form of a ball snap latch so I dismissed known solutions like the one you used.  If it meets your criteria, by all means use it.  I think you can select your own answer as "the answer" if nobody else adds anything better.  Might give it a couple days though.

@JohnnyB - I would prefer a ball snap latch as I think it would work better, but everything I tried ended up causing more problems than it solved. I tried with a #3729/3730 combo, but it stuck out way too far to allow the cover to open fully (my failed attempt is viewable here - https://mecabricks.com/en/models/zOjokOnoj6Z).

@zovits - I've put LEGO sets together before, but this is my first attempt to create a "real MOC", so it's good to hear that I'm coming to similar solutions as others. I definitely need to come up with some sort of grip for opening the panels, though.

@zovits - I've updated the design with some small handles to make opening the covers easier. The one thing I'm concerned about is that my design choices (the slopes that create a sort of channel for the grips to slide into position) might interfere with the new ball snap design (per suggestions from @JohnnyB). If so, I suppose I can "square" that off and/or spread the slopes further apart. I prefer the aesthetic of as small an opening as possible, though. (v1.4 https://mecabricks.com/en/models/KZvmk7lQ2G6)

Now, I wasn't completely sure what a Dice Tower was until I looked it up, and watched only one video of this guy crafting his own. Overall, I think the concept is cool, and making your own build out of LEGO looks fun.
The design of the covers look fine to me.  I even like the so called "garish colors" and the checker-board art styled layout, which makes the overall courtyard castle theme pop.  So, I see the cool factor, and can understand if this was a one time build to be displayed on a shelf, but I don't think a one time use is the intent here.
So, the bigger question, I think we might be overlooking, is how the entire design is intended to be used.
Okay, it's a Dice Tower where we load dice thorough the top opening and retrieve the dice at the opened landing.  So, there is a fair amount of repetitive activity around the top/landing areas, but unfortunately, those two areas are exactly where this design has both pairs of suspended covers hanging about.
I know the question mainly had to do with a way to secure the moving lips of the build, but the question may be slightly premature given it use in a real world environment.
I see the use of a CAD tool to help conceptualize the build, save money etc, and you seemed ready to purchase some bricks to get to building, but I wanted to at least point out the disconnection between a virtual build, and a real life physical build, and bring some awareness here with a few well placed questions we might want to ask ourselves beforehand.
CAD Oversight Weight Factor One: Gravity's pull on an object.
So, each cover is held in place by only two hinge bricks.

Question 01:  Can the clutch ability of the hinge bricks be enough to counter the force of gravity's pull on the hanging cover's
weight?
Question 02: Is the clutch strong enough to counter the unintended knock of a hand or jerk of the wrist?
Question 03: Having a circle of players, how fun would it be to demand everyone to have robotic claw-arm precision to roll, drop, and
retrieve dice without ever jerk/knocking into the suspended lip
covers?
Question 04:  What's the aftermath of cleaning up shattered cover lip pieces all over the floor?

These are all questions to stimulate thinking, so a direct answer is not necessarily needed.
CAD Oversight Weight Factor Two: Slump support.
Even though a virtual world CAD doesn't point this out, but there may be some unintended trouble in a real life build.
The weight of the covers alone, or added external pressure from an object, like the weight of a hand, might make the lips slump at these points.

My Opinionated Conclusions:

Don't have covers at all, and lose the atheistic appeal that we've grown to love.
Get used to constantly rebuilding shattered lip covers.
LEGO Purist's Build: Make removable covers that aren't in the direct path of dice rolling fists. Something similar to the removable tops of cookie jars, or using technic pins with removable LEGO rubber bands to hold the jar lid down and in place.
LEGO Blasphemer's Hack: Keep the design as is, and Superglue everything...

Thanks SO MUCH for the detailed analysis, suggestions, and thought-provoking questions/conclusions. I had thought about some of them, but without physical bricks to test with, I've just been trying to use my intuition and "common sense" for design decisions, but obviously haven't considered all the variables. For this model, I (shamefully) had planned on making liberal use of the Kra'gl'e to keep it durable beyond a single use. I may make a variant that uses removable covers, though. The latest iteration (I keep "tweaking" the design) is here: https://mecabricks.com/en/models/KZvmk7lQ2G6

@G_Hosa_Phat - Latest iteration looks great, the notches/grips in the wall are a nice touch :)

@JohnnyB - Thanks. I'm having a lot of fun with refining this design. Some of the "concerns" addressed in this post are actually things I've thought about during this process and have done my best to mitigate/remediate (the two-part, hinged design of each cover panel was my answer to the "jerk force", as well as them being too tall). Now, of course, I have a few new ideas for v1.5 based on the questions and points made here. I'm also looking at a v2 that makes use of a removable cover, but I've got some considerations I haven't completely thought out yet for that. ;P

I've created a version with a removable cover for the landing area (https://mecabricks.com/en/models/1w2rVwkq28W). I like this version as well, although the "cool factor" of the moving covers is obviously lost by doing it this way. The nice thing about this is, because of the "retaining wall" I added inside, it doesn't necessarily require a second cover for the top of the tower. The thing I'm still trying to figure out (outside of the scope of the original question) is what "pin" to use to hold the cover in place.

Hey, G_Hosa - Please explain further what you mean with "pin" usage when referring to the lasted link..  Took me some time to grasp your new design.  I originally was thinking about a "cookie jar" design where both lids sit on top and indent inside the openings with rubber bands and pins, but this new design is more of a "bread box" drop down lid approach with long pins sticking through and eliminating the use of rubber bands completely.  I was able to glean your stop gap wall too.  Very impressive.  So, my question is, because I can't see it in my mind yet, how the pins do not line up?

@RinRio-Oki - The "pins" I'm currently using (part #32054) are lining up just fine. I'm just not sure those are the ones I want to use. My "concern" is that I've used that particular part in some retail sets before, and it can be (intentionally) difficult to pull out. It may loosen up after multiple uses, but it could be frustrating to unpin for the first 1,000 or so uses. ;)

I see know.  Yes, the black pins seem to be made from a plastic that is less malleable than the more flexible gray plastic used for other pins. Hmmm...I just looked the piece up and the official name is "Technic, Pin 3L with Friction Ridges Lengthwise and Stop Bush", so maybe it's not the color of the plastic that constitutes the force needed to pull it out, but the Friction Ridges molded into the piece. Only .02 cents on Bricklink.com.  Buy 50 get a file/x-acto knife and employ a Blasphemer's Hack.  Comes in Light Gray too, so fingers crossed that a LEGO-lobotomy isn't necessary.

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


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How to import file to Mindstorm Programmer?
I got a Mindstorm set a year ago and I stumbled across a build which looked really cool! I finished the building part then I downloaded the program file but I couldn’t import it.
I have a MacBook with ‘MINDSTORM 1.0.1 Home Edition’. So the problem is I can’t import the file (.ev3) to the application and it doesn’t allow me to.
Any suggestions how to import .ev3 file to MINDSTORM 1.0.1 Home (MacBook)?

Could you please post a screenshot or a more detailed description of the issue? Specifically the "doesn't allow me to" part would be interesting, as it could be that the file type does not match, the file itself is corrupted, or a number of other possible causes.

"Mindstorm 1.0.1" sounds very vague and could possibly be a NXT programming environment - which wouldn't take EV3 files. You may want to add as much information as possible, as @zovits said, screenshots are a good start; but also which kit you bought; if the robot you stumbled upon is from the Internet, a link to it might help too.


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What set does this large sand green roof piece belong to and what is it?
What set does this piece go to and what is it?  Thinking a castle piece?

Thank you so much!!

This part is Tower Roof W. Tiles and because its only made in 3 colors and as the other two available colors are black and lilac, this must be the sand green version. Color in the photo has a more blueish tint to it
This version is only used in two Harry Potter Hogwarts set:
4842-1: Hogwarts Castle

4867-1: Hogwarts


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What is the wall thickness of a lego brick?
Different sources show different thickness for the wall. I've seen everywhere from 1.0mm to 1.8mm. I need to know with a high degree of confidence since I'm making an aluminium lego piece of a school assignment, so my wall thickness will be smaller.  Because I only get to have one attempt, I can't try it with one piece and adjust the model for a second run.
The image below shows the dimension in question, with this drawing taken from another SE question, made by SE user Bartneck

Original source: https://bricks.stackexchange.com/a/11131

Hi Mark, the top-voted answer in the question this image came from gives the dimension of the wall of a 1x1 brick as 1.6mm, while the technical drawing this came from was actually in mm, so the wall thickness there is 1.2mm.

Considering your very specific needs, you might want to get the actual brick you're going to duplicate and use calipers to measure it exactly

The precision I need would need an anvil micrometer, which i don't have :(

According to this answer, a 1x1 brick has walls 1.6mm thick - this fits in with the base unit of 0.8mm that is used throughout all LEGO elements, as per pcantin's answer on the same question.
The 1x4 brick in the image you've included shows walls of 1.2mm, while a similar drawing on bartneck's site for the 1x4 Technic Brick with Holes shows a wall thickness of 1.5mm, which is closer to the expected 1.6mm. Curiously the Stud diameter is exactly as expected at 4.8mm.


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What is Rebuild The World?
I've been seeing a lot about this new thing called "Rebuild The World". I tried figuring out what it was, but I couldn't. What is it?

Can't figure it out either. I think it's just a slogan, an empty box

Don't think much has actually been revealed yet, just some teasers

It's "a campaign to help nurture the creative skills of the next generation", launched by LEGO on September 17, 2019.
From the LEGO website:

Today, the LEGO Group and musician Mark Ronson launch Rebuild The World, a campaign to help nurture the creative skills of the next generation.
Over 100 children will meet Mark and other inspiring figures, such as 19-year-old David Aguilar, who built several prosthetic arms from LEGO® elements, at the LEGO House, Billund, to explore the infinite potential of creativity. Their imaginations will also be fired up in a series of workshops, where they’ll be challenged to rebuild the world they see around them.
“My whole career has been about working with brilliant, creative people and seeing where our imaginations take us. Rebuild The World, is a wonderful opportunity to help inspire the next generation of creators who will come up with their own ideas to shape the future of everything from the way we live to the music we listen to,” explains Mark Ronson.
The LEGO Group believes that every child is born with incredible creative problem-solving capabilities, but we need to act now to nurture that creativity so that it can become a lifelong skill, as the future depends on it.
Inspiring creativity is more critical and urgent than ever. The World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report places creative problem solving in the top three skills the job market will require from 2020. Imaginative play helps children learn how to innovate, problem solve and think critically throughout their lives.
Mark Ronson will also be joined by representatives from other creative fields to discuss why it’s more important than ever to help nurture creativity as a key skill so that the builders of tomorrow can succeed in an ever-changing world.
Julia Goldin, Chief Marketing Officer, The LEGO Group, said: “Rebuild The World is all about seeing where imagination takes us and celebrating the natural creativity of children. We want to encourage kids around the world to develop and retain these skills as they grow older. With this campaign, we want to inspire people of all ages to play and unleash their creativity to create a world of infinite possibilities.”
Meanwhile, British designer and inventor Dominic Wilcox will lead a series of Rebuilder Workshops on the 17th September. He, along with two other creatives, will challenge kids to reimagine iconic landmarks, invent new gadgets and solve everyday problems – all with LEGO bricks. Other LEGO professionals will lend a hand, helping the kids bring their incredible ideas to life.
“Who knows what will come out of today… a house with a hot air balloon for a roof?  A car with long legs to jump over the traffic ahead? No one sees the world quite like children so we’re excited to see what they come up with,” says Dominic Wilcox.
Kids around the world can also take part by sharing their creations on the LEGO Life app or by visiting www.lego.com/rebuild-the-world-challenge
The LEGO system has long been the ultimate platform for creative expression and creative problem solving. Children don’t just imagine what to build, they can build and rebuild. Experiment. Fail. Break the rules. Fail and Try again… This is the cycle of human creativity and the essence of the LEGO System in Play.
Now, we’re going even further. Through Rebuild The World, we want to inspire children to unleash their creativity, join the Rebuild The World challenge and rebuild a world of endless possibilities for real.  Learn more by visiting www.lego.com/rebuild-the-world
About the campaign
Rebuild The World is a fully integrated global campaign which will be featured across a variety of channels including TV, digital, cinemas and out of home. The LEGO Group will also be hosting a series of high profile public events in cities around the where children and grown-ups will be invited to build and rebuild with LEGO bricks to make the world a little brighter. This includes using LEGO bricks to complete a giant heart on the side of the East Side Gallery in Berlin www.LEGOnewsroom.de
The campaign was created by the LEGO Group’s internal agency with BETC Paris and the film was directed by the multi award-winning Traktor collective. It’s a fun-filled adventure that follows the chase between a clever rabbit and an unlucky hunter and unfolds in the kind of world that only LEGO play could create. Every character, animal and vehicle is based on an existing or past LEGO toy, so heads spin 360 degrees, everyday objects are outsized, and a boat can suddenly fly with a little help from a palm tree.


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Does everything produced by The LEGO Group count as "LEGO pieces"?
I'm wondering if things like LEGO store plastic bags, LEGO boxes, instruction booklets, packaging etc., count as "LEGO pieces" if I incorporate them into a build for the purposes of posting as a purist LEGO MOC?

Even though this is an interesting question with interesting possible answers, it is still sadly the textbook definition of "primarily opinion-based", as there is no official definition of the term.

Question could be reformulated so it's less opinion-based, e.g. What stuff produced be lego but not technically considered  a lego element can be used in builds ?

There is no official answer on this, as “purist” LEGO is a consensus, not a definition. That said, there are several examples of pieces LEGO doesn’t classify as a part that are used in MOCs, such as:

The pin used to keep bundles of 4 train tracks together.

This Technic hub piece was never originally intended for standalone use (it was part of a pin joiner) but has been used by MOCcers due to having antistuds on both sides (within a 1x1 brick footprint). It was later used as a standalone piece in official sets before being replaced with a new design.

The iconic brick separator is not intended as a regular LEGO piece, but has a whole class of MOCs based on it. I have seen it used as railway station roofs, spaceship wings etc.

Net, I think the general consensus is that if it has been produced by LEGO and you can find a way to incorporate it into a MOC, your creation is still considered “purist”. At the least it gives you good arguments for any debate that might arise.
Curious to see how you will incorporate shopping bags in a MOC ... I can imagine one being used in a rather large scale MOC where you utilize the LEGO logo on it as part of a display.

Well, atm Lego shopping bags are the only way to store liquids or gases, or making airfoils of customizable designs while being "pure Lego". This may be pushing the limits for a bit.

Not correct, pneumatic tanks can be used to store liquids or gasses: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=67c01#T=C&C=1

I used the track pin in a MOC myself

@Michael Verschaeve Well I mean a large amount, as a shopping bag can hold at least a few liters but those only store like 100mL.

FYI: I don't know about early sets, but later the Technic hub was used as an individual piece in official sets.

Another Lego byproduct that gets reused from time to time are "sprues".
Some elements are moulded by having channels directing the plastic to the various part of the element. The remnant plastic in these channels is called the sprue (confusingly the channels themselves are called the sprue as well)
Some Lego elements are provided with a sprue still attached.
Two examples come to mind:
The sprue of this plant element

is often used as vines

And the magic wand elements from the Harry Potter series also come with a sprue, here is an example of them used as a decorative element in a wall

More uses of the Harry Potter magic wand sprue can be found here:
http://www.newelementary.com/2018/08/how-to-use-lego-harry-potter-wand-sprue.html


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Detect distances over 255cm with EV3 ultrasonic sensor?
In my use case, I have to detect things about 3-4 meters. I don't need to be accurate, +-2 or 3cm is enough. The EV3-G and most other places have a max distance of 255cm, which I understand that it is a protocol limitation.
But is there a software solution, e.g. controlling send/receive with software and calculate on the main brick? Best if it is in the form of EV3-G custom blocks.

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

Well can I manually tell the sensor to send a pulse?

I'm not sure what you mean, but there is an "Advanced" mode of the sensor that takes a single reading instead of measuring continuously. This mode is intended to prevent multiple ultrasonic sensors from interfering with each other.

As distancing is just measuring the time between the emitted pulse and reflected pulse, can we use the main EV3 brick to emulate the on board weaker chip?

No, that is not possible.

@he77789 According to the EV3 Hardware Development Kit, the ultrasonic sensor has a small 8-bit controller inside which communicates over UART with the EV3. This is probably where the limitation of 255cm comes from: 8-bits cannot represent numbers larger than 255. And since the controller is physically between the EV3 and the sensor hardware, the EV3 can't ping the sensor manually.

Well there is a "listen" mode. This means the controller can have multiple modes. Is there a list of commands or something similar to check if you can tell the controller to send a pulse?

http://docs.ev3dev.org/projects/lego-linux-drivers/en/ev3dev-stretch/sensor_data.html#lego-ev3-us


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Has LEGO ever released a police/law enforcement-themed minidoll?
Has LEGO ever released a set with a minidoll portraying a female in a law enforcement career role? I was able to, without much difficulty, modify a CITY police car to seat minidolls, but it is missing someone to drive around Heartlake City and bust drunk drivers and pet abusers.
I've looked at the now-discontinued DC Super Hero Girls (as the equivalent DC Super Heros line has included cop minifigures with some Batman sets), but didn't find anything. I also identified the LEGO Movie 2 figure Sweet Mayhem as an option,
 (Image credit: https://sg.carousell.com/p/po-lego-70830-lego-movie-2-sweet-mayhem-minifigure-doll-tlm116-210508801/ , no relationship)
but in reality she seems to be more of the military aviator type, and in any event does not have anything resembling a badge.

Olivia's mother Laura is a glaring omission in the reboot sets we've seen so far. I really hope they add a minidoll of her soon.

Couldn't find specific police officer digs, but we can cobble one together until LEGO makes one, cough, official...
We're using the following two images as visual templates to see what we kinda want our finished product to look like.
Note: Police hat vs. Equestrian hat.  We can only choose one.

The Part Recipe List:

Part# 92254pb01 - Mini Doll, Hair Combo, Hair with Hat, Long Ponytail, Side Bangs, Hole
in Back with Black Horse Riding Helmet Pattern.

Part# 15530pb01 - Minifigure, Headgear Hat, Police with Gold Badge (printed) Pattern.

Part# 36904 - Mini Doll, Head Friends with Sand Blue Eyes, Red Lips and Smirk
Pattern.

Part# FTMpb003c01 - Torso Mini Doll Friends Bright Light Blue Polo Shirt with Dark Blue
Sailboat Pattern, Light Flesh Arms with Hands with Bright Light Blue
Short Sleeves Pattern.

Part# 61482 - Minifigure, Utensil Handcuffs.

 Part# 3069bpb260 - Tile 1 x 2 with Groove with Silver Police Badge with '2101' and ID Pattern.

Part # 92253c00pb41 - Mini Doll Friends Hips and Trousers with Back Pockets with Sand Green
Vertical Stripes and Light Flesh Feet Pattern.

Part# 92253c00pb05 - Mini Doll Friends Hips and Trousers with Back
Pockets with Tan Shoes Pattern.

Nice, I'd love to see the result of all parts together.

For the torso, the pilot one might work nicely too


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EV3 software crashes when coding color sensor switch, how can I fix this?
When students use the switch block to program the color sensor on their Chromebooks, the app crashes. We have all accessibilities turned off and the OS is fully updated. What other troubleshooting steps can we take?

Have you contacted LEGO technical support?

Does the application generate any log or dump files that could be analyzed?

It seems like you are no longer active, so we might have to close your question since you won't send necessary info. You don't show the program. You don't tell when exactly the app crashes. You don't send any dump files. Etc. Your question is too broad

Leaving the question like this, we will just have to guess what code you wrote and see what happens. All we know is that it involved a switch and a color sensor. Chromebooks usually make different file types than the EV3 software on any other computer.


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Can the EV3 software program switch block take inputs?
Is it possible to input values into a switch block? For example, if I have a move steering block in switch statement, can I input a value for power from a math block outside the switch statement? If I have a move steering block inside a switch, it looks like all I can do is set the slider value.

Yes, it is possible to connect data wires from outside switch blocks and loop block to inside of them. Note: Switch blocks must be switched to the tabbed view by clicking on the  icon. Then just drag the output data wire from the math block to the input of the steering block the same as if the switch block was not there.

Thanks Dave, the trick I was missing was that you need to be in tabbed view, it can't be done in flat view, correct?

Yes, that does seem to be the case. Thanks for pointing that out. I will update my answer.


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Is it possible to use multiple IR beacons on different channels to control EV3?
One IR beacon has very few buttons and I would like to buy additional beacons and use them simultaneously to be able to control more channels.
I can't find any information if this setup will work. Can anyone provide references or maybe from the own experience if multiple IR beacons can be used?
I don't want to buy them and then figure out that only one can be used at a time.

Yes, it is possible to use up to 4 beacons at the same time since there are 4 selectable infrared signal channels.
Also, the 8885 LEGO® Power Functions IR Remote Control is compatible with the EV3 Infrared Sensor if you have one of those already (it only has up down rocker switches and no beacon button, so it is not an exact replacement).
Other LEGO remote controls are not compatible.


text:
Minecraft The Nether 21106 microworld set bags?
Can anyone tell me how many plastic pouches come in this set? My box has five plastic bags and two instruction books. And also one long orange piece separately. I'm trying to find out if I am missing any pouches before I open them.

Welcome to Bricks.SE!

Based on the brickset review the set contains 5 bags an 2 instructions  and 1 loose brick separator (see photo of the box), so I think you have the complete set


text:
Anyone familiar with "consets"?
I just saw a Facebook ad for consets.com.
They claim to do a "warehouse clearance", "today only" of genuine LEGO,
Their prices are suspiciously low, though, even for "bootLego" / "fake Lego" standards.
May I presume these are scammers?

If you see steep discounts on many LEGO sets, it's a scam.
LEGO and their retail partners rarely discounts their products to 50% or more, and when they do it's rarely on current products. A site offering such steep discounts on a large variety of current products simply isn't credible.
You might find substantial discounts on knockoff brand sets, but if they present them as genuine branded LEGO products (with the LEGO logo), that's clearly still a scam.
Yes, con sets lives up to the name, it's a phishing scam.
If you try to make an order (using fake data!) you will find a page on the website asking you to enter your credit card information.

This payment information does not go through a 3rd party payment processing website (those images mean nothing), they expect you to enter your credit card information directly into their system.
Very few legitimate merchants are allowed to collect credit card information directly, because it's difficult and expensive to secure the data and pass the necessary security audits.
Not only will you not get the products, your payment information will be used by criminals.
Known issue.
On a side note many LEGO fan communities and LEGO themselves are aware of these scams and they've been going on for some time (no doubt they will ramp up for Black Friday). Unfortunately between the shell games these scammers play* and Facebook's general inaction against malicious and dishonest advertisers they will probably continue.
* Often the advertising targets a specific region with a unique domain for that region, and if you visit the website from an IP address outside that targeted region you will see a generic clothing shopping site (in an effort to evade detection).

Great answer, I usually report those Ads to the social media website owned by Mark but that seems to be useless, FB doesn't give a flying fudge about it.

@HenriquedeSousa Why would they do anything about it (otherwise than continuing to show them), they get advertising income from those ads :)

Yes you may. These scam sites pop up daily, especially around the holidays.


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Which part is this grey circular piece?

Hello all, the base of the gun barrel, does anyone know which part is it?

This is called Middle Ring, or with the Bricklink terminology "Light Bluish Gray Technic Driving Ring Extension":

You can buy it here on Bricklink.


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Can someone help me identify this glitter dark-blue Mega Bloks part and possible sets it's in?
I need help identifying the following part please?
It has AM 16956 4 printed on it, in addition to the Mega Bloks logo.

Do you have pictures of the piece at other angles? My first thought would be that this is not a lego element.

@MichaelVerschaeve You're right, the second picture shows that it's a MEGABLOKS piece...

Clone brands (of LEGO) are not well enough indexed online that we can really answer the second question in the title.

Set #96845 Covenant Brute Chopper.
Build instructions HERE.


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Can you please identify this set?
I got this set but it is missing pieces and I am trying to figure out which set it is.  Can you help please?

I’m pretty sure that rc car was in a lego advent calendar a couple of years ago.

Looking up all sets that have this piece in tan, had me guessing at Set #5771-1 Hillside House.

EDIT:  At least two maybe a third set...

Looking at white fence in upper right corner of 2nd pic.
Set #3938 Andrea's Bunny House.

Again looking at that upper right hand corner of 2nd pic.
I spy with my little eye a tan cone that is not in the previous sets.
Set #Set 3937 Olivia's Speedboat.

Possible 4th???

Thank you Sir.  Great help

You can see the raised green yard area in the pictures.

Looks like the possibility of more sets.  My initial search was for the white fence in the upper right hand corner of the 2nd picture.  Got back too many results, so I moved on the the tan window, but...  there is no fence piece in the Hillside House set, nor is there a tan cone... Let's search some more...

It's not fair that you keep adding valuable observations, but I can't keep adding +1s :)

Hey Z, I think there's a forth! I saw the r/c car in set earlier,  but now I can't find it...

The previous three sets came out around 2011-12, so I looking at sets release in those years for the 4th set...


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Can you please help identify this light-green and gold set?
Can you guys please help me identify this set, looks like some Ninjago set, but that is as far as I can get.

Set #70612 Green Ninja Mech Dragon.
The color, sand green, doesn't come up often in sets.  Cross search a very unique piece in this off color, to get a short list of potential hits, then zone in.


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Buying specific part variant on BrickLink
I've ordered a lot of pieces (at least a lot for me) on BrickLink, among them a bunch of "3794b - Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud with Groove (Jumper)". Instead of that variant, I received "15573 - Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud with Groove and Bottom Stud Holder (Jumper)".
I've checked the order again, and the description for that piece reads "Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud with Groove (Jumper) We do not differentiate between 3794, 3794a, 3794b and 15573!". I missed that part, so I know this is at least partially my fault (it's not too bad though, my MOC will still work, but if I had needed 15573 and gotten 3794b it might not have).
So my question is, is this just another thing I have to look out for, or is this a really bad practice and should not happen on BrickLink?

How does having this one version of the part make a difference in your project?

@chicks In my moc it doesn't (so it's a question for future orders), but for example this construction is only possible with part 15573: https://i.imgur.com/LgjzV69.png

I'd say this is something to look out for when dealing with a part that BrinkLink itself notes is very similar to other part numbers.  Reading the detailed notes about buying sets is more important than parts generally.  I'd read a bit more closely about the stated condition of used parts than new parts.
I've made a few dozen orders on BrickLink over the years and I haven't run into this exact situation.  Yet any issues I've had have been easily resolved by contacting the seller.  I wouldn't pester the folks that say they treat them all as the same part, but you can probably find somebody out there who will give you exactly what you want.  Find another seller, read to make sure they don't have a similar warning, and drop them a note to make sure everybody is on the same page.

Okay, I will watch out for this aswell on future orders. Thank you.

There are various cases and some shops tend to have quite relaxed rules for what they sell in terms of part variation or used brick policy (basically how much brick is used to be considered acceptable for sale by that particular shop).
In your particular case the warning you mentioned was stated in that particular shop's Terms & Conditions. You had to read it before accepting these terms. And I advise you to do so every time, as there may be specific details explained. Like, used part quality policy, additional fees, returns policy, and so on.

Actually that wasn't the case (I do read the Terms&Conditions quite thoroughly, and I would have spotted it there). The text I quoted above replaced the (default) part description in the list of parts I wanted to order. So it means on future orders I have to check the descriptions of all items to see if they are just the default or if there is something added/replaced.

Here's an image from BrickLink for the catalog item 15573:

It seems clear to me that 15573 and 3794 are different parts.
Not distinguishing between them I would consider lazy, if not bad practice.
Wouldn't bother starting an argument with that store, as they basically did warn you, but I'd blacklist the store for future purchases.

On a superficial level, the functionality is the same - two studs below with single stud in the middle. But some users find the differentiation important.
At the very least, the seller's stock should be split into Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud, Jumper (Undetermined Bottom Type) which makes it clear no differentiation has been made, and Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud with Groove and Bottom Stud Holder (Jumper), which even LEGO thinks is different.

Items for sale which do not comply with the Item Listing Policy can be reported on the Problem Item For Sale page.

You can report a problem BrickLink listing as "item is listed under the wrong catalog entry", a reason that isn't forbidden by the Item Listing Policy, but seems to be implicitly forbidden by existence on the list of problems.


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Question about compliance of LEGO videos on Youtube and the new COPPA rules
I make some LEGO videos and post them on Youtube. I'm wondering whether I should flag them as "for kids" or not. Most (if not all) of them are not intended to be specifically for kids, but for all people. They are mostly videos of my MOCs. According to my interpretation of Jangbricks's video on the subject, all LEGO videos (LEGO being a toy) should be flagged as "for kids". Is my interpretation correct? What should I do? Any answers are appreciated.

IANAL - but it would seem that yes, you would have to label them as "for kids". Sadly YouTube doesn't seem to offer any additional ratings beyond "18+", so you can't even add any additional gradients to it. I'm wondering whether official South Park or Adult Swim content will also have to be marked as "For Kids" as they include "characters, celebrities or toys that appeal to children, including animated characters or cartoon figures"...

I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it's not about LEGO, but about Youtube rules and law interpretation. I'd suggest asking this question on Law Stack Exchange.

@zovitssupportsGoFundMonica OK, that's fine.

For the time being, it would be smart practice to mark any videos related to LEGO as "for kids," even if that is not your target audience. At the current moment, we know very little about what quantifies as "for kids," but "toys that appeal to children" most definitely includes LEGO. I suspect that we will learn more in the coming months as literally millions of YouTubers try to figure out what their content should be categorized under. At the moment, the risk is simply not worth it. Video deletion, Channel termination, and being fined large amounts of money are all possible if I read everything correctly. With that all said, I am not a lawyer, so I highly recommend you go ask the folks over at the Law Stack Exchange.

I'd rather say it's not worth the risk marking anything as "for kids" unless you're certain that under whatever the law and its interpretation by google turn out to be it's indeed "safe for children".

@jwenting I disagree. The risk is in marking it as "not for kids" and then the FTC deems that it should be marked "for kids." This could result in possible channel termination or substantial fines up to 43 thousand dollars per video. Of course, there are downsides to marking your video as "for kids," no comments, no likes, not searchable, no notifications, -90% revenue, no endscreens, etc. But those are just negatives. The actual "risk" lies in marking it as "for kids" and the FTC decides you were wrong.

Not really. The risk is marking something "for kids" that is deemed to be "offensive" or "violent" or "otherwise inappropriate for children" and therefore in violation of COPPA. It's never wrong to be overly cautious and disallow access to children, but one slipup and a child may see something someone deems "inappropriate" and you're in all kind of trouble. It's the same with movies and television programs.

@jwenting "Kids seeing something inappropriate" has absolutely nothing to do with COPPA. COPPA protects children's information from being gathered. YouTube thought they were fine because they require everyone to be 13 years old to sign up on YouTube, but they still got fined 170 million dollars for violating the law. Why? Well, the FTC saw that YouTube clearly knew that children were on their platform, since there is a lot of content that is made specifically for children. YouTube collects data about their users, and since YouTube was aware that some of those users were kids, they were fined.

@jwenting Furthermore, if you mark a video as "for kids" no data about the users will be collected, as it is illegal, under COPPA, to collect data about children. On the other hand, if you mark a video as "not for kids" YouTube will collect data about the viewers. If the FTC deems that you marked your video incorrectly, you can be fined large amounts of money, since you allowed a child's data to be collected. COPPA does not have anything to do with what is "appropriate" for children. It's protecting children's data from being collected.


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Does LEGO no longer support NXT 2.0 at all?
I am running Mac OS X 10.15 (Catalina) and the EV3 software can't detect my NXT 2.0 using USB.

Is there any new on this issue - and is there any way to do graphical / scratch programming on NXT bricks with Mac OS Big Sur og Windows 10.

LEGO officially stopped supporting NXT in 2015, however, as of 2019, the original NXT programming software is still available on the official LEGO MINDSTORMS web page.
The original NXT programming software and EV3 desktop programming software are both 32-bit, so cannot run on macOS 10.15 or later.
The new EV3 programming software based on Scratch does not work with NXT. So the only way to program NXT on macOS 10.15 is with 3rd party software such as NXC/NQC or leJOS or by installing a macOS or Windows virtual machine to run the old desktop software.

The NXT is no longer for sale by Lego, and I don't think they offer technical support for the NXT platform anymore. However, the EV3 software does support NXT. If you can't connect the software to the brick, it might be a driver issue. You can download the official NXT "Fantom" driver from the downloads page of the Mindstorms website - just scroll down until you see the "NXT Software Download" section. Alternatively, you could just download and install the full NXT 2.0 software package from that same source - that's probably your best bet to get things working.

EV3 Classroom is supposed to work with the NXT brick.
https://education.lego.com/en-us/downloads/mindstorms-ev3/software

NXT ultrasonic sensor is NOT recognised by EV3 Classroom, apparently? I can only use EV3 ultrasonic sensors :-(


text:
Where do I get PDF instructions for LEGO builds that were only in software, like NXT as of 2019?
LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 (8547) stored almost all of its build instructions in the associated software. LEGO no longer supports the software for modern macOS versions. I can not find build instructions for the software-based 8547 builds (the ones not in the instruction booklets). Does anyone know where I can get them?

Possible duplicate of Where do I find Mindstorms building plans?

The question is a duplicate but the answer on question page now links to https://www.lego.com/en-us/themes/mindstorms?domainredir=mindstorms.lego.com which is the product page for EV3

The NXT 2.0 software can be found at https://www.lego.com/nl-nl/themes/mindstorms/downloads although it won't install.
But if you already have the software installed and it stopped working you can find the instructions under this path: C:\Users\[Username]\Documents\LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT\engine\EditorVIs\Academy Content\activities\instructions.
In this folder, you'll find all instructions that the software includes as .jpg files.
For now, this is the only thing I have for you.
I hope it is what you're looking for.
If you don't have this, let me know which instruction you need.
Maybe I can upload it here.


text:
How do you make your own LEGO instructions?
As per the title, how can I make my own LEGO instructions?

Use LDD. LDD is a free program made by LEGO that enables you to build LEGO creations digitally, and it automatically can produce instructions for whatever you build. The main downsides are that it's very hard to use and the selection of pieces is not amazing, and that it is no longer being updated by LEGO. I use this program. Another option is to use stud.io. I don't know very much about it, but what I know is that it's a program made by BrickLink, and you can make your own designs for stuff and buy them off of bricklink.


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Why do Technic beams have an odd number of holes?
Why do LEGO Technic beams tend to have an odd numbers of holes?
Is it for making it suitable for designing models? Or does the owner of The LEGO Group love either odd or even numbers?

It's to make them fit with the original Technic bricks which have an even number of studs and the holes go in-between.


text:
Is anyone able to identify these two pieces?
I'm struggling to identify these two parts. I have searched all parts on Rebrickable, but without any luck. Is someone out there able to help me?

These are Skeleton Arm #4:

and Skeleton Leg:

Mostly from Minecraft sets.


text:
Can you change the sensitivity of an EV3 Touch Sensor?
My son is making a LEGO pinball machine and is wondering if it is possible to increase the sensitivity of an Ev3 Touch Sensor as when a ball hits it?  Or does he need to use Color Sensors?

When you say "increase the sensitivity of an EV3 touch sensor" do you mean that it is not activated as it is, since the ball is too light and / or too slow to push the sensor button? If yes, then maybe the design of the pressure plate could be updated to utilize more leverage, but we could only know that if you could post a picture of the current setup.

It is not possible to increase the sensitivity of the touch sensor in-programming. Generally, you can use a lever to decrease the amount of force required.

Here the "load" is the touch sensor button, the "effort" is the ball hitting the lever, and the beam is a lego beam.
If the ball you're using is too light, you still probably won't be able to depress the touch sensor, regardless of how long the lever is. You can experiment with a heavier ball and a lever arm to try to get it working.
If you can't get a mechanical solution working, or if it is required that the ball is only detected when it hits a small target, a light/color sensor might be the next thing to try.
Side note, I think it's really great you're helping your son with his project. Feel free to post back here if you have more questions!


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What are these parts? Building Tip: Traffic Light Lego Creator
This look like a sturdy well designed set of traffic lights by LEGO. The constructing video links are below.
Unfortunately LEGO didn't provide the part details. I am no expert, can anyone help?
On the image I've put numbers next to unique parts. If you only know a few all good, we can collate them into a final list.
https://www.lego.com/en-us/kids/videos/creator/building-tip-traffic-light-252f2b716b40469a86f8688e5c8cad91
https://www.lego.com/en-us/kids/videos/creator-252f2b716b40469a86f8688e5c8cad91

01 - Part #6003 - Plate, Round Corner 6 x 6.

[Color] Dark Bluish Grey.

02 - Part #3795 - Plate 2 x 6.

[Color] Dark Bluish Grey.

03 - Part #3700 Technic, Brick 1 x 2 with Hole.

[Color] Black.

04 - Part #60897 - Plate, Modified 1 x 1 with Clip Vertical - Type 4 (thick open O clip).

[Color] Black.

05 - Part #3024 - Plate 1 x 1.

[Color] Black.

06 - Part # 98138 - Tile, Round 1 x 1.

[Colors] Trans-Red, Trans-Yellow, and Trans-Green.

07 - Part #3069b - Tile 1 x 2 with Groove.

[Color] Black.

08 - Part #2431 - Tile 1 x 4.

[Color] Light Bluish Grey.

09 - Part #14418 - Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Small Towball Socket on End.

[Color] Light Bluish Grey.

10 - Part #60474 - Plate, Round 4 x 4 with Hole.

[Color] Light Bluish Grey.

11 - Part #3941 - Brick, Round 2 x 2 with Axle Hole.

[Color] Light Bluish Grey.

12 - Part #32062 - Technic, Axle 2 Notched.

[Color] Red.

13 - Part #6628 - Technic, Pin with Friction Ridges Lengthwise and Towball.

[Color] Black.

14 - Part #4519 - Technic, Axle 3.

[Color] Light Bluish Grey.

15 - Part #32073 - Technic, Axle 5.

[Color] Light Bluish Grey.

16 - Part #60485 - Technic, Axle 9.

[Color] Light Bluish Grey.

17 - Part #32034 - Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #2 - 180 degrees.

[Color] Light Bluish Grey.

18 - Part #32014 - Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Angled #6 - 90 degrees.

[Color] Light Bluish Grey.

19 - Part #60187 - Hose, Rigid 3mm D. 4L / 3.2cm.

[Color] Light Bluish Grey.

20 - Part #4274 - Technic, Pin 1/2.

[Color] Light Bluish Grey.

21 - Part #32039 - Technic, Axle Connector with Axle Hole.

[Color] Light Bluish Grey.

22 - Part #59443 - Technic, Axle Connector 2L (Smooth with x Hole + Orientation).

[Color] Light Bluish Grey.

NEW!

FAST'N'Fuss-less download option:
If anyone is planning to purchase said pieces, I've amassed a LXF file with all the parts.
Just download the file to your system, go to Bricklink.com, create a new wanted list, and from there drag and drop this file.
BOOM! You're ready to buy your pieces.

You smashed it one! Thank you so much

You made it even easier thank you again!


text:
Anyone knows this piece with a clip and a pin hole?
Does anyone know what this piece is?

This is the so-called Bad Robot Arm, introduced with the Exo-Force theme but used since then:


text:
Double linear actuator boom movement
The following Technic sets

8043 (Motorized excavator)
42009 (Mobile crane)
42082 (Rough terrain crane)
42110 (Liebherr)

and likely a couple of more have a double set of linear actuators to move the boom.

For all these models, rotation is administered simultaneously on the gears of the linear actuators through bevel gears that are symmetrically placed.

I've been told that the symmetrical placement of the bevel gears is problematic. The reasoning being that as the boom moves up or down, additional rotation is placed on the linear actuator gears, but in opposite direction, causing one LA to slightly retract while the other to slightly extend, causing torsion on the boom. Hence it would be better to place the bevel gears asymmetrical.
My questions:

Is the reasoning wrong? (I think not)
If the reasoning is correct,
why are the Lego designers seemingly not aware of this and haven't they
addressed this in later Technic sets ?

Is the reasoning wrong?

Most probably it is not wrong, but its effect is small enough to be negligible (at least compared to other factors, like ensuring an error-free building experience). In serious engineering applications this effect would certainly have to be taken into account.

why are the Lego designers seemingly not aware of this and haven't they addressed this in later technic sets?

I took a look at my copy of the Bucket Wheel Excavator, and found that there is a minuscule difference in the angle of the double linear actuators between the highest and lowest boom elevation configurations:

I don't have the relevant values right now, but I'd guess this angle of rotation does not result in a measurable difference in the lenghts of the two actuators. Or if it does, it is certainly absorbed by the flexibility of the structure without causing any harmful amounts of stress.
I think the same applies for the other such sets as well, but I'd welcome anyone providing data to either confirm or disprove this theory.

mkay, looking at the black gear in the back, I estimate the angle difference about 1,5 tooth on 20 tooth bevel gear, so 27 degrees.
This gets geared up with 22/12 so 49,5 degrees. The LA gears go in different direction so a total difference of 99 degrees
Asuming Sariels measurements of 26,5 rotations for an extension of 5 studs also apply to the new LA I get 5*99/360/26,5 = 0,052 studs or 0,41 mm difference.
So yes, negligible. However, why can't Lego get it 'right'? I don't think ease of building is an argument here.I think Lego has the educational obligation to teach this stuff correct.

Thanks for doing the research and math part :) The question "However, why can't Lego get it 'right'?" is, however, definitely out of scope for Bricks.SE, but one could always ask TLG directly.


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Help Me Identify This Brick / Bracket
I'm trying to recreate the building in the picture (Berghain by Matteo Plateroti), but I'm having trouble finding what bricks, tiles, or brackets were used at the bottom layer with white stripes.
I assume those are 1x2 tiles at the front but what are they attached to?
Close-up (cut from a larger resolution image):

Picture little blurry, but this is what I see...  The builder attached the tiles to Part Number Forty-Seventy.
Part #4864a, the (black) window piece is really trans-black in color, but the way it's used here, with it being reversed and all, obstructs the proper identity of the white 1x1 bricks, causing some viewing tricks on the eyes...

Thank you so much for this! Really appreciate it.

Welcome to Bricks.SE! The picture is a bit of an eye-chart, but upon zooming in you can see that the white lines (and the grey lines in other pillars) are half a plate high. This means they are likely the vertical part of a white 99780 Bracket 1x2 - 1x2 Inverted or 99207 Bracket 1x2 - 2x2 Inverted, placed vertically facing down against the back structure of the building.


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What kind of software can I use to design LEGO MOCs?
What kind of software can I use to design LEGO MOCs? I hear the LDD is not so good to use so is there alternative software I can use?

See also LEGO Digital Designer Alternatives for an original list.

A popular alternative is stud.io, provided by Bricklink.
Another possibility mentioned by Alex in the comments is LDCad.

Just to add to this, stud.io is the typical go-to software these days. LDD is (in my opinion) simpler to use, but has pretty much been abandoned by Lego at this point. Both softwares are liable to change now that Lego owns BrickLink.

thank you for your answer! do you know if it is possible also to work in stud.io with other 3d-files or only with bricks that are pre-integrated? So if i would have designed new bricks could i use them too?

I would suggest adding LDCad as an option. It was a go to software prior Stud.io for those who prefer LDraw parts. However it is still quite good. Although might be preffered by people with more challenging requirements.

@fabian I don't know if stud.io supports custom pieces, but LDraw certainly does.

I generally agree with both Alex and MindS1, but overall, I think the initial question might fall into a realm of too many varied opinions to be able to choose just one program. If someone was building a shed in real life, how can someone say that the best tool to use is a hammer? How does one cut wood with a hammer? how does one strike nails with a saw?  I've used LDD for years, so LDD is my main go to, but I use other software also to perform tasks LDD can't do. I think the original question could be re-worded differently by asking, "What program do you use, and most importantly explain why?

@RinRio-Oki Asking which one is the best would certainly be opinion based. But OP is simply asking about alternatives, and so the question can be answered objectively.

@  zovits supports GoFundMonica Fair enough.

In the comments you asked,

...do you know if it is possible also to work in stud.io with other
  3d-files or only with bricks that are pre-integrated? So if i would
  have designed new bricks could i use them too?...

Looks like Brinklink also offers a tweak program to make custom bricks called PartDesigner, that's able to export right into Stud.io.  I've never used it, but it might be promising to you.

The kinds of software used to design LEGO MOC doesn't necessarily have to be solely confined to Computer Aided Design programs.
We can get really creative and exploit functions of programs never intended to be used for MOC bricking.
Enter: Adobe Photoshop - PS's main role is a visual graphic editor, but it does something strange if an image is magnified past 400%.  PS breaks the image down into nice square shaped pixels. Perfect for making LEGO MOCs.
I use the PS squares created in two main ways:

1) Top View pixel creation - Where the scale is a perfect 1:1.
2) Side View pixel creation - Where two 1x1 plates stacked on top each
other, almost equaling a PS square.
Note: A 2x2 plate stacked on a 2x2 brick makes a nice a square also,
but this will increase the size of our creation.

Well, anyway, the magnifying function is clearly not intended to brick out an outline, but it works well here.
I'm sure there are many other methods within and outside this specific graphic program to aid us in our build.  PS does has a pixelation filter, and outside the program there are LEGO mosaic makers, but this interesting quirk breaks a solid image into pieces, where with minimum time and effort, a more precise stud length can be quickly counted out.
Speaking of counting, it will also help to know your LEGO Math here.  So, when using Side View, 3 Plates = 1 Brick.  Pixels of the same color can be group and merged into money saving bricks.
Here are two examples of Top View.

Below is an example of one Side View pixel method I'm currently working on.


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Does anyone know what these gold and dark green pieces make?
I have these LEGO pieces and I don't know what they go to.

Looks like Set #70503 - The Golden Dragon.

I looked up this unique modified 2x2 brick to get a short list
of possible sets.

Visually, looked at the yellow/gold color scheme of the pieces in the
bags to get a sense of the what to exclude when scrolling down said
short list.
Looked for crazy looking pieces from the bag to compare within the
set.
Like this piece here, part #64275 - Projectile Launcher, Bionicle Thornax
Launcher Half (Glatorian), Liftarm End 1 x 8.

and double confirmed the choice with part #54821 - Bionicle Zamor
Sphere (Ball).

Just gotta be the Goldy D.

Nice work - mMy first idea would have been to look at the giant golden blades; but even if knowing its name, that thing still appears in 42 sets in gold.

Thx JB. Even at first glance the bag had at least four unique pieces I've never seen before. Green Ball, grey looking spine (?), long "yellow" blades, and a black modified 1x2 plate with side handles (?) (part# 92692).  So, I wasn't even sure if these were LEGO or some clone brand. Picture was too grainy to read logo on the studs, and the background wooden floor had me thinking the  "gold" was a yellow or tan in color.  I've dealt with that modified 2x2 brick in the past, so I knew that they were LEGO and started with a list on that piece.

Only 42 appearances? Sounds like a dream. Many "short" lists run for pages at 100 unique pieces per page.  Minifig searches.can be brutal.


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Is there a way to convert .ev3 files to .uf2 files?
I am using Lego Mindstorms EV3 Education Edition and I am wondering if there is a way to convert the default .ev3 files to .uf2 files

Hello, and Welcome, please tell us what program/s opens uf2 files, or specifically, the program you plan to use.

I have found references to a specific microcontroller firmware type: https://github.com/Microsoft/uf2 and https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-feather-m0-express-designed-for-circuit-python-circuitpython/uf2-bootloader-details Is this what you mean?

The .UF2 file format appears to be a fairly compact, binary format for reliably transferring data to "microcontrollers" (i.e. small embedded systems such as the EV3 controller), and is the format used by the Microsoft MakeCode application, recommended as part of the First LEGO League.
The .ev3 file is actually a zip file containing a number of additional files, of which the .ev3p is an XML file representing the program itself.
At this time there isn't an official way to convert .ev3 programs to the .uf2 format, not least because things like custom blocks will need to be re-written in JavaScript, and certain other features may not be currently supported (i.e. data logging beyond console logging, 3rd party sensors, etc.).

Thx :) Keep Up The Good Work!!!

The new Scratch-based software compiles to .rbf like the old desktop software, not .uf2.


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Could Microsoft MakeCode be an alternative to the EV3 program?
Is it possible to use Microsoft MakeCode for the EV3 as an alternative to the widely used EV3 program by LEGO? What are the benefits and drawbacks?

What is "good" is a matter of opinion. Perhaps you could define more specifically what you consider to be good or certain features you are looking for?

I have edited the question to be more objective and thus avoid getting it closed as opinion-based. If you feel this edit has changed the intention of hte question too much, feel free to either roll back or edit it further to better convey the original intent.

thanks for the feedback!


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Can I use the original Lego Boost to create the R2D2 droid set?
My son has the original Lego Boost set (with Vernie, Frankie, etc), but is also a big Star Wars fan and would be love to have the R2D2 droid version.  Would it be possible to control the original boost set with the new droid specific functionality, or is the move hub not compatible with the Star Wars app functions?
I am thinking of building the R2D2 droid from parts rather than buy the whole set again.

I found a video in which someone made a "generic" R2D2:  the L4-M3!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMClGNRQfRY

Theoretically possible, but I think you'll find that the droid set contains quite a bit of lego elements that are rather rare, and hence difficult to find in your own collection or from other sources like bricklink.
But at least the electronics can be re-used from the 17101 set.
I myself bought the 75253 boost commander droid set.
You can build all three models, but motors and hub needs to be switched from model to model.
Since I had a couple of 17101 Lego Boost set lying around, I used those components to complete the other two models.
You do need a couple of extra parts, which are a bit easier sourced from your own collection or bricklink:

Thanks so much!  I'll give it a go: maybe I will be able to get the looks close enough, and functionality wise on par.


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Looking for instructions for Air Canada Mega Bloks polybag 99911/99912
When I was a child I received a Mega Bloks airplane set on an Air Canada flight. I still have most of the pieces but cannot find the instructions.
The closest I can find is this eBay image of 99913 but I'm looking for the other sets shown on the bag.
Anyone have an image of these set instructions?

Hello and welcome! That EBay image shows both 99911 and 99912 on the side in quite some detail. You should be able to figure out how to build those planes just from looking at those pictures, as these sets have very few pieces. Wouldnt that be enough?

Unfortunately it's a little hard for me to make out completely from that photo. I was hoping for something a little more clear

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Mega-Bloks-1997-Air-Canada-99911-New-Sealed-Fast-Shipping-/363045948319 has images, one of which is the back of the bag, which shows the instructions.

Nice find, RSchulz! Your worry about copyright infringement might be valid, but until it is cleared, I took the liberty to embed the image via Imgur, so that it doesn't get lost if Ebay decides to cease hosting it anymore. I have opened a question on meta to discuss this, feel free to drop by either to chip in with your opinion or hear the others' views.

Thanks - but I can not comment there, as I do not have sufficient reputation. I find that site rule weird, that I can brashly answer a question, but not add a comment asking for clarification before I answer.


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Lego Boost distance sensor, what range does it have?
While programming our Lego Boost set (using the Lego Boost App on iPad) I noticed that the distance sensor seemed to give inaccurate triggers.  To try to confirm this, I connected the move hub to my computer and used node-poweredup to read out the sensor.
The results surprised me:  the max reading I get (the furthest it registers an object) is 157mm.  Also the steps are rather big, it always goes in steps of 25mm.
Is this normal range of the distance sensor?  Or is it possible that ours has an issue (I wiped the sensor clean with a dry cotton cloth and reconnected it to the Move Hub)?

The sensor reports two UInt8 bytes, one in inches (i.e. 0 ... 255, but capped at the maximum range of 10") and one in "inverse fractional inches" (i.e. 1/255 ... 1/1). The actual code is:
    var inches = Double(bytes[5])
    let invFracInches = bytes[7]
    if invFracInches != 0 {
        inches += 1 / Double(invFracInches)
    }

Your software will be converting inches to mm/cm for metric locales - here in UK it practically reports in integer inches (thus the step is 25.4mm) from its maximum range of 10", then once below 6" it starts to report 0.5" steps, below 3" it will report 0.33" then 0.25" steps. In principle it should be able at short range to discern quite small steps.

Thanks, so it should register from 254mm.  I'll have a second look if I can ever get that distance.


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Is the EV3RSTORM from Lego Mindstorms programmable using a real programming language?
I'm a software developer and Lego fan. I'll create a robot with Lego Mindstorms, but I'll like to know that the is EV3RSTORM is programable using a real programming language (Python, C#, JavaScript, etc.).
I don't like the brick system because it's too 'easy' for me.

The EV3 brick runs a linux kernel so it is extremely compatible with many different programming languages. 3rd-party support packages for basically any language you can think of have been made, and most are very mature by this point. A quick google search can come up with some of these. This previous post, among many others on this site, can help point you in the right direction.
In summary, EV3Dev is always a good starting point - the framework is kind of a catch-all of the various programming languages available. LeJOS (Java) is a big step up in terms of features (and is generally higher performance than an on-brick Python interpreter, for example). The highest performance solution is probably EV3RT, if you really want to practice your embedded C/C++. But for a project as simple as EV3RSTORM, EV3Dev should be more than sufficient.


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Is there a way to plan and organize your LEGO project like a GitHub hosted software?
I have the idea to host, plan and maintain a LEGO project (building a MOC in several steps with different functionalities) like a software in GitHub. The project should have forks, pull requests and version tracking.

Is there a possibility to do this with existing software? LDD, Leocad, Stud.io in combination with GitHub or similar?
How to realize a crowd/community project that builds on a LEGO model? What functionality might be needed?

https://github.com/chicks-net/lego-business-card-holder is my example of what you're talking about.  I wasn't expecting much collaboration, but I like github for publishing things and showing the history of the project.

Can you export it to a data plan like JSON or XML? Those are versionable, with a bit of work.

While you could indeed manage the project with a tool like GitHub (using the Issues feature), you might be better off initially managing the tasks through a tool like Trello which allows you to create tasks and move them through various status (i.e. Planned, In Progress, Review, Complete) in a fairly simple, intuitive user interface.
An issue with managing the actual project files within source control is around the format of them - some file types work better than others when it comes to source control, and some formats of those types work better than others as well.
Git is a "Distributed Version Control System", which means that anyone can work on any file in the repository on their local machine - this is usually fine when working with text based files, but is not so good when you have binary files, because understanding the differences between two versions is often not easy. If the tool you choose stores projects in binary files, Git is probably not the best option.
I would strongly recommend that you consider a Centralised Version Control System such as Subversion (SVN) or Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC or TFS) as this allows your collaborators to "checkout" or "lock" a specific file to say they are working on it, and then when they've updated it, "check-in" their changes - this will (hopefully) get around the main pain points of trying to merge changes in these files, albeit with the caveat that you might still have people check-out a file and then "go dark" and forget to check it back in for a long time.
Sadly for you, most developers have moved to Git based source control, as it's very good at dealing with code files, and generally much quicker when working locally, allows for "offline" working, etc. and solves the problem of people working on different parts of the same file or project simultaneously, so most of the free options (GitHub, GitLab, etc.) focus on that. You might be able to use the free options within Azure DevOps to create a TFS based project, or find another SVN host for your project. Most of these also offer "Work Item" tracking for task planning and management.
In terms of the current software for building your MoC, the likely contenders are:

Stud.io - uses a binary (.zip) format. This doesn't play well in Git. Furthermore it's a password protected archive, so you can't easily extract the underlying .ldr files.
LDraw - uses a text based format. Potentially a better fit for Git, however the format itself would be very easy to mess up in merges if two people work on the same model files at the same time.
LEGO Digital Designer - uses a text (XML) based format. Potentially a good fit for Git. While XML can get messed up in merges, it's usually easier to see in merge tools where the changes should belong, and so easier to correct/adjust if two people work on the same model file. However, this is likely end-of-life now, especially with the announced purchase of BrickLink by The LEGO Group.

What about Studio and LEGO Digital Designer – what will happen with the
  two digital building experiences since they’re quite similar?
  The LEGO Group is planning to support and evolve Studio and will review opportunities
  for both services following the closing of the deal.

I would say that regardless of the file format, text merges do not make sense for a Lego model and even a human readable format should be treated as a black box.  Sure a merge might handle a color change correctly, but even if one piece is swapped out I bet any idea of a "merge" would be impossible.

@JPhi1618 agreed - it would be unpleasant to say the least, which further reinforces my recommendation for a centralised system.

I'll address some points from Zhaph - Ben Duguid's answer:

While you could indeed manage the project with a tool like GitHub (using the Issues feature), you might be better off initially managing the tasks through a tool like Trello which allows you to create tasks and move them through various status (i.e. Planned, In Progress, Review, Complete) in a fairly simple, intuitive user interface.

Github actually has this as well in the form of Project Boards. They integrate with the rest of the GitHub ecosystem, so you can reference issues, pull requests, assign milestones and labels, etc.

Git is a "Distributed Version Control System", which means that anyone can work on any file in the repository on their local machine - this is usually fine when working with text based files, but is not so good when you have binary files, because understanding the differences between two versions is often not easy.

This was a painful point for a long while. However, git now supports Large File Storage. It stores references to the files, so checking changes between commits would show that a file was updated and not waste space trying to calculate diffs. I have used this for images and other binary files and it works well, though it does add a small extra step to upload or download the files when pushing or pulling.
You could easily use LFS for the various binary files the programs use for creating.
Edit: File locking

I would strongly recommend that you consider a Centralised Version Control System such as Subversion (SVN) or Team Foundation Version Control (TFVC or TFS) as this allows your collaborators to "checkout" or "lock" a specific file to say they are working on it, and then when they've updated it, "check-in" their changes - this will (hopefully) get around the main pain points of trying to merge changes in these files, albeit with the caveat that you might still have people check-out a file and then "go dark" and forget to check it back in for a long time.

Git LFS also has file locking (Since 2.0, March 2017). I do agree that it is more complicated than SVN. I do not know if the web platforms or desktop apps (GitHub Desktop) show locks, but I do know that you can lock and manage locks via the command line:
git lfs lock file.ext    # lock file
git lfs locks            # show locked files
git lfs unlock file.ext  # unlock file

You can enable locking for an extension across a repo by adding *.[extension] lockable to your .gitattributes file, and if a user has locked a file and disappeared someone with the proper permissions can unlock the file with git lfs unlock file.ext --force.

Good point on the GitHub's boards and integrations, however that might still be overkill for the project, and more confusing, especially if most of the contributors aren't used to all that ceremony. I also agree that LFS is a possible option, but that's more to work around the file size limits (100MB) and performance impact of working with those files. You'll still be unable to review any changes to binary files in any meaningful way. Hence my suggestion of a centralised system that allows users to lock the file centrally to say "I'm working on this" and (generally) avoid these issues.

@Zhaph-BenDuguid I'm not sure how GitHub's projects would be confusing, since you can use it exactly like Trello if you want. I do agree that locking is the better method for editing binary files, git LFS even supports locking files!

I meant that throwing in references to pull requests and milestones might be confusing ;). Good to know about locking in LFS - feel free to update your answer with the steps required to enable that for .io files across all instances of the repo and the on going use, it's more complicated than SVN or TFS if you've got to fetch and then lock, and remember to unlock after a push... As is the nature of open-source, who knows if the 2.5 year old documentation is out of date, or whether LFS 2.9.1 has a less "early release" version of locking?

@Zhaph-BenDuguid Good point about updating my answer, done! It does seem more complicated than SVN and I haven't been able to find if it is supported in the various web interfaces, but it seems like a handful of the most popular git platforms do support the feature. I also haven't found anything else about updates to the locking, so it might have been "good enough" in 2017 and hasn't needed any more attention since then.


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What LEGO set do these numbered bags of pieces come from?
I found these bags in the attic any idea what LEGO set they belong to?

They are numbered 1, 3 and 5, but I don't know if they all came from the same set or not.

Hello Daron. The link you provided goes to your personal inbox, which nobody but you can see. Can you try to upload them differently? Without pictures we cannot help you. The codes you posted are production codes, which indicate this was from (a) set(s) that were produced only recently (week 20 of 2019) which makes me curious how you found them “in the attic” as they cannot have been there long ...

The codes on the bags are for the bags themselves, rather than the sets.

I'll admit that I'm struggling to find a set that contains both a Medium Lilac 6X6 Bow and the Bright Yellow Right Plate 3X8 W/Angle

@Zhaph-BenDuguid exactly those were my starting points as well. And the lack of any coherent topic or aesthetic.

Could be these are bags from a new set that are not yet in the bricklink or brickset system. But more likely this is a hoax. Numbered bags like these have only been used like last 8 years, why would they be "in the attic" ? Why are they so sparsely and randomly filled ?

It's possible these were given out as collections from a Fast Food stores.
Mcs, BK or KFC, for example.

Bag #1 has two pieces already connected together, too.

What does the QR code on the bag scan to? I tried to scan from the provided image and it didn't work, so perhaps the image resolution is too low.

Very long shot, but is it possible that these are components of the playing field for a FIRST LEGO League challenge?

@Eilon The problem with the two QR codes is not the resolution. The top one is shot on black background, meaning some information is lost. The fact that the QR code itself is really low-resolution means that it has little to no redundancy, making it unscannable. The bottom one is slightly warped, meaning that the timing information can't be read anymore. I would have to recreate the QR code from scratch.

@Eilon Alright, I recreated the bottom QR code in Paint and when scanned, it translates to 6172092

The QR codes on lego building bags indeed translate to 7 digit numbers, but there is to my knowledge no database available to the public that keeps track of these numbers.

These bags don't seem to belong to any specific LEGO set.
First, they are filled very sparsely. Normally LEGO bags are filled with more elements than that depicted here.
Secondly, in bag #3 we clearly see a Plate 6X6 W. Bow in medium lilac:

And a Right Plate 3X8 W/Angle in bright yellow:

But these two parts have never been sold in the same set. These contain the lilac plate, and these the yellow plate.
So the only remaining possibilities are, in order of descending probability:

The bags have been opened and the contents changed (possibly resealed later)
These are not genuine LEGO products (but the bags do have "The LEGO Group" printed on them)
Someone at a LEGO factory has made a grave mistake

Option 4 - Brickset is incomplete.

Sound like a legit answer

@Moo Could be, but highly improbable, as Brickset takes its data from Bricklink, whose maintainers had vested monetary interest in keeping the content correct, current and complete. Now, with the acquisition by TLG there is absolutely nothing that could prevent the Bricklink and thus the Brickset databases being complete.

The dark purple plate pulls up only three sets, but these brick combinations don't match a set from those three.  Hmmm... If the bags are sealed then they might have been a custom LEGO "Pick-a-Brick" order.
LEGO has two versions of the LEGO Pick-A-Brick service.  One is inside a brick and mortar store, the other is selected on line.
If a customer's online order exceeds a certain threshold, (can't remember, something like 200 bricks), then the order is sent to the LEGO main distribution factory in Denmark, which adds three or so weeks to get your bricks, but I think they seal/ship them in these bags.

Do you know if there's any other online examples of sealed bags for larger orders?

I've found a couple of examples of other sealed or ziplock'ed bags, so in principle this is sound - just seems extreme that these don't have the order details and are so sparsely packed.


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Issues with my LEGO Land Rover Defender - Low rear
Just built the 42110 LEGO Land Rover Defender and found the rear of the car sitting very low on its base and the rear wheels almost touching the wheel arches.
This is very low compared to the front end, what have I done wrong in the build, and how can I correct it please?

did u get your problems solved yet? I got the same problems with u, i checked the speed build review videos but i got all the spring assemble correctly, still not sure how to fix the problem  any other possible causes ???

@ Maggie - Look at this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9VQGoqhOFs of the build without the outside green exterior.  Put it on mute.  The video's subject doesn't matter.  Figure out which end of the build is the back in the video. Pause the video everytime it shows a clear view of the back and it's placement of pieces.  Compare the paused image with your naked build.  Find the error in your model and fix it to make it look like the video's correct build.  Put the green skin back on.

Just finished mine and have exactly the same problem.
The rear suspension feels much softer than the front and can’t support the weight of the back

Looks like a common mistake to do with suspension positioning. This guy describes it well and an easy fix here :-)  https://racingbrick.com/2020/04/lego-technic-42110-land-rover-defender-ultimate-repair-guide/#be_step104106

I would suggest looking at a speed build of this model and comparing the placement of pieces with that of your own.
So, let's try...this guy's video => The Austrian Lego Fan seems to have banged out a step by step build of this model, which shows a many angles of the area you're have issues with.
To get those butt-dragging results, you may have got your springs pinned in the wrong hole.  Hey, but we can give more input if you provide a pic or two.

Both pictures are the same.  One is text-less so the words don't get in the way.

Focus your attention on these spots.  Is each spring pinned to the correct hole?


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Advanced mode in EV3 ultrasonic sensor
The EV3 Ultrasonic Sensor has an “Advanced mode" which measures either in centimeters or in inches. When exactly do you use this mode? Why doesn’t the sensor send just a single ultrasonic signal?

From the official LEGO education site:

Measure – Advanced - Centimeters

The Measure – Advanced – Centimeters mode is similar to the Measure – Distance Centimeters mode, except that you can choose whether the sensor sends a single ultrasonic signal or continuous signals with the Measuring Mode input. The distance in centimeters is output in the Distance in Centimeters."

I can only guess to the reason why LEGO implemented this “Measuring Mode” option in a separate Advanced mode, but most likely it is to hide the subtle difference, which might be difficult to understand at first, from beginner users. The default measuring mode is the easiest to understand.


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What LEGO set has the biggest box?
I know the 2017 LEGO Star Wars Millennium Falcon is the biggest set in terms of piece count, but what is the biggest box a regular set ever came in?
By regular set I mean produced for the mass markets, and not something like The ultimate battle for Chima (just an example, not saying that it is the biggest box).

"Biggest" by what measure? Volume? Front area? Length? By volume <i think the MF will win (based on wat I've seen, so clearly not an answer), but 'I've bought an old First Lego League box, that was quite a bit longer, because the mat was rolled up on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2VFD7STq_8 - Possibly useful

As far as regular sets go (ie. no furniture or big-boxes like that Chima combo), the current UCS Millennium Falcon does appear to be the largest box by total volume.
75192-1 Millennium Falcon - UCS (2nd edition)
54 x 45 x 39 cm = 94770 cm3
54 x 45 cm = 2430 cm2

The original UCS Millennium Falcon box was actually larger in 2 directions however, though the total volume is smaller.
10179-1 Millennium Falcon - UCS
64.39 x 47.63 x 19.69 cm = 60387.176333 cm3
64.39 x 47.63 cm = 3066.8957 cm2

There appear to be a number of sets that are larger in at-least one direction, see this answer for the longest one identified so-far.

The Star Destroyer 75252 comes in a box that is similar in size to the large Millennium Falcon, but I can't find dimensions for it at the moment.

Bricklink lists the box of 75252 as being 53.5 x 46 x 38.7 cm = 95240,7 cm^3.

The box for the star destroyer from way back in 2002-ish (10030) comes in at 21 x 50 x 58.5cm, so 61425cm^2, beating the first falcon box in volume. Still nowhere near the 2nd edition falcon.

According to Brickset 10294 Titanic as well as 10276 Colosseum boxes are "the same size as that of the Millennium Falcon and the Colosseum". Dimensions provided for Titanic are 58x48x38cm.

Maybe straining the definition a little (although not too much, as at-least some of them did come with LEGO pieces), LEGO has in the past sold furniture.
I think all of these items were shipped disassembled, and I can't find much information on exactly how large the box they came in was and can't be sure what I did find is accurate, but I would imagine one of these items takes the cake (depending on your definition of largest).
4509g - 3-Seat Playtable (101.5 x 74.5 x 18.5 cm)

5004063 - 3-Seat Playtable (probably about same size)

5003468 - 3-Seat Playtable Creative Play Station Center Pack (probably about same size)

5003483 - 3-Seat Playtable Creative Play Station Center Pack Duplo (probably about same size)

IF-LTW2C - Activity Table and Chair Set (67.8 x 66.8 x 27.94 cm)

Straining the definition a little less than Alexander, some of the First LEGO League challenges came in boxes with the mat folded, making the box unexceptional, but some came in boxes with the mat rolled up.
According to bricklink the 2015 challenge came in a box that was 117 cm long. That is quite a bit more than any of the dimensions of the Millenium Falcon, which according to bricklink came in a box that was 54 x 45 x 39 cm. As I haven't seen other boxes that thick I'm going to guess that takes the price according to volume. (possibly discounting the furniture).
Another regular set that has a large box is 71043 Hogwarts Castle, according to bricklink that box is 58.5 x 48.5 x 18.5 cm, that is a larger front then the Millenium Falcon, but under half the thickness.
I also believe the Millenium Falcon wins on weight, if that is what you meant by size, and can come in a "trolly box":

I'll have to go and measure my Robotics Invention System and LEGO Studios boxes, I think they're under 117cm, but would be good to confirm ;)

The 42082 all terrain crane is 57,8 x 47,8 x 19 cm. (Mine arrived earlier today.) About the same as the Hogwarts castle. I think the white Liebherr R9800 excavator model (42100) may have a slightly larger box, but I haven't seen that one for real.

I'm sure there are plenty of sets having boxes of about that size, probably even some in my piles. Hogwarts was just the first one I spotted, and going by part count it's second to the MF. Looking at the list of sets order by part count (it's trivial to get on bricklink), made me discover that the box of the original Taj Mahal is listed as 65.3 x 47.6 x 12.2 cm (the reissue is about the size of Hogwarts et.al.)

@Zhaph-BenDuguid: Thanks for adding that picture. Funny enough one of those trolley boxes was the first way I saw the MF. And that was also surrounded by other people who had been shopping LEGO, as on that picture.

Well, that was taken on my visit to the LEGO house AFOL open day so we'd all been LEGO shopping ;)

I have an older Star Destroyer, and it weighed about 20 pounds if I recall.  So much that I was worried about it warping the top of my Mitsubishi 3- tube rear projector TV at the time (it was 18-20 inches deep).  Heaviest Lego set we ever bought.