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Is it possible to have a motor default to a certain position at the start of the code? I'm trying to use the motor as a servo, and it's annoying
The motor is attached to a "door", which rotates to block off an opening. I have it coded to manually go back 1/4 of a rotation, and the distance sensor attached will send it forwards 1/4 of a rotation. However, if it gets triggered twice, then it has to be triggered another two times in order to get back to the default position. I would like to avoid this. I am coding on a laptop, and there is no block that I have seen that can do this. Is this possible, or did I just miss the block?

Please add the code you have issues with.

Done. I have edited the post.

Expanding on @zovits approach for a rubberband-based mechanical system: I'll suggest something like the following diagram, adding a rubber band between the bush and the belt wedge wheel:

That can technically be called a friction clutch. With something like that, it's possible to keep the motor turning more than needed: when the cyan liftarm hits the red corner beam, the axle will block and the rubber band will absorb the excess rotation (by means of slipping on the yellow bush).
In order to minimize wear&tear, you should adjust the rubberband tension so it provides just enough grip, but can slip easily.

A similar approach is to use 60c01 Technic, Gear 24 Tooth Clutch or 6542 Technic, Gear 16 Tooth with Clutch:

I don't own any such pieces, and therefore I don't know how well they stand wear&tear - I'd recommend a rubberband just for the ease of finding replacements.

Another approach is to use a linear actuator:

A technic linear actuator has a built-in clutch, so will absorb extra rotation as well. That means you can run motor more than needed to get them into a known state (either fully retracted or fully extended).
By building an assembly as shown above (and securing both the motor and the black axle, but letting the linear actuator swing around the motor's axle), extending the actuator will make the black axle rotate about 90 degrees. You'll need to adjust the system to get the desired rotation angle.

Thanks for the illustrations! Adding a clutch to enable driving up to (and over) an end position has not occurred to me but is indeed a good idea. In the sentence "Technic liftarms will absorb extra rotation" did you mean "Technic linear actuators" perhaps?

Sorry, my english skills seem to be still on holiday, and couldn't recall the word "clutch".  Also fixed the liftarm→actuator bit.

For an ordinary motor it is not possible, as the axle position can't be queried from the software. What you can do though is to write your software in a way to return to the starting position before ending the program (define a counter for the number of trigger events, increase it every time, then at an appropriate point apply the necessary amount of reverse movement).
Another possibility is to build in a mechanical system that returns the axle to a pre-defined position (with force from gravity or a rubber band) and set the motor in feathering mode to let it turn without resistance until the starting position is reached.
The most convoluted way is to build your own position encoder: set up a sensor (push button, colour sensor or ultrasonic) that can tell when the axle is in the starting position, then when resetting, turn the motor while querying the sensor until the starting position is reached.

Drive the motor at low power for some length of time in a direction until the door jams against some obstacle. Set the position sensor of the motor. Drive the motor to the desired starting position relative to the jammed position.
This violates one of the constraints of the questions, since this would run before you ran your code. However, it is simple.


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Instructions for these two LEGO bags?
Looking for some help. Christmas morning was a blur, and we ended up with two LEGO bags with no matching instructions. Can you all help identify the contents and correlating instructions?

that's is from set set 11018-1

Both bags appear to be from set 11018 - Creative Ocean Fun

Building instructions are available from Lego customer service here.

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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Lego 21327: How do I attach the typewriter segment to the body?
Typewriter build step 312. Red arrows point to two upraised open connectors. What part of the segment snaps into them?
If snapped to the rod outside of the two gray mid-rod spacer pieces (step 309), the resulting gap exceeds that of the two 90 degrees vertical rods that the connector pieces connect to.
The image is from https://lego.brickinstructions.com/en/lego_instructions/set/21327/Typewriter

The step you mentioned (#309) shows two grey connectors (Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Bar Handle on End) in exactly right configuration for this connection:

It seems a clear case for these to be meant as the intended connection points.

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


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How to run Power Functions LEDs from a 12v supply?
I am considering building a train that uses a 12v motor from the 1980s and Power Functions LED lighting. For this to work it would be necessary to run the Power Functions LED set from one of the 12v sockets on the motor.
Obviously the physical connection is not compatible, but it should be straightforward to remove the connector brick from a Power Functions cable and fit 12v-style plugs instead. Where I'd welcome information is the electrical aspect. Since the LEDs are designed for 9v,  exposing them to 12v may damage them, and they will need a resistor in series to reduce the voltage across the LED set to 9v.
Has anyone determined the correct value of the resistor? Or the current that the LED set draws at 9v, which would allow the necessary resistance to be calculated using Ohm's Law.

https://www.philohome.com/pf/pflights.htm
So the leds draw 2mA, a voltage drop of 12-9 = 3 V is required.
So Ohms law says you need about a 1.5 kOhm resistor in series to have the leds shine at the same brightness...
On the other hand, it could very well be that the only consequence of omitting the resistor is that the leds shine 30% brighter... you could test and monitor if the leds heat up. If you cut off power fast enough as soon as you feel them heating up, it's unlikely that they would be damaged.

It is very easy to burn out LEDs when you leave out the resister in my experience.  Even AA batteries can fry an LED without a resistor in seconds.

Note that there IS already a resistor internally of 4.7 kOHm, so you are not exactly short-curcuiting the LEDs. Knowing Lego, the resistor in place is probably on the safe side. What one could do is use a potentio-meter and regulate from the 1.5 kOhm slowly to 0 Ohm and see what is appropriate...

@user253751, perhaps you should expand your comment to an answer

@MichaelVerschaeve done

using the numbers on the page that Michael linked to, I calculate 1mA per LED which is very low. When increasing the voltage to 12V I calculate 1.7mA per LED which is of course 70% brighter but still very low*. Therefore I think it will work just fine with 12V.
* Random LED circuits are often designed for 20mA and this is fine. 20mA is often used due to outdated design advice for the less-efficient LEDs from 30 years ago. With a modern LED, 20mA is annoyingly bright and that's why the power light on your TV keeps you awake.


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White bricks slightly different, real, fake or old?
These white bricks are slightly different, one of them has the copyright lego on the bottom and the other only has the ID number and some other numbers on the bottom, and the way light enters the brick is totally different (see photos)
They all have the Lego logo on the studs, however.
What is this?
Are they old, fake or just a mold variation?

These are almost certainly genuine LEGO elements. I've personally never encountered a clone brand that misused the LEGO trademark on bricks. The issue with the light that you described is well known.
TLG has adjusted the way to color is added to plastic, the color of the pigment used, and the amount of pigment used at various times. This leads bricks produced at different times to have slight color variations and differing levels of translucency. This is a known issue even in current sets. For example, LEGO is aware of an issue with the white tiles the Great Wave (31208) set:

Here's an example showing obvious color and translucency variation that was present in the tiles that was shared on the LEGO Ambassador Network:

Is there any explanation on why some of my bricks do not have a copyright symbol nor lego on the bottom?
As mentioned they still have the ID numbers and such.

@StarrySkies64 There have been many minor mold variations over the years. Here are some examples: https://bricks.stackexchange.com/a/17809/708


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Identify bricks, similar to LEGO without bottom tubes
I have a box of bricks with some age, that I'm unable to identify.
They have some numbers on the inside which don't help and no identifying markings. I thought they could be by Halsam, however that is not the case.


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I cannot find the set these bags of Lego bricks belong to - lots of greys and dark reds
I cannot find the set these bags of Lego bricks belong to.
Can anyone help?

The bottom polybag contains 92946 in light bluish gray, 32523 in light bluish gray, and 3666 in tan. That combination of parts appears only in one set: 75243 Star Wars' Slave I, 20th anniversary edition.

Top right polybag appears to be from one of two Death Star - UCS sets: 10188 or 75159

These bags aren't all from the same set. 32523 in light grey is visible in the lower bag and isn't in either of those Death Stars.

@FredricShope thanks for noticing. I've updated the answer accordingly.


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Compatibility of sports ramps
Are these relatively recent "sport ramps":

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=75538
compatible with these older "sport ramps"
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=43086

https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=43085
and these corner pieces ?
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=43086

With "compatible" I mean the concave sides can be aligned by an integral number of modules or plates and the circles describing the shape have the same radii.
I would also be interested in what the actual radii for the elements are.

I've put those two parts side by side in LeoCAD, and it's quite obvious they have different shapes:

A side view illustrates the difference even more clearly:

They will somewhat align if one of the ramps is rotated exactly eleven degrees, like in the following diagram:

Do note that while it's easy to align bricks at increments of 15 degrees with hinge parts (and a few other amounts by resting over sloped bricks), eleven degrees is a hard angle to achieve.
As user @SanderDeDycker pointed out, it's also possible to align the ramps without rotating them, with a vertical offset of slightly less than 2 plates, and a horizontal offset of about 2.3 studs - again, dimensions that are hard to achieve:

Applying a bit more CAD, I estimate the radius of the slope to be 11½ studs. Note how, in the following diagram, the left tangent line crosses the last stud of the grey ramp; and that the grey ramp is 12 studs deep.

A bit more fiddling with CAD tells me that the "new" ramps (75538) have a slope radius of 12 studs instead.
Please keep in mind that my measurements are based on the LDraw models, and I have spent very little time on them, so they might not accurately reflect the dimensions of physical bricks.

I did similar measurements earlier today (with Studio models), and came to the same conclusion that the radii for both parts are very close, but not quite the same (assuming the models are accurate). The only way to match them up horizontally, would be to raise the 75538 ramp by just under 2 plates, and offset it by around 2.3 studs (see https://i.stack.imgur.com/sgf7Q.png) - none of which works out with lego math unfortunately.

@SanderDeDycker Thanks for that research! I've taken the liberty of adding your stud.io screenshot to my answer.


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Can anyone help me identify what set this pack is from please? white pieces with a distinctive minifig

Hi, I am struggling to identify what set this pack is from. It came randomly with a box of various toys, so nothing for reference!

Could you add a picture that shows which elements are inside the bag?

Please note any codes you find on a bag like this are irrelevant in identifying LEGO sets.

That explains why I can't find anything having searched for these codes! I'll add some more pictures.

Does this answer your question? How can I identify LEGO sets from a box or bag of parts?

70595 Ultra Stealth Raider is the only set on BrickLink with

973pb2520c01 Torso Ninjago Tunic with Light Gray Trim and Belt, 3 Dark Gray Ties with Gold Buttons, Dragon Symbol on Back Pattern / White Arms / Sand Green Hands
970c00pb0589 Hips and Legs with Silver Sash and Knee Straps Pattern

(Note: the torso and the legs are from two different figures.)


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Lego 88012 hub socket type
The LEGO Technic hub 88012 has 4 sockets. Can anyone tell me what the socket types are?
I have tried to find out via LEGO Support and they directed me to this site.
I have searched the internet and been unsuccessful.
I want to use the hub to build MOC, hence my question.

Here's a photo of the hub:

It includes four Powered Up ports. These are compatible with peripherals (motors, sensors, lights, etc) from the lines branded as Powered Up, Control+, Boost, Robot Inventor, Wedo 2.0, and SPIKE.
If you are hoping to make custom electronics for this, the port itself uses a proprietary connector that is not widely available. You may be able to find connectors online, or build something that might work.


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Can 9V train motors be linked and work together via the top power stud connection?
I'm building a MOC based on the 10219 Maersk Train, but going for the classic track power 9V system given the removal of need for batteries and slowly increasing availability of new 9V parts from third-party supplier FX Bricks.
I was wondering about dual-motoring my locomotive, and hit upon the idea of using the Technic axled motor from the 9V RC era (as used in the Cargo Train Deluxe 7898 set), linking it to track power via a 9V extension wire attached to the power studs atop it and going to those atop the classic 9V track powered motor.
My thought is that in using the motor with silicone traction tires in addition to the metal-wheeled classic motor bogie, it may be possible to get even better traction and pulling power.
I'm still learning about LEGO trains after getting back into them many years later, so I'm not sure if the transformer could handle it (other folks I've seen have said that the controller overheats running two motors for a long period of time), or if those top power studs can even transmit the power required for running another motor.
Can the components be used as I'm thinking, or have I gone wrong in my thought process somewhere?

The basic premise of your idea is sound: the metal-wheeled train motor can indeed receive power from the track and forward it to the studs on top of it. Then an extension wire can be used to power another motor. The only possible problems I might anticipate are:

possibly mismatched velocity (due to either voltage drop, different internal gearing or different wheel diameter)

the operational limits of the

power supply unit (shouldn't be an issue, as two metal-wheeled train motors can run on a track powered by a single supply)
or the pass-through capacity of the 9V train motor (as it was designed to pass through enough juice to power lights, not motors with their significantly larger consumption)

The good news is that none of these are showstopper issues even if they prove to be a problem, and you can quite easily test all of them - so let's start building :)

Also, besides mismatched velocity, mismatched direction, with 9V this can be adressed by turning one of the connectors 90 degrees (in the right direction it reverses polarity)


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I do not believe smaller sloped elements than these exist:

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

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

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


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My minifigs have been doodled with marker pens. How can I clean them?
So simple question really, child drew on figures with marker pens, how can I clean them off with out removing the original prints ?

Rubbing alcohol should be able to remove marker pen marks without damaging the print (beware! I haven't tested this myself!!). Do not use acetone, since that'll remove the print.

@IvanSanchez acetone will dissolve (or at least attack) the plastic, never mind the print.  I'd consider denatured alcohol ("methylated spirits" here in the UK) rather than rubbing alcohol ("surgical spirit") because the non-alcohol components in the latter might be an issue.  Either way I wouldn't dip/soak/rinse for long before rinsing in water; I'd only try wiping if a simple dunk didn't work


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Lego Creator - Ford Mustang 10265
I open the box I purchased - the box had been opened prior - no instruction manual nor stickers - not a big deal, but how do I know how many bags I'm supposed to have in the box. I watched video and someone said 11 - but his numbers 22 were different. I have 1, 11, 2, 3, 33, 4, 44, 5, 6, 66 - am I missing 22 and 55?   In total I have 1-6 big bags, and 11, 33, 44, 66 little bags. Help please. I don't want to open each bag and count the parts individually

There should indeed be 11 bags :

6 big ones numbered 1 through 6
5 small ones numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 (each has the number on it multiple times, which seems to be why you mention 11, 33 etc.)
the instructions and sticker sheet are in a protective plastic bag as well.

So, you appear to be missing small bag number 2.


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What is the gyro sampling rate on the Spike Prime hub?
I was wondering what is the inertial measurement unit sampling rate, because for my project I need 800 Hertz. I tried to look in the firmware file but I didn’t find anything. I use the pybricks firmware on a Lego Spike Prime hub.

Digging a bit into the C source code for the pybricks firmware, I was able to find these two lines:
PT_SPAWN(pt, &child, lsm6ds3tr_c_xl_data_rate_set(&child, ctx, LSM6DS3TR_C_XL_ODR_833Hz));
PT_SPAWN(pt, &child, lsm6ds3tr_c_gy_data_rate_set(&child, ctx, LSM6DS3TR_C_GY_ODR_833Hz));

...which means that the IMU is set to a sampling rate of 833Hz.
Please note that this is how the IMU electronics are configured when pybricks starts - this does not necessarily mean that the pybricks firmware nor the hub's microcontroller CPU can keep up with that rate, or that they can run some of your python code 833 times per second, or that pybricks will run python code at that rate.
It should be possible to change the sampling rate by modifying the pybricks C code and recompiling the firmware. If you want/need to take on this endeavour, read https://github.com/pybricks/pybricks-micropython#development first.

In the comments of one of the accepted answer on the question here:
What internal electronics do Spike Prime and Mindstorms Robot Inventor use?
it's mentioned that the pybricks people have determined that the IMU module is a STMicroelectronics LSM6DS3TR-C.
Googling for this I found the following document on the manufacturers website: https://www.st.com/resource/en/datasheet/lsm6ds3tr-c.pdf
Which list output data rates from 1.6 Hz to 6.6kHz, probably depending on which mode the chip is configured in... I have no way off knowing which mode/value applies, but perhaps someone else does...


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

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

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

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

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

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


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Pink or Bright Pink?
Sorry for the slightly blurry photo, but what would you say this is?
These two pinks are a little different, very slightly.
Is the above one old pink and the bottom one bright pink?
Or are they both bright pink?
Can anyone send a comparison pic of pink and bright pink?

I stood up to take a photo, but then realized I myself can not reliably tell my Pink from my Bright Pink from my Salmon. And even if I could, and even if it was always consistent from the factory over the decades (where coloring methods have changed), sun damage changes the color more than these two show.

If anyone does take a photo, please use sunlight, and  include a White, and a LtBley for reference in the photo. And a Salmon if you've got it.

New sets could also have same color deviation. Due to manufacturing process even LEGO could not produce same color consistently across multiple parts for a single set.

Top is Dark Pink
Middle is Bright Pink
Bottom looks like Salmon to me, but based on the old jumper plate it has to be Pink.
Underneath are Light Bluish Grey and White. Photo taken in sunlight.

I do not distinguish LEGO pink/purple colors well, but looking at the various pictures Salmon has more Orange in it than any of pictured elements here.


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Which Lego set do I have? mostly yellow and seems to be based off of construction
The Lego set includes one minifigure with a blue cap, a red shirt, and blue pants. It also includes a window piece, some yellow connections, a black digger piece with the same connection and wheels. The set is mostly yellow and seems to be based off of construction. I tried to find it on other sites, but couldn't find anything. The set appears to be from the 2010s, and seems to be made for younger kids, but not quite Duplo.

A photo of the more distinctive pieces may prove useful here.

Best match I can find fitting that description is set 4667 - Loadin’ Digger from 2004.

This set is from the 4 Juniors line, and features a non-traditional minifigure, larger than the iconic ones, from the Jack Stone line of figures.


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How I can connect the LEGO SPIKE Prime hub via Bluetooth in Visual Studio Code using the pybricksdev library?
I'm trying to send some data from the hub to the terminal for some debug. But I can't figure out how I can connect the hub via Bluetooth to my PC. I tried to look in the API documentation and maybe I found something but I'm not sure.

Pybricks is great, so is the support they provide, I think you'd be better of asking your question there: https://github.com/pybricks/support/

Hi tom and welcome to Bricks.SE! Can you show us what have you tried and how did it fail?

The easiest way to use pybricksdev is as a command line tool. I recommend using pipx to ensure that your are always using the latest version of pybricksdev.
Assuming you have already installed pipx and you have a terminal open in VS Code in the same directory as the script you want to run, run the following command:
pipx run pybricksdev run ble my_script.py

Where my_script.py is replaced with the actual name of the script you want to run.


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questions on an Assembly Square fountain redesign
I'd like to reproduce the fountain posted here
Can anyone identify the parts used to make the wide blue/water rims on the 2nd and bottom level?
Also, how do I attach the squiggly water bursts on the 3rd level?

According to the YouTube link, the squiggly water bursts are just held by friction - they're not clipped in to anything.
The blue layers are just normal dishes (of different sizes, of course).

thanks - I missed the youtube link.


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Is there a way to keep fragile models together?
My late husband built a number of Lego models that I would love to keep together. However having a 5 and 2 year old around this is proving difficult and parts keep getting knocked off. Is there any kind of spray glue type thing that I can use to hold the models together so they can stand up to curious little fingers. I know this not the best idea however I do not want them to end up in smithereens as I know they will never be remade again. I want to preserve the work my husband put into them.

One technique that I've used to record how my own models were built is to put a camera on a stand, aimed at the model, and dismantle the model, taking a photograph as each part is removed. It's often possible to rebuild the model from the parts you remove as you go, but if not, the photographs can be used as a guide. With suitable software you can even combine the photos into a film - in reverse order, so it shows the model being built.

Sorry for your loss.
I would hide them behind a locked glass door; even if you glue them, they won't likely survive a 2-year-old knocking them to the floor.
There is a product called Le-Glue (amazon link) which I've never used which bills itself as temporary glue (you can dissolve it with water).
And, of course, there's always the .


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EV3 with 6 motors
My son has made a crane with 6 EV3 motors connected to an EV3 hub. He's used ports A,B,C,D and 1,2.
But two of them don't work. Are ports 1-4 just data ports for sensors, not motors?
Is 4 the maximum number of motors?
What happens if we invest in a Spike hub?

On Powered Up hubs like SPIKE Prime, all ports are the same and can be used with motors or sensors. That means you can use 6 motors and no sensors if you need to on SPIKE Prime.
On EV3, ports A-D are for motors only and ports 1-4 are for sensors only. So EV3 is limited to 4 motors (NXT is similar but limited to 3 motors).
EV3 and SPIKE software and motor/sensor hardware are not compatible, so if you invest in SPIKE Prime, you will need to make a new program and adjust your build since the motors don't have the same form factor.
Another alternative could be to daisy-chain two EV3s. This would allow up to 8 motors since each EV3 can have up to 4 motors.

Can't you have two EV3's paired in some way to enable more ports for motors?

Yes, daisy-chaining two EV3s could be a possibility (4 motor ports per EV3 * two EV3s = 8 motor ports).

Perhaps this could be another option on top of the ones you've provided? Getting additional EV3 hub will be cheaper than investing in all new stuff compatible with SPIKE just for two additional motor ports.

Another alternative would be to make a mechanical multiplexer to handle an unlimited amount of motors but this has it's own advantages and disadvantages depending on the project requirements.


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LEGO BOOST failing firmware update
We have a LEGO BOOST kit. When going through the initial setup, we get as far as connecting the move hub to the tablet and then it asks if we want to do a firmware update. There is no option other than 'OK'. The light on the hub flashes pink briefly and then goes out. The progress bar doesn't progress, and then it reverts back to the screen asking us to turn the hub back on.

I fixed this by installing the powered up app and performing the update through this.

This is quite annoying.. but through powered up app (as proposed by xanld), the firmare was updated easily.

ok, thanks for your help, so recommended holding a green button until the LED will start flashing purple.

Powered Up worked for me. The listing of Lego products doesn't contain Lego Boost, perhaps because it's a discontinued product? I chose Lego Ideas (the piano) and I was able to update the firmware.


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

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

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

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

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

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

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


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What Lego set would this building belong to? grays and red flags of different sizes
What Lego set would this building belong to?
I cannot find the logo on the flag.

I searched BrickLink for 2335p* and then restricted the color to Red.
According to BrickLink, the only set with 2335pb013 Flag 2 x 2 Square with Avatar Fire Nation Black Lines and Fancy Scroll Pattern is 3829 Fire Nation Ship


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What will the size of finished set be?
How can you tell from information on the box or manual what the size of the finished set will be? I'm thinking of space needed to create and store, etc.

Modern largest sets usually state on the box how big they are. But this isn't a case for smaller sets.
However there is another option. Based on brick dimensions it is possible to estimate the size of a set. Assuming set is built in traditional "studs up" approach:

each stud on horizontal plane would be 8mm
each brick on vertical plane would be 9.6mm, where each plate is 3.2mm.

Bricklink (and other sites) give dimensions of most elements in studs, but looking that up for each element in a set is probably a major task - and given the number of ways elements can be combined and the amount of air "trapped" in models, I doubt that the size of the elements can be used to estimate the size of the finished set.

@Henriksupportsthecommunity I don't see where your concern is coming from. It is fairly easy to roughly calculate everything in studs/bricks and later convert to Metric/Imperial system.

Yes, but even though we know the dimensions of an e.g. 2x4 brick, that doesn't tell us much about the dimensions of a "model" consisting of two of them. If the two bricks are placed fully on top of each other, we only have to add the heights, if they're combined in a different way, we also have to look at the other dimensions. And that was just with two bricks that combine in 24 different ways (several has the same size), with 6 2x4 the number of combinations rise to above 900 million.

@Henriksupportsthecommunity it seems to me we are looking at this at a different angle. My idea is that you count your bricks of final model from pictures, rather than checking the part list to estimate the variety this have and resulted dimensions. Assembly of two stacked 2x4 bricks have dimensions of 163219.2mm, same two 2x4 bricks in cross configuration will be 323219.2mm. Same goes if you have more of them, even in odd shapes.

The question does say "or manual", and I guess you can see the final model at the end of the manual. It might not be possible to see if e.g. anything sticks out of the back without going through the manual. But I guess that will work - I was thinking about estimating the size from just the box (where some size information is given for large modern sets).

LEGO shop site
In the marketing for large LEGO sets, they typically make a big deal about advertising the dimensions. In the case of the Apollo Saturn V for example you can find the dimensions under the 'Specifications' section:

Measures over 39" (100cm) high and 6” (17cm) in diameter.

You might also be able to find this on the set box.
Bricklink Studio
Bricklink Studio also has a feature that displays the dimensions and weight of models. This can be found under the menu bar 'Model' and then 'Model Info'.

If you can find an existing model of the set you are looking for you can download it and import it into the software. Of course you can also make modifications to the model or build your own too.
You can import LEGO Digital Designer files into Studio as well and there is a huge collection of fan-made models of existing sets at Eurobricks.


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Wobble problem with the PF L motor
So I got my hands on a used 42095 LEGO Technic set that I wanted for a long time. After disassembling it and testing PF for the first time, I have noticed that one of the motors is extremely wobbly, to be specific the orange part, and this becomes obvious when I insert a long axle. I didn't take a look inside because I was afraid that I might damage certain part in there. For the record, the motor works fine, but it is extremely loud compared to the other one, and it makes this "vroom-vroom" sound. I suspect it may be one of the smaller gears in the inside that is misaligned and causing the wobble.
Any help how to fix that would be appreciated.
Also thank you Alex for correcting typos and other mistakes i made.

Does this answer your question? Fixing a not working Power Functions L motor

Hi Jackob and welcome to Bricks.SE! Sound like you're looking for ways to open the motor and check its innards with the intention to fix them, does this answer your question then?

I managed to fix the problem, thanks to everyone who took the time to provide help/advice. I managed to open the motor but it is impossible to do that without damaging the clips that are holding it in place.
As for the cause of the problem itself: the lubricant that was used on the tiny white planetary gears inside wasn't distributed equally throughout the orange bearings in the carrier, which created this bump that caused the whole mechanism to shift upward whenever the motor started spinning. I removed all planetary gears and applied the excessive lubricant to all of them and reassembled the motor - which fixed the wobble, but it also fixed that nasty sound it was making.
Hopefully, this will help anyone who is suffering from the same problem, but beware: you will damage the clips. But it shouldn't be that bad.

You're welcome - but to be honest, no need to thank me for copyediting :)


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Which set contains this Bionicle part? Looks like a mohawk or some sort of blade
Which set contains this piece? I cant find anything. It looks like a big Bionicle mohawk.

This part is 20479 (Large Figure Weapon Axe, Skull Warrior):

It is present in 3 sets from 2015:

70793-1 - Skull Basher
70794-1 - Skull Scorpio
70795-1 - Mask Maker vs. Skull Grinder

It is used as a blade, weapon, or sharp edge in these sets:


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Is it possible to control Airbus H175 Rescue Helicopter 42145 via the app?
Has anyone used a Technic Hub 88012

and not the Powered Up battery box that comes with the set?

I would love to get it controlled via the app.

I don't think it would make a lot of sense, since the different functions are activated with mechanical switches.
Unlike the Caterpillar D11, this set only has one motor that is shared using clutches, so an app wouldn't control much.

I realised it would take over parts to get functionality,but just wondering if anyone had done it

You'd need additional motors to control the clutches, I'm afraid there isn't enough spare room for that in the model

Thanks, and sausages, I did think that might be the case. I was hoping to get it working with lights, and warning speaker, but lego are yet to create that part.  I hoped to and a sensor so it could detect the ground and either lower wheels, or say pull up and increase speed as it takes off, but probably just a dream thanks everyone one for all the help

As long as you can get an appropriate software profile to control it with, I don't see any other possible hurdles.
Edit: As Joost mentions, the accessibility of the power button could very well be an issue though.

Other issue is access to the power button. The beam connecting the front and back landing gear wheel is directly above the button. Maybe there are other parts in this area that block the access

Yes thought that the power button might be hard to access, and from the sounds of it, the bottom would need a bit of a redesign


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Cat D11 calibration
Once I start the calibration of the Cat D11 does anyone know how long it should take? I have let mine run for at least 10 minutes and it never completes. Should I keep it going for more time? Or is something wrong?

Just curious if you made any progress? My son, who is 11 just finished the build and the blade, hook on the back and ladder lifts. And then all the gears seem to spin. Any suggestions. Thanks


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How to power on and adjust speed for a PU Train 88011
I'm doing a project for my kiddos.
I'm trying to find the schematics of a lego train motor 88011, I want to control them using an ESP32 through a telegram bot.
I have the ESP32 and the telegram bot working to power up or power down a led (like in this page but with some modified parts for the telegram bot https://randomnerdtutorials.com/esp32-pwm-arduino-ide/)
I was trying to understand the wiring on the lego motor, but only found some videos on 4 wired connections, these have six.
I also have no idea of what voltage these motors are, attached my hardware.

well i found the page here: https://philohome.com/wedo2reverse/wedo2.htm

Use pins M1 and M2 to control the motors

You will need extra hardware to drive the motor since is uses high current. You won't be able to directly connect it to your ESP32 and make it move.
The LEGO hubs use a LB1836 motor driver chip (see this answer for a photo and link to data sheet). So you will need to find a breakout board with a motor driver with similar specs (example) or make your own PCB and use the same chip as LEGO.
The PWM output of the ESP32 will connect to the motor driver chip. You will need two PWM outputs to make the motor go both forwards and backwards. The motor driver chip will need to be connected to a 6-9V battery (7.2V LiPO, 6 AA, etc.). And the output of the motor driver will need to be connected to pins 1 and 2 of the motor.

Thank you both for your answers, David and @jncraton, I was trying to build a H-bridge with 4 npn2222 transistors, but I couldn't get the motor to run, then I found a LM298N lying around and did the wiring exactly like this (used some other pins), and with the code in there, the motor is running. I am only using the first two cables (M1 and M2). I am using an old power source which is giving me almost 13 V, and feeding the 5V to the L298N.

There is still a simple analog connection for these motors in the Powered Up system. The wiring is similar to the older PF system in that way, except that there are now 2 dedicated signaling lines. Here's the pinout from Philo:

Pin
Label
Function

1
M1
Motor power lead 1 (PWM controlled)

2
M2
Motor power lead 2 (PWM controlled)

3
GND
Ground (0V)

4
VCC
Power for device electronics (3.3V)

5
ID1
Identification line 1 / Serial data (hub -> device)

6
ID2
Identification line 2 / Serial data (device -> hub)

You should be able to drive the motor by applying pure DC voltage to the M1 and M2 pins. You can control speed using any of the common approaches to controlling DC motor speed.
In terms of voltage, anything up to 9V should be safe.

Technically speaking, the GPIOs connected to pins 5 and 6 cannot be configured as analog inputs on the MCU. There are two gpios connected to each pin. The detection algorithm uses these in a serial of tests to detect one of 4 states for each pin. The detected states are A) directly connected to VCC, B) directly connected to GND, C) connected to GND through a resistor and D) not connected to anything. This is all done using digital inputs, not analog. Source code: https://github.com/pybricks/pybricks-micropython/blob/2f39fbad475687f8223963dfca01a9b0cd6561de/lib/pbio/drv/ioport/ioport_lpf2.c#L35

@DavidLechner That makes sense. I appreciate you sharing the source code for that. I took the analog language there to mean that the device can identify itself using only passive analog components without the need for any sort of digital logic. This makes basic analog devices like the train motor more cost effective, as they don't need to include a microcontroller. You are right that these are digital pins on the device.

I think the analog language is a carryover from EV3 which did use analog inputs to identify connected devices. The first person to see that some of the Powered Up devices had a 2.2K resistor assumed (incorrectly) that since there was a resistor, that analog must still be involved and this info has been repeated ever since. But I suppose using the terminology somewhat inaccurately is more polite than calling I/O devices "smart" (meaning the device contains a microcontroller and uses UART) or "dumb" (meaning the device does not contain a microcontroller and pins 5/6 are for identification only).

@DavidLechner That makes sense. I've removed the analog language to avoid any possible confusion about these actually being analog pins on the device.


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Instructions for lego bag with 135149 (yellow and red bricks)
Please let me know if you know what set this goes with.  This is everything I have.

These bags are from 31112 Wild Lion:

This set includes 4 bags, so you appear to have everything. The instructions are available on Rebrickable.

Wow, thank you so much!!

@emith Make sure you click to accept the answer (which beat me by a minute!) https://stackoverflow.com/help/someone-answers


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identification: strange parts in a sprue
Found this in my random parts bag.

No Lego logo's anywhere, also the shade of blue is slightly off the standard blue in the Lego colour palette. The bottoms do seem to fit quite snug on Lego studs...
I do not recall how I obtained this.
Can anyone identify this?

This is part # 6923 : Scala Accessories - Complete Sprue - Perfume Bottles (Belville)
in Blue it appears in :
Set # 3849: Orient Bazaar

Seeing the other contents of that set, I recall how I obtained the parts. I ordered a number of the coins (gold coloured 2x2 round tiles) in this set through bricklink, the seller gifted me the part as an extra


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How can I easily take apart stacks of 4x4 plates?
Earlier this week I bought roughly 200 4x4 plates from the Pick A Brick wall at my favorite LEGO store. Greed got the better of me, and to fill up my PAB cups as much as possible, I stacked the plates tightly onto each other:

Now that I'm back home, how do I take these apart easily without breaking my nails? I don't get enough leverage using a LEGO brick separator, and using the flat end to pry apart plates is damaging the separator a lot.

Have you tried, and hear me out here, two brick separators side-by-side?

@RSchulz yeah, even tried more than two - It's hard to get good leverage and I end up having to use the flat end every time.

In such a situation I'd try using a larger plate. Stick it on top of the stack and try to pry one or more 4x4s off with its leverage.

Do you have a zillion brick separators? Maybe just sacrifice one for this task, and then next time, remember that this particular form of greed probably doesn't pay off.

Do not use brick separators for plates - they can easily damage the plates by stressing the plastic. I had several plates break this way. Nowadays I try to avoid putting large plates directly on each other and use smaller plates in-between them.

Pop them apart with a pocket knife (don't cut yourself!) should work just fine. A note for next time, put them together with one row of each piece exposed to make it easier for you.

Were I to try this method, I would use a butter knife; a sharp knife would easily damage the plates.

Won't that damage the plates?

While this have a high chance of damaging parts, the thinner the blade of the knife the easier it is to get parts separated.

Keeping stacks of plates with each layer offset by one stud is a great way to store LEGO plates.

4x4 plates might be the worst-case scenario - larger plates flex a lot and so can be twisted apart; smaller plates can't bind as much because the have fewer studs. I had this problem, and it required multiple brick separators - typically two on top, two on the bottom, and one or two along the edges to try to pry the plates apart. Next time, you should consider off-setting your plates by one stud so that they are not fully attached.

Try using a pair (or possibly three) longer 4-wide plates (4x8, 4x10), attaching them on a offset- gripping 12 of the 16 studs of your 4x4's. The longer plates should give your hand and arm something decent to hold on to, and you may be able to get some twisting and prying action because of the good grip provided by new elements, and the fact that you won't need to be pressing down on the whole stack.

Dental floss works quite well.

What I often do is place the stack on the large flat base plate or bigger plate of some size, and use the stud end of the separator to pull them off one at a time. That often helps, when the stack is firmly stuck to a larger plate. You can also use the underside of the flat part of the separator, I don't know why, but that works for me sometimes better than the top-side of the flat part of the separator. Also, when your separator gets too damaged, you can use sandpaper to smoothen it out again.


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No spare parts in some bags within a set?
I recently purchased and built Valentine Lovebirds and Easter Rabbits Display.
While the first set contained the usual extra parts of small bricks, in 40523 the first three bags contained spares, while in bags 4–7, there wasn't a single extra part!
This does not look like coincidence.
As explain e. g. in this answer, especially with small parts, there is always the chance of error, and Lego tries to deliver rather one part too many than one too few.
Has Lego improved their packaging systems so they are sure to always exactly hit the desired count? Is this something we can expect to see more often in the future?
Has someone had no more extra parts in other sets?

I don't have the sets you mentioned, but I wonder if bags 4-7 actually included any small/tiny parts? Because if they were made up of larger than usual "extra" parts, then it makes sense not to include any as extra.

@Alex bag 4 has no small parts, but bag 5 has 1x1 plates in steps 17 and 18, bag 6 has 1x1 tiles (some rounded) in many step, bag 7 has flowers — all (in my understanding) candidates for spares.

Looking at the instructions, bag 4 does not seem to have any elements small enough for spares to be included.
Bags 5, 6 and 7 do, however the colors seem to be limited to green, lime and orange. Looking at the parts list on Bricklink:
https://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemInv.asp?S=40523-1
none of these colors seem to be in the "Extra items" table.
So your observation is very likely correct, none of bags 4 to 7 contain extra parts.
Note that bags 4-7 correspond with the second booklet of the instructions.
Note that 1 half of a set is a very small statistical sample, hence I believe this is just an anomaly and no conclusions can be drawn from this unless more sets appear that have no spares.

Looking at bag 5, part 4621557 (lime green plate 1x1) seems like a candidate for an extra item. Actually, in other colors (medium nougat, white, light purple), the same brick had spares in the first 3 bags.

Like I said then, no green, lime or orange extra parts according to brick link...

Just wanted to point out the possibility that these bags usually do contain spare parts but your specific set is an example of the reason for spare parts. In other words, bags 4-7 usually do contain 1 or 2 spare pieces because there can be errors in packaging and you happened to get a packaging error and received fewer pieces than planned. Because there are spare parts you still have a full set, just without any spare pieces.

Well, while this is possible, I would say this is highly unlikely. LEGO has been pretty consistent with their extra parts. You can see this on Bricklink where any changes to inconsistency are being documented. If there were multiple "extra parts" options these sets would usually had a memo or extra inventory.

Damaged pieces happen, miscoloured pieces happen, scratched pieces happen, but I'm absolutely convinced that no errors in packaging happen, at least not for small items in little bags. The extra pieces are solely there because it's very easy for the builder to misplace them.


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Need help identifying an unopened LEGO bag - lime green and black pieces
We found an unopened bag of lime green and black pieces. Son does not remember what or where it came from which is odd because he's always eager to assemble sets when he gets them. Looks like some sort of vehicle since there is a windshield, wheels and steering with pieces that are smooth on the outside.

I fixed the photo links - if I had done that first, it might have been easier to find, as I only went off the first photo.

76899-1 Lamborghini Urus ST-X & Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo EVO
Based on

Black Brick 1 x 10
Lime Plate 1 x 6
Lime Slope, Curved 8 x 2


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How does the play experience work in the City Missions sets?
I recently saw one of the LEGO City Missions sets:

According to the box, these sets are "built with stories, not instructions". How does this work in practice?

I saw these on the shelf recently and wondered how they worked. TLG was kind enough to send me a copy to explore.
The experiences for this set are available in the LEGO Builder app. The box itself does not come with any form of paper instructions aside from a single page directing builders to access the app:

The app allows you to select a set and explore its missions:

The build and play experience is driven by a series of "missions" inside the app:

I initially expected these sets to be a bit like a Creator 3-in-1 sets with app-based instructions and light "story" elements between certain steps based on this image from the box:

I was pleasantly surprised that there is quite a bit more opportunity for creative building here than I initially assumed. The first mission allows builders to create a couple minifigs with a few accessories. There's not a huge amount of creativity involved here, but you can mix-and-match minifig parts.
The second mission provides the build for the core element of the set and is built using regular in-app instructions. This provides the structure for future missions and steps. Here's the completed core for the space set:

The core elements for the sets feature a few play features and numerous attachment points for accessories and modifications.
Subsequent missions provide short video and text descriptions of challenges to overcome by adding or changing features of the core set. These missions may not include additional instructions:

Builders are provided with extra pieces and high-level goals for the build (e.g. rescue an astronaut floating in space). There are also ideas provided for possible minibuilds that can be added to the main build:

Once the self-guided creative modifications have been completed, builders can finish the mission and participate in an imaginative play experience (test the booster, fly to Mars, look for clues related to a crime, rescue an animal, etc),

Aside from a brief video, the missions do not include any digital play component. This isn't a series of digital minigames between building steps. There's not much to do in the app other than follow instructions, read, and watch short videos.
As far as I know, there are 3 sets available following this format. They are:

60353 Wild Animal Rescue Missions
60354 Mars Spacecraft Exploration Missions
60355 Water Police Detective Missions

They each include a base model that can be customized with an array of parts:
Animal Rescue

Space

Water Police

In terms of the play experience, these sets feel a bit like Education sets, Boost, or Robot Inventor where the builder completes a series of builds and tasks in an interleaved manner.
As far as parts go, these felt a little bit like the 2018 Builder Bigger Thinking sets, where builders are given a variety of imaginative parts and minifigs:

For my child, it was helpful to have a base to build from and then have a palette of distinctive pieces to use for customization. Here's what they came up with:

Overall, I appreciate seeing LEGO try something a bit different in the City line by making use of some of the techniques used in more educational sets. This seems like it could be a good way to get certain types of kids more involved in creative build and play experiences.

Animal rescue seems rather lacking in actual animals - there's a rabbit that looks like a glove puppet, and a fish, but a chicken drumstick? That rescue can't have ended well, at least not for the chicken.

@ChrisH The chicken is bait for catching a bigger animal. Although, now I'm worried about the bunny...

@ChrisH Not to mention the generic bone next to the fish.  I guess that's what the drumstick looks like after you bait said bigger animal?

Good spot @DarrelHoffman, I missed that in white on white, and there must be dozens of them at my house (very common in Friends sets with dogs)


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What set is this? Star Wars, lots of greys, light and dark
What set do these bags belong to? It is the same Star Wars set.

Could you post a photo of the other side, so we can see more of the pieces not obscured by the 4 label?

75292-1 The Razor Crest (The Mandalorian Bounty Hunter Transport)

This is all from the first large photo which has the wheels (didn't see the second large photo until after the links were fixed). The small photo perplexed me for quite a while as well, so I'm just going to ignore it now.
Based on

Light Bluish Gray Plate, Round Half 3 x 6 with 1 x 2 Cutout
Dark Bluish Gray Plate 4 x 4 Corner
Yellow Technic, Axle 7L

I'm a bit confused by this. I needed to squint (and zoom the image), but I can see at least 3 units of Plate, Modified 4 x 6 with Trap Door Hinge in dark bluish grey:

...plus one 60485 technic axle, 9L in yellow:

Performing a search for sets containing those parts yields set 75292-1 "The Razor Crest, but the parts list for the set does not include any 6x10 or 6x12 plates, nor any 4x12 plates.
There's a few sets which include several trapdoor plates plus 4x12 light bluish grey plates (millenium falcon, AT-AT, UCS super star destroyer), but none of those sets do have any 9L yellow axles.
Better photographs are needed; or, at least, clarification on the sizes of light bluish grey plates in that bag.

Edit: The new photographs have clarified the situation. The 6xN plates are dark grey (and not light grey), and the 4x12 plate is really two 4x6s. As @RSchulz has pointed out, this is indeed the Razor Crest.

Just add another bag from the same set

Ah! It's not a 4x12 - it's two pieces, but you can't tell because of the white band covering them both. I also spent a long time trying to reconcile that.

Set 70323-1 Jestro's Volcano Lair also has the trap door and axle, but only one trap door, which I didn't notice at the time, oops.


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white-coloured light brick for the iron man sets
I've recently built the Marvel Iron Man Figure (76206) which comes with a light brick to power the 'arc reactor' in the set

I find it problematic that the light brick lights up orange, rather than the white/bright blue like in the movies. The transparent blue plate doesn't do much to modify the colour.
I'm also building the Hulkbuster 76210 set next, which according to online reviews has the same problem with the 3 light bricks included.
Is there a third party source where I could buy alternative or modified light bricks? Does anyone have or can produce instructions to exchange the LED in a Lego light brick?

I'm not aware of 3rd party sellers that offer these in alternate colors, but it doesn't look terribly difficult to do yourself. There is at least one video covering the process. Here's the gist:

Take the base off with a screwdriver

Remove the original LED

Acquire a suitable replacement LED of the appropriate color and voltage

Bend and trim the leads on the new LED

Test and reassemble

FYI LEDs don't come in different voltages separately from colours. However I expect the voltage doesn't have to be matched.

@user253751 It won’t need to be an exact match, but too far off won’t work well. Something between 2.9V and 3.1V should be fine, and you can get most colors in that size in that voltage range. For example, an Inolux INL-3AW30 should work perfectly well here (though that is admittedly the only 3mm through-hole white LED around the right voltage range I found with a cursory search through my usual go-to for this type of thing).

Great pictures.  Thanks for another awesome answer.

I can attest that the method described here works well, I've used white leds we had lying around at work my colleague measured out to work quite well with 3V


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Change Mario Yoshi pose
I'm returning to Lego as an adult and struggling with what I thought would be a small project.
Please tell me if this is off topic but as it has a hard answer of no or this is how I though it would be ok.
What I'm trying to do is change the pose of the Lego Mario Yoshi but the way it is built I cant see any way of moving anything.
The goal is from this:

to this:

Can anyone tell me how I would go about this or is the original design too limiting to make it a possibility?

I finally got around to making an attempt at designing a pose for Yoshi.
I received set 71406 Yoshi's Gift House as part of 2023 Q2 Activity Support, from which I could have a copy of the original Yoshi as a basis for the task.
I tried to remain faithful to the style of the original Lego version, while still capturing the 'reaching forward' and 'open-mouthed' look of the new pose.
I also kept in mind to limit the additional parts required, and try to use commonly available parts if required.
See my result for yourself:

It's a fairly simple assembly, this photo should be easy to follow:

Only ~10 additional parts are required. (I didn't own ALL the desired colours and parts)
These are the ideal parts you'll need to recreate it: (replace Lime with whatever colour your Yoshi is)

Qty
Colour
Part

2
Lime
Bracket 1 x 2 - 1 x 2 (shown here in Light Bluish Grey)

1
Lime
Slope 30 1 x 2 x 2/3 or 2 of Slope 30 1 x 1 x 2/3 (shown)

1
White
Slope 30 1 x 2 x 2/3 or 2 of Slope 30 1 x 1 x 2/3 (shown)

2
Lime
Plate 2 x 3

1
Red
Plate, Round 1 x 1 with Open Stud

1
Red
Bar 6.6L with Stop Ring (shown) or Bar 6L with Stop Ring

1
Black
Brick 1 x 1 with Studs on 4 Sides or perhaps another colour

1
White
Slope 30 1 x 1 x 2/3


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Lego 42129 automatic suspension lift
Has anyone looked at a mod to lower the suspension on the LEGO 42129 4x4 Mercedes-Benz trail truck when the differential lock activates.
I was thinking about a few linear Actuators but never had a set with them in so I also wondered how much power they can take and apply?
Can linear actuator be operated from both ends, i.e. if you push down on the extended rod, will the lower shaft rotate or is power transfer just one way?
I hope some can help, even if it's just with info

A linear actuator cannot be operated both ways, and cannot replace a strut with a spring. It can only be driven through the gearing input to extend or retract.

I wasn't planning on using actuators to replace the damper/strut. But thanks for the information about actuators

Is there a set number of rotations the lower gear goes through to fully extend/retract the actuators do you know?

5.2 rotations for the small ones

They all seem to be 5.2 rotations per stud, from memory I believe it's only .5 of a rotation to lock the differential,if in correct please feel free to correct. So I've got to transfer. 5 a rotation  to maximum of 41.6 rotations


text:
Extend/retract speed of linear actuators
I am trying to find out if the linear actuators (small, large and XL) have a fixed number of rotations on the bottom axle connector in order to extend them fully?
I am guessing the small LA will take fewer turns?

Does this answer your question? What's inside a linear actuator?

Not really, but the video added does so thanks one and all

I voted to leave this question open, I think LA's are complicated/interesting enough to have multiple (in my opinion unrelated) questions about them

I found Sariels video here helpful:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A23yh-enhyI
Sariel states that all 3 LA's extend and retract at the same speed.
Several sources state that the L linear actuator takes 26 revolutions to extend to its full 5 studs, so the small LA will take 15.6 revolutions to extend to its full 3 studs and the new XL linear actuator will take 41.6 revolutions to extend to its full 8 studs.

Thanks that's great info

Glad they all seam to be 5.2 rotations per stud


text:
What is this brick with a round back and a stud on the side used for?
I haven't seen this part before. What is it? What is it used for?

This part is 3386 Plate 1 x 1 x 2/3 Half Round with Side Stud.

I recently encountered this part for the first time and wanted to share more about it as it is new to me and looks very useful. It was launched in 2023 and appeared originally in 3 speed champions sets:

In terms of the height and side stud placement, it is similar to 87609 and 99206

It's even a bit like the classic Erling brick when the brick is used on it's side:

This is one of the smallest brick-like parts available that provides two studs at 90 degree angles from one another. It fills a role somewhat similar to the smallest brackets, 36840 and 36841:

This part shares its footprint with 24246 Tile Round 1 x 1 Half Circle:

It does have some unique advantages. It's very easy to sneak this part in where it would otherwise be difficult to create a studs out connection. Here are some examples from the first wave of sets:

Another advantage of these parts is that they can be used to recreate the 5 plate tall bricks with studs on side in a way that should be usable in most contexts where these elements are needed:

The geometry of these parts also makes them useful for microscale building. Here's a quick example of a train car that uses these elements to attach the wheels:

The rounded back of the part also allows it to be used at varying angles as demonstrated in this quick X-wing design:

This looks like a part that could open up a number of new building opportunities.
Here's a final clever example of this part being used upside down to create a tiny toilet on the Concorde:


text:
Bags in Lego 21029 Buckingham Palace Architect
Does anyone know how many bags are in Lego set 21029 Buckingham Palace Architect set
Thanks in advance

Based on this video there are 5 unnumbered bags with few non-packed plates inside.


text:
Please identify this green pin
I bought the 42153 set yesterday and I got this green rare pin in bag 1.

How can this Technic pin be used?

I assume you mean this pin:
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=65826

Which was first introduced in the Spike Essential set, but is currently also present in a couple of other sets, e.g. the Technic set NASCAR Next Gen Chevrolet Camaro 42153, as you mentioned but also the Volkswagen T2 Camper Van (VW Bus) 10279
Its purpose is to connect system elements with Technic elements, it serves a very similar purpose as the half pin
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=4274

with the main difference being that the stud on the pin is inverted. Rather than enabling to connect a system elements with the studs away from the Technic element, with the green pin, you connect the system element with the studs toward the element.

I have 2 plus a spare one. (42153)


text:
How can I build a Lego slope of a rough 50 degree angle with preferably legal building techniques?
I am currently building a functional Lego minifigure-scaled escalator that can transition from flat platforms to stairwell. My first iteration for its guiding rail includes a slope of ~39.5 degree inclination as thus:

And here is the first staircase which the guiding rail is designed around:

But now I've been looking into a newer staircase design that has an additional plate of thickness, and its slope is ~50 degrees as measured in Stud.io. Here are views of the staircase design with the guiding bars colored red:

And here are versions of the slope with attempts of hinge bricks and SNOT to uphold the slope angles:

Note that both slopes are not properly aligned with the studs regardless of hinge bricks or Technic connector pegs. On the left design, the colored bricks (blue is of the slopes, and green is aligned with the studs) had an offset that disallow peg connections; and on the right design, the gap between the hinge brick and the SNOT brick is actually thinner than a plate.
Is there any way of building a framework for this 50 degree slope? Preferably a legal method that produces minimal stress due to the technical nature of this build?
Please note that I have limited bricks at my disposal to physically test this out, and I don't intend to use Lego's dedicated escalator piece as it is incompatible with any of my designs.

You can always invert your "escalator piece" to use as a base as it will make exactly same angle. Then it is up to you how you want your guiding rail to be attached. Here's one idea:

Please note both Blue pieces may not alighn to stud/half-stud grid.

Any connection points where the ratio of the vertical separation to horizontal separation is 6/5 will do, one does not need to limit one-self to clips and bars... In my opinion however, a non-integral alignment along the hypothenuse is very undesirable...

The bar elements in your step part are vertically separated 3 plates and horizontally 1 module which is 2.5 plates. So the exact angle (rather than approximately measured) is atan (3/2.5) = 50.1944289 degrees.
You might want to consider designing a step part where the bars are separated vertically by 4 plates and horizontally by 3 plates (or vica versa) which gives a slightly steeper angle (53.13 degrees) so that the sides of the triangle describing the main stairs are in ratio of 3-4-5 (pythagorean triangle). As a bonus the multiple of 5 plates will correspond nicely with a multiple of 2 modules...

Making the step part 4 plates thick would make it rather tall for the average minifigure, therefore I would prefer designing a slope to accommodate the steps rather than the opposite. Also I don't understand what you mean by the latter, could you demonstrate with some kind of schematics?

Surely you've heard of Pythagoras ? A²=B²+C², where ABC is a right angled triangle A the length of the hypothenuse and B and C the lengths of the legs. A=5,B=3,C=4 is the best known such triangle... Any triangle in ratio 3:4:5 is easy to build in lego... if you can have the bars in the step forming a 3:4:5 triangle, creating a slope using legal techniques is easy. Anything else is difficult or impossible


text:
Does the 10309 Succulents set contain only non-unique bricks?
First-time poster here: I write on innovation topics, have been Lego-infatuated for maybe 45 years now. My kid and I were assembling the 2022 succulents kit (#10309) and I noticed a piece that looked like a Robin Hood-type hat. Turns out it was (Forestman hat - 6395137). I've since disposed of the box but I distinctly remember it saying somewhere that no net-new pieces were developed for that set. Can anyone confirm this? It's the jumping-off point for a post on compositional innovation.

If the claim of no new pieces isn't actually on the box, maybe it was in a video you watched about the set.

I don't see anything on the box indicating that there are no new parts in this set:

I also briefly flipped through the instructions and didn't see a mention of this. However, I do not believe that there were any new molds created for this set. We can see this by looking through the Rebrickable inventory.
While it does not appear to me that any new molds were made for this set, there were several recolors. For example, both of these elements appeared for the first time in this set:
43898 in Bright Light Orange

24946 in Yellowish Green

As of May 2023, at least one element has only been used in this set:
43898 in Coral

This set could still support your thesis. Injecting a new color of plastic into an existing mold is much cheaper and more economically efficient than machining a new mold, and demonstrates the sort of compositional innovation you are discussing.

https://brickflips.com/10309-succulents-botanical-collection-review/ has a more complete list of new colors, but apparently no new molds.

@jncraton incredibly helpful, thank you! Definitely agree on the mold re-use fitting under compositional. Was thinking of the Apollo 13 'square peg round hole' scene as the lead-in example for the piece. Really appreciate your taking the time to answer my question.

@Karsten Happy to help! Good luck on your post.

@jncraton it's coming together! If you're interested, I can send you a link when it's out. Posting to LinkedIn, if you're on that I'd be happy to credit you for your help.


text:
This is a AT-ST but I cannot identify what set it goes to
This is a AT-ST but I cannot identify what set it goes to.
Can you help me?

This is from
8038: The Battle of Endor

Keypart :
Dark Bluish Gray Plate, Modified 6 x 8 Trap Door Frame Horizontal


text:
A Star Wars thing, but what set is it from? A sphere with legs?
A Star Wars thing but what set is it from?

This is
75142: Homing Spider Droid

Keyparts

Dark Bluish Gray Brick, Round Corner 3 x 3 x 2 Dome Top
Dark Bluish Gray Projectile Launcher Part, Rapid Shooter Six Barrel - Angled Barrels


text:
Got this at a sale. What set is it for? Lots of greys with 4 legs
Got this at a sale.  What set is it for?
Some one knows.

This is from
7869: Battle for Geonosis

Keypart

Dark Bluish Gray Brick, Round Corner 6 x 6 x 2


text:
Would this be a Star Wars ship. What set would it go to? Greys but with dark greens
Would this be a Star Wars ship.  What set would it go to?

This is from :
75168: Yoda's Jedi Starfighter

Keypart

Dark Green Wedge, Plate 8 x 3 Left


text:
Can you help with the set identification for these items? Symmetrical greyish wings, and tan/brown internals
Can you help with the set identification for these items?

The left two assemblies are from
8095: General Grievous' Starfighter

keypart:

Dark Bluish Gray Wedge 2 x 16 Triple

The right assembly is from :
75234: AT-AP Walker

Keyparts :

Dark Bluish Gray Dish 3 x 3 Inverted (Radar)
Reddish Brown Tile, Modified 2 x 2 with Studs on Edge


text:
Can you identify these 2 retro bricks? A red piece with notch and steps, and a green circle
No idea about these parts. The green part is roughly 5x5, 6-01 code and old school Lego brand written on it. The red part has a notch and what kind of looks like internal steps. Thanks!

1st is a train part, Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Steam Engine Cylinder, Round Surfaces, Interior Grooves
2nd is Fabuland Trash Can Lid 5 x 5

Great, thank you!

I thought red was a train part, but it's not under the Train category. And I never got to searching for "Cylinder". The trash can lid I should have posted about, since I have the can itself, and it says LEGO on it as well, but also has no part number, so that would've been an easy match.

@Curtis https://bricks.stackexchange.com/help/someone-answers

@RSchulz, on bricklink, if part of an element is plate like it's usually under Plate, Modified, even if it's only used in train sets...

Yeah, but I wasn't about to go through all of those. It just seemed to... train-specific.


text:
What are these magnetic LEGO-like bricks?
Can anyone identify these? The tin they are in is dated around 1967 so bricks might be of a similar age. They are magnetic.
Any help greatly appreciated.

According to this article these are called "Bombo Magnet".

Bombo Magnet-1963.
Bricks made of a metal plate with studs, a magnet, and its plastic cover. The plastic "grid" on the underside leaves exactly room for the elevations of the upper metal plate ensuring that bricks can be built precisely on top of each other. First presented at the 14th Toy Fair in Nuremberg. Made by: BOMBO GmbH in Bad Honnef am Rhein, Germany.

Amazing. Thankyou very much!


text:
Direct command to set EV3 motor speed
I am trying to set a EV3 motor's speed and start it remotely using a direct command. Using the resources LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Communication Developer Kit (page 24) and LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 Firmware Developer Kit (page 53) I've came up with the following (Kotlin) code to create the command:
ByteBuffer
    .allocate(18)
    .order(ByteOrder.LITTLE_ENDIAN)
    .putShort(16)
    .putShort(0)
    .put(0x80.toByte())
    .putShort(0)
    .put(0xA5.toByte())
    .put(0)
    .put(0b01)
    .put(leftSpeed.toByte())
    .put(0xA5.toByte())
    .put(0)
    .put(0b10)
    .put(rightSpeed.toByte())
    .put(0xA6.toByte())
    .put(0)
    .put(0b11)

However, the EV3 behaves really unpredictably, with some speed values (the range is -100 to 100) flipping the polarity, some even crashing the OS.

The parameters must be encoded. See section 4.2 in the Communication Developer Kit and section 3.4 in the Firmware Developer Kit.
Here are the referenced macros from bytecodes.h:
//        MACROS FOR PRIMITIVES AND SYSTEM CALLS

#define   PRIMPAR_SHORT                 0x00
#define   PRIMPAR_LONG                  0x80

#define   PRIMPAR_CONST                 0x00
#define   PRIMPAR_VARIABLE              0x40
#define   PRIMPAR_LOCAL                 0x00
#define   PRIMPAR_GLOBAL                0x20
#define   PRIMPAR_HANDLE                0x10
#define   PRIMPAR_ADDR                  0x08

#define   PRIMPAR_INDEX                 0x1F
#define   PRIMPAR_CONST_SIGN            0x20
#define   PRIMPAR_VALUE                 0x3F

#define   PRIMPAR_BYTES                 0x07

#define   PRIMPAR_STRING_OLD            0
#define   PRIMPAR_1_BYTE                1
#define   PRIMPAR_2_BYTES               2
#define   PRIMPAR_4_BYTES               3
#define   PRIMPAR_STRING                4

#define   PRIMPAR_LABEL                 0x20

#define   HND(x)                        (PRIMPAR_HANDLE | (x))
#define   ADR(x)                        (PRIMPAR_ADDR | (x))

#define   LCS                           (PRIMPAR_LONG | PRIMPAR_STRING)

#define   LAB1(v)                       (PRIMPAR_LONG | PRIMPAR_LABEL),((v) & 0xFF)

#define   LC0(v)                        (((v) & PRIMPAR_VALUE) | PRIMPAR_SHORT | PRIMPAR_CONST)
#define   LC1(v)                        (PRIMPAR_LONG  | PRIMPAR_CONST | PRIMPAR_1_BYTE),((v) & 0xFF)
#define   LC2(v)                        (PRIMPAR_LONG  | PRIMPAR_CONST | PRIMPAR_2_BYTES),((v) & 0xFF),(((v) >> 8) & 0xFF)
#define   LC4(v)                        (PRIMPAR_LONG  | PRIMPAR_CONST | PRIMPAR_4_BYTES),((ULONG)(v) & 0xFF),(((ULONG)(v) >> (ULONG)8) & 0xFF),(((ULONG)(v) >> (ULONG)16) & 0xFF),(((ULONG)(v) >> (ULONG)24) & 0xFF)

#define   LV0(i)                        (((i) & PRIMPAR_INDEX) | PRIMPAR_SHORT | PRIMPAR_VARIABLE | PRIMPAR_LOCAL)
#define   LV1(i)                        (PRIMPAR_LONG  | PRIMPAR_VARIABLE | PRIMPAR_LOCAL | PRIMPAR_1_BYTE),((i) & 0xFF)
#define   LV2(i)                        (PRIMPAR_LONG  | PRIMPAR_VARIABLE | PRIMPAR_LOCAL | PRIMPAR_2_BYTES),((i) & 0xFF),(((i) >> 8) & 0xFF)
#define   LV4(i)                        (PRIMPAR_LONG  | PRIMPAR_VARIABLE | PRIMPAR_LOCAL | PRIMPAR_4_BYTES),((i) & 0xFF),(((i) >> 8) & 0xFF),(((i) >> 16) & 0xFF),(((i) >> 24) & 0xFF)

#define   GV0(i)                        (((i) & PRIMPAR_INDEX) | PRIMPAR_SHORT | PRIMPAR_VARIABLE | PRIMPAR_GLOBAL)
#define   GV1(i)                        (PRIMPAR_LONG  | PRIMPAR_VARIABLE | PRIMPAR_GLOBAL | PRIMPAR_1_BYTE),((i) & 0xFF)
#define   GV2(i)                        (PRIMPAR_LONG  | PRIMPAR_VARIABLE | PRIMPAR_GLOBAL | PRIMPAR_2_BYTES),((i) & 0xFF),(((i) >> 8) & 0xFF)
#define   GV4(i)                        (PRIMPAR_LONG  | PRIMPAR_VARIABLE | PRIMPAR_GLOBAL | PRIMPAR_4_BYTES),((i) & 0xFF),(((i) >> 8) & 0xFF),(((i) >> 16) & 0xFF),(((i) >> 24) & 0xFF)

Values withing the range 0 to 31 can essentially be passed directly since PRIMPAR_SHORT and PRIMPAR_CONST used in LC0() are both 0 (values -31 to -1 can also be used as LC0 but need to be bitwise and-ed with 0x3F). But since the speeds can be +/-100, they need LC1() which requires two bytes.
So something like this?
ByteBuffer
    .allocate(20)
    .order(ByteOrder.LITTLE_ENDIAN)
    .putShort(18) // command size
    .putShort(0) // message counter
    .put(0x80.toByte()) // direct command, no reply
    .putShort(0) // globals/locals
    .put(0xA5.toByte()) // opOutput_Speed
    .put(0) // LAYER=LC0(0)
    .put(0b01) // NOS=LC0(1)
    .put(0x81).put(leftSpeed.toByte()) // SPEED=LC1(leftSpeed)
    .put(0xA5.toByte()) // opOutput_Speed
    .put(0) // LAYER=LC0(0)
    .put(0b10) // NOS=LC0(2)
    .put(0x81).put(rightSpeed.toByte()) // SPEED=LC1(rightSpeed)
    .put(0xA6.toByte()) // opOutput_Start
    .put(0) // LAYER=LC0(0)
    .put(0b11) // NOS=LC0(3)

First of all, I really appreciate your response. I am not familiar with the encoding, did I get this right? For each argument, if its range (signed) is within +/- 31 I should pass it through the LC0 macro, if it's +/- 127 I should pass it through the LC1 macro and so on? and that means that the encoded speed is actually 2 bytes?

Yes, that is correct.


text:
App-Controlled Cat® D11 Bulldozer
I'm having a problem with the App-Controlled Cat® D11 Bulldozer (42131).
The option Module 2 test has disappeared from the app. How do I get it back?

Welcome to Bricks.SE.  Have you tried rebooting or updating?

uninstalled app and reinstalled it. No luck. there doesn't appear to be a manual way to upgrade. I've built up to end of module 4. Functions all seem to work. I've one track unit built and installed. Both turn same way know no. Just thinking that at the test function I may have  tried turning the d11


text:
Correct axle rotation of partially built LEGO Cat D11 Bulldozer (42131)?
Page 173, Step 205, of LEGO Cat D11 Bulldozer (42131) instructions has a step to attach two sub-assemblies. What is the correct rotation of these two axles? Is it correct if they rotate in opposite directions?

I don't have this set, so my answer is based on online instructions for this particular set.
TLDR: Brown axles are supposed to spin in opposite directions. Long answer below.
Step 105 has two sub-assemblies attached - the ones with back axles seen on bottom left. Each of these axles drives the brown axles - one is clearly seen on bottom right and another is barely seen on top left.

Now moving forward to Step 116 we can still see both black axles present here, now with few more parts attached in between steps. Each axle has a grey T16 gear which sits rigidly on each axle (each gear will rotate together with its axle). In between both grey gears there are three more T16 in red. Now these are different - they move independently from the axle they are placed on, where none of yellow axle rotation impact any of red gears (until one of them is engaged via gearbox, but this is irrelevant now). In such setup these three gears connect both grey gears, meaning if we turn one of two black axles both would rotate. Since there are 5 gears in this gear train such combination would result in both axles spinning in the same direction. This would then transfer the rotation to tan T12 gears which, based on the way they are placed (same direction towards front of the model), would result in both brown axles to spin in opposite directions.

If you follow further down the instructions (steps 529 and 627) you can find that few more gears are attached to each axle further down the line. This would result in two connection points, used by next function, to spin in the same direction.


text:
Identify this set: brown and tan bricks and plates
What set do these parts go to?
There is no bag number.
Three different shades of Brown.
Two are 2x6 and one is 6x6

Based on:

15397 Plate 3 x 3 cross in reddish brown,
30137 Brick 1 x 4 with log profile, and
3958 Plate 6 x 6 in reddish brown,

This is set "Bricks bricks bricks", either 10717 or 11717.


text:
Identify this set: yellow and light grey plates
I would like to find what set these are for.
Yellow, light gray, black, white.
No bag number.

Based on:

4162 tile 1 x 8 white, and
50305 wedge plate 3 x 8 yellow

This is set 6912 Super Soarer.


text:
Need to find the set these belong to
Need to find the set these belong to.
Blue octagon, a shooter, mostly black.
And bananas!

This belongs to Gorzan's Gorilla Striker (70008)

Identified by combination of following elements:
Dark Azure Plate, Modified 10 x 10 Octagonal with 6 x 6 Open Center. Dark Azure is the only shade of blue this part exist in, event though on a picture it looked like to be blue.
Projectile Arrow, Liftarm Shaft with Hollow Yellow Rubber End


text:
What set do these LEGO pieces belong?
What set do these LEGO pieces belong to?
Mostly blacks and dark gray with some clear.
Two different size tires and a black door frame.

Can you take another, clear picture of this bag please? There's a lot of Dark Bluish Gray elements and a glare doesn't help.

ok i edited this

Set 10698 again
Keyparts:
4x12 plate (3029) in DBG
Small tire (87697) in Black
Large tire (58090) in Black


text:
What set would contain a bag of mixed white and light gray peices?
This bag only contains white and light gray LEGO pieces with a deep white door and window.
What set does it belong to?

This belongs to the set 10698 Large Creative Brick Box

Key parts:
Newer fence 1x4x2 (15332) in White
1x6x2 arch (12939) in LBG
2x4 brick (3001) in LBG


text:
One of EV3 motors doesn't respond in demo program
I just bought the EV3 set and made the "TRACK3R" model. When I run the demo program from LEGO the port B motor does not work - only the port C motor is works. But if I try "Motor Control" both ports are working properly. I have already tried replacing the cable but it had no impact. So how can I fix this?

When you say it "does not work" what is it doing or not doing that is different? Also try swapping the motors to see if the problem is the motor or the port itself.


text:
How can I verify authenticity of (R2-Q5) head/dome
This seems to be 553pb003 part. I am trying to find out where the LEGO logo is printed on this 2x2 dome piece given it is the older style dome with the semi-open top stud, meaning there is no LEGO logo on the stud. Does anyone know where should I look for LEGO logo on this piece? If not - is there any way I can verify it as authentic?

I think that's why the part design was changed, to add a place to include the logo.

I have part 553pb003 from the sw0213 minifigure (Astromech Droid, R2-Q5) but the one I have has a blocked stud (see photo). I have 2 other astromechs: R7-D4 (sw0119) and R2-Q2 (sw0303) which have similar blocked open studs to yours. There are a lot of markings underneath it on the inside and those include both the Lego(c) sign and part number as well as other numbers. I tried my best to take photos. At least for these markings are evident.


text:
Radius of the 45 degree elbow piece
What is the inner/outer or mid radius of the 45 degree arc the following element makes?
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=65473

I tried to align several of the elements in 90 and 180 degree arcs in stud.io, the end of the arc never seems to align with any modules, so I'm inclined to think the radius is nonsensical. Is there any way two or more of these elements can be combined so the open ends align with in system modules?

After a bit of fiddling in LeoCAD, I can confirm that the mid radius (i.e. the distance from the center of the torus to the axis of an axle) is 3.5 studs plus 2 LDUs (equal to 3.6 studs, or 72 LDUs).
Consequently, the inner radius is 2.6 studs (or 52 LDUs), and the outer radius is 4.6 studs (or 92 LDUs).

Note that the odd offset (2 LDUs / 0.1 studs) is half of the "lip" of a headlight brick, or half the height of a stud's cylinder. There are techniques to achieve a 2 LDU offset; see e.g. this question. Here's a possible assembly, just to demonstrate:

Edit: it has been noted that 72 LDUs is also the height of three bricks. This allows to, for example, align a 2x2 round tile using brackets like so:

72 LDU is also 9 plates or 3 brick heights... makes a lot more sense now, thx

However, I'm not that happy with your connection example. technic holes in bricks are 0.1 mm = 0.25 LDU offsetted to their bottom. Your connection example would likely be considered illegal (depends a bit on how you connect back...)

It was a 10-minute hack in LeoCAD. Besides, I tend to forget about some of those really specific cases of illegal/stressed connections.

It's 72 LDU not 72 studs (as the post says).

Sorry, butter fingers :-)


text:
EV3 Education does not recognize NXT ultrasonic sensor
How do I get the NXT ultrasonic sensor to work in the Education EV3 Classroom application?

OK: I have connected a NXT ultrasonic sensor to the input port 1 of an EV3 control brick.
OK: For testing, one motor is connected to port B.
OK: In the EV3's "port view", I see that port 1 is reported as 1:NXT-US-CM.
OK: In the EV3's "port view", I see that port B is reported as B:L-MOTOR-DEG.
OK: A simple program in the EV3 Home Edition works: the motor turns according to the sensor output.
Problem: A simple program in the Education EV3 Classroom application does nothing. The application shows only the motor is connected. The ultrasonic sensor is not shown.

EV3 Home Edition:

Education EV3 Classroom application:

EV3 Classroom only supports LEGO EV3 sensors. It does not work with NXT or 3rd-party sensors.

Drat. Thank you. Can you provide a source?


text:
From which LEGO set are these brown and green parts?
These LEGO parts are mostly brown tones with some green.
They look like they go together but I don't know how
and don't know the set they would belong to.
I hope you can help.

These appear to be largely from set 21160 - The Illager Raid :

But there are several parts in there that did not come from that set, eg. :

Minifigure Armor Breastplate Rectangular (Minecraft) in Pearl Gold which only comes in 4 sets

Wave Rounded Straight with Bar End (Castle Dragon Flame / Seaweed / Water) in Trans-Orange (or possibly 6126 - hard to tell from the picture) which does not come in any minecraft sets

Brick 1 x 1 in Trans-Light Blue which does not come in any minecraft sets

So it appears some foreign parts snuck in, and neither is the set complete.


text:
Which set is this part 6082 from?
Which set this is from, part number is 6082 or 60052.

This is Rock Panel 4 x 10 x 6 Rectangular (BURP) with Marbled Dark Green Pattern and it has been included in three sets.

thanks for answering

The set is 7036-1 one of the three sets containing the part.
https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?S=7036


text:
Identify this set - dark blue plates, trans-blue canopy, trans-yellow & trans-red bits
526R6 - Lego bag with large 5 then box under with 526R6 under it...
Unsure what this bag makes, also need instructions.
526R6 - Lego bag with large 5 then box under with 526R6.
There are also 2 smaller bags inside but 1 has yellow, red, and grey pieces.
Also bag says 2015 The Lego group and also in another spot has what I believe to just be a generic bag number 135149.
Any help is extremely greatly appreciated!!!
I have included a picture this time as well. Thanks again!

The minifigure seen in the photograph, which looks like a "black iron man", is quite unique - it's sh258 "Warmachine" and it appears only in one set: 76051-1 "Super Hero Airport Battle".

Note also the trans-darkblue canopy, and the trans-black tower windows.


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Purpose of the four rubber tires in The Globe set (21332)
I just finished building The Globe (set #21332), and I'm curious what the purpose of the four rubber tires on the interior of the model is (highlighted with red box):

I had hoped that towards the end of the construction process their purpose would somehow be revealed, but sadly that didn't happen.
My best guess is that they are some sort of counterweight to prevent the globe from always settling into a certain orientation, but due to the tilted axle and the overall weight of the rotating part there seems to be enough friction to prevent the globe from moving by itself. Also, the tires, though somewhat heavier than regular Lego parts, don't seem to be adding a significant amount of weight.
My second guess was that the tires are some kind of assembly aid that would help with handling the (admittedly somewhat unwieldy) globe in a later construction step. However, I did not encounter any point in the assembly process where those tires would have been helpful in some way.
Does anyone know what the actual purpose of these elements is?

It's indeed a counterweight for the landmass (plates and tiles) missing in the pacific part of the globe. Friction can vary on how tightly the model was built, or perhaps the globe wobbles slightly when motorized. Or perhaps the designers added this just in case...


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How can I add 1x4 tile stairs to my octagonal gazebo model?
How can I add 1x4 tile steps to the bottom of the front opening in the gazebo model below?   The base of the gazebo is a 10x10 octagonal plate (part 89523). I have tried using wedge and round plates but the studs on the base plate are too wide apart to fit the plates.

I want to emulate the stairs as shown here:

(Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/kurt-b/52681755904/. Author: Kurayba. License: CC BY-SA 2.0)

Add a single jumper plate, in the position shown below, rotated 45 degrees in relation to the direction of the studs of the octagonal plate. Connect plates as needed (shown below: a 4x4 plate). Add tiles on top of the plate(s) if needed.


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How can I export EV3 Classroom app project on Android tablet version of the app?
I need to submit EV3 code to enter a coding competition. The program is written in the EV3 Classroom app on a Samsung Android tablet. I tried to look for the file with .lmsp extension but cannot find it anywhere. Any ideas?

I'm afraid there isn't a way to do this on Android. The SPIKE app has a SHARE button on the My Projects page but the EV3 app doesn't seem to have this feature.
As an alternative, you could try taking screenshots of the program and submit them.
It may also be possible to find the files using the Android debug program (adb), but I couldn't file the files anywhere using a file browser on Android.


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Identification of rare LEGO DUPLO piece
Can you please help me identify what is this LEGO DUPLO cube?
I received it inside package of old cubes I bought. It has shorter studs than normal ones, seems quite old.
Material and its firmness makes me think that it is probably original DUPLO.
I am very curious if it some of older piece or if it is just some "reject piece".
The size of label inside studs is "LEGO" and its larger than labels "LEGO" or "DUPLO" inside my other cubes.

According to this post from 2012, the studs on Duplo bricks were changed somewhere in the 90s to be taller and have thinner walls.
Your brick is a genuine Duplo brick, it's just old.