title: 3d printed bricks quality?

text:
# Question
Title: 3d printed bricks quality?
I know Lego has high quality bricks, but would like to know how 3d printed quality compare ? I would also like to see the kinds of tricks you use to enhance your print quality.

For what it's worth, I don't use 3d printed bricks. Just thinking about it, but searching on Google only give me information on how to convert from LDR to STL.

# Answer
> 5 votes
The tolerance of a LEGO brick is 10 micrometers, while most customer-grade 3D printers are orders of magnitude worse than this, according to this site. The best I see there is 25 micrometers, which is still 2.5 times.

I'm in no way a 3D printing specialist and haven't used any tricks to enhance my print quality as I haven't printed any bricks ever, but I've heard of various methods like brushing the prints with a thin solvent to unify the layers (of course this would wreck the precision), or printing the parts a bit larger and then machining them to the proper size (which would involve a lot more planning and work for each piece).

The up side is that bricks with lower tolerances could still work in most cases (see the various clone brands, whose tolerance is definitely not up to par with LEGO, but their products still are compatible in practice), just do not expect the same homogenity, surface sheen and accept variations in the clutch power.

# Answer
> 5 votes
There have been various questions asked here previously regarding 3D printing, with very mixed results. Here is a link if you are interested in the responses to those questions.

https://bricks.stackexchange.com/search?tab=newest&q=3d%20printing

The experience you are looking for to answer your question is slightly out of the scope of what we generally do here on *Bricks StackExchange*. I would urge you to check out this more specific *3D Printing StackExchange* site as it would seem more fitting and hopefully more helpful then what we may be here.

https://3dprinting.stackexchange.com/

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Tags: 3d-printing
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title: MOC planning and design

text:
# Question
Title: MOC planning and design
What tools do you use when planning and designing a new MOC? Pen and paper? Or there is something more advanced?

I had the insane idea to try LDD to design my MOC and it was a nightmare. Since my MOC uses sets from castle fantasy, there are maybe 3D models ready to use for LDraw or other kind of software suitable for this task?

EDIT: I will go into further details to explain my issues better.

This is the list of sets I want to place in my MOC:

Fantasy Era:

* 7036 Dwarves' Mine
* 7094 King's Castle Siege
* 7079 Drawbridge Defense
* 10193 Medieval Market Village
* 7037 Tower Raid
* 7029 Skeleton Ship Attack
* 7048 Troll Warship
* 7097 Trolls' Mountain Fortress
* A lot of smaller sets like 5614 The Good Wizard that do not take space.

Kingdoms:

* 6918 Blacksmith Attack
* 7187 Escape from Dragon's Prison
* 7188 King's Carriage Ambush
* 7189 Mill Village Raid
* 7946 King's Castle

I want to build a nice terrain where to place all those sets together. for example, a mountain where to place the Mine, and a hill to put the Blue Castle on top. The a river for the Drawbridge, a plain for the medieval village and the the mill, a coast for the harbor, a sea for the two ships, and another coast for the Troll fortress. I have yet to decide where to put the Red castle.

The whole MOC would require 10-14 big baseplates (my estimate). So planning the whole thing is very hard and I got lost with LDD very soon. To make things easier, it would help a lot if the software has the "size box" for the sets, so I have a way to understand how to place each set on the scene without having to build them from scratch, so I can concentrate on the terrain.

I have no clue on how to go forward on this, to design all the terrain and then get the component list (and it's cost) to build everything.

# Answer
# Design stage

1. decide roughly where everything should go
2. use various boxes to place them at the right position and height
3. build the bits in the middle once you are happy with the layout
4. if you don't mind cheating and are good with a ruler, you could build a multi-level base-plate out of wood and just build the very top level of ground.

# Buying pieces

(Duplo is relatively cheap and builds big to lay down hills/mountains, use Lego bricks on top to provide a building surface.)

Find a lego store that you can get to easily and often.

The Pick-a-Brick wall will often have useful grass / slope / tile / transparent pieces that can make large and cheap filling areas (pour lots of clear blue 1x1 round plates into a tray for water).

If there is a really useful piece on the PaB wall you can ask for a box full of pieces, (which I believe is known as a K2), this is probably the cheapest way to buy 1000s of bricks at a time, (if they have a box available).

inventories for local Pick a brick walls: http://wallofbricks.com/
> 3 votes

# Answer
Some of the more popular programs used when designing MOCs are:

There are some other ones available but those three seem to be most preferred editors. They all have quite similar set of features but their user interfaces are very different. I encourage you to try each of them out. If you wish to find most extensible software, MLCAD seems to be rather old and stable platform to build upon.

I myself use pen & paper for concepts and ideas and LEGO Digital Designer for designing.
> 3 votes

# Answer
I'm not sure why are you saying that using LDD to design your MOC was an "insane idea" that turned into an "obvious nightmare". LDD is meant exactly for that; designing MOCs. You don't mention what issue you ran into, but you should be able to build any kind of castle in LDD just fine. If you specify what problems you encountered others could probably help you with solving them. Although LDD was originally intended for children to be able to design their own MOCs and order them directly from LEGO (a feature that has been discontinued), it is very powerful and you can design pretty much anything.

I myself use a combination of planning on paper, real LEGO bricks, and LDD to design MOCs. Paper to get the initial concept, real bricks to work out scale and some details, and LDD to finish the MOC and get the bill of materials so I can order the pieces I don't have from BrickLink.
> 3 votes

# Answer
I know this is an older question but, for anyone else who might be looking for a good way to plan/design/refine a MOC idea, I wanted to throw in my 2¢. For the past week or so I've been working on refining my own MOC idea using Mecabricks. It's taken me a little while to get familiarized with the toolset available and there are probably some features I haven't even looked into yet, but it's a pretty great, online *LEGO* CAD (computer-aided design) tool for putting together MOC's. If you just want to "jump in" and start building, their Workshop is accessible without any signup, although to save your designs you'll need to register (free) an account.

I've not tried their import functionality, so I can't speak to that at this time. I'm not sure how it works or if it would be a way to bring in the information for existing sets. I couldn't say if there are any bricks "missing" from their available list but you can use pretty much any color, including transparent, metallic, etc. It does not (currently) offer the feature for producing instructions, although that appears to be in the works. It *does*, however, offer a way to export the parts list when you're done to a CSV file or an XML file that can be used on BrickLink to add the parts used in your MOC to a wanted list.

Just for reference, I hadn't used this site until this week, and I've already been able to use it to create *several* variations of a pretty simple MOC idea I had (my designs use bricks that apparently aren't available in the colors I've chosen, but this has at least given me an idea of the direction I want to take it).
> 1 votes

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Tags: design, moc
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# Question
Title: How to make a RPG (Rocket Propelled Grenade)
I don't know if this is of-topic or anything, but: I have a big scene with cops and stormtroopers fighting. And the cops need some stronger weapons than some sub-machine guns. So i was wondering if there were some people out there who had done anything similar. Does anyone have some RPG or anti-aircraft gun/big turret gun ideas?

# Answer
Some of the Indiana Jones sets had some simple heavy weapon builds in them.

Set# 7625 had a belt fed/ammo-box mount style machine gun:

Set# 7626 had a RPG:
> 2 votes

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Tags: building, star-wars, city
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# Question
Title: How do I get unlimited color options on LDD?
The title says it all. I believe there is an unlimited option? I just want to use it to make digital models.

# Answer
> 1 votes
To use the unlimited option of LDD, when you start the program and the little window pops up that lets you load or start building a set, click the tab at the top of the window that says **extended version** and click add new! then, you'll have unlimited brick and color selection.

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Tags: ldd
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# Question
Title: Which resolution is necessary to print bricks with a 3D printer?
I would like to print LEGO compatible figures. Which resolution is required for the 3D print in order to firmly fix the figures on LEGO bricks?

# Answer
Depends on your tolerance. :)

> In the manufacture of LEGO bricks the machine tolerance is as small as **10 my (0.01 mm)**.

**Source:** Company Profile. An introduction to the LEGO Group (2010)

For me, 3D printing resolution would need to be pretty close to that.
> 9 votes

# Answer
According to WikiPedia:

> The moulds are permitted a tolerance of up to two micrometres, to ensure the bricks remain connected.

But, as I noted in a comment, that is in an industrial environment, where great care is taken to ensure that not just a one-off piece is right, but that the entire batch of pieces is right. They probably take a six sigma approach or something similar.
In a DIY setting, that is not necessary. A certain percentage of faulty pieces can be tolerated, as a home manufacturer probably has the time to check each piece and recycle the faulty ones.

The image above shows the main dimensions of Lego pieces. Based on its source and the measurements given in this answer, we get 8.0mm per 20 LDU, or 0.4mm/LDU.

Since the smallest offset seen so far is 0.3 LDU, you would need at least a 0.12mm resolution to print *that brick*. But if you're printing pieces with a resolution of 1 LDU, you'd need a printer with at least a 1 LDU resolution.

So it depends on the resolution of the pieces you want to print.
> 6 votes

# Answer
I have actually tried 3d printing lego on a prusa i3 printer at I think 5 microns using PLA. I found that they worked fine initially but they quickly started to lose their grip. I think the issue was the layers grind against each other which wears them down rather than the brick walls flexing to grip. You certainly won't be getting anything close to the quality of real lego but you could print some cool custom parts.

Here is a picture of the finished result of one of my brick prints:
> 4 votes

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Tags: customization, cad, 3d-printing
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title: Lego Classics alternative

text:
# Question
Title: Lego Classics alternative
I've been looking at buying one of the classics sets for my young kids. My desire was to have a large collection of bricks that they could build houses/cities/etc with.

I thought that the Classics sets would be exactly what I'm after, but after looking at reviews, etc it seems like they contain very few normal blocks and contain a large amount of small, not that useful pieces (790 piece set only contains **67** 4x2 bricks). Looking at reviews and blogs, it seems like this is fairly common feedback on these sets but I haven't seen where people have mentioned good alternatives.

Hence I'm wondering if anyone knows where I might be able buy in bulk a "large" quantity of "normal" bricks from (i.e. 1000 - 1500 prices).

# Answer
Lego bricks can be purchased individually from Lego.com using their Pick-A-Brick service.

https://www.lego.com/en-us/page/static/pick-a-brick?icmp=HP-SHQL-EG-NO-pick-a-120

If you have an official Lego Store near you then buying bricks from their Pick-A-Brick Wall is a less expensive option once you figure out how to maximize the amount of bricks you can stuff into a cup.

There are also sites that sell individual bricks, often at a lower price:

Brickset: https://brickset.com/

Brickowl: https://www.brickowl.com/

You may also be able to find good deals on Ebay for bulk bricks already sorted by color and type.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?\_from=R40&\_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR6.TRC1.A0.H0.Xlego+bulk+bricks.TRS0&\_nkw=lego+bulk+bricks&\_sacat=0

I would recommend buying one starter set of basic bricks to compliment the basic bricks and provide them with some variety. Sets like 10717 have minimal amounts of special pieces compared to other.

They have made sets in the past with a lot of basic bricks, many of them were sold under "Educational & Dacta". One of the more recent releases was set# 45811 that looks like sells for around $40.00 on Bricklink.
> 5 votes

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Tags: building, sets, shopping
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# Question
Title: What to build with generic set of pieces
I have a good stock of used lego pieces, and planning to acquire more. The problem is that I am not sure what to build with them!

1. Is there a list of sets easy to build with basic pieces, without the necessity of weird very rare pieces?
2. If I had the patience of inputting every piece I obtain, is there any website/service that would list me sets that are buildable with those pieces?

# Answer
> 4 votes
Many here have commented on the site Rebrickable as being the "go to" for the sort of thing you are looking for: https://rebrickable.com/

Previous related inquiry on this site:
Is there anything like a 'recipe generator' for LEGO models?

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Tags: set-database
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# Question
Title: Why do technic bushings have a flat side and a wavy side?
Exhibit ~~A~~ 3713:

The near side is smooth on the circumference, but the far side has a wavy pattern. In Lego directions, the photos usually show the "orientation" of the bushing, but if I put it on the incorrect way, will it affect the build?

# Answer
The answer is **studs**. Note that there are more pieces with the same ability.

*Orientation of the bushing **does** matter when you run a rotating axle through a technic plate. Have the round side of the bushing pointing towards the studs. Otherwise the axle might lock up.*

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Here's an example from set 852 where this technique is used to attach the helicopter's rotor and propeller to an axle.
> 12 votes

# Answer
The wavy side allows you to wedge the bush between 4 studs on a plate or brick.

In my experience, placing the bush differently orientated never affects the build.
> 3 votes

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Tags: technic
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# Question
Title: Do LEGO sets go on sale on black friday?
I'm considering buying a LEGO set (42110) and with black friday coming up I was wondering whether they go on sale for black friday on amazon or the official LEGO store/shop at home. I looked at the price guide for various LEGO Technic sets on The Camelizer, a Chrome addon that only works with Amazon and I saw no significant drop in prices around black friday. In fact the prices went up by quite a bit, most likely due to demand for the holidays. I don't particularly remember there being a black friday sale at the LEGO store or the shop at home website, but hopefully someone can remember if there is a black friday sale. Any information would be very much appreciated.

# Answer
> 5 votes
Retailers adjust their pricing strategy from year to year, so what happened in previous years may not be necessarily an indication of what will happen this year.

In general, LEGO offers Double VIP Points and some sets on sale (usually stuff they want to get rid off, not sets that are popular recent releases) and throws in some freebies. Amazon does their own thing, mostly competing with Wal-Mart and not LEGO directly.

I have also noticed that in the past 2-3 years, Black Friday sales are not the best either from LEGO directly or retailers. However, the couple of weeks leading up to Black Friday can be pretty good. Again, this is not an indication of what will happen this year, it is just what I noticed in the past few years.

LEGO Technic sets, especially the large ones from the current year, rarely go on sale. So, if you can get something like Double VIP Points (basically giving you 10% off), is not bad. On Amazon, I have seen as much as 30% off before Black Friday on some of the larger LEGO Technic sets and that was considered exceptional.

Some people missed out because they thought prices will be even better during Black Friday. That did not happen. And that brings up another point. Don't be greedy with looking for the ultimate sale and risk missing out altogether. Look at the price you would be happy with, willing to pay, and is reasonable. Then, just go for it.

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Tags: shopping
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# Question
Title: Where is the 15068 PLATE W. BOW 2X2X2/3 in LDD?
I can't seem to find this piece in ldd, and it's a very common piece. I'm using the extended version. where is it?

# Answer
Could not find it by typing numbers (15068 bricklink id or 605109 lego id) but simply browsing it is simple enough to find.

Open the 7th category of bricks, 4th element:  I'm using the latest ldd version (4.3.11)
> 2 votes

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Tags: piece-information, ldd
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# Question
Title: Extra pieces in a lot, not sure what to do with them
All right so I bought a couple Lego sets of the garage sale all the pieces are there but there's so many extra pieces and they're not just random The pieces that go to these sets is there anyway that you can look up with using a database of some kind to figure out what set all these pieces go to I h

# Answer
> 8 votes
Yes there is. However, it requires two pieces of knowledge:

1. You need to understand how BrickLink or BrickSet categorize the 10,000+ types of LEGO bricks in existence. This means knowing the difference between a Brick, a Plate and a Tile, understanding the various Modified versions of these basic types etc.
2. You need to be able to identify pieces in your stash of bricks that are special or not commonly used. The best candidates are bricks with stickers, as stickers are often special to just one set.

Once you have identified one or more unique pieces, look them up and see which sets they came in. Look through the inventory of those sets to confirm you have most of the other pieces in that set as well, and voila: you have found your set. Next, go to www.lego.com and download the instruction manual for that set, then build the set to verify its completeness.

Note: if one of the stickered pieces contains a car license plate, or any other sticker with a 4 or 5 digit number on it, chances are that that is the set number. Then just validate that other pieces from this set are also in your pile of bricks.

# Answer
> 1 votes
There are lots of really good sites which list the parts in sets. BrickLink.com and BrickSet.com are the two I use the most.

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Tags: sets
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# Question
Title: Coloring Multiple Bricks in LEGO Digital Draw
I made the mistake of not coloring as I went while building a large object in LEGO Digital Designer. I don't want to spend hours coloring each individual brick. Is there a way I can box select the bricks and apply a color to them?

# Answer
Yes.

I'm using:

* Version (Program): 4.3.11.
* Version (Brick): 2670.
* OS: Windows.

**Pre Setup:**

We're using *Extended Mode* (Black Backsplash) of LDD, so we can have full access to all colors. I have not tested the other two modes, *Default* (Blue Backsplash) or *Mindstorms* (White Backsplash).

If the model is in *Default Mode*. No problem.

* Copy the build to memory *(CTRL+A)* then *(CTRL+C)*;
* Open a new blank file in *Extended Mode*;
* and Paste from memory *(CTRL+P)*;
* Give file a different name as not to overwrite the original;
* Re-save.

**Setup:**

* Use the "COLOR Selecting Tool" and select a piece's color you want to change.
* All of that color is now highlighted.
* Use the "Invert Selection Tool" to reverse highlight everything not that color.
* Use the "Hide Tool" to make everything not that color disappear.
* Use the "Single Selection Tool" to block select the visible pieces that are getting a color change.
* Use the "Paint Tool" and pick the new color being used.
* Click the "Show all hidden bricks" button.
*
* Done.

**In Program Example:**

**Goal:** Switch *Mega-Man* blues into *Leaf Shield* greens.

**Setup:**

* Use the "COLOR Selecting Tool" and select a piece's color you want to change.
* All of that color is now highlighted.
* Use the "Invert Selection Tool" to reverse highlight everything not that color.
* Use the "Hide Tool" to make everything not that color disappear.
* Use the "Single Selection Tool" to block select the visible pieces that are getting a color change.
* Use the "Paint Tool" and pick the new color being used.
* Click the "Show all hidden bricks" button.
* Done.
> 5 votes

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Tags: software, ldd, colour
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# Question
Title: Are there LEGO plates without the word “LEGO” on the studs?
Yes, this question has already been asked here. This time, however, I was wondering if anyone can point to official LEGO web page on which this fact is confirmed. I've already read "Fair Play" document and "Fair Play Brochure" but all what they say is that "the LEGO logo is a trade mark and cannot be used w/o permission" meaning that if I have a brick with LEGO logo on it then I can be 99,99% sure that this is a genuine LEGO brick. What I need, however, is the "opposite" i.e. a sentence claiming that "a stud on a genuine LEGO brick has always had the LEGO logo since the year 19xx" or even more: "a stud on a genuine LEGO brick has never had this round cavity on the top" (cavities I mention are present e.g. on studs here).

I've already asked the same question via the contact form on the official LEGO support page but received no answer yet.

Context: I'm currently having a dispute whether a set of bricks that some guy sold me were genuine LEGO bricks. He claims that they were, I know that they were not. I will, however, have to provide evidence to the police. Information on lego.com page or answer from lego.com would do in my opinion. High resolution images of the 42009 set (battery part) on official LEGO page would also be good but ~~this set is no longer present on lego.com~~ this set does not have the close up of the part I need. High resolution images of 8293 (Power Functions Motor Set) are there but are they a proof I don't know yet (one can always say that these parts have LOGO lego now but they didn't in 2013). There is a movie with 42009 on lego.com but it is rendered and does not present real bricks and not sure if can be used.

**EDIT**: yes, all the pieces of the brick set I received (the supposed 42009 set) are forged. I can tell this because the bricks I received differ in many aspects from bricks from original LEGO sets I've assembled so far (more than a dozen sets, mostly \> 1000 bricks): some of them connect poorly, some of them connect so hard I struggled a lot to disconnect; the surface of liftarms is not as straight as LEGO liftarms; the liftarms have this extra filling around holes (google "lepin liftarm" and choose "large images" in "adv search" to see what I mean); some pieces are not cut properly e.g. the bushes have thin pieces of plastic connected to the hole on the side; and the main one: there is no LEGO logo on any of the parts: not only the studs but also the battery box and motor. However from legal point of view I can't just say that I am sure that these are not LEGO bricks. Moreover I cannot even prove that the bricks I present are indeed the bricks that the other guy sent me. So I took a closer look at the pictures from the auction (the pictures the seller made himself = the pictures of actual brick set he sent me) and found pieces with studs with no LEGO logo (Black Plate 2x3 (3021) , Motor 9V Power Functions L (99499c01) ). I was extremely lucky that this seller made pictures with such high resolution. And yes, I contacted the LEGO support and sent them exacly the same pictures as below and they confirm that these are NOT original LEGO bricks. I will post their full answer and some more content soon.

# Answer
> 7 votes
If you would like to get an official statement on this, your best bet is to contact LEGO's customer service. Here are some pointers you might consider when communicating with them:

It seems like your question is about some of the electronic components. So, let's narrow down your question to those. The battery in the #42009 LEGO Mobile Crane has two studs on top with the LEGO logo on them. In addition, right above the studs their is a "2006 The LEGO Group" moulded into the lighter colored plastic. And there are also larger LEGO logos moulded into the sides of the unit. So, five LEGO logos in total.

This battery box has no alternates. It only came in this one version as evidenced by the BrickLink database, which is the most comprehensive database of all LEGO parts ever made: Electric 9V Battery Box 4 x 11 x 7 PF

I would also add to this that smooth LEGO studs always have the LEGO logo moulded into them, and this has always been the case since the earliest days of the company. There are hollow studs (like in some electronic pieces, LEGO Technic pieces, LEGO windows, hollow 1x1 round studs, etc.), however in such cases the LEGO logo will appear on some other place on the piece. The very few exceptions to this rule are when pieces are so tiny that it was simply not possible/practical to print a LEGO logo on them (i.e. hollow 1x1 round stud, some very small minifigure accessories, etc.)

Rather than being too generic like you did in your question above, when contacting LEGO's customer service, I would suggest to focus on two points. This can result in a quicker response and faster action.

1. Ask them whether the specific electronic parts you are concerned about (list exact set and part numbers) were ever produced without a LEGO logo (the answer will be no, but for your legal case it's best to have this in writing directly from LEGO).
2. Alert LEGO that someone is selling fake parts and claiming that they are genuine. LEGO's legal department will be very interested in this, which can help your personal case. It's even possible that this seller has been on their radar already, and the information you provide will be helpful to their case.

There are lots of imitation LEGO out there, but the companies making them do not claim that their products are genuine LEGO. They sell under their own brand names for cheaper prices than LEGO can provide. LEGO's legal department is fighting these companies already. Someone selling fake LEGO and claiming that it's genuine is a whole other level of criminal.

Please keep in mind that if this is someone like a small eBay seller, they may have been duped themselves and they really believed that the parts they acquired are genuine LEGO. So keep your communication professional and you may be satisfied with just a refund. If, however, the seller is a larger online store specializing in fake LEGO parts and selling them as genuine, definitely let LEGO's legal department know and you may pursue your own legal case as well.

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Tags: part-identification
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# Question
Title: Identifying a set having a chair with a brown seat and circular base with surrounding gray pieces
I bought a bunch of partial assemblies and bulk pieces. I want to identify what set this belongs to.

I suspect it's a *Star Wars* set, but there were no minifigs nor decals to confirm my suspicion.

# Answer
> 5 votes
Your initial suspicion that this set was from *Star Wars* is...

"***Most impressive.***"

Good job!

*Set #75077-1 Homing Spider Droid.*

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Tags: set-identification, star-wars
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# Question
Title: Will the LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 software run on macOS 10.15 Catalina
I'm currently running macOS 10.14 Mojave and I see this warning when I start the EV3 programming software:

Will it stop working if I upgrade to Catalina?

Is there an alternative?

# Answer
> 8 votes
I just updated to Catalina Beta 10.15 and as expected, the software no longer starts.

The same happens with both the Home and the Education version.

Source: https://education.lego.com/en-us/support/mindstorms-ev3/software-launch-issues

**Alternatives**

* If you are an existing EV3 Desktop software user and depend on being able to use existing programs or curriculum, it is highly recommended to either not upgrade macOS or to install a macOS or Windows virtual machine, such as Virtual Box, on your Mac to run the old version of the LEGO EV3 desktop software. There is no direct replacement for this software and no way to automatically convert programs to any of the new software alternatives.
* At the end of November 2019, LEGO released a macOS version (English only) of their new programming software based on the Scratch programming language. This software is good for basic programming, but lacks advanced features like data logging, file access, brick-to-brick Bluetooth messaging, and 3rd party sensor support. Home. Education.
* For users needing advanced features, the LEGO Education MicroPython for EV3 is the recommended solution. Download.

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Info below is kept for historic record.

**Updated LEGO announcement (September 2019)**

LEGO has made an announcement about a replacement software.

> The current version of the EV3 Lab software is not compatible with the upcoming release of Apple’s operating system for Mac computers, called ‘Catalina’. We have therefore decided to replace the current EV3 Lab software and EV3 Programming App with a completely new app, called LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Education EV3 Classroom. Featuring a coding language based on Scratch, EV3 Classroom will initially launch for macOS in November 2019 and in spring 2020 for iOS, Windows 10, Android and Chrome. EV3 Classroom will offer a consistent experience, features, and content across all devices. The first release of EV3 Classroom will be in US English, followed by the other 15 EV3 languages in spring 2020.
>
> To continue to enjoy an uninterrupted EV3 experience, we recommend that you upgrade to the new EV3 Classroom app before updating to the new OS version. For further questions and support, you can to reach out to Technical Consumer Service at https://education.LEGO.com/en-us/support.

**Original LEGO Education announcement (June 2019)**

The LEGO Education website says:

> Attention Mac Users: This Software will not work with future versions of MacOS. We are aware of this and we are looking into a solution.

# Answer
> 5 votes
In the meantime you could use the early release of the new version, made available for the home edition of the EV3.

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Tags: ev3-g, mac
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# Question
Title: Brick 2 x 2 cash register and tile 2 x 2 tape recorder sticker
Recently after leaving my Dark Ages, I bought a bulk lot of LEGO and these parts with stickers were in it and were the only ones I couldn't find.

Is it possible to help? I used `Image Search Options` Firefox add-on but no luck.

# Answer
Assuming these stickers are applied to the correct parts, you can search on Bricklink in the following categories: Slope, Decorated and Tile, Decorated (these links start at the pages where 2x2 slope and 2x2 tile first appear, respectively).

I didn't find anything looking like yours, which can mean one of three things:

* I didn't look hard enough (there certainly are *a lot* of decorated 2x2 tiles)
* These are *not* official LEGO stickers
* There *are* official LEGO stickers but applied on wrong parts.

I'm leaning towards them not being official stickers, but there's no real way to be sure until we find where they are from.
> 2 votes

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Tags: sticker-identification
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title: how to send direct command to ev3 brick

text:
# Question
Title: how to send direct command to ev3 brick
I am new to ev3 python but am working on a project. I was reading about NXT-python that " It works by sending the direct commands detailed in LEGO's "Blue-tooth Development Kit" to the NXT brick" I was wondering is it possible to do the same with ev3 brick. Please answer in layman's terms. I am using ev3-dev and I was hoping I could use it to drive the robot.

# Answer
This isn't exactly sending direct commands to your robot, but LEGO Education recently released a python stack for the EV3 brick.

I haven't tried it; but as I understand it, it's an alternative firmware which should allow you to have python scripts running natively on your EV3 brick, allowing for full autonomous robots programmed in python.
> 1 votes

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Tags: ev3, nxt, ev3dev, python
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# Question
Title: Are these LEGO pieces original? How can I be sure?
When I enter in the code on the BrickLink site the codes come up, but there are no markings on the tires suggesting the name of the company or any code. Could it still be an original piece if this is the case?

# Answer
> 2 votes
For the rim I would say its original.

* LEGO made this part in Transparent.
* It has the correct mound ID 88517
* And contains the LEGO logo + copyright symbol

Only this part comes in 2 sets which doesn't contain a tire.

The tire you have looks like Motorcycle Tyre Ø 100,6. Based on photos I cannot see any visible markings on the outside of the tire. I do own a couple of these tires myself but don't have access to them at the moment. So I can't check if there are any markings on the inside of the tire.

If I check for example the Bugatti or the Harley-Davidson tire, all the id stuff that is not mentioned on the outside, is on the inside. See picture below of the small tire used in the Harley-Davidson.

So you can check the inside for any markings telling you if its an original part or not.

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Tags: part-identification, technic
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# Question
Title: Rare Lego Mursten box. Where can I sell it and what would I ask?
Found this box in a rural vintage shop in northern Sweden. I’ve come to understand these were among the first boxes of Lego sold, for the Scandinavian market. This particular one seems to be for the Swedish market, the price list on the inside is in Swedish.

This should be with someone passionate about Lego, not gathering dust on a shelf in my home.

What could it be worth, and where might I find buyers?

# Answer
> 8 votes
Your box is a 700/1 Swedish box (a 700/2 doesn't have that much blue space above and below the image). Value depends on what is inside as well: the bricks/windows/doors, as well as if the interior cardboard partitions are still there.

Also, I know several collectors (with deep pockets) who would be interested if you still want to sell this set.

# Answer
> 6 votes
As Syberion mentioned, Gary Isztok is *the* authority on old LEGO sets. Mursten (Bricks in most Scandinavian languages) is the old name for the LEGO line (after Automatic Binding Bricks but before LEGO System) at a time when the product wasn’t yet globally availaible.

I would strongly recommend reaching out to him (he has a facebook page as well, look for the Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide) - maybe send him the picture of the box? He is in touch with a large group of old LEGO set collectors - this could offer you a different sales venue than putting this on eBay or a local site.

Nice find!

# Answer
> 2 votes
I think this is 700\_2-1: Gift Package (Lego Mursten)

Source: The Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide by Gary Istock

Can't find any price information, so i would make a post on Eurobricks to determine value and/or find buyers

also i found this post about restoring a 1954 700/1 set , this could provide some more background

# Answer
> 2 votes
Dude. Most of the website don't even have information on it. here's what i have found:

* It's from after 1950, but before 1955.
* It should be filled with individual pieces.
* I couldn't find any record of selling Lego Mursten
* Lego became famous after 1955, meaning this is very rare.

I also agree that you should go on Eurobricks. I found a dude who appears very knowledgeable, so see if you can contact him. https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/profile/1550-lego-historian/

Here is discussion about a similar set, and then about the see further down. however, none of them have the wide blue trim like on your set. https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/77152-unknown-lego-sets/&tab=comments#comment-3011350

Here it is on Brickset: https://brickset.com/sets/700\_1\_1-1/Individual-2-x-4-Bricks

Now this is a cool one, the cover for the box art is from a promotional video: http://brickfetish.com/timeline/1952.html

If that things got instructions you are looking pretty set.

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Tags: vintage
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# Question
Title: Missed "How to train your dragon" series?
Does anybody know, why Lego didn't release sets based on "How to train your Dragon" movies?

# Answer
> 6 votes
I'm afraid there's no real way to definitely answer such a question; considering this pertains to LEGO's marketing strategy which is not public.

However, there are some insights we can gather from existing sets:

* Licenses must be negotiated. As such, sets from licenses LEGO already has (Disney, Marvel, DC, for example) are easier for LEGO to produce since there is already a license. However, even then, depending on the terms on the license (which we know nothing about), the license owner might have more or less control over what can be done. Think Disney approving SW minifig helmets or that kind of stuff. I don't remember seeing sets based on a Dreamworks license yet, so I don't think LEGO has one. No idea whether Dreamworks would even be willing to consider one either or on what terms. Especially since LEGO already has a Disney license.
* LEGO sets tied to a movie are usually tied to the movie release as well, as doing otherwise would probably mean poor sales. So in this case doing sets based on the 2010 movie might make little sense, although sets based on the 2019 might make sense.
* Even then, sales for license sets would be hard to predict. While there's no question SW sets are easy moneymakers, not all licenses have been successes. Think Lone Ranger, for example. Licenses with more material (more movies) might have more chances. There's probably no way to tell how much success would a How To Train Your Dragon license have, but LEGO would definitely have to weigh that in. And the conclusion might very well be that it'd be better to make more Disney sets.
* You may notice at this point that some sets have been made for long-past movies seemingly in contradiction with all I just set, such as Back to the Future. These are interesting exceptions because they come from LEGO Ideas - which means LEGO knows there is some kind of support for a potential sets (10000 fans have vetted it after all) and that a preliminary design is already done. Plus, it's usually only one set so the risk isn't too high and it's a good entry point for LEGO to acquire a new license. Even then, a lot of LEGO Ideas candidates are rejected, and it's etirely possible some are because LEGO can't secure a license.

Still, this is your best bet: if you want How To Train Your Dragon sets... go design some, propose them on LEGO Ideas, and try to gather as much support as you can.

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Tags: sets
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title: Buy new lego tires/tyres and treads

text:
# Question
Title: Buy new lego tires/tyres and treads
I'm part of a Lego team making competitive bots, and noticed that newer tires have better traction than our tires which are 5 years old.

Any ideas where I could buy new tires? I've tried lego.com's "Pick a Brick" but they do not have them. I can find "RIM WIDE W/CROSS 30/20" for example which would be the rim of the wheel I'm looking for, but not the tire.

I'd also be interested in buying tank treads, but I cannot find anything like that either in the "Pick a Brick" search.

Any ideas?

# Answer
> 2 votes
LEGO’s Pick-a-Brick service has only a limited amount of the total range of pieces ever produced. It contains a subset of the pieces available in current sets.

The Bricks and Pieces service (on the LEGO website under Customer Service) has a slightly larger range of pieces, but still limited to those that are currently produced by LEGO. This service is unfortunately only seasonally available (during busy seasons it goes offline).

For a broader range of pieces you have to go to third-party websites. The main ones are:

Bricklink: This site contains all the pieces ever produced by LEGO, and provides a marketplace where sellers all over the world sell these pieces either New or Used. Depending on the age and rarity of the piece, prices can be quite high or sometimes way cheaper than what LEGO charges. Just beware that shipping and handling costs are added on to your order, and those costs vary from seller to seller. Also, BL uses slightly different nomenclature for pieces than LEGO does, but searching by mould number (the little 4-6 digit number printed on each piece) should work. The rim you mention is this piece: Wheel 30.4mm D. x 20mm with No Pin Holes and Reinforced Rim and its listing shows all the tires that fit with this rim.

Bricklink has a competitor called BrickOwl, which offers a similar service.

Finally, you can also look for specific pieces in lots listed on auction sites such as Ebay, as they sometimes contain pieces you need at lower prices (especially when part of a bulk lot of other pieces that might be useful for you).

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Tags: piece-information, shopping, wheel
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# Question
Title: Subassembly identification, including a hotel sign
I got these assemblies and I am trying to figure out if they are MOCs or part of a set or sets. I have identified the red sub-assembly as set 60182 Pickup and Caravan.

The hotel sign looks like the...

What about the rest? I think I have at least parts from 4 sets?

# Answer
> 2 votes
The Hotel part is from 10182-1: Cafe Corner,

The Olive Green canoes come from 70623-1: Destiny's Shadow

The brown assemblies on the lower right second picture are from 7662-1: Trade Federation MTT

-see step 54 on page 61 https://www.lego.com/biassets/bi/4515434.pdf

and parts from 10696-1: Medium Creative Brick Box ( crocodile)

also there is a Smurf and a Playmobil figure

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Tags: part-identification, set-identification
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# Question
Title: Identifying a set with brown curved top and circular gray pieces on the sides
Came partially assembled with a bulk used lot. The color scheme makes me think it could be from a Star Wars set. It doesn't have any minifigs but I found other loose pieces with imperial logo.

# Answer
I think this is from

* LEGO Star Wars Set 9491-1 , **Geonosian Cannon**.
> 4 votes

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Tags: part-identification, set-identification
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# Question
Title: What is the point in having an instruction step with only one part?
While building Ninjago City we noticed a lot of steps that included only one part. The part is just sitting there. It doesn't get attached to anything. Whatever gets attached in the next step is not complicated or confusing. What is the point of these steps?

In going back through the instructions I do find examples where the one piece step makes sense because the initial piece is completely obscured in the next step:

But I also find some that are harder to explain:

And others:

Is there another explanation for this showing up so often in LEGO instructions?

# Answer
I think it all boils down to simplicity of building instructions, which has increased tremendously through LEGO history. Just compare instructions from older sets (See USS Constellation for example) and recent ones and you'll see how far LEGO has gone in that regards.

Adding less parts per step, or having a full bill of materials per step are the most noticeable improvements; but there are other more subtle ones, such as recoloring of parts (Technic pins for example, but also hidden bircks - see Steamboat Willie for a recent example.

As such, I wouldn't be surprised there are internal rules on what can be done in building instructions, or recommended guidelines; and maybe "step 1 is just one part" is one; or maybe a variation such as "step 1 can't have more than one layer" - thing is, this is an internal LEGO process for which we'll presumably never know the details. Such rules could even depend on the set age range; something allowed in 11= sets might be discouraged in 7+ sets, for example.

Now why does LEGO do this? Keeping in mind their target audience, children, it's a fair guess that they want to make sure kids can build their models smoothly and without frustration, unless they risk giving up which could alienate them from LEGO altogether. I remember being stuck at step 5 when building my first LEGO Technic set, a tractor and that was indeed frustrating. Also, what we adults think children can do can be very different from what they actually will do; I've seen my nephew build a set recently and he was following instructions very very loosely. Which makes it extra hard to create good instructions for them. It's very likely LEGO does test builds with real children for that exact reason: see firsthand what works and what doesn't.

One more note: think one step where only one part is added is weird? What about steps where nothing at all is added?
> 6 votes

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Tags: instructions
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# Question
Title: What's the part number of this LEGO element?
Can anybody help me identify this part?

# Answer
> 30 votes
That's a rather old part (50 years, actually) used mainly for tipper buckets in trains or trucks, you can see it in this train for example:

Its part ID is 3145.

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Tags: part-identification
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# Question
Title: Facebook ads for cheap LEGO : legit or scam?
Today, I spotted an ad on my Facebook feed for the website "winnerattop"

Someone commented on Facebook that this website is a mirror of "childtocoll".

According to scamadvisor, both domains are only 4 days old, are hosted in France and have a Chinese owner.

The website headlines with "Black Friday sale", selling several popular LEGO sets at discounts of up to 80%.

For example, it sells the Parisian restaurant at no more than €27.20. See screenshot below.

Considering the owner being based in China, I'd be inclined to think that this is LEPIN being passed off as LEGO, but even for LEPIN those prices are suspiciously low.

Does anyone know what's up with this website?

And is it safe to assume there is zero chance that this is legit?

# Answer
> 15 votes
I raised this same question on Reddit.

Two people over there pointed out that the website was actually selling pants instead of LEGO.

So I just tried to access the website through https://hide.me/en/proxy.

When I use their Dutch proxy, the site can't be loaded at all.

When I use their American proxy, the site is shop for pants.

When I use their German proxy, the site is shop for LEGO sets.

So I guess it could not be a scam more obviously.

Not only are they scamming people by "selling" items at ridiculous prices that they're never planning to deliver, but they're "selling" LEGOs in one part of the world and pants in another part on the very same website!

I've never seen anything like it.

# Answer
> 10 votes
These scammer websites have been popping up for over a year on facebook. Any money sent is lost. You will not receive even a Lepin set.

Use your common sense, how is this website supposed to make money with those prices?

# Answer
> 5 votes
I ordered a couple Star Wars sets from one of these facebook ads, and I was eventually delivered the sets. I was very suspicious at first, but the same ad was still showing up after a couple months, so I decided to risk it.

Of course, they were the Lepin sets, and not the original Lego sets (although for the price that's what I was expecting.

Another important bit is that it took a looong time to ship. I received a tracking number, but it never updated. I then threatened them in a support email to report them to PayPal if I did not receive the items. I received a response and then a few weeks later I received my items (shipped through a Chinese delivery. I don't know if it was a legitimate screwup or whether they only ship out items to customers that call them on it, but I got my items.

Would I be happier if they were truthful and shipped me the original Lego sets? Of course. But at those prices I was already expecting a Chinese knock-off, and these models are going to be built once and never disassembled, so they're never going to get mixed in with my real Lego sets.

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Tags: sets, shopping, modular-buildings
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title: Electric motors - what for beginning?

text:
# Question
Title: Electric motors - what for beginning?
I just got my first Technic joblot and now I am thinking about adding motors. I already have some - cheap ones from Amazon. I attached 1 axle pin to such motor with glue gun, works well except one thing - very often they are not powerful enough to run. I am thinking about getting starter set (8293), but at the same time I know I will enjoy adapting my own engines - question is which motors I should get in order to run builds that has lot of gears, hence lot of friction?

# Answer
If you're interested in comparing motors regarding to torque and what they can deliver, I would recommend reading Philo's excellent motor comparison page which has a lot of detailed information, very much useful for tinkerers.

Of course not all of these motors are readily available nowadays and depending on your project some may be less suitable; but there's a good chance PF motors are what you're after.

While 8293 which you mentionned is a simple way to get one motor, keep in mind you're also getting a lot of extra stuff which may or may not be useful to you. In particular, battery boxes tend to get superfluous very fast (YMMV on this). So buying motors only might be a cheaper route; they are available per piece on LEGO's online shop - 8883 is the same as the set 8293; 88003 is a more Technic-oriented version and 8882 is the "XL" motor: slower, but with a lot of torque. (Again, read Philo's comparison). On the other hand, if you do want a battery box, it might be more interesting to buy a full motorized LEGO set, in which case you also get tons of additional elements, and the added thrill of building an official set. Beware that some motorized sets also come with IR remote & receiver, which may or may not interest you.

Note that the Power Functions system itself is going to be phased out by LEGO in favor of the newer Powered Up; but so far it's not quite clear if and how you can control those without a remote or app, as there's no "dumb" battery box so far - only hubs with more or less smartness.

And of course, since you're a programmer, you may want to have a look at programmable solutions, either EV3 or the upcoming Spike.
> 10 votes

# Answer
Given your background and overall goals (using 3rd parties motors currently and hoping to power creations using Arduino or Raspberry Pi), I wouldn't go with the starter kit. For my money, I'd buy an M-motor or two and see if they meet your needs. These are currently $7.49 individually on LEGO.com:

https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/lego-power-functions-m-motor-8883

As Joubarc pointed out, the starter kit comes with lots of "extras" (switch, lights, battery box, etc) that may add little value for you.

Given your background, you should have no problem modifying that motor to be driven from any source you like, and it will interface better physically with the LEGO Technic system than most solutions you'd come up with using off-the-shelf motors.

PF motor wiring is very simple, as the middle two wires (C1 and C2) simply connect directly to the motor. You can also pop the cover off and solder on your own wires.
> 5 votes

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Tags: technic, piece-information, motor
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# Question
Title: What is the quality of LEGO replicas on Aliexpress?
Aliexpress sells a lot of LEGO replicas, has anyone here bought one? I am wanting to know how the quality compares to LEGO?

Example products: https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative\_id=SB\_20190815025633&SearchText=lego&switch\_new\_app=y

I'm sure it shouldn't be stored with regular LEGO bricks, but if these are treated as a separate product, can these replicas be used without any issues?

**Edit**: I have found an example of comparison in this YouTube video.

# Answer
> 19 votes
You might be interested in the excellent, hilarious and comprehensive Communist LEGO report. It tells you all you can expect, from the good brands to the bad brands. At a minimum, it'll get you rolling of your chair with laughter.

A summary taken from the document:

> **Brand List 2015**
>
> LEGO is a global brand and has been the subject of many copies over the years. The US company Tyco were the first with ‘Super Blocks’ in 1984, after LEGO’s brick patent expired in 1983. Almost every attempt at cloning has been inferior, mainly due to production costs being lower resulting in inferior grade materials and poor fitting pieces. Set design has generally varied from mediocre to rubbish. However, the recently invigorated factories of China have begun to churn out various LEGO clones. It’s worth noting that the potential Chinese domestic market is far, far larger than that of Europe and America combined. There are many Chinese companies making LEGO copies, with new ones starting up at an astounding rate. Minifig copying seems to be endemic, taking advantage of enormous demand for collectable box sets that LEGO cannot do due to contractual reasons. A brief trawl of the AliExpress export website finds a list of 50 companies making plastic building blocks, with probably at least half doing LEGO clones. Most if not all are based in Chenghai, the toy capital of China. Some companies appear to source their products from each other and subcontract, so working out exactly who makes which branded kits is not always straightforward. Many are of random quality and there is a lot of chaff and little wheat. The following is an incomplete list of some of the more actively promoted brands. By the time you read this, there will probably be more. It is interesting to note that many Far East websites list the keyword ‘Enlighten’ above ‘LEGO’.

Net: Some knock-off brands are getting really good and compare in quality with LEGO. Some are absolutely horrific. Some are complete cloners (and will likely disappear soon when the LEGO lawyers swoop in), some have found a niche that LEGO doesn't cover and will likely stay around.

# Answer
> 10 votes
I should post the answer as a comment to Phil B.'s post, but since it contains some useful content for the others, it will also be an answer.

First of all Phil B. thanks for the link, that's exactly what i was looking for and i will mark it as an accepted answer.

After reading the PDF, here is the summary of which blocks can we risk buying and which to avoid.

**Best ones:**

Company (average score)

**Worst ones:**

* XQL (14)
* PMS International (14)
* Yixing (?) (5)
* SY (0)
* LELE (-79) - I don't know how did they come below 0, but they did it. - http://bit.ly/1VQOt00

Thanks for checking the list

# Answer
> 4 votes
I've bought some sci-fi military-themed sets from Gudi, and this is my opinion:

* Plastic quality is almost on par with Lego, albeit a bit harder.
* Minifig are slightly less good.

They seemed to have a quite good model designer in 2014-15: there are some sci-fi and military kits that actually look good. However, 2016 models marked a step backward, IMHO.

I blogged my adventures with Gudi here: http://bricks.lamboz.net/tag/gudi.html (in Italian, sorry!)

# Answer
> 2 votes
Lepin (rebranded to King) sets are very high quality, although Technic pieces can be a bit too loose or too tight. Decool is supposed to be better for Technic pieces. Bela is similar to Lepin / King. All three brands produce only clones of LEGO sets as far as I know.

XingBao is owned by the same company that produces Lepin / King sets, but all their sets are original designs. The quality is the same as that of Lepin / King sets.

Sembo is a pretty decent brand for smaller sets and sell mostly original designs. They do have some bigger sets, but those aren't the same quality, design-wise, as XingBao.

Quan Guan has some excellent military themed sets that look very similar to sets sold by Polish brand Cobi, although they aren't direct clones. Unlike aforementioned brands, however, these sets do contain some parts that don't have a LEGO equivalent.

Kazi & Englighten also produce some excellent military themed sets, although the brick quality of Kazi is not as good as that of the other brands in my experience.

Gudi's also pretty good for (original design) girly sets, similar to LEGO's "Friends" theme.

Most of the Chinese brands are pretty decent, really. There's a few bad apples here any there, but in my experience those are the exceptions rather than the rule.

# Answer
> 1 votes
My son got a LELE set and I am impressed! The quality is very good, the pieces are just like typical Lego bricks, and I believe this company is the best company in China. The manual for assembling is perfect like LEGO, and all the pieces match perfectly. LEGO forgive me, but this LELE is a high-quality copy. And it has several languages stamped in the box, and as far as I know, they are spelled correctly (many Chinese products have lousy translations). I highly recommend it!

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Tags: building, sets, quality
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# Question
Title: Compatibility between vintage (80s/90s) Technic and current parts (motors etc)
I've recently got my old Technic out for my daughter (who's a little young for her own, but her Friends now drive around in a tank).

If I start to acquire more, and more sophisticated, motors and controls, are the old ones (e.g. 6216m) still usable? Are there adaptor cables? Do modern motors even use the same voltage?

# Answer
The motor you have linked is indeed quite old and as far as I know, not compatible with anything newer. Seeing that it works with simple DC current, it wouldn't be hard to construct a converter cable, but it is still some work (especially reducing the voltage from 9V to the 4.5V required by this motor).

The next generation (9V system: large motor, micromotor, mini-motor, buggy motor) has much better prospects regarding compatibility, as they can be used with the voltage regulator, the control center with the recording function, dumb battery boxes, first generation RCX controllers, cybermaster and code pilot units and there are even converter cables for the PF system. There are even light and sound elements for this system and the cables are nice and simple 2-wire ones with brick-compatible connectors, carrying anywhere between -9 and 9 volts.

The PF system has been in use for the last several years and is widely compatible even with 3rd party accessories like SBrick or BuWizz. The cables here have additional wires for controlling servo motors and the connectors are stackable, but proprietary and only partially compatible with LEGO bricks.

It is not yet clear if the even newer Control+ system will at any rate be backwards compatible at all, but knowing the LEGO community, it is only a matter of time.
> 8 votes

# Answer
Parts are compatible, and the underlying system hasn't change, but Technic has transitioned away from using traditional studs, so you may find it a bit clunky to integrate older components.

The biggest difference for motors is electrical compatibility, as noted in another answer. Both the wire connectors and voltages used have changed a few times over the years.

The Technic axle connection has not changed, so you will be able to connect any LEGO Technic motor to modern gears without difficulty. It may be difficult to integrate older motors into studless Technic builds, as most were designed to attach using studs rather than Technic pins, but this is more of an annoyance than a hard limitation.

Another significant annoyance may be the gearing in older motors. Most older motors simply provided a Technic axle connection for a standard DC motor. Direct drive from a DC motor is too fast for most applications, so many older sets included multiple levels of gear reduction before driving axles on vehicles. Here's an example from 8054:

Newer motors are typically geared down, and may be used to drive axles directly, as seen here on the Batmobile:

You can likely work around the gearing issues, but be aware that you may need additional space and gears when using older motors.
> 6 votes

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Tags: technic, compatibility, motor
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# Question
Title: How to get VIP vouchers in another currency?
With the old VIP program, I could simply go in any LEGO store, hand out my VIP card when paying, and the clerk would tell me how many VIP points I had and ask whether I wanted to use these against my new purchase. No fuss, it was easy for someone like me who doesn't go often to a LEGO store.

Now the whole VIP program changed, and aside from the fact it looks like a complete mess to start with; it seems I can't get automatic discounts in LEGO stores but must first purchase vouchers online with my current VIP points balance. Aside from the fact it's very cumbersome to do so, I face another problem: all vouchers available to me are in GBP, whereas the closest LEGO stores to me are in the Euro zone.

Is there a way to get the rewards center to show me vouchers in EUR? I tried changing languages (which is just about languages and not regions like the regular shop) to French; and both my region selection in the shop and my country selection in my profile are correct (Belgium), but no dice, I only see GBP vouchers. Or would they be accepted in EUR stores?

In general, is it possible to get vouchers in another currency, for example when travelling?

# Answer
> 3 votes
The vouchers available in the VIP rewards centre are linked to one's country - that is, the country linked to one's VIP account.

Note that this is not the same as the country of one's account, even though both are linked, and can't be changed online at the moment but only via the Customer Service. There seem to be some kind of redundancy in the way LEGO handles countries and languages at the moment, hopefully they'll fix it at some point. Summary:

* LEGO account (or LEGO.com profile) has a country, which can be changed online (in "Edit Profile" -\> "My Information")
* VIP account has a language preference which can be changed online, and a country which cannot

In any case, when facing trouble with anything related to the LEGO website, online shop or VIP centre, it is best to contact the Customer Service directly and they'll do their best to help (and even toss in some extra VIP points for your trouble, which is a rather nice gesture).

At the moment, it doesn't seem possible to get vouchers in another currency except through changing the country linked to the VIP account via the customer Service. This means if you want to redeem VIP points for LEGO purchases, you're in effect limited to do it in your own currency (assuming the vouchers aren't country-specific; haven't tried that yet); but that's probably a minor issue for the majority of people.

Also, shopping in LEGO stores in other countries will get you VIP points without problem - the only subtlety might be that due to exchange rate, you might get more or less points for a similar purchase. As an example, I bought 21319 (Central Perk) in The LEGO House for 649DKK and got 649 VIP points; if I compare that to other countries based on the online shop I get:

* Denmark: 649DKK (~87€), 649 points, so 1 point per 0,1338 EUR spent
* UK: 64,99 GBP (~75€), 520 points, so 1 point per 0,1446 EUR spent
* Belgium: 69,99€, 525 points, so 1 point per 0,1333 EUR spent
* France: 59,99€, 450 points, so 1 point per 0,1333 EUR spent

So the VIP points given when buying a set are tied to the DKK price of that set, and seem to be aligned on exchange rates, with possible the exception of the UK (the online shop notes explicitly that VIP points are calculated at checkout). The difference in VIP points received is probably not worth taking into account when purchasing; however, the price of the set can vary a lot from country to country, and that's worth taking into account.

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Tags: lego-store
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# Question
Title: Can someone help identify this set from 2011 (Star Wars?)
I got this set but without instructions and as I have no idea what it my son can’t build it. Bags says 2011 and 135149.

Here’s a picture of the bags.

# Answer
At the minimum, two separate sets:

*Set #75048 The Phantom...*

Only set to have a windshield in this style.

Astromech's body and leg found in pieces.

*... and Set #75050-1 B-Wing.*

Need less reflective/obstructed pics to identify more potential sets.

**How to adds pics.**

(Sorry rushing to go to work).

1. Edit your post.

* 2. Position cursor where you want to drop image.
    * 3. Hit "picture frame icon" then browse to your image to add it.
    * 4. Save edited post by hitting blue "Save Edits" button.
    *
> 6 votes

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Tags: set-identification, star-wars
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title: Pearl gold vs flat dark gold

text:
# Question
Title: Pearl gold vs flat dark gold
I've ordered 4 "pearl gold" pieces of part 92690 on BrickLink. Unfortunately, the seller had to adjust the order as he only had 3 such pieces, he proposed adding two more in "flat dark gold" in exchange, which I agreed to.

However, searching the BrickLink database, no such piece exists in flat dark gold in any set (the seller acknowledged that and he has no other explanation).

These are the pieces (pearl gold on the left, flat dark gold on the right):

My question: What is the origin of the flat dark gold pieces? Is this discoloring because of age? Or is the BrickLink database in error? Note that, at the time of writing this, 70 sellers are offering this piece in flat dark gold.

# Answer
There has been a slight change to the Pearl Gold/Warm Gold color recently that might explain the difference in color between those pieces. See this article on Reddit. Perhaps the right two “Flat Dark Gold” pieces are the newer recolor of Pearl Gold? I recall Jang from JangBricks talking about this as well in his videos.

Here is the picture from the Reddit article showing the new Pearl Gold on the top, and the old on the bottom.
> 6 votes

# Answer
The fact that so many sellers have it and named the color consistently pretty much rules out discoloration.

As to why the item isn't on BrickLink (or Brickset), I can only see the following explanation:

* it's in a set which hasn't been inventoried yet (but your seller would probably have known which one)
* it's been produced for something else which hasn't been inventoried for whatever reason - like the special Halloween elements in the minifigure walls in LEGO stores, for example... or some kind of Ninjago book (it does look Ninjagoesque to me), maybe not all of these have been inventoried
* I don't think that happens anymore nowadays, but it could have been produced specially for something not even public, such has LEGOland parks

I think the only way to know is to ask vendors; out of the 70 there must be one who knows. I contacted one in France but he has no clue either - he was intrigued too when finding them and was never able to find where they came from. He does believe it to be discolouration due to aging. I still don't; but maybe pearl gold acts differently than other colours.
> 3 votes

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Tags: piece-information, colour
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# Question
Title: How do I determine which set number from a poly bag
I have a poly bag. It is number two in a set. Underneath the number is 342R7. The set is from 2015. The primary colors are burnt red, yellow, and gray.

# Answer
This bag is from 60150-1: Pizza Van

Based on:

According the instructions bag two is for the van
> 7 votes

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Tags: set-identification
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# Question
Title: What set does this large sand green roof piece belong to and what is it?
What set does this piece go to and what is it? Thinking a castle piece?

# Answer
This part is Tower Roof W. Tiles and because its only made in 3 colors and as the other two available colors are black and lilac, this must be the sand green version. Color in the photo has a more blueish tint to it

This version is only used in two Harry Potter Hogwarts set:

4842-1: Hogwarts Castle

4867-1: Hogwarts
> 8 votes

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Tags: part-identification, set-identification
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# Question
Title: What is the wall thickness of a lego brick?
Different sources show different thickness for the wall. I've seen everywhere from 1.0mm to 1.8mm. I need to know with a high degree of confidence since I'm making an aluminium lego piece of a school assignment, so my wall thickness will be smaller. Because I only get to have one attempt, I can't try it with one piece and adjust the model for a second run.

The image below shows the dimension in question, with this drawing taken from another SE question, made by SE user Bartneck  Original source: https://bricks.stackexchange.com/a/11131

# Answer
> 0 votes
According to this answer, a 1x1 brick has walls 1.6mm thick - this fits in with the base unit of 0.8mm that is used throughout all LEGO elements, as per pcantin's answer on the same question.

The 1x4 brick in the image you've included shows walls of 1.2mm, while a similar drawing on bartneck's site for the 1x4 Technic Brick with Holes shows a wall thickness of 1.5mm, which is closer to the expected 1.6mm. Curiously the Stud diameter is exactly as expected at 4.8mm.

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Tags: piece-information, design, size, bricks-and-pieces
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# Question
Title: Trouble with 42110 Land Rover Defender transmission
I just got the 42110 Land Rover Defender and assembled bags 1 and 2. I tested everything before joining the front axle and rear axle, and the friction was quite low, not nearly high enough to get gears to skip or practically stall an PF XL motor.

When I joined the two halves, the lower gears worked just fine, but there was slightly more friction generated than I expected. However, on the higher gears (3/lo and above) the friction increased way more than expected, rendering 4th/lo somewhat unusable and 4th/hi completely unusable. Strangely, all the gears work flawlessly if the car is pushed backward. Also, the rotation of the output of both the 4-speed and the 2-speed transmissions is uneven, the output of the 4-speed transmission being way more uneven than that of the 2-speed transmission.

The friction certainly is not the sum of the front and rear axles together, it is far more. Also, it is worth noting that I modified the 3:1 gear ratio between the axles and central differential to a 1.667:1 ratio, as with the 3:1 ratio the problem was way worse, but not because of the gear ratio, but because both of the U-joints were out of phase. Any explanation for this strange behavior or tips on how to fix it are welcome.

10/10/19 update: I watched RacingBrick's video on this subject, and it turned out that PART of the problem was that my U-joints were out of phase. I fixed that problem and it is working a lot better, but the problem still persists, although to a lesser extent.

10/11/19 update: I switched the 1.667:1 ratio for the 3:1 ratio while making sure that the U-joints were in phase. The unevenness issue is virtually gone, but the skipping of gears still persists, but to a lesser extent. I can post another YouTube video if it helps.

10/11/19 update 2: I added bag 3 and both of the problems are back, though somewhat different. Before, the gears started skipping immediately, but now it works just fine for the first 5 to 10 feet, then starts to skip. I checked the U-joints and they're in phase. I'm very confused.

Link to video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNyK0ZDi-pE

# Answer
> 6 votes
Just figured it out by rebuilding it. I had pressed the "walls" of the transmission too much, resulting in very high friction.

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Tags: technic, building, sets
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title: What is Rebuild The World?

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

# Answer
> 8 votes
It's "a campaign to help nurture the creative skills of the next generation", launched by LEGO on September 17, 2019.

From the LEGO website:

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

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Tags: lego-group, terminology, marketing
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# Question
Title: Detect distances over 255cm with EV3 ultrasonic sensor?
In my use case, I have to detect things about 3-4 meters. I don't need to be accurate, +-2 or 3cm is enough. The EV3-G and most other places have a max distance of 255cm, which I understand that it is a protocol limitation.

But is there a software solution, e.g. controlling send/receive with software and calculate on the main brick? Best if it is in the form of EV3-G custom blocks.

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

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Tags: ev3, piece-information, programming, ev3-g
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# Question
Title: Why was monorail offered the way it was?
There have only been 3 + 2 official monorail sets by Lego. Three monorails:

And two boxes of extra tracks:

(For the track boxes, the theme is mainly influenced by the monorail set they were released together with. The tracks do not have anything that makes them special for one theme or another.)

Other than these, a couple of single replacement parts could be ordered, as well.

---

The above three monorail sets have several features in common:

* They contain a rather long (especially the Airport Shuttle, but also the Unitron monorail) track.
* They contain a motorized train.
* They contain two full-fledged stations.
* In the case of the Space monorails, they even contain an extra vehicle.

As a result, all three sets were among the biggest and thus probably most expensive ones in their respective theme.

---

This always struck me as odd: **When I was a kid, I loved the Airport Shuttle, but I was unable to buy an extra station or train, because there simply wasn't any. Likewise, the Airport Shuttle was the only monorail set I happened to get1 \- and I presume there are plenty of children who would have liked some monorail, but never had a chance to get any of these really huge sets due to their sheer price.**

In particular, I contrast this with Lego trains, which have always been offered in quite a different way:

* There have been train sets of different sizes, in particular "starter sets" that only comprised a small oval of tracks and a short train.
* Train sets that brought trains would usually only include a rather minimalist station (for passenger trains, often just a simple platform that did not even span the entire length of the train), thereby keeping set size a bit down.
* Single train cars and engines were offered as separate sets.
* Stations of different sizes were offered as separate sets.
* At least in earlier years, there were also completely unmotorized trains as an alternative to the motorized ones, which further helped reduce the set price.

Hence, I am interested in the following: **Is there any knowledge on why TLC decided to use a different pattern for monorail sets, by only offering very few, very big sets without any real extension sets (save for tracks)?**

1: Although, I admit, this wasn't entirely the fault of the effect I focus in this question. The Futuron monorail was simply a tad too early and I "missed out" while it was still available, whereas I considered attempting to get the Unitron monorail, but ultimately did not like the set as it was designed - what's the purpose of that train (maybe that makes for a good separate question), transport its own cockpits? That seemed pointless, so I discarded the idea, hoping for the next monorail set ... that never came ...

# Answer
# Why design the core monorail hardware this way?

This is hard to answer without a degree of speculation, but I assume that the core reason behind the decision to design the monorail this way likely came down to cost and engineering challenges. TLG wanted to allow for a monorail train to be able to navigate inclines effectively. This required:

* A cog system
* An additional degree of freedom between cars compared to trains (vertical movement as well as lateral)
* An additional degree of freedom between wheel sets and cars
* More specific power to weight requirements to maintain speed on inclines

Ultimately, TLG landed on the fairly rigid system of a central motor and couplings that create the necessary degrees of freedom with a car on either side. This likely required the smallest number of new parts and showed implicitly that the monorail motor isn't designed and tested to work well pulling more than two cars.

# Why offer only large sets and not just a basic oval?

The core features of the monorail system that differentiate it from the regular trains of the era became:

* Inclined and elevated track
* Stopping at particular track segments rather than being controlled remotely

Given these features, it makes sense that any complete monorail set would have at minimum:

* Elevated track including ramp sections
* At least 2 monoswitches. Technically, you could just have one, but that would really limit play value since the train wouldn't have any destination other than its starting point
* A point of interest at the monoswitches for play value

Unless these features are included, the set might as well just be a regular train set. While you are correct that the later sets were more complicated, 6990 was basically just an oval of track with a pair of ramps and two monoswitches. I believe it included just two straight track sections in addition to these.

Given the inflexibility of the overall system (e.g. you can't just add one more car), TLG decided to include both cars in each complete monorail set and not offer any as add-on sets.

## Comparison to 9V train sets

While there were many small train-themed sets in this time period, I'm not aware of low-cost starter sets. You could certainly buy a pack of 9V curved rails and a motor and work your way up from there, but the three complete sets released between 1989 and 1994 were actually fairly expensive:

* 1991 Metroliner (4558) - $149
* 1991 Load and Haul Railroad (4563) - $120
* 1994 Freight Rail Runner (4564) - $134

Compare these to the complete monorail sets of the same period:

* 1989 Monorail Transport System (6990) - $155
* 1994 Monorail Transport Base (6991) - $178
* 1990 Airport Shuttle (6399) - $140

The difference in price between the cheapest monorail and train set from the era is only $20.

# Why no add-on sets?

> When I was a kid, I loved the Airport Shuttle, but I was unable to buy an extra station or train, because there simply wasn't any.

While there weren't sets that included additional cars in the same way as regular trains, the monorail sets were generally part of larger themes that had additional sets available and were marketed together. For example, there were aircraft of different sizes and an airport marketed alongside Airport Shuttle:

The Futuron theme had many sets available as well, including another base:

Just in case my answer didn't make this clear, I really like the monorail theme. However, while being great collectors items, I believe that the monorail theme is generally considered to be a business failure. Offering two completely separate train systems at the same time with slightly different features ultimately didn't pan out well for a lot of the reasons that you cited.
> 14 votes

# Answer
Not really an answer, just a small point of fact..... There were actually 4 Monorail Trains planned, a Futuron Space-Themed one, a Unitron Space-Themed one, the ever pleasant Airport Shuttle Town-Themed one, (good for cities, even by today's standards, as building a large scale Monorail using brick-build tracks and Power Functions is a little too labor intensive, and, in some cases, expensive, for some buyers), and the last one, a Seatron Monorail. Seatron was unfortunately unreleased, as Lego's own higher ups thought that it wasn't the right time for aliens, which if you know Lego Prototypes, you know Seatron had aliens. Ultimately, as Seatron's Monorail was unreleased, it is unknown just what size of track it had, or if it had the long or short car couplings, (yes, there were two types of coupler), but what is known is that it was a very large train itself, despite not knowing the piece count on the train itself, (of which, it may not have had the highest piece count for a monorail train), it did have one of the largest finished product sizes I've seen, including a very large globe-style cockpit on either end, a small, (about 10 studs long), presumably passenger compartment, and, most of all for those of us in the MOC community using these old trains, the central motor cover was featured in yellow, (currently, only Airport Shuttle's train had a central motor cover, in red, which has severly limited the creation of new trains with the cover outside of red-colored engines). The Seatron was also the widest monorail, as it featured a pair of Part 2466 on either side, making the train about 8 studs wide, in comparison to Airport Shuttle, which was only 4 studs wide with the doors closed. Either way, poor Seatron never had the chance to shine, it would've made for some pretty impressive MOCs, and overall would've made, just as it was, a futuristic cargo or construction themed monorail. But, alas, Seatron never got to show us her glory, and thus Monorail #4 never saw the light of day outside of the set design lab she was created in. I'm certain old Seatron, of, as I call her, #4, is currently sitting in Lego's own archives, gathering dust, she'll never move again. Sigh, oh well, why am I telling you this? Just look for yourself t the glory of Monorail #4, Seatron:

BREAKING NEWS! Straight from the minds of Lego Developers, here be Monorail #5, I think.... Tell me what you think.... Hmm, kinda interesting to see the Buffaloes again. Also seems kinda interesting that there are two different engines pictured, and both are Steam Engines, which really differ from the Engines #1-#4. (noteworthy, there are some referances to attempts to build Steam Monorails in the real world, just like these, over-rail too). Although, the site I got this from, Eurobricks, seems to have a link to Brickipedia, and as somebody who's browsed more prototype over on the old Brickipedia than most, I find it odd that I never saw this image, otherwise I would've remembered it.... Here you go:

Check that, Monorails #5 and #6 are seen, weird, two trains, one track, huh?
> 11 votes

# Answer
There were more than 5 monorails planned actually. The fifth one was a Wild West themed one. It used the same track but had a different motor. I’m surprised that it gets overlooked since an image was released of it for brick-journal
> 2 votes

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Tags: history, monorail
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# Question
Title: Has LEGO ever released a police/law enforcement-themed minidoll?
Has LEGO ever released a set with a minidoll portraying a female in a law enforcement career role? I was able to, without much difficulty, modify a CITY police car to seat minidolls, but it is missing someone to drive around Heartlake City and bust drunk drivers and pet abusers.

I've looked at the now-discontinued DC Super Hero Girls (as the equivalent DC Super Heros line *has* included cop minifigures with some Batman sets), but didn't find anything. I also identified the LEGO Movie 2 figure Sweet Mayhem as an option,

(Image credit: https://sg.carousell.com/p/po-lego-70830-lego-movie-2-sweet-mayhem-minifigure-doll-tlm116-210508801/ , no relationship)

but in reality she seems to be more of the military aviator type, and in any event does not have anything resembling a badge.

# Answer
Couldn't find specific police officer *digs*, but we can cobble one together until *LEGO* makes one, *cough*, official...

We're using the following two images as visual templates to see what we kinda want our finished product to look like.

Note: Police hat vs. Equestrian hat. We can only choose one.

**The Part Recipe List:**
> 10 votes

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

# Answer
Yes, it is possible to connect data wires from outside switch blocks and loop block to inside of them. Note: Switch blocks must be switched to the tabbed view by clicking on the  icon. Then just drag the output data wire from the math block to the input of the steering block the same as if the switch block was not there.
> 2 votes

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Tags: ev3
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# Question
Title: LEGO Mindstorms NXT - bossa driver prevents firmware upgrade
First of all, this may sound like a duplicate post. But, my Mindstorms NXT 2.0 has been having the "Clicking Brick Syndrome".

I have been told that uninstalling the bossa driver then unplugging and replugging the brick offline will cause it to install correctly.

Unfortunately this does not happen and the bossa drivers reinstall. Anyone have any ideas that may help? I am running Windows 10.

# Answer
> 1 votes
If you are getting tic...tic...tic then your brick is waiting for a firmware to be written to it. I would recommend looking at this for full instructions.

Basically, you need to re-flash the firmware onto the brick. I've done this a number of times as I use an alternate firmware called LeJOS (runs Java). There shouldn't be anything that breaks from this (not any further than what you've got). *Make sure* your batteries are not going to die on you while you re-flash the firmware. Just give them a charge.

1. Do a hard reset on the brick (should be a paperclip in one of the bottom corners held down for a few seconds). This shouldn't be required, as your NXT is already in this state, but just in case.
2. Connect your brick to a computer, it must have the Mindstorms NXT software installed on the computer.
3. Open up Mindstorms NXT, and go to Tools-\>Update NXT Firmware
4. Click "Check" and then "Download". This will install the firmware on the NXT.

You should now have a working brick. However, any programs you may have flashed to it are gone (and probably were already gone, as discussed in #1). All you need to do to restore those is write the programs from the Mindstorms NXT software on your computer.

# Answer
> 3 votes
Read the RobotC NXT Forum thread Firmware Update & Arduino IDE Issues (Renamed). The only post that count is the 31th post. Simply go to the Device Manager with the brick connected, choose the Bossa Device, choose property, pilot update and replace the Bossa device by the Lego Mindstorm device.

Here are the explicit instructions from that post:

1. Complete a Hard Reset on the NXT Brick
    * Push and Hold Silver Button on Back of Brick for at least 10 Seconds
    * You Should Hear a Clicking Sound
2. Plug the NXT Brick into the Computer via USB Cable
3. Click on the Windows Start Button
4. Right Click on Computer
5. Choose Manage
6. Expand the Ports
7. Right Click on the “BOSSA” Port
8. Choose Update Driver Software
9. Choose Manual Selection
10. Click “Choose from List Provided”
11. Select the Lego Option
12. Open RobotC
13. Click Robot and Download Firmware

# Answer
> 0 votes
I found a similar issue here. It looks like the bossa driver comes from Aurduino.

That post recommends the following:

Option A:

1. Make sure the NXT brick is disconnected.
2. Open Control Panel/Program and Features.
3. Find the "Arduino" entry. Double click it to uninstall the Arduino IDE.
4. After uninstall is done, plug in the NXT brick. The correct NXT firmware update driver would be installed.
5. Open RobotC and do the firmware update.
6. After the firmware update is done, if you still want Arduino IDE to work, reinstall the Arudino IDE.

Option B:

1. Make sure the NXT brick is still connected to the computer.
2. Open an elevated CMD.
3. Type "cd c:\Windows\inf"
4. Type "findstr Bossa \*.inf"
5. Note the INF file name in the form of oemxx.inf
6. Type "rename oemxx.inf oemxx.inf.bak" (Note: please substitute xx with the actual number reported by findstr)
7. Open Control Panel/Device Manager.
8. Find the Bossa Program Port device.
9. Right click the device and select "Uninstall".
10. Disconnect the NXT brick from the computer, wait a few seconds.
11. Reconnect the NXT brick to the computer and wait a minute or two for the system to find and install the correct NXT firmware update driver for it.
12. Open RobotC and proceed with the firmware update.
13. After the firmware update is done, go back to the CMD and type "rename oemxx.inf.bak oemxx.inf" (Again please substitute xx correspondingly).

# Answer
> 0 votes
I had same issue with Windows 7. I double clicked on the "Bossa Program Port" driver and pressed "update driver", then selected the "LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT Firmware Update Mode" driver instead. Then it was possible to connect to "LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT 2.0" and update firmware.

Original source of information: https://home.et.utwente.nl/slootenvanf/2016/04/15/lego-firmware/

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

# Answer
> 6 votes
Based on the brickset review the set contains 5 bags an 2 instructions and 1 loose brick separator (see photo of the box), so I think you have the complete set

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Tags: piece-information
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title: Anyone familiar with "consets"?

text:
# Question
Title: Anyone familiar with "consets"?
I just saw a Facebook ad for consets.com.

They claim to do a "warehouse clearance", "today only" of genuine LEGO,

Their prices are suspiciously low, though, even for "bootLego" / "fake Lego" standards.

May I presume these are scammers?

# Answer
> 5 votes
# If you see steep discounts on many LEGO sets, it's a scam.

LEGO and their retail partners rarely discounts their products to 50% or more, and when they do it's rarely on current products. A site offering such steep discounts on a large variety of current products simply isn't credible.

You *might* find substantial discounts on knockoff brand sets, but if they present them as genuine branded LEGO products (with the LEGO logo), that's clearly still a scam.

# Yes, *con* sets lives up to the name, it's a phishing scam.

If you try to make an order (using fake data!) you will find a page on the website asking you to enter your credit card information.

>

This payment information does not go through a 3rd party payment processing website (those images mean nothing), they expect you to enter your credit card information directly into their system.

Very few legitimate merchants are allowed to collect credit card information directly, because it's difficult and expensive to secure the data and pass the necessary security audits.

Not only will you not get the products, your payment information will be used by criminals.

# Known issue.

On a side note many LEGO fan communities and LEGO themselves are aware of these scams and they've been going on for some time (no doubt they will ramp up for Black Friday). Unfortunately between the shell games these scammers play\* and Facebook's general inaction against malicious and dishonest advertisers they will probably continue.

* Often the advertising targets a specific region with a unique domain for that region, and if you visit the website from an IP address outside that targeted region you will see a generic clothing shopping site (in an effort to evade detection).

# Answer
> 2 votes
Yes you may. These scam sites pop up daily, especially around the holidays.

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

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

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

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

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

Net, I think the general consensus is that if it has been produced by LEGO and you can find a way to incorporate it into a MOC, your creation is still considered “purist”. At the least it gives you good arguments for any debate that might arise.

Curious to see how you will incorporate shopping bags in a MOC ... I can imagine one being used in a rather large scale MOC where you utilize the LEGO logo on it as part of a display.
> 11 votes

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

Two examples come to mind: The sprue of this plant element

is often used as vines

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

More uses of the Harry Potter magic wand sprue can be found here: http://www.newelementary.com/2018/08/how-to-use-lego-harry-potter-wand-sprue.html
> 7 votes

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Tags: piece-information, part-database
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