title: Insert a gear into a turntable?

text:
# Question
Title: Insert a gear into a turntable?
Is there a way to insert a 24 tooth gear into a turntable of the 48452cx1 type?

--\>

Is there any model to feature any tooth gear (even smaller) used inside this turntable?

This specific combination leads me to the conclusion that can not do this unless the turntable is disassembled or the 24 tooth gear modified.

Is there any method known to disassemble 48452cx1 without damaging it?

# Answer
> 7 votes
Indeed I had to disassemble it (which went without much effort) but the 24 tooth fits fine:

It can slip up or down for about half a stud but is stuck otherwise.

# Answer
> 7 votes
I'm struggling to understand why would there be a need to insert 24T gear inside turntable gear. If you need rigid connection - it is best to use existing attachment points for you assembly.

Internal gearing works with 8T gears. 3 of them could be used in line to have planetary gearing (actually, two is enough, but to make thing a little more rigid 3 are needed). I've seen fair share of such solution being used by Truck Trial MOC's and some Crawlers within their wheel hubs to increase the torque at the wheels. Here's an example of one such hub.

---
Tags: technic, building, gears, disassembly
---


# Question
Title: EV3 Classroom: Project, Programs and MyBlocks
There are two useful features in the EV3 MINDSTORMS (LabView-based) software, that do not appear to be in the EV3 Classroom (Scratch-based) software.

1. We could create a project and write multiple programs under that project.
2. Once we create a myblock for the project, all the programs within that project could use the myblock.

I can not figure how to do this in EV3 Classroom. Specifically, how do I share "myblock" across multiple programs? Any help is really appreciated. Thank you.

# Answer
These features are indeed missing in the EV3 Classroom software. And since EV3 is retired, it seems unlikely they will be added.

Ideas for alternate solutions:

* Copy the entire program to a new file to copy My Blocks.
* Put everything in a single file and create your own menu interface to run sub-programs.
> 4 votes

---
Tags: ev3, mindstorms
---


title: World Builder Game Units

text:
# Question
Title: World Builder Game Units
Do official sets or models for units in the Lego games World Builder and World Builder 2 exist anywhere? I have great memories of this game (idk how many people here remember it) and I'd like to recreate the units.

Some example units are shown in the game title screen.

# Answer
> 11 votes
Most of the models are from various Creator sets from the era (some have step-by-step instructions, some just images in the manuals), although I think some of the ones I cannot identify are probably custom builds.

Here's the ones identified for WordBuilder, using the list from Brickipedia plus some better images and info on some unused models:

# Land Units

## Buggy

4100-1: Maximum Wheels

## Dirtbuggy

4100-1: Maximum Wheels

A red version of the yellow model in the game, for which the parts do exist, but not from any one set.

## Snail

4101-1: Wild Collection

With some slight color and shell height variation.

## Steamshovel

Unknown. Bucket has 7 teeth like 30394 and 2347 but no matches on the sets that use it. It also looks rounder that those real pieces. It's also not clear how the seemingly plate-built arms would connect to those buckets.

## Bulldozer (Dozer)

4096-1: Micro Wheels

## Forklift

4100-1: Maximum Wheels

They shifted the white vents and tiles below them up a stud though.

## Treebot

4099-1: Robobots

Actually an aquatic bot! Orange parts are replaced with yellow or dark grey.

## Defender

4099-1: Robobots

The feet are simplified though, and some of the pieces are replaced with white ones.

## Dumptruck

4096-1: Micro Wheels

## Gas Station

Not an exact match, but 4100-1: Maximum Wheels has something similar.

## Robot Lab

Unknown, but possibly inspired by the control towers in 4023-1 Fun and Adventure (as identified in another answer) and 4098-1: High Flyers.

If you are interested, here's instructions for how I think it would be built (setting aside the questionable scaling).

## Guard Tower

Unknown, nothing from that time would have had all of those parts in those colors (and nothing has that yellow turntable top).

Looks like a fairly simple build, here are my instructions for it (you will have to substitute the color on the turntable top piece though).

## Repairbot

4099-1: Robobots

Looks like they used dark-grey feet instead though.

---

# Amphibious Units

## Frog

4101-1: Wild Collection

## Duck

4028-1: World of Bricks ?

Very similar, and other models come from this set, but not exact.

Also appears in 4279-1: Creator Strata Red.

---

# Water Units

## Fish

4028-1: World of Bricks

A red version with painted eyes, but otherwise identical.

Also appears in 4279-1: Creator Strata Red.

## Tugboat

4028-1: World of Bricks

4414-1: Creator Half Tub Blue

Built a little shorter however.

## Freighter (formerly Tanker)

(Larger image not available because the tugboat was reused on the info panel.)

4028-1: World of Bricks

4414-1: Creator Half Tub Blue

Looks like blue plates were used on the bottom.

## Speedboat

4505-1: Sea Machines

## Marina

Essentially just a wider gas station on stilts.

---

# Monsters

## Crab

4101-1: Wild Collection

## Water Crab

Same design as Crab, but a different color which does not appear in any set as far as I know.

## Scorpion

4101-1: Wild Collection

## Alligator

4101-1: Wild Collection

## Tyrannosaurus Rex

4507-1: Prehistoric Creatures

## Shark

4506-1: Deep Sea Predators

---

# Air Units (Unused/Cut)

## Bluebird

4101-1: Wild Collection

Almost the same design, but different colors except for the green feet.

## Helicopter (Cargo Copter)

Unknown, but has some similarities to models in 4028-1: World of Bricks which may have inspired it.

---

For WorldBuilder 2, there are only a few additions:

# WorldBuilder 2 additions:

## Freezebot

4881-1: Robo Platoon

## House

4886-1: Building Bonanza

The main portion anyway.

## Windmill

4886-1: Building Bonanza

No instructions for this in the manual beyond the rotating mechanism though...

## Nursery

No other known depictions, though implied to be related to the Building Bonanza set.

## Garage

No other known depictions, though implied to be related to the Building Bonanza set.

## Factory

No other known depictions, though implied to be related to the Building Bonanza set.

## Lion

4884-1: Wild Hunters

---

Thanks to LegoSonicBoy, JappaWakka, and qwr for identifying some I missed.

# Answer
> 17 votes
This game represented the LEGO Designer Sets (Make & Create) from 2003–2005, and so the majority of models are based on them (WB1 models are from the first and second waves, and WB2 the third wave). As someone who grew up with the game and the Designer Sets as a tween, and still has many of them built to this day, I believe I can answer this question mostly, though there is still some I'm uncertain about which I'll note near the end of my answer.

From WB1 (links point to BrickInstructions.com):

* The **Snail**, **Frog**, as well as the enemies **Crab** (of which the **Watercrab** is a palette swap), **Scorpion** and **Alligator** are from 4101 Wild Collection. Step-by-step instructions exist for the Crab, Scorpion and Alligator; the rest are inspirational builds that are simple and therefore should be easy to reverse-engineer. Notably, the Snail, Frog, Scorpion and Alligator can *all* be built simultaneously from a single copy of the set. The proportions are also all wrong in case that bothers you; namely the Scorpion is *monstrously oversized* compared to the rest. Or... the proportions could all be just right, depending on your imagination.

I still have my Crab built from 17 years ago, so I hope you'll overlook the dust and grime still on it after a quick clean (click to enlarge):
* The **Buggy**, **Dirtbuggy**, **Forklift** and **Gas Station** are from 4100 Maximum Wheels. Instructions exist for the Buggy's in-game model as well as the Dirtbuggy (which is actually a palette swap) and Forklift. The Buggy's info model is an inspirational build with no step-by-step instructions, and the Gas Station and Marina are different color variations on one inspirational side build seen on the cover art. The decals are exclusive to WB1 — Designer Sets don't have printed elements.

I rebuilt the Forklift a few months ago:
* The **Defender**, **Treebot** and **Repairbot** are from 4099 Robobots. Instructions exist for the Defender and Treebot but not the Repairbot (you can see it on page 73). I built the Defender and Treebot when I was younger and I have to add that the Treebot is actually depicted in the set as an aquatic robot that operates underwater, and it can be configured to different positions and not just standing upright. Unfortunately, upright its two bottom/hind legs don't support its weight very well, the joints being little more than single-hinge connection points. It works much better on all fours.

As for the Defender, despite what the scale of the in-game models suggests, it is much smaller than the Treebot — though it's got a *much bigger* brother in 4508 Titan XP. I just went and built the Defender so I could show it to you next to a minifig for scale:
* The **Bulldozer** and **Dumptruck** are from 4096 Micro Wheels. Instructions exist for both models.
* Instructions for the **Speedboat** can be found in 4505 Sea Machines.
* Instructions for the **Tyrannosaurus Rex** can be found in 4507 Prehistoric Creatures. It is one of the main builds.
* Instructions for the **Shark** can be found in 4506 Deep Sea Predators (the predecessor of 31088 Deep Sea Creatures). It is one of the main builds. I rebuilt it in 2018 when I first exited my Dark Ages with 10404 Ocean's Bottom — here's a photo from my review of the latter:

WB1 units I couldn't identify:

* The **Steamshovel** appears to have a body that's a palette swap of the Forklift's, but the vehicle as a whole doesn't appear to exist in any set. I can't identify exactly which digger bucket it's using so I might try to BrickLink it and see what set it might be. I'm guessing it's unique to the game.
* According to Alexander O'Mara, the **Robot Lab** appears to be a palette swap of an inspirational model from 4098 High Flyers. Not exactly the place I would've looked...
* The **Guard Tower** doesn't bear any resemblance to anything I've seen in a Designer Set or X-Pod (at least, as an owner of the first wave of X-Pods).
* The **Duck**, **Fish**, **Tugboat** and **Freighter** appear to be from LEGO Creator buckets also under Make & Create. They certainly don't have the level of detail or part usage that Designer Set models are recognized for.

I was right: as Alexander confirms, they're from 4028 World of Bricks.

From WB2:

* Instructions for the **Freezebot** can be found in 4881 Robo Platoon (which incidentally was Brickset's random set of the day just last week). It is one of the main builds.
* Instructions for the **House** can be found in 4886 Building Bonanza. It is the main build.

However, despite being based on that same House, none of the other WB2 buildings actually appear in the set, except the Windmill, which only appears as an inspirational model with instructions for the actual mechanism for spinning the sails.
* Instructions for the enemy **Lion** can be found in 4884 Wild Hunters. It is one of the main builds.

Notably, all the Designer Sets in the final wave were given the "new" Creator rebranding later in life. I wasn't there when it happened though — I had just entered my Dark Ages before that, and I never had a chance to own any of the final wave sets. 4886 Building Bonanza remains among my top 10 most wanted sets of all time.

Thanks for the opportunity to take us on a trip down memory lane!

# Answer
> 6 votes
https://brickset.com/sets/4023-1/Fun-and-Adventure This is the real life counterpart of the robot lab. The ingame sprite shows that there's a white brick underneath the plate so apart from the brick colors, it's accurate in height.

I've uploaded instructions for the Robot Lab here (Rebrickable didn't accept it): https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/jlevol41uflucpkxo0p0q/4023-1-Modification-World-Builder-Robot-Lab.pdf?rlkey=9ck0xbl429i6eitwln19xs470&dl=0

I've tried to build/recreate the Steamshovel, as accurately as I could to the ingame sprites. https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-92348/JappaWakka/world-builder-steamshovel/#details

I recreated the Snail and posted it here: https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-111015/JappaWakka/world-builder-snail/#details

I also made an MOC post for the Gas Station (with a link to an SVG sticker): https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-159387/JappaWakka/lego-world-builder-gas-station/#details

---
Tags: set-identification, video-games
---


title: Unknown Alien Robot Set

text:
# Question
Title: Unknown Alien Robot Set
My grandsons are intrigued by the LEGO robot that is partially assembled. However we cannot locate the instructions to complete the assembly. Does anyone recognize and know what LEGO set this is?

# Answer
That looks like a part of Set 7313 - Red Planet Protector a set from 2001
> 11 votes

---
Tags: set-identification
---


title: Advise on my mine

text:
# Question
Title: Advise on my mine
I'm building an old west mine. My goal is for the mine to burrow into a mountain with tunnels and miners inside. The front view will be railroad going into the entrance with a light bluish gray foundation. the back view will be of inside the mine with miners, gold deposits, maybe some spiders and other creepy crawlies. For the mountain itself, my current plan is to play a series of receding facet pieces on either side topped with some 1x5x4 arches. Here's some pictures of what I've got so far: google link.
My questions are

* Do you have any advice for building the cavern into something closer to a quarter sphere - more cavernous, and less like a pyramid?
* What are some good creepy things to put in the back of the mine, besides spiders?
* I'm considering putting in a small body of water in part of the mine. Is there a way I can put some creepy little tentacles coming out of the water?

# Answer
> 7 votes
> Do you have any advice for building the cavern into something closer to a quarter sphere - more cavernous, and less like a pyramid?

Use a circle generator tool (like this one) to plot circles of descending diameter, which can then be built on top of each other - resulting in an igloo-like structure. A few irregularities could help the finished model look a bit more organic.

> What are some good creepy things to put in the back of the mine, besides spiders?

> I'm considering putting in a small body of water in part of the mine. Is there a way I can put some creepy little tentacles coming out of the water?

Sure, just add a spiked vine to a trans-blue jumper plate. Or to have a larger tentacle, build the water with a 1x1 part missing, and add an elephant tusk/dinosaur tail/alien tentacle part to a cone set in the 1x1 hole. Other parts could act as tentacles as well.

---
Tags: design, water
---


title: Creating client logos and buildings

text:
# Question
Title: Creating client logos and buildings
My colleague and I are looking to give our smaller customers a custom built company logo out of LEGO, and our 3 largest customers a model of their entire building. Can you give us some pointers on where to start? Any tips?

# Answer
I am writing an answer as though the question were posted in English, though as originally posted it is in Dutch.

The intent when making a model is to capture the important features in a way that the model strongly reminds people of the original. Buildings have features such as overall shape, colored/tinted glass, and concrete or steel columns and beams that can be replicated in a model. Exact adherence to scale is less important, especially as you probably don't want to spend a fortune on these model buildings.

Further tips, in no particular order:

* Studying some of Lego's Architecture series can give you some ideas.
* Use photographs or Google Street View while building as a reference to important features.
* If you have measurements of the building you can approximate a scale, say 1 stud = 10 feet.
* 3d modeling software might help but is likely overkill for this purpose.
> 3 votes

---
Tags: building
---


# Question
Title: robotic inventor\spike prime hubs: Hub 2 hub communication AND led matrix control
Recently the Spike essentials set was released, including the very interesting 3x3 led matrix part:

The matrix allows to set each individual pixel in the 3x3 array to 10 different shades of 10 different colors.

The led matrix also works with the Spike Prime set, however, it seems currently unsupported in the Mindstorms Robotics inventor set, at least there are no word blocks for it in the IDE that you can download for the set.

I'd wish to control more than one such led matrix and have purchased an additional 8 with the intention of placing them in a 3x3 array to have a larger 9x9 matrix.

The hub has however only 6 ports, so I'll need an additional hub and hub to hub communication. Unfortunately it seems that straightforward hub to hub communication is only supported in the Robotic Inventor IDE which in turn does not support the led-matrix.

What would be the easiest way to have both ? I.e. have both hub-to-hub communication and control for this new led-matrix component?

I'm willing to consider micropython solutions, but would need some pointers there:

* what class do I need for the hub to hub communication in the python implementation with the native Spike Prime or Robotic Inventor firmware?
* what class do I need for the led matrix control with the native Spike Prime or Robotic Inventor firmware?
* same questions for when I would install the PyBricks micropython implementation.

Additional question, is there any way to set the color of ONE pixel without setting an entire 3x3 picture? Seems to be missing from the word blocks while setting the brightness is present...

# Answer
This isn't a direct answer to your question, but it would be one way to solve the problem. Instead of using the hubs from SPIKE or Robot Inventor, you could use the Control+ hub:

This hub unfortunately only supports 4 peripherals, so you would need three of them. This hub is not programmable, but it can be controlled over Bluetooth. You can pair up to 7 hubs to a single device this way, so you could control up to 7⨯4=28 LED matrices fairly easily.

There are a couple software options to get this running. One popular one that I've had some experience with is `node-poweredup`. Here's an example from the docs to control a 3x3 LED matrix attached to a Control+ hub:

```
const PoweredUP = require("..");

const poweredUP = new PoweredUP.PoweredUP();
poweredUP.scan(); // Start scanning for hubs

console.log("Looking for Hubs...");

poweredUP.on("discover", async (hub) => { // Wait to discover hubs

    await hub.connect(); // Connect to hub
    console.log(`Connected to ${hub.name}!`);

    const matrix = await hub.waitForDeviceByType(PoweredUP.Consts.DeviceType.TECHNIC_3X3_COLOR_LIGHT_MATRIX);

    // setMatrix accepts an array of 9 items - Either standard color values (number),
    // or Color objects with brightness (brightness values are 0 to 100%)
    // It can also accept just a single color to set all 9 lights to the same color
    matrix.setMatrix([
        // Red at 100%, green at 20%, red at 100%
        PoweredUP.Consts.Color.RED, new PoweredUP.Color(PoweredUP.Consts.Color.GREEN, 20), PoweredUP.Consts.Color.RED,
        // Green at 100%, yellow at 100%, green at 100%
        PoweredUP.Consts.Color.GREEN, PoweredUP.Consts.Color.YELLOW, PoweredUP.Consts.Color.GREEN,
        // Red at 100%, green at 20%, red at 100%
        PoweredUP.Consts.Color.RED, new PoweredUP.Color(PoweredUP.Consts.Color.GREEN, 20), PoweredUP.Consts.Color.RED,
    ]);

    hub.on("disconnect", () => {
        console.log("Hub disconnected");
    })

});

```

The above example would need to be extended to support a number of hubs and lights and provide some management to write large images in a coherent way.
> 2 votes

---
Tags: programming, robot-inventor, spike-prime
---


title: Identify rarity of Pantone minifigure

text:
# Question
Title: Identify rarity of Pantone minifigure
I'm trying to find out if the item gifted to me is authentic and if it is by any chance rare so I can display it well to showcase it. I'm not sure if I have a Lego piece indeed.

# Answer
Due to the **Pantone** and **Q930-2-1** I would guess it's a Kubrick toy. So it's definitely not Lego.

You can buy it on eBay for $11 Australian (plus shipping).
> 9 votes

---
Tags: clone-brands, minifigure-identification
---


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

Has anyone else had this problem? Any help much appreciated.

# Answer
> 4 votes
I suggest you contact LEGO support. The set is recent enough for them to have spare parts. They'll happily replace the Push & Go component if you can demonstrate the part is defective and you own the set. To prove you own the set you'll need a code in the instruction booklet.

# Answer
> 4 votes
This solved the no sound problem, but mine also fails to read colors, only blue and red are detected.

Picture 1: I put an AA battery with wires to test the little speaker, did not make any sound, it was bad.

Picture 2: I had to trim the plastic base of the speaker to replace it with another one bigger which I removed from an old telephone.

Picture 3: Here can be seen the larger speaker substitute.

---
Tags: trains, duplo
---


title: 3 studded zig-zag brick

text:
# Question
Title: 3 studded zig-zag brick
I have a bag of bricks - one brick has 3 studs and it is a zigzag shape. Any ideas which set could it be?

It is cream coloured and among the other pieces included is an 8 sided dark grey flat plate.

# Answer
> 3 votes
It sounds like it could be a Brick, Modified Facet 3 x 3 (2462) in tan.

Hogwarts Castle (4th edition) has that piece as well as an 8 sided dark grey flat plate. But without knowing what other parts you have, it could be several other sets (such as #75953 and #10235 as mentioned in the comments).

---
Tags: set-identification
---


# Question
Title: LEGO Digital Designer does not to connect to the Internet on Win10 laptop
I just installed on a MSI laptop running Windows 10 Ver. 1803 with a gigabyte internet connection (960mps upload 950mps download). Every time I start up the application, it immediately displays a dialog box stating "Internet access failed" as you can see below. Clicking retry does not help as it simply pops up the same dialog box again, clicking cancel shuts the program down. Clicking ok simply allows the program to run in offline mode which is not what I want.

# Answer
> 6 votes
Quoting from Lego's LDD page:

> ## Sorry. We don’t support LDD version 4.3.10 anymore.
>
> If you still use version 4.3.10 you will experience errors when launching the application.
> You can still use “offline” mode if you wish. We urge you to update, use the download link, and install free application for Windows PC & Mac OSX.

There is nothing wrong with your computer, or your internet connection (and it is not just you). LDD will still function normally, albeit in "offline mode."
LDD is now past its end of life, and Lego apparently does not care any longer about collecting usage data on LDD.
The "Internet access failed" message is because LDD can no longer reach a Lego server (62.199.219.133). LDD "phoned home" every time it was started. Now because it can not reach its home server LDD generates this "Internet access failed" message and will only run in offline mode. Apart from spoofing the replies LDD is looking for there is no way to run LDD in online mode any longer.

However, seeing as how Lego shut down the DesignByMe service you are not missing much (if anything) by running LDD in offline mode.

# Answer
> 0 votes
You still can get LDD 4.3.11 which has a problem with Adobe Flash Player during the installation procedure.

Luckily, these thread explain the fix. I've replicated their instructions and I've managed to get 4.3.11 working with all the newly incorporated parts, with a few cmd.exe commands that only took two minutes.

https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/149308-lego-digital-designer-install-problem/&page=2

https://community.adobe.com/t5/flash-player-discussions/flash10b-stopping-lego-digital-designer-4-3-11-installer/m-p/10398103

Basically the installation process pauses when you are asked to install Flash Player (no longer available for download as of 12 Jan 2021 - its EOL). But technically, LDD doesn't even need it, as it can run fine with OpenGL. So at the installation step when you get the prompt to Install Flash Player, DON'T click "YES" just yet. Follow these steps instead:

1. run cmd.exe in your Windows search bar.
2. Navigate to the temporary installation folder by typing this into the command line:

cd C:\Users\<yourusername\>\AppData\Local\Temp\WZSE0.TMP
3. You should see the file named install\_flash\_player\_active\_x.exe. Rename that to something else:

rename install\_flash\_player\_active\_x.exe alt.exe
4. Rename the file OpenGLChecker.exe to install\_flash\_player\_active\_x.exe:

rename OpenGLChecker.exe install\_flash\_player\_active\_x.exe
5. Proceed with the LDD installation by clicking "YES". Now the installer should skip the step where it attempts to install Flash Player.

Hope this helps!

---
Tags: software, ldd
---


# Question
Title: Box seals: Two arrows instead of 4-digit manufacturing code, is this a fake?
I have bought a lego architecture 21001 "John hancock" from a website.But as the title, there is no 4-digit code on the sticker. Could you guys help check if the stick is not the original one?

# Answer
According to Brickset this set's shelf life was:

```
LAUNCH/EXIT01 Jul 2008 - 31 Dec 2011

```

I have 42000 set from 2013 (and some others too) which still use stickers with arrows like one of your pictures. So it wasn't until few years later currently used stickers (with production week marked) have been introduced.
> 4 votes

---
Tags: building
---


# Question
Title: LEGO Submarine waterproofing functional parts (e.g. motors, RC receivers)
From my understanding, the motors and RC receivers are not waterproof. Thus, the LEGO submarine from Sariel's LEGO® Workshop rust after sometime.

So, is there any way to make the motors and RC receivers water-proof, so that it can be used as a submarine?

# Answer
The method they used to secure the battery/controller was to wrap it in a sealed plastic bag, something similar to this could be done for the motors. It would be more difficult since you would need a water tight bearing for the rotating shaft to exit the sealed bag. These bearings are complicated and will still always allows some small amount of leakage.

An option to help prevent water leakage would be to fill the motor with a non-conducting fluid to displace any inflowing water, something like mineral oil. I'm not going to try this with any of my motors, but it should work. There is history of using mineral oil for electronics to aid in heat transfer (used by some extreme CPU over clockers) it is non corrosive and non conductive and will not rust the metallic components.

As an alternate just letting water in seemed to work for a while, you could prolong motor life, by ensuring the internals were thoroughly dried after removing them from the water. This would most likely involve opening the housing and a dry air flush. This would slow the rusting, which is much faster when water is combined with exposure to the oxygen present in air.

EDIT

Another method that could be used with actual Lego parts, use the Lego magnets to couple two shafts rotation together on either side of the plastic bag around the motor, this should have zero leakage. There would be an upper limit on the torque possible before the magnets would slip and it would potentially cause wear onto the plastic bag if there is contact with the moving parts.
> 5 votes

# Answer
In this video:

Building a Lego-powered Submarine 3.0 - balloon and compressor

They use a tupperware box, with magnets either side, motors on the inside of the box, and some low-friction tape to reduce slippage. Seems to work well.
> 3 votes

# Answer
The only option is to seal the electronic parts away in a waterproof container, like the plastic bag used in Sariel's video contained in the question, or in a clear plastic water pitcher, like in this video. The tricky part is then providing waterproof seals for the propulsion shafts that need to penetrate the hull. The different approaches tried can be seen beginning at the 1:53 mark and finishes at 3:20 with the application of a small, non-LEGO O-ring, sticky foam tape and a metal washer on the other side:
> 0 votes

---
Tags: technic, motor, remote-control, water
---


title: How do I build this robot car?

text:
# Question
Title: How do I build this robot car?
I want to start using more LEGO Technic, but I'm not sure what the best way is to buy the parts without breaking the bank.

I'd really like to make a robot like the ones shown in this video.

Making Lego Car CLIMB Obstacles

They identify these parts:

SBrick https://www.sbrick.com/sbrick.html

BrickController 2 app (Android)

PlayStation 4 wireless controller

But where do I get the rest? Their channel recommends BrickLink, but that mostly seems to be individual pieces and vintage bits of Lego (unless I'm using it all wrong?)

Is there a low-cost way to buy most of the things shown here? Should I buy a kilogram of used Technic elements on eBay and hope for the best?
Which motors, gearing systems, and batteries are they using here? How are they connected to the SBrick? Is there a single kit that gets me 90% of the way there?

# Answer
> 5 votes
There are several ways you can start with LEGO Technic.

If you have no elements whatsoever the best (cost-efficient) approach is to buy a set that contains most of the parts. Or a couple of sets. Bulk lots could also be useful, however, they may not contain the most expensive elements (like motors). Specific elements could be acquired from Bricklink or BrickOwl.

It is also cost-efficient to buy sets that contain electronic elements already since these are usually more expensive when bought individually.

> Which motors, gearing systems, and batteries are they using here?

Motor - Power Functions M-Motor (as a "set") or Electric, Motor 9V Power Functions M with Dark Bluish Gray Bottom (as an "element")

Gears - multiple have been used in a video. You can find all of them in the Technic, Gear section. These are used in the pictured model:

Battery - battery box used in the video is Electric 9V Battery Box Power Functions (Rechargeable) with Dark Bluish Gray Bottom. It is rather expensive and I suggest much cheaper and commonly found Electric 9V Battery Box Power Functions (Non-Rechargeable) with Dark Bluish Gray Bottom instead.

Please be advised both motors and battery boxes belong to the Power Functions system which has been recently discontinued by LEGO.

> How are they connected to the SBrick?

SBrick is a controller and has connections compatible with the ones used by the Power Functions system. Each motor has a cable with a connector, so no extra cables are needed here.

> Is there a single kit that gets me 90% of the way there?

The Pictured model doesn't use a huge bunch of elements, so it is rather hard to define what 90% is. Personally, I would probably look for some used sets with motors and battery box. And acquire the rest from Bricklink.

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Tags: technic, shopping, power-functions, robotic
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# Question
Title: Does anyone know what piece this is and its number? Large red hemisphere with angry face
I would like to know what piece this is, found it in my collection.

# Answer
These are Windscreen 6 x 6 x 3 Canopy Half Sphere with Dual 2 Fingers with Globlin with Yellow Eyes Angry print and Windscreen 6 x 6 x 3 Canopy Half Sphere with Dual 2 Fingers with Globlin with Yellow Eyes print. Both come from the same set - Beast Master's Chaos Chariot (70314)

Part numbers to all sorts of catalogs can be found on Rebrickable pages linked above.
> 17 votes

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Tags: part-identification
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# Question
Title: Which LEGO sets do these pieces belong to? Star Wars? White, grey, yellow
I got these LEGO sets from a consignment sale. They were all in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag. Any thoughts on which sets they came from? The first bag is open and I've been assuming that the loose pieces came from inside it, but I suppose that could be incorrect. The other two bags are still sealed.

The loose pieces look similar to some of the pieces from the LEGO Star Wars Anakin's Jedi Interceptor 75281 LEGO set.

# Answer
> 5 votes
According to BrickLink:

Bag 2 has at least 2 white 15625 (Slope, Curved 5 x 8 x 2/3 with Four Studs). Only two sets have at least 2, and only 1 also has a yellow Technic coat hanger 99773 (Technic, Liftarm, Modified Triangle Thin, Type II) - 75170 (The Phantom)

The big rounded windscreen looks like 50986pb001 (Windscreen 10 x 6 x 3 Bubble Canopy Double Tapered with Dark Bluish Gray Jedi Starfighter Pattern) which was in 3 sets. Only 1 also has a black 47407 (Wedge, Plate 4 x 6) - 7661 (Jedi Starfighter with Hyperdrive Booster Ring)

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Tags: set-identification
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# Question
Title: Missing 1 of 6 bags to a set, how can I identify what parts are missing
I bought a used set and it has 5/6 bags. How can I identify what parts are in bag 1 so I can order them? Set is 7964

# Answer
Lego's own building instructions will show you which bag you open when, so if you are willing to look at each step before bag 2 is used, they must have come from bag 1 (unfortunately, this includes minifigures).
> 4 votes

# Answer
I'm not aware of any LEGO related online catalogs keeping track of individual bag contents. So there is no convenient way of knowing what's missing.

One way is to do as mentioned by RSchulz, but I find it tedious to identify each piece and make a note of them.

If you are willing to open the rest of the bags you could check against existing set inventories on Bricklink or Rebrickable. Such way you don't need to identify the name (the most tedious, probably), part number and color. Only thing is needed is to note the quantity you already have.
> 1 votes

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Tags: part-identification
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# Question
Title: Blender has "weight" but not the part itself?
New to Blender, I downloaded it to look for some parts that aren't available on Studio. I saw one part, 54937, listed in Peeron and LIC. I also looked on LDraw.

For my download, I found part 54937 in weights but the actual part doesn't show up.

Why is that?

# Answer
> 2 votes
As far as I can tell, this part is not available to you because no one in the community has invested the time to create an LDraw model for it. The model files for most libraries of 3D LEGO bricks are based on the LDraw models created freely and collaboratively by the community.

Your part should be on LDraw here, but it is not there, indicating that it has never been added to the library.

Let's take a look at the part:

Most LDraw parts are built from a number of common primitives, such as studs, boxes, and clips. For example, here's the entire definition of a 1x2 brick:

```
1 16 0 4 0 1 0 0 0 -5 0 0 0 1 stud3.dat

0 BFC INVERTNEXT
1 16 0 24 0 16 0 0 0 -20 0 0 0 6 box5.dat

4 16 20 24 10 16 24 6 -16 24 6 -20 24 10
4 16 -20 24 10 -16 24 6 -16 24 -6 -20 24 -10
4 16 -20 24 -10 -16 24 -6 16 24 -6 20 24 -10
4 16 20 24 -10 16 24 -6 16 24 6 20 24 10

1 16 0 24 0 20 0 0 0 -24 0 0 0 10 box5.dat

1 16 10 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 stud.dat
1 16 -10 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 stud.dat
0

```

It's easy to add parts that use mostly flat surfaces and common connection families. It is much more time consuming to add parts the include irregular curves and molded details. The above part would be time consuming to add, and would require the LDraw part author to have the physical part on hand, which likely contributes to why it hasn't been added.

For what it's worth, I saw that you also asked about this on the LDraw forums. That's a good idea, and hopefully one of the part authors will have this part on hand and be willing to add the model for you.

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Tags: piece-information, software
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# Question
Title: What set are these bags from? bearded mini-fig head, tan, dark tan, maroon, white and black bricks, some small black windows
I picked up two sealed bags up from the church thrift store. Markings are 2017, 515R8, 13149, bag numbers 3 and 4, Each bag has at least one flesh colored, bearded mini-fig head, tan, dark tan, maroon, white and black bricks, some small black windows. Can anyone identify the set?

# Answer
I am no expert brick sleuth, but I see a white Dinosaur Tail End Section / Horn and a dark tan 4x12 plate, which I believe narrows this to **75930-1 Indoraptor Rampage at Lockwood Estate**. That set apparently has six bags total, so if that is correct you're indeed missing most of it.
> 9 votes

# Answer
Based on the

these bags should be from

75930: Indoraptor Rampage at Lockwood Estate
> 8 votes

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Tags: set-identification
---


# Question
Title: Help identify set - Star Wars Episode 1-3 Era
Been organizing old toys and ran into this completely built part that looks like some backdrop item from Tatooine - a vertical thing you see near Luke's farm. It looks very familiar, and I can swear I saw it on one of the boxes along some other, main thing.

For reference, the same box had a Gionossian fighter from Episode 2 and Darth Vader's ship from Force Unleashed series. Images of those below.

# Answer
These parts are from

4488: Millennium Falcon

this set contains additional parts to build a Y-wing Fighter when also using additional parts from sets 4489, 4490 and 4491.
> 4 votes

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Tags: star-wars
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# Question
Title: Identify an unusual double-ended ball socket link part
This part is made up of three pieces - two identical ball socket ends that fit the standard tow ball size, and a thin rod connecting the two that is freely rotating. This allows the two ends to rotate independently of each other. The visible section of the rod is three studs long, and each end is two studs long, making the whole assembly seven studs long. The pieces do not appear to be designed to be disassembled by the user, hence my assumption that it is a single part.

# Answer
That is 4 separate parts. They can be disassembled, but they are somewhat fragile. The ends are part 6644 Technic Flex Cable End - Ball Connection with Cage:

The middle section is made up of a length rigid hose with a flex cable inside.

Rigid hose:

Flex cable:

The cable end includes a hinged door that allows flex system hose to be freely inserted or removed while the door is open. Once the door is in the closed position, the hose is locked in place. Here's what the part looks like with the door open:

If you're curious why you might want such a piece, it can be used to transfer translational motion down an irregular path. Here's and example from set 8412:

The part is first used to connect the flex system to the control stick inside the helicopter cockpit:

It's then used to connect one of the cables to the main rotor to provide pitch and roll control:
> 15 votes

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Tags: part-identification, technic
---


# Question
Title: How do I keep track of my Bricklink orders?
I just noticed "This order will be purged from the BrickLink website on …" on the bottom of one of my Bricklink orders.

How do I keep track of the inventory I bought on Bricklink after the orders are deleted? Can I somehow create an inventory from them? I just want to know which bricks I bought in an accessible manner.

# Answer
> 7 votes
*Good answers here. As all of them suggest to download ordered items and manage your orders in an offline manner.*

Another way is to, keep track of your collection (sets and loose/extra bricks) online in Rebrickable. Here you you have an option to import orders directly from Bricklink.

Click the Import/Delete Parts button on the Part List page that you want to import into.

Choose a file or external site to import from.

From a Rebrikable help guide.

# Answer
> 6 votes
If you go to your order overview, you can click on Download

On the next page select the checkbox 'Include detail items'

This should give you and overview of all orders including exact parts bought in each transaction.

# Answer
> 5 votes
To add to @user18321’s answer, here are two other ways:

1. Within BrickLink: go to each order and click on “Add to Wanted List”. Now add the pieces to either a new wanted list (perhaps under the order number?) or dump all your orders into one big Wanted list (e.g. “Purchases”).
2. Using BrickStore: download this free software, give it your BL credentials, and it will download your orders for you (Using “Import”\>”Bricklink Orders”). It has a great UI that allows you to manage your collection, and amongst others allows you to pull up current cost values for the items you own (ctrl-A ctrl-G).

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Tags: bricklink, inventory
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# Question
Title: Does a LEGO Technic Power Functions L Motor work with a v1 receiver?
Does a LEGO Technic Power Functions L Motor work with a v1 receiver? I really want to know it, because then I know what motor I should buy.

# Answer
> 8 votes
Yes, they appear in combination in the 42030 and 42095 sets. The L motor only appears in combination with the V2 receiver in the 41999 and 9398 sets.

In my experience, there is a small performance loss when used with the V1 rather than the V2 receiver.

I once asked Lego support why the Volvo 42030 came with the V1 rather than the V2 receiver as depicted on the box-art and was told that the motors might damage the set when used with the V2 receiver and that hence the receiver was swapped out late in the design phase (after the box-art was already made)

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Tags: technic, power-functions
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# Question
Title: How is the roof on this bridge town formed?
I recently came across this build from Markus Rollbühler:

It includes many great details and building techniques. I'm curious how the conical tower roof is formed, though:

It's obviously made using a number of cheese slopes:

How are they all attached?

# Answer
At first, I assumed that this was a clever technique using something flexible like a net or tubing. After a bit of digging, I found a similar tower roof on a different build by the same person:

Someone had asked about the roof technique on that build, and Markus included a photo looking up the inside of the roof structure:

The build makes use of round elements of different sizes with elements of an appropriate length clipped around them like spokes. This is a great technique that delivers a nice result if you have loads of parts and patience available.
> 18 votes

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Tags: building
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# Question
Title: Does anyone know what this piece is? 3224730, with a bar at right angles to two more-rectancular bits
I found this piece and don't have any idea where it came from or what it would be used for. The number "3224730 2" is stamped on the side. For scale reference, the long round bar portion fits in a minifigure's hands.

# Answer
This is not a Lego piece, If you look at the colour (or a trained eye does) This is probably a knock off lego set, as well as lego doesn't make these sort of pieces and lastly with every Lego piece ever made the have the icon, try to find it, If it isn't there it's a fake.
> -3 votes

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Tags: part-identification
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# Question
Title: Can you identify this LEGO part? - 8x8 lattice design with 2 studs by 2 studs in the middle
The piece is red 2.5" X 2.5" square, Lattice design with 2 studs by 2 studs solid tile in middle and 8 studs on each outside around the edge

# Answer
It's 4151 Plate, Modified 8 x 8 with Grille. There's a newer variant with a hole, too.

In red, it was in only one set: 6989 Mega Core Magnetizer
> 15 votes

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Tags: part-identification
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# Question
Title: Can anyone help me with what set this bag belongs to? brown door, some flowers, a $100, an envelope
There is a brown door, some flowers, a $100, an envelope

# Answer
> 5 votes
According to BrickLink, the only set with all of:

* 2 x 2 corner brick in yellow
* wedge plate 3 x 3 in dark bluish grey
* 1 x 8 plate in yellow

is 31108 Caravan Family Holiday

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Tags: set-identification
---


# Question
Title: Part identification of an element used in the snout of a micro-scale whale
I need help identifying this part:

I would think something bionicle, but going through the list on bricklink I couldn't find anything, it's sort of similar to a bionicle eye, but not quite.

# Answer
> 15 votes
This is tricky one. According to my research this element is foot/boot of Belville figures and Bricklink doesn't have dedicated entry for this piece. Perhaps it isn't meant to be disassembled/assembled, but that doesn't stop AFOLs from doing so.

In case somebody would be looking to ID the bottom part of the same sub-assembly it looks to be Belville, Clothes Child's Leg Cast

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Tags: part-identification
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# Question
Title: Align 2xX plate on "sandwiched" brick (height of 5 plates)
I'm using "baseplates" for my builds which are built by using two 16x16 plates with one brick height between them (to connect multiple baseplates with Technic bricks and pins).

Now I'd like to build "edges" on the sides where no further baseplate is connected. The problem is, that, although the baseplates have a height of a 2xX plate, I cannot align them correctly centered.

Is there any SNOT technique to get the 2xX plate aligned as for (A) which I cannot use, because modified brick 32952 does not fit between the two plates of the baseplate. For variants (B) modified brick 87087, and (C) Technic brick with modified tile with pin 2460 the attached plate would be slightly displaced.

It doesn't matter whether the attached plate would be "studs out" as in (B) or "studs in" as in (C), as long as it aligns as in (A).

(Bonus points if all bricks needed are available in white.)

# Answer
Found one solution using Bracket 2 x 2 - 1 x 2 Centered, where perpendicular plate is actually centered and fit two plates on each side seamlessly.

My other idea, which I had in mind initially, was to use Brick, Modified 1 x 2 with Pin, which can fit existing Technic bricks in your baseplates and leave presentable back side without any pins visible. Benefit of such solution is that you can have your baseplates same on each and every side (you don't need to make specific "edge" baseplates), thus allowing you to shuffle them however you like as this solution would work with any of them.
> 8 votes

# Answer
Perhaps too straightforward but how about simply sticking a brick out with 1 stud and attach any kind of bracket to the top or bottom of the protruding end of the brick ?
> 5 votes

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Tags: building, snot
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# Question
Title: What motor and remote control can be used for LEGO train 60197?
I got the LEGO set 60197 passenger train and its missing the 3 components. The motor, the battery, and the remote. I've tried to look online for it but the only motor I see online is 88011. Is that compatible?

# Answer
> 3 votes
It would have been nice to know you location, to provide direct URLs. Below are details for UK, however prices would be in similar price range in other markets.

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Tags: motor
---


# Question
Title: Transformer 45517: power supply or charger?
I would like to build a charging station for EV3 with rechargeable battery (45501).

Does the transformer (45517) give a simple stable dc voltage (power supply)? Or does it provide a controlled voltage / current depending on the charge with charging a method (CC-CV or other)? What is the charging method?

In other words: the charging intelligence is in the rechargeable battery or in the transformer?

# Answer
The charging circuit is in the battery, so any 10V, 700mA DC power supply should work. The circuit driven by a MP26123 chip.

The battery schematic is available from the *EV3 Hardware Developer Kit* on the MINDSTORMS download page for anyone who wants to confirm this.
> 4 votes

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Tags: ev3, mindstorms, electronics, battery
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# Question
Title: What is the correct Snowspeeder to pair with the UCS AT-AT?
What is the correct sized Snowspeeder to pair with the UCS AT-AT (75313)?

# Answer
From Brickset: "The vehicle measures 62cm in height and 69cm long".

The same measurements of a real AT-AT would be 22.5 meters and 20 meters.

Therefore the 75313 is scaled between 1:36 and 1:29, depending on whether the height or the length is more important.

A model of the 5.3 meters long Snowspeeder at these scales would be anywhere between 14.7 and 18.2 cm long, so the 75259: Snowspeeder – 20th Anniversary Edition at 18 cm would definitely be in the correct scale range, and it has a passing level of details as well.
> 12 votes

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Tags: star-wars, scale
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# Question
Title: Identify this set - bags with white, grey, brown and blue bricks
Found these two bag from a box of toys given by friend And they don’t have any idea what set the bags belong to. The QR code on the bag shows 6172092, googled it but no luck. Can anyone help? Thanks

# Answer
> 23 votes
I can see a blue 4x4x6 corner door frame, and a 10x10 black net (inside the cardboard box labeled "6124286"). That's enough to identify the set as 60174-1 Mountain Police Headquarters.

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Tags: set-identification
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# Question
Title: How does the LEGO Typewriter mechanism fit?
My wife is building the LEGO Typewriter set (21327). When she installs the gearbox mechanism at step 210, the whole thing jams when pressing the keys.

I am trying to help her and have "unbuilt" it back a few steps and checked everything in terms of being the right way round, etc.

The problem seems to go back to step 177 when a block assembly is placed. Up until then the large section installed at step 153 was free to move around an inch or so forward. After step 177 the new block installed severely restricts that movement. It is in the correct place from what I can see!

What might be causing this problem? How can I fix it?

# Answer
> 10 votes
## Core Issue

> When she installs the gearbox mechanism at step 210, the whole thing jams when pressing the keys.

The gearbox in question is this one completed in step 208:

Here it is fully installed after step 210:

The function of this assembly is to store energy in the springs at the bottom and use it to move the carriage over a small amount on each key press. This is accomplished via the 8 bladed propeller and bush at the top that are used to form an escapement. Each key press allows the propeller to rotate 1/8 of a turn, and this rotation allows a small lateral movement of the carriage.

There are several issues that could cause this to not work properly.

### Complete Failure

If everything is jammed, the following behavior may be seen:

* Keys can't be pressed
* Keys can be pressed, but nothing happens

There are many issues that could cause this. There are two specific issues called out in the instructions as common sources of errors.

Be sure the propeller is installed the right way around in step 197:

Ensure that the escapement is built in the correct orientation in step 205:

Either of those issue will prevent the mechanism from working properly.

A general issue that may cause this to fail is simply building the gearbox or keys with too much friction. It is important not to install gears or bushes too tightly to prevent friction. I will typically push parts together as tight as they will go then back them off by a very small amount. There used to guidance on this in the instructions for Technic sets:

This doesn't always matter, but in an assembly like this where there are many connections and gravity is used to provide force to make everything work correctly, it is important not to add additional friction.

### Typebar not Returning

If the typebar moves when a key is pressed, but never falls back down from hitting the page, then the core gearbox is likely working properly. This is especially true if the carriage moves as expected if the typebar is returned manually.

This could be due to excess friction in the gearbox as above. Another issue that I encountered was forgetting the half bush in step 152:

This prevents the keys from fully engaging with the escapement mechanism and limits its ability to return the typebar to its original position.

It's worth noting that the springs under the carriage are able to transfer some of their force back to the keys and typebar. The typebar is most likely to work properly when the carriage is in the rightmost position, and may have difficulty returning when the carriage is all the way to the left, as the escapement mechanism will no longer be transferring any energy back through the system.

---

## Note on Restricted Movement After Step 177

> The problem seems to go back to step 177 when a block assembly is placed. Up until then the large section installed at step 153 was free to move around an inch or so forward.

I want to clarify that this is the expected behavior. The following assembly is the one installed in step 153:

It has a lot of play until this assembly is installed in step 177:

Here it is after installation:

After that point, it has probably about a centimeter of play if installed correctly.

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Tags: building, sets, ideas
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# Question
Title: EV3 file opens to lobby and won’t open any of the saved programs on it
Help!! I am using the Mindstorms app on a HP laptop to program missions to an EV3 brick for a robotics team. We saved our programs yesterday after finishing programming a couple missions. Today, the file will only open in Mindstorms to the lobby with no programs opening at all! The file itself says I last saved to it yesterday, and it says there is 40 KB in there, but it won’t open. I have tried restarting computer and Mindstorms app, sending the file to another computer with that app (won’t open) and searching for it saved somewhere else on the laptop…all a no go! I have also opened last years file and it opened just fine, so I don’t think it is the Mindstorms app. Can anyone help with suggestions on how to get my file opened and get the programs back? We have 2 1/2 months of programming on there and we have qualifiers in 3 weeks!

# Answer
I don’t think this question is about LEGO, but rather about Microsoft Windows (assuming that is what runs on the laptop) and hence it doesn’t fit here on this forum. However, here are some suggestions:

1. It looks like your file has been corrupted during the previous save. To prevent this in the future, it is best to make a copy of the program at the end of each day and keep it somewhere safe, for example on a USB thumb drive. This will also save you if your computer were to crash some day.
2. In the meanwhile, try going to the File Explorer in Windows, find the saved file and right-click on it. Hopefully it shows something like “show versions” which might allow you to find the state of the file from a previous save.
3. If that option is not there (and it very well might not be), use this as an opportunity to teach your grouo about the value of backups, and redo the programs. If this is for FLL, you might have printouts of the programs for your binder, which you can use to recreate the program?

Good luck.
> 0 votes

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Tags: ev3, mindstorms
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# Question
Title: What set does this unopened bag belong to? Lots of grey and brown
I found this bag number 7, but cannot figure out what Lego set it belongs to.

# Answer
Based on having a lot of Light Bley 1x4 with studs on the side and black ladder with clips and a boat steering wheel of some sort, it must be 21310 Old Fishing Store.
> 9 votes

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Tags: set-identification
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# Question
Title: What are the dimensions of LEGO 10221 Super Star Destroyer?
What is the length, width, and height of the 10221 Super Star Destroyer set, fully built, including its stand?

I'm trying to make a display case for one.

# Answer
> 5 votes
So the box says 49 inches long, the official description says "under 50 inches long". I just measured the width (about 13.25 inches) and height (about 9.5 inches) on my assembled set.

So a rough minimum inner size box would be 50"L x 13.5"W x 10"H.

# Answer
> 1 votes
4ft 2in long 14in wide 10 in tall with stand

# Answer
> 0 votes
52in. W x 14in. D x 14in. H is the size of the display case you will need. Don't try to buy one, I'm looking for one, and the cheapest I can find cost $499.

---
Tags: sets, star-wars, size
---


title: Saturn V build step 124

text:
# Question
Title: Saturn V build step 124
Step 124. Having some difficulty from the diagram figuring out how to orient each of these four pieces. Can't figure out if the light grey nozzle is suppose to snap into the bracket shown in step 123. So far no problems except for this. LEGO needed a bottom view of the assembly.

# Answer
> 3 votes
You just need to slide each of these 5 sub-assemblies onto black/yellow axles. There are no further attachment points between this sub-assembly and the rest of the model.

Instructions suggests you need to point each nozzle toward next engine in outer circle (except for center one, which works in any orientation). You don't really have other options for orientation since parts you've put together on previous step limit positioning of the sub-assembly found in Step 124. And looking at the pictures from various reviews I found over the internet I don't think there is a good way of picturing engines from the bottom since colors are dark and pretty much the same.

---
Tags: building, ideas
---


# Question
Title: Old Lego duplo train not working on batteries
I've recovered my old lego duplo set from the attic, and tried to get the electric train working again. After inserting fully charged batteries, the train does start, but it's unable to pull even a single wagon.

I've also tried using Duracell batteries, but that gives the same result. I've already opened up the train and my dad says he can see a little crack in one of the gears, but the train still runs when using Hameg PS and even with the batteries.

Can I get this thing working again somehow?

Here is a video of the train with a single wagon

## Edit

I tried hooking up power.

And at first it started to drive smoother, but after like 5 seconds it got to a halt again. When lifting the train, the wheels spin again, but when putting it down again it just stops. The wires are not in the way for sure.

Here is the video of the train wired to the power.

Currents are:

* 75 mA while driving
* 120 mA when stuck

# Answer
> 1 votes
In my case, the gear next to the slipping clutch was cracked. Since it is only pressed on, it can no longer transmit large forces and the slipping clutch slips in the wrong place.

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Tags: trains, duplo
---


# Question
Title: How can I use multiple switch options in Lego Mindstorms EV3 software?
What I see is just a simple if/then/else. What I am looking for is to be able to add multiple options, more than yes/no.

I use a motor as a switcher, so I rotate it to some position and measure its degrees to switch the mode of the robot and there are going to be more than 2 modes, like 4-8. How can I do it in an elegant way?

# Answer
> 5 votes
I just discovered this a few days ago. If you use "Numeric" as the input type and switch to tabbed view, you can have a select/case/default type instruction instead of if/then. It also works with text input as well as as some sensors.

# Answer
> 2 votes
I would suggest stacking your switch statements by placing switch statements into one another like in the below image. Make sure your conditions overlap, so you are only testing for values in A1 and A2 that are WITHIN your A condition, same for B.

# Answer
> 1 votes
Yes, multiple switch statements can be nested inside each other.

However, given the problem of a measuring a motor's rotation and converting that into a user choice doing the math first and using that result in a single switch statement is possible.

Also, the logic will need to run more than once and give the user some indication of the current selection. That much, might look like this:

# Answer
> 0 votes
It depends on what problem you're trying to solve. If you need a large, multi-part switch statement, then Sergei's answer above is genius and definitely correct. I just discovered that the first `if` counts as the default. This is different than C or Java where the default condition is optionally coded at the bottom of a switch statement. The only time nested `if` statements make sense is if it creates clarity within the program. I'd much rather look at one large switch block with all of the cases listed than to see it broken up with multiple if/else blocks. i.e.

```
if
else if
else if
else if
else

```

looks a lot more clear than a messy bunch of nested if/else statements.

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Tags: mindstorms, ev3, software
---


# Question
Title: How does the Space Shuttle dock the ISS?
The IDEAS International Space Station (21321) comes with a miniature model of a space shuttle. And while that has its place on the space station's stand, the official LEGO product page literally includes the statement "dock the shuttle" with a picture (that's also on the box) of the space shuttle approaching the front of the ISS model in order to dock. It seems to be a genuine "play feature":

But I have no idea **how the shuttle is supposed to actually dock, i.e. how to fixate it onto the docking module in a stable and permanent way**, given that it has studs facing each other. Besides this picture there is no hint on how to do that and the instructions don't include guides for that either. I also thought maybe it's the other way around (although that would possibly contradict physical reality), but the bottom of the shuttle is covered in float tiles.

So is there a way to actually dock the space shuttle to the ISS? Is there an official build way that the instruction is just coy of mentioning? Does that possibly involve the hinged parts with the airlock prints on them that are right next to the supposed shuttle dock? Or are there any "inofficial" ideas on how to accomplish it, possibly involving additional parts?

---

I know there are concerns about the space shuttle being a bit out of scale for the ISS when measured against reality and that a custom bigger shuttle might be more appropriate anyway. However, I still wonder how to dock the officially included shuttle model.

# Answer
It looks like LEGO did not intend to make Shuttle attachable to ISS despite the statement. At least not with a stud-on-stud connection like the set is designed right now.

As seen in picture below, Shuttle is docked using a connection port inside storage bay with its doors open. Not sure if it is possible to replicate opened doors in scale Shuttle and ISS are built.

However if you neglect the lack of this feature and accept the docking with storage bay doors closed a little modification could solve the issue. Existing Fez piece attached to ISS isn't deep enough to accept Tile, Round 1 x 1 with Bar and Pin Holder (to invert stud to anti-stud) so an addition of Plate, Round 1 x 1 with Open Stud aka "Apollo stud" in between both of them will help modifying the docking port.
> 15 votes

# Answer
It just so happens that I have this set and have come up with a way to attach it without adding pieces:

All this requires is to move the two second-to-back float pads, take off the fez piece from the dock, attach it in the revealed anti stud on the bottom of the shuttle and put the fez piece back on, with the shuttle on top.

I know it's not realistic because it's literally put on backwards to the way it is in real life and intended by NASA, but that's just my little way of docking the shuttle.
> 9 votes

# Answer
I use these pieces. The same size as the docking in the set, but two anti-stud attachments.
> 7 votes

# Answer
I have this set and didn’t need any additional parts to attach the space shuttle.
> 3 votes

# Answer
In the extra small unused pieces that come with the set. There is a piece 6177114, you can see the reference in back of the instructions were it shows all the pieces, it is a Technic, pin connector round 1L. This piece will connect the space ship to the fez.
> -2 votes

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Tags: building, space, ideas
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# Question
Title: Help identify 1x2 modified plate with both pin and axle holes
Trying to identify this piece to buy some extras. Can't find anything like it on Bricklink.

It came in a MOC set, not official Lego.

Any help greatly appreciated!

# Answer
LEGO doesn't have any elements that have such geometry and offer connections for both pins and axles. The closest you can get from LEGO right now is Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Pin Hole on Bottom

And Technic, Brick 1 x 2 with Holes if you need to attach two pins/axles.
> 2 votes

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Tags: part-identification, clone-brands
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title: Need Help identifying LEGO castles

text:
# Question
Title: Need Help identifying LEGO castles
would anyone be able to assist with identifying the following 2 LEGO castles? We’ve tried looking on the catalogues so far but no luck. If anyone can assist, I’d appreciate it :) thanks!

# Answer
In your first photograph I spot what seems to be Panel 1x4x5 Wall with Window in dark bluish gray:

The list of sets containing such a part in that colour is very short, and none of the sets resemble the construction in your photograph.

The second photograph seems to feature the same part, but in light bluish grey instead. Again, the list of sets with that part in that colour yields no matches.

It's safe to say that you're not dealing with LEGO sets, but with clone brands instead.
> 2 votes

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Tags: set-identification, clone-brands
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# Question
Title: Are there known manufacturing issues with 1x1 gold cones?
Are there any known issues with LEGO 1x1 gold cones? We received a set containing them and two broke within an hour (under normal use).

They were part of this set. You can see one on the top of the locomotive and house. Anyone have positive (or negative) experiences with Lego on sending out replacement parts?

# Answer
> 5 votes
It is unknown what could have caused your issue. LEGO does change plastic and coloring formula from time to time. While rare this still may result in customers having similar issues with bricks sometimes.

Please get in touch with LEGO Customer Service and they will be more than happy to help with your issue and take a note of what went wrong to address the global problem (if there is one).

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Tags: replacement-parts, quality
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# Question
Title: Classic Space part? near-triangle with 2x6 on one end and 1x2 on the other and a lot of empty space between
Is this a classic space part? Found in a box of old LEGO.

# Answer
> 8 votes
This is

Part #30036: Wedge, Plate 8 x 6 x 2/3 with Grille

In White it appears in two Exploriens sets

and

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Tags: part-identification, space
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# Question
Title: What is a Planetary Decoder? What does it decode? How does it work?
This answer to *Classic Space part?* says

> In White it appears in two Exploriens sets
>
> and

**Question:** What is a Planetary Decoder? What does it decode? In association with what planets might it be used? And if possible what kinds of signals does it receive and how does it work?

Having just written an answer about optical communications in space the title of the set really piqued my interest!

# Answer
> 21 votes
According to various lego catalogs of 1996 (the set's release year), it's referring to the main play feature of the set :

The two transparent red and blue dishes at the front of the craft can be used to reveal different designs on two included tiles :

One such catalog (1996 Holiday US Shop At Home) gives some more background information :

Transcription :

> **D. Planetary Decoder**
>
> It soars through space, then lands on uncharted planets to search for alien clues! This fully equipped craft has adjustable rocket engines, a rotating telescopic laser, alien clues and decoding equipment. 79 pieces.
>
> **#6856 Planetary Decoder $8.75**

> Cool decoding equipment detects dangerous dinosaurs? Blue screen reveals dino chomping on a bone and red screen reveals dino with mouth wide open.

For some more lore on the Exploriens range of sets, the Bricks 'n Pieces March 1996 issue dedicates some pages to it eg.

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Tags: terminology, space, model-identification
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# Question
Title: What is an effective method for breaking down and storing large sets for future rebuilds?
I would like to breakdown and store my Harry Potter Castle (71043) but not sure the best method doing so. I have young kids that would love to rebuild this some day so I want to make sure I break this down properly and store so that rebuilding later will be easy. Do I start at the back of the manuals and work forward storing zip lock bags of each manual section? Do I break down by part type? If I do that then we would be rifling through 30+ bags during a rebuild. Anyone have experience with this set and breaking down?

# Answer
I don't have that particular set, but going through the instructions in reverse order and storing the parts in numbered bags will produce the most like-new rebuilding experience. You can even put everything back in the original box and store it that way.

The big weakness with this method is that you can't really use those parts for anything else. That's probably fine if you only have a few sets and don't intend to do any custom building, but I find myself very limited when storing by set. I personally store as much as I can by part (and then by part and color when I have a large number of a particular element). We have another good answer covering sorting techniques if that is useful.
> 7 votes

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Tags: storage, castle, harry-potter
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# Question
Title: What is the part name and use for this small piece shaped like a lever?
Looking for part name and use, stamped and has different numbers on each one I find. Small and shaped like a lever. Same size as antenna piece actually. I feel it is part of a larger piece similar to the antenna and base part.

Part numbers on each piece I have found thus far are like 27, 28, 29 with the numbers 01 underneath each one. It's in dark grey and has white marks where they broke it off the part holder bit. Any help would be lovely.

Sorry for photo quality, it's very tiny.

# Answer
> 10 votes
This is part of FIGURE ACCESSORIES

and is used as antenna for the Boba Fett and other mandalorian minifigs

(Picture from Set 75312)

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Tags: part-identification, piece-information
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# Question
Title: Can you print a LEGO Powered Up connector with a 3D printer?
Has anyone ever printed a *LEGO Powered Up* connector with a 3D printer? Currently, I'm using a modified *SATA* adapter for some *LED* lights on my train.

# Answer
Yep.

See my writeup here: https://www.biasedlogic.com/index.php/lego-powered-up-connector/

Done that, works.
> 1 votes

# Answer
Are you talking the new 6 wire cables for the latest launched systems or the old two wire connectors like what was used on the Scout robotics controllers for sensors?

If you are talking the old two wire versions, you might be able to use conductive filament in conjunction with standard PLA to print an insulating strip between the two conductive halves of the connector and get it to work. If you stop the print in the middle and add the wires, the connection might be acceptable to have the wires 3-D printed into the connector.

I have used this method to make 3-D printed led holders that connect the leads of the LED's to the circuit by 3-D printing directly onto the LED's leads. I print the holder so the LED can be inserted into the holder, the leads bent to the surface and trimmed at the edge of the holder. Then when the rest of the holder is printed it melts the conductive filament to the leads and glues the LED into the holder permanently. I have tried insertion into tight fitting holes in the conductive material with poor results. I have tried wrapping the leads around posts of conductive material with moderate results. Melting the conductive filament directly onto the leads makes for the best connection.
> -2 votes

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Tags: power-functions, customization, powered-up, cad
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# Question
Title: Are there Powered Up compatible connectors available?
I'm interested in experimenting with custom LEGO Powered Up peripherals. Are there connectors available that I can use to interface with the hub?

# Answer
There do not appear to be any compatible connectors available currently. You can obviously splice cables from the official components, but that's expensive and makes those components unusable.

I hope that someone has a better answer, but the best that I've been able to do so far is to use a modified SATA connector. I first saw this in a video that demonstrated that the pin separation is the same between the two connectors.

Here's a standard SATA connector:

With a little Dremel work, you can expose the pins and reduce the width enough to fit the SATA connector into the Powered Up hub:

Here's the Powered Up connector for reference:

Notice that the SATA connector uses one extra pin. The pin on the right is extra and will not make contact with anything.

The first 6 pins line up with the hub just fine:

The SATA connector is unfortunately a little too thin to fit snugly:

If you can get it wedged in using some sort of shim (paper, cardboard, etc) you should be able to get a good connection.
> 10 votes

# Answer
Appears you can purchase them on AliExpress, here's some of the vendors I found: here here here

"10Pcs/lot Programming Series Robots Model Building Blocks Education Steam Connector Cabe Parts For **WEDO 2.0** Motors Sensor Toys"

From this article:

> This connector first appeared in **WeDo 2.0** set (45300) in 2016. It allows to connect sensors and motors to the controller. This 6-wire system progressively replaces the Power Functions 4-wire system. This system was initially named "Power Functions 2.0" but it was then used in 2017 Boost Creative Toolbox (17101), 2019 Powered Up trains, and 2019 Control + Technic sets, so naming this system remains... tricky! But as of publishing, it looks like LEGO gathered these avatars under the common "Powered Up" banner.

So looks like searching for WeDo is more fruitful than Powered Up since that's a more recent branding.

I am in no way affiliated with any vendors.
> 7 votes

# Answer
This is a great suggestion, however; use the HDD end instead.

Just grab an old HDD (SATA) and use the flat pin connectors (not the spring ended ones suggested above). If you are careful with the side cutters you can actually recover two connectors from one HDD header. (One from the power and one from the data)
> 2 votes

# Answer
You can also 3d print the plugs.

See https://www.biasedlogic.com/index.php/lego-powered-up-connector/
> 0 votes

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Tags: powered-up
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# Question
Title: Why are the modified 1x2 plates with tow ball (socket) only available in light- or dark bluish gray?
Both pieces 14418 and 22890 appear in quite a large number of sets, yet they are only available in light- or dark bluish grey. The reason I find this strange is that in many cases, they do NOT match the local colour(s) of the set they're in.

Is there a known reason for this? The only one I could think of is that perhaps the material properties for other colours might be slightly different (e.g. not enough or too much friction when connecting the two pieces), but I would be rather surprised by this.

# Answer
> 3 votes
This is probably related to cost and not material properties.

There is some cost to each unique element that TLG manufactures. They must be molded, stored, and picked to produce sets. The fewer elements that TLG is producing at a given time, the more efficient their production process can be.

The two elements you mentioned are nearly always structural rather than decorative, so there isn't a strong need to recolor them. This is probably also part of the reason that many Technic elements (pins, axles, etc) are only available in a very limited number of colors.

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Tags: piece-information, colour
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# Question
Title: How can I get my motor to line up with a linear actuator?
I am very new to Lego, and I want to create a simple horizontal sliding door. I'm using a medium linear motor to drive a linear actuator which is attached to the door. The problem is the motor does not line up with the linear actuator.

How can I fix this?

# Answer
> 31 votes
The axle is misaligned by half a stud, so an obvious approach to this problem is offset your motor by half a stud.

The technique of offsetting bricks by half a stud is known as AZMEP (from the german "aus zwei mach eins Plättchen", meaning offset of half a stud), which is a specific case of the SNIR (**S**tuds **N**ot **I**n a **R**ow) technique.

As it has been already pointed out, one way of doing AZMEP is using part 3794, Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 1 Stud, Jumper AKA "jumper plate". You can just pop a few of these underneath your motor:

The Unnoficial LEGO Advanced Building Techniques Guide (oldie but goodie, available in gratis PDF) lists a number of other bricks that can be used for the AZMEP technique, e.g.:

I'd suggest trying out a liberal application of 1x1 round plates on the underside of the motor, clip each round plate to the space between 4 studs on the baseplate:

---

As Sander has pointed out, you can also use technic bushes to offset things alongside axles by half a stud. In your particular assembly, this can be useful to effectively widen the linear actuator from 3 studs to 4 studs.

I suggest the usage of 2L axle + pin plus technic bushes:

If you're short on parts, you can also consider using 2L technic pins under tension:

...but be aware that this assembly is way flimsier, and the pins will wobble around. You'll need to provide extra support to the technic 1x4 bricks (blue 1x8 in my diagram). In other words: add 6-stud wide bricks or plates to both the top and the bottom of those.

Another option is to use thin liftarms to fill that half-a-stud gap:

---

Finally, another solution is to forego the baseplate entirely and use an assembly attached to the motor's pin holes. Note how the motor pinholes are 3-stud wide, which are offset half a stud relative to the motor's 4-stud wide body.

There are multiple ways of achieving this, but I'll illustrate using 39793 Technic, Pin Connector Block, Liftarm 1 x 3 x 3 and 2905 Technic Liftarm Triangle:

I think the most compact solution possible needs a 92907 Technic, Axle and Pin Connector Perpendicular Split:

# Answer
> 6 votes
An alternative is to shift the linear actuator by half a stud using eg. a Technic Bush 1/2 Smooth or Technic, Liftarm Thin 1 x 2 - Axle Holes (or any other thin liftarm) as spacer on both sides to control the horizontal alignment, and use plates to control the vertical alignment.

# Answer
> 5 votes
You can do this by utilising some Technic pieces - CV or U joints. Each solution requires two of each element.

**Solution 1**

Technic, Universal Joint 3L

**Solution 2**

Technic, Steering CV Joint Axle

Technic, Steering CV Joint

**Solution 3**

Technic, Steering CV Joint Axle, Wide

Technic, Steering CV Joint, Large Ball

# Answer
> 4 votes
To solve this, you need *jumper plates* to line up

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Tags: technic, building, motor
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# Question
Title: Can you identify these legs with the grass skirt?
Can anyone identify these legs. I tried searching Bricklink for "legs skulls" and "legs grass skirt" but couldn't find it.

# Answer
This is:

Hips and **Reddish Brown** Legs with Lime Loincloth, Spider Knee Pads and Black Claws Pattern from Sparratus:

or (as JLRishe pointed out in comments):

Hips and **Dark Brown** Legs with Lime Loincloth, Spider Knee Pads and Black Claws Pattern from Sparacon

Both are from Chima sets.
> 9 votes

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Tags: part-identification
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# Question
Title: How to fix the Lego Technic RC Stunt Racer (42095) set's turning drift?
I just finished the Lego 42095 Stunt Racer and noticed that there is a slight drift to the right when it drives forward. It works fine in reverse mode - reverses in a straight line.

Any suggestions, solutions please?

# Answer
> -1 votes
The best way to do this is that the motors are running at a slightly different RPM If both left and right motors run at exactly the same RPM they make us a straight line. PF L motors don't have rotation sensors to drive in straigth by default.

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Tags: technic, remote-control, vehicle, steering
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# Question
Title: Which set did this head with horns come from?
Bought in a lot sale and can't seem to find which set this is from, looks to be a partial dragon or snake? The lot had some Nexo knights and Ninjago stuff.

# Answer
It seems to be a slightly modified sub-assembly from Ninjago Dragon Pit (70655)
> 6 votes

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Tags: set-identification, ninjago
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# Question
Title: Why does this "useless machine" use out of production parts?
I found this new video. It uses out-of-production parts like the transmission parts. So when I tried to buy these elements in new Technic sets, I didn't find some of them. Any suggestions please?

# Answer
> 7 votes
There is no universal LEGO Technic set that contain each and every gear LEGO has ever produced.

None1 of those elements are out of production. You may not acquire all of them in a single set, yes, but they are still pretty much available in sets from 2021-2022.

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1 Except, maybe, Technic Driving Ring 2L. But it isn't something that cannot be fixed by buying this element from Bricklink or an older LEGO set containing it. You can also modify this creation (it is rather easy) to include 3L version (in combination with Technic, Driving Ring Connector) of the mentioned element which is found in recent sets.

# Answer
> 8 votes
Because the builder had those parts, and knew how to use them.

Perhaps those parts weren't out of production when that was build. There are extremely few MOC's that are updated when the parts go out of prodution. Perhaps the builder doesn't even have anymore, and their interests may have shifted. It does limit how many others are able to build a copy, but that is generally not why people build things.

(Apart from wanting to say that - and it became a little long for a comment - I agree with RSchulz in his answer: because it works.)

# Answer
> 4 votes
I don't know if this should be an answer or a comment. But:

Because it works? That's kind of what the pieces were intended for, and they are put to good use. I, for one, could not have designed it any better.

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Tags: technic, building, shopping, gears
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title: Motor problems in 60051

text:
# Question
Title: Motor problems in 60051
The motor in my High Speed Passenger Train set (60051) has stopped working properly. I just put brand new batteries in and it acts just like if they were worn. Moreover, the little brown capacitor inside the assembly gets VERY hot and after just a few seconds of running, the motor stops entirely.

I have a hard time reading the numbers on the capacitor, but I think it says RO40017 70395. I can't find anything on the Internet on that. I was hoping to buy a new capacitor to replace it, since I think it is broken.

So, could it be the capacitor? Might it be the motor? I have tried it directly on the battery pack and I have tried with the 'step' thing and the remote control, both same results: Hot capacitor, motor stops running.

Edit: Upon request, a photo:

# Answer
> -2 votes
Contact LEGO customer service, they might be able to receive you a new motor for free.

For Bricklink users: here is the listings page to buy this exact kind of motor, in both "new" and "used" conditions.

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Tags: motor, trains, power-functions
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# Question
Title: What’s this brick called? Two studs long and has clips on one side
It’s two studs long and has two clips with horizontal openings on one side.

# Answer
> 11 votes
BrickLink calls it Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 2 U Clips (Horizontal Grip), but it might be the newer Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with 2 Open O Clips (Horizontal Grip) that @Alex politely pointed out. I always have a hard time telling them apart in real life, let alone from photos.

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Tags: part-identification, piece-information
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title: How can I build MOCs well

text:
# Question
Title: How can I build MOCs well
I want to learn to build MOCs well. Is there any advice or websites/videos that give building advice and techniques for building

# Answer
> 4 votes
It is rather opinion based, however I've got a piece of advice.

General advice is to build whatever you want and as often as you can. It won't be perfect and top-level MOC at beginning (we all were there at point), but you will eventually get there, while learning following in the process:

* what it is to build for yourself;
* what kind of obstacles you encounter during your build;
* list of parts you can use and their properties;
* what colors are generally available for the MOCs you build;
* what it is to work with certain scale;
* structure stability;

and so on.

Next thing is to build other people's MOCs and study them. These are, sometimes, more advanced that LEGO sets. You can find a lot of free instructions on Rebrickable.

I've specifically excluded any resources for advanced techniques as those are usually cool to look, but are very specific to particular use case. There are also no resources that list *all* possible techniques, because... there's no such thing as "all techniques" - something is being discovered every other day!

**Disclaimer**. Wanted to post this as a comment, but it got too long.

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Tags: moc
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# Question
Title: Camera for Spike or Mindstorms for Streaming
I have made a few EV3/Spike robots that can be controlled remotely. They are controlled by either a PS4 controller or using a dashboard I built on a website. I'm running Python on the LEGO. However, at the moment you have to be in the same room so you can see the robot. I want to add a camera to the robots and stream the video to a website. Anyone know of a camera that would do this?

Edit: I was hoping to connect the camera to the EV3/Spike brick. That way I can use Python to handle the stream and eventually make the robot drive autonomously.

# Answer
You probably want to look into suppliers for copter drone parts - the kind that RC hobbyists attach to drones or RC cars to fly/drive from a first-person point of view. These are called FPV ("First Person View") cameras. They're already designed to be light, compact, and battery powered.

I don't want to be partial to any brand or model, so I suggest you search for RC FPV cameras and/or drone fpv cameras yourself. See also "What should I look for when choosing a FPV camera" in the drones.stackexchange.com site.

For the full setup you'll need:

* A camera. These typically output analog composite video.
* A video transmitter. These input composite video, and convert it into radio waves.
* A battery, to power the camera and the transmitter.
* A video receiver. These take the radio waves and output composite video.
* A way to watch the composite video, either
    + An analog TV monitor with composite input, or
    + A computer with a composite video capture card (which can take the form of a PCI/PCIe card, or a USB dongle), or
    + A specialized unit (RC receiver, VR glasses)

The camera+transmitter and the receiver+capturer might be in the same package (read "inside the same plastic box", sold together as one unit), but you should be aware of all the system components. If your goal is to provide video in a website dashboard, you probably want the video capture card and the webserver in the same computer (I'd recommend motion for the software bit, since I've used it in some raspberry-pi projects).

I'm afraid any further detail would be off-topic for bricks.stackexchange.
> 3 votes

# Answer
You could use a smartphone to do this. They are lightweight and have a camera and Wi-Fi all in one package.
> 2 votes

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Tags: ev3, mindstorms, python, spike-prime, micropython
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# Question
Title: What Lego set is this from? minifig-scale bumpy grey spaceship
I got this in a bundle but no idea what set it's from. Thanks for your help

# Answer
That's part of set 76003-1: Superman Battle of Smallville:

Found by searching sets which contain a 8x6 bubble canopy. Remember, searching for the rarest pieces in a set tends to make the search easier.
> 5 votes

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Tags: set-identification
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# Question
Title: Has the colour "White" changed over the years?
Recently, I bought a new and sealed 70828 Pop-up Party Bus, 2019, a quite underrated set, in my opinion. I was surprised to see that the many white parts are not as white as I expected. I compared this set with white elements from my other sets. On the picture, you see elements from the 5974 Galactic Enforcer, 2009, 70810 Metalbeard's Sea Cow, 2014, and the 31109 Pirate Ship, 2020.
It is not quite obvious on the image, but all sets have exactly the same, ivory white. For comparison, I placed them on a blank white paper. I remembered having seen much brighter shades of white in older sets, so I dug deeper and found a 6982 Explorien Starship, 1996 with many yellowed white parts, but also some parts that hadn't yellowed at all:  On the picture, you see the famous 30037 Wing Plate Bi-level 12 x 9 x 2 1/3 over the Pirate Ship sails. Again, the light for the picture is not the best, but the white colour from 1996 is much brighter than the more recent version of LEGO White. I assume that in 1996, all white parts were of the same hue.

My question is whether there was a change in the LEGO colour "White" and whether this change can be attributed to a certain date or a known change in the production process?

Any hint is appreciated. Happy new year, by the way!

# Answer
> 3 votes
I have done some research on this question and I can tell it wasn't easy to find an answer. With some deeper digging I found this thread on Eurobricks related to color variations and where they are coming from. https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/98441-color-variations/

In short it says since early 2000 Lego is using only 1 color of pelets instead of using pre-colored ones. Because of this color variations have been noticed.

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Tags: colour
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title: Are there any army-related LEGO toys?

text:
# Question
Title: Are there any army-related LEGO toys?
I don't recall ever seen a LEGO tank, a LEGO minifigure figure or any army-related LEGO sets.

I know that there are LEGO toys that imply some level of action/fighting, from police sets, knights, ninjas, etc. I have some LEGO toy guns (from pirate sets, etc.).

But I think I have never seen an army-related LEGO toy or set. The only ones I could mention are related to some franchises like Star Wars, Superheroes or similar.

Are there any army-related LEGO toys and if not if this a conscious decision from the LEGO group?

# Answer
The LEGO Group does not directly create modern military sets.

A LEGO representative gave the following reason:

> **Are there any chances that Lego will ever start producing modern day warfare Lego, with tanks and helicopters and what not?**
>
> We have a strict policy regarding military models, and therefore, we do not produce tanks, helicopters, etc. While we always support the men and women who serve their country, we prefer to keep the play experiences we provide for children in the realm of fantasy.
>
> -- Gizmodo - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Lego

There have been some sets that have been military-based though.

The 7595-1: Army Men on Patrol is based on characters from a movie series who are based a military-themed toy.

A number of Indiana Jones sets have some military people and vehicles that in the movie are considered military vehicles. Notably missing though is the tank from the tank scene in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade.

The Dino Attack theme (or Dino 2010 internationally) also has a tank and a helicopter modeled after military vehicles.
> 15 votes

# Answer
LEGO has a policy that they won't make military sets (unless licensed, for ex. Indiana Jones) for several reasons:

1. Creative imagination for children
2. Debate of the "good" guys and "bad" guys
3. Neutrality (since Lego is sold worldwide)

For reference: Youtube: Why doesn't Lego make military vehicles

However, I know of several third party and other "compatible with leading brick" companies that produce products that can be played with LEGO.

Third-party:

* Brickmania
* Batisbrick
* Brickbrigade
* Custombricks.de
* Battlebrickcustom
* brickbattalion
* combatbrick
* mechanizedbrick
* modernbrickwarfare
* unitedbricks

Compatible with LEGO brands

* Cobi
* Mega Bloks
* BanBao
* best-lock
* kazi
* kreo
* oxford
* sluban
* taisheng
* woma
> 4 votes

# Answer
One prominent exception regarding army-related toys is the 10024 Red Baron, also interesting in the context of the bad-guys good-guys debate. Modern warfare is indeed a no-go topic for LEGO, as explained in other answers. Violence in general, however, is quite dominant in many LEGO themes.

As Tonny pointed out, the 10226 Sopwith Camel should be mentioned as well.
> 3 votes

# Answer
There was a time when Lego did produce Lego mini figures of western U.S. soldiers in a western setting. On the belts of all the figures are the letters “US”. This may be the only series to include a US military element. These sets ran from 1996 to 2002.
> 2 votes

# Answer
The most recent example is LEGO Technic Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey (42113).

It was announced and had a limited distribution already before public launch when LEGO pulled the plug (emphasis is mine):

> The LEGO Technic Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey was designed to highlight the important role the aircraft plays in search and rescue efforts.

> While the set clearly depicts how a rescue version of the plane might look, **the aircraft is only used by the military**. We have a long-standing policy not to create sets which feature real military vehicles, so it has been decided not to proceed with the launch of this product.

Since LEGO decided not to recall already distributed sets small amount of these reached the secondary market.
> 2 votes

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Tags: sets, history, lego-group
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# Question
Title: Identify set by bag 4 - lots of circular pieces
All I have is bag 4 from one of my son's sets. He says he wasn't missing any bags and completed them all. Can someone identify which set it's from?

# Answer
This bag is from

75249: Resistance Y-wing Starfighter

based on the
> 10 votes

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Tags: set-identification
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# Question
Title: What is this LEGO part number? Technic, right angle with 4 pins sticking out
This part is required for building a LEGO steering rack. It connects the moving rack to the wheel axle.

# Answer
> 9 votes
On Bricklink, that's called Technic, Pin Connector Perpendicular 3 x 3 Bent with 4 Pins.

It has known design IDs 55615 and 49130. And in Light Bluish Gray has item numbers 4296059 and 6313453.

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Tags: part-identification, technic
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