Jeffery Mewtamer

I've seen videos of Lego robots capable of solving a Rubik's Cube that used a smartphone as it's brain. I've been blind since late 2012, so that video is pretty old. The new Raspbery Pi Zero retails for $5 and was actually being given away with a tech magazine and the more powerful Raspberry Pis are only around $40. So yeah, price isn't a very strong barrier to entry for amateur robotics, and while the programmable components from Lego's own mindstorms line are fairly pricey compared to some of the sbcs and socs currently available, I hear they streamline the programming side of thing quite a bit. And if you don't want you're robot hacked, just don't use any components that allow wireless communication with it. Kind of hard to alter the program without permission if altering the program requires physical access to the rebot's electronics. More on topic, a space theme featuring technic-heavy models of various real-world space craft would be cool. , the Space Shuttle or the Apollo Lander would be cool even built primarily with bricks.

Well, at least there's some text to it instead of being all images. That already makes this guide more accessible than any instructions put out by Lego themselves. Still, a guide that gives step-by-step written instructions for a moc that includes a few examples of using pieces in ways not found in the official sets would be a lot more useful.

Regarding comments on gappiness, the 2015 Toa are my first and only Bionicle sets, and I don't know what to do with the little technic bits that aren't part of the gearbox and have leftover armor for some, but what I've figured out myself and from the help I got in another thread, the way the skeleton is exposed on the backs of the arms and legs does make the figures feel rather incomplete, especially on the ones that have bones long enough to have pin holes in them. At the very least, I feel like their should be a piece that plugs into the pin holes and gives the look/feel of straps holding the armor in place I have a few questions about the 2016 Toa vs the 2015 models. Best I can tell, the mechanics of the 2015 versions seems to be the gearbox that only differs between the Toa in whether one arm swings or both arms swing. I understand that instead of it being mounted like a jetpack, the 2016 versions have the mechanics built-in to the torso itself. Is there a greater variety in the kind of movement provided by the mechanics in the 2016 models or is it primarily a cosmetic change? I'm assuming the Toa are color coded for your convenience, but since I can't distinguish colors, there isn't much variety in the armor shells accross the different Toa in the 2015 sets with only a few having armor pieces that really stand out as unique(such as the one that has a chest plate so broad it attaches to both shoulders of the CCBS Torso). Do the 2016 models have more variety in armor pieces between sets? Some of the weapon pieces in the 2015 sets are pretty cool, to the point I don't mind that at least five of the weapons are found in multiple sets, but I do have to wonder how much the 2016 sets recycle weapons and if anything new and unique is added. As for non-Toa sets, do the Skull Spider, Protectors, and Creatures offer more differentiation between their siblings compared to the 2015 Toa?

The quality might be ######(don't have anyone to take better photos, and my rig is meant for OCRing books, not photographing toys) But here are front and back images of the two I've done the most work on.]/url] If anyone could point out any obvious mistakes, it would be appreciated. Note: since taking the photos, I've built and attached a gearbox to the back of the smaller of these two, through I'm either missing a pin/axle with the stop on the end or it's meant to have a different gearbox. If I'm getting the names right, I think this pair is Kopaka(larger,, weapons include two of the huge swords, a spear, nad the fancy daggers, and lua(the smaller, weapons include two giant axes, a pair of machetes, and small spear, and a pair of knives). I've also started building a third, one of the larger ones, this one with a pair of the giant sword/shields like with Kopaka, two more reasonably side swords with a curve tip on the blades, and a pair of those dagger pieces. Edit: Okay, I've since built the entire set to the best of my abilities. Assuming I was correct to give each Toa the same back-mounted gearbox with the only difference being whether both arms swing(if the set has a fourth 4-nub gear) or only one arm swings(if the set has only 3 4-nub gears and a crank piece), most of the spare parts I have no idea what to do with are assorted technic bits, which differ drastically between sets. Also have no idea if any of the weapon pieces are meant to be incorporated into an assembly or just stuck in the hand's axle holes. As for Identifying which is which, here's what I've got thus far: Kopaka, Ice - Broad swords, daggers, and spear weapon pieces. Paw like shoulder armor. Lua? Jungle - Axes, Machetes. Nothing really stands out about the figure itself. ? - Broad swords, Long swords. One of the tallest figures. Has 3 of the bodice armor pieces, assumed the extras were meant to be it's leg armor. ? - Pair of shells that form giant fists around the hand pieces.Extra wide breast plate that attaches to shoulders of CCBS torso instead of pin holes in bodice. Clawed feet. ? - Some sort of hinged weapon and a spear. has curved spikes that fit pin holes on armor shells. ? Axes and long swords. Has three narrow, pointed armor pieces that make me think of insect tails/folded wings. If anyone could help me put a name, element, and color to each or what to do with the leftover technic pieces, it would be greatly appreciated.

Probably never going to happen since it was superceded by the original Bionicle, but I have a lot of Nostalgia for the old Throwbots/Slizer line and would love either a reboot or just a reissue of the original sets, or just for modern sets utilizing some of the parts Throwbots made heavy use of that aren't part of generic Technic.

Well, that answers the question of what those pieces with 4 balls surrounding a plus-shaped hole are meant to be. Most unusual gear shape I've ever encountered. Anyways, Xbox Travis's instructions have lead me to a functional mechanism where I turn a knob on the figures back and it swing's it's right arm in a circle. I'm assuming I wouldn't have gotten something functional if I misinterpreted which pieces are being referenced, and there were some pieces that it took me a while to figure out what was meant, so to ensure I read the directions correctly: By a bar with a hole on one end and a pin on the other, do you mean the piece that resembles a crank handle? Here pins refers to the bars that fit in the plus shaped holes without rotating and rotate freely in round holes while cylinders are the short pieces that fit snuggly into the round holes? This confused me at first becasue I've been calling the former axles and the latter pins. By bushings, do you mean those spacer pieces that are the same size as the small gears and have plus-shaped holes through them? Am I correct that the bracket the gearbox is built on is supposed to attach to the torso's spine with a pair of cylinders, with the middle of the 3 vertical holes on the bracket's bottom prong lining up with the ball used to attach the breastplate? And since it's obvious that the arms are meant to be attached to the gearbox instead of the torso, I have to wonder if the torso's shoulders are meant to be left bare and somewhat exposed or if they're meant to be covered. And I agree with give me sweets. Even if I had known what the 4-nub gears were before, I'm not sure I would have figured out the gearbox's design on my own, but holding the assembled version in my hands, it's operation is really quite elegant, and figuring out how to build a version that affects both arms was rather trivial.

Unfortunately, I don't have access to a sighted person who would be both willing and able to assist me face-to-face, and while I know braille, Lego instructions being readily available in such a format wouldn't be nearly as useful as the digital manuals simply including text instructions. In the long run, I'm more interested in Technic-heavy MOC, but I think it useful to understand how the official models made use of some pieces to get an idea of how they can be used. Especially since I've just recently picked Lego back up after more than a decade(and the last time I played with Legos with any seriousness, I still counted among the sighted). Though, just earlier this afternoon, I figured out that what I previously thought were just decorative bits molded on to the armor pieces with ball sockets are actually slots for the armor pieces that lack ball sockets. At this point, I think the biggest thing I'm stumped on is the gear box and how one of the arms is supposed to be connected to it.

I recently picked-up the Master Versions of the Toa. My blindness renders me unable to read the instruction booklet, and I have no prior experience with Bionicle or Hero Factory, and what I remember from the Throwbots I had as a teenager isn't all that helpful. Master of Ice was the first to arrive and is the one I've done the most with trying to puzzle things out. What I've figured out: Skeleton consiting of a torso, two lengths of "thighs" and two pairs of legs. What I've identified as thighs have a frame around their ball end that restricts the joint to hinge like movements. In addition to terminal ball and socket joints, I've figured out that each skeleton piece has a bulge in it's center that will fit a socket on other pieces. Several pairs of shin guards, one pair slightly larger than the others that fit over the bulges on the bones. A two-part head held together by a axle-2. 3 possible breastplates(one "skin-tight" version that extends to the crotch, two more prominent ones, all 3 with sockets to fit over the bulge on the torso's abdomen). A pair of feet with ball sockets to attach to the ankles, and 3 pin holes on the soles. A pair of fisted hands with ball socket and an axle hole. A smaller pair of armor pieces I'm calling armlets that have the ball sockets. several pieces of armor that seem to fit pin-holes using special adapters. 3 masks assorted small technic pieces. two pairs of small bones that I assume are meant to be wrists/ankles. My current build consists of: Assembled head attached to neck of torso. Thighs attached to shoulders and hips of torso, longer pair used as actual thighs. legs attached to elbow and knee joints, longer pair used as actual legs. Shin guards attached to upper arm, thigh, and legs, longer pair used for legs. Feet and fists attached in appropriate places. Back of model consists primarily of exposed bones. No idea what I'm supposed to do with any of the technic pieces or the armor pieces that lack ball sockets. So, could anyone here correct any mistakes in my terminology, fix any mistakes in my half-built master of Ice, and help me finish building it? I might need help with the others as well, but I'd like to try and figure those out with what I learn from finishing Master of Ice. Also, since I can't distinguish colors reliably, could anyone give me a break down on how to distinguish the different models by other details? Best I can tell, the mask of ice has a scope of some sort on it's right temple, and Master of Ice's weapons consist of to huge swords, a spear, and three dagger-like things, and the only other one I've open so far has a pointed chin on it's mask and two big freaking axes for weapons. Oh, and I did figure out how to attach the spider claws to the spider mask.