GBC just got a whole lot more expensive

This weekend I logged into the Lego Shop @ Home website to see if the Replacement parts store had re-opened after the annual Winter holiday shutdown.  Yes it's back up, and I'm sad to say that GBC balls are 25% more expensive then last year!

As well they only have the orange balls in stock.   Which has been the case ever since I started building GBC's in 2016 (I have never seen the white balls in stock).  This makes the lego balls cost more than many other pieces that I consider essential to GBC modules.

I'm at a loss trying to figure out how a small lego ball would cost more then a large 1x5x11 Technic panel (flat panel in the above image), which I assume is harder to mold, takes up more storage space, and would cost more to ship.

I'm really curious as to why the cost of the balls is so high.  It couldn't be something as simple as profit, could it?

New YouTube channel trailer!

I've been meaning to finish off an official 30 second trailer for the YouTube channel, and this weekend I finished up the music, and put together a final cut.  I would like to grow the channel quite a bit this year, and I'm hoping this trailer will help.

Music by Me, programmed on a Roland TR-09

Enjoy!

Mine Loader Remix

Hey everyone,

I'm happy to present the latest model in my "Remix" series, and have taken the contents of 42049 Mine Loader and turned them into a GBC layout ready module.  Additionally the module can be powered by hand, and run in recirculation mode for stand alone play.

After 3 failed lift mechanisms, I attempted something similar to a mechanism I recently saw on YouTube.  It's what I'm calling a "Sequential Sweeper".  It uses rotating axles to push a ball up a ramp.

My crowning achievement is getting the engine block and piston to work at the very end of the build when I had a sparse selection of parts remaining.



Instructions are forthcoming and like my last remix module there is a good chance they will end up on offer at PV-Productions website.

Here are some additional images of the module.