Mission Model Building Instructions

[sseshan]

Can you post a picture of the parts bags?
Thanks!

My team just received their mat. Here is a link to the photo: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...7408234&type=3

[MCmom]

I can't post pictures, but I noticed a bunch of technic pieces, wheels, and an octopus in the bags. This kit seems to have a lot of pieces.

[cschaffer]

there are also a couple bones!

[cschaffer]

here are photos of the bags:
https://goo.gl/photos/bUpfUXK85K71uy3j8

[Tom Mosher]

I really don't like the colored image background. Following lines is difficult enough for beginner teams without making finding them so difficult in the first place.

Could be one reason for not publishing the build instructions is to prevent all that wasted energy by teams publishing their video speculations about how the models will be used. One can't form a strategy until you know the value of each mission and any method constraints.

Late-release of the build instructions also helps level the playing field for teams that necessarily get a late start (school-based teams in particular).

[CCVH]

FWIW, I wrote an email to FLL and asked/complained, pointed out that the coaches manual says at least three times that a preseason task is to build the mission models. A parent pointed out that this will be released on a school day at the beginning of the week, and the ambitious kids on the team are going to want to get everything built that night, but being a school night, she wants us to clearly limit the building meeting to 2-3 hours.

This is the reply I got:

Thank you for your email and for your feedback. Due to a number of FIRST LEGO League team’s Field Setup Kit shipments being delayed this season, the release of the Mission Model Building instructions has been pushed back in an effort to make the season timeline more fair for every team.

However, we are closely monitoring the Field Setup Kit ship dates and hope to release the Mission Model Build Instructions earlier if majority of kits are sent sooner than expected. The release date will remain as stated in the meantime.

We are very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

[BlueCheesyFlamingos]

FWIW, I wrote an email to FLL and asked/complained, pointed out that the coaches manual says at least three times that a preseason task is to build the mission models. A parent pointed out that this will be released on a school day at the beginning of the week, and the ambitious kids on the team are going to want to get everything built that night, but being a school night, she wants us to clearly limit the building meeting to 2-3 hours.

This is the reply I got:

Thank you for your email and for your feedback. Due to a number of FIRST LEGO League team’s Field Setup Kit shipments being delayed this season, the release of the Mission Model Building instructions has been pushed back in an effort to make the season timeline more fair for every team.

However, we are closely monitoring the Field Setup Kit ship dates and hope to release the Mission Model Build Instructions earlier if majority of kits are sent sooner than expected. The release date will remain as stated in the meantime.

We are very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.

That's odd. I remember them coming at the start of August last year. I already have ours and it's not even August yet.

[dna1990]

Fair to every team? What does that mean? There is no standard as to when qualifiers and tournaments are scheduled. And whatever the schedule, all teams in that region have the same deadlines.

Tell me printing delays, tell me design delays, tell me Scott changed his mind too many times and wants more time to get things better...but don't give me 'fair' political correctness.


And this is not all about 'getting the build out of the way' so it doesn't take up meeting time (which is a concern). It is about generating excitement, enthusiasm, and letting young imaginations work without having the Challenge Doc yet in front of them. It is about INSPIRE'ing the next season. Once the Challenge Doc is released, teams go into a different thought pattern.

[bdwheele]

We registered later than usual (early last week, actually) and our kit arrived yesterday, so I don't think they're having problems shipping the FSKs. However, the mat did smell pretty heavily of paint, so it may be pretty freshly off the line

The field is a lot like Food Factor -- the mat is fully colored with different patterns and there's lots of straight lines for alignment. I was pretty worried about the round base being too small, but after seeing the actual size of it, I'm not nearly as worried.

There doesn't seem to be alignment marks in the center of the north wall so the shared mission may be a little different than in the past (and easier to reset!)

I'm intrigued by the parts in the octopus bag. I don't have it with me, but there seem to be a lot of, shall we say, "lunatic" parts in that bag.

The build instructions release date kind of stinks for us because we're toning down the amount of time we're going to spend this season and I was hoping to get that built before the release so they could focus on the project and robot game rather than building the stuff. Oh well.

[bdwheele]

That's odd. I remember them coming at the start of August last year. I already have ours and it's not even August yet.

Yeah, last year they started shipping the kits on August 1st and released the build instructions the same day (the URL was in the FSK box). This year it looks like they're shipping them whenever they're ready and going to release the instructions after most teams have the kits.