TECHNIC Sets from 2010

[Wout]

I was yesterday by my local legodealer and could look in the dealerscatalog

I read something that all pics are already seen, but If anybody is interrested, Does anybody want to know colours? I wrote it down.

[Ondra]

I was yesterday by my local legodealer and could look in the dealerscatalog

I read something that all pics are already seen, but If anybody is interrested, Does anybody want to know colours? I wrote it down.

How look smallest 1H technic set 8045?

[Wout]

8045 Mini Telescooplader (dutch title) is yellow with black and has a tan crate? to pull up. I think around 10 euro.

[JunkstyleGio]

Visisting your local dealer is always a goood thing.

Sharing the info is better!

Got any pics of the 8045?

[Paladonius]

Hey there one and all,

I've been collecting technic sets (mainly construction equipment) for 30 years having just picked up the 8264 Hauler and the 8265 Front Loader. My first sets were the 856 Bulldozer and the 855 Mobile Crane and it's amazing to see everything in between those. I can't say I'm really impressed by what has been offered so far for the first half of 2010. Yeah it's good to see the pneumatics return, but is that then at the expense of the mechanised rams that are in the 8264 and 8265 sets ?

It seems to me (IMHO) that they (LEGO) seem to be rehashing old concepts - OK, the forestry machine is new-ish, but only really the trailer, not the tractor. For the tractor, I would have loved to see steering connected to the steering wheel, piston engine and a working 3 point hitch. Then they could release mini sets like ploughs, etc that could attatch to the linkages.

As a part-time toy designer I want to see something completely new. Imagine a CAT 16M mining size motor grader. The pneumatics could tilt the blade, the turntable would allow this and angle it, the rest including steering, independant rear suspension like on the 8264 and piston engine would be a relatively simple build.

Or for something new, what about a Scraper like the CAT 657G Wheel Tractor Scraper? This would be a "major" set and require new larger wheels if scaled to the size of the 8275 Bulldozer, but how cool would that be to have to bulldozer pushing it like they do in real life ?

I'd even settle for a Tracked Loader like the Cat 973D or the Liebherr LR 634 Litronic, but with the 8275 Bulldozer as a recent-ish release, think this might be a big ask.

If they want to "rehash" old concepts, I'd love a front / face shovel. I'm probably asking too much for a TEREX, but a CAT 365C Front Shovel or a Liebherr R99C Litronic would be sweet. Would love to see a bucket that would have small rams to open it, that could be incorporated into a 4 in 1 bucket on other loaders. The track system and excavator body could easily be adapted from previous releases.

Anyhow, that's just my 2 cents worth (probably more like a couple of dollars :) )

At last count: 6 cranes, 2 bulldozers, 4 Excavators, 2 Skid Steer Loaders, 5 Front Loaders, 2 Backhoes, 4 Forklifts, 2 Dump Trucks and 2 Telehandlers, so you can see why I'd like something new in the construction game.

Cheers

P.

[Blakbird]

Or for something new, what about a Scraper like the CAT 657G Wheel Tractor Scraper? This would be a "major" set and require new larger wheels if scaled to the size of the 8275 Bulldozer, but how cool would that be to have to bulldozer pushing it like they do in real life ?

I'd even settle for a Tracked Loader like the Cat 973D or the Liebherr LR 634 Litronic, but with the 8275 Bulldozer as a recent-ish release, think this might be a big ask.

If they want to "rehash" old concepts, I'd love a front / face shovel. I'm probably asking too much for a TEREX, but a CAT 365C Front Shovel or a Liebherr R99C Litronic would be sweet. Would love to see a bucket that would have small rams to open it, that could be incorporated into a 4 in 1 bucket on other loaders. The track system and excavator body could easily be adapted from previous releases.

I'd also like to see many of these things, but we have to accept that we are not the target market. These are made for kids, so a prime requirement is kids actually recognize the subject. This would probably not be the case with the scraper or perhaps even the grader. I like the front shovel idea though!

[CP5670]

I guess there are a limited number of standard construction vehicle concepts TLG can use. As long as they don't do any one of them too often, I'm fine with it.

A grader is a pretty common piece of equipment though. They have made them in the past in Universal sets like 8074, just not as a standalone set. In fact, TLG has made sets on some quite obscure concepts in the past. As a kid, I had no idea what 8857 and 8457 were supposed to be until I looked them up later on.

Edited October 2, 2009 by CP5670

[Shompis]

They could make rail construction vehicles or train locomotive for that matter. The construction vehicles look fairly advances with all the mechanics swapping old rails for new ones in one go etc.

[TechnicJuan]

They could make rail construction vehicles or train locomotive for that matter. The construction vehicles look fairly advances with all the mechanics swapping old rails for new ones in one go etc.

I agree completely.

I can't believe we have not seen a technic train yet. I guess there really are not too many functions for a train though.

[Paladonius]

Hey there one and all

These are made for kids, so a prime requirement is kids actually recognize the subject.

I agree totally, but the average 10 year old is pretty smart and able to recognise different things within a group. Ask the average 10 year old about dinosaurs and he can tell you not only their name, but what they ate and where the fitted in the food chain in relation to others. Construction equipment is the same thing for kids interested in it, they can tell the difference between a skid steer, a backhoe loader, a bulldozer, mobile crane, a crawler crane, an excavator, a front loader, a telehandler etc. I may grant that a scraper might be a little out there, but as CP5670 said, graders are fairly common, an to date LEGO attempts (IMHO) at one have been pretty poor. A grader with rear rippers and maybe a bulldozer blade on the front (as the council ones have here) would be pretty cool and round out the second parameter in having multiple functions.

It's interesting when you look at the core design parameters for Lego technic designers, that are

1. Authenticity, must be instantly recognisable to the "real" thing (one could argue that this has been less than accurate for some older models)

2. Functionality, full interesting functions

3. Challenging building, building in all directions

At the same time, I realise that I have been lucky to have collected so many models over the years and have been exposed to a lot of variety that others haven't, hence the wish for something new particularly in this area.

Cheers

P.

[merman]

Personally I think it would be a very good plan, besidesa Technic Exclusive Supercar to rerelease some old sets and let the design team allow to refocus their designing skills with some extra time. I'd love to see rereleases of:

- 8455 Backhoe

- 8421 Mobile Crane, with PF this time

- 8466 Off-Roader

[Paladonius]

I'd love to see rereleases of:

- 8455 Backhoe

- 8421 Mobile Crane

Merman, I have both of these sets and think they nailed them both. I love both of them and just wondered how you would want them changed or do you just want them available through the shops to buy ?

Cheers

P.

[merman]

Merman, I have both of these sets and think they nailed them both. I love both of them and just wondered how you would want them changed or do you just want them available through the shops to buy ?

Cheers

P.

I don't have either of them and since these sets are already close to perfection I'd want to buy them again... with small changes:

- 8455: with new bley in stead of the old grey and with the gears and pins in the new color mode

- 8421: with the gears and pins in the new color-mode, with the new 13L gear racks (they fit perfectly) and maybe with a longer gear rack or just the old system for the crane and with a PF XL motor and battery box...

[CP5670]

I doubt TLG will do any more re-releases of old sets, especially of anything from the old gray era. The gray change was basically what killed the Legends and made them unattractive to their target market.

8421 was very good, but it should have had a manual knob connected to the turntable somewhere, and the boom tends to come down too fast due to its weight. 8455 was practically perfect though.

[merman]

I doubt TLG will do any more re-releases of old sets, especially of anything from the old gray era. The gray change was basically what killed the Legends and made them unattractive to their target market.

8421 was very good, but it should have had a manual knob connected to the turntable somewhere, and the boom tends to come down too fast due to its weight. 8455 was practically perfect though.

I like the new grey better than the old

[allanp]

Merman, I have both of these sets and think they nailed them both. I love both of them and just wondered how you would want them changed or do you just want them available through the shops to buy ?

Cheers

P.

They were both great models but I would like a complete page one redesign of the 8455. It should be bigger, more expensive, have longer pneumatics, 4 wheel drive and possibly a motor pump for the pneumatics.

A redesign of the 8466 would also be good with a motor, a gearbox and 4 wheel drive train that can handle the tourque of being motorised and that also has less friction, meaning more of the motors power is used to move the vehicle and not just wasted in the gearbox and wheel hubs.

[Brickthus]

I agree completely.

I can't believe we have not seen a technic train yet. I guess there really are not too many functions for a train though.

A Technic train would be great, especially if it were pneumatic-powered.

Making a purely pneumatic powered train go in both directions would require two reversers, to swap over the air connections for the other direction of travel. The way with just pneumatics would need 2 cylinders and 2 valves to go forwards, plus another 8 valves to reverse. Both methods still need compressed air.

This leads to one of the pneumatic pieces I would really like TLG to make: a 4-port reverser valve, doing a proper 5/3 industrial valve function, in a piece not much bigger than the existing pneumatic valve switch, maybe 1 stud taller so that a complete 24mm circular piece with embedded seals is fully inside the casing. This would mean a reverser could use 1 cylinder to drive 1 valve instead of pairs of cylinders driving 4 valves.

The other piece I would really like to see TLG make is a telescopic cylinder, which would increase the extension to original length ratio. The end-to-end cylinders in the 8421 crane were a reasonable compromise (cheaper to design a bracket than a longer cylinder) but the extension ratio is the key. An articulated lorry tipper truck trailer has a telescopic cylinder at the front of the tipping bucket, not underneath as many Technic models have had.

I would suggest that the first prototype begin with a small cylinder (minus bottom end) inside a large cylinder body. Aim for an extension of 7M, double the 3.5M of the regular cylinder and more than a Linear Actuator.

For a pneumatic train, a 3-cylinder design might work well because pneumatics are good at sharing the air pressure. Once 3 cylinders and 3 valves were connected up, the train could move in both directions, 60 degrees of shaft rotation at a time, as each valve switch changed state in sequence. Valve control could be done from a crankshaft driven by a PF medium motor inside the boiler, which allows for PF speed control (the air changes keeping up with crankshaft rotation speed) as long as there's enough compressed air to keep up! This is the simplest way to do a bidirectional pneumatic train.

I welcome the return of pneumatics in the 8049 logging tractor for 2010 and look forward to more experiments and discussions!

One thing we should campaign for is for TLG to put the pneumatic parts in the PaB Online parts selection. We used to be able to get the parts from the Spares Service back in 1991, so this would restore that purchasing capability. We need a minimum of 5 parts: pump, valve, cylinder, pipe and T-junction. Small cylinder and compressor would be aspirational.

Now that a supply of parts is expected, have a look here for pneumatic ideas to whet your appetite!

Mark

[CP5670]

Some good ideas there. A reverser unit like you described would be very useful for a lot of things. A telescoping mechanism would also be cool and would let the piston extend quite a long way, but making it strong and rigid enough when fully extended may be an issue.

One thing we should campaign for is for TLG to put the pneumatic parts in the PaB Online parts selection. We used to be able to get the parts from the Spares Service back in 1991, so this would restore that purchasing capability. We need a minimum of 5 parts: pump, valve, cylinder, pipe and T-junction. Small cylinder and compressor would be aspirational.

You can buy all the parts individually from Lego Education for pretty reasonable prices (in the trans-light blue colors). I believe they ship internationally these days.

Edited October 8, 2009 by CP5670

[legomilk]

New sets from 2010

LEGO TECHNIC Telehandler 8045

LEGO TECHNIC Helicopter 8046

LEGO TECHNIC Mini Excavator 8047

LEGO TECHNIC Buggy 8048

LEGO TECHNIC Log Loader 8049

[Blakbird]

New sets from 2010

Fantastic!! If you zoom in, you will see that these are very high resolution photos, but they have used the zoom function to prevent you from actually saving the high res photos.

Regarding the buggy, note that it claims to have 4 wheel independent suspension. If it actually does, that will be a first for a buggy. They usually have a live axle in the rear.

Even more important, look what it says about the pneumatic trailer:

• Add compressor function by purchasing 8293 Power Functions Motor Set
  

Woohoo! In order for this to be true, they must be planning on selling some compressor cylinder. Either that, or they will actually drive the large spring loaded pump with a motor.

Edit:

OK, I couldn't take it any more. I took one of the zoomed pictures of the log loader and manually stitched it back together using about 15 different zooms from screen captures. It's possible to zoom even closer, but then it would have taken 100 individual images and I don't have that much time. Looks great though!!

Edited October 9, 2009 by Blakbird

[kondzios230]

Wow-great work Blackbird. But actually I have a question-why there are two pneumatic switches? I don't have a pneumatic so it could be easy to say, but I don't know it.

[Blakbird]

Wow-great work Blackbird. But actually I have a question-why there are two pneumatic switches? I don't have a pneumatic so it could be easy to say, but I don't know it.

One switch for each cylinder. One lifts the main boom, one lifts the jib.

By the way, also notice the price: $60 USD. This is very reasonable for a pneumatic set. In fact, only a year or two ago you would have had to pay almost this much to LEGO Education just to get the pneumatic parts. I predict a whole lot of these will be purchased and parted out on Bricklink. I'll certainly be getting a few myself.

Edited October 9, 2009 by Blakbird

[M_longer]

These sets look great. I especially like this new mini telehandler:

It seems that there is a new piece in the center of the chassis. It looks like axle hole with two pins

Did you noticed new axle 4L with stop? There is at least one in the excavator :)

[Blakbird]

It seems that there is a new piece in the center of the chassis. It looks like axle hole with two pins

I think that is one of these:

Did you noticed new axle 4L with stop? There is at least one in the excavator :)

Cool!! That will be a useful part.

I also noticed that they are again using the linear actuator bracket as a gearbox. If you look closely, it appears there may be a new gear.

From looking more closely at images of the buggy, I can't imagine any way that the rear suspension is actually independent. Looks like a solid trailing arm that the engine sits on. So this is just a bad description on Amazon.

Also note that they wrote "pneumatic-like" switches for the loader. They're not "like" pneumatic switched, they ARE pneumatic switches.

I don't know if Amazon wrote this or if the words come from Lego. If from Lego, they need to revise.

Edited October 9, 2009 by Blakbird

[Cwetqo]

I am more interested in this:

Add compressor function by purchasing 8293 Power Functions Motor Set

So, It looks like we will finally (after 15 years or so from 8868) get official air compressor.

I wonder how will they do it? From the position of the pump on the log loader it seems that a larger rebuild will be need to fit the motor in (the pump is way too far back to be in suitable postion for just adding the motor)