Technic

[legomilk]

New

70 euro

150 euro

55 euro

[simonwillems]

150 euros is not so bad for that great bulldozer, it may even become affordable when it's on sale somewhere in the upcoming years...

Same price as the 8421 Mobile Crane, I am still waiting to get that one on sale. :-)

Never seen that truck though, looks nicely made.

[legomilk]

Those are the prices for this year. It is possible that the prices are a little bit different, this because of the country you're living in

[Holodoc]

Compared to that UCS Millenium Falcon this is just peanuts! ;-)

I could buy this with my petty cash. :-| :-D

I agree to simonwillems: To be honest, I will wait till the bulldozer is on sale.

The other sets are no buy for me. :-/

[Hobbes]

I'll wait for the dozer, too, not just for a sale but if I buy it at all. The other sets I'll buy but I'll look for sales, too.

That harvester/combine will be a nice addition to my tractor *sweet*

[5150 Lego]

I'll be adding all 3 to my collection. Espeacially the bulldozer. That has to be the best techinc set ever put out by lego. (i can just hear glyman coming to the defense of the air tech claw rig! :-D ).

I have to agree with hobbes, that the combine will lookgreat with the tractor of last year!

[dunamis]

I'm looking forward to all three (especially the bulldozer). Any idea when these will be released?

[Brickthus]

I had to keep this quiet for a while, but now I have permission to share:

As a former LEGO ambassador and electronics engineer, I had the privilege of trying out the electrical parts from the new bulldozer. Those large motors are seriously powerful!

Here's a MOC rover robot that I built with the parts: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=226242

The large motors provide tank drive to the wheels. The first small motor lowers stilts at the back so that the robot bows in order to pick up objects. The second small motor drives the grab, which is adjustable. I hasten to add that the rest of the MOC is parts from my own collection - I don't have a bulldozer kit!

This walking robot MOC is one I used to confirm the hight motor torque: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=226243

If the legs become aligned rather than opposed, the motors are powerful enoguh to make the robot buck, and also to make the 24-tooth cogs jump on their axles! That's why I used 12:36 not 8:24 on the rover robot.

This folder is the one to watch for new MOCs and pictures of the electrical parts: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=226241

It takes longer than most folders to get moderated, probably because it is known to contain pictures of new stuff! Better to add it to your favourites and check every-so-often!

The RC system is 4-channel IR, 2 motors per channel - 8 motors in total (if you buy 2 bulldozers!). Imagine fixing the two handsets from two bulldozers together, then adding a few parts to make the controller into 2 joysticks. 4-motor control together! Pics of that to follow!

Knowing this, I'll probably buy at least 2 bulldozers!

Mark

My Brickshelf gallery: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?m=mbellis

[Asuka]

That

[Ickelpete]

I had to keep this quiet for a while, but now I have permission to share:

As a former LEGO ambassador and electronics engineer, I had the privilege of trying out the electrical parts from the new bulldozer. Those large motors are seriously powerful!

Thanks for that information Mark I can't wait for these sets to hit the stores

[Brickthus]

The full range of Power Functions element pics at http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=226241

(including plugs) should now be visible. More MOCs will appear there soon.

I've also answered some questions about the elements and my MOCs made with them in this thread in lugnet.technic: http://news.lugnet.com/technic/?n=15579

Mark

[gylman]

This is very encouraging. I am much more excited about this than I was about NXT - the motors seem to be compatible with past motors, only better. I still wish they were square with more studs, but certainly they look far more useful than the NXT motors.

Looks like I'll end up buying a dinosaur just for the parts. And a couple of bulldozers of course. Of course... it's no Airtech Claw Rig...... but... :-D

[Brickthus]

This is very encouraging. I am much more excited about this than I was about NXT - the motors seem to be compatible with past motors, only better. I still wish they were square with more studs, but certainly they look far more useful than the NXT motors.

Looks like I'll end up buying a dinosaur just for the parts. And a couple of bulldozers of course. Of course... it's no Airtech Claw Rig...... but... :-D

You might like this then - an ideal pneumatic application for a large Power Function motor:

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=230222

It's a swash plate pump, an alternative form of air compressor for LEGO pneumatics. I have tried it successfully with 6 compressors rather than the 2 you see here. The extra torque of a large motor works well here, especially because it saves my fingers turning the 20-tooth cog (top left pic2, bottom right pic3). The high power required means gripping the cog hard, hurting fingers sooner.

The lever near the cylinder top changes the angle of the turntables and hence the amount of compression for a given amount of axle rotation. It is therefore a variable displacement pump.

The friction in the turntables means it's not as efficient as the usual compressors people build, but I built it because it could be done and it works just like real swash plate pumps that are used to pump fuel in aircraft and older cars.

Go up in my Brickshelf folder tree for more pneumatics. I think the best thing about the Air Tech Claw Rig was that its alternative model - the refuse truck - introduced automated pneumatic systems. I haven't looked back since then, building all the electronic logic gates with pneumatics and using them in a pick-and-place robot in 1996, and other automated pneumatic MOCs since.

BTW the medium motor has 2x6 stud recesses but the large motor is designed for technic mounts only, due to the high torque. I recommend using as many of the holes as you can when mounting them on Technic parts.

I agree the shape of the motors is more useful than the NXT ones, but the NXT ones were designed so that the first robot could be built and working in half an hour, putting a constraint on the number of pieces in its chassis and meaning that the NXT motors had to make a robot chassis almost on their own.

Mark

[gylman]

You might like this then -

Indeed! Very neat. I wouldn't have thought that would have worked very well due to the flimsiness of the litttle pneumatic compressors. I'll have to try that.

I agree the shape of the motors is more useful than the NXT ones, but the NXT ones were designed so that the first robot could be built and working in half an hour, putting a constraint on the number of pieces in its chassis and meaning that the NXT motors had to make a robot chassis almost on their own.

Mark

That's quite the revalation - TLC compromised the quality and future usefulness of their motors (IMHO, anyway) just so people could build a kit out of the box in 30 minutes?

[Brickthus]

That's quite the revalation - TLC compromised the quality and future usefulness of their motors (IMHO, anyway) just so people could build a kit out of the box in 30 minutes?

It would never have been thought of that way. I think the shape of the NXT motors is better for studless NXT robots because the motors are thinner in the direction of the drive axle. It would have been more difficult to fit motors of the shape of the PF ones in the Alpha-Rex robot for instance. The RC Car and 8421 crane motors are nearer to the shape and power of NXT motors but again they would not fit in a robot such as Alpha-Rex, because of the long motor body.

I'm not sure the shape of the NXT motors is any worse to build with, but it is more difficult to conceive the precise location of every attachment point in your head when planning a MOC.

Mark

[gylman]

I think that's the basic problem with the NXT for me. While I know that I CAN build much more than just bidped robots with it, it seems like that's all that Lego thinks need to be built with it.

After Airtech Claw Rig, the greatest set ever made and possibly the apotheosis of human creativity and intelligence, one of my real Technic favs was 8094. There has to be more we can do with all these motors and controls than cars and biped robots. We know there is, since we see all the incredible things the true masters can make, but for mere humans like ourselves, it would be nice to have that as part of a set or at least a decent alternate.

[Darthking623]

http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=239665

just a few nice shots *y* *y*

[antaresprime]

Where did you purchase the truck? Does Europe get it first?

[Hobbes]

Where did you purchase the truck?

He didn't. Why? Because it's not available yet. Those pics look like pics from the toy fair we already know, just from a different angle plus some box art.

I like the truck. It's probably nothing fancy but as a display model next to the others of late I'll get it. Maybe not as soon as it hits the stores but later. Fits nicely with the design of the tractor et al.

[antaresprime]

Thanks for the clarification. The photos of the truck next to the new Technic models made me think that someone actually had it in his cabinet.