Supercars and the such

[nicoga3000]

Hi folks!

I did a topic about a week ago about getting into Technic (I apologize for another topic, but I figured this merited it's own discussion). Well, after that went down, I ended up buying 8081 Extreme Cruiser while visiting the Lego store this past weekend. What a FANTASTIC build that was! I can't believe it's happening, but I'm starting to develop this interest in cars and the inner workings.

I bought the Excavator, but it hasn't arrived yet. As I'm not sure if I have as much interest in the construction equipment and the likes, I'm considering returning that to the store (I know, blasphemy!) and using the funds for the 8070 Supercar. Outside of that, what other sets are available right now that would give me a nice array of pieces and options for building more cars and MOC'ing some of my own? Should I grab a second 8070 now, or...?

After seeing the MOC's Crowkiller has done, my interest skyrocketed even further, so I'd love to find parts to start recreating some of his gearboxes and his MOC's for inspiration.

Thanks for the help all. :)

[Phoxtane]

I got the excavator myself. It's got great playability, a lot of motors, and a gearbox to run the various functions. I'd recommend keeping it, since you then get all the yellow beams and panels along with some other cool parts that'll come in handy later.

[DLuders]

@ nicoga3000: I would get familiar with Rebrickable.com , which allows you to enter Set Numbers and figure out WHAT ELSE you can build with them. Also, Bricklink.com has a "Catalog" function whereby you can see the Parts Inventory for a given set. You can also download the PDF Building Instructions from Lego Customer Service, to see how easy/difficult a particular set is. Brickset has Set Reviews to read about how good each set is.

[nicoga3000]

@ nicoga3000: I would get familiar with Rebrickable.com , which allows you to enter Set Numbers and figure out WHAT ELSE you can build with them. Also, Bricklink.com has a "Catalog" function whereby you can see the Parts Inventory for a given set. You can also download the PDF Building Instructions from Lego Customer Service, to see how easy/difficult a particular set is. Brickset has Set Reviews to read about how good each set is.

Aye, I've used all of those many many times. :) I built my 3724 Lego Dragon via Bricklink and the PDF Instructions. I also browse set reviews all the time. It was more of a question of, "Where should I go if I want to venture deeper into Supercar/vehicle" territory.

[Lost_In_Noise]

Consider 8258 (crane truck), 8110 (unimog), 8053 (mobile crane). The 8110 is the most complex, but my favorite amongst these is the 8258. Or you could try getting a 8448 for the gearbox.

Edited June 4, 2012 by Lost_In_Noise

[bb15080]

well keep the 8043 it's a good way of learning gearboxes and after that you have a couple of parts to make one of your own

[DLuders]

"Where should I go if I want to venture deeper into Supercar/vehicle"?

You could consider the many Building Instructions available on Paul Boratko's Crowkillers webpage (on the bottom-right). You could get PDFs for:

1) Paul Boratko's Vampire GT

2) Nathanael Kuipers' Concept Car

3) Paul Boratko's Supercar Deluxe 2

4) Paul Boratko's Chopped Hot Rod

5) Paul Boratko's Lamborghini Gallardo (free instructions)

On that same webpage (at right-center), there are links to Paul Boratko's "5-Speed with Reverse" Transmission and "4-Wheel-Drive with Reverse" Transmission designs too.

Jurgen Krooshoop has posted free Building Instructions no his Jurgen's Technic Corner webpage. For "Supercars", he has made:

1) Sunbeam Supercar

2) Little Devil

Edited June 4, 2012 by DLuders

[nicoga3000]

You could consider the many Building Instructions available on Paul Boratko's Crowkillers webpage (on the bottom-right). You could get PDFs for:

1) Paul Boratko's Vampire GT

2) Nathanael Kuipers' Concept Car

3) Paul Boratko's Supercar Deluxe 2

4) Paul Boratko's Chopped Hot Rod

5) Paul Boratko's Lamborghini Gallardo (free instructions)

On that same webpage (at right-center), there are links to Paul Boratko's "5-Speed with Reverse" Transmission and "4-Wheel-Drive with Reverse" Transmission designs too.

Jurgen Krooshoop has posted free Building Instructions no his Jurgen's Technic Corner webpage. For "Supercars", he has made:

1) Sunbeam Supercar

2) Little Devil

Do all of Crowkillers's sets require loads of hard to find pieces?

[Paul Boratko]

Do all of Crowkillers's sets require loads of hard to find pieces?

It depends on the color of the hard to find pieces that you are looking for... I would say that 99.5% of the parts are common and still in production...

Granted when the Gallardo instructions came out in 2009 the Red 5 X 11 panels were plentiful....

[nicoga3000]

It depends on the color of the hard to find pieces that you are looking for... I would say that 99.5% of the parts are common and still in production...

Granted when the Gallardo instructions came out in 2009 the Red 5 X 11 panels were plentiful....

I'll see what I can find!

I think I'm going to return the Excavator (even though I'll get a lot of crap for it ), but in turn, I'll be picking up the Supercar. The Supercar is going to be a secondary purchase (and an additional 119 VIP points), which gives me another $10 in VIP credit. Here's what I've got to work with.

$175 return credit

$35 in VIP credit (assuming it goes right back on)

10% off coupon

I could even exchange the Excavator for the Unimog, or I could grab a few $60-100 sets. In terms of building a large collection of versatile parts for vehicles, could anyone give me a suggestion?

I have the 8081 Extreme Cruiser already, but I'm not against picking up a second of any given set (Supercar included) if it's going to flesh out my parts collection. I apologize for the questions and requests for help. Technic has really gripped me and I want to make the most of it. The most recent catalog didn't include a few key sets, so I want to make sure to get the ones that I can really use soon. I'm not AS concerned with the playability as much as I am the parts, style, and functionality/design/mechanics.

Thanks again everyone - SUPER appreciate the input, tips, and thoughts!

[DLuders]

@ nicoga3000: Although giving up the 8043 Motorized Excavator is HERESY , I can see that it may not offer the best parts selection for making a "Supercar" MOC. Since you're in the USA, I'm looking at the currently-available Technic set offerings on Shop.Lego.com . I agree that the $59.99 8081 Extreme Cruiser provides a lot of (mostly black) Technic parts that are suitable for a Supercar:

If you bought the $199.99 8110 Unimog U400 set, you would not want to disassemble it since it's REALLY GOOD.

If you want to build a BLACK Supercar, consider getting the $69.99 9395 Pick-up Tow Truck. It has the WHEELS that would work for a Supercar (unlike the 8081's knobby tires). You can see the parts it has by looking at this Bricklink Parts Inventory:

[nicoga3000]

I know, 8043 looks like it would be a really great set, but I'm at the point where I'm only going to buy sets that really grip me and look to be useful for future Supercars and other Car MOC's. I've bought a LOT of System sets just because they were "rare", and I realized I was buying sets for the wrong reasons (I'm not a reseller, so why do that?).

The color of the cars I want to build are not important right now - I'd like to just be able to assemble them and come up with ideas, even if they resemble those multi-colored castles we all built as kids.

I love the 8081 as it was a FANTASTIC build. The B model looks great, too.

9395 looks to have similar parts as the 8081, which isn't a bad thing.

Would the 8109 Flatbed Truck or 8071 Bucket Truck offer parts that lend themselves to other car MOC's? 8110 Unimog has a really diverse part list, and if it DOES give a lot of car MOC pieces, I wouldn't mind buying it, assembling it, and taking it apart. I know, more heresy from this mouth. It's what I do!

[DLuders]

Unless you're wanting to make a PNEUMATIC SUPERCAR with the 8110 Unimog parts, it may not be useful to you. You should consider the 8109 Flatbed Truck -- it has lots of flat panels, several steering racks, and Power Functions elements.

[nicoga3000]

Oh, good point! I may end up going:

8070 Supercar

8109 Flatbed Truck

9395 Pick-up Tow Truck

I may sub 9395 for 8071 depending on parts list, but I think this would better suit my desires.

[Kronos]

Oh, good point! I may end up going:

8070 Supercar

8109 Flatbed Truck

9395 Pick-up Tow Truck

I may sub 9395 for 8071 depending on parts list, but I think this would better suit my desires.

Good choices. I have some experience with Supercars... I have all of Crowkillers cars on display(two Vampire's, red & black), Jovel's Black Dragon, Eric Leppen's Pagani Zonda, and Nathaniel Kuipers Concept Car.

Those sets are a good start. I wouldn't go with the 8071, but another 8070 instead.

Good luck.