Richard Dower Posted August 2, 2015 couple more new reviews: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NioN Posted August 2, 2015 Just finished building the truck in about 10 hours in a very relaxing pace. Made some tiny mistakes during the build because the instructions weren't always very clear. First impressions so far: - The crane is huge, it really is. Maybe even too big compared to the other parts of the truck. But the new pneumatics are really nice so there's no actual need to complain. What I only didn't get is way they didn't include some extra 1/2 bush parts to cover the open ends of some axles. There are quite a few axles in the crane with some open spaces on the end of both sides where they fit nicely. Adding these parts just make it look even nicer and make the design feel more complete - The cabin looks really nice and is full of tiny details. The new flat 'light' parts look really nice. Attaching the cabin to the chassis was quite difficult for me or maybe it's just my fingers which are quite long ;-) - The new steering mechanics are very clever but steering itself isn't very smooth. Probably due to the heavy weight of the front pare of the truck putting too much pressure on the mechanics - I don't like the amount of open space between the two front tires. It's just too much for me and looks odd. It looks like the wheels are too small this way to me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Conor Hyland Posted August 2, 2015 Great to see that people are enjoying building 42043. Looking forward to getting my hands on it! Those of you that have it built, or have opened the box - how does the new turntable design compare to versions 1 and 2 of the old style turntables? Is there much play in it, or is it close fitting and sturdy? Does it revolve relatively smoothly under load? I hated the older ones due to the amount of play in them. Can't wait to get my hands on the new pneumatic cylinders! Is the 11L x 1L relatively sturdy when fully extended? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sayori Posted August 2, 2015 I'm very tempted to buy this set (possibly tomorrow). The only thing that really turns me off is the big gaps between the fenders and wheels, particularly the front 2. Although I'm tempted to buy the set, I'm trying to work on Han's 10x4 Dump Truck (gathering/purchasing pieces, etc) . Decisions, decisions..... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leif Posted August 2, 2015 Getting there.. Why oh why a friction pin in the middle of a gear sequence? It runs too fast otherwise..? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lego Conductor Posted August 3, 2015 Mine hopefully arrives tomorrow! Only other Technic I own is the 4x4 crawler. I mainly collect Modulars and USC Star Wars but had such fun building the Crawler had to get this one! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Richard Dower Posted August 3, 2015 Just finished building the truck in about 10 hours in a very relaxing pace. Made some tiny mistakes during the build because the instructions weren't always very clear. First impressions so far: - The crane is huge, it really is. Maybe even too big compared to the other parts of the truck. But the new pneumatics are really nice so there's no actual need to complain. What I only didn't get is way they didn't include some extra 1/2 bush partsto cover the open ends of some axles. There are quite a few axles in the crane with some open spaces on the end of both sides where they fit nicely. Adding these parts just make it look even nicer and make the design feel more complete - The cabin looks really nice and is full of tiny details. The new flat 'light' parts look really nice. Attaching the cabin to the chassis was quite difficult for me or maybe it's just my fingers which are quite long ;-) - The new steering mechanics are very clever but steering itself isn't very smooth. Probably due to the heavy weight of the front pare of the truck putting too much pressure on the mechanics - I don't like the amount of open space between the two front tires. It's just too much for me and looks odd. It looks like the wheels are too small this way to me. the bare axles or places you think bushes should have been added is very common, pretty much every set has a spot where you could add extra bushes here and there, that is what our spare parts are for.... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MSc Shobaki Posted August 3, 2015 Getting there.. Why oh why a friction pin in the middle of a gear sequence? It runs too fast otherwise..? I think it has got to do with the movement of the outriggers. Too little friction= Slacky, easy unwanted movement. Like jumping out when held at an angle. Too much= Tough, yet reliable. Sometimes even too much to maneuver Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thomol Posted August 3, 2015 (edited) Why oh why a friction pin in the middle of a gear sequence? It runs too fast otherwise..? I haven't started building my copy yet, but I'm guessing it's to prevent the outriggers to extend when the gear box isn't engaged. Sometimes the friction in the gearbox makes all outputs rotate even though they're not engaged, especially when the friction after the gear box is low. Edited August 3, 2015 by Blakbird : Rmeoved quoted image. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NioN Posted August 3, 2015 Does it revolve relatively smoothly under load? I hated the older ones due to the amount of play in them. It's very smooth probably smoother than the other (older) ones. The crane moves really smooth most of the time but I only have a small part where it's probably a bit blocked by all the hoses surrounding the turntable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gmshades Posted August 3, 2015 Watching those latest videos, I wonder if adding an extra small cylinder to the bucket would help or if there is no hope for it to have any clamping force. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
probey Posted August 3, 2015 (edited) Still building the kit, but also did some research on the actual vehicle. Assuming the scale is 1:16, CabAccording to http://tools.mercede...Atego-Arocs.pdf, Arocs S-cab and M-cab has the width of 2300mm Using Sariel's conversion tool to convert it with 1:16 scale, the cab width is 17.969 studs The Lego model width is 17 studs, which is fairly accurate [*]Tires According to http://www.moderntir...-in-europe.aspx, Actros trucks use 385/55 R 22.5 tires Tire diameter is 39.17 inches based on https://www.mcgrefer...522.5?prefs=128 Convert the tire diameter to 1:16 scale is approximately 62.2mm, which is about the same size as the tires included in the kit However, the tire above may or may not be off-road tires, I cannot tell by looking at the picture From another source http://www.autoarabi...buts on new ..., the tire used by Acros should be 385/65 R 22.5 According to https://www.mcgrefer...einfo/3856522.5, the overall diameter is 1072mm, which is 67mm in 1:16 scale, 5mm bigger than the kit's 62mm tires A lot of people talk about the huge gap between the cab and tires, thinking that the gap is too big. I found a few links and confirmed that such huge gap does occur in the actual vehicle. Actros crane : http://autoline.info...0742075000.html. Arocs crane: http://www.fassi.com...45az-crane.html, note that the front grill only has 3 rows Arocs military truck: http://www.armyrecog...duty_truck.html Based on cab and tire sizes, I would say Lego did a pretty good job to keep the model within the scale of 1:16. The gap between tires and the driving cab does actually exist on the actual vehicle. Overall I would say the kit is a pretty accurate representation of the actual vehicle. Just my 2 cents, and I am sorry if my post disturbs/confuses anyone as I am a scale freak and I insist that everything has to be in scale :P. Edited August 3, 2015 by probey Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
maxxens Posted August 3, 2015 (edited) It's understandable the book is that thick when a step can be like this.. And of course it is the old discussion whether aimed for Afols and/or the demographic 11-16 as the box says! Recently I found in my old lego instructions the old red super car (the studded one) and the old yellow plane. I was amazed, how much happened in one step of the instruction and could not remember, that it was a big problem for my brother and me to complete these sets on christmas eve within a few hours. No idea, when they exactly came out, but we got them the same year (being born '79 and '81). Edited August 3, 2015 by Blakbird : Removed quoted image. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Appie Posted August 3, 2015 Has anybody built the crane arm with the tubes untouched and after cutting them shorter so they don't catch the gears, and if anybody has is there any noticeable difference in the operation of the pneumatics? I'm probably going to cut the tubes to make things fit easier if there is little/no difference. The tubes won't touch the (one) gear when you keep them the default length, so no worries there. I did have to readjust some tubes so the turntable could turn properly to the left (and not have the clutch gear trigger on every attempt to turn it). I am not sure if cutting tubes for this is the way to go, since it seems to me that some tubes like a bit more length for moving left or right or for both directions. If you want to cut tubes just to avoid a gear I wouldn't bother. That gear should have plenty of room. The blue tube that links the 4 valves runs in front of that gear. This blue tube should go from left to right through the chassis (right under the middle of the turntable). So basically you have: "crane tubes">"blue valve tube">"gear" under the turntable. The crane tubes have plenty of space to not push the blue tube towards the gear. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brickthus Posted August 3, 2015 I am relieved to be able to confirm that the updated nozzle shape on all cylinders and valve switches is backwardly compatible with earlier hoses. Whilst they are designed for the new, tougher hoses used from the Unimog 8110 onwards, to allow easier removal, previous hoses don't fall off the new nozzles when the system is subjected to the maximum pressure from a hand pump cylinder. Had this not been the case, I would probably have recommended using the hose joint pieces (13x dark bley ones in the Arocs set) to use the new hoses for the last run to the cylinder and any hose beyond that with the older parts. The T-junctions and hose joiners have not had a new nozzle shape, but those are of significantly lesser value than cylinders or valves if a nozzle broke and TLG had to send a replacement! Noticing that the new pneumatic parts are out of stock when dialling up 42043 on LS@H "I want to buy a piece", this is not unexpected. I would expect it might be 2016 before the parts are in stock. Until then I'm sure TLG would want to ensure we all like 42043 and have no problems with the new parts, hence any stock would be reserved for mishaps. There was an idea that the whole bag of pneumatics might be a preferred supply method, rather than individual pieces, but this seems not to be the case, given that the 7-digit number of the bag has no records on LS@H. No option either for "I want to buy a bag of pneumatics - as many of them as possible!" I have tested the new cylinders and they show good top seals i.e. if you extend the cylinder, put your thumb tight over the top nozzle and compress the cylinder fully, it will bounce back most of the way. This was not consistently the case with the older 48mm cylinders; about 1/3 were OK, 1/3 mediocre and 1/3 poor in their top seals. I used the ones with poor top seals in pairs for point control, connecting the bottom nozzle only. I guess TLG had also found this reliability problem and did two things: They used only the bottom nozzles for the 8421 crane and they didn't use pneumatics in the 42009 crane, i.e. pneumatics was restricted to small pulling loads like the Unimog crane while they developed a solution in the V2 cylinders (no restriction on pushing loads). The cylinder joining piece, no. 53178, from crane 8421, doesn't work with the new 2/11 cylinders because the nozzle is further from the bottom end, clashing with the bracket, but it could do so if the nozzle slots on the brackets were extended in both directions and 4 half-bushes were used in the cylinder fixing (ironically less plastic, hence cheaper bracket if TLG did the mod!). Other ways to connect 2x 2/11s end to end may be easier. For a future crane kit it might not be necessary to use them end to end because the extension is 6M, compared to the 2x 3.75M of the previous 48mm cylinders. I hope we will see a 48mm V2 cylinder eventually, because not all applications need a long throw and pushing the levers of valve cylinders needs a 2-wide cylinder for more than 1 valve at a time. I have 1 48mm cylinder pushing up to 5 valves, though it takes a while to build up the pressure so I'd recommend 4 before using a second cylinder. 2 48mm cylinders driving 6 valves is fine. Mark Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
allanp Posted August 3, 2015 Has anybody built the crane arm with the tubes untouched and after cutting them shorter so they don't catch the gears, and if anybody has is there any noticeable difference in the operation of the pneumatics? I'm probably going to cut the tubes to make things fit easier if there is little/no difference. If you was referring to a post I made, I cut some blue hoses (not any other hoses, only blue ones) to make them fit neater and with less chance of kinking, not to make them miss any gears. Having said that, by cutting the hoses the way I have, the blue hose that runs next to the gear is under very slight tension, keeping it straight and away from the gear. I have not tried it with uncut hoses so I can't compare but the pneumatics in my model work fantastically. A word of caution before cutting hoses, I have not seen the instructions for the B-model so if I wish to build it, I may have to use hoses from my own stock as these may now be too short. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Psi Posted August 3, 2015 If you was referring to a post I made, I cut some blue hoses (not any other hoses, only blue ones) to make them fit neater and with less chance of kinking, not to make them miss any gears. Having said that, by cutting the hoses the way I have, the blue hose that runs next to the gear is under very slight tension, keeping it straight and away from the gear. I have not tried it with uncut hoses so I can't compare but the pneumatics in my model work fantastically. A word of caution before cutting hoses, I have not seen the instructions for the B-model so if I wish to build it, I may have to use hoses from my own stock as these may now be too short. Yeah, it was your post I was thinking of when I asked the question. Thanks for replying and for showing me the picture. I don't have any spare pneumatic hoses at the moment but I'll be racking up a Bricklink order soon so I'll add some blue hose to that to cover what I will cut, just in case. Watching builds it just struck me that things were exceedingly tight in the space, so rather than spend hours making it fit I'll cut the hoses and get a couple of extra hours to play with the model Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mini-geek Posted August 3, 2015 Not sure what I've done wrong but my crane will hardly move/lift takes ages for it to build up pressure and push up.. Could I have a kinked hose or is it normal? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jay Psi Posted August 3, 2015 Not sure what I've done wrong but my crane will hardly move/lift takes ages for it to build up pressure and push up.. Could I have a kinked hose or is it normal? That's definitely not normal, especially if it struggles to move with no load. It could be a loose connection or a kinked hose. Double check everything is fitting properly and that not tubes are loose and/or cramped up next to another piece. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mini-geek Posted August 3, 2015 Hardly any operation on it atall.. Think I with have to do a bit or re plumbing.. They are a bit crowded under there.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stevenhalim Posted August 4, 2015 Hi Eurobrick members, I am a long time lurker in this forum and this is my first post. I have put 42043 in my wish list since the first time rumours of it appears last December 2014, but I am under strict Lego set purchase control by my wife so I can only get 42043 when the year changes to 2016 . Yesterday I spotted this new challenge about THE Mercedes-Benz Truck of the future design competition from rebrick.lego.com: http://rebrick.lego.com/en-US/BottomMenu/Blog/08032015-technic-competition.aspx Seems that no one has posted this information yet so maybe this link will be useful for other master builders out there. Regards, AFOL from Singapore Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Saberwing40k Posted August 4, 2015 I'm building 42043 right now, and it is just packed. There isn't a whole lot of dead space in it, everything is related to the functions. The build is not challenging per say, but it is very interesting to see a designer really flex their muscles with a flagship. I've built sections 1 thru 4, now all that needs to be done is the cab and the bed. One little nitpick I have is that the instructions feel almost padded. There are just some steps that don't need to be separate, but aren't. For instance, the engine has six steps to build it, one for each cylinder. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ngoc Nguyen Posted August 4, 2015 I've got the B-model instructions!! Although it is not published on Lego yet, a lovely lady from Lego customer services has provided me with that. Here are the links: http://cache.lego.com/r/service/-/media/franchises/technic/products/bi/b%20models/42043BDigitalbi1240.pdf http://cache.lego.com/r/service/-/media/franchises/technic/products/bi/b%20models/42043bdigitalbi241472.pdf Have fun building! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Waterkamp Posted August 4, 2015 Just want to inform you guys new video in lego technic site for 42043 http://www.lego.com/en-us/technic/videos/designer-video-mercedes-benz-arocs-4578936129e643a9a01d046e3b323b25 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Emmi Posted August 4, 2015 (edited) I've finished building this model on Sunday, it took me over a day to build it :) I'm not happy with the result - most functions don't work properly. 1. The stabilizers on the left and right don't move fluid, they jiggle a bit whilst moving out. 2, The crane didn't move at all at first - I thought I placed something wrong so I took it apart again and had a look again, I then figured that some of the hoses would block the gear that makes the crane move left/right - I could fix that but doesn't really help - the crane's movement is unacceptable! 3. The shovel doesn't open/close on its own - I have to push it open with my fingers, same for closing again. 4. The crane doesn't seem to have enoug power, if I extend the last part it gets down a bit, after a few seconds it gets pumped up again. 5. When driving straight the front tyres will eventually turn a bit to either the left or right - it doesn't stay straight when pushing the truck forward for me. Also I'm worried that I ruined the stabilizers - I lifted them up (unlike shown in pictures) - I lifted them up to the very end - then on the other side it made a very loud noise and I was unable to do it there. I guess it was too heavy. I'm worried that sth is damaged there now, should I be worried???? All in all nothing moves perfect in this model - the thousand hoses put in such little space is unacceptable! I either have made mistakes in the build or it simply isn't better :( Edited August 4, 2015 by Emmi Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
