42042 - Crawler Crane - General Discussion

[ancestral]

Now building 42042, and i wish i had kept it in its box.

This thing is much bigger than i imagined. Have to arrange some place to display it, or i wil part it out.

[N-4K0]

Yeah, despite how it looks on pictures, it is bigger than I expected too. I have a closet with glass shelves and glass doors where I keep my assembled sets on display, but the crane arm will probably make the crane too big. I have to see if I can move the shelves further up to fit the crane in there

[marook]

And NOW, the building instructions is online on lego.com.. including the B model.

[Leif]

All parted out and ready to start the fun, way past my bedtime :)

[Brick Car]

That's superb!I love it and it's colorscheme is nice!This is a must buy!

Edited August 10, 2015 by Brick Car

[Richard Dower]

yeah the blue colour totally rocks!

[tehkei]

finished building it, now trying to modify it so I can fit two M motors, IR sensor and a battery at the bottom section.

[-Alex-]

Finally finished both :)

The B model doesn't have the same gearbox as the A model. For movement of the tracks and rotation you need to change the switch on the battery box for direction but the string reel uses the lever.

[LennyRhys]

This is such a good model for parts. I don't think mine will remain built for very long, and I've only had it for 5 days or so. I'd buy another one, but I think if I was going to put that kind of money on a set again I'd buy 42009.

[Leif]

Clippin away..

[N-4K0]

The lower part with the belts and all the way up to the turntable looks the same, but is everything else, tower as well as superstructure, rebuilt in the B-model?

[kisper]

Does anyone know the builder of the 42042 XXL crane on FB Lego Technic Forum ?

[Cumulonimbus]

Does anyone know the builder of the 42042 XXL crane on FB Lego Technic Forum ?

Do you have a link for this, it might help people finding the builder?

[mx2000]

I bought this model yesterday and finished building it today, and I got to say, I'm pleasantly surprised. So much better than the lackluster 42009 crane.

At first I thought it might be slow or underpowered (like 42009), but not so:

• Everything moves at a respectable speed, things are geared down properly
  
• It can actually lift things, about 450g at the closest position with the long boom before it tips over (PET bottles are a great load for the claw)
  
• All functions work under full load, you can raise lower the claw/the boom, drive and rotate without the motor giving in or gears jumping.
  
• The gearbox a massive improvement in playability. Think of it as a non-remote, mechanical version of the remote from 8043. It is set up so that claw/boom and drive/rotate can be selected at the same time, and feels really fluid to operate (instead of the usual "select function, flip battery box switch on, flip switch off again, select next function, etc." method). This may be the first time that having only a single motor does not feel like a cost-saving measure.
  

The gearbox is actually the highlight of the set for me in terms of innovation - it is really quite something, and I hope this becomes the new standard for Lego gearboxes.

The bidirectional operation is achieved by switching the usual direction of transmission - instead of the motor driving the axles, the functions are connected to parallel axles and the motor drives two rows of connected gear wheels, one on each side of the axles, going in opposite directions. The direction is simply selected by pushing the gear shifter to either side.

Remarkably, this ends up being a lot simpler the the usual gearboxes, that need a lot of complex gear trains to get the power from the tightly packed gear wheels to the functions. Here, the outputs are simply axles sticking out of the gearbox, neatly spaced one stud apart. Also, apart from the motor connection, the gearbox is completely planar and very regular, making it actually quite easy to build. I'll try to add a picture.

[Technic Jim]

...So much better than the lackluster 42009..

I've got 42009 and hearing this piece of information means I may have to buy this set

Edited August 23, 2015 by Technic Jim

[ancestral]

Although i agree with the lackluster comment about 42009, its a bit harsh to compare these 2 sets.

42042 enjoys the advantages of the new gear box as you've mentioned, and new gear shifter.

Most of the skipping gears are caused by literally packed and under scaled gears, because you have too many functions but almost half the space compared to 42042, only way to make it work is use smaller gears. If you take it a step further and convert it to an ultimate model, you cant even see anything in chassis and drivetrain, its just plastic everywhere.

Boom malfunctions are caused by a design error, which is using just a single 24 tooth clutch gear, which gets worn out pretty quick.

It is normal that 42042 could actually lift something, as it as more torque at boom thanks to the string setup.

42042 has a more balanced center of gravity, as it has a smaller footprint, a shorter boom and is actually standing on solid tracks, not bumping tires or wobbly liftarms.

Edited August 23, 2015 by ancestral

[mx2000]

Although i agree with the lackluster comment about 42009, its a bit harsh to compare these 2 sets.

42042 enjoys the advantages of the new gear box as you've mentioned, and new gear shifter.

Most of the skipping gears are caused by literally packed and under scaled gears, because you have too many functions but almost half the space compared to 42042, only way to make it work is use smaller gears. If you take it a step further and convert it to an ultimate model, you cant even see anything in chassis and drivetrain, its just plastic everywhere.

Boom malfunctions are caused by a design error, which is using just a single 24 tooth clutch gear, which gets worn out pretty quick.

It is normal that 42042 could actually lift something, as it as more torque at boom thanks to the string setup.

42042 has a more balanced center of gravity, as it has a smaller footprint, a shorter boom and is actually standing on solid tracks, not bumping tires or wobbly liftarms.

I didn't mean to compare them on pure lifting performance. Sure, a crawler crane with a lattice boom is easier to replicate with Lego, but just as a set in general, 42042 feels a lot more satisfying than 42009.

You mentioned a lot of the issues of 42009 already. The extension range of the boom is just plain sad in the default setup. Lifting power is extremely limited because of over-aggressive application of clutch gears. Overall, there were a lot of questionable design decisions and compromises that did not seem well thought-out (like why put the gearbox for the supports on the other side of the vehicle... or why put so much effort in motorizing the supports at all when the result is a wobbly mechanic moving at glacial speeds).

The crawler crane, on the other hand, does deliver on its promises, at least for me.

[LennyRhys]

As somebody who owns 42042 and is interested in purchasing 42009 I would say that 42009 doesn't really appeal to me as a set, but for parts it looks to be amazing as it has almost double the number of parts that 42042 has. Granted, there are no special parts like track links or all that lovely blue, but there are still some really nice parts for general MOC inventory.

At the moment the two models are very similarly priced in the UK, probably because 42009 is old now, and the only reason I went for 42042 is because of the new parts and the tracks which until now I didn't have. It seems to me that 42042 is one of the best designed sets available at the moment. It has an extremely advanced and foolproof gearbox and fantastic playability, as well as great styling and presence on a shelf, which is the perfect combination for kids and AFOLs alike.

[MaxSupercars]

That with 42009 is subjective... I like the 42009 and I like it very much... One of the best sets ever... great functionality, genial outridgers, good superstructure and 3 sections boom and overal very nice design...

The 42042 is modern, got great gearbox but it's just another crane...

Max...

Edited August 24, 2015 by MaxSupercars

[N-4K0]

Personally I think 42042 is way better than 42009, but it might just be (at least partly) because I like excavators far more than mobile cranes and 42042 reminds me of an excavator.

I have both sets though, but if I had to choose, I'd say 42042.

[keroro]

My 42042 Version....boom extensions with the add of 3 modules on the liftarm..(3 original, now there are 6 modulus)

I also modify the cable system that lift the arm with the adjoint of 2 free wheels, now the speed of the arm is lower, but the arm is capable to lift more weight, i am planing to modify the back structure and have a less inclined pull string...

Edited September 16, 2015 by keroro

[pyro690]

finished building it, now trying to modify it so I can fit two M motors, IR sensor and a battery at the bottom section.

I'm normally not a mod person, but this is what I did also. Remote drive is nice, but being able to turn is awesome!! Not hard at all to get M motors and IR to fit, battery is the hardest part.

[plethorabricks]

I like that the crane body is more three-dimensional than even, say, 8043 with its vents-on-a-sticker.

I do wish the B-model had a bit of a different build in the crawler section, like maybe as a mobile space rocket mover/launching platform. But I get that in this set, the crane's the thing.

[N-4K0]

There's always modding

[Samer]

Hi 42042 people, just a minute ago I placed my order for the 42042 on Amazon.de. They are offering a great discount nowadays which I was waiting for (also on 42009). Together with 2x 42026 which my son likes much.