[REVIEW] 42052 - Heavy Lift Helicopter

[Paul B Technic]

Excellent review, looks like an interesting model.

[MacKaiwer]

Nice review of a wonderful copter, thank you Jim Really nice pictures too I think this will be a must buy, I just love the design

[mediumsnowman]

Excellent set and an excellent review, thanks Jim. I normally stick to System but I may have to make an exception for this wonderful helicopter.

[Dafgek81]

I also like the 9398 helicopter, but didn't look at it before this one came out.

[La Chupacabra]

AXLE AND PIN HOLE

The axle counterpart of the Pin and Pin Hole.

What's that part in LBG number ?

[Dafgek81]

Indeed a very good review.

Only thing missing is some kind off small critter bouncing around

[MrPaulo23]

I actually like the design, I saw the 9396 before at a Lego Store in NJ it reminded me somewhat of an Augusta helicopter, much like a Coast Guard rescue chopper. I never had one but having the 42025 and 42040 sets I'm now getting more inclined with Technic aircraft models. The design is very fresh for me, it almost reminds me of those huge Soviet/ Russian heavy helicopters, the 6 rotor blades for this set is just about the right size if it will be compared to an actual heavy helicopter though I imagine how big its blades will be to generate enough thrust to lift it. I'm now convinced I need to have this set as an addition to my aircraft collection. Excellent review!

[ctx1769]

I like the A model, but the B model looks cheap and nasty in its looks.

[Richard Dower]

i have a slight mod suggestion....the rear cargo door uses part # 32184 in LBG....would it not be better to use white connectors here?

just purely for colour cordination and from the side view below you it would look better

[plethorabricks]

Great review! I built this the other night, and what was striking was that unlike most Technic models, you don't start with one of the major mechanisms. Instead, you start building the mid-section paneled shell first.

As nice as this set looks when finished (even without stickers), one of the drawbacks of an all-clad model is that you don't get a great viewpoint from which to watch the internal mechanisms in action. You can lift up the panel with the red light and peek inside to see the main gearbox and prop rotations, but that's not so very easy to do.

This model is good for witnessing an engine overcome friction and achieve smooth operation aided by momentum. (I hope I'm describing this correctly) You notice this when switching to the propeller rotation function and turning on the motor (doesn't matter which direction), you can see the clutch come up to speed before the rest of the mechanism does. Once they are at speed everything moves smoothly.

And for an air vehicle, this thing moves and steers very gracefully on the ground. Wonderful action.

I'm curious to see how the B-model performs. Parts-wise, this set would have been a great match for the previous generation of Mindstorms (NXT). This is a bit of a niche consideration, but off the top of my head I can see parts from this set being MOC'ed into the transport vehicle from the videogame Xenoblade Chronicles X.

[Richard Dower]

full RC mod:

[Richard Dower]

A model instructions for those who have the parts to build it, no B model yet posted:

http://cache.lego.com/bigdownloads/buildinginstructions/6169948.pdf

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Helicopter B model instruction is out.

[JunkstyleGio]

Made the 42052 Cargo Helicopter in LDD

And ofcourse I did some color-modification.

And a comparisson between my 9396 "Black Ops" and my 42052 "Midnight Attack"..

Edited January 12, 2016 by JunkstyleGio

[Richard Dower]

any B model reviews incoming?

[Cumulonimbus]

Made the 42052 Cargo Helicopter in LDD

...

And ofcourse I did some color-modification.

Thank you for the lxf-file, I had some fun with some colour schemes as well:

[Brickthus]

AXLE AND PIN HOLE

The axle counterpart of the Pin and Pin Hole.

At last! It has taken 9 years for those axle-and-pin-hole pieces to find their way into sets!

I suggested them as long ago as 1997 and saw a few at Billund in 2007.

Now all we need is axle-and-cross-hole ones, angled ones with 2 axles or 1 axle and 1 axle hole, and combinations!

Not sure about the trend of brightly coloured axles in the larger kits. They are fine for the smaller kits, to get kids used to the different sizes, but we still need black and grey axles to make those pieces insignificant to look at in MOCs.

Having bought 2 of 9396 I found the blades less useful than I had imagined. They are for show only, having no taper and negligible lift even when pitched as 9396 did. Of course dual-rotor pitch control in this set would have been unwieldy, as we have seen in a few MOCs in recent years.

I had considered how the complement of white panels fits with my MOC plans. there are few uses for the tapered panels but I found a use for 64 of them.

The Fire Plane is a better source for those, having 7, which makes me wonder if this set, with 2, is using up the stock so that they empty the bin by the end of next year.

Thanks for the review Jim, I will probably buy at least one.

Mark

[Sariel]

Here's my rodents-infested review of the B-model. I must admit, it has surpassed my expectations!

[pgplay]

Great review, just can't get over that front, looks like my first attempts at mocs :)

Going to get it anyway

Edited January 14, 2016 by pgplay

[nerdsforprez]

Agreed.. Front is horrible.

[JJ2]

Nice review Sariel, as usual

Agreed.. Front is horrible.

+1 I think the designer ran out of ideas and just gave up.

[plethorabricks]

I just built the B-model of this set after the instructions were finally made available - WOW!!! Not only does it have its own A-model-worthy gearbox, but it uses up all of the set's panels and all of the set's beams except for one 6L 0.5W beam. And does it sensibly. Stickers are not required for this model to look good, but are not out of place if they have been applied.

The model is large and hefty, but the weight balance is good through the model's length. On the ground, the wheels move and steer just as well as the A-model.

The hoist arm and rear cargo door are manually operated (which is actually better for playability).

And this may not sit well with some, but the front of the model works well if you are still young (or old?) enough to actually play with this model, using minifigs or Friends-style figs or your own action figures to sit in and fly the helicopter. This model was clearly designed to be played with.

This is easily one of the best official B-models out there.

[EyesOnly]

Has anyone seen this in Sweden yet, i thought it was supposed to be out? I keep looking at online stores but none seem to have it. I haven't looked at the instructions much but have downloaded both A and B. Will wait until i have the set. If it's ever released that is.

[NioN]

Picked up the set this weekend and completed the build. I really liked it however many of the parts were quite stiff to connect them, something that I've never experienced before. For that reason the cargo doors at the bottom of the helicopter don't open very smoothly.

What really made me wonder is the orange 'switch' at the beginning of the tail and just above the rear cargo door. It doesn't seem to have any function?

[JJ2]

Its an antenna