42056 one year (and a bit) later

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Rally Car is basically a mini Porsche

[nicjasno]

The porsche was basically the lemans car with added gearbox and better looks.

[Interceptor]

I got 42056 Porsche this Christmas and I really like it to be honest. I read many reviews beforehand including Jim's and I totally agree with his final conclusion: "if you are looking for the perfect set, you better look further". On the other hand this Porsche is a great model. It has a marvellous PDK shifting gear system never seen before in an official Technic set and it works perfectly after minor modification. I implemented Attika's change and fixed the wrong gear sequence only. It is beautifully designed and has all the proper functions a Technic supercar should (at least not crappy motorized functions). I also miss the HOG steering and do not understand the wrong gear sequence it has out of the box but I can easily fix it. I do think that LEGO has to put much more effort into user acceptance test before releasing such an exclusive set. And I also remember that some functions were turned down by the Porsche AG itself and not the designer (rear wheel steering comes to my mind but probably they dropped the HOG steering for some reason as well). All in all I see this set as a beautiful (and expensive) experiment step in creating the outstanding LEGO Technic supercar, a great successor to the original series (853, 8860, 8865, 8880, 8448) - and hopefully the first piece of a new series.

Edited December 28, 2017 by Interceptor

[TeamThrifty]

I also got this for xmas (now the price has dropped!) and really enjoyed it... I think it depends on how you view sets. Some people on this forum build them and display them, others, like me want to tinker and improve them, use them as a great starting point. For me, i want to build the Peugeot 208 pikes peak car. This chassis is a great start. It needs a new front axle for 4x4, and it needs a mid-engine V6, and tonnes of other stuff... but thats awesome! I can't wait to start!!! It depends on what you want the set to be.. Perfect. Or inspiration. 

My first Lego car chassis was in 1982 - 8860 - Now a few years later(!) we get sets like 42056. It is a genuinely amazing set.. unless you want perfection. Look at it in context though, and Lego Technic is an awesome product, with awesome, limitless scope for MOC's etc. Its easy to be negative, and i know we're all different so i'm not dissing anyone, but for me, the sets of the last few years are truly outstanding. If technic stopped tomorrow, we'd all be devastated. Lets appreciate what we've got... and maybe say thanks to Lego now again, they deserve it!!

Anyway, i also got the BWE for xmas and will starting that build this evening!! Can't wait!!!   

[Costas]

I don't normally build LEGO cars and I don't actually own any as yet - I'm more into Technic construction vehicles and in particular some of the more complex MOCs..

However the Porsche grabbed my attention when it was released simply because I do own a real (older) 911....

I almost purchased the 42056 set on release but I initially waited as issues started to surface which put me off a little at the time.

At the end of the day - I did manage to purchase one only yesterday on eBAY for a discounted price (approx. $255 USD) from someone who has decided not to build their kit (still sealed in box). I suspect that they may have read about some negatives of the kit and decided it was not for them so a small bonus for me in regards to current prices of the kits here in Aus.

My 42056 should turn up early next week - so I'm now looking forward to building the kit and incorporating some of the MODs/Improvements detailed on this forum.

So the attraction to me is more so the fact that it is a Porsche rather than simply looking at it from a Technic angle.

I wonder how long it will take for the set to become 'hard to find'. The other reason I purchased now is the fact that the set is still easy to find, not sure if it will be the same come late 2018 etc.

 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2017 by Costas

[Trawler Man]

I got this a few weeks ago and built the first "chapter" yesterday. Being aware of the issues at release I made sure to look out

for Blackbird's fix in step 5. To my surprise TLC actually changed the instructions and step 5 now calls for a 62462 pin joiner in LBG.

 

As far as I can tell they didn't change the gears around, nor did they implement a fix for the unreliable shifting issue. 

[Jim]

23 hours ago, Interceptor said:

I got 42056 Porsche this Christmas and I really like it to be honest. I read many reviews beforehand including Jim's and I totally agree with his final conclusion: "if you are looking for the perfect set, you better look further". On the other hand this Porsche is a great model. It has a marvellous PDK shifting gear system never seen before in an official Technic set and it works perfectly after minor modification. I implemented Attika's change and fixed the wrong gear sequence only. It is beautifully designed and has all the proper functions a Technic supercar should (at least not crappy motorized functions). I also miss the HOG steering and do not understand the wrong gear sequence it has out of the box but I can easily fix it. I do think that LEGO has to put much more effort into user acceptance test before releasing such an exclusive set. And I also remember that some functions were turn down by the Porsche AG itself and not the designer (rear wheel steering comes to my mind but probably they dropped the HOG steering for some reason as well). All in all I see this set as a beautiful (and expensive) experiment step in creating the outstanding LEGO Technic supercar, a great successor to the original series (853, 8860, 8865, 8880, 8448) - and hopefully the first piece of a new series.

It's indeed true that some of the functions were turned down by Porsche. Four wheel steering was already implemented, but Porsche cancelled it. Too bad.

As with most things in life, it all boils down to expectations. Living with low-expectations will serve you well. However, when TLG announced the Porsche, it was a 300 euro Technic set and we never had a 300 euro Technic set. And the official announcement negated the low-expectations. This was going to be THE set. Technically there was the cool gearbox, but it was flawed. Other than that, no real surprises. We expected some new unique parts, but besides some panels and rims it was all same same.

All in all I really love the set, but there's no denying that it's a display model. An expensive display model. But if you have to choose a model to represent what can be accomplished with LEGO Technic the Porsche does fit the bill. It will generate the ooohhhhhs and the aahhhhhhs, even though it's not as advanced as the Arocs. The Porsche still scores very well in people's all time favorite lists and I'm convinced the sales figures will back that up.

Conclusion: It's a great iconic set, but the expectation were too high.

Conclusion: It's a great iconic set, but it didn't meet the high expectations.

[Jurss]

Maybe somebody could get information from Lego designers, what was in some preproduction models, even pictures, how they looked. Maybe they could put some detailed story, how they come to some particular set. There is something in booklet, even with nice rims, which could fit for other LEGO supercars. 

[agrof]

Just to be more fair, I don't see the expectations were unbalanced high, LEGO advertised this set with the label of "Ultimate". According to definition of word "ultimate", one rightfully can expect the next: the most significant, highest, furthest, or greatest thing (at least up to date). 

So if LEGO dares to stand such statement, they had to be prepared to be up to the mark. No 4 wheel steering, ok plausible, they made really outstanding visual design, nice new parts, but there were significant problems in the construction, which is hardly acceptable for an ultimate flagship set. Also don't forget, that even from 1 year distance, the cheap excuse they officially made, is very embarrassing (this was bigger issue for me, than the actual design problems). 

I don't think that we (the market, they are living of) should be "ashamed" for having expectations. This is one important component of innovation. 

So my opinion is still the same, after 1 year.

Edited December 28, 2017 by agrof

[Bartybum]

I agree with @agrof. It’s unfair to say we placed our expectations too high when the way Lego themselves hyped it up gave good reason to.

Edited December 28, 2017 by Bartybum

[Jim]

Just now, Bartybum said:

I agree with @agrof. It’s unfair to say we placed our expectations too high when the way Lego themselves hyped it up gave good reason to.

Yeah, I absolutely agree. My conclusion wasn't entirely correct.

 

Corrected to:

Conclusion: It's a great iconic set, but it didn't meet the high expectations.

[tohan]

I guess it didn't meet the high expectations of the AFOL who got hyped up by TLG markerting... 

I bought this set last year and I think it's great. What I really enjoy is to build a set and this build was really enjoyable. I don't really care that the gearbox may be faulty. Is it really supposed to mirror the real thing ? I think not. The system is clever enough for me and although it isn't perfect, it was fun to build (and play with it for a while). Do you remember 8860 gear box ? It was awful really, you could use only two gears out of the three for there was so much friction that you would just break everything if you tried to use the last one anyway. It was a bit of a let down but I still thought the set was a marvel. 42056 isn't perfect but it is still great in it's own right.

My biggest disappointments were the hidden internals (I like to see things moving, it would have been nice to have at least a way to open the body) and the absence of B model (like 41999, that was a big let down for me).

On the bright side, it is hard to argue that it doesn't look good and it is one of the rare sets that my wife allows to be displayed... the Wife Acceptance Factor ought to count! 

[Jim]

Well spoken. Great conclusion  

[Interceptor]

@tohan Well spoken.

9 minutes ago, tohan said:

Do you remember 8860 gear box ? It was awful really, you could use only two gears out of the three for there was so much friction that you would just break everything if you tried to use the last one anyway.

Regarding the 3rd gear in 8860: it was there only to use with the 4,5 volt motor available at that time (which was capable to handle the car only in that gear with its low torque) and not to use driving the model by hand. There was some indication regarding this in the instructions but not clear enough that is true.

[tohan]

9 hours ago, Interceptor said:

Regarding the 3rd gear in 8860: it was there only to use with the 4,5 volt motor available at that time (which was capable to handle the car only in that gear with its low torque) and not to use driving the model by hand. There was some indication regarding this in the instructions but not clear enough that is true.

You are absolutely correct. Although it did feel kind of wrong (I was maybe 8 or 10 at the time) and frustrating to have a third gear ratio that couldn't be used. Even though, this set was (and still is) an absolute marvel despite it's flaws and it's what got me hooked on Technic for years to come...

[Interceptor]

^Totally agree. It was also the set that got me hooked on Technic again after my dark ages in 2006.  I bought it second hand (with chrome faucets) and built it several times and I like it as much as my 8880. In the building process of Porsche after box 2 I sopped a bit and thought this could be the new LEGO auto chassis...

[tohan]

7 hours ago, Interceptor said:

In the building process of Porsche after box 2 I sopped a bit and thought this could be the new LEGO auto chassis...

I think I had the same thought! 

[Aventador2004]

21 hours ago, tohan said:

On the bright side, it is hard to argue that it doesn't look good and it is one of the rare sets that my wife allows to be displayed... the Wife Acceptance Factor ought to count! 

@Lox Lego Mentioned that too, he said it is good to check first .

[degenerate]

It's a great display, but that's about it.

I picked mine up for 150 euro, box still sealed, and that's about the max i would pay for a set like this.

The only cool thing about it is the gearbox and LEGO totally wrecked that by messing up the instructions.

It was never worth what they originally asked for it, and I would have never bought it if I didn't come across it for 150 euro.

Looks bloody good on the shelf though!