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Just woke up to this beast of a post and Woah!  Two comments:

 

- I know I have made this comment before, and perhaps there is a better place to make it, but I think it fits here b/c it drives home my point.  What good it the "hot topic" distinction on this forum to distinguish popular topics from trivial ones if the criteria is set so high that even a thread that gets a comment every five minutes (as of this writing, this thread has been alive for 2 hours with 25 comments)?  I can't remember the last "hot topic" distinction.  The only ones really I remember are the initial posting of 42083 and 42056.  I know there have been more than that, but perhaps lowering the criteria for such topics would be beneficial so posts like this get the attention they deserve.  Or do away with the function altogether. 

 

- Now for the set.  450 euros.  So like 500 US bucks give or take.  I am not going to complain of the price; AFOLs have been complaining of not having  premium sets for years; tbu looks like it may meet that criteria.  Therefore, it is going to come at a premium price.  Still no more expensive that an appropriate adult-type RC vehicle.  My only comment of the price is I am eager to know what TLG is thinking.  Lately they really have been challenging the price quota for Technic; and I thought perhaps after 42083 was kinda the ceiling we would see for quite some time.  But noooo.... they killed that price point here.  Demolished it.  Didn't just raise it 20-40-50 bucks.  At least a whole 150? (still don't know the amount in USD). 

This is incredibly brave.  Or perhaps just informative.  I think it is the latter.  Meaning: Lego Technic is doing really well as a brand, even if the direction it is turning is not what folks on this site have wanted to see.  I surmise other large, expensive sets are selling like hotcakes; and IMO, this is the evidence.  So gripe all you want on the price; but an increase of nearly 50% in price from the previously most expensive set IMO suggests that the price point of large flagships isn't going down anytime soon. 

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59 minutes ago, technicbuilder said:

My wife has shoes enough :laugh:

Then she is lucky Lady, my has serious problem because her feet size is very small nr.36 - 37 (despite she is 1.70) so it is very difficult to find something and when we finally find them they are extremely expensive...but back to topic; as about new 11 x 7 frame in white; I do not see particular problem with it because I could only use it inside structure in.my mics, so it will not be visible.

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1 hour ago, Srdjan5033 said:

Digging the new pieces, but I don't like it too much where technic is going. It took me years of careful collecting to get the power functions and pneumatic going, and now they just go with the darned PowerUP stuff. I sure hope it has some extension wire pieces and connector hubs as the PF has the convince of daisy  chaining both PF and older 9V motors and LEDs.
The price is exorbitant to say the least. First the Bugatti and now this. Sure it has 11 motors and 4K pieces, but i hope there are some more entry level models with the new motors.

I would not worry about this much if you are a life-long fan.  I have learned alot from Technic giants such as @Sariel, but one of the more important things I have learned is the benefit of being in the hobby for decades, not just because of the additional experience it gives, but ones knowledge and possessions of historic pieces.  I think this is another thing that @Sarielis a master at, and often he can come up with solutions others cant not because of the shear number of Lego that he has, but the variety and breadth of Lego he has or has knowledge of.  Given that, I think old pieces are always useful.  Even if they seem outdated.  And i think the electronics are very robust.  I have lamented many times not buying the RC motors cuz i worry about degradation; but plenty of folks still use them with incredibly positive results . I wish I had pulled the trigger on RC motors years ago. 

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If this is 450 euros, then using 42082 as a guide, this set could cost $1000 Australian including 10% GST.

Crazy.

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1 hour ago, allanp said:

recieving live inclination angle information from the model

Did it?! Awesome!

 

1 hour ago, I_Igor said:

I would rather buy shoes to my wife

I hear you, and don't disagree, if it was a choice i'd spend it on my wife too... its a lot of money, but it will be a xmas 2019 present for me, and it will get discounted, so 300 days, £1 a day, makes me feel better about it (it is just a toy after all, we all buy cars and bikes etc that cost way more, but they're practical so easy to justify, toys are harder to justify. and a 450 euro toy is a big leap)

The killer for me is:

  • New control systems
  • Big special set thats not a car. how long have I been moaning about 'another car', and heres one that isn't!! (please have a pretty box like the cars get....)
  • I'm a sucker for big construction and agriculture. BWE is still such an awesome set.

It is a lot of money for a toy, but i don't smoke, drink maybe 1 beer a week on average and don't gamble... so i figure i'm allowed one vice?! (and my wife mostly agrees, which helps a lot!!)

ps I hope its not empty inside.....

 

14 minutes ago, ShowsOn said:

this set could cost $1000 Australian including 10% GST.

I go to Oz once a year on business... if you're near Perth we could do an import deal!!

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As for the electronics - it sure looks like this is a new app using the Boost / PoweredUp system. However, they recognized (as did everyone looking at the current PUP system) that it needed more outputs. The current battery box can only handle 2 motors. This system has 7 motors and 2 new hubs, so it sounds like they're making a new "brain" unit that has 4 outputs. AWESOME!!!!!!!!! But yeah, that's why the high price. If you look, the current PUP hub (which is a battery box and bluetooth interface in one) retails for $50 alone! 

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Looks like the cost itself of those electronic components is high. If 900 pieces set with one hub costs 230$, then its ~150$ for electronics. Buwizz+servo+2L is 170$, 2 IR receiver +servo+2L+AA battery box is 85$. But buwizz gives us Lipo and ludicrous mode. Or maybe there is Lipo in control+?

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Very interesting!  (To say the least!)  A few initial observations and guesses:

The 7 motor functions are presumably:

2 tracks; superstructure rotation; 3 articulations of the arm (paired large LAs); opening and closing of bucket (mini LAs)

I'm guessing for most of these the motor is quite close to the function, so perhaps the inside is fairly empty.  Maybe one hub in the base and one in the superstructure (so no functions passing through the main turntable)?

The pneumatic hoses on the arm appear to be purely for show (to emulate the real excavator) - you can see that some of them are connected to a pneumatic connector that's not connected to anything else.  That offends me a bit!  I also can't quite see exactly what the array of black tubes on the top of the arm is.  Perhaps they are also fake pneumatics, or perhaps they are wires.

What is the power source for the new hubs?  AAs?  Rechargeable?  Surely not the AAA boxes we've seen so far - the batteries would run down very quickly powering a beast like this!

The two-way communication aspect is interesting.  I'd like to see a model-mounted camera with a remote view on the smart phone as part of this system...

The price is certainly shocking, but it does paint a mostly very encouraging picture about where TLG and Technic are heading.  My guess is: the Bugatti is selling extremely well, and this and their market research indicates that there is a big market for extremely sophisticated sets aimed at adults, so they've made the decision to pursue this direction in a big way.  That's a much much better scenario for us than if (for example) they decided to let technic wither and die while they focus on Lego Movie and other things.  (That could in principle easily happen).

Edited by aeh5040

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6 hours ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

 

Notice the setup with the pulley wheel running on the large quadrant gear racks. I think this is Markus's creation.

It certainly seems to turn on the turntable faster than 42082, so it will be interesting to see how that was achieved.

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2 hours ago, mostlytechnic said:

As for the electronics - it sure looks like this is a new app using the Boost / PoweredUp system. However, they recognized (as did everyone looking at the current PUP system) that it needed more outputs. The current battery box can only handle 2 motors. This system has 7 motors and 2 new hubs, so it sounds like they're making a new "brain" unit that has 4 outputs. AWESOME!!!!!!!!! But yeah, that's why the high price. If you look, the current PUP hub (which is a battery box and bluetooth interface in one) retails for $50 alone! 

Prepare for disappointment.  I'm 100% sure the set uses 2 BOOST HUBS.  Each Boost hub has 2 built in motors and 2 outputs.  One will be on the bottom, and power the treads and turret rotation.  The upper Hub will power the other 4 motors.  With this configuration the turret will be able to spin 360 degrees without having to stop.  As well if the model is sending back incline information, it's most definitely using the Boost hub because it already has a built in tilt sensor.

12xAAA batteries total, and if you haven't heard the BOOST Hub devours batteries.

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Maybe B model the R9800 excavator...?, it would have one less function and a smaller boom but we would need a different bucket...

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42 minutes ago, Great Ball Pit said:

Prepare for disappointment.  I'm 100% sure the set uses 2 BOOST HUBS.  Each Boost hub has 2 built in motors and 2 outputs.  One will be on the bottom, and power the treads and turret rotation.  The upper Hub will power the other 4 motors.  With this configuration the turret will be able to spin 360 degrees without having to stop.  As well if the model is sending back incline information, it's most definitely using the Boost hub because it already has a built in tilt sensor.

12xAAA batteries total, and if you haven't heard the BOOST Hub devours batteries.

It’s already been confirmed in another thread, by someone who actually held the hub in their hands at the event, that it is not the Boost move hub.

It has 4x external ports (no internal motors) and is powered by 6xAA (not AAA) batteries, similarly to the current technic battery box. No internal motors. It also is roughly the same shape and size as the EV3 brick.

Edited by Mr Hobbles

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26 minutes ago, Mr Hobbles said:

It’s already been confirmed in another thread, by someone who actually held the hub in their hands at the event, that it is not the Boost move hub.

It has 4x external ports (no internal motors) and is powered by 6xAA (not AAA) batteries, similarly to the current technic battery box. No internal motors. It also is roughly the same shape and size as the EV3 brick.

That is fantastic news. I like the AA battery setup (since anything using 4 motors is probably big, putting a bigger battery box shouldn't be a hassle and gets you much more runtime) and I'm glad that they're making more than 2 motor outputs. In my PUP review I called that out, that Technic for sure needed more outputs. 

I suspect (since it's using 2 hubs) that one's in the tread section and 1 in the body of the digger. The one in the treads would handle drive and probably rotation. That eliminates long drive systems for the treads or passing wires through the turntable. The upper one would handle all the digger arm with 4 motors.

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32 minutes ago, Great Ball Pit said:

So Lego made a 4th, Powered Up Hub... I guess I'm 100% wrong!!

Fun fact - The Powered UP hub's internal device name is "HUB NO.4" and the 2018 bluetooth Duplo Train Base has "HUB NO.5" printed on the bottom of it. Also, on the Lego replacement parts website the Powered UP train controller is called "HANDSET NO.2".

I'm expecting even more over time!

EDIT: In my own curiosity I looked up the Boost move hub on the Lego replacement parts website, and it's known as the "HUB MOTOR NO.1"

Edited by Mr Hobbles

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9 hours ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

The new frame 7x11 is in white :wacko:

And I think there is et least one white frame 5 X 7 at the bottom of superstructure just between big linear actuators. If it is mentioned, please ignore this post

@TeamThrifty I do not smoke and I do not drink, my only experience is LEGO (even my classic car is waiting) :wink:

Edited by I_Igor

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I am happy about this set, it has new electronics, a lot of motors, still it has quite some gears, and new parts. Also the looks is spot on, something very MOC like. This IS the set we were claiming for for years, and be honest, such a monster build in any MOC costs the same, easily. We can be still sure, TLG's set price is still lower in PPP, than all the Bricklink orders for a comparable build. The innovation is the right way to overtake copycats (even if it doesn't last for years), finally TLG did the right move, I really appreciate this fact.

Let's see how the new electronics work, how well this elephant is built, for now I see nothing to complain. :thumbup::wub:

Edited by agrof

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11 minutes ago, agrof said:

I am happy about this set, it has new electronics, a lot of motors, still it has quite some gears, and new parts. Also the looks is spot on, something very MOC like. This IS the set we were claiming for for years, and be honest, such a monster build in any MOC costs the same, easily. We can be still sure, TLG's set price is still lower in PPP, than all the Bricklink orders for a comparable build. The innovation is the right way to overtake copycats (even if it doesn't last for years), finally TLG did the right move, I really appreciate this fact.

Let's see how the new electronics work, how well this elephant is built, for now I see nothing to complain. :thumbup::wub:

Everything you said is true, but price is still over my budget :cry3:

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If I understand correctly, there is no handheld remote in the box?  The only way to operate the motors is through an app on a smartphone?  Count me out of this system.  S-brick and buwizz are one thing as it's an optional thing you can do instead of the normal controls.  But a system that depends on an app is a system that Lego can decide to no longer support at any time in the future.  When technology has moved on eventually they aren't going to want to have to keep updating the software for the hardware they aren't making any money off of, and then eventually you won't be able to install the old app on your new phone and the whole system is bricked.

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