42146 - Liebherr LR13000

[icm]

The last one to debut to universal praise was the Arocs in 2015. Though not the 2016 flagship, the Claas was also universally praised.

[Danke]

Somehow the crane makes the bulldozer look like good value in comparison. Maybe not in functions (RC ladder lol) but certainly in price and looks.

Also i would like to add more as a question, how much space do you need to run the crane’s functions? I can tell it’s a pain to display, even more so than the 2 previous control flagships.

For example the excavator is fairly reasonable for it’s size but the CAT needs a stupid amount of space because it’s main function is moving things around.

[AVCampos]

58 minutes ago, icm said:

Don't forget that Big Red was dunked on in its day for being overpriced and oversized, with too many decorative panels that only drove up the price.

👆 This!

[howitzer]

54 minutes ago, icm said:

The last one to debut to universal praise was the Arocs in 2015. Though not the 2016 flagship, the Claas was also universally praised.

Wasn't the BWE quite well liked, despite the weird (for some) type of machinery? On the other hand, I've heard that the Claas was boring as building experience, while cool in functions and looks. I haven't handled it myself though...

And indeed, the Rough terrain crane was bashed on its decorative details. Now we get a set with bad looks and half-assed detailing, and somehow that's bad too?

[icm]

The BWE was mostly well liked, but it was criticized for not having enough power in the single motor that ran all the functions, resulting in some functions being unreliable. I personally found the building experience of the Claas a bit tedious, but the Arocs - that is everything a Technic set should be.

The pneumatic wrecker truck from 2021, or maybe it was 2022, was liked by pretty much everyone as a perfect example of everything a mid-range ($100-$200) Technic set should be, and the Airbus helicopter is similarly praised (though not without some criticism about the strength of the landing gear and the tail boom). Neither of those are the flagship set of the year though.

[nerdsforprez]

1 hour ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

Why cant we have something functional and good looking and reasonably priced like the good ole day, like Big Red. I actually bought two Big Reds. If this set is sold like that I would gladly give TLG my 700$ :(

I don't criticize the end result nearly as much as I do just the overall choice to introduce a version of the Liebherr 13000 for an official set, at least one at a scale that would include their horrible control+, etc. system.   There is no way this thing was ever going to appear like the real thing (in scale only) unless it were a totally different scale.  Can you imagine if this thing were to even remotely resemble the real thing, scale-wise?  I think we would be looking at a $1200-1500 price tag instead.  At that is in one of the smaller configurations.  Just a really, really horrible choice for a set by TLG if they wanted to keep it at a scale where electronics were involved, etc....

Big red, which you keep referring to, I feel is really a subjective choice for comparison here.  I don't remember the reviews being all that great.  Kinda the same as this model, really.  Over-inflated size, in fact, if I recall, the phrase piece-inflation or something akin to that was used often to describe it.  I mean, just the rims needed 40 pieces alone for just the decorative aspect.  I think I recall this accusation being levied to the set to get it over the 4,000 piece mark.  A hallmark at that point in time....

[Anio]

19 minutes ago, nerdsforprez said:

There is no way this thing was ever going to appear like the real thing (in scale only) unless it were a totally different scale.  Can you imagine if this thing were to even remotely resemble the real thing, scale-wise?  I think we would be looking at a $1200-1500 price tag instead.

Note that by being the same size but much thinner, the set could have resemble the real LR 13000.

There is plenty of empty space in 42146 which makes me believe that it could have been the same size, but correctly scaled.

 

Not to mention that if you go for a thinner design, you can also go for smaller motors, etc.

[nerdsforprez]

4 minutes ago, Anio said:

Note that by being the same size but much thinner, the set could have resemble the real LR 13000.

There is plenty of empty space in 42146 which makes me believe that it could have been the same size, but correctly scaled.

 

Not to mention that if you go for a thinner design, you can also go for smaller motors, etc.

There is much wrong with the scaling.  I believe you are referring to the superstructure mostly in your comments in which I agree.  But much of the problem in the scaling is also the main boom, derrick, etc.  This is what would have really raised the price IMO, making even a relative (and I mean that liberally) scaling of the set, at this scale,  significantly more....

[howitzer]

22 minutes ago, nerdsforprez said:

I don't criticize the end result nearly as much as I do just the overall choice to introduce a version of the Liebherr 13000 for an official set, at least one at a scale that would include their horrible control+, etc. system.   There is no way this thing was ever going to appear like the real thing (in scale only) unless it were a totally different scale.  Can you imagine if this thing were to even remotely resemble the real thing, scale-wise?  I think we would be looking at a $1200-1500 price tag instead.  At that is in one of the smaller configurations.  Just a really, really horrible choice for a set by TLG if they wanted to keep it at a scale where electronics were involved, etc....

Big red, which you keep referring to, I feel is really a subjective choice for comparison here.  I don't remember the reviews being all that great.  Kinda the same as this model, really.  Over-inflated size, in fact, if I recall, the phrase piece-inflation or something akin to that was used often to describe it.  I mean, just the rims needed 40 pieces alone for just the decorative aspect.  I think I recall this accusation being levied to the set to get it over the 4,000 piece mark.  A hallmark at that point in time....

The RTC was indeed criticized for it having too many parts and being needlessly large (as in the same functionality could be made at smaller scale) but inflated or not, I remember it being very reasonably priced for such a big set, I think I bought it for 160€ or so. One other criticism was that it included no new parts and only couple of recolours (most importantly the banana gear). This makes it odd flagship, as most of the time the flagships include most new parts and push the edges of what's possible in Technic - in that sense it indeed was a letdown. The Liebherr on the other hand includes a many new parts and recolours in huge numbers which will surely open new possibilities for building. This of course comes with an absurd pricetag so it's quite hard to justify.

[Mr Jos]

I can see this set end up as a tower crane pretty soon with these frames. But it will not be a set I'll buy soon, I don't buy sets normally at all, just if the parts interest me to make MOC's. Only 42128 (2x) and now got 42144 (2x), both for making MOC/MOD. I don't see the value in spending 500€+ to make a tower crane MOC however. [But I do have to say that making the highbay racks of my warehouse is something that no set will soon beat in repeatliness]

Edited July 25, 2023 by Mr Jos

[kbalage]

3 hours ago, fred-eric said:

TLG say "load sensing" but it is only tilt !!!

The tilt of the hub and the whole superstructure changes based on the load and that is measured, not sure what you would consider "proper" load sensing? 

3 hours ago, AVCampos said:

I hope you didn't overdose in popcorn while watching people here considering the set's cancellation.

I was really hoping the embargo won't be pushed again, couldn't answer more "LIEBHERR WHEN??!?!?" questions on my socials 

3 hours ago, SaperPL said:

@kbalage About the counterweights - are those definitely just ABS? They seem to look like a metal plate covered in plastic. Just out of curiosity I would like to see what would happen if you'd try to drill it through :)

Also are those holes on those counterweights compatible in any way with pins?

Someone did the calculations previously in the topic and that supported the pure ABS theory, they definitely feel like a solid block of plastic. I won't drill them for sure until they will be available on B&P :) The holes are smaller than pins or studs and larger than rods so they don't seem to be directly compatible with anything. 

[Maaboo the Witch]

Sariel's review is up. Think this is the first set to receive a zero-star rating in any field!

 

[Lemon]

Just hold a magnet next to it.

If it is solid plastic, which I guess it is, the reason why it doesn't have any pinholes or connections likely is that they can't get it to its 20 um tolerances. Thick pieces like that warp like crazy. 

[allanp]

Ignoring the price difference, and control+, and the Tri colour crane boom (the all yellow brigade has risen to take on the all black brigade!) just as a model I prefer the Liebherr over big red simply because it's far more mechanically realistic, the physics of it seem more real, and it's a lot stronger (big reds boom tended to bend and snap with a heavy load) Aside from a few bright blue gears, the colour coding is also much better as opposed to big reds festival of confetti! It also seems to use it's parts more efficiently, big reds part count feels too over inflated 

I really like how well all the functions work with decent power and speed. Speaking of power (and also build strength) how much could it lift if you physically held down the rear end? I also appreciate the new boom pieces, without them it would be a very tedious build. The load sensing is also cool.

But as for the negatives, I also tend to agree with much of what others have said. It is too dissimilar to the real LR 13000, but that can be taken two ways, either the set is wrong or the marketing/licence is wrong. The price is also even harder to swallow knowing the much anticipated counterweight pieces don't weigh very much, and no metal hook. The new spools would have looked much better not being white (they look like prototypes) and it still has all the downfalls of control+. 

16 minutes ago, Maaboo35 said:

Sariel's review is up. Think this is the first set to receive a zero-star rating in any field!

 

I found it a bit odd that the zero stars was for authenticity, when it's quite mechanically authentic for a crawler crane. Unfortunately Sariels view of authenticity is only skin deep, focusing on the looks only (despite having a separate score also just for the looks) whilst ignoring the mechanics, which again I find odd for a Technic review.

Edited July 25, 2023 by allanp

[pleegwat]

26 minutes ago, kbalage said:

I won't drill them for sure until they will be available on B&P :)

Why drill? A simple density test should be conclusive. Submerge one in water, check how much displacement you get. Significant metal content should get you well above a gramme per millilitre.

[kbalage]

17 minutes ago, Lemon said:

Just hold a magnet next to it.

Tested with a quite strong magnet, nothing. 

[JaBaCaDaBra]

oh well, Joe Average will love it and buy it while Lego is ROTFLATO and calls us cheap hair-splitters

[howitzer]

At that size there's no way it includes metallic core, unless that core is tiny, in which case, what would be the point? I've handled my share of small metal pieces and I can tell from the size alone that the part would weigh many times more if there was a metal plate or something inside.

I'm also not sure how the plastic would behave if molded directly over metal, the difference in shrinkage would probably warp or crack it.

[Toastie]

44 minutes ago, pleegwat said:

Why drill? A simple density test should be conclusive. Submerge one in water, check how much displacement you get. Significant metal content should get you well above a gramme per millilitre.

Yup. Then check with high density ABS (or other high density plastic material) properties.

Water will not do any damage, ;) at least when the core is safely enclosed.

Spoiler

 

Ah, the core of the weight ... Uranium (regardless of isotopic composition) is would not show any ferromagnetism - so the strong magnet test would fail. It appears as if the same applies to Plutonium ... maybe it's in there? Would explain the cost. Both do emit alpha particles, so any ABS shield should do the trick - for a couple of months ...

 

Yes, not meant to be taken seriously. Will I buy a $700 set? Never. Ever. Not even with that core in the weights  

Best,
Thorsten

 

 

[howitzer]

1 hour ago, allanp said:

I found it a bit odd that the zero stars was for authenticity, when it's quite mechanically authentic for a crawler crane. Unfortunately Sariels view of authenticity is only skin deep, focusing on the looks only (despite having a separate score also just for the looks) whilst ignoring the mechanics, which again I find odd for a Technic review.

I found the authenticity rating quite baffling too, as there's a lot of realism in the mechanics of it, even if at some areas it's left wanting.

[kolbjha]

Simple estimate of the volume of the counterweight:

7 x 11 = 77 cubic studs (cs), minus the following:

Roundoff "corners": all in all around 0.75 cs

Cutouts: 4 x 1 cs

Areas on the backside: 2 x (2 × 1 x 0.5) = 2 cs

Miscelleaneous: 1 cs

So all in all 77 - 8 = 69 cs = 35.328 ccm.

Density = 41 g / 35.328 ccm = 1.16 g/ccm, slightly more than Lego ABS average density (1.07).

 

[Toastie]

6 minutes ago, kolbjha said:

1.16 g/ccm, slightly more than Lego ABS average density (1.07).

Safely within margins of errors/manufacturing! Nice calculation, appreciate that.

OK, I was wrong on the period 7, block f elements in the core ... 

Best wishes,
Thorsten

[Bartybum]

3 hours ago, allanp said:

I found it a bit odd that the zero stars was for authenticity, when it's quite mechanically authentic for a crawler crane. Unfortunately Sariels view of authenticity is only skin deep, focusing on the looks only (despite having a separate score also just for the looks) whilst ignoring the mechanics, which again I find odd for a Technic review. 

Sariel's authenticity score for this is frankly idiotic, considering that the set functions more or less like a crawler crane. Zero stars should mean absolutely nothing is authentic, which is plainly obvious to not be true. A more reasonable value would've been two stars, as far as Technic set authenticity goes. He's wildly inconsistent

Edited July 25, 2023 by Bartybum

[TeamThrifty]

20 minutes ago, Bartybum said:

Sariel's authenticity score for this is frankly idiotic, considering that the set functions more or less like a crawler crane. Authenticity should've been at least two stars, as far as Technic set authenticity goes. He's wildly inconsistent

His reviews are fuelled by bitterness... i find them very poor. He should sulk less and find a happy place.

[Timorzelorzworz]

3 hours ago, Mr Jos said:

I can see this set end up as a tower crane pretty soon with these frames.

If Lego is clever enough, they reuse the parts for a smaller tower crane future set. With one Hub in the back as counterweight and 3 motors for hook, trolley and rotation. 

With 7 stud block size for the frames, a potential crane won't bei very large, like this

https://bricksafe.com/pages/timtimgo/22013-tower-crane

 

 

 

Edited July 25, 2023 by Timorzelorzworz