Pictorial Review: 8479 Barcode Multi Set

[Lost_In_Noise]

VROOM!

8479 was released in 1997, contains 1280 pieces, and features remote controlled programmable driving arrangements via a barcode sheet.

It was $164 on release, I paid $90 for mine. The set comes a booklet with two instructions for main and alternate model, a code pilot guide, and a barcode card:

The code card is a printed piece of plastic which is quite large. This made shipping this set impossible from where I first ordered it, and very expensive once I got a hold onto it in my part of the world. The front has barcodes for different pre-programmed orders....

...and the back has a piano outline, making it possible for the truck to make many different engine sounds.

The additional Code Pilot booklet shows how to use the Code Pilot with the barcode sheet, and how to program your own movements with the truck.

Last in the booklet is an example of how to queue up multiple orders:

Interesting pieces

The "Code Pilot" control box has two electric inputs at the front, and buttons to record, play, stop and change program. It houses 6x AA 1,5V batteries, and is exclusive to this set.

The wheels in this set are 6 of the 32019s (left), and 2 6594s (right).

Another special part is the older heavy 9V mini-motor, which is the same as the one in the Power Puller set.

This is an Electric touch sensor, which is otherwise only seen in ROBOLAB and Robotic sets.

There is a total of 65 gears in this set if you count the differential. I think it's the set with most gears. The ones in the front are two 24T clutch gears, which prevents the engine from stalling, and to the right is a Timing wheel from the NXT series.

Well, enough facts, let's get started!

As most pre-2000 Technic sets, this begins at the bottom.

Multiple layers of plates makes the chassis strong. The first gear is placed at step 6 out of 50 total for this model.

The differential along with the drive axle is placed at the rear of the chassis.

Steering in place.

Additional plates reinforces the top.

These "Plate, Modified 1 x 2 with Door Rail"s will keep the motor in place in the finished model.

The steering rack for the front axle. You can see the touch sensor in the back.

The function switching knobs utilizes the flex system.

The knobs themselves are made of thin liftarms.

This gear rack in the front will connect the steering wheel to the steered axis.

An electric extension cable runs from the touch sensor. It will eventually be attached to the Code Pilot.

Steering wheel is connected via a set of 8T gears. The shortest axle is for the HOG, and the longest is for the drive motor. The axle in the front is for the steering wheel.

The front bumper is made of a blend of Technic and system bricks.

The rear wheelbase has its own submodel assembly.

The first green pieces are added.

Rear end complete, now for the third axle, which is not driven.

The axle is fastened to the rear end by a 10 axle, and then mounted on the main chassis.

The tilting bed mechanism holds a lot of gears. An initial 24T clutch gear prevents the engine from stalling.

A set of 8T gears drives a gear rack for the tilt.

Ah, geary goodness. This contraption is placed on top of the chassis.

An insane amount of gears between the tilt mechanism and the driving ring.

Wheelwells finished. Tiles in the back insures that the tilting bed will operate smoothly.

This gear rack is placed on top, along with an extension cable for the PF.

Another gear rack for the tilting mechanism. Dual 8-24T gear setup insures the machanism can't be backdriven.

Another layer of black Technic bricks are applied to the body.

These tiles with 1 stud provides support for some Technic beams.

The axle connectors here will... connect to the front arm of the truck.

The base for the seats in place.

These two racks provide the support for the RC unit.

The 8T bevel gears meshes, connecting the drive axle to the Timing Wheel, making the vehicle able to measure how far it has driven.

Note the "3 Axle with stud" locking the vertical bricks in place.

The steering wheel base is made of thin liftarms.

A HOG wheel is placed on top of the cabin.

This rack will keep the windshield in place.

The dashboard has some buttons, and says LT-97 on it.

Placed along with the rear supports for the cabin.

The front windshield is made the same way as 8880, making use of hinge plates to simulate a curved shape.

And some exhaust pipes.

This is starting to look like a real truck.

Next is the grabbing arm, which uses the flex system to its full extent. Right side is made first.

It's attached to the 8 axle which has a 16T gear on it. The power cord for the front touch sensor runs along the arm.

The grabber holds the second touch sensor, making it able to sense when the load is in the grabber.

Here it is attached to the arm. You get an idea of how it will work.

The left side arm is made in exactly the same way.

Both attached. You can see how the end of the flex cables are attached to the towball pins on each claw arm.

Seats and mirrors.

The roof is mostly made from plates.

The "Pole Reverser Handle"s clicks onto the vertical 8L beams.

Lastly, adding wheels before the bed will be made.

The bed is essentially a simple cage put over a brick foundation.

A total of 7 green 10 axles, 1 10 axle , and 4 of the 4's are present in this set. They help outlining the bed. It feels like the axles in different colors (other than black/grey) are lighter than the other. It may be I'm only imagining this.

The sides of the bed are made the same way as 8480s cargo bay doors; using bent liftarms and axles. Both are made the same way, only mirrored on each side.

The rear wall is hinged with frictionless pins at the top, which lets it swing open by itself when the bed is tilted.

The finished bed is placed on the truck chassis. A 10 axle connects the gear rack for tilting in the middle of the bottom.

Finished. It looks like your average garbage truck.

Let's test the functions: "I order you to pick up this wheel!"

"Very good. Now pick up two at a time! And fast!"

"Turn around. Let me see how you do that again."

"Very good! You may proceed to the next trash-filled area."

"So this truck is really RC'ed? Well, I wouldn't rely on it."

"We can't possibly carry more of these tires. We have to dump them, do you see any good spots?"

"I can't see anything really, but what harm can a few tires do?"

"So I was looking for a nice outfit in DBG, but they only had this fancy fireman suit."

"Hey, at least you ain't wearing a White Top with White and Green Torso with Rescue Pattern, and have to carry a knife wherever you go. Even in the shower!"

"Wait! Who turned off the light?"

"Augh!"

"Incoming!"

"Aw!"

"My..."

"Articulated..."

"Ball Joints."

"Way to go thrashing the party guys! Thanks a lot! If I'd only had fingers, I would show you one."

Conclusion

I'm having a hard time comparing this with anything, it's just so unique. If I limit it to "Vehicle with loading abilities", I end up with the following:

8109:

8264:

8052:

8273:

8110:

This is the hardest set I have ever constructed . There are so many errors to be made, and the chassis is extremely flimsy in the beginning. You can't really test if everything works before the model is finished, and the code pilot is placed. I'm a bit puzzled over this set. I can't get it working right. The engine seems to be either undersized or broken. It can barely lift the wheel loaded on the front claw. The command queue-up only works sometimes. It works well enough if you assign the different functions manually, but that wasn't the point of this model.

Thanks for watching/viewing pics. Feel free to comment, critizise or ask any questions.

High-rez pictures are availible @ BrickShelf.

Edited September 30, 2012 by Lost_In_Noise

[SheepEater]

Great review.

Absolute must-have, one of my favorite sets.

[Kevinatorrr]

Nice review! I remember how much I wanted this set when it came out, but my parents would not get it at the time. I notice that in one of your pictures, the wires are frayed, and I am wondering if this might be contributing to your power issues.

[Lost_In_Noise]

Nice review! I remember how much I wanted this set when it came out, but my parents would not get it at the time. I notice that in one of your pictures, the wires are frayed, and I am wondering if this might be contributing to your power issues.

That's the wire for the front grabber. But the car should still drive though... I think.

[Phoxtane]

It seems that prior to the introduction of the studless Technic beams, Lego designers were afraid to try running drive axles down the chassis of vehicles instead of chaining loads of gears together. Or, was there no good way to do that prior to their introduction?

[Rijkvv]

I think they did that for gear reduction as well. Then it can be asked why not use a worm-gear however...

For me this set was a must-have as well. I remember the difficult built as well. I had placed a part wrong, but the biggest mistake was to not test the gears. I discovered the error when it was finished, resulting in taking apart half of the truck.

I think this is a great set, one of the best TECHNIC sets ever. It's in my personal TECHNIC top 5. The truck looks really nice (green!), and features both a working (and adjustable) steering wheel and a HOG. There are some stickers, but none of them are STAMPs. It looks the front tyres have a sort of Ackerman steering, and I like the use of the Flex system. This must be one of the last sets where it was used in a function.

It's great to see one motor picks up a tyre, raise it above the dump bed, and loads it all without switching anything. Turn the switch on, and the dump bed will dump it's load (strange you didn't have a picture of that). However, that's when everything works properly. I had issues with the motor as well. First I noticed it stopped too early, resulting in not dropping the tyre, but later the motor was not running at all. I tried it with the train controller, but without success. I also read several occasions on the internet where the Code Pilot brick broke down. With either a broken motor or a broken Code Pilot, this set loose it's advantage and turns into an expensive parts pack.

So, all in all, I think this is a great set as long as the electric components work. It has an original colour, nice looks and great to see some alternate models as well. All in a single book, as opposite to at least three books for the main model and no alternative model available for current sets. But make sure the electrical components work fine (of course you can't check this with MISB sets).

[Samanen]

Great review of a great set. The only thing I don't like about these older sets is the setup of the drivetrain. They really should have used a normal driveshaft rather than those gear-setups...

[trekman]

I have it and at first I made a mistake in building. it is one of those unforgiving models, where a mistake will cause a complete stripdown and rebuild. My set was used, and the code pilot did not work well through battery corrosion. But there was a lot of interesting features in the model and was a very challenging build. Best of all it was green, and added to my few green sets.

[Lost_In_Noise]

I had to edit most of the pictures, removing the studio lines and so forth. Hopefully they look a bit better now

Does anyone know what happens if you upload new images to brickshelf with the same filenames? Will the files be replaced?

Edited September 30, 2012 by Lost_In_Noise

[CP5670]

This was an excellent set despite a few flaws. The Code Pilot is of limited use since it has only one output, but it had some cool sound effects and was pioneering for its time. My favorite part is how the pitch of the sound changes based on the white timing wheel. It was probably the last set with almost entirely studded construction. Those clutch gears are also the rare variety with light gray centers, which have a higher clutch resistance than the usual dark gray type.

I think the battery contacts on the Code Pilot may corrode over time. Mine still works fine but I have to rig up a wire in one spot between two contacts. I've heard of the early versions of those motors failing as well, although mine hasn't had any issue. There is a special pre-programmed barcode in the manual that contains all the functionality for the truck.

It seems that prior to the introduction of the studless Technic beams, Lego designers were afraid to try running drive axles down the chassis of vehicles instead of chaining loads of gears together. Or, was there no good way to do that prior to their introduction?

It was actually done quite frequently (8868, 8880, etc.). This model's long chains of gears were a bit unusual for its time, although for the drive train it made sense due to the location of the motor (as opposed to a usual piston engine).

[Blakbird]

This is one of my favorite sets ever. It is totally different from anything else. My copy works fine, so I'm not sure what went wrong with yours. With so many gears, you need to be very careful that everything is turning smoothly at every step. For example, my dumping bed will backdrive that whole gear train under it's own weight if you release the driving ring.

Also, don't forget the alternate models. This is really a universal set so it is not just a main model and an alternate. Rather, there are 4 complete models you can build and they are all fascinating. You should definitely try them all.

[Phoxtane]

With so many gears, you need to be very careful that everything is turning smoothly at every step. For example, my dumping bed will backdrive that whole gear train under it's own weight if you release the driving ring.

That could be the case with the lifting action. Or, the driving ring for engaging the lift action isn't actually engaging all the way, allowing it to slip under enough stress.

[Samanen]

Just finished building my set and I have to say it's just wonderful. Probably one of the best sets ever! Alot of functionality and great looks, not too many green sets out there. It's a true must-have for a Lego Technic fan!

[allanp]

This set has some great aspects to it. The gearing is great, multiple 8t - 24t gearing down stages is more interesting and cooler than just a boring worm gear, although those are needed some times. The flex system is great and I like it when they us different coloured axles to match the bodywork, like in 8480 and 8448.

Edit: Oh, and a working steering wheel!

Edited December 16, 2012 by allanp

[Conchas]

IMHO this is one of the best Technic sets ever!

Thanks for the review.

[Lost_In_Noise]

You're welcome. I've got another one coming, but I'm also busy with christmas shopping...

Edited December 16, 2012 by Lost_In_Noise

[RohanBeckett]

dammit.. now I want it more than ever! one of the few remaining '90's era sets that I really want.

[mobi]

This is one of the best sets ever. I bought it from eBay in 2005 and it worked fine then. However when I built it again on 2010, I felt gutted when I discovered touch sensors don't work anymore and 2 electric wires had snapped at their connection points.

[Samanen]

Has someone made any mods to their sets? I think two mods that would make the model more realistic would be to put twin rear wheels on the drive axle and make a mechanically liftable boggie axle. The first one should be easy enough but the liftable boggie wouldn't be as easy to get to work well, as one has to make sure it's leveled with the drive axle when lowered. Ideas anyone?

[Erik Leppen]

Nice review of a great set. I got this as it came out originally, as a kid and I loved it back then. It has problems though. With the old power system I always had problems with contacts being very sensitive, which is a problem with the first touch sensor hidden deep within the model. If that one doesn't contact well, you're kind of screwed.

But aside from that, on a technical aspec this set is as close to perfection as things get. As a kid I always kind of loved the long gear trains, it "looks" technical when in motion, and I think it is more fun to build. Also, using a driving ring to switch functions wasn't that common back then, so that made it even more interesting. By the way, what your review doesn't really highlight is that the handles on the sides of the base of the truck, control both the driving ring, and the inner touch sensor. This way, by reading the sensor, the system "knows" the position of the driving ring. What's also interesting is how the same motor motion is used for both functions (the grabber arm and the container), meaning both have to take the same time. This might also explain the gear trains - it might have been the simplest way to get exactly the right relative speeds for those two functions. Also, let's not forget this model has a working steering wheel. I always found that a nice finishing touch.

By the way, it's also interesting to note that the set contains a 40t gear, used in only one of the four models - the buggy with backdrive mechanism. A brilliant little model. The other alternative models never really did it for me, but the buggy was cool. Although none of the alternative models come even close to the main model in my opinion.

Edited December 16, 2012 by Erik Leppen

[Carrera124]

I am still not sure whether I should open my sealed 8479 or not.

After reading this review, I really would like to build it.

[kieran]

I got about 70% of this set in a job lot I bought a few months ago, since then i sold on most of the bits like the code pilot its self, looks like I may have made a mistake, looks good and fun to set-up and play with, a but like half way between the control centre of old and the first Robot inverter sets. Nice review

[R0Sch]

This week I became the proud owner of an almost complete 8479 set, which I bought from ebay for merely 44 Euro with original packaging, inserts and instructions+bar code sheet. The seller said that the code pilot is not working, but upon diss-assembly and inspection it was clear that the PCB wasn't making contact to the batteries. I'm so glad I fixed it. So I tested the functions and am truly impressed by the number of programming functions and sounds that can be simply chained one after another. Very fun to learn elementary robotics. I'm curious how much better the NXT 3.0 is.

Too bad the set is not 100% complete and the worst thing is that 5/6 wheels have cracked or almost broken center axle holes (anyone know if this can happen naturally due to own truck weight and long shelf time). It seems the 32020 white rims are quite rare and expensive. I should have bought these, cause the price was ok: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-x-Large-LEGO-TECHNIC-WHEELS-TYRES-Tires-62-4-x-20-Volkswagen-VW-Beetle-RARE-/171320147347?pt=UK_Construction_Toys_Kits&hash=item27e379fd93

[Phreatobite]

I bought this set along with half a dozen other technic sets, boxed but without instriuctions and all the pieces in plastic boxes. I have no idea if all the parts are there but I'm hoping so. I will try and post pics when I come to build it. I have the FOS space shuttle to complete first.

[Duky]

i bought this this one week ago. Model is complete, but i don't know if the motor works correct. IMO it's slow. Any experience?