Technic General Discussion

[Jim]

3 hours ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

and it works like a charm. 

This box (checkbox)

[zoo]

Just now, Jim said:

This box (checkbox)

Yea, I got confused. I read it like "the next BWE".

[Ngoc Nguyen]

I found a website that has the full retailer's survey for 2019 2H in Chinese. I'm not sure if I should or am allowed to share it so I just put this info here.

[Jim]

28 minutes ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

I found a website that has the full retailer's survey for 2019 2H in Chinese. I'm not sure if I should or am allowed to share it so I just put this info here.

PM me. Let's find out.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

So I guess I kinda got the greenlight from Jim, so here goes:

https://wjx.cn/xz/31231844.aspx

The full survey is in Chinese, but it is selectable, so you can just put the whole thing into Google Translate. This survey was sent before the Toy Fair revelations, so some of the set names still have the CONF thing, like 42100 CONF Elephant. By now most people already know what the sets are, so there's no harm I guess.

There is also a section for Lego Hidden Theme, which is curious.

[TechnicRCRacer]

Cool! I am really excited for ‘Playgroud Swivel Chair’ 

[Rudivdk]

6 hours ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

There is also a section for Lego Hidden Theme, which is curious.

It is the "Hidden Side" Theme, a new theme where you use an augmented reality app together with your physical build to create new play experience (free translation to LEGO's official advertising texts, I have no opinion on it myself...)

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Finally got my hands on the Unimog. A brand new sealed one by the way. I'm not really keen on this set, and it sat unopened in my room for 2 weeks. But then, I wanna see if there is something good in this. So let the build begin.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Now I understand the importance of color codes in the undercarriage of 42082. Several steps into the Mog's undercarriage and I sudden realized I put the motor and the gearbox on thee wrong side, which means they face the rear instead of the front.

[Rudivdk]

3 hours ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

Now I understand the importance of color codes in the undercarriage of 42082. Several steps into the Mog's undercarriage and I sudden realized I put the motor and the gearbox on thee wrong side, which means they face the rear instead of the front.

I guess some people in TLG had the same sort of experience and started looking for 'foolproof' building solutions. It started with the 42070 of course (well, as @Jim proved, it still was not fully foolproof...), and then took a next step in 42082.

Can't say I feel bad about it, it gives identical parts in different colors in a single set which is a plus (opposed to the former strict colorcoding per type of part in a set) and it breaks the repetitive feeling somewhat since the looks of an identical subassembly are a little different.

[Ngoc Nguyen]

That also means I put the central transmission gears the other way around. It's really fortunate that I detected the mistake early. If I had been any later, I would end up with a Unimog that has the drivetrain linked to the steering and the HOG...

[Rudivdk]

2 minutes ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

a Unimog that has the drivetrain linked to the steering and the HOG...

I can't help but think of one of those 'auto-steering' pullback toycars, where rotation of the wheels/drivetrain induces a zigzag steering movement... Would be quite funny actually on something the size of the Unimog

[Ngoc Nguyen]

Deleted

Edited March 7, 2019 by Ngoc Nguyen

[Ngoc Nguyen]

I finished bag 2 of the Unimog today. I discovered that the construction of the cabin is a kind of cheating, as it involves the flex between the parts to force the connection. The ceiling of the cabin is properly connected through perpendicular connectors, which means it stays on a horizontal level. Therefore, technically it cannot connect to the inclines of the windshield. But for some reasons the instruction tell me to do so. That would leave the connectors in a permanently bent state.

Edited March 11, 2019 by Ngoc Nguyen

[Ngoc Nguyen]

My Technic car collections now include 42000, 42077, and 42096. There's a shop near my house that sells a new 42039. I'm feeling ambivalent about getting it.

[Jim]

6 minutes ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

My Technic car collections now include 42000, 42077, and 42096. There's a shop near my house that sells a new 42039. I'm feeling ambivalent about getting it.

Get it

[Ngoc Nguyen]

2 hours ago, Jim said:

Get it

So that I can put Dark Azure on 42039 myself without waiting for you 

Edited April 5, 2019 by Ngoc Nguyen

[JonathanM]

42039 has a bunch of great C models available for it (including a lawnmower), and the B model is great. The main model is just OK in my view - pretty similar build to 42077 really, as I guess is expected. I enjoyed building the B model more.

[Jim]

14 hours ago, Ngoc Nguyen said:

So that I can put Dark Azure on 42039 myself without waiting for you 

Exactly!

[Ngoc Nguyen]

This thing looks really fun. I think the LUGs offline meetings can host this.

In case you can't view it, it's about people playing soccer with actual cars as players and CAT excavators as goalkeepers. They use a gigantic soccer ball. I think Lego fans can do it with their RC models.

Edited April 7, 2019 by Ngoc Nguyen

[Yevhen]

It's not Lego Technic, but...

[zoo]

When building a rigid chassis, how high to you rank the 5x11 lift arm frame (64178) as a useful/vital part? Do you wish you had more of them in your collection?

I just realized that they are not that common in sets and I'm trying to figure out if I should add some more of them to my collection.

Edited April 17, 2019 by zoo

[suffocation]

I use them a lot since they're fairly rigid, have plenty of attachment points and, obviosly, double as differential & bevel gear casings. On bigger models I like to reinforce them with vertically mounted 5x7 frames, 3x5 dogbones and 4x6 bent liftarms.

[Erik Leppen]

Interestingly, I use 5x11 frames much less than 5x7 frames. In some cases, the extra 2L bits often have the holes facing the other way than I want them. The closed rectangle shape without the sticky-outy bits somehow feels more logical in most situations. One of my mobile cranes has a chassis made up of a bunch of 5x7s in a row.

Also, the closed rectangle shape often is more versatile to place in all kinds of directions, also because, similar to bent liftarms, they have perpendicular holes in the corners. In many cases for example, the 5x11 is used horizontally, but the 5x7 is used in all three planes.

These are a few of the reasons why I really want those new 7x11 and 11x15 frames, even though I have no direct use for them yet. They have the same design as the 5x7, but as they are larger, they will probably take up less space compared to the distance they cover.

Two really good uses for the 5x11 are:

• differential case ( @suffocation mentioned it already)
• connector for turntables

In these cases they can be better than 5x11 because the added ends enable to connect long beams to create a 1-stud-tall structure that holds the diff or turntable really rigid and provide access points in 3 directions.

The other way a 5x11 is vey useful is when you need the end holes to be in that direction. Having 2 adjacent parallel holes also allows a lot of connections with all kinds of useful smaller parts, such as 2x4 L beams. In a WIP I haven't posted about yet, I used them like this

and used these 2 last holes to add a connection with 3x3 T beams. But you also notice the holes on the other end are not used.

I don't know. I have about 12, and I'm actually never short of them. Also, they have one side with the small cutouts from the molding process, where the inner edges are really thin, which is kind of a weakspot that somehow the 5x7 doesn't have.

Edited April 17, 2019 by Erik Leppen

[aeh5040]

2 hours ago, zoo said:

Do you wish you had more of them in your collection?

Err, yes.  But that applies to every part!

I also tend to use 5x7s more than 5x11s though.

Edited April 17, 2019 by aeh5040