antsiranean

That's a really jaw dropping ship. Amazing. Simply amazing. 250'000 bricks?!? Nuts. It must have cost like a small car? I'm astounded.

I really like it! The sheep are wonderful, so are the different landscapes. My imagination does the rest.

This is really nice. I would love to see a video of your work so far, I can't quite get to grips with how this transformation occurs. Video, please?

That's plenty of money you've spent, but it's a great model. I admire how you've recreated someone else's MOC (although I do admire Mahjqa more). Inspiring, both original MOC and COMOC (Copy Of MOC...). Or maybe MOCOMOC (My Own Copy Of MOC)... In conclusion: I like the MOC and respect HOCOMOC (His Own Copy Of Mahjqas Own Creation). Enough!

Really nice. One day, when I've got plenty of bits, I'll try something like this myself. It's really inspiring to see your work. Keep it up!

Finally out of my Dark Ages! After some delays, my front loader arrived this Friday, and building is on the way. It's just as fun, if not more, than I remembered. The going is rather slow, though, since I am building together with my 4-year old daugther. 11 steps in three hours, another 110 steps to go... She enjoys it as much as I do, and is surprisingly good at it. (Proud father... ) I had looked forward to a couple of nights building on my own, but that's not gonna happen. Now that she has started, she won't let me continue without her. Maybe I should get another kit, for just myself? Maybe 8258? Maybe a Unimog? I've seen the light, and I intend to stay there for a long time. Happy building!

The mod looks really nice, but I don't have the parts and buying them separately will cost as much as the set itself. It's not gonna happen Seing how much those things cost, makes me realise that 8043 is quite much bang for the buck, so I think that'll be next in line. If I really do get into Lego building again, that is.

So, I'm done shopping. In the end I bought none of the kits discussed here (unthankful, I know... ), but the 8265 front loader. It was suggested somewhere in the thread, so I looked it up and it seemed like the perfect compromise between price, parts and complexity. 8258 and 8043 ended up being to expensive, while I thought 8069 was a bit to small at just over 600 pieces. I found a new 8265 in a Swedish online store, seemingly the last off the shelf one in Sweden, so I got it. As pointed out, 8043 will be around for a while, so I might get it later. And if I miss out on 8258, I will probably be convinced to buy the Unimog by then. Thanks again, you've helped me out of my dark ages. Now I just have to wait for it to arrive, it'll be a long, long wait.

So, today it's Lego shopping day, for the first time in 19 years! I worked a very long (25 hours) day-and-night shift this weekend and at 5 a.m. sunday I decided that "OK, now I'm getting tired. The money I'm making the next few hours will be dedicated to toys for me". I guess you all know how too much work and no play makes Jack a dull boy... I'll go to the local toy store and have a look. Hopefully they've got a nice kit for me, otherwise I'll get it over the internet tonight. 8258, 8043 or 8069. Still can't decide. Wonderful! Thanks for all the comments, wish me good luck!

Question from newbie: I know what an MOC is, but what does the abbreviation actually mean? Probably not Militare Ordine del Collare, right?

So, I've written my wishlist and sent it to my mother: 1. 8043 - an excavator is an excavator and tracks are just too cool to ignore. Besides, I always was more of an excavator than a trucker. 2. 8258 - as someone wrote: eight wheels, that's a lot of possibilities. And its's big. 3. 8069 - seems like a really nice kit that just about everyone really likes 4. 8053 - maybe not as fun as the other, but eight wheels. And I'm a small fan of mobile cranes. I haven't gotten any real birthdaypresents from my parents, so with a bit of luck I might get something that I really want but haven't really dared to wish for in fifteen years. It'll be a while before I see them next time, but I'll be back and report then. Thanks a lot for all suggestions and advice, it's good to see that I'm not the only adult out there who still thinks Lego is great. And if I don't get it for my birthday, I might get it when I get my licence to practise medicine in a month or two. Or maybe, maybe, I get a second kit then...

Wow, thanks for all the answers and advice. So, it seems that for complexity I should go for 8258, for playability 8043. And if I ever want to get the 8258, I should get it now. But then, when it goes off the shelves, there will be the Unimog instead, which has a similar crane. 8258 doesn't have remote control, does it? Do I steer the crane with buttons on the model? On the pro side is all those pieces, and that it is really big. It seems that 8043 fits my bill: I can use it to pick upp small toys (although slowly), and it is a rather complex model. And should I get really into it, I might be able to lay my hands on a Unimog (if I read some nice reviews that convinces me it's great), if the 8258 isn't available anymore. I'll sleep over it, and then all that remains is convincing my wife (or parents)... Wish me good luck.

What do you mean with "'real' techic sets"? I thought they all were? I saw the 8110 Unimog, but it doesn't excite me that much, perhaps because I never saw one in real life. I can relate to a motorized excavator or mobile cran, but not to a unimog.