howitzer

My first Arocs I got for 74€ Anyway, I'll be sure to buy the instructions once you get it complete!

Hmm, I never had any problems with it. Of course it's not exactly swift in turning and you have to be very careful with all the hosing, but that's what you get when you route 8 hoses through it. I'm not sure how it could be done better... As I understand, the Unimog had similar problem except much worse, and Arocs was praised on improving the slewing so it's actually usable?

It's not so black and white though if you look at the three biggest sets ever: 42082 works very well and I understand that 42100 is also very much functional and playable. 42055 is also a marvel of Technic engineering, even if it requires careful construction to work (and even then has its problems, but at least nothing breaks even if it jams). Then you have also 42043 which is widely regarded as one of the all-time best Technic sets and is also quite large. The technical problems seem to be concentrated on the largest car sets, while some of the mid-size car sets (like the 42077 and 42096 you mentioned) are functionally quite boring. 42111 on the other hand seems pretty good set even if the subtle curves would be better rendered in System. 42109 is apparently quite functional, though it is absurdly expensive and not that great looking. Everything you said about the Ducati is true though. As for other machinery, it's not all roses in the mid-tier either, as operating the 42097 would also be endless knob-turning and the outriggers were a joke. 42108 is a bit underwhelming even if it's functionally adequate. Yeah, pneumatics is where Technic really shines and the dumb battery box is needed badly. A set combining these with a compressor would be really great, and even greater if it included the 1x11 cylinder.

When I first read reviews and other experiences about Sian I got the impression that functionally it's essentially the same as Bugatti, except designed better, so I'm a bit surprised to see complaints about Sian's gearbox etc. now couple of months after release. I don't own either set nor I plan to as they are not interesting to me but both are meant to represent the pinnacle of Technic design so I do follow the commentary on their features and flaws. Land Rover on the other hand was from the start noted to have serious issues in its gearbox and the serious flaw in Osprey gearbox indicates there's something amiss in the Technic department of TLG. The concrete mixer appears to be pretty adequate average set with no obvious flaws, though it left something to desire in detailing. Volvo hauler seems to have some issues too, but it surprised with its innovative gearbox, though apparently the software could be better (calibration issues etc.) Ducati is almost universally praised even if it also has some minor flaws. Hopefully next year we see something that's both innovative and well designed, like the Liebherr last year (the price tag prevented me from getting that one though.) I just bought me a Saturn V in misb condition and a second Arocs, both at bargain price, so I don't think I'm going to get any of the new Technic releases this year. I was going to get the Osprey, but we all know how well that went.

Lack of extension cables is indeed a severe limitation, but hopefully an TLG will be release them in the future. If not, I'm sure someone will start making unofficial cables at some point.

Oh, I thought there was some problems in manufacturing new chips according to the original specifications, but it's nice to hear that identical-sounding new chips are being produced.

Yes, that's probably what they referred to, but is this even a true problem? I mean, why would you buy PU components now and not use them until 30 years later? I find it highly unlikely that 9V system components were bought at the time with the idea that they'd be preserved for use today, and those that are today sold as new probably come mostly from unsold leftover sets that have been forgotten in stores of retailers. Yes, they still work, but is there any need for them to work? Maybe if you wanted to restore an old set for collection purposes but beyond that, I'm not sure why anyone would even want to use those parts, as both PF and PU are superior in every way to 9V system, not to mention 4,5V system before that. Of course, there's no one stopping you if insist on stocking up on PF and never moving on to PU. It's just that technology marches on and at some point you'll run out of replacement components for the obsolete systems. PF Servo is already quite expensive and it won't get any cheaper. PU is also only at it's infancy and while it really does have some serious drawbacks compared to PF, they will probably be addressed in the future. Also, while the protocols and operating systems on today's mobile devices will become obsolete some day, they will probably be hacked to work with newer devices too. If you consider for example the PC games of the 90's and even earlier, there are many ways to play them on today's hardware. Only if you insist on having something really specific like the sound chip of the original Commodore 64, you're either out of luck in for some very costly shopping.

Yeah, I just bought myself a second Arocs for 115€, so now I have grand total of 2 of these precious cylinders. Maybe I should one way or another try to get me an airtank too as it seems really useful in some situations and to complement my collection of pneumatics parts.

This. I don't buy any Lego electric components with the expectation that they last for even 10 years of use, let alone 30. Unused parts can be preserved to be working 30 years later but if you're going to be actually using your PU motors instead of just storing them, they will wear out long before there's any danger of software being discontinued and becoming unusable.

Thanks for the tip! I'll do some sorting and see which ones I can figure out by myself and then try to take a good photo of the rest. I don't have any other camera besides a phone, but sunlight should be doable.

Not sure if this is the correct topic, but I recently bought a bunch of used Lego, and I was wondering if there's any way to easily identify the colours of various pieces? I know there are colour charts and such, but comparing to them doesn't really work for some colours, as you can't be sure your monitor is displaying the colours correctly. I have no idea about the sets which these parts come from so no help there, though most I can identify by comparing them to other parts which I know the colour for certain.

The two 1x11L cylinders to lift the blade are indispensable here, but I wonder if the third one could be replaced with a large 11L one? I know the small one is ideal here, but switching it to more affordable one would bring the parts cost down a bit... Also, is the airtank necessary or could this model work without it?

Very interesting! I was surprised to see 40T gears losing to 16T gears, as the latter has many more moving and sliding parts so intuitively it ought to have higher friction, I wonder what's the explanation here? I wonder what the effect of significant load would be on the results? Distance also matters, as with chain and bevel gears you don't really need to add any moving parts with increasing distance (unless you count the supporting bearings of the driveshaft) but with the spur gears even a small increase in distance immediately adds moving parts.

Funny thing, consumer protection of defective goods is still in effect, BUT I think it's the retailers who are going to be responsible for refunds. As the set was never officially released, it means the retailers sold whatever they sold without authorization from TLG and they could claim no responsibility for the flawed design. But yeah, whatever the reason, TLG messed up big time here. Of course probably no one will ask for a refund, considering most sets were apparently sold to AFOLs knowing what they were getting or people intending to make big money on secondary market.

This is what I thought too when I heard about the design flaw. My guess is that the design flaw is what forced the withdrawal of the set but meanwhile they used their ethical guidelines as a public excuse to justify the withdrawal while hoping it would cast them in better light in the eyes of the public, as compared to situation where a recall would've had to been made due to the huge QA failure.