mx2000

I didn't mean to compare them on pure lifting performance. Sure, a crawler crane with a lattice boom is easier to replicate with Lego, but just as a set in general, 42042 feels a lot more satisfying than 42009. You mentioned a lot of the issues of 42009 already. The extension range of the boom is just plain sad in the default setup. Lifting power is extremely limited because of over-aggressive application of clutch gears. Overall, there were a lot of questionable design decisions and compromises that did not seem well thought-out (like why put the gearbox for the supports on the other side of the vehicle... or why put so much effort in motorizing the supports at all when the result is a wobbly mechanic moving at glacial speeds). The crawler crane, on the other hand, does deliver on its promises, at least for me.

This is probably closer to how these things work in real life, at least the ones I have seen. These cable diggers usually have two cables, one connected to the interior of the shovel and one to the exterior though some pulley system. The cable does not loop back to the boom though, as far as I understand this (I imagine this would make switching to a different shovel very complicated). Like this one here (Liebherr calls this a diaphragm wall grabber): http://www.liebherr.com/CH/en-GB/region-CZ/products_ch.wfw/id-20843-0/layout-PopupTabWide/item-ImageGalleryImage13281_85_5/measure-metric/tab-13281_85 Of course, in real life, these things work because they are extremely heavy (like 10t or more for bigger ones).

I bought this model yesterday and finished building it today, and I got to say, I'm pleasantly surprised. So much better than the lackluster 42009 crane. At first I thought it might be slow or underpowered (like 42009), but not so: Everything moves at a respectable speed, things are geared down properly It can actually lift things, about 450g at the closest position with the long boom before it tips over (PET bottles are a great load for the claw) All functions work under full load, you can raise lower the claw/the boom, drive and rotate without the motor giving in or gears jumping. The gearbox a massive improvement in playability. Think of it as a non-remote, mechanical version of the remote from 8043. It is set up so that claw/boom and drive/rotate can be selected at the same time, and feels really fluid to operate (instead of the usual "select function, flip battery box switch on, flip switch off again, select next function, etc." method). This may be the first time that having only a single motor does not feel like a cost-saving measure. The gearbox is actually the highlight of the set for me in terms of innovation - it is really quite something, and I hope this becomes the new standard for Lego gearboxes. The bidirectional operation is achieved by switching the usual direction of transmission - instead of the motor driving the axles, the functions are connected to parallel axles and the motor drives two rows of connected gear wheels, one on each side of the axles, going in opposite directions. The direction is simply selected by pushing the gear shifter to either side. Remarkably, this ends up being a lot simpler the the usual gearboxes, that need a lot of complex gear trains to get the power from the tightly packed gear wheels to the functions. Here, the outputs are simply axles sticking out of the gearbox, neatly spaced one stud apart. Also, apart from the motor connection, the gearbox is completely planar and very regular, making it actually quite easy to build. I'll try to add a picture.

Huh? Both games sold many million copies, both are considered to be among the best PC games ever made. It's is an extremely well-known franchise, has something of cult following, and has spawned a surprising amount of merchandise (heck, there are plush Companion Cubes...). Also, we are not in the 80ies anymore, platforms are not replaced every two years. You can buy the original Half-Life from 1998 on Steam and start playing. Lego seems to have a lot less concerns producing licensed sets for any semi-decent movie "franchise" (Prince of Persia?), so popularity should be the least concerning issue here. I think it is in fact the other way round, Portal's huge popularity was the only thing that kept them from rejecting it right away. Based on the reasoning given for previous rejections (you know, when they still bothered to give an explanation), there is a strong sense of "not invented here" syndrome. They could not even be bothered to reject these projects in time, so the internal priority of Cuusoo seems to be really, really low.

To those who have received this message from Lego customer service: Did you get a shipping confirmation already? I didn't get one so far, and I do not think that Lego ships on weekends. Seriously, what is going on at Lego logistics? There is a limited number of units (that they knew many months in advance), and there are open orders. I don't get why this is a several-month process to match these up.

Finally got a mail from Lego Support that they will ship mine (ordered August 9) this week. i don't know what took them so long, but it's good to see that they are keeping their promises.

Hmm, mine still says "backordered"... and I'll be really pissed if they cancel my order :( Especially since about a week ago the local Lego store called and said they had received some... I did not pick one up since I had already ordered it online. On the other hand, they reopened ordering several times after I ordered, and counting to 20,000 should not be that hard - I really expect them to fill all orders that went through.

I saw the same thing happening yesterday, before it became available again. Maybe there is still stock left?

I was there today, it is a really nice experience (though no free minifigures, I suppose they already gave all of them away.). There was a section with "Build your own minifig" (3 for 5,99€), I don't know if that is common. It was also good to see that the store was really packed with FOLs of all ages. Apparently it is a lot busier than they expected (at least thats what the sales guy told me). There will be another store opening in Vienna at Donauzentrum (subway U1 Kagran) that should be a lot easier to reach for people without a car. I think it is supposed to open this fall, though I have not heard an official date yet (but you can already see the Lego sign on the storefront there).

It just went from Sold out to Out of Stock again in the Austrian S@H - placed my order, currently it says expected shipping date Sept 19. Crossing my fingers that it will actually work out.

I also saw Mindstorms out of stock at a bigger retailer nearby. I wonder if they will go with wireless communication for the motors/sensors. Would certainly make it easier to lift the 3+4 limit on the current generation NXT. Maybe with built-in infrared, in combination with the new "V2" IR receivers from the rock crawler to connect to existing PF hardware?

Exactly the same thing happened to me! Except that I noticed it by the end of book 2 - at this point, the tail is only connected to the main section at the very bottom, so with some flexing and bending, I could squeeze it in without disassembling half the model. Generally, I really like the model, very swooshable, very light and sturdy despite its size. I also like the very compact gearbox design, and that they used liftarm linkages instead of the usual axle&gear connections for the landing gear and the ramp. Definitely a good choice for Christmas.

Very nice review! Are those the pneumatic hose connectors (BL) from the Unimog used for the feet? Certainly some creative part use.

The counterweight? Clearly, this thing is suspended on a string. There's no wing flex, and its way too stable in the air. You can also see it when it tilts the propellers 45° forward mid-flight: Depending on how much power it has, it should either go forward real fast or go down real fast.

Just finished... very nice build. I'm probably going to get the motor, moving the bucket manually gets old fast. The steering seems kind of stiff - I find it much easier to just grip the loader by the cabin and steer by applying some rotational force. It's my second set too - I bought Mindstorms a couple of weeks ago and have been hooked since (I also learned that NXT motors are nice, but also huge and very hard to integrate into normal models ...).