D3K

Will pick one or two up if I can get out to the TRU here outside Bergen! Not that big a fan of the model, but great for parts for making other cars!:-)

Looks great! I would imagine the four functions of the superstructure gearbox are 1. Winch 2. Elevate boom 3. Extend boom 4. Direct power through the turntable to the chassis gearbox, which will -- 1. Extend outriggers -- 2. Deploy outriggers Also, doesn't it look like they alterede the boom of the crane compared to the preliminary, fuzzy picture? I seem to remember the sides of it covered by yellow 5x11 panels, rather than the new style 3x11 with the pin holes. EDIT This looks like a perfect crane to make fully RC, as it seems to have lot of room for some fancy solutions!

Holy, I am trying to wrap my head around MATLAB as we speak! Hope to never have to resort to that tool for building Legos:-) EDIT; A little late with that post I see...:-P

I too would like to see these pictures, and a review by you L.I.N, is always a good read as well:-)

I would definately do that, rather than pay a ridiculous 45$ a wheel. I wouldn't even mind paying the €150 I see the cheaper ones go for! Only problem is; 95% of the time I shop at bricklink, the seller writes the cost of the goods on the outside of the envelope, on some sort of customs declaration papers. Of course, this is the right thing to do, but as I shop mostly from stores located in Europe and the EU, and Norway not being part of the EU, it quickly becomes pricey! This is because the maximum tax free "mailorder-import-total-value" here has been the same since the late 1970's, at just over the equivalent of € 20 (and that includes shipping costs!). So with the Euro swinging up and down with small margins compared to the Norwegian Krone (NOK), I can plan it to be just below NOK 200 (~ €24), and by the time the parcel reaches Norway, the Euro will have gained some strength again, and the converted cost would be, say, NOK 205, and all of a sudden I must pay the government an extra NOK 150 in VAT and taxes. This has happened on several occasions, and it effectively inhibits me from ordering large sets or large orders of parts at a time (if I place an order for a total of NOK 2000, I might end up paying NOK 3500) Really sorry for going so far off topic here, I just needed to get this off my chest. Also, if anyone has a leftover 8466 they would sell me and "ship as a gift", please don't hesitate to PM me! Anyway, back on topic; as the front wheels on this model are the same as the rear wheels on the former two backhoes released by TLG, the wheels from, say, the 8297 off roader would be just a little bit bigger, and might work with some minor reconstruction?

Looks fantastic! :-) Well, actually it looks finished as well! Now go find out if it floats!;-)

Isn't it 3x4x7 ? Anyway, I know it's one stud longer than the m motor, so hopefully one would be able to replace an m with an L without to much reconstruction. In many cases, with an M, you "lose" a stud anyhow, as the front is the only place with pin holes (so you need to attach it to a liftarm before you can put in the gear), whereas the L motor effectively eliminates this by having pin holes on the sides as well.

8053 is great w/o PF, as long as you replace the black double bevel gears with cranks of some sort!:-) Also, 8455; obviously. I've never owned any of the super cars, so I wouldn't know, but they all seem great up until - ironically - they made one with PF (8070). another set worth mentioning is the large backhoe grader from the late 80's, which really means something special to me at least:-)

That's what I was going to suggest! Rebrickable really is brilliant tool, I am too using it now to find out what I'm missing to build this model Looks like I have most of it, except 3 LA's, the speed remote and of course the rear wheels. Are there any other wheels that have a roughly similar outer diameter?

Are you registered on rebrickable?

I am truly impressed! You have such a unique way of building, and the amount of detail is truly astonishing! How much do you spend to make something like that?

Congratulations! :thumbup: Hope you will keep us updated about how you will together with TLG develop the final design! Really hope the "Off-Road kit" will be included! As this will be an actual official set, have you thought about persoonalizing it even more, with regards to sticker design?

This is pretty awesome, haven't seen it before! I managed to build one in less than an hour just now, by looking at the photo and the video! It was actually pretty easy, and I'm sure you'll figure it out with a little trial and error! Mine is obviously not identical underneath, but it works like a charm! I suppose the most important thing is to get the geometry of the legs correct, as well as bracing the gearbox. EDIT: Here is a picture to better show you the underside (my version)

I too really like the 8043 B-model, much because of the speed and fun it gives you! Gearing it down to make it slower is probably not too difficult I would assume. I also liked the 8053 B-model (harbour crane), mainly because it's something completely different from most all other Technic sets! The 8868 B-model was also great!

I just finished Nathanael's Pony Car today, and it is absolutely fantastic the amount of functions in such a small and elegant package! I have never before built a super car (neither official nor MOC), but if the Concept Car is as good as the Pony Car, I would definately reccomend it! As for the Vampire GT, it seems to pack even more functionality, so I will try to get the parts to built that one in the future!

Great review, it sure brings back memories! This was the last LEGO set I got when I was a kid, guess I saw myself as too old afterwards, and moved over to other things. In '92-'93 I was 7-8 years old. After my return from my dark ages, I have located most of the parts from my old 8868, and all the pneumatics work. After some cleaning, the batterybox and motor worked as well. Even the rubberbands still hold up, 20 years later! This set is truly a pinnacle of Technic design, and alongside the 8880 has to be the best studded official set ever made! Take a look at my studless interpretation of what it might have looked like today! Even comes with a steering wheel! Only thing I didn't like was the design of the driver's cabin windscreen

Looking very much forward to this! Will you sell it through Paul's website? Have you gotten an estimate on when the instructions will be completed? Thanks!;-)

Will this have any effect on regular PF motors, like the L's and XL's? Thanks!

The recovery truck looks something like one of these I was actually planning to build a MOC based on the truck pictured, but never got to it...

With great power comes twice the weight!

This should be interesting! Nothing new per say, but I am really curious as to how the crane will look! IMO it can't just be a 8421 with LAs and PF instead of pneumatics and buggy motor, it has to have some innovations! Also, the monster truck better come with some pretty hefty wheels! As for the tow truck.. well, it has been done several times before.. still, really looking forward to see what they've come up with this year! All in all; can't wait for the first pictures!!

6090! Got to start collecting the 1x2 rubber thingies then!

It is pretty awesome! Is it in production yet? Anyhow, on topic; I imagine the relatively small size and intricate curvature of the general Venom GT/Lotus Elise/Exige will be a challenge to replicate accurately..? Still, would love to see this made in Lego! EDIT Maybe a challenge for Crowkillers, Sariel or some other high-skill car builder ?

By chance, I clicked on this forum thread, and I saw an interesting piece I haven't seen before..: Is it new, or has it been used before? Sorry if this is off topic, but I didn't want to start a new thread just to get this answered..

In case any of you don't know what a (Pugachev's) Cobra maneuver is;