Alternator

Oh no... oh no no no no noooooooo! I mean I knew it was coming, but I'm just not ready to have that discussion with my bank manager

It looks like the control is fantastic... But my eyes are watering at how much this thing is probably going to cost! It is probably going to blow the cars out of the water in terms of cost? Though if it doesn't it will be a very likely purchase for me

I'm quite a fan of older technic - it had this nice raw quality to it, but then that could more be about culture at the time as well as my own age. These days I think we might be a bit too spoiled with the theme, to some degree I'm struggling to keep up with the sets. Ironically I was able to breath a sigh of relief when last years 42070 didn't capture strong interest from me. But now we have this year and I want the Volvo, the Crane, and the Chiron... and suddenly things are very expensive, not to mention I'm also somewhat interested in the pneumatic set, and the forklift... I think perhaps the B model isn't quite as much a feature for technic as it used to be, which I miss. I do wonder if this would be the case if the B model instructions were still included with the set (as opposed to being a download), it could also be impacted by the large use of stickers now-a-days. But I think with how many technic sets there are each year it would be hard to also have compelling B models as well. (I'm thinking back to the 8868's B model that had a continuous claw/liftarm motion that would automatically cycle if I'm remembering right... an A level feature on a B model).

It looks like a fun set, but sadly I won't be picking it up - partly due to footprint, and partly due to price. I've basically been skipping the amusement ride series of sets for those reasons, but I do quite like the models from the line

Personally I want my Lego sets to have consistent colouring for the particular model. I don't really agree with the need of colour coding to make it easier for kids; I don't think ease of build is really a selling point in the technic line, rather complex builds that require precision. And surely kids who are interested in the technic line are there for the challenge (I know as a kid that is one of the things that attracted me to technic... "back in my day we had to cut the tubing to length, and only had black axles that we had to length check before using"). Sadly technic is not as popular as other lines, but it does have a solid fan base, and I would argue that is where technic should stay focused. People who have trouble with finding the correct part (especially given numbered bags) are not going to be able to cope with the 3-dimensional build process of most technic anyway, It already requires a great degree of precision, right down to how fractionally tight or loose a gear is on an axle. That said its up to what Lego thinks works best for the market; for me, I avoid purchasing the over the top colour vomit sets (there are already too many other sets I want to buy) but I can tolerate the odd part with a confusing colour choice.

You did pretty well to cover the cost for the new one outright! I had considered the approach of selling the MF to raise funds / space for the new one; but I just don't think I can part with it, even if it means skipping the new one. For me I had been waiting on a Snow Speeder, a Blockade Runner, and Star Destroyer... Snow Speeder check, just got the other two to go now.

Cool! It does look like an improvement, but me personally I don't think it is a large improvement. I do own the 10179, and there are perhaps 3 flaws that I would like improved. 1. The underside 2. No Interior 3. The armor plating on the top side hangs loosely (an aesthetic solution but not a structural one that irks me a little). The new version's big improvements seem to be some better contouring in a couple of spots, more greebling, and the interiors. But I would not have said that greebling or contouring on the 10179 was ever really deficient. The part count to me is a bit of a mixed bag, one one hand it has brag factor and I haven't checked the ppp but maybe it is really good?? But on the other hand to achieve a similar looking model as t the 10179 it uses a whooping 45% more parts and costs significantly more due to this. The two sets appear to have the same dimensions... I guess the interior may account for a very big portion of the additional parts. That said I do like that it now has interiors, and I really like the forced perspective hall effect (as a compromise to having the actual halls...). Oh and I also quite like the minifig assortment, it's good that they have both the classic and the new versions (I'm a classic fan) Sadly I can't justify the huge cost of this set or the display space. If I didn't already own the 10179, then I would probably get this. But $1500 NZD is massive (I can't quite remember but I imported the old one for $1100 landed just after it went out of print). The one thing that does tempt me to say yolo (or is that yolt? given I've already built a UCS falcon) is that the 10179 was a great build, I spent a month or two after work putting that thing together, and I'm sure this new one will have a great build experience and satisfaction factor too. So grats to those who didn't manage to grab the original and can afford the hefty price point... now I will wait and hope for a new Star Destroyer

It looks different enough Bruce, but yeah not my cup of tea. Good to see an NZ kickstarter

Well what ever ones opinion on the Porsche is, there's no denying that this has been a great year for Technic fans... if not a potentially very expensive year

I'll take back my concerns about this set - I think the functions are good and make me want this set. As to the design, I could picture some cosmetic modding of it... But also I'm not too worried about it not looking like an already existing BWE, I don't know much about them but I got the impression they are all somewhat unique anyway (like do they have a cooky cutter style?), so this could be a Lego styled BWE

It's like when you get media glimpses of the Lego Vault.

I've gotten to thinking an interesting question would be for those who have actually made their purchase ( and built the model) whether or not they regret that purchase? and whether or not they bought before knwoing about the gear box sometimes not working? I suspect very few are in fact regretting even if an argument can be made about some of the flaws in the model.

I'd also point out that there are issues with most of the flagship technic models Tubing on the AROCS Lag on one of the motorized excavators tracks Excessive strain in the mobile crane trucks gearing Etc... I just think in the case of the porsche the focus was more on the modelling side, the size, the build experience etc...

Are we sure that Lego didn't invite a group of people not on the design team to try out the build and experience of the set?! Sure it was probably internal people... But think about what type of person wants to work at Lego... I mean it seems like a great solution to get one of the guys that gave this set a negative(ish) review, but what about those that didn't give it a negative review, there are still people out there that are really excited by this set as observable by the outstanding rating. Though it would appear that Lego has temporarily pulled the online sales due to issues (speculation on our part of course), if so that means that they would consider a mistake has been made. But it could simply be that, a mistake rather than a process issue, people are only human after all and this is a subjective and creative endeavour. Looking at other technic flagships they've all been satisfying, so in general I think Lego's process must be working, maybe (probably) they deviated from the process with this one for obvious reasons (not ones I agree with, but how I would do things does not mean it's the right or only way). This last comment is a slightly pointed comment, but I mean it to make people think and hopefully not regret their buy/ no buy decision. If you followed the discussion on this set, we all already knew what it was about. Build experience and looking like a big Porsche car. Not features! Even TLG took pains to talk about the build experience and the little dinky brief case In a "technic" set. The only new info I can see is that the gearbox is not 100% reliable, And Jim and others have been able to delve deep and really articulate the nature of the set, but we already knew the broad strokes. I mean I have a 42009 that has stopped working because the gearing has siezed up ( those autoextend outrigger feet require quite a lot of torque through the chain of gears)... But I'm still glad I got the set. In this case I can't swallow the price point (if it were inline with other flagships, then I would definitely get it!), but others of you could, so do stop and ask yourself clearly what has changed, and it might honestly be the issues discovered, or even that now the info is cemented you're able to think clearly on the question of to buy or not to buy. tl;dr, community sentiment is like the tides of an ocean, swayed by the moon, which has changed position between pre and post release... If you wanted a technic Porsche to go with your other Technic super cars, TLG have delivered that, they just want a lot of money for it... TLG seemed to be more about the look and build experience with this set.

It amazes me, but I see the same thing happen with people selling lego sets over rrp when the official lego store has plenty in stock of the item anyway. No idea who does the buying in these situations, I hope it is someone who has money to burn rather than someone who doesn't know better... Or worse...

A bit off topic, but that AROCS is a fantastic model imo... I was surprised at how much I liked it, initially I was thinking to skip it due to similarity with the Unimog, glad I didn't... I supose that sentiment does give me pause with the Porsche, but for me it comes back to the price, if I could pick it up at AROc price, I'd probably buy it for what it is

I get the rough principle, but I don't believe it can be blindly applied - which is quite literally how it would have to be applied here, unless there is some kind of differentiation on the outside of the box. I don't think an opened box is going to have more value than a closed one. Also there are plenty of errors in Lego instructions that I don't think such a thing would hold a lot of novelty interest. Perhaps some rich person in the future wants the Porsche Lego set to go with their new Porsche - but chances are Porsche themselves will be happy to oblige those individuals (one would assume they'll have a stockpile stored away). Though I guess if one were hoping to make money from buying a Lego set, it would be buying one that flops which people then decide after production ends that they must have it... bit of a gamble though.

I'm actually surprised by the number of no buys by people in the thread - I don't know how I feel about that - sad I guess. Although I don't like the direction if this set is to be the harbringer of above flagship technic models to come (that's just me), I find it more distressing the idea that there is a Technic model at this level that isn't popular. Since coming out of my dark ages, I have never seen a technic flagship viewed as anything but awesome, even if the model wasn't for everyone (technic fans). I have sat and thought about this and putting the disappointing on the functions to one side, I know there is one true thing - I would love to have this set sitting alongside my other flagship technics and Lego super cars... if not for that price point...

@Saberwing40k Those are my feelings too, except that I consider TLG are really the ones with a final say in this, it was them who released this set. I'm more or less at peace with this set now, and have simply decided it was not targetted at me despite being a technic fan; there are still a lot of people really excited by this model. Sadly I also have some concerns about the BWE (functionality wise, though this is very much more likely a purchase and my concerns are hopefully not founded), but the other mid to large technic models this year look great :)

Could you add a shot of this car in full next to the 24 hr le mans? Although At $600 nz i'm looking like a pass on this set... I still suspect the model will really impressed in a display line up. P.s. Thanks for the balanced and thoughtful review, and props for also sticking to the embargo!

Oh, didn't realise there was somewhere ahead of NZ... We've got 1hr left to go before June 1st... think I'll go to bed and see if the review is up tomorrow.

I do understand it is a phyiscally big set, so I'll be paying attention to the review to see if it has some unpassable feature - but at this stage it is looking like it wont be a purchase unless it remains available for some time and drops in price. Sadly in my country an extra premium appears to have been added to the price of this set placing it at the same cost as GBHQ and Mindstorms. It's frustrating for me as Technic is my primary Lego theme (I do collect others). I don't like them bundling non Lego features into a set (the book) and then selling it at an extreme price (like I said we even get an additional premium added to the already high price)... If I wanted a car book, Amazon has me covered (there's heaps of ones for Porsche), I'm not really fussed on a LEGO branded car book and so that causes a disparity in that the set has extraneous elements I don't want or need pushing the price up even further. It is a free market (kind of) and that's the way things go, I'm not forced to buy it, but as a fan I will still take my right to voice my opinion on the pricing too. (noting I'm lucky enough to even be able to contemplate such purchases) End of the day I do want this set, but having just experienced the Vive (not owning one) - I think I will be refocusing my finances.

Toyworld The Base Hamilton is doing a 20% off on Lego (and other stuff in the store is also discount 20 - 50%) as per a toyworld email I got (I haven't been in to the store). I phone and the two big sets I'm after are conspicuously not on the shelves (GBHQ and Brick Bank) - although that genuinely could be due to stocking as I haven't seen them on shelves anywhere as yet just online. Anyway there probably will be some notable big sets available (call first be my recommendation, and also confirm there is a sale going).

1) I signed up online when I made an order from shop.lego.com - we don't seem to have stores in our country that run the VIP program (I live in New Zealand) 2) Virtually no benefits, I do get points when I buy lego online (as I said the program is not run in stores here) from the official site that can be used to make sets ever so slightly cheaper - but Shop.Lego.Com is rarely cost competitive as they basically don't discount for our country, so it comes down to the "exclusive" sets that normally don't discount on rrp in shops either which actually annoys more than anything and is leading to me skipping sets I would otherwise purchase now. It is also a pain because in our country we get an absolute extortionate shipping charge ($40 - $80) unless our order is over $400. Put mathematically that is in the best case a shipping charge of between 160% at the lower end to 20% at the upper end. I find the system basically unuseable in any active or responsive way (i've given up on the online store more or less, and by effect also the VIP program) 3) It doesn't influence my buying unless I can find a way to effectively use those points (seldom can), I do enjoy getting emailed about upcoming special sets from Lego directly (keep doing this :) ), but I usually am already aware of such sets 4) Actual discounts I could use in my country would be a big one, a mailer with more Lego info, points that don't expire, If you were to want to do something exclusive? perhaps competitions for VIP only members (that don't require them to buy via the program, unless you fix the postage and provided a decent discount to make buying online a sane choice), Easier access to those promotional polybags for VIP customers? It can leave us in the lurch here because, in my case I've already bought a huge amount of sets from them and can't justify concocting another $400+ order through the official site which kills me on the discount side (to avoid the $80 postage charge!!!)... sadly they don't really have close to my order history since most Lego I buy only makes sense to do so outside of the VIP program (still from official sanctioned and supported Lego retailers though). 5) I don't actually want any extra special treatment as a VIP member when in communication unless they want to give me free stuff for getting in touch, otherwise I want Lego to treat all it's customers well - I've bought a large amount of Lego most of which was not via the VIP program (still from official retailers) so I would want to be a valued customer anyway! (noting that I've informed Lego online of a faulty Linear Actuator recently - and they got right on it and are sending me a replacement one so I'm quite pleased that they do take care of their customer!)

Ah got ya! I just saw they even have substeps inside substeps inside steps...