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Being a civil engineer, I see these machines everyday (even drive them around when no one's looking :) ) Seeing both models side by side gives me the urge to get/build both models. Wondering if Fyredog did instructions or detailed photos of his build? Fyredog's red excavator looks like the equivalent of a Komatsu PC400 and the 8043 more like a PC300 a 230. Personaly I prefer the red one as it looks more to scale and bulkier. What gives it away is the carrier's scale compared to the superstructure. Good job! -Nick

Very nice simple mod; I also think we have'nt had a Technic set with double axle, double wheels for a long time. For some odd reasons i'm obsessed with 8264-B, since I got it originally last year, I've been trying to upgrade it for a bigger, better version; alas no satisfying results. Even bought a second and third set to make it extra-large. I think over the last year, I'm at the 4th or 5th iteration of of the model. My ultimate goal is a 8264-B melded with the 8258 at 25 studs wide. Anyway, enough rambling, very good mod; For everyone else, Ithink the 8264-B is one of the best b-models in years! -Nick

Awesome, Love the turntable, and the LAs directly coupled to the PF-motors; simple yet very ingeneous and effective. It's scaled perfectly and looks like a million bucks! Congrats! -Nick

Hi all, First large-scale MOC-WIP, this is the first iteration of my design exercise. This project started a while ago with my fascination with 3 section booms; how they worked and their capacities etc... With some research around the interwebs and after a couple of trial builds found out that most of them are gravity "retracted" using strings. I tried to find an another way to make a 3 section boom using a "loop" of chain links ( Brickshelf ). With that not-so-easy project, one of the by-product I found out that a 3 section boom has tension extending and retracting. On the same day I saw one of those flatbed with a piggy back forklift. There you go, here's the result. note: i cheated on this pic, forklift is held up by a liftarm at the back; more explanation further down. Flatbed is inspired by the 8264-B but supersized. Geometry for the tilting platform was a real pain, a lot of trials and errors. Flatbed: Length : 69 studs Width : 27 studs Platform : 45L x 27W 1 PF-XL (drive) 2 PF-M (platform + steering) Picture of the coupling system Forklift: Length : 26studs (+11 Forks) Width : 23studs Height : 27->43 Forks reach : -2 -> 32 3 PF-M 1 PF-XL Basically it's the 3 section lifting geometry of the 8416, modified to use lego chains to achieve "self-lifting" on the back of the flatbed. It works in theory, and in practice, it needs a little help. But there's way too much flexing and tolerances in the boom to work really nicely. Conclusion: Not very pretty, but the principles work, Upcoming design upgrades: Flatbed: 1- double LAs and motors to tilt the platform 2- gearing down of the direction 3- widening of the "tracks" for the coupling system 4- truck cab 5- adding winch on platform Forklift: 1- reducing weight 2- change PF-M to XL on lifting mechanism 3- double the chainlinks 4- reducing flex in boom mechanism 5- moving the tilting LAs 2 studs back 6- improve steering mechanism Other Pics: Brickshelf Folder -Nick

Please do tell!!! I'm only 5 1/2hrs away and don't mind the drive! And it's been a while down to the Tdot. PM, me. Nick

Hi all, I'm a recent technic AFOL and came out of my dark ages about a year ago. I was just wondering if the #8258 Crane Truck will eventually be available in Canada. It was never available at S@H nor any local retailers. It that common practice by TLG? On different websites (including TechnicBricks) it was annonced that the set was going to be 150$US and 200$Can. According to Brickset, it was available for 6 months in the US (July to Dec 2009). What are the possibilities of a "re-print" or a re-release of this set? I vaguely remember that the 8297 Off-Roader was only available in summer 2009 in Canada (can someone confirm that?) even though it was the 2008 flagship. The prices on BrickLink are pretty prohibitive for this set; the cheapest in North America is 240$US not including shipping and customs. Personnally I'd rather buy from S@H. Is there anywhere else in the world that this set was unavailable or TLG only hates Canadians ;) Furthermore, will TLG do the same with the very nice #8043 Excavator for this summer? Thanks to let me vent my concerns, -Nick

Hi all, first post on EB. I was bored one evening this week and also wondered if there was an another way to build a multi-section boom. Having seen solic's nice conventional crane with extendable boom, it gave me a "push" to find an alternative solution. Finally I resorted to lego chain links, and IMO the result is not that bad. Nick