andythenorth

Cabin lifts on the 12t knob wheel, connected to a 24t gear, probably via a worm. I was wrong about the 12t controlling slew, it's probably a manual (HOG) slew, that's more playable imho than a geared slew. Dokludi will probably have this replicated by Friday, it looks simple (in a nice way)

Steering is impressive. I've tried building 4 wheel steering with 3 modes, it's a hard problem (keeping the wheels in phase across the different modes is hard).

Manual pump behind the cabin. Steering on the cog at the rear of the chassis. Rotation (slew) from the exhaust stack. Manual raise/lower of the dozer blade, on a latching mechanism. 3 pneumatic cylinders for boom / bucket. Dunno how cab lifts...

How big do you think this BWE is? (It will be closer to minfig scale than 42030 scale, is my bet with no evidence).

From Brickset: "It looks something like the bottom vehicle shown on this page.", linking to http://www.thyssenkrupp-industrial-solutions.com/en/products-solutions/mining-materials-handling-industry/mining-systems/bucket-wheel-excavators.html Ha ha, I called it, several pages back. No €300 Bagger 288 for you lot. And I am glad.

And if those are all true, it would need to include a gold-plated unicorn for me to consider buying it. I'm neither rich nor poor, and I have enough disposable income to consider myself very very fortunate. But a £229 Lego car? No. Meanwhile, Volvo will be going BIG at Bauma in April. The mockup of the display stand is just a mockup, but see the duck (wheeled excavator) at the back? http://www.volvoce.com/constructionequipment/corporate/en-gb/press_room/construction_shows_2016/bauma_munich_2016/_layouts/CWP.Internet.VolvoCom/NewsItem.aspx?News.ItemId=151418&News.Language=en-gb

We don't know it is yet...

Or as my 4 year old said "and it's great that the Volvo gets built really quickly". Eh.

The Volvo is good, it's fun. Downsides: the boom and bucket performance are slow. Upsides: it's fun to build, looks good, and is strong. It also contains a full range of PF motors if you want to build other things. I saw no need for 3rd party tyres, others obviously have their own view on that. I don't have the Arocs, so can't comment on one versus the other.

If there is a new form factor for PF2 connectors, then... 1. TLG will likely make a PF2 - PF1 adaptor, as they did for PF1-9V power plates. 2. At worst, it's likely that fabricating a connector means cutting and stripping 10 wires, and re-connecting 8 of them, this can be done with small snips, a connector block and a screwdriver, doesn't even need soldering. So eh. Also, it's only toy bricks

[Way off-topic] So my kids are 4 and nearly-6, both boys (if that matters). In the last 6 years, I bought waaaay too much Lego City (too much disposable income, now regretting owning too much...stuff). They don't play with half of it, so we're selling it off to other parents looking for a Lego bargain. So what's my point? In the 'sell' box: - all of the city police stuff: police station, cars, vans, trucks, helicopters, but not the forest police station - most of the city and forest fire stuff: the trucks (which are very nicely done by Lego, but just not played with), the fire station, helicopters etc - most of the 'bad guys' hideouts and cars and so on. My kids like the idea that the bad guys get caught, it's definitely a story for them, but they don't play it out in Lego. - all the caravans, campers, taxis, the buses, buildings from City Square and Transportation sets including the tram, and some of the more generic cargo trucks and vans, ambulances, and some of the space vehicles - Creator houses Things they wouldn't part with in any circumstance: - the Arctic stuff - snowploughs, tow-trucks, the bin lorry, logging truck, basically any truck with functions, especially a tow hook - anything that looks fast/stylish, including sports cars and chunky off-road vehicles - any of the trains, ever - most of the planes, especially the VTOL logging one with a winch So eh, dunno, other kids will be different, but Lego's "fire/police are what small boys want" theory doesn't hold up here. I actually thought it would because, eh, it's heroes and bad guys and so on, but seems not.

If you want a technical project, go with coupling motors and using geartrains. Make sure you can disassemble the vehicle quickly to replace broken gears. If you want to build a fun powerful vehicle quickly, simply use one motor per wheel, and eliminate as much gearing as possible (including differentials, which aren't needed in this configuration).

Depends what your goal is. Two XLs will work fine from one battery box / IR receiver. If you're adding any other motors (steering, other functions), you might want a second battery box / receiver. Three XLs won't perform well on one battery box / receiver. Other factors: - there are different versions of the IR receiver, there is a comparatively rare 'v2' receiver, which I think handles more current. - battery type: I use rechargeable NiMH AA batteries at 1.2v, which gives 7.2v. You get more performance/longer run time from alkaline AA batteries at 1.5v, giving 9v. So I am using more battery boxes with NiMH than someone might need for alkaline. - more batteries = more weight. More weight = more tractive effort (pulling power - good for trucks), but also higher battery drain, slower, and if you're building a crawler, worse crawling performance over obstacles (more weight to lift, more likely to topple over or slide due to battery weight). There's no right answer for every situation, but it's fun to build and find what works well and what works badly

I have tried this approach before. 2 XL motors on the inputs for the differential will quickly destroy the 12-tooth gears in the differential.

L Motor - great form factor, many connection points - can make a very compact axle with one motor per wheel, almost direct drive, with optional gear ratios - quite fast, and adequate torque, but not super efficient: http://www.philohome...s/motorcomp.htm - relatively expensive See album + video here for direct drive with L motors: https://www.flickr.c...157649987860696 XL motor - large form factor: suits larger models. Needs placing away from wheels in smaller vehicles: means longer transmission, more parts, more to break, more power lost to friction. - slow and very high torque: needs gearing up to achieve decent speeds - so much torque that it will destroy technic gears trivially if blocked - relatively cheap For both L and XL, real-world power output is capped by current limitations on PF receivers (and probably battery box). This can be solved by using more receivers and battery boxes. e.g. I have - truck with 3 XL motors for drive and an M for steering, with 2 battery boxes and 3 PF receivers. - truck with 4 L motors for drive and a servo for steering, this has one battery box and 3 PF receivers. - truck with 8 L motors for drive, this has 2 battery boxes and 4 PF receivers The current limitations can be calculated by people who understand that stuff, I just test by trial and error to find what gives good performance.

My guess is that the Volvo (if there is one) will use the same wheel and tyre as the 42035 mining truck (dualed, so 8 tyres in total). I think this will put it about the right size to get a good throw length from the new long pneumatic cylinders. Wheel + tyre here: http://alpha.bricklink.com/pages/clone/catalogitem.page?P=56145c05&idColor=3#T=I&C=3 Compare to previous technic excavators, and imagine the use of those wheels, would put it about the right size relative to the cylinders, no? http://brickset.com/sets/list-3733

I am guessing at a compact bucket wheel excavator, something like: http://www.fam.de/generator/streamimage.php?cl=0&res=detail_stage_b&family=GER/tbt14/tbt140108b001 Or this http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/OTU3WDE2MDA=/z/DAgAAOSwNphWayfe/$_35.JPG They would suit the Arocs clamshell bucket, which I'd put money on Lego using. I have a poor track record on predictions though, so eh.

I think Huw from Brickset also goes to Toyfair, last year at least. 2017 thread should be named 'guessing, disinformation and whining', eh?

This is the main reason I'd sell them. The money would be welcome also, but eh, someone should enjoy them. I will likely sell 10, probably on eBay, as I don't want to set up a Bricklink store.

Yair, so nearly 10 years ago Power Puller wheels were about £8, and thinking of all the MOCs I was going to build I 'stocked up'. Fast-forward to now, and... With 2 kids, I won't have the time to build those mocs for about 15 years. Even if I did build them, increasingly there's something a bit weird about having cupboards full of 100% complete Lego models. I can't quite do the Sariel thing of scrapping every MOC after finishing it, but eh, I could at least swap wheels between MOCs on demand. I might have scratched the itch for big balloon-tyre vehicles enough anyway. I have 6 on this: https://www.flickr.c...157624454166047 And 8 on this: https://www.flickr.c...157644311005000 And then another 14 totally unused, in a box. Yes, that's 14 Power Puller wheels, gathering dust. So eh, I should sell them, right? Maybe keep a spare 4 or so because my kids love them, and eh, why not? But sell 10? They seem to be selling for about £20 at the moment. Highest asking price on Bricklink is about £36, but that's daft. Yeah, it's christmas holiday, time for navel gazing with questions that have obvious answers.

Haven't got this one yet, but built the 42030 Volvo today, and this is next (as soon as I find a £good deal ). For the Volvo, there was pretty much nothing I'd have changed, it's an outstanding flagship. The Arocs looks the same, or even better. So how could Lego have made the Arocs any better? The game has been raised continuously for flagships, but most have had flaws along the way (won't mention which because it raises heckles with those who love a specific set). So I'm wondering what's left to add? Question is specific to the Arocs btw, I don't want to derail the thread with wish-lists about supercars or whatever (please!) Game raisers Sophisticated, non-lame, interesting implementation of full suspension New pneumatic pumps New interesting parts, handy for mocs (strong turntable, outrigger frame, new bucket) Dual diff Finally a large-scale Technic dump truck with fully enclosed bed and strong enough to tip its load Not new, but flagship-worthy Dual rear wheels Myriad functions packed into one chassis: fully working crane, outriggers, (strong) tipping bed, tilt cab, opening doors, full suspension, inline 6 engine, steering, compressor Places left to raise the game? Full remote PF (drive + steer)? At this scale? Not happening. Gearbox in the transmission? Not happening, also not very interesting play function, realism for realism's sake imho. Working brakes (rather than wheel chocks )? Air tank? I'm on the fence about air tank and compressor, I'd rather have a manual pump when using an air tank. Fully rigged with lights, out of the box? Leaf-spring or fake-airbag parts, rather than coil springs? Compact locking diff? Can't see Lego producing such a dedicated part, nor it being both compact and strong (for PF driven vehicles). Better performance on the pneumatics? Yair, this is a bit of an armchair expert post, but eh. Thoughts?

I love mid-scale trucks like this

[bump] Finished building the Volvo loader today. I rate it as one of the best flagships in the last 10 years or so, and I've voted it 'outstanding' in the poll. Pros Build is fun, no boring repeating assemblies, no tedious gearboxes, and doesn't take too long. Only screwed up the build once...my four year old flipped the rear axle when I wasn't looking. I assumed I had the front axle diff in wrong, and disassembled before I thought to check the rear. Looks great. Works great. Got it for £127 from Amazon in an April sale (UK retail is £169.99). It's big, but not so big it doesn't perform well (no over-stressed parts or poor movement). Servo steering works much better than I expected from reviews. I find it totally playable. My four year old loves it and finds it easy to control. Strong - high boom-lift and bucket curl forces. It can flip the 8110 Unimog over and back again. Agile - will climb fairly substantial obstacles even without locking diffs. Cons Tradeoff for high boom-lift force is that boom-lift is slow. Possibly could be regeared. Travel speed is a bit slow. Another tradeoff against strength. Servo sucks power from other motors. The servo motor always does this in my experience, it's not specific to 42030. In a MOC, I'd give the servo a separate battery and PF receiver. If you want stickers, you have to choose A model, or B model, you can't rebuild between the two. Or you need a bricklink order for more panels. Not a problem for some of us, but eh, Lego could have taken better care of their customer (especially kids) there no? Expensive at full retail price. Very happy with the price I paid though. Performance probably higher with 1.5v Alkaline batteries, but yair, I'm running 1.2v NiMh rechargeables. Not buying and binning endless batteries. If you only like Technic sets with realistic / intricate mechanisms, or many many functions, perhaps this isn't the set for you, but for play value, looks, and a fun build it's great. If you want it as a source of parts, it's also great. I'd definitely recommend getting it while it's still available retail, and before the scalpers jack up prices.

I should have said 'sbrick site' not 'Vengit site' There's nothing particularly useful there, for something so expensive. 64 devices is mentioned. But how many devices per channel, what power limits compared to PF brick etc? I wondered if there was some spec page I was missing? EDIT: I found https://social.sbrick.com/wiki/view/pageId/3/slug/sbrick-official-wiki which I have to register for, not doing that. Sorry for off-topic.

+1 here. Off-topic, but I couldn't find enough info about sbrick (how many motors it can drive, per channel, total etc.) to spend £50 on one. Searched the Vengit site and searched threads on Eurobricks. If anyone has a link to that info it would be appreciated.