andythenorth

They're all a bit blah eh? Not bad, just not compelling in any way at all. Except the mog snowplough. I'm saying this as a parent, not an AFOL - there's not much here that my kids (aged 2 and 4) will really want. They have enough police cars and diggers. By comparison, there are some 2013-2014 sets they really want (trains, log truck, car transporter, race car, monster truck, and all the Arctic stuff). I know the purpoted rationale for why TLG keep making police stuff (sells to kids), but I can only go on what my kids say. They do like chasing the bad guys and putting them in jail. But they also like loading stuff up with cargo and moving it around, or playing out scenarios of car breakdowns, or holidays, or boat rescues. They're also increasingly wanting stuff like super-heroes, and the Lego Movie sets, compared to police-infested town.

Loving most of these. Have been having a break (stacking up too much lego in cupboards, where's the joy in that?), but plenty next year to like. 42031 - crane is ugly, truck is awesome. These tiny models are often really fun to play with. My kids will like it. The two pull-backs - bit of variation, both look good. Pull-backs are an easy thing to buy and let kids race with. 42035 :thumbup: Only hoping that this is a mini-model pre-figuring a much bigger flagship hauler sometime... 42037 - love bouncy trucks, colour scheme is unusual, appealing. 42038 - spectacularly ugly Looks really fun though. Guesses on the B-model? 42039 - looks fricking awesome. And all the green

The doors

PF isn't going anywhere. If you were concerned about it, you'd stock up on train motors. There will be vast numbers of receivers from Technic PF in the used market for years. The battery box and rotary remote are probably less widely produced, but they are unlikely to fail, again they will be widely available used for years. But PF is not going away any time soon - Lego recently released the L motor and servo, serious investments - in the UK at least, trains are quite widely available in shops, doesn't mean they're selling, but shows TLG are serious about trains being available in channel Also PF protocol is a published open standard, it's likely we'll see more community-originated hardware add-ons for it.

http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=307694 (twin-steer long-nose)

For climbing stuff, I'm figuring you can have too much motor power. I have an 8x8 with one L-motor per PF wheel, on a moderate reduction. It doesn't seem to need more power.

Got a video of the twin-motor RC train pulling around 22 wagons (didn't count closely). There is no extra weight in this engine, just 6 AA batteries. Uses the RC train motors which deliver about half the torque of the newer PF train motor. See it here (flickr video is a bit unreliable, sorry in advance) https://flic.kr/p/p18pTj Video is shaky - had an 18-month old child sat on my lap. I cut the video just before he sat down on the moving train. Big pile up, big tears.

I've never seen one of these in real life! Therefore smash the model! Realisms! Realisms! Realisms! You may not make anything I haven't seen in real life. Also http://farm8.static.flickr.com/7363/13299108374_6e035e5189.jpg http://www.rigsofrods.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=359765&d=1355679101

It absolutely depends on the wagon: - 2-axle wagons with a long wheelbase have high flange-rail friction in curves, which creates significant rolling resistance. - heavier wagons have higher rolling resistance, as you might expect. - wheelsets make a difference, if they have collected fluff etc around the axle they have higher rolling resistance It also depends on the engine: - heavier engines have a higher tractive effort. On a level track, more weight in the engine is pretty much always good. - two PF motors are roughly twice as powerful as one, give or take some electrical limits. But they will drain batteries twice as fast. - for the last couple of years Lego have shipped a thick traction tyre on wheels which provides better tractive effort than those used on older wheels. - the older RC trains used AA batteries which are heavier than the AAA in PF trains - more tractive effort, longer battery life. - battery type matters a little: alkaline are typically 1.5v (6=9v), rechargeables typically 1.2v (6=7.2v), this makes less difference than weight in my experience though. It also depends on the track: - flex-track has high rolling resistance - long or tight curves (180º), or s-curves sap torque (180º curves also increase chance of string-lining). I have a dual-motored RC train which pulls 22 wagons around steep curves (180º with s-bends at entrance and exit). The cars are a mixture of 2 axle and 4 axle, all quite lightweight. I think a dual-motor PF engine would lift 40 or more lightweight wagons on straight track.

Not Model Team. Greebling the Technic 8285 Wrecker doesn't make it equivalent to the Black Cat Truck. I can't explain why, but they're just qualitatively different.

Oh the scandal, Lego have just done a deal with Shell. http://brickset.com/sets/325-3/Shell-service-station

Looks just like a U20, I don't see the problem http://www.topspeed.com/trucks/truck-reviews/mercedes/2009-mercedes-benz-unimog-u20-ar129812.html

I can build for about 1 day every 2 months (kids, work), so progress is slow It gets tested meantime though...

My guess is that 2 M motors is overkill. You're much more likely to spin the drivers than stall an M motor. Depends on how much tractive effort you can get from ballast and traction tyres. You might also gear the axles together, rather than relying on the con rods. Slop in the con rods can cause binding (in my limited experience with Lego steam trains).

Nah Specs imply diffs front and rear on Rolligons. Steering brakes or steering clutches are just more to go wrong in the mud. Might be wrong, but none of the docs mention them.

Will be interested to see it floating Mine is at 1.9KG just for 8x power puller wheels and L motors. Built for pulling power.

Lifelites are neat. Good product, good people. They used to have a PF brick, but discontinued it. P5280200 by andythenorth, on Flickr

The 8860 is amphibious up to 4.5t payload. The Brute is amphibious up to 6t payload. The Super Brute spec doesn't mention amphibious. I won't be trying my MOC in water, it's got £££ of L motors in, more than I can afford to destroy Rolligons are boss, but so are Foremost, especially the Commander http://www.foremost....oducts/vehicles

Camera details are on Flickr page https://www.flickr.c...th/14264965852/ (scroll down) It's just iPhone, taken on a bright day, but not in direct sunlight.

There are three Rolligon 8x8 models. As best as I can tell: The 8860 has three degrees of movement: roll, pivot (steer), vertical pivot. There's an image of a yellow one on the NOV site, you can see the large roll joint, and the axis for the vertical pivot (directly under where the rear deck starts). NP Model 8860 built for use in Mexico(1).jpg You can also see similar structure on the 101060 5-axle unit here, plus what looks a large arch for routing hydraulic lines, suggesting a high range of articulation. NP 101060 N. Houston pipeline job.jpg I never figured out if the 8860 has suspension, it may just rely on the flexing of the tyres. Walking beams would slop around with a vertical pivot, leaving the unit sagging in the middle. There might be leaf springs in there though. Can't find a bigger original of this 101060, but you can see clearly how the vertical pivot works http://www.unusuallo...pg?fx=r_250_250 The Brute and Super Brute specs say roll and pivot. I think that means 'steer' rather than vertical pivot. There are some pretty good specs and images in pdf linked below. The Brute has front and rear walking beams, which makes me doubt a vertical pivot, and I don't see any structure for vertical pivot in any of the images I found. http://s4.e-monsite....nd-more-pdf.pdf Hope that's useful I have some higher res images saved locally, but can't post here, copyright issues. For the model: Looks like you're building similar size to mine. Prove me wrong, but I don't think the mini-LAs will stand up to it. I also had to move both LAs to the same side. Keeping them in sync on opposite sides is really hard, and you also have to get perfect geometry otherwise one will bind. Mine's a Super Brute, so no vertical pivot, but does include walking beams, motors directly on the axle. I think the 8860 is probably a more straightforward build, and might be more fun to play with (I think it will perform better).

Hi Doc, I have Rolligon info, but am heading out right now Will post later. Meanwhile: https://www.flickr.c...tream/lightbox/ Mine pulled a turntable apart Also video... https://www.flickr.c...in/photostream/

Cabover twinsteer (wreckers or otherwise) that 42008 might have been 'inspired by': https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2825/10989099586_7657b38379_z.jpg http://www.pinterest.com/pin/327144360402899216/ Those liftarms might be the same ones I missed out of the gearbox in the chassis, with the result that the gears can slide out of mesh. Oops. I swear I followed the instructions, but anyway... 42008 looked really good in the marketing images. I liked the green, the looks, and the combination of functions. Having built the set, it's pretty meh. I don't like slagging the designer's work, but something doesn't gel about this one. My kids (2 and 4) were really obsessed by it initially, but haven't gone back to it. It's got limited playability - the spades are weak, the winch is fiddly and prone to binding, the controls are awkward, the pneumatics are underwhelming. It doesn't help that it's up against the 8109 tilt-tray truck and 8285 wrecker, two of my favourite sets. It's not a terrible set, but nowhere near the playability of those sets. Nice green though and nice array of parts.

Are some of our memories of Model Team a bit rose-tinted? It wasn't all as good as Black Cat truck (which is the one I remember most) http://brickset.com/sets?query=model%20team Anyway, so I normally get bored by definitions, but I never got any Model Team as a kid (woe is me), so this kind of hooked me in. The most distinctive Model Team sets seem to have: - maximum greeble - working steering (but not many other functions) - chrome parts - playability & realism combined The most detailed Creator sets overlap with the least detailed Model Team sets imo. And the Mini Cooper looks like this year's equivalent of a Model Team set. Above all though, Model Team looks to me like scaled up City/Town, or more detailed Basic, rather than more realistic Technic. 1980s technic was about function and structure much more than form. Meanwhile a Basic set like this looks more like a Model Team precursor (10 years earlier) http://brickset.com/sets/722-1/Universal-Building-Set-7

Voted for.

I really like this and would buy it as an official set