Gee

Of course you are right, there's no 14. Can't believe they make a 32 now, that's massive!

5.5 long axles?! It's all news to me. Where I come from the axles are only 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14! By 1/2 width liftarms, do you mean "thin"?

Seems the only real difference is that yours has reinforcement across the depth of the wheel and also it's got 6 holes as opposed to 3. Perhaps this was an upgrade on the original part to make it stronger?

So today I cracked open my PF stuff and had a go at motorising 8865's B model. It is very very crude and is nigh on unplayable, but it works after a fashion. I ran into the following problems: - The PF motors stuff is an uneven number of studs wide. - It's hard to get the axles to line up with studded bricks. I seem always to be the thickness of a plate out or half a stud out. - It's hard to get the gears to mesh correctly. Seems that whilst studless is obviously compatible with studded (same axle hole spaces etc) they're also incompatible in ways. Is there any getting round this or is that the way LEGO designed it so that people have to move to studless?

It looks better, despite not having changed much. Is there no way to get the swingarm 2 liftarms thick as opposed to 3?

Looks sweet! With a buggy motor it should be pretty quick too.

Top review again Jim lad. I gave this set "Above Average" for the following reasons: - It's a great set for kids, simple and with lots of functionality, plus 3 models so everyone can play together. - 2 buckets, tracks and 2 different sized wheels give lots of options. - Lots of potential to make mini-MOCs or 1 larger one. - 2 different steering systems. Things that I wasn't so keen on: - The excavator chassis is very similar to the mini crane that I already have (it's not a biggie, just a personal one for me). - The arm of the excavator looks very flimsy (but then it is a tiny model, so again, no biggie). The fact that it doesn't have sophisticated build techniques and is not that challenging is a good thing. As is the fact that you get 3 mini sets and not one bigger more complex one. The target audience needs to be borne in mind I feel. To be honest, I've probably echoed a lot of what has already been said. This is a set that I'll likely get. Will provide a useful stash of parts in various colours and looks like it'll be a good one to build and play with with my 4 year old (bought him 42010 for Xmas and will see how he gets on with that first).

Even just the Bedford VAL coach from the Italian job would be cool. It's no flagship, but as a medium size model it could have powered rear doors and ramps.

This set looks nice enough. Perhaps a blue cab with a red skip would've been nicer. As has been mentioned before, the chains do need to be on the side of the skip. I don't think that I'll be buying this one, I used to drive a skip lorry and so this brings back too many bad memories! I like that these sets do not come with PF, the majority of people have got plenty of PF stuff that they could use to motorise it anyway. Oh, and great review!

This is the one set that really tickles my fancy. Shame that the price is so damn high - the cheapest I can find is £250 in the UK for a used one. Perhaps the prices will come down a bit after Xmas, or is this wishful thinking?!

Yep, it's mostly dead skin cells. Lovely!

That's not a bad idea, you could get the Mrs' hairdryer on them afterwards!

That must be a right royal PITA to be fair! I know how much I detest it and my few sets are a drop in the ocean compared to your collection!

Sweet looking bike. My only thought is whether or not the rear swingarm can be made less bulky to match the real life bike better?

Got 42005 through the post today! Will refrain from opening it before Xmas day as it is kinda a present to myself (no-one else buys me anything - cue violins!). I'm interested in getting hold of a bigger set so that I have a stock of liftarms, but mainly the new style gears and differentials, the old ones won't last long with my XL motor I wouldn't have thought. I'm not too bothered by LAs, I have 8868 if I want to go down that route. I could probably push the boat out to £150, but spending upwards of £200 is out I'm afraid. From what I see of the 1H2014 sets, there's nothing that really takes my fancy. Whaddya think? Or perhaps I'd be better off getting the gears and diffs on BrickLink?

Both of those make sense (most functions have been done and so that leaves aesthetics and also an older person desires something that looks nice also [my Son makes cars out of normal 2x4 LEGO bricks that look bugger all like anything on the road but he's over the moon with them]). I think that whilst I am definitely a function over form person (in all things, not just LEGO), it will be nice to try and get a good shape to vehicles now that the body panels are available. My old studded sets do look very dated, but then again they are 20 odd years old! Re suspension, an example that comes to mind is suspension caster. The Unimog has been criticised for having poorly designed suspension and steering. I think that the main points are that it has negative caster and the kingpin inclination is wrong (nicjasno's YT vid points it out well). Whilst this is undoubtedly true, a very very similar setup is used in a lot of the crawlers I see (negative caster) and it doesn't seem to have much of a detrimental effect. Just thinking out loud here really. Amen to that!

I was a bit wary of cramming up the general discussion topic with all my daft ramblings. It may get in the way of other people's stuff and I didn't want to take it over! This is perfect though! Assuming anyone takes any notice! Haha!

Hahaha! Many thanks Jim!!! I must admit, I was feeling like a bit of a twonk keep asking questions. I'm kinda aware that a lot of the guys on here are damn near pros and my newb questions may just be annoying the crap outta them! Makes sense to have all my daft thoughts and ideas in one place!

Since coming back to Technic after approaching 2 decades away, what strikes me is that people are more concerned with the models (both official and MOCs) looking like the real thing. I was never concerned about this myself and was more interested in the mechanics of it and the features of the set. The aesthetics was always more a System/Model Team kind of thing for me. What's your thoughts? In addition, I'm amazed at the lengths that people go to to replicate exact suspension and steering systems into models from their real life counter parts. I imagine that due to scale and material used a fair bit of it would be irrelevant. How important do you think it is that a 4x4 mirrors the real thing mechanically vs performs as a LEGO model.

[uSED][AUCTION] - 5590 Whirl 'n' Wheel - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LEGO-Model-Team-Whirl-Wheel-Super-Truck-Rig-Heli-5590-100-Complete-NO-RESERVE-/271345647193?pt=UK_Construction_Toys_Kits&hash=item3f2d75fe59 99p at the moment.

Sounds a lot like a LEGO version of the Shanghai Maglev! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Maglev_Train It would be an awesome MOC, that's for sure. Far too much science for me though, my head hurts!

Thanks for the link Blakbird, must have missed it when I searched YT earlier. Indeed, simplicity triumphs, in my mind at least!

Good to know, cheers Blakbird. I must have misread a previous poster in that case.

Looks pretty sweet to me. The battery box on the back will surely help with traction. Will a standard chain happily take the power of the motor? I assume yes?

If you had one powering each wheel there's a good chance that it won't go in a straight line, I'd have thought.