Trango

Would love to see the B-model being the old Defender, but I doubt it. Diff locks would be fantastic but I don't think it's ever been done on an official set, same for selectable 2WD / 4WD / Hi / Lo. Opportunities are endless here, but realistically I'll likely be your typical fake engine, suspension and 4 wheel drivetrain. Unless they go all Claas Xerion on this set and surprise us with some really creative mechanisms. No need for RC when there is so much opportunity to show off intrinsic workings of real world mechanics.

At 20cm wide it's 20% less than 42056, so 1:8 scale. The massive splitter & diffuser makes it slightly relatively longer, so the math adds up 50cm versus 57cm. It'll still be impressive to showcase.

Extreme Adventure vehicle pleasantly surprised me, in a way, I can't quite grasp. The usual functions are just average... but the tiny working details are so cleverly designed it's a joy to build (those doors!). A lot of very genius ways of implementing classic things that ain't all that special, like a winch. You can feel this has been designed by a proper AFOL and it just feels different compared to "regular" bigger Technic boxes. +1 for Claas and Arocs, get the Arocs first cause this one will go first too.

I've got pretty much every flagship. I've know Lego Technic for its full 40 years of existence. I've got a room with flagships exposed. I'm a sucker for off-roaders, big tires, authentic axle design and differentials. They had a great opportunity here to build a fantastic 6x6 but the childish color makes it impossible to display. Lack of suspension and diffs justified the don't buy decision (hurting the rainman inside of me). Cost is too high indeed but if it had a realistic color scheme I would have bought it anyway. Plus you can find them at 20-30% off. But the color... it's a definite trend since a few years.

I like the look of the Zetros. Can anyone explain what features a real life Zetros has? Drivetrain, suspension, etc.

Parents would say that the vacation lasted long enough. :-)

I see a lot of people talking about cancelling here, but I suppose that doesn't make any sense. What's the bring to market cycle for Lego? 3 years between designing it and being available in the shops? (Not to be confused with 3 years available in the shops.) So if the process takes a couple of years to complete, I don't think we should expect last minute cancellations or even changes. At least this is how typical consumer goods are designed and brought to market.

Wow. Bookmarking this post. Plenty of inspiration here for a medium 8x8. By all means do share more material!

Quick side question. Is there any particular reason why Arocs is NOT tagged as Flagship on Brickset? http://brickset.com/sets/theme-Technic/tag-Flagship-Set

Guess no 1H sets for me then. Wallet will love me for that. Then again... Picking up past years flagships instead!

Yeah I think I brought it down to 2 sets now: - 8110 Unimog: for it's modding, suspension is very similar to 4x4 Crawler after studying the instructions (correct?) - 42043 Arocs: for it's suspension and drivetrain, and I'm assuming I should be able to find it at a nicely discounted price, new, over the next couple of weeks 42009 Mobile Crane fell off, since the drivetrain is too simple, just 6 wheel steering, and I'm familiar already with complex gearboxes from the Crawler Crane. 42030 Volvo didn't make the shortlist since it's really a very simple build from a technical standpoint, and actually unrealistic since it uses multiple motors vs multiple drivetrains connecting both sides of the vehicle. I liked the double RC set though.

I think the Unimog is my favorite so far even though I don't care for pneumatics. Modding those accessories seems fun. The Arocs has cool suspension but I would probably be only interested in the first few 'booklets' until the frame is finished. So buying top dollar unless the price is really low might not be worth it. Well... At least this thread is entertaining! :-)

Wow. I see flaws in every model now, reading the feedback and watching the speedbuilds. Volvo has RC but limited functions. Unimog has cool frame but pneumatics don't interest me that much. Mobile Crane is nicely complex but too slow and lacks suspension and a more realistic drivetrain. Arocs has cool but limited suspension but again pneumatics. Dang. Analysis paralysis!

Thank you Vectormatic. I won't consider this 42000 set for now, not in my "flagship" lineup, but I am adding it to my wishlist and if I see a nice pricedrop I will pick it up. Is the 42043 Arocs better in every aspect than the 8110 Unimog? I.e. no point in buying the Unimog nowadays? If this is not the case, what are the pros of the Unimog over the Arocs? Need to check the axles on that Arocs in more detail; are there portalhubs? Are these live axles? I suppose the Volvo 42030 is dropping to the bottom of the list as well... although some claimed here that it's an interesting build while others said it wasn't. I don't have that type of RC yet (only the one from 4x4 Crawler). Thank you all for your suggestions, please keep em coming.

Thank you for the suggestions so far. I'll look into them in-depth tonight. I must say 42000 looks very bland at first sight so I'm very intrigued how this could compete against an actual flagship. Please enlighten me!! P.s. might be useful which set out of those 4 you would definitely not take and why. That way I can perhaps compile a shortlist and bring it systematically down.

First off, I know there is a "which should I buy" thread somewhere, but I can't seem to find it. By all means do merge if needed. Since I should have some time in December, and first half of 2016 doesn't really cover any massive sets for me, I'm thinking about buying one last large set, a flagship. Which one would you recommend and why? What sets this or that set apart for you? Not the "buy them all" or "oldest first" default response but a little more deeper thought in which set might be the most enjoyable and why. I know pricing might vary, but lets ignore that one for now, and I don't mind second hand. Neither do I purchase a set for their parts since I'm not that advanced, I mostly purchase a set for the enjoyment of building the set itself (and the b model as an added bonus). - 8110 Unimog - 42009 Mobile Crane - 42030 Volvo - 42043 Arocs How do these flagships compare to each other nowadays. Is one clearly superior over the other? What are the clear pros and cons of each model, they've been around and compared so much I'm sure this common knowledge is out there by now. Overall I'm a offroader type of guy. But I got this covered already set wise, and Lego tends to keep a few years between big 4x4 sets. I enjoy a clever suspension and fancy axles and drivetrains. Modern day Technic purchases: 42042 Crawler Crane, 42039 24H Race Car, 42038 Arctic Truck, 42029 Customized Pick Up, 42005 Monster, 9398 4x4 Crawler, 8258 Crane Truck, 8265 Front Loader, 8297 Off-Roader. Any recommendations on my next big purchase? Most appreciated! Off a day in the woods now, but hoping for a lot of solid reading when I come back tonight!

An actual working gearbox in a set we'll probably be able to find at a <20 EUR pricepoint. Not bad at all.

Thank you Jim. I can only imagine the stress of forcefully having to be a creative writer with such short deadline and that many sets to review.

Agree. Heli wasn't my cup of tea but as Jim gently indicated a few pages back, it might be nicer than I anticipated. Looking at the larger images linked here that only confirms this. Cargo door underneath the heli as well as ramp. And sliding cargo door on the B model. Could this be a good base for a Chinook C model? All in all pleasantly surprised!

Yip. Thanks. I'm sure these big rubbers make for a whole unique challenge :-) I'm finding threads on the net about baking soda to get rid of cigarette smell in rubber... not sure if it'll do something to the texture of the tyres.

Specific follow-up question here: how do I clean large rubber technic balloon tyres of cigarette smoke? I purchased a second hand set and everything reeked of smoke. Cleaning the bricks were easy, hot water, some soap, letting it sit for an hour, airdry, and we have acceptable results. The big balloon tyres however now smell like smoke AND soap. It's probably worse than just smoke! I left that out in a (convenient) storm wind for a few hours but to not avail. Does anyone has a solution to get large rubber tyres smoke free?

You sure that wink isn't a violation of the NDA? ;-)

Smart way of thinking.

So I have this soft spot for Unimog (and G class) chassis and wanted to buy the 8110 set but it's obviously expensive since I'm late to the game. I was wondering whether the 8110 set has an accurate representation of the Unimog principle (portal axles & torque tube suspension & gear reduction & actual 4WD). I'm sure it won't have diff locks, right? Since I'm really just after a bare bone chassis as often observed in the Alps (and I don't care that much for pneumatics) I was thinking of just building the chassis per the Lego instructions... provided it's an actual good & accurate chassis. So my question is, does it make sense to try to rebuild the 8110 chassis (and maybe buy the parts for say booklet 1), or are there better MOCs out there, that I can base myself of? Like I said, I'm just a sucker for that simple yet ingenious engineering of the original Unimog chassis. Any help or pointers are most appreciated.

So... Heavy Lift Helicopter postponed till March, that Airport Vehicle (without suspension - blasphemy) presumably got pulled back... what else is there in the big set department for 1H? I'm not advanced enough to appreciate a panel here and there in the small funky sets, so it looks like 1H won't bring anything for me. Good thing I finally bought a 9398 4x4 Rock Crawler to compensate! ;-)