valenciaeric

The pattern used to be an infrared controlled flagship in August one year followed by a standard PF set the next year and the supercar series was separate. Last year there was no flagship at all. Things changed when they started releasing sets like the Landrover at weird times of the year, which could have almost been a flagship itself if it had had PF and of course when Con+Troll was launched.

Icons as they are now known.

• D2C: 10317 - {? Land Rover Classic Defender ?} (18+) • Includes 2336 pieces • US $239.99 - DE/FR €239.99 - UK £209.99 • Release: APRIL 1ST 2023 source Jedi Penguin.

I think they were just being cheap and looking for an excuse to cut expenses on the main items then sell the accessories as a sideline - just as Apple have done with their phones by eliminating chargers and earphones and then selling them as standalone items. Drones and many other RC toys are provided with their own control devices while costing less than an equivalent lego set. I have no interest or enthusiasm for the 2023 sets based on the list so far.

I should have been clearer and made reference to the medium sized set aircraft as being unpopular. The little ones at the 10 euro to 50 euro price point have been more popular and maybe that´s to do with their swooshability and compactness The bigger sets tend to be shelf warmers - the previous two helicopters, display (and in no way military, cough cough) jet and cargo plane are perfect examples as they could be found months after retirement and have not really appreciated. Whether licenced sets will do better remains to be seen - perhaps one reason is indeed the storage space they take up with the blades or wingspan, in my case these are the first sets I take apart once built. Lego still make them to add variety to the line, as they do with a number of Star Wars spaceships that are not best sellers either so I guess they are not losing money.

Planes and helicopters have never been very popular technic sets in terms of sales. It can be seen in the resale value of discontinued sets, which are barely above RRP unless something strange happens like wwit the infamous Osprey.

I remember the last time TLG ran into financial issues, one reason was they had a bloated range and also kept making new specific parts. Right now those 2 things are happening again.

I think it´s a typo and they mean differential gear not lock. Hard to do one with the grey diff.

42129 Mercedes 4x4 for 120 euros new and sealed. My best ever technica bargain but honestly the RRP is massively inflated - it´s a 250 euro set at best in terms of content.

Rear axle assembly from 18:00 and centre diff at the beginning. It´s the same system as the supercar sequential gearbox using the orange piece to engage and disengage the lock.

I think that the medium motor drives the winch and locks the diff. Maybe there are 2 L motors working together to power the centre differential and a third for steering?

We don´t need candles, a bunsen will be better as the burns on this are going to be strong. At least the tow truck seems to have stayed the same.

The problem is that the prices don´t downsize now it seems you MUST have an official licence for everything (tow truck the exception that confirms the rule). This is also due to the massive price tag they put on the sub standard control plus items - remember we lemmings have to provide the control device too!

Yes, it´s a 42070 EVO with proper suspension and new power functions but no crane. I am guessing it could have the gear shifter system from the Volvo 6x6 but yeah it´s pretty basic as they wanted to keep the weight down. Another set to wait for clearance sales to buy.

Conclusion - German humour even goes over the head of Germans!

Let´s take a look in 6 months and see if they have got any real reviews from people that actually did buy it. I am guessing sales will be even worse than for some of the sets from the Solo movie!

Yes, for 35 euros you could almost expect it to contain a rechargeable battery. Of course they would make you buy the charger for extra but, FFS it´s more than a four time mark up on the PF battery box, yet bigger and bulkier looking and with the two output device limitation. The only modest improvement is that there are more pin holes with which to connect it to beams. I guess they want to help Bricklink parter outers start their pension plans as it is going to be way cheaper to buy sets on discount that no one wants (top gear car for instance) with powered up and control + parts and resell them separately or use the parts.

Yeah, Lego are starting to make Apple products look like seriously good value for money,

History has shown that the first set from a series (42056 in this case) or unique models with some USP such as short life, limited release or some rare parts or misprints do the best. The Bugatti and Lambo don´t fit in any of these categories and also cost much more than the 911. I´d say it will be worth less than 1000 euros but then again inflation has to be taken into account and we don´t know how many more supercars or indeed Lambos will be made in the future. 42056 is doing OK considering it was heavily discounted and there have been so many other 911 cars made. It had a shorter life than the Bugatti, though and Porsche has more mainstream interest.

Unimog part count with a supercar series price tends to suggest it will have quite a few motors and a smart hub.

Yay, that means neither is likely to be RC. At worst 42126 might have some basic powered function but I doubt it.

I doubt it will be another car. We already have both the Chiron and 911 extended plus the 488 and the Lambo and the Dom Charger so there is a point where sales cannibalise each other. Having said that, the next Creator car is yet another a white 911, so with TLG you just never can tell.

It depends more on what price TLG offers retailers. We have seen RRP go up and up but not necessarily wholesale prices, that way they can offer what appear to be bigger discounts.

They don´t compete with RC cars but just launched a copy of a classic RC buggy? The flagships get bigger, heavier and more expensive every year and they need more and more motors to power them because they are so feeble. The Liebherr is a great set but the same results were achieved for a third of the price with 8043 and 4 puny M motors.

For me the main mistake they made was thinking they were Apple and designing a hermetic system with bespoke connection points (and them limiting the number of device you can connect). About the only thing that is standard is the size of alkaline batteries the hubs use. They compounded that by not releasing all the essential components from the beginning and not having a fully functional app. Then there is the issue of control + and PU devices that don´t talk to each other. Thirdly, Lego is the most plug in and play toy there is but now you have to have the app, the compatible phone and then do all the setup and or coding if it is your own MOC. It will be eaiser for younger generations but finally we are still stuck with motors that don´t provide enough power or torque to handle heavier designs and are bulkier than the previous generation. I think it´s disappointing considering the time they had to develop a worthy successor to PF2.0